~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Atemu sat against the base of the tree, his binoculars trained on the gates across the road. Two days…two days and absolutely no traffic. It was almost as if something was wrong. As if they knew…But they couldn't. There was no way! The foursome had taken every precaution they knew of, including blocking off their links just in case someone here could sense the magic.
'ATEMU!' The shriek sounded in his mind, jerking him out of his dazed surveillance.
Atemu's head shot up, ruby eyes narrowed as he attempted to contact his light through their link. No reply. His troubled gaze sought out Bakura's concentrated one as repeated efforts yielded only silence. A quick glance over to Jou and Seto proved that the cry indeed did not go unnoticed. The two were standing tense, guns cocked, as if waiting for something to happen.
"You heard it too?" Atemu questioned the three.
"Ryou…Yugi!" Bakura snarled. "They're gone!"
"What the hell was that?" Jou questioned at the same time, shivering. "I felt somethin'…somethin' wrong. Like the air shifted."
"They have our little ones." Atemu responded with a hiss. With an assessing glance over at the blue eyed agent, he asked. "Are you one hundred percent positive this is the place? We need to know now! Our time is up!"
Bakura glanced over at the shaken ruby eyed agent, speaking before Seto could clear his thoughts. "This is it…can't you smell it? The scent of evil is everywhere."
"We had better be positive…as of right now we have approximately six hours to make a workable plan, depending on how fast they're driving." Atemu glanced at his watch before he backed away from the cover of trees they were hiding in, keeping his eyes trained on the cameras across the street.
The others followed his lead, stealthily moving out of range of the security before heading into the open field. Damn and they hadn't been able to get into the well protected area to do any scouting yet. All this time sitting here and nothing! The ruby eyed agent had so hoped to be able to take this group out of commission before they got a chance to lay a finger on his little one. What the hell happened to Malik?
Hastily the group made it back to the car they had left a couple of miles back. Atemu mentally ran through the list of what they needed to bring back with them on their return trip as Seto fired the engine, flying down the road towards town. The tricolor haired agent's thoughts were frantic as he scrambled to come up with a workable plan. A couple of pea shooters weren't going to do it this time. Damn they needed more time!
Their first stop was the hotel room. They bolted up to the room where Atemu called up Duke – one of his closest allies in the Bureau, while the others retrieved their belongings. It was a long shot, but they had to do something. After quickly explaining their dire circumstances he requested back up.
By the time he ended the rather awkward conversation with a promise to divulge everything that had gone on during his absence Atemu was immensely relieved to know that none of their old friends had abandoned them – had in fact been fighting for him and the others during their disappearance.
"Back up is on the way." He called as the group hurriedly finished gathering their belongings.
The foursome raced back down to the car. It was time to do a little shopping. Their first stop was the local hardware store. Being as this was a small mountainside community this store was more of a catch-all rather than just the normal home improvement warehouse. They blasted through the doors and headed straight to the back of the store, already knowing where they needed to go.
The first thing Atemu grabbed was a lightweight crossbow. Elegant and deadly, this would do for what he had in mind. The ruby eyed agent hefted the weapon and checked it against his slight frame. Deciding that it would fit he selected a stock of bolts from one of the overly helpful employees seen milling around the store.
Then he bought some more rounds for his guns, knowing that he only needed the bow for silent kills. As accurate as he was with the large, unwieldy weapon, his guns would come in handy at some point during the night.
While Atemu bought out the store of complicated weapons, Bakura went searching for something a little more his style. The white haired agent was cursing his decision to leave his favorite toy back at the house with Ryou. Apparently it hadn't done the boy any good. And he sure could have used its comforting presence now.
Out of the corner of his eye the disgruntled agent saw a sight that made his senses tingle. There, in the corner of one of the display cases was a beautiful hunting knife. Expertly molded, with a large serrated blade, symbols from a different time were engraved into the hilt, almost a message of sorts. He felt as if it was calling to him. Who was he to deny?
"If you talk to any of the Indian people around here, those are supposed to be Shoshone words engraved into it." One of the men wandering the store came up behind Bakura. "Would you like to see it?"
Bakura nodded, entranced. "If you could."
The man took a key from his ring and unlocked the display, plucking the knife out to hand it over to the white haired agent with a shrug. "I don't know exactly what it says, but it has something to do with the soul of the animal that is being hunted and…I think…about it belonging to the person who wields the knife if it's used for the kill. Superstition I guess."
"Really now…" Bakura drawled with a gleam in his eyes as he ran his hand reverently over the engraved hilt. "How much?"
A wide, evil smirk formed on his features. This would work. And the people he would kill with this would forever be bonded to his soul if his reading of the symbols was correct. He would make them pay for the crimes they committed against his light in this life. Over and over again! Oh the fun he would have!
They decided on a price, the white haired agent handing over his money just as Seto and Jou reappeared from the clothing section of the store. Atemu sauntered over to the group with a wicked grin not long after and together they walked out of the store with their new purchases, the employees thinking they were nothing other than a group of out of town hunters.
Isis's frantic phone call to Seto's phone not minutes after they left the parking lot of the hardware store brought the group up to pace on what had happened earlier at the safe house. They now knew that Malik was among those in the hands of the enemy. And that Shadi was not in the best of shape.
But the hastily fixed phone had cut off not long after the blue eyed agent had agreed to find a way to keep the gates open for Isis, Marik and whatever help their friends could gather. Their estimated arrival was four hours away. That meant they had only a couple of hours before their enemy would arrive.
At their next stop the four of them changed into the white camouflage clothing that Jou and Seto had picked out earlier, thoughts of what was happening to Yugi and Ryou weighing heavily on their minds. Both Atemu and Bakura had tried their links repeatedly, but with no success.
By the time they made it back to their hiding spot behind the cluster of trees they were all nervous and fidgety, drinking the warm coffee that Jou had the presence of mind to grab at their last stop while Bakura procured some last minute necessities.
After discarding several ideas before they were even voiced, Atemu pounded the back of his head into the tree behind him. "I am at a loss. Bakura and I can get us around human traffic, but neither of us can get past those doors or the electric fence. We cannot fool electronics. And to announce our presence will make it all the harder to get our little ones out alive."
Bakura sighed audibly, looking each of his friends in the eyes. "Look, I have an idea. I don't know if it will work, but those damn sensors on the gate leave us with no other option if we want to get in there without their knowing…"
"What do you mean you don't know if it will work?" Atemu questioned harshly. "It has to work!"
"I know, I know." Bakura waved an impatient hand. "But the way I see it, the only way without announcing our presence – like blowing up the front gate, and believe me if it comes to it I will do just that – is to sneak in under the cover of plain sight. All of us. The minute the gate opens we walk right in."
Atemu's eyes widened. He now understood the glitch to this plan. It was what had been stopping them all along, besides the lack of traffic to get Bakura and himself inside. Jou and Seto. Neither one of them had any abilities whatsoever.
His scarlet gaze slid over to the two appraisingly. But if they had no abilities, then how was it that they sensed Yugi and Ryou's call earlier. They may not have heard it, but they sensed it all the same, much as a dog would sense an unseen, unheard threat from inside of a locked house.
"So…you're thinking that they may have some residual magic left over from their previous life?" He questioned the white haired agent.
Jou and Seto both glanced over at Bakura with raised eyebrows. The skeptical look on their faces said it all. It was impossible!
"You have to believe in it first." Bakura commented to the wide eyed duo as he nodded. "I'll take care of the rest. Since I don't need to baby-sit Atemu too I should have enough energy to make this happen. But when I tell you to believe than you damn well better do it. You put your heart into the words that you speak. Do you understand?"
Jou nodded anxiously. He just wanted his friends back. And if he had to believe in something he couldn't see than he was going to do it. He had already seen part of what Atemu, Bakura and Marik were capable of. So how hard could this be? Hell he already believed in his new group of friends' extraordinary powers.
"So what do I have to believe in? Seto asked warily.
"You need to believe that you're invisible. That you're nothing but a shadow on the wall…" Bakura replied evenly.
"Wha…?" The blue eyed agent balked. "There's no way in…"
"You will do it!" Bakura snapped. "I said I would take care of the rest, but if you fight me with your thoughts it takes more of my strength than I can afford to lose. Do it or be left behind. And I hate to say it but we need you too."
"Please…" Jou's pleading brown eyes met Seto's shocked blue ones.
Seto dropped his head into his hands. Bakura was right. He could do this. He had to. He had overcome every obstacle in his life; he wasn't going to let a little hocus pocus get the best of him.
"I'll do it, but you better know what you're doing!"
After a quick glance at Jou to make sure that he understood what needed to be done Bakura began outlining their plan. It was time to be ready. They wouldn't get a second chance.
The sun set on the group in a brilliant display of oranges and reds, but no one noticed, none of them cared. An hour later they sat in the dark, silently, tensely watching the gates across the road for signs of activity.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Yugi awoke to someone dragging him out of the car by his hair. He reached up to swat at the hand, only to have the person dragging him give a painful yank on his tender scalp. The action brought tears to the boy's eyes.
"ATEMU!" He cried out again.
This time there was a strong sense of reassurance drifting down the link. Almost as if Atemu wanted him to know that he was there, even if he couldn't say it. The feeling increased and for a moment the distraught teen felt somewhat safe, despite the pain in his head.
But it didn't last long for as soon as the petite teen was dragged into what appeared to be a large, plain brick dwelling built into the side of a humongous mountain, the comforting sensation halted abruptly – with no explanation whatsoever.
Yugi tried several times to catch his footing to lessen the throbbing in his head, but it was no use. The person dragging him so cruelly was too fast for his short legs to keep up with. He was hauled down a long flight of stairs and thrown forcefully into a windowless stone chamber, the door locked tightly behind him, screaming for his darker half the entire way.
The instant the door shut on his last hope of escape the small teen clutched the top of his head, tears squeezing through his closed eyes. No longer did he have the comforting presence of his link with Atemu. It was as if the other had vanished.
After a moment he opened his eyes and looked around the barren room. There was a bucket over in the corner of the room. And a pile of straw. On closer inspection the straw bed had copious amounts of a dark, almost black substance. Yugi backed away cautiously, his eyes darting around the room for any means possible of escape.
His breath caught in his throat as the door opened and three rather large men came into the room, a fourth one stationed by the door.
Yugi eyed the men warily as he backed towards the wall. One had a knife; the second one had a pouch like object with a dripping rubber hose attached to the end. The third one had a length of rope and a rather evil gleam in his beady black eyes.
"Prepare him for the ritual, but do not touch…yet." The fourth man announced with a smirk directly at the tricolor haired teen before closing the door behind him – locking Yugi in with the grinning men…
Ryou heard his friend's screams through the locked door of his cell. The white haired teen slid to the floor sobbing. He couldn't help. He was worthless. Why had Bakura saved him? He couldn't even help his friends!
Frustrated, the gentle teen lashed out, beating his fists helplessly on the wall and screaming, adding to the noise in the hall. He screamed and screamed and kicked and beat his fists into the wall until his rage was spent, his hands bruised and bloodied, his voice hoarse.
Then he collapsed to the ground in a shivering heap. He was next. After they finished with Yugi, he was next. Or Malik was. He clearly saw the unconscious blonde being dragged out of one of the other cars that had driven through the wire topped gates along with the one he had been held in.
What could he do? There had to be something…right?
A calming presence made itself known the minute he left off with his banshee quality shrieks. Ryou sniffled quietly, letting the soothing feeling wash over him. Along with the feeling came an urging to remember what he had trained so hard for…what had he…Ryou sat up with a tearful gasp.
Footsteps sounded outside his door. Trembling, the white haired teen raised his head and began to chant the words in his mind – words that he knew so well, watching the door closely. 'You don't see me…you don't see me…I don't exist…please let this work…you don't see me…'
Seconds ticked by and it almost sounded like the footsteps receded. Then a key clicked inside the lock and the door creaked open. A blonde man with deep facial scars that looked fairly recent walked into the room, muttering to himself. "Check on the sacrifices he says…like I didn't used to run this joint…blah,blah,blah…"
The man muttered as he looked around the clearly empty room. Quickly he walked back to the door and peered out in the hallway, never noticing the white haired teen's presence. Ryou held his breath as the man took one more frightened glance around the room before taking off down the hall, leaving the door wide open.
For a moment the petrified white haired teen couldn't believe his luck. And then he realized that this was his opportunity. He pulled himself off the floor and scampered out of the room, flying down the passageway. After a few minutes the white haired teen's pace slowed to a brisk walk as he realized he was lost.
With no way of knowing where he was or how to get out, Ryou became confused as he wandered the labyrinth of twisted, torch-lit corridors. Yugi's screams had quieted not long after he fled the room and he had nothing to guide him anymore.
Tentatively he reached out with his mind, attempting to contact his darkness. A strong presence enveloped him and he sobbed in relief before hurrying to obey the command. His darker half was coming and he needed to help them find a way inside.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
Atemu sighted on one of the men below as they scurried about, his finger on the trigger of the crossbow, cursing impatiently as he sat in the crook of the tree rubbing his injured knee. Damn Jou! If he hadn't tripped and alerted everyone in the compound to their presence they might have been able to get inside the building before anyone was the wiser!
But the blonde had proved to be an amazing klutz not long after they made it inside the gates, tripping over one of the men who had come running to greet the cars as they made their way inside the compound. His howl brought guards from all around, making them have to split up and run for it in order to stay alive. One of the men got a lucky shot off, skimming the side of Atemu's knee just before he made it to the cover of the trees.
Now they had all of what looked to be at least fifty or so men searching the compound for them. The ruby eyed agent rolled his eyes, fuming. Of all times to realize that the blonde was an utter klutz now was not it! They would be lucky enough to make it out of here with their lives, let alone take back their little ones.
If they were lucky the head boss didn't know they were there. But Atemu wasn't counting on it. Before making for the safety of the trees, he had let a well-placed bolt fly straight into their transformer by the gate, taking out the security system, as well as their lights. Now the only illumination was that of the moon – which suited him just fine. It made his targets easier to see against the backdrop of snow.
The irritated agent glanced over to another tree beside the one he was hiding in to give the signal, but Bakura was already on it, aiming for one of the cult members that arrogantly assumed he was well enough hidden behind a shed some yards away from the cluster of trees they were sitting in. Atemu moved back to his sight, then backed off again when another man came running out of the building waving his hands wildly.
Although he was too far away to tell what was said, the second man must have had dire news for his announcement caught the attention of the larger group that was hunting for him and the others – and that group tore off back towards the building, leaving only a handful of men out on the grounds.
With a deadly smirk, Atemu took aim on the first unsuspecting man once more, pulling the trigger to let the arrow fly. A muffled 'mph' was made by his target before the man fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his neck. Quickly Atemu racked another bolt and let fly toward the man running to check out his fallen companion.
But he was too late, his arrow missed as the man fell to the ground near the first one, a soundless bullet wound in the center of his head. Where the hell did that come from? A body hit the ground underneath the tree he was sitting in, startling him into dropping the bolt in his hand.
"You missed one." Seto smirked before fading back into the cluster of trees.
Atemu and Bakura glanced at each other, dumbfounded, before climbing out of the trees and meeting Seto and Jou on the ground. Atemu gave a glance at the silenced 357 in the brunette's hands before shaking his head with a wry grin.
The sounds of running feet caught their attention and the foursome scrambled in different directions not too long before a group of men met in the clearing by the trees, apparently too brave – or stupid for their own good – intent on storming the copse of trees. A moment later and four corpses were lying on the ground by the shed, copious amounts of blood flowing from the variety of wounds inflicted.
Atemu glanced over the grounds, looking to catch those who had run before they made it out of range, but apparently not all of their enemy was without brains – for those left had vanished.
Quietly the group wound their way out of their hiding spots to meet by the shed where, after a few moments of struggling Bakura grabbed his knife back from one of the corpses. He wiped it clean on his pants and studied the landscape. They needed to find a way inside the building.
"What gives?" Atemu whispered as he peeked around the corner of the shed to scout for his next victim. A well placed shot pinged off the metal shed and sent him ducking for cover.
Bakura grinned widely and said only one word. "Ryou."
Jou's eyes widened as he understood what the white haired agent was trying to say. "So…you mean we have someone…"
Seto muffled the blonde's comment as he heard a noise coming from the other side of the shed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bakura melt into the shadows from one side, Atemu doing the same as he faded around the corner of the small, rusted structure.
"Stay quiet, stay down." Seto commanded in a hoarse whisper.
Jou nodded, allowing the other to pull him down into a crouched position. Seto held his silenced 357 to the ready, pointed at the corner where he last saw Atemu vanish, listening intently as he thought of how truly crazy his cousin was to court death like that.
~ o ~ O ~ o ~
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