Transcending Time
Chapter Thirty-Three: Fools Forsaken The Wrath Of My Throne
Eshe's feet hit solid ground, a much more calculated landing than with her previous journey through the dimension aperture, and at once, a chill washed over her; the portal destination had changed and there was a noticeable breeze in the air, ruffling the curls of hair hanging around her shoulders. She inhaled and exhaled, a shudder in her breath from the low temperature of her surroundings, and her arms rose of their own accord to hug herself in an attempt to warm up a little more.
The palace with the twisted spire stood ominously in the background, encircled with dark clouds; a rumbling noise echoed in the distance like a faraway thunderstorm that was slowly edging closer, bringing with it the feeling of impending disaster.
Eshe stood amongst a field of dead grass, the almost-black blades crunching below her feet as she took a few steps forward. There appeared to be nothing around for miles, it was just a large plot of decaying land. Perhaps Atsu meant for it to instill a sense of foreboding within Eshe and her friend's minds, or maybe it served another purpose.
The area was barren and flat, it reminded Eshe of a battle field.
Atem passed through the portal behind her, stumbling as he landed, and Eshe turned to him, a small lump in her throat growing despite her effort to swallow it. For a brief moment, Eshe forgot about the skirmish and the danger, the sight of his deep purple eyes locking with her's sent her heart aflutter.
She blinked the distraction out of her mind, turning back around to scan the immediate space; the open expanse was quite suitable for what needed to be done, but Eshe didn't want to be near the portal when Atsu subsequently came barrelling through. Before she could take a step forward, Atem's hand was on her arm.
"Wait, Eshe."
Eshe turned to him curiously, noting the slight weariness in his gaze and the tiny remnants of a smile on his lips; she couldn't help but beam at him, recognising his expression for what it was - relief and adoration. Her eyes flickered to the mark on his cheek, spying the thin, clean cut; it was a few inches long and looked as though it hurt. Eshe's smile fell, reaching her hand to gently brush her thumb against the small abrasion, and the motion caused Atem to raise his head a little, which drew Eshe's gaze down to his neck.
His tan skin was marred with dark purple bruises which took the form of large fingers; Eshe swallowed as her stomach dropped, her eyes widening in horror, "Who did this?" she whispered, her fingertips trailing down the side of his face to trace the evidence of strangulation.
Atem's eyes flickered down briefly to her hand and he shook his head, curling his fingers around her wrist, "Eshe, I'm-"
"Who did this?" Eshe asked again, now referring to the dark contusions on the knuckles of his right hand; it physically pained her to see injuries on his body, and it made her all the more angry, because she didn't have to ask who had done this to him - she already knew.
"-I'm glad you're safe", Atem continued, ignoring her question, "I thought you were… I thought Atsu had…" he swallowed, his lip involuntarily quivering as he trailed off, unable to finish what he was going to say, but it was clear enough to Eshe what had gone through his mind.
"I'm here", she breathed, pushing down on the emotion that threatened to bubble up in her voice, "I'm fine. We're going to get through this- we've been through worse." She made her tone as assuring as possible, because she knew that Atsu wasn't undefeatable, and Rura had known that when he made his brave sacrifice.
Atem nodded absently, staring longingly into Eshe's eyes; the realisation became apparent to Eshe that it had not yet clicked into place in Atem's mind that she spoke knowingly about their past experiences - he had not yet registered that she had recovered all of her lost memories.
Eshe's lips curled upwards, "Atem, I-"
The brush of static across her consciousness cut her off and she turned back to the portal as Seto and Mokuba hopped through, followed quickly by Yugi, Téa, Tristan and Joey.
"Your plan better be good, Eshe", Seto spoke icily, his naturally austere gaze piercing through her like a sharpened spear, "Now might be a good time to fill us in."
"We gotta hurry, guys", Yugi declared with a hint of apprehension in his voice, "I don't think the crows can hold him off much longer."
Atem nodded, turning back to Eshe with a more alert look in his eyes, "What's your plan, Eshe?"
Eshe swallowed as all eyes turned to her expectantly, she reached into her sleeve and revealed the three powerful duel monster cards Rura had procured for her, "We use these to defeat Atsu", she explained timorously.
Atem's eyes widened minutely as he laid his sights upon the cards in Eshe's hand, "The Egyptian Gods", he exclaimed in surprise, "When did you get them?"
Eshe handed them over to the boy, gazing down as Atem's fingers brushed lightly against her own, "It was Rura", she said softly, "He got these back for us, and he had every bit of confidence that we could take Atsu down with them."
Atem's eyes scanned the cards with a somewhat dour look, bringing a frown to Eshe's face, "I- um, I was hoping you could summon them?" She had assumed he would be able to call forth the Egyptian Gods - she had seen him summon Obelisk, The Tormentor many years ago on the day of his coronation, and he had done so effortlessly, it seemed. Maybe she had been wrong to presume that Atem, strong as he was, would have the strength to summon all three of them.
After a moment of sombre contemplation, Atem looked up from the cards to Eshe, and then to the others, "Without my Puzzle, I won't be able to summon all of them-"
"That's not an issue", Seto cut in, reaching over to pluck one of the cards from Atem's hands with his slender fingers, "I'll summon Obelisk", the CEO declared with conviction and the tanned boy gave him an extended, pensive look, before nodding with appreciation.
"I don't mean to panic anyone but Atsu will probably be coming through this portal in a matter of minutes", Téa spoke, pointing with her thumb at the dimensional gate just behind them.
"Come on, let's get some distance between us and him", Yugi suggested; it was as good an idea as any, and the group immediately broke into a run, sprinting away from the static aperture. There was nowhere to hide in the vast field, which was unfavourable for the three individuals in the group that were unable to summon monsters due to a lack of deck.
The further out they ran, the more sinister the world grew and the colder it seemed, Eshe pattered to a stop, taking a moment to recover her breath and turned back to face the gate that now shimmered erratically - not a moment later, Atsu stepped through.
He looked murderous, blood smeared across his face from where the crows had pecked mercilessly; his air was in disarray, sticking out in every direction and there were a few stray feathers stuck on his robes. He said nothing, merely raising both hands to the skies as he summoned forth a multitude of monsters all around them.
Dark mist arose around the depraved magician, Atsu's teeth grinding so hard he could wear his teeth down, "I'll make you feel pain like a thousand knives stabbing you all over your body", the green-eyed man hissed, a disgusting guttural sound to his voice that grated against the back of his throat.
"Nyeh, I don't think so", Joey exclaimed, pulling a particular card from his deck with a crooked grin on his face, "Tell it to the Red Eyes Black Dragon!" He held up the card, a great light emitting forth that grew into the form of a large, splendid dragon - its body turned jet black and its wings spread wide, facing the multiple beasts Atsu had summoned, two blood-red eyes staring back at them.
Eshe looked upon it in awe; the monster was five times as majestic in real life as opposed to just a hologram, and it looked fantastically strong, poised to fight off the monsters storming towards them. Joey ordered it to attack, and the dragon sent forth a flaming fireball from its mouth, engulfing a handful of the lower-level beasts in flames.
Too caught up in the adrenaline rush of watching Joey's monster take out several foes, it took a moment for Eshe to realise that she could and should be helping with her own monsters; with a start, she reached into her pocket and grabbed her deck, summoning the first monster she came across - and just in time too, because as she did so, a couple of monsters drew forward in Joey's dragon's blindspot.
"I summon Neo the Magic Swordsman!" Eshe cried, and the armoured, blond spellcaster materialised within seconds, brandishing his sword to swipe at the inferior beasts as they charged - he made quick work of them before falling into a defensive stance, eyes peeled for any more monsters that dared to grow bold enough to try and harm Eshe or her friends.
Atsu didn't seem worried that two monsters had taken out half of his lower-level army, his mouth curling into a smirk as he raised his hands to summon even more; Eshe frowned, wondering what he was so happy about.
Neo and Red Eyes took out more of Atsu's beasts, and he continued to bring more of them back to fight; Eshe ordered her monster to keep the foes away from them before turning back to her friends, "Atsu's up to something; all he's doing is just summoning more weak monsters in waves."
Tristan rose an eyebrow, "Maybe he's not strong enough to summon anything bigger?"
Eshe shook her head as a sudden sleepiness overcame her, letting out an audible breath, she blinked her eyes slowly, her eyebrows knitting in confusion; she looked back to Atem, who gazed at her worriedly, "Eshe, are you alright?"
She looked back at Joey, who heaved a sigh as he watched his dragon take out more monsters, and the reason for her unexpected lethargy clicked in her mind - Joey had told her before that summoning a monster in and of itself was draining, but having that monster attack even once was enough to tire him.
That's what Atsu was doing, he was planning to weaken them one by one until none of them could summon any monsters and he could tear them apart when they were unable to fight back; Eshe swallowed, looking back to Atem once again, "You need to summon the Gods if we want any chance of beating him", she spoke softly, and the boy she loved nodded.
"You're sure we can defeat him this way?" Atem inquired gently; he wanted to be sure, because if there was any chance that Atsu could overcome the God monsters, Atem and Seto would be left powerless, completely stricken of all energy, and they would all be defenseless.
Eshe swallowed, "Atsu stole the God cards because he was afraid of them. Rura had already figured that out, he theorised that Atsu hadn't summoned any of them because he's not that powerful. He can't command the Gods! He only took them because he didn't want you to command them!" Despite her exhaustion, Eshe offered a reassuring smile, "You're stronger than him, I know you are!"
Atem still looked unconvinced, his eyebrows knitted in apprehension; Eshe's smile fell at his lack of confidence, "Atem?"
He sighed, shaking his head, "I've been significantly weakened by Atsu's magic, I don't… I don't know if I can summon both Slifer and Ra", he admitted, and his gaze fell, irritation plain on his face at, annoyed by his own fatigue.
"Who says you need to?"
All eyes turned to Yugi, who smiled confidently, holding up a clenched fist with determination clear on his face, "You don't have to do it alone, Atem. If Kaiba summons Obelisk, I can summon Slifer!"
The resolution in Yugi's voice was invigorating, and Atem blinked rapidly for a moment, as if he hadn't thought it was an option before now - of course Yugi could help. Atem had mentioned before how strong Yugi was as a person, and there was promptly no doubt in the tanned boy's eyes; he handed Slifer, The Sky Dragon to Yugi with newfound confidence.
Eshe's smile reformed and she took a deep breath, turning her eyes back to the fray - Joey was hunched over, hands on his knees as he took laboured inhales, grunting on every exhale. She felt about as exhausted as Joey looked, and when she set her sights on the enemy, she found that he appeared completely unaffected, as if summoning a bunch of monsters - even low-level ones - had taken about as much effort as wiggling his little finger.
Her eyes narrowed, looking at the Puzzle still hanging around Atsu's neck. The pendant was feeding him energy to bring forth more enemies, Eshe anticipated it could still be a problem if he were to summon anything stronger. Rura had mentioned something about Atsu having a powerful monster in his arsenal; Eshe grit her teeth, the Egyptian Gods could surely overcome whatever Atsu could throw at them - especially with the combined power of Atem, Seto and Yugi.
"Alright, let's do it", Atem asserted with a purposeful resolve, clutching the God card in his hand.
Téa clenched her fists as she turned to Atem and Yugi, "I have faith in you guys, we're right here with you!"
"Kick his butt, big brother!" Mokuba exclaimed, a smirk on his face in anticipation of the victory they would soon grasp.
Atsu spied the cards in the hands of the three boys and gave a twisted smirk, "No monster you summon will be enough to defeat me! You are powerless!" he screamed, before letting free a gravelly laugh that set Eshe's teeth on edge.
'Think again, asshole', Eshe thought as she called back Neo the Magic Swordsman; she nodded to Joey, who recalled his dragon and the two slumped a little in exhaustion. As Atsu materialised even more beasts, Yugi stepped forward, landing his narrowed gaze on the corrupt magician as he held the card to the skies.
"Come forth, Slifer the Sky Dragon!"
Seto followed suit, his icy stare unfaltering as he held aloft his own card, "I summon Obelisk the Tormentor!"
Atem's eyes slipped closed as he centralised his focus and raised the third and final God card above his head, "Almighty protector of the sun and sky, I beg of thee, please heed my cry. Transform thyself from orb of light and bring me victory in this fight. I beseech thee, grace our humble game, but first I shall call out thy name: Winged Dragon of Ra!" Eshe watched in awe as the cards lit up, three bright beams of light shooting upwards into the sky in their respective colours - immediately the illumination appeared to dispel the surrounding darkness, breaking apart the black clouds overhead.
Atsu's face was priceless, his jaw having fallen open at the luminescent sight above, and after a couple of moments he began to hastily search his pockets in disbelief; upon realising he was no longer in possession of the powerful monsters, his face grew crazed and angry.
Eshe stared at the glorious Gods above, incredulous and speechless; she had only ever seen Obelisk in person, but to witness all three - it was absolutely mind-blowing.
Atsu wiped the shock from his face, replacing it with fury, "I will end you!" In one hand, he conjured forth a very familiar item; the Lavalliere necklace.
Atem's eyes widened, the memory of what had happened the last time he conjured that necklace came back to him - Atsu had become a hellish, demonic fiend with which he controlled dark magic that he had utilised to hurt Atem's friends. He couldn't let that happen again. Everyone seemed apprehensive as they locked their disdainful gazes on the cruel man across the battlefield, except for Yugi and Eshe; Atem peered curiously at them, both of them had their arms crossed and were watching Atsu as though he were just a minor inconvenience - what did they know that he didn't?
Atsu thrust the necklace to the skies, calling upon its great power, "Not even the Gods can stand up to my extraordinary power!"
Eshe smirked, her eyes scanning the sky above which remained radiant with the lustre of the Gods as she wondered how long it would take Atsu to realise nothing was occurring, and that the necklace in his hand was void of any magical power.
"Huh… it didn't take this long the last time", Tristan remarked, and Téa nodded in agreement.
"That's because it's not Eshe's necklace", Yugi pointed out with a smirk gracing the corner of his mouth, "It's the fake."
"What?" Joey exclaimed, "Then where's the real one!?"
Eshe smiled, "Hanging around my neck", she answered, and after a moment she could feel Atem's intent stare on the back of her head; she turned to peer at him knowingly, a meaningful twinkle in her warm, brown eyes.
"We found the real necklace while Rura was with us", Yugi explained, "Eshe took it, and she remembered the fake one was in my bag, so we switched them!"
Eshe could tell the moment Atem realised that her memories had returned; his lips parted, his deep purple eyes shimmered with restrained emotion, and he looked as though he couldn't decide if he wanted to cry or smile.
Atsu's enraged shout broke the tender gaze between them, and Eshe swung around as the man threw the fake necklace to the ground, his face furious and painted with ferocious intent, "You think you can outsmart me? I'll show you just how powerful I can be!"
Dark clouds came together above Atsu despite the light of the Gods, and a chill crawled down Eshe's spine as black shapes began to merge and take the form of something huge - something as big as the Egyptian Gods - and lightning crackled through the air with the accompanying chords of thunder.
"I summon Dark Horus!"
Eshe took a step back as the monster manifested; it was similar in appearance to Ra, except instead of a brilliant golden glow, it's armoured skin was a steely black - red eyes peered down at them with the promise of pain.
"Y-you can defeat that, right?" Mokuba asked with a tremor in his voice as he turned back to his brother, "Right, Seto?"
Seto's icy gaze regarded the new monster with nothing less than exceptional apathy, "We have three Gods and he has one cheap imitation, crushing him will be easy."
"Don't let your guard down, Kaiba", Atem instructed, a hint of uncertainty in his deep voice.
"I don't need your advice, pharaoh", Seto hissed, before raising a commanding hand, speaking directly to the God he had summoned, "Obelisk, attack!"
Obelisk reared back for an attack, the huge monster stepping towards Dark Horus, but Atsu's hand clamped down around the chain of the Millennium Puzzle and he held it up - the pendant began to shine and the magician's open-mouthed grin was far too unsettling.
Hundreds of monsters spawned once more, no longer the pitiful low-level beasts from before, but instead, waves of stronger monsters that darted forwards the moment they came into existence.
"Slifer, defend us!" Yugi cried, and Seto begrudgingly called his monster's attack off and led it to defend instead, it was clear to Atem what Atsu's intentions were - a one-on-one duel between two intensely strong monsters.
Winged Dragon of Ra versus Dark Horus.
"Watch yourself, pharaoh, my monster has the power of a God!" Atsu claimed, a manic laugh escaping his throat that drew Eshe's upper lip back in disgust.
Atem stepped forward, passing by Eshe, who looked to him in concern, and he steeled himself, prepared to put an end to the fiend's treachery.
"Winged Dragon of Ra, show him the power of a real God!"
It was like a blast of nostalgia for Eshe to watch Atem in his element, both from the times in the past and the times she had witnessed such regal ascendancy from his bursts of confidence in duels. She never felt more safe than when Atem poised himself, cool-headed and assertive, to put his enemies down and bring their tyranny to and end.
Winged Dragon of Ra and Dark Horus's attacks clashed in the air, booming loud and flashing with light; Atem stood his ground, unflinching throughout the skirmish, impressive and imposing. Eshe knew it really wasn't the time to think about such things, but the sight was incredibly attractive.
'Kick his ass, babe', Eshe thought with a smirk, reaching into her deck to pull out another monster - Seto and Yugi's God monsters were holding the waves of beasts off quite admirably, but there were so many foes, it was only inevitable that one might sneak through and deal some damage - Eshe wanted to be ready.
She paused, eyeing the monster she had picked out at random, an idea forming solidly in her mind; Yugi Moto's signature still shimmered across the card in silver ink, right above Kuriboh's head.
Kuriboh was a small and weak monster, but perhaps that could work to her advantage - lower-level monsters appeared to cost less energy for the summoner, and because of its small form, Kuriboh could likely float around without risk of being noticed.
Eshe swung around to face Joey, "How're you feeling?"
Joey blinked, "Not bad, still kinda tired, I guess-" his statement was supported by a loud, drawn-out yawn.
"Mmm", Eshe hummed, scratching her chin. Joey had summoned a higher-level monster than her, it was only natural that he was more exhausted than she was; her eyes travelled to Seto and Yugi, who were caught up in defending the group with their monsters, before her gaze fell on Téa, Tristan and Mokuba.
"Holy Ra", Eshe sighed, "We're idiots." She swallowed, realising it probably wasn't very polite of her to use the God's name in vain while it was hovering above protecting them.
"Wha-?" Joey exclaimed in confusion, wondering why exactly he was being hailed an idiot.
"Joey, we can lend our strongest monsters to them", she motioned her other friends, "They can summon them- it doesn't have to be their own monsters!"
"Nyeh?" Joey murmured, blinking in realisation, "Oh! That makes sense!"
"Why didn't we figure that out sooner?" Tristan grumbled, "Come on, hand us some monsters!"
Joey regarded Tristan with a dubious eye as he handed over his Gilford the Lightning and Jinzo to the brown-haired boy and Téa respectively, "I'm gonna be needing those back after this, ya know", he told them with an arched brow.
"Yeah, yeah!" Tristan responded as he snatched the monster from them and held it high, "Gilford the Lightning, come on out!"
"Jinzo, come forth!" Téa called out, following suit, and the two monsters materialised at their command.
Eshe nodded with a smirk, turning to Mokuba, "Here, Mokuba, use my Dark Blade and take out anything that sneaks past the Gods", she instructed, and the younger boy jumped for joy.
"Awesome! Thanks, Eshe!" Mokuba exclaimed, before calling upon the monster, admiring its glory.
Now that Eshe's friends were completely protected, she could feel the muscles in her shoulders relax a little; she clutched the Kuriboh card in her hand and summoned him a little more quietly, standing between it and Atsu. The little brown furball seemed happy to be called upon, bobbing up and down in the air with a delighted look on his face, and Eshe smiled.
"Hey, Kuriboh, I need you to do something for me. You see the Millennium Puzzle around Atsu's neck? You gotta move as quietly and slyly as you can, see if you can get behind him and take it before he notices, alright?" she instructed, and the little monster nodded enthusiastically - which was characterised by the way his whole body jumped up and down determinedly - "and please, be careful!" she added.
Kuriboh peered across the battlefield, his eyes scanning for the best possible path to take to avoid the beasts that were far stronger than himself; his mission was to retrieve a necklace, after all, he had to be strategic about it.
Eshe returned to Atem's side, resting a hand on his shoulder, she could see he was visibly affected by his draining energy, "I've got an idea, keep Atsu distracted with the battle, okay?" He looked back at her curiously, his eyebrows knitted from the effort it took to fight with his monster, and nodded at the sight of resolution on her face.
She grinned, "You're doing great", she added, wishing she could press a kiss to his cheek - but she didn't want to distract him further from the battle ahead. Praising words would have to do; he smiled in appreciation of her commendation, returning to the fight with skyrocketing tenacity.
Eshe kept her eyes peeled as Kuriboh flew away and kept a wide berth of the battlefield, moving out of Atsu's line of sight without him drawing attention; his dark colour made it easier for him to remain camouflaged as he hovered closer to the ground, blending in.
Atsu's head was tilted up, his piercing gaze on the conflict above, his deranged appearance punctuated with his open-mouthed, teeth-grinding grin; he didn't notice when Kuriboh sweeped behind him and levitated up behind his head.
Eshe clenched her fists in apprehension, "Come on Kuriboh, slowly… carefully", she spoke softly, taking a few steps sidewards to improve the angle of her sight; she held her breath as the little fuzzy monster's claws closed around the chain behind his neck and began to rise up.
Kuriboh wasn't fast enough, for the moment Atsu felt the weight of the Puzzle begin to rise off his chest, his hand clamped around the chain and he swung around, whacking the little monster away. He screamed some sort of obscenity and Eshe gasped as he conjured a ball of electric black energy, flinging it right at the panicked little furball. Kuriboh dematerialised the moment the destructive ball of magic hit him, and pain seared through Eshe's chest.
She fell to her knees, clutching her chest, a barely-restrained whimper escaping her mouth and Atem turned quickly, eyes wide, "Eshe!?"
"Enough of your antics, Eshe, it's time for you to say goodbye!" Atsu screeched, hand raised and palm stretched as he conjured another lethal wisp of spherical magic.
"No, Eshe!" Atem cried, darting towards her - the magic was faster, bolting towards her at incredible speeds. Eshe flinched, eyes shutting tight as it hit her, the sound of her friends' fearful shrieks resonating to her left. Her vision was obscured by a cloud of dust, and she registered with a start that she felt no pain from Atsu's hurtling attack.
She blinked rapidly for a moment before a strong, radiant, golden glow made itself known at the base of her vision; she looked down, spotting the light shining from below her blouse, and gently pulled the Lavalliere necklace from its hiding place.
The dust cleared, and it became evident to her why she was unharmed.
Amongst the relieved sighs of her friends, she heard Atem breathe her name, and she saw, through the tremendous golden shield surrounding her, the flourishing expression on her lover's face.
Atem's soul fragment within the necklace had protected her from harm, powerful and incandescent; Eshe felt herself exhale audibly, and she slowly staggered to her feet, still shattered by the result of Kuriboh's dissipation.
"I'm alright", she whispered breathlessly, sending Atem a look of adoration and gratitude.
The boy turned back to the pernicious - and above all, confused - magician, his face more gruelling and fierce than she had ever seen it before, "Winged Dragon of Ra, destroy his Dark Horus and end this tyranny!"
Atem was revitalised with a sudden burst of energy. For a few agonising moments, he had believed his lover had been hit with the same lethal magic that had afflicted Rura; the brief notion that his soul fragment had failed to defend Eshe had left him fleetingly paralysed, but the second he had seen that that was not the case was the moment electricity flowed through his veins. "Full power, attack!" Atem commanded his monster, and the Egyptian God sent forth a burst stream of golden light into the heart of Atsu's dark dragon.
It was inevitable that Atsu would fall, nothing could stand up to the power of a God.
Dark Horus dispersed into nothing with an ear-splitting roar, partnered with the resonance of Atsu's deathly screams; the ground shook and the sound of grinding stone filled the air. Eshe jerked forward as something cracked loudly behind her, flinging round to find the earth fracturing, breaking up to reveal a red-hot ravine with lava flowing steadily at the bottom. She swallowed, shuffling away, looking back to her friends to check that they were far away from the growing environmental danger.
The others were aware, moving away from the hazardous, fiery chasm. Téa, Tristan and Mokuba called back the monsters they had summoned, no longer having to defend from stray beasts - the foes had long since disappeared, but Seto and Yugi remained vigilant with their Gods at the ready, just in case Atsu did something unpredictable.
Having expended all of his energy, Atem fell forwards to his knees; the Winged Dragon of Ra dematerialised as the boy could no longer power its presence, and Eshe breathed a soft sigh of relief. It was over, and Atem had come out on top, as he always had.
Seeing that Atem was a little indisposed due to his exhaustion, Yugi stepped forward, his expression stony, and admirably spoke with formidable conviction, "It's okay, Atsu. Hand over the Puzzle, now."
Atsu was at a clear disadvantage, and yet, he dragged himself to his knees, the Millennium Puzzle glinting where it hung at his neck. He looked terrible and drained as he pushed himself to his feet and stumbled forwards, stalking towards the group with what seemed like last-resort intent.
He broke into a staggering run, his feet falling unevenly against the hard ground as he ran towards them with as much speed as he could muster.
Seto rolled his eyes, looking on pitifully, "Obelisk, finish him", was the icy command from his mouth, and the monster followed the order without a moment's hesitation. The impact of the God's relentless attack sent Atsu flying as it hit the ground, missing him by inches; the pathetic magician soared through the air over Eshe's head, and she watched as the Puzzle slipped from his neck and fell, embedding itself into the soil a few feet ahead of Atem.
The tanned boy pushed himself up immediately, ignoring his aching muscles as he lurched forwards to pry his Puzzle from the soil, he hung it around his neck and the vital power of the pendant coursed through his body once more, he breathed a hard sigh, "Finally…"
Yugi and Seto called back their monsters, satisfied that without the crucial source of power, Atsu would be unable to do much more damage; they were visibly frazzled. Yugi slowly sunk to his knees as he let out a heaving sigh, while Seto's posture slumped - he was far less willing to show weakness.
The Millennium item was back where it belonged, and Eshe looked at her lover with pride; she took two steps towards him before the gravelly rasp of a pleading voice sounded behind her, and she froze, turning to look over her shoulder.
Atsu held onto the edge of the lava-filled gorge for dear life, his face the perfect picture of fear, eyes wide, jaw clenched as his muscles shook from the effort it took to hold himself up. Blood trickled from an abrasion on his forehead, trailing down the bridge of his nose and down to one side of his face, only serving to make him look more crazed. "Help", he choked out, teeth grinding together as he spoke.
Eshe bawled her fists, not moving from her spot, she stared hard at the green-eyed man hanging from the edge of the precipice, before glancing back over her shoulder at her friends who looked on indifferently. None of them were moving to help, and she didn't feel like lending a hand to the cruel man either.
"Please", Atsu hissed, jerking as he began to slip, shifting his grip in an effort not to slide off the edge.
"Why should I?" Eshe challenged, turning her nose up at him.
"You can't let me die", he gasped out, and Eshe's face scrunched up in distaste.
"You won't die", Eshe said flatly, "You can't die in this dimension, remember?" Rura had told her so, proven by the fact that after three-thousand years, he was still alive.
"That's worse", Atsu snivelled, "If you let me fall, I'll hit the lava, and I won't die", he hissed, "-the pain will never end!"
"Whose fault is that, huh?" Eshe sneered back at him, "You're in this mess because of you, Atsu." She sensed Atem approach behind her moments before his hand curled around her wrist, and she turned to face him, peering at him searchingly.
Atem's expression was unreadable, but the slight tug on her arm made her think that he was entirely unsympathetic to Atsu's situation and wanted to leave this dimension as soon as possible. Eshe didn't blame him, Atsu's endeavours had been truly dreadful and he had done some unforgivable things; he had forced Eshe to stab herself in the heart and partake against her will in his perfidious ritual to obtain power, and he had done so without a second thought to the lives of those around him. Atsu was a selfish being, and he did not deserve to be saved.
Yugi and Téa were the only ones of the group who seemed to contemplate the merits of saving the fiend, but none of her friends trusted the magician enough to try help him up, especially on the edge of a deep, fiery-filled canyon. Eshe didn't trust him either.
But she could never watch someone experience such a painful fate from her own inaction. She simply couldn't stand by and do nothing while another was doomed to face something that was far worse than death; she breathed a sigh and gave Atem an apprehensive look, stepping forward.
"Eshe", Atem's voice was alert and skeptical, but his hold on her wrist loosened, allowing her to make her own decision, despite whether or not he thought it was the right decision.
Eshe bit her lip, her loathing stare on the spineless man on the cliff edge; Atsu looked wretched and feeble, completely lacking in any form of pride - he was powerless in his state, having become completely void of energy from the raging battle beforehand.
Reluctantly, she reached for his arm and grunted as she pulled him up, quickly dropping him as soon as he was out of immediate danger - she didn't want to touch him for longer than she needed to. She brushed her hands together disdainfully, as if his skin was poisonous and she needed to get rid of the grime as hastily as she could. It was done, she'd helped him up, now she and her friends could leave.
Turning her back on him was a big mistake.
In the split-second she saw Atem's expression darken, she knew she'd made the wrong choice in showing compassion to their enemy; there was a scuffle behind her, and then arms circled her aggressively from behind, a dagger was pressed to her throat. Eshe stilled, wincing at the sting of the sharp blade as it cut thinly into the skin of her neck; the arm clamped around her middle locked her own arms to her sides and left her practically immobile, and the disgustingly amused sneer in her ear sent unpleasant shivers down her spine.
"What're you doing!?" Joey cried, his voice filled with anger.
"She just saved you!" Téa protested, eyes watery from rage.
Atem's expression was frighteningly blank, his eyes wide and unblinking as his dark gaze bored into Atsu's crazed face; his fists were clenched tightly at his sides and his brow was low set, overshadowing his deep purple irises.
Atsu gave a manic laugh, his grip around Eshe tightening as he pressed the blade harder against her throat; Eshe's face scrunched up in pain, her breaths short and panicked - if she could just reach into her pocket and pull out a monster card-
"If you love her, get on your knees and beg me not to hurt her", Atsu hissed, the tone of his voice so repulsively delighted; Eshe could smell the stench of his breath, and his words infuriated her.
For a moment, Atem didn't move, he just continued to stare, dangerously calm, at the profane man who had Eshe in his filthy clutches; Atsu moved his hand, poised to slit her throat.
Joey took a step forward, and Atsu turned his frantic gaze on the blond, "One more step and I'll cut her!" he cried, and Joey froze at the threat; Eshe's heart pounded, feeling like a helpless idiot for thinking that helping the villain wouldn't blow up in her face.
"On your knees!" Atsu snapped again, his demented glare returning to the tanned boy ahead.
Atem didn't take his silent, scathing gaze off of the man as he slowly sunk to his knees, arching his head up to hold his intimidating stare; Atsu's mouth formed a hysterical grin.
"Well, what are you waiting for? Beg me."
Atem's lips parted, "Let her go." His voice was deep and quiet, and Eshe looked at him remorsefully - it was the result of her own stupidity that had landed him in such a situation.
"I don't hear any begging, pharaoh!" Atsu's voice had a feverish, playful lilt to it, and Eshe watched Atem's jaw clench as he hesitated.
Atsu grinded his teeth together, "One last chance. Beg me to spare her - call me master, and I won't slit her throat - you have my word."
His word was worth nothing, but Atem swallowed thickly.
"Please", Atem forced out, "Let her go... master." The word rolled off his tongue like venom in the worst possible way, his lip pulled back it utmost abhorrence.
Eshe blinked back tears, ashamed that her actions had forced Atem to speak such unpalatable pleas against his will; she pinched her fingers in her pocket, pulling a card from her deck, trying to coerce it out without arousing Atsu's suspicion.
Atsu snickered, "Very good", he said, lowering the dagger, to Eshe's surprise, "I gave you my word, I won't slit her throat", the man spoke, his arm loosening around the girl. Eshe blinked rapidly a few times, a spark of hope alighting in her chest, and she moved to escape his hold.
The magician pulled her back, swinging her off the edge of the precipice.
With a scream, Eshe flailed, her hand jerking to grab ahold of the cliff-edge just in time, and stared up at Atsu, whose green eyes were orange with the reflection of the lava far below; the sickening, crooked smirk on his face growing as he raised his foot to stamp down on her hand.
In the blink of an eye, Atem tackled him off the edge, a fierce shout leaving his mouth as he and Atsu disappeared from Eshe's line of sight; Eshe held high the card in her hand.
"Alector, save him!"
A bright light, a flash of silver and red, and Eshe's friends appeared in her vision, reaching down to pull her up; she heard the sizzling of a body hit the lava, a piercing scream come to a sudden stop, and the strong beat of wings - she felt the breeze ruffle her hair as her friends dragged her up onto the solid ground, and looked wildly around for the monster she had summoned.
Alector's armoured feet touched down on the ground before her, Atem seized safely in his arms, and Eshe released the breath she was unaware she had been holding; the monster placed Atem down and the boy stumbled, falling to his knees, and before Eshe could fling herself at him, Téa's voice resonated with panic.
"I don't mean to alarm anyone, but I think the portal is disappearing!" she cried, pointing across the field where the distorted aperture was fluctuating frenetically.
"Run!" Tristan exclaimed, pulling Atem to his feet; the boy tripped and floundered as the taller boy dragged him while Eshe and the others set off after them in a sprint.
Atem got his bearings back, getting into the rhythm of running, and pulled back slightly so he could link his hand with Eshe's.
Seto and Mokuba jumped through the portal first, quickly followed by Yugi and Téa; the dimensional gateway began to shimmer in and out of existence and Eshe brought her feet down hard, pushing herself despite her burning lungs and aching legs. Joey and Tristan dived through as it flickered again, and Eshe's hand tightening around Atem's as she shut her eyes tight, and leaped with her lover, praying to every Egyptian God she knew.
Love overcomes all obstacles, and evil never wins.
Eshe blinked her eyes open, and for a sweet moment, she felt like she was home; lying beside the firm, warm body of her lover and breathing in his comforting scent on a cool Egyptian night, the gentle breeze flowing in from the balcony curtains sending a pleasant tingle down her spine, because she was not cold. The heat radiating off of Atem left her toasty and content, and she didn't want to move ever again.
Her vision sharpened, the blurriness fading, and she realised that she was not home, well, not home-home.
The dusty floor was hard and rough and moonlight shone through broken windows; they were sprawled on the ground of the abandoned warehouse, a place she was surprisingly elated to find herself in.
They had won.
They had defeated Atsu and escaped in time.
Atem's arm moved, circling around her and drawing her close, and she looked up to his face. There was no smile on his mouth quite yet, just pure exhaustion, his lips parted as he breathed hard from their sprint, and his eyes were half-lidded, nothing but yearning devotion in his gaze.
Eshe's throat grew tight.
"...You remember?" Atem breathed, and Eshe's eyes watered, knowing exactly what he was referring to. She nodded her head, shoving her face into his shoulder as she clinged tightly to the boy she loved.
She inhaled sharply as she began to sob immediately, "I never thought I'd hold you in my arms again", she cried, savouring the feeling of Atem pressed hard against her. There was no way to hold back the flood of tears, and Eshe knew all the others were probably watching her violent blubbering.
Atem gasped, his hand drawing up to tangle in her hair and cup her head affectionately, his cheek brushing the side of her head, "I'm sorry", he whispered, "I-I'm sorry."
"No, I'm sorry", Eshe cried, "I-I was selfish all those years ago, you saved the world and I acted like a child- I- I said horrible things when you were so brave, I told you I hated you and I- I'm sorry! I don't hate you, I don't-" she knew she was probably making Atem's shoulder uncomfortably wet with all her tears, but she couldn't stop the raw emotion pouring from every orifice on her face, "I love you… I love you."
"I know", Atem whispered, his voice strained like he was trying not to cry. "I love you too."
Eshe pulled away from him slightly, seeing her friends - all safe - watching her with varying degrees of sentiment on their faces. Except Seto. He rolled his eyes, shaking his head with minor exasperation.
The action caused a short, quick and hysterical laugh to escape her mouth, and she pressed her face down again, rubbing her wet face against Atem's shirt where a damp, dark patch had emerged.
"Eshe", Atem whispered, and she hiccuped.
"Mm?" she sniffed.
"We're alive", he told her softly, "-and we're together."
They were together.
It was all Eshe had prayed for since the day they had been forced apart.
The Gods had taken their time, sure, but they had delivered.
Notes: I'm sorry this chapter was a lot shorter than the previous ones, but I'm going to make the next one as long as I can and filled with some lovely moments, since it's technically the last FULL chapter. After that, there's an epilogue, and that's it. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you review, I will be SO grateful. I read and cherish every single review even if I don't always reply to them, so please do send them! :)