Chapter 37
The ghost opened his eyes in shock. This slight movement was all he had the strength for; but there was someone else in the room with him, and it wasn't his darker self. Then who could it...
The unknown figure was kneeling by his head. "Yami?" it whispered, leaning down. The ghost shifted, feebly. It could no longer remember who it was, nor the identity of this hauntingly familiar person. It had once know, a long time ago- or at least what seemed like a long time ago. Why bother with recall? Did it really matter?
Yugi watched in horror as Yami started to cough, with deep, shuddering motions. Something clinked near the wall. Reaching over Yami's back to try and support him, Yugi's hand brushed the object. It felt cold, hard, mettalic. He picked it up. It was a chain.
Following the heavy links with his fingers, Yugi percieved that they led from the wall to a metal collar fastened tight around Yami's neck. He yanked on it; it seemed strong enough to hold up a house.
"Yami... Who did this to you?" Yugi whispered to his companion, who was half curled up on his side, breathing heavily. At least, Yugi thought it was Yami. There was something wrong with him. Yugi put a hand out and gently shook Yami's shoulder. "Yami-"
Something dripped on his hand, the hand that was resting on the ground by his side, near Yami's head. Yugi lifted his forearm, inspecting the liquid. Something dark was trickling down the back of his wrist; something that looked suspiciously like blood. He looked back down at Yami, whose head was no longer facing him, but had turned to the ground as he was once again racked with a coughing fit.
Frozen with fear, Yugi grappled with Yami's heaving shoulders. "Yami!!" he shouted, urgently; could he be heard in the stillness and the dark? "Yami," he said, just as urgently, with less volume. "Yami, look at me."
Yami lifted his head in miniscule increments, with great effort. Yugi stared at him.
Who was this? Who was this, wild-eyed, hunted and afraid; broken and bleeding, who could this nightmarish, barely tangible being be? And why couldn't Yugi see himself in that face, as he had with the other in the corridor?
This couldn't be Yami. But then why did Yugi feel so close to him...
Yugi, limp with shock and horror, slowly let his arms fall to his sides. The body he had been supporting slumped heavily into Yugi's chest, and Yugi could hear the ghost's rasped breathing in his ear. The ghost had his left sleeve clenched in trembling fingers, as if it were the only lifeline it had left. There was a final, rapid heartbeat of recognition-
Yugi shoved the ghost away, with both hands. Its back struck the wall with a surprisingly solid impact, and it slid halfway back to the floor, managing to stop itself on one elbow. The chain scraped against the wall, rasping metallically.
Sobbing, Yugi buried his face in his hands. No, no, no! He couldn't have come all the way here for nothing but a Yami changed out and inwardly, and an empty shell in a darkened prison! Where was the strong, proud Yami he had known? How could seperation alter him this much?
The ghost watched him, with an unreadable expression on its face. Yugi couldn't look at it- How could he? It stood for all the things that Yugi had feared most; the weakness and frailness in himself, the failures and freefalls he had endured before Yami's arrival. All the insecurity, and daytime terrors, running rampant through his mind, finally summed up into the most cruel of all forms; a mocking echo of Yugi's only strength, made weak.
Yugi could stand it no longer. He reached up swiftly, evoking a small cry of surprise from the other's throat, and pushed the ghost's shoulders back into the wall; anger and disappointment combining to add force to the action. The ghost gasped, closing its eyes tight, but said nothing.
Pressing the ghost tight against the wall, Yugi screamed as loud as he could. Screamed until his throat ached and tears were soaking the ghost's ragged collar. Cried and cried, clenching the thin fabric and the ghost's thin shoulders beneath it; it flinched with the pain of Yugi's grip, but Yugi didn't relax his hold for a second.
The ghost felt nothing but confusion. A neutral state, but one enhanced by this stranger, whose emotions were alien and yet evocative of lost memories. A mass of contradictions swam through its mind. It wanted to be left alone, yet this situation begged its fractured attention span. There was no point in recall, yet there was something it had forgotten that was immensely crucial. Or was it? Had the reasons been lost, too? Its wrist throbbed, painfully.
Something briefly lit up the stranger's tear-stained face, then died.
Yug stopped crying, still shuddering and gasping with his face half buried in the ghost's shoulder. The link had flared again, emotions and imagery bursting like a ray of sunlight in his mind. He took one hand off the ghost and put it against his chest, trying to control himself. What was going on?
Breath quickening, Yugi reached down to where the source of the connection had emitted. His questing fingers encountered the cloth of the ghost's pocket.
Fumbling slightly, not wanting to alarm the prisoner more than he already had, Yugi slipped two fingers inbetween the folds of fabric and pulled out what felt like a small sliver of stone. He hefted its surprisingly heavy weight, touching it gently, rubbing the slim contours and delicate edges. At his touch, the shard seemed to give off a faint glow.
The ghost stared, wide-eyed. That light... Golden light...
"Yu... Yugi?"
Yugi started, almost dropping the shard. "Aah!!" He turned his head and regarded the prisoner, warily. That was the first time that he had heard the ghost's voice; it sounded dusty and unused. How long had it been here, sealed away in Yami's mind? Was this what had been hidden in the Stone Door chamber, all this time? Yugi wondered.
"Who are you?" Yugi asked, moving closer and gripping the shard in one hand. The ghost peered up at him, one eye obscured by the fall of his hair. "...I do not... remember..." it said, in a thin, barely audible voice. Yugi wiped salty traces from his cheek. "You aren't... Yami?" he pressed further, hope and apprehensiveness locked together in his eyes. The ghost hesitated, struggling with the words.
"...I...am...."
The stone in Yugi's hand had grown warm at the mention of Yami's name. Yugi looked at it, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. He held it in his palm, and rubbed it with his other hand. His reflection shone out of the black surface of the shard, and at the same time, a face appeared in the ghost's mind, clicking into place like the tumblers of an ancient lock.
"If you remember me... Maybe you'll remember everything else..." Yugi whispered, staring into the stone. The ghost's eyes deepened in volume, as if gathering information from an outside source. "This is the remnants of our connection, after all. If I can revive it, then maybe my memories will reflect in yours, somehow..." Yugi concentrated on the task, gripping the shard and trying to keep his hand steady.
Yami felt something blossom in his mind.
"You said your name!" Yugi cried, joyfully; neither of them knew what signifigance that carried, but all Yugi cared about now was getting Yami back to him. He looked at Yami's face, and saw himself reflected violet in twin eyes.
"Yugi..." Yami sighed, with the last of his breath. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the dry wall, the name he had uttered coating his mind with familiar images; once again in context, devoid of their shadows. He could hear Yugi beginning to cry again, and the sound was enough to make him open his eyes, once and briefly.
Yugi was laughing as his tears mixed matter with the dust on the floor. Yami's mouth lifted, slightly, in a smile, and then his energy gave out and he fell into a slumber absent of its usual haunts.
He slept.
The ghost opened his eyes in shock. This slight movement was all he had the strength for; but there was someone else in the room with him, and it wasn't his darker self. Then who could it...
The unknown figure was kneeling by his head. "Yami?" it whispered, leaning down. The ghost shifted, feebly. It could no longer remember who it was, nor the identity of this hauntingly familiar person. It had once know, a long time ago- or at least what seemed like a long time ago. Why bother with recall? Did it really matter?
Yugi watched in horror as Yami started to cough, with deep, shuddering motions. Something clinked near the wall. Reaching over Yami's back to try and support him, Yugi's hand brushed the object. It felt cold, hard, mettalic. He picked it up. It was a chain.
Following the heavy links with his fingers, Yugi percieved that they led from the wall to a metal collar fastened tight around Yami's neck. He yanked on it; it seemed strong enough to hold up a house.
"Yami... Who did this to you?" Yugi whispered to his companion, who was half curled up on his side, breathing heavily. At least, Yugi thought it was Yami. There was something wrong with him. Yugi put a hand out and gently shook Yami's shoulder. "Yami-"
Something dripped on his hand, the hand that was resting on the ground by his side, near Yami's head. Yugi lifted his forearm, inspecting the liquid. Something dark was trickling down the back of his wrist; something that looked suspiciously like blood. He looked back down at Yami, whose head was no longer facing him, but had turned to the ground as he was once again racked with a coughing fit.
Frozen with fear, Yugi grappled with Yami's heaving shoulders. "Yami!!" he shouted, urgently; could he be heard in the stillness and the dark? "Yami," he said, just as urgently, with less volume. "Yami, look at me."
Yami lifted his head in miniscule increments, with great effort. Yugi stared at him.
Who was this? Who was this, wild-eyed, hunted and afraid; broken and bleeding, who could this nightmarish, barely tangible being be? And why couldn't Yugi see himself in that face, as he had with the other in the corridor?
This couldn't be Yami. But then why did Yugi feel so close to him...
Yugi, limp with shock and horror, slowly let his arms fall to his sides. The body he had been supporting slumped heavily into Yugi's chest, and Yugi could hear the ghost's rasped breathing in his ear. The ghost had his left sleeve clenched in trembling fingers, as if it were the only lifeline it had left. There was a final, rapid heartbeat of recognition-
Yugi shoved the ghost away, with both hands. Its back struck the wall with a surprisingly solid impact, and it slid halfway back to the floor, managing to stop itself on one elbow. The chain scraped against the wall, rasping metallically.
Sobbing, Yugi buried his face in his hands. No, no, no! He couldn't have come all the way here for nothing but a Yami changed out and inwardly, and an empty shell in a darkened prison! Where was the strong, proud Yami he had known? How could seperation alter him this much?
The ghost watched him, with an unreadable expression on its face. Yugi couldn't look at it- How could he? It stood for all the things that Yugi had feared most; the weakness and frailness in himself, the failures and freefalls he had endured before Yami's arrival. All the insecurity, and daytime terrors, running rampant through his mind, finally summed up into the most cruel of all forms; a mocking echo of Yugi's only strength, made weak.
Yugi could stand it no longer. He reached up swiftly, evoking a small cry of surprise from the other's throat, and pushed the ghost's shoulders back into the wall; anger and disappointment combining to add force to the action. The ghost gasped, closing its eyes tight, but said nothing.
Pressing the ghost tight against the wall, Yugi screamed as loud as he could. Screamed until his throat ached and tears were soaking the ghost's ragged collar. Cried and cried, clenching the thin fabric and the ghost's thin shoulders beneath it; it flinched with the pain of Yugi's grip, but Yugi didn't relax his hold for a second.
The ghost felt nothing but confusion. A neutral state, but one enhanced by this stranger, whose emotions were alien and yet evocative of lost memories. A mass of contradictions swam through its mind. It wanted to be left alone, yet this situation begged its fractured attention span. There was no point in recall, yet there was something it had forgotten that was immensely crucial. Or was it? Had the reasons been lost, too? Its wrist throbbed, painfully.
Something briefly lit up the stranger's tear-stained face, then died.
Yug stopped crying, still shuddering and gasping with his face half buried in the ghost's shoulder. The link had flared again, emotions and imagery bursting like a ray of sunlight in his mind. He took one hand off the ghost and put it against his chest, trying to control himself. What was going on?
Breath quickening, Yugi reached down to where the source of the connection had emitted. His questing fingers encountered the cloth of the ghost's pocket.
Fumbling slightly, not wanting to alarm the prisoner more than he already had, Yugi slipped two fingers inbetween the folds of fabric and pulled out what felt like a small sliver of stone. He hefted its surprisingly heavy weight, touching it gently, rubbing the slim contours and delicate edges. At his touch, the shard seemed to give off a faint glow.
The ghost stared, wide-eyed. That light... Golden light...
"Yu... Yugi?"
Yugi started, almost dropping the shard. "Aah!!" He turned his head and regarded the prisoner, warily. That was the first time that he had heard the ghost's voice; it sounded dusty and unused. How long had it been here, sealed away in Yami's mind? Was this what had been hidden in the Stone Door chamber, all this time? Yugi wondered.
"Who are you?" Yugi asked, moving closer and gripping the shard in one hand. The ghost peered up at him, one eye obscured by the fall of his hair. "...I do not... remember..." it said, in a thin, barely audible voice. Yugi wiped salty traces from his cheek. "You aren't... Yami?" he pressed further, hope and apprehensiveness locked together in his eyes. The ghost hesitated, struggling with the words.
"...I...am...."
The stone in Yugi's hand had grown warm at the mention of Yami's name. Yugi looked at it, an idea suddenly forming in his mind. He held it in his palm, and rubbed it with his other hand. His reflection shone out of the black surface of the shard, and at the same time, a face appeared in the ghost's mind, clicking into place like the tumblers of an ancient lock.
"If you remember me... Maybe you'll remember everything else..." Yugi whispered, staring into the stone. The ghost's eyes deepened in volume, as if gathering information from an outside source. "This is the remnants of our connection, after all. If I can revive it, then maybe my memories will reflect in yours, somehow..." Yugi concentrated on the task, gripping the shard and trying to keep his hand steady.
Yami felt something blossom in his mind.
"You said your name!" Yugi cried, joyfully; neither of them knew what signifigance that carried, but all Yugi cared about now was getting Yami back to him. He looked at Yami's face, and saw himself reflected violet in twin eyes.
"Yugi..." Yami sighed, with the last of his breath. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the dry wall, the name he had uttered coating his mind with familiar images; once again in context, devoid of their shadows. He could hear Yugi beginning to cry again, and the sound was enough to make him open his eyes, once and briefly.
Yugi was laughing as his tears mixed matter with the dust on the floor. Yami's mouth lifted, slightly, in a smile, and then his energy gave out and he fell into a slumber absent of its usual haunts.
He slept.