Mana's eyes flashed brightly in anger as the intruder disappeared through the window, leaving a trail of crimson forming ribbons in the water. She had arrived in time to hear most of their conversation but the blasted barrier that King Solomon had ordered to be placed provided a more effective barricade than she liked to admit. The true Lady Ishizu had arrived just before the siren's had infiltrated the palace, bringing with her news that someone had attacked and drained her magical energy. "Atem, swear to me that you don't believe a single word she said!" Mana grabbed him by the shoulders, slightly shaking him. "I don't care what promises she made you, do not think for a second that any of them will help you!"

"Then were they true?" His amethyst bore into her onyx as if begging for her to affirm that what the eel-woman had said was false or not. "Tell me what words were false!"

Her head slowly lowered until her coiled tresses cast a shadow over her face.

"I need to hear you say it…" his voice shook as he reached up and clasped her hands tightly within his own. "You've known me for my whole life, Mana, you are like family to Yugi and I, and right now…I need to know what's fable and what's truth."

She felt her resolve dwindle as his being trembled. Never had she known him to be so overcome with emotions so for her to personally witness this incredibly rare display portrayed his desperation for understanding. There was one thing she had to know of first before she said anything else. "Yes, you saved a human from drowning twice and have grown bonded with her, I have no problem with either," she began. "But tell me the truth…Atem, did she see you?"

"I was especially careful that she didn't," his hand rose to cover her eyes for a brief moment. "That's exactly what I did whenever we were face to face and I honestly believe that she never saw my appearance."

She couldn't hear any hint of a lie and there was none to be found within his voice or eyes. He had always been honest, at least with her, so there had been no doubt that he would tell her the truth upfront. It made this decision all the more easier. Reaching into one of the many pouches hanging from the belt around her waist, she handed him a single opal. "Take this with you when you go." Her hands came together in a clap as the magical energy within her tail rippled, the chant she had used earlier to enter the space causing the barrier to ripple. "What she said was true, Atem, the Sea Warlock does have the power to send you above but he will not bestow the power without a price! Take what you can and pray that something will meet his criteria!"

He nodded and snatched up as many of the precious treasures he kept within his chamber, shoving them within a satchel and securing the straps across his chest with a tug to ensure the buckles were secure. "How am I supposed to find him?"

"That opal will help me keep tabs on your location!" She flinched as the barrier attempted to reestablish itself. "The sirens should still be nearby so hurry and they will take you to him!" The hesitation coming off of him was near agonizing. Why was he still here?! Why wasn't he leaving?! The answer was there, right in front of her face. He wasn't afraid of meeting the single most powerful being in all of the ocean that rivaled King Solomon himself…he was afraid that this would be the last time he would see this place and its people. "Don't worry about anyone but yourself for now! You have to do this for you and not anyone else! The answers you have searched for ever since you were young are within your grasp now, Atem, you have to take this opportunity or you will never come to peace with what happened! Your night terrors will never cease and Yugi will never stop clinging to you in desperation! Even siblings have to eventually separate for each other to develop their own sense of being and even your temporary time away from him has done you both good!" Emotion formed a lump in her throat as she turned her head so their gazes could meet. "I can't tell you how proud I am of the mermen you both have become, but I want you both to find the lives you were meant to lead even if its away from this place."

"You have to go!"

Atem's breath caught as he spotted a figure on the other side of the barrier, large lavender eyes swimming with emotion. "Y-Yugi?"

He nodded. "I'll be fine so just go! I know how much you've been looking for those answers and now you're about to throw that away!" Yugi rested his hand against the barrier as the golden tailed merman moved to be directly in front of him so that it was as if they were looking into a mirror. "Our whole lives you've protected me to the best of your ability and have tried to teach me lessons, but that can only accomplish so much. I have to learn on my own! You can't limit yourself to being my shield when you have your own life to live!" His shoulders quaked as he fought to contain a sob. "It's going to hurt, a lot, but you have to go. We'll always be brothers and our bond will never be broken."

"B-but-"

"No! Stop being so selfless for once in your life and do something you want to do! I saw the expression on your face when we were watching her dance, I saw the guilt you carried when you saved her from drowning and saw how her legs were nearly destroyed, I could even see how much you missed her when you came back! Why I didn't realize it sooner was because…because I was jealous! For the first time you were focused upon someone other than me and I was selfish!" His head hung with shame. "Then I saw the way you were admiring her statue. I had never seen you look so gentle and happy at the same time. And then you confessed to saving her from a siren hunting party while fighting back against gramps." His eyes met Atem's amethyst. "I believe what you said was true, that you…love her…and I'm sorry that we haven't been supportive. Our grandfather is so set in his ways that I doubt he will ever come around but I could have helped you if I had gotten over my own selfish wants. It's time I make up for it! I may be powerless to turn back time so that you didn't have to spend four months within this solitary confinement but I can help you escape!"

Mana's eyes widened as the slit she had opened near the window became entwined with bronze tendrils of magical energy struggling to force the violet apart. "It's now or never, Atem!"

"I can't just leave you here!"

"You can and you will!" They chorused, their hands sweeping in unison and causing a wave of energy to combine then send him through the opening.

Lithe arms wrapped around him from behind as he entered the open water. "My, my, little prince, you've kept me waiting for quite a long time." He fell into darkness as her hand fell over his eyes, slipping into unconsciousness as she pierced the flesh of his shoulder with her fangs, the small dose of venom carrying him into the realm of dreams.

. . . .

"Welcome back, my precious!" The Sea Warlock, king of the sirens, readily embraced the female as she met his chest. His hands trailed down her body, earning soft mews as he settled back onto his throne with her upon his lap. "You were away for so long that I thought you had failed but I see that I was foolish not to believe in your skills more."

She cooed softly. "Shame on you, my king, I would never dream of displeasing you." A wave of her hand brought a single black pearl from within her cloak. It was tossed, bouncing across the rock with the gaze of all present following, and in a bright flash of green it became the unconscious form of the eldest prince. "See for yourself." A collective hiss rose from the surrounding siren's as the golden tail twitched when she negated the spell that had kept him asleep. "Rise, little prince, there is someone anxiously awaiting to meet you."

Amethyst opened with a gasp, alarm filling them as he raised his head. Darkness was everywhere he looked save for the little orb of light above his head. It was too weak to illuminate the figures that were hissing at him or the sources of the burning eyes that were staring down on him. He was completely surrounded. The panicked heart hammering within his chest was threatening to deafen him but a few deep breaths caused it to calm just enough for him to regain his bearings. Yugi and Mana had helped him escape from the Bubble of Confinement, which meant that now… His eyes rose from the rock beneath as the eel siren called out to him. A tremor of fear slipped down his spine when he spotted her lounging upon a throne high above him, a pair of cold black eyes locked upon him as if he were prey.

The shadows concealed the being behind her but the immense magical pressure coming from them was near suffocating. "It appears that our visitor is speechless. Tell me, am I truly impressive to behold?" Silence fell as the merprince visibly shook himself. This voice held the weight of power unimaginable but also caused his mind to empty of all thought until there was nothing but fear. "It is disrespectful to not answer a question asked by the one you have journeyed very far to visit. Perhaps you do not require my services?"

Atem swallowed his fear and bent his head in respect. "Forgive my rudeness, I did not mean disrespect. You are much more than the rumors portray that I was beside myself in awe."

Cho'yun nodded approvingly as her king howled with laughter. "It seems that you are well versed when it comes to flattery, little prince."

"My precious, you'll be tended to once our business is concluded." Disgust rose in the back of Atem's throat but he kept his head bent but before he could voice why he had agreed to come, the Sea Warlock had him by the throat. Black eyes as bottomless as the ocean's depths caused ice to seep into his veins the longer their gazes held but he could not bring himself to look away. The King of Sirens had surprisingly tanned skin, darker than his own, but the long white hair that was as long as his being made it near impossible to see the figure underneath. Pointed teeth flashed from between sneering lips. "What is it you want with me? I don't know how to assist if you don't tell me."

In that moment he wanted the Sea Warlock to release his throat but Atem wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of knowing he was struggling. "I was told that you have the power to send me to the surface." He gasped as the hand around his throat threw him to the floor where he lay gasping.

"And why would you want to go up there?" He moved away, causing the merprince to nearly balk at the siren king's size. The Sea Warlock was nearly twice the size of his grandfather! "Perhaps you wish to get away from the pressures of being the next to assume the throne? Or is it that clingy younger brother who is constantly hiding within your shadow?" A wave of his hand conjured a small cloud of magical residue and from within it came a piece of stone that caused Atem's breath to stall. "Then again, it may be that precious human female you've grown attached to."

Longing rose within his throat as the piece of marble slowly rotated. It was the severed head of the statue. He had thought it had been blown to smithereens, even Yugi hadn't managed to find a sliver of the once breathtaking artwork, and every cell within his being screamed to snatch it from the sneering adversary but he remained where he was.

The siren king was slightly surprised at the willpower the young merprince showcased. "You have strength enough to rival the Anima Vinculum? That is quite the feat, I must confess. Your thread of fate has you within a tight knot that most would cave into the yearning and succumbed to the rejection."

Atem blinked, amethyst eyes widening slightly. "What do you mean?"

"When the formation of the Ainma Vinculum occurs, the parties involved have little say in the matter; most are forced to answer it whether the opposite party is of their choice or not. You have bonded with a human, meaning that the magical energy that you are providing the thread isn't being returned by her own. The strain upon you much be tremendous yet here you are ignoring your own suffering for the chance of finding the answers to the question unrelated to the supposed sin you committed." A snap of his fingers caused the marble within his hand to float upwards until it came to a rest within Cho'yun's hands. "You have my attention, prince, what is it that you desire? I, Bakura, the King of Sirens and the Sea Warlock, am curious as to why you have come before me."

Amethyst hardened as his spine stiffened. It was now or never. "I want to be sent up to the surface so as to discover what had caused my parents their lives and the kingdom that I once called home. I was told that it is within your power."

"You are correct, but I warn you that my prices are high." His brows raised as the merman hurriedly offered the contents within the satchel he had, revealing numerous gems and treasures that had belonged to the royal line of father merfolk, but he was after a much bigger prize. He almost felt sorry for the poor prince as he declined each offering one after the other. "I have plenty of precious stones and decorative pieces. Those do not interest me in the slightest."

Alarm filled the golden tailed prince as the siren king circled him like a predator. Nothing he had brought interested him? His gaze slowly drifted downwards to his lower torso, following the gaze of the towering monarch. "You want my scales?"

"No amount of those scales would even come close to completely covering even one of my impressive tentacles." The sirens howled with laughter at the atrocious assumption. Silence fell again when Bakura approached, cupping Atem's chin within his icy palm. "No, what I want from you is this." His fingernail tapped against the prince's throat. "I want your voice."

Now he was even more confused. All he had to give up was his voice? The scales would have been a more understandable price to demand since they were coveted by all who saw them but his voice? Never in his life had he sung a single note so as far as Atem knew he had no singing potential but it was by no means any more special than anyone else's. This seemed too easy.

"I see you're confused, but do not despair. Though you won't be capable of speaking there are still other ways you can communicate." Atem bristled when Bakura disappeared then reappeared directly behind him, hands grasping onto his arms and forcing them to fold behind his head. "You forget about body language." He held up his hands as the merprince wrenched out of his hold, glaring daggers while shaking away the lingering chill left behind by the siren king's touch. "Does my generosity displease you? Perhaps I should skin your tail instead and make myself a new wardrobe piece from your scales."

He definitely didn't want that. "I agree to your terms."

A collective roar rose from the sirens as their king grinned. "Then prepare yourself, Prince Atem, for you are about to witness true magic!"