"Then shall we test that theory?" Amethyst narrowed and lips lifted into a dark smirk as a flex of his hand caused the chains to tighten, digging into the siren's flesh to the point where blood trickled across his skin. One of his hands rose, lips parting to cast a spell, then froze as a soft sound reached his ears. The wind had slowly died and the thunder ebbed until it was only the falling rain that interrupted the otherwise heavy silence. A flick of a wrist caused a chain to wrap tightly around the sorcerer's mouth when he crowed about cowardice.

"One day, if these newly sprouted feelings resounded in your heart, will you share your strength with the one who sparked the heart's flame?…"

Just barely above a whisper was a song, but who was singing it? He had never heard this voice before. The heat within his veins flared when the sorcerer managed to free himself from the chains with a roar, lashing out with a tentacle and knocking Atem's right forearm that had risen to shield his face in time to block the blow. It was as he prepared to retaliate that another voice reached his ears.

"Holding up the light, I erase all my hesitation. What I wanted to give you was a future…the joyous warmth of day in harmony with the calm silence of night…" That was Yugi, his younger brother, no doubt about it, but it had been so long since the younger merman had sung that it caused Atem's being to fill with surprise.

Bakura hissed when the crimson began to recede from the merprince's eyes, their hue slowly returning to their normal amethyst with each passing second. "What's this? Where did all that confidence and beautiful vengeance go?" His tentacles launched forward, two around the torso while one found each wrist. "Need I remind you that I will do whatever it takes to claim that scale the human girl possesses?"

"You said it yourself," Atem growled, his gaze growing hard once more. "The one that you stole from her was not what you sought."

"Yes, the one she wore around her neck was not what I sought. Your scale proved to be most helpful earlier but it pales in comparison to what your mother's possesses. Now I know where my true treasure is hidden." His finger rose and formed the crisscross above the place where his own heart rested. "All I need do is consume the heart of that lowly human girl and I shall be imbued with the power that only the family line has known!"

Venom in the form of adrenaline flooded Atem as his eyes became dominated by crimson, even the whites were aglow with rage as he raised the hand holding the mass of magical energy above his head.

The voices unified, rising high and growing stronger with each note. "Knowing sadness, I came to know happiness. Weakness changes one, empowering all to seek strength naught for self gain but for those we hold dear…"

At the last second, the energy reformed into the chains and wound tighter around the sorcerer as a flash of bronze came from somewhere off to the side, the fog of hatred within his mind clearing just for a moment. Atem shifted his being so that instead of facing the fuming siren king he was gazing out towards the east where he had heard the voices coming from. Now he was beginning to recognize the female voice and it felt as though his breath was being stolen as her voice rang out across the water.

"My footprints across the sand slowly fade away with each cascading wave as each sorrowful tear that was shed is chased away by the golden sun, the rainbow of promise leading to a brighter tomorrow. With my hand and yours, our bond our own, we can go anywhere side by side as we shoulder this impure miracle…" a tear slipped down her cheek when she had caught sight of him looking in their direction; it was working! "I entrust these words which could never reach you. Those eyes I saw which haunted my dreams, what did they feel, what did they keep away from?..."

The darkened sky had cleared as the song went on, even the lightning and rain were disappearing as Yugi's voice joined hers, his bronze colored magical energy emitting from their joined hands in waves that brought warmth with each pulse. "If you would tell me the meaning of me being here, then I could always stay strong and unchanged…"

"Together our strength has grown but now it is time to let go, for each of us to find our way…" His body was covered in sweat, the amount of energy that he was exerting was pushing his limit but he too had seen the change come over Atem. There was no way he was going to give up now as he took the lead. "If I touch upon my false emotions, a reality warmer than anything will start to cloud up…Without hesitation, I'll open my eyes, I'll shake everything off, I'll reach out to touch the morning sun as these eyes of mine open wide to the wonders of the world!" An explosion of bronze blinded all, causing the chains confining Bakura to become thick and reinforced, while thin ribbons entwined themselves around Atem's form. There was more to the song but it has been too long since he had last heard it that Yugi could only focus upon staying conscious as Anzu asked if he was alright. "I'm p-peachy," he groaned, eyes rolling slightly as the mound of ribbons that contained his older brother slowly shrank. "If I pass out, you have my full permission to let go."

"You're just as nuts as your brother!" She shook her head. "I'm not letting go no matter what!"

"I actually appreciate that," he chuckled, his hand giving hers a brief squeeze. "Glad to know my big brother found someone…like you…"

A panicked shriek slipped up her throat as she tightened her hold, his weight suddenly doubling as he slipped into unconsciousness, the warm bronze light disappearing along with the smaller whirlpool that had been supporting Yugi. They were now suspended at least twenty feet in the air! If she dropped him, he could seriously get hurt! "No way am I letting go," she grunted, adjusting her hold and clenching her eyes shut, preventing her from witnessing a faint gold glow outline her figure. "Not a chance! You hear me, down there? I'm not going to let you fall!"

From the deep fathoms of the ocean, within the deepest trench known in the history book, rose a being that was more monstrous in size than even the sorcerer, the full moon above casting its pale light upon their glittering scales that looked to be made of stardust and hair as fine as silver that cascaded over their shoulders in waves that ended in sea foam. Lashes longer than the tail of a falling star fluttered then opened, revealing duo colored eyes where the endless sky was within the left and the bottomless sea within the right. How long had it been since she'd been conscious? Her limbs protested as she stretched, perhaps a bit too long, and she wanted nothing more than to since back into blissful dreams as the lingering sleep threatened to claim her but one thing had to be addressed before that: the song that was dripping with so much magical power that it had forced her to rise. The raging waters calmed as her hand rested upon its surface then gently collected the prince's within her palms as she regarded the sorcerer for a moment, who had fallen silent and still, then turned her full attention upon the girl who gazed up at her in awe. "You do not fear me, child of man, be you courageous or possibly dumb?"

I got a lot of inspiration for the song from "Oath Sign" by LiSA but put a few tweaks here and there.