Atem's amethyst eyes glanced over his shoulder as a battle cry sounded, narrowing when he spotted its source turn its full attention upon them, his arms wrapping protectively around Anzu when she sat upright. "We can't stay here." So she too had seen the goddess' furious gaze lock on them.

"I will not leave you here," his forehead met her own briefly. "I know now that I am strongest when you are with me, Anzu, and I also know that you will follow without thought of your own safety no matter the danger."

"You know it." She hummed softly, wracking her brain for any sort of idea that might help them and then suddenly smiled. "You are fastest when you are in the water, right?"

It took a moment for him to follow, a few seconds to be precise, but his head bobbed in a nod and turned around as she slid her arms around his neck. Her hold remained slack as they entered the water, the subtle glow of his tail lighting their way just enough so that they could see well enough not to impact anything as the goddess pursued. The towering gates that had kept the loch hidden and private was now gone thanks to her but that also made it easier for them to slip out into the ocean.

Alarm filled him when two figures appeared on either side of him. An ambush! He dove, spiraling through the water to dodge the spells that were launched, rising back to the surface once he had cast one of his own that impacted one of the sirens in the chest. "Anzu, are you alright?"

"If you have to fight in the water, that's fine by me, just tell me when before you do! I've had lots of years training my lungs to sustain water pressure so I can perform underwater ballets. Just focus upon fighting!" She sputtered, brows furrowing as the stunned siren recovered and delivered a firm kick to its face when it attempted to attack them again. "Take that, you scaly freak of nature!"

The second rose from the water as his instincts screamed in warning but even he couldn't move away fast enough away as the attack connected.

Anzu flinched, a sharp shout of pain rising from her throat as something struck her back, causing the cloth to tear and reveal the pale skin underneath slowly begin to weep beads of blood from the fresh wounds. The scent of blood caused the merman beneath her to stiffen, the back of his throat burning with the taste of copper as if his own blood had been spilt. "I'm okay," she whispered lowly into his ear as they were backed into a cluster of rocks. The last thing they needed was for his anger to take control of him as it had before. "It's just a scratch."

Crimson eyes shifted in her direction so quickly that she was nearly taken aback by the sheer intensity of his gaze. They were calm, despite the hidden blaze of anger within their shifting depths, as they rose up into the air to dodge another attack. Her worry of the goddess regaining control over Atem was put to rest when his hand rose to rest atop of her head then drift downward to cover her eyes. "It would be best if you not watch this so I am asking for you to look away just this one last time." The darkness within his voice caused the fine hairs across her body to stand upright.

"Promise me that you won't let your anger get out of hand."

"What I am feeling right now is beyond that," he hissed, maneuvering so that his tail impacted with the pair of sirens that had risen up out of the water after them, earning howls of pain as they were sent back to the water below with a resounding whack. "I am livid!"

A low purr resounded within his ear, the voice of the goddess unmistakable, as she whispered that he should not fight the creeping darkness that caressed his consciousness. "They dared to harm your beloved, yet you will do nothing about it? What does that say about you, little prince?" His exhale came out as a hiss from between his clenched teeth as the sirens came in for another attack.

Anzu felt her blood run cold as a sickening smirk raised his lips, those crimson eyes of his blazing with something that she'd never thought possible: the desire to kill. This was nothing like what happened when he transformed through his rage alone, something was pushing him now. Was it the Ainma Vinculum at work? A sharp jolt to her heart told her that it was not as his scales vibrated with violet power, their golden luster giving way to a red that matched the tips of his hair.

"Why the hesitation?" The goddess's smirk filled his mind as his breath rose and fell rapidly in gasps. "They deserve your punishment for the sin they committed…lash out…spill their blood…kill them…"

Tremors quaked his body as what felt like her fingers cupped his face.

"Kill them!"

"NO!" She was almost dislodged when he suddenly reared back in response to the fierce bite she delivered to his shoulder, making a mental note to definitely apologize for that later, and held on for dear life as he began to thrash. One hand grabbed hold of his hair while the other lashed out in time to knock the sirens back with a right hook that had everything she could muster. They probably weren't expecting her to fight back but no way was she just going to roll over without a fight. "I won't let you kill them!" She tightened her hold for a moment, causing him to freeze as his head was forced back far enough that her breath reached his ear. "I know you're angry, I am too, but I'm not about to sit back and let you stain your hands in blood."

He almost couldn't hear her over the pounding in his ears. The raging instinct within him demanded that they be punished for spilling the blood of his soulmate but the way those deep cerulean pools of hers glistened with unshed tears while gazing into his was calming the burning thirsty the back of his throat. As if she was life giving water itself, the darkness and crimson bloodlust slowly ebbed with each stroke of her thumb against his cheek.

Anzu slowly released the breath she had been unconsciously holding as his body released, the crimson receding from his eyes and the violet of his scales lightening until they had returned to their golden hue. She shook her head when his lips parted. "You don't have to explain, I think I understand. It's easy to lose yourself when someone you care about is harmed right in front of you but," her tone grew hard, giving his hair a tug. "That gives you no reason to go and do something so horrible as…as murder. I don't ever want to see your face like that again, Atem, do you hear me?" Her bottom lip quivered. "It felt as though you were suddenly out of my reach and then I saw the expression you were wearing…"

His heart gave a lurch when her head fell forward, their foreheads meeting, and a warm droplet met his skin. "I am sorry that you were so frightened," he whispered lowly, suppressing a flinch when her legs gave him a squeeze. "Forgive me, Anzu." Amethyst slid closed as he waited patiently for her to released his head, not caring the slightest that it took nearly a minute before her fingers finally allowed the strands they held captive to slip free of their grasp.

"Something was weird about those two though," she sniffled, raising her head while wiping her tears away with a swipe. "they weren't acting right and their eyes were unfocused the whole time."

It was true. Their motions had been near autonomous, reminding him of the robotic maid that had paid his suite a visit during his stay on land, which was very odd indeed. He took a deep breath through his nose while removing his hand from her eyes and rested it upon her arms that were wound around his neck as she relaxed her hold. "I swear to you that I shall not slay them," he whispered. "But I do not know how long I can last if more happen to show."

"Then it's a good thing we're here." Atem's eyes instantly dimmed back to their natural amethyst as they met lavender. Yugi rested a hand upon his shoulder for a moment, their gazes locked for several seconds until he blinked, his eyes growing wide. "Something happened between you two!"

Anzu's fair cheeks burned brightly as Mahad inquired if what they had discussed had been helpful. Her eyebrows rose as heat flared from where her skin met Atem's tanned own, as if he too were blushing, and teasingly tapped a fingertip against the cluster of scales she had discovered. "Something like that," she giggled when he gave a startle, quickly donning an expression of innocence when he shot her a glance that asked for the reason for the motion as Yugi's eyes moved up to meet her cerulean. "But I think our prince here is finally ready to take off the training wheels." She waved her hands when the four merfolk tilted their heads in confusion. "It's an expression- oh, never mind."

"It means," Atem reached up, cupping her cheek within the palm of his hand. "That I am no longer going to be holding back my true strength. I understand now that self control is a skill necessary in many things but there are times when it is best to simply 'let loose', as the humans say." He winked and withdrew his hand, refocusing upon the trio who watched them in stunned silence.

Mahad was astonished but incredibly happy for the eldest merprince. "Well done, Anzu, I see you have accomplished much." He held out his hand to her. She blinked in surprise at the gesture but quickly reached out to return it…bypassing the offered hand and instead grasping onto his forearm. Mana and Yugi's eyes widened. That was the formal greeting known in the kingdom that once belonged to the late king who was the twins's father.

Atem though looked unfazed as they separated and pressed his lips against her arm in a quick peck as she resettled. Knowing that they had been friends as children was bringing light to many things that she often did, whether Anzu was conscious of them or not, and it explained why he had found himself so comfortable with her. Instincts flared in warning as the water around them bubbled. His eyes widened as a shape appeared from below, faintly illuminated for a moment by a ray of moonlight, and turned his wide gaze to the sky as they were thrown up into the air by a geyser.

"So that is where you were hiding!" They grunted in unison as a hand snatched them from the water, the icy temperature of its skin causing both to shiver. The goddess lifted them until her anger filled eyes met theirs. "Unlucky for you, child of man, that stunt of yours only resulted in the destruction of your own home and nothing more."

Cerulean widened. "He survived that explosion?!"

The lips of the ethereal being twitched as she snarled lowly. "You honestly think that something like that could kill an immortal such as himself?"

Power flared within Atem when a large finger attempted to remove Anzu, amethyst shifting to crimson as his golden tail pulsed with heat. A consciousness brushed against his own but he forced it back, thinking it was she attempting to regain control over him. It reached out to him again as the goddess's nail wedged between their bodies and it was that moment that he realized just who -more precisely what- was probing his mind.

Anzu tightened her hold as a creature rose from the water, its size rivaling that of the goddess who recoiled in shock. Cerulean flashed for a moment in fear, its brief seizure of her heart felt also by Atem who turned to wrap an arm around her protectively when they were dropped, and a scream slipped up her throat as they plunged back down into the sea. She clung to him as they surfaced but by then her form was trembling from the adrenaline combined with a dangerous dose of terror. His other arm wrapped around her when she failed to form words, concern taking root within his chest as she pointed upwards. "That…" she whimpered, her hand shaking until his own grasped it. "…I know that thing…that's Leviathan…"

Now he was shocked. He listened closely as she recounted the legends she had read and studied relating to the monster, finding them not so different from their own, and rested her head against his chest as she clung to him in fear when its sharp eyes slipped from the goddess to lock on them instead. It was now or never to see just what he could do. "Anzu," he whispered. "I will be going into battle now." She nodded, giving full permission and acceptance, stilling as one of his hands tucked her head under his chin so that her eyes were covered. He extended a hand towards the mighty beast as the consciousness brushed against his once more. A violet outline appeared around his form as it reared back its mighty head when his consciousness took hold of its own. "I am Atem, eldest prince of Atlantis! I will not allow you lay a hand upon my intended!"

The goddess's eyes widened in shock as the monster intervened when she made to snatch up her prey. "You fiend! You dare bare your fangs against me?!" Lightning forked across the sky as she spread her arms wide. "Otogibanashi saigo no peeji wa, Kakikaerarete higeki ni kawari…" Thunder erupted, shaking the very earth as the water foamed then rose in spiraling twisters that promised to shred anything that came into contact with them. "Tatta hitotsu shinjiteta Hito no kokoro sae mo miushinau!"

Darkness whispered into his ear in the form of a soft hiss, tendrils of black creeping along the edges of his vision as the rage that had caused him to grow in size to match the goddess threatened to consume him again. "Ai mo yume mo marude…" A power filled masculine baritone countered, the twisters that had been too close to his liking dissipating in the blink of an eye as his burning crimson eyes locked on each in turn. Atem trembled as searing heat crept up his chest, magnifying his voice as he attempted to rein in the anger. "Suna no oshiro mitai na no!"

Her eyes widened, the rage within her chest swirling darkly. "Wretched child! I no longer require your existence nor do I want you as my plaything any longer so begone from my sight!"

"As the ancient guardian to the first of the Atlantis bloodline, I will not allow you to bring harm to its heir." Leviathan's mighty voice, a combination of baritone and tenor, rang as if a bell had been struck, causing the goddess to flinch backward and away as the notes burned her skin.

"Curse you, snake, I will not allow you to come between me and my prey!" She dodged swiftly as the fins of the Leviathan lashed out, crossing her arms protectively when they came to a halt upon the barrier she projected. "Hakanaku kowarete yuku no yo… Sore o nozomanakutatte…"