A/N: So... I hope you like this one! The last few have been so beautifully sweet... XD
Atem
Life really is incredible. You think you have it figured out, then something unexpected happens. One day you're feeding off sinful lust, enjoying your fill, and the next you are swept away by fate as if caught in the tide.
For me, that tide is Yugi. He draws me in directions I never thought I would go. He's teaching me things about myself I didn't think were things to learn. He sees me in a light I didn't imagine possible and forgives the unforgivable.
He leaves me breathless, wordless and in complete awe of him. Even as he sleeps so soundly, exhausted from the energy he's been forced to use.
The claw marks I left him are still rather deep. The ones on his shoulders and upper spine are little more than shallow scratches now. The bite marks on his neck and top of his shoulder are gone, leaving only a red ring where they used to be.
But his lower spine and hips? I'm afraid I was unable to finish healing him. The half healed wound may scar if I allow it to heal on its own, and the claw impressions on his hip will most definitely without attention.
But I cannot heal him anymore. I cannot bring myself to. Hearing his pain, feeling his distress, being the cause of it even if it is for his sake… I just cannot bear to hear it. His muffled screams, the way he'd shake and whimper and cry…
What is wrong with me? There was a time not too long ago that I would draw pleasure from hearing those sounds. They would enjoy the pain I would inflict on them and I would take such delight from it.
But Yugi? It sickens me to hear him scream in pain because of me.
He sighs softly and rolls his shoulders before settling back down again. His hand is tightly curled around my shirt and a sweet smile graces his beautiful features. His soul glows serenely, dancing to a slow rhythm in time with his gentle breathing.
5000 years I have drawn breath. Never have I ever felt this strongly for anything. Mana… she will always be incredibly close to my heart but she is a beautiful memory wrapped in nothing more than pain and heartache.
Strange… I think I actually miss her. I wish I could introduce them. She would have loved Yugi… perhaps more than me.
I draw a sharp breath, pushing back the memory of her smile before it can hurt too much. Quietly and carefully I slip into shadow, leaving Yugi my shirt to snuggle with so I might move freely.
In this form I can feel the energy of the spells and wards I placed the last time I was here. They're still strong. That is good. Yugi will be protected so long as they hold.
I quickly span through his apartment, feeling my way around in the darkness freely to find a notebook. Upon one of its pages I burn the words: I love you my light. Do not fear, I have left to check on Dionysus. I shall return in the morning. I hope you have slept well. Love, your sweet prince of sin.
I feel warm for the pet name he gave me. I do not see myself as a prince of sin but I admit I feel a certain affinity for it. It is cute.
Fondly I leave the book beside him upon my shirt. I desire to pet his hair, to snuggle in amongst him, to drape myself over him to feel his warmth touch every inch of my form - but I do not desire to wake him. I know he loves me - but I am not ready for him to see me like this.
Yugi
Stretching feels good but god does my body hate me right now. My muscles are aching and they shake involuntarily but when I can relax I feel much better.
It's morning. Early morning.
I look around but I don't see Atem. I find his shirt though crumpled beside me and a note book upon it. I lean over to touch my lamp and read the sweetest words upon it. I don't know what he used to write it though, it wasn't a pen… it kind of looks like scorch marks. But it's okay. He's coming back.
Fondly I trace the lettering, hovering over 'light'. I love that he calls me that. It feels warm and comforting. I feel at home when he says it - and that alone makes me feel so powerful and alive.
With a happy little smile I spring out of bed, full of energy and vitality. I check my back in the mirror first and I'm surprised at how cleanly my upper half is healed. It's so smooth and flawless like I was never injured, save for the redness around my shoulderblades. My lower still looks more painful than it feels though but I don't even care. I'll be fine. I'm sure it'll look better after a shower.
The time is 4:24… I wonder when Atem will come back. He said the morning but that could mean a decent time. I could call him …
My front door rasps quickly, startling me to almost dropping my phone. That wouldn't be him… would it?
They knock again. Surely if he left earlier he'd have gone back home or something rather than wake me, but if it is him oh well.
"I'm coming. I'm coming." The first shirt I can manage is his… curiously it's still buttoned… That's weird. Does that mean he did it back up before he left? Why?
Does that mean he left shirtless?! He might have had a singlet on …
Another knock, even more furious.
"I'M COMING!" I shout. I unbutton it quickly and throw it on but I don't bother doing it up. Whoever is visiting is in too much of a rush.
I don't think it's Atem. He'd surely have called or something first.
Hastily I open the door and I'm surprised to be met with Ryou. He looks wide eyed and flustered as he breathes an air of relief.
"Ryou?"
"I've been looking for you." He sighs.
I don't understand… "At 4 am?"
"Yeah… can I come in?"
Like I'd say no? "Of course, come in. What's wrong?" I ask him as he happily passes me.
"I just haven't been able to get a hold of you. I was worried."
"Why did you need to get a hold of me? What's wrong?" I ask him again, following him further in. He looks around, rubbing his hands together from the cold. My heart is racing with anxiety. I'm worried something happened to Marik maybe, or something? I don't know. What the hell else would bring him here this early? "Ryou?"
"Is it just us?" He asks.
"Yes?"
A beat of silence follows and my skin crawls. I don't like how frightened I suddenly feel. He's my best friend but something is wrong.
"Perfect."
His voice purrs the word and his body relaxes. A sinister darkness seems to cloud the room as he turns to face me. I breathe in a sharp intake of cold air upon seeing his eyes, once a beautiful brown now completely black like an endless void. A smirk curls his lips and in the blink of an eye he appears before me with a hand to my throat.
I grab at his arm but his fingers are digging into my throat and I am easily lifted off the ground. I can't breathe!
"Ry-ou… I -"
"He is all over you." His voice is like a sirens' whisper: cold and alluring at the same time. His eyes look over every inch of me while I struggle and try my hardest to break free. The room is quickly darkening, but I'm not sure if that's my vision blurring or not.
He leans in close to sniff and smell around my face, his head twitching and jerking creepily. "I saw you with him and I traced him back here to you. I'd hoped he'd be here … but hearing you scream his name will be all the more sweet."
"Who… are…. You?" I manage to squeeze out before his grasp tightens. This can't be Ryou. It can't be.
"That does not matter… more importantly… who are you?"
He lets me go and I fall to the ground, clutching at my throat as air assaults my lungs. I cough and spatter, holding onto the floor for dear life as blood floods my brain. I feel dizzy and faint, and the world is rushing back to me too fast. I'm aware of his daring steps though, slow and deliberate nearby; as if stalking it's cornered prey.
He crouches near me and tilts my head up to face him with a single finger. I hate how black his eyes are, how they shine from nothing. I hate how his lips curl and his pearly white teeth show. A smile that is not my friends.
"You are something else. I can see how bright you burn. No wonder you caught his attention." He muses. I hate how his voice sounds like his, but there's a certain husk to it and a stronger emphasis on his accent. I don't know if it's him or someone looking like him.
He must be a demon… right? Or something? Black eyes… he can't be an angel can he? What if they found me!?
"Your soul is restless. Striking fear in you is easy. How fun you are."
He leans forward, almost pressing his lips to my ear. I feel his cold breath down my neck and it makes me freeze. My entire body is seizing.
"Are you his little plaything? Is that why his scent is all over you?"
He grabs me by the back of my hair and pulls me roughly through my house. He drags me along the floor, lifts me in the air and slams me against my dining room table. It rattles and shakes and my back is stinging again where Atem didn't heal me.
Quickly and without thinking I rush to get up but before I can barely kick myself free I am pinned to the table and unable to move. My arms, my legs and even my head feel as if they are weighed down by a thousand tonnes and it is impossible to break free. I can't move!
"Who are you?!" I scream at him and he snickers quietly.
"Will that help you to know who I am?" He asks as he begins to circle the table, kicking aside my chairs violently. He stopped somewhere behind me and I can't see him.
I'm scared. I'm so scared! I've never been in this kind of situation before, what do I do? I can't run, I can't call for help - I can't even fight back. I can't move!
Atem! I pray desperately he can somehow sense my fear. I don't even know if he can but please, I need help!
"It is sweet he has tried to protect his new muse. Thanks to his wards and spells, finding his nest was harder than it should have been. Shame though, he cannot hide his scent over this city - and least of all off you." He says softly again. He slowly comes back into view holding a half wilted flower. My flower cart is still behind me, he must have picked it from there.
"Really, he has been careless of late. Two years I've followed him and every time he has evaded me. Until now."
He's talking about Atem. He must be. But why? Who is this guy? Is he from hell too? Atem said something about fleeing Hell, is it from this guy?
If I could scream I would have from how fast he appeared above me. His face is so close to mine and an amazing amount of oppressing energy surrounds us.
"You will lure him here. And he will hear you scream."
I try to shake my head no but then something horrible reaches through my chest. I can't see what or how but it feels like the entire world is ripping itself through me, tearing me apart cell by cell. I can't help but scream at the top of my lungs - if I even have lungs left!
My body feels as if it's been torn open by a gaping hole and the universe is slipping out of me. What isn't being forced apart is on fire and burning so hot it feels like I am bathing in the sunlight. My eyes are screwed shut but all I see is a blinding white light so bright nothing else exists.
"I wonder if he will come to the sound of you screaming for someone else." He purrs somewhere in my mind, behind my shrieks and cries that threaten to tear my throat.
I love you. Protect him. Yugi. They mustn't find … Protect him.
I don't know the voices but they sing in my ears, they flood my brain and warm my insides with a different kind of heat than the one that hurts.
Then suddenly I'm thrown off the table to collide with the ground, rolling onto my side painfully. I gasp for air, trying desperately to breathe and find some semblance of balance.
When I find it slowly I am aware of the coming black out. My head is swimming, my body is shaking violently with how suddenly cold I feel. It's freezing, but I manage to peak through my lashes to see what might be a void before me. Patches of my living room are visible between the smokey, black cloud. I can't really see anything else though.
But the void… the shadowy cloud … I don't… feel threatened by it. It's Ryou opposite it, wiping his lip with a dangerous black scowl that I fear more.
Ryou… I try to reach for him, wishing for nothing more that my friend is safe. Not this guy possessing him - but my best friend.
"Ry-ou…"
Atem
I managed to get here in time but Yugi is very hurt. I couldn't cushion his fall but at least he is no longer screaming. Still, I feel his distress as if it were my own. His body is weak, his soul is in shock and the mark keeping much of his power at bay is fragile. Any longer and I might have lost him just now.
"Ry-ou…"
I look back at him as he reaches forward weakly. He doesn't seem to see me, or if he does his concern is for his friend.
But he doesn't realise the creature before me is not his friend.
Yugi's consciousness fails and I feel his soul begin to relax. While he is out I can focus on his attacker.
He has taken his friend Ryou as a vessel, so I need to be careful if I can. But how did he get inside? My sigils and wards should have stopped him from entering…
!
I glance back at Yugi sleeping behind me with a pained frown upon his face. He must have let him in. He wouldn't have suspected a thing.
"So… you are here."
I turn back to Ryou, snarling at me with an arrogant smirk upon his borrowed face. I cannot verbally talk in this form, but nor do I want to give him the pleasure. All I desire is that he leaves his host and returns to Hell.
"I have been looking for you for so long, Atem."
I narrow my eyes at him, scrutinising every angle I could go about this. I could take him out of the window and take the fight elsewhere. Likewise I could sweep up Yugi and flee. But I cannot guarantee the safety of his friend. The only way I can forcefully expel him may end up hurting Ryou.
He cocks his head to the side in an unnatural way. His fingers curl into a loose claw, straining in a way that would be painful to most humans.
"I must say I am impressed." His voice is difficult to pick under Ryou's own, but it feels familiar. "I wondered what could be here worth abandoning your own kind, but now I see."
He points at Yugi, tilting his head even more, his grin spreading from ear to ear. "You have tamed yourself a remarkable pet. To think, an incubus has laid claim upon an angel. A pathetic excuse of an angel, but an angel no less."
What did he say?! Pathetic!?
I don't give him a chance. From my place before Yugi I strike at the wretch before me with an arm of shadow. I barely need to move to fight him and I will not tolerate him insulting my light.
He doesn't move. Instead he takes my strike straight to his chest, falling back with a terrible scream. He could have dodged that… so why didn't he?
He grabs at his chest and his pained pants rumble into a sinister laughter.
"So… you would strike your pet's best friend? I'm impressed. I would have thought you had caused enough pain to the ones you love. Or perhaps…" He looks up at me through a mess of white tangled hair, snickering confidently. "You couldn't care less about him or his friends… so long as he feeds your desire."
He is pushing it. My anger is forcing the air around us to become electrified. The lights are beginning to flicker and curtains are waving slightly. I must control it but right now the only thing I'm lusting for is his remorseful silence.
"Ohh, touching a nerve?"
I need to be rid of him. If he doesn't leave right now I will rip him out of Ryou and make him wish he remained in hell.
"It doesn't matter. I found you. Finally. I've been looking for you for so long but you are always two steps ahead of me. But not now. You did well to hide your tracks but your little pet allowed me to sniff you out."
'What do you want?' I ask through a telepathic link. I'm starting to lose my patience.
"Ah so you do talk. I was beginning to feel lonely."
I smack the wall impatiently to hurry him up and another arm whisps past his face as a warning. The next time I will assault him.
"Such a temper." He muses. "I am sad. You have forgotten me already? Is it my new look? I must admit, I like the accent, but I'm not used to such a toolkit."
Toolkit? Is he referring to his vessel… is he a she? Who…?
"You really do not recognise me? Fine… then let me slip into something more comfortable."
He stands rigid and a sharp moment later he screams into the heavens and as he does a torrent of black smoke spouts from his mouth, spreading across the ceiling.
Yugi's living room is too small for the both of us and I do not desire to mingle with this demon, so I retract myself enough to protectively shield Yugi.
But now that they are expelling themselves, there is no mistake who I am meeting with. But how? Why?
Once she has fully expelled to float before me in her truest form, Ryou falls unconscious unceremoniously upon the ground. She stands, if I were to call it that, formless but her scent is unmistakable. I do know her but I do not understand… why is she here? How is she here?
'Do you recognise me now, my friend?'
Amar…
I cannot say how I know this, nothing of her resembles that of my old mistress but her familiarity is unmistakable. There is much of her that isn't the girl I served, but the creature before me is undoubtedly her… or what is left of her.
'Do you recognise me now?'
She asks me.
My heart, could it beat for anyone else but Yugi, is conflicted. I loved her, I despised her, I missed her and I thanked the fates that for the past 5000 years I have not seen her. It is because of this time apart I believed I would never see her and I could live in the idea that she was at rest …
But to be born a demon? And such a lethal one at that. She is not a succubus … she is something more lethal, something crazed and mad.
'What happened to you?' I ask her.
'We have the rest of eternity now.' She whispers in my mind, floating closer to me. I curl around Yugi, protecting him from any inch of her that might reach him. I feel her curiosity and excitement growing as she stops to watch. I wish that our meeting could be anywhere else but here. Anywhere where I would not show so openly my vulnerabilities.
But it is too late for that. She knew to use Ryou, she knew to target Yugi to lure me out, she knew how to use him… She knows too much.
'It is cute how you coddle him.' She muses, her gaze falling down to where she might see him were I not blanketing him. 'I'll admit, he's sweet. He let me in without question, trusting his eyes rather than his instinct.'
'Why are you here?' I ask firmly. I do not like how much time she is spending here.
'You were always slow. I've been looking for you. Atem… we were friends once, separated by tragedy - and now we can finally be together. 5000 years it has been and now we have eternity ahead of us. Doesn't that sound amazing?'
Her energy has spiked, causing the globes above us to burst and glass to shower us. Yugi is protected, but her emotions are volatile. If I upset her it will be devastating.
'Why don't we take this elsewhere?' I ask her. The temperature is dropping as rapidly as her excitement.
'What is wrong with here? Your nest isn't private enough for you? Or… do you worry for your pet?'
'Yugi is not my pet -'
'Yugi… interesting.'
She humms and I fear I have revealed too much. Yugi isn't safe here even with me protecting him. I need to flee with him but to where? Where will she not follow?
'What is he to you if not a prize? You are a demon, Atem. A lowly incubus but a demon all the same. He is an angel - a … different… kind of angel, but one all the same. Why do you protect him so?'
'What I do is not your concern.' I growl at her. I can sense how strong she is. If I leave Yugi for a second she will snatch him up and kill him just to prove a point. I cannot let that happen. I will die first before she lays another hand on him.
'Oh but it is. Don't you remember? You were not just my friend all those years ago. You were my …'
She wants me to finish that sentence but I will not. I will not bow to her like I once did.
'Servant.' She finishes for me and just as quick as lightning she snakes around me. She's trying to get to Yugi but she won't. I snatch him up, swallowing him up within myself to protect him.
With him safely secured I race out of the window. The glass shatters but I care not to look back. I take him far with me into the air, thankful the sun remains down. I do not have a long while though. Soon it will rise and I will need to take cover.
'Do you think you can out fly me, incubus?' Her voice is above me and a second later I feel her invading me, tangling herself with me to loosen my hold on him. We are quite high, if I drop him he will die.
'LET US GO AMAR!'
'Oh! Yes! Order me again, Atem! Continue to defy me! I'll make you remember who you serve.' She is taking such pleasure out of this and it is sickening. I do not know what happened to her but I must protect Yugi right now.
I feel a strong presence nearby zeroing in on us. It's heat and light is immense and it makes me almost writhe. An angel has come!
Before a burst of white energy can catch us Amar lets me go and the energy tears through my cloud, burning what it touches painfully. I pull Yugi close and tight but I am falling fast.
I can shield Yugi from the fall but I am in immense pain! Every inch of me is burning away and fighting to resist. If I could scream I would but all I can do is writhe and compress.
We fall somewhere between buildings, in a dank alley where none can see us well. Yugi rolls from me, still unconscious and completely unmoving. His body is weak, his mark weaker but he is unhurt… good.
I try to curl up to him as best as I can but I can barely move save to hug myself. I am fading quickly. I can't… can't even form a body like this…
Y-Yugi…
I feel my consciousness fading and I am fighting so hard to stay awake. I do not want to lose him. Should I survive this and he does not… if Amar should kill him… if the angel should…
But I cannot move. It hurts. Everything hurts.
After a while… I do not know how much time has passed, I sense someone nearby. The sun has risen and I feel my entire form aching from it's vague light. I desire to hide, to find some crevice somewhere I can wait out the light. My mind is tired… I can still barely move. Yugi is still unconscious just out of my reach.
The presence approaches slowly and soon through the haze I can make out her rough features. Brown hair, fair skin, and a glow as bright as the sun itself, an air of repugnance and pity about her …
It could be worse; she could be Amar…
I hear her sigh and it pisses me off. Still, her presence here gives me the energy I need to crawl over to Yugi, seeking some comfort and relief in the shade of his body but also covering him to protect him. If I should die here, it will not be watching him die first.
"I was unable to get here sooner." She says solemnly. "I could not determine who was who. All I saw was a mass of sin fighting over Yugi… I needed to separate you."
What's done is done… All that matters now is Yugi and his safety…
"Atem?"
I weakly look at her, surprised and confused. She has never used my name before… and certainly not fondly.
"It is you, isn't it?"
I cannot answer her. Telepathy with an angel is much harder and I do not have the strength to try. My bond to Yugi makes it easier for us, but Tea? I cannot tell her…
"The other demon fled. She attempted to fight but I am afraid she is no match and she knew this. I could not kill her… you are protecting Yugi even though you could die any second. You must be Atem."
I'm sure that fact is hard to swallow… I feel bitter but then she surprises me again when she crouches nearby.
"I cannot help Yugi if you continue to blanket him."
I don't care. I will not leave him for a second.
"Atem." She sighs and hangs her head. "You also need to rest. You took a direct hit from my energy and soon the sun will drain whats left. You cannot remain here."
I will not leave him…
She tsks in annoyance and huffs. I don't care. I will stay by his side. Until he wakes, I will stay here with him and use every ounce of what's left of me protecting him.
"If I agree to help you both, will you let me?"
I look at her, curious and skeptical. I'm sure she would sooner see me dead than help me. My death would solve many a headache for her. Yugi would not be happy but she can ease his pain simply enough… why would she choose to help me?
She holds out her hand and a nearby old cardboard box appears on it. I do not understand what it is for but she sets it gently on the ground, lid open and inspects it. "Crawl into this. I will take you both back to Yugi's apartment. Please. You can both not remain here."
She will… carry us both? And should she open the box in the air and the sun should touch me?
"Atem… you need to trust me. I am not happy about this either, but Yugi would die a broken man should anything happen to you, and I cannot care for him from here."
…She's right… But I do not want to leave his side. But he is in need of attention. Physically he is unharmed, it his soul that is weak… I cannot help him like this and she is better suited anyway.
I can't believe I'm doing this… but I need to trust her.
Slowly… very slowly, I reach for the box. It tires me this much and I feel my consciousness fading again. Vaguely I'm aware of her pushing it closer and she patiently waits for me snuggly fill each corner of the box until there is nothing of me outside. She closes the lid and I am immediately safe. I feel cosy and protected and the pull of sleep is getting harder to resist.
"I can't believe I'm doing this." I hear her mutter. The box moves … but that is the last I am aware of. Short of the strange realisation that my life, my entire existence… is in the hands of an angel.
How incredible strange life is…