Chapter Three: Completing the Deal
By Lasafara Fett
Pegasus woke up slowly, with Cecelia still by his side. At first, he couldn't remember what she was doing here. He had woken up by himself for so long now that he just didn't know how to handle having her there.
Then, she moved just a little, and he remembered. Remembered the deal he had made, but most of all, remembered that she was here and his. He looked down at her wonderful, beautiful body, pulling her gently closer to him.
She smiled in her sleep, and her face gently buried itself into his chest. He smiled softly down at his love.
"Forever mine, Ce-chan."
Nuhaku looked on with distaste. This was getting disgusting. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to deal with it for very much longer.
As he looked at her, her body began to fade. At first, he thought that it was just his imagination. She'd come out of the portrait, and he had assumed that she would exit the same way.
Her body continued to fade out of sight, until finally, only her nightgown was left. He desperately tried to find her, but his hands moved through the air with no resistance.
She was gone.
"Cecelia!!" Pegasus screamed.
Sighing, Nuhaku jumped down from his perch and allowed his body to appear to Pegasus. "Now, now, Peega-kun. You knew the deal. Time is up."
Pegasus looked hatefully at Nuhaku. "You could have allowed me a chance to say goodbye."
He stalked up to Nuhaku and raised his fist. Nuhaku didn't even flinch. In fact, he laughed. "Peega-kun, what do you think that will accomplish? Even if I did let you hit me, I mean."
"I'd feel a hell of a lot better." With that, he let his fist fly.
It was caught in an iron grip. Suddenly, Nuhaku didn't look so nice. His eyes narrowed, and he smiled, allowing his previously hidden fangs to show. Calmly, he twisted Pegasus's hand around until it was ready to break. Pegasus didn't dare to move. His body was frozen by that cruel gaze.
"Now. I told you not to." Twisting his own body around, but without letting go of Pegasus's fist, Nuhaku got behind Pegasus and snaked his other hand around Pegasus's waist, pulling them closer together.
Pegasus trembled. This man, this thing was frightening, and had Pegasus at his mercy.
"Peega-kun, I want you to remember. We made a deal." Nuhaku pulled Pegasus closer as he whispered into his ear, "And now, you have to live up to your side."
Pegasus whispered desperately, "Please. Just let me go? Please?"
Nuhaku laughed sadistically. "Very well, Peega-kun."
For an instant, Pegasus was free of Nuhaku's grasp. But just as suddenly, Nuhaku pulled them together again, this time forcing his lips onto Pegasus's. Pegasus struggled, trying desperately to get away. Nuhaku just moaned.
"I love it when you struggle."
Instantly, Pegasus went still. Silently, he pleaded that it would be over soon.
Pulling away from Pegasus, Nuhaku laughed. He looked over his prize and nodded. Then, he smiled almost pleasantly at Pegasus. "So, would you like to rejoin the real world now, Peega-kun?"
After two weeks of living in the back of his own mind, Pegasus was still scared to death of his master. Nuhaku had control of everything, from what he wore to what he ate. It was like being a slave, except that Nuhaku could read most of his thoughts. There was a tiny portion of Pegasus's mind that was kept blocked away, a place even Nuhaku couldn't reach.
But that didn't matter. Nuhaku was still in control. The worst part was that Cecelia was gone from all his pictures. The backgrounds and props were still in the paintings, but the person, the object of his desire, the subject of the painting was missing.
And slowly, Cecelia was fading from his mind. Ever so slowly. It was as if Nuhaku was carefully erasing every memory of her that he had, replacing her image, her love with his tyranny.
Nuhaku was using Pegasus's influence to find and track down Bakura. Nuhaku seemed intent on discovering where Bakura was, and Pegasus agreed. He wanted, no he needed his Eye back, but it seemed an impossible task.
Nuhaku grinned. Soon, he would have Bakura and the others. Soon, he would have the Eye, and the other items, and no one could stop him. Not even Pegasus.
As the weeks progressed, Pegasus grew more and more uncomfortable with the arrangement. Yes, he was able to talk with Cecelia, and he did on a daily basis. But it was becoming less and less frequent. Nuhaku was slowly pushing Cecelia out of his life, and Pegasus couldn't seem to be able to do anything about it.
Had Nuhaku ever tried to take down pictures of Cecelia, or attempted to stop a conversation with her, Pegasus would have stopped him immediately. But Nuhaku was subtler than that. He never stopped a conversation, but he often showed his disapproval. And with the pictures, there were none left anyway. All the pictures of Cecelia had disappeared.
He was losing her. Nuhaku was taking her away, and he didn't know how to stop him.
Nuhaku grinned as he found the school Bakura was attending. He knew how to get there, and he knew that Bakura had the Eye. Looking down the list of names, he chuckled as he realized that Yugi also attended the school.
"Perfect. See here, Peega-kun? We can gain the Eye back, and acquire the Ring and the Puzzle!"
'Nuhaku, no! Just the Eye. Please?'
"Now, Peega-kun, what did I tell you to call me?"
Pegasus shuddered. Even when in this form, Nuhaku could hurt him. And he did. Oh, how he hurt Pegasus. Nuhaku was slowly claiming Pegasus as his own, and Pegasus was scared to death of him.
Death was not even a possible escape.
'Yes, Nuhaku-sama. But please? I don't want to hurt them!'
"They hurt you, didn't they, Peega-kun?"
'Yes, Nuhaku-sama, but…'
"But nothing. This is what we are doing."
Pegasus sighed. 'Very well, Nuhaku-sama.'
In that little place that Nuhaku had not yet penetrated, Pegasus curled up and cried. He was sick of hurting others, sick of being hurt, and sick of himself. There was nothing left for him now, and he couldn't even control his own body.
He didn't know how long he could resist Nuhaku, but he was afraid. Afraid that he wouldn't last long enough to stop him from causing more pain.
A/N: In this fic, I'm using the term '-sama' as the equivalent of 'dear.' If you know your otaku-Japanese, you know that '-sama' can mean either 'master' or 'dear.' Really, either one fits, but Nuhaku is a freaky little being, and wants to be called 'dear.'
Oh, and to the reviewer who claims I'm basing this off of the Witty Phantom, my only response is "Who?"