Author's notes:

Disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh I own naught.

My virtual BEWD plushies go out to Neo-Queen Rini,Osiris Dragon, Angel/Demon guardian,
jeti, Anime-05, KAylen, lily22, and Yami-kun for solving the riddle: Pegasus is a
vampire ;). A REBD plushie goes to everyone to waited so long for this fic~
... I've really got to make my next challenge question harder...

'Nocturne in C minor' is an actual piano piece by Frederick Chopin. It is _not_
friendly for small hands @.@ Very beautiful though, definitely worth listening to~

Warning: Suggestions of sexual abuse, mild violence.

****************************************

Opus 01: Descent
His mother had spoken about them in Faerie's Tales. They were sketched with
syllables, painted by the vibrant palette of imagination. She had spoken of large
kingdoms with castles and knights in full regalia. The sky would always be blue and
there would be trees swathed in all shades of emerald green.

Perhaps that was why they were called Faerie's Tales. For Yuugi saw not
glistening ivory castles but stark black walls. They stretched spider-like into turrets
and jagged walls to blend into the darker sky.

This was the setting of nightmares. Trees lurked on all sides of the small boy and
extended vain branches as if seeking to drain his youth. The ground was parched and
split in a million perforations.

Pegasus remained unpreturbed. The silver-haired gentleman confidently faced
the bared walls and spiked turrets. He pulled open the iron gates ensnared around the
ebony castle.

Yuugi hesitated. His heart was pounding too fast and he suddenly felt very
exposed and vulnerable. "A-are you sure we're at the right place?" He tried to keep
his lips from trembling.

"This is my place." Pegasus confirmed, watching Yuugi's expression falter from
fear to despair. "Do you not trust me?"

The small boy gulped and mustered his last dregs of courage. Unwilling to
trust his mouth, he simply nodded.

The silver-haired man asked no more. He sauntered towards the large iron-
clad doors and knocked on them twice with his bone-white knuckles. The sound
remained a still note in the air.

At last the doors pulled open. A non-descript person stood waiting inside,
body poised upright like a statue. He gave a brief nod when Pegasus passed through
the doorway.

Yuugi jumped as the door closed behind him. He resisted the urge to cling to
the silver-haired man and instead, diverted his attention to the surroundings within the
castle.

Unlike his nightmares, the lair was well-furnished. The entire layout had a
Victorian appeal to it; tables and chairs elaborately carved, large gothic-styled
columns penetrating from the ground in symmetrical patterns.

Pegasus gestured to another attendant. He exchanged slight conversation with
the servant before turning back to Yuugi. The silver-haired man's eyes flashed eerily
in the light. "I have some business to take care of, Yuugi. My most trusted servant,
Croquet, shall take you somewhere to rest."

Yuugi forced himself to look straight into Pegasus's eye. His expression
bordered fear and uncertainty. "You wont leave, will you?"

That seemed to amuse the silver-haired man. "Of course not. I'll be inside this
castle at all times, just down the hallway. I'll come back soon."

The small boy forced himself to be satisfied by that comment. Pegasus was
coming back. He would be safe, even in this forlorn phantasm. Yuugi continued to
gaze at Pegasus's retreating form until the silver-haired man disappeared into the
shadows. The small boy then obligingly followed Croquet.

The servant lead Yuugi down several winding hallways and staircases until he
came at last to a sealed door. It was a door wrought in pure steel, glistening a dull
silver. A simple handle adorned its bleak obsidian face.

Croquet pulled out a set of keys and shoved one into the padlock guarding the
door. He twisted it violently before pulling on the handle.
"Come. This way please." Croquet's hand gestured towards the darkness past the door.

Yuugi kept his feet rooted firmly to the carpet. He made no gesture of moving.
"I-I can't go in." the small boy turned away, breathing in shallow, uneasy gasps. "I-
I'm afraid of the darkness."

Like a mechanical robot, Croquet pressed his hand on a panel hidden in the
shadows. Immediately the room burst into light. The servant plodded into the room
without bothering to register Yuugi's relief. How he heard the small boy's nearly-
silent footsteps behind him remained a mystery.

Yuugi rubbed his eyes a few times to adjust to the harsh light. For a few
seconds as he stumbled blindly behind Croquet, he could only see splotches of pink
and blue plaguing his vision. They soon disappeared to leave behind the room's actual
contents. The small boy's eyes widened in shock.

If Croquet noticed Yuugi's appalled expression, he treated it no differently.
Instead he relied on his words to retrieve the information. "What do you see in front
of you?"

Yuugi shrank back in horror. He bit back a sob of anguish. "W-what is this
place?" The boy could not tear his eyes away from the sight.

Instead of answering, Croquet only stated his question again. "What do you
see in front of you?"

The room was made of cages. Each shadowy figure lay in a cubicle less than
three meters wide. Some moved restlessly in their limited confines while other stared
despairingly at the ceiling. The majority sleeping or unconscious. The faces were the
most terrible. They were all contorted in anguish and hopelessness.

Yuugi turned around to try and escape this purgatory, only to have Croquet
wrench his arm and force him to remain still.

"What do you see?" The servant repeated for the third time.

Eyes watering, Yuugi fixated his eyes on the bland tiles on the ground. "It's a
prison. There's people in there. Lots of them." The boy's shoulder's began to shake
uncontrollably. He took a few trembling gasps before attempting to continue. "The
people in the cages are children just like me."

Croquet said nothing. Perhaps he was only a machine for he lacked emotion.

"What is this place?" Yuugi repeated his whispered words louder. "What is
this place?!" The small boy clenched his fists angrily at looked up towards the
servant. "I don't see any happiness here. There is only pain, and suffering." He
nodded towards the army of caged children. "There is no hope here."

"Then you see them." Croquet spoke as if his words answered everything.
"You are one of them."

He shouldn't have trusted Pegasus. Yuugi shook his head in regret. Tears fell
from the sides of his face to dance in the still air. "Get me out of here. I d-don't want
to be here anymore."

For the first time, Croquet's face contorted in genuine emotion. His mouth
curved into a smile void of sympathy. "Did you really think that you had a choice? No
one who enters this place leaves." He mock-bowed to Yuugi. "I welcome you, Yuugi,
to Master Pegasus's kingdom."

That was all Yuugi heard before he was tossed into a cage and knocked
senseless.

***********************************

Yuugi's head throbbed painfully. He forced his failing eyesight to adjust to his
surroundings.

A semi-translucent grey wall faced him in all sides and oppressed his vision.
The small boy brought a hand to touch the barrier only to recoil it back as jolts of
electricity snarled at his fingers upon contact. He nursed his wounded hand by his side
and craned his neck to look for a flaw, some type of escape, from this enclosure. No
such luck.

There was nothing he could do but wait. Yuugi bitterly replayed
in his mind all the trust and false hope he had placed on Pegasus. He remembered the
lost, betrayed looks on the other prisoners in their cages, and wondered if they too
were once as innocent and trusting as him. The small boy peered outside his
enclosure, but could not see anything in the murky half-darkness. Even the lilting
moans and whines were drowned out by a consistent electrical hum.

Yuugi waited in a half-crouched position for what seemed like eternity. He
continued to sit there absorbed in his bitterness, ignoring everything else.

It wasn't until someone tapped Yuugi gently on the shoulder that the small
boy turned around. His dull violet eyes registered his visitor immediately. The pain,
loss, and absolute hatred began flowing through his veins with renewed intensity.

"You!" Yuugi spat the word out in a harshness unmatching of his figure.
"You- you _lied_ to me. You left me here, in this cage and watched me suffer."

Pegasus's once-bland face was full of sympathy. His single chestnut eye
reflected pain and apprehension and he bit his lip in what seemed like regret. "I'm
really sorry, Yuugi. I told Croquet to bring you somewhere to stay, but I didn't know
that he would bring you here" Pegasus smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. I have
punished Croquet for what he has done to you."

And suddenly, Yuugi felt all his hatred become directed to Croquet. Yes, it
was Croquet who had sent him here, and Croquet who had laughed at his words. He
shouldn't have doubted Pegasus for a moment. Pegasus really did care for him but
was too busy. Everything was okay now. Pegasus was here and Croquet was
punished.

Even though those words chanted again and again in Yuugi's mind, it felt
wrong. Why couldn't he believe them? There was something important he was
neglecting, drowned out by the chorus of false reassurances.

Yuugi frowned. "Why am I here Pegasus?"

"You are special Yuugi." The silver-haired man ignored the question
completely. "You are perfect and beautiful. Everyone admires you."

The compliments clashed like cymbals in Yuugi's ears but he ignored the
whispers of promise and power. "Stop it Pegasus. This isn't a game anymore." He
stamped his foot angrily on the cold stone ground. "Tell me why I'm here!"

Pegasus stopped. And as quickly as they came, the chanting words, full of
passion and conviction whirling around in Yuugi's mind withdrew. The boy could
hear his own thoughts now. They whispered nothing but deception and betrayal.

"So your will is strong." The silver-haired man suddenly extended a hand to
grab Yuugi by the face. He pinched his forefinger and thumb to force the boy's chin
upwards.

Yuugi could feel Pegasus's breath on his face. It carried with a tangy and
bittersweet scent. The boy wriggled his body in attempts to move away, but Pegasus's
fingers only dug deeper into his chin.

"I was once like you." The silver-haired man enjoyed the fear radiating from
the boy. He leaned closer so that his face gazed powerfully down at Yuugi. "Innocent,
naïve, charming. And then I lost someone close to me."

Yuugi involuntarily shuddered as he felt something wet slide down his cheek.
It took him a moment longer to realize that the other was licking him roughly. The
boy immediately opened his mouth to scream, but choked as Pegasus clamped his jaw
shut. The cry died halfway in his mouth.

"Darkness consumed me. I became bitter and angry at the world." The silver-
haired man lowered his head so that his nose grazed Yuugi's neck. He began to caress
his lips against the boy's soft, exposed skin, blatantly ignoring Yuugi's muffled
protests. "So I came up with a solution. If I could not get what I wanted, then no one
would. I would create an army of darkness and let my hatred become an empire."

Pegasus's fingers were creating bruises on Yuugi's fragile chin. The small boy
choked back another sob and thrashed as hard as he could. The other easily oppressed him.

"You should feel honoured." The silver-haired man was engrossed in his
ritual. "You are one of my chosen ones. A child, soon to be one with the night and
darkness. You will become part of my army."

Absolutely revolted, Yuugi shoved his arms against Pegasus's head and
pushed as hard as he could. His jaw was momentarily freed. The small boy took in a
few sharp gasps and spat each syllable out with vehemence "Let me go."

The silver-haired man threw his head back and laughed. His voice resounded
off the walls in thick, mocking barks. "Such insolence." Déjà vu whirled in Yuugi's
mind. "You _sold_ your soul to me when you trusted me back then."

The boy was cut off from all protests. His eyes widened as he watched
Pegasus bare his mouth and reveal for the first time twin sets of sharp ivory incisors.
They glistened wickedly in the half-darkness.

Everything else was lost to a blur of motion.

There was a sudden jolt of pain along Yuugi's neck; the twinge collecting into
burning pools of agony. The boy remained oblivious to the incisors buried deeply into his neck.
He was only aware of Pegasus's lips pressed against his skin. His body began to convulse
uncontrollably, violet eyes glazed and void of their lustre. He did even not register his own
blood dribbling down the other's face or splattering silently back onto his soft skin.
Everything was disappearing save the pain.

Now Yuugi was on the verge of unconsciousness. His vision faded in and
out, accompanied by flashing splotches of blindness. Just before he collapsed
completely, he felt something warm against his own lips. It trickled into his mouth
and he tasted it involuntarily. It had a bitter and metallic aftertaste.

More and more of this liquid continued to pool into the boy's limp mouth, but
he refused to swallow it. It wasn't until the other pinched his nose that he
involuntarily inhaled, coughing and choking weakly as the substance flew like liquid
fire down his throat. Again and again the ritual was completed until the boy felt
completely immersed in the sticky, vile substance. His stomach heaved weakly and he
wanted to retch the offending taste from his system, but someone else had forced his
mouth close. The liquid collected in pools of cold fire in his stomach.

How bitterly he wished that he would at last fall into unconsciousness and not
live through this half-conscious nightmare. The pain was in each and every of his
nerves and greedily tore at his flesh like millions of daggers. Through half-closed lids,
Yuugi could see Pegasus muttering something to another vague figure.

He could hear the triumphant laughing just before unconsciousness finally
claimed him.

…Or did he claim unconsciousness?

************************************

Pegasus brushed a stray strand of silver hair from his face. The lower half was
sticky and still covered in blood. He absently fiddled with the lock of hair, sucking
out the crimson coating before tossing it behind his ears.

Croquet bowed as Pegasus looked his direction. The servant carried with him
a strange pyramid-shaped relic resting on a luxurious velvet cushion. He extended his
arms out to offer Pegasus the object.

"Ah yes. The Millennium Puzzle." Pegasus grinned and took the mentioned
object off from the cushion. The relic twisted around the cord tied to it, face glittering
every shade of gold. "It is said to have a special power. The spirit of an undefeatable
strategist. One who is born and reborn again and again, fated to continue this cycle
until it finds the destined host."

Croquet said nothing. He had learned that it was easier keeping his mouth
shut.

"The Millennium Puzzle is mine." Pegasus continued talking as if Croquet did
not exist. "But it cannot remain unused forever." The silver-haired man daintily
clasped the bulky relic in both hands as if to analyze it for any flaws. He glibly pried
open the cord and slipped it around the unconscious boy's neck. The sudden flare
from the Puzzle did not escape Pegasus's sharp eye.

"Yes," the silver-haired man began to chuckle deeply. "This boy is one of the
Chosen ones. I grant him the power of the Millennium Puzzle in exchange for his
soul."

Thick peals of laughter echoed throughout the palace.

********************************************

He did not even bother looking up as the door slid open. In his cage of
nothingness, it didn't matter. This was his sacrifice. He had agreed to this so long ago.

Someone was sliding his cage door open, letting a woosh of chill air break into
his stagnant surroundings. A trickle of light escaped from the opening to capture a
sliver of his dazzling snow-white hair.

He squinted as the light grew stronger until it encompassed his cage entirely.
Involuntarily bringing a hand to his eyes, he shrank backwards into his enclosure.

It was time again.

Even without hope or conviction, he still struggled. His dull brown eyes
flickered with momentary denial as he backed into the very recesses of his cage and
curled into a pitiful ball. Tendrils of soft white hair curled around his face, the rest
sliding down his back.

"Come out Ryou." The oppressor was taunting him. "You know that it's
useless."

A small whimper escaped from his throat. He shook his head vehemently.

"I've got something for you." The oppressor turned around so that his silver
hair swayed around his shoulders. He then held out a bowl towards the caged boy.
"Don't you want some, Ryou?" His single unconcealed eye glittered malevolently.

A twinge of yearning ricocheted through his chest. Something hanging around
Ryou's neck began to glimmer softly with a light of its own. It was a strange circular
medallion, with a triangular shape welded in the center. Sharpened platelets hung
from its rim.

The oppressor, better known as Pegasus, gave a mock bow. His eye glanced
viciously at the boy as if seeing Ryou's internal struggle. "I'll place it right here." The
silver-haired man gently set the bowl down on the smooth cage bottom, spilling some
of its contents onto his fingers. He carelessly licked them clean before closing the
cage completely. Light still filtered from the semi-opaque enclosure walls.

Ryou stayed in his position a few moments longer. He let his taut chest rise
and fall in jagged gasps. Beads of cold sweat trickled down his pale face. The boy
knew he was fighting as losing battle. Pegasus was calling him. The _other_, the
presence residing like a shadow in his soul was rising.

The white-haired boy's eyes glanced involuntarily at the bowl laid in front of
him. It was filled to the brim with a thick, crimson substance. He could envision it
still warm and untouched.

At last the final bars of his will collapsed entirely. His resigned frown broke
into a sadistic smile, flaunting a pair of fangs that rested on top of his lower lip. Eyes
narrowed predatorily, he suddenly shot up from his fetal position and grabbed the
bowl. The startlingly red contents dribbled down his chin as he drank deeply. Even
when he had finished he still ran his tongue along the smooth porcelain as if to lick
off the aftertaste.

The door to the cage re-opened once again.

"I presume you're ready?" Pegasus's voice was coldly indifferent.

He bared his fangs in anticipation, white hair bristling at unnaturally jagged
angles around his face.

********************************

The city was dark at nighttime. Random homeless people slunk in the corners
underneath their cardboard and newspapers. Flickering lamplights faded in and out as
they cast their orange glow on the paved roads and sidewalks. The light occasionally
struck graffiti-torn walls or crumbling brick enclosures.

He lifted his head smell the still night air. There was someone else out here;
another one like him. He angrily gritted his teeth, dark brown eyes gazing wildly
around him. He did not like competitors.

The shadowy figure began to run at a neck breaking pace, feet plodding
silently over roads and alleyways. Flickers of orange light struck his figure at odd
intervals to reveal a handsome-looking youth with startling white hair.

The scent was growing stronger now. He sharply turned another corner,
coiling his leg muscles and soaring winglessly into the sky to land on the closest
rooftop. He balanced gracefully on the tiles before taking off again onto the next
overlook. Again and again he repeated this procedure, travelling like liquid lightning,
a single shadow illuminated against the midnight-blue sky. The moon shimmered
overhead and cast a weak glow against his figure.

At last he reached his destination. He hesitated for just a moment before
jumping off his rooftop trajectory and onto the ground once more. His opponent was
somewhere around this block.

There.

His competitor walked with an air of inexperience and hesitation.

He snarled. He wouldn't let some _amateur_ replace him! The white-haired
figure strode towards this usurper and grabbed him angrily by the shoulders.

The other turned around, more offended then intimidated. He had a crown of
startling scarlet-black hair. Streaks of jagged gold hair mixed with the ebony-red,
ended in bangs curled around his face. His eyes were a pure undiluted maroon.

The first did not wait for the other to recover. "Only I hunt on this day." his
dark-brown eyes burned accusingly. "Why did he send you out?"

"'He'?" the other seemed just as confused. "If you mean Pegasus, I was told to
come out here and fulfill some rather sadistic mission." The crimson-black haired
figure brushed a tongue over his fangs. "As for why, I am unsure. I guess I _must_ do
it because I have been instructed so."

"Who are you?" The white-haired figure's voice stung with accusation. "I've
never seen you before."

The other gave a resigned sigh. "No. I was newly… converted, if that is the
right term to use. I gained a new awareness only an hour ago."

The first smiled maliciously. "You are nameless. You have no clue on your
true destiny do you?"

"No." It was a blunt answer filled with confusion.

"We are simply shadows." The white-haired figure let his words sink in. "We
are darknesses, incomplete souls bonded to a human host. Our only destiny is to fulfill
Pegasus's menial tasks. Pegasus controls all of us, and we obey him because we know
he will bring about the new revolution."

"Revolution?" The other repeated senselessly.

"Yes. Our revolution. The revolution of the vampires. The enslavement of the
humans." He paused. "Does your host have a name?"

Blood-red eyes clouded in confusion. "What?" He was interrupted by a sudden
strand of memory not his own. "Yuugi." It was then that the other's words hit him.
"Then I'm just a-"

"Puppet. I think I've already covered that." The first rolled his eyes in
annoyance. "Listen, Yami-Yuugi. You keep out of my path, and I'll kindly stay out of
yours. And try not to break any of Pegasus's rules. Too many of them make that
mistake."

Yami Yuugi. Dark Yuugi. The other's eyes lowered in acknowledgement of
the name. "What are Pegasus's rules?"

"Where's the fun if I told you? And before you ask me, I would be Yami-
Ryou, though most know me by Yami-Bakura." The white-haired vampire watched
the other's lips form a silent 'oh'. He enjoyed messing around with this confused
creature's mind. For a vampire, the other was humorously naïve. "Perhaps we'll meet
again. If you live that long."

Yami-Yuugi could still hear the maniacal laughter long after the other
disappeared. He frowned and began walking again.
****************************************

End notes:

After a couple months of death, Nocturne rises again. Half-dead, but oh well. And
before you guys complain about a possible sadistic streak, I will warn you that
Nocturne is a vampire fic. That means blood. Lots of it *grins*

Next time:
- Still confused, Yami-Yuugi has his first encounters with a human.
- Vampires = blood lust? The unfortunate weakness all vampires have
- Watch Zoo try to create a plot twist to break the standards we all hold for
vampire yaoi -_-;;;