Gods, has it really been two months? Sorry! I hadn't realized I was that late! Well… here is the next chapter of Ultimate Betrayal! You can now find out what happened to Jounouchi! *cringe* Which reminds me… don't kill me!!!! You'll see why…
Dedicated to my hikari, as always! *glomps Reana*
Disclaimer: I own nothing beyond the ring on my finger… and even that I borrowed from a friend. *cough*Kleptomaniac!*coughcough*
Warnings: Violence, language, attempted seduction via torture, yaoi and character death.
Ultimate Betrayal
Chapter Four
Jackal.
Jounouchi rolled over, sharp stabs of pain shooting through him and eliciting a pained gasp from his mouth. He groaned and opened his eyes, blinking a few times to clear the haziness that surrounded the edges of his vision. He was disoriented for a minute before the realization that he was in pure darkness dawned on him.
Jackal.
The voice drifted out of the shadows, taunting and teasing him with promises of- well, he couldn't quite place a name to the vows, but he could tell that he was intrigued. He glanced around the dark warily, trying to find the owner of the bodiless voice that continuously haunted him.
"Come out and face me!" He called out, taking no notice of the purple mist that drifted closer, curling around his feet and extending questioning tendrils to brush up against every part of his body.
Jackal, why do you howl?
The voice in his head sounded little more than a child's, but he wasn't fooled for a second and stayed on his guard. He knew that to succumb to the darkness was to welcome a fate worse than death; an eternity in the Shadow Realm losing his mind, until he was reduced to the mentality of a three year old girl; if he was lucky.
He slowly turned around and let out a brief yelp, stumbling backwards and falling on his ass none-too-gracefully. He grunted and propped himself on one arm so he could rub his sore behind, cracking one eye open to glare at the demon towering above him. The Eye shone brightly on the beings forehead, yet the shadows somehow managed to still shroud the entities features.
There was no fooling Jounouchi, though, and he knew who it was the moment his amber eyes had recovered from their initial surprise at seeing the figure. "What, Yami no Malik? Did someone else steal your hobby of trying to take over the world that you've resorted to sneaking up on unsuspecting, not to mention totally innocent people now?"
Marik threw back his head and laughed, like that was the funniest thing he had heard in a long time. He continued on for quite a while, his laughter slowly- painfully slow in Jounouchi's opinion - died off until he was hiccuping the last of his chuckles away and wiping a mock-tear from one eye. Jounouchi didn't let the act fool him, though, and he didn't miss the glint in the dusky violet eyes that studied him carefully.
"Jackal has a sharp mouth tonight," Marik scolded the blonde. An evil and wicked grin spread across his features, one that caused every hair on Jounouchi's body to stand at attention. He decided that what he assumed to be the ground probably wasn't the best place for him, especially when the piece of ground was directly at the feet of a psycho, and hurriedly got to his feet. Marik's eyes raked along the blonde's body hungrily, the gleam of lust for both blood and sadistic passion plainly readable to Jounouchi. "We might just have to fix that."
Jounouchi hugged his arms to his body, half to keep himself warm against the chill of the Shadow Realm and half to stop Marik's unnerving gaze, not sure if Yami no Malik was serious or not. Then again, with the insane, who could really tell? The blonde decided that silence at the moment was probably the best path and managed to pull it off fairly well despite it being an overused and well-beaten path.
Hey, if it kept him from being overused and well beaten, he wasn't going to complain.
~*~*~*~*~
The Jeep roared into Babylon, turning a very sharp corner with a screech of tires and the inventive cursing of the people who had to jump out of the way. Yuugi paid no attention to them and kept his eyes straight ahead.
Yami no Bakura sat in shotgun with wide eyes and his arms holding onto whatever he thought would keep him from flying through the windshield should they get into a crash- and after sitting as a passenger of a driving lunatic, that could very well be at any moment.
Honda and Anzu sat in the back of the vehicle, both of them sweaty and trembling all over, clutching to each other and muttering prayers under their breath. All three of the passengers had new respect for the usually quite man that sat at the steering wheel of the Cherokee; their lives were in his hands, and they were all quite shocked at the extensive vocabulary Yuugi had seemed to gain from nowhere. He had managed to cover all insults and curses in Japanese, English, and Egyptian five times during their ride, occasionally mixing them so that all present were confused as hell.
"Fucking kisama's, who the hell allowed these chesem's[1] on the street?" Yuugi snarled, his violet eyes glaring at all who dared think about flipping the bird or cursing him back. Upon seeing the look on the face of the short man who was driving, they suddenly found a way to make themselves scarce, Yuugi long gone by then
Bakura glanced at the enraged young man. "They're probably thinking the same thing," He pointed out, inwardly flinching when Yuugi shot a glare at him, clutching the seat in a death grip when the driver swerved sharply to avoid running over two children playing ball in the middle of the road.
"Keep your Ra-damned kids inside, you irresponsible baka parents," Yuugi muttered, twisting the steering wheel viciously to one side to avoid one of the said parents trying to rush their children off the road in front of the psycho behind the wheel. Ironic that the true psycho was sitting shotgun.
All present in the vehicle, even those who had already died of far kinder means, lurched forward when Yuugi had to slam on the brakes. This is guaranteed: play chicken with a house; the house will win.
"Baka no hikari no Pharaoh[2]! Are you trying to get us killed?" Bakura yelped, eyes piercing and mouth set into a snarl, though all that could be seen was the glint in his eyes; the sun had nearly tucked itself in for the night.
They were running out of time.
Yuugi pounded the Jeep's dashboard in frustration; the engine had just quit and Yami no Bakura was practically asking to be shot in the face. "For your information, Tomb Robber," The young man grated through his teeth, hands clenched on the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were past the point of being white and were near just cleanly falling off. "I am trying to save us. If we don't make in time to save Jounouchi, I can assure you that heads will be flying; and Yami no Malik won't be behind it, either. Now, if you are done with your complaining, we have to hurry; I killed this damned piece of machinery with that last stunt. We have to walk the rest of the way."
He was already halfway out the door before he had even uttered the last sentence, and the others hesitantly followed him, picking up their pace when he pulled far ahead. They quickly found that when he said walk, he actually meant run like Ammut was hot on your heels. They also swiftly realized that Yuugi's legs had grown longer and he had gotten into shape somewhere between his high-school days and the present.
They stopped for a quick breather and to ask for directions; than they were off once again. Yuugi led the way, a torrent of emotions that collided within him and had his logical thinking rendered useless at the moment giving him the adrenaline rush he needed to power along like a tireless machine.
In the suns last dying rays they tore into the Town Square; Yuugi first, followed by Bakura whom had been relinquished control, Honda, and Anzu coming up last. Their chests heaved in an effort to pull some air into their lungs who let their misuse be known by sharp lances of pain sent up and down their sides.
Yuugi recovered first and tried to make his way to the well, his legs giving out and collapsing beneath him. So maybe his recovery had been a little forced. Honda and Bakura stooped on either side of him, offering their shoulders for him to lean on while Anzu walked behind them in case any of them should fall.
They hobbled towards the well, the stones lined up like rows upon rows of grinning teeth that had Yuugi looking through a curtain of red rage. He noticed someone sitting on the bench in front of the well and he ripped away from his human crutches to hobble towards the figure.
Whether it was Jounouchi or Yami no Malik, he was prepared for whatever awaited him in the shadows of the well.
~*~*~*~*~
Marik's grin was disconcerting and much too wide for it to be completely healthy for the blonde standing nervously in front of him. His tongue poked out from behind his pearly whites and ran itself along his top row of teeth, caressing the Egyptian's unnaturally pointed canines. Jounouchi blanched and decided to redirect his attention somewhere else besides the ministrations of the madman's mouth; his fell on Marik's large hands, which were playing with the Sennen Rod and the understanding dawned on Jounouchi that the actions were highly suggestive. The blonde forced himself to ignore all advances on his personal and avert his gaze to the pupil-less eyes teasing him from behind sun-kissed bangs.
"Touch me..." Jounouchi warned, growling at the insane Egyptian who had seemed to have gotten rather fond of calling him Jackal and quite obviously trying to seduce him - which wouldn't work even _when_ Hell froze over; the noise rumbling out of his throat and ending in a feral snarl. His fingers were curled into claws, his arms hung loosely by his sides in a relaxed but ready-to-fight posture, and his eyes mere slits. Needless to say, he wasn't pleased.
"If that's an invitation," Marik drawled, twirling the Rod in one hand carelessly, a rather direct warning. Just in case Jounouchi still didn't get the idea, the Egyptian slid off the sheath that covered the hidden dagger inside the shaft of the Sennen Rod, motioning at the pissed off and confused blonde.
Jounouchi watched in cautious awe as a stone tablet designed to be used as some sort of table appeared between himself and Yami no Malik, the candles suspended above it illuminating it with a glow that was cruel and harsh in the endless shadows. Engraved into the top was Set, God of chaos and disorder[3]; upon closer inspection one could see that every line was a groove, which all led to lips on each of the four corners of the tablet. Beneath each corner was a large black dish, each one having Anubis painted on in red paint that looked disturbingly like blood. Carved on each side of the tablet was the beast Ammut, her mouth open and ready to be fed every black heart sent her way.
So caught up in figuring out the purpose of the tablet, he didn't register the clanking noise that echoed in the darkness until the manacles attached themselves to his wrists, ankles and neck, spreading him out like a human pentagram. He struggled against them briefly before realizing they were infused with the powers of the Shadow Realm to make them inescapable. He glared at Yami no Malik from behind his mane of hair, his lip raised in a sneer. "Didn't realize that bondage was your thing."
Marik growled and took a step towards Jounouchi, somehow managing to cover the entire distance between the two with that single stride. "You are in no position to be making assumptions," He snarled at Jounouchi, who was staring wide-eyed at how fast the Egyptian had covered the distance between them. Marik slid the cutting edge of the Sennen Rod along the blondes shoulder blades with a morbid kind of fascination, watching the skin give way to the ruling blade and the crimson tears slide free from the twin slits.
Biting his tongue to keep from crying out in pain, he nearly severed it when the cruel blade bit into either of his wrists, drawing blood that slid down his arms. Yami no Malik grinned silently, slashing Jounouchi's shirt off, leaving the well-built blonde shirtless and exposed to the psycho's hungry eyes. Marik giggled, poking the object of his amusement in the stomach, giggling again when the mans stomach tightened and pulled away from his outstretched finger.
Pulling his hand away, he made sure to look directly at his captive while licking Jounouchi's blood off of his fingers. The light shining from the Eye on his forehead made the blood sparkle ruby bright in the beautiful darkness of the Shadow Realm. He leaned down and whispered in the blondes ear, Jounouchi not being able to even pull away thanks to the manacle quite attached to his neck. "So pretty, you are. So very pretty, don't you agree?"
Jounouchi looked at him like he was crazy, realized he was insane and so opened his mouth to make some smart retort when the image of something much darker and so twisted it made the horrors of the Shadow Realm look like child's play superimposed itself on Yami no Malik's face before desperately trying to fling itself away, only to not so much disappear as to fade back into the darkness when it's attempts failed, hiding in the Egyptian to wait for the chance to escape again.
"Pretty as a butterfly[4]," He agreed, trying to find something else to look at besides the evil being in front of him, paling when he saw the tablet once again, now recognizing it to be not good.
Marik merely chuckled and held the Sennen Rod in front of him, blade down. He started to mutter something in what Jounouchi assumed to be Egyptian and the blade flared bright red before dimming slightly.
Amber eyes widened as he saw the dagger glow red hot, yelping when the chains suddenly jerked and slammed him down on the tablet. Yeah, this could definitely be considered not good, Jounouchi thought dryly, becoming suddenly aware of the tendrils of purple mist that the Shadow Realm curling around his wounds, tingeing red and pulsating in time with his rapid-fire heart. No, and undoubtedly not very safe for my health, either.
To which a tiny voice in the back of his mind replied No dah!
Helpful, bodiless voice of my imagination, very helpful.
"I hope Jackal likes fire," Marik droned, interrupting Jounouchi's inner dialogue. Out if the corner of his eye he could see the Egyptian standing beside him, dagger in one hand and what looked to be a bowl in the other.
He watched as Yami no Malik dipped the searing dagger into the bowl, steam billowing upwards only to be swallowed by the utter darkness of the shadows. The dagger came out coated in what looked to be a pitch-black liquid that could have been mistaken for blood if not for the color. The only warning he had was Marik's playful smirk before the dagger was drawn across his skin, the scorching blade cauterizing the wound and sealing in the mysterious liquid that the blade had been coated in. Blood spilt onto the tablet and leaked into the grooves, finding its way to the lips of the table and into the four pots.
His screams echoed in the black rage of the shadows, and the questing tendrils absorbed his blood and throbbed in tune to his pulse, coiling around his thrashing form in a ballad of blood and death.
Yami no Malik merely grinned none-too-sanely and continued his artistic strokes of the dagger, pausing only to dip the blade into the bowl before once again taking it to the very vocal canvas in front of him.
~*~*~*~*~
Yuugi collapsed halfway to the well, this time managing to pick himself up off the ground without the aid of his friends. He lurched back to his unsteady feet and continued his hands held around the Puzzle, both to reassure himself and protect the item and the spirit housed within.
It was now dark out, the moon hidden behind the buildings and the stars so little light they were of little help. Consequently, visibility was nonexistent. When Yuugi was within a few feet of the bench where the figure rested, he gathered a small amount of Yami no Magick[5] that he fed into the Sennen Puzzle. The item began to glow and let off a fair amount of light; as long as it had the Yami no Magick to sustain it, the Puzzle would continue to emit a soft glow that could turn into a dazzling bright light should the holder wish it.
Yuugi dared not look at who was sitting on the bench just yet. He gave himself a few moments before he finally took a deep breath, straightened his shoulders and turned to the figure.
Bakura, Honda and Anzu all jumped as a scream pierced the silent night. They all glanced between one another before it dawned on them that it had been Yuugi; then they were off and making their way towards the young man as fast as their screaming muscles would allow.
They had seen the soft glow of the Puzzle, but had been unable to make out any distinguishing features of the slouched shape in the shadows. They were all picturing worst-case scenarios in their minds; Bakura getting a double dose no thanks to his ever so helpful and imaginative tomb robber in his mind.
They reached Yuugi in what seemed like hours but had in fact been but a few moments. He was a broken mess and they were all afraid to touch him lest he lash out and possibly do something that he would regret later. It was then that they saw the Puzzle laying by his feet. Now they knew something was wrong.
Yami no Bakura once again came out of hiding, though he would never title it such a mundane term as that, and he took matters into his own hands. The bright light that flashed from the Ring lit up the entire area, and it took a few moments for his eyes to get adjusted to the dazzling but steady light. When he could see moderately well, he turned his attention to the bench and promptly heard his omote throwing up in his soul room.
Jounouchi was staring up at him with staring eyes, blood trickling from the corners and his mouth agape in a silent plea for help. It was a little bit too late for any sort of help, though. He had been decapitated, a rather crude job from the looks of the cut line on his neck, and his head had been sewn onto the body of a dog that the tomb robber could recognize immediately.
That of a jackal.
[1] chesem- eh, Egyptian for dog. *grin* Oh Seto!
[2] Baka no hikari no Pharaoh- okay, so I don't know if this is actually a real sentence, but I was aiming for 'fool of the light of the Pharaoh!' Did I even hit slightly close?
[3] Set- alright, so I really have no idea what he is god for, but that is my take on him and I think Yami no Malik would most likely worship him if any of the gods. (Ya know, other than himself! *sweatdrop*)
[4] Okay, so I'm obsessed with butterflies, so sue me. A plug for my other fic Butterflies. Wow, na no da, eh?
[5] Yami no Magick- no, it's not a misspelling! Translates into Dark Magic or Shadow Magic, but I'm sure you could have figured that out on your own! ^.-.^ Anyway, I spelt magick like I did because it is how it was originally spelt when it pertained to actual magick and not the 'magic' of the illusionists such as Pandora ;or Arcana as he's known in the dub. Plus Magick makes for easier plural: Magick's to Magic's... Well is made sense to me! *nodnod*
Reviewers Reply:
Malik Ishtal0607: Eh-heh… *sweatdrops* I don't suppose two bloody months could be considered 'soon'?
Reana1: *glomps* I UPDATED!!! YAY! And you better come see me soon… I miss my music! And my hikari of course! *pouncesnuggle*
So… please don't kill me! *begs* I love Jounouchi dearly! It seems that all the favorite characters of us author's seem to go through the most abuse, ne? But fear not! Jounouchi will make a comeback! It's going to be one hell of a show so stick around! And review!
---Jasper
Chapter Five Trailer:
//Aibou?// Yami's tentative voice asked from the depths of Yuugi's mind. The young man sighed and pulled his barriers tighter into himself, to no avail. Hurt flowed from Yami through their link. //What's wrong, little one?//
/Everything!/ Yuugi exploded, slowing down until he was doing a fast walk.
Yami mentally arched an eyebrow and sent a soothing caress towards his lost other. //Care to expand?//
Yuugi growled and dodged the warmth that filtered through his barriers. Even his other half pitied him. He answered the once-pharaoh carefully while going over his barriers and strengthening them subtly. /Would you like me to make a list?/ He growled, lacing together two walls of his barrier. /Let's see: Jounouchi is dead, my 'friends' would rather forget any of this happened than deal with it, I received a mysterious package from a freaky spirit wearing a bath towel on his head that I have to open or something will happen to you and me and if I don't open it something even worse will occur and if I open it at the wrong time all hell will break loose!/
He patched a hole in another of his walls while Yami mulled over what he had said so far, but he was far from finished. /Not to mention that not only has the tomb robber been unusually nice, but he has even been helping me!/ This brought a startled exclamation from Yami that Yuugi lost through the thickness of his as of two seconds ago one way barriers. /Oh! And to add the last piece to the puzzle, so to speak, you play the innocent watcher who is a shoulder to cry on and a fuck buddy on the side. Well, I'm sick of it!/
With that final assessment he pulled the barriers in on himself. They closed around his mind like a second skin, both flawless and perfect in every way. Yami threw everything he had at the barrier his hikari had erected with little luck. While being impassable they were also flexible and hurled his attacks right back at him.
Yuugi resumed running now that he could think for himself with no one - especially forgotten Pharaoh's - could impede or alter his thoughts. He was thinking for himself, and only one thought surfaced to his mind, as attention grabbing and desirable as a sex god walking down main street.
Join him. Join Jounouchi.