Anyway, on to Chapter Three. With luck, it will clear up any confusion left by my cliffhanger. If it doesn't…well, review me and give me hell, I guess. Or there was always that seppuku plan…
DISCLAIMER: See Chapter 1
Glossary: Ore-sama Akuma = King of the Damned (possibly) ;)
Mou Hitori no Yugi = The other Yugi. What Yugi's friends called Atem before he remembered his true name.
Yomi: One of the Japanese Hells
Chapter 3 Shattered
Atem stared blankly at the shattered pieces of the Millennium Puzzle lying at the creature's feet. Goosebumps ran up the young man's arms, reflecting the sudden cold at the centre of his being… freezing… empty…
"This is the game, Pharaoh Atem." the robed creature smiled, baring fangs. "I will give you the opportunity to fix the Puzzle. But to do it, you need all the pieces, ne? So, you will travel my labyrinth, battling what you find there. Each battle you win gains you another piece. When you reach the end, I will give you back the Eye of Ra and your hikari." The creature gestured with the puzzle piece he had taken. "Then you can destroy me if you wish."
"Who are you?" Atem asked dully, not moving his eyes from the bits of gold scattered on the floor. "Why have you done this?" For with the shattering of the Puzzle, his link with Yugi had vanished, leaving nothing in its place - just a black hole where half of his soul had been.
"Who I am is nothing. I have done this because I wish to see if you are truly the Yugioh, the King of Games."
"You…you…" Flickers of anger rose inside the yami, only to be swallowed by the void. A cold rage emerged instead - and he had a sudden urge to laugh. He hadn't felt that icy fury since he had linked with Yugi for the first time. The black hole within his heart consumed all his other feelings.
"So you did this to test me." Atem rose, his eyes gone strange - wild and fey. "Then know this, creature. I will win this game - and when I am done with you, the Batsu no Game I grant will be horrific beyond your imaginings. And I swear, anyone who harms my hikari will suffer for three thousand years."
The creature laughed, a cold sound. Then he vanished, taking all the pieces of the Puzzle with him except the top loop, still with its chain. Atem walked over to it and slipped it on. It would help him focus; help him find his aibou, his hikari.
An icy calm settled over him as he made ready to play the game.
"This couldn't go better if I gave him a script." the creature laughed. A dark blur passed over it's features, making them appear much more human.
"All is going according to the plan." he said aloud. "When the Shadows consume you, Pharaoh, they will consume your power as well, opening the gates and setting me and mine free on the world. But in the meantime…"
The creature, who called himself Ore-sama Akuma, laughed aloud. Soon, very soon, the world would be his playground again. He had found a powerful source of ancient magic in the soul of the Pharaoh. It was a simple thing to break the link between Darkness and Light, that silly Puzzle. A simple thing, yet with such a profound effect, for without Light, the Darkness grows. And when Yami no Yugi finally fell in the dark, he would become a living portal to the Shadows, opening the gates of Yomi. When that happened, Osama Akuma would set his legions free, loose them on the world and on Heaven to overthrow the Divine Order.
"Play your game, Yami noYugi." the demon lord murmured. "Play the game that leads to your own defeat."
Yugi woke with a pounding headache and a sore body, but these pains were literally nothing compared to the ache in his soul. He gasped, tears running down his cheeks as he called after Atem and felt not even the ghost of a reply.
"Yugi-chan?" A moment after speaking, Anzu Mazaki appeared above his bed, her fine features lined with worry. Jounouchi showed up beside her, concern turning to a smile as he saw Yugi aware.
"Thank Kami-sama you're awake, Yugi-kun." his best friend grinned, slapping Yugi on the shoulder. The grin faded as he took in the lost look on Yugi's face and the tears still running soundlessly down his cheeks.
"Yugi-chan, what's wrong?" Anzu asked. "Are you hurt? It looks like you fell down the stairs - that's where we found you, anyway. What happened? Did you find Atem-chan?"
"Atem-koi" the young man whispered, his voice almost too quiet to hear. "Someone kidnapped Atem-koi, and now they broken the link." Waves of despair and a strange, burning pain filled him. He didn't want to move, or breathe, or live without his yami, the dark half who completed his soul…
Anzu felt a lurch in her heart when Yugi called Atem 'koi'. Short for 'kobito.' Sweetheart. Anzu had no idea either of them floated that way, and now... She had been carrying a torch both for Yugi and for his dark alter-ego since mou hitori no Yugi had saved her life from an escaped prisoner, although she hadn't known at the time that both were one in the same.
With an effort of will, Anzu pushed the growing turmoil in her heart aside. Yugi needed her - she could see the abject despair in his wide violet eyes. She reached up to touch his cheek and gasped. His skin was hot to the touch, as though he was running a fever; even the tears running down his cheeks didn't stop or slow, but evaporated before they reached the pillow.
"Jou-kun." she said, turning to the blond. "Yugi-chan's burning up. Can you get me…"
"I know what to do." Jounouchi turned quickly while the teenaged girl nodded. He might be a flake and a braggart, but he was also practical, legacy of his troubled upbringing. A few seconds later he returned with a bowl of cool, not cold water and a cloth. Anzu soaked the cloth in the water and placed it on Yugi's forehead.
"Here." Jounouchi reappeared at her elbow with a glass of water and a couple white pills. "Get him to take these - it should help take the fever down."
The door to the Kame game shop opened downstairs - Anzu and Jounouchi had taken Yugi up to his room when they'd come over to find him unconscious and twitching on the bottom landing. But they must have left the door unlocked. Vanishing down the staircase with a string of curses following him, Jounouchi went to confront the intruders.
Anzu touched the cloth - it was already dry, and Yugi had slipped into moaning delirium. She managed to get the pills inside him, and a couple more gulps of water, before his eyes slid closed. Even in sleep he moaned, calling out Atem's name.
He burned. Burned from the inside out, burned by the pitiless Light. Power unchecked and uncontrolled raced through him. Yugi screamed, looking for his shadow, his darkness. Why wouldn't Atem come to him? What was happening?
The scream woke him from nightmare into a reality which was little better. He lay on his bed, Anzu speaking words he couldn't understand. Jounouchi and Honda were there as well, both leaning over and pinning his arms to the bed. Where was Atem? The world spun dizzyingly and his stomach heaved. Strong hands lifted him out of the bed and carried him down the hall, Yugi trying desperately to find Atem. He screamed again, or thought he did.
Suddenly coolness engulfed him, wrapping chill fingers around his body. He gasped in reaction, then settled as the liquid he lay in dimmed the burning like a balm. With an effort he opened his eyes - white and blond hair met his gaze: Bakura and Marik were on either side of the tub he lay in, gently laving water over him.
"W..what…" he tried, but Bakura shook his head, pressing a wet finger to Yugi's lips.
"Don't try and talk, Yugi-kun. You're still very weak from the fever. Now close your eyes and don't move, ne?"
Weariness stole over him, and Yugi nodded. The water was beginning to feel warmer now, about the same as his body temperature. With a sigh he surrendered to the ministrations of his friends - but the despair in his shattered soul refused the be shifted. Atem was gone.
He was alone.
End of Chapter 3 Please R&R Kudasai! Arigato. bow