Chapter 34: Freedom

"I RELEASE YOU OF YOUR SURVATUDE! I RELEASE YOU BY MY BLOOD AND THE BLOOD OF MY KIN! GO NOW AND RECLAIM YOUR FREEDOM!"

Bakura screamed, screamed over the laughter, the yelling, the haggard breathing, put most of all the pain. The pain roaring in his palm as he cut into his flesh, deep enough so blood dripped, his arms outstretched over the tree, cutting his hand with the knife that had been kicked within grabbing distance of his prison, slicing and letting the crimson blood pour onto the tree.

Something twitched in the air. Then blasted.

(…)

The maroon girl looked at her with her emerald eyes. Eyes full of love. Her arms opened wide, elegant fingers wide and inviting, as fresh tears falling down her fair face. Tears made of tree sap. Tears twisted with sorrow at her. At what had happened to her.

"Sweet Heart." She whispered with a leafen tongue, tears still falling as she offered her a hug.

Kaede felt something twist. Twist dangerously, almost threateningly at the fabric of the apathy state. The fabric didn't tare. She was vaguely familiar. Though she had never seen her before, she had felt her presence for many a year now. Felt it growing and holding her own soul in a loving embrace. Felt it deep down in her chest, but never had known what it was.

"Who are you?" her voice glimmered smally with awe. The woman came closer, taking slow careful steps with bare feet, arms that had been so strong weakening as more and more tears started running down her face. Twisted sorrow.

"I'm your grandmother." Another threatening pull, but still the fabric held. Even when the woman wrapped her arms around the small girl, Kaede, and held her so dearly, as if she would be gone when she let go.

"Grandmother?" It sounded familiar, but she never remembered having a grandmother, or grandparents. Her parents' parents had died when they had both been young.

"Yes. I am your Mother's Mother. You are my granddaughter."

"B-But she died, her mother died when she was young." There was silence for a moment. A pause of consideration.

"I adopted your mother when she first came here. I loved her before I even saw her. Loved her as my own soul. My very own child. When she fell into this place, came to my Mother, I immediately claimed her for my daughter. She had been different, something none of us had made. And she was alone. Mother Earth accepted my wish.

"I first met her when she was fleeing from two who wanted her gone. I had given her a little of my power to protect her, but when I saw her, I gave her everything inside of me, gave her myself. It was wonderful to feel human. I had wanted that change when humans were first created.

"She had children. It was wonderful. I loved your sister and brother. She had you and your spirit was riddled with that something new. Your mother wanted to give you everything, like the others. But you were the one that could accept me. She gave you me. It was so hard to watch her wither."

Kaede felt tears falling on her shirt, felt them, and rose her arms to hold the woman embracing her so tightly, because dimly she knew it was the thing to do. Kaede's eyes itched, tears would've came had her emotions not been so locked down. Somewhere deep, deeper than this, she knew she finally understood that she had only wanted to be realized in these thirteen years of hiding. Somewhere she had been afraid her family would've shoved her away. So she had begun talking to the trees.

And why she suddenly thought of T.R, of his knowing what she was and not being afraid of it. Feeling something growing and become stronger the more and more she spent time with him. He was the first real friend she had ever had. That she could trust. Felt it again now but not as strong.

She heard a dim scream from somewhere above, suddenly and forcefully. They both heard it, and they both looked up, grandmother and granddaughter, looked up and knew it was Bakura, the father, knew it. One felt dread and the other felt barely anything. A second more powerful something suddenly bursted, bursted the gray walls, destroyed the ebony wall to swirling dust, blasted away the fabric in a fiery breath, making Kaede breath in so suddenly at the shock, at the tears falling down her face, smelling the desert wind roaring in her mind.

Acer saw it and knew it too. Knew the look on the granddaughter's face as a fierce love Ryelle had had for Bakura. Knew it and loved it as much as they did. Smelled the desert wind, felt the dark strong force of a Sand Thief, a Sand King of Thieves, and knew it had been he who had once chased Ryelle. She knew she would have to let her go for a little while, let her kin follow the path her mother had followed.

They would talk again. She had been calling from that apple tree, one of the many voices she could borrow for a moment, calling and waiting patiently for her granddaughter to find her. She had been found now. Acer knew she would be found again, more quickly. This was not the end.

"Grandmother."

"Go find them. I'll be here."

(…)

Yami watched the brown eyes glaze over suddenly, felt the pressure weaken considerably until he was fully released and fell down onto the ground hard on his ass. He watched the Ring keep glowing, glowing so strong it blinded like nothing you could have ever seen. Watched as every single leaf in that white head of hair turned from the reddish maple leaf into a withered brown scrap and flutter to the floor. Watched his eyes glow with the raw golden power that had been suppressed for more than thirty years.

Watched him change.

The sudden roaring laughing, sudden blast of cold energy made Yami press against the wall as it hit him and rolled off his soul like a biting wind. He sucked in a breath and held it in spite of the dizziness. Held it and watched the light glow down, the Ring turn down, turn down its excitement, turn down the great raw emotion of its master.

Brown eyes opened. Opened like new. Opened like they had once opened years and years ago. Full of cold raw power, hate, rage, pain. Wanting the taste of revenge. He twisted with a grace that was haunting, twisted and locked those murderous orbs on the boy staring, just staring with wide hazel eyes. Shocked hazel eyes.

The Robber smirked and began his slow careful walk toward him.

"Kill him!" Mat yelled. The TombRobber continued his pace, his glowing clever eyes. He walked past Joey's form on the floor, knocked unconscious, didn't notice him. Just kept that ghostly walk. Mat recoiled from him, taking a step back.

"I command you." He said, weaker, still not willing that he had lost control of him. Trying to believe that, that thing wasn't walking toward him, wasn't looking at him with hungry eyes. He kept walking.

And when he finally got too close for comfort the boy pointed the Rod at him and howled something, a word, an attack, then:

"OBEY ME!" The Thief grabbed his ring and deflected the attack with ease, a quick flick of his gold glowing hand and the blast flew away like a puff of smoke. And before the kid even saw it coming, the thief moved with lightning speed, the speed of a god, moved and grabbed the boy by the shirt and lifted him as if he weighed nothing, staring up at him with wide homicidal eyes coated with the darkness that dwelled inside of him.

"I OBEY NO ONE ANY LONGER!" He said with the most enraged voice he could muster, inhuman voice, said it cruelly and so darkly your mind almost couldn't accept the fact it had been that black.

And the Thief threw down his victim with all his might onto the floor. Picked him up and threw him down again. And again. And again. Once more. Then picked him up and walked quick paced, slammed him against a wall. He flipped out Kaede's pocket knife, the container bright red like it had known what it was to be used for. He cut the boy's face nice and slow, getting so close to the eyes that the boy whimpered, cut deep enough for blood. Cut his arms in slashes. And then made a move to stab him when someone screamed.

The thief was suddenly lunged upon, the boy knocked from his grip as the thief was brought down to the ground by a bigger man. A man with snow white hair.

Bakura.

"You. Won't. Hurt. My son." Bakura growled, holding the thief down with his weight while he banged the knife out of his hands. In the third slam the pocket knife went flying. When that was done, Bakura turned back and found the soul that had once used his body against his will was glaring, and the ring was glowing out of control. He had no control of it. It was the Thief's and his daughters.

The TombRobber smiled at this.

A blast of light rammed straight into his chest, made him scream as a roaring hot flame ripped through his chest, through his mind, and made him go up, up for a moment, until he was at the end of Tomb Robber's arm, his shirt in his clenched fist, his brown eyes splotched with red flecks of rage. So much rage.

"You." He growled inhumanly.

"You bastard. Your slut wife captured me, but didn't you know I'd get out? Didn't you know that if I didn't get to kill you, I'd slaughter every descendent for the rest of my days? I'd slice their eyes and tongues out. Cut each finger off slowly. Gut them while they were still alive, take out their organs and mummify them while they still breathed? DIDN'T YOU!" the thief whispered. Whispered with pleasure dripping from his lips. His eyes were wide maroon, like drying blood, twinkling like stars.

"But," He continued softer, "I think I like it better this way."

"THIEF!" TombRobber slid his brown eyes away from his former vessel and settled them on the Pharaoh. He was still against the wall, his legs twitching, breathing feeblely, weakly, his voice quivered, reflecting his drained soul.

"Leave him alone. You want me." Yami said slowly.

TombRobber laughed.

"Don't worry, Pharaoh," he hissed blissfully.

"You'll get yours."

He turned back to Bakura, leaving the Pharaoh on the ground weakly trying to get up, knowing he wasn't going to be able to, and took his sweet time with him, torturing him. He frowned angrily when he found the man limp in his clenched fist. He had fainted. What was the fun in destroying an unconscious man?

Still…

T.R glanced at the knife on the floor a few feet away, looked at it and smiled gleefully, he lifted his foot to move, but couldn't. He stopped, dumbfounded. Slowly, he twisted his head down. Twisted his head to the extra weight on his leg. Twisted it and felt his heart suddenly hammer uncontrollably.

Kaede held his leg.

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