Yami's koi: …you were kicked in the head by a horse, oui? So the brain doesn't work correctly?
Neutral Man: how'd you know about that?
Yami's koi: nevermind, nevermind. We wait until she collects the other pieces… OO Um… Sorry about the slowness of this chap. I spent about three years deciding on the song, LMAO! XD
Nefertiri: REVIEW, PEOPLE, REVIEW!
Yami's koi: sweatdrops that's for the end, Teary. I need another song for the next chap, though… any suggestions? See ya…
It's bugging me… Calling me…
Yami felt that no sooner had he fallen asleep, it was time to wake up. Slowly he disengaged himself from around Yugi, to which his hikari sleepily groaned and clutched at the pillow in loss. The Pharaoh smiled and proceeded to make some breakfast for him and his light.
On the bright side, at least he hadn't woken up to wet sheets… which should have been something definite.
Yami was just about to get to work on his little one's food when Yugi's phone rang. Automatically Yami answered the call… and in his absent-mindedness forgot to read the person's name on the screen.
"Hello…?"
"Yami? What da hell? I figured you'd be too busy screwing Yug's to answer da phone! What gives, Pharaoh?"
Yami sweat dropped, and leaned against the doorframe. He had some explaining to do.
"Trust me Jou, I want to. But the thing is, Ryou ran out last night, we have no idea where the hell he is, even now, and… on top of that, Bakura's fucked off somewhere to try and find him… and I think he's trying the caves out on the beach."
Silence. "Wow."
And twisting me around…
Yami then heard a rich voice in the background: it was much calmer and well pronounced. Jou's hesitation could almost be seen due to how evident it was to the Game King.
"Listen, Yami… I'm gonna hand ya over to Seto, he knows the score. Later… tell Yug's I said 'Hi…'"
"Yami. You know that I usually couldn't care less if you and your friends got fed to the Loch Ness monster… but… let's just say that the caves aren't exactly the best of places at any time, even if in the day." Seto's voice was trying its best to sound normal, yet there was a hint of emotion within it that the teenage CEO could defy.
Yami gripped the phone nearer to his ear. "And why is that?"
Seto breathed in deeply, and his breath exhaled as a shudder. "To be honest, Yami… those caves are rumoured to lead to an underground temple… one where no one has ever returned from.
Yeah I'm endlessly caving in..
"A group of archaeologists went down there last spring… and are still confirmed as missing... and presumed dead, as things go. Yami… I really didn't want anything bad to happen, but I didn't want to ruin your vacation… and now because of my silence, thing's have messed up." Seto fell quiet for a moment, and the startled Pharaoh knew that he was in deep thought.
"Wait there. The flight will be long, but I don't give a hang. Yami… me and Jou are coming over to help you find the Bakura's!" And with that, he hung up.
Yami slowly sat down on a nearby chair and gripped his hair, staring down at the table. Bakura would be in heaven in a temple in need of exploring, but as for Ryou… well, if archaeologists couldn't escape, then who could? Yami could never doubt Bakura's ability to be able to worm himself away from life-threatening situations which may arise from within caverns deep below the surface of the earth… but he doubted that the same could be said for his hikari, Ryou.
"Yami?"
The Pharaoh raised his head and tried to look as natural as he possibly could.
"Hey…"
And turning inside out
Yugi stared at the phone in Yami's hands. "Why are you holding my phone, Yami? Has Seto rang me?" He asked, suddenly panicky.
Yami sighed. It was no good: whom was he trying to fool, anyway?
"Yugi… Seto DID just ring you, but I didn't want to wake you just for his sake. So I answered, and this was what I was told…"
Yami took a deep breath and informed his hikari of what the teenage CEO had said. By the end of it, Yugi was striding up the stairs in a frantic hurry.
Where are you going, aibou?
/To get dressed. I am NOT allowing Ryou to die down there, Yami/
Because I want it now I want it now…
Yugi… are you sure about this?Yami asked urgently, following his hikari up the stairs in a state of frustrated fear. I would never be able to live with myself if this was just a false lead and you died for nothing.
"Well I can't promise you anything, can I?" Yugi exploded, turning around and screaming in Yami's face. "When Ryou walked out, I think maybe he had the right idea about a few things!"
With that outburst over, Yugi turned on his heel and left Yami standing on the stairs, trembling from the shock waves that shot through his body. He slowly sank to his ass on the floor, and stared directly ahead. Faintly he could hear bangs and various curses from just a few metres away, but Yami suddenly felt very alone, and degraded.
How was there possibly any way in which he could make things worse? 'By telling him that you love him,' a snarling, smug part of his mind mocked. Yami gripped his bangs in a solitary stance. He couldn't believe it… his own hikari hinting that he should have run off and died, too. To think that Yugi would never consider how his death would affect Yami… was an unbearable concept.
The only problem was that it was true.
Give me your heart and your soul…
Yami wanted to curl into a ball and cry – but he knew that this could never happen in a situation such as this. He was always suspected to be the brave one: the one who encouraged Yugi in his times of trouble, the one who guided and protected him from all obscene things… but could he truly ever save himself? He had barely done a good job about things back in Egypt… for if he had been a truly great leader, surely such devastation would never have occurred?
Of course they wouldn't. Therefore, as well as being a complete and total failure to everyone near him, he could not protect his hikari, and neither could he save anyone else.
"…Yami?"
The Pharaoh opened his eyes and calmly rose to his feet. Dusting himself off, he entered the sleeping area… and was shocked.
Yugi had not done a thing. A pillow near where he lay was spattered with slightly damp patches… had he been crying?
And I'm breaking out, I'm breaking out…
"Yugi? What is wrong, aibou?" The Game King asked, striding over to where his soul partner lay across… Yami's bed? He blinked for a moment, but decided not to delve into such an insignificant issue such as this, when his precious light was distraught.
"Talk to me, Yugi," Yami said softly, stroking the pleasantly silky hair revealed to him. Yugi rose his head slightly, just enough so that he could see Yami's sexy face.
"I… don't want Ryou to die." Yugi whispered, so quiet that Yami almost missed what he had said. Then the Pharaoh smiled slightly.
"I know. If I didn't, then why would we share the same fear?" Yugi considered that thought for a moment before Yami continued. "And another thing. If we're going to go on a rescue mission to save both the Bakura's before Seto gets here, then we'd better leave now. So… if you don't want us to go, then I'm okay with it."
That's when she'll lose control…
"Y-you mean… we can go save Ryou?" Yugi asked hopefully, sitting up. He saw something change in Yami's eyes, and he blinked when he felt the Duellist's fingers just under his chin, keeping his eyes on the Pharaoh.
"Of course." Yami whispered, pressing a light kiss to Yugi's brow, before turning and blushing as he walked downstairs.
/Where are you going/ Yugi asked suddenly, panicky.
Yami paused, smiling. Well, we are going to need at least some forms of food and weaponry, aibou.
He could feel Yugi's blush through his side of the link.
Seto and Jou
"Come on, Mutt! We need to catch a flight really quickly." Seto urged Jou, tossing clothes over to his naked, frustrated lover. The blonde-haired duellist groaned from under the pile of clothes he was currently buried alive under, and then he emerged.
"Okay, what the HELL is goin' on, Settie? I figured we'd be stayin' for at least another three days, cause we can never get enough…"
Yeah it's hurting me, Morphing me…
Seto shot Jou an almost exasperated look… and the golden haired male fell silent. Jou stared down at his hands, rose, and then began to slowly and disjointedly pack his clothes away into his suitcase, saving some for him to dress in.
Seto sighed inwardly, and pulled Jou into his chest roughly. Jou felt like shoving the CEO away, but as soon as he glanced up into the loving, azure eyes of his beloved Seto, he knew that he could never be so cruel.
Seto smiled warmly and leaned down into a tender, yet needy kiss, and was in instant heaven. Their tongues began an erotic, enticing battle for dominance, both expressing how much they wanted each other through every single caress that they made. Jou's arms slowly wound themselves around Seto's neck, pulling the brunette even closer, ensuring that he wouldn't leave him. Seto growled slightly, and gladly swallowed the throaty, but oddly arousing moan that escaped from Jou's busy lips.
Eventually the two parted for air, panting slightly. Jou grinned up at his lover, and snuggled further into Seto's muscular chest. The CEO smirked, kissing the sandy tresses delicately.
"I love you, Jou," He mumbled, never wanting this calm, loving moment to end. Jou smiled into Seto's neck, kissing the pale column of skin, before reluctantly drawing himself away. Seto knew he was deprived of his love recently, and wanted nothing more than to kiss Jou's lips, neck, nipples, thighs… everywhere.
And forcing me to strive…
The only problem was that other's lives were in danger. If Seto decided not to act quickly, then he knew that Yami would break and eventually seek out the entrances to the underground caverns.
With a slight smile still framing the sexy male's features, Seto turned and resumed packing for both him and his love, knowing that the entire ordeal would move much swifter when he was in charge.
Bakura
'How long until this insanity ends?' The Thief pondered, agitated fully. Never, in all of his previous years of ridding tombs of their riches, had he ever come across such a tomb! As a low-life, Bakura had never been taught how to read; yet he could decipher several of the hieroglyphs.
Of course, the ones that he could translate did not fill him with much hope.
Bakura's current settings mainly consisted of a large, circular room. Several holes were scattered in the walls, and the Thief eyes them with great wariness. If he dared to put his hand in the holes, and activated an ancient trap, what was the possibility that Ryou would die?
Of course, this was quite likely. Therefore, Bakura gripped the flashlight tightly in his hand, squinting into the still dreary hole. As he could see no levers within the cavity, he knew that he couldn't activate any traps of great magnificence… yet what if he did? He could not put Ryou's life at risk. It was simply… out of the question.
To be endlessly, caving in…
Then, Bakura snarled an ancient curse so deadly that it very nearly terrified him when it echoed around the tomb.
"Bastards!" He hissed savagely, as he noticed that his sudden pain was coming from the scarab beetles currently attacking his left foot. Without thinking, he drew a pistol from within his jacket pocket… and shot at the beetles. Of course, the Tomb Robber was skilful enough not to shoot his foot in the process.
Bakura sighed as he returned to his current, powerful dilemma. Risk Ryou's life and save him, or not risk Ryou's life and they all die? Bakura sighed agitatedly, and his hand slowly rose and entered the cavity. He felt a fairly small, yet complexly crafted thing that he could grip onto… and he eventually pulled the item out of the hole, after little struggle.
Dusting the item off, and, at a quick glance, Bakura could easily identify what the thing was. It was an item that was often referred to, in the historical texts, as a wondrous artefact of great magnificence in Ancient Egypt. The legend then goes on to say that he who wields the artefact will also bring great chaos to the world… unless progress is swiftly made.
And dreaming of my love…
Idly Bakura swung the artefact around his index finger as he cautiously strode over to the next entrance into nothingness. Retrieving his flashlight, Bakura saw a lever… and paused. Could he honestly risk his hikari's life?
Bakura then made his decision. There was no point in living… if he never made any sacrifices. If Ryou was the sacrifice… then Bakura could always follow his hikari in the Afterlife, and they could love each other that way. Now almost curious at the reaction doing this would cause, Bakura pulled the lever.
He could sense something behind him moving, and instantly whirled around, this time using his long knives as a weapon. He saw sand pouring down, and cried out… but then he realised.
The chamber beneath him was being filled with sand. With no further thoughts of coherence, Bakura sprinted along, until he came to face a dark, empty opening in the wall. It was just big enough for him to get through… and with this done, the Thief flicked open his lighter, and lit a scrap piece of timber he found nearby on the floor.
With his surroundings now illuminated somewhat, Bakura proceeded down the corridor; his initial instincts were correct when he noted that the floor was sloping steeply downwards.
Because I want it now… I want it now… Give me your heart and your soul…Bakura's slender form vanished around the corner for a moment… until he strode into a room. Falling sand pattered gently beside him, and the Thief moved to prevent himself from getting covered. It was then that he realised… most of the floor that he stood upon… was the sand that still fell. So he had done the right thing…
GOLD! A gleam came from the opposite end of the room. Still cautious, even if drawn to the object by its treasured beauty, Bakura sprinted across the newly formed floor. He did not want to fall into the sand and suffocate…
…Not when his hikari's life could be at stake.
Yami and Yugi
"Right, have we got everything?" Yugi asked for what seemed to be the millionth time. Yami paused for a moment, and pretended to think.
"Well, I don't really have an entire army under my command anymore, but I think we've got everything."
I'm not breaking down… I'm breaking out
Yugi rolled his eyes and bounded out the door. Yami groaned… and locked the door behind him, hitching his backpack onto his back even higher. For some odd reason, he had the sinking suspicion that finding both Bakura and Ryou would prove to be very difficult.
At least if Bakura had already been in one of the tombs… then they would know it by the trail of the dead.
Yami blinked, and sped up slightly to catch up with his distracted, anxious hikari. Yugi had barely spoken since he had blushed last… not that the Pharaoh could blame him. He felt the same amount of worry and fear that Yugi did… but surely his light could suppress this emotion, just as he could?
That's when she'll lose control…
From this point… it seemed that he could not. Therefore, for the next few minutes, the two strode in silence towards the beaches. They then edged around the perimeter for a while, searching for the caves that led to their possible doom.
When it came down to everything, did Yami really want to put Yugi in danger? Surely if his light was to get hurt, then he would blame himself for allowing this folly to commence?
Yes. He would. But surely his friends also meant something to him? He couldn't just stand back and allow both Ryou and Bakura to die… it would just be too painful.
"Yami! I think I've found the entrance!" Yugi called suddenly, breaking into the Game King's train of thought. The Pharaoh rushed over, and examined the vast, gaping cave entrance that stood before him. It was easily taller than both Bakura and Yami standing on each other's shoulders… and this is what gave Yami the conclusion that his hikari was correct.
And I want you now… I want you now…
"Okay, aibou. I will go down first and tell you if things are safe. I…" Yami avoided his light's gaze for a moment. "…Do not want you to be hurt."
Yugi nodded, and wondered why he suddenly felt so calm. Yami winked, and slowly entered the cave. He lightly pressed his foot out into the darkness, and released the catch on his bag. After a moment of fumbling, he found a flare and lit it. He offered it to the floor… and Yami then saw a small, yet quite steep way down.
Without even as much as a small gasp, or second thought, Yami jumped down into the cavern. In fact, the entire drop was so steep, that it acted almost as a slide, and Yami did gasp when he fell onto his backside, sliding down into fuck knows what. Falling sand quickened his descent, and his mouth released a startled cry when his body found sweet, steady ground after one more moment of fear.
"Urgh…" Yami groaned, rising to his feet shakily, after several moments of rest. His crimson eyes squinted for a moment into the darkness, finding no traces of danger or possible traps present.
I feel my heart implode…And I'm breaking out
Aibou… it seems to be safe down here.
/'Kay. / Came the eventual reply. In a few more moments, Yami could hear the rapid falling of sand and small twigs coming from the slide. A moment later, his hikari fell out, seemingly from nowhere.
"Y-Yami?" A shaken, yet defiant voice asked. Yami sensed his hikari groping around in the darkness for him, and he grabbed onto Yugi's hand, gripping it tightly.
"Don't worry, aibou. Whatever ahou dares to harm you… they will not live to see their next meal."
Escaping now… Feeling my faith grow old…
Yami heard a small, incoherent whimper… and instantly knew that Yugi was afraid. He curled his rams around the small boy, and assured him for a few moments, until he lit another flare. Yami brushed strands of hair from Yugi's eyes, and the male suddenly looked very weary.
Things would be more difficult than either of them had anticipated.
Yami's koi: wow. Two chapters finally done… in about ten billion years! Woot Woot!
Nefertiri: don't ask, gies. She's just… mad.
Yami's koi: Thanks, Teary. Please Read and Review gies, and send in any fan art you've created.
Neutral Man: weren't those few lines at the beginning of the author notes for this chapter from Tomb Raider Chronicles?
Yami's koi: why, yyeeeeeeessssssssss, they were! O.O Um… please R/R. Luvvies… and sorry for the slowness of this chapter. Bye! (Songs of Inspiration: Muse: Plug in Baby. Muse: Hysteria. Muse: Time is Running out. HIM: Close to the Flame.)