A/N: Okay, guys, I know Bakura wanting Aoujii back's confusing but don't mind it. I kind of placed it there to somehow place a twist. I hope I didn't confuse you guys too much.

Chapter 8: Realizations

DREAM

He was running past corridors as fast as his feet could do so. Beyond the distance, amidst the burning pillars of his father's palace and dead bodies of comrades was the light he was desperately looking for.

Why was he seeing this? What happened to his home? How did his friends, his father— how did everybody die? What happened to his memories? Why can't he remember a thing?

Atemu stared frantically ahead, running faster to catch the light, and casually tripping over body after body. The last body elicited a scream from the prince as he met his best friend's unseeing gaze.

"Mahado!" he gasped as he shakily check if the other was breathing. Feeling no movement from his friend, he started shaking him, tears of fear creeping down his cheeks. Who would do this to them?

Suddenly, a low yet somehow familiar chuckle put a momentary stop to Atemu's sobbing as he turned to where the sound originated, gasping upon noticing who it was.

"Y-you!" Atemu managed to say, unable to move.

Another chuckle.

Bakura sneered fiendishly, the body of a person hoisted on his shoulder. "Here," he said, "A present for you, your majesty," he added before throwing the body at the somehow paralyzed prince.

"Seth!"

Before Atemu knew it, his back was on the wall, his hands pinned above his head. A hint of déjà vu as he struggled madly. "Let me go, Bakura!" he demanded despite his fear of the person in front of him.

Bakura purposely ignored him and started his assault on Atemu's now naked body.

"Lesson number one," he breathed at the prince's ear, "You can never escape me, never," before forcing himself inside the other's body.

Atemu cried in pain, as the other started moving without hesitance.

"Atemu…"

A soft whisper calling his soul

"Atemu, please…"

Was this how it feel to die? Numb and broken?

"Atemu," two more.

He was fading into nothingness… ready to depart…

"ATEMU WAKE UP!"

END OF DREAM

Atemu cried out as he was roused awake, trembling madly at the memory of the dream. He searched frantically for his best friend, and seeing him, ran into his embrace, clinging like a lost child.

Mahado stiffened at first contact in surprise before relaxing a bit (and controlling hormones), allowing the other to cry as his mind raced. What did the prince dream about to rattle him this much?

And by the looks on everyone's faces (which meant Isis, Karimu and Shadi), he was sure they all thought of the same thing.

"What's going on here?"

Atemu jumped in surprise before turning to meet Seth's questioning and irritated gaze, which somehow was the result of waking him up in the middle of the night. He ran to his cousin and embraced the other.

"You're all right," he whispered.

"Of course I am, what makes you think I'm not?" Seth asked, eyeing Isis for answers but she shook her head, knowing nothing to answer.

Atemu looked up to meet Seth's gaze, hoping to answer everyone's answer, "You… everyone… Mahado…" he paused, "You all died," he said before burying his head on the other's chest.

Knowing it will be better if the two cousins were alone, Isis ushered the others out and pulled a reluctant Mahado with her.

Mahado turned to enter the prince's chamber again when Isis pulled him back.

"Rest, Mahado, he will be fine," Isis said, her voice laced with seriousness as usual.

"I cannot rest. I am concerned, I want to know what happened to Atemu and how I can help," Mahado reasoned out but Isis merely shook her head.

"You can help by letting him be. He doesn't need people worrying their heads off for him," Isis answered.

"What happened to him, Isis?"

"I cannot tell you. I promised him I wouldn't tell."

Mahado broke away and made a move to enter the room.

"Mahado, stop! Fine, I'll tell you."

Said priest-in-training turned to meet Isis' gaze and followed the other away from the room.

"He… he was raped."

Mahado stared at the other in disbelief. "That's… not possible," he choked, "Who –?"

"Bakura."

"I'll kill him! Does the pharaoh know? Bakura must pay—"

"Mahado, stop! The pharaoh already knows," Isis interrupted, "Promise me you won't do anything nor will you tell anyone else—"

"But…"

"Promise me."

"Fine, I promise," Mahado conceded as they went away. How dare Bakura hurt the prince!

Seth sat on his cousin's bed with Atemu cradled in his arms fast asleep. The other's sobs had stopped thankfully earlier and his body was not trembling anymore.

'You all died.'

Atemu dreamt of their death? But why did it rattle him so much? It was just a dream, didn't Atemu know that? And why was he calling out Bakura to let him go? What did Bakura do?

Seth was snapped out of his thoughts by the sound of Atemu's whimper. Perhaps another dream, he thought.

"S-Seth!" Atemu whimpered as he started squirming. Two arms encircled his waist and pulled it towards their owner. "I am here, cousin. It's a dream," Seth whispered in his ear.

To his relief, the other ceased his squirming and cuddled towards him. The priest-in-training felt his body react to his cousin, his heart racing madly. Unconsciously, he caressed Atemu's face tenderly, admiring how soft it was and to his surprise, he was aroused.

'Annoying hormones,' he thought.

Seth groaned inwardly to himself before placing his cousin on his bed and when he was about to leave, a hand, smaller than his, reached out foe him and he was forced to face his cousin of a prince.

"Please stay, cousin, Atemu's request turned out to be a whisper. Seth sighed, how could he deny his prince? "As you wish," he answered before lying beside his cousin who cuddled next to him.Seth willed his body to stop moving and forced himself to sleep.

Neither of the two noticed that somebody was watching them from the balcony of the prince's chambers with fixed but resigned eyes.

"Farewell, Aoujii… Atemu," he said then he left, perfectly blending with the darkness and determined to erase every memory he had with the prince. It was over. Nothing ever happened.

A/N: I'm sorry for making you guys wait so long but here's chapter 8. I hope this isn't too bad. And I think I made Bakura evil here. Oh well…