Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh

Update schedule: Final Chapter on January 1st

Edit Schedule: Sporadic due to limited time

Chapter Warnings: COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF BLOOD, GORE, VIOLENCE AND DEATH

All right guys. This is the chapter that originally created the entire concept of the story for me. It's been changed a lot from its original idea when I first came up with it, which I think is for the better. I'm hoping I did this chapter and the next justice with all the changes they went through as the story went along.

I'll be posting the final chapter on the first. It'll be the four year anniversary of the story so I figure why not end it on its fourth birthday? I'll aim for early morning or late afternoon for update.

In the meantime though, merry Christmas!

Chapter XCV: Shadows That Bleed

Work Log Entry LXXXIV: January, 2011

January 1

The boss has left for a business trip of some kind; in the meantime Atem is meant to be experimented on relentlessly.

Every organ is to be monitored. Every ability is to be tested.

January 4

Atem shows no signs of illness.

He shows no signs of improved abilities.

He shows no signs of sensory overload.

Atem shows no signs of change whatsoever.

January 26

We continue constant monitoring and tests, but nothing has changed.

Atem still heals at his regular pace.

He eats and breathes and sleeps.

Drowning doesn't slow him.

Bleeding him just produces an irate Pure-Blood.

Not a single thing has changed.

Work Log Entry LXXXV: June, 2011

June 6

A wolf has been sighted on the property. Panik and Espa Roba have been sent to catch it.

It is meant to be kidnapped and taken hostage for experimentation.

June 10

There is no room in the other cells.

Atem is the only wolf with space left for another inhabitant.

It is assumed Atem, in his starved and emaciated state, will eat him alive.

June 11

We have put the wolf into Atem's cage.

Atem has been sedated long enough to put the wolf inside, but will be left to his own devices upon waking.

The wolf is in a feral and beaten state, as per the usual victims of Panik's torture games.

June 12

The wolf is still alive.

Atem is no longer feral.

June 16

Shockingly, Atem has taken to befriending the other wolf.

The wolf refuses to acknowledge us except when we try to grab Atem.

He's bitten three guards now and mutilated the fourth.

Atem merely watches as he does it. He doesn't object and he doesn't join him.

His behavior is odd, but not unpredictable. I've seen him watch more than act when he's curious about things.

June 20

The boss is not happy. He demands the wolf be removed from Atem's cage.

But there is no room. There hasn't been for months.

We've gone over our capacity by at least a hundred wolves.

Our subjects may be dying from experiments, but not quickly enough to open a new cage for me to separate them.

June 22

The boss is back.

He is furious this wolf is still alive and with Atem.

June 26

Atem and the other wolf have bonded significantly.

I refuse to let the boss remove him from Atem's cage.

We still do not have the space. But I also do not wish to see Atem alone again. So far approval has been granted despite the boss's many objections. Pegasus and Gozaburo see reason with the situation. But the boss seems…almost afraid.

We leave now.

The words were met with alarmed and mystified glances. Ears pricked, fur rose, eyes widened in surprise. Some wolves trembled with excitement, others horror, and still a handful with confusion.

The white wolf materialized in front of them like mist. He strode forward without a glance at them, merely taking a stand in the center of the camp and narrowing his eyes. He raised his tail, wagging it as if it were a flag meant to encourage anger. His eyes were glittering like gems, sparkling and dancing as they stared back at him.

The power grid is still active, Aki argued, raising her head from where she'd been napping near the entrance. Yugi didn't look over, eyes instead falling on Jonouchi. He peered at him with something like relief or perhaps encouragement beyond all the sadness he initially saw. You said that was our signal.

The plan changed, Yugi said abruptly, voice gutting any effort to argue. He turned to the she-wolf. His expression didn't change, steady and calm as his eyes bore into hers. We move now.

Where is Yami?

The words were met with eerie silence. Yugi flicked his ears, then slowly turned his head to meet Syrus's terrified expression. He didn't look upset by the question, but rather gutted and perhaps anxious. It was as if, for some bizarre reason, Yugi had not expected them to question the black wolf's disappearance.

He will not be joining us.

The pack erupted into protests, from verbal to images. And then, in the most awkward and estranged manner Jonouchi had ever known, pictures were thrown through his head like confetti.

Yami lay in a broken heap, head twisted unnaturally and limbs splayed in awkward directions. Yami lay beheaded, blood pooled about an unimaginable wound. Yami's broken body harbored no organs, a bloodied mess of flesh laying nearby. His head was cracked open, oozing as his jaws foamed. His body was crushed or riddled with bullets. Maggots ate at his eye sockets and slowly wriggled about, crawling forward and—

Wow, some of these wolves were really messed up. Jonouchi tried not to snarl with disgust as he forced the images away. He pricked his ears forward just as another image came forward.

He was given a choice, Yugi said quietly, voice so powerful and unwavering it cut through the chatter in a mere millisecond, and I will extend it now to each of you.

The wolves swapped looks as if they expected him to lunge at any moment. Yugi flicked his ears and turned his head to stare at the omegas where they rested nearby, watching him with horrified looks. Jonouchi remembered abruptly how Yusei had asked outright if Yami would be there when they fought. And now he wondered what would have stopped him. He wondered what had scared him off from his former declaration to help Yugi no matter what.

Was it Yubel?

Was it something worse?

Was it the gods? Had one of them interfered and turned him away from helping them?

Jonouchi hated himself for the thought, but was Yugi capable of leading and protecting them when the fight happened? Or was he simply a figurehead meant to lead them there to lay down their lives? Yami was their most powerful asset, wasn't he? He was the strongest wolf they had in their corner. He was a powerhouse where the rest of them were nothing more than toys with sharp teeth.

I told him he could leave. And he took his chance. Yugi watched them with an expression Jonouchi couldn't make heads or tails of. He couldn't read his eyes and his stomach knotted the more he tried. The white wolf looked almost unrecognizable, a stranger wearing what should have been the skin of his best friend. As I told him, I do not want anyone to follow me if they are unsure of themselves. You are all afraid. I know that. And no one should have to die, though I know most of you will. The reality is simple. If you are afraid now, you will freeze in battle later. You will die for your hesitation. And I do not want you all slaughtered without meaning. I would rather you leave now, while you have a chance of some kind to flee this fate.

Yugi looked over at Aki then. You and your sisters grew up with the understanding you'd most likely die upon meeting and following me. And maybe my name is synonymous with death, but I will not have everyone follow me just to die there in those labs. He turned back. So, if you are afraid now, leave. I do not want to lead anyone unnecessarily to their deaths.

Everyone was silent for a long handful of moments. And then the pack seemed to burst into violent protest and encouragement. Jonouchi watched as some of them snapped at one another for cowardice, though some merely stared at Yugi as if they couldn't understand him.

And Yami…left, j-just like that?

Yugi blinked and looked over. Yes. He left. Just like that. He pricked his ears forward. A slight bristle rose and fell along his scruff, the only potential sign he might be lying. But no one else seemed to notice. I wouldn't have him die here without reason.

But he said before…

His mind changed, the white wolf answered in a somewhat cold and dismissive tone. His eyes shot to Jonouchi then, boring into his before he turned away again. It's a loss. But he taught me what he could. And I'm just as strong as he is, even with my greater speed. We will be fine, with or without his presence. I'll kill Yubel and I'll end this war.

The words were met with silence, as if they were mourning death rather than absence. Jonouchi wondered if that was how the pack viewed it, as Yami dying rather than simply retreating. His stomach lurched and churned and his heart pounded as he looked around. Would they have rather he'd died than run? Was his life seemingly worth so little to them?

Valon, Yugi murmured, just loud enough that everyone looked over with wide eyes. The hellhound was sitting a few yards back, towards the entrance of the cavern leading to the waterfall, head raised and eyes glowing in the darkness. The white wolf came forward a few more steps. I'm sure your family will be relieved to have you evacuate Hokkaido with them.

Valon got to his paws. Yes.

Yugi watched him, dipping his head respectfully. Thank you.

The hellhound hummed a response, stepping around him before pausing. He narrowed his golden eyes, pricked his ears forward, and then chuckled, If you survive this, we should meet up again sometime.

Yugi flicked an ear but didn't answer him. Instead he looked toward the new figure that was hurrying after Valon. Jonouchi bristled, anger and the most minute touch of hatred coursing through him.

May Fenrir guide your paws, Yugi told the hellhound with a slight glance over his shoulder, and Lupa yours, Mai.

The words were met with snarls. Jim snapped his teeth, lunging at her as she passed. Shay snarled and bore his teeth with open disdain. Syrus stared with a stunned and mildly horrified expression. Valon turned his head and looked at Mai with a hint of bewilderment but mostly amusement. Mai kept her head down and her ears folded back, avoiding any glances towards her former companions.

I'm sorry, Yugi, the she-wolf said barely above a whisper. The white canine turned his head and licked her cheek.

Don't be. You deserve as much a chance at life as any of us. He glanced at Jonouchi then, staring and waiting as if he expected him to speak or follow. He huffed and turned away, ignoring the sting in his chest as Mai followed Valon with a small glance in his direction.

I…I love you, Jonouchi.

He bore his teeth in a snarl and refused to look over. Bye, Mai.

The rest of the pack snapped and snarled. Aki looked at her sister as if she might tear her head off. When the she-wolf passed her, Aki loomed over her as if she were a tiny bug. Mai slunk past her, obviously expecting a blow, but Valon did not so much as slow down. He trotted out of the camp with his tail up and head raised. He didn't say a word or even utter a noise to tell them goodbye. Aki, glaring at her sister with malicious eyes, watched until Mai made it out of sight.

We should have killed her, Jim snarled. If she's so afraid of death, why not hand it to her early?

Yugi shook his head. He looked over. Save your anger and energy for the fight with the hounds. He raised his head and shook himself out and Jonouchi swore he just looked small and tired, like he was sopping wet and dripping and it was the only weight he possessed. No one else?

No one made any move to speak out or step forward. Even the omegas sat there, watching him unrelentingly and with their heads slightly tilted. They never so much as wavered in their stances.

Yugi hummed and turned to Aki. There are four tunnel entrances I know of. You will take half of the pack through one and I will lead the other. Your vantage point will be closer to the foothills and mine will be a few miles further. It'll help to make it easier to corner them. We'll herd them toward each other, keep them in the center so as to isolate them and prevent them running.

Jonouchi frowned, puzzled by her hesitation. And then she nodded. He understood then; she still expected Yami to come out of nowhere. She thought he might bleed out of the shadows and run to their sides and lead the second pack instead.

Then let's do this, she answered. She raised her tail. Did you have an idea of who will be in what group?

It doesn't matter. We'll all meet in the same place. Yugi looked over. Choose who you wish to follow. Just make sure at the end of it someone has held count and the teams are even.

Jonouchi went to approach him, but the white wolf was staring at Mieru with an unreadable expression. Abruptly his head turned and he rushed forward to meet him, pausing steps away. He looked awkward and tired, almost lanky, as if he were nothing but a yearling.

Jonouchi, he said slowly, tilting his head and pricking his ears forward. You should have followed Mai.

He shook his head. She told me that, too, yesterday. She begged me to follow them. He flicked his ears and studied his face. I wasn't going to just leave you to this. You're my best friend.

Yugi's legs trembled for a single second. Then he sighed softly and shook his head. I wish you would have gone with them.

Well, I guess you're just stuck with all this awesomeness, huh?

The white wolf snorted and shook his head again. Aren't I lucky? But he wasn't being sarcastic and his eyes were full of gratitude and affection. Jonouchi wagged his tail and Yugi mimicked him, quivering from the force of his movements.

And then he stepped forward. Yug, he mumbled, what actually happened with Yami?

Yugi blinked, then flattened his ears. His eyes turned sad and full of guilt, a type of remorse Jonouchi wasn't sure how to weather. It doesn't matter. He wagged his tail. He's not here. That's all anyone needs to know.

Jonouchi tilted his head. He sounded sad and tired. He seemed exhausted just thinking about the red-eyed wolf. The golden wolf finally nodded again, searching his face and looking over at Aki. She'd amassed a following and when he looked away, there were multiple wolves standing near Yugi, but far enough away they were not imposing. He shivered when he looked them over; the majority was the yearlings and omegas, who he realized must have trusted Yugi no matter what simply because of his kinder personality.

He flicked and flattened his ears.

Are we ready then? Yugi asked, looking over to Aki as the she-wolf studied them with pricked ears. She nodded and Yugi exhaled slowly. The white wolf looked his group over, clearly tallying and listing names, and then turned back to her. I'll lead you to your tunnel entrance and then I'll lead the rest of us along.

She nodded, wagging her tail in turn. Jonouchi shivered and flattened his ears more forcefully against his head. His legs felt heavy like lead as Yugi raised his tail and darted forward.


Yami kept his head burrowed in his paws. There was movement around him, flurries of snowfall and ice where it was disturbed by rushing paws. He could hear each and every individual crunch like his heartbeat would have resounded in his ears. He blinked and pricked his ears forward. Many of the wolves were racing about, throwing images and phrases at one another.

It's beginning.

It's finally happening.

The wolf next to him shifted his weight. Do you plan to hide here the entire time?

I don't see much reason in returning, he hissed. He opened an eye to glare at his cage mate. He bristled at the tilt of his friend's head and the way his brows furrowed and pulled. Yugi will handle this. And then maybe I can finally just rest.

His cage mate stared at him. You're kidding, right?

I'm tired of suffering. Am I not allowed to just…want it to end?

You can't hide here. You've got to be tired of hiding by now, he argued, pricking his ears forward and staring. He wrinkled his lips back and scowled at him. You want it to end, don't you?

Yugi can end it.

You'd abandon him to that?

Yami flicked his ears and bunched his muscles closer to his body, trying to make himself smaller. He chose to abandon me when he drugged and left me. So, why shouldn't I leave him to his own decisions? There are consequences. Maybe I should have left him to the many I previously protected him from.

His cage mate stared at him as if he were an animal he didn't recognize or know how to approach. His fur rose and fell with a faint bristle and he stared at him in something almost akin disgust or disappointment. The black wolf buried his nose further under his paws. He wished he could have shrunk, that the ground might open and swallow him entirely.

Yami.

He blinked his eyes open again and peeked from beneath his lashes. The wolf standing in front of him was small and lean, staring at him with wide eyes. He looked down at Yami with glowing brown eyes, tilting his head and watching him. He didn't seem upset or disappointed, just maybe more confused than anything.

Jaden, he acknowledged as he blinked up at him. They stared at each other and Yami felt as if he might puke. Who was he truly going to be letting down the most? Jaden had clearly cared about Yubel, regardless of everything she'd done. He'd tried to explain, to give them some sense of sympathy for her hatred. He'd tried to slow them from their course of attack, to curb their desire to kill her. He'd still desired that they save his best friend, he knew.

But then, Yugi depended on him as well. It didn't matter that he'd chosen to slow him down and left him in the clinic there. He knew Yugi still depended on him to help to end this fight. But was it so wrong that Yami didn't want to do this? Was it so wrong that he wanted to simply stay there, in this little safe haven where all the pain was mended if he didn't focus and his heart didn't feel as heavy as it usually did because he could ignore it?

But then, his cage mate had to hate him now. He had to hate how small and weak and fickle he was. He had to regret allowing him to live now. He had to regret his sacrifice now, seeing Yami so weak and unwilling to rise and face his problems once more.

But then, what of Seto or Mokuba or Kisara or Bakura? He would be betraying them in not avenging them, right? Weren't their lives worth something as well? He'd watched each of them suffer at some point or another. And didn't he owe them something for his lack of intervention then?

Are you going to fight?

Yami tipped his head up. No. He stared at him, eyes cold and sharp. No.

Jaden tilted and shook his head. But…what if he needs you? He stared at him in bewilderment, flattening his ears back against his skull. You're his best friend.

He can watch out for himself.

He hasn't managed it so well before.

He blinked, startled, and raised his head to stare at him in surprise. Is that my fault?

Was it? He felt as if he might vomit. Had he set him up for failure in protecting him so often as he had? It was something he could have easily overlooked just in the relief that came from ensuring Yugi was okay.

Of course not, Jaden said with a slight grimace. But he cares about you. He listens to you.

He needs you, his cage mate added.

Yami looked over with a tilt of his head, then wrinkled his lips. I can't help him.

Why not?

He lowered his eyes to his paws again, wishing again for the ground to swallow him. He'd be happy to be thrown into an endless abyss at the moment.

Because he's drugged me, he growled, voice bleeding with misery. I can't help him from here.

But you know how to wake up!

His cage mate snorted. You know how to leave here on your own. Why not now?

Because I'm tired, he snarled, amazed when he snapped his teeth an inch from his face. He bristled and flattened his ears, glaring. I'm tired of fighting. I'm tired of trying! Nothing changes. I lose everyone. Yusei trusted me and I watched him die in front of me. And I couldn't stop Yubel or Sartorius from killing Yugi's family.

And that's your fault? His cage mate bore his teeth at him, green eyes glowing with rage. I did not save you just to watch you hide behind your pain like this.

Yami shifted his weight and looked down at his paws, considering them as if they were the most interesting things he'd seen in his life. I'm not… He shook his head and barked a tired laugh. I can't win this. Yugi was right to do this. He knew I was too weak. I'm exhausted. I can't do this.

No. You're just scared! His cage mate sighed and pressed his nose into his cheek. And that's okay. But you have to turn back. You have to do this. You're forgetting everything I tried to teach you before I died.

Am I? Yami closed his eyes. I don't recall. Maybe I have simply forgotten.

Do you remember what I told you?

He was trying his hardest not. But he remembered all the same. Distressed, he pressed his muzzle into his paws and growled.

I can change things. You used to tell me that all the time. The world buckles under my paws. Life ends beneath my teeth. But this… He scoffed and bore his teeth. This isn't that. Nothing has changed. I've tried and nothing has changed. Things have gotten worse.

There was a moment of silence. His cage mate sighed and pressed his head against his shoulder. Yugi was meant to die several times. And you saved him each time and perhaps even more. You have changed things, even when you did not mean to. Your scope of acceptance is too slim for you to understand the things you've put into motion. He fell quiet, then laughed softly. Yami, he drugged you. Because he wants to save you for once. And he knows you'll follow him into this fight no matter how much he begs.

You've caused quite the stir as of late, Lupa had said. Yami blinked and considered the words for a moment. He'd thought she meant his ability to jump between life and death at his own will. He'd imagined she meant snapping Obelisk's neck that day.

And, yet, now he wondered.

If his cage mate was telling the truth and not simply trying to encourage him, then he'd done far greater things than what he so often shrugged away. If he was telling the truth, Yugi was only alive now because of him. It meant Lupa and Fenrir were awake now because of him.

It also meant…for that single split second he'd thought he'd hallucinated the smell, Lupa had truly been fearful of him.

Are you ready to give up on him so soon, Yami? You saved him for a reason. You thought he could save you. Has that changed?

The gods were truly afraid of him. They were afraid of the scope of change he'd caused. No wonder Slifer had been in his dreams so often as of late. No wonder Ra watched him with such thunder in her eyes. No wonder Fenrir regarded him with such interest and Hati tracked his every movement.

No. He blinked and turned his head. No, it hasn't changed.

But maybe everything else had.

And if everything else was changing, then the gods were going to be forced to rework and evaluate and adapt.

You thought he could save you. And he did. He saved you each and every time you thought you'd become lost. You saw that potential and utilized it. His cage mate searched his face. And now what shall you do? Will you help him now or simply back off? Will you save him?

Yami looked toward the river. The water crashed about the banks and his ears seemed deafened with the noise. He tilted his head and considered it, taking in the swift current and the hideous swirl of stars that danced upon its surface. And he thought, for the longest time, of the fear the gods suffered from him. And he thought of how Lupa had taken Yugi aside from him, how she'd wished to speak to him without his presence. And then he wondered what had been said.

But his interest waned.

Yugi would need him. Even if he had drugged him to slow him down, he knew Yami would come for him. He was banking on that.

And beyond the melancholy and mounting anxiety, Yami felt that draw again. He'd been wallowing in the self-hatred long enough to smother it, but it was there again. It was constant and strong and overpowering.

He got to his feet.

And if I can't?

There was no question what would happen then. Yami almost laughed. He'd kill them all. He'd rip them to pieces. And he'd come back to destroy Lupa and Fenrir, as he'd promised that day should Yugi come to harm. He'd crack their spines in his teeth and drink the marrow and he'd destroy everything they'd ever worked to maintain. The balance would sever. The world would rot and implode. And he'd enjoy it.

Then he'll die, his cage mate said quietly. And he won't come back.

Right. And what about me?

His cage mate froze and stared at him in confusion. You?

Yami laughed as he turned to him, voice cutting. I'll be alone.

Perhaps. But for now you have Yugi. You have the rest of the pack. You have allies. And they might not follow you as they do him, but you're not alone. You have me as well. And you have your prowess and cleverness. I've always known you to be stronger than you think.

He shook his head slowly, not in argument but rather frustration. He didn't understand. He didn't understand the magnitude of the question Yami was asking. He didn't understand the scope of the inquiry.

What did I tell you before, Yami? Before you escaped. What did I tell you?

Yami blinked and lost his frustration as he considered his cage mate. The anger turned into a painful, raw wound that made his blood burn. That I was never to doubt you love me, he finally mumbled, and the word made his skull itch and burn and the wound reopen wider. You said that you'd…stand with me even when I couldn't see you.

And before that?

That courage runs as deep as despair when you need it, he recited, blinking once long and slow. And that you'd never let me fade without hope.

Right. So what do you plan to do? His cage mate wagged his tail and searched his face. You don't want to do anything to hurt him. You love him like I do you. You'd sacrifice yourself for him if you knew how.

Yami blinked and narrowed his eyes. Sacrifice…

His head snapped around. Lupa was standing yards away, watching him with eyes he couldn't read. He peered at her and wondered then, pricking his ears forward. If I lose him, he whispered to her, your life will be forfeit for his.

His cage mate nudged his shoulder with his nose. Yami turned to him then, locking eyes as he murmured, Go. Swallow your hesitation and go!

The air seemed to crackle when he rushed forward, sprinting for the river. And he swore for a single second the entire body of water dissipated around him when he crashed into it.


Atem.

Yugi's head snapped up at the sound of his name. His ears pricked forward as he raised his chin and looked over in bewilderment. He blinked and strained his eyes to see through the rapid snowfall. It was so dense where it drifted through the air that he could barely see through the mass of white. He could hear several feet on the snow, crashing forward. He raised his tail slightly and took a step forward.

Aki, he called, bewildered, and came closer as she appeared in the snow yards away. She was nothing more than a shadow against the ice at the moment but she began rapidly gaining definition as she came closer to him. What's wrong? I showed you the tunnel.

Slifer was a few feet in. She said not to take that entrance.

Yugi stared at her, almost bewildered by the words. It occurred to him she could have easily been lying. She could have been worried because she might still have suspected Yami might come to take control of her portion of the pack. Perhaps she thought she was wrong to lead them as his second-in-command. He couldn't have said, in truth, but he supposed it didn't matter.

Did she say anything else?

That it was just more important we all remain together rather than split up, Aki growled, shaking herself out and bristling faintly for a moment. I don't know why she was waiting there besides to tell us that. She told us to turn back and find you and rejoin.

Yugi flicked an ear and looked toward some of the others in her group. Jim growled with his head lowered, as if he were being reprimanded. And Yugi wondered for a single second what Slifer might have been trying to prevent. It occurred to him only a moment later that the humans likely expected them. They'd probably hidden further into the labs, planning to sacrifice the wolves long before they lifted a finger.

Aki would have led her wolves straight into a hail of bullets.

Okay. Then join us. Buddy up. We'll use that system until we get inside. The tunnels are narrow and long and the river touches the ledges. So, we will all rely on one another just as long as it takes to reach the labs. Yugi turned to Jonouchi. You'll stay with me. Stay beside me. And stay closer to the wall. I'll take the spot closer to the water. Yami and I traversed the area a couple of days ago so I have experience with it.

His friend stared at him in something of open bewilderment but nodded all the same. His head tilted as he murmured, Why did he come here with you if he didn't plan to join us?

I asked him to lead me here. It was at my request. It had nothing to do with anything else. He wanted to set me up for success. He wanted us to succeed. That's the long and short of it. Whether he joined us here or not makes no difference.

Yami would be livid when he woke. When he remembered it all, recalling the immensity of his apology and actions, he would lose it. Yugi didn't know if he would even allow him time to gain forgiveness. He didn't know if Yami would forgive him after he died, ether. He didn't know that Yami wouldn't hate him forever, refusing to forgive and forget even when he was long in Paradise.

He stepped into the tunnel with a small glance at the others. Aki was standing a few feet away again, watching him intently as he passed the frozen brambles. The white wolf waited for Jonouchi to join him, keeping to the innermost side. He watched a few others slowly work their way into similar positions, side by side and never wavering as they awaited his lead. When he saw at least a few of them gathered there in the dark, he turned back to start at a brisk trot. Jonouchi scrambled to his side with a quiet protest.

Sorry. Forgot you're not as fast as me, Yugi mumbled, slowing for the gold wolf to catch up. His friend huffed as he moved to sync their steps. The river water became increasingly louder as they rounded a corner and the sound of their steps made his head throb.

They were so loud.

But it was impossible to ask them to utilize speed and remain quiet. There were too many of them. They all worked differently than he did. And none of them seemed particularly comfortable with the cramped space. He could tell by the way they wavered in speed behind him. Someone slipped and nearly crashed into the gorge, but their partner and the wolf behind them caught their scruff and back leg, tugging them back. Yugi paused to look over his shoulder.

Jim regained his balance, entire body rigid as he bristled. Zane snorted and turned away from watching. Shay growled at them to start moving again. Mana straightened from behind him and shook herself out. And then they all noticed him. Their eyes shot to Yugi, startled that he'd stopped. He looked them over, considering Jim for a moment more than anything. Then he turned back and began to lead Jonouchi again.

He remembered Mikiyo then, abruptly but with clarity. Marik had pushed her to disobey him and give chase to that serow on the cliffs. He remembered it springing over his head and her body crashing down the ledges and onto the stone below. Yugi remembered the pack as they'd hovered and debated what to do, Marik outspoken in abandoning her there to simply die. She'd broken her leg and bled internally, but he'd still scaled the wall to get down and speak to her. He'd sat there with her, waiting and watching and listening.

They wouldn't have stopped here. He wouldn't have allowed it. Had Jim fallen, he would have been lost to the torrent and his body beaten on its way down the underwater gorge. There was no safe way to maneuver the walls of slick stone and frost where the cold touched them. He would have said a prayer and then kept going.

They didn't have the same luxury now as they had before. Mikiyo had been an unfortunate victim, Jim would have been an accident. He wasn't a yearling who had been tricked into chasing a serow for the sake of proving himself. He was a much more experienced, older wolf with no such gullibility to boast. And he had made it to the center of this war. To die now, falling from a ledge rather than in a fight, would have been shameful.

Yugi pricked his ears forward and slowed his steps. Jonouchi hurried to match his pace, seemingly unsure of himself. Yugi glanced at him in his peripheral but did not speak. He narrowed his eyes, scanning the darkness until his skin crawled. He could hear the hum of electricity now, the buzz of fluorescent lightbulbs. Then came the smell of chemicals, of blood and sweat and the earthy undertone of wolfsbane, the stark clarity of silver. Heartbeats entered his ears moments later, weight shuffling beneath paws, fur twitching and rustling. Claws clicked against concrete, teeth gnawed on plastic and glass and metal. Growls came in soft whistles and small rumbles, stomachs gurgled, liquid dripped.

He paused as he came to the entrance. His ears pricked forward and he bristled faintly as he looked around in the dim halo of light coming from the end of the tunnel. He flicked his ears and glanced toward Jonouchi at his side. His friend was sniffing at the air, tense as he craned his neck and listened intently as well. The gold wolf stayed silent for a long handful of seconds, then looked over as well, eyes sparkling from the fluorescent glow cast upon them.

How do we do this?

Yugi listened for a few seconds. Then he snorted. They know we're here. Even if the humans aren't aware yet, Yubel is. I can hear her moving around. She was pacing but she's stopped. She knows where I am. He tilted his head. I'll lead us down. It's not a problem to do that. I always planned to as it was.

Jonouchi nodded slightly, staring intently. Okay, so what's our plan past that?

We'll have to jump down one at a time. Yubel will come for me. Everything else is going to be a gamble. He looked over his shoulder at the others and bristled slightly. His stomach lurched as he turned back. He'd be leading them to their deaths. They'd followed him here, knowing the risks, and he'd given them the chance to leave. They could have at any time. Yet they were all still there. He turned back. And there's nothing I can say to you to make you leave, too?

Jonouchi snorted. You didn't convince Yami, either.

Yugi huffed, for a single second hating how smart his friend was. He turned back to look down. There was a platform of cement beneath them, but it was too thin for them to land, even one at a time. They'd fall off into the water. The platform across the way was what they'd have to jump for. The ladder was useless as wolves, not that they could have safely made the leap from the one to the other without complications as humans.

They'd opened the dam, he realized, to raise the water levels to slow them down. The jump would likely stagger them, if it didn't break their legs when they did it. He huffed and looked around to see if there was anywhere else he might lead them. Further down, however, would simply lead back into the mountains and valleys.

We'll have to jump across to the other side. They've raised the water levels to slow me down. I don't think they're expecting a pack, unless Yubel was feeling generous enough to tell them. Yugi bunched his muscles and sprang forward, entire body stretched out so forcefully it almost made his forelimbs ached. He landed roughly, paw pads threatening to split under his weight, and his head spun as he came forward and shook himself out. His legs stung, pulled and painful, but it did not last for long. Tingles rapidly raced up his limbs, like ants biting into his flesh. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the other wolves.

Move one at a time. Aim for the spot beside me. Move a few feet into the corridor but do not overcrowd and do not go further. I will keep here until all of you have gotten to this side. And then I'll lead us through. He wagged his tail when a few of them swapped uncertain looks. And then Yugi watched Aki crouch, judging the distance, and spring. She landed with a huff, snarling from the impact, and straightened slowly. Her legs wobbled once before she raised and shook each of her paws, moving slowly forward a few steps.

Yugi stood with his head raised. He watched as each of them jumped down. They recovered a few seconds later, shaking themselves out and moving forward slowly. Each of them swapped looks and studied him for a moment as if expecting him to make a move to abandon the rest. But he waited, standing and watching each of them as they jumped forward. When they landed he stood aside for them to move past him. He didn't move but for his eyes, patiently waiting for them to join the others.

Mieru was the last to jump. She hesitated, pacing with aggravated steps, and then leaped. Yugi could see her trajectory was off before she even made it halfway. He watched as her paws barely made contact with the concrete. And then he sprang forward. He caught her by the scruff just as her hindquarters almost touched the water. A single tug brought her over the edge completely. She scrabbled and slipped on the water on the end of the platform and Yugi dragged her toward him, then released her when she was a few feet from the edge.

And you see the future, huh? he teased, wagging his tail. Did you know you wouldn't make it?

She huffed a breath and scowled at him, but it was clear she had. She'd resigned herself to drowning, he realized. She'd come knowing she was going to be a sacrificial lamb just as he did. Yugi searched her face, then turned to look over his shoulder. The wolves each tilted their heads curiously. He shook himself out and turned back to face Jonouchi and the others, padding forward a step.

You all have one last chance to leave. It's not hard to jump back over to the other side and climb that ladder, he announced. He watched their faces and then looked back at Mieru. Even you have the chance to run now.

I have no choice, she growled, getting up. I've known what would happen since I was born.

I just changed that for you. You were going to drown here. You have a choice now.

You're foolish. I'll die here one way or another.

Very well, Yugi said, turning back. He wagged his tail and moved past the others to resume the lead. Aki stepped aside for him to take her place, ducking her head with her ears flattened for a single moment. The white wolf blinked and dipped his head in turn, then raced forward. Let's do this.

Their paws sounded deafening against the concrete as they moved. Their claws clicked relentlessly. His fur rose and fell twice, shuddering as he pricked his ears forward. As he stepped into the light completely, the world seemed to erupt into a dizzying silence. His head snapped up and his eyes narrowed as he looked forward and to the catwalks. The wolves moved to flank him, as if he might spring forward and they would need to run alongside him. But he simply looked around, eyes searching rapidly for a point to focus on. There were no humans. There were no lycanthropes. There were no wolves.

There was only Yubel.

She was leaning against the railing, a rusted mess of metal. She tapped her fingers against it, the echo making Yugi's head ring. The white wolf padded forward a step. The wolves down here were still locked up. He could hear them, pacing or growling. He could smell fear-scents or festering wounds, their depression smothering and illnesses bleeding through the air. Each of their heartbeats was drowned beneath the sound of her nails hitting the metal. And for a moment he wondered if she might change and leap at him. Or perhaps she would come after him then, simply lunging and trying to kill him as a human.

Maybe she had a weapon.

Maybe she didn't.

Yugi pricked his ears forward and wrinkled his lips back. I brought an army. Where is yours?

She crossed her arms and leaned against the railing. Her nails were painted bright red. Her hair was shiny and clean. On her wrist was a set of bangle bracelets. She wore a lacy dress, with sheer black and red ruffles. Around her neck was the transmitter, a bulky-looking metal box that reminded him vaguely of a transformer. Project RS-HB-1 was written across the front of the metal plate there.

"You certainly did over compensate for a fight with me, didn't you?"

Oh, please. We all know you'll let the others out to play.

"True enough. I'm almost sad you weren't stupid enough to expect otherwise." She raised a brow and stared at him, eye sparkling with excited laughter. "I would have liked to see you torn to pieces like your little bitch was that day in the woods. Where is he, anyways? Could he not stomach the return here? I hadn't taken him for such a loser."

I don't know. I didn't ask for an explanation when he left. Yugi trotted forward a step. The pack behind him shifted anxiously at the mention of Yami, though none pulled out of position. Why don't you go ahead and just open the cages and raise your numbers? I'd really rather get this fight over with.

"You're no fun."

I don't care.

She scoffed and wandered away a few steps, humming a nursery rhyme as if there were nothing to fear and he wasn't a beast to waste time on. Yugi watched her as she walked, slow and lazy, to a room adjacent them. "You know, they only recently installed a button to release all of the wolves at once. It's funny. I would have assumed they'd had one before, considering the escape earlier this year." She looked over her shoulder at him. "Although, if I remember right, you don't remember all of that, now, do you? All those lives sacrificed for your survival and you don't even remember."

Lupa gave me my memories back.

"How generous of her." Yubel rolled her eyes and wandered into the open door of the room. She hummed and sang the rhyme under her breath. And then Yugi heard a definitive click. He looked over his shoulder at the pack. They were all staring at the door Yubel had disappeared behind. Some of them looked fearful. Others looked dismissive. Jonouchi was staring at him in bewilderment, however, as if he thought Yugi was insane for not going after her then and there.

I don't know what she's capable of as a human, he managed to send just as the sound of glass rising and sliding and clicking came in rapid snaps. Yugi turned his head and looked. The wolves behind the glass doors stirred as if they'd been in a daze before. Heads snapped up. Eyes widened. Bodies tensed.

The moment the cells opened the surrounding wolves sprang forth. The sudden onslaught made every hair on Yugi's body stand in alarm. His eyes widened as he looked around quickly. The hounds barked and raced forward. And the lycanthropes snarled and lunged. They landed on one another violently. In front of Yugi, three of the canines crashed into each other. Blood flew. Fur was torn and shredded. Bones crunched. One of them slammed into the other. They spun on each other. Snarls echoed about the narrow corridor. The noise bounced about the area, resounding and booming in his ears.

Two wolves began to run. Another raced forward and snapped his teeth. A yearling sprang and cut through another's throat. Blood fell to the floor. It spurted across the walls. Their paws were bloodied. And then another ripped their throat out.

Yugi bristled faintly. Keep as close to yourselves as you can. Don't leave each other. Remain as close as possible. It'll help avoid confusion, he directed. His ears pricked forward and he bore his teeth. A hound slammed into another one. The two spat and snarled, foam dripping to the ground. They smelled of rot the moment their skin opened. They slammed into the wall. Blood spurted once more. Teeth gnashed together. A body flew backwards and hit the ground, broken and splayed.

Someone slammed into Yugi's side. He turned, jaws opened into a gaping snarl. But the hound hadn't attacked him. They'd been thrown. Their pursuer had their throat in their mouth. Yugi snapped his teeth violently. The other two dogs flinched away. And then one was struck to the ground. Blood flew. A piece of intestine was flung rapidly in a shaking motion. Yugi was smacked with gray and green matter. And then it hit the wall and seemed to split in half and burst.

In front of him, a much larger hound came forward. A yearling had come up on Yugi's left side. He wasn't sure when. But the hound snapped its teeth on its mouth. The bone crunched. The yearling screamed and hit the ground. Its body flipped and it tried to kick its back legs. But its life ebbed away a second later. It had been thrown to the ground. And its attacker had ripped their throat out in an instant.

Someone else came from the other side. And their teeth snapped into the hound's neck as well. It screamed. The lycanthrope shook it violently. Their neck snapped from brute force. Its limp body sailed through the air and hit the wall. And then Yugi watched Aki spring forward. The she-wolf hit a hellhound. Her teeth clamped into the dog's skull. When she snapped her teeth further, blood spurted. She shook her head. The dog was lifted off the ground from sheer force. Chazz came on the other side and gutted it.

And then they hurtled further into the fray.

Yugi watched for only a moment as the rest of them sprang forth.

He looked around rapidly. Bodies littered the ground feet ahead of him. He jumped over a handful of corpses. Blood colored the ground for what seemed to be miles. The walls were painted in it. His paws were sticky with flesh and muscle. He shivered, stomach lurching. He bore his teeth. His ears pricked forward. His paws slid in a puddle of gore. And he cast a single glance around again.

Where was she?

Where had Yubel gone?

He flicked an ear. He snarled and flicked his tongue over his nose. Someone landed behind him. Yugi spun on them, foaming at the mouth. But Jim rushed forward, blindsiding him. The one-eyed wolf caught the hound in the face. And they hit the ground in a tumble. Yugi watched for a single second. Then he turned back, bristling faintly.

He could hear it as Jim ripped their throat out. And then he listened as he rushed off again.

Yugi flicked his ears. His eyes narrowed. He tried to focus. But his head was spinning. The sound of blood spilling, of death screams, of absolute furyfrom the myriad around him made his bones feel too hot. His fur rippled with anxiety and thrill. The onslaught was almost overwhelming. His skin felt as if it were burning. His lips wrinkled back. His tongue flicked over his nose.

Every part of him tingled with excitement.

He stepped forward. Surprise was an element that had apparently evaded them. He'd hoped to have it under his grasp. He'd hoped to save them using it. And yet it was long gone.

But he supposed the rage sufficed to make up for it. And he supposed the excitement that raced through him aided the adrenaline. And the adrenaline would allow them to kill them all.

He tilted his head and came forward, searching intently for her. He couldn't catch a trace of her scent. He couldn't catch a single hint of her amongst the crowd. Wave after wave of wolves raced forward.

It seemed almost endless. He couldn't imagine the sheer amount of wolves they'd captured and tortured at this rate.

He raced forward. He snapped his teeth and tasted blood. The wolf he'd attacked spun on him. But she missed. And Shark ripped her throat out in her moment of distraction. Yugi jumped over them. Another wolf slammed into his shoulder. The white wolf turned and chomped his teeth. He missed their face by a mere millimeter. He dodged their return snap by an inch.

He blinked, startled.

What? Were you not looking for me?

Yugi bristled faintly. I wasn't expecting you to come looking for me.

But who better to kill you than me?

He shifted his weight and eyed her. Her coat was unusually glossy. The strands were long and brilliant. Not a single hair was out of place. She did not have a mark of blood. There was no gore on her face. Her eye sparkled with laughter. And when she drew her lips back into a snarl, it was of pure amused malice.

Did you expect me to waste my time with the rest of the little bastards around here? Yubel purred, tilting her head as drool slowly dripped from her jaws. I came to kill you. Did you think I'd bother wasting my energy on others?

Yugi didn't honestly know what he'd expected. But it certainly hadn't been for her to find him instead. He bristled faintly and considered her. One of the wolves was thrown backwards. They hit her hip and in a split second she'd bitten their head off. Yugi watched it roll across the floor. And he realized, stunned, she'd never once taken her eyes off him. Her lips drew further back into a grin, showing each of her razor sharp teeth.

There. Are you happy now?

He wasn't sure why the callous action surprised him. He couldn't have named the reason no matter who asked. But he pricked his ears forward. He raised his tail. He snapped his teeth.

She gave him an unimpressed, almost bored look. Then she shot forward. Her teeth nearly snapped into his foreshoulder. But Yugi ducked his head. He snapped his teeth. Their jaws caught with a hideous click. She snickered and tossed her head. Yugi kept his shoulders braced. He kept his back legs spread to their width for balance. He lowered his head, clamping his jaws harder. Yubel snarled softly.

Yugi shook his head in turn. Then he released. He ducked and sprang upward. Yubel snorted and rose to her back legs. Their forelimbs caught. Their claws tore tufts of fur. Their lips peeled back. Yugi twisted when she lunged forward. He ducked and tilted his head. Her teeth caught his scruff. His caught her throat inches from the jugular.

He shook her but she hardly budged. Her teeth dug into his shoulder then. He shook her harder. His forelimb was caught. His balance was thrown slightly from force. And he was suspended by her teeth in his flesh. Each shake rippled between the two of them.

She shifted her weight. Her teeth scraped bone. Then they tore through muscle and flesh. She'd released him, he realized. Blood splattered to the ground. He dropped to all fours. But he didn't release. His injured leg rose. He dug his claws into her fur. Tufts flew as she shifted her weight and attempted to dislodge him.

She ducked her head. She shifted her weight again. Then she darted forward.

Yugi was left with a mouthful of fur and blood.

He blinked. He turned his head.

She shook herself out. The displaced fur was sleek again. The wound on her neck had healed and mended. She snorted and blinked. Her ears flicked. She raised and wagged her tail. Her mouth opened into a lazy grin.

You're a lot faster than you used to be.

Thanks. I practiced.

She snorted and wagged her tail harder. And Yugi almost would have thought she was simply a gray and black she-wolf in her yearling stage. She looked friendly and almost soft around the edges. Her cheeks were wrinkled with amusement. Her eye was half-closed and almost somehow warm.

A hound was thrown forward. They hit the ground on their back. Then they rolled. They kicked their legs. They twisted and struggled for their paws.

And then they screamed and dropped dead. Their head had been severed.

And Yubel licked her bloodied jaws once more. She wagged her tail again. And Yugi could smell the buildup of saliva, of poison in her jaws. She stood almost motionless behind the other hound's flank. She was inches from him. But she did not lunge.

Yugi considered her. Another body fell and tumbled to the ground. It landed at his hip. But he didn't look. Blood pooled beneath his paw, spreading slowly. He blinked, studying her. She hardly looked as if she were prepared to lash out to begin with. And yet he knew she was. He knew she was just waiting. She was aiming. She was calculating. And she was taking the moment to study his frame.

I'm almost disappointed. You've barely dirtied your paws. And here I am, with three bodies already to my name.

Yugi flicked an ear. Three?

Oh, I'm counting your body when I break it, she admitted with another wag of her tail. Her eye sparkled and her paws rose and fell lazily in a faux parade. And then she sprang forward. He met her head on. Their legs tangled. But she didn't further the attack. Her head tilted. Her mouth opened in a grin, tongue lolling. And then, finally, she snapped her teeth.

Yugi snapped in turn. They caught each other's teeth again. And he twisted, shifting his weight to catch himself. Yubel sprang for his mouth. But she missed as he tilted and ducked his head. She caught his scruff instead. The force of the pull seconds later made him stumble. She used the momentum to lunge forward. Her teeth sank further in. She used her left paw to slice at the flesh along his dorsal cape.

She shook him violently. Yugi pricked his ears forward. He narrowed his eyes and watched her in his peripheral. She kept shaking him. Yugi held himself as still as possible. Then he ducked when she paused. The movement made her stumble. He tried to step back and away from her. They were flank to flank now. He rushed upward, off his forelimbs. He thrust his shoulders up. He leaped off his feet, then forward.

She flipped. She hit the ground on her back and Yugi dug his teeth into her neck. He shook her as violently as she had him. She released, stumbling. When he got to his feet, he dragged her as well. She braced herself but Yugi thrust upward again. The momentum almost sent her off her paws. And then he tossed himself sideways. In an instant she was flipped once more. She was able to twist, however. And, though she didn't manage the landing, she almost caught her footing again.

Instead her legs splayed out beneath her. Her paw slipped in a puddle of blood. She collapsed and hit the ground. But it held her only a moment. She pushed so rapidly off the floor that Yugi almost lost his balance. But he held. And she straightened. His neck creaked from the effort of keeping his grip. Her forelimbs wrapped around his neck. She tossed herself down. Yugi's neck craned at an almost unnatural angle. He arched his spine slightly to absorb the impact of his paws. Yubel rose again, trying to shake him. She wriggled and tossed herself. Yugi stumbled and almost slipped.

His left paw landed atop the recently decapitated body. He bristled and snarled loudly. And she shook herself once more. When he failed to let go, she got up to her fullest height. Then she spun almost as if dancing. Yugi stumbled and lost his footing entirely. She slammed him to the ground then. Her shoulder shoved against his flank and he flipped. The force made his jaw creak. She shook her head violently. His body shook painfully. She tugged until he almost rolled again.

And, finally, as she stepped away, she slipped from his grip. Her jaws clamped in his cheek. She shook him violently, rapidly. He could hear her neck creaking from the force. She clawed at his stomach, snaring her paw in his fur. He was pinned partially, flank to the ground, face craned up to hers. Abruptly she released him and sprang away, snarling and spitting.

She stepped back and wagged her tail a moment later. I'm actually pleasantly surprised you learned a few new tricks. I was beginning to think this might be boring. She wagged her tail again, then stepped forward with it raised once more. Every fur along her back rose. Yugi paced a step and raised his in turn.

She charged him. Yugi bore his teeth. They rose to their back legs again. Yugi's claws sank into her fur along her shoulders. She clamped onto his cheek and shook him. And then she twisted and jerked. The movement sent him falling backwards. Upon impact he kicked his back legs. He pressed his back paws into her gut. Then he pushed hard.

She was sent a few steps sideways from his pinned body. And then he hurried for his paws. He snapped his teeth as she released and dodged aside a few inches. Her head was lowered toward him. Her teeth were gaping and wide. Her eye glinted fiercely. Yugi straightened and bore his teeth.

But when he charged her, someone else met his teeth. He clamped his jaws and held. And when he looked past the mass of fur in his mouth, she was gone. He spat a curse, then tossed the wolf aside. The canine hit the wall, seemed almost to bounce, and scrambled for his paws. Yugi huffed when he realized it was Yuya; the omega must have been trying to take Yubel by surprise. But the most he'd done was given her an escape.

He wondered why she'd fled.

He shook himself out and glanced around. Yuya mumbled something that sounded like an apology and then took off. Yugi glanced around, scanning. But the most he got was another hound, large and barrel-chested, rushing toward him.

He spun sideways, as if he'd been struck, jumping onto his back legs. The other male skidded past him, almost roaring with anger. Yugi snapped his teeth and backed up a pace. His paw touched the dead body once more. As long as he kept its placement in mind, he wouldn't be taken surprise by it later. The hound rushed forward as Yugi stepped back again. He hunched his back, squaring his forelimbs. And then he snapped his teeth as the dog came in contact.

He turned enough to take the bulk of its heavier weight toward his back. His head craned up again, aiming for its neck. But the dog turned its head. He missed. The dog missed as well. It landed heavily on all fours, right behind his hip. Yugi twisted the other direction, raising his tail to block access to his spine. The dog lunged forward, mouth gaping wide. Yugi spun and lunged upward. He slammed his face into its shoulder. It yelped, thrown face-first to the floor. It tripped over the body as it tried to regain its footing. Yugi sprang forward, snapped his teeth into its jugular, and shook it violently.

The body went limp a split second later. He dropped it and jumped over it, bristling. He shook himself out and pricked his ears. The fur along his scruff rose more violently. He bore his teeth and listened for a moment. But he couldn't tell where she might have gone. He didn't know the direction. The hallway was too damn narrow and the scents he could catch were only of decay and fresh blood.

He turned his head, catching one of the hounds nearby rushing forward. It hit Aki square in the side, but the she-wolf hardly looked daunted. She spun on it, all teeth and blood splatter across her dark fur. The hound dodged her initial attack, but didn't move far. She chased, every muscle in her body primed for the kill. She clamped on its back leg, hamstringing it. And then she caught the thigh hard enough to break the bone in half. The hound yelped, all but screaming. The high pitch made her head hurt for a split second. Then she released and stepped back.

The hound tried to flee but got only a couple of feet away. She snorted, wagging her tail, and approached it with a grin of bright white teeth. It limped and spun on her, mouth gaping wide. Its floppy ears were perked toward her. Its tail hung long and curled, back hunched. She almost would have seen it as a victory if they weren't surrounded by so much death. She snorted and wagged her tail, then charged forward. It managed to back up at the last second and she bounded past it before spinning around again.

She enjoyed the way its legs quivered fearfully. It tried to jump back more than once. Its back leg snapped and buckled under the pressure. It fell straight to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Aki watched it carelessly, waiting for it to rise again. Finally, bored as it tried to limp away again, she sprang.

She slammed into its side, sending it into a spin on wobbling legs. It backed up, blood gushing from the wound. And she pressed her weight into her back limbs, hunching. When she lunged forward, it yelped and tried again to back away. She pushed forward and stepped to the side. It collapsed in its own panic, clearly anticipating the hit it never received.

She circled it, then went for the other leg. It screamed and turned on her, struggling to bite at her face. She grabbed its left thigh and shook it violently. It clawed for her face, struggling, but a bite to the underbelly made it scream again. Blood soaked her tongue in a mere second. The familiar taste made her stomach feel almost warm with ease. She split its belly and jumped over its damaged body. She shook herself out and trotted forward, raising her tail in silent victory. Gloating on the battlefield was dangerous, but if she was good at nothing else, this was it.

She looked around, scanning. Atem had launched himself at a hellhound. Its head hit the ground. Its body jerked and twitched. The white wolf was bathed in blood from nose to cheeks. He paused, looking around as well. His blue-violet eyes surveyed the immediate area. And then they rose to take in the catwalks and various machinery along the walls. She wondered what he was looking for. He'd just had Yubel in his grasp. But when she looked around, the she-wolf's body was nowhere to be found.

She looked back to him. Atem had turned his head, eyeing her for a single second. His eyes narrowed and he snarled, She got away as if he sensed her line of thought. She huffed and bristled, scowling. But the white wolf shook himself out, glanced around, and dove into another fight.

A death scream echoed in the hall, drowning amongst the cacophony of snarls and growls and thuds of bodies. When she looked around again, Chazz had cornered a hound. Its tail was tucked partially, curled around its left hock. Its back was hunched. Its head was lowered. Its lips were drawn back. Every hair on its body looked as if it were matted. It stood on thin but powerful legs. Its ears were pricked forward. Its eyes were dilated and furious.

And then, as she watched, the hound raised its leg and curled its tail further around the raised appendage. Chazz's mouth was bloodied. The beta stood inches away, body posture intent upon striking out. The hound opened its mouth wide. Its spine arched, bony beneath its bloodied coat. One ear was torn and bleeding profusely. The dog hunched its head slightly and bore its teeth more pointedly.

When it lunged forward, it staggered. It fell sideways but caught itself. Chazz blinked and watched it, unimpressed. At first it hobbled. Then it sprang forward. It pushed off the ground rapidly. Its teeth opened wide and sank into his muzzle. Chazz startled, stunned by the sudden assault. He jerked backwards and the dog wobbled. It released him, then tried to run aside. But the moment it got a foot from him, it collided with another hound. The dog spun on it, chomping its teeth at it.

They tangled for a single second, before the crippled hound managed to dodge away. Chazz had to give it props. Even with the broken leg, it was a force to be reckoned with. The canine managed to spit and snarl and lunge. It scared one of the omegas away from where they'd been about to rush over. Chazz watched as it paused and reconsidered its position. No doubt it had finally realized it was surrounded. The pack had more or less kept to its own circle. He wasn't sure where Atem or Aki had gone, but they were outside of it now. The hounds had managed to flank them for the most part. A couple of the omegas were already dead. He had seen Jim struck down by Yubel herself, when the she-wolf had abruptly up and run through their circle and beheaded any creature near her. She'd killed allies and opponents alike, clearly uncaring. Her speed was daunting, almost too quick to follow. And then she'd disappeared as if she were made of smoke.

She'd stunk of Atem, however. Chazz recognized that much at least. He'd smelled it when she'd passed. When he'd thought to lunge at her, he'd failed due to that. Where was Atem, anyways?

The hound fled with Zane on its heels. And the huge gray wolf snapped its other leg. It spun on him, gaping jaws and white teeth. And Zane released only long enough to sever its jugular before turning back. He shook himself out, panting. He was bleeding in several places, one side completely stripped of fur and skin.

The male shook himself out and panted, eyes scanning constantly about them. Where did she go?

Chazz shook his head. I don't know where she went. I don't know where Atem is, either.

Fuck. You don't think she's managed to kill him?

He opened his mouth to answer, then froze. A hound rushed forward. Zane spun on it, snarling. But the canine never made contact. Its broken body hit the ground. And the wolf standing over it shook himself out. Every bit of gore and blood on his face was horrifying. But it made his eyes seem almost to sparkle.

I'm not dead just yet, Atem snorted. He stood taller, wagging his tail. Then he looked around slowly. Yubel went this way. I can see that much from all the bodies. But neither of you saw where exactly she went?

Zane looked as if he might collapse with relief upon seeing him. No, I didn't see where. She was too fast.

Atem nodded and surveyed their surroundings once more. Then he growled softly and flicked his ears. I need to finish this, he mumbled. Chazz wasn't sure who he was talking to at the moment. But he had projected it to both of them. He flattened his ears against his head. Atem looked around once more. Then he darted off, snarling. Chazz watched him get to one of the hounds. Its head rolled a few feet from its body. And the white wolf paused long enough to sniff the ground before cursing and turning back.

She turned incorporeal at some point. And I can't track the direction.

You can usually tell from scorch marks, Chazz supplied, startling when Atem's head snapped up and his eyes locked on his. She has to come in contact with something besides the ground, though. And I don't think she's stupid enough that she doesn't know that.

Atem nodded again and turned away. No, she's not stupid.

And then he was gone, back into the fray of the nearest fight.

Zane looked around cautiously. The fighting had only grown worse. It seemed almost like the hounds were never-ending. They came in waves. They seemed to be fucking bleeding out of the walls. Where one lost its life, five came to replace it. He didn't know how many of them he'd killed already. He'd torn out throat after throat and they just never seemed to stop coming. It didn't help that Yubel had struck down a good portion of the pack when she'd come running through.

Zane flicked his ears and picked his way forward. Chazz, cover my flank.

His beta made a small grunting noise of acknowledgement and then came running forward. Zane looked around again, cautious but fast as he walked brusquely amongst the scattered corpses. Gaping jaws and frozen, horrified expressions peered up at him. Zane ignored it, just as he did the stickiness of blood soaking his paws. He looked around again, snarling under his breath.

A hound rushed forth. Zane reared back as it lunged. They collided violently. He rose back on his hind legs. The hound tried for his throat and missed. Chazz had gotten it in the hind leg, holding it back a mere inch. It shrugged Zane away, turning on Chazz instead. The two of them snapped and bit at each other. They dodged and circled and lunged. Zane watched for a break in their movements but found none.

A sound to his right made his head turn. Yubel had returned. The Harbinger stood yards away, robust head tilted and lumbering shoulders arched slightly. Her ears flicked back and forth once. And her huge paws scraped against the cement floor. Her claws were curled slightly inward, large and spread out. And with each movement she lumbered slowly forward.

Zane couldn't see what she was so heavily focused on. There were too many canines. They were all weaving and biting and ripping each other to pieces. Some of them spotted her and scattered. One rushed her and was swatted aside violently. They hit the wall where their brain promptly burst from impact. The black and gray grizzly shook herself out and came forward again.

Zane glanced over his shoulder. Chazz and the other canine had long since ceased fighting. The hound lay in a broken heap, throat torn out. Chazz was panting and struggling for air with a punctured lung. Zane turned back. His fur rose and fell in a shuddering bristle. Yubel had charged.

The mass of hounds that had formerly been fighting turned tail. Zane looked into the core of that group. His heart rattled in his chest. His breath caught. His stomach lurched. A cry of panic rose in his chest. He tried to make a noise but couldn't breathe.

The entire group of wolves looked over as one. Chazz rushed past him, trying to get to them. Each of them tried to move and flee. But they'd been left disabled. Legs were broken. One could barely move. One had been blinded in one eye. The one who didn't seem as badly hurt at first glance had been all but disemboweled. They each looked up and stared at Yubel as she came forward.

Chazz lunged. And Yubel turned her head just long enough to smack him aside. The room was just large enough that he was thrown, hit the ground, tumbled a few yards, and lay there. He'd been almost gutted from the angle he'd been struck. But he was not dead. Zane could see his flanks moving just the faintest bit.

When he turned back, the yearlings screamed and yelped and struggled. They tried to move. Yubel chuckled and peeled her lips back to show each tooth. And then she slammed her paws down. One's spine cracked in half. One's head caved from the force. One was thrown when she flung her other paw. One dangled from her mouth. Another was subsequently grabbed in a hug and its head torn off. Another was gutted, intestines hanging from her wicked claws.

Zane couldn't breathe.

His legs shook and his insides slithered with horror. Yubel's entire face was covered in blood and matted. And she swallowed one of the wolf's legs as if it were truly food. He backed up a step, too shocked to move.

Holy fuck.

Zane flicked an ear but didn't look. Jonouchi stood in his peripheral with a mirroring expression of stupefied horror. The golden-furred wolf stared blankly, mouth opening and closing twice. Then he flattened his ears and struggled to even move.

And then something streaked past them.

Yugi caught her by the nose. The grizzly startled, visibly stunned. And the white wolf balanced himself on his back legs. He shook his head violently. Then he dropped to all fours. He backed up again, snarling. He shook his head again. Her entire body shook from the assault. A paw tried to swipe at his jaw and missed. Yugi stood as far back as he could, neck stretched out. He kept shaking her. His entire body rippled with the force. Yubel hit the ground on her stomach, legs splayed out.

Yugi kept shaking her until he couldn't any longer. When he finally had to breathe, he released and darted back a few steps. He panted for air, entire body vibrating and seething. His lips were drawn completely back. His teeth glinted red. He lunged again as she straightened. And then he stopped, tail raised and wagging. He paced back and forth several more steps.

He aimed for her paw but she shuffled back just in time. Her other aimed for his spine and missed. Yugi paced again. He moved past the broken bodies. He circled her. She stomped a paw and Yugi lunged for it but didn't make contact. He wove around her, circling and chomping his teeth.

She backed up when he charged her. But he stayed well out of range of her paws. His teeth snapped at her face. He almost thought to aim at her nose again. It was bleeding profusely, after all. He sprang forward, weaving about in front of her and snapping his teeth. She reared up on her back legs, studying him pointedly. When she swiped, he leaped up and for her throat. The collision knocked her backwards. She landed with a harsh crunching noise. Yugi's teeth sank into her throat. But he knew better than to assume he'd hit the jugular. He straddled her. His teeth kept her there and he tossed his head until his neck burned from the strain.

Her claws tried to dig into his stomach or legs, but the constant movement prevented her. Her front paws caught at his scruff. The claws held and dug in. But they could not get to the skin beneath. He panted, eyes on the catwalks. And then he shook her again. She slipped and slid atop the puddles of blood. Then she was wedged between Yugi and one of the various bodies.

He took a moment to breathe. Her jaws shut on his head, top canines scraping his skull and bottom clamping on his jaw. He ignored the rush of pain. He ignored the flare of panic that came. And then he dug his teeth in further. He pressed so hard that blood flooded his mouth and almost drowned him entirely.

He could barely keep himself upright. He wasn't as large as Yami. And his chest wasn't as wide. He couldn't put his paws on the ground. He had to keep his forelimbs on her chest, bent awkwardly, and only his right back paw could keep to the floor.

Yugi exhaled roughly and tried to clamp further. But his teeth were almost touching. He could feel his canines scraping against each other. He held her there a moment longer. Then he began tossing his head once more. She kicked and struggled then. And her back leg managed to snag into his hip. He felt fur tugged from his skin. He felt the smallest slice of skin from her claws. And then he leaped forward.

It was a rough, awkward lurch. But the kick off sent him forward and from her grip. He could feel it where his skin was exposed. And he felt the burn of his skull where the air touched it. He landed efficiently, however. And then he turned back to her. He shook himself out, pricking his ears and studying. Yubel had gotten back to her feet now, bleeding heavily but turning to him with a look of pure fascination.

You're not seizing.

Yugi blinked. Oh, so you did poison me, he laughed, eyes stretching wide. I thought I recognized the smell.

Why are you not seizing? And then she guffawed and stepped forward. Her paw spread wide to cushion her weight and her lips peeled back in a roar. Sartorius! Of course! I should have known you'd actually do something with the body.

Yugi shook himself out. You're right. I kept him alive until today, until I left this morning. I kept him alive so I could use his saliva. And I injected myself every hour on the hour since we got his body. He tilted his head and flicked his ears. Eventually, before long, I was immune to it. It's amazing how quickly our bodies adapt, wouldn't you agree?

I find it more amazing that your buttplug isn't with you right now.

My…buttplug? Yugi blinked in bewilderment, then snorted. Yami will be here later, when he's actually needed.

You don't think he could have helped you prevent so many deaths beforehand?

Yugi would have shrugged had he been human. Now, however, he merely wagged his tail. A few lives lost; it's a casualty of war, wouldn't you agree?

Yubel scoffed and feinted at him. Yugi dodged aside a few steps and then came back, wagging his tail more rapidly. He opened his jaws into a wide grin as she watched him. She reared up, roaring so loudly he thought his eardrums might pop. She slammed her paws down, laughing when he tilted his head but refused to flinch. The white wolf paced a few steps. Then he rushed forward. Rather than dodge away as she expected, he bit her back paw. She swiped at him but missed. The canine circled her once, studying her.

Losing patience, she charged him. He dodged back, jumping a few times away from her. She swiped. He sprang back a few inches.

He bit at her. And she swiped once more. He lunged for her face. His teeth caught her nose again. This time she stepped into it. Her left paw swung towards his back. Yugi released, realizing the error. He tried to dodge away. But her paw was too fast. He waited for the sickening crunch and the blinding pain he knew would follow.

But instead he felt something slam into him. He was hurtled a few feet away, tripping over a body. He startled, thrown on his back. And then he rushed for his paws. The sickening crunch came a split second after he'd been hit. His eyes snapped toward the grizzly. And his heart choked as it clenched in his throat. His lungs constricted. His mouth went dry. His legs quivered.

He barely had a moment to recognize what had happened.

And then the wolf was sent sailing through the air. The body hit the wall back first. It fell to the ground with a thud. And then there was a single low, hideous moan.

Yugi stared at where it had struck the wall. Then he slowly turned his head. Yubel was growling, rushing toward him. He sprang forward. He dodged, crouching to the ground. And then he surged upward. The sheer power in the spring sent her hurtling backwards. She staggered and fell violently. Yugi snapped his opened jaws into her neck. He felt it when the jugular was punctured. The blood filled his mouth so abruptly he could barely think straight.

She hit the ground on her back, trying desperately to throw him off. Her paws slammed into his shoulders. Claws dug into his flanks. Yugi clamped his teeth harder. His jaws pressed until they couldn't anymore. And then Yugi released.

Her throat was a wide, gaping cavern of flesh and muscle before him.

Her eye twitched. Her breathing whistled. He could see where it moved about her windpipe. She shuddered. Her paws twitched. One lay across her chest. The other, claws still dug into his fur, remained on his shoulder. Yugi looked down at her for a long moment. And then he turned his head.

Katsuya! he burst out, springing away from beneath her paw. The skin split and bled. His flesh stung. His mouth ached. He stumbled forward, limping unevenly. And then he jumped over the mound of bodies closest him. When he landed, his paws slid beneath him. He collapsed, pain racing through his bones. He struggled up again.

And then he heard the choking noise behind him. Horrified, his head snapped around. But Yubel was still on her back. Her throat was still disfigured. She was sputtering, trying to regain rapidly depleting air.

Yugi stared at her, shaking as she gurgled, Jaden? in a pitiful tone.

But the moment passed. He turned back. Jonouchi lay in a broken heap in front of his paws. His breathing was ragged. His eyes were screwed shut. Yugi could smell the internal bleeding. His exhales were broken and tired. Yugi hesitated, wondering for a split second. If he'd just tried, could he have dodged it? Could he have gotten away before her paw made impact?

But did it matter?

Would Jonouchi have survived even if he hadn't just taken that hit?

He lowered his head. You shouldn't have done that.

Jonouchi blinked and slowly cracked an eye. His pupil was dilated with pain and the brown of his irises looked oddly pale. Yugi flattened his ears and tried not to whimper and tremble. You did it, Yug.

He flinched. I'm sorry. I should have done better.

You just killed Yubel! Yami couldn't even do that! Jonouchi had started slowly but surely to breathe harder. Yugi could smell the blood beneath his skin, growing thicker as the seconds passed. He could hear his heart slowing now as well. You did it.

Yugi flattened his ears. You helped me more than you know.

The other wolf grunted. Yugi almost expected him to respond, but the golden-furred male merely closed his eyes. His breathing grew uneven. And then it stopped altogether. Yugi buried his nose in his fur and closed his eyes.

It wasn't over. It was far from over.

And the next step was likely going to be worse than finding and fighting Yubel. He didn't even know if he could do it. The man had been hiding the entire time the wolves had all been fighting. If he'd hidden throughout that, was there any chance he'd come out now? Yugi couldn't imagine he'd be willing. His most lethal weapon had just been killed. And what more could he possibly have that the rest of them might not be able to handle?

Yugi opened his eyes again, looking around. Zane was checking on Chazz where the beta was still unconscious across the floor. Aki had come at some point as well, bloodied and finally somewhat worn out in expression. He saw Shay picking his way awkwardly forward, limping every step. He looked exhausted, bleeding almost everywhere Yugi could see. He wished—for only a split second—that Valon had not left. He could have helped them keep the casualties down.

He glanced down at his paws and over at the bodies scattered about. The half-eaten yearling Yubel had been chewing on had been Syrus. And Yugi had not even tried to stop her when she'd done it. He'd been more preoccupied in killing the hounds near him rather than intercepting her. And he'd let Zane witness Yubel eating his little brother's broken body. He'd never even tried to stop her. And now…

Yugi looked around again, toward the catwalks. He couldn't see anyone atop them. But the humans had to be somewhere. There was no way they'd simply left the wolves to fend for themselves. And he wasn't stupid enough to not suspect they were waiting for him. They had to be somewhere, watching and lurking and studying.

He didn't know if there was another wolf they'd primed to go against him or if they were simply going to try to tranquilize or strike him down and have him resuscitate. He didn't know any of it.

Yugi paced a few steps, then turned back. His eyes fell on Yubel's body. And then they shot to Jonouchi. His stomach churned as he turned quickly away again.

Death never got any easier.

Even with the guarantee Yami could come back to life, it still shook him when he passed.

Someone like Jonouchi had no such ability. And he didn't know if that made everything worse or slightly better.

At least this way he wasn't trapped in a prison of constant fighting and war and absolute suffering as Yami was.

Yugi wondered if he'd be at peace when he died, too.

He raised his head again, scanning. A hound shot past him. Aki and the hybrid rolled, snarling and spitting and snapping their teeth. Yugi didn't bother to offer help. She'd handle it on her own. He knew that much. She wasn't stupid. And she'd been itching for this fight for a long time.

He paced again, lifting his tail when one of his wolves glanced at him. They dipped their head, then raced off into a nearby fray. He wondered at the hounds that had done such damage to the yearlings, but he didn't think he could waste time finding them and hope to go against the mastermind of this lab.

Yugi supposed he needed to thank them before he killed them.

They'd at least brought Yami into the world.

And Yami was that small spot of softness in all the pain and misery.

Yugi trotted forward, then paused to glance over his shoulder. Jonouchi looked so small and broken, just another body amongst the remains. He flattened his ears and turned away again.

The humans had to be there somewhere. They were walking around. They were probably armed. And they were likely waiting it out until he got to them. That meant if he was going to make a move, he needed to be prepared to be spotted beforehand. If they shot at him, he'd have to be diligent enough to get out the way.

Yugi padded forward. He craned his head and peered up at the catwalks as he continued. No one seemed to be nearby. No one appeared to be close enough to spot for the moment. They weren't far; he knew that much. But they weren't visible, either.

He pricked his ears and listened to some of the other wolves as they began rushing forward and baying at one another. A couple of hounds had turned on one another. A few of his wolves were bloodied and exhausted. Yugi glanced at them sideways as he passed. He thought to step in, but turned away at the last second.

He needed to focus.

His eyes shot up again. He craned his head and listened, straining his ears.

But the sound of bodies falling, teeth clicking, claws sliding, death screams, pained cries, and the hounds barking drowned out any chance he had.

He surveyed his immediate area. He'd have to wait to find them. They could come to him first. He was sure he'd feel it when they took aim. The base paranoia wolves suffered would surely alert him. Even if he couldn't entirely listen and hear them move about, his sense of being watched should have been enough.

He turned his head. A hound rushed forward. The hybrid opened its jaws wide. Yugi shifted his weight, biding his time. He braced himself. Then he turned his body partially. The hound barely missed his throat. Its teeth got his cheek. Yugi thrust his head up and raised a paw to smack its shoulder. It tottered slightly. Its teeth slipped. He tossed his head sideways and the hound slid across the floor a good foot. Yugi stared at it, only mildly surprised.

It was malnourished and terrified. Its eyes were wild with fear. Its mouth was riddled with scratches and bruises. Its shoulders were like knife blades beneath its flaky, patchy fur. Its small, floppy ears were slightly raised and aimed at him. But its legs looked wobbly and its hips were so bony Yugi was amazed they could hold it.

He bore his teeth and chomped his jaws when it came forward a step.

The hound flinched away. But Yugi could see the gears turning in its head. It was hungry; starving, really. And he knew he didn't look like he was in amazing shape. He was covered in blood. He had patches of fur pulled from his skin. He knew for a fact that, at first glance, he hardly looked as powerful as he truly was. He tilted his head and stared, ears pricked forward.

It crouched down, snarling. Then it lunged forward, mouth opened. Yugi mirrored the gaping expression. He raised his tail high in the air. He pricked his ears forward. The fur rose along his scruff. He bore his teeth and flicked his tongue over his nose. The hound flinched back, dodging a few steps before coming back. It ducked away when Yugi lunged once more. The white wolf snorted roughly and growled low in his throat. When it finally lunged again, Yugi merely chomped his teeth. Their faces smacked against each other. The hound ducked away, bristling fearfully.

Yugi peered at it, a small and painful thought blooming in his mind. Did he kill it? He didn't want to do so unnecessarily. He'd come into this fight knowing it would have to happen regardless at some point. And he didn't care for the fact that he knew Yami would have just struck it down by then.

But he also realized it was emaciated and tired and scared. He didn't need to strike down someone so pitiful, did he? But he also remembered how Yami had acted in the cave. He'd pretended to be all but cute and cuddly at one point. And then he'd gone for his face. He'd wanted to rip him to pieces. And he'd tried to use his sympathy to do so.

Yugi tilted his head and stared at the hound in front of him. It sprang, jaws gaping. He watched it, sidestepped, and smacked his muzzle into its shoulder. It hit the ground, rolling a few steps. Then it sprang up and looked around.

Yami had said starving wolves were one of the most unstable, powerful forces in the universe. Could it kill him? Could it be as cunning as Yami had been? Or was it too afraid? Yami had not been scared. He'd been hungry. He'd been enraged. He'd wanted to kill. He'd wanted to rip him to pieces.

The hound shot forward. It ducked beneath him, then opened its mouth wide. But it missed when Yugi stepped back. The attempt to rip his throat out was miscalculated. It smacked into his jaw. Yugi didn't budge and the hound yelped. It backed away rapidly, startled. Yugi studied the erratic breathing for a moment.

He'd be doing it a kindness in killing it, right?

Yugi tilted his head. His eyes narrowed the faintest degree. Then he sprang forward. His teeth snapped. The hound choked and went through a spasm. He held it there, off the ground by the throat. It struggled a moment longer. Then it went still.

Yugi placed it on the ground as gently as he could. His eyes flickered around briefly. No one was paying him any mind. They were all running about, snarling and seething. Chazz had finally gotten up. He looked almost concussed, but it had not slowed him in the slightest. The beta shook himself out and lunged at another hybrid that drifted too close. Yugi watched him a moment.

His eyes shot to Aki next, as the she-wolf tackled another lycanthrope and violently tore its throat out. He tilted his head, watching her as she looked around. Zane was nearby, throwing a much larger hellhound to the ground with his teeth to its throat. Shay had managed to hold and keep his grip on a big cat that was going through frantic spasms trying to shake him. He could see where the paws had been bitten and broken, made unusable. Its spine looked as if it had been bitten and severed at some point, its tail thumping and twitching and its back legs immobile.

Yugi lowered his eyes as it ceased movement.

Aki ran past him, snapping, Watch yourself, Atem! and Yugi turned his head just as she slammed into another hound inches from him. They chomped their teeth and tossed each other about, until, finally, they dropped to all fours again. The hound surged forward. Its paw wrapped around her shoulders. Its teeth went for her face. She ducked her head, twisting her neck. Then she shoved upward.

The hound was dislodged in an instant. It landed awkwardly on all fours, nearly stumbling. She raised and wagged her tail. It came for her again. Its mouth opened wide. Its teeth tried for her throat. She let it come closer. Then she turned on it. She opened her mouth wide and clamped it shut on its skull. It yelped and tried to pull away. Blood filled her mouth. The dog snarled and struggled. She slammed her hip into its. The move was forceful enough that its legs almost collapsed beneath her additional weight.

The hound scrabbled. It spun on her, trying to slip her grasp. She tightened her jaw and held it there. It bucked and lunged sporadically. She ducked and slammed its head against the concrete. Its jaw shattered on impact. It screamed, baying as it tried to scramble away again. Aki snorted and wagged her tail harder, then repeated the assault. It wouldn't kill it. She knew that much. But if she could get it dazed enough, she could rip its throat out.

It took four more hits. The hound's body seized for a single second. She released it. It swayed, dazed. Its eyes were glazed with obvious pain. It peered at her with an unfocused, almost petrified expression. She lunged forward. Her teeth tore into its throat and its dead body dropped to the ground with a single convulsion.

She wagged her tail and turned her head. Atem was watching her. His blue-violet eyes were studious rather than impressed. For a single moment she thought to snap at him. But he turned away again, looking around. For whatever reason his eyes shot to the catwalks, as if he expected Yubel to come springing down from one.

She snorted and looked around. Their wolves were rapidly depleting. She could only see a fistful of them any longer. The hounds were considerably smaller in numbers as well. And the lycanthropes from the cells around them seemed unsure who to fight. There were less of them than the hounds. And Aki had to wonder if that had to do with Atem. Perhaps the humans had realized, waiting on the pack to come forth and attack, that the lycanthropes would not fight him when they understood who he was. The hounds had no such loyalties, but the lycanthropes would have dodged aside and turned on them otherwise. Keeping the numbers down for the wolves and multiplying the hybrids had likely been meant as a counterstrike.

Aki ran forward again. She slammed into a hound that meant to attack Zane. Her weight sent it crashing to the floor. She dug her teeth into its neck as it tried to kick her away. It ceased movement for a moment. Then it scrambled and kicked harder, trying to dislodge her. She clamped her teeth down further. Blood gushed into her mouth, soaking her tongue. The taste was rancid and disgusting. But it meant victory all the same.

And they needed that more than anything else.

She released the body and flicked her ears. Zane looked exhausted, as if the shock of his little brother's death had finally hit him. Chazz was staggering slightly, more winded than slowed down. He looked as if he were struggling to remember what he was doing. Aki wanted to sneer at him, but held off. Only she and Shay seemed relatively in good shape at this point. They'd likely be the only ones who survived this fight at the rate they were going. Chazz and Zane would probably get torn to pieces soon enough.

She supposed it was nice fighting alongside them while it lasted.

Her eyes shot to Atem. The white wolf was studying the staircases again. His gaze had sharpened. His lips had drawn back slightly. He was sniffing the air, looking again for something Aki wasn't sure he'd find.

You're wasting time, Atem.

He didn't look back. Am I?

Whatever you're looking for, it's not there.

Not at the moment, he agreed. Then he looked over at her. His fur was slick and smooth. His face had healed. His legs were strong and unwavering. His eyes were darker and sharper again. And when he met her gaze, she was surprised by how much power he seemed to project. Little, quiet Atem; he had suddenly turned into a beast. She was almost stunned. And then she remembered who he'd trained with. The gods had helped him before, and then Yami had stepped in to take over. But they're here somewhere.

Who?

The humans. Atem turned away. He shook himself out and padded forward. Aki blinked, then gave chase.

The humans? Who cares about the fucking humans?

We kill the hounds. The humans remain. The humans breed more hounds. The humans make a third Atem. The white wolf didn't look at her. And what would we do with a third Pure-Blood running around? What if he's got the instability Yami has? What if he's as fast as me but stronger than Yami? What then? Who's going to stop him then?

Aki bristled, stunned by the quiet declaration. They couldn't make a third one. The gods wouldn't permit it.

Atem stopped walking. Then he raised and turned his head. He looked at her, catching and holding her eyes. They would. And they can. He pricked his ears toward her, as if challenging her to argue any further. Lupa and Fenrir would permit it. Because this cycle must come to an end. And the reason Atem was made, is because of the humans. The man who made him… If he could truly do what he plans to, he might damn well become that third Atem.

Aki stepped back, startled. Her fur rose further and she bore her teeth. There's no—

I need to end this. I need to end it now. I can't let it go further. Atem turned away again, studying their surroundings. I have to kill them. I have to kill all of them. It can't happen again. I can end the grief and suffering…at least, for a few.

Aki blinked, then surged forward and stepped in front of him, snarling. You… She blinked. Yami…

The white wolf locked eyes with her. Yami, he agreed. And then he moved past her without a second word. She stood, frozen and then trembling, before looking over her shoulder to track him.

Yugi bounded forward, slow rather than sprinting. A handful of hounds turned on him. The white wolf sprinted, opening his jaws. One head flew. The other hound managed to dodge but couldn't turn entirely away. Its skull was crushed. The third turned tail and he gutted it from the side. The fourth tried to leap away and got its spine crushed for the effort. Yugi smashed its head like a grape a split second later.

And then he continued moving.

How many were already dead? He only truly recognized Aki, Zane, Shay, Chazz, Mana, Moon Shadow and Yuya's mother at the moment. His father lay in a broken heap, one which stunk of Yubel when Yugi got closer.

He wondered if either of them knew what had happened to their son. Maybe his father had tried to prevent her getting to him and was struck down. Maybe he had merely been there as she passed. She'd done what Yugi himself did. It was mindless cruelty. And it made his blood feel cold in his veins.

But it was necessary.

He had to end this.

The world had started in chaos.

Maybe it would have to end in it, too.

Yugi padded forward a few more steps. He passed a few scraggly, half-dead lycanthropes who had joined the fray no doubt from the cells. He didn't bother to acknowledge them and they didn't speak a word to him. Not a single one glanced in his direction. They seemed content more than anything to simply be able to sink their teeth in the hybrids they'd been held hostage with and pitted against so relentlessly.

He passed through another section of the sewers, jumping atop a large embankment. He could hear the water there, sloshing and churning and dancing about the stone and metal. He pricked his ears forward, bristling. A human was nearby; he could sense that much. He could feel their eyes on his skin now. He looked around but saw nothing.

When he continued forward, a small handful of hounds raced toward him.

He didn't bother raising his tail. He simply ran, opening his mouth when he got near the first. Its body hit the ground. The second slammed into him from the side at the same time. He staggered and turned on it, gaping maw crushing its skull eagerly. The third snapped at his tail and missed by a sliver. The fourth tried for his flank and received a crushed muzzle. Yugi flicked his ears and peered straight at the fifth one. It was large, almost like Sartorius had been, with thin fur and wrinkles of skin.

He wondered if he should try to gut it or crush its head in as he had so many others.

But he never got that far.

The hound was standing in front of him. And Yugi prepared himself to spring forward.

And then there was a small burst. Yugi heard it, like a can of air being pressed for a single second. His eyes widened. The hound's chest had burst through. Blood sprayed the walls, the floor slicked with it. The hound's body collapsed. A single metallic sound echoed throughout the tunnel. Yugi looked down toward the source.

A single bullet had crashed through the hound's shoulders and exited its chest.

The other hound had long since fled. He raised his head and looked up, in the direction the bullet had come. His eyes narrowed. The gun was pointed straight at him. The bullet would go straight into his head, right between his eyes. Yugi raised and wagged his tail. He thought to sprint forward and try to chomp his teeth before they could squeeze the trigger.

But the moment passed. The human's finger tightened.

He opened his mouth into a small grin, tongue lolling.

He imagined for a moment what he looked like. He probably seemed a demented little creature. Blood and grizzle and gore still coated his face. His chest was plastered with much of it as well. And here he was, grinning up at a man with a gun aimed for his head. He wagged his tail a little harder.

Maybe he could move fast enough. He didn't know if it was true or not.

He'd never tried, after all.

But maybe he could go fast enough to avoid it.

The gun went off. Yugi sprang forward at a speed that made his paws feel like wings.

But the bullet hit another target entirely. Yugi heard the scream before he caught the snarling. His paws skidded beneath him and he almost collapsed. He blinked wide eyes and stood again. The man screamed next. And Yugi heard the heavy body hit the ground. Blood dripped and sprayed. And air came up accompanied by bubbles.

Yugi looked about for a moment. Then he sprang for the ladder nearby, where the platform was broken for its emergence. He twisted himself sideways, hooking his paws atop the platform. His claws sank in as if they were made of steel rather than keratin. He kicked his back legs once, hooking his right foot precariously. He pulled his left up, sprinting forward. The man looked unmoving but for some ragged breathing he doubted would last long. His heart was slow and unsteady and sounded as if it were failing. His neck was almost severed, he noted.

He paused as the wolf stumbled to their feet. They were bleeding profusely from a chest wound. Their legs were wobbly, as if broken. And they looked like they might collapse at any moment. Yugi tilted his head and came forward a step. He looked them over for a long time, blinking.

Thank you.

Mai looked at him with a sneer on her lips. When she breathed, blood bubbled from her jaws. The internal bleeding had to be strenuous. The entrance wound was a small sliver, a perfect hole against her fur that looked almost unnoticeable at first glance. The exit wound, however, was an immense and gaping formation next to her left shoulder blade. The blood was profuse and terrible and the wound looked as if it were flesh eaten instead by acid.

I didn't do it for you.

Yugi shook his head. I didn't think you did. He studied her face. The human's heartbeat slowed and then failed entirely. He gurgled once, then convulsed and lay still. Mai, however, breathed raggedly and coughed up a puddle of blood and bile. Did you see him?

She raised her head, staring at him furiously. I did. I saw him take the hit for you, too.

He blinked. She'd been there for so long and no one had seen her? Had she been hiding like the humans then? He almost laughed at the thought. None of them would have been stupid enough not to know she was a wolf, right?

He just had to save you, didn't he? He just had to play the hero.

Yugi tilted his head. Did he see you as well?

She flattened her ears. Right before he knocked you out of the way.

Did you speak to him?

What was there to say?

He wondered if he'd have words for Yami. He raised his head. I'm sorry for all of this, Mai. No one deserved this misery, least of all you and Jonouchi.

I brought it on myself. She panted and wobbled pathetically, nearly collapsing again. Yugi almost wished she would. I did this to us both. I deserved every bit of anger he sent me.

Maybe she was right. He didn't know anymore.

He loved you, you know?

I'm not stupid, she snarled, back legs collapsing. She didn't try to get to her feet again. Her front legs were partially splayed, but she was still somewhat upright. I know that.

Yugi snorted and wagged his tail. I know. I just…wanted to remind you. You seemed like you needed it.

She bore her teeth, snarling. And blood spilled from her lips as she glared at him. But her legs, trembling and then quaking viciously, collapsed. She fell to the floor, blood pooling and spreading about beneath her chin. Yugi watched her, tilting his head and watching. She moaned after a moment, shaking and convulsing violently.

I'm sorry, Mai. He came forward as she stopped moving, looking her over. His eyes flickered to the man's body. Then he looked to hers again. She didn't deserve to rot there on the platform. He grabbed her by the scruff and dragged her toward him, pulling her along behind him. When he got to the ladder, he grabbed her tighter and jumped. It wasn't too far a jump, thankfully. His claws caught traction enough to slow the potential collapse. She was heavy, painful, and his neck strained for a single second. Then he straightened. He released her, shaking himself out and panting.

He'd forgotten how hard it was to carry such dead weight like this. With the ungulates, he'd been rather uncaring of how good they looked when he finished. With Mai, he was at least trying to keep her from being covered any further in blood and gore. He lifted her again, struggling with the task of keeping only her paws on the concrete. He continued pulling her along, listening to the scraping of her claws as they dragged across the floor. He saw Aki look up, eyes widening drastically as she realized who he was carrying. Zane and Chazz were still fighting. Shay had stopped to catch his breath before pursuing another hound.

Did you…?

Yugi fought the urge to snap his teeth at her. He continued instead, carrying her finally to where Jonouchi lay. He lay her down beside him, rearranging her limbs so that she almost looked as if she were simply sleeping. He straightened after, flattening his ears and mumbling, I'm sorry once more. When he turned around, Aki was staring at her dead sister with a stunned expression. But it passed a moment later. Her eyes shot to a hound that was trying to escape Shay.

She rushed off into the fray. Yugi turned away, hurrying back along the path he'd traveled prior. He could see streaks of blood where he'd carried Mai. His stomach rolled and churned and he fought the urge to tremble. It passed, however, the longer he went. He sprang atop the platform again. His pace was slower now, his ears straining for any hint of human activity. He heard nothing for the longest time, but he knew they had to be there somewhere.

It wasn't a human who found him, however.

A large group of hellhounds came through the wall. He stopped short, bristling, horrified he hadn't suspected such an ambush. One charged him blindly. Another came through the wall on his side. It turned corporeal a split second before the collision. And the force threw him into the railing. The metal creaked violently, then gave way. He twisted and tossed himself, tucking his legs and trying to pinwheel his tail to catch himself. He couldn't regain his footing in the air, however. There was a hybrid on the ground. It sprang up and hit him hard in the side once more. He collided with the wall, dazed from the impact. Blood poured from the split in his forehead, trailing down his brow.

He hit the ground, winded. The hounds raced forward. One charged and sprang. Yugi got up just in time to meet it head on. But the force and his compromised equilibrium sent him backwards. He felt as if his spine might snap in half as he hit the ground. His back legs kicked pathetically. He opened his mouth wide to snap at the canine that loomed over him. Pain shot through his left thigh. Blood swelled and spurted. His tail was grabbed and yanked. Yugi kicked more violently, erratic and panicked. His claws tore fur from skin. Skin split. Blood soaked his foot. Teeth dug into his face. The teeth on his hind leg clamped harder. The hound shook and tossed its head.

Yugi panicked for a split second. Then he tried to kick again. Another hound grabbed his left thigh. They shook just as violently as their companion. Yugi couldn't move beyond clamping his teeth harder. The hound's mouth bled hideously. He felt teeth digging into his cheek and top of his muzzle. The hybrid on his right began to pull. The hound that kept him pinned there slid from the force. They were pulled backwards, scraping and sliding.

And then it shook its head.

Yugi felt his neck jerk and scream with pain. He tried to kick again but couldn't move his back legs. Teeth dug harder into his flesh. All three of them shook their heads. Only the hound holding his tail did not.

He struggled, bucking and arching his back to curl his body. And, finally, the dog holding his right leg slipped. It fell chin-first to the ground, teeth clicking. Yugi kicked and pushed his forelimbs off the hybrid's shoulders. The shove sent it stumbling. He kicked the other hound in the face, gouging its eyes hideously. It screamed and released his back leg. And then he pushed upward and off the ground.

He got only to a sitting position, unable to find the proper balance. He couldn't gather his weight correctly. But the hybrid holding his face had both forelimbs draped over his shoulders. And, as Yugi tried again to push himself to his feet, its claws dug into his flesh. It tossed its head and Yugi fell back again. His paws clicked and scrabbled. He used the momentum to kick off his offender. The movement allowed him to create a small bit of space between them.

He scrambled and flipped his back legs to center beneath his belly. He gathered his forelimbs next. Then he pushed upward violently. The hound kept its grip. It rose to its back legs to avoid being flipped. He tossed his head in response then. The two of them skidded across the puddles of fresh blood. His paws were sticky and soaked. He stepped away and backward. The hybrid struggled to keep its grip. Yugi continued stepping to the side. His ears pricked forward, lips drawing back further from his powerful teeth. When he got a few feet back, he tried to pull away entirely.

But their jaws were caught. When he shook his head, the hybrid skidded. Its legs slipped and nearly collapsed. And Yugi breathed rapidly through his nose. Blood spurted from his mouth as the other canine shook itself violently once more. The surrounding dogs sprang forward. Teeth cut into his right flank. One grabbed his tail and pulled once more. The other grabbed his back left leg and tried to tug it out from beneath him.

Yugi ignored the pain and jerked forward. The dog yelped and snarled. It tried to back away, tugging him. Yugi tossed his head and sent it nearly to the ground. But it held its weight somehow. And the dogs tore more violently at his side. Two sets of teeth had dug in now. And he could feel the flesh tearing.

The wolf-dog holding his left back leg began to shake its head. He shifted his weight. He bunched his weight. He jumped slightly to keep from collapsing entirely. And then one of the hybrids tugged harder at his belly. Yugi could feel the skin shredding and pulling even as it tingled and healed and prevented his being gutted. His back leg burned, almost broken as it was shaken harder.

Still he refused to lose his balance. Still their jaws stayed caught on each other.

Every toss of the dog's head made Yugi's paws slide. But he kept from falling. And his jaws clamped further down. The hybrid wailed once or twice. But they did not release. The hybrids began to transition attacks. They circled and snapped their teeth. One tore into his shoulder. Another chomped his back right leg. Another tried and missed his spine. The last bit at his front leg as if to shatter it.

The one on his shoulder shook its head. The one on his back leg bit harder.

And then the one that had missed his spine came for his neck.

Their teeth snapped upon his scruff. It pulled and used its weight to nearly tug him sideways. Yugi desperately sank his claws further on the concrete. The tips shredded and ground, shaving away. They stung, like when his nails folded if he jammed one somewhere by accident.

Yugi ignored the pain. He lunged and pulled the other dog almost off its feet. When his paws touched the ground again, he tossed his head. The hybrid yelped again. Then he tried to step away, pull out of his grip. Yugi raised his head and kept his teeth locked. The hound's tail wagged uncertainly, eyes glazing over with obvious pain. Yugi stepped backward rapidly. He pulled the hounds with the movement.

But he could not keep it up more than a few feet. They hadn't released. And their combined weight stunted him. He stopped. His forelimbs trembled. His back legs quaked. His tail rose to stand parallel to his spine, keeping his balance. He couldn't unclench his jaws. He was breathing roughly. He could barely hear around his heart pounding forcefully in his throat.

The hound abruptly turned tail as if to run. When it sprinted, Yugi did the same. He kept pace with it. And then it slid and tossed its head. He hit the wall hard enough that his head spun. And then it slammed him into the concrete again. Another hybrid caught him by the throat. The force made his mouth open. The hound that had caught his mouth released instantly. It darted away, wagging its tail and laughing.

He couldn't tell what they were saying to one another.

He was sure it didn't matter anyways.

Yugi panted and gulped in air. His tongue was caked in blood. His teeth felt almost wobbly in his jaws. His head still stung. Blood dripped from a new gash on the left side of his face. His nose was bleeding profusely. His lip was swollen. The inside of his right cheek was gashed to hell. His legs were shaking. Every breath made his entire frame tremble. He blinked once, long and slow.

They meant to kill him.

He knew that much.

And, at the moment, he didn't think he could stop them. His legs were too tired and sore. His mouth felt as if it had been raked with claws. His head was throbbing. His healing had been focused on what would have been more fatal wounds. The blood loss was going to catch up with him. The adrenaline rush he'd felt coursing through his veins the entire time was slowing now.

He exhaled and flattened his ears. He drew his lips back further. He chomped his teeth when one drifted too close. He flicked his tongue over his nose. He squared his shoulders. He bristled faintly. He watched them, cold and unblinking now.

And then his former attacker came forward again. It was a long-haired, fluffy beast about the same size as him, maybe an inch or so smaller. It hadn't occurred to Yugi until then to make that mental note. And he should have done it a long time before. He could have prepared better if he'd paid them more attention. But the dog looked like a golden retriever mixed with a wolf. Its coat was glossy, its frame lean, one ear floppy and the other partially perked but folded at the top. Its legs were feathered with glossy fur, its tail long and bushy and curled when it wagged.

It charged him. Yugi tried to meet it, but couldn't force his left leg to hold his weight for the moment. He raised it and lunged. His weight was braced on his remaining limbs. And the force of the lunge rattled the other canine. It ducked away, tail wagging wildly, and paced a few steps.

Then it came again.

This time Yugi forced himself to push away from the wall. He got a foot or two away. And it gave him just enough room to twist around. He caught the wolf-dog by the throat. They spun violently, erratically, for a single second. Then Yugi pushed off with his back legs. He tugged the hellhound off its front legs and into the air. And he would have been able to snap its neck, had it not been for teeth clamping into his side once more.

Yugi kept his grip. Blood spurted and flew through the air. And then the hound tossed its head. Yugi was flung from his paws. He was dragged through the air. His body tightened and grew dead in weight. His back legs buckled entirely. His front legs refused to straighten. And the wolf-dog flung him as if he were but a doll or a broken chew toy. He tried to straighten his back leg. But it buckled beneath the force. His forelimbs finally straightened again, almost snapping. His right hind leg stung and burned. It buckled and folded.

For a single second he couldn't breathe. Then, as if the hellhound itself were struggling, it slowed. Yugi blinked, panting against its throat. He made his legs straighten. He forced them to hold his weight. He felt them waver and clamped down harder. And somehow they held, stiff and all but broken.

If he was going to die here, he would do it fighting.

Yugi pricked his ears forward. He buried his teeth harder into the hybrid's neck. It pushed off its back legs. Yugi rose in turn. A forelimb caught his shoulder. Nails dug into his flesh. The dog's head craned back and its mouth opened, but could not make purchase. It snarled and all but roared with anger. Yugi pressed forward enough to throw it back onto all fours. And then it twisted, shaking him. Yugi felt the fur tear between its teeth.

They separated, standing feet away from each other. They panted and shuddered. Blood spilled from their various wounds. Their ears pricked toward each other. Their tails rose and wagged. Their eyes locked. Their lips drew back to bear at one another. Their bodies were turned like crescent moons, angled toward the other.

Yugi tested his weight on all for legs. He could feel blood leaking from one of his quicks. His tail wagged. He flicked his tongue over his nose. He peered at the dog with a hint of mania crashing through his blood. The rush of heat he felt was overwhelming. And his mouth watered.

If he died, he'd take one with him at the very least.

He'd die fighting.

He'd die ripping them to shreds.

The hound must have seen the determination in his face. It blinked, aggressive stance wavering. Yugi surged forward, mouth opened wide. It turned tail, trying to get away. Yugi caught it in the side. Force alone sent it the ground, rolling as if it were but a log in a river. He tore into its flesh and ripped at anything he could sink his teeth into. Blood made his legs feel as if they were burning once more. His skin twitched and tugged beneath his pelt. His stomach rolled, warmed with blood he swallowed in his frenzy. And then another hound struck him in the side.

He didn't roll as his adversary had. He stumbled, then took the second hit hard enough to slam into the wall. His head smacked against the concrete. Blood streaked in an arch. His mouth opened, his tongue swollen as his teeth clipped it. His jaw burned. His legs collapsed beneath him. His head felt as if it were exploding.

Yugi wished he had the strength to stand.

He wished he had the power to attack them in turn.

But he'd wasted the remainder. He'd shredded the hybrid lying in front of him. Its intestines had been torn out, tossed about. He hadn't even noticed he'd started such an attack.

Yugi almost laughed. Was this how Yami so often felt? When his focus slipped and his instability came forth, did he feel this way? Yugi panted and closed his eyes. His mouth twitched with pain, heart in his throat. His paws burned. His lungs grew constricted.

He felt their teeth ripping into his flesh. One of them dug into his stomach. One tore at his back leg. One snapped at his neck. One tugged his forelimb until it popped out of its socket. Yugi didn't open his eyes. He didn't breathe a whimper of protest. He didn't flick his ears. He didn't snap his teeth. He didn't try to lunge. He merely tried to remember how to breathe and hoped desperately—against all fucking odds—that he'd at least done something to help Yami.

He nearly laughed again, heart clenching in his chest.

Had he though? Had he done a single fucking thing to help him?

Or had he simply made it all worse?

He was blinded with pain. His stomach rolled and twisted. His flesh burned and scraped. His mouth bled. His eyes clenched tighter shut. He wanted it done with. He wanted the agony to be over.

And then he felt it.

There was a sharp, hideous burst of pain in the back of his skull.

His heart hammered in response. His lungs tightened and then gulped in air. His nose burned and tickled, twitching. His skin felt as if it were hypersensitive. His ears were drowning beneath wave after wave of snarls as the hounds ate him alive.

Yugi slowly opened his eyes.

There he was.

That was Yami.

That was…Atem.

That was the wave of absolute power—the goddamn force of nature—that he'd experienced at the lake. He remembered that raw strength as the wolf had come bounding through the woods and raced toward him. He remembered the power and anger in those bleeding red eyes.

This was the creature he'd felt in Paradise, for that single split second, when Seto had turned on Yami. This was the one strength they both possessed, shared equally and terribly between the two of them. He remembered it. He savored it for a moment, sampling it as if it might lend itself to him.

But the moment passed. He felt the continuous wave of Yami's onslaught of strength. But it did not come to merge with him. It did nothing but make his ears perk and his senses painfully strain to catalog it all.

Yugi wanted to sob.

Had he done anything for him at all?

The hounds stopped short now. One raised and turned its head. An alarm call burst from its mouth.

It lasted only a second.

And then Yugi watched as it was grabbed off the ground. Its neck was tipped back. Its jaw was pulled apart until its bottom broke and tore entirely from its flesh. Then it was dropped to the floor. The one beside it was kicked so hard its ribs instantly shattered. Its body flew through the air, hitting the ground yards away dead upon impact. The other that had been beside it had been thrown from the force of a momentary collision when the body had originally gone flying. It fled with its tail between its legs, baying.

Yugi blinked and laughed, horrified by the irony.

He would have wagged his tail if he'd been able to.

Yami had lowered his head, staring at him. His red eyes were oddly clear. His body seemed strangely relaxed. His mouth was the only indicator otherwise. It went through a series of rapid tics. And then the other boy slowly came closer and dropped to his knees in front of him.

Yugi swallowed a scream when fingers touched his bleeding insides. He couldn't suppress the slight movement of his hind leg, trying feebly to push away the offending object. Yami stared at the mess as if he were confused. And then he blinked slowly. His eyes flickered to Yugi's face, then away again. And Yugi flattened his ears as Yami pulled his wrist to his mouth and tore into it.

Aibou, don't. He convulsed, a feeble but violent movement. Yami stared at him as if he didn't recognize him for a single second. You can't fix this.

"I can."

You can't. Aibou, you can't. He flattened his ears when Yami stubbornly pressed his wrist toward his mouth. When the red-eyed boy began trembling, Yugi weakly stuck his tongue out to lap at the blood. But he knew better. And he knew Yami did, too. He could see it in his eyes. He could see it in the tremors. He knew. He knew he couldn't fix this. He knew his blood couldn't stifle the loss he'd already suffered. He knew his blood couldn't heal his half-eaten flesh. Yami…

The other boy stared at him, eyes flashing with a brilliant burst of garnet red. Yugi's heart hurt at the sight. "What…what am I supposed to do now?"

Yugi snorted softly, noticing the smallest inkling of black appearing in his vision, dancing along his peripheral like smoke. You finish this, he murmured, opening his mouth into a sloppy grin and trying to raise his head. Yami reached out and ran his fingers through his fur, as if he meant to comfort him. But the trembling made it hard to feel anything but unease at such a soft touch. You do what I couldn't.

Yami stared at him as if he didn't understand for a single second. Then he leaned forward. Yugi expected him to try to soothe his aches further with his fingers through his hair once more. But then his hand reached under Yugi's neck. And the one in his scruff folded around his shoulders, through the fur of his dorsal cape. The teenager shifted his weight, coming closer. And Yugi felt the smallest inkling of panic for a single second as he was rearranged and shifted inches from the ground. Yami pulled him into his lap, legs draped over his thighs. He cradled his neck in his arms, one hand playing with the fur of his scruff once more.

I was hoping I could finish this with you. I thought… Yugi flattened his ears. Yami was staring at him, unblinking as his fingers sorted through his hair and his breathing grew slow and nearly silent. He looked exhausted, beyond himself with personal aches. But I guess I wasn't so strong that I could.

"You're stronger than me. You always have been."

Yugi nearly trembled with warmth. You're wrong…but thank you.

Yami didn't respond to the words but to lower his face into his fur. "I should have been here. I should have been here…with you." When he exhaled roughly, Yugi felt his heart stutter. "I should have been at your side when you came here. I could have…"

I couldn't have done that to you, Yugi whispered. His heart hammered in his chest. I couldn't have asked that of you. I…I wanted to finish this…before you even had to come here.

"Protecting me… It was never your job."

No, but I would have done it no matter what. The edges of darkness were growing rapidly now, spiraling and surging and dancing forward. He thought of water beneath sunlight, reflections drifting across his eyes and burning them with directness. You're my aibou.

"What good that did you," Yami spat, voice wobbling. His fingers tightened against his skin. He breathed softly against his neck, the exhales choked and pained and all but bleeding there. Yugi reveled in it, however, because if this was the last thing he felt in his life, it was perhaps the most perfect thing he could have ever experience. "Perhaps you should have chosen your partner better."

There was no better. I would have chosen you no matter the circumstances. And then he tried not to laugh. It never felt so real than at that moment. Something inside of him felt alight with warmth, affection so powerful it made his cold limbs feel ablaze. Yugi focused on the feeling of Yami's fingers in his fur once more. I love you, Yami.

The fingers stopped stroking his skin for only a split second. And then they resumed. Yami's nose burrowed into his cheek and the words were barely audible as he breathed, "I…I love you, too, Yugi."

Yugi hadn't thought it possible prior to that moment, but his tail thumped heavily against the floor. He wagged it until his vision became nothing but black and his body became heavier, until his flesh was so cold he was amazed he wasn't frozen. His heart continued in his chest for another minute, then slowly faded. His breathing had halted seconds before. His body grew heavy and limp and his tail swished one last time before going still.

Yami kept stroking at his fur a few moments longer, some small part of him afraid he'd abandon Yugi there still alive and seeking comfort in his death throes. But he could tell he was gone. It was as if he had lost a limb. The sensation of pain that choked through his chest and wrapped itself around his heart was overwhelming. He stopped petting him a full minute after Yugi was gone.

He didn't know if it was to prove that his limbs were still attached. He didn't know if it was because he was simply scared to stop. But when he finally did, his arms were tingling and felt numb. And the blood on them had long since cooled, becoming like an oil slick across his skin. He stared at the smears and studied Yugi's frozen face, the lips still parted in something of a grin, his tongue hanging sideways. His eyes were closed, his nose still bleeding, his ears perked forward from the loss of muscle control. His entire face was soaked in blood, from his nose to his cheeks and just above his eyebrows.

Yami pressed a single small kiss to the top of his forehead, lingering a moment. "May Lupa guide your paws," he muttered, then gently shifted Yugi's body from his legs and to the ground again. He ran his fingers through his fur one more time, straightening a moment later. He looked at him, unable to tear his eyes away, and finally only lifted his head when he heard someone approaching.

He'd hoped it was the hound he hadn't killed.

But it was Chazz instead. The beta was bloodied, beaten half to death. His left eye was swollen shut. His face was bloodied and soaked. He had lost half of his pelt along his shoulders and back and sides. He had several dozen wounds bleeding profusely. His breathing was underlined with rattling from weakened, pained lungs. His mouth was bleeding and his tongue bitten almost in half on one side.

And then he blinked his eyes and raised his head slowly. He bristled faintly, fearful as he took in the scene before him. Oh, gods… Atem… Atem is dead, he whispered. His eyes widened as he took in Yami's presence, but his voice rose with panic when he blurted, Atem—Atem is dead!

Yami watched who remained of the pack cease searching for other hellhounds. They turned towards Chazz collectively, eyes widening with shock. Yami almost swore he saw pain in their eyes at the new knowledge. And then it faded abruptly. They swapped looks, seeming to weigh their options.

Yami snorted. "I am Atem," he murmured, in a voice raised almost to a snarl. "I was always Atem. And you will fight until you have killed them all or you've dropped dead amidst the effort. I'll kill you myself if you flee. Do you understand me?"

The six of them looked at him for a single moment. He could see the doubt, but it vanished almost instantly. He didn't know if it was the certainty in his stance or if it was his words or the fact that Yugi lay there dead in front of him. He didn't know what caused them to listen. He didn't honestly care, however.

They nodded toward him, then at each other. And then they headed off again, searching to destroy.

Yami watched them go, staring for what felt a lifetime. Then he looked back to Yugi's body. His skin felt as if it had been stripped from his body, shaved from his muscles entirely. He didn't know what to make of the numbness he felt at the moment. He wondered if this was truly what phantom pain felt like. He'd never lost a limb before, but this had to be closest he'd ever gotten.

Yami turned away and raised his head. The bold, heavy silhouette of a familiar man peaked from behind a door's frosty window. The red-eyed teen peered up at it for a moment. Then he stepped away from Yugi's corpse. He wanted to look at it again. He wanted to simply stop and stay there and refuse to move.

But he couldn't stop this if he stayed there.

He couldn't finish it by staying in one place like that.

So he forced himself to keep moving, even as his insides revolted the actions and his stomach churned and his mouth grew dry and his eyes burned and his heart skipped beats and his lungs failed for several seconds to open and close properly. He peered up at the catwalk overhead, staring at the door once more. His body ached and pulsed with despair, making his limbs quake. He paused at the bottom of the catwalk, thinking for a single second to perhaps try the ladder.

But the thought faded. He craned his head back. It wasn't too high a jump. He'd certainly leaped higher during experiments. He'd had to scale a twenty-foot wall in a simple jump to avoid getting eaten alive once. He could have done it again if it was necessary. But this jump was only half that, if not simply a third. He didn't truly know. It was hard to gauge distances when his mind was circling elsewhere every time he so much as tried to focus.

Yami paced several steps. His eyes narrowed. He kept his head craned back. Then he looked forward again, paced a few more, and turned on his heel. When he sprinted forward, it was at a breakneck speed. He stepped harder, pressing on his tiptoes as if he were still in his canine form. Then he sprang up and forward. His hand caught the top of the platform. His muscles strained from the force of his weight hitting the metal and the catwalk shook briefly.

He dug his nails into the platform and reached his other hand up. He sunk his nails in, then stretched one hand to grab the railing. He flexed his fingers, tapping them against the hollow bars. Then he tested it, weighing the odds of falling back to the ground should it be unable to hold his weight. He pulled once, then twice, then tightened his muscles and pushed off in an upward arc.

He landed hard. His legs bent at the knees and his hand touched the ground to hold his balance. He remained crouched there as he weighed his options.

The phenobarbital was still in his system. He'd pulled himself from Paradise with time to spare, but he'd been unable to metabolize it properly. And it had kept him there, immobile and fuming and twitching sporadically when he tried to force it out faster. It was slowing him down even now, when the majority of it should have relinquished its hold. He should have been able to make that leap in one solid movement, without even bothering to catch the platform or use the railing. He should have been able to land on his feet without catching himself in that crouched position.

He'd done it formerly, even when he was unhealthy and weak and tired and sloppy. Even when the experiments cost him his life and he came back, he'd managed it. To be unable now because of the drugs still circulating through his system was almost insulting.

Yugi had done the impossible in truly matching his metabolism. He'd managed what everyone else had struggled and screamed and bitched about when he was younger.

What had he said when he was in his arms earlier? That he'd needed six syringes? But it had only slowed him down for an hour. It wouldn't have stunted his healing or anything. But it would have knocked him out at the very least.

He'd just have to force his adrenaline to spike. He could pass the drugs through his system in a mere matter of seconds if he needed. It would be easy and painless. Once he started, it would not stop until he bid it so. And the adrenaline rush was likely the only thing he had left to aid him.

Yugi was gone. And he couldn't focus for more than split seconds. Every thought looped back. Every impulse said to turn away and return to his side. He could sit next to the body and rot to death.

Who cared if the world ended? He'd gladly let it burn.

Yami hummed. He reached for the door. The handle jiggled only slightly. The lock was caught and held when he pushed delicately against it. Yami hummed a little louder, fingers clenching around the knob. Then he slammed his body into it.

The door flew open, hitting the wall and caving into the concrete structure with a heavy thud. The dust crumbled and settled awkwardly across the ground, smelling of stone etched with wolfsbane. Yami blinked once, slow and long, and stared at the man before him.

He was huddled over one of the metal tables. His eyes were wide, beady with terror. A gun with a scope attached was being loaded shakily. His heavy shoulders shook. His fingers trembled. His mouth opened and closed, gaping. A small bit of sweat seemed to blossom on his forehead. His lips trembled with fear. His breathing was heavy and erratic as his heart began to race and skip beats.

Yami padded forward. "Hello, Gozaburo," he murmured, voice pleasant and soft as if they were old friends. He was almost surprised by his own tone, but he felt as if he were lost somewhere in the darkness in his head. His voice sounded vaguely detached from his consciousness. Even as he stopped inches from the man, he wondered when and how he'd moved. It felt almost mechanical, stiff and strange and alien. "Tell me; how are you?"

The man swallowed hard. Yami watched his Adam's apple bob up and down like a fishing lure. He tilted his head, listening to his heart as it began to thump and race and sounded almost like it was slobbering. Yami raised his eyes slowly once more.

"What? Have you forgotten how to speak?" He stepped closer. Gozaburo's hands shook so hard he couldn't aim the gun properly. It dropped a second later from his fingers. Yami glanced at it as a bullet, silver and stinking of earth and blooms, dropped to the ground. He raised his eyes again, watching as the man cursed under his breath and stared at him with a horrified expression. "Did I steal your tongue?"

He looked as if he'd just been struck.

"What?" Yami questioned. He stepped closer, until they were but an arms' length from each other. His mouth curled slightly into a small smile. His eyes narrowed and burned as he purred, "Aren't you happy to see me? I've been gone for six months. You should be overjoyed I've returned."

He opened his mouth again, closed it abruptly, and tried to crouch quickly to grab the gun. Yami didn't have to watch him to know. He reached out, catching him by the neck. The man immediately lost interest in the gun, trying to claw his fingers away. Yami held him off the ground, tilting his head and watching him.

"Haven't we already proven guns are a bad thing to use against me?"

He was relatively sure they'd proven that on multiple occasions before he'd escaped. He squeezed, angling his fingers to dig his nails into his flesh, pressing until small bursts of blood drizzled down. Then he dropped him. Gozaburo hit the ground, stunned perhaps by the force. He hit his head against the concrete, groaned, and then tried to scurry aside. Yami ignored him, looking instead at the gun and reaching down to retrieve it himself. He grabbed the bullets, ignoring the tingling that came with the action, and loaded it lazily. The smell of burning flesh was faint, almost unnoticeable.

He hummed and aimed it at the man in front of him. He put his finger on the trigger, pretending to squeeze it. He snickered, "Bang" and smirked as the man flinched and tried to cover his face as if it might shield him from the bullet. Yami snorted and put the gun down again, lazily flicking it away and across the examination table.

"Where is he?"

Gozaburo didn't answer. Yami hummed, then leaned forward. He pressed the heel of his shoe into his leg, pushing his weight gently into it. The limb rolled slightly beneath his weight.

"You should know my temper is thin, Gozaburo." He pressed a little more weight into his shoe. The man let out a pained grunt but didn't lower his arms. "What is it with humans and pretending silence makes a difference? I'm a fucking beast. I'm the most powerful creature in existence. Do you really think I can't just force the information out of you?"

When he dug his sneaker in harder, the man dropped his arms. He reached forward, as if to try to remove his foot from his leg. Then he froze, remembering no doubt just how badly Yami had reacted the last time he'd so much as touched his arm. Yami had broken his arm and kicked him before the guards had gotten the chance to even say a word. Gozaburo had been thrown across the room from the attack and Ryou had sedated Yami with the same drug Yugi had. But Ryou had not been able to dose him properly. Yami had calmed down only because he'd realized he wasn't being threatened. The phenobarbital hadn't slowed him in the slightest but for his thought processes later as he sat against the wall and pretended to rest.

It was one of his best tricks, pretending that the drug had slowed or calmed him from his agitated states. He didn't think any of them had truly caught onto the fact. He was sure his cage mate knew, because Yami had never grown sluggish when they were alone after he'd been dosed. And maybe Ryou had suspected it, but no one had ever said it.

And if no one had spoken of it, then it could not have gotten far along the chain of command.

"Are you in shock, maybe?" he mused, grinning after a moment. His mouth was salivating as he peered at him. All the anger in his system made his skin itch. He glanced at the blood under his nails in an effort to calm himself slightly. He pressed his weight the tiniest bit further into his leg. Gozaburo hissed and tried unsuccessfully to push him off. "It's funny, actually. I had never realized just how fragile and weak you all are. It's rather shocking to consider, when you all are the ones who created me."

"We were so stupid," he breathed out, anger bleeding into the last word. "He should have left well enough alone."

"You all should have, though, yes, it certainly is his fault more than anyone else's."

Gozaburo shot him a vicious sneering look before he yelped when Yami pressed his foot harder down. He hummed as the man tried to push him off once more. "He just couldn't be satisfied. He had to create this stupid horrific beast."

Yami rocked forward on his heel and pressed his weight into the tip of his left sneaker. The change of balance made his foot roll more heavily over his leg and Gozaburo snarled as he tried again to shove him off. "I was under the impression you all were so proud of yourselves," he hummed, swatting his hands away when he tried harder to shove him. He rolled his weight again, listening as Gozaburo's leg began to creak beneath his foot. The man snarled, almost screaming with pain, and wisely withdrew his arms when Yami shot him a warning look. The lycanthrope went back to rolling his weight from foot to foot. The bone shattered a minute later, under duress of Yami's additional weight so perfectly centered and forced upon it.

He gave him a smile as the man let loose a bellow of pain.

"Oh, how I've missed making the staff do that," he purred. He removed his foot from his leg and looked him over. The man had drawn the limb toward himself, rubbing it and hissing. Yami watched him rock back and forth once before peeling his pants leg back to look it over.

There was no physical deformity to be noticed at first glance. It was simply an imprint of a sneaker against his flesh and bruising skin that turned rapidly purple. Yami wondered at the sight, then grinned.

"Drinking again, Gozaburo?"

"Fuck off." The man glared at him defiantly, as if it might do him any good to disobey at this point. Yami raised a brow, unimpressed, and sniffed disinterestedly with a glance around the room.

"Well? Where is he then?"

"Fuck off."

"Do you know other words? Or has the pain reduced you to just that phrase?" Yami glanced at the medicinal cabinet, the three-foot deep glass cover which was supposed to keep the wolves from breaking them in fights. They'd implemented it after one of the many times he and Bakura had torn into each other while Ryou watched helplessly and tried to get them separated. He remembered watching Bakura rip his hand open and try to sever his arm on more than one occasion. The mere act of touching him had made Bakura feel it was more than appropriate to rip Ryou to pieces. "You used to be much more talkative when I didn't speak back. Is that what I need to do? If I play the silent game again, will you answer the question?"

"I don't know where he is. If I did, I would have sent you to find him instead."

Yami tilted his head. Humans were so disloyal. "Oh?"

"He's the one with some kind of purpose for you," he snarled. "I don't care about you. I never did."

He was acutely aware of that. From the various experiments Gozaburo had made such vile remarks about, to the fact that he had personally drowned him and cut his wrists and tried more than once to saw his head off, Yami knew all too well. Gozaburo had wanted an indestructible toy to play with. It was his partner who had wanted the creature Atem. It was his partner who had plans for him.

"Do you never wonder what he planned to do with me?"

"I didn't care. I still don't. I financed your creation. But I didn't care about your existence one way or another."

Yami nodded slowly. He'd known that, too. It had never been a secret.

Gozaburo had just wanted to see how immortal he really was. He'd just wanted to test and poke and prod at him and see where he broke and where he survived. He hadn't ever considered consequences, because his partner had always told him there wouldn't be any. He'd been promised a puppet to play with, someone to torture and destroy and redesign through death. It had been a game.

Yami supposed that matched to how he felt now. He paced a step, coming closer to him and leaning forward. "I won't let you live," he said bluntly, eyeing him critically, "but I'll quicken your death if you tell me where I might find him. I only want to sink my teeth into his throat."

The man barked a laugh. "I always wondered how you were genetically related. Now I understand it. You're both fucking idiots."

Yami watched him for a moment. Then he blinked and tipped him backwards with a foot to his chest. It was amazing just how little force he had to put into the act. His body was wired and the strength threatened to destroy everything around him. His muscles were taut and his fingers itched for violence.

No wonder Yubel had liked so much to inflict damage and slowly rot her victims from the inside out. He could have easily tortured him if he was in the mood.

But he wasn't a cat. And he didn't have the attention span at the moment.

He pressed his foot into the center of his chest, pinning him there. The man struggled, trying to shove him off and failing. His face turned red from the exertion and the pure rage that made his eyes ink wells. He clawed at his leg after a moment, as if they might scratch through his jeans and lacerate his limbs.

Yami snorted and looked around again. "What were you planning to do when I interrupted you? Were you going to shoot some unsuspecting wolves? Silver bullets laced with wolfsbane; what better weapons ever existed?" He wrinkled his nose and looked down at him. His nails were short and stubby and useless as it was. His attack was so ineffective he might as well have been trying to scratch him with a handful of hot dog links. He huffed and turned away. This was fine, however. He needed to get the drugs through his system before he faced the other bastard. "Do you plan to keep stroking me through this entire conversation? It's rather distracting."

The man tried to shove him again but couldn't. He made a disgruntled noise that choked and became a noiseless wheeze when Yami shifted his weight. The red-eyed teen looked down at him, unimpressed and growing rapidly annoyed.

But then he blinked, bristling. He turned his head slowly towards the adjacent door. The handle pulled downward, slow and careful. Yami leaned forward, pressing his foot to Gozaburo's face. As the door pushed open, he eased his weight forward. Gozaburo's screams were half-drowned by blood and crunching bone. His eyes popped solidly, like someone snacking on grapes. The cries died a mere second later.

The door opened and a taller, skinny and lanky figure stepped from beneath the frame. His skin was pale, almost alabaster. His hands were skeletal, thin and lined hideously with calluses and veins and sinews. His nails were rotted, black around the edges, the beds all but peeled away and flaking. His hair had fallen away entirely and his neck was chorded, thin and small. His collarbones were disgustingly prominent and his breathing sounded ragged even in its easy pace. Upon his face was a single paper mask, almost like one from a masquerade ball, but merely in shape. There was no glitter or shine or feathers or anything of that manner. It was simply a black mask, cut to line his eyes, the edges where they stretched towards his temples sharply like streaks of kohl.

Yami tilted his head slowly to the side, studying his fragile structure.

They remained silent for a long time.

He smelled of illness, of internal decay and clotted blood and phlegm.

He looked every bit the characters he'd seen on television, of cancer patients stripped of muscle mass and pigmentation before the disease ate them alive.

Yami tried to find some kind of bravado but failed. He could not so much as utter a quiet sound. His throat was strangled. His lungs had collapsed in on themselves. His heart was still thankfully slow, but he could feel it when his blood pumped through his veins. He was amazed his fingers were not shaking, but he knew otherwise because he would have felt it. He felt a small wave of dizziness crash through him, stomach lolling and tossing about. He had the impulse then to simply turn tail.

It would have been so much easier.

But it passed. Like everything else in his life, it passed.

"Welcome back, Atem."

He pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He really shouldn't have come here. Maybe Yugi was right. Maybe he just…wasn't strong enough to do this. Yugi had to have known. Otherwise he wouldn't have drugged him and left him at the clinic like that to begin with. He would have simply asked him to accompany him if he'd thought he would have been able.

Yugi had known he was too damaged, too much of a liability.

He'd set off without him, prepared for the worst but hoping for the best.

And that had gotten him killed.

Yami found his jaw clenching. "I owe you," he growled, cutting through the pleasantries. "I owe you a lot, Akunadin."

The man tilted his head. Yami swore he heard his bones creaking from the movement. He wondered just how much longer he had to live. And then he almost laughed at himself for the thought. Hatred bubbled through his system and he bore his teeth behind his lips.

"You can repay me now that you've returned."

He snorted. "I don't know you should invite me to do that so easily, uncle." He paced a few steps, turning on his heel and approaching only to stop yards away again. He didn't want to get any closer. In fact, Yami felt his legs stiffen and become unable to move. He couldn't get any closer. "The things I want to do to you aren't the nicest."

"Has the outside world embittered you?"

Yami narrowed his eyes the smallest degree. "No more than I already was."

"Were you? I remember you being unable to experience emotions while you were here."

He snorted. "No. I was never unable to. I simply didn't show that I felt those ways."

Akunadin chuckled, voice oddly rich where it'd been quiet and drifting moments before. It was almost as if Yami's response had somehow filled him with life once more. "You really were a little chameleon. We never knew when you would act out, when you might simply listen to orders and do as you were told. Your emotional stance was always a puzzle. No one could read you. And you always held everything to your chest."

Yami ignored this odd, pitiful praise. "Your wolves are all dead. All of your experiments are gone." He studied his face. He couldn't see his eyes because of how sallow his cheeks were. The mask made it impossible to see through its dense shadows. "The pack has decimated your numbers. And what shall you do now?"

"I only ever needed you. You were the only creature I cared about."

"Right." He remembered being told that one too many times. He sniffed disdainfully. He remembered all too well just how easily the words had bound him to this place when he was younger. "I remember."

The tall, sinewy figure in front of him chuckled; it sounded almost like a wheezing noise. Yami listened to it for a moment, tilting his head as if it were a whistle being blown to gain his attention. It was odd, just how disturbingly weak the man in front of him had become. Six months must have been far longer for him than it had Yami himself.

"I was wondering when you would return to me. Every day I spent a few hours thinking about you." The man blinked and his pupils dilated slightly from behind the mask, twitching and shifting and minimizing. Yami swallowed hard and clenched his jaw to keep from flinching away. "I know you never forgot yourself. You never forgot your roots. Every time you looked in the mirror, I'm sure you remembered."

Yami tried not to curl his lip back. His irises were almost pulsing with energy or light. His stomach twisted and his mouth grew dry for a single second. "My reflection doesn't interest me," he snapped, refusing to lower his eyes and praying to Lupa he didn't vomit. "But you're right. They never did form properly. I almost imagined for a while I shared your disease."

Akunadin tilted his head as if he'd just spoken in a foreign language his lycanthrope roots could not truly translate. The other man narrowed his eyes and stared at him, gaze sharpening as he studied him closely. "No, if you'd had my disease, I would have put you out of your misery."

He curled his lip, showing a canine and bristling as the hairs along his arms rose with a brief flicker of fear. "Right, because you aren't too cowardly to do the same for yourself." Yami exhaled roughly. "Isn't that the entire reason you created me? Because you are so damn afraid to die? You bred me to be able to save yourself. And you know that gene always had a likelihood to pass down, even if only as a recessive quality through your brother. Something had to be diseased. My eyes were the easiest. Wolves don't really need vision or color pigments in their irises. The fact that they turned red after being solid black for so long is the true surprise of it all. The blood vessels are all so close to the surface that blinking almost makes them burst. And, yet, despite the weakness in your veins, I can see clearly and my eyesight is amazing even by the standards of lycanthropes."

Akunadin peered at him, raising his chin slightly. It was almost as if he were receiving praise, as if the little beast he'd created had truly come back to tell him of all the achievements he'd made. Yami could see the hope in his eyes, then. He could see the power that sparked there, the red of his irises like glinting glass.

"That's how this disease works, right? In general, lycanthropy destroys one thing for another. It heals something, but it takes something else. I gained camouflage, but I got your diseased eyes."

"But they work far better than those disgusting black eyes you used to have, right?"

Yami snorted. "My eyesight never changed. It's always been outstanding. It is not my fault that you all were so easily misled."

"You were such a bleeder back then. Tell me, has that changed?"

"No. I still bleed gallons and gallons. Yet my body refuses to give up. It's almost a shame."

"It's a shame to have immortality? You scorn death and you claim that's shameful?"

"The gods chose the wrong wolf." Yami sniffed again, glancing briefly toward the gun laying yards away from him. Akunadin tracked the movement, as he knew he would. Yami raised his eyes again, looking at him coldly. "I owe you for that. I owe you for Yugi."

"Yugi?" Akunadin narrowed his eyes. His pupils expanded again, swallowing away the red of his irises. Yami watched him as he processed the name one time more. "That wasn't your cage mate's name."

"No. It's not."

There was a moment of silence. Yami could see him debating broaching the subject and asking further details. And then it passed. He came forward, a slow and deliberate movement as if to catch his attention. "Do you remember your promise to me when you were six?"

"I never promised you anything. You asked for my blood. And I had nothing to live for."

"And you do now? This precious Yugi of yours seems to be dead, judging by your face every time his name is said." Yami didn't respond. Akunadin's eyes sharpened further. "You don't truly plan to kill the only person who's ever loved or cared for you. Even you aren't so damn stupid."

"Love?" Yami repeated slowly, the word tasting sour and miserable on his tongue. His stomach churned again and his mouth felt dry as cotton once more. He'd loved Yugi and yet he'd failed him entirely. What strength did love have in the world? What power did it possess to begin with? It was all stupid. It was all pathetic. And the world could rot from its core to its crust for all the shits he gave.

"Do you know what love is?"

Yami tilted his head. I loved Yugi. I did. But I failed him, too. What does it matter? And then he laughed, a choking barking noise of disgust. "Do you ever listen to your words as you say them, uncle?" he growled. "A sociopath to teach me of love? You mean to lecture a wolf about love? You don't have any of the instincts of a wolf and yet you pretend to understand. You're human but for your bloodline. You're a jealous, pathetic and greedy little human afraid of death and looking for immortality to escape its binds. You kidnapped your older brother and his fiancée and you experimented on them and forced them to slowly but surely rot even as you bred them until my mother produced me."

"I am the only one who cared for you. I am the only reason you lived past a week old. Your own mother tried to eat you alive."

"She knew what I was. She knew what I'd become." Yami considered him for a moment. "I should have killed you when I learned you were the one who created me. I should have destroyed you when you told me of my purpose."

The words made Akunadin laugh. "You were too damn weak to ever kill."

He stared at him, considering, then spoke in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "It was simpler…to let you torture me than to imagine what hell would be like if I killed you." His lips twitched. "But I always imagined it. You were there to wake me most often. And I imagined killing you every second. But my cage mate…opened my eyes. Wolves don't go to hell. Hell is for worthless humans."

"He wasted all that time digging you out from under my thumb and you never gave him his reward."

He snorted. "I think his desire to have sex with me was far less cruel than your plans to cut my heart from my chest and put it in yours." Yami tilted his head and watched him, studying his face and narrowing his eyes. "Why don't you go ahead and take off the mask? I already know your face."

Akunadin peered at him, unblinking and cold. "You have always failed me, no matter what the task, haven't you, Atem?"

"It made you so angry that I didn't kill and eat him, didn't it?" Yami mumbled, studying his face. "I was going to kill you if you removed him."

"You were too weak to lay a hand on us."

"My fifteenth year, before you returned from your time in Europe, I planned to kill you regardless. I gave up caring what would happen after. I lost much of my hesitation. Paradise accepts the most depraved, the weakest, and even the most cowardly. It accepts the bravest, the kindest, and the most loving. It rejects none." Yami blinked once, then came forward a step as Akunadin glanced toward the gun on the ground and Gozaburo's corpse. "You were smart to manipulate me. It was truly the only thing that kept you alive. Randomized birthdays, refusing to name me, telling me of the human religion…"

"And yet it all changed in a matter of days."

"You had to be systematic. He just had to be kind. Wolves trust wolves."

"Ryou is the only reason he stayed there. He was meant to be removed when you failed to eat him. That little bastard deserved everything that came to him."

Yami watched him coolly for a moment. His lips twitched and threatened to draw into a wide grin. Perhaps Akunadin wasn't quite wrong about that. Ryou did deserve a lot for the pain he'd caused.

"I know what you're doing."

He blinked and tilted his head. Did he now?

"You're stalling!" Akunadin guffawed. "I can smell it on you, Atem. You're close enough now. You've been drugged."

Yami blinked again, raising a brow slowly.

His uncle leaned forward and drew in a long breath. Then he exhaled slowly and laughed harder. "Phenobarbital!"

"My mate knew how to match my metabolism." He searched his face, narrowing his eyes. "He drugged me long enough to lead the pack here without me. If you'd had his help, perhaps you could have made your incisions properly. Maybe you could have removed my heart and put it in your chest. But it would have killed you all the same, Akunadin. The gods would never—"

"The gods? The gods?" his uncle roared now, trembling with anger. "I am a lycanthrope just as you are! I cannot change, but I am! I'm your fucking blood!"

"The only thing between us is that my blood is red like yours. I do not suffer from your cancer. I am not weak." He bore his teeth. "You were never meant to be a wolf. You are wrong. You were born wrong."

"You? You dare say that? I created you!"

"And what a fine job you did." Yami snorted. "My existence is unforgivable. But I am not a human. I am not lost. I am not dead. I am not doomed to rot to death from the inside."

His uncle was shaking, trembling with rage. Yami stalked forward another step, pausing in front of him and studying his stance. He had something in his left hand, though Yami had not noticed before.

But it didn't stop him. Remembering Yugi's broken body made his skin crawl and the reminder of everything he'd gone through thus far made his stomach ache. Yami came forward a few steps, furious.

"And I'm a lot more dangerous than I used to be, Akunadin."

"You think because you're bigger that you can kill me?"

Yami sprang at him violently, heart racing and blood pulsing rapidly. The instant he got within a millimeter of his former position, he'd changed. His clothes had torn to shreds and dropped away. His bones had snapped and repositioned themselves. His organs slithered and twitched and twisted under his skin. He was a few inches from Akunadin when his uncle moved his left hand. The pain was instant and terrible. And Yami had only a second to understand what had happened before he was struck hard enough that his muscles seized.

He hit the ground and dropped. His back legs kicked and his muzzle burned. A scorched taste raced through his mouth. His tongue felt as if it were blistering. His teeth wobbled when he exhaled slowly. His paws scraped on the concrete. He slipped, almost flipping from the pain.

Akunadin had gotten him straight in the jaw. One prong had dug itself into the roof of his mouth. The other had caught the spot next to his tongue. Yami could feel his skin bubbling and blistering. They were deep in his flesh. But the rapid healing had begun to push them out as well. The constant pressure and movement forced them out. It was still painful and blood spilled across his tongue. But it was not enough to debilitate.

Yami shook his head. The prongs hit the ground. He shook himself out, climbing to his feet on unsteady legs. His entire body shook for a single moment. And then he raised his head to study his uncle more pointedly. His mouth opened and closed once. The pain was gone. The blisters were healed. His teeth felt firm again. Yami peered at him blankly. Then he came forward again.

Was that it? That was the only trick you had?

He was disappointed. He was too disappointed to put into words. He came forward again, watching him. Akunadin didn't look scared. He didn't fear him in the slightest. Yami tilted his head. A stun gun only really worked once. Wolves tended to gain immunity quickly when it came to electricity. And he knew the taser had been at its highest.

Yami crept forward a few more steps. Akunadin didn't respond to him. He didn't even blink. His eyes didn't narrow. His breathing didn't change. His heart rate remained steady.

His lack of care was alarming, despite everything.

It shouldn't have been. Yami knew that. He shouldn't have cared in the slightest. In truth, he should have been able to simply rip him to pieces. But somehow his disregard intimidated him. Yami wasn't sure why. He wasn't sure how. It made no sense.

He raced forward. His mouth opened wide. Akunadin kicked at him. Yami dodged aside. He lunged again. Akunadin's steel-toed boot whistled past his ear. He ducked his head and lunged again. The foot slammed into his chest then. Yami was forced off his feet by a few inches. The blow almost crushed his ribs. He expected pain. But all it did was piss him off. Yami crouched as he hit the ground. Akunadin backed up rapidly. Yami sprang again. The kick to his chin made his teeth click. One shook and rattled loose. It hit the ground. A tooth pressed instantly through his gums in its place.

Yami dodged the next kick. He stayed lower to the ground and bore his teeth. Blood flooded his tongue but there was no pain. He bristled violently and snarled. He lunged and snapped his teeth. Akunadin tried to kick at him again and missed. Yami sprang at his face. He missed and got a kick for the effort.

And then Yami noticed it.

Akunadin had chased him aside. And he was inches from the gun.

He burst out laughing, wagging his tail. You decided you need the gun to deal with me?

His uncle didn't respond. His leg shot out. Yami barely missed it as it went over his head. He snarled and blinked. Akunadin had crouched in the meantime. He'd gotten the gun in his hand. It wasn't aimed at him. But he was still holding it.

Yami stared at him. When had he gotten so fast? Had he always been that fast? Had he just never displayed it before? It was possible. He'd never seen Akunadin fight before. The man had always moved rather slowly and deliberately. Maybe that was what had always been intimidating about him. Yami wasn't sure. But he did think he remembered seeing him move quickly once. He'd grabbed Ryou by the throat in the blink of an eye. Yami had tracked it easily. Werewolves' eyesight was too good not to see the movement in detail rather than as a blur as the human eye would have observed.

But it had been over his cage mate. He remembered now.

His uncle had returned from Europe. He'd been scouring once more for a cure. And he'd heard a rumor. He'd chased it. Upon returning and seeing Atem had a cell mater he'd lost his temper. He'd started yelling. He'd demanded removal. And Ryou had argued with him multiple times that there was no room. They were overpopulated. There was no more room to put him elsewhere.

The excuse had been backed by Gozaburo and Pegasus. He didn't think they'd understood the importance of keeping Atem alone, however. They'd simply gone with the knowledge Ryou was the vet and he knew what he was doing, more or less. The overpopulation had been the only reasoning Ryou had supplied. And it had kept his cage mate with him for the year he'd been there.

Yami sprang again. And this time he made contact. Akunadin didn't shoot at him. He merely raised an arm. He caught the attack. And Yami's teeth sank into his wrist. Akunadin turned and swung his arm. Yami hit the wall so hard his skull threatened to split. He didn't loosen his grip. He didn't twitch from the force. He merely clung to him, partially stunned. Yami tried to catch his weight on the concrete. His claws split and bled when he was tossed again. His head hit the wall, cracking. Blood spilled. His skin burned and grew sticky.

But he didn't release. He caught his balance after a moment. His paw slipped slightly. But his tail rose to catch his balance. He held himself. And he tugged backwards, trying for all fours. Akunadin didn't let him, however. He straightened, nearly pulling Yami off his feet. His spine arched and stretched to keep his footing.

Yami shook his head violently. Akunadin wobbled but didn't lose his balance. He kept his footing and held his arm closer to his chest. If he'd raised his hand as if to shoot, Yami would have released and jumped aside. Yami tossed his head harder, until it throbbed dully. His skull was pounding. His teeth ached. He shook him again, until his body throbbed from the force.

Akunadin struck him in the stomach. The force made his spine arch and pop. His legs were pulled from the ground. The man struck him against the wall again. Yami panted against his arm and snarled. He tried to brace himself and couldn't get his footing. The second hit to the wall made him dislodge.

And then he was caught by the scruff. He was tossed violently through the air. His weight and velocity sent him through the glass of the cabinets. The pain exploded through his side and ripped through him entirely. Blood spilled from his jaws. His eyes threatened to pop out of his head for a single second. And then he blinked slowly. His eyes fell on Akunadin, peering at him blankly. He couldn't raise his head. A piece of glass had jabbed itself through all the muscle, into his jugular. He felt it more intently than he ever had anything else. It burned and tingled and his body ached. His mouth burned. His skull itched and throbbed. But the pressure seemed to be lifting for a single moment. And Yami peered at the man again.

Maybe the disease hadn't eaten him alive.

Maybe it'd strengthened him again.

The disease took one thing, then gave another.

Perhaps Akunadin had never been able to change and his lifespan was shortened, but it'd given him physical power.

It'd granted him immunity to everything but his cancer.

It'd made him resilient when it came to physical violence.

He had speed.

He had strength.

He had intelligence.

He had created Atem.

And now he was going to destroy him.

He'd rip him to pieces, tear his heart from his chest and put it into his own.

And then…

Well, then, he'd likely go mad.

Yami burst out laughing before he could stop himself.

Akunadin faltered from where he'd been approaching. His eyes widened and narrowed a second later. His mask had slipped off at some point. His face was hideously disfigured, with veins brought to the surface and skin bright white from neglect. His eyes were sunken and black around the edges, his pupils small and irises a disgusting blood red. His teeth were gray and black when he opened his mouth as if to speak. His neck looked scrawny, sunken in from wasted muscle. His collarbone was prominent. And his skin looked oddly dusty, as if he had crawled from his own grave.

Yami laughed harder. This is it, he thought wildly, surprising himself with the excitement that made his tail thump heavily. Glass split through the limb and one cut into the base. But it did not make him stop. He wagged his tail harder than ever.

This is how it ends.

This is the end.

I'm going to die.

And this is it.

It was pathetic, in retrospect. He should have been stronger. He should have been more powerful. He should have been dangerous and deadly. He should have been able to kill him instantly.

And, as he considered, he knew and understood.

In truth, he hadn't wanted to fight Akunadin to begin with. The nightmares that rose at the very reminder of his existence were overwhelming. And it did not help that he could barely keep his head on as it was. Now, however, he'd also held Yugi as he died. And he wasn't going to come back. It wasn't the same as when Yami himself died. He was brought back almost instantly. He had no reason to mourn his own death.

Yet, Yugi wouldn't come back.

He was dead.

And he'd left his body there, broken and bleeding and laying there.

He deserved better.

And maybe Yami would tell him so when he saw him in Paradise.

Yami laughed again, then chomped his teeth with amusement. His body went through a single spasm, rippling and aching from the force of his laughter. He shuddered and grew still, heartbeat slowing drastically in response to the rapid blood loss. He couldn't see even as he tried to stare at his uncle. The man was approaching again; he could hear that much. The sound of his own breath whistling through the gaping hole of his neck was horrifying. His stomach felt as if it were burning and had been twisted into nonexistence.

I'll see Yugi again.

I'll see Yugi again.

I'll see…

He propelled himself forward and upward. The glass in his throat tore further, until it imbedded itself into the beginning of his chest. Bone cracked against the shard. And Yami's mouth opened into a wide, gaping snarl before clamping down. Akunadin screamed and kicked at him. The glass in his side sank deeper, until a piece hit his spine. The sharp pain and then sudden numbness made his head fall immediately. Every muscle in his body froze. He strained his eyes, black patches appearing in his peripheral and dancing across his focus.

Akunadin was stunted for the moment. His face was covered in blood. His temples were soaked and torn from impact. He had his head lowered into his hand. Blood dripped from between his fingers in heavy rivulets.

Yami stared at him until he couldn't anymore, hoping Paradise would come quickly. The only thing he wanted now was to see Yugi. He pictured the white wolf amongst the trees, their branches thin little veins against the endless galaxy and glowing with starlight. He'd tilt his head and wag his tail and maybe open his mouth into a sloppy grin and run over to tell him it was okay he had failed.

Yami almost laughed at himself.

It wasn't okay.

None of it was okay.

But maybe…

Maybe Yugi could forgive him that.

Yugi could have forgiven him anything, if he'd been able. The white wolf was lying on the river bank, peering at the water where it sparkled and danced with color. He was standing next to the green-eyed wolf, who was trying desperately to speak to him. He was saying something, but every time he tried to concentrate, the words seemed to dissolve in the air between them. Yugi turned his head and looked at him, wagging his tail to show he didn't understand.

The gray wolf flattened his brown ears and bore his teeth. He snarled, twitching and shuddering and pacing about. Yugi watched him, pacing forward a step, and dropped into a play bow. He let his tongue loll and licked his nose and wagged his tail rapidly. The gray wolf bore his teeth and snarled at him again, green eyes flashing dangerously. He snapped his teeth at his face and missed only by an inch, and Yugi lowered himself completely to the ground with bewilderment.

You have to focus.

Focus on what? Yugi didn't understand what that meant. Why did he need to focus on anything? It made no sense. Paradise was meant to be heaven. Why the hell would he need to focus on anything?

Yami needs you!

Yugi blinked and tilted his head. Who? Who needed him? Who could possiblyneed him right now? Yugi didn't understand. This was his final resting place. He didn't need to help anyone anymore. He'd tried and—

Please, Yugi! Yami needs you.

Who was…? Yugi blinked and narrowed his eyes. The name did bring forth a small sense of understanding. It brought the tiniest touch of acknowledgement. And he did think he knew the name. But his memory remained blank. And he still could not focus on it long enough to follow the thread it might produce.

The gray wolf snarled and bore his teeth at his face. He twitched and paced, movements rapid and jagged and agitated. He bristled as if he were facing a monster rather than another wolf. And every movement was shaky as the seconds passed. He spun on him, repeating the words as if it might make Yugi understand. But nothing came forth. The white wolf could not think straight. The words did not jog his memory. He could not focus and the seconds passed in blissful unawareness.

Yugi got to his paws and wagged his tail again. He came forward, lazy and swift. He got to the riverbank and peered into the shining water once more. His reflection was a mere blur of white fur and sparkling eyes with a color he couldn't quite name. The stars seemed to glimmer through his reflection altogether. And he peered at the water as silver and white and gold danced upon the surface. The full moon was a brilliant beacon towards the center of the water, shimmering and glowing.

Yugi sprang towards it, the water caressing him with a strange but vibrant warmth. The steady roar of noise drifted almost into nonexistence and the rapid waters stilled almost to simple stirrings. Yugi blinked and sprang forth again. He touched the edge of the beacon of moonlight. And it seemed for a single second to swirl, dancing and burning in his eyes, and then the center changed.

Yugi stared down at it, startled by the sudden reaction. The gray wolf barked at him something about getting out of the water. They raced in after him a second later. Yugi couldn't remove his eyes from the water, however. And, finally, as the vision danced away upon the other's arrival, he turned his head.

I can't help him from here.

The green-eyed wolf froze as if he were unsure what he'd heard. Then he raised his head and pricked his ears. His eyes widened drastically. His nose twitched and then he exhaled as if with relief. His entire body seemed to shake for a single second.

You…you remember?

I can't help him from here, Yugi repeated, voice coming off far more hostile than he meant it to. A ripple of pain spread through his insides. His belly ached and churned, but the pain was not so terrible he couldn't focus. He peered at Yami's cage mate, searching his face and wrinkling his lips back. How do I help him?

The green-eyed wolf looked at him as if he meant to speak. Then he shook his head slowly and flattened his ears. I don't know. He didn't… He's dying but he's not…coming here. I don't understand. He's not coming to Paradise. He shook his head again slowly. I don't know what's happening, but he's not…

Yugi shook his head. Then find me someone who does know!

Yami's cage mate blinked, startled by his ferocity no doubt. His ears flicked every direction and he bore his teeth after a moment. Lupa and Fenrir are the only ones who could possibly do something.

Then where are they? Yugi demanded. I'll see to it myself that they listen and—

They won't listen to you. They won't listen to anyone. Have you forgotten how little they care? he spat in turn, shaking his head as Yugi bristled and bore his teeth. They sent for you, and then Lupa spent all that time with you just to watch you die. What use is there in speaking to either of them?

Yugi bore his teeth and lunged at his face. His head spun. His stomach was still bathed in the warmer water. But the simple stream had turned into a slightly stronger current. And he could feel pain, rippling and itching and tearing through him violently. His entire body felt cold and yet somehow it burned at the same time. He felt as if he'd been punched through the stomach then. He couldn't breathe for a single second. And his spine felt as if it were going to break and bow beneath the sudden onslaught of pressure that seemed to come down upon it.

He blinked and panted, stunned. Yami's cage mate peered back at him, expression pained but unsurprised.

I have to try, Yugi managed to wheeze out. His fur rose and fell in a stuttering bristle. His entire body quaked as the water continued to caress his belly and legs. His limbs were aching now as well. And some part of him felt as if he might collapse and be swallowed beneath the current. I can't just… He needs me.

I don't know how to help you. I—

There was a burst of something in the air. It was as if the world were screaming. Paradise trembled in his peripheral. The trees shimmered and dissipated for a single second. The water turned scorching, then freezing cold. The air became choking. The snowfall doubled, then quadrupled. The river stopped in place. The moon blinked from existence. The air became stifling with heat.

Yugi felt the burst of power as if it were his own. His limbs throbbed and burned. His insides twisted and turned and began to pulse. He collapsed, the water drowning him for a single second before seemingly dissipating from his airways. He dragged himself to a standing position again, stunned.

What…what the fuck was that?

That…is Atem.

Yugi blinked and raised his head, body dripping water and blood. He blinked, eyes burning as he tried to focus again. The gray wolf had raised and turned his head, focusing on something else entirely. Yugi followed the line of his gaze and froze.

There was a black canine running through the snow, entire face peeled back into a hideous snarl. Their golden eyes were burning, glowing as they dashed forward. Every fur on his pelt was raised in defiance. They trembled and the snarl they released was a hideous booming noise.

Yugi struggled to get out of the river. The current tried to sweep him away, as if attempting to claim him. He dragged himself from the water, onto the stones that somehow remained unfrozen, and hurried after the canine. It was an awkward attempt, and he tripped over himself more often than not. He refused to look down, clarity making his entire body burn. He remembered what had happened; he knew what he was tripping over. But he did not want to acknowledge it. His entire being shuddered against the idea.

Lupa! Fenrir!

The screaming echoed about the still air. Yugi stopped short, panting and stumbling. His entire body shook as if he were fighting against the hold of some kind of monster. He collapsed in the snow, breathing heavily through his mouth, and closed his eyes painfully against the stars and moon.

Do you feel that? the canine roared. Yugi opened his eyes to find him pacing irritably back and forth, snarling and frothing at the mouth. The words were roared a second time. And then the canine barked so loudly the air seemed to shake. That is Atem. That is the monster you allowed to be born. I can't control that. I can't fight him.

Yugi froze in place, eyes wide. He raised his head, recognition slowly coming through his mind. Valon. Yugi blinked and then struggled to slowly stand. His legs quaked. His belly burned where his intestines lay against the snow. He shivered and blinked. His ears pricked forward. He shuddered, breathing hard.

Valon had been their failsafe? Was that why he had all three abilities whereas Yubel and Sartorius had not? He had been born to keep Atem in check? He had been raised to be able to fight him and win and keep him under control if something happened. And now Yami had lost himself. Yugi wasn't sure what was truly happening in his head. But he knew the black wolf was being swallowed beneath it all. He understood he was being eaten alive by his memories, those suppressed feelings that had so often overwhelmed him those last few days.

Yugi went to speak, but found the air punched from his lungs. Yami's cage mate had approached Valon, but the hellhound was peering into the crevice of the cavern Yugi had entered formerly.

And then he saw it. There was movement on the inside.

A shadow of silver flashed forward.

And then she came out.

Lupa stood before them, lean and small and somehow intimidating enough that the air seemed to dry and grow heavy around them. She stopped inches from Valon, taking a seat with a pristine and regal appearance even as the movement made her somehow appear small before them. Yugi peered at the she-wolf, stunned by the fact she'd bothered to answer the hound to begin with. But she was not looking at Valon. She'd turned her head to face Yugi instead.

Her eyes were not unkind, but there was no sympathy to be found. She did not care for his problems. She did not care for Valon's. She did not care for Yami's cage mate's. She did not care for Yami's.

Lupa, I cannot control him.

And you believe I can? she asked abruptly, cutting Valon off completely where he had been about to continue. She never removed her eyes from Yugi's, but her head turned towards Valon and her lip curled. You believe that I or Fenrir can truly control him? He's beyond our grasp. Slifer, Ra, and Obelisk have failed in containing him. Their control precedes ours. I can do nothing but destroy this world and recreate it again. But that would not cease his existence, either. Eventually he would break his binds. He is far from what we expected of him. His power is more than we anticipated. And he is far too powerful. The new world would collapse beneath his power just as well.

You mean that he's a god?

Lupa scoffed. Not quite. But he is close. And if the balance is not restored, then he will become one.

Balance? Yugi blinked as she peered at him and turned her head to face him again. What balance? How was she supposed to restore the balance necessary to control Yami? What balance was there to truly restore? He honestly didn't even know if there was a sense of balance to begin with when this had all first begun. He wanted to laugh. He wanted to sob. He wanted to scream.

Yugi.

The white wolf raised his head at the sound of his name, eyes widening. She was staring at him more pointedly now. And he swore he saw her lips twitch as if into a small smile.

I can restore the balance.

Then do it.

She laughed softly, then got to her feet and came over to him. She took a seat in front of him, even as Yami's cage mate and Valon snapped at her to fix it. Valon chomped his teeth at her as she passed but she did not even look towards him. The she-wolf peered back at him with cold eyes, her gaze burning into Yugi's until the white wolf felt he might collapse beneath it.

What would you give to save Yami now?

Yugi blinked. What more can I offer? I took his identity for him, I offered him shelter, I healed him, I loved him.

Yes, but what would give to save him now?

Yugi stared at her, then shook his head. Anything. I'd do or give anything to save him.

At the cost of your happiness?

He is my happiness.

Lupa chuckled softly, watching him. Would you pay with your soul?

If it would save him.

What do you wish for more than anything? Has it changed?

No. It has never changed. I want him happy. I want Yami happy.

Lupa nodded again. And that is all you wish for?

Yugi bore his teeth. I want Yami happy.

And if it were to destroy you?

I don't care what happens to me. I want Yami happy. I don't want to see him in pain anymore. Yugi curled his lips back further, for the first time feeling himself salivating with anger. He quivered as he stepped forward, nose a millimeter from hers. I want him happy until the very end. When this world falls apart, I want him happy. And if any god stands in my way, I'll end them for it. I'll destroy them. I'll erase them. That is what I want. That is what I wish.

Lupa peeled her lips back into a grin, one so wide it looked almost ghastly. Yugi snarled low in his throat as she peered at him. And then she wagged her tail, getting to her feet. Her teeth were sharp and wide and her mouth opened so gapingly he thought she might swallow him whole when she pointed it at him.

Then I shall grant it. She sprang at him and Yugi didn't have time to react. Teeth sank into his throat, tearing and ripping it almost in half. Be brave, Yugi.

He didn't have time to process the words.

Pain shot through his entire body. His nerve endings were on fire. His heart raced in his chest. His lungs threatened to burst. He screamed and the noise echoed in the air. The tunnels were endless and small, suffocating. The noise ricocheted rapidly about. Everything shook as his senses tried to focus once more. His ears trembled. His legs quaked. His tongue was swollen and bleeding. He shivered, then forced himself to try for his paws. He tripped, skidding, and cursed under his breath.

The wounds hadn't healed.

Son of a bitch.

She'd allowed him to come back to life, half-dead and still bleeding. The wounds were healing, yes, but it would be too long if he were to wait. He knew Yami wasn't moving but for breathing and his heartbeat. He could hear that, slow and wispy exhales and the thick and deep thumping of his heart. He raised his head and struggled to his paws, shivering. His fur rose and fell in a shudder. He panted for air, lungs burning more than ever. He pricked his ears, listening for further noise.

And then he caught it.

The man—Akunadin, he abruptly remembered as a million more memories rushed to the surface—was crossing the room. He was coming toward Yami, who was still bleeding and lying all but motionless on the ground. Yugi craned his head and looked toward the ladder. He could smell where Yami had jumped to grab the railing and pull himself over. Yugi surveyed the immediate area, but whatever remained of the wolves and their fight had cleared out for the most part. No stragglers remained. No one was nearby enough to even glance in his direction.

Yugi shivered and looked up at the ladder. It was the only way he could get up there. He didn't have the strength to make that jump. But he didn't know that he could climb like this with his stomach eviscerated as it was. He just didn't know…

He'd have to try, however.

But he didn't have room for error.

He just had to do it.

Trying wasn't truly an option at this point.

He placed one paw on the rung and slowly pulled himself up a step.

He slipped on the third rung, his back paw getting caught in a mess of blood and gray intestinal matter. He smothered a yelp when his jaw hit the rung. His mouth tasted of copper. His nerves were still tingling. His stomach ached and throbbed. He disentangled his back foot and continued upward, slowing his ascent. It took longer than he would have liked. He didn't care for the way his feet continued to tangle. And his stomach felt cold and somehow hot all at once.

He wondered how infected it would have gotten if he was just human—or even just an average dog.

He crawled up the catwalk slowly, dragging himself. When he straightened, his intestines had tightened and dug themselves more neatly into the pouch of his disemboweled stomach. He could feel the skin trying to knit itself. The constant movement made it harder for him to keep his balance and heal. His legs continued trembling at first, then began to grow used to the trot he'd taken as his pace. He slowed, panting, as he got to the door. And then he raised his head and studied the image in front of him.

Akunadin had grabbed Yami by the scruff, lifting his head from a large shard of glass. Yugi heard the squelching noise of his flesh being rubbed against it. And then blood dripped in a curtain of red. Yami's eyes were still shut and his breathing was a gargle from the gaping wound. Yugi could see a piece of glass that had cut all the way through his stomach, poking out of his back. He couldn't tell if it had made contact with his spine or not. The wound had healed around it, and the glass almost looked as if it were a part of him now rather permanently.

His nose was bleeding. His mouth was bleeding. When Akunadin dropped him again, his jaw clicked. He didn't move but for breathing again. Yugi stared blankly, confused and alarmed by the sight. He looked at the human. A large syringe was gripped between his fingers, filled to the brim with blood. The red substance looked almost black in appearance, as if the liquid had turned into a more clumped consistency.

Get away from him!

He could have hit himself for how stupid he sounded. He flattened his ears and snarled when Akunadin blinked and turned his head in surprise. His eyes were wide, sparkling with shock and amusement as well. His lips twitched into a huge grin, one that almost seemed to swallow his face. Yugi peered at him, stunned by the sudden resemblance he shared with Yami at that moment.

He'd never seen his eyes in all the memories Lupa had given him while in the cavern. He had never seen his eyes in all the memories the other gods had shared with him. And, now, staring into them, it was almost amazing to see. His eyes were red, vibrant and pulsating. They were not the same by any stretch; Yami's were a million different shades that all blended together and Akunadin's looked like fresh blood. But they were just as striking and the shape of them were extremely similar to Yami's.

Yugi swallowed hard and fought the urge to snarl fearfully. Rather he stepped back, bracing himself, and bore his teeth. I said get away from him.

He felt stupid and small. The words were almost choked out now, his surprise stunting his ability to speak altogether. He narrowed his eyes and bore his teeth, growling hideously to cover his mistake. He bristled and lowered his head, opening his mouth into a wide gaping force. He pricked his ears forward, every muscle in his body tensed and ready to surge forward.

"I remember you. I saw you when you broke into our labs a while back."

Yugi huffed a breath, salivating heavily and moving to bunch his back legs beneath him. He wouldn't lunge forward; that would have been stupid. To go all out like this and attack as if he were healthy would only get him killed. He might lunge forward and snap his teeth and cause some damage, but he could not try to kill. He knew better.

Yeah, I remember you, too, Akunadin.

"Oh, you know my name." The man peered at him, face bloodied and disfigured. And then he blinked slowly. His eyes stretched wider than ever and his mouth opened into an undignified "o" shape. "You. You're Yugi."

Yugi wagged his tail. Yeah, that's me.

"Funny. He said you were dead."

He nodded. I was. And now I'm not. He risked a sideways glance at Yami. You didn't realize there were two of us?

"I only created one." Akunadin fell quiet, then burst into laughter. "He made you?"

Yugi raised his head and looked over again, wagging his tail slowly once more. You're a quick one. I should have gotten you a cookie. He ignored the urge to flinch when Akunadin narrowed his eyes and stared at him more pointedly. There was desire there, a strong and almost painful one to witness. His stomach churned as he looked him over. Oh, I get it. You were going to inject yourself with his blood. You actually think that will make it easier to deal with a transplant, huh? How stupid are you? You don't know how to keep him unconscious for long enough to do that. Blood loss won't hold him forever.

"It doesn't have to be for much longer." Yugi flicked his ears and nearly flinched when he pointed the needle toward his elbow. The wolf rushed him, barely dodging a kick that flew over his head when he ducked. Yugi backed away again. His ears angled toward Yami again, but the only indication he was still alive was his heart beating a little louder in his chest. "Besides, if nothing else, I can always keep him prisoner again. His blood will do well to stagger my illness."

Yugi snarled low under his breath, flicking his tongue over his nose. I doubt it. You've wasted into almost nothing in a matter of months. Do you really think it'll have any effect now? Yugi risked a glance in Yami's direction once more. The black wolf was still unconscious, but Yugi could sense something in the air now. There was a change of some kind, powerful and suffocating, and Yugi found himself almost unable to breathe. Aibou…

The change in the air became electric. Yugi felt as if a storm had just come through, as if a bolt of lightning had just struck the air around them.

Aibou, wake up. I need your help.

Yugi blinked. His fur rose along his scruff, panic settling under his skin as Yami's eye nearest him snapped open. The red iris was immense and wide, all-consuming. His pupil was a mere pinprick before it expanded slowly as it focused on him. It contracted a moment later once more, then dilated again.

Who? His voice was thunderous and powerful, overwhelming as it crashed through him. It swallowed his senses and choked him, making his entire body quake. Who?

Akunadin stiffened, head snapping around. His entire stance went from relaxed to horrified in a single second. Yami's eyes were glazed and wild. And when he noticed Akunadin's shift of weight, the wolf focused on him in turn.

Yami…

The black wolf focused on him again abruptly. He shifted his head and stretched his neck out. He twisted as if he were a contortionist for a single second. His neck lay haphazardly on its side, craned at an impossible angle to see him. His mouth was opened, blood leaking from his teeth. His eyes were pools of black as he focused on him. The position was grotesque and horrifying to behold.

Who? he demanded again. His mouth opened wider. His tongue was pooled against the ground uselessly. Who?

Yugi felt a shiver course through him. Atem, he whispered, body almost shaking as the black wolf focused more intently on him. I need your help, Atem.

Aid? The voice was guttural and low, dancing through the air like the roll of thunder in the dark. What do you ask of me?

He bristled and shivered, heart in his throat now. Akunadin had gone toward him, staring at the black wolf with a fascinated and horrified expression. You have to help me fight him. I need you to end this.

Is this the end? Atem growled, voice a garbled mess as he laughed hideously. I was born to decide the end for others.

Yugi flattened his ears. I—it could be. I—I want it to be. This needs to be the end, Atem.

Atem blinked. Then his head snapped back somehow further. Akunadin pressed his boot into his windpipe. Blood squelched from the wound. And Yugi could hear a sick crunching noise as the trachea was smashed.

He flinched backwards, horrified. The sound continued for a moment. And then Akunadin slowly removed his foot. He turned on Yugi with a cold, furious look.

"I guess this just means I'll need to drug him like you did."

Yugi bore his teeth, backing away another step. His fur rose and fell in a shudder once more. His stomach rolled and twisted. He shivered, back legs threatening to give out beneath him. His tail rose and he chomped his teeth.

I'll kill you.

He didn't have other words. Everything else seemed false. And Yami looked as if he weren't moving anymore. He couldn't even hear anything anymore. If Akunadin had just killed for the—

His head snapped around as Akunadin's did.

The black wolf was on his feet. His mouth was opened wide, tongue sloppy and dripping like drool from his teeth. His ears were pricked forward. His throat was clean and healed. His stomach expelled blood for a long minute. And then it sealed as well. The wolf stepped forward, shaking himself out. His eyes were black as coals, huge ink wells that devoured everything but for the reflection of the things around him. Atem's back legs were strong and powerful, his frame oddly immense as if to swallow the air around them entirely. His claws were sharp and clicking as he stepped forward again.

His tail rose slightly, wagging the smallest bit.

Atem…

"Atem…"

The black wolf wagged his tail a little faster. Hello. His ears pricked forward, eyes sharpening. His body was long, limber, back legs bent slightly as if to spring. Yugi almost thought he looked like a friendly dog expectant of a treat. The wolf tilted his head, wagging his tail a little more, and stared pointedly at Akunadin. What? Are you not happy to see me, uncle? Did you forget just how much you've been anticipating my arrival? Did you not want my heart any longer?

The man stared at him with a horrified expression. Yugi saw him reaching awkwardly backward toward the counter nearest him. The white wolf bristled, letting out a small growl when he saw Akunadin's fingers grasping at the barrel of a gun. Atem flicked an ear in his direction but didn't respond to the noise.

A gun? You mean to shoot me? He laughed with delight, coming forward a few more steps. He wagged his tail harder and opened his mouth into a wide sloppy grin of amusement. Please, do so. I'd like to see it.

He came forward a few more steps when Akunadin did not answer. The gun was cocked a moment later, pointed straight at his face.

Aim for the spot between my eyes. Do it. I'll love it. Take your aim and make it count. We'll see if I'm resilient to silver like I used to be.

It took a long minute. And then the gun went off when Atem got within a foot of him.

Yugi watched, horrified, as the black wolf dropped to the ground. Blood pooled about his body. His jaw was broken and shattered. A huge chunk of skull had blown from his head. Yugi yelped, calling out his name pathetically, and flattened his ears against his head. Akunadin went to speak, as if to mock him, and then froze. Yugi turned his head in time with the man. And they both stiffened, statuesque.

Atem had gotten to his feet. The wound was gone. His entire body was healed. He didn't look as if he'd even been hurt in the first place. The blood splatter and bone fragments were truly the only remainder of what they'd seen. The wolf blinked once, slowly, and raised his head to peer at his uncle.

You shot me. You really fucking shot me! Atem laughed, delighted as he wagged his tail until his entire body was shaking. You just shot your prized possession!

Akunadin was shaking, eyes wide and jaw clenching. His mouth opened and closed twice. And he stared at him with an expression Yugi could not read.

Wow. And here I thought you told me you loved me, Atem continued, sneering as he stepped forward again. He was trotting when the second bullet was fired. His head hit the ground, his body folded as if into a bow, and then he was up again. He laughed, then sprang, jaws gaping wide. The third shot went through his jaw and out the back of his head. And it didn't faze him.

Atem slammed into his body, teeth snapping shut on his head. His skull cracked in half under the force. He tore into him, sloppy and tossing his head. Blood and brain and bone were tossed about, splattering across the wall and the counters and the floor. Yugi watched him as he severed the man's head, then dug his nails into his chest and began shoveling. Bones and blood and gore were tossed behind him. It hit the walls, the tables, splattering and dripping.

And then the wolf stopped.

He stood there, staring down at the body.

His eyes were half-closed. His entire frame looked small and yet somehow immense all the same. His expression was despondent. His ears were pricked forward. His mouth was half-open. His breathing was the only sign he was not dead. Yugi could not even hear his heartbeat.

Yami.

The wolf didn't respond.

Aibou.

His head didn't turn.

Atem.

The black wolf blinked, then slowly raised and turned his head. His red eyes glittered. His ears pricked forward. His nose wriggled once. He shifted his weight and peered at him pointedly. His tail wagged slightly.

A phantom already? I'm surprised. I did not realize I was so far gone.

I'm not a phantom, Yami.

Why do you continue to call me that? I am not Yami. I am Atem.

Yugi shook his head. No, you're Yami. You're my aibou. He took a step closer and shivered when Atem stared at him as if he were a piece of prey approaching a mountain lion. His mouth opened wide, teeth glittering as he grinned at him as if he were a new squeaky toy his owner had just brought. You're Yami. And I love you. And I—

Yugi is dead and you are a phantom. You may wear his face and you may speak with his voice. You may accompany me as the world burns beneath my paws. You may haunt me and you may speak to me. But you are not Yugi.

Yugi shook his head, spitting, No, Yami. I'm not a phantom. And you're not Atem.

The black wolf laughed aloud, then came forward. You stink of blood and flesh. And yet I held Yugi as he died. I may have lost my mind and maybe I'm too fractured to repair, but I am not so foolish. I am not so disillusioned. I held him as he took his last breath and his heart ceased beating. And I will destroy the creature so stupid as to mock my memories.

Yugi shook his head, stepping forward. Atem stopped inches away. His eyes were cold and blank and his head tilted. Yugi could see he was gazing at his neck now, calculating how much speed he'd need to push off and rip his throat out.

I love you, Yami.

The black wolf snorted, then sprang forward. Yugi held perfectly still, eyeing him as his teeth got close enough to clip the guard hairs shielding his jugular.

Timaeus told me to tell you you're more than just a project.

His teeth snapped against his skin. They did not puncture. They merely brushed the flesh there. Yugi felt the hair follicles split in half from the force. Yami's exhale was long and slow, shaky as it ran over his skin. And then the black wolf backed away. He looked as if someone had punched him. He staggered, ears against his head, and let out a pitiful noise as his legs collapsed beneath him.

Yugi watched him for a moment, heart breaking as Yami covered his face with his paws and whimpered. When he leaned forward, it was to lick his ears as Yami whispered a quiet, pleading, Oh, Timaeus…

He groomed his face of some of the excess blood, relieved when he found no wounds marring his features. He was okay. He was just shaken. Yugi relaxed and nuzzled his neck, breathing in his scent and wanting to sob. He smelled so warm and lively, even with how scared and tired and shaky he truly was.

But there was the scent he'd caught that day in the woods, before Sartorius had gone after Yami. When he'd followed his paw prints in the snow and come across the scene of the brutal fight that had claimed Yusei's life, he'd smelled only this.

Yugi shivered, wondering. And then he considered.

Yami had suppressed Atem so much, it had caused an inability to heal on his own, or even as quickly as he should have, hadn't it? And he'd changed himself so much in that aspect physically that he'd even altered his scent. The wolf in front of him smelled of mint and pine and moonlight across ice, but there was an undercurrent of dry but fresh blood, laden across a floor of decaying leaves drenched in shadows.

Yami had been losing his grip on reality that day.

He'd been suffocating under his memories. He'd been too tired to suppress as much as he usually did. And he'd slowly but surely lost his ability to tell himself he was not Atem. That itself had been enough to allow the suppression to slip, for Atem to leak through the cracks. Yugi had wondered at the lack of care he'd taken in tearing his paw out of that trap. And he'd been curious as to why Yami had not seemed to care much during his fight with Sartorius or Yubel.

And now he understood.

Yami had slipped through the cracks. Atem had come to the surface.

And Atem would have slaughtered all of them had Yubel killed him. It was why Yami's teeth had grown back so immediately and why he was still able to move, despite everything. Yami had been suppressing enough to keep control, but it had been a single hit that could have launched him into a massacre.

That was what Atem was made for. He was meant to murder and destroy. But he was also meant to heal and restore. The wolves relied on him in legend to change the course of humans turning on them. He was meant to relieve some of the death toll in turning the humans away from the wolves again. It was meant to help them bleed into the shadows again.

It was meant to give them the ability to find camouflage again, before they were forced to slaughter once more. But as he'd said himself, he was also meant to destroy and end everything around him.

Atem was neither a force for good or bad.

In truth, he was the weapon meant to bring about balance again.

But living weapons weren't stable and purpose and desire got confused, blurred and bleeding together. It was only natural they create a second one to counteract the downfall. It was also only natural one be the catalyst for the other to fall to despair. In every iteration, he'd been slated to die and make Yami lose what little sanity he possessed.

The thought came then as well whether they were mates in every incarnation or if this had been a last-ditch effort to make things work in their favor for once. But why else would Yami have cared upon killing the second Atem? It made no sense.

The gods had said it was something unexpected, however.

They were also liars and told half-truths as much as they did anything else. So perhaps he couldn't say much in regards to that. But he wondered more than ever how much of this timeline mirrored the other various ones the gods had destroyed. And then he wondered why they'd destroyed them, what had changed, and whether it was Yami that had forced their hands at the task. Had he been too unstable? Or had Slifer or someone else taken pity and turned everything on its head to save the two of them?

Or had it been Lupa?

What about Fenrir?

Had something changed in their eyes that had put them on the path of reworking their fates? Had they taken mercy on them for some reason? Or was it to bind Yami to a more stable mentality?

Were they so afraid of him?

Yugi?

He blinked and pulled back to look at him, forcing back the onslaught of new thoughts that came to mind. The black wolf was staring at him, something despairing and suspicious in his eyes. Yeah, aibou?

Yami rose abruptly to his feet, expression unreadable for a long moment. Then he sniffed at him, nose wriggling rapidly. Hesitantly he wagged his tail, tilting his head, and flattened his ears. His voice was shattered and choking.

Y-you're real…right?

Yugi opened his mouth in a sloppy grin and licked his forehead. As real as ever!

Yami blinked once, then nodded slowly and shivered. I…I'm sorry.

For what?

I never told you about… He lowered his eyes and when he sniffed it almost sounded as if he were choking. Yami shook himself out, then straightened. I should have told you. And I didn't. I'm…I'm sorry.

Yugi shook his head and licked his cheek, then looked around them. Akunadin's broken body lay feet away from the head Yami had severed. It had rolled from the force of his tossing, laying sprawled out in a pool of blood and crushed to a pulp. Its skull was flattened almost if by a bear's huge paws, crushed as if with a stone rather than his sharp teeth. Yugi considered it for a moment, remembering the rest of the carnage outside of the little room they were hiding in.

He looked over at the glass covered in Yami's blood. He peered at the prints where Yami had risen, pulling himself off the glass as if it were nothing. He studied where the bullet had passed through his brain and straight to the floor. And he saw the long trail of blood where he'd twisted his neck from its crushed position.

Was anyone else still alive?

Stay here, okay, aibou? he whispered, turning back. Yami blinked and stared at him, something like alarm making his eyes brighter than usual. Yugi licked his cheek again, nuzzled his shoulder, and murmured, I'm going to check and see if anyone else is okay.

He got a few steps away before he heard nails clicking against the concrete. He blinked, freezing, then turned his head. Yami was inches behind him, staring at him as if he didn't understand where he was going or why he might even try to leave. Yugi went to say he needed to stay again, then noticed the fearful gleam in his eyes. Yami still thought he was hallucinating. He was scared if Yugi left his sight, he'd be gone forever.

Yugi couldn't put him through that.

He wagged his tail slightly, then moved to his side.

Here, just stay with me, okay?