--: 10 :--
Fear Factor
Amethyst eyes slowly opened and looked around in confusion at their unfamiliar surroundings. Nothingness and darkness was the only thing that met them.
Yuugi scanned his surroundings once more, trying desperately to find someone, but no one was around. Fear grew in his eyes, and he bit his bottom lip nervously.
"A-Atemu?" His voice was laced with fear, and the fear in his eyes grew greater as only his echo answered him. "Jou? Teana? Seth?" Still only his own echo answered him, and Yuugi began to shake slightly.
He stood up, and started searching for his friends in the seemingly endless darkness, wandering on and on. But as time passed, Yuugi grew more desperate as he found no one.
Tears started to form in his eyes, and after wandering a bit more, he broke down sobbing and shaking uncontrollably, "No… Not again… I don't want to be alone again…"
Flashbacks of his past filled his mind and he mentally relived all the times he had been alone… bullied.
He had been bullied a lot when he was young, and when his parents died the bullying had become more as he parents couldn't protect him anymore. He had been only 6 back then, and he had been left in his grandfather's care.
He had had no friends except for Teana, and the brunette was almost never there to protect him when the bullies came. Jou was one of the people bullying him back then, so he didn't really try to protect him either.
His grandfather had only been an old man, and though he loved to play games with Yuugi, he needed much rest. Yuugi had felt alone, unwanted, worthless.
As all the memories flooded Yuugi's mind, he started to cry harder until his body became numb, and he had no more tears to shed. His eyes were tightly shut and his mind was so consumed in his memories, that he didn't even know where he was anymore; he didn't even realize he was whispering the names of his friends pleadingly.
Suddenly, his friends were standing around him and Teana kicked him in his side. Yuugi opened his with misery filled eyes and for a short second, he thought they were coming to save him. But when he saw the expressions on his friends' faces, he drifted even more into despair; they looked disgusted of him.
"Well who do we have here? My favourite victim tA bully around." Jou said smirking at him.
"Why bother, it's not like he's worth our time." Seth snorted and gave him a downgrading look that could rival that the old Pharaoh Aknunkanon.
"Yeah, you're right Seth. Why did I ever bother to befriend him anyway?" Teana turned her back on him, and together with Jou and Seth, she walked away. Only Atemu was standing by him now. Yuugi looked at him, sinking even further away as he saw the look of hate and disgust on the other's face.
"A-Atemu?" his voice shook and he wanted nothing more than for Atemu to just hold him, comfort him. Neither happened.
"How dare you speak my name, slave." Atemu spat hatefully.
"Atemu, no…" Yuugi was panicking even more than he had ever thought possible. Anybody but Atemu. "I love you." he whispered softly.
Atemu just looked even more disgusted and kicked him in his stomach, "Don't ever say that again. You're not worth anything!"
"But…" Yuugi closed his eyes again as tears once more found their way to his face, "I thought you loved me too."
Atemu growled low in his throat, "Me? Love you? How could I love something as useless as you? The only reason I took you with me on this journey, was because I hoped you'd die. I thought I'd be proving the people a favor by doing so."
Yuugi opened his eyes in shock as Atemu turned his back on him as well, before walking away without even a glance back.
Yuugi fell into total despair and slowly felt everything around him fade, as the shadows pulled on his soul. Yuugi tried to resist, but he was so scared and broken, that he didn't seem to have the strength to even get away the slightest bit. His soul slipped into the darkness more and more, slowly being pulled into the Shadow Realm. Only one word kept flashing through Yuugi's mind, 'Alone…'
Crimson eyes snapped open as Atemu heard the sound of a familiar whimper somewhere close to him, 'Yuugi!' He looked around frantically in search of the boy and was gripped by panic as he saw his little one in the clutches of the one person who could hurt him the most; Dakuso.
"I see you finally decided to wake up." Dakuso grinned like a madman, "Good, I was getting bored with your little slave here. He whines too much if you ask me."
The panic that had been forming in Atemu quickly replaced itself with anger and rage as the High Mage held Yuugi in a rather painful grip, "DAKUSO! LET HIM GO!" he roared, getting ready to lung at the one hurting his angel.
"I wouldn't do that, Prince." Dakuso smirked as he held a sphere of raw Shadow Magic close to Yuugi. The teen whimpered and tears came down his face as he looked at Atemu pleadingly.
Atemu's eyes widened in fear as the ball almost touched Yuugi's skin which would mean not only a world of pain for his little one, but also a one way trip to the Shadow Realm, "Please, no."
"How long I've waited to hear you plead." Dakuso laughed in such a way it could only be described as the laugh of an insane man. He mockingly held the black orb closer to the softly sobbing Yuugi and smirked only more evil as the fear in Atemu's eyes grew more and more. "Now then, on your knees and beg."
Atemu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists in anger but did as he was told nonetheless. He'd do anything to get Yuugi back, "Please, I beg you."
"That's a good boy." Dakuso's smirk widened, "But, I'm through playing games now." Atemu had been glaring at the ground angrily but snapped his gaze up with wide eyes as Dakuso spoke. Dakuso let the black sphere in his hands simply roll off his palm and come in contact with the small teen. Yuugi let out a pained cry as Dakuso let him go and he sank to the ground.
Dakuso simply walked away laughing like the maniac he was, leaving a paralyzed Atemu and a shaking Yuugi behind. Atemu forced himself out of the paralysis and ran to his angel's side. He could see that Yuugi's soul was already almost completely consumed by the shadows of the Shadow Realm and there was nothing he could do about it. "Yuugi… No…" he whispered, pulling Yuugi close to him with tear filled eyes.
"You… didn't save… me." Yuugi managed to mumble. His eyes shortly opened and stared at Atemu accusingly, before closing again, never to open again.
Atemu shut his eyes tightly to try and stop the tears from falling from his eyes but to no avail, 'How could I let this happen. How could I let Dakuso do this to him? It's all my fault.' More tears fell from his eyes as he held Yuugi's limp form in his arms. No matter how much he prayed and wished for Yuugi to come back, the beautiful amethyst eyes stayed closed.
He didn't know how long he had sat there, but after what seemed like forever, he was snapped out of his misery spell by someone calling his name. Atemu opened his eyes and stared in shock at a ghostly see-through version of Yuugi standing in front of him.
Before Atemu could even open his mouth to speak or get up to run over to his little angel, Yuugi spoke first, "Why didn't you protect me?" The tiny bit of happiness that had been in Atemu's heart at seeing his little one again, disappeared completely and the misery took over with full force once more.
"No, Yuugi I…" Atemu cut himself off because he didn't know what to say, "I'm sorry." he whispered at last.
"Sorry? You let Dakuso do this to me and the only thing you can think of is: 'I'm sorry'?" Yuugi slowly started to fade away, his voice becoming more hollow as he went.
"NO!" Atemu bolted towards the fading form of Yuugi, completely forgetting about the body he had been holding so dearly. He tried to grab the ghostly form but only went through and fell on the ground. He turned to see Yuugi staring at him with sad eyes, "It's all your fault." Yuugi said before he completely faded away.
Atemu just lay there, staring into nothingness while drowning himself in guilt, misery and self-loathing.
He could feel the pull of the shadows but couldn't care less about it. His mind slipped into despair and depression more and more, giving the shadows more emotions to feed on and Atemu less to defend himself with.
Teana yelped in pain as she was hit painfully in her stomach. She opened her eyes and stared into the emotionless – unless you count insanity as an emotion – eyes of her Master Dakuso.
"M-master." Teana stuttered. The look in her master's eyes held disappointment, disgust, rage and disapproval.
Teana shivered involuntarily under the degrading gaze she was receiving and looked at the floor.
"How dare you show your face here! You failed me! Atemu has the god tablets and he could be here any minute!"
Teana looked up with fear filled eyes. She had failed her master? No, it couldn't be. The temple… Atemu hadn't gotten to the tablets yet!
She tried to speak but before sound could leave her lips, a sharp kick in her chest made her fall back and whimper in pain.
"Don't even try to contradict me, slave!" Dakuso yells with loathing in his voice, "Thanks to you Atemu has a chance of winning against me!"
At that moment the doors to the room they were in burst open and Atemu stormed into the chamber. Teana looked up in shock to see the ex-Prince and cowered under the harsh glare thrown by him to both her and her master.
"Dakuso! You're finished!" Atemu yelled before bright flashed blinded her and 3 deafening roars accented the air around her. She was blown back by an enormous force blasting her out of the way and she heard her master cry out in pain.
When she could open her eyes again she was Atemu smirking over the limp body of her master. The three god beasts had already disappeared again to their tablets, waiting for their new master to summon them again.
Atemu's gaze shifted to her and his smirk was replaced by the same look Dakuso had given her before, "Get out! You're not even worth punishing! Get out and never come back again!"
Tears streamed down her cheeks and she quickly ran out of the palace. She kept running, far into the desert until she had no more strength or will to go any further. She collapsed on the golden sands.
'He's dead… and it's because I failed him…' More tears streamed over her face as the words her master had said to her before flashed through her mind.
"How dare you show your face here! You failed me! Atemu has the god tablets and he could be here any minute!"
She shut her eyes tightly and tried to block the memories plaguing her thoughts out.
"You failed me!"
Nothing seemed to work as the words just kept coming to her. Then the memory of her master's dead body flashed in her mind. She had failed him… he was dead and it was all her fault… how could she have failed him.
She couldn't even feel her body anymore as she felt her soul slowly being torn apart at the memories that kept repeating themselves over and over again in her mind.
The pull of the shadows grew stronger with each passing second as Teana's soul - like those of her friends – was slowly consumed by the hungry souls in the Shadow realm.
Honey brown snapped open as someone slapped Jou harshly across his face. Glaring up at whoever had just hit him, Jou blinked in surprise at seeing cold icy blue eyes glaring back at him. Jou's glare faded and he stared in confusion at the person standing over him, "Seth? What's…?" he was silenced by another harsh slap.
"Be quiet, Mutt!" Seth hissed, "You don't have the right to speak to me unless given permission."
Jou looked at the other with hurt-filled eyes before noticing the royal attire Seth was wearing. Seth was High Priest again? But how? Had they gotten to the god tablets? Jou was utterly confused and tried to speak once again, only to get the same treatment as before.
"What did I just tell you! You cannot speak to me unless I say otherwise! You're just a worthless peasant, not worth anything!"
Tears slowly appeared in Jou's eyes at the harsh words thrown at him. How could Seth say that! This wasn't what Seth was like! He refused to believe it!
Though his mind was screaming at him that Seth wasn't like this, memories of Seth slapping him after the sandstorm flooded his mind. No matter how hard he tried to push the memory back, it kept coming back with full force.
He looked back up at Seth with pleading, yes, desperately looking for his Seth in those cold blue eyes, but only emotionless unmoved blue orbs set in a glare was what met him.
"Get out, Mutt, and never show your worthless face here again!" Seth roared, pointing at the door behind Jou.
Jou – not able to take Seth's words or looks any longer – turned around and left the room he had been in. He only now noticed that he was in the royal palace, which meant that Seth had indeed reclaimed his position as High Priest back.
It also meant that this must be how Seth really was. The only reason he had probably ever been nice to him, was because Atemu liked Yuugi so much and he therefore had to hang around with him and his friends. Since Yuugi and Atemu where now together, there was no need to pretend to be his friend anymore.
Jou ran out of the palace and through the garden, then into the desert. He stopped when he was far enough away fro the palace, and sank to his knees, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes.
"NO! This can't be what Seth is like!" he rammed his fists into the sands under him in both anger and sorrow. Since the time Seth had slapped him, there had always been a part of him wondering who the real Seth was; the one that had warmed him up that one night, or the one that had hit him.
He fell down on the sands, knowing that no matter how hard he tried to deny it, Seth's actions of a few minutes ago spoke otherwise.
The tears he had tried to hold back streamed down his face at last. What did it matter anyway? There was no one to see him anyway… Seth wasn't here…
Rejecting him was one thing, Jou couldn't expect Seth to share the same feelings he had for the other, but to call him worthless and send him away… well that was just a whole other thing. Seth's words had hit him harder than he had ever thought possible and he didn't care about anything anymore; not even what would happen to him. It didn't matter anymore if Seth wouldn't even be around him.
'What did I just tell you! You cannot speak to me unless I say otherwise! You're just a worthless peasant, not worth anything!'
"Seth…" Jou whispered softly before giving into his depression completely.
Icy blue eyes opened as the owner let out a groan. He had the headache from hell and it wasn't going anywhere.
Seth focussed on his surroundings but didn't recognize any of them. He guessed he was just in some random person's house… well at least until he was his pup staring at him with wide eyes of shock. O-kay… so he was probably in Jou's house. But how did he get there? Wasn't he supposed to be at the temple? Or was this his so-called test?
'Ghe, some test this is. Jou staring at me is hardly my worst nightmare.' he frowned; why was Jou looking at him anyway?
As if someone had frozen time and it was defrosting now, Jou closed his slightly opened mouth before swallowing and speaking, "Y-you… love me?"
Now, it was Seth's turn to freeze completely. How did his pup know that, "Wh-what!"
Jou shifted uncomfortably on his spot, slightly backing away. Seth noticed the movement and a lump formed in his throat. He had come to accept his feelings for the blonde, but had kept them to himself out of fear that his pup would reject him. He'd rather just stay friends like this than to lose the other completely over something like this.
However, now it seemed that Jou didn't only know how he felt, but he was about to turn him down as well.
"Seth? I uhm…" Jou swallowed again before closing his eyes, "I don't love you…"
Seth swallowed thickly. He'd already seen that coming. Sadly enough for him, Jou wasn't done speaking yet.
"… and I want you to stay away from me."
The last part of what Jou said hit Seth than he had ever thought possible. He looked at Jou with wide eyes to see the blonde opened his own honey brown eyes pleading Seth to leave. Seth was numb all over and didn't even know what he was doing anymore, as if he had no more control over his actions. The next thing he knew he was running out of the house and away from the city, back to the palace.
He stormed into his room without even taking notice to the people staring at him, or that the palace was still supposed to be in Dakuso's hands. He only cared about never being able to see his pup ever again. He collapsed on his bed, glaring at the wall with all his might, it was better than crying. On the inside though, his heart was being ripped apart piece by piece and his soul was torn.
His glare slowly disappeared and was replaced by a sad look, as his anger faded into depression.
'I'll never see him again… never…'
Seth tried to shake the thoughts from his mind but to no avail as the depression ate away at him, pulling him in deeper and deeper.
He could subtly feel Shadow Magic around him, pulling at him harder and harder as time passed, but he didn't care, he didn't even try to stop the strong pull.
Slowly his soul drifted away, growing less aware of his surroundings with each passing second.
Okay, I hereby crown Seth to be drama-queen of the year people. Damn, and I wrote that… oh well, you'll have to forgive me for that. Anyway, another chap and I LOVED writing all the torture °smirks° although I have a feeling you people don't like the fice time cliffhanger in here...
Well cya all next week and R&R people!