Malik: Chapter four of the Final Six!
Yugi: So we learn who Shai really is!
Malik: You alright now, Yugi?
Yugi: I am now. PhantomBrat said that my torment is over for this story.
Shai groaned as awareness came back to him. He looked around the small cavern where he was and took note in the fact that he and one other were now trapped behind a ton of rock and debris. The other occupant was unconscious and on the opposite side of the cavern. A small pack and a soft cooler lay two feet from the still form. Shai sent a tendril of Shadows over to collect the bags.
The Tracker was stunned to find a couple of pints of frozen blood within the soft cooler. He set them aside to melt and warm up. Shai wondered why the boy would keep such items with him when humans and Shifters obviously had no need for it unless they were severely injured and the bags thawed and warmed. He looked over the packets and learned that the blood was meant for consumption by vampires.
"Yugi's on the other side of the cave-in," Atem cried out to his team as he began digging.
Malik paled, "What if he's in there for days?"
"I made sure to pack a couple of pints of frozen blood and non-perishable food items in your packs for emergencies. The blood should keep so long as it's kept in the pack with a small block of dry ice," Ishizu answered as everyone set to work on the pile.
Atemu looked at Malik, "If it gets too bad for Yugi, his body will send him into a type of hibernation until help is available."
Malik nodded as he threw a boulder to the left of the pile.
Yugi groaned as he woke up, alerting the other occupant of their small prison. Amethyst eyes scanned the area lit by the small light he had. Glowing yellow eyes caught his attention, "Who are you?"
"Your death if I so please, your captor as my master orders otherwise," the creature stated. "My name is of no meaning to you, human!"
Yugi hissed at the creature's tone, "I am no human."
"I sense no notion of taint on you, so therefore you must be."
"I'm a Hikari."
"Your words have no meaning to me, boy. Human you appear and human you will be called. Do not argue that with me and you may live to see another day."
Yugi pushed himself into a seated position against a wall. "What do you want with me and my friends?"
"Not I, but my master wants the three little ones. I will gladly hand you over to him once we are free of this obstacle and reap my rewards once your other friend is captured."
Yugi glared at the creature, "I hate to break it to you, but I've been trained by a Hunter and a Supernatural. We won't go without a fight!"
As he spoke, Yugi called the Shadows to him. They quietly climbed the Hikari's slim form and wrapped themselves protectively around him. Glowing amethyst eyes snapped open, "I will defend myself and my family!"
The creature let out a shrill shriek as it launched itself at Yugi.
Everyone froze when they heard the shrieks. Atem gathered his wits and began throwing rocks and other debris from the mound. The Daywalkers also began working faster to rescue Yugi from the cave-in.
Shai was stunned to learn that the child before him was similar to him in the way he used the Shadows. He needed to put the boy in his place and, if need be, force him into submission and fast. He raked his claws along the boy's side, but failed to feel the underlying form under the Shadows. The Tracker hissed, realizing that the Shadows would protect the boy as they would him.
"So, we are matched," the boy stated, his glowing amethyst eyes narrowed. "What is your name?"
"Why, so that you may taunt me should you defeat me?"
"No. I want to know so that I can tell the Society who you are when they ship you away to the Arctic."
"Names have Power, whelp. I would force Submission on you easily had I known yours. Therefore, I will force Submission in your DEFEAT!" Shai rushed the boy once more, only to be met with an even counter.
They fought on, both evenly matched in strength and stubbornness, unaware of the rescue attempt on the other side of the blockage.
As everyone neared exhaustion, Atemu suggested that he and the other two Daywalkers use their Shadow Magics to remove as much debris as possible in one move. As they pooled their powers together everyone else moved to the curve of the path they had taken before the creature attacked.
Together they managed to remove enough rocks, broken wood, and dirt to clearly hear the sounds of a fight.
Yugi fell to the ground panting hard. He fought to keep the Shadows from dissipating, but in his weakened state he failed. The creature smirked; it was evident in its eyes and the way it straightened itself up, "You failed boy. I am the victor. Prepare to submit to me until I hand you to my master."
Yugi couldn't move as the Shadow being knelt down and pulled him up by his hair. When he felt its breath on his neck, Yugi let out a whimper of fear. The creature ignored him as he bit down on the flesh. Moments after, the creature pulled back and gagged on the mouthful of blood it had taken. "What have you done," the creature shrieked as he struggled to remain upright, only to collapse not far from Yugi's position.
"I drink an ounce of Holy Water with my orange juice every morning," Yugi rasped.
Glowing yellow eyes glared at him, "You've poisoned me boy!"
"I warned you that I was trained by a Hunter and a Supernatural. You'll survive."
Before the creature could respond, the blockage was cleared away. "YUGI!"
Both occupants winced at the collective cry of the team.
Atemu froze when he spotted the Shadow being near Yugi's fallen form. Glowing yellow eyes stood out. Isis and Mahaad cried out in fear when they noticed the creature as well. Carefully approaching the creature, Atemu waved his hand in a dismissive motion. The Shadows retreated from the figure they covered.
Everyone gasped when they saw a Yugi-copy laying on the stone floor. The boy was paler than Yugi and wore a basic tunic of cotton fibers. He wore no shoes and his eyes were indigo colored. Amethyst met indigo. Yugi smirked weakly, "Hello…Heba."
Atemu neared the ancient youth as he shrieked. "I am called Shai by my master! He is my liberator and warden. I owe him my subsistence, my resolve, and my being! I owe him complete fealty!"
"Now I know you are Heba," Atemu knelt by the boy. "Look at me."
Shai/Heba shrieked as Atemu reached out to him, "Stay away! I know you not!"
Yugi rolled his eyes, "Oh, brother. Ancestor Atemu, when we were fighting, I noticed that he had a thick layer of Shadows on his back, near his left shoulder. There might be a reason."
Atemu nodded, "Thank you."
He ignored the youth's complaints and demands as he examined the area that Yugi described. A fresh cut was discovered with evidence of past scars and stitches. This wound was stitched closed. Atemu used his long nails to cut the threads and reopen the flesh. A small green stone emerged from within. After the removal of the stone and three others like it, the boy fell silent. When the team looked, both Yugi and the boy were unconscious. Atemu threw the stones away and carefully picked up the boy, "Let us leave this place and tend to their injuries."
"Where am I?"
A boy with brilliant amethyst eyes looked at the one who asked. "I guess we're in what Ancestor Atemu calls a Soul Plane. He said it's meant as a place where two evenly-matched souls can converse without interruption."
"Who are you?"
"I'm Yugi. What's your name?"
"Sh-Heba? I think my name is Heba."
Yugi smiled, "So Heba, I think this is your Soul Plane."
"What makes you say that?"
"This place is filled with things from Ancient Egypt and nothing that would resemble things I have seen or owned."
Heba frowned, "But I…" His indigo eyes went wide. "I remember this! My brother picked it for me when Father took us to the bazaar for my eighth summer."
Yugi watched as Heba picked up a thin leather band with a silver scarab hanging from it. The Hikari smiled, "So you do remember?"
Heba sighed, "But how is it that I remain? Why do you wear such strange clothes?"
Yugi sighed, "We're from two different times, Heba. Your time was 5,000 years ago. Clothing styles have changed many times since you last remember. You're still around because you're no longer human. We're kind of the same I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"We're two different types of vampires but we share the same qualities. I'm actually a mix between Angel and Vampire. We're pretty positive that the Vampire side is of Pureblood origin since our facial features don't change but we're not too sure where we got the four fangs from."
Heba thought for a moment, "Perhaps your of the line that Deacon Frost created that weren't doppelgangers? He was known to experiment even after becoming a vampire himself."
Yugi shook his head, "He couldn't have created Raiden since he Turned my ancestor thousands of years ago. He thinks that more research needs to be done to trace our Origin."
"Who is your ancestor? What has he done to warrant your worship?"
Yugi smiled, "You should know him very well. My brother was named for him after all. "We are alike in that aspect as well."
Heba's eyes went wide, "Atemu? Big Brother sired your line?! That means…"
"Yup! We're family," Yugi laughed.
Heba looked ashamed, "Forgive me my actions and words, oh child of my dearest brother. I am utterly ashamed of what transgressions I have created."
"You weren't yourself, Uncle. Please, look at the bright side," Yugi gave him a small smile, "you now have a family and are free of another's control."
"Uncle?"
"Yup. Ancestor Atemu is our many-greats-grandfather and you are his brother. That makes you our many-greats-uncle."
"You must permit me to make up for my actions," Heba pleaded.
Yugi thought for a moment, "Well…you could help us get Ryou back from your former master."
"Consider it done," Heba stated.
Atemu and Atem watched over their brothers as they lay unconscious. "I assume that they are conversing, Atem," Atemu stated as he leaned back against the wall.
The group waited until Isis and Ishizu had tended to everyone's injuries before they decided their next move.
"What makes you think that?"
"They both fell unconscious at the exact same moment and were apparently evenly-matched in strength."