So I'm going to try to post this one final time....please, if anyone has an issue or problem with my story, please, please email me and tell me. Please don't report it and have it taken down again. I know a lot of people are enjoying this, and it's not fair to have it removed.

My email address is on my profile...please use it.

A/N: Another chapter up! This one focuses mainly on Yugi and Atemu, so if you're looking for any Seto or Jou, hate to disappoint you, but there ain't much of them in this chapter!

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh…NOT MINE!

Chapter 11

"Oh my god," Yugi breathed. "Kaiba…"

Atemu stood protectively in front of his hikari, entering the brightly lit entryway first. He stepped over to the crumpled form lying motionless at the base of the wall, his eyes darting about, searching for danger.

"Aibou, it seems safe enough," he said. "Call an ambulance. Tell them to hurry."

Yugi nodded and raced out of the room. Atemu knelt next to Seto, placing his fingers on the brunette's neck to check his pulse. He felt a slow, faint but steady beat, and he released a breath he didn't even realize he was holding at the confirmation that the other duelist was still alive.

He bit nervously on his lower lip as he placed a gentle hand on Seto's forehead. Forgive me for what I'm going to do, Kaiba, but I must learn what has happened.

Closing his eyes, he whispered a prayer in ancient Egyptian. The puzzle around his neck glowed sharply, and a golden light surrounded both Atemu and Kaiba. The former pharaoh felt himself slipping past barriers, as he began to relive the events of the evening through the other boy's shattered memories.

(Oh my god no! This can't be real!

Surprised to see me, Kaiba? I'm just as pleased to see you, too. Please don't ask me to stay for dinner, as I've made other – arrangements.

Jou? Please, Jou, you're scaring me. Please get up.

Scaring you? You've yet to experience true fear, Seto Kaiba.

Jou? Please no, oh god no.

Frightened, little rabbit? You should be, foolish mortal. Fear me and tremble at the sight of me. I feed upon your terror, the sweet nectar that sustains me, for I am your damnation, your worst nightmare. And I shall destroy you for my own amusement.

I love you Katsuya.

Darkness)

Atemu's eyes flew open as a sharp pain rippled through him. He grit his teeth and clenched his fists as his chest began to tighten.

"Not again," he ground out, the pain intensifying. "Ra, not again."

His body tensed as the pain spread, a scream tearing out of his throat as he collapsed, stabbed by a million knives, every inch of his body searing with intense hurt. He dimly saw Yugi enter the room, vaguely heard the smaller boy shout his name, before his eyes clouded over and he was consumed by the hellish fires of agony.

--

"Please, hurry!" Yugi cried into the telephone. "He's unconscious and we need help very badly!"

"An ambulance is on the way, sir," the calming voice on the other end replied soothingly. "Please stay calm, and help will be there shortly."

Yugi opened his mouth to thank the operator, when an anguished scream echoed through the nearly empty house. His amethyst eyes widened in terror as he recognized the voice and realized who had made the sound.

"Oh god, no," he whispered, slamming the phone into the cradle and tearing out of the room.

As he turned the corner to the front entryway, his pulse quickened and his mouth grew dry as he saw Atemu writhing on the ground next to Seto, his body rigid and tense.

"Yami!" he shouted, running as quickly as he could to his lover. "Oh god, Atemu! Not again! Why is this happening?"

Reaching the agonized spirit, he knelt next to him, frightened beyond comprehension.

What do I do? Oh my god, what do I do? First Seto, now my Yami…what's happening??

As he reached his hand out to touch his darker half, Atemu's body stiffened, his back arching upwards. The former pharaoh screamed once more, before relaxing and going still, his body collapsing and his eyes closing. Yugi's eyes widened in perceptible fear as he placed a trembling hand on the silent spirit's chest.

There was no heartbeat.

"Oh my god," Yugi whispered, his own heartbeat racing at an impossible rate. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh dear god, no, please no, oh god no."

He held his other hand over Atemu's mouth and nose, his little body shaking in fear. He bit his lip too hard, his mouth suddenly filled with the coppery taste of his blood.

Atemu wasn't breathing.

Yugi began to hyperventilate, his breath coming in short, rapid gasps, tears beginning to fill his eyes.

"Please, don't leave me," Yugi begged, the hand that lay on Atemu's chest unconsciously curling into a fist, tightly clenching a handful of the spirit's shirt. "Don't leave me, Atemu, please don't go where I can't follow. Don't – d…don't…"

His breath hitched, the words catching in his throat, before he burst into tears. He laid his head on Atemu's chest, his sobs physically painful, his chest heaving rapidly, his hands clamping tightly down on the spirit, refusing to let go. Incoherent words mixed with his tears, as he wailed in torment.

I don't want to live without him. How can I? How can I survive without him? I love you, my Yami. I'll never be able to live without you. I don't want to live without you.

So consuming was Yugi's sorrow that he didn't notice the crimson eyes that slowly slid open and gazed at him.

"Yugi," Atemu whispered, gently tracing a fingertip across the other boy's cheek.

Yugi screamed, lifting his head and leaping backwards. His tear filled eyes widened as he stared at his yami, who was slowly pulling himself into a sitting position and bracing himself against the wall.

"A…Atemu?" he gasped, unable to believe what he was seeing.

The other smiled weakly, carefully nodding his head. With a shriek, Yugi flung himself at the spirit, wrapping his arms around Atemu's waist and clutching tightly. He buried his face in the spirit's neck, hot tears streaming down his cheeks as wild, hysterical laughter bubbled out of him. Atemu caressed the smaller boy's back, placing soft kisses on the tri-colored tresses.

"I thought I l…lost you," Yugi choked, lifting his head and staring into the ruby eyes of his lover. "I…I – oh god, Atemu! I wanted to d…die!"

Atemu cradled Yugi's face in his hands. He leaned forward, gently pressing his lips to Yugi's in a brief kiss.

"You will never lose me, aibou," he whispered, running a fingertip over his other half's lower lip. "I will fight death itself to stay by your side. I will always be with you, always and forever, my hikari, my light – my love."

Yugi smiled, his face glowing with joy. As he opened his mouth to respond, the sound of an approaching siren tore through the night, causing him to turn his head and stare at the door.

The ambulance. Kaiba. Kaiba!

His eyes widened as he remembered the brunette. I can't believe I forgot about him! With what just happened, I forgot the ambulance was on the way!

He jumped up off the floor and ran over to the front door, opening it fully for the EMTs, who rushed into the entryway. One crouched by the unconscious Seto; the other went back to the porch to roll in a stretcher.

"What happened here?" the first EMT barked, as he gripped the brunette's limp wrist, checking the pulse.

Atemu shook his head. "We don't know," he said softly. "I tried calling him earlier this evening, and when no one answered the telephone, I became worried. We found the front door open when we got here, and Kaiba on the floor like this."

The paramedic grunted in reply, and lifted one of Seto's eyelids, shining a penlight into his eye. "Damn, his pupils aren't dilating," he muttered, clicking off the light. "We've got to get him to the hospital – he needs immediate attention."

The second EMT entered the room with the stretcher, and the two carefully lifted the motionless boy onto it, strapping him down securely. Seto's head slumped to the side, his breathing shallow, his eyes tightly closed.

Yugi followed the medics outside, as they slowly rolled the stretcher out to the waiting emergency vehicle and gently lifted it into the ambulance bay.

"We'll take good care of him," one of the medics said kindly, as he swung the door closed. "We're taking him to Domino Medical, so you can meet us there if you wish."

Yugi nodded and bit his lower lip. "We'll get there as soon as we can, Kaiba," he whispered, watching the ambulance tear away into the night, sirens screaming. "Just hold on."

He stepped back into the eerily silent mansion, his face a mask of worry. "Atemu, please tell me what happened to you," he said, his voice trembling slightly as he sat on the floor next to the weary spirit.

Atemu sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. "I was reading Kaiba's memories of what happened tonight, aibou," he said quietly. "Yugi, there's something you – something that I must tell you."

He turned his head to gaze at the smaller boy. Yugi's eyes were impossibly wide, a look of concerned fear crossing his face. Atemu sighed again and took one of his hikari's hands within his own.

"Aibou, it's Marik," he said quietly. "Marik is back. And he – Yugi, he has taken control of Jounouchi."

Yugi's mouth opened and closed rapidly as any words he wanted to say froze in his throat. His chest hitched in rapid gasps and tears shimmered in his reddening eyes.

"M-Marik?" he finally choked. "J-Jou? He has J-Jou?"

Atemu nodded, drawing the other boy into his arms as Yugi's tears began to fall. He leaned his head on top of Yugi's closing his own eyes. Tears stung behind his closed eyelids at the thought of his friend in the hands of the manic Egyptian. He silently vowed to do whatever it took to rescue the blonde.

We will find you, my friend. And when we do, we will do what we must to bring you home safely.

Yugi hiccupped and pulled out of Atemu's embrace, wiping the tears off his cheeks. He sighed as he braced his back against the wall next to the pensive spirit, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them.

"Atemu, Marik must be the reason you felt such pain earlier tonight," he said. "If he's broken free of the shadows, he's gotta be the reason for your first pain attack. But if he's now free, why did you feel it again? Why did you have another attack?"

The former pharaoh opened his eyes, looking thoughtfully at his hikari. "Yugi, I don't have the answers to that," he mused. "I can only surmise that since he's broken free, there must be another reason…" he trailed off, his eyes widening in sudden understanding.

"That's it," he whispered. "It must be. That must be why. Injustice is a powerful force. Oh Ra, that's it!"

Yugi looked cautiously at his yami. "Atemu?" he queried. "What are you talking about? What have you discovered?"

Atemu rose shakily to his feet, extending a hand to Yugi to help him up as well.

"It's not Marik who's causing me pain," he said forcefully. "It's someone who was sent to the Shadows unjustly to take his place. Their soul is screaming for release, for freedom from their unfair imprisonment. Who is it, damn it? Who?"

He paced the floor, his eyes narrowing as he thought. As the answer slammed itself full force into his brain, he stopped in his tracks. He raised a hand to his brow, his mouth forming into a silent 'oh.'

Yugi glanced quizzically at the astonished spirit. "Yami?" he questioned. "What is it?"

Atemu clenched his hands into fists, his anger at Marik rising rapidly. "I know who it is, hikari," he said, his voice a low growl. "Goddamn you, Marik."

He spun around to face Yugi, who took a step back from blood red eyes that blazed with furious anger.

"It's Malik…"

A/N: Well? Me likey Lol. I think this turned out to be ok…what do you think? Poor Yugi heehee. Poor Kaiba too! Anyways, as always, please read and review! 