Till Death Do Us Part

Chapter 3: Jounouchi's Fall

After half an hour of pacing in front of the elevator, Katsuya finally decided he'd had enough of waiting behind. He shouldn't have let Seto go off alone in the first place, but he'd seen the growing irritability and thought it would be good to give Seto a little time to himself.

But he must've cooled off by now, and I ain't some dog that'll 'sit and stay' on his command. 'Sides, I've a bad feeling about being apart from him.

At the end of the corridor, he faced the direction in which he'd seen the other man disappear and called out Kaiba's name softly, trying not to awaken The Echo or something worse. There was no answer, however – not that he'd honestly been expecting one, he supposed. Instead of calling again, he purposefully set out, checking doors as he went by. They were all locked and showed no hint of light leaking through the cracks or occasional windows. Kaiba must have gotten quite a bit further in his search.

Katsuya was grimacing at the ugly brownish floor tiles when, without warning, the lights went out, leaving him stranded in the pitch dark.

"Oh great," he muttered and stood blinking, hoping his eyes would adjust a bit. He was sure things couldn't get much worse than this. Alone in the dark, three floors underground and no idea where he was going… Nope, this was definitely about as bad as it got. But then, as if to prove him wrong, he heard a despairing shout from somewhere up ahead that caused the hairs on the back of his neck to rise.

"Kaiba? Kaiba!" Praying that he wouldn't run into anything nasty, he put his hand on the smooth metal wall as a guide and jogged forward as fast as he dared without tripping over his own feet in the dark.

What the hell would make Kaiba yell like that? Man, this ain't good.

When he saw the open door with the odd, flickering light coming out, he approached it with his heart hammering in his chest. Cautiously, he peered around the frame and started to whisper, "Kaiba, are y—" The words stuck in his throat at the sight before him. "Oh god."

Kaiba was there, that much was certain, but there was something horribly wrong. Standing in the center of the room, the unmoving brunet had his back to the door and appeared to be fixated on the opposite wall, unaware of the wriggling mess of cables that snaked out from the walls and floor to coil around his body. Smooth and metallic, they seemed to be alive as they encircled and crept up their prey's legs, arms and torso. The scene was so absurd, like something straight out of some Sci-Fi flick, that for a moment Katsuya could only gape in open astonishment.

Finally getting a hold of himself, he shouted loudly, "Kaiba!"

There was no sign that Kaiba had even heard. Terrified, yet knowing he had to do something, Katsuya ran into the room and dodged through the animated cables. He managed to get in front of the other man with little difficulty, but he cried out again in dismay when he caught sight of Kaiba's face. Kaiba was staring straight ahead with wide eyes so dilated that only a thin sliver of blue remained. And his expression… Katsuya had never seen Kaiba show such a frightening expression before. Lips drawn back, his teeth bared in a silent snarl, Kaiba looked like a wild animal, cornered and unable to fight back.

"K-Kaiba?" Still no response. Not even a twitch. "Come on, snap out of it. You're just… you have to… Damn it, Kaiba! It's an illusion! It's not real!" Katsuya placed his hands on the frozen CEO's shoulders and shook him. "It's not real! You told me! It's not…" It wasn't working. Katsuya whimpered as he felt the slick touch a cable brush his hands.

"Wake up! Don't you dare leave me here alone!" He wouldn't be able to survive on his own. Not in this nightmare. Without Kaiba's solid, confident presence, Katsuya knew he'd fall to pieces before long.

This is fuckin' insane! Kaiba's gonna die if I don't do something quick!

Katsuya retracted one arm and then smacked Kaiba's cheek with an open palm as hard as he could. The sharp crack was loud enough to wake the dead. For a moment, it appeared that it hadn't been enough, but just as Katsuya was pulling back his hand for another desperate go, Kaiba shivered violently and gasped as though surfacing from a pool of water he'd been under for too long. Blinking slowly, he shuddered again and finally seemed to focus on Katsuya, who almost collapsed with relief.

"It's okay, Kaiba. I'll get ya outta here. Whatever you saw wasn't real, I swear. 'You understand?" Katsuya bit his lip as he searched Kaiba's still scarily dilated eyes for some kind comprehension. He grabbed Kaiba's shoulder and gave it a quick shake, patting Kaiba's cheek with his other hand. "Kaiba? It's me Jounouchi. You with me? Kaiba?"

A tiny nod, but it was all that was needed. "Okay. Good." He breathed deeply, trying not to hyperventilate as he noticed the snake-like things begin to reach for the brunet's unprotected neck. "We… you gotta help me. I'm… I'll…" He looked around desperately, but saw nothing that could be used to cut the cables away. "Oh hell. Okay, uh, I'm gonna try to pull these suckers off ya. The moment you get loose, I want you to fight and make a break for the door. Got it?"

Another nod and a noise from the back of Kaiba's throat that sounded suspiciously like a whimper.

"You'll be fine. Just don't get caught back up in the hallucination. Remember, it's not real. You told me yourself." If things weren't so serious and twisted, Katsuya would have laughed at the ridiculous notion that Seto Kaiba, the stoic businessman who could cause billions of workers to lose their jobs with nothing more than a snap of his fingers, needed comforting from the lowly street "mutt."

Impulsively, Katsuya leaned in and rested his forehead against Kaiba's. He needed a few seconds to gather his courage and hopefully pass some of it on to the other man. Kaiba's skin was ice cold.

Katsuya took another deep, shaky breath, pulled back and grabbed a handful of cables from around Kaiba's shoulders. He tugged hard and was surprised to find they came loose with only a little resistance. Gaining some confidence, he began to tear viciously at the wire ropes. They were loosened and pried from their holds around Kaiba's chest and legs, and new ones seeking to cling again were batted away.

Breathing heavily from exertion, Katsuya finally yelled, "Run! Kaiba, get out!" He was so thankful he wanted to cry when Kaiba obeyed. The man tore himself from the remaining cables and lunged for the door with Katsuya right on his tail. They stumbled out into the dark hallway and didn't stop running until the elevator came into view. Only when the doors closed behind them and the elevator car began moving upwards did Katsuya feel safe.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Katsuya sat on the thinly carpeted floor of the (thankfully lighted) car with his back against the cool, metal wall and his eyes shut. His knees had given out as soon as the adrenaline rush had left his system and his harsh pants joined Kaiba's to fill the small space.

What the hell just happened?

Cracking open one eye, he peered across the car in concern. Kaiba's back was to him and he'd yet to hear a single word uttered from the other man. Whatever Kaiba had seen in that room must have been soul-crushing. He tried to relax and wait patiently for Kaiba to recover a bit, but eventually, Katsuya couldn't take any more of the silent treatment. "Hey, Kaiba, do you, uh, wanna talk about it?"

"Just…" Kaiba's rough voice cracked, causing Katsuya to jerk his head up in shock. "Just give me a moment."

His request did nothing to ease Katsuya's anxiety.

"Oh… Um, sure thing."

There was a cheerful ping to let them know they had reached the office floor again and the elevator doors slid open, but when neither man made a move to exit, they closed again a few seconds later. Katsuya picked at a loose thread on his jeans and wondered if he would ever get to see his friends and family again. It was still possible that they were out there somewhere, maybe even searching for him. He hoped that there was someone looking after Shizuka if she was lost in this place as well. Katsuya gnawed on his lower lip and pulled his knees closer to his chest. If only he knew for certain that she and the others were safe, it wouldn't matter so much what happened to him.

Sometime later, after Katsuya had become lost in a daydream about reuniting with everyone, Kaiba moved to sit down next to him. Katsuya turned his head to look at him, taking in the other's haggard appearance.

"It wasn't real, y'know," Katsuya said in a lame attempt to reassure. Of course, even though the images had been an illusion, the emotions – pain, terror, helplessness – were real enough. He still couldn't think about Yugi without flinching at the memory of the knife and blood.

Kaiba nodded absently. His eyes were downcast and he looked almost forlorn. It was not an expression that suited the powerful CEO at all. However, although he knew it was wrong of him, Katsuya couldn't help but feel awed and slightly grateful that he was getting to see a vulnerable side of Kaiba Seto that nobody aside from Mokuba ever got to.

Kaiba is only human, after all.

He wondered at the strange burst of warmth in his chest at the thought.

"Can… can I ask what you saw?"

"Mokuba."

Kaiba's distant tone worried Katsuya, but he had been expecting that answer – who else could rip through Kaiba's fortress-like defences so thoroughly? But he winced all the same. "Oh, sorry."

Kaiba grunted in acknowledgment and wearily leaned his head back against the wall. A stray chestnut lock of hair slipped over one eye and, without thinking, Katsuya reached over to brush it out of the way. His lips quirked at the way it slid like silk against his fingers. Then, realizing what he'd just done, Katsuya met Kaiba's startled gaze with his own. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered while silently berating himself for acting like a fool. Whatever had possessed him to touch Kaiba in such a familiar way?

Fortunately, Kaiba only raised an eyebrow before smoothly standing up without comment. He gave his trousers a quick brush and motioned towards the doors. "I want to look at the computer one more time."

"Sure," Katsuya said agreeably, also getting to his feet. As they walked out into the reception area, he added, "So, d'ya believe me now?"

"About what?" Kaiba swung open the office door.

"That we need to stay together, like Yug' said." After watching the other man settle behind the desk once more, Katsuya decided to go over to the leather sofa on the other side of the room instead. It would be nice to relax for a bit, at least until they'd thought up their next course of action. He sighed as he fell into the soft cushions, bouncing a little before settling down with his hands behind his head and his legs stretched out.

For a while, there came only the noises of Kaiba fiddling with the machine. Then he finally said, "That wasn't Yugi. I thought we had cleared that up."

"But it's still true! I mean, look at the facts. You let me go up the stairs alone in the game shop, and suddenly I'm trapped in some hallucination and you're stuck outside." Katsuya pulled out one hand and waved it around to help make his point. "And then it happened to you when I stayed back at the elevator while you ventured off on your own, which was really stupid by the way. It seems we're most vulnerable when we're alone, don't it?"

"You saw Atemu while I was still standing behind you."

Katsuya scowled. "You know I'm right. The dangerous part didn't happen until after you left." It wasn't like he was any more thrilled at the idea of being in Kaiba's company. Although, he had to admit it was way better than going through this alone. And if Kaiba helped keep the spooks away, then who was he to complain?

"You're the one that left that time. Not I."

With a huff, Katsuya rolled off the sofa and crawled over to the enormous windows. The view from the top floor was amazing as it stretched out over the entire city. Trying to take it all in, he pressed his nose against the glass and smiled when he realized he could even see a thin strip of the ocean. That sure brought back memories. He peered at the tiny streets and buildings far below, hoping to catch sight of some movement that would tell him that they weren't the only two living beings left in existence. Everything remained obstinately stationary, however.

"Do you see anything?"

Katsuya flinched and tilted his head up to find Kaiba standing over him, also looking out. When had he wandered over? "No. D'ya think they're experiencing this too, or is it just us?"

"Impossible to guess."

With a depressed sigh, Katsuya leaned his forehead against the cool glass. "Just where is everyone?" There was nothing encouraging at all about the grey, lifeless city. For Katsuya, who loved sunshine, laughter and people, this felt exactly like what he imagined to be… "Hell," he whispered, his eyes widening as an idea hit him.

"What?"

Katsuya continued to stare out at the bleak city as his insides turned to ice. It was a terrible thought, but it would explain a lot and nothing else made sense so far. "W-we're dead. We're dead and that's why we're here. This has gotta be hell or purgatory or something like that!"

Knuckles rapped against the top of his head until he met Kaiba's eyes again. Kaiba was not amused. "You think we are dead? That's the genius conclusion you've come up with?"

"Well, what else could it be?" The more he thought about it, the more firmly he believed it. "It all fits, doesn't it? The shadows, the ghosts, the lack of people. Just look out there! That's not our world, it can't be! We've died, somehow, and… and…" He smacked the palm of his hand against the glass, feeling trapped and frightened. If they were dead, then they could never go back. He'd never see Shizuka again. He'd never get to see anybody again.

Katsuya was jerked to his feet with a choked gasp, his collar fisted in Kaiba's hand. Icy blue eyes ensnared his gaze and held it.

"We are not dead, you idiot," Kaiba growled.

"But—"

"If I were dead, why would I be stuck here with you? You are intensely annoying, true, but I can easily think of worse people to be forced to spend my time in hell with. Believe me, I would know if this was hell or something akin to it."

Katsuya blinked, his panic subsiding a fraction as he registered the other's words. It almost sounded like Kaiba had just complimented him in a strange, roundabout way. But he quickly shook it off and slapped Kaiba's hands away so that he could stand on his own.

"Don't act so fucking smart all the time, Kaiba! You don't know shit about what's happening, and neither do I. And… and you might not even really be here right now." He warily backed away a step. "What if…" He gulped. "What if you're not really you, but just another figment of my imagination like Yugi was? He looked real, felt real. I… I can't tell the difference!"

That seemed to give Kaiba a pause. "Or you could be the imaginary one here."

"What? With how freaked out I'm feelin' right now, there's no way I'm not really here. Imaginary people don't feel stuff, do they?"

"Well, I am most definitely not the one who's—"

"Prove it!"

Kaiba shot him a narrow-eyed glare as though he was offended that Katsuya would dare question his authenticity as a substantial human being. "Fine. I will. Did you know I'm allergic to bee stings?"

"Um, no." Katsuya blinked, thrown off by the random change of subject.

"When my brother and I were still in the orphanage, I went into anaphylactic shock from a sting and had to go to the emergency room. I carry an Epipen with me to keep Mokuba from worrying." He smirked and added, "There's your proof."

"Er…" More confused than ever, Katsuya wasn't quite sure how to respond. "I don't get it."

"Nothing new there," the taller man said with a snort, but when Katsuya glared at him, he rolled his eyes and explained. "If you recall what 'Yugi' apparently told you, the illusions cannot impart new information."

Understanding began to dawn. "Oh! So because I didn't know about your allergy…"

Kaiba nodded and folded his arms over his chest. "Now it's your turn."

It made sense. If the Yugi-hallucination couldn't tell him anything he didn't already know, then Kaiba, if he was the same, shouldn't be able to either. And he certainly hadn't known that Kaiba even had any allergies, much less to something as common as an insect sting. He'd always just kind of assumed that Kaiba Seto was immune to things that brought most lesser mortals down.

Frowning thoughtfully, Katsuya eyed the other man, realizing that this was the first time he'd ever heard Kaiba willingly admit to having a weakness. "Hey, how d'ya know I won't use what you just told me against you?"

"Excuse me?" Kaiba said, raising an eyebrow at the unexpected question.

"Well, um, like next time I'm mad at you, I could throw a nest full of angry hornets into a room you're in and you probably wouldn't survive."

Kaiba didn't say anything. He just glared in a way that made it obvious he thought Katsuya had just uttered something more ridiculous than usual.

"Er… Not that I would, of course," Katsuya added, scratching his elbow to hide his awkwardness.

"Let's just say I know better than to think so low of you. But enough of that," Kaiba finally said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Tell me something I don't know. If you can."

Katsuya grumbled a bit and turned to look out the window while he pondered what to say. It had to be something that wasn't common knowledge among his group of friends since they saw Mokuba fairly often and the kid probably told his brother everything. There was one thing Kaiba couldn't know, since the only person who did was Honda, who had sworn on their friendship not to spread it around.

"I…" He hesitated before taking a deep breath and lifting his head to meet Kaiba's gaze in the reflection on the window glass. "I'm gay." He was so proud of himself for not stuttering as he said it.

There was a flicker of something unreadable in Kaiba's eyes, but at least he didn't laugh or make fun straight away. Still, he wished Kaiba would respond so that they could move on already.

"You… uh, you didn't know already, did you?" Katsuya didn't think it was possible, but this was the man who was rumoured to have a network of spies and hidden cameras throughout the city.

Kaiba shook his head slightly. "No…" It seemed like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind at the last second. "No. So I suppose you are truly Jounouchi Katsuya."

"Yeah. Right. But could you… I mean…"

"Not to worry," Kaiba said, cutting him off with a smirk. "If you keep my secret, I'll keep yours. Not that there's anyone around here to tell."

Blushing a bit with embarrassment, Katsuya broke eye contact and looked down at the city below them again. A glimmer in the distance immediately drew his gaze and he squinted, trying to see the unwavering bluish-white glow more clearly. Not taking his eyes off it, he excitedly pointed at it and asked, "Hey, you see that?"

Kaiba looked in the direction of Katsuya's pointing finger. "The light?"

"So I'm not imagining it! Where's it coming from? Can you tell?"

"It appears to be approximately where the mansion is."

"Huh? Your home?" Katsuya turned his face to Kaiba in astonishment. "You sure?"

Kaiba nodded. "There's no doubt about it. Even in this dim lighting I recognize the exterior."

When he looked again, Katsuya realized that it was true. The faint outline of the distant Kaiba Mansion could be seen around the strange light. "So there's a light on at your house. Maybe there's somebody there?" Katsuya offered tentatively, hardly daring to get his hopes up.

"Perhaps…" Frowning, Kaiba shook his head and stepped back. "Well, there is only one way to ascertain the source of it."

"Crap. That means we gotta go back out into those creepy roads, don't it?" Return to the darkness with shadows that moved but weren't attached to any visible creature. Katsuya couldn't say he was looking forward to that.

Kaiba, who was already moving to the door, threw a challenging smirk over his shoulder and said, "Come along, mutt. Your master will protect you."

"As if!" Katsuya huffed, glaring at the trench-coat covered back. "You're such an ass."

Aside from a short, patronizing chuckle, Kaiba ignored the insult. Cursing under his breath, Katsuya began to follow, only to stop short as a terrible sense of foreboding washed over him. Goosebumps prickled his skin at the strange chill.

"What the hell?" he muttered, rubbing his arms and looking around the room for the cause. Nothing in sight explained why his heart was pounding with increasing speed. Then, fearfully, he turned his gaze on the office door from which Kaiba was now only a few feet away.

There's something behind that door.

He didn't know how he knew, but the premonition was so strong that he couldn't ignore it. He recalled what Yugi had said about something searching for them.

It's found us. Whatever it is, it's waiting just on the other side!

Fighting both doubt and growing terror, he found his voice just as Kaiba's hand closed around the door handle.

"Kaiba, no! Don't open—"

But the warning came just an instant too late. When Kaiba touched the handle, the door burst open as though by an unnatural gust of wind, slamming back against the wall with a resounding crack. Katsuya had only a second to register the fearsome thing that erupted through the opening. Huge, thick and as black as tar, the formless entity smacked into Kaiba at full force. The wide-eyed brunet flew back across the room and slammed into Katsuya, who hadn't even had time to move, and they collided against the window, knocking the breath out of him. The glass held – for a fraction of a moment. Then it cracked, splintered, and shattered behind Katsuya's back. Time seemed to freeze as they hung hundreds of feet up in the air surrounded by glittering shards.

And then they fell.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Katsuya couldn't find enough breath to let out the scream that filled his head as they plummeted headfirst down the side of Kaiba Corp. The dark windows were a blur as they sped past.

We're gonna die…

It was the only coherent thought left in his mind.

Somehow Kaiba had turned so they were facing each other. Their eyes met and Katsuya could see his own panic and shock reflected in the other's blue depths. Katsuya clung tighter, his fingers digging desperately into Kaiba's back as though it would slow his freefall. The wind that shrieked past made it impossible to speak.

The ground rushed towards them, drawing nearer and nearer as though they were zooming in on a map of the city. Katsuya wondered hysterically how they could be about to die if they were already in hell.

This is fuckin' crazy!

But… Maybe I can still save Kaiba.

It was a stupid, impossible idea, but he had to try anyway. Shaking off the fear-induced paralysis, Katsuya fought to shift his grip. He was able to twist himself under before Kaiba realized what was happening and tried to fight back, but it was too late. Even with a slight height disadvantage, Katsuya had managed to trap Kaiba above him. He hoped with all his might that he would be able to cushion Kaiba's impact when they hit the pavement.

Katsuya replied to Kaiba's pained snarl with a weak smile. Then he closed his eyes as the top of a tree heralded the approaching end.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

They never hit the ground. Instead, they were transported into chaos. Heat seared Katsuya's skin, but it felt like nothing compared to the noise. Screams and shouts and what may have been garbled voices deafened him so much he instinctively tried to curl up and cover his ears, only to find his arms refused to respond. In fact, his entire body felt numb aside from the burning heat. Inwardly panicking, Katsuya fought to open his eyes, to scream back for everything to just shut-up, to –

Where's Kaiba? Gotta stick together… need to find –

He was coming apart. He could feel himself unravelling even as he struggled to get a grip. On the outside, his body burned as though it was on fire, but inside it was frozen. He couldn't move, couldn't see. Katsuya screamed and screamed, but not even the slightest whisper escaped his lips. This was all so, so wrong.

He needed to find… had to find… who? Someone… ice… to soothe this burning…

Kaiba-Kaiba-Kaiba

Was Kaiba alive even? Were they both dead and stuck in this hell that was a thousand times worse than the place they'd just been?

The awful noise around him began to rise and fall like the sound of waves crashing against a cliff, only the cliff was his head and it was breaking apart. He couldn't take much more. He couldn't. He wanted to go back – back to the silent city where there'd only been Kaiba and him and nothing else. It had been so quiet then.

Help me. Please! I don't wanna stay here!

"Jou-kun! Just open your eyes!"

Yugi's desperate shouts rising above the ear-splitting roar were the last straw.

You're dead! I saw you die. You're not Yugi! Goawaygoawaygoawaygoawaygo—

"Jounouchi."

The steady, deep voice cut through Katsuya's hysteria and a cool presence washed over him, somehow dampening the pain and the noise. Silently whimpering, Katsuya reached out with his mind, desperate to locate Kaiba. He couldn't make out a thing in the pitch black that filled his vision, but he was sure that the other man was near.

Kaiba, help, don't leave me here. It hurts, the noise and the fire, and it's too dark and I can't—

"I know. It's all right."

No, no it's not. I don't want to be here. Let's go back, now.

"I agree. It's too cold."

Before he could wonder at the strange comment about the cold when it was anything but, everything began to change again. As quickly as it had started, the noise and heat went away. Katsuya thought he caught a glimpse of icy, azure eyes staring back at him through the darkness before he disappeared as well.

To Be Continued...

A/N: Haha, I always leave it at a cliffhanger type spot, but that just happens to be where I change POV as well, so no helping it! ;-P Thanks again for the reviews, it's great hearing from readers! Any ideas what's going on yet? Well, there's not a lot of clues yet, I guess, but things will eventually become clear (at least by end!).