Chapter 4: Lost

It was twilight, the time when the sun has just gone down and all that remains is the afterglow of its glorious downfall. The time when the world seems to stand still, as if everything had just ended and you were waiting for the next life to come. During this time on earth a man dressed in black sat on a park bench, watching the lives of humans pass on by him. His coal black clothes helped him blend into the shadows. Silver chains hung from the pockets of skin tight leather pants. A black, sleeveless shirt with silver buckles accented the silver arm and wristbands. An upside down cross with a viper coiled around it hung on his neck easily. This man was Atem, the fallen angel. The years away from angel kingdom had certainly changed him. His hair had grown long and now was tied behind him with a ponytail, only his golden bangs were free of the tie. Earth's sun had turned his skin a dark, bronze color. And his eyes had deepened to a burning crimson. He no longer looked like an angel that had just come down from his home. He looked like a full blooded fallen, sinful and seducing. However despite his appearance he still rejected Satan's offer to join him. He didn't know why. Whenever he thought about it all he could bring up was a promise. Then a chant would sound in his head and he wouldn't remember a thing. Atem faintly shook his head, golden bangs swirling in front of his face. He'd worry about it later.

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Atem's POV

It's quiet tonight, quiet and peaceful. If you look around you would see people hurrying to their cars, families walking home through the park, and couples holding hands as they smiled, knowing that at their lovers house there will be a crackling fire to sit in front of while they bask in each other's company. Everything was as normal as it could be.

Feh. Shows what they know doesn't it? Two of those couples are actually demons watching the small kids, waiting for a chance to throw them into a temper tantrum. Another demon hides in a tree, waiting to make one of the poorer single men pull out their gun and rob another. Heh, of course, some of this is done by free will, but not much.

I look at the burnt scroll in my hand. There he is, the one in the tree. He's causing a woman to have a hysterical fit. From the demons expression this isn't the first time he's done this. When he got bored the demon let her go on, on her own and went down the street. I followed at a safe distance. The demon led me into the shadier parts of town. More demons were here, it would be harder to follow him. He entered a bar called the October Moon. I smiled. Demons, too predictable. All of them came here after a good nights work. I should have just come here early and waited for him to show up. I silently approached the demon. He is drinking a Bloody Mary. I sit down beside him.

"Nice night." I commented conversationally. The demon harrumphed. They never like it when people say nice things, even if it's about them. Don't ask me why, that's just how they work.

"I seen be'er." He answered in a thick cockney accent. He took a great swig from his glass. "Oo're you? I never seen you ere before." I shrugged, best to remain neutral for right now. Act like I don't really care.

"Well I'm new to the area. I've never been in this type of bar before." The demon chuckled. "An' ya probably never will!" He pulled out a knife and held it to my neck. "I know you. You're Atem. Only angel to fall and not go under Sa'an's rule." He pressed the dagger closer. "I suppose you've been ordered to take me in aven't you? Then I'm goin' to enjoy killin' you!" I laughed.

"You can't kill me!" He tilted his head to the side and smirked.

"An why not?" He said, pressing the dagger to my neck harder.

"You're already captured!" He looked down and saw his hands were bound around my neck. I pulled his hands down, smashing his head into my own. The demon went limp. I slit my wrist and poured a bit of my blood down his throat and put an upside down cross on his neck.(1) Instantly the demon disappeared. I sighed and paid for the demons drink. Then I bought a beer and went outside. I leaned against the building, took a long swig and sighed. Damn. How I wished I could get off of this earth. I had no idea what I did to even get here. But I wanted to see the angel kingdom. There was someone waiting up there for me, I just knew it. I looked at the sky longingly. "What did I do to fall from your grace?" I asked. A shooting star was streaking across the sky. I didn't pay much attention to it. Then I realized it was streaking down instead of across, I looked closer and made out a pair of wings. I raced toward the impact point. That wasn't a shooting star that was an angel. A faint boom was heard as the angel hit the ground. A shock wave quivered through the ground and almost made me fall to my knees, almost. I got to him. He was unconscious. I couldn't hold back a gasp. He looked just like me. He looked like I did when I first fell. His pale skin was marred with bloody marks from hitting the ground. His hair missed the golden streaks that shot through mine, and his eyes….his eyes look like they would be wide, innocent, untouched by the corruption of the world. His white robes mark him as an angel in training. I examined him. His clothes were burned, but his body was intact except for some gashes from skidding down the pavement, and his wings were still white. Not one feather was gray, not even from the soot or heat. So it wasn't a fallen, it was a lost angel. Oh well. At least I could take care of him until he was ready to re-ascend. I picked him up and carried him to my apartment. I looked around and sighed. I really needed to clean this place up. Pictures and custom designs for demon hunting weapons were scattered about, along with my equipment. I hope this kid doesn't get the wrong idea when he wakes up. I set him on the bed and got some water and a clean rag. Slowly I cleaned the soot, dirt, and the blood from his wounds. The wounds weren't that serious except for one on his arm. I might have to use my powers to heal that, but it would leave a scar. I got up to go get bandages and heard a soft moaning. I hoped he would stay there long enough for me to get the bandages. That wound on his arm was severe. And angels aren't used to existing, at least not in the way that humans do.(2)

Yugi's POV

I woke up to darkness. I opened my eyes. They were met with a mess beyond comprehension. Pictures of gothic people, and a slew of drawings depicting crosses and ancient symbols were scattered around. Strange devices whose function escaped me laid everywhere. I moaned and tried to stand up. I collapsed back onto the bed I had been set on. My wings felt like they were covered in grime. Blood stained the sheets below me. That's funny, why was there blood below me?

"W-where am I?" A gothic looking person came into the room. His clothes were completely black with silver buckles and chains. His tanned skin rippled with lean muscles. His crimson eyes gazed at me with concern. He came forward and put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're lucky. That was quite a fall you had. Not many angels survive the fall to earth." I gasped in surprise but ended up coughing. Blood spurted out of my mouth. I wiped my mouth and looked at the smear of blood. The Goth patted my back. "Take it easy. You're not used to existing…not on the human level at least." He gave me a cloth to wipe the blood off and began to clean my wings. I closed my eyes. It felt so good. He worked on one wing then moved onto the next. I coughed again and more blood came up. The Goth began to express concern. "Are you all right? I've never seen an angel have such a rough time."

"I-I'm…fine." I managed to gasp. He seemed even more concerned.

"I don't think so. You're coughing up blood every five minutes." He handed me a glass of some sort of red liquid. He noticed the way I was looking at it. "Relax, it's not blood. It's red wine. For some reason it helps." I sighed, took a drink and coughed. It was strong. At least I wasn't coughing up blood anymore. I took another large gulp. "Slower! Slower! If you aren't careful you'll…" I retched into a glass bowl. "…Throw up." I wiped my mouth to get rid of the sour taste.

"W-who are you?" He looked down and thought about my question. Finally he looked up.

"My name is not important; I am someone who will help you get back." I felt suspicious of him, but if he didn't want to give me his name that was fine.

"Well what should I call you?"

"…Yami."

"Yami." I mused. "I like that." He smiled. I took another swig of red wine a little more careful this time around. I coughed lightly. "This stuff really DOES help! How did you know? And how did you know I was an angel?" His eyes seemed to sparkle with happiness and hidden secrets as he chuckled deep in his throat.

"I have connections to answer your first question. And for the other…The wings and robe are a bit of a giveaway."

"Oh. I didn't realize it was that obvious…What should I do?"

"Well…First you need to retract your wings." I pulled them in. "Secondly you'll have to wear my clothes until we can get you some of your own." He went to a closet and pulled out a pair of black jeans and a black shirt. Then he pulled out a pair of boots. I looked at the clothes. Is black all this guy has? I shrugged and put them on. Everything was too big. "Come on." I followed him outside. The city was dark and crowded. He walked purposefully toward a shop. He led me inside. There were clothes everywhere! Yami began pulling clothes off the rack. He handed them to me and pointed at a place called "Changing rooms". I walked inside a decently sized room and started putting them on. He quickly came over and led me into a stall inside the large room. After several hours and several explanations on how to use the changing rooms I finally had an outfit. It was a short sleeved white, button up shirt, a light blue hoodie, and a pair of black pants. "Great! You look like a perfect human now!" I scratched my arms. These clothes were itchy! Not to mention revealing!(3)

"I feel ridiculous without my robes!" I grumbled walking back into the stall.

"Don't worry. You get used to it." He walked up. "You'll have to take those clothes off while I pay for them. You can put them back on afterwards."

"Why can't you just pay for the clothes while I wear them?" I said while pulling them off.

"It's just what humans do." I tossed the clothes to him and he went off. A few minutes later he handed the clothes back and I put them on. I walked out and followed him back to his home. Instantly I knew something was wrong. The room seemed darker than before, a sickly aura hung in the air.

"Well, well, well! You seem to have found yourself a roommate!" I looked around for the source of the voice. Instinctively I called upon my angel powers. "And an angel too! How sweet! You're getting soft Yami!" A figure emerged from the shadows. He had demonic wings and horns. His eyes were blood red and his entire demeanor reeked of evil.

"Leviathan." I whispered. Yami stepped forward. He and Satan's son began to argue.

"I demand to know what you've gotten yourself into Leviathan! Your father only sends you to me when it's serious!" I gasped. He knew the devil? Satan? And knowingly worked for him? I backed up.

"It is none of your business YAMI! I do what I wish!" Yami sprouted glossy wings of coal black and leaped on top of him. They were beautiful, not dull like angels always describe them. They were smooth and seemed to shine with hidden light. He held his hand to his forehead and began to chant. Satan's son's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare! You'll never make it back to Angel Kingdom if you do that!" Yami seemed to ignore him and continued chanting. "All right! All right! I tried to kill a level five demon favored by my father!" Yami stopped the chant and let go. He sighed and shook his head. He drew his wings back into his back and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Your temper will always get in the way of being a good ruler. That at least your father understands." Leviathan snorted.

"You fallen are all the same! I'm sentenced to be with you for three weeks! So your precious little angel better stay out of my way!" With that he walked upstairs. Yami turned to me. His expression clouded when he saw my fear.

"What's wrong?"

"Y-You're a fallen angel…aren't you? I-I heard what he said about working for the devil…Will you give me to him?" He seemed to lose stature when I finished. He looked sad, almost dejected. He turned and looked up at the sky. Tears were in the corners of his eyes.

"Yes, I am a fallen angel. I do work for the devil but I am not under his control. And no, I would never give you to him willingly."

"You work for the devil but aren't under his control? How does that work?" He smiled weakly.

"I capture demons and keep an eye on his son in exchange for my freedom. Satan doesn't control or convert me." I looked at him in awe.

"No influence?" Yami grinned.

"He can't even try." I relaxed. All of a sudden I started coughing again. He rushed over and helped me onto the bed. "Take it easy. Existing is harder than it looks." I coughed again, my vision started to blur. "Kid? Hey Kid!" I struggled to speak.

"My name…is…Yugi." His expression softened.

"Okay Yugi. Take it easy. You're still…" I never heard the rest as I lost consciousness.

End Chapter

(1)Fallen angels blood reacts badly with demons. When this is combined with an upside down cross it somehow transports them back to hell.

(2)Angel kingdom is completely pure because anyone who commits a severe enough crime to taint the place is banished. Because of this angels are used to the aura of the location they are in being pure. When one falls to the tainted aura of earth or hell causes them to be sick until their body adjusts to the evil of the aura. And no one has ever figured out how red wine helps this process.

(3)Hey! He's used to wearing a full robe with multiple layers! What do you expect?