A Yugi/Yami story

Through a Dragon's Eye

Chapter 25- The Siege of the Tower

"We have arrived," his father said gleefully rubbing his hands together. "The final floor… the prize is just beyond this door!"

"Who cares?" Yami hissed as he heaved his friend up from the floor, looking around as if hoping for a doorway out of this tower. "Why did this have to happen?" he then asked himself as he cuddled his friend's body close to him. "What do you think you're doing? How could you let someone as innocent as Yugi just die like this?" he then yelled at him, but his father just took a few steps ahead so that he put a distance between them. "How could you be so heartless? He did nothing wrong, and you decide to take his life away!" Yami would've gone on and on for awhile if not for the fact that Yugi had started coughing up blood and was struggling to breathe.

"YUGI?" Yami yelled as he pulled Yugi's head up until it was resting on his shoulder. "Yugi… please…" he begged.

Slowly, Yugi's coughing had stopped, and his breathing had started to relax. Yami felt as if his heart was breaking into a thousand tiny pieces at the sight of his tear stained face and the blood that was dripping down from Yugi's mouth.

Feeling tears burning the edges of his own eyes, Yami brushed his thumb across his mouth, wiping away the trail of blood trickling down his thin face.

"Heh, Yami… forget about the kid. He's already on death's doorstep."

Now normally, Yami would've started yelling at his dad again… but this time… he knew that he was right. Yugi was barely alive, and was surely suffering terrible agony right now. "Yugi?" Yami whispered. "I don't know if you can hear me… but if you can… if it gets to be too much for you… if you feel like you can't take anymore… then please…"

Yami's voice broke after that, "Don't stay here. Go to where there isn't any more pain and suffering… and I'll be meeting you there as soon as I deal with my dad ok? Don't worry about me… I'll…"

But Yami couldn't go on. No he would NOT be ok. It's not that he couldn't live without Yugi by his side, it's just that he didn't want to try.

"You're pathetic Yami," he heard his father say as if from far away. He then heard the sound of a door opening and the entire room was then bathed in light. Yami's back was too the door and was so focused on Yugi, that he barely registered the sudden blinding light.

"Yugi…" Yami said as he hugged Yugi as tightly as he could to him and shutting his eyes as the flood of tears began to fall. "I'm so sorry for getting you involved in this. You'll always be my best friend… I only hope that you can forgive me for this."

"Y-Y-Yami?" whispered a voice so faint that Yami didn't hear it.

"Oh Yugi…" Yami croaked out. "I wish that we could go back and start over. I would've been a lot more careful if I had known that this was going to happen. If I had known what my father was after, then I never would've let us come back north. Sometimes I can't believe that this is real… you were the very last person I ever wanted something to happen to. You were my friend…"

"We'll always be friends Yami… and that's pretty real…"

"Yugi?" Yami said pushing Yugi's head back so that he could look at his face. "Yugi are you…?"

"Yami…" Yugi croaked as he raised his hand to grasp Yami's. "I'm so glad that you're alright."

"Yugi…" Yami sobbed. "For once in your life! Please worry about yourself!"

Yugi gave him a feeble smile, "Sorry… force of habit." Yugi then scrunched up his face and shut his eyes tightly as the bright light flooded his vision, making it hard for him to see as his pupils couldn't take such illuminating pain. From behind his eyes, he could see that the bright light decrease, and knew that Yami was protecting him again after seeing him open and immediately close his eyes only seconds before.

He reopened his eyes, finding that despite the bright light, his vision was still blurry. After a couple of minutes, Yugi was able to clear his foggy vision, finding that his eyes were extremely puffy from crying.

He reached up and grasped Yami's shoulder and managed to croak out, "Yami? We have to stop him… if we don't do it… then who will?" He took a shuttering gasp before continuing, "And then we can go right?"

Yami merely lowered his head to hide his eyes as he let his misery take over. "Yeah… we'll leave… but where to? What now? Where do we go? I don't know… I don't know what to do anymore."

"Well… well then," gasped Yugi with an innocent smile. "How about we find out together? Once we get out of here… we'll find a place where we can be free of all this fighting? My… my mother once said to me… that there is a place in this world where we all belong, where we can be as free as the wind and as reckless as the waves. We could sleep on the sand and walk the shores and we can swim forever into the depths of the sea. We explore the places where people have never been and we'll see creatures that no one else ever has. That's where I want to be forever and ever. I wish that we can be there, live in peace you know?"

Yami listened… before he nodded as more hot tears began to fall… "Yes. And someday we will."

Yami wiped his eyes angrily as he then stood up with Yugi in his arms and quite forgetting how tired and weak he was. "Yugi… if you're still ready to fight… then let's go teach that no good excuse of a father a lesson or two."

Yugi smiled as he let himself be carried off. "Yami? No matter what happens… you know I'll be there."

"I know," gasped Yami as he struggled under Yugi's weight. "And that's why I haven't given up yet.

Yami got up and made his way through the door… the final floor.

It was a large room made of some kind of marble, worn with time and weather… there was a roof overhead, and large windows surrounding all the sides that showed the ocean…

Yami took a deep breath of fresh air… he never thought that he would see the ocean again. The sky had grown dark and the rain began to pour as a thunderstorm began to come to life. It was then that he heard the sound of insane laughter.

His father was standing before what appeared to be a shrine… and floating in midair above it… was what appeared to be some kind of crystal. But instead of stone, it looked as if it was made when light shines through the water and is then merged together with starlight. It was as bright as the sun, and was pulsing with power.

"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" his dad cackled. "Observe well, Yami! Watch and mark yourself the suffering of one who must rule, yet lacks the power!"

"No," Yami said surprisingly calm as he gently put Yugi back down before he walked up to stand in front of him. "No, father I will not. Though I lack your power, I made a promise to protect my friend."

His dad, in anger, slapped Yami hard across the cheek. "You confound me, son! You failed to stop me... all you were to protect. Yet you still continue to fight back. How is this?"

Despite the stinging cheek, Yami was holding his head high. "I have something more important to defend," he said proudly. "And I will continue to defend him." Yami looked back at Yugi and said, "Yugi, here taught me more than you ever have… done more for me then you ever could. It's because of him that I still go on. I will not let you have it! The ultimate power be damned!"

"Watch your tongue you little whelp! You and your spiky-haired friend are history!"

"Hey! You can insult me! You can insult my manners! You can even insult my hair! But when you insult Yugi, that's when I get angry! For his sake if nothing else!" Yami glared at him, "I'm gonna stop you even if it kills me!"

"YOU? STOP ME? THAT HAS TO BE THE MOST RIDICULOUS THINK I EVER HEARD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" he screamed before holding up his hands towards the light, "Shards of light! Crystal of power! Spill forth your might upon this world! Let this world be washed in it! Lend your power to me! Let this be known that this power is back in the hands of humans!

Suddenly, his father was engulfed in the light, the power that was coming from the jem was so great that Yami was thrown back and hit the wall so hard that he left a Yami-sized crater. Yami spit out blood as he slid down the wall, and watched as the stars began to cover his vision.

"You hunted for the power for this? You came all this way for the ultimate power for what? To become a god yourself?" he cried out, though he couldn't see anymore.

"On who's shoulders better to stand than those of the would-be gods?" his father yelled out from somewhere above him. "Oh such high hopes I once had… but you ran and ran and they ran with you! I'll finish you off here with my own two hands! Prepare yourself Yami! Once I become one with the ultimate prize… it's all over!"

As Yami was fighting to stand up again, another ribbon of light began to criss-cross in midair. Looking up, Yami saw that the words were just as confusing as the ones on the floors below.

If you break me
I do not stop working,
If you touch me
I may be snared,
If you lose me
Nothing will matter.

"What the hell does that mean?" he screamed out in frustration. "Why does my life suck?"

*Yugi*

What Yami didn't know was that Yugi had been watching the whole thing.

But as Yugi watched he noticed that a feeble light was glowing near his head; he turned his worn-out body so that he could read the familiar writing… for a second he was expecting another riddle… but what he got instead was…

This Tower… who makes a soaring gamble with the breeze.

Since ancient times has been upheld by the efforts of two great twin trees.

Their entwining made the flowers grow… and a bountiful country all would know.

Their living touch brought harmony to all their kith and kin…

till a man beguiled by evil committed mortal sin.

But there are some bonds eternal, what mankind has now undone,

this tower which was once was two, but now is not but one.

Should it wither, we shall all fall.

'The world will fall?' thought Yugi in panic. 'What is this about?' He didn't want to read anymore, but he couldn't help but continue…

True and faithful child, who offers the quickening of life by your touch,

and the redemption of mankind in your heart.

Give yourself as an offering; less the land be torn apart.

Deep within you, part of me thou dos lie… but it's cutting thus the world will crumple and die.

The covenant time draws ever near, the earth shall weep until you appear.

'What does that mean?' he thought. 'Is this why I was born? Is this why I'm the 'chosen one'? Is this my destiny? To be a sacrificed lamb?'