Disclaimers: Yu-Gi-Oh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and any other items mentioned in this belong to their respective owners.
As the others filed into the hall downstairs, Ryou couldn't help but wonder what had happened. One moment it was a standard shouting match, nothing 'bad'. Granted, he thought with an inner wince, Atem hadn't really been enjoying the verbal battle to begin with. But with the mention of Kul Elna, a place that Bakura had said Atem didn't even know about, things had become much more grave.
Or had it begun with the mention of the three thousand year silence Yugi had broken? Yugi, who was now dead, and if conversations behind him were any sign, that topic had only just been distracted for the moment. The teen bit his lip, taking a seat on the stairs as he waited for Malik to come down, so that Bakura could calm the bird down.
'KEEEEEER!' He winced, the others turning to face the door with a jump as another freakishly animal sound pierced the sky, followed by the sounds of thunder. Please hurry, he thought, as he bit his lip and watched the others stare at the door with horrified expressions. Please, please hurry.
Back outside, Malik tensed as Atem's now feral cry rang about the roof, only to look at the bird with rage as he realized what he'd just said. "I WAS THREE," he had shouted, in an an angry and somewhat pathetic tone. The bird's face resembled less of the calm and justified pharaoh who left the world of the living and more of the crazed, vengeful spirit of the millennium puzzle that appeared the instant it was complete. "AND YOU KNOW THAT THAT WAS MY UNCLE!" There was a screech as talons set to draw blood scratched the top of the roof, narrowly missing Bakura himself. Sparks flew from the gouges left behind, and the bird quickly returned to the sky to prepare another round.
Bakura's expression changed to match Atem's, grinding his teeth as he prepared to make another response. However, as another voice called out, his expression faded to that of shock and surprise, the teen looking at Malik in confusion and worry.
"You could have at least done something," Malik was shouting, hand clutching the handle of the door while he turned to face Atem. "You probably knew full well what happened! And yet you probably grew up and pushed it aside instead!"
Beside the blond, Bakura's expression changed quickly as he remembered his words to Ryou. How long ago was it... He'd caught the teen in his soul room, asking about Diabound, and the cracked tablet depicting people walking to their deaths in a molten furnace... Turning to face Atem again, Bakura's expression was that of mixed horror and worry this time. He was dead- he'd 'live' an attack from Atem so to speak. But Malik was not, and he'd drawn the bird's attention. As he put himself between Atem and Malik, holding his arms to the sides protectively. That's right; Atem was actually younger than him. And if what he got from the 'Millennium Game' was right, the pharaoh and even the father of the pharaoh never knew of Kul Elna. Not until it was far too late.
He watched, eyes growing wide as he realized what Atem's statement of 'Life itself' meant. The skies were even responding to his rage, clouds converging above the bird to block out every star in the sky. Thunder clapped in the distance, and Bakura tensed. So when he said 'Life itself' he meant the skies did he?
"I DIDN'T KNOW," the bird cried, voice a mix of rage and mourning as the two below frowned for their own reasons. "I NEVER KNEW, UNTIL MY DEATH, UNTIL THE DAY THAT I FINALLY REACHED THE FIELDS! AND BY THEN IT WAS TOO LATE! AHKENADEN IS RECEIVING HIS DUES IN AMMIT'S STOMACH," he added with a screech, tone quickly becoming more infuriated and accusing. "SO DON'T EVEN THINK, THAT I HAD A CLUE AS TO WHAT OCCURRED THAT DAY!"
Before Malik could respond, the boy caught a glimpse of his partner's face, the thief wrenching the door open and throwing him inside. "Stay down there," he told him, his voice laced with a well hidden worry for the blond and disgust for the former pharaoh's current rage. "And don't come out until I return with him." The door shut, and as Malik stared at the door, Bakura's expression and Atem's cries burned into his head, he frowned.
Who was that? Who was that 'thing', that creature with Atem's face? Screeching and crying with the voice of a bird, a falcon, with a feral rage that couldn't possibly be human. The teen stood there, frozen, listening as chaos erupted outside.
Bakura was smirking up at the bird grimly, eyes shadowed as he took a loose fighting stance should Atem strike again. As the clouds continued to converge and swirl above, thunder became louder and louder and lightening even flashed in the background as rain began to pour. Weather channel would have a field day, wouldn't it? It was rare enough for rain to occur in Cairo after all, he thought as he watched Atem seethe in the sky. "So you know of Ahkenadin then..."
The hatred was evident. The detest, the utter loathing that seeped from the bird. For what his uncle had done, what the man had become. For the pain that Atem, as a young child, had watched his father succumb to once the truth had come out. A pain that he had never known the source of, but all the same, he knew... Because it was after his father had offered up his very soul to pay for their deaths that it had happened. It was after that, when his father had taken the sins of some unseen other that he'd been forced to watch the man fade away into the grave.
As his wings flapped in agitation, arms locked back beneath his feathers, a small scrap of logic that was still functioning attempted to pull him to reality. 'Please,' it said, 'Malik didn't know, and Bakura never accused you directly. So please, please stop.' But he did not stop. The words had cut deep, gouging the wounds that existed from Yugi's death, the still fresh gashes that had barely begun to heal. And as all injured 'animals' did in such a situation, he was poised to attack at any moment.
Such as now. "DON'T EVEN SAY HIS NAME, THIEF!" 'Name calling,' his logic said, with a quiet whispering voice. 'That's not very nice.' He ignored it, finally breaking the dam that held his pent up rage and depression from the past week. "NOT EVEN... A WHISPER!" He screeched again, but the sound that escaped his throat was so twisted that it could hardly be called human OR avian. His feathers and hairs were raised threateningly, and the bird's eyes had grown dark. Bakura gritted his teeth as the sound of what was essentially an eagle's 'war cry' sounded through the air, scowling.
"Hn," he said as he stepped out into the empty space of the roof. "You've really lost your mind, haven't you Pharaoh?" He narrowed his eyes as the bird, something he doubted he'd ever again link to a chicken, prepared to dive bomb him again. Really, this was so backwards, he idly thought as he attempted to dodge the strike. "Gn!" As the claws struck him, he felt a sick, disembodied feeling spread through him. His body seemed to evaporate, and vanish into nothing where the claws struck, before his body followed suit into a thick white mist. The mist reformed to the side, Bakura gasping as he took the form of the same white jackal he'd been in the Shadow Realm. Regaining his breath, he looked himself over before chuckling. "Well now 'Pharaoh'. It seems I have yet another advantage over you. I wonder though," he said as another 'war cry' was released, talons primed to strike with a dive, "Just how it is that the mighty King of Egypt could fall to such a level that a thief such as myself is forced to step in to fix things!" As he dodged the claws again, this time with such speed that it surprised even himself, he scowled at Atem's expression. It was a twisted, vile face, a face that not only did not suit him the thief thought, but his worst enemies.
The jackal gave a harsh laugh as he skidded to the side, watching as the bird stood on the roof and paced towards him. Lightening filled the skies, illuminating the oddly frightening visage of the bird. "Pathetic," he said with a growl, watching as the former pharaoh created a helm of shadows in the shape of a falcon's head. As the bird charged him, head aimed forwards to form a natural lance, Bakura snarled. So this was what the great and mighty pharaoh was brought to? Instinctual rage, blocked for scarcely seven days.
Internally, he had to praise the bird for holding out even that long. He remembered... Remembered so well the days after Kul Elna... As Atem charged closer, the jackal lept up, landing squarely on the top of the helm. "Really pharaoh," he said as he ran down the beast's back. "I was enjoying this before, but this is simply pathetic!" Charging along the tail before leaping off that to land on the roof, he ignored the constant screeches Atem was giving to stand his ground. It was fairly alarming, just how small he was compared to the bird at the moment, regardless of how much was raised and fluffed feathers. "I'd have thought you to be above this," he said in a low voice, a grim smirk on his face as the bird stalked over yet again. "Yet lo and behold, even Kings are not immune to rage; but even I have a line Pharaoh," he said as he watched the bird charge him. "And you've crossed it."
As he said this, Atem's helm pierced through his body, causing it to vanish into mist once more. In the split second that Atem had struck, the mist reformed just to the side as Bakura's human form once more. "Now then Pharaoh! I think it's time for a time out, don't you think?" Before the bird could turn to retaliate, he thrust his elbow down on the back of Atem's neck. "HAAAAH!" The crack that sounded through the air was blocked by the sounds of thunder, but the results were nonetheless as instant as the lightening behind them. Atem's eyes widened, regaining their colour as his raised hairs and feathers fell. Eyelids shut as he lost consciousness, body collapsing just as quickly as the thief heard him say one last thing.
"Ai...bou..." Bakura sighed, rain pounding on the roof as he wiped a bit of the water from his eyes. Partner indeed, to drop so far and so quickly...
Taking heavy breaths as he looked down at Atem's immense and soundless form, he stood there, a mix of a scowl and a grimace on his face. The bird was breathing quickly and heavily, and Bakura scoffed as he turned away. "Tch. This had better be the last time I clean up your messes Pharaoh." He examined his hands, idly noting that when he'd taken human form again, he'd ended up with the same features he'd had as a ghost. His voice qas quiet, but stern as he continued, even though there was no one there to listen. "These situations are meant to be reversed. Though not to the same extent you've taken it..." As he shook the water out of his hair, he turned back to head for the door, scowling as Malik shank back to hide a camera he'd been holding. "Really Malik, now is not the time..."
The blond nodded, biting his lip as he passed Bakura the camera. His head bowed down in embarrassment, before he turned to look at Atem. "I'll... Get him inside..."
Bakura nodded. "Hn. I need to dry off..." With that, he left the pair on the roof alone, the conscious one dragging Atem's body to his soul with some difficulty before pulling the teen inside.
By the time he'd made it back to the others, he'd found that they'd taken a refuge of sorts in the basement rec. room. As Malik entered the room, he sighed, the mutterings already in full tilt even with only 'half' of the usual crowd there. Collapsing on the couch, he groaned as the others turned to him to ask their questions at once.
"What happened to Atem?" "Did they die?" "Who... Who won..?"
Mai shook her head, looking at Ryou with wide eyes. "Hun, I don't know about Bakura, but at that size? I doubt Godzilla could take him." As the questions continued, Malik raised an eyebrow as he looked over at the far corner of the room. Joey was sitting there. And he was, for once, silent. While the others were practically shouting at him, tears in some eyes (Tea) and worry in others, the blond was simply... Sitting there, staring at the wall in severe shock.
It was un-nerving... He blinked as Joey abruptly stood, walking over as the others stepped back. They stared for a moment, before Mai frowned and put a hand on Joey's head. "You look like you're dead on your feet..." She frowned slightly, taking it back as if burnt. "Jesus, you're ice cold, why didn't you say anything..?"
The teen ignored her, face uncharacteristically blank as he turned to Malik. "Hey," he said, voice far quieter than his usual 'shout'. "Is he... Is he alrigh'?"
He nodded, but did not answer until the others became silent. Taking a deep breath, mostly for himself, he told them. "Both of them, Bakura and Atem, are alive and... mostly," he said with a slight wince, "Uninjured. Bakura won, if you can call it that though... So Atem will be out for a while recovering his energy. It's best you don't disturb him for now."
Joey remained silent for a moment, Tea looking as though she wanted to say something from behind him before stopping. Finally, the teen nodded. "...'s it alrigh' if I sit wi' 'm?" His usual rough accent was thicker than usual, almost slurred Malik thought in the back of his mind. Attributing it to the shock, he shook his head.
"It's better if no one bothered him..."
Another nod. "Y-Yea... Alrigh' then..." He walked off, taking a seat back in the corner he'd been in since long before Malik came in. As the teen watched him sit, he was suddenly pulled from his thoughts by a worried Tea.
"What happened," she asked, face pale as a few tears ran down her face. "Is he alright? You said he had to recover, did Bakura do something-"
Blinking as he attempted to answer the woman (he decided not to mention the video; as clear an explanation it would be for what happened... It was probably best just to bury that thing), he coughed. "Er... He's fine, Tea... Completely fine-"
"Are you sure," she asked skeptically, the others exchanging worried and knowing glances behind her. "I mean, you didn't see-"
"He said he's FINE!" The others jumped as a sudden shout from Joey's 'corner' echoed through the room, the teen's fists clenched tightly as he shook. "Just leave it alone an' let the guy rest!"
Mai paled, before coughing and addressing the others. "In fact, we should ALL get some rest. I know for a fact that this day has been a little to eventful for my preferences." Granted, it was about as eventful as anything involving 'Yami Yugi' as Atem had formerly been called... But she'd gotten used to 'normal life'. Beside her, Tea and Serenity merely nodded, the pair completely taken aback by Joey's outburst.
From behind the girls, Ryou nodded, before building on Mai's suggestion. "That sounds like an idea... Malik, I'll show them some rooms, alright?" As Malik nodded again, the albino herded the others up the stairs, leaving Malik and Joey alone in the room.
He frowned lightly, cautiously approaching the blond with his hand held forward. The teen had resumed his 'stare' at the wall, fists still clenched as he appeared to attempt burning a hole into it with his eyes. "...Joey," he said quietly, looking over the teen with raised eyebrows.
There was no answer for the first few moments. Briefly, Malik considered just leaving the room, leaving Joey to his own thing but... Biting his lip as he began to turn, he looked back as the teen finally answered. "Yea," he said, voice slightly forced. It was a tone that Malik recognized, a tone that he'd used himself the day after his 'initiation'.
Swallowing as he took in the overwhelmed blond before him, he slowly gathered up the resolve to ask his question. "Are... Are you still angry with me?" It was a naive question, he knew that much. But after all that happened he felt like he needed to know really.
Joey's answer surprised him however, a quiet and falsely calm voice answering. "Naw... Heck... I think I might have tah thank yeh now..." It was a chilling sense of peace, the kind that he was radiating right now. The sort that a suitcase gave. Before exploding to take out half a neighborhood.
He blinked, a nervous expression on his face as footsteps came from behind. They were bare feet, no shoes; Bakura then. Concentrating on Joey, he continued frowning. His hands were... Twitching, he noted. In fact, it seemed that his entire body was doing this, a constant, slight twitch that couldn't possibly be caused by all of this. Swallowing again, he focused on the conversation. "Really..? You mean that?"
The teen looked over at Malik from the corner of his eye, expression all to reminiscent of a kicked puppy. "Yea... I mean... 'S not like yah really meant i' righ'..." He took a shuddering breath, Malik nervously looking at the violent twitch his arm gave as he continued. "Like Yami.. Like Atem said, I'd 've done th' same thing for Yug', if I ever figured it out..." He added the last part with a quiet, weak laugh, which didn't at all add any humor to the situation.
As Bakura came towards the two, Malik hesitantly reached out to feel for Joey's temperature. "Joey... Are you feeling alright..?"
The answer was another light, weak laugh. "Hah, 'course I 'm... M fine..." The teen's eyes were shadowed, he noted, almost sleepless. He hadn't noticed earlier, because he never looked at Joey this close. His volume had been more than enough to deter him, and something told him the same applied to his friends.
He moved closer, looking down at Joey's shaking fists before frowning. "Joey, you're shaking..."
The weak, joking tone he'd had vanished, and the teen tensed. He jerked away from Malik, back flat against the wall as he frowned. "No I ain't... I ain't shakin, alrigh'?"
"Joey..." Malik put a hand on the teen's shoulder, before being thrown back in a surprising show of strength. He wanted to drop it, that much he could tell. Wanted the subject to go sleep in a hole and die, or maybe simply collapse right there. He watched, the frown replaced with worry as he steped back.
"M fine," he was muttering, and Malik's eyes widened as he realized that the 'slurr' had nothing to do with his accent. "J's fine... M' j's fine..."
He shook his head, looking at Joey's ghostly pale skin with wide eyes. "Something is wrong Joey, and avoiding it won't do a damn thing! Just tell me what's going on!"
Joey turned away, facing the wall again. "Nothin's wrong... Got it? N'thin... Th' only thin' wrong, is wh' happen'd teh th' Pharaoh, all righ?" He took a few shuddering breaths, eyes narrowed as he focused on speaking. "Tha's all we... That's all we ne.. Ne... Need tah worry abou'!" As Malik began to pale, the teen shrank against the wall still more if that was possible. He was stumbling over his words... What was wrong, why wasn't he talking properly? He was fine before, just fine just fine just- He groaned, while Malik turned back to look at the now approaching Bakura nervously.
As the white haired teen came over, rolling his eyes but nonetheless humoring his partner's worry, the pair looked over Joey with frowns. Where as Malik's was laced with worry however, Bakura's own was more... Confused. Or so it seemed. It was an odd stare, the teen narrowing his eyes as he took in Joey's now steady, evenly paced twitch. Unlike the twitch however, the teen's breathing was anything but. He exhaled and inhaled unevenly, quick at one point, slow at another, and each one shuddering. As Bakura was about to roll his eyes again and get the moron a blanket for the shock however, he froze. "Impossible..."
As Joey drew back still further, his vision blurred, the teen nervously exhaled a long stream of air that was laced... With shadows.
Bakura gritted his teeth. "This day just keeps getting better, doesn't it."
The teen jumped, eyes wide as he turned to Bakura. "W-What! Where'd yeh c.. Come from?"
As Malik looked at Bakura, the thief scowled. "Not now you Mutt, what the hell did you manage to pull yourself into?"
Joey shook his head, frowning. "N'thin, I tol... Told... M' fine..." It took a few seconds before he continued, Bakura idly noting that his reaction time had slowed down considerably. And while he normally wouldn't even bother with this, the fact was, shadows in a persons lungs was never a good thing. As if to strengthen those thoughts, a few more fragments of shadow came out on his breath, each exhalation littered with the violet-black specs.
"Tch..." He stared, frowning. Just what kind of twisted reality had he been brought back to, when the 'Nameless Pharaoh' went ballistic and tried to kill everything in sight and the loud aggravating mutt at his right hand was reduced to a shivering weakling in a corner. And there was of course, the shadows on each breath, which was just barely enough to keep him from making any insults on the matter.
Malik frowned, having spotted the specks as well. "Bakura... What's going on..?"
He shrugged, still frowning. "Don't look at me; I don't have a clue what the stupid mutt got himself into this time."
Before Malik could respond to that, there was a weak mumble from Joey, and the others turned again. "...M naw... Not... N't a mu... Mu... Mutt... Bas... Bast'd..." The frown deepened, and Bakura bit hit tongue to keep from calling the moron out for the idiot he was being- rather, for being more idiotic than the norm. This was accelerating, a small chilling voice in the back of his mind said. It's accelerating, and there was no indicator as to why.
Beside him, Malik simply frowned. "You've been here for 3000 years, and you don't have a clue what's going on!"
"Well," Bakura hissed, keeping his voice down so that Joey didn't hear him, "You try explaining how a human being who hasn't died or even used magic is spewing shadows from his throat with each breath!" He turned to glare at the teen, fists clenching as he watched Joey close his eyes in weakness. "I doubt even he has a clue what's going on, though that isn't the most difficult thing to assume."
The Egyptian tensed, frowning. "Well find out, because whatever it is definitely isn't good," he hissed back, before turning to look at Joey again.
Said blond gave a hacking cough, releasing a few tendrils of shadows from his breath. "My Malik, I hadn't noticed at all!" He grabbed Joey by the arm, roughly pulling him down onto the couch beside them. "Now then," he said as the teen collapsed on the couch, coughing in response. "How about some answers?" The teen continued coughing, a feeble 'fu... fu... fuck... you' being his answer.
"You know, something tells me that's not going to work..."
As Malik said this, the thief merely shook his head. "I never said anything about resorting to violence. But the fact is, without any answers, this idiot is good as dead already! Now then, if you could grab something to warm this idiot up," he said as he turned from Malik to Joey, now addressing the one on the couch. "How about you tell me just when you began twitching like a paranoid little rat?"
"M... N-no.. not... Twitch'n," the teen managed to force out, body jerking slightly as Bakura resisted the urge to simply stab the idiot in the chest and be done with him.
"Really now," he said as he roughly grabbed Joey's arm. "Then what do you call this I suppose?" He held the violently twitching limb in front of the blond's face, idly noting that it was about as pale as Ryou's skin. However, the back of his mind added with a growl, Ryou's veins and arteries weren't nearly as visible in his case. There was no answer, save for a glare as Joey tried and failed terribly to stop twitching. "Alright then," he said as he dropped the ice cold arm, "And what about your sleep patterns? From the looks of those eyes, I'm willing to bet you haven't been getting any!"
Bakura gained a rather murderous expression as Joey attempted to feign health again, the teen breathing weakly as the thief's face twisted into a seemingly sadistic grin. "Oh really," he said as he stepped back from the teen, "In that case, you should have absolutely no trouble laying one of those famous right hooks of yours. Or perhaps spit out a solid insult without stuttering, preferably above the noise level of a grasshopper! Face it, you mongrel! You're in no condition to deny otherwise! The faster you realize this," he said as he lowered his voice to a dangerous and frightening tone, "The more likely you are to successfully survive the night."
There was a silence, and for a moment Bakura considered just caving and helping Malik with the things. "I'm... Not... STUTTERING!" With a surprising rush of energy, he moved from the couch to throw a punch at Bakura, only to succumb to a hacking cough as a sick 'crack' came from his wrist.
The thief blinked, having caught the fist quite easily. Eyes widening just slightly with surprise and minor amusement, he chuckled. "How interesting," he said as he turned to the teen with narrowed eyes. "You're so weak that even your bones are giving out on you. That was the sound of your wrist breaking, Mutt." He dropped the fist, watching as Joey attempted to sit up before rolling his eyes. "And that was from the mere force of it hitting my hand. Imagine what my skull would have done if you had hit that." He turned away slightly, giving a harsh laugh. "Though I doubt you could have, with your aim being as off the mark as it is."
There was a growling noise, and Bakura turned with a raised eyebrow only to jerk back with shock. Joey, in the same burst of energy spouting from his rage flung himself forwards, teeth bared with a cry as he bit down on the closest thing he could get. As he felt his teeth waver under the force, Joey's hair was taken into the thief's grip, beore being pulled off from his arm violently. "Tch..." He watched the teen collapse on the ground, his legs still hanging limply on the couch as he shook uncontrollably. Bakura looked over his bleeding arm, scowling as he heard Malik's footsteps on the stairs. "I've attempted to be at least slightly civil about this, but by now I can see that I shouldn't have bothered!" He rolled up his sleeve, idly noting that the bite had only just broken the skin. Turning back to Joey, he continued to glare at the teen. "You may be intent on dying Mutt, but I for one would rather not have to deal with another hissy fit from your friend the Pharaoh... If you don't want to face up to the shadow sickness you so clearly have, then tell him that instead of hiding it like the pathetic dog you are!"
There was no answer as Malik came in, save for laboured breathing. As the other came towards them, Bakura carefully moved Joey back onto the couch, crossing his arms as Malik layered the blankets on the teen before handing him something. "Fuck," he muttered to himself as he looked at the two. Joey was currently looking at him weakly, head shaking as he attempted to speak.
"Wh... What.. What's ha... Ha..." He choked, Malik jerking back before looking at Bakura and mouthing something the blond couldn't decipher. "Hap.. Happenin'... t' me..?"
The thief looked over the phone he'd been given, scrolling down the 'phone book' to number '9'. He smirked as he looked at who was under the Arabic 'unlucky number', before turning to Joey with a blunt stare. "You're dying," he said, before turning to Malik. "And why exactly do you want me to call Kaiba?"
At the mention of the name 'Kaiba', Joey's eyes widened as much as possible in his state. Attempting to shake his head, his breathing became more erratic as he gathered the strength to speak. "N... No... Hn... Don'... Don' call 'm..." Dying. His breathing became pained as he closed his eyes, unwilling to watch the threads that were coming out of his mouth when he spoke or breathed. He was cold, sweating, and he was dying. Too weak to speak, to weak to move... While Bakura muttered something about that answering his question well enough, he winced and gritted his teeth. And the pain... This blinding pain...
Quite honestly, he thought as Bakura told Malik to get an icepack, maybe he should have just died all the other times he came close. Somehow, they felt better than this. Hell, he thought as he dimly heard Bakura say something about 'calling anyways', this was better than when his old man beat the snot out of him and kicked him out of the house.
When was that, a few months ago... As he drifted into these thoughts, he felt himself sink into a painful, jerking sleep, hearing a dull, faded 'He'll be here in three hours'.
Sleep...