Nickey: So... Anyway, I worked my butt off (I think) on this chapter. And I dunno if we mentioned it in the last chapter or not, but our future chapters are going to be overlapping a bit. For you guys that means events will be repeated, for us, that means that events will be portrayed (is that the word I'm looking for?) in both Yami and Yuugi's POV... Just letting you all know that with a fair warning... Enjoy~!

Fallen: Yup, "portreyed" is the word you're looking for. *laughs* But, yeah, anyways. That's what you all should be expecting :) ALSO: I don't mean to nag, but to those who send reviews/PMs (because I've received both) that just say something along the lines of us "needing to hurry up and update"... Look, I really appreciate you're all interested in the story – really, I am! – but please remember that writing is only a passtime for us, and that we have lives outside of FanFiction. That, and we want to make sure you all get the best quality works we can offer – and that also takes up a little bit of time! We've got a new plan-of-action, and should be updating Kindred every other Monday. Now, given my tendencies to be a scatterbrain, both of us having our own solo-stories to work on, and just life in general, I'm not making any promises yet. But I do hope that I'll be able to keep up with this little goal we have in mind.

Okay, I'm sorry. Done rambling. We hope you enjoy the chapter! :D

DISCLAIMER: Nickey and I do not own, nor are we affiliated with Yu-Gi-Oh! nor anything pretaining to Yu-Gi-Oh! This is a fan-made story made purely for entertainment purposes, and nothing more. Enjoy!

~ Chapter VII ~

Stubborn

"Yami," a quiet voice whispered, sounding somewhat demanding of me.

I peeked my left eye open, looking over my shoulder to meet a set of darkened lavender eyes. "What?" I mumbled, refusing to move from my resting spot.

"Go talk to him," Marik demanded, his voice still hushed.

"Good night, Marik," I groaned, turning back towards the wall at my right as I attempted to fall back asleep.

"Oh no you don't!" he warned, grabbing a clump of my hair. He yanked the handful back towards him, so that now I was turned to face him. Making sure I showed him my current mindset, I put a very bored, and angry look onto my face. "You are going to talk to him, and you are going to like it."

"You can't make me do something I don't want to do. Now let go of me."

I swatted away my brother's arms and went back to my sleeping position. It'd been two weeks since our Kindreds had shown up, and I'd given mine a piece of my mind. Unfortunately he'd given me a piece back – and more or less slammed his foot down my throat. Well, metaphorically speaking. Still... So, anyways, here we were, as far apart as we could manage to be in this room. Not having spoken a word to each other since – or in his case, to anyone at all. Period.

I admit I'll have to give him this much, though: my Kindred is a looker. But out of all his features, those eyes were the main attraction. Those beautiful amethyst orbs that sparkled with pure curiousity, and glimmered with attitude when pissed off. His milky white skin looked smooth to the touch, and clean as polished crystal, as if no dirt had ever dared to touch it. His frame – which was slightly smaller than my own – was curvy, as his new white jumpsuit did well to show off. And his hair, it was the same way mine used to be. I was pretty sure Pegasus would have his cut and combed back, as well, before too much longer.

Not only was his physical appearance a plus, but apparently his attitude was also pretty close to mine. I mean, going after Pegasus the way he did? Pegasus had to have been terrified, to have shocked him like that. From the looks of it, he almost shit his pants! But the way he'd treated him, the way he'd shocked my Kindred and made him look weak, he was going to pay. The way he'd made him cry, scream, panic, every bit of emotion Pegasus had drawn from him, he was going to pay dearly for.

In the two weeks' time, we 'yamis' had basically been forgotten about. Our lovely little counterparts were now the scientists' focal point. Which only served to piss us off even more. My Kindred and I may not be talking, and most of that may be my fault, but damn it, when you fuck with my Kindred, it's on!

...

Come to think of it, I don't even think he's seen my full body yet... Pretty sure all he can see from that side is my eyes and maybe a silhouette... or an outline, or something.

It's not like I didn't want to go talk to Yu- the brat. But I refused to apologize. It's not like I was wrong... I was pretty sure I hit the nail on the head each time that I said something. Wasn't my fault they were here.

My eyes opened as I realized something, and I couldn't help but chuckle at myself. "Huh, seems we're meant for each other in more ways than I realized... You got your brothers into this mess, just like I got mine into this Hell hole." My chuckle died out as I shook my head, nothing really making sense anymore. "Crazy... isn't it?"

"You sound like a madman," Marik grumbled, hitting me lightly in the back of the head.

"Maybe so... But it's all true... Just a bunch of curious, stupid kids. And now we're locked up, like mental patients, except without the straight jackets... I'm sure those will come soon enough, though," I added after a pause for thought.

I didn't have to look to my left to see my brother's widened eyes. I knew he was shocked by the tone of my voice, by the look on my face, both of them reading 'who really gives a shit anymore?'

"Yami... Stop it," Bakura growled from a little ways in front of me.

"Stop what? Stop replaying everything in my head? Stop remembering everything that's happened to us? Are you insane? Do you need a straightjacket? I won't stop remembering. I'll never forget what that son of a bitch did. And I will take him out, even if I go down with him."

The fist that caught my left cheek was a surprise to everyone, except my eldest brother, who was the one to throw it. My head hit the wall to my right, but I just shook it off, turning to look at Marik with my mouth open. I didn't get to say anything though, because two fists wrinkled into my shirt, slamming me against the wall.

"You're our baby brother, and you're going to shut up! Stop talking like that! That's not the Yami we know."

"The Yami you knew died ten years ago!" I growled darkly, my hands clamping around his wrists, hard enough strength to 'persuade' him into letting me go. "I'm no longer the 'baby brother' you knew," I continued, giving a small twist, forcing Marik to submit to me. "And I won't be walked on anymore. Not by you. Not by Pegasus. Not by anyone. If not for this God forsaken collar, I'd already be out of here. So don't tell me what to do, or how to talk."

The sliding of the door caused me to look up. The clicking of his boots, causing the snarl to automatically twist my face. Before entering our side of the room, he snapped his fingers, and someone outside flipped the power so the lights were on. The three of us covered our eyes for a minute as the light pierced our side of the room.

Pegasus approached us slowly, yet without caution. It was like he was testing my anger. The way he came up to us reminded me of a showdown from an old show Mom used to watch on the TV. The kind where two people would stand on opposite sides of town and count to three before shooting at each other.

That's what was going on here. Pegasus had heard our conversation, and now he was daring me to make a move in his direction. The look on his face told me he was having a bad day, and any kind of movement towards him would be a big mistake; one I would pay dearly for. "You two, move," he ordered, pointing at my older brothers.

This was bad. I could feel danger. Every nerve in my body was peaked, and screaming at me. But what could I do? Why should I even care? If not for this damned collar I could take him. My brothers moved as they were ordered, but I stood my ground. I refused to show weakness. I didn't so much as yelp when I was poked and prodded and I sure as hell wasn't going to bow down as this son of a bitch approached me.

I was suddenly grasped around the throat by large, silver claws that threatened to remove my head from my shoulders. They gripped tight enough to choke, but not tight enough to kill. I coughed, unable to breathe correctly with the strange hand pressed against my neck. Only three things were registering at the moment: one, I'd made a huge mistake that I was going to regret; two, I was slowly losing conciousness; and three, Pegasus had partially Merged with his Ka just to choke me.

"Let's go for a walk... Shall we?" He asked in his mockingly-sweet voice, carrying me by the throat. He turned and I saw my brothers' faces through blurred vision. They were terrified. But I couldn't do anything, and neither could they. Not only was he strangling me, but the spikes to my collar were also pressing into my throat, just below his claws, sending small jolts of electricity through me. And we all knew by now that defiance would only make the punishment worse. Even the three newbies had found out that particular, unspoken rule.

The barrier between me and the others shut with finality. I heard my brother running to the door, pounding on it and screaming my name over and over again once it was closed. I had just forced him to submit to me, probably even causing him pain, and yet there he was, scared for my safety once again. Just like a big brother should. But I could do nothing to ease his worry; I couldn't see him anymore. Hell, I was hardly able to breathe, let alone talk, with the pressure on my neck!

The grip Pegasus had on me loosened just a bit as we walked down the hallway, finally allowing me to breathe properly. My vision began to clear with the fresh, reviving air, and I could see we were approaching one of the rooms that was used for conducting experiments.

I didn't understand it at the time, but an alarm went off in my head. Once again, I had a very bad feeling about this... experiment.

Nickey: Aaaand another cliffy X3 Lol, you're welcome! Hope you all enjoyed!~ Until next time! * waves * Goodbye!

Fallen: Well, that was evil. But, then again, I probably would have done the same thing, haha! XD Okay, so, remember: updates should be happening every other Monday... so, unfortunately, it looks like you guys are going to have to stay tuned and wait to find out what happens next! *mwahahaha!* X3 Oh! And I forgot to add: Kindred's cover-image was hand-drawn by Nickey, herself! I can't believe I forgot to add it earlier on... whoopsies XD

Have a nice day/night, guys~!