Fallen: We (I) are (am) SOOOOO sorry for such a late update, everyone!

Nickey: So, it definitely took us this long to realize that we (I) forgot to add my A/N to this chapter so Fallen here could upload it XD our sincerest apologies... ^^' So anyway... hm... I don't remember what happens in this chapter... XD I'll just chip in at the end (after I'm sure of what's going on this chapter) Enjoy~!

Fallen: Haha, what do you mean, 'you forgot'? You've been looking forward to posting this chapter for, like, months, now! *laughs* On another note: We've hit 50 reviews on Kindred! Thank you SO much, everyone! :D

I'll let you guys go on to the chapter now, but I have a bit of a note at the end and I'd appreciate it if you all spared a couple minutes to read it, alright? Alright. :)

Enjoy the chapter!

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 X ~

Seeing Red

I don't know how long I was laying there, silencing tears behind my arm. My brothers coddled and tended to me, trying to get me to respond, to tell them what was wrong. Even their Kindred had made a few, hesitant approaches to me, trying to get me to talk to them. But all I could answer them with was the truth, before dissolving into quiet shakes and choked whimpers as I tried to keep from openly sobbing in front of the four of them. I don't know what's wrong! I don't know what it is – it's just really, really, really bad!

That's all I could think. It was bad. So bad, that something in my head decided to register it as physical pain all over my body. Ripping and stabbing into my chest, my stomach, my arms and legs with such ferocity that all I could do was submit to its influence. I didn't even know what it was, but it was just so bad and horrible and all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and die.

I wanted Arceus. I wanted Jii-chan. I wanted my mother.

I wanted Yami.

I needed their comfort, for reasons beyond even that of my own understanding. I just wanted to be held by them, soothed by them, and to feel the love and protection of their auras wrap around me. Soothing my childish fears like a cool balm. I couldn't stop shaking – it felt like that mental endurance nightmare all over again, only ten times worse. I could tell by the worried way Ryou and Malik hovered around me, and the cautious tip-toeing of Marik and Bakura, that they all thought I'd broken and leapt off the deep end into nut-land.

"Yuugi," Marik tried to console me, leaning down to sit by my side with Malik, "I'm sure Yami's going to be fine. Pegasus just probably... didn't get to see an episode of Funny Bunny, or whatever the hell that cartoon show he watches is called." I knew he was trying to cheer me up, but the mocking jest didn't do much to lift my spirits. I looked up at him, feeling my eyes begin to water again. "Besides, it can't be that bad. And Yami's tough. Never heard him so much as whimper before our entire time here. He'll be oka-"

It was at that moment that a shrill, bloodcurdling, throat-ripping scream of agony chose to slice its way through the docile halls, muffled by countless walls and doors, yet managing to reach us, all the same. I saw the Egyptian's face go blank in pure horror, and his tan complexion pale. From a few feet behind us, I could see Bakura whip around to the door, even his incredibly-pale skin managing to whiten by a few shades. All I could do was huddle up on myself, that metaphysical agony melting beneath my skin, hands pressed over my ears in a desperate attempt to block out those cries.

I don't know how long I stayed like that. I drew into myself, completely ignoring and blocking out any and all outside stimulus. I felt as if I were starting to go mad with dread and worry. All I could remember, was when they brought Yami back. Or, at least... what I could only assume was my Kindred.

Some big, hulking ape-of-a-man had him slung over a shoulder as if he were carrying a sack of flour, and then dropped him to the floor like it'd been replaced by bricks. I looked up sharply and gaped as the tile was slicked in red, my Kindred's body sliding forward more than usual on momentum and the wetness of his own blood. The scent of iron and salt stung my senses like an angry hornet, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to gag or scream.

There, laying injured and broken, was the stubborn, fiery-eyed, jackass of a man that was Yami. My Kindred. His jumpsuit was in tattered ruin, looking as if it had been rolled down before whoever tried to remove it had given up and just ripped their way through the shredded thing. Large, gruesome wounds covered almost every inch of his skin. A sick rainbow of bruises, shaped like hand-prints and the impact of fists, decorated his face, neck, stomach – pretty much anywhere skin was soft, and durability lacking. His arms looked as if someone had attempted to shove them into a meat grinder, and his torso like they'd taken to it with a knife and decided to fillet the skin straight from his ribcage. Only they'd done a really, really bad job with it. With thick cords of stitching sewing up the worst of the injuries, I knew that he wasn't in an danger of dying (not anymore, at least), but it was apparent by the amount of crimson staining his remaining jumpsuit and poorly-cleansed skin that he'd lost a lot of blood.

That guerrilla carbon-copy disaster smirked at our horrified expressions.

"Keep this mental image the next time you want to mess with Master Pegasus," he chuckled, as if this were some kind of joke, and we were the punchline. I looked away from my Kindred, just long enough to see the smug scorn on his face. I felt something inside of me heat with pure rage.

I printed that face into the forefront of my mind, and upon it, I stamped the word 'revenge' in bright-red letters like a greeting card gone wrong.

I didn't move until the sound of feet and slamming of the door shook me awake from my internal pit of loathing and violent promises I fully intended on keeping. Two shapes ran past me – one tan, one pale – before stooping at Yami's faintly-moving sides, and trying to stir him. That small, dreading section of my mind from before released a large wave of anguish, and I found myself charging over to my Kindred in seconds. His eyes fluttered for mere moments, before ruby irises were sealed away from me.

"Yami!" I shouted at him, my hand coming to squeeze an uninjured part of his left arm as I kneeled beside him.

He didn't respond.

"Yami!" I tried again, voice growing more shrill as I began to panic, "Yami, wake up! Open your eyes, dammit!" I shook him, but to no avail. The tears from before came back with a vengeance, and soon the warm moisture was cresting down my cheeks, dripping to the floor below to mingle with Yami's blood. "Pl-Please wake up!"

I'd never felt so helpless before. I wasn't a doctor, some kind of miracle-worker, or anything like that! I couldn't tell if he was going to live or die, if he was seconds away from breathing his last, or just going unconscious from the ordeal. I didn't even have a blanket to cover and keep him warm with. All I could do was sit there, by his side, sniffling pathetically and just hoping and praying to every last deity I knew that my Kindred would wake up again. I just found him, dammit! I refused to lose him before we even got a chance to know each other!

With the help of his brothers, I managed to shift Yami so his head was laying in my lap. At the very least, it would provide a little more comfort for him as he rested. And suddenly, all that had happened these past few weeks, months, however long we'd been there... all of the frustration I had felt, all the time I'd spent ignoring him because of some stupid little argument that hurt my feelings... Gods above, it was all so pointless and stupid now.

I won't let this happen to you again, I silently vowed to him, We are Kindred. It is our jobs to look out for and protect one another, and I'm sorry that I've failed you so miserably at that. I promise you, Yami, that I will not let this happen a second time. Even if it kills me.

I gently ran my fingers through Yami's short, tri-colored hair, and had the others not been watching, I just might have given in to the sudden temptation to kiss him on the forehead.

When Yami had finally begun to stir, it was needless to say that I fretted over him like the biggest mother-hen the world had ever seen. I had immediately demanded if he was feeling alright, where he was hurting, constantly asking if there was anything I could have done to make things even a little bit better for him. He'd been weak, throat raw and voice hoarse from his screaming, and continuously teetered along the line between consciousness and sleep. My lap was his pillow, and I tried my best to keep from moving out of the fear I would aggravate his injuries or make him uncomfortable.

For the first couple of days, he needed assistance with even the most basic of tasks, like sitting up straight when he got tired of laying down on the floor. And though he was very adamant about his "being fine" and "not needing anyone's help" at first – let alone from me – he eventually had to swallow his pride and accept the help being given. I was sure to be there when he needed help to stand up or walk around. I applied medicine to his wounds, and changed his bandages daily, receiving a constant supply of the stuff from a cold-eyed brunette scientist the other three seemed familiar with. And since his arms and back were still badly hurt, sore, and in the middle of healing, when our meals were delivered to us, I had to help him sit up and eat. The whole 'feeding him' thing didn't sit too well with Yami, but he had come to accept that – for now, anyways – it was a required blow to his pride.

Marik and Bakura did their fair share of 'babying', as the stubborn teen had phrased it before, but they made the rather wise decision to leave most of it to me. With my Kindred being so badly hurt, my most primal and fierce of instincts towards keeping him safe were constantly going haywire. I was extremely cautious when it came to others being around him – honestly, even when it came to our own families, I was hesitant. I knew that neither his brothers nor mine would ever think about trying to hurt him in any way, shape, or form, yet there was always this little piece of me that seemed to be expecting the worst. I know it made them all a little (a lot, really) uncomfortable – well, besides Yami; the bastard found it funny – and I constantly apologized for my actions, but I couldn't help but to keep watch over the bullheaded jerk like a mother dog over her litter of pups.

Or, for a better comparison: a mother dragon over her clutch of eggs. Or hatchlings. Whichever worked more.

Though I had always been somewhat... possessive, of those I held dear, I mostly assumed that all of this was actually due to my Ka. Arceus had explained to me once a few years ago – when I was about thirteen, if memory serves me correctly – that beast-spirits like him, and therefore me as well, were naturally that way.

"Even though people picture us as greedy, treasure-hoarding creatures-" he had told me – after a particularly bad bought of clingy-ness (on both our parts) towards Jii-chan. Some older teens had decided to vandalize and try robbing the shop (before Jii-chan and his Ka gave them a thorough beat-down) a few days beforehand. "-dragons are actually very loyal, family-oriented beings. It is difficult to gain a dragon's trust, which is why those with draconian souls tend to be more shy or isolated, but once we find someone that we hold dear, they become a part of something much greater than our families." I had asked him what else those special people could be.

"They become a part of our heart. And we will protect our heart with the ferocity of Hellfire should any be foolish enough to threaten it." Then, he had tried to soothe me, as Grandpa had become irritated at my 'childish behavior' as of late. "Sugoroku may not be able to relate to the nature of a dragon's faithfulness, Little One, but I know that he will understand, should you give him the chance. Try explaining to him how the ones who tried to cause harm to our family are making you feel, how you are feeling towards the safety and well-being of him and our brothers. After all..."

He had given me a toothy, reptile-like grin.

"We may not keep gold within our troves, Little One, but we do keep loved ones there. And that is the greatest treasure of all."

I shifted and stretched, before leaning back against the wall in a form of content. Yami was at my side, dozing lightly as his body began to shift closer and closer to my own, head occasionally dropping down towards my shoulder, before bobbing back up in an unyielding attempt for him to stay awake. We were seated at the center point of our shared room, right along the seam of space that separated light and darkness. I, of course, was resting on the brighter side, Yami on the darker one. I smiled to myself despite the circumstances.

It had been a little over two weeks since that horrible bloodbath of a day, where Yami had been taken away by Pegasus' psychopathic hands, only to be dumped at our feet hours later, brutally injured, and balancing on a tightrope between what we had all been sure was life and death. Yami was recovering nicely beneath the care of Marik, Bakura and I, along with the occasional additive of Ryou and Malik every now and then. They seemed to have warmed up a little bit to the red-eyed idiot. Which I was thankful for – especially now that the two of us had actually managed to strike up a few civil conversations. I still hadn't gotten that apology... but I didn't really bother myself with it much anymore. We had both been fools fueled by our pride and self-righteousness and said a lot of things without thinking, myself especially.

Either way, I was just happy that... I was finally able to connect with him.

I heard him mumble something, and I glanced to my Kindred as he shifted and gave a yawn. Crimson eyes, blurred with sleep, flicked open, and rolled up to lazily meet my own amethyst gaze. I saw his lips twitch with the edge of a smile, and I couldn't help but to grin, myself. "Morning, Sleeping Beauty," I teased, to which his only reply was to give a weak, halfhearted shove to my shoulder. It didn't do much more than make me chuckle. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the floor."

He snorted, and sat up straight, arms slowly reaching upwards in a careful stretch. "Shuddup," he muttered. I gave a mock-scoff.

"I can see that you're nice as ever."

He rolled his eyes, retorting, "And I can see that you are still a brat." Though his tone was a little harsh, I could tell that he didn't mean it. Or, at least... not completely. We still had more than enough awkward, tense, somewhat-conflicting interactions, but I was pleased to see that they seemed to become less and less frequent as the days went on. It was weird, to have a screaming match at one another just a few months ago, and yet, here we are. Me being a mother-hen, him actually tolerating it, and the two of us managing to be less than half a foot away from one another. Without tossing around any sort of 'go-for-the-throat' commentary. Was settling in with one another so quickly a common thing for Kindred? Or were we just lucky on that particular factor?

I felt him change positions again, and some underlying part of me buzzed with a sense that Yami was growing restless. I gently nudged him with a shoulder, careful to avoid any injured parts of his body, and he glanced at me. I offered a smile, feeling the slightest bit unsure. Sometimes he could be moody when I offered to help him. "Want to walk around, or something? Loosen up the muscles, and such," I suggested, mentally bracing for some sort of mouthy retort. But, instead, I was surprised when he just shrugged, as if considering the idea.

"Sure," came the reply, and I couldn't help but to grin in my enthusiasm, "Mind helping me up?"

I scooted a few inches away from Yami, leaving him to support himself against the wall as I stood. Offering an arm, I slowly eased him into a more straight position, and just-as-carefully brought him to his feet, wrapping an arm at his back for leverage. I know he was still extremely opposed to the idea of being 'babied', but it was a necessary evil.

That, and if he ended up getting hurt because he refused help all the time... I'm sure it's a mutual understanding between us at this point, that I'd merrily send my foot sailing up his stubborn ass to compliment any reopened wounds.

After a few moments to steady ourselves, his left arm slung casually over my shoulders, and we started to walk a lap around the room. Not just the light side – we looped around the darker half, too. Though I was still hesitant of the darkness, I felt safer with someone else being so close to me. That, and I knew the only potentially dangerous things we could wander upon here were either Marik or Bakura, and they didn't pose much of a threat. At least, not when I had their 'baby brother' on one side, and the threats of their Kindred to "play nice" on the other. I couldn't help but to chuckle at that.

A few months' time was all it took for my brothers to wrap their Kindred around their little fingers.

I offered a smallish nod in the direction Yami's siblings' silhouettes as we ambled by nonchalantly. I could really only make out their eyes at this point, considering my own hadn't had time to adjust to the lighting, but I could catch small glimpses of a nod from each of them in return. Yami and I turned smoothly at the corner of the walls and continued on. He was quiet, but not in that usual way of his I had come to notice. More in a... thoughtful manner. My steps fell into perfect sync with his own as I opened my mouth to ask him what was on his mind.

I paused however, when a quiver of... of something, ran up my spine. It felt as if icy fingers had skimmed their way over my back, and I shivered, feet stopping. I could sense Yami's confusion, and he even muttered an unsure, "Yuugi?" at my falter, but I payed it no heed. Something deep, deep inside my mind was beginning to raise a red flag, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck bristle in unease. For the briefest of moments, I thought I heard a growl of warning ring inside my head.

Arceus? I thought absently, eyes widening in shock. I heard Yami say my name another time, sounding uncertain, but I couldn't find it in myself to tell him I was alright.

Just like that day two weeks ago, an unseen force within me was screaming danger! And, just like before, something felt like it had gone so, so wrong. "Yuugi!" my companion snapped again, and I quickly turned to look at him. He raised a brow at me, looking like he was stuck somewhere between concern and irritation. "What's the matter with you?" he asked, "I've said your name, like, five times!"

I blinked at him, before feeling my face heat. "Oh!" I stammered, embarrassment making my tongue tie knots in itself. "S-Sorry, I was just..." He studied me again, inquisitive and expectant. "I, uh... I spaced off a little-" I cut myself off when, somehow, I could... feel a person approaching our room. It was a rather faint sensation – like a thousand tiny, invisible wires, tied into a receptor at the back of my mind, and with each movement outside of this presumed safe-zone the six of us were contained in, those wires gave off vibrations. Like a spider's web. Only this... this carried a particular sense of foreboding to the spider, rather than the prospect of a meal.

At the back of my head, something began to spark in that hollow that Arceus' presence had once resided in. Much like a clipped wire, still live and waiting for a connection to complete the circuit.

Going by the tensity of Yami's posture, I could tell that he knew something was up – something that did not bode well for any of us. I could feel my jaw set, and I struggled to hold back the instinctive baring of teeth that my Ka would do whenever he felt I or a loved one was threatened. I felt my throat constrict around a small sound – probably a growl, now that I think about it – but it didn't do much to keep the sound from escaping.

The feet stopped, and I felt myself draw a pace closer to my Kindred without the active thought of it. I felt him grip my arm, in a way to steady us both. And, judging by the sudden silence that had whispered over our room – the idly, hushed chatter of our brothers now gone – the others had picked up on the danger, as well. I looked up, just as the door began to open, as Malik and Ryou quietly scurried from the lighter parts of our prison, to be somewhat hidden in the half-darkness. I saw Bakura shift, before swiftly darting his way towards his white-haired Sheut – seeing as how Ryou was claustrophobic and despised dimly-lit spaces – and sent a silent thanks towards the rugged-looking man. Malik and Marik exchanged a glance, but the former seemed to have his mindset on sticking close to our brother. I caught a minuscule nod from both of them at the noiseless decision.

"Morning, boys!" a deepish, rather gruff-sounding voice chortled, and I felt my muscles go tight, "Got a little surprise for a few of you!" Large hands clapped together, and the lights above flared to their highest possible setting, making all of us flinch a little. I squinted my eyes at the sudden flood of brightness. They adjusted quickly, however, before fixating on the speaker before us. Because I recognized that voice. I knew who that person was.

I felt my eyes widen as, standing there, clad in a casual-looking suit-and-tie getup, was none other than the beast who had delivered my Kindred here, beaten and bloody, over half a month ago. A name Yami had murmured to me in his half-conscious moments after first waking up. The face I had imprinted to my brain smirked back at us smugly. It had few lines to suggest his age, and had neutral features caught in between squared and slender. Dark eyes glinted carelessly in the florescent lighting.

Kemo! something in me snarled, and I could feel that live wire flash dangerously. A sudden desire to scratch something valuable from that creature's face (preferably his eyes) nearly overtook me, and I clenched a fist to quell it.

"So," Kemo continued, as if he didn't notice the rising hostility and tenseness in the air, "to make this a lot easier for all of us, I need the freak, the albino, and the blonde to come with me." He motioned offhandedly to Yami, Ryou, and Malik, and I could feel the spark react at each gesture with more and more voracity. Begging me to let the temptation take hold.

He then took a small object – strikingly similar to a television remote – from his slacks pocket, and poised a finger above an array of buttons. "Let's go for a little walk."

He pressed something, and the world was thrown into the earth-shattering pain of an electric shock. It seared hotly around my throat, and I heard several cries as the six of us all dropped to the ground in erratic convulsions. I could feel Yami writhing at my side, and I wanted to reach for him, but all my hands could seem to do right now was to clamp around the collar at my neck. As if some part of me was still trying to pry it off, despite numerous failed attempts. Kemo started to walk closer, looking pleasant, as if he were on a morning stroll through the park rather than electrocuting six helpless teenagers. He went for my brothers first, and I felt a strangled cry of protest and mourning leave me as he gripped them by the hair, and dragged them away from the rest of the group. All the while, they whimpered and shouted in pain, bodies twitching and jerking with electricity.

As his shoes tapped ominously towards Yami and I, the wire that had taken shape in the hollow of mine and Arceus' mental bond began to strengthen, growing more violent and insistent with its pulls to protect what was mine, and punish the fool that dared to cause harm to what – or rather whom – I held dear.

I flung out an arm, using that new motivation to try and rise above the influence of the shock, and swung it across Yami's side. I managed to throw a glare at Kemo, feeling Yami's surprise at my possessive gesture, and Pegasus' crony just laughed. "Grabby, aren't we?" the drone taunted, storming closer with a sick, twisted grin of enjoyment on his face, "You always like this, kid, or are you just excited?"

I could feel my nerves beginning to numb towards the pain, which both relieved and frightened me. My throat began to lessen its spasms; just enough for me to spit out an acidic "bite me" at that son of a bitch. He howled with laughter, and I cried out against my will as a beefy hand tangled its way into my spiky hair. I heard Yami give a strangled shout to me in protest. "Oh, so that's what you like," he snickered, as if observing something he found of extreme interest in me, "Kinda masochistic, don't you think? Ah, well, I guess we can work that out in a more... private experiment, once Pegasus is finished up with your little fuck-toy and the doppelgangers, here."

Shivers that were not caused by electricity ran down my spine at the promising smirk he gave me after saying that. I felt my stomach twist in disgust.

"Sonofa -!" Yami's arm shot out, and gripped Kemo's wrist tightly enough for his dull nails to break the skin. The man recoiled in surprise and pain, dropping me in the process, before setting a dead-eyed glare onto my Kindred. Yami snarled right back, red eyes blazing in rage.

"You little-!" he roared back, before kicking me to the side (literally), and lunging for my Kindred. I tumbled to his right, grunting loudly at the impact, as the beast-of-a-man set upon Yami in anger. At the first kick to his ribcage, I heard six different cries – five of anger, one of pain – sound from each of the prisoners kept in this room, myself included. Another three, strong kicks were delivered before I found the strength to act.

I grabbed his ankle as it wound back to release another blow upon my defenseless Kindred's stomach, and snarled at him. "Don't you fucking touch them!" I warned, feeling the spark grow into a flame, reaching out as if to mentally wrap Ryou, Malik, Yami, Marik, and Bakura in a protective blaze, keeping them safe from any and all harm. The foot made contact with the ground, and my body let out a subconscious growl as those eyes looked back to me.

They were angry, yet amused. Pain stabbed my side like a blade as he released his foot from my trembling grasp, and kicked me away sharply. I tumbled over myself, before skidding to a stop a few feet away, still giving the occasional jolt, despite my body having dulled out the majority of the shock's impact. I struggled to look back at him, straining my muscles to resist locking up. "Or what?" Kemo dared.

"I'll make you rue the day you were conceived," I promised him, feeding off of this new, angry energy to help raise myself. It took a few moments, and my arms still shook badly, but I managed to lift myself onto my hands and knees. My side shrieked in agony, but the look of astonishment and disbelief on his face to the fact that I was still able to move was more than enough incentive to ignore it. The fires in my head and heart and soul burned brighter, starting to consume me in a veil of furious, bloody red. Something odd tingled over my skin – a metaphysical energy having nothing to do with the collar – and at the same time, this oddity felt familiar. It was similar to when my Ka would silently will me to sprout fangs or claws before, like back in the Matching Center; when I had to give the computer an Aureole sample.

And, as Kemo just stood there and laughed at my brazenness, I allowed myself to sink into the burning-yet-soothing presence, as our link began to revive – if only for a moment. Arceus! I mentally shouted, and I could feel his unfiltered rage and disgust and sheer, unforgivable hatred towards this man. To Pegasus, the scientists, everyone that had anything to do with harming his loved ones. His precious trove of souls, more valuable than any amount of gold or jewels this existence could offer him. I almost wept with joy as his segment of our soul washed over me in waves of security and love and regret for not being able to help sooner.

"Oh, that's a riot!" Kemo continued, and I could feel my skin begin to crawl with pure spiritual energy, "What're you gonna do, pipsqueak? Tell your mommy? Or, hey, how about your grandpa?" Pain and outrage flooded me, and I reached out mentally to take that broiling fire inside me in a vice-grip, the newly-awoken consciousness of Arceus snarling at the statement. He fed himself from my fury, as I did from his. My gums began to ache as I felt my teeth shape into deadly fangs. My left eye began to burn as something strange and new happened.

I could feel my Ka's half of our shared soul fighting for control, begging to be released, to see through his Ba's eyes this horrible, agonizing, hateful world, and the person who now stood at the center of it all. I could feel my eye change, and I could feel my pupil begin to narrow into a catlike sliver.

Kemo reached down, and grabbed Yami by the scalp, "What, does the little shrimp not want to share his toy?" he guffawed lewdly, and I braced my fingers into the floor as claws began to grow. I could feel myself starting to tremble, purely from the amount of raw fury in my bones. Arceus released a deep, thunderous growl in our mental link, and the threatening sound escaped my lips. Kemo paused, smile falling in bemusement, and I saw both his and Yami's eyes go wide.

My leg raised, and my equilibrium shifted forward to Arceus' will, as if preparing our Akh to pounce. I was shaking so badly that I felt as if every last muscle in my body were mere milliseconds away from collapsing in on themselves, and every movement had me straining to do anything other than black out from exertion. I could feel the electric crackle emitting from my collar, burning the skin beneath it in a final, all-or-nothing attempt to neutralize the threat I now posed. I clenched my teeth to keep myself from screaming.

There was a surge of horrid, gut-twist agony, and then...

...nothing.

My voice was laced with the baritone of my Ka's own as we both gave a roar of fury.

"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS AWAY FROM MY HEART!"

My skin gave in to the tingling, and I could feel the small patches of crystallized scales forming over our physical body. In a split-second, they crawled up my left arm, and mottled patches appeared on the hand, fingers, and wrist of the other. I could sense the texture spilling over from my spine, following the individual tracks of skin that covered my ribs, and the burn left behind by my collar. Large, predatory claws tore from my fingertips, and ripped through the feet of my jumpsuit. Every last inch of my being was combining with Arceus – mind, body, and soul, Merging together, but not in a way I had ever experienced before.

And the power. This raw, fervid, unearthly power; it was so intense, so overwhelming, it was like it couldn't be contained by a mere, mortal body. For a moment, as that magical essence rippled around me, all I could think of was that Aureole wavelength I had seen in the Matching Center. With lines so close together, it looked more like a jumbled scribble of nonsense. I could feel it, see it, emerging from my skin like free-floating liquid, the same color as my Ka's aura. It spread over me, numbing my pain, and taking shape, connecting itself to my body like a second layer of skin. It lashed out from my spine as a long, crystal-coated tail, jutted from my head in the shape of a dragon's twisted horns and long, serrated muzzle, and arching from my back in two grand, brightly-glowing wings.

Kemo stumbled back a pace, and without thinking, I fell under the influence of a dragon's predatory rage, and leapt at him with a snarl, claws extended.

I felt my nails hook into fabric, and I gave a smirk as I pulled myself forward with this new aid. Arceus' talons sliced easily through the threads with a clean rrrriiip!, and the sound sent an odd thrill of satisfaction racing through my veins. I twisted my body in mid-air, twirling my new, energy-created tail to keep balance, and tossed Kemo's large body away with an easy sense of grace and strength I had never experienced before. Arceus pivoted us to easily land on all fours, as Kemo collided with the floor in a clumsy heap. I jumped over the cowering bodies of my brothers as they stumbled their way to their Kindred, and the five of them huddled in a defensive group against the wall. Kemo scrambled to his feet, and I placed myself between him and my loved ones with a very animal-like stance; legs tense and ready to pounce, arms balancing me, claws scratching into the ground as I bared my teeth at him in a snarl. I felt the pupil of Arceus' visible eye constrict threateningly as he released a serpentine hiss from our throat.

The normal pitch of my voice had a dark, deadly undertone to it. The deep, rolling timbre of Arceus echoed beneath my own, as two parts of a soul spoke through one body. "Bastard," I spat at him, "You will not lay another hand on my loved ones! And if you know what's good for you, you'll get out of my sight!" I felt my tail lash in anger, and I was dying to give these nails a higher purpose than carving into the floor.

I tensed as his hand flew down to the belt of his pants, and gripped something I hadn't noticed before. The shape of a 9mm semi-automatic pistol was whipped into view, and directed to target the center-point between my eyes. "Get back, freak!" he shrieked in a mixture of anger and fear. "Get back or I'll kill you, and all your little friends, too! I've got a bullet for each of you!" I could feel the room's atmosphere begin to shift as Kemo tried to summon the power of his own Ka.

A veil of blood and violence fell over my senses, and all I could see was that hateful face, begging to be torn apart. Our voice was dripping venom as Arceus released another scathing hiss.

"Wrong choice."

I lurched forward with a cry of fury, and went for the source of the threat: his gun-wielding arm.

My fangs sank easily into flesh, and the taste of blood flooded across my palette as I bit down harder. Within mere seconds, I both felt and heard the wet snap of bone, mixing with Kemo's scream of agony. I jerked us to the side, fangs slicing deeper into his limb as it dropped the pistol. Releasing his arm, I whipped around Arceus' spiritually-manifested tail, and struck him across the back with its spikes, sending Kemo sprawling across the room. I placed myself firmly between Pegasus' henchman and my family – those five precious souls my Ka and I had already came to hold close to our heart. I would not allow these monsters to bring them anymore pain!

I went for him a second time as he withdrew a cellphone-looking device, and began to scream into the receiver in panic. "Someone get down here! This freak is fucking insane- agh!" I swiped the phone from his good hand, and shattered it into spare parts with a single downward strike from Arceus' tail. He tried to get up, to run away, to reach for that pistol on the ground, to Merge with his Ka and take me out.

But I wouldn't give him the chance.

I brought my claws down over his good arm, tearing into the muscle in a blind fervor. I reached around with the other to score deep wounds into his torso, biting hard into the junction of his neck and shoulder for leverage – missing his jugular artery by inches. I scratched, clawed, tore into him with all I had as he thrashed around, trying to beat me off of him. Fed up with his fighting, I grabbed Kemo by the shoulders, twisted him around, and slammed his back to the floor. I caught a glimpse of the damage my assault had done to him – his suit was shredded into ribbons, soaked dark with red, and his right eye was swollen shut by a claw that had barely missed its mark. His eyes were wide and wild with terror and agony, and his frame shook weakly beneath me.

In spite of myself, I gave a wide, sharp-toothed smirk, chuckling lowly, quietly. "What's the matter, dog?" I taunted, reveling in the fear and pain that had been generously given back to him from one of his victims, "Didn't your precious Master tell you not to mess with a dragon's treasures? I'd expect that someone like you should know not to fuck with what they see as precious." That was Arceus, his guttural snarl overlapping my lighter, middle-pitched voice.

"I wonder how long it'll take for you to feel sorry for hurting my loved ones," I hissed at him, unable to restrain a wicked grin at the gratification I felt, returning an ounce of the suffering he and his boss had inflicted upon Yami and the others. "Should we have a more private experiment to test that? I'll gladly give you a little taste of what that fucker you call your boss did to my Kindred!" I sank the talons of one hand into his skin, and rose the other to hover above his throat. Kemo whimpered out miserably. "Feeling sorry yet?"

He just nodded his head, unable to form words. I could feel him trembling beneath me, and I tilted my head back some, studying him through hooded eyes. An unimpressed look came to my face, and I snorted in scorn at his pathetic appearance. Pale as a sheet, torn up like an old rag, bug-eyed in terror and with a painful lack of bite to go along with his nerve-grinding bark. Then I drew closer. "If you so much as breathe the same air as them again," I murmured into his ear, voice falling to a near-whisper, "I promise you, that the last thing you will ever see will be Arceus and I's claws ripping out your fucking throat." I braced said claws in menace, making sure he could feel the weight of my threat. As I pulled back again, I smirked at him, and hissed, "How's that for masochistic?"

I was never one to break my promises.

The sounds of feet pounding towards our room began to hum around us, and I growled at him, standing, dragging Kemo up with me. I pivoted on my heel, gripping Kemo's tattered suit, before tossing him at the door as it burst open. Nearly a dozen men and women all startled, some crying out in panic, as the man's bloody, limp body slumped to the floor in front of them. The only indication that Kemo was still living were the whimpers he let out at every breath. I straightened my posture, Arceus beginning to flick and lash his tail in warning. I could feel his aureole wings start to shiver.

For a moment, I cast my eyes over the room. The previously-clean floor was decorated in smears and spatters of red, with several gouges carving long lines into it. I glanced briefly over my shoulder, to see Yami and the others gaping at me. Something that took me by surprise, were the tears I caught in Ryou and Malik's eyes. Yami's red gaze was wide, and something protective flared inside of Bakura and Marik. Almost as if they expected me to turn on them. Something in me faltered, but all Arceus did was glare at the entourage before us, and snap out a sharp "get out".

One man, who had been helping Kemo from the room, turned with a twisted look of ire on his face. He sneered at us, before charging, as his hands changed their appearance, taking on large, black claws, with the smallest hint of scales on his fingertips. Another with a draconic Ka. "You fucking monster!" he roared, and Arceus hissed at him, since I was mostly unresponsive at this point. Feigning to one side, he threw the other man's guard to the wind, before bringing down a deadly hand of razor-sharp talons, and slashing them mercilessly across the unmarred plane of his face.

The crack of gunfire mingled with the other guard's scream of agony, and I felt several small, pointed things pierce through the softer parts of my skin. Any that hit scales ricocheted and clattered to the ground. I staggered as the sedative darts' effects began to counter my adrenaline and aureole energy. Arceus cried out in madness as I shouted in pain, stumbling towards the ground. I heard footsteps approaching me, surprisingly calm in the situation, as Arceus' aura began to evaporate into the air. My chest heaved with exertion as the tranquilizers brought me to my hands and knees.

"Pegasus," I snarled, swiping out blindly when I heard the man come into my reach. He jumped out of the way with ease, almost casually. His shoe met my chest, and I grunted as the breath was stolen from my body, bringing me to the floor. Arceus' power was fading, and my muscles felt loose and weak without it. I could feel my teeth and nails dulling, and silently cried out in frustration and despair at the thought of losing my connection with him a second time.

"Take this thing to the isolation room, and make preparations for another, more durable collar for it. Put no limits on the collar's electrical shock – use lethal force if necessary once it's on." I felt hands grab at my arms and shoulders, and I began to squirm in defiance. "Take Mister Kemo to the infirmary at once. Also..." he looked to me in thought, and I growled. He gave me a smug look. "I think this mutt deserves a muzzle. Have one fashioned."

Chants of "yes, sir," filled the air, and I jerked away from the hands as they began to drag me from the room. Pegasus stood by impassively, watching me with those calculative eyes the entire time. "Get your fucking hands off me!" I snapped, doing my damnedest to put up a fight. All I could think was get to Yami get to your Kindred protect them as I thrashed around. I knew the desperate madness in my head was beginning to reflect within my gaze. "Pegasus, you goddamn coward! You'll be the one needing a muzzle to keep your fucking jaw on your head when I'm finished with you!"

Agony exploded against the back of my skull as something blunt struck me there – probably the butt of a gun – and I tried to keep from vomiting as everything swirled in a mass of indistinguishable color. The two forced me to my feet. "Let go of me!" I yelled, voice still holding the underlying shriek of Arceus, throwing myself blindly to the side in an attempt to dislodge my captors. I felt my body shove another hard into the door's frame, and I winced at the pain it brought. I did it again as the other guard gripped me by the hair, slamming him into the wall before another smash to the head sent me into pain-inflicted placidity. My body refused to respond, and I could feel my muscles going limp, my head lolling forwards lifelessly, though I was still very much awake. I blinked rapidly, trying to focus in on something, anything, as existence became a painful, disorienting mess of nauseating color and blaring noise. I could feel myself, being partially carried, but mostly dragged, away, and down an unknown hallway.

I didn't fight as I was tossed into the darkness of my supposed 'isolation' room; it was all I could do to keep from either throwing up, or passing out. Or maybe both. My brain felt like it was floating in a fishbowl, and my ears were ringing loudly as a sudden fatigue took over my consciousness. Though I knew it was the worst possible thing I could do right now, I wanted to sleep. Shakily, and rose to my hands and knees, looking up slowly. I felt my pulse spike as I was greeted with empty blackness. Shivers ran up and down my spine, and my head throbbed in a sickening tempo that matched my heart. But, to my relief, I still could sense the lingering presence of my Ka in my mind.

"A... A-Arc...eus," I whimpered quietly, feeling a small tug at the edges of my awareness. It was usually just a gentle pull, but now, it brought on so much pain that I felt myself start to gag and wretch as I tried to keep from vomiting, a hand clamping over my mouth on instinct. Arceus immediately stopped, and I could feel his metaphysical pain mingling with my own. I grimaced as a stickiness that coated my fingers smeared over my lips, and I thoughtlessly tried to lick the offending stuff away. The taste of blood renewed itself in my mouth. I started, spitting the nasty taste away, before experimentally tapping my hands together. I could feel the cooling moisture of Kemo's blood sticking against my skin, and my stomach lurched. The weight of the crimson liquid had plastered itself over my hands, my arms, my chest – everywhere, really. Large spatters of it marked my torso, with smaller splashes and droplets having sunk into the lower portion of my jumpsuit. I could feel a dried smear of the crimson liquid covering part of my cheek.

I began to tremble, and it took all my will to keep from lacing bloodied fingers into the spikes of my hair. "O-Oh my Gods..." I murmured aloud, as if there were someone else to actually talk to. "Oh, G-Gods!"

I almost killed someone, my brain screamed at me on repeat, I almost killed someone, I almost killed someone, I almost fucking killed someone!

He deserved it, Arceus retorted quietly, despite the smallest traces of regret I felt emanating from him. I gasped quietly at the feeling of a second voice whispering inside my throbbing head. He and every last man and woman in this place deserve it.

But we almost killed someone, Arceus!

That doesn't matter! I heard him snap, and existence swirled with oblivion as my Ka forced himself to manifest before me. The crystalline, faintly-glowing, enraged dragon that was my Ka was snarling as he shouted. I went to cover my ears at the volume of his voice."He hurt our Kindred! He hurt Amane and Ra!"

"Doesn't matter?!" I shrieked aloud, "Arceus, by the Gods, we almost fucking murdered someone! He could have a family!"

"You mean like we did with Jii-chan, before those bastards murdered him?!" he roared back, and I flinched away in a mixture of fear and sorrow.

"We... W-We don't know that for s-sure..."

Arceus huffed, and his reptilian face twisted into a sneer. "I've always known you were overly-trusting, but this is ridiculous." I raised a brow at him, trying to hide the hurt those words brought. "You, Yuugi Mutou, are a damn fool for thinking twice about sparing any of those monsters!"

Tears welled in my eyes, and I snapped back on reflex. "Well you are a piece of me! So I guess that makes you just as foolish as I am! You're letting your anger cloud your judgment!"

"Says the one who just used my half of our soul to maul that son of a bitch, and give him a piece of what he deserved! Those people murdered Sugoroku, and have been tormenting our Kindred and his brothers for years, and now they're going to do the same with us!"

"No, they won't!" I denied, and Arceus narrowed his eyes at me. I could feel moisture stinging my eyes. Never, since the day of his Awakening, had my Ka ever risen his voice to me. Nor I to him. It hurt me to think that we, two parts of the same soul, were actually arguing with one another. "If it's the last thing I do, I'll get us out of here!"

"You are the reason we're even in here in the first place!" my Ka roared, furious. I felt pain and guilt stab me right in the heart. I knew that he was speaking out of hurt and fear – we both were – but that didn't make the sting of his words any less intense. "If you had just listened to your grandfather – to me – and stayed put, none of this would have happened! Is all of this really worth finding Yami? A lifetime of torture for us, as well as Ryou and Malik?"

He didn't say any more than that, because the damage had been done. My hand came to grab at my heart as Arceus allowed his manifestation to fade, and he went to his own little place inside of our soul. For a moment, I considering trying to talk to him again, at least to apologize for shouting, before something awful happened:

I felt Arceus close his side of our Bond. His thoughts and presence cut out, just like that. Completely separating and isolating himself from our Akh. And it was like the collar's effects all over again.

Only this time, it was voluntary.

My hand covered my eyes as I tried to keep from breaking, and sobbing my heart out. I ignored the drying dampness of blood on my skin, as the scene of my attacking Kemo replayed in my head, over and over again. I bit my lip so hard it bled, and drew my knees to my chest, hugging them. And though I knew he could not hear me, I silently whispered along my mental connection to Arceus.

What is this place doing to us?

Nickey: Oh, that's right, Yami comes back, and Puzzleshipping really kicks it off... Sorta... :P Then Yuugi snaps, and goes crazy, and GAHHHH! No spoilers for next chapter~! Until next time ladies and gents! * waves * tah tah!

Fallen: Not to mention Yuugi kicks some major ass! Let me tell you, guys – this was so much fun to write, haha! Too bad I'm not very good with writing action-scenes... I'm too descriptive :'D So, some constructive critisism on this would really be appreciated! What can I do to make scenes/chapters like this better and more fun for you guys to read? :)

Anyways, on to my note:

First off, I'm really sorry for not updating any of my stories as of late, and again for the late update with this one. But, here's the thing; school is only a few months away from ending, so things are getting kind of difficult. I'm a junior in high-school, and I already have to go through credit retreival next year to make sure I'm going to graduate with the rest of my class in 2016. I'm working on getting a license, a job, making plans for my future... that fun stuff. So – surprise, surprise! – it leaves me more than a little drained at the end of the day. And with homework, I don't have anywhere near as much time or motivation to work on my stories as I'd like. I'm trying to work on little things, write a surplus of chapters for stories I'm going to be posting in the future, etc., to get things back into motion in raise my activity, but I apologize for not being very active and putting so many stories on-hold.

I'm going to keep working on Kindred, especially, so no worries there, but I apologize in advanced for any late updates in the future.

Anyways, thanks for taking the time to read this chapter, this note, and this story, in general! Stay safe, everyone! :)