Guest: Thank you. I think they've settled enough for the moment, so I'm optimistic but I guess we'll find out haha

Chapter LVI: Oasis

Yugi wasn't altogether surprised when they suddenly veered toward the southern region. Atem had left Timaeus antsy and twitching. He'd flexed his claws and bore his teeth and dug his wings into his sides until he scratched them. He'd paced a few times during their conversation and by the time they'd left he'd been growing more and more frustrated. It was visible by the time they'd taken flight and so Yugi had known they'd turn off path from their territory at some point.

"They're not in the desert," he called just loud enough for Atem to hear. His mate turned his head and stared, surprised, and Yugi exhaled slowly as he continued. "My father can't take the temperature for long periods of time, remember? So they live closer to where the region connects with Water Clan territory—or at least that was where they were before I left on my own. I'd assume they'd stay there because it kept them both from getting too upset from overheating or anything else."

Atem blinked and studied him a moment. "Okay." He paused. "Are you all right to see them? You were livid with them when they visited our territory before."

Yugi let out a small, surprised laugh. "Yeah, I was pretty mad when my mother suggested I run off to procure a nest of my own, but it was more the fact she continued to try to make me doubt being with you." He paused and grinned. "But it's okay. I forgave her when she left. It's not like it matters. She has no say about anything. She has no power. Even growing up, I never listened to her even where it mattered."

Atem narrowed his eyes despite the faint smile. "Where would you hide if things get out of control? The humans beneath the mountains? The Fire Clan? Wind Clan? Or would you hide on your own somewhere?"

Yugi blinked and fought a snarl. "It won't get out of control. It'll be okay."

"Humor me."

"I guess I'd hide with the humans for a while, then try to see if there was any news of further problems and if they'd been alleviated. From there, if not, I'd return to them. If I can hide among the humans, most dragons won't come to find me. Among the Clans, I put others at risk, though."

Atem hummed and changed direction. Yugi followed diligently, ignoring the hollow feeling in his gut as they continued. The God Dragon kept his eyes locked on the ground as if it might leap forth and swallow them otherwise, and Yugi wondered at the tension in his bones.

"Atem?" he mumbled when the God Dragon stumbled a step upon landing. Atem looked over with a tilt of his head, waiting for him to speak further. "What was that?"

"My shoulders stiffened while we were flying." Atem blinked and shook himself out. "It's nothing serious. It happens when I get distracted and think too hard. I get tension in my shoulders when I'm flying and my paws itch when I'm on land. It's normal for me."

Yugi tilted his head. "I've never noticed it before. Why didn't I notice it before?"

"Because, before I wasn't willing to let you see it. Now I am." Atem turned away and looked around. The oasis was huge, alongside a gigantic river that seemed to flow forever. Trees sprinkled the banks on either side and Yugi remembered the body of water branched into multiple huge networks, where the trees outlined each individual formation. The water had looked green overhead, and the tops of each tree were brilliant like emeralds. "Do you know how far into the forest they are?"

Yugi faltered for a moment, then sighed softly and shook his head. "No, I don't know for sure. I think they're a mile in, though I could be wrong. I don't know where they are… I've never visited them here. We lived in a much smaller oasis for a long time, but this is where they said I could find them if I wanted to visit."

What had actually been said was more along the lines of if he came to his senses and realized remaining with a Sky Dragon was against his nature he could always come see them. It had been a barb from his mother while his father tried to quell Yugi's rising anger, but he knew it all too well. It was only when he'd come back from his conversation with Atem regarding mating with a female for a nest that he'd been told by his father. His mother had left prior, but his father had waited long enough to tell him how to find them…

Aside from directions, he had no idea where they truly were. And he did not think they'd be welcome to wander as they wished looking for them. He doubted anyone might launch themselves at them—especially upon seeing Atem—but it was possible they'd be treated as hostile interlopers by anyone to cross their path.

He assumed they all knew who Atem was. It wouldn't have made sense for them not to. He was the only Slifer with two mouths and certainly the only Slifer to ever be a God Dragon. There had never been one before and he doubted there would be after.

What he hadn't expected was to be spotted almost a heartbeat after entering the trees. The female who saw them let out a barking alarm call that echoed in the dense air and a split second later another dragon came rushing forward. They froze when they spotted Atem, but it wasn't for the fact he was a God Dragon as Yugi had expected.

"Oh gods, has the war already come this far?"

Atem blinked and stared. "War?"

Yugi tilted his head and looked the male over. He was younger, barely sexually mature, and he seemed almost overwhelmed just to see them there. "I'm sorry. What war?"

The male looked Atem over, shaking. "Did Jaden chase you this far?"

"What?" Atem blurted. He stared, standing stiff with shock, and then barked a laugh. "I'm sorry? Jaden? As in the Prime Material Dragon? Chase me?"

Yugi almost wanted to laugh but his hearts plummeted. His stomach ached as he looked at the other male. "Who said that?"

"We all heard it. The war cry was inescapable. And everyone knew Jaden would go after him at some point. We'd assumed they'd taken care of it in the last two years, but…" He eyed Atem a moment, puzzled. "You don't look harmed."

"I'm not." He turned to Yugi and the Gandora shook his head slightly. He turned back, voice spiked with incredulousness. "When did these rumors start?"

"Three years ago—but everyone suspected it the moment we saw you at the gathering. You fought the Leviathan in front of everyone. We knew you'd overstep eventually." The male shook his head. "Jaden isn't one to allow others to question him. We thought one of you would be dead by now, though."

Atem blinked wide eyes, as if mystified. "I'm sorry? Dead? One of us?" he echoed. He laughed softly, shooting Yugi a stunned glance. Yugi didn't know how to respond, so he tried but failed to smile. "I should doubt it. I'm more than capable of taking care of myself. But war was never waged."

"Oh…" The male tilted his head, mortified. "Then…w-what are you doing here?"

"It's a…friendly visit to see Yugi's parents." Atem looked as if he wanted to laugh again but couldn't find the breath. "I wasn't aware I was expected to go to war with Jaden."

"We're grateful you haven't!" someone else blurted out. The female who had performed the alarm call came rushing forward from the trees and stood before Atem with huge eyes. She looked seconds away from trembling. "The last thing we need is a war breaking out."

Yugi moved to Atem's side, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes as he looked between them. "So, wait. Did you think we came here to form an alliance?"

"It makes sense. That's the only reason any God Dragon would come this far from his own territory. I would have expected the Leviathan before the Slifer, though."

"He has a name," Yugi snarled before he could stop himself. "You use that or you don't refer to him at all."

Atem glanced at him sideways. "She might not know it, Yugi."

"Well, then she can ask for it!"

The female stared at Yugi as if he had a second head. "I'm not going to speak to a God Dragon like a hatchling," she snapped. "I won't be the one to demand his name and act as if I have a right to it. Why he hasn't beaten the insolence out of you, I don't know, but you'd be wise to hold your tongue."

Yugi bristled and stepped forward, snarling. Atem sighed loudly beside him and reached a paw out to stop him making contact when he bore down on her. "Look, we came here for one thing. We didn't come for allies. We didn't come for a fight. We're here to see Yugi's parents."

"Yugi?" she mumbled, eyeing him and then blinking. "Oh! I know that name!"

"Congratulations," Yugi deadpanned. "I'm glad you know my name."

"That's your…" She stopped short. "Oh."

"I guess we don't really have to worry about war. You're going to be the one who ends up getting us killed at this rate."

She shot the male a mortified look. "Shut up."

"No one is going to die today," Atem said quietly. "But I want to know where to find his parents."

"Why don't you smell like each other?" she demanded more sharply. "I wouldn't have even thought you were together if you hadn't landed at the same time. You should smell more like each other if you're mated. You probably haven't mated in forever. You're not even Claimed. Why aren't you Claimed? Shouldn't you have done that already? It's been four or five years, right?"

Yugi tried to ignore the nearly imperceptible flinch Atem gave at the words. It was a single twitch of his wings, the tips pressing into his sides again, but it was there. Yugi bristled. "You have the brain of a dying mouse," he spat, looming over her again. He bore his teeth and snarled low in his throat. "I'd shut my jaws before I got in more trouble. You can only dig the pit so deep."

"Don't threaten them," Atem mumbled. "It's not worth it. Relax."

Yugi almost couldn't stop himself from biting him. Why was it that Atem never cared about anything when it was aimed at him? Why did he always pretend it was okay, even when some of the barbs clearly got beneath his skin? He was exhausted just knowing Atem so often diminished his own trauma. He disregarded it as if it wouldn't come biting him in the rump later.

"It matters to me," he said instantly, ignoring the sideways glance his mate cast him. It wasn't Atem's fault he was traumatized and losing Yami had only made it a thousand times worse. It wasn't his fault he couldn't stomach mating after all the stress. Yugi wanted to snap at him, but he couldn't say so in front of two random dragons. He refused to expose him like that, regardless of how much they needed to discuss it. Atem shouldn't have felt like that, nor as if he had to hide every little ache and pain he suffered. "It matters a lot to me."

Atem seemed to debate the likelihood of an argument, measuring against the odds of whether he would win. He looked away after a moment, as if he were already exhausted. "Please, Yugi, just leave it alone."

He wanted to snap at him. He wanted to bristle and say no. He wanted to scream. He wanted to tell him to stand up for himself instead of roll over when things were said about him. It was infuriating. Yugi hated it. He loathed it with every fiber of his being. And yet Atem still refused. The God Dragon turned away from verbal confrontation. He wanted nothing to do with it. He treated it as if it were a creature meant to swallow him whole.

"Okay," he relented, sorrow burrowing through his chest. His hearts felt cold and tight. "Okay."

Atem didn't look back at him. "Do you know where his parents might be?"

"Uh…no? I don't think so?"

"It's a Luster Dragon and a Red-Eyes Black Dragon—male and female. I think his mother is the older of the two?" Atem glanced at him in askance and Yugi nodded slightly, hating that the God Dragon turned away again so quickly. "Yugi said about a mile into the forest?"

"If they live here, they must be super reclusive. I've never seen either of those two species anywhere near here."

Yugi couldn't suppress the small smile on his face. Atem turned in bewilderment, then snickered and shook his head. "Of course. The edict," he chuckled. Yugi nodded. Atem turned back. "I suppose it makes sense they would keep their heads down even now, especially if there's a proposed war between Jaden and I."

Yugi found the smile falling instantly from his face. If they suspected war here, did that mean news had traveled further? Was Jaden preparing for a fight with them? Was that why he had gone into hiding almost immediately after he'd killed Yami? Or was it the lack of knowing the identity of the second Divine Dragon that kept him at bay? Had he been so afraid of Yami before?

The thought made his hearts lurch. If Jaden had been so afraid of Yami…would he declare another edict? His parents had clearly fled the first and he couldn't think of another reason for them to hide but for fear of a second. He'd never known them to be so cowardly before. They'd always been relatively relaxed until they were called to action for whatever reason.

He shook his head to banish the thought. He'd face an edict if he had to. Atem was worth that. Yami had been worth it. If Jaden turned on them so completely, he'd hide as his parents were. That was the only option without getting Atem killed alongside him.

If it meant Atem was okay after it all, he'd gladly hide.

He wondered if Atem would fight him on the matter. He wondered if he'd argue and say he could protect him, or try to go into hiding with him. He was almost certain he would if it came to that. Atem was unlikely to leave it to fate whether he got out of the edict okay—if there was another declared. It was a huge if, and he was sure Yusei would argue it.

He hoped Yusei would argue against it.

Hadn't he learned anything from the last one?

Yugi almost laughed at himself, mortified. He couldn't think straight. Fear made his bones cold and his stomach churned as he watched Atem. Every nerve in his body had set alight with tension. He flexed his claws.

What would happen if war was declared? Could Atem win?

Yami had said it they went to blows, Atem would win. But was he certain? How could he have known? When he'd said it, he'd claimed he was unable to see the future. So how could he know? Yugi had seen Atem in that fight, however. He'd barely been winded, despite the heat and the smoke that had surely soured his lungs. But had that been Yami's doing or Atem's?

Yami had sworn up and down that Atem's gift was the most powerful active at the moment—if not ever. When he'd questioned him, Yami had not given him specifics for fear it would harm Atem in some way. He'd said Atem's was ingrained so deeply Atem didn't know it existed. He'd said he was almost unstoppable as long as he was oblivious to it…

It seemed ridiculous to put so much stock in Yami's words after all that had happened. It made him feel entirely too silly, and more than slightly stupid. Yami was dead and yet his words were something Yugi chose to live by as if they were law. It made little sense.

He wondered if Atem felt the same. He'd followed his warnings about remaining oblivious to his future. He'd listened when he'd warned him away from discovery. He'd never asked him a second time if he knew what his ability was.

But had that been solely because of Yami or had it been Ironheart as well?

He knew Atem didn't like to admit it, but he'd believed the Judgment Dragon the moment he'd spoken. He'd been too shaken when he'd returned to the nest to have shunned the words. And if he'd harbored thoughts about it later, it had clearly weighed on his mind more than he'd been willing to admit. Yugi wondered how many nightmares he'd suffered through—and just how many Yami had seemingly destroyed.

"Yugi?"

He looked over again. "Yes?"

Atem tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. Yugi gave him a sheepish grin, caught and unwilling to lie. Atem had to know he was worried. He had to know he was thinking about things that likely no longer mattered. If he didn't, he clearly had no Idea who Yugi was. He smiled when Atem tilted his head the other way in invitation to listen, but he wasn't comfortable sharing. He didn't want to reopen those wounds.

"I think if they're further into the forest, they'll be close to the outskirts surrounding the river's branches. Dad isn't good with hot weather like Mom and she's not okay around water like that. So if they're here still"—Atem eyed him suspiciously for a moment, the phrasing clearly striking alarms in his head—"they'll be nearer there. It would be the perfect middle ground for them."

The God Dragon nodded after a moment. "Then we'll travel to the river and follow one of the bends," he said softly, as if deciding out loud after several deliberations, "and from there if we can't find them then I guess it wasn't meant to be, hmm?"

Yugi couldn't fight the small bristle that crept along his spine. He didn't agree with that at all. If they didn't find his parents then they'd just have to find someone else. Someone else had to have news about the edict and the God Dragons. His parents weren't the only ones.

"We'll look elsewhere," he said instead.