Chapter LXVIII: Hearts

Atem jerked awake. His mouth tasted of blood and his wings drooped as he struggled upright. He shook himself, the tension easing from his bones, and glanced sideways toward Yugi. The Gandora sat up immediately, eyes wide and searching. Atem blinked and looked around, but all he saw was the den, littered with soft river sand and stone. The glow from the crystal formations overhead only made them glitter as usual. He shivered, glancing around again, and considered the ache in his chest. Something was…wrong. He blinked again, shifting his weight, and tried to recall what he'd been dreaming about.

Timaeus?

He blinked and narrowed his eyes, struggling to focus. That was right. He remembered seeing the teal male, with… He couldn't recognize who he'd been fighting. He just remembered the moment Timaeus had gone limp and bled out. Atem turned abruptly to Yugi.

"I need to see Timaeus."

Yugi scrambled for his paws. "Okay, let's go."

He hesitated, wondering for a split second if he should have Yugi stay. But it passed. He'd rather have him there with him if something went wrong. And if Timaeus was dead…

He shuddered and hurried out the den, waiting for Yugi to get to his side before he took off. The Gandora was right behind him when Atem glanced back. He looked confused and alarmed, but not upset. He didn't seem thrown off that Atem had randomly announced the flight so soon after waking. He didn't even seem surprised that Atem hadn't spoken two words to him prior to the declaration. A small bubble of guilt formed in his belly, but Atem forced it aside to focus.

That dream had to be inaccurate. There was no way someone could have managed to kill Timaeus. Timaeus was too strong for that, too intelligent, and there was no way someone had managed to corner him well enough to do that.

But when they landed, Atem had the sinking feeling he was wrong. Fear drifted through his senses and his scales rose into a bristle. The thick scent of blood washed over him as if it were a river of red. He thought of his mountains in the peak of summer, how sometimes they too smelled like the river was pure blood. He shifted his weight and scented the air, then padded forward cautiously.

Where would they have gone? Had they fled or were they lurking nearby?

Atem bristled and glanced around, moving slowly toward a patch of crushed, blood-soaked grass. It wasn't Timaeus's, but the trail ended abruptly a few inches away, as if the wound had never existed. And what of the splotches scattered about, the arches where new wounds had been inflicted and then disappeared as if by magic? He shivered and raised his head, scenting the air once more.

"Atem."

Yugi had wandered toward one of the abandoned dens near where Timaeus and Kris had first raised their clutch. He shifted his weight, unsure how to make himself move, and then finally forced his paws to carry him forward. He looked Yugi over, reading the grim expression on his face, and hesitated as he crept a few more steps.

Timaeus lay in a ball, soaked beak to tail in blood, wings scratched and torn in several spots, and a puddle of hideous red soaked in the earth around him. Atem let out a breathless groan and rushed forward. Yugi hesitated and then stepped back, circling as if to make sure there was no one else around. Atem nudged him but Timaeus didn't move.

"Oh." Atem tried to reach a paw in and pull him out of his ball formation but it didn't work. The Knight Dragon was frozen stiff, so cold it made his own body ache. He spat a curse, whipping around, and barked, "Yugi, help me! I can't do this in such a confined space."

The Gandora turned around with a confused look, then froze. Understanding washed over him immediately and he opened and closed his mouth twice before looking past him to Timaeus. "Atem, it might be too late," he whispered even as he came forward to gently grab Timaeus's neck. Atem shivered, ignoring the statement, and grabbed the wing nearest him.

It took a few minutes to drag him out. He was so stiff and had been rather tightly wedged inside. Yugi had shoveled some dirt and rock aside to make it easier, but it had not helped the sharp incline they had to pull him from. Atem's neck ached by the time they managed to fully remove him and his shoulders were throbbing. His front legs pulsed with pain when they dropped him and he could see Yugi struggling to catch his breath for a moment.

He looked Timaeus over quickly, expecting to see the wounds littering his body, but his flesh looked undisturbed. Atem remembered his throat torn open, his stomach leaking entrails. Where were those mortal wounds now that he was there? Atem blinked and glanced at Yugi and back. It was almost as if Timaeus had somehow wedged himself there and frozen to death instead—

"He's breathing," Yugi sputtered. The Gandora raced around Timaeus twice, then growled softly and trembled. "I don't… I don't understand."

Atem blinked stupidly. He was right. Timaeus was breathing. It was so small and even it was as if he were asleep. His stomach lurched as he looked him over. He didn't have any wounds even though every part of him was soaked in his own blood. And yet…

"Someone shared their heart with him," he breathed. He blinked and looked around. Was Kris there still? Had she done it? He shivered and strained his hearing but could find nothing. She wasn't present. Who else would have? He turned back. "Who would have…? Timaeus and I weren't so close Jaden would have…but Jaden is the only likely…"

Yugi spun on him. "Do not," he spat. "You are not to declare war on him. We don't know that he did this. It could have been someone else."

"Who?"

The Gandora stared back defiantly. "I don't know," he admitted. "But it wouldn't have taken a God Dragon to kill him, okay? It wouldn't have. He's mortal just like us. Anyone could have struck him down for all we know."

Atem bore his teeth. "I've never seen someone capable of besting him. Explain to me how someone could come through here and—"

"Yami?"

Both of them stopped short. Their heads snapped around. Timaeus had blinked his eye open, the pupil so wide it had swallowed the usual amber of his iris. He stared back at Atem blankly, the recognition far from the surface, and didn't bother to raise or turn his head. The God Dragon bristled fearfully. Had Timaeus been dreaming of Yami? Would he be disappointed when he realized it was only him?

"Timaeus…"

He blinked slowly and groaned. His entire body shuddered and Atem saw his muscles jerk with a spasm. His wings twitched and folded inward. His tail slowly unfurled from its spot over his beak. The scales along his spine rose and fell in a bristle and he very slowly breathed an agonized exhale. A moment passed and he shivered once more before finally his eye opened again. He peered at him as if he didn't recognize him once more, then exhaled, "Atem."

He tried not to flinch. "Yeah."

Timaeus groaned again, then shivered. Atem could see flakes of blood falling as if they'd been picked slowly from his scales. He remembered Yugi when they'd first met, covered in mud and berry juice and shaking himself to scatter it all away in flakes when Atem demanded to know who and what he was. This was a thousand times worse to behold.

"Yugi?"

The Gandora was quiet for a long moment. Atem saw him tremble in his peripheral. Their eyes locked for a single second and Yugi drew a breath, stilled himself, and said, "Hi, Timaeus."

The Knight Dragon groaned and hissed, then wiggled each toe and shifted his weight. Atem watched him uncurl and straighten his spine so his paws were parallel. After a moment his wings tucked into his sides and he shoved himself upright. He wobbled, groaning again, and then blinked his eye open once more. He stared straight ahead and Atem saw his reflection there against the black of his pupil.

It was amazing how small he both looked and felt.

Timaeus slowly lowered himself to a seated position, exhaling shakily. "Everything hurts…"

Atem trembled and glanced at Yugi. The Gandora was staring, eyes to rival the sun and moon, and looked as if he wanted to puke. The God Dragon forced himself to stop his quelling, mouth opening and closing twice, and looked down at his paws. A flake of blood rested on one of them.

"That happens sometimes when you share a heart."

Timaeus groaned and shook his head. "You…?"

He flinched. "No. I…I wouldn't have gotten here soon enough." His eyes shot to Yugi, panicked. The Gandora was still staring at Timaeus, though he glanced at Atem before turning back quickly.

"It…wasn't us, Timaeus."

Timaeus grunted and lowered himself to lay down again. He shuffled his paws closer to his chest, drew his tail to his side, and put his chin to the ground. His eye closed again. When he exhaled, his entire body shook. "Okay."

Atem flinched again, shifting his weight, and for some unfathomable reason he wanted to apologize. His eyes shot to Yugi and back. Timaeus was fast asleep, as if their denial had somehow lost his attention. Atem shuffled closer, hesitated, and then looked to Yugi again.

The Gandora had wandered a few steps away, shivering. Atem glanced at his friend and walked closer to his mate. Yugi stopped short of moving away again, blinking in surprise and tilting his head.

"He's… He's healed. I don't…" Atem opened and closed his mouth, then looked him over. "Are you okay?"

Yugi shook his head slightly. "I don't know what to think."

Atem mirrored him. "He… I…"

"How did you even know something had happened? You don't see things. How did you…?"

He hesitated a moment, then glanced over his shoulder again. When he turned back, it was to survey the bloodshed and the hideous pools of red scattered about. He couldn't wrap his mind around it. Someone else had been there. They'd been hurt, and yet all he could smell was Timaeus. Obviously they'd won, but they couldn't have left without a few broken bones and torn flesh. Timaeus was every bit the dominant male when it came to a fight. He was heavier, more experienced, and knew how to kill in the span of seconds…

"I don't… I was asleep, but I wasn't dreaming. And then I was. I saw Timaeus laying there dead." Atem blinked and scowled. "It was almost like how I could suddenly see at night after Yami…somehow merged our eyesight. It was almost like I'd been waiting for it somehow. I don't know how it…"

Yugi narrowed his eyes and glanced at Timaeus and back. "Your sibling."

"Right." Atem bore his teeth. "Seto's little bastard."

He glanced at Timaeus for a moment. "Someone healed him. They shared their heart." He shook his head as he looked back to Atem. "I don't understand. Would your sibling have done this?"

"Maybe to spy on me using Timaeus," he said reluctantly. "But I don't know. It could just be coincidence that it happened and someone… Kris could have done it for all we know."

"She's long gone, Atem."

"Yes, well, who can blame her? Timaeus gets mutilated and she's pregnant. I'd expect her to flee to be able to lay her eggs in peace. I cannot fault her for being unwilling to risk her eggs to help him." Atem took a seat and suppressed a whimper. "Yugi…"

Yugi stepped forward and licked his forehead, nuzzling his cheek immediately after. "Lay down. You'll feel better if you do," he promised, nudging gently at his shoulders. "Just lay down and I'll watch until Timaeus wakes up, okay?"

"I can't sleep after that."

Yugi shook his head. "You don't have to sleep, but you need to rest. So lay down, okay?" he prompted, nudging him gently again. "Lay down and close your eyes. You'll feel better later."

Atem followed instructions, and Yugi felt bad for lying. Nothing was going to make Atem feel better. He hadn't been there to help his best friend. And when he'd thought to share his heart, he'd been beaten to that as well. Atem probably felt useless and stupid, as if the ground had quaked beneath him and he hadn't found his footing again yet. And if he were so afraid now that he thought it had to have been his own sibling to do this and potentially share his heart to control Timaeus…

Yugi didn't think it could get any worse.

It was midafternoon before Timaeus finally stirred again. Atem had long since given up the pretense of closing his eyes and resting. He'd snuggled into Yugi's side and let the Gandora bathe him instead, mumbling apologies as if Yugi could have ever been upset with him for wanting so badly to help his friend. Yugi didn't have the words to offer reassurance, so he'd groomed him, nuzzling and licking and occasionally nipping at his scales to make him quiet for a moment.

The Knight Dragon stood up and looked over. The movement was slow and obviously painful, and Yugi had to wonder how long Timaeus had been dead before he'd been saved.

"You're still here."

Atem scrambled to his paws. Yugi rose more slowly, shaking himself out.

"Where would we have gone?" Atem huffed. But he looked chastised and anxious. Yugi watched Timaeus as he shook himself and stretched. Every bone cracked and popped and he saw him flinch more than once. "I…"

"Do you know what happened?" Yugi asked abruptly. He ignored the horrified glance Atem shot him. "Do you know who did this?"

Timaeus took a seat and yawned. "They looked like Seto."

Yugi blinked and narrowed his eyes. Looked like? He'd said "looked like", not "it was". His stomach rolled. What did that even mean? How could they have looked like Seto?

"A Felgrand?" Atem prompted incredulously. "You lost to a Felgrand?"

Timaeus snorted. "No. That's not… I don't know what they were. But they definitely were not a Felgrand." He shook his head. "They just… They looked exactly like Seto, but they weren't."

Yugi looked at Atem sideways. Maybe the shock had gotten to Timaeus and he wasn't thinking straight? He turned back. "What do you mean they weren't?"

Timaeus abruptly turned to look at them over his shoulder. Atem sprang like a startled cat, bristling and spitting with shock. Yugi froze beside him, unable to think straight as he gaped. Timaeus stopped short of what he meant to say and peered at them in bewilderment.

"What?"

Yugi shivered and paced a step. Timaeus tracked the movement, but he wasn't sure if that was instinctive or if he was truly watching him. "C-can you see out of it?" he managed to breathe. He hunched to the ground and crept a few feet, but Timaeus tracked him as he had before.

"What? Of course I can see."

"From your right eye?"

Timaeus barked a laugh. "I don't have a right eye." He bore his teeth. "When did you decide to forget that?"

Yugi shook his head, mute. Atem continued spitting for a split second, then shifted his weight and bore his teeth fearfully. Timaeus had turned to him then, blinking in confusion. Yugi shivered. "Your eye is…"

"Gone. It has been for years." Timaeus looked over, voice laced with annoyance. "Yugi, what is wrong with you?"

Atem looked as if someone were trying to peel his flesh from his bones. His mouths opened and closed twice and he hissed once more as he moved back a few steps. He bristled again, the scales along his spine rising in sharp spears of red. "I—how?"

"How what?" Timaeus spat, looking annoyed. He flinched when he saw Atem's stance and sat up slightly straighter, bewildered. "Atem?"

"You, uh—y-your eye is…" Atem struggled for so long Yugi almost thought he'd given up. "It's…grown back."

Timaeus stared at him for a long moment, then snorted and shook his head. "Thanks for the laugh, I guess," he scoffed. "But I don't understand why you're messing with me right now."

"We're not," Yugi whispered. "Can you not see out of it? Is that why you don't—?"

"I can see fine," he spat. He scowled at him and huffed, shifting his weight. "I can see fine, Yugi."

Atem shifted his weight and stalked forward a few steps. Yugi did the same in the opposing direction. Timaeus's head snapped around to regard Atem, bewildered. The God Dragon was no longer bristling, merely watching him.

"It's…golden," he mumbled. "Your right eye is golden and your left is still amber. I… Who shared their heart with you?"

Yugi glanced at Atem and then Timaeus. "They're different…?" He rushed forward and Timaeus spun on him as well. It was true. His right eye looked like molten sunlight. His left was orange-gold where the pupil had shrunk the smallest degree to allow him sight of its iris. The right eye had a similar circular pupil, but it wasn't dilated nearly so much and the color difference was clear. "What…?"

"Timaeus."

He looked over again.

"Do you know who shared their heart with you?"

Timaeus fell silent for a long minute. "I don't," he said finally. "Because I thought it was you, but I…dreamed of Yami. And I thought when I first saw you…but if it wasn't you, then I don't know."

Atem stared at him as if he didn't understand. Yugi felt a cold pit forming in his belly, limbs heavy with growing distress. Atem blinked slowly once, then looked back to Yugi and stared. "I don't…"

Yugi shook his head. "It doesn't matter," he mumbled, turning back to Timaeus and suppressing a shiver. "You're alive. That's all that actually matters."

Timaeus opened and closed his mouth, then nodded slightly and stood again. He stumbled and swayed for a second, then lowered himself to his belly again. His voice was strained and tired. "I can't…"

Atem nudged his friend gently. "I'll go get something for you to eat. And some water. Yugi, stay here with him."

Yugi opened his mouth to argue, but the God Dragon had already sprinted off. He watched him go, wishing he'd given him the chance to remind him Timaeus would have rather seen him when he woke next. He settled to sit in front of the Knight Dragon, stomach rolling as he considered him.

Timaeus peered up at him, blinking as he stared back. "Don't…tell Atem," he whispered, "but… I think it was Yami."

Yugi bristled slightly, startled. "Yami?" he breathed. "Yami is dead, Timaeus."

"I know, but…I…" He shifted his weight and slowly raised his head. The bones popped in his neck and Yugi suppressed a flinch. "I… His sibling… I don't know how he did it. Maybe it was an illusion. I don't know. But he… He looked like Seto the entire fight. And I…"

Yugi tilted his head but didn't interrupt, waiting for him to continue. He had the feeling if he spoke Timaeus would stop. He seemed to be struggling to sort the words in his head and Yugi didn't want to disrupt him. He didn't want to split his focus or stop him feeling safe to speak. Atem would have gone quiet and stared, waiting and repeating after that Yami was dead…

That was all that seemed to come from any conversation concerning their deceased hatchling.

He didn't even attempt conversation about him in memory. Atem shut down almost immediately and refused to speak again of him but for that reminder.

"He said he was going to kill me quickly but painfully. I guess he…managed that." Timaeus blinked and looked at him again. "I kept reliving my last conversation with Yami, and then seeing those ashes and that chunk of flesh on the ground. I kept seeing it. It happened almost four times. It was like the memory was caught and kept going. And then…it stopped."

Yugi narrowed his eyes.

"It wasn't like it ceased. It's just that Yami had…changed. He was taller and leaner and he looked older. He said 'hi' and the dream just…stopped. He said I needed to rest and he'd let me wake when I was safe." Timaeus paused and flexed his claws. "I don't know what happened after that. It was like I was just dreaming, but there weren't images. I don't know…how to describe it. It was like all my thoughts and dreams had stopped, but I was safe and resting and…"

"You were curled up inside one of the dens when we came to find you."

"How did you know to?"

Yugi hesitated for a long time, then looked away and smiled tightly. "Atem said he saw it in a dream." He looked over again, exhaling slowly. "He said it was like someone had just dropped it in his head. He saw you bleeding to death and he woke up to come here."

Timaeus blinked and searched his face, curious. Then he turned away. "So, if it was somehow Yami—as small a possibility as it is—then he…saved me and brought you and Atem here."

Yugi nodded slightly. "Yeah."