Chapter XC: Forms

Yami rejoined his parents a few minutes later. Honda had remained with the Clan for a moment, speaking to them quietly. He'd ignored them as he'd left the tunnels and he continued to remain focused on Atem and Yugi to prevent listening in on them. He didn't think it was necessary he eavesdrop despite the ease of which he could do it. He paused when Atem and Yugi both looked over, considering him with completely opposing expressions. Yugi seemed curious but Atem was suspicious, golden eyes glittering like gems.

"You aren't running for the mountains yet," Atem commented almost coldly, tilting his head and watching him intently. "I assume that means Honda didn't say he wants to kill you."

Yami smirked, snickering. "He said you both are morons for letting me live when you realized what I could do, but he wasn't upset with me after I healed the female Dimitri got to." He tilted his head and grinned at Yugi. "He and Jonouchi think a lot alike at times. They'd make good friends."

Yugi hummed. "They've met. Jonouchi just isn't good with groups, so he and Honda don't always interact unless it's over border skirmishes. I think he said Jonouchi is free to visit and leave the camp as he wants, though."

"Speaking of Jonouchi," Atem interrupted, "how did he get to the valley?"

Yami blinked and studied him. "How do you think?"

"You meddle a lot."

"It's for a good reason," he laughed. He took a seat and wrapped his tail around his paws, studying him again. "I put the image in his head and told him to find you both. He listened. I suppose he's with Timaeus right now then?"

"Yes. I couldn't just…leave him. He lost a heart while Timaeus was getting herbs together." Yugi looked away and back. "Why did you come here and not try to heal him?"

"Because I didn't know if Atem or Jaden would get here in time to stop Dimitri's massacre of the camp," he mumbled, glancing at Atem and finding his father watching the tunnel entrance with a tilted head. He knew he was listening to them moving underground, but he wondered if he could hear what was being said as well. He knew Atem could manipulate the air so it was cold enough the words traveled, but he didn't feel even the slightest breeze. Maybe he was just curious as to who might come out first and when. "And Jonouchi wasn't exactly in the right state of mind. He would have tried to kill me for being so close when he was so hurt."

Yugi opened and closed his mouth, then sighed. "He was scared of you the entire time, huh?"

He nodded slightly. "Yeah. It never really changed."

Yugi shot Atem a sheepish look, as if he himself had been the reason Jonouchi had been so afraid of Yami. The God Dragon was still watching the entrance of the tunnels, but Yami could see his eyes narrow as his attention shot briefly to Yugi and then to him.

"Afraid of you?" Atem scoffed. "You're about as scary as a hedgehog."

Yami laughed and smirked. "That's what I thought! But apparently Urias have a fierce reputation," he snickered, warmth blooming in his chest when Atem smirked but didn't shy away at the mention of the species. He knew in the back of his head Atem still hadn't quite processed how close he'd come to being forced to his belly or possibly killed now that it had resurfaced, but he wasn't upset, and that was progress. "Of course, I don't look exactly like one, but at first glance…"

But it only took one glance for someone to run. He still remembered a mother looking over and almost fleeing without her hatchlings. He'd tilted his head and watched her before she'd remembered herself and grabbed the two of them while the third gave chase. Even then she'd barely looked at him again, racing off before Yami could even think to tell her he wasn't what she thought.

He flicked his tail. It stood to reason Atem got similar reactions for being a Slifer, but especially for the sight of both mouths. He couldn't imagine Atem didn't get his fair share of fear responses and horrified glances, even more so than he did. The fact that some of them were afraid to even breathe his name or called him the Red Death said enough.

"Yes, well, you resemble one closely enough," Atem grunted. "I'd expect quite a few dragons not to realize you differ from the usual Uria."

Yami smiled tightly. "Considering there seems only to be a few measly numbers left, I can't blame them for it. I believe there may only be four left if even that, and from what rumors I've heard they're hidden in the northern region deep enough no one has seen them since before the Slifer edict."

Atem blinked but didn't answer. Yugi glanced at him sideways, then sighed softly and shook his head. "I'm sorry Jonouchi was so afraid of you the entire time. I had hoped he would have grown out of it by the time you were with him for a year."

"He saw too much of Atem in me. It made him nervous even when he knew you wouldn't know to find me there with him."

Yugi huffed loudly. Atem glanced at him and smirked, turning away. Yami felt the smallest bit of warmth in his chest again; it wasn't as if Atem was happy, but he wasn't shunning Yugi as he had before. But was that because of his presence or was it because Atem had put it aside for the moment to focus on other things? Would it come back full force later or would Atem actually heal from it?

He shifted his weight, then laughed when Yugi hissed, "He's such a wimp. He's a Red-Eyes but he's a wimp."

Atem snickered. Yami shook his head.

"To be fair," he tried, "Atem is well-known for being the exact opposite of anything expected of a Sky Dragon."

Yugi snorted and leaned over to lick Atem's face. "I guess that's true," he conceded grudgingly. "But I guess I'd just hoped Jonouchi would outgrow it."

He smiled and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't necessary that he did. He did what he promised to. I'm alive."

"How did you run off without him noticing?"

Yami fell quiet for a long time, considering Atem's face. He looked as if he already knew the answer and Yami swore there was a sour taste in his mouth. "The same way I left you both, but during daylight." He paused. "Except I didn't have to walk their dreams and make sure they slept heavier than usual to prevent them hearing noise."

Atem's eyes narrowed, glinting with annoyance.

Yami tilted his head. "You suspected as much. Don't act as if you didn't already know before you asked."

"Yes, but it's something else entirely to hear it confirmed."

Yami nodded. "I suppose it is."

Yugi looked away and shook his head. "Did he even go looking for you?"

"I'd expect he was relieved before he even considered it." Yami tilted his head. "I don't honestly know if he did or not. He didn't get very far if he did. And I never ventured close enough to find out."

Yugi huffed. "That's not okay."

"It wasn't as if he ever acted maliciously toward me. He was just afraid and didn't know what to do."

"When I found out he blamed it on me because I knew he couldn't do it and I still asked."

"Maybe you set your expectations a little too high for him to meet," Yami grunted with a shake of his head, "but I don't expect that it was your fault. I'm not surprised he'd say so, more so out of fear than malice, but I'm sorry he did all the same. I would have expected him to have a little more tact."

"He never even bothered to tell me when it happened."

"No. Why would he have?"

"I don't… Because I thought we were friends enough he'd at least consider it," he snapped, looking up. He bristled and shifted his weight, snarling softly. "I would have done the same if he'd been forced to ask me to do something like that!"

"He was scared of how you'd react. He probably thought you'd sic Atem on him." Yami paused when he glanced at his father. Atem didn't even seem to care that they were talking around him, and Yami shivered. "I don't think he truly considered telling you before because of that. Atem holds a lot of power over him in that regard."

"He needs to grow out of that."

"I don't know of a creature that would," Yami said quietly, looking over at Yugi and tilting his head. "Aside from Dimitri eventually shedding his fear and coming to Atem, I don't think anyone else would. I would assume it's harder than you'd think."

Yugi bore his teeth. "I don't care," he hissed after a moment, petulant. "He should have told me. I…"

Atem looked between them. "Yugi was visiting you under the guise of seeing Jonouchi prior."

Yami nodded. "Yes. It was only once a moon, maybe a little more often, but I knew it had to stop eventually, so I left." He sighed. "He usually only came to make sure I was okay. It wasn't like we spent a lot of time together. It was usually an hour at the most, remember?"

Still more than I was granted.

Yami flinched at the bitterness in his thoughts and the swell of pure hatred that came from Atem's direction. It wasn't aimed at him or Yugi, but rather the situation as a whole, and Yami found the smallest bit of comfort in that. "It wasn't because I didn't want to see you," he muttered, shivering, "but you never would have sought answers about Shadi and the others if you hadn't been forced to focus on something other than me. If I'd remained with you… Atem, you have a huge role to play in all of this and I… I'm sorry for lying to you. I am. You have to realize it was not malicious. I just… I needed you to focus on Dimitri as a threat rather than think to raise me."

Atem lashed his tail and bore his teeth but didn't answer. He turned away after a moment, suppressing a snarl, and huffed. Yugi looked over, heartbroken by Atem's enraged trembles, and Yami turned away with a small sigh.

"It was…stupid of me not to realize how much that would hurt you in the long run and I'm sorry. But I…I just want you both to make it out of this okay," he blurted, stomach rolling. "I want you both to survive and I… To do that, I had to ensure you changed direction."

Atem snarled, staring at the ground as his tail lashed and his claws flexed. Yami watched him rake the ground for a few moments before he exhaled slowly, shaking with rage, and sneered, "Dimitri isn't dead."

"No. Not yet."

"Because you keep protecting him from me."

Yami shivered. "For the time being, I need him alive. I…" He struggled, floundering, and his heart clenched as he considered him. He couldn't put it into words and his entire body felt taut and rigid with frustration. "But for how much longer, that's what the question becomes."

Atem bore his teeth in annoyance. "So I must stay in this uncertain position on my sibling because you still insist there might be something worth waiting for in prolonging his death."

Yami flinched. "I'm sorry."

Yugi looked away and toward the camp entrance, sitting up taller. Atem turned as well, eyes narrowed like glinting gems. Yami sensed Honda approaching even before he turned around to face him. The Tyrant stood feet away, glancing at the three of them and looking them over intently. He considered each of them for a long moment, then turned solely to Yami.

"You sent Jonouchi to Atem."

Yami nodded.

"To prevent Dimitri killing the Clan."

He nodded again.

"Why?"

Yami tilted his head. "Dimitri is afraid of Atem for the moment, and as long as he remains that way, I can prevent further havoc. And Dimitri wasn't after the Clan. He wanted to lure Jaden out. He wanted Jaden to come out so he could kill him. You were just collateral." He glanced at Yugi in his peripheral. The Gandora had shifted closer to Atem as if to protect him should Honda turn on them. "And I didn't want more blood on my paws for being unable to kill him myself."

Honda narrowed his eyes. "He's that strong?"

"He's a Blue-Eyes Alternative. He's much bigger than me. He dwarfs me even standing at a distance. I need more time. I need…" He paused. "I need Atem."

Honda glanced back and forth between them for a long moment, then slowly turned back to Yami. "Atem said there had been a second Divine that had died. He did not say it was his and Yugi's and he never gave a name. At first glance you almost look like a pureblooded Uria. And yet you're too broad in the chest and those scythes are Slifer through and through. Your wings are so much longer and broader than the normal Uria and your paws aren't connected to them." He blinked, eyes flickering to Atem. "I don't blame you for not saying Yami was yours. I wouldn't want to dig up the past if it was so painful, either, though I should point out you asked a lot for so little in return."

Atem smirked and looked away. Yami considered him before turning back. Honda was watching him again, eyes cold and sharp.

"You plan to kill Dimitri?" he snarled. "You're not just chasing after the idea for attention or to make everyone think you good?"

Yami blinked. "Honda, what happened with Sartorius…" He stopped and shook his head. There was so much anger and hurt in the Tyrant. He couldn't imagine trying now to speak about it would help in the slightest. "No. I plan to kill him. I have to deal with him. That's what I'm here for."

A hollowness came through his chest at the words. His stomach lurched and his belly ached as he suppressed a shiver. He couldn't think to explain the emptiness that echoed through every part of his body at the thought.

Honda stared at him for a long time, then turned to Atem. "God Dragon."

His father immediately looked over. Yugi raised his head, bristling slightly, and Yami considered the stance for a moment. Did Yugi truly expect Honda to lash out?

"You threatened war with Jaden."

"Yes." The glint in his eye was malicious and cold and Yami could feel the anger seeping from him once more. Atem didn't want war with Jaden, but it was inevitable and he'd declared it preemptively. Yami couldn't imagine the decision was easy by any stretch, though Atem had said it with such ease. "The next time we cross paths, I'll beat him senseless."

Honda blinked, eyes flashing with vibrant curiosity, but he did not question it. Yami watched him in his peripheral as Honda stepped closer and growled, "Consider us allies then. When war breaks, we'll support you."

Atem blinked and stared, briefly startled, and then smiled grimly and looked away. "Thank you."

Honda looked at Yami. "What do you know of Sartorius?" he said somewhat coldly, eyes glinting and narrowing to slits. Yami considered him closely for a moment, sensing the turmoil brewing in Honda's mind. He wasn't happy. The fact Yami had even said the name of the former Divine infuriated him.

"As little and as much as you told Atem," he said quietly, shaking his head. "The flashes I've seen through Jaden are too miniscule to know anything further. The most I understood when I first encountered thoughts of him was that Jaden was afraid I would become a second mentally unstable Divine."

Honda eyes him critically for a long moment. "And? That's it?"

"Sorry. Everyone seems to run away from what they suspect is the last Uria in existence," he scoffed, tilting his head. He wondered at the myths that had to surround the species, but every time he'd thought to seek it, onlookers had fled instead. Jonouchi had been no help in that aspect but for saying they were too powerful and should be feared. Yami sighed softly and ignored the puzzled looks his parents cast him. "It doesn't matter. I know little of the situation but for what I learned, which is limited to the bare minimum. I do not even know the mother's name. Jaden has hidden that well under the surface, though I remember Yusei said it once."

"Yubel," Atem muttered.

Yami blinked and turned around to face him, startled. "Yubel?" he repeated, mind racing for a split second. He narrowed his gaze. "Didn't she protect Critias when Keith's son went after Timaeus?"

Atem didn't answer for a long minute. Then he nodded slowly. "Yes. She…pretended he was the only one in the nest and let him escape to find me when Timaeus attacked the son as a distraction." He hesitated for a moment once more, then bore his teeth and snarled softly. "You sound oddly hopeful, Yami."

He faltered, then smiled tightly. "Second generation Gandoras go insane, remember? I was just wondering what happened that saved her."

Atem watched him for so long Yami felt as if his skin might melt away. Yugi stared at him in turn, then glanced at Atem and back, and hurried to say, "Look, whatever happened to her won't to you, okay? You're not a pure Gandora, either, and you look more like Atem than anything! So you could have more of him than me in your genetics."

Yami searched Atem's face for a moment, but he couldn't tell what he was thinking. There were too many thorns to navigate and too much mist to see through. He could only see so much on Atem's face when the God Dragon did not wish to show something.

Honda shifted restlessly on his paws and Yami looked back. "You're only almost three, aren't you?" he commented. When Yami nodded, he exhaled slowly. "Madness normally sets in after twenty years if it does at all. Right?"

Atem lashed his tail. "I doubt Yami inherited the gene," he snapped as if his words were final on the matter. "He's half Sky Dragon, and my species is known for being the most stable."

"And yet I resemble a Fire Dragon," Yami said quietly. "We can't know for sure…"

"Exactly. We can't know for sure," Atem spat. "So why worry about the future if there's no guarantee?"

What if there was no guarantee of a future? Yami struggled not to ask the question, horrified and disgusted with himself for a split moment. He didn't know why he was so afraid, as if the world had threatened suddenly to swallow him whole. He paused and shifted his weight.

"Father, if I do…" He opened and closed his mouth twice, then tilted his head and hoped to the gods that Atem understood the unspoken words.

His father snarled softly, lashed his tail again, and sneered, "I'll hold to what I said to Jaden back then. I'll kill you myself, yes."

Yami felt as if his heart might burst. "Thank you."

Yugi looked between them, flustered, and for a moment Yami thought he might summon up the old argument he'd had when the conversation had originally come to the surface so long ago. But then he looked away, staring at his paws as if he were afraid of reprimand.

Honda shivered, muttering, "I guess I'd rather die by my parents than someone like Jaden as well."

Atem smirked and shook his head. "I certainly would."

Yugi was quiet for a long time, discontent, but he didn't argue and after a few heartbeats of silence he whispered, "Me as well."

"It's strange you have so many dragons marked to die by your claws," Honda commented, quietly enough Yami almost thought he was trying for humor. It was only when he looked over he noticed how unsure the Clan leader seemed. "I'd almost assume you were Leviathan or Jaden instead."

"I'm called the Red Death for a reason, I suppose," Atem dismissed, turning away and getting to his paws. He looked at Yami for a long moment, tilting his head and eyeing him critically. "But it matters little. You're not marked to die by my paws. So how much does it matter to you?"

Honda bore his teeth and hissed, "Who will keep you from turning violent without reason? Yami has you, but who would stop you?"

"Me," Yugi said quietly, looking up again. "He wouldn't let anyone else hurt him but me. I'm the only one he'd let strike him down."

Atem blinked slowly, eyes half-closed as he watched the three of them. "Yes," he agreed quietly. "It would be Yugi."

Honda lashed his tail and turned to Yami. "Where did Dimitri go?"

Yami shook his head. "I don't have that ability. I can't follow everywhere he goes. The only dragons I have that ability with are Atem and Yugi. I've never been able to track anyone else like that. What I've seen in the water is little. My control of foresight is limited and small."

"And yet Atem said yours is more accurate and reaches farther than Jaden's."

"He trusts me more," Yami muttered. "And so far I have yet to be wrong. Atem has witnessed several instances in which the others misread what they saw."

Honda bristled. "Like what?"

"His very existence is a blind spot to them. They can't see him in the slightest, so they assumed he didn't exist and was called a God Dragon to scare others when he first began challenging suitors. And when he came to search for answers about Sartorius and Keith, it was because Yusei thought he'd witnessed an omen about Atem's death. Leviathan is… Leviathan saw me, but he didn't know what it meant and he assumed it meant his dream heralded a nest of Urias."

Honda scoffed. "You're built too differently."

"No. When I was younger, I looked every bit the Uria but for my paws. I was longer, and my legs much shorter. I was the perfect cross of a Slifer and Uria. It was only when I reached six moons that it changed. I was too tall to look like a Uria any longer."

"And your Origin Form?"

Yami turned to Atem then, though it was Honda to prompt him. "I don't have one," he said quietly. "I don't have a Battle and Origin Form. I am what I am. I look only as I do now."

Atem looked confused for a split second, then blinked. His eyes flickered to Yugi and back, and Yami knew he understood why he'd chosen to say so to him. He remembered the conversation, where he'd hoped Yami would look more like Yugi and avoid the problems Atem himself had faced growing up. Of course, he'd never expected Yami to get this far, even, when Yugi had told him he'd died, but now he knew. And he hadn't questioned it, hadn't even thought about how different Yami looked from the hatchling he'd been before he'd left. He'd been too relieved to truly care before. But now he looked him over and considered, and Yami couldn't sense much more than pride coming from the other male.

It made him feel warm but oddly cold as well.

"You…only have one?" Honda blurted, sounding mystified and suspicious. Yami looked over again to find him staring with narrowed eyes and a tilted head.

"Yes. I only have one." Yami paused. "I don't know why, but for the fact that perhaps I did too much while in the egg."