TW: Semi-graphic crime scene

Atem was extremely surprised to see Bakura actually following through with acting properly during dinner. He remained silent, except when spoken to, and even then he was comparatively 'civil'. Atem couldn't deny that Bakura's willingness to behave made him worry, though he wasn't certain why.

He looked across the table, ready to inquire into the elemental's strange behavior, when he noticed something unusual about him.

"What's going on with your eyes?"

Bakura hesitated in the bite he was about to take. "Eclipse." He then resumed eating as though his single-word answer would be enough to clarify things.

Atem furled his brow in confusion. Bakura's iris's were half covered in crimson.

"Should be about the half-way point if I'm not mistaken," Bakura stated casually.

"There's no eclipse?" Atem said in confusion.

"Actually, there is. We just can't see it because it's only visible to the other side of the world right now."

"Okay, that makes sense, but what does that have to do with what's going on with your eyes?"

Bakura sighed heavily as he lowered his eating utensil. "Wolves, and to an extent dogs as well, are nocturnal. That means that when the moon is eclipsed in the Earth's shadow, I'm affected by it. My eyes simply indicate how far the event has progressed."

Atem became worried. "So is Katr-"

"Yup," Bakura interrupted. "Leopards are nocturnal as well, but her eyes don't show it like mine do. That's more canine and lupine exclusive."

Yugi perked up hearing this. "What about Imhotep? Is that why he's been quiet today?"

"He's affected, but like Kat, his eyes don't reflect it. He and Kat have…unique circumstances. Those circumstances are why he's been so quiet and a bit more aggressive."

"So other than your eyes, what else is affected?" Yugi asked.

"Reduced magae capabilities for the most part. Think of it like a stat reduction in a game. We have near-boss-level stats compared to you, but right now we're maybe strong-adventurer-level at best."

Atem's worry returned. "Katrina went 'out' knowing this?"

"Relax," Bakura said casually. "We have a system in place. If she hasn't called for Mal by a certain time, he goes looking for her."

"The two of you couldn't even find Marik the other day…"

"She has her ankh. Mal can track her down so long as she has it. He's not affected by lunar events since lions are primarily diurnal," Bakura stated casually.

Atem looked down at his plate and sighed heavily. "I hope nothing happens where he has to."

"Same," Bakura said in agreement.

Kat stared down at the bodies on the floor. She knew she should be repulsed, but at this moment they were her artistic masterpiece. She looked at the walls, her head cocking to the side as she studied the pictures she had placed, and the abstract trail that wove between them. She reminded herself that this was vengeance for those pictures. No, not vengeance…justice.

Red and blue flashed behind the curtains. Her work was done. She took one last look at the bodies on the floor, their chests pierced where she had taken that which she'd denied Ammit.

A flashlight quickly shone past, then came back to focus where she'd been standing behind the sofa, finding nothing.

The person holding the flashlight slowly came closer to inspect where he thought he'd seen something. A small, black feline jetted past, causing the officer to shout in surprise.

"It's just a fucking cat…" said an older officer walking casually into the room.

The one holding the flashlight proceeded forward until he came upon the scene behind the sofa. He then turned and rushed out of the house with a hand clamped tightly over his mouth. The older officer continued into the room to investigate the scene, shaking his head in exasperation. "Damn rookies and their weak stomachs…"

Outside, the small feline stared towards the house for a moment from where it sat at the edge of the drive. It flicked its tail back and forth a few times, then proceeded down the road to find a secluded spot away from mortal eyes.

Kat materialized within her bathroom, where she immediately began to strip off her blood-soaked apparel, removing the ankh from her hair and dropping it to the floor, the clatter shattering the silence of the room. She refused to look at her reflection in the mirror…or at her hands. She picked a spot on the wall and focused on it as she stepped into the shower and turned the handle.

Scalding water poured over her body, the temperature itself a pleasant sensation to her. She leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, letting the water do its job. She allowed her mind to wander to a different time and place when life was far simpler in comparison to now.

"There you are. Atem was worried when he woke and you weren't in bed."

Kat turned her attention from the garden pond over to her twin. She closed her eyes and shook her head in amusement.

"Take that silly thing off. I think it's garish."

Set removed his Vizier hat as he sat beside her, his reddish-brown hair falling limply down his pale forehead and neck.

"How are you feeling?" Set asked.

Kat returned her gaze to the pond. "Better. I still have bouts of sickness early in the morning, but it quickly passes. That is why I am here. Atem looked so peaceful. I didn't wish to disturb him."

"Did you at least have someone aid you?"

Kat shook her head. "I have been enough of a burden on people's minds. I do not wish to be a physical one as well."

Set brought an arm around her and pulled her in close while placing a light kiss on the top of her head.

"You're not a burden to anyone, drih-foor. Let us help you while you recover."

Kat remained silent for several minutes.

"Atem said he didn't recognize the language of the spell you invoked. Did you call upon the magic of Ama-shae's gods?"

Set released her as he leaned forward. "Does it matter? You are better."

"You know that if anyone were to find out that you worship the gods of another land, that it will reflect poorly on Atem."

"He doesn't care about how things like that reflect on him. If he did, he wouldn't have made you his Queen."

There was more silence between them. The only sounds were from the myriad of creatures in the garden.

"Sister, would you ever think less of me?"

Kat gave her twin a curious glance. "Why would I ever think less of you? You are my brother."

"Yes, but what if I did something that was not viewed in a favorable light?"

"I don't care which gods you offer prayers to, but to prevent any commotion, you might not want to make it openly known."

"That's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what else is there? Are you secretly aiding Kura in stealing from the temples?"

Set chuckled lightly. "Nothing so elaborate, I assure you."

"I didn't think so," Kat said while joining in on the light laughter.

Set took a deep breath, his face falling and becoming somber. "It's about Atem…and me."

Kat stiffened as she looked away. She didn't want to hear this from Set.

"I'm not feeling well. I should return to bed."

"Sister, please, I have to say this."

"Ka-ib! There you are!" Malik shouted, his voice sounding far away.

"Please, just let me-"

The world around her cracked and began to break apart.

"Ka-ib! KA-IB! Katrina! Wake up!"

Kat opened her eyes. Her head ached immensely.

"Finally," Malik said with a sigh of relief.

Kat looked around in confusion at the scene around her. She was on the shower floor surrounded by shards of broken ice. Malik had her cradled against him, worry written across his features. And she felt cold.

"W-wha-...whe-..."

Malik's worry intensified.

"You didn't call for me, so I came looking, as promised."

For some reason, Kat was finding it difficult to concentrate.

"C-cold," she said shakily.

Malik lifted her and carried her to the bed where he wrapped her body in blankets.

"I'll be right back. I promise."

Kat attempted to nod. She wasn't sure if she actually had. Malik gave her a quick nod in return before leaving the room.

Kat could hear voices other than Malik's from down below.

"She was encased in ice. I've never seen anything like it."

"She must have absorbed the heat from the water," said a familiar husked voice that for some reason she couldn't place right at the moment.

"That doesn't make sense. If she needed the extra heat, for whatever reason, she wouldn't have stepped into water."

"So what are you saying? You think that someone penetrated the barrier? That's impossible. No one with magae can pass through without one of us allowing it, and they would've had to be inside for any spell to take effect."

"I don't know what else to think. I could sense something in that ice."

There was a long moment of silence before another voice spoke up.

"Can I go upstairs and see her?"

"...yes, but don't look in the bathroom. I didn't get a chance to clean things up for her," Malik replied.

A pair of feet immediately rushed up the stairs, and seconds later a boy with lavender eyes and hair made of silky pale-gold stood in the doorway. He walked over to the bed and sat on it, pulling Kat, blankets and all, into his arms. He held her tightly like this for several minutes, with his head resting on top of hers.

"Marik?"

She was finally able to place names with the voices.

"Hey," Marik said softly. "Are you okay? Everyone's pretty worried."

"I'm…c-cold," Kat replied.

She wasn't sure what else to say. Being cold was not something she was accustomed to. It's not that she'd never felt it, it was just an exceptionally rare occurrence. The only time she could remember being this cold, was when she had fallen through an icy lake and got trapped under. It had been so intense that she wasn't able to think properly, and had ended up drowning. Malik had retrieved her from her icy grave that time as well since freezing temperatures didn't affect him in the same way as it did her.

"Is there anything I can do to help with that?" Marik asked.

Kat shook her head as she tried to nuzzle closer.

"Be careful," Malik said from the doorway. "She may unintentionally draw the heat from your body."

He lingered for a moment before walking over and closing the bathroom door. "Don't go peeking unless she gives you permission."

Marik nodded.

"Ka-ib, do you require anything?"

Kat smiled weakly. "A b-bonfire w-would be n-nice."

Malik smiled sadly. "I'll get to it then. I'll come get you when it's ready."

Reminder that 'drih-foor' is Celtic for 'sister'.

I'm sure some of you have already heard, but there is once again more increasing evidence that FFN may be on it's last leg. I implore you to get an AO3 account if you haven't done so already, and backup any favorite fics on this site. I'll continue to post this story here until it becomes impossible to do so, but I would hate for anyone to lose the ability to continue reading fics in general simply because the site went down. There are so many great authors over on AO3 that don't crosspost, and with the new AI scraping insurgence, many are locking their fics where only people with accounts can read them. I haven't joined in the lockdown yet, but there may come a time when I feel there may be no other alternative.