Chapter LXXXII: Balance

"Why would she ask that?" Yugi murmured as they landed. Atem shook himself out beside him and Timaeus looked at the God Dragon with a bewildered expression. When Atem didn't immediately answer, the Gandora stepped forward and added, "And you weren't even surprised when she did. You seemed like you were waiting for her to."

Atem nodded slowly. "I was." He took a seat and sighed softly, looking around lazily. "I was waiting for her to ask. She's not stupid. She knows what can happen when a Lightning female is mounted by multiple males."

Yugi tilted his head. "Then I must be stupid," he said slowly, "because I don't."

He looked over again. "Are you genetically compatible or related to Lightning Dragons, Yugi?"

He blinked. "What? No…"

"Then why would you know?" he snapped. Atem lashed his tail and turned to Timaeus. The Knight Dragon watched them both with an almost wary expression, clearly unnerved by the tension that had developed so suddenly between them. "Do you know what happens with a Lightning female who takes on multiple male suitors?"

Timaeus glanced at Yugi and back. "I…I know the bare minimum of it, but that's because the Wind females are similar. They store the seed," he mumbled slowly. "They store the seed and the females can use it as they wish later to procure more nests. If the male dies, it's one of their easiest ways of reproducing if they chose to mate for life, but what does—?"

"Keith," Yugi whispered. Atem looked over slowly and nodded. "Keith mounted her when he usurped the Clan. It was one of the reasons Seto was so desperate to get rid of him…"

Timaeus bristled and shifted his weight. "You're implying Keith was a God Dragon."

"No," Atem muttered. "I'm implying he was a Divine."

"What?" Yugi blurted, snarling. "What are you even talking about?"

"Honda said his egg appeared in the Fire Clan after Sartorius had forced himself on the various females there." The God Dragon looked away, peering at a small cloud overhead. "He said it was a random egg that they hoped was just…left over from a nest prior. But the more he spoke, the more suspicious I got. And the more suspicious I got, the more I realized it made sense. Keith was Sartorius's son, just as Sartorius was Jaden's."

Timaeus scoffed. "You're implying the Divine from Seto's nest may be Keith's instead? And that he's a third generation Divine?"

"Can you tell me why he's so powerful otherwise?" Atem dismissed. "He's able to change shape, Timaeus. He fought the other three in your shape and turned back to Seto when I almost decapitated him."

"He…changes shape?" the Knight Dragon sputtered. "Did you eat mushrooms? No dragon can change shape."

Yugi was quiet for a long moment. "Amun could."

"Huh?" Timaeus snapped, turning to him. Even Atem blinked and looked over. "What? That stupid fable?"

"Amun, the sixth God Dragon. He could change shape. That's why he could turn human whereas the other dragons never could. When he died, he gave the gift to a few others. And that's how dragons could change to humans." Yugi tilted his head. "I know it's a completely different concept than being able to change into other dragons, but that's…"

"And Keith ate the hearts of hundreds of dragons," Atem said quietly. "He ate them and he gained their breaths and his own hearts morphed into one. He didn't even look like a true Barrel Dragon anymore. He looked like one that was…mixed with something else. He no longer even had proper wings."

"Okay, but…" Timaeus faltered. "Assuming you're correct…"

"I never knew you to doubt me as a God Dragon."

Yugi snickered when Atem glanced at him sideways with a small smirk before turning back.

"Oh, shut up," Timaeus snorted. He shook his head. "If you're right, then is that why Yami was so strong?"

There was a small silence as Atem paused and considered. Yugi wondered if he'd correct him or not now that he knew. But he'd promised Yami. He'd said he'd keep Timaeus in the dark for the time being…

"Maybe." Atem shook his head. "I don't know."

Yugi shifted his weight. "How long have you been sitting on this theory?"

"Since we spoke to Honda." Atem looked over. "It made sense when he was saying Keith was so…vicious and angry all the time. Somehow it made sense to me that it could have stemmed from Sartorius himself. If Sartorius was already unstable upon hatching and the mother nurtured it, then it could have easily passed to the egg."

Timaeus lashed his tail. "That's a lot to deduce from a few small conversations, Atem."

"It's also not likely any of it is wrong."

The teal male watched him for a long time. "No; you've always been smarter and quick to figure things out that the rest of us haven't yet." He paused and shook his head. "Dimitri called you the most powerful God Dragon when he came to kill me. He wanted Yami to come first, but when he realized he was dead, he said he'd take you. He said he planned to eat your hearts—"

"Over my dead body," Yugi spat.

Atem and Timaeus both glanced at him sideways but didn't comment.

"He said you're the strongest God Dragon." Timaeus narrowed his eyes. "I don't understand. A few years ago, that title went to Leviathan or Jaden. Leviathan is a lot stronger physically, but Jaden's abilities and magic made him super powerful, too. And now Dimitri is saying it's you. And Yami used to say it was you…"

Atem snorted. "I wouldn't know. You're asking the wrong dragon, Timaeus."

Yugi glanced at him and then Timaeus, unnerved. Timaeus looked suspicious, as if he were trying to put something together in his head and none of it seemed to be working.

"Unless they're assuming you'd win in a fight against the other three?" he mumbled, tilting his head in bewilderment. "But… Your most notable fight to anyone else would have been with Keith and Keith may have raised an army to come after you, but…"

"I almost attacked Dimitri when we first met in the nursery," Atem said quietly. "He had drifted close and he made eye contact with me and after a few moments he was…goading me. He never physically tried to do anything and he never said a word. He just sat there, eating at my emotions and seeing what he could do. When I snapped, Seto stepped in and Dimitri still remembers that. He still remembers that above all else when he sees me. He sees the God Dragon that almost killed him when he was first hatched. And Yami… Yami admired his father. Children always admire their parents."

Yugi felt a small ache in his gut. Was that how Atem had always viewed it? Had he never truly thought more of Yami's devotion to him or the fact that Atem had seemed his whole world when he was younger? Yami would have followed him to his death if Atem had just led the way. That hadn't been simple admiration or devotion, but a steadfast affection oceans deep and the belief Atem would protect him no matter what came.

He looked away.

Yami adored him as well, but the clear draw to Atem had always been visible. He would have done anything and everything to see Atem happy, even if he'd gotten hurt trying. He'd been like Yugi in that matter—he still was, in fact, but the eagerness to follow had been tempered. Now he understood more and trusted in more than just his parents. Now he knew what power he held and the abilities he wielded. He knew more than ever what choices he had to make and what might come of his failures.

He knew the balance between life and death.

And he may have been trying hard to prevent it for them, but…

"That's all you think it was?"

"What else might it have been?" Atem dismissed. "A hatchling always looks to their parents for guidance. It's only natural they love and admire and emulate. Dimitri fears me, so I hold power over him. Yami had nothing to fear of me, so he admired me and thought me the strongest."

Timaeus was quiet for a long minute, then narrowed his eyes. "I told Yami once that I'd follow you to war because I think you would be the one to win any and every one of them to cross your path. I stand by that. Whether that means you're the strongest God Dragon or not, it doesn't matter."

Atem blinked wide eyes and stared for a moment, then looked away. "You have more faith than I," he said finally, moving to stand and shaking himself out. "Dimitri is capable of manipulating me, which makes me think he's a mixture of Keith and Seto. Otherwise, how would he be capable of reading my thoughts or influencing my emotions? Ironheart said he wanted to read my shadow and could not see it clearly until Yugi arrived with me to visit him before his death. Yami had full capability to read my thoughts, my memories, tread my dreams… He was the only one who saw me when the other three were blind. Dimitri has to still be related to Seto in some way."

"The stress Kisara was under could have easily caused a mixture," Timaeus muttered, blinking and grimacing. He laughed bitterly after a moment. "Kisara's genes never stood a chance between the two of them."

"Why only Dimitri?" Yugi asked quietly, making them both look over. "Why was Dimitri the only one affected by it? Why not any of the others? I…I'm probably not the best judge of genetics like that, considering most clutches from both of my parents' species would only be from two to six at the most, but that…doesn't make sense."

Atem shook his head. "I don't know. We lay clutches of six or more most often," he mumbled. "So, I don't really know. All I know is it's entirely possible the last egg was fertilized only after she got to that point of stress and the two seeds mixed. They mated again so soon after Keith had mounted her as well, so I don't know that it didn't cause a ripple effect."

Yugi thought of Atem all but begging and pleading with him to keep going even when his legs threatened to buckle under his weight. He still remembered how Atem had dragged himself to his paws and then slunk back to the den. He'd laid Yami's egg that same day, so much smaller than it should have been, and Yugi didn't know the details of it, but he had the suspicion the ordeal had nearly killed Atem.

The stress had to have nearly destroyed Atem and the egg…

"What about Noah? Dimitri spared him for some reason."

"That's the suspicion, but that's only because he wasn't laying there with his siblings." Atem shook his head. "For all we know, he ate Noah alive."

"Why, though?" Yugi asked again, slightly more insistent. "Why eat only one of them? Why Noah? Is he a decoy?"

Atem blinked. "A decoy? To waste our energy looking for him? Or by means of pretending that Noah is to blame for it all?"

"I don't know. That's what I'm asking. I don't understand why."

Timaeus shifted his weight. "It doesn't matter, though, does it?" he mumbled. "The long and short of it is that Dimitri has to be a mixture of Keith and Seto. He has the ability to change shape, and he's got a lot of the abilities Yami did. If that's true, then…what in Paradise was Keith's ability?"

They all fell quiet, studying each other.

"I don't even know what Sartorius's was," Atem admitted reluctantly, turning away. "Not knowing that means I don't know what of Keith was natural and what wasn't."

Timaeus hesitated a moment, then glanced at Yugi as if for permission. The Gandora wasn't sure what he was asking of him, nor why he seemed so unnerved, but abruptly Timaeus looked to Atem again.

"You don't read minds, see visions, walk through dreams, or have the ability to sever senses." Atem blinked and Timaeus shifted his weight again. "Yet… Yami did. And so does Dimitri."

Yugi glanced at his mate sideways.

"So…does the majority of his abilities…stem from you?"

Yugi bristled uncertainly, even as Atem stared at Timaeus as if he'd boxed him upside the head. Atem seemed almost offended by the question, though Yugi didn't know if it was because he had been thinking the same thing and hadn't wanted to believe it until Timaeus said it, or if it was because he wasn't inclined toward those abilities and so he didn't think it was his lineage which caused it.

"Is it because you're the blind spot?" he blurted before he could reconsider. Atem's head snapped around, eyes widening. "Maybe that's what triggered the abilities Dimitri and Yami have in common…"

Atem blinked, then narrowed his eyes. Yugi caught the slip immediately after the words left his mouth, but Timaeus didn't seem to think much of the phrasing.

"Maybe," the Knight Dragon muttered. "That could make sense. If their abilities are based on mental prowess and you're a blind spot to them, maybe it turned into something different and broader between the two of them. Maybe Yami was capable of all those things because that ability became diluted and changed for him. And Dimitri being your sibling granted him something similar."

"That's a lot of blame to place on me," Atem grunted, though he didn't appear upset. When Yugi considered him, the Slifer seemed almost puzzled. "Although, perhaps it makes sense. Maybe my ability to hide myself caused it. Or…maybe Yami came about to counteract Dimitri and his powers were similar because of it."

"Is…that possible?" Yugi whispered, unsure.

"There has to be a balance," Atem commented, looking over and locking eyes with him again. "There has to be a balance of some kind. And if Dimitri was so powerful that Yami didn't stand a chance, everything would have changed, right? For Yami to have fought Dimitri as Jaden was hoping to force him to do, he would have had to have been as strong, right? Or else it would have been a sacrifice by Jaden's paw."

"I'm sorry?" Timaeus spat, cutting in. "Jaden was hoping to do what?"

Yugi shivered. "Yusei convinced Jaden to let Yami stay with us and…train or grow with us. The idea was that we would do the legwork when they came to retrieve him and have him eventually kill Dimitri, right before they killed him in turn."

"What? Jaden can drop dead."

Atem shook his head. "Yami is gone. It doesn't matter now."

Timaeus looked as if he wanted to argue, but abruptly stopped. He huffed after a moment and turned away. "Right. Okay." He bore his teeth. "But that's… Just why would he assume that's okay?"

"He would have liked to call it a debt, for the fact that he let Yami live." Atem fell silent for a long moment, then scoffed. "It doesn't matter. It's fine. It's over and past."

Yugi shifted his weight and looked over. Jaden would declare war when he realized Yami was still alive. And then what? Would Atem rise to meet him? If he did, what of the bloodbath that would ensue? Who would pick their side and who would flee to the other? Yugi could barely think straight.

Yusei would likely side with Jaden, because of their former ties. And the Leviathan… Would Jaden force him to act as his ally as well? He'd been so capable of manipulating him before, at the gathering. They'd watched him as he'd forced him to bow and turn away from antagonizing Atem any longer.

His hearts squeezed for a moment, then raced.

It didn't matter.

It was his responsibility as Atem's mate to support him no matter what. He'd sharpen his claws and train until his paws fell off or his teeth dropped from his gums. If Jaden wanted to fight Atem, he'd have to go through Yugi.

"What was he planning to do? How did he plan to go through you to get to Yami?"

"He didn't. He was going to have Yusei and Leviathan distract me and hope for the best." Atem tilted his head slightly. "When we spoke, neither of them seemed privy to the information. But that doesn't mean much. I know Jaden can influence them both, so he could have forced them to do it even if they initially refused."

Timaeus scoffed. "Because that wouldn't make it abundantly clear that something had happened or Jaden was planning something."

Atem nodded. "Right."

The silence that came over them was tense and uneasy. Yugi found himself somehow fearful that Atem might decide then and there to chase him off now that Timaeus was back with them. Atem was lost in thought, remembering Yami's words and the declaration he had to lie to him. And Timaeus wondered how much of Atem was in Dimitri, even if distantly.

"I'm exhausted," Atem announced abruptly, turning to Yugi then. "Let's go rest."

The please went unspoken, but Yugi heard it all the same. His hearts raced as he nodded and hurried forward to lead the way. Timaeus sighed softly behind him and Atem trailed behind a few feet but kept a steady pace when Yugi looked back.

It could be worse, he thought venomously when his hearts squeezed with pain at Atem's distance. He could have turned on you, or banished you entirely.

He could have decided to kill him, which Yugi felt certain would have been the lesser of two evils in that case. At least in death he wouldn't have wallowed on his loss of Atem, whereas exile would have left him with nothing but that to do.

He climbed into the entrance and hurried forward, anxious to make sure he didn't wait too long as to make Atem uncomfortable. The Sky Dragon followed a few heartbeats later, and Yugi desperately hoped he'd come to lay beside him. But Atem glanced at him, looked briefly around, and then stretched out atop the ledge as if to keep guard. It was just far enough from Yugi that he'd hear him should he approach, close enough to Timaeus that the Knight Dragon could breathe wrong and he'd catch it, and it served to help him play the guard.

Yugi tucked his paws to his chest and stretched his neck out, peering up at Atem. He wanted to argue and take vigil instead, but he knew Atem would argue and Yugi didn't want to witness that terrible anger from before. He didn't want another reason for Atem to resent him after all that he'd found out.

He closed his eyes and fell into a restless sleep.