Part V: Blood

Chapter XCVII: Discussions

"Can we all maybe land?" Yusei suggested. "I'd rather talk with my paws on the ground than stay hovering like this so constantly. Or is that too much to ask?"

Atem cast him a sideways glance but twisted and dove for the ground, landing gracefully and looking to Yugi as he did the same. The Gandora met his eye for only a moment before looking at the other three as they joined them. Jaden took to standing before them directly, as if to accommodate the necessity to keep him within their line of vision. Atem studied him for a moment, but the Prime Material Dragon was not tensed to attack and he settled into a seated position rather easily. Yusei sat off to Yugi's left and Leviathan sighed as he took the spot between the two former mates. He looked exasperated, as if his role of mediator was exhausting.

Atem couldn't imagine he was necessary often before then. Yami had certainly put them all at odds, even when they'd thought him dead. Now that he was alive, the tension only seemed to rise between the three of them.

"What is there to discuss?" he said slowly, turning to Yusei. He might as well take the lead then, since he'd offered the proposition. The Stardust Dragon studied him, as if picking his words, and Atem found himself again recalling Ironheart's statement. The chill of fear coated his spine as he wondered if he had done enough to make sure Yami didn't turn out like Dimitri. He wondered if he had taught him enough to do what he had to when it was necessary and show mercy when he did not. "I'd like to know what there is to speak of that doesn't rely on me simply taking the lead and declaring war here and now."

"Don't be rash," Leviathan muttered, and he met Atem's eyes with a cold, glittering stare. "War doesn't need to come before it has to. Preemptive or not, I don't need my domain lengthened because your paws itched and you decided you hate Jaden enough to do it."

"I have no hatred for anyone," Atem returned, and wondered at the thought. Why should any of them have assumed otherwise? He was going to kill Jaden to save his son if it came to that, yes, but he would not do it without cause. He did not hate anyone, even his brothers who deserved it the most. "You do not exist to me until I must interact with you. None of you are a priority of any kind to me. Because of that, I have no reason to think of you or feel any way toward you until we interact. Had I hated any of you, you'd be dead by now."

Leviathan glanced at Jaden sideways. "War doesn't need to be declared if it can be avoided."

"You plan to kill Yami the moment you have the chance, yes?" Atem asked, turning to Jaden. The other God Dragon nodded. "Then I'll beat you half to death and leave you wishing I'd put you out of your misery."

Jaden smirked. "I don't think you'd be able to put those words into practice."

He glanced at Yugi sideways before slowly turning back to Jaden. "If I'm right, you could hold very little power against me, no matter what tricks you might use, Jaden. I'm not like Dimitri. If I try to gut you, I will. Your magic doesn't affect me."

Jaden eyed him for a long moment. "Then I guess we'll see when it comes to that."

"Right about what?" Yusei asked, looking at Atem with his head tilted and eyes widened. He blinked a few times, bewildered, and glanced at Leviathan as if he might know. When he looked over again, he was confused and anxious. "Atem?"

"It doesn't matter," he answered quietly, though glancing at Yugi again said the Gandora was only mildly confused and slightly suspicious as to what Atem meant. Atem ignored the questioning look he shot him when he realized he was watching him, then turned back to Jaden with a growl. The God Dragon had just barely shifted his weight. Yusei snickered and Jaden shot Yugi an unimpressed look. "What actually matters is I won't declare war until you try to lay a paw on Yami. That's when the neutrality ends. Do you understand me?"

Jaden watched him for a long time. "You realize your son could easily turn into a monster, yes?" he said slowly, and his eyes flickered to Yugi. "You're forgetting the species of the other father."

"I haven't forgotten Yugi is a Gandora. It's very apparent when you look at him, and I don't get much time without him following," he snapped, though he grunted when Yugi whipped him in the side with his tail. He tried not to snicker when he saw the affronted expression on his mate's face. "Look, Jaden, regardless of Yami's status as a second generation Gandora, he is mine. I'll kill you before I see him dead or even harmed."

Jaden looked as if he might answer, but Yusei cut in.

"This isn't what we came here for." He huffed. "I personally came to see that everyone was okay. But my other problem stems from this. What do we do with Dimitri? We cannot be at odds with each other when it comes to him. If we aren't all united on this, he'll beat us."

Atem tilted his head and considered Jaden. "I have no qualms where Dimitri is concerned."

"You've protected him from me."

"I trust Yami's visions far more than I ever will yours," he growled. "Consider this an agreement to neutrality where Dimitri is concerned. But your paw raised toward my son means war."

Jaden lashed his tail. "And how shall you know the difference? You seem incapable of making your own decisions in that regard."

"I have no such problems. I do as Yami asks and see to it that all of you survive until we kill Dimitri as well. Do you understand I didn't have to step in the first time, nor did I have to when he came to kill either Clan?"

"You stopped me killing him in my region. You did not help me."

"I was always taught to mind my consequences," Atem snarled. "Which is something the three of you seem to be lacking in. You do not take responsibility for your oversights, nor do you see to it that your consequences are neutralized when things reach their peak. Sartorius managed to kill Shadi after you let him live at the Fire Clan camp. You do not get to speak to me as if I am oblivious to the mistakes you have made, Jaden."

The Fire Dragon looked as if he wanted to lash out, but he held his place there before them. His eyes glittered furiously as they bore into his. "My history doesn't hold warrant here when your sibling and son are the problem."

"Dimitri will be dealt with as necessary," he hummed. "Yami will remain unharmed as long as I can draw a breath. Perhaps you'd like to try your paw at stopping that before we are forced to turn on each other."

Jaden smirked. "Peace, Atem. I'll raise my paw to you when things reach their head and not before."

Atem studied him coldly for a long moment, then turned to Yugi. His mate immediately looked over, curious but supportive as always. He watched him a moment, drawing strength from his simple stare, and then turned to Yusei. "I'll do what I can to help with Dimitri. But I don't know how much longer Yami will insist he needs to survive and I am unsure when he will recover from his fear of me."

Yusei blinked and nodded. "I'm sure we can figure it out."

Atem nodded in turn. "I have no doubt we can. Between the five of us, we're not entirely hopeless."

"Five?" Jaden hissed. "Yami is not my ally."

"I meant Yugi," he snapped. "As you know, he won't leave my side anytime soon and he's going to help me with Dimitri where he can. So what do you expect now? For him to simply duck his head and bury it in the sand?"

Jaden blinked and lashed his tail. "No. I will take the help I am offered in dealing with a shape-shifter. Perhaps Yugi can also teach you persistence of doing what is right."

Yugi bristled and stepped forward, snarling. "I don't see a problem with what Atem has done. You have no right to hunt other dragons like this, by edict or otherwise. He's done more than enough to prove trustworthy and I'd follow his judgment long before I ever would yours."

"You're blinded because Atem is your mate and Yami your son."

"Even if they weren't, I'd sooner follow him. He doesn't call for needless bloodshed."

Jaden sprang to his paws. "Needless?" he spat, stepping closer. Atem didn't move between them, surprised when Yugi failed to go any further. He was only almost shoulder to shoulder with Atem, no closer to Jaden than the Sky Dragon, and for a split second Atem wondered if he expected him to protect him. And then he realized Yugi hadn't moved because he planned to protect Atem if Jaden decided to attack anyways.

"Nothing I have ever done has been needless. My days are haunted by my past failures. My nights are stalked by aching memories. You wish to tell me that I didn't do what I should have? All of you should have been purged—your entire species and Atem's, Seto's and especially the Uria. Had I known the devastation the four of you could bring now? I'd have completely murdered the entirety of you!"

"Jaden," Yusei spat, leaping to his paws and stepping between them. He looked mortified but furious, snarling softly. "Enough."

"It's not enough. It was never enough. I should have killed all of them. I should have disposed of the Urias and the Slifers when the edict was in place. They look so much alike who could have blamed me?" he sneered. He looked at Atem after a moment. "I should have killed Yugi's parents when I first saw their courtship. You wouldn't be nearly so brave and proud without him there to boost your ego."

"I'd still stand up to you," Atem said quietly, "because you're wrong. You will always be wrong to assume this path. Killing needlessly is nothing I would have supported, with or without Yugi here."

The Fire Dragon lashed his tail. "You're as foolish as he is. You live in this mountain range pretending you've never made mistakes and you're perfect enough you wouldn't be the reason lives are lost. Yet you did this. You Blessed the nest. You hid the truth from us."

"I was not alone in that. Your former mate was complicit," he replied, then stepped forward. Yugi shifted his weight and Atem saw the muscles in his hindquarters bunch as if to spring. "But I have always said Dimitri was my mistake. You misunderstand, however. The Blessing did nothing but ensure the other four survived. Dimitri would have hatched with or without them. My Blessing stopped him killing them in the nest."

Jaden blinked and stared. "What?"

"Dimitri told me himself. That's what you misunderstood. He said my Blessing only prolonged their lives. It helped them to hatch. It did nothing for Dimitri himself." Atem fell quiet for a moment. "He'd likely be stronger now if I hadn't."

"He remembers his time in the egg?" Leviathan said slowly, then looked at Atem with narrowed eyes. "Does Yami as well?"

Atem nodded slightly. "He does. He doesn't quite…understand all he did while he was incubating, but he remembers it. He was an only egg and none of his abilities were…passed between multiple offspring. I think that's why Noah had a gift for seeing further than Dimitri. The ability was split between them and Noah wasn't malicious, and didn't use it often. Dimitri tried to train his and failed and finally he ate Noah's hearts to gain his power as well." He paused. "If he'd been able to skip that step, Jaden, how much worse do you think he would be now?"

"He's wet behind the wings with his ability to change shape as well," Leviathan growled. "So what of that?"

"I think he's just learning control and testing the limitations of each form he takes. I don't think Noah or anyone else would have been able to mimic the ability." He glanced at Yugi sideways. "There was a sixth egg, and it died of rot before I came to Bless the nest. I have the feeling Dimitri devoured them."

"You say that as if anyone could do that."

Atem looked over slowly. "I did."

Jaden and Yusei both froze, and the Ice Dragon whipped around to stare at him. Even Yugi had stopped snarling to blink at him in surprise.

Atem wanted for a moment to duck his head, to take the words back and swallow them. And then he saw Yugi's eyes widen before he raised his chin proudly in his peripheral. He remembered the conversation they'd had with stark clarity and Atem's stomach churned as he breathed, "I did. I remember my egg. I'm not supposed to, but I do. I remember my parents cooing over the fact they'd conceived four of us, and I still remember how happy they were about it. I was always painfully aware of where my siblings were and how soon they might hatch. And I… There was a time where my mom said she thought she was worried we wouldn't hatch. I…remember vaguely wishing to make sure we all would. A moon later the other three hatched. I was in some kind of deep sleep, but I was still aware of things."

Yusei blinked a few times, then glanced at Jaden with narrowed eyes. The Fire Dragon stared at Atem blankly, muscles pulled taut. Atem kept his focus mainly on Yugi in his peripheral.

"I was extremely small for my time in the egg. My parents were fascinated and terrified all at once. And I know they realized I was a God Dragon. That's how the Lore goes, right? If a dragonet hatches so late, so small, with a malformation of some kind, it's likely they're a God Dragon, yes? Or, should only one hatch in a healthy nest, twice the size it was meant to be, it is a God Dragon? I'm not so foolish I don't know that." He looked at Leviathan as the Divine Serpent opened and closed his mouth. "My parents immediately knew what I was. But it doesn't change anything, Jaden. I did that. I let them hatch. I could have siphoned and killed them, but I didn't."

Jaden shook his head sharply. "I would have thought you too old to spout hatchling tales, Atem."

"If it's all a story for me to waste time telling," he said softly, "then explain to me how Yami saved Yugi while in his egg."

Yusei turned to Yugi with wide eyes. "Huh?"

"Saved Yugi?" Jaden snarled, turning to the Gandora. "What?"

Yugi huffed. "I forced Atem to wait longer to move dens than I should have in hopes Yami would hatch earlier than he did. He'd summoned snow and I…lost feeling in my paws while we were traveling. We went tumbling over the side of a cliff and I should have died on impact. But Atem managed to drag me to a cavern he shouldn't have been able to see in the cliff face. Yami hatched later than he likely should have and he was a lot smaller than he should have been considering my genes." He paused. "But he's confirmed he did it. He's told us, though he doesn't remember how and he can't recall what happened exactly after except for going dormant."

"How wonderful a story," Jaden sneered. "But that doesn't account for anything. I doubt you could have guaranteed your siblings' survival in the nest and then the sheer audacity with which you claim your son did the same for Yugi? You're both foolish."

Yusei glanced back at him. "In the Lore, it does mention the God Dragon has the sole choice to allow the destruction or survival of the siblings. Maybe the three of us didn't choose to let the rest of our clutch survive, but it's still a possibility. There's always some truth to stories, Jaden."

"Stories are told to help hatchlings sleep," he snapped, "and I am no longer a hatchling, Yusei. Cease your stories, Atem, Yugi. They have no place among us now."

Atem shook his head. "Believe what you like, Jaden. I have no qualms with you thinking me a liar," he muttered, shifting his wing to press into Yugi's side when the Gandora looked as if he might lunge. Yugi snarled softly but didn't move any closer, losing the tension in his hind legs as he glared at Jaden. "None of it matters. Your belief or disbelief are not deciding factors in anything. What's done is done. I know what's happened in my lifetime and I remember what Yami did for Yugi."

Yusei shivered. "Atem, if you're right and Yami did that…"

"I know."

Leviathan's chuckle was cold and sharp. "He's a lot stronger than any of us gave him credit."

Atem nodded dismissively. "Yes, and he'll remain that way until either I'm struck down or I must put an end to him myself," he hissed, locking eyes with Jaden once more. "Until then, however, return to the point of your visit to my territory. Dimitri is my target. You are collateral in your quest to hurt Yami."

"I don't seek to hurt him. I seek to kill him."

"Be that as it may," he answered, giving Yugi a sharp look when he snarled and chomped his teeth at the Prime Material Dragon. Jaden looked at Yugi as if he wished to swipe his head from his neck. Atem stepped forward and Jaden immediately turned back, suspicious and stiff-legged. "You do not have permission. And should you enter my territory again without news of Dimitri or his whereabouts or plans as to dealing with him, I will strike you so hard you'll wish I took your head off."

"I'd have assumed you smarter than to be misled to believe so."

"And I'd have assumed you wiser than to disbelieve me." He stepped closer, lowering his voice and ignoring the anxious look Yugi cast him at the proximity. "I'll rip you limb from limb before you draw a breath, Jaden. Remember yourself."