Chapter CV: Meetings

Yubel trembled harder as the God Dragon stared at the hatchling in complete bewilderment and astonishment. A flicker of recognition came through his eyes but it was not so apparent that Yami would have assumed Jaden knew him. It was so brief it was almost as if Jaden wasn't quite sure he believed it. But when his eyes shot to Yubel he seemed to believe it more, though he bristled and stared at his son in surprise. The sheer size difference was almost like Atem staring down at Yami when he'd first been born, an immense shape of sharp claws and teeth and a mouth wide enough to swallow him whole should he have desired.

Jaden looked as if someone had struck him, though he tried to recover a semblance of posture as he straightened to his full height again. He peered back at Sartorius slowly, lashing his tail.

"Ironheart didn't tell me," Jaden said slowly, "that you'd be like this if I wasn't present when you hatched."

Yubel blinked, a stone lodging itself in her stomach. Jaden had known? Jaden had known Sartorius had hatched and he'd never bothered to come and see him or the others? Ironheart had told him the three of them existed and he'd failed to care enough to even return once? He hadn't even considered just coming to see her?

Sartorius stared back blankly, though Yubel felt a trickle of amusement from the Divine Dragon. Is that so shocking, Mother? He sneered the words, never lowering his eyes from Jaden's. You thought he didn't know? How pathetic of you. He always knew. He just never cared.

She didn't want to believe that. He'd seemed to care so much when they'd met. He'd seemed to when he'd first gotten news from Ironheart, but if he'd simply sat back and watched as it all happened…

How much of it had he seen?

There was a long, deadly silence in the camp. Yubel glanced at the survivors and tried not to flinch as despair ate at her insides. It was almost only half-starved hatchlings at this point. The males were all but nonexistent but for three and there were only two females left, too tired to stand and laying with their heads on their paws even as they tried to watch the two deities stare each other down.

"Do you know who I am?" Jaden said quietly, peering at Sartorius with something between bewilderment and desperation. Yubel watched their son snort and curl his lips back on one side to show the ridges of his teeth. "I didn't realize you were this strong. He never mentioned you'd gotten this… I thought… I don't know why I didn't realize…"

Yubel narrowed her eyes, wondering at the unfinished statements. What had Ironheart told him? What had Jaden come here expecting? Had he thought she'd simply lost control of him somehow? She almost scoffed. There was no force in this world that could control Sartorius.

Her son's eyes flickered in her direction and his lips pulled back into a hideous smirk. She almost flinched and nearly lowered her head shamefully when Jaden glanced at her in bewilderment. But the moment passed and he turned back to Sartorius almost immediately just as the Divine focused on him once more. Jaden flicked his tail uneasily.

"I don't know what happened while I was absent. And I'm sorry for that, but surely you realize you can't do this." Jaden tilted his head and snarled softly, but she suspected it was nerves rather than aggression which colored his tone. "No one can just do this. It's not right."

Sartorius raised and tilted his head, silent as he watched him blankly.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

"Sartorius"—The Divine twitched and Jaden blinked in surprise—"You have to stop. You have to stop this. You can't win this. If Shadi, Leviathan or Yusei catch wind of what you've been doing, they'll kill you for it."

Yubel bristled anxiously. What was he saying? He wasn't going to put an end to him before Sartorius killed him? He would leave it to the other three rather than see to it himself? He was there. He was standing before him. What did he think talking to him would accomplish?

She could have screamed.

He'd seen the destruction twice now, through vision and now standing before it. How could he assume Sartorius would simply roll over and abide by what he had to say?

He's a fool, her son purred. Just as he was when he pursued you.

She wondered not for the first time if this was her fault and hers alone. Maybe she was just…rotten. Her father had shunned her upon hatching when he'd realized she had none of his mate's features, and her mother had died laying her egg. Perhaps she should have simply run away before she'd matured; perhaps everything would have been better if she had never managed to make it that far—

Jaden's head snapped around and his mouth opened and closed, but he didn't speak. After a moment he turned back to Sartorius, peering at him with that same confused amazement. "What abilities do you have? Clearly you're a God Dragon, but—"

"God Dragon?" their son snarled softly, voice laced with amusement. He raised and tipped his head as he considered Jaden as if he were a bug before him. "I am not a God Dragon. Your species is too weak to be my namesake. I am beyond your weaknesses, your faults, your inabilities. I am divine."

Jaden blinked and bristled, lashing his tail nervously. His eyes flickered toward Yubel again and back, and she swore she could hear his hearts hammering away now. He looked as if he were in shock, too startled to think straight. She wondered if it was the words he'd spoken or the sound of his voice which stunned him.

It had seemed almost as if Sartorius's voice had split and broken into a million, so guttural it was if the wind were howling with rage.

"Divine or not, you're not immortal," Jaden muttered, though he sounded oddly unsure. Yubel wondered if he sensed his strength now, if he felt as if Sartorius were pressing upon him as much as she herself did. It was like being submerged in water with the tide rising and falling over her body. She shivered, scales twitching, and wished for a moment she could shake herself out.

No? I'm not? I'm not immortal? Sartorius almost roared in her head, eyes sharp and burning as they narrowed. She didn't think she was supposed to hear it, but he had been too angry to stop it resounding in her skull as well.

When their son still failed to respond, Jaden shifted his weight and considered him, visibly uncertain for a single second. I don't understand, Yami heard his mind scrambling, and realized Sartorius was projecting the God Dragon's thoughts to Yubel in his rage, why Ironheart didn't warn me. He said Sartorius would be powerful and his powers beyond my capabilities, but he never said he'd turn into this.

Sartorius smirked, red teeth glittering in the sunlight. "Do I disappoint you, Father?" he sneered. Yami was amazed still that he did not step forward and attempt to force himself upon him. Jaden blinked, startled, and Yami could taste the absolute hatred coursing from the Divine's scales.

"I… What made you like this?" Jaden asked, sounding mystified and unsure. His eyes shot to Yubel again and then back before he shook his head. It doesn't matter. I just have to stop him. He can't do this any longer. I… "Do you understand what you're doing?"

Sartorius looked astounded he would dare ask him that. He blinked and narrowed his gaze, staring at him so intently Jaden almost flinched. Yami was amazed when he straightened instead, raising his head to watch his son more defiantly.

Yubel shivered and Sartorius seemed to track the movement in his peripheral but made no comment nor any further move. He dismissed the action, staring blankly at his father once more. Yami remembered Honda then, saying he'd had eyes that seemed dead and bottomless with darkness, cold and glittering and furious, as if he were watching and staring through someone all at once…

The dead stare was like looking into a pit of absolute darkness, like there was nothing to pronounce the bottom and the world might fall beneath it. Jaden was reflected there perfectly, like an ember against the darkness, but even he seemed swallowed beneath it all.

"Obviously you do," Jaden muttered, though he looked flustered. "Or else you wouldn't be doing it. I don't think you understand the scope of your actions, however. And that we can fix."

Yami felt his heart clench. Jaden truly had been so utterly hopeful…

"I'm sure we could forgive it if you'd be willing to return with me to get better trained to understand your powers," the Prime Material Dragon continued, voice burning with hope. His eyes were glittering with excitement at the prospect and Sartorius stared at him as if he were a piece of prey attempting to bargain with him. He looked mystified but so furious even Jaden seemed stricken to reevaluate the situation. He shifted his weight after a moment, adding, "I understand how it feels to be confused and…isolated by your abilities. Even being an only dragonet doesn't stop that feeling. And Yubel doesn't have abilities, so it's not as if she could help you where you might have needed it."

A wave of bitterness and resentment swelled through the Gandora for a moment. How dare he place the blame on her. He'd abandoned them there, without even caring enough to actually visit them. How could he possibly say that?

But Yami was more startled by Jaden's words prior, because he doubted Jaden had meant to lay blame solely on the female. He didn't believe for a second that he'd meant to say it was her fault.

Jaden had said an only dragonet. He'd said Sartorius was an only dragonet…

Did he not know about Syrus and Zane?

But…how could he be blind to that? How could he have…?

Yami blinked and bristled. Sartorius had blocked him seeing the other two. He had to have. Or Jaden had never been given the chance to see them because Ironheart had chosen to hide them away from him. Clearly Ironheart had chosen to hide Sartorius's path from him. He'd chosen to keep him in the dark where that was concerned.

What else would he have done to prevent him knowing what had transpired in the time he'd been gone?

And why? Why would he have hidden that?

Unless…

"But this isn't the way to deal with them."

Sartorius didn't so much as blink. His eyes had darkened somehow, the hollow pupils glittering like chunks of starlight for a single second. He did not move but for a single breath, staring at Jaden as if he didn't recognize the words coming from his mouth.

He was…bored? The disdain and indifference oozing from him was overpowering.

"We can teach you to wield them properly, without them becoming overpowering. That's why God Dragons are brought together; it's overwhelming learning on your own like this. And I'm sure we could all help you learn better control."

Better…control? The words were like rolling thunder in Sartorius's head. It encompassed every corner of Yubel's thoughts and smothered her instincts until they cowered and turned to nothing.

"You can come with us—Shadi, Yusei, Leviathan and I would be glad to have you. I'm sure even Ironheart—"

Ironheart?

Yami was amazed by the hatred that swelled through the Divine at the very mention. The absolute rage and indignation was almost numbing. And he swore even Jaden seemed to sense it somehow, as if the air were crackling with energy enough to startle him. Yami wondered then if it was, if Yubel was immune to it but the others sensed and buckled beneath it.

"We'd be glad to have you. You should come with me to—"

Sartorius didn't blink, nor growl. He barely moved. One second he was standing before Jaden, that bored and indifferent expression on his face, and the next he flung a paw forward. Jaden was struck so hard he hit the ground. Sartorius sprang on him, clawing once. Blood and muscle flew through the air and Yubel flinched and stared, horrified, as Jaden was cut from tail to chin in one swift slash. Pink and gray entrails flooded from the wound and Jaden twitched, soundless but for the blood gurgling in his throat as he tried unsuccessfully to breathe.

The Divine tilted his head, studying his father's broken body as Jaden sputtered and choked once more. Yubel could see his intestines writhing and pulsing with his heartbeat as it began to slow. She shivered, jerking back and away from them, just as Sartorius hummed softly and stepped forward. He opened his mouth as it neared Jaden's chest and then he jerked back, snarling as he startled so violently.

Yubel had not noticed the brilliant streak of white and blue that had come hurtling forward. Sartorius snarled as the other dragon bore his teeth and stood over Jaden's broken body, spitting. His saliva left steam where it dripped from his teeth and the ground seemed to sizzle and hiss where it hit the surface.

Sartorius looked at him as if he were a bug, but whatever Yusei seemed to project to him with his thoughts or memories made him stop short. Yami wasn't sure what Yusei showed him, if it was threats or promises or something more, but Sartorius stopped and stared, studying him. His eyes burned into the Ice Dragon's for a long minute before he snarled and turned away, jerking back as if stung.

Yusei stalked forward, but didn't move to strike him. Sartorius turned to Yubel, snarled softly, and took off so quickly into flight it was almost impossible to track him. His mother hesitated a moment, blinking and wishing for a split second to see to Jaden before she felt the sudden and undeniable overwhelming urge to follow.

Yusei met her eyes for only a moment, snarling and lashing his tail, and Yami was haunted by the familiar glimmer of agony in his gaze.

"No one would believe he's pure bred," he remembered him saying, heart racing in his chest. "There's too much of Yugi and Atem in him."

Sartorius landed atop the slick stone of the Water Clan camp without pause. He looked around once, as if he'd expected them to herald his arrival with cries of triumph or acknowledgment, but nothing came. No one even seemed to realize the Divine had landed there, as if the Clan were silent and dissolved. Yubel cast an anxious glance around, feeling an overwhelming sense of dread creep through her. Sartorius had been silent and brewing the entire time they'd flown, as if he were not fleeing but rather looking to destroy something.

She had not had the courage to ask him as to what he was looking for. It seemed only to further aggravate him somehow that she was quiet, however, and she didn't know what to make of the situation. Her hearts raced unsteadily as she looked around.

Sartorius looked over his shoulder toward her. He stood motionless for a long while before hissing, "Jaden is a fool, and you… I should have known you would prove to be useless as he lay dying. Had you any thoughts in your head, you would have had the sense to grab the egg."

Yubel blinked and curled her lips back, sneering, "The only thoughts in my head were yours, so if they failed to prove useful it's your fault."

Her son peered at her blankly for a moment, then stalked toward her. "Do you understand what that egg means for us?" he snarled. "When he hatches, I'll put the God Dragons out of their misery like the sniveling cowards they are."

Yubel shook her head. "Were you so powerful, you'd be able to do it yourself. Why do you need help?" she spat. She stood a little taller when he tilted his head and blinked at her curiously. She could see the thoughts churning behind his head, piling together and then dissipating as if with smoke. His eyes widened, brightened, darkened, and then narrowed slowly as his gaze bore into hers. "If you're as powerful as you'd like to pretend, you'd be strong enough to do it all by yourself."

Sartorius tilted his head a little further, then lashed his tail. "I am not so simple-minded as to overlook what you're doing, Mother," he sneered. "Hatchling or not, I am not so stupid. I know you mean to upset me and distract me from what I plan to do here. Not only that, but you wish more so for me to see you dead."

She bristled faintly. "You already killed Jaden. Why not do the same to me?"

The hatchling scoffed. "Yusei stopped me devouring his hearts. He'll heal soon enough," he snapped, though he turned back and looked around slowly. Every movement was slow and leisurely as he paced forward and considered their surroundings. He blinked long and slow before tilting his head toward her after a moment. "It's rather rude to spy on others, Shadi. Or…are you Ironheart?"

Yubel blinked a few times and glanced around but saw nothing for a long handful of minutes. A few heartbeats passed and then the mist seemed to clear, as if a dense fog had blown away before her eyes. She bristled, startled, as the large white male stepped forward. His eyes lacked pupils, brilliant pale purple and darker blue toward the centers. They looked like pools of still water and the lack of reflection across them was almost terrifying. She'd never seen someone with such strange eyes, without even the slightest hint of light or dark…

Sartorius purred softly. "Shadi. What a wonderful surprise," he sneered, stepping forward. "You hide your Clan as if when I rip you to pieces it will hold any power later."

Shadi didn't look the least bit surprised nor worried. He stared at Sartorius as if he'd been waiting for him to appear, as if the world had righted itself somehow. He considered Yubel with the coldest look Yami had ever seen grace another dragon's face but for when Atem had attacked Jaden to protect him. After a moment his attention slid back to Sartorius, eyes glittering like firelight.

"Did you come here for me?" he asked slowly. "Or did you come thinking you might sink your claws into Ironheart?"

Sartorius hummed. "I'd eat Leviathan alive as well," he growled, purring and running his forked tongue over his mouth in a wide, gaping grin. "It just depends on who wishes to be first."

Shadi considered him for a long time, flicking his tail, and Yubel was momentarily amazed by how large he seemed. He looked bigger than she'd expected, with scales as brilliant as the moonlight. He was almost blinding like snow in direct sunlight and his eyes were cold as lifeless pools. When he finally stepped forward it was to murmur, "You won't find either of them here."

Sartorius considered him, then huffed. "You sent them away in some desperate attempt to save them?" he scoffed, then smirked and shook himself out. "Very well. It doesn't matter. I'll eat your hearts and then I'll give chase. I'll hunt them to the ends of the earth if I must, but they will fuel me."

Shadi narrowed his eyes and considered him intently. "No," he said slowly, "they will not. Things will end as quickly as they began."

He curled his lips into the widest of smirks, baring his brilliant red teeth like gems. He stared with those cold, lifeless eyes and purred, "Is that what you believe? You don't think I'll ruin it all? I killed Jaden, as you knew I would, and yet you think I'll let someone as weak as you or the other two ruin me?"

Shadi lashed his tail. "I don't think you comprehend the measure of repercussions that will come from what you've done."

"Oh, but I think I do," he answered. "The world will be better for stronger dragons than the worthless gods they so often worship now. Jaden could not hold his own against me and Yusei merely meant to send me here to you. And you? What shall you do? Leviathan is the god of war. Should I have quaked before any of you, it would have been him."

The Judgment Dragon blinked slowly. "You'll understand when it is done."

"Will I?" Sartorius sneered, delighted. "I think you're full of smoke and illusions and think to make yourself feel better by trying to slow me down. I don't think for a second that you understand otherwise."

Shadi nodded and studied him. "Very well. Then put an end to the stalling and do what you came to do."

Sartorius scowled, annoyed, but lunged forward all the same. Yubel almost spat at Shadi to move, to dodge aside or fight back or do something. But the white male merely watched Sartorius surge toward him, slamming into him and sending him backwards. Teeth tore into his throat and Sartorius clawed him open as he had Jaden, in such a swift and practiced maneuver it took only a split second. The blood flew through the air, splashing across the rocks and the river among the stone as if with rain.

Shadi never lifted a paw to defend himself.

Yubel watched him grow still, his eyes blank with pain.

Unlike with Jaden, Sartorius dropped the body to the ground immediately. The organs were writhing and pulsing with his unsteady heartbeat, but the hatchling didn't pause. He pressed one paw into Shadi's forelimb and another into the other, forcing them apart. The exposed ribcage was shattered when he shoved his weight more firmly into both limbs. The cracking made Yubel flinch back and Yami almost recoiled hard enough to lose his concentration and slip from her memories.

Sartorius ducked his head into the shattered bone and opened his jaws, snatching at the exposed organs. The noise made Yubel flinch and step away, shaking her head violently, and the instant Shadi truly died the mirage of the Clan being absent lifted. She could see them there, watching Shadi silently, studying with bowed heads or chins raised in defiance. She wondered at their horrified yet furious expressions and turned back to see Sartorius finally lift his head.

He was soaked from beak to neck in blood, as if he'd bathed in it. His eyes had something displaced and strange in them, glittering where they'd once been bottomless and fathomless. She bristled faintly as he blinked slowly and his eyes twitched. His mouth opened and closed twice before his head snapped toward her.

They were glowing, burning like twin suns. His scales rose and fell in jagged peaks with his discomfort and the unease in his stance only grew as he looked at her. Every muscle in his body had tightened and he peered at her as if he didn't recognize her for a long moment. Then he drew a deep breath, snarling, and blood bubbled about his teeth like froth. He opened his mouth wide, snarling, "You? You're the one to kill me?"

Yubel blinked and stepped back, startled. Her?

He pulled away from Shadi altogether, raising and tilting his head. He flexed his jaws several times, then bore his teeth and snarled softly once more. You… He studied her a moment longer, as if he seeing something he shouldn't have, and blinked slowly. No… Who…?

"You're not strong enough to kill me."

Yubel eyed him uncertainly, unable to move but for breathing. Her paws were locked in place, her legs immobile. He'd tightened his grip even as he struggled to reconcile whatever he was seeing in his head.

"No, no, you're not…" He tilted his head. "But you'd betray your kin…"

Kin? She bore her teeth, surprised she could even move that miniscule amount. What kin did she have any longer? Sartorius had torn the Fire Clan apart and starved more than half of them to death. Her sisters were all but dead, and all the males but for four were long deceased if they were not hatchlings. What kin was there to…?

The future? Was that what he saw now?

Sartorius's eye stwitched and flickered with color for a split second before rolling upward when he snarled. He shook himself out, spitting and salivating with outrage, and then hissed, "You'd aid Death."

It took her a moment to realize he meant the deity he'd seen and named in the water. She bristled and found herself able to step back as her son snarled and scowled at her.

"You'd aid him but not your own."

She considered him uncertainly. She didn't think when all was said and done, she'd be alive to even see this little hatchling Sartorius had shown her so often. And even if she did, what of the vision he'd shown her so many times before? Of him and the dark blue male locked in combat as his throat was torn out?

"Sartorius—"

Her son lashed his tail and looked over toward the Clan watching them for a split second. She could tell he was searching for the Leviathan or Ironheart, and yet the two dragons were missing from the group. There was a dark blue male with gold laced throughout his scales, studying Sartorius with burning eyes, but nothing like the God or Judgment Dragon he'd sought. His head whipped back to study Yubel for a moment before he snarled and stalked closer.

"I'll see you dead before I let you help that little beast, you traitor."

She wondered what he saw, but she prepared herself to spring forward when he bunched his muscles. If she stayed still, he'd rip her to pieces. But then… What was so wrong with that? She narrowed her eyes and studied him. If he killed her now, and she didn't get the opportunity to betray this "kin" of hers, what did it matter? How much would change if that happened? Was it even worth it to want to see Instinct, Determination, or Death as he'd so often hinted at?

What was the point in wanting to anyways? She didn't understand what it mattered that she ever lived to see them. It wasn't as if they were related to her. She was no Sky Dragon. And the Gandora species was fickle and bred from any species of Fire and Wind, even when it was watered down to nothing. So what did it matter that she—?

A million things flashed through her mind all at once. Sartorius's mind had opened like floodwater, pushing through every bit of willpower he'd had formerly to keep her in the dark.

A Barrel Dragon, with abnormally wide jaws and the most brilliant pale blue electricity for wings. The dark blue Lightning hybrid, running forward and changing into a teal Knight Dragon. The Slifer with two gaping mouths, the ridges of his teeth exposed, his entire body primed for battle. The Gandora with the strange blue-violet eyes like the night sky, bristling and spitting and lunging forward as his gems caught fire. A little dark red hatchling with the strangest black markings across his face, with four limbs and tusks on his primary chest plate, with bands of white and two sets of teeth…

Jaden rushing forward with his jaws parted, aimed for the hatchling…

Yusei lunging to intercept a kill blow from the Knight Dragon, body thrown aside like a broken twig…

Yubel standing before the Uria hatchling, speaking softly, peering at him with cold eyes…

A meadow of brilliant red flowers the color of dripping, dried, and fresh blood, swaying in the wind as shadows whipped about and danced in the corners of one's peripheral…

The Gandora clinging desperately to the Barrel Dragon as he caught flame and sent them both flying…

The Slifer striking out and killing the Barrel Dragon…

An egg rotting and the Lightning hybrid stirring briefly with satisfaction…

A huge, towering shape in a world of darkness, gray and black writhing around it as its immense head lowered toward something below it…

It all burst through her head like forks of lightning, until abruptly it stopped.

Sartorius had regained control enough to stop it. He snarled and spat, forcing away his weakness to step forward. Yubel bristled and braced herself, snarling and stepping back, as her son flexed his claws, salivated, and then raced forward.

She shot forward to sweep beneath him, but the opportunity to turn her claws on him never came.

A wave of heat scorched through the clearing. She was hit so hard she went flying. Sartorius snarled as he was propelled backward. He hit the ground, rolling toward a river that rapidly evaporated, and immediately sprang to his paws once more. He turned to face the newcomer without a modicum of emotion but for irritation.

"You come here to protect her now?" he hissed, stepping forward and baring his teeth in the most hideous snarl Yubel had ever seen. She looked between them for a split second, at the smaller stature and the glossy golden scales, and felt her hearts skip beats. Did he truly think he could handle Sartorius after what he'd just healed from? "Do you not understand what you're doing? She's going to be the reason everything begins to rot and die before your eyes."

The God Dragon never looked away from him. "She's not the reason any of this happened. I am. This ends here."

"You? You think yourself so great, Jaden?" he sneered. "You think yourself so amazing that you could have put this all into motion? No, you pathetic fool. She did the majority of it. You just aided the smallest bit in empowering me. Do you remember what she is?"

"I'm well aware of what she is and what she spawned."

Sartorius snorted and shook his head, then laughed and came forward a few steps. "Do you even know the immensity of my power, Father? The future is one breath away. The world's balance sways beneath my paws. And you think you can kill me here and now? You think you can fix the mistakes you've made?"

"Nothing will fix this," Jaden snarled. "Nothing will fix what you've done, you disgusting little beast. But it's a start. And that's all I need to help heal the damage done."

His son snorted again. "If you say so."