Chapter 18

The first thing he became aware of was pain, but for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on why he felt that way. What could have possibly happened to make him feel this way? He shook himself internally, as he did he became aware of an excruciating pain coming from somewhere behind him. His eyes closed tighter, trying in vain to combat what he was thinking. There was a noise from somewhere beside him, it sounded like a voice. Was someone calling to him? Why would anyone be calling to him? His thoughts and sensations were all mixed together, nothing made sense. With a great deal of effort Yugi opened his eyes. The light assaulted his eyes, forcing him to shut them briefly as he head continued to pound. But the need to unscramble his muddled thoughts overruled the pain in his head and so he opened his eyes once again. He blinked a couple of times as his eyes focused and spotted a rather grey material in front of him. He blinked a few more times before realising that the material he could see was actually the side of a tent, and in fact it was a few metres away from him. Looking to one side he saw that the tent was circular and apart from himself there was only a number of boxes around. He tried to move but pain exploded from his broken arm which he suddenly realised was tied to a wooden stump behind his back. White hot pain laced up his arm forcing his eyes shut. He ceased his movement and waited several long moments for the pain to recede. As it did a noise beside him made him look in the other direction and he realised that he was not in fact alone in this tent. Only a couple of metres away from him was the former Pharaoh. Like Yugi he too was tied to a wooden stump with his hands behind his back. Atem was sitting at a rather bizarre angle which Yugi thought must be an attempt to keep any weight of his broken side. The former Pharaoh's face was still covered in blood, a fresh layer drying over the original from where he been struck. Despite his trademark stoic expression Yugi could see from his eyes how much effort he was putting in to hiding his pain.

"Are you alright?" Atem asked, his voice weak.

"No…" Yugi replied after several seconds, "What's going on?"

Atem glanced at the flappy entrance to the tent before replying, "I'm not sure yet. I've heard talk from outside the tent but no one has come in."

Yugi blinked again as it all came rushing back. The man on the horse, the man who knocked Atem out… the man who'd knocked him out. But what did these men want? Surely, they'd done nothing to offend them or cause them to use violence against them. He closed his eyes, disbelief setting in. This was meant to be a fun summer trip. But a fun trip it certainly was not anymore. He let out a breath and opened his eyes again, turning to meet the former Pharaoh's gaze once again.

"What are we going to do?"

"We escape. I'll make sure nothing happens to you just like the prophecy said."

Yugi frowned, "How do you know it referred to this? We still don't know what's going on here?"

Atem's breath hitched slightly as he moved, "The voice in the sanctuary spoke about two eagles, one of which was stripped of power. I am almost certain it meant the two of us and whatever this is has something to do with it. But Yugi, I will see you safe. You have my word."

"And yourself." Yugi pressed, "We are both getting out of this, just like I said before."

Atem made no reply, but he gazed at his young friend. It was possible that Yugi hadn't fully understood what the prophecy had meant or at least what he believed it meant. If that was right then it was foretold that only one would survive the encounter with the wolves. Atem was almost sure that this was just that. He'd be damned if that wasn't Yugi who survived the encouter, at all costs Yugi survived. His throat tickled horribly and for a moment he could feel the metallic taste of blood, but he refused to cough it up. He had to put Yugi first, he could wait.

His gaze wondered over to the tent flaps, voices were approaching. He couldn't quite be sure what was being said but it mattered not. The flaps were shoved aside, a rather tall dark haired man appeared. He looked between the two of them for a moment, taking in their appearances. But seeing their weakened, bloodied appearance did nothing, he felt no pity towards them. In fact he felt the opposite. He made a point of taking a rather large swig of water from the bottle he was carrying before smirking at them.

"So, you're both awake. About time too." He said, a smirk edging its way onto his face.

There was a pause, neither Atem nor Yugi made any sort of response. The man did not seem too bothered by this, his eyes merely continued to move from one to the other.

"I must say it is rather impressive how alike you two look. I did not imagine I'd have to work out which one you but then I did not imagine I'd find two of you. It matters not."

Atem's eyes narrowed, he had a feeling he understood whatever this man was talking about. He was tempted to speak but for the moment he held his tongue. The man's eyes continued to flicker from one to the other, his smirk widening as he did.

"After all these years of waiting, here you are."

There was still no response from the two look-a-likes. Yugi was gazing back at the man, his eyes gaze distrusting. He wasn't sure what was going on but he was sure that this man couldn't be trusted. The former Pharaoh was having a rather hard time keeping his attention on the man, the metallic taste in his mouth was building and becoming harder to keep under control.

"You know you should really just reveal yourself Pharaoh, make life easier for everyone here."

The man smirked at the pair of them, searching for any reaction. But still none came although this didn't seem to matter to the man, he just continued to smirk at them. A few moments of silence past before the man sneered at them.

"Nothing? Well, I warn you Pharaoh I will not wait long. After all these years waiting for you, I do not want to waste any more time."

With that the man turned, leaving the tent without another word. Yugi watched him go before turning towards the former Pharaoh who at that moment doubled over and spat a rather large amount of blood from his mouth. His eyes widened and he found he couldn't take his eyes off his friend for a moment nor could do anything to help. Atem had made no move to sit up, his eyes were still open but Yugi couldn't see what he was thinking. As he watched he saw a bead of ease itself from the corner of Atem's lip and drop sickly to the floor. Silence filled the tent and still the former Pharoah did not move, Yugi's eyes flicked to the tent entrance. There was movement and voices but it appeared no one was planning to come in, what they were planning he could only guess. Turning back to Atem he saw that he'd straightened up slightly and was looking towards the tent entrance. His gaze turned to Yugi, he had obviously heard the approaching voices.

"What's going on?" Yugi asked, "How does that man know you?"

Atem shook his head slightly, "I don't know, I don't believe I've seen him before."

"But… but then why does he know you, or at least appear to know you?"

The former Pharaoh closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the post behind him. He made no reply, his thoughts turning to the man. He tried to remember this man but for the life of him he couldn't think if he had ever seen him. This man was a complete stranger to him but this stranger clearly knew who he was. But why? What did this man want?

For the longest time he had no answer but then the words in the prophecy came to him once again, it had referred to a powerless eagle and a crumbling world.But how did any of that relate to the man. Atem's head gave a painful throb as he opened his eyes once again he wasn't in the best shape to be trying to analysis this but what other choice was there? If he was to get Yugi out of this safely then he had to try and understand exactly what was at stake here. Looking over to Yugi he saw the clear expression of pain and discomfort on his face, Yugi was in no better shape in he was. He had to get Yugi away safely. Perhaps he should just admit to that man who he was and then Yugi would be able to leave. But then there was no way Yugi would allow that. That then begged the question, what was he to do? Try as he might, he couldn't think of another way out of this.

"If I reveal myself they might let you go." Atem said, his voice quiet.

"Don't you dare."

Atem sighed, he'd expected that sort of reply from Yugi.

"I can't let them hurt you, Yugi." He tried.

"Too late, I'm already hurt, and I won't allow you to be hurt further just to protect me. We'll find a way out of this together."

The former Pharaoh met Yugi's pained but determined look before another sigh escaped his lips. The two of them didn't speak for the longest time, both absorbed in thoughts of their current predicament but also pain. Given their restraints it was impossible for either of them to find any sort of position that provided any sort of relief. Yugi bit his lip, hard, as his broken arm once again made its discomfort known to him but there was nothing he could do. No matter how much he tried he couldn't ease his pain. A groan of pain escaped him inadvertently. He gazed around at the tent, trying to distract himself, but apart from the canvas and the various wooden boxes there was nothing of interest that he could use to distract himself. Turning his gaze to the former Pharaoh he saw Atem was asleep, or at he appeared to be. It didn't look as though the once King was particular comfortable but somehow he'd succeeded where Yugi hadn't yet and fallen into slumber. A horrible thought crossed his mind. Atem had been in this kind of situations a fair amount throughout his whole life, perhaps he was so accustom to them that it somehow allowed him to rest although Yugi doubted the rest would be deep at all. He considered his friend for a moment, watching as a small bead of blood eased itself for one of his various wounds and made a trail down the side of his face. He'd been through far too much, there was no way he should have to cope with some other madman after him. A thought crossed Yugi's mind. What if he could take this burden from Atem? After all this new madman had no idea which one of them was the Pharaoh so what if he said that he was the Pharaoh? He may not know what that man wanted but it was surely nothing nice and if he could stop Atem from having to go through that then it was worth the risk.

Hours past, the light faded. The entrance to the tent was still flapping, the wind outside had been fairly consistent the whole day or at least it appeared to be from the flapping canvas. The man hadn't appeared since his first appearance that morning. But Yugi was sure he would come back, after all the man had said he wouldn't wait long. A movement beside him caught his attention, looking over Yugi saw the former Pharaoh was awake. Atem seemed to gaze around, taking in his surroundings before his gaze found Yugi. A small smile crossed his bloodied face, he was trying to reassure him. Despite the situation he was trying to reassure Yugi. Yugi had to commend his resolve, but then after everything he'd dealt with of course he could hold his nerve in the face of anything. But despite that Yugi knew Atem was not in good shape, well neither was he. Atem made to speak but a large shape loomed by the tent entrance. Their eyes found the man once again entering the tent, behind him a couple of others followed. Standing tall in the entrance the man once again looked from one to the other as if he hoped that he would suddenly be able to tell them apart. But alas, he could not. Strolling forwards he regarded the pair.

"Let's try this again, shall we?" He said, his eyes swivelling between the pair, "We've watched and waited for your return Pharaoh, we will not wait any longer. You will reveal yourself to me."

He paused, still looking between the pair who were both looking back at him. His eyes narrowed at there silence. A look over his shoulder told his men what to do. The other two men, who been waiting in the entrance of the tent, moved over to stand behind each of the prisoners. Yugi's gaze moved from the man in front of him, to the man behind him and finally the former Pharaoh. Atem was looking between the man in front of him and the man behind Yugi. He was steeling himself.

"I must warn you Pharaoh, I have waited so long for this moment and should you continue to hide from me I have no problem showing you just how serious I am."

From the movement of the other men it neither of the two look-a-likes needed an explanation. Yugi's gaze flicked once more to the former Pharaoh. He was preparing to speak. But Yugi got there first.

"It's me." He said, "I'm the one you are looking for."

He could feel Atem's eyes on him, he didn't need to look at him to know what he was thinking the intensity of his stare did that for him. The man in front of them turned his attention fully on to Yugi, considered him with a look with such force that it took a lot of courage on Yugi's part to hold his gaze. His eyes narrowed threateningly as he motioned to the man behind Yugi to cut him free. As Yugi felt pain exploded from his broken arm as it was released he was grabbed and thrown to the ground. White fire laced through his body as all his injuries were disturbed.

"No! Wait." Atem called.

"Shut it."

There was an audible thump as the man behind the true former Pharaoh smacked him hard across the face. Yugi, who was still lying face down on the ground, had expected him to speak up but hopefully these men wouldn't believe him. The first man was standing fully over Yugi now, his gaze almost boring into him.

"So, Pharaoh." He said, his voice unnervingly calm, "Here you are at least. I suppose now you've revealed yourself I should as well. My name is Het and I will be the one to ensure that you leave this world for good."

A boot collided with Yugi's ribs. Doubling over in pain Yugi once again heard Atem calling out but the only response was another harsh blow to the face. Het was ignoring the situation behind him, his eyes solely focused on Yugi.

"Your story has been passed down for generations in my family. We knew one day you'd return and be powerless. Without power you are nothing Pharaoh, nothing but an entitled boy who thinks he is in a position to govern other people no matter the consequence. But that is not the case." Het knelt in front of Yugi, "I will ensure you pay for everything you've done."

Once again, behind Het, Atem called out but this time Yugi could just see his bindings being cut by the other man and he was roughly shoved to the ground. The series of thumps told Yugi that Atem was receiving a beating.

"You have me now," He said, his voice weak, "Do what you wish to me but leave him alone."

Het tilted his head, smirking, before standing and gaze over his shoulder at his accomplice who was taking a step back from the actual Pharaoh. Atem was lying on his front, attempting to push himself off the ground but his broken body was visibly shaking from the effort. The sight of him strengthened Yugi's resolve.

"Pretending you care?" Het mocked, "If only you'd shown this much care in the past then this whole thing might have been avoided."

Yugi glared at him, but made no response. For a moment there was silence before Het looked between his two accomplices and began speaking to them. However, they spoke in a language which Yugi didn't have a hope of understanding. As they spoke Yugi turned to look at Atem, who'd managed to push himself on to his elbows. Atem's face was covered in dark red blood, far too much blood. His gaze was on Het and Yugi saw, to his horror, the understanding in his eye. Atem could understand what they were saying. Slowly, his gaze turned to Yugi who shook his head as subtly but urgently as he could. He knew what Atem was about to do and once he did he wasn't sure he could undo it. Atem's expression told him so many things, Atem was apologising yet thanking him for his bravely all at once. Yugi could feel his face paling as the former Pharaoh turned his attention back to Het and spoke. Yugi had no idea what Atem had said but it got their attention. The three men stopped their conversation, all turning to look at him. After several long moments Het moved towards him glancing back towards Yugi with an incredulously look on his face which turned to anger.

"I should have known." He said, striking the former Pharaoh, "I should have known you'd try to wiggle you way out of this. And you." He rounded on Yugi, "You're foolish enough to try and cover for this insect?"

Yugi opened his mouth to speak but Het got there first.

"Spare me you excuses but your have not done yourself any favours." His gaze travelled back to Atem, he knelt once more, "Now Pharaoh you may have led me on a merry dance but that ends now. You will pay and I shall make sure you expire."

Getting to his feet he motioned to the other two in the tent before turning and heading for the exit. One of the men grabbed Yugi pulling him back towards the post and retying him, the other grabbed Atem and began dragging him out of the tent. Yugi fought as much as his injured state would allow but it did nothing, despite his fight and shouts the other man rebound him to the post and left without a word. Yugi continued to shout for a while before falling silent, his eyes locked on the tent entrance. Tears eased from his eyes falling from his eyes in perfect synchronisation. He had failed, he had failed in protecting Atem and now he was stuck here while they did who knew what to him. He had to do something, but what? What could he do now? He closed his eyes as more tears fell.

"I'm sorry Atem, I'm so sorry."