Chapter CXXXVIII: True Power
Atem felt so much pressure in his head that he almost fell forward as he dodged aside. The flames lapped at his flesh for a single second, so intense he thought his skin might melt from his bones. And then the silence amplified somehow. The clouds overhead writhed as if with a mass of snakes. Lightning burst forth to strike the air but no sound came. And then he saw Dimitri. A burst like that of the clouds clapping with thunder came through the air. The Uria hit the ground, rolling several feet, and slowly staggered to his paws. There was no more flame. And the ground seemed to waver and dance as dark red sprouted amongst the flood, rising and flashing about like growing embers. Atem raised his head as the world seemed to burst with more and more, several brilliant shades of crimson, all of it balanced and swaying in what seemed to be isolated winds. It dipped and wavered and seemed to shrug against the infinite darkness overhead.
Dimitri looked up, snarling, and lashed his tail. "You?"
Atem barely noticed it when someone landed beside him. His head snapped around and he chomped his teeth in their direction before he could stop himself. Laughter came and a tongue ran over his forehead as if in reprimand. For a split second Atem expected it to be Yugi, puzzled by the Gandora's appearance, but then he focused. The shock of the sudden change of surroundings and the chill which had crept over his bones slowly faded.
And now he saw him.
"Rest, Atem. I'll handle it."
The God Dragon faltered for a moment, torn between the instinct to argue and the desire to see to Yugi instead. He dipped his head when Yami stared back unwaveringly, then slipped past him and toward the Gandora. Relief came through immediately when he saw him unharmed and he noticed the other three deities staring at Yami with horrified expressions.
"Where are we?" Dimitri spat. "How did you do this?"
Yami was silent for a moment. Then he turned to him, voice quiet and soft as he stepped forward. "We're in the Red Meadow, the place where souls are judged by the God of the Dead." He flicked his tail, watching as Dimitri's eye stretched wide with shock and growing horror. Yami nodded slowly. "Your gift is destruction, and mine is death."
"Why would you…?" Dimitri snarled softly. "Do you expect this to help you somehow?"
"No, but the world needs to heal," he answered. He risked a sideways glance at Atem. "The mountains are flooded. The village was almost torn apart by the rains. The desert will be drenched. Tornadoes will strike the north. The sea will swell and swallow the beaches. The world is in disarray to allow Atem's abilities to work so powerfully; the heavens twist and thunder roars to mark the dawn of true power. So, we are here among the dead so that the world may heal. There's been enough destruction."
"You say that as if you really can kill me. Do you even know what form I possess?"
"The natural Uria," Yami replied quietly, "the first dragon to come from the elements, the only dragon that can survive every element and every region. The only dragon that can hold its own against a Dragon of Destruction and never so much as break a claw. The only dragon with eight hearts in its chest at full maturity."
Dimitri scowled. "Seems I struck him prematurely."
"Their lifespans rival the Sky Dragon's." Yami finally turned to Dimitri, raising his head and locking eyes with him. The other hatchling bristled and lashed his tail, staring back with every muscle tensed and braced to strike out. "He was still too young to have all eight hearts—he was only half-grown. He'd have been far larger than Atem had he been full grown."
"Fascinating. I don't think I care any longer."
Yami considered him a moment. "Do you want to hear a secret, Dimitri?"
His sibling scoffed, "No."
"I'll tell it to you anyways," he answered, smiling and flicking his tail. He flexed his claws and flexed his wings. Dimitri eyed him critically, and Yami wondered if he was angered that the Uria did not possess four limbs and wings as he did. "I'd been wondering for a long time why Atem would have been destined to lay my egg. And I'd wondered why I looked so much like the natural Uria but for obvious influence from Atem's genetics. And so, I decided to find out."
"What does it matter?"
"You'll understand when I finish," Yami promised, chuckling. When Dimitri snarled, he continued with a wider grin. "It's because the Slifer is the first Sky Dragon, descended directly from the Uria. They're the sturdiest species of Sky Dragon, and the most violent, the most recognizable, the bloodiest, the nastiest, and the fastest to grow before their lifespan evens out to mirror the Uria. They are so genetically similar, they can crossbreed. It's not a fact that anyone truly knows of anymore, for good reason, but the Gandora originates from them. That's why it comes in so many forms. Yugi is the classic hybrid of a Wind and Fire Dragon, but the Gandora X is more Wind than Fire, and someone like Yubel comes from Earth, Fire and Wind genetics. There are crosses in all species for them but Water and Fire."
"What is your point?"
"My point is," Yami answered, stepping forward, "that Atem was always to be a Slifer, and I always a Uria. You were always going to be a Lightning hybrid, with the ability to change forms—because that's how capable the Slifer is of crossbreeding. You get those abilities from Atem as well, because he is the closest genetically to the very first Slifer in existence."
Dimitri glanced over, narrowing his eye. "Oh?"
"Atem caused a lot of things. He's the catalyst to a million and one different things that happened—Jaden and Sartorius, Leviathan and Ironheart, Yusei, Yugi, me, you…" Yami fell silent for a moment, picking his words as he saw Atem narrow his eyes. Yugi was scowling, bristling and baring the ridges of his teeth. "My point is, Dimitri, you could never have struck him down for more than a moment. You couldn't handle Yugi when you planned to eat his hearts, and you would never have been able to so much as counter Atem when he came back from that blow. The dragon you struck down to fight him with… He was still juvenile, underdeveloped despite all of his capabilities. You had no chance to slow Atem down after that fire blast initially killed him. I don't know that an adult Uria would have been capable, either. His abilities run too deep. I don't think losing a heart would have even slowed him when it came to his rage when he revived."
Dimitri snorted. "Good for him."
Yami glanced at Atem once more. They locked eyes and he found himself turning away again after a moment, ashamed he'd waited so long. But Atem had proven himself. He'd ripped him almost to pieces. He'd damaged him more than Dimitri had managed against him. If they had gone to death blows as he'd sensed Atem nearing, he'd have torn him to pieces in the moment it took him to revive. Dimitri would never have gotten to his hearts.
"I want to know something, Dimitri," he said quietly, turning back. "This path you chose… Why? You had a family—siblings, parents… So why?"
Dimitri blinked. "Why not?" he snapped. "Seto only cared for Mokuba and I was always last to fuss over when something happened. Why shouldn't I destroy them all?"
Yami shook his head slightly. "You remind me so much of Bakura," he admitted quietly, narrowing his eyes. "You're both just…disgusting and rotten inside. He was angered by Atem's status as a God Dragon, Seto envious, and Malik was just there to hear the squealing. And you… Well, unfortunately, you got the worst of all three of them and Keith, didn't you?"
Yami could feel them behind him, standing a few feet back and watching him with glittering eyes. They couldn't move. They couldn't jump forward and strike him. None of them had that power. He'd summoned them, but the power remained with him.
Dimitri glanced past him, tilting his head. "Is that what having death as an ability means?"
"Yes," he answered quietly. He narrowed his eyes, flexing his claws and ignoring the urge to snarl. Sartorius had shifted behind him. "My gift allows me to summon them, to control them…"
Sartorius had stepped closer.
"To destroy them."
Dimitri blinked, head raised, and Yami spun around. He rushed forward, springing up, and slashed outward with his right paw. Sartorius was gutted instantly, form shuddering and dissipating slowly into a mass of smoke. Yami glanced briefly at Bakura and Keith, and faced Dimitri again.
"You can kill them and they'll come back. My fathers fought them and killed Bakura and Keith both and here they are, yes?" he said softly, watching as Dimitri considered the ashes sprinkled about the red flowers Sartorius had once loomed over. When he looked back, Yami smiled faintly. "Sartorius won't come back. And, when you and I die here, neither of us will make it to the afterlife."
Dimitri snorted. "Very good try at intimidation. I'll give you points for being so creative about it," he sneered. He smirked. "But why offer up your soul as well?"
"I don't have a choice in that," he admitted, smiling wider and baring his teeth. Anger thrummed through him for a split second as they faced each other. "Amun plans to devour me the moment we kill each other. He said something about doing the same to you, but…unlike you, I'll grant you mercy. Unlike what you did to your siblings, I will keep you from the worst that can happen. That is my gift for you, my only gift to you."
Dimitri smirked. "Me? You offer me mercy? You offer me a gift?" he soar, laughing loudly. "Are you serious? Are you insane? Do you truly believe I want your 'gift'?"
Yami snickered. "I'm not giving you a choice, Dimitri, just as you didn't with your siblings. I'm going to kill you and destroy your soul, and then this cycle will be broken. There won't ever be a reason for a Divine or a fifth or sixth God Dragon. This will end here."
His sibling roared with laughter. "You think yourself so powerful?"
Yami chuckled. "Oh, Dimitri, I am so powerful." He tossed his head. "Look around you. We stand in the center of death itself, with onlookers who still live and breathe. Look at them all, Dimitri—Don't you recognize a few of them?"
Dimitri glanced around quickly, then paused. He stared at a certain spot for a moment, then took a slower survey of their surroundings once more. The scales along his spine rose and fell slowly, jerking and twitching unsteadily, and his eye glittered as it caught Yami's once more. "Why are they all here? Why bring the rest of them here?"
Yami stepped forward. "This world had to touch the living in order to rectify what chaos you wrought," he said slowly. "Every dragon alive at this moment is here now, gathered to watch you and I destroy each other."
Yugi had stiffened in his peripheral, and Atem was staring around with a curious expression. Seto was snarling at Dimitri, while Kisara refused to look. Honda was staring at Keith with a furious, despaired expression. Critias had wandered forward to stand next to Timaeus who was watching Yami intently. Aki and Chazz sat nearby, Yusei creeping toward them with a curious expression, Leviathan had gone over to Jaden as if to check his wounds, and Yami could see Ironheart sitting on the fringe of the crowd, summoned and silent. Yami glanced around at each of them finally, absorbing their presences and studying their expressions, and turned back slowly.
He wondered if anyone would recognize the souls beside them, if they'd speak their names. But he didn't think they had the ability to take them further into the domain any longer. He'd been incapable before, but now he was aware. He had control… If one lost themselves, he had faith they'd find their way back or enjoy their existence there among their loved ones…
He stepped forward and Dimitri spun on him from where he'd been watching Atem. Immediately his eye locked on him and Yami paused a few feet away, tucking his wings into his sides.
"Are you scared?" he asked quietly, narrowing his eyes. When he stepped forward again Dimitri snarled and matched him.
"Why should I be?"
"You'll die here and cease to exist."
"You say it as if it will be easy."
"No," Yami laughed, wondering not for the first time just how hard it truly would be, "but it only has to happen once."
Dimitri blinked, freezing, and Yami noticed his own parents stop short. Yami paused, smirking, and lashed his tail.
"I said I saw in the dark, Dimitri," he hissed. "I saw the secret you were trying so hard to conceal. You have one heart. Once you are struck down, it means the end of you."
Dimitri snarled softly. "Why do you know that?"
"Because we're the same in that respect," Yami answered, raising his head. "You and I share weaknesses but not strengths."
He saw the understanding then, blooming across Yugi's face, and confirmation in Atem's, and the shocked horror in Timaeus's. The three of them didn't move but for blinking, and Yami noticed it when the other deities froze and stared blankly. A few hushed noises of surprise came through the crowd but no one moved beyond that. No one spoke outwardly as the two hatchlings came closer.
When they were inches apart, Dimitri sprang for him. Yami ignored the urge to flee. He braced himself, then sprang to meet him. He sank his claws into his shoulders as Dimitri did. They rolled and hit the ground, and Yami kicked his back legs to give himself some distance. Dimitri scoffed loudly as Yami used his hindquarters to stand partially. Dimitri released him when the movement wrenched his claws. Yami let go when he tried to roll, and they both straightened again.
"Weren't you the one so terribly afraid of spilling blood when you first hatched?" Dimitri laughed. "I'm glad to see you've learned to use your claws since. I'd rather you fight back so that I don't waste my time breaking your bones."
Yami snorted. "You're rather optimistic, aren't you?"
Dimitri stepped closer and shifted his weight. Yami almost missed it when he jumped. His shoulder struck his, sending them both tumbling. He thought of the games he'd seen in Atem's memories. When he and Timaeus had played, they'd always avoided claws. So they'd adopted a game of jumping and hitting each other in the shoulders. The impact usually knocked Atem sideways, but it had taught him to absorb impact in his shoulders in fights. The Sky Dragon had only used the technique a few times, but Yami had always remembered it.
He forced himself to roll a little further, missing Dimitri's teeth by an inch. When he landed on his back, he braced his back paws and kicked to slam his jaw shut again. Dimitri snarled, jerking away, and ran his teeth along his tusks. Yami watched him a moment, considering, but braced himself immediately again. The Lightning hybrid slammed into him once more, mouth wide open. Yami tucked his paws back, claws braced, and kicked. Dimitri's teeth missed his throat by an inch. His claws sank into Yami's shoulders. Yami put his front paws to his face, claws sinking in, and strained his wings to shove off the ground. The force knocked Dimitri backwards and he hurriedly righted himself.
"Is fear hereditary?" Dimitri sneered, circling him. Yami followed every movement with a turn of his head, almost laughing. "You and your father both cowered when I struck. Defense won't save you."
"Defense?" he snickered, and sprang to meet him again.
Dimitri caught his shoulders and they rolled a couple of feet. Yami landed on his side with Dimitri atop him. His teeth were clamped atop the tusk on his right cheek. His claws were in his shoulders. Yami stretched his own paw up to dig into his shoulder, kicking at the muscle in front of his back leg. They rolled a few inches. Blood sprayed and his flesh stung where the claws dug further. He kicked, back claws gutting him in an instant, but the wound healed immediately. Yami ignored the laughter in his throat again. It was sad he'd use Yugi's form against him like that.
They lay on their sides, claws hooked. Yami kept one paw pressed to his stomach, the other braced toward the ground. Both front paws were wrapped around Dimitri's neck. Dimitri tugged on the tusk as if he might dislodge it. Yami burst out laughing before he could stop himself. Dimitri snarled and kicked, writhing and attempting to throw him off. Yami kept his grip, but shoved him away by the stomach. Dimitri lay with his belly exposed, kicking the air. Yami bunched his back limbs and aimed for his head, digging deep grooves into his flesh. One of the gems along the his skull dislodged and blood gushed. Yami bristled but didn't release.
In an instant the flesh under his claws changed. The hardened muscle was lined with more delicate scales of bright teal. The claws holding his shoulders clenched, an extra on both paws tunneling through his flesh. A burning amber eye glared back at him. Timaeus's teeth clamped down impossibly harder, threatening to break the tusk he held so tightly. Yami kicked harder, almost gutting him as he squirmed. Dimitri stretched his body out, shoving off the ground with his wings. The movement almost disengaged them, but Yami held his grip despite himself.
His back paws kicked again, tunneling toward Dimitri's skull. Bone fragments chipped from the abuse. He twisted his upper body slightly, throwing Dimitri more toward the ground. He kept his grip on his shoulders, though he released one to sink his claws into his elbow. Dimitri was pinned halfway to the ground, back paws flailing for a split second. Then his wings jerked. Yami felt the blow so solidly it dislodged him. Immediately a second blow followed and Yami was shoved backwards. He hit the ground, rolled, and sprang up again.
Dimitri shot forward, shape changing to that of Atem. Yami lashed his tail. The Sky Dragon possessed all four claws, which meant his tail was undamaged. But that didn't mean he knew how to utilize it. Yami squared his shoulders. Atem's form was amazing for stamina and speed, but Dimitri couldn't have used it often. He'd utilized Yugi far more, in an effort to become all but infallible. He'd used it to fight the Uria. And he'd kept Atem at bay because of it…
He jumped at the last moment to meet him. The change of course made Dimitri startle. The Uria slammed into him, throwing him backwards. Dimitri landed on his back, hissing and spitting. Their claws locked in each other's shoulders. Yami clamped his teeth into his jaw, just beneath his bottom mouth. He shoved off the ground with his back paws and rolled a few inches. Dimitri's scales snapped along his spine. Yami tucked his back paws toward his belly and kicked. Blood spurted and immediately there was a sense of beating flesh against his paws.
And then it was gone again.
Yugi's voice twisted and rose into a snarl. Yami refused to release his jaw, clenching down harder. Dimitri kicked him hard in the flank, before his right back leg, and stunned him. The blow to instantly follow sent him rolling despite his grip. Yami's jaw ached from the abuse as he landed on his stomach. Dimitri struggled to his belly as well. Yami shifted his weight and braced his claws. And Dimitri raised a paw to strike at his head but missed.
A flash of heat came through the air, the crackling deafening. Yami snorted as the Gandora caught fire. The burst of flame did nothing but coat him. Dimitri writhed, kicking and flailing to dislodge him. His claws dug in harder, cutting through his flesh. But Yami refused to let go. Dimitri spat a curse and tried unsuccessfully to kick him off.
You disappoint me, Yami laughed before he could stop himself. Dimitri paused his attack, curious. Did you never stop to think why Gandoras don't use that technique when they fight each other? It's a waste of time and energy to use an attack like that during a battle proving it ineffective.
Dimitri huffed, What a shame.
Yami let him go only when he almost managed to gut him. The Uria twisted, rolling, and shrugged him off as he sprang away. When he landed, he shook himself out and stretched his limbs. Dimitri watched him with a glittering eye, scowling. Yami flicked his tail and flexed his claws, watching him intently. The wound had healed on his side, though it tingled with a faint burning sensation.
"Tell me, Dimitri," he commented lightly, tucking his wings. "You wanted to fight Atem and swallow his hearts so that you would be all but untouchable. You wanted Yugi's because of his species. You wanted Jaden's for his influence, Yusei's for his immunity, and Leviathan's for his battle capabilities… Why bother with half of the other deaths?"
The other hatchling blinked and stared at him as if he were stupid. "Half of it was for fun, and the other to gather forms." When Yami didn't respond, the hatchling flicked his tail and grinned. "But…mostly it's because I could. So, then, why shouldn't I?"
Yami nodded, smirking. That was more the answer he'd been waiting for. He saw Atem twitch in the corner of his eye; the God Dragon had shifted closer to Yugi at some point, though they were not touching. The Gandora was staring at Dimitri with burning eyes, as if he thought at any moment he might lunge forward and leap into the fray. Yami couldn't sense much from his thoughts but for shock and irritation, and he wanted both to laugh and sob. Yugi was mostly angered for the fact Dimitri even thought to lay a claw on Atem, and the lack of concern for himself or Yami was almost painful.
"Now, are you planning to actually fight me? Or is this just a stalling game?"
Yami ignored the urge to glance at Atem. Something about locking eyes with him had always been comforting despite everything. "Were you planning to do something more than run away when I snapped my teeth?" he returned. "Or were you always going to just quiver before me?"
"Quiver?" Dimitri spat.
He smirked again, struggling once more not to burst out laughing. "Your paws shake as we speak."
"Your eyes must be strained."
Yami snorted as Dimitri sprang forward again. He slammed into his shoulder and threw him backwards. They landed on their sides, claws locked in the other's flesh. They rolled several feet, tumbling about the red grass and flowers. Yami kept him at a standstill after a moment, claws and teeth locked in his face. He rapidly cycled through forms to keep him from breaking his skull open. Yami ignored the claws at his gut and kept him on the ground, lashing his tail. Dimitri had twisted enough to grasp his shoulders and kick both back paws at his underbelly and flank.
They remained like this for a moment and Yami huffed for air as Yugi's skull turned to Atem's, then Seto's, Kisara's, Timaeus's, Yusei's, Leviathan's, and finally back to the Uria's. Yami ignored it, never shifting position or losing his grip. Had he been confident, he would have struck out with his tail. But he wasn't sure how to aim properly. He'd never used it in combat. He'd never used it at all but for striking down a tree once to shelter the entrance of a den he'd chosen.
Dimitri squirmed and Yami smacked his head against the ground to stun him. The other Divine snarled angrily and clenched his claws in reprimand, but could not squirm out of his grip. Yami held him there, wondering how long they'd fight like this before one of them at least gained an advantage. How long was he going to hold him there, both of them inflicting equal damage? He'd never tried to measure the time spent in those fights during the visions he'd seen…
Atem, he called, slamming Dimitri's head to the ground again. He saw his father's head raise slightly, eyes widening only minutely. He saw Yugi stiffen beside him, curious and suspicious. Yami refused to raise his eyes to Atem's, focusing still on Dimitri. Share your ability with me.
There was a long silence. He saw Atem narrow his eyes faintly. How?
Reach it, and I will do the rest.
Atem did not answer for a long minute. Do you believe this will save you?
No. But I need your strength. He ignored the kick that attempted once more to gut him. He lashed his tail and flexed his claws. Dimitri spat with frustration and tried to kick away from him. He tried harder than ever to break away, to get out of his claws and away from his teeth. Yami wondered for the first time just how scared Dimitri was. I need your strength, Father. I can't beat him alone like this. The most we can do between us now is stall and hope that one of us inflicts the kill blow…
Dimitri cycled through another series of forms—Timaeus, Yugi, Jaden, Yusei—as Yami kept him pinned. He took another kick to the side, the claws striking in an attempt to cut through flesh once more. He felt the cuts and the blood was sticky against his side, but the pain was almost nonexistent. Yami clamped down harder. The bone in his mouth creaked from the force. Dimitri yowled, changing to Atem rapidly, and Yami spat a curse when he heard the snap of his tail. The blades had unsheathed, and Yami released him to spring away just as they slammed against his shoulder. The blow was stunning, knocking him backwards and sending him rolling, but the damage was superficial. He hadn't aimed properly.
He staggered to his paws, stunned, and Dimitri screeched with outrage as he got up. Yami looked at him, eyes wide, as Dimitri looked at the crushed bones in his tail. Were they so fragile or had they been wounded before Dimitri had acquired the form? They looked like bone and claw fragments mixed about the red scales.
"They're all so useless," he spat. "These damn forms—none of them are what I need."
Yami lashed his tail. "No one dragon is infallible—not by design, nor by strength."
He could feel Atem now, a cold wave of ice like gusting winds in his blood. The sensation was overwhelming, striking him so firmly it nearly knocked him from his paws. Yami blinked, wondering at it, touching at the frigid sensation, and felt as if he might somehow burn beneath it. It was endless, boundless, and he was both smothered and embraced by it. It was all-encompassing. Yami finally understood it then, why Atem had always struggled and why he'd never remembered when he touched it. It was all-consuming, empowering even as it took away all sense of control. Yami felt as if the air had been crushed from his lungs the longer he was exposed.
Dimitri had gone still, head raised and eye wide. Yami noticed it when the gem on his forehead flashed briefly with something like snow-laden clouds. It turned briefly white, the sky blue brightening. Yami stared at it, fascinated, before realization dawned on him.
Dimitri felt it, too. He felt that raw power, the strength and energy and pure need.
Very slowly the other Divine turned his head, eyeing Atem critically. "So, that's you?" he breathed, then chuckled hoarsely as if he were struggling not to wheeze. "That's your ability?"
Atem didn't respond but to look over slowly. His tail flicked slowly as if he were counting his breaths, eyes glittering like fresh embers even as his gem turned a brilliant and blinding white.
It occurred to Yami only then as the other dragons sat up, they could all feel it. Every single one of them had been touched by Atem's ability. The idea made him bristle, shocked, but he almost laughed at himself a moment later. Of course they all could feel it. Every single one of them had a survival instinct. Every single one of them would have one until the moment they died.
"How?" Dimitri asked, amazed and staring. "How did you wind up with a gift like that?"
Atem smirked. "I'm just that amazing," he sneered, voice like crackling thunder.
Yami watched him a moment, then turned back to Dimitri. He wondered then, staring at him, if the ability might still be utilized. It seemed a hard attempt to save his own skin, the idea nearly knocking the wind from his lungs. How soon would Dimitri utilize it as well? How soon would they run in circles as they already had?
Abruptly, the ice swelling in his veins, Yami hissed, "Sever the link, Father."
Dimitri spun on him, bristling. "No, Atem, keep it. I'd love to test it out for myself."
Atem snorted and stood, shaking himself out. The movement made everyone turn to him, staring intently and wondering if he might launch himself into the fray. But the cold had begun to waver and Yami didn't feel as if the air might suffocate him any longer. Dimitri screeched, furious, and launched himself at him so quickly Yami almost couldn't track it.
Instinctively he dropped to his belly, then surged up at the last moment. His teeth clamped into his throat just as claws raked upward from his back leg to his elbow. The blow nearly eviscerated him and his teeth missed the jugular by a mere hair as he jerked away. They both retreated a few steps, bristling and scowling at each other. Yami shook himself, flexing his wings and lashing his tail in frustration. Dimitri changed to Timaeus for a moment and then to the Uria.
The air had not completely lost its chill yet, and Yami felt dizzy with the cold for a single moment. Atem had tucked his paws toward himself, tail wrapped nimbly around them. The God Dragon was tensed as the light wavered from his gem, slowly turning blue once more. Dimitri snarled, spinning on him, but did not rush to strike again. Instead he turned on Yami, rushing forward.
He moved so quickly Yami barely had time to brace himself. The blow sent him flying backwards, the two of them rolling from the force. He flipped as Dimitri sank his teeth into his side, clamping down where his ribs ended. He screeched as they flipped again, rolling once more. He landed forcefully on his head, kicking his back legs to knock him away. He scrambled as Dimitri's teeth dislodged, shoving his wings against the ground to throw himself to his paws. He landed heavily, side bleeding profusely, and nearly collapsed.
Dimitri did not miss a beat. He opened his jaws as he landed on his back. His forelimbs stretched out, claws braced. He caught him by the shoulder and neck, snapping his teeth at his jaw. Yami could do nothing but arch his spine to keep from falling. His tail lashed as he caught his shoulders with his claws in turn. Dimitri struck at his chest plates and failed to leave a scratch. One of the scythes almost cut into his remaining eye but the Divine hardly seemed to care. He changed direction, clamping onto Yami's right fore-shoulder and shaking him rapidly. Yami kicked his face with his back claws, struggling to throw him off.
Dimitri clamped down harder, spitting. Yami kicked until his jaw creaked from a blow. It knocked Dimitri back an inch before he snapped at his throat again. He missed when Yami kicked again. Dimitri snarled, backing up a step to dodge the next blow. Yami scrambled to his paws and Dimitri lunged. He hit his shoulders, one paw cutting into his wing, and slammed him to the ground. Yami landed hard, his shoulder jarring from the blow. He shoved himself off the ground with his wings. Dimitri flipped, landing heavily on the ground belly-up, and Yami caught himself upright.
He barely managed to draw a breath as Dimitri changed shape once more.
Yami watched him, despaired, and wondered again how to stop him. Atem hadn't managed it, nor had Yugi…
Dimitri sprang and threw him to the ground once more. His shoulder popped out of place and Yami screamed even as he kicked and threw him sideways. He caught his side in his mouth, trying to gut him with his teeth. Dimitri shifted forms so rapidly Yami could barely draw blood. They rolled a few feet. Dimitri dragged him to his paws by his shoulder. Yami rose to his back paws as well, lunging forward. The blow knocked the wind from Dimitri, just as it did Yami. They landed heavily, rolling, and Dimitri kicked him roughly.
Yami almost dislodged but caught himself. He jumped to avoid the next, struggling not to pant. The next blow almost disemboweled him even as he threw himself forward to roll. He kicked sharply, panting even as he clamped his teeth into his fore-shoulder. Dimitri placed a paw against his belly and dragged rapidly. The blow left Yami reeling, though he forced the pain aside to heal it almost instantly. He forced his back legs to grip Dimitri's flanks and kicked. The momentum flipped him. Yami kept his grip on his shoulders, throwing them both further into the red grass.
Dimitri changed shape again when he managed to kick him off. His jaw was dangling, Yami realized. It was barely attached, though he didn't remember striking it so hard. He stumbled to his own paws and slammed his shoulder into the ground. The bone jarred and popped itself back into place. Yami stood, panting, as Dimitri ran his teeth along the tusks on either side of his mouth to realign the bone. They stared at each other and Yami wondered, more despaired than ever, what to do.
How did one fight someone who could change shapes and instantly heal even a killing wound?
Yami lashed his tail. How was he supposed to stop him?
Dimitri shook himself out and rushed forward. Yami allowed himself a brief glance at Atem and Yugi. If he didn't kill Dimitri… When he turned back, Dimitri was mere inches away. He had to potential to rip him to pieces if he didn't move. The thought left his stomach churning and he wondered again what would happen if he just gave up.
But Dimitri had caught fire again, the flames lapping black and blue as he almost slammed into him.
Yami stared back, lashing his tail.
Amun had said Dimitri was a phoenix.
So what happened if the phoenix didn't have fire?
