Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Psyche ❯ Endings ( Chapter 29 )

 

Psyche

Chapter Twenty Six: Endings

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OCs

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Ahmose: (Egyptian for: The moon is born) Yami's son back in Egypt.

E'on: Jonouchi's Red Eyes Black Dragon.

Jame: Kaiba's obsessive-compulsively organized secretary who wants to be fired.

Kallon: The Dark Sage and one of the three rulers of the Shadow Realm, though he tries hard not to be.

Kisara: The only female Blue Eyes White Dragon. (Not really an OC)

Koori: (Japanese for: Ice) The largest male Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Ledowr: The Magician of Black Chaos, also one of the three rulers of the Shadow Realm, and is trying even harder not to be. He is also Yuai's husband.

Pepi: Yami's third wife back in Egypt.

Shimo: (Japanese for: Frost) The other male Blue Eyes White Dragon.

Yuai: Yugi's girlfriend, sort of..., one of three rulers of the Shadow Realm. Though she's been slacking lately. She is married to Ledowr.

 

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Kaiba

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Hell, Kaiba realized quite young, broke loose in a variety of ways. Sometimes it crept up on you, one horrible footstep at a time. The first step could be nothing more ominous than your mother sleeping in late and having to go to the doctor's to “just check to make sure.” Sometimes hell would smile at you, a cold, calculating smile that said, “Sell yourself to me, boy. I'll take care of your brother. I'll never hurt him. You'll do that for me” Or sometimes it just moved straight to the main event.

Malik was laying on the floor writhing and screaming, his head slamming back, his spine arching up, as he shrieked long insane howls of agony. Yugi was desperately trying to hold the blond down, while Ryou raced around clearing the area of things Malik could thrash into and hurt himself. The TV chimed a merry song about antiperspirant in the background from where the lights had been watching WWW Wrestling. Popcorn and soda were now scattered across the floor being kicked and trampled by worried feet.

“Ohmygod, ohmygod, ohmygod.” Ryou pulled the coffee table out of the way as Malik started convulsing, his arms and legs wildly flailing around.

Kaiba grabbed Mokuba as he ran into the room with Mai and Anzu. “Go back to the kitchen.”

Mokuba just stood frozen in his brother's arms staring.

Mai pulled Yugi away. “Don't try to restrain him. He could hurt you.”

“But…” Yugi watched helplessly as Malik slammed himself against the side of the couch.

“She's right.” Kaiba pulled Mokuba back till the couch blocked the screaming blond from view then turned to look in his brothers shocked eyes. “Mokie, go back to the kitchen. Find some towels, gather ice, and make some tea.”

That should keep him busy. Mokuba mutely nodded, only half understanding as Kaiba gave him a push in the right direction. Kaiba looked around seeing Mai, Anzu, Ryou , and Yugi standing in a helpless circle around Malik. Where's Honda? He's usually the first to jump…

That's when he realized that he'd been distracted and hell wasn't through with him yet. Honda was kneeling on the stairs in front of where Jonouchi sat, forcing his friend's head down between his knees. The other blond was dead pale, shaking, with his eyes looking around the room with glassy, unfocused terror.

And now he chooses to get his memory back. Kaiba sprinted for the stairs, leaving Mai to deal with Malik and the others.

“Hey, it's alright.” Honda awkwardly stroked Jo's hair as he kept the blond bent forward. “Just take deep breaths.”

Kaiba crouched next to him. “He remembered.”

Honda nodded. “Came down the stairs and …wham.”

“Go help Mai.” Kaiba reached out, sliding his hands over Jo's shoulders. “Keep Mokuba out of it.” He shifted closer as Honda left. “Jo, it's fine. It's all over. Just take it easy.”

“He…he… Seto…he…” Jonouchi panted shivering and shaking his head. “It hurt…Seto, it hurt.”

“It's all over.” Kaiba ran his fingers through Jo's hair. “He's dead. He can't hurt you.”

Down below, the sounds of Malik's shrieks and thrashing were dying down into gasps and quieter cries of pain. The others were chittering amongst themselves, and Mai was trying to restore some order to the scene. Kaiba was relieved for no other reason than it was one less hellish thing he had to worry about, especially when Jo needed him.

“He kept screaming.” Jo shook. “Night, day… he'd just scream.”

“Shhhhh.” Kaiba pulled him closer, cradling Jo's head against him, still running his fingers soothingly through his hair. “You're home now. You're safe.”

Jo wrapped his arms around Kaiba's waist, hiding his face against his shoulder, while down bellow everyone scampered around in a panic, helplessly watching Malik curl into a tight ball wailing in loss and pain.

~*~*~*

Yamis

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Yami stood looking up the hall towards Pegasus's office. The place was, in his opinion, a nightmare with purple carpets, suits of armor lining the walls and sharing space with ornate tables with flowing lacy tablecloths, bowls of huge flowers, large gilt framed pictures of cartoon characters, and intricately woven rugs in yellow, orange, red, and green. The thief was stomping up the hallway angrily scanning the floor, walls and doors that surrounded them with a look of complete disgust on his face.

“Marik aside,” Seth murmured in his ear. “This is too easy.”

Yami nodded. “Uncle is far too crafty to let us off so easy.” He looked at Pegasus's door suspiciously, then shook his head. “What is he planning?”

Seth sighed absently stroking his fingers along the Rod. “I should have guessed the seals. He did that before when I was trying to arrest him.” He paused thoughtfully. “The reintegration seal is new, but before he used Nephaine and Negleta seals.”

Yami eyed the thief as Bakura paused crouching down to inspect the floor. “Bakura will be able to deal with either of those, and Akenaden would be a fool to think otherwise.”

“Father was never a fool.” Seth frowned. “He's got something else in mind.”

“Hey, pharaoh.” Bakura still was inspecting the floor carefully. “Take a look.”

Yami eyed the far door one last time, then sauntered casually down the hall with Seth at his side. “What is it?”

On Pegasus's cheerfully demented carpet a small smudge of charcoal smeared its way under a lacy table. A tiny, nearly unnoticeable whisper of power came from the hidden space. An almost identical smudge trailed under the foot of the French suit of armor next to it.

“Animation?” Yami carefully touched the edge of one of the smudges, getting a small tingle of corruptness from it.

“Figures.” Bakura looked irritably at the armor with its filigrees and swirls. “Pegasus must be rubbing off on him.”

“Meaning?” Seth eyed the metal monstrosity wondering at the sanity of anyone who could possibly wear such a thing.

“It's an old cliché,” Yami looked sourly at the armor, “to have animated armor attack people and start clumsily swinging a sword around. There's probably something like a animated hand or skull under that table to bite our ankles.”

“Could he have used someone's soul to do the animation?” Seth fingered the Rod thoughtfully. “These halls should have people in them, maybe he used them.”

“One way to find out.” Bakura straightened and kicked the armor.

It clanked slowly to life, stumbled a few paces forward, tripped and fell to the floor shattering into dozens of pieces. The draping cloth of the table twitched and a small whirring sound revved up into a buzz as a shinning globe whirled out from under the table and started spinning around the hall. Bakura yelped as the globe smashed into his foot.

“Fuckin'… that son of a…” Bakura leapt out of the way as it zoomed by him again. “It's a high tech ankle biter.”

Yami danced away as it caromed in his direction, tumbling into Seth who was hopping aside to spare his own feet. As they tumbled into a heap, the globe glittered and shot towards them, smacking into Yami's leg. Yami hissed and shoved his priest off him, allowing the globe to zip in to smack the back of Seth's head with a dull thunk. The priest only made a small grunt as he went limp on the floor.

“Shit.” Bakura grabbed one of the leg pieces of the armor and swung it at the globe. “Two down.”

The globe swirled around and flashed toward Seth's head again. Bakura swung, but it veered aside, spun around and hit Seth's chest. Yami winced as he heard a dull crack as Seth's ribs broke.

“It's picking up power as it moves.” Yami grabbed another piece of armor and smacked the globe away as it swerved to attack Seth again. A sharp electric tingle shot up his arm, causing him to drop the metal armor with a startled hiss. “It's got an electrical charge.”

Bakura hummed, his eyes slanting to where a bowl of flowers nodded peacefully on a nearby table. As the sphere whirled back around to attack, he grabbed the bowl and flung the contents onto it. The globe whirled in place, sending sparks out then slowed. In a few seconds, it lay quiet on the purple rug.

Yami growled, eyeing his hand and his now unconscious priest, as ne knelt down. “Seth?”

The brunet didn't twitch as Yami carefully slipped his hand to the spot where the globe had hit his head. The pharaoh could feel the bruise forming already. He tapped his finger gently against Seth's closed eye. “Seth, wake up. Can you hear me?”

“And?” Bakura looked suspiciously around, still jittery from adrenaline.

“He's out.” Yami pulled his hand back, grimacing. He sighed, gently stroking Seth's hair then stood. “Let's go. We have to deal with Akenaden.”

“You're going to leave him there?” Bakura arched an eyebrow, a small evil grin slipping onto his lips. “Loyal, pharaoh, really loyal.”

Yami glared back. “Move thief.” He stepped past Bakura scanning the ground. “If we don't stop Akenaden, he'll kill Seth anyway. Now back to work.”

~*~*~*

Hikaris

~*~*~*

 

Ryou quickly trotted into the kitchen, smiled distractedly at where Mokuba was stuffing ice into plastic bags for Malik's many bruises, and dropped a pile of dirty paper towels into the trash. He grabbed a roll of clean ones and was back out into the living room in seconds. Malik was now laying under a blanket, still thrashing slightly and making small pained sounds. Mai and Honda were kneeling next to him just in case he started thrashing again. Yugi and Anzu were hurridly cleaning everything up and moving things farther out of Malik's reach. Kaiba and Jonouchi were still huddled on the steps, the blond clinging to his lover, and Ryou could guess, crying. He handed the paper towels to Anzu and quickly returned to the kitchen.

Mokuba handed him the ice bags with a kitchen towel wrapped around them. “Here. “ He nodded towards the phone. “I also called Shadi. He's on his way.”

Ryou nodded and darted back out. Handing the ice to Mai, he looked at Malik and worried. That could be me. Something, something horrible happened to Marik and… He reached out, as he'd tried ever since he noticed that his yami was missing, and tried to find Bakura. Yami, please…please tell me you're alright. Please. Nothing. Malik cried out softly, shuddering under the blanket. Please tell me you're safe. Please. PLEASE.

Yugi was wiping up soda, his eyes wide and terrified. Ryou didn't have to ask to know he was desperately trying to get his own yami to answer him, and he wasn't having any success. Wherever they were, their darks did not want to be disturbed. Which, when added to Malik's sudden attack, amounted to being with or very near Akenaden. He gathered up the paper towels that had already been used, and went to throw them out in the kitchen again.

Mokuba was standing at the sink, filling each ice tray one at a time and setting them aside. A kettle of water was heating on the stove, and a pot of tea stood ready to steep.

“Has anyone checked Duke, Grandpa and Isis?” Mokuba moved to the stove as a long stream of steam blew out of the kettle in a whistle.

Ryou shook his head, shoved the dirty paper towels into the trash with the others and darted back out the door. Please be safe. Please be safe.

Kaiba was now urging Jo to his feet and pulling the blond gently up the stairs. Honda was scooping Malik up and settling him on the couch as Mai hovered nearby arranging a pillow for Malik with a blanket tossed over her shoulder. Anzu had finished picking up the splinters of glass from where Malik had shattered a tumbler of soda and was now carefully wrapping them in an old newspaper. Yugi had another stack of paper towels soaked with soda and popcorn waiting for him.

“Has anyone checked on Grandpa and Isis?” Ryou parroted, barely noticing the words coming out of his mouth.

“I'll go.” Anzu set the newspaper containing the glass on the pile of paper towels. “Yugi, can you finish this?”

Yugi nodded. His eyes still only half focused on his surroundings. He was functioning on automatic, wiping up the mess, while begging his yami and whatever fates were listening that his yami wouldn't get hurt.

Anzu darted up the stairs passing Kaiba, who was still slowly leading a shaking Jonouchi towards their bedroom. Grandpa and Isis were in Grandpa's bedroom. Grandpa laying on the bed with Isis settled on a futon to one side on one side of the bed and Duke on another futon on the other side. No one looked like they had moved, but Anzu quickly checked, straightening Isis's blanket and brushing Duke's hair away from his pale face.

She bent over and kissed Solomon's cheek, “We really need you, Grandpa. Wake up soon.”

She stepped quietly out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. As soon as the door clicked shut, Grandpa, Duke, and Isis sat up, looking blankly at the door with dull eyes.

~*~*~*

Bakura and Yami

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The hall, which in reality really wasn't all that long, seemed to stretch out forever as the two darks paced slowly up the hall looking for small clues to indicate another trap. Seth lay sprawled near the deactivated remains of the spinning globe behind them. Finally, they both stood in front of the last gaudy rug that led to Pegasus's office. It was a nightmarish design of Pegasus's full scrawled in loopy, florid swirls of yellow set amidst hundreds of Funny Bunny faces.

“Can't we let Akenaden have him?” Bakura looked disgustedly down at a winking Funny Bunny face. “How bad can it be?”

Yami's lips twisted in distaste. “Bad. Let's just do this and get out of this place before we start singing the Funny Bunny theme song.”

“I'm safe.” Bakura smirked stepping forward. “I don't know it.”

Yami shook his head with a small sarcastic grin, “Too bad. Malik could have taught it to you. Makes me miss him…”

The explostion of light knocked Yami back down the hall, nearly to where Seth lay. He lifted his head, disbelieving as a familiar column of crimson light surrounded the startled thief.

“Bakura!”

~*~*~*

Hikaris

~*~*~*

 

Ryou suddenly went tense, his eyes flashing open wide as something, somewhere ripped deep inside him. Yami!

And he was running. Even as Honda and Mai turned and watched the slight, white haired teen slip down to the floor in a boneless heap, Ryou ran. The door to his yami's soulroom was brushed by in a half second, the dark swirl of streets no living person had walked through for centuries were a blur, city walls with creaking gates, the sleepy creak of the Nile as it rolled in its ancient bed, tall palm trees waving against the night sky flashed by. All that was important was he had to be somewhere…somewhere ahead…now.

Sand caught and pulled at his feet as the desert spread out in front of him, but he didn't pause. He had to be there now! Bakura needed him there. Wind shifted around him as he raced, sending tiny pricks of pain as grains of sand hit him. The moon gleamed down between high flung clouds, but there was one place its light didn't hit. One place that was too dark, too shadowy. Ryou pushed, going faster. That was the place. Even as something else ripped, tearing into his soul, he flung himself forward into the one place Bakura had never allowed him to go in his soulroom.

He staggered a few steps forward and collapsed to his knees on the blasted earth. Green lightening flashed across the sky. Ahead of him on a slight rise huge crevices gouged through the earth and black slugs crawled oozily around. Yami! Where? He looked around, trying to find a clue. This was the place. Every particle of his soul said to be here, but what was he…

Crimson light sizzled down around him. He quickly jumped to his feet, dodging the light, and running into the boulders. The light followed, shattering the boulders, sending chunks of rock and pieces of slug raining down around him as he twisted and turned, keeping one step ahead of the light like a skilled thief dodging through a crowd. He leapt a crevice and darted through another group of boulders, the light following him. He jumped another, looking down. It had no bottom, only slugs patiently ascending the slick sides in greasy slow motion. Green lightening flashed again, as more boulders were destroyed. The light nipped at his heels, causing him to gasp and dart off to the side beneath a trio of boulders that looked almost like a bridge.

 

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Bakura and Yami

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Bakura hissed in agony as the light crushed down on him. It felt like the spell he'd used to get a body, but only a hundred times worse. He could dimly see Yami crawling up the hall towards him, trying to keep low as gold and red flashes of power cascaded down the hall.

Damn, so stupid! The idiot priest said it took a lot of power to set the seals. We gave him plenty of time to recover and set two… Fuck. He arched as the light clenched around him tearing into him, tearing him apart to put him back into Ryou … Ryou. My light. I'm so sorry. The light strengthened its hold, and he felt his body shred away, only his soul shivered waiting for the last blow. But the light hesitated, its grip loosening.

Far away he felt it, Ryou. It was after Ryou, but his little light was fighting back, running. He wasn't going to let the light catch him, and the crimson light couldn't do anything until it had Ryou. Yes! You can do it, tenshi. Be strong. You are me, I am you. No one can catch us in a race. Run!

He struggled against the light. If Ryou could do this, so could he. He twisted, his soul shifting against the bands of power that surrounded him, looking for a weakness. It hurt, as if he was rolling on thousands of razor sharp blades, but he had to do this. Ryou gave him this time, and he wasn't going to let the light destroy him, or his hikari. He thrashed a moment and felt it, a slight give. He shoved, past the agony, past the burn of power. It didn't matter. It hardly counted. After thousands of years of being locked in the Ring, what was this? Nothing. The red light shifted to gold, the gold shifted to white, then blackness.

He woke up sprawled on hard rocky soil with the stench of something burning in his nose. Something was laying on top of him.

“I… was… so… worried…” Ryou's voice whispered in breathless pants.

Bakura smiled up at the sky as green lightening flashed across it. “What was there to worry about?” He lifted his hand, stroking through his light's sweat damp hair. “I knew you could do it, tenshi.”

~*~*~*

Apartment… We're running out of hikaris…

~*~*~*

 

Ryou was now laying on the floor next to Malik. A soft blanket spread over him and a pillow plumped under his head. Yugi was now sitting in a chair staring off at nothing. Anzu was hovering nearby while Mai carefully checked Ryou for injuries. Honda was hauling another futon down the stairs to make Ryou more comfortable, and Mokuba was standing next to Yugi trying to get the semi-comatose light to drink some tea. When Yugi didn't so much as blink, Mokuba turned and walked up the stairs to check on his brother and Jonouchi.

“I got sent to the kitchen to make ice and tea, and someone is going to drink it.” He muttered as he stomped up the steps.

Kaiba and Jonouchi were laying on the bed. Jo was curled against Kaiba's side, clinging and shaking. Kaiba's arms were around him as he whispered reassurances into the blonds ear. Mokuba shuffled at the door uncertainly then looked down at the cup of tea in his hands.

“Anyone want some tea?” He tried hard to keep the small trace of sarcasms out of his voice. He really did. Jo was having a nervous breakdown. Malik was still crying in pain. Ryou was unconscious and he…had tea.

Kaiba looked up. “Put it over there.” He nodded toward the desk. “Are you okay?”

Mokuba nodded as he set the cup down. “Fine. Ryou just collapsed.”

Jo lifted his head to look at him. “Is he…?” His voice sounded rough.

Mokuba shrugged. “I don't know. He just fell over. Yugi isn't talking, so we can't ask him.” He looked at his brother. “I don't suppose Seth?”

“No.” Kaiba closed his eyes a moment. “I can't even feel him right now.”

“Oh.”

Jo struggled to sit up, rubbing a shaking hand over his face. He turned to his lover, trying to summon enough strength to stand. “We should go help.”

“Mai's got it covered.” Kaiba sat up, his arm still circling Jo's waist. “And Yami is the only one who can truly help Yugi.”

Mokuba turned to the door. “Well, I guess I'll be in the kitchen then, pretending to be useful.”

“Mokie…”

“Nah-uh.” Mokuba pointed at Kaiba. “It can't be both ways. I can't be safe in the kitchen and feel like I'm being useful at the same time.”

“Whatever is going on, I don't want you in the middle of it.” Kaiba frowned, trying a brotherly glare as well.

Mokuba ignored both. “That doesn't mean that I can't take care of my friends.”

“I didn't ask you to. I just don't want you…”

Jo slumped back to the bed, causing Kaiba to look at him worriedly. “I'm out of this. You two deal with it.”

Mokuba snorted. “There's nothing to deal with.”

There was a soft thump from downstairs.

“Probably Yugi falling over.” Mokuba shook his head. “Which means back to the kitchen for ice and…”

Mai screamed. Something crashed to the ground and Honda let out a yell. Kaiba and Jonouchi shot out of bed and raced through the door, shoving Mokuba behind them and closing him in the room.

Mokuba glared at the door then went over and sat at the desk, picking up the tea and drinking it. “I'll just stay here and maybe make the bed.”

~*~*~*

Yami

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Bakura was gone. He wasn't sure if he'd been reintegrated, but the thief was gone. He looked back at his still unconscious priest, then turned to face the door. He inspected it carefully, but found no seals or traps, so he pushed it open and cautiously stepped through.

 

“Welcome. Welcome.” Pegasus was sitting behind his expansive desk. A elegant Tiffany lamp decorated one corner of it, while a Funny Bunny paperweight sat on top of a pile of papers on the other corner.

 

Pegasus was grinning. “So it's down to you and me.”

 

Yami nodded, half wishing he'd taken the time to pull Seth into one of the empty offices. No, no point. Akenaden would just hunt him down. “Why are you doing this, Uncle? Egypt, the one we loved, is long gone. The financial dealings of this world are only minutely interesting. Power isn't what it used to be. Why do this?”

 

“Power is power.” The wide insane grin Pegasus had worn disappeared. “You never understood that.”

 

“I understood. I wasn't interested.” Yami glanced down at the floor then stepped forward. “Power can't be used the way it was back then. There are treaties, alliances, politics, balances. Things aren't as straight forward.”

 

“Oh, those things were there before. There are a few new twists, but it doesn't matter.” Pegasus shrugged, his eyes cold. “Given the right circumstances, things can return the way they were.”

 

Yami didn't particularly love the sound of that. He scanned the area, spotting a few traps. “What circumstances?”

 

“I know how to open the barrier between this world and the Shadow Realm.” Pegasus sat back in his chair. “That might be a good start. Letting Shadow beasts destroy a continent or two could bring things around.”

 

And severely tick off the rulers of the Shadows. But you don't know about them, do you? Yami gave the room one last look. He'd spotted the traps and the one Nephaine seal on the floor. He could guess that another of those spinning globes was hiding under a shawl draped artfully over a delicately carved chair. It was time to begin.

 

“Uncle, I can't let you do that.” Yami stepped forward, skirting the edge of the seal.

 

“You really have no choice.” Pegasus cocked his head at him. “I would have thought that someone who styles himself as the King of Games would have noticed that he was placed in checkmate.”

 

“Checkmate?” Yami snorted. “Hardly.”

 

“Oh, you don't believe me?” The grin stretching across Pegasus's face was hauntingly familiar. He'd seen it on his uncle's face just before he had died. “Tell me then, where is your hikari? Hmmm?”

 

~*~*~*

Apartment

~*~*~*

 

Anzu was crumpled in the corner of the livingroom, her brown hair falling over her face, as Isis blinked slowly down at her then turned away to join the others. Grandpa had tackled Honda to the floor and the two of them were struggling, Honda desperately trying to keep the other's hands off his throat. Mai circled the couch trying to keep away from Duke who was holding a small table lamp in his hand like a club. Kaiba raced down the stairs with Jonouchi at his heals. The only still person was Yugi who was sitting like a small statue in one of the chairs.

 

Jo leapt forward, yanking him off the chair. “Yug, come on. Get it together.”

 

Kaiba lunged for Duke, bringing the other brunet down with a crash. Duke squirmed, trying to turn and hit Kiaba with the lamp, but Mai jumped forward and caught his arm, pinning it to the floor. The lamp fell to the floor as Duke struggled, getting one leg free and kicking back to catch Kaiba in the groin, causing him to loosen his grip. Duke braced himself and then slammed his shoulder forward into Mai's stomach, sending her back into the couch.

 

“They don't stay down!” Mai gasped and rolled to the side as Duke regained his feet. “We hit Isis. She should have been out, but she got back up.”

 

Jo, seeing Solomon get through Honda's defenses and wrap his hands around his friend's throat, gave Yugi one more shove down and tackled the older man from behind. “Gramps, it's Honda. Look, it's Honda.”

 

Honda wiggled pulling one hand off, trying to gasp for breath. Jo pulled at the other. Solomon looked back with dark, unseeing eyes, and used his now free arm to slam it back into Jonouchi's stomach. The blond cried out and fell to the side, giving the older man time to grab onto Honda again with both hands.

 

Isis stood for a moment, then with a blank nod, walked over to where Duke was struggling against both Mai and Kaiba and picked up the lamp he'd dropped. She turned almost sleepily and stepped over to Yugi raising the lamp.

 

“Yugi! Move!” Jonouchi scrambled toward his friend, but Isis brought the lamp down hard.

 

~*~*~*

Seth

~*~*~*

 

The world swam in and out of focus as he staggered to his feet, almost tumbling back to the floor. His head ached with a pounding, blinding intensity, and his legs didn't want to support him anymore. His pharaoh and Bakura were gone. He hoped that they were either confronting Akenaden, or already finished with the fight. The alternatives didn't seem as comforting. He wobbled over to a wall, leaning on it for support as he forced his eyes to focus on the door ahead of him. He wasn't thrilled with the large burn mark on the carpet in front of the door. Nor was he happy with the silence.

 

He staggered toward the door, wincing as a sharp pain drove itself into his side. The residual power of the burn mark whispered of another seal like the one that had taken down Marik. Seth closed his eyes tiredly. That would explain why there aren't any people around. It would take the power of a dozen priests, but the lives of a couple dozen employees would serve just as well. He pushed open the door.

 

Yami was laying on his side. His hands limply laying around his head, as if he'd been trying to ward off a blow. Across the desk, Pegasus, or more accurately, his father sat looking at him steadily.

 

“I wondered if you were going to show up.” Akenaden's voice was cold.

 

Seth would have nodded if he could, as it was, he stepped carefully over to a chair and sat down. “You wanted my attention.” He wondered if he would be able to get up again, then pushed the thought away. “What, after five thousand years, is so important that you couldn't let me stay dead.”

 

“I want you to do what you were born to do.” His father's eyes narrowed. “You were born to rule this world. To drown it in the darkness. That time has come.”

 

“Father.” Seth looked around the room. “This isn't our world. It isn't our time.”

 

“You sound like him.” Akenaden nodded to where Yami lay. “But it can be ours. There is no reason for it not to be.”

 

Seth slumped, the Rod falling from numb fingers. He could feel it. The power of the Eye, pulling, not his soul, but his will out of him. Last time, only Kisara had been able to save him, to pull his lost soul back to the light. But now his dragons were locked away in the Shadows.

 

“Father, let it go. We're memories. We should stay that way.” Seth grabbed on for something to keep himself from slipping into the darkness he could sense tugging at his mind. “Did you really sacrifice so much to save Egypt, just to destroy it yourself?”

 

“You were born to do this.” Akenaden stood up, ignoring him. “You robbed me last time, but this time, you will do as I command.”

 

“Father…”

 

~*~*~*

Apartment- Only one hikari left!

~*~*~*

 

Jonouchi shoved Isis back before she could hit Yugi again. The smaller teen lay on the floor, with a jagged gash across one temple. Yug, be alright. Yami needs you to be alright. But the little light didn't even twitch.

 

“Jo!” Mokuba called.

 

Jonouchi glanced over and grinned when the black haired child held up a pair of cuffs.

 

“Found them in Yugi's room.” Mokuba threw them to him.

 

He caught them out of the air and kicked Isis in the stomach, sending her sprawling. “Find some more, or get some rope.”

 

Mokuba nodded picking up a coil of rope from the floor. “Found it in Grandpa's room.”

 

“Grandpa?!”

 

Speaking of which, Honda was starting to turn colors and his struggles were weakening. Jo mentally apologized to the closest thing he had to a grandfather, and kicked out again, this time aiming for Solomon's kidneys. The old man groaned and buckled, allowing Jo to pull him off Honda, who rolled away gulping for air.

 

Mai and Kiaba were still struggling with Duke. It seemed every time they got the other pinned, Duke wiggled free to strike. Isis was slowly climbing to her feet, still clutching the lamp in her hand and focusing solely on Yugi's unmoving body.

 

Jo grunted as Solomon regained enough to pull free and drive his fist into Jo's stomach. The blond tumbled over Ryou, who was still unconscious on the floor and fell sprawling on top of Duke. Kaiba yanked him off and shoved him aside.

 

“Here. Use these.” Jo pressed the cuffs into Kiaba's hands, then dove at Solomon's knees, bringing the elder down with a crash onto the coffee table.

 

Kaiba arched an eyebrow at the cuffs, then looked quickly around for something to cuff Duke to. An evil grin spread across his face as one solution popped into his head. He nodded to Mai, then nodded back to Isis. Mai blinked, then nodded.

 

Jonouchi rolled as Solomon rounded on him and tried to return the kick Jo had given him. Honda, still wheezing, grabbed Solomon's leg and pulled him off balance.

 

“Kid, we need that rope!” Jo grabbed it as Mokuba tossed it then was relieved to see the child race back up the stairs, hopefully to find other illicit goodies lurking around.

 

Jo made a quick loop and caught one of Solomon's arms, slipping it over his wrist and tightening it. Grandpa turned from Honda to Jo, his blank eyes focusing on the rope.

 

“Honda, his other arm.” Jo brought his knee up hard, driving it into Solomon's stomach.

 

Honda shoved from behind, sending Grandpa down again. Jo quickly caught the other arm and tied it tight. The elder thrashed trying to break free, but Honda shifted his weight pinning him down while Jo caught a flailing ankle and looped that into the bindings.

 

Kaiba had gotten the cuff around Duke's right arm and watched as Mai yanked Isis off her feet by her hair. The woman's slender ankle kicked by him, and he grabbed it, quickly snapping the other end of the cuff around it. It wouldn't hold the two down, but it would definitely slow them. He took a second to check around. Jo was trussing up the elder Motou. Yugi was laying with blood coating his face. Ryou was somewhat trampled, and Malik had been knocked off the couch and was now laying half under the coffee table. Anzu was groggily working her way back to the waking world and his little brother was standing at the foot of the stairs holding what looked like bondage gear. He did love his little brother.

 

~*~*~*

Seth

~*~*~*

 

It was dark. He remembered this darkness, the cold, dead weight of it pressing down, pressing him flat. His father stood next to him. His face corrupted and ravaged by the darkness that had consumed him millennia ago.

 

“Father.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Don't do this. This world…”

 

“Is ours.” Akenaden smirked down at him. “Let go Seth. Stop struggling against your destiny.”

 

Seth shook forcing himself up to his knees. “Father. This isn't destiny…”

 

Akenaden laughed. “Yes, Seth it is. Why deny it. Revel in it.” He spread his arms as if embracing the darkness that surrounded them. “Let go Seth, and I will spare him.”

 

Seth looked up, the darkness spinning around him. “No.”

 

“I will spare Seto, and I'll even let you keep the blond Jonouchi, and the brat.” Akenaden stroked his hair. “Give me what I want, and you can have everything you want.”

 

“Seto…my light.” The darkness pressed down, and Seth slumped to the floor. Seto…

 

~*~*~*

Apartment

~*~*~*

 

It looked like a bondage scene gone terribly wrong. Isis, Duke, and Solomon were trussed together in a mélange of bondage gear, handcuffs, rope, and duct tape. Unconscious hikaris littered the floor. Furniture was broken and overturned, and five teens lay sprawled in a weary poses across what furniture still survived.

 

“I feel good.” Jo commented from the coffee table. “Nothing like getting the shit beaten out of you to pull you out of a funk.”

 

Honda coughed from the arm chair. “Take note of that Kaiba.”

 

Kaiba poking at his lip and trying to decide whether he should get up off the couch and get some ice, nodded. “Noted.”

 

Mai cuddling a still woozy Anzu sighed. “We need to do something about Yugi.”

 

Jonouchi rolled off the coffee table with a thump and crawled tiredly over to his small friend. “Head wounds bleed a lot. Gotta get all this cleaned up before I can tell how bad it is.”

 

A smooth voice answered. “It's bad enough.”

 

Shadi stood in the middle of the living room looking at the carnage. “I seem to be a bit late.”

 

Mai nodded. “Can you…”

 

Shadi stepped over wreckage and gently picked Yugi up. “I'll take him upstairs. I'll need a few things.”

 

Mokuba slipped in from the kitchen holding a kitchen towel wrapped around a bag of ice and some bandages. “Ice Boy comes through.”

 

The two trotted up the stairs, leaving the others to contemplate Ryou and Malik's unmoving forms. Jo rolled onto his back and grinned up at Kaiba.

 

“I was going to say when we get home, let's go to bed and not get up till next spring, but that's not likely is it.” Jo looked up the stairs towards the beds.

 

“Thank you for reminding me.” Kaiba let his head roll back to the back of the couch and closed his eyes. He had a headache, not surprising considering how many times Duke had punched him, but he wanted pain killers, lots of pain killers.

 

Jo closed his eyes and let himself drift in the after the fight let down, feeling his body patiently explain to him, yet again, that fighting was not fun. Fighting was something his tired body wanted no part in for the foreseeable future. He lolled to his feet and stood looking around. Mai and Kaiba were wrecked. Honda was no better, and he was sure if he looked in a mirror he'd look like a crash dummy in one of those after the accident pictures they showed in drivers ed.

 

Kaiba winced, his headache growing. He tried to lift his head up to suggest to Jo that they head upstairs and leave the clean up to Shadi, but there was no strength behind the movement. He felt drained.

 

Seto…

 

Seth's voice was barely a whisper across his mind.

 

Seto, my light…

 

Seth. Seth?

 

The contact faded, leaving him alone with the knowledge that all the other hikaris were unconscious. Two having just collapsed and one being… hopefully… knocked out.

 

Seth! Damn it answer me!

 

He couldn't even sense Seth's presence lurking at the edges of his mind. He forced his eyes open. Jo looked like he was napping. Mai was busy with Anzu, and Honda was sprawled bonelessly in the chair rubbing his throat. Mokuba was upstairs with Shadi. Isis, Solomon, and Duke were going nowhere. He closed his eyes and willed himself into his soulroom.

 

He pushed into Seth's room, and staggered back. The temple was filled with shadows that slithered through the columns and corrupted the statues of the gods that set in their alcoves. A few tendrils reached out for him, but he dodged them and ran for the stairs.

 

“Seth! Where are you?”

 

He found the door to the small bedroom, and pushed it open, but there was no small comfortable room room with its narrow bed inside. Instead a seemingly endless chamber greeted him with more tendrils of the darkness. He could hear someone speaking, someone who was not Seth.

 

“Why do you fight? You know you want this.” The voice whispered. It sounded like an older, rougher version of Seth's voice. It had the same lilts and drawls as his yami's voice.

 

“No. I do not.” Seth's voice was hardly more than a pained whisper in the darkness. “I never…”

 

“You never wanted this? This?” The other voice mocked.

 

Seth made a choked cry.

 

Seth!

 

Seto… no…

 

“You owe me.” The other voice slithered around darkly. “I gave you everything.”

 

Seto stepped into the room. The wisps of darkness drifted towards him, licking at him, then retreating. He paused listening.

 

Seth, where are you?

 

Seto. Get out... I can't…

 

“I gave up my position, my honor, my soul. All for you.” The dark voice murmered.

 

Seto stepped towards that voice. He could feel Seth. His darkness was struggling against something. Seto followed the feeling.

 

“Father… I never…asked…” Seth's voice was broken into small gasps.

 

The voice turned vicious. “Ungrateful whelp.”

 

He could feel the pain as Seth got hit. It made him stumble falling to the floor with a small thump.

 

“Who's there?” The dark voice sharpened. “It's your little hikari, isn't it?”

 

“No…don't…” Seth was struggling.

 

Seto gritted his teeth and got back to his feet. He quickly and quietly paced to the right, away from the place he'd fallen.

 

“Do as I say, Seth, and maybe I won't destroy him.” The voice was approaching where he had been.

 

Seto slipped quietly through the shadows, heading towards where Seth's voice had come from. His yami was on the floor, struggling to get to his elbows. He looked over to Seto and shook his head.

 

No, don't. He can kill you.

 

Seth.

 

The Rod. Get the Rod.

 

How?

 

And he was there. Pegasus was standing in front of him with the Millenium Eye glowing in his face, looking not so much at him as through him. Glancing around he noted he was not in Industrial Illusions' head office. A place he'd been to for a few business meetings. Over to one side, Yami was on the floor, his posture mimicking that of his fallen hikari. Most importantly, the Rod was laying on the floor next to the chair. He reached down and felt a sudden swoop of dizzying pain.

 

“I guess I'm not the only one to have a hard day.” He grimaced and grabbed the Rod.

 

Got it. Now what?

 

He was back. Seth was laying at his feet, his eyes closed. Unfortunatly, Akenaden was also there too.

 

“Give me that!” Akenaden grabbed for the Rod.

 

Seto stepped back, shaking his head. “Not a chance.”

 

The corrupted priest snarled and made a small gesture to the surrounding darkness. Seth gasped as something shook through him.

 

“Give me that or you get to see him ripped apart.” Akenaden hissed, stretching out his hand, demanding the Rod.

 

Seto…come…

 

Seto stepped closer to his dark and knelt down.

 

“I said give it to me!” Akenaden made another gesture, but Seth's hand was already on the Rod.

 

“No.” Seth pulled himself up to face his father. “The Rod is mine.”

 

“You are mine.” Akenaden's Eye gleamed brighter in the gloom. “You belong to the darkness. You have always belonged to it.”

 

Tendrils of shadow slithered closer, winding around Seto's legs. Seto growled and tried to shake them off, but it was like trying to shake off smoke.

 

“He's not holding the Rod, Seth.” Akenaden suddenly smiled as the shadows slipped tighter. “And you have to admit, your little hikari isn't in the best of shape to begin with.”

 

Seth's lips tightened. “Enough father.”

 

The Rod gleamed as Seth raised it, stepping between Seto and Akenaden. Akenaden laughed, and the shadows gathered. The ones holding Seto suddenly yanked him back, covering him instantly in smothering darkness.

 

“Ah, well. Too late.” Akenaden grinned. “If you drop the Rod and behave, you might still have the blond and the child.”

 

Seth shook his head. “No.” He walked forward. He could still feel Seto struggling in the dark with the shadows. “You never knew when to shut up did you old man.” He wanted Akenaden's attention focused on himself and away from Seto. “All my life, even before I knew you were my father, I thought you were a long winded bore.”

 

Akenaden's eyes narrowed. “Brat.” The shadows hissed closer to him. “I'm glad I killed that bitch that whelped you.”

 

Seth didn't flinch as he stepped closer, but the blow hit. You killed her? Why? Were you so lost even then? He slid his mind into the Rod, tugging the ancient magics into the form he wanted of them. “You really are pathetic.”

 

Akenaden's eye gleamed and Seth felt something rush towards him, he raised the Rod and the attack shattered around him. “Nice try.”

 

“I wasn't aiming at you.” Akenaden laughed. “I knew you'd do that. I planned on it.”

 

Seth reached out. Seto?

 

Silence. No struggle. No fighting. Just quiet.

 

“Drop the Rod, Seth.” Akenaden's voice was a purr. “Maybe you can still save him.”

 

Seth shook his head. “No.”

 

Akenaden gave him a small gentle smile. “Without him you have nothing. Less then nothing.” He stepped forward. “You will be so easy to break.”

 

Seth shook his head, stepping back. Seto? Seto!

 

“He's gone now.” Akenaden was in front of him, reaching out to touch his face. “Now stop this and behave.”

 

Seth desperately searched for his light, but there was nothing. “Seto…”

 

“I tried to warn you.” Akenaden's fingers caressed along his jaw. “You just wouldn't listen.”

 

Seto!

 

“Give me the Rod.” Akenaden's voice was gentle. “You never really wanted it, so why all the fuss?”

 

Hikari…There was one last thing. He had one last thing to do. While Akenaden was here, focused on him, he still could do it. It was after all his duty. Then he could go and find his light, wherever Seto had gone.

 

He was there instantly, still seated in the office chair, his head aching. Pegasus stood in front of him, a small smile lurking on his lips. He moved quickly, before Akenaden could react. He reached out with the Rod and pulled.

 

Akenaden's soul shrieked as the Rod yanked him out of the shadows. “Whelp. Brat! You will pay!”

 

But he had him. Akenaden had been too distracted, too busy gloating, too busy being pleased with his win. He hadn't considered Seth attacking from without. Like all the times he'd done this at Yami's command as they sat in judgment at court, he drew the corrupted soul out of its shell. It writhed in the air, screaming soundlessly all its hate and malice. The statue of the odd looking rabbit caught his attention, and a small smile worked its way to his lips. He gestured with the Rod and the soul seeped into the small thing. When the last wisps were sealed inside, he reached out and pulled the eye from the man standing frozen in front of him.

 

“Done.” He closed his eyes, only half aware of the heavy sound of Pegasus's body falling to the floor. “Seto…”

 

~*~*~*

Apartment

~*~*~*

 

Jo rolled to his feet and rubbed his sore back. Kaiba was sleeping, his head tipped back against the couch. Mai and Anzu were collapsed on the other end. Honda was snoring softly from the chair. Upstairs he could hear Mokuba and Shadi talking in low voices.

 

He reached over and shook Kiaba. “Come on. Help me with Ryou and Malik and we can go sleep in a bed.”

 

Kiaba just lolled lifelessly to the side.

 

“Kaiba?” Jo shook him harder. “Kaiba! Wake up!”

 

“Jo stop yelling.” Mai blinked sleepily at him.

 

Jo didn't listen. Kaiba wasn't just pale, he was grey and Jo couldn't see him breathing. “Kaiba, you're scaring the hell out of me!”

 

Mai carefully pushed Anzu aside. “What is it?” She reached over, pressing her fingers against Kaiba's neck. “Shit. No pulse.”

“Seto!” Jo pulled him down to the floor. “Don't do this to me. Do you hear me! Don't you dare!”

 

“What is it? Big Brother?” Mokuba's voice was panicked as he rushed down the stairs followed by Shadi.

 

Jo shoved Kaiba over onto his back, his mind trying to remember those CPR classes he'd slept through to get out of P.E.

 

Mai shoved him out of the way. “Go call an ambulance.”

 

Shadi hauled him back and took his place as Mai tipped Kaiba's head back. “You know this?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Jo backed away as they started, his eyes darting around for a phone. Kitchen. There's one in the kitchen. He bolted for it, nearly trampling over Mokuba who was standing in stunned horror, watching someone else do his brother's breathing for him.

 

He didn't remember the trip through the kitchen, or yanking the phone off its holder, but he dithered a second before his fingers hit the correct numbers for emergency services.

~*~*~*

Seth

~*~*~*

 

He was floating downwards. He didn't know how else to describe the feeling. It wasn't necessarily painful, just distantly odd. The only thing he didn't like was the commentary.

 

“He's an idiot.”

 

“At least he didn't step on a stupid seal, Tomb Robber.”

 

“Is he going to be okay?”

 

“Tenshi, don't touch that. The water isn't actually water.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Where's Kaiba?”

 

Yes. Where is my light? He floated.

 

“We could try to put him back into Kiaba's body.”

 

“He'd have to do that. If we could, I would have shoved you into a goldfish long ago.”

 

“So he can do it and we can't?”

 

“Inanimate objects, thief. That means the ones that don't move.”

 

“Fuck you pharaoh.”

 

“Maybe we should go find Kaiba?”

 

“Good idea, Ryou. Get moving Tomb Robber.”

 

“Why me?”

 

“You want to sit here?”

 

Silence. It was so much nicer to float in silence. He relaxed back into it with a weary sigh. Seto? Where are you? He felt himself sink further down, back to the long sleep he'd drifted in for thousands of years. I need to find Seto first. He struggled up.

 

A glowing willow spread itself above him. Against the trunk, Yami sat gently running his fingers through a sleeping Yugi's hair.

 

“Feel better?” Yami looked at him intently.

 

“No.” Seth pulled himself up to sit. It took effort. “Seto's gone.”

 

“Maybe.” Yami leaned back. “He was technically in your soulroom. It's hard to really kill someone's soul while it is basically encompassed by their own soul.” He frowned up at the branches. “However, if anyone could have done it, Akenaden would have been the one to know how.”

 

Seth closed his eyes, nodding. “He was gone so fast I didn't even feel him pass.”

 

“Hmmm.” Yami tipped his head. “Maybe, but maybe not.”

 

“What?” Seth opened his eyes, a wary bit of hope glittering in them.

 

“You should have felt that. If you didn't…”

 

“He's alive.”

 

“Now, where is he?” Yami pursed his lips thoughtfully then grinned. “What is the one place we know that a yami cannot hear his light?”

 

“The Shadows.” Seth pulled himself to his feet. “I need to go find my dragons.”

 

Yami nodded. “As soon as Yugi is better, I'll join you.”

 

~*~*~*

Hospital

~*~*~*

 

The room was supposedly the most advanced and luxurious one the hospital had to offer. It didn't really matter. Who cared that the picture on the wall was a real water color from a prominent artist? Did the occupant really even notice that the bed was a bit more padded then the ones in the other rooms? Did the state of the art entertainment system distract from the steady, monotonous beeping of life support equipment?

 

Jo sat in an more luxurious version of the hard vinyl chairs that littered the less opulent rooms and held Kaiba's still, cold hand. His love had barely made it to the hospital. They'd managed to restart his heart before transporting him in the ambulance and had quickly hooked him up to a respirator, but it did nothing to bring him back.

 

Mokuba was curled asleep in another chair. He'd considered having Honda dragging the kid out, but… what if?

 

He looked back to Kaiba. The brunet's head was tipped back, allowing the respirator tub to fit down his throat. Wires snaked around him, disappearing under the flimsy blue hospital gown they'd put him in, keeping track of a weak heartbeat.

 

They'd taken x-rays, catscans, MRI's, and dozens of tests involving needles and small vials of blood, but so far the results kept coming back negative. All signs kept saying Kaiba should be awake and alive, not laying unmoving attached to tubes.

 

The only good news was that Grandpa, Isis, and Duke had woken up, sore, puzzled, and not remembering anything more than shadowy memories of being someplace dark. Yugi was doing better too. Still not entirely conscious, but he would give sleepy answers to his grandfather's worried questions. Ryou was still not back from wherever he'd gone. The doctors had run a few tests and decided to keep him under observation till he woke up. Malik had disappeared along with Shadi a few moments after the ambulance crew took over CPR from him and Mai.

 

Jonouchi shivered in the hospital cold and reached over to pull Kaiba's blanket up further. He gasped as blue eyes opened and looked at him.

 

“Kaiba?”

 

The brunet shook his head.

 

“Seth?”

 

The blue eyes closed as Seth nodded.

 

“Is Seto okay?” Jonouchi leaned over the other, touching his cheek to get his attention.

 

Another head shake.

 

“Is he awake?” A nurse appeared in the door. She hurried over and checked the monitors. Seth shook his head again, fighting the tub down his throat. “Calm down, Mr. Kaiba. I'll call the doctor.” She pushed the call button on the side of the bed.

 

Jonouchi stepped back as a small herd of medical personnel rushed in.

 

Mokuba startled awake during the stampede and looked around terrified. “What happened? Big Brother?”

 

“He just woke up.” Jo pulled him aside as some of the herd reversed direction and trampled out again.

 

It took a few minutes of high tech medical rushing, but eventually Seth was sitting, tube free looking around at the sterile room. Jonouchi and Mokuba, giving the last of the rushing medics a cautious look, approached the bed.

 

“Where's Big Brother?” Mokuba was between frozen panic and a Kiaba meltdown, making his eyes huge, while his lips thinned into a scowl.

 

“I don't know.” Seth's voice was hardly more than a harsh whisper thanks to the tube. “I need to go find him.” He looked uneasily at Jo. “I just wanted you to know.”

 

“Where are you going to look?”

 

“The Shadow Realm.”

 

~*~*~*

Yuai, Ledower, Kallon

~*~*~*

 

“It's almost obscene.” Ledoer glowered at the cooing dragons that had landed on Kaiba the second the brunet had been yanked out of danger.

 

“Would you rather they go back to moping around?” Kallon was sitting in a chair rubbing his temples.

 

Ledowr growled and stalked out of the room and its happy dragon pile, leaving Kallon to deal with it. His wife was still stuck in the middle of painting an ornate swirl of design that had to be completed by noon time if the binding spell was going to work properly. He considered going to spend a few quality moments gently tormenting her, but veered off to where E'on was still staring wide eyed out the window.

 

“If he's here, Seth is going to follow. Go find him.” Ledowr gave the small dragon a sharp kick.

 

E'on looked sorrowfully up at him. “Will Master be there too?”

 

“Just get going.” Ledowr gave him another kick then added to get the dragon out the door. “He might be, but if you don't go, we won't know will we?”

 

That worked. E'on was out the door and in flight in seconds. Ledowr gave a small happy sigh and wandered off to play with his wife.

 

“Humans are high maintenance.” He stalked into the room, watching as Yuai sat back and rubbed her nose, smearing a bit of blue paint on her dress.

 

“So are you.” She bit her lip as she studied the design. “Does this look right to you?”

 

He picked up the book and compared the two. “Yes. Finished?”

 

She nodded and carefully got to her feet. “I thought you'd be happy with the dragons out of your way.”

 

“They're laying on top of him writhing around.” He frowned. “It looks like an orgy.”

 

“You're just grumpy because you didn't get any last night.” She delicately picked her way out of the design. “It's not their fault you were too busy to get to bed.”

 

He crossed his arms and scowled. “I'm not busy now.”

 

“How romantic.” His wife stepped free of their work and came over to him. “How can I resist?”

 

He looked suspiciously around, then caught her by her waist and pulled her against him. “I'll be romantic later.” He dipped his head down, capturing her lips.

 

“Ahem.”

 

They both looked up at Kallon, who stood in the door. Ledowr glared death at him.

 

The older magician shook his head. “As sorry as I am to interrupt this touching moment. He's awake.”

 

“Kaiba was awake when I left. Buried under dragons, but awake.” Ledower sulked as Yuai pulled away.

 

“Not him… Him.”

 

“Oh.”

 

~*~*~*

Seth

~*~*~*

 

“Are you sure he's alright?” E'on pestered for the tenth time in five minutes.

 

Seth petted him, urging him to go faster. “Yes, he's fine. He's just worried about Seto.”

 

“Oh, nothing to worry about there.” E'on stretched out further, his wings flaring out into a flatter plain. “We've been watching and as soon as we saw Master Seto get sucked into those shadow things the Blue Eyes called Lord Kallon.”

 

Seth nodded, letting himself rest against the dragon's scales. He could almost feel it, the soft whisper of Seto's mind against his. “I was worried.”

 

E'on cooed. The outlines of the castle were already coming into focus on the horizon, and E'on dipped lower, gliding over the city beneath and catching the thermal to land in the castle courtyard. Koori was standing on the step waiting for him as he slipped down E'on's shoulder to land on the cobble stones.

 

“Welcome home, Master.” Koori came to his side brushing against him. “Master Seto is in the bedroom you were in before. Lord Kallon wanted to wish you a warm welcome as well, but he's busy with a small emergency. Lady Yuai and Lord Ledowr are also trying to deal with it.”

 

Seth nodded, not really caring if he got a reception. All he wanted was his light.

 

Seto.

 

Seth? Seto's voice was clear, bright, and soothing to his stressed mind. Seth how do I get the dragons off?!

 

Seth smiled and walked up the stairs to the bedroom. He opened the door to find Seto pinned to the bed by an ecstatic Shimo and Kisara. He looked over to Koori. “You know you can't keep him.”

 

“Seth! Get them off!” Kaiba yelled trying to break free of the two.

 

Koori nodded, blissfully stalking his master, “But we have you both for a little while.”

 

~*~*~*

Authoress and her tired muses consider proofreading the chapter, then collapse. I'll do it another day. Just the epilog to go, and I hope to get it out to y'all soon. Thank you for the reviews, I'll try and answer them next time.