Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Yami Virus ❯ Light and Dark, Miles Apart ( Chapter 18 )

WARNING: GORE AT END OF CHAPPIE. ARIA GOES YAMI!

bakachibi voidfox: The virus was bound to affect Bakura like that. It will affect him like that again sometime.

dragon Tears: Seto enjoyed kicking Davis' ass. Yeah, poor Bakura, but Ryou knows it's the virus doing this to him.

Shadow of Light: Aria's not going to react to badly after this. She'll just not like needles. Aten will help her with that fear, though. He's used to needles by now even though he doesn't like them.

sweetmisery: Aten will be fine, even though the lab will try to get their hands on him.

Xenobia: *hands Bakura plushie* The chibis will be all well and good.

Kschur32: Kaiba is not going to take it lightly that he's the dad. That's an event in his life that he tries to forget. Jaimen is a reminder of what happened, but he will still love him.

Ryou's Mistress: Greg was Zira's assistant who was just an ass to Ryou and Aten.

Jupitor Knight: I'm sorry about your aunt. Aria can't cure the Yami Virus. I never thought of that, though. I have my own plans. If you need someone to talk to, feel free to Aim or email me.

Kura Magician Girl: They'll find a cure for the virus. I like drama in my stories. Humor and Drama is always good. Can't have all humor and can't be all drama.

Valea: Isis will find Aria. Aria will stumble onto the remains of her father and Marik. Maybe she should knock into Yami's corpse too. Ryou will always be uptight about Aten being in the hospital. Separation anxiety sets in quickly. It won't be easy even when Aten gets married and moves out of the house…but he won't move far.

Maruken: I really liked that Arabic song I used. I tried to find something good and easy…and appropriate for their bond.

Broken Time: Gotta love some angst.

Light and Dark, Miles Apart

Aria opened her eyes slowly to see Diane and two other doctors hovering over her. She flexed her fingers, noticing the puppy's collar still in her hand.

"Where…?"

Diane gave the pilot of the helicopter two vials. "If she wakes up, these will keep her sedated until she can be restrained. Tell Dr. Lurchin to keep the brat sedated, otherwise she could pose a problem."

Aria moaned as she tried to move her arms. "Can't.. move."

Diane pinched her cheek. "We can't have our little test subject moving around, can we, GT5459-B?"

The room spun around Aria again as hard coughing overwhelmed her.

"Does she really need to take the mutt with her?"

"Even sedated she won't let go of the freakin' thing. She may as well take it if it will keep her quiet."

Aria pet the puppy's head, hearing it whimper under her gentle hand.

"Where am I going? Home?"

"No, GT5459-B. You're going to our sister lab in Egypt. It's in the middle of the desert where no one will be able to find you for days. That is, if they find you at all."

Aria whimpered as the room started to spin. "Dizzy."

"That will happen periodically, GT5459-B. It's normal for the type of drug we just gave you. Now, be a good guinea pig for Dr. Lurchin."

The pilot of the helicopter picked up the girl and carried her to the helicopter. The pilot strapped her into a chair and tied her to it securely.

"Time to go, brat."

The helicopter rose into the air and flew away. Aria turned her head to look out of the window. "Mommy….help."

*********************

Ryou watched Hayden eat his breakfast, including much of everyone else's leftovers. Malik held his eggs close as he ate for fear of Hayden stealing his breakfast.

The phone beside Kaiba's seat rang. "Kaiba."

[Bakura Itemri is here to see Ryou.]

Seto shot a look at Bakura. "How is he?"

[He wants to see Ryou.]

"Send him up to my office."

Seto stood up. "Bakura is here. He wants to see you, Ryou."

Ryou lowered his head and pushed his plate away slowly. "Okay," he whispered.
"You don't have to see him if you don't want to. I can send him away--."

"No. Don't send him away," Ryou whispered. "I want to see him."

Seto lead Ryou to his office. The white-haired boy waited by the window.

Bakura walked into the office and was confronted by Seto standing at the door. The skin around Bakura's eyes was wrinkled. The skin on Bakura's hands were thin and wrinkled.

"Seto…..I….," Bakura began as he lowered his head apologetically.

Seto growled and clenched his fist. Bakura staggered back as the CEO punched him in the face. "You cold-hearted prick!"

"Seto." Ryou stood calmly at the window, his brown eyes sad and full of tears. "Let him come to me."

Bakura saw Ryou standing by the window. The yami walked to his other half with his head lowered. Bakura's entire body shuddered as he approached Ryou.

The yami stood in front of his husband penitently. Ryou's eyes shed a single tear as he confronted his yami. Bakura fell to his knees in front of Ryou and buried his face in Ryou's stomach.

"My love, I am so sorry! Please forgive me!" Bakura clutched onto Ryou's shirt, rubbing his face in the material. "My gods, I didn't know that I had hurt you!"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "Virus or not, Bakura, you had no right to do what you've done!"

Ryou held up his hand slowly. "Seto, I can handle this. Bakura?" Ryou tilted his yami's face up to look him into the eyes. "I love you."

"Even….even if I made you bleed? How can you forgive me so easily?"

"Easily? No. How can I forgive you? I love you and I know you are sick. You had no right to do what you have done, but…that doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you."

Bakura stood up. "Ryou, I don't deserve you."

Ryou leaned up to kiss his yami, stopping short of his lips. "We deserve each other, Bakura. Light and Dark." Ryou entwined his fingers with Bakura. "Two halves of the same soul. You can't have Light without the Darkness. You are my dark, my yami. No matter what you may do or say to me, I won't stop loving you."

Bakura buried his face in Ryou's shoulder and sobbed. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Ryou. My life would be empty."

Ryou cupped Bakura's face in his open hands. "So would mine."

Bakura and Ryou's lips met quickly and desperately. Bakura held his hikari against him as his crying continued. "I'm sorry. *kiss* I'm sorry. *kiss*."

Ryou's body shook as he used his yami for support to stand up. "Aishiteru, koibito yami."

"My beautiful angel."

Joey knocked timidly on the door. "Is everything alright in here?"

Seto nodded. "Supposedly."

"Dr. Zira called here since he couldn't get an answer at your house, Ryou. Aten is ready to come home now."

Ryou smiled. "Let's go get him!"

**************************

Ryou and the gang arrived at the hospital, finding Otogi and Tristan visiting. Otogi was fast asleep on the chair by Aten's bed, snoring quietly with his arms hanging off the side of the chair. Tristan was sitting at the edge of the bed with his industrial-sized thermos of coffee, his body trembling with his second thermos of coffee for the morning.

"Tristan, you need to lay off the bean," Seto said shaking his head.

"Can't…do…that."

Ryou walked to Aten and put his arms around his son. "Are you ready to come home, pumpkin?"

Aten nodded. "I am, mommy. But…is it otay if I fist-it with Unkie Tistan and Unkie Togi?"

Ryou and Bakura snickered. Malik turned red as his yami collapsed from laughing in his soulroom.

"You want to visit Uncle Tristan and Otogi?"

Aten nodded. "I'll be a good boy."

Ryou looked over at Bakura. "Tell you what, baby boy. Come home with us and you can have dinner and stay over at Uncle Tristan and Otogi's apartment. Okay?"

Marik appeared from the Rod. "Go home and get some rest today, Aten. You don't want to strain yourself so quickly."

"My arm still hurts a little….ow. I moofed it."

Joey ruffled the boy's white and blond hair. "Go easy on that arm, Chibi Picasso."

Aten gasped. "That's my painting arm! I guess I'll have to paint with my left arm until it feels better."

Malik leaned over and kissed the boy. "Is our little monkey feeling better?"

"Lite I said, my arm still hurts, but, I feel otay. Unkie Seto, have you found Aria?"

Seto took Aten's hand. "Not yet, Aten. We're looking."

Aten looked down sadly. "Ra, teep my sister safe."

Bakura broke into a violent fit of coughing when Doctor Zira entered the room.

"Bakura! You sound horrible!"

"I've been sick for the past week."

Zira put his stethoscope to Bakura's chest. The doctor's eyes widened. "I can hardly hear anything!"

Bakura swayed and Marik caught him before he could fall.

"Itemri? Are you okay?"

"Daddy Bakura? Are you still not feeling well?"

Bakura shook his head and coughed. His body shivered again and he covered his hand.

Everyone's eyes widened when Bakura pulled his hand away to reveal dust on his hand.

Bakura leaned over and wheezed. "Can't…breathe."

"Get him to the chair," Zira ordered Marik.

Tristan woke Otogi and Marik put Bakura on the chair.

Zira pulled out a tiny light. "Open your mouth, Bakura."

Bakura opened his mouth and Zira's eyes widened. The back of Bakura's throat was black.

Zira grabbed a pair of tiny forceps and poked at the back of Bakura. The back of the throat crackled as the metal touched it.

"What is this? It's almost like…rotting flesh."

Bakura reached out and grabbed Ryou's hand.

Aten clutched onto his toy monkey. "Is Daddy Bakura sick, Dotor Zira?"

Zira didn't hear the chibi's question. "Hold still, Bakura."

Zira took a piece of black flesh from the back of Bakura's throat and put it in a vial. He held it up and examined it. Seto, Joey, Malik, and Malik looked at it intently.

Ryou wrapped his arms around his gagging yami. Tristan and Otogi looked down at Aten, worried plain on his face.

"Daddy Bakura…" Aten reached up for Bakura. The yami reached out and took the chibi's hand. "Does it hurt your heart to cough?"

Bakura nodded as he leaned against Ryou.

"Oh. That's not good. I know how you feel, Daddy Bakura."

Aten lifted Bakura's hand and kissed it. He snuggled into the cold hand.

"I've never seen anything like this, Bakura."

"You know I'm already dead, Zira! I've never heard of anything like this."

Marik wrapped his arm around Malik's waist. "It's the Yami Virus. It rots a yami from the inside-out…one vital system at a time."

Bakura looked up at Marik. "How…How do you know that?"

"I broke into the Archives again and did a little more research on the Yami Virus."

Zira looked at the piece of black, crusty flesh. "I'll run a test on it and see what I find."

Ryou looked up at Zira. "I don't want anyone to know about Bakura being already dead. Nobody can know about the spirits of the Millennium Items. If they do, everyone will be after Bakura and Marik."

Zira shook his head. "No, I'm going to handle this myself. The lab won't handle this specimen."

Zira looked at the black flesh again. "Fascinating. Aten, you are free to go. Don't move that arm too much and don't do anything rough and tumble, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Zira left and Bakura leaned over and coughed violently, his body shuddering.

Tristan took Marik and lead him aside. "Marik, why don't you let Otogi and I take Aten for the night? You look exhausted and Bakura's coughing up a lung over there."

Marik folded his arms. "Don't feed my son coffee beans, Taylor. It's not good for his heart."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "I put my coffee in a combination safe now to prevent Aria from getting to it."

Marik snickered. "She'll have the combination broke in one hour."

Tristan shook his head. "This safe is chibi-proof. Trust me."

Marik shook his head. "The last time you said 'trust me' we ended up taking you to the emergency ward because you went on a coffee binge."

Malik joined the two boys. "You were on such a caffeine high that you thought you were Superman."

"You broke your arm in three places."

Tristan crossed his arms. "I was fifteen then! Are you guys always going to bring that up?"

Malik and Marik nodded. "We'll include it in your elegy. 'Here lies Tristan. He was a coffee freak and he once thought he was Superman. The End.'"

"Give me a chance, Marik. I have all of Aten's medication and all of the emergency numbers."

Marik saw Aten becoming more upset and turned to Ryou. "Maybe Caffeine-Boy and Dice-Boy should take Aten for the night, Ryou."

Otogi folded his hands. "Can we take him, Ryou? Please?"

Tristan looked down at the worried chibi. "Yeah. We can ship Rhonda off to her friend's house."

Ryou looked at Aten and saw the worry on the chibi's face. Bakura's coughing was loud enough to keep him awake if Aten was trying to sleep. He didn't want the chibi to worry about Bakura while he was trying to sleep.

"Aten, do you want to go with Tristan and Otogi?"

Aten looked up. "Will Daddy Bakura be alright?"

Bakura nodded and said hoarsely. "Go to Tris' place, Aten. I'll be fine."

Aten nodded. "Otay. I go to Unkie Tistan and Unkie Togi."

Ryou turned to Otogi. "If something happens, call me, Otogi."

"We promise, Ryou."

****************************

Dr. Davis arranged an ambulance to take Aten and Ryou to GeneTech. Dr. Davis went to the reception desk and passed Zira in the hallway.

"Dr. Davis, I find your behavior yesterday completely unacceptable!" Zira said narrowing his eyes.

"How was I supposed to tell the kid wasn't dying?"

Zira brushed back his graying hair. "You don't tell a dying child's mother that the child is on its last leg! The hospital administrator wants to talk to you."

Dr. Davis went upstairs to the hospital administrator, who reprimanded him severely for his language to the child's mother.

"Well, maybe I can apologize to the child's mother and the child before they leave."

"The child and mother have already left and I suggest that you do the same. YOU'RE FIRED!"

Davis groaned. "But, I have no house, no job, no practice! What am I going to do?"

"Not my problem. Get out of my hospital."

Davis handed his I.D. card in and left the hospital. "Damn, I have to get my hand on the boy somehow! Diane is going to be pissed."

****************************

Tristan grabbed Rhonda and tossed her into the car. He drove her to a friend's house to play. Otogi and Aten had gone to Aten's house to pick up some of his toys and clothes for the night.

Aten grabbed his toys and placed them in a bag. He ran into his sister's room and found her Barbie dolls in her toy box. He stopped as he saw Aria's doll she had named Jessica. He tossed the doll aside and grabbed Angelica. Aten put it in his bag and went down the stairs.

Otogi waited at the door. "Ready, little monkey?"

Aten clutched his toy monkey against his chest and nodded. "Yes!" Aten hugged his mother and fathers.

Otogi drove home and carried Aten's bags up to the apartment. As he passed one family, they avoided looking at Otogi directly.

Otogi reached the door and found a post-it note with a derogatory word for gays. He grabbed it and crumbled the paper up. He threw it in the trashcan by the door.

"Tristan?"

No answer came.

"He's still out. Let's get you settled, little monkey."

Otogi carried Aten's bags to a spare bedroom. "Here you go, little man. Play with your toys while I start dinner."

Otogi left and pulled the chicken out of the refrigerator. He pulled out the Paprika, Rosemary, and Pepper from the spice rack. He heard chibi footsteps behind him.

"Unkie Togi? Do you need help tooting dinner? Maybe I tan do something for you?"

Otogi looked behind him and saw the eight year old boy standing with his toy monkey in his arms. His eyes were large and sparkling. His white and blond hair draped around his shoulders.

Otogi nodded. "You sure can help! I can teach you to be a really good cook."

"I tan mate shittin for my mommy and daddies!"

Otogi brought a chair over and showed Aten how to clean chicken before it was cooked. Otogi cut the fat off of the meat and gave the Rosemary to Aten.

"Just a dab will do ya', Aten, my boy. Just a pinch of Rosemary on each piece."

Aten smiled as he put the Rosemary on the chicken. Otogi grinned and grabbed a recipe book. "This is the recipe for my chicken. We have Rosemary. What do we need next?"

Aten squinted, trying to read the English recipe. "O-..O-I tant say it."

Otogi pointed at the word. "O-reg-a-no," Otogi said slowly.

"O-re-ga-no? What's that?"

"A spice. Here. Sprinkle it on the chicken."

Aten sprinkled the spice as Otogi showed him.

Otogi pointed at the recipe again. "What next?"

"Per."

"Pepper, Aten. We're not putting salt on it because of your heart."

Aten nodded. "Yup. Too much salt will mate my heart not wort anymore. That's what Dotor Zira told me. So, I no want salt on my shittin."

Otogi sighed. "Chicken, Aten. It's called 'Chicken.'"

Aten nodded. "I know. I just tant say it. English is too hard. Arabic is so much easier."

"You can read English, Aten. Let's see. 'Cook at 350 degrees.' How long should we cook it for, Aten? What are the numbers beside this word 'minutes?'"

Aten scratched his head. "Umm….Momken ashout da?" (Arabic: Can I see this?) Aten held the recipe book close to him. "This number is two. The other one is….is…zero."

"Two and Zero mate the number…twenty?"

Otogi smiled and kissed Aten on the forehead. "Twenty minutes! That's it! Aten, you are such a big help! I'm going to make you a big Angel Food Cake for dessert for being such a good boy!"

Aten's eyes lit up. "Really? I was a big help?"

"You know it! Go play with your toys, little monkey."

Aten climbed off the chair and ran to hug Otogi's leg. "Thant you, Unkie Togi!"

"No problem, kiddo. Go play."

Aten ran out of the kitchen and into the connected living room. He saw Rhonda's Barbie dolls in the corner. He sat down and played with them as Tristan walked in.

"Unkie Tristan, I helped mate dinner!"

"You did? Well, I can't wait!" Tristan went into the kitchen and saw Otogi mixing batter for Angel Food Cake. "Otogi?"

Otogi turned around. "What?"

"No pink frilly, lacy apron?"

Otogi turned around, continuing to mix the batter. "No, Tristan. Chibis in the house. We can do the pink frilly apron thing later."

Tristan stuck out his lip in a pout. "Please?"

"No. But, you can have a taste of my batter if you want."

Tristan grinned ear-to-ear. "Alright!"

Otogi ran his finger along the edge of the bowl to get some batter on it. "Like a lick?"

Tristan took Otogi's hand and brought the fingers between his lips, sucking on the Dice Master's fingertips. He licked up Otogi's finger with a grin.

"Mmmm….cake- batter- covered Otogi," Tristan moaned as he licked between Otogi's fingers.

Tristan dipped his fingers in the Angel Food Cake batter and placed a trail of batter on Otogi's delicate neck. Otogi moaned as Tristan sucked on his skin, cleaning up the trail of dripping white batter.

"Tris…gods…so good."

Tristan grunted as he licked up the sensitive vein on Otogi's neck, cleaning the skin.

Aten heard two moans come from the kitchen as he played with his dolls. He stood up and went to the door of the kitchen. He peeked his purple eye into the room and found Otogi pressed against the countertop with Tristan licking his neck.

"Tris…this batter is for Aten's cake….can't use…it…all…" Otogi's eyes rolled into the back of his head as Tristan suckled on the white, soft skin.

"Save some batter for later, pussycat. When Aten goes to bed, we can finish the rest."

Aten folded his arms. "Unkie Tristan!"

Tristan stopped and turned around, his face beet red. "Aten!"

"Unkie Togi is mating that cake!"

Tristan bit his lip trying not to squish the chibi. He clenched his fist.

"Must…………………….squish&# 8230;………..chibi!"

Otogi grabbed Tristan's arm. "The kid still has his pacemaker scar! It's still fresh. No squishing allowed."

Tristan stamped his foot. "But…it's….so hard…not to!"

Aten grinned. "You tant skish me! I have a patemater star!" Aten turned and wiggled his butt to Tristan. "You tant skish me! You tant skish me! Nah-Nah!"

"I can and will!" Tristan ran after Aten, who walked briskly around the kitchen.

The chibi walked into the living room and squealed happily as he turned and saw Tristan walking behind him slowly, trying to grab him.

"Uh-Oh…Unkie Tristan is going to skish me!"

"CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! Get over here, you little Egyptian boy!"

Tristan grabbed the tan-skinned boy and hugged him tightly, careful not to irritate his fresh scar.

Aten squealed as Tristan brought Aten into his broad chest. "Unkie Togi! Getting skished out here! Fadhlak Wagef!" (Fadhlak Wagef=Please Stop! in Arabic.) When Aten was overwhelmed with sensations or emotions, he had a habit of code-switching from English to Arabic without thinking. He could finish a sentence in English and finish the thought in Arabic.

Otogi stepped into the living room. "The kid just had an operation, Tris! Don't squish him too badly!"

Tristan put the chibi down and Aten wavered, using the couch to keep his balance.

Tristan and Otogi disappeared into the kitchen when a wave of exhaustion hit him.

"I have to lay down. I'm sleepy." Aten laid down on the carpet by the dolls and was heard snoring within minutes.

**********************

Tristan poured himself another cup of coffee as Otogi removed the Angel Food Cake from the oven. Otogi grinned as he turned to his lover. "Hey, Tris. I didn't just make Angel Food Cake today. I made chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!"

Otogi lifted the lid off of the cake and Tristan's jaw dropped. "You like?"

"Please tell me you saved some chocolate frosting for tonight."

Otogi grinned. "You know I did! With Rhonda gone tonight, anything goes…except screaming."

Tristan pouted. "I miss making you scream."

Otogi went over to kiss Tristan. "Tell you what. When the chibis leave, let's make a special night. You, me, and--."

"The pink, frilly apron???"

Otogi sighed. "You won't be happy until I'm wearing that damn thing! Is that right?"

"Hey, pussycat, I love you. You make me happy with everything you do," Tristan said, giving his lover a kiss on the cheek.

Otogi squealed with a high-pitched voice and pulled Tristan into a deep kiss when a knock sounded on the door.

Tristan went to the door and Rhonda stood there with her friend's dad. "What are you doing back? Weren't you supposed to stay with Danielle for the night?"

Rhonda crossed her arms. "Hmph! She didn't want to play my game MY way! She's a brat!"

Tristan sighed. "You're calling the kettle black, Rhonda."

Danielle's father growled. "I'm never letting this brat come over my house again!"

"I don't blame you."

"I pity you," the man said throwing Rhonda's bag at Tristan and walking away.

Rhonda walked into the room and screamed, finding Aten asleep, clutching onto one of her dolls. "MINE! MINE! MINE!" Rhonda ran to the dolls and Aten was startled awake. "These dolls are mine! Keep your freaky hands off!"

Tristan reached down and picked Rhonda up by the back of her dress. "Leave. Aten. Alone."

Rhonda pouted. "You let me down, Uncle Tristan or you will be sorry!"

Tristan put Rhonda on her feet. "Leave Aten alone. I'll get your pillows and a blanket."

"For what?"

"You'll have to sleep on the couch tonight. Aten needs the bed."

Rhonda stamped her feet angrily. "BUT I'M THE PRINCESS!!!!! I SHOULD GET THE BED! THE FREAK CAN HAVE THE COUCH!"

Tristan picked Rhonda up by the back of the dress again. "Say that word one more time and you will go to bed now without supper and without dessert."

Rhonda pouted and she crossed her arms. "I want my daddy!"

Tristan put her on her feet. "Me, too. The quicker you leave, the one less grave I have to have Bakura dig and the happier we'll all be."

Rhonda watched Tristan leave. Otogi came out of the kitchen.

"Time for….What are you doing home?"

"I came home to eat your rotten cooking."

Otogi narrowed his eyes. "Well, you don't have to eat, you know."

Rhonda walked past him. "I can survive one more night of lousy cooking."

Otogi gripped the towel in his hands tightly. "Aten, time for dinner."
Aten ran to the dinner table.

Tristan sat down and Otogi served everyone.

Rhonda smelled the chicken and held her nose. "The chicken stinks! It looks gross!"
"Rhonda! Then don't eat it. Aten made the chicken."

Tristan ate a piece of chicken and rubbed his stomach. "This is excellent, Aten! Maybe you're going to turn out like Otogi someday."

"Yeah, gay and a fashion-disaster!"

Tristan clenched his fist tightly as he saw Otogi slip deeper into his chair and blushing red. "Eat!"

Aten ate a piece of chicken. "The shittin' is really good, Unkie Togi. I lite it."

Rhonda laughed. "It's called 'chicken!' Don't tell me you can't even say that word!"

Aten lowered his head and put his fork down. "No."

"Rhonda, sit and eat!" Tristan growled, eating the noodles Otogi had made by hand. "Otogi, the noodles are great!"

Rhonda took a forkful of noodles. "It doesn't make my stomach turn as much as the chicken smell."

Tristan growled and continued to eat. Rhonda was close to a spanking.

Aten ate a piece of chicken and lifted his head a little. "Unkie Togi mate shotlit tate for you, Unkie Tristan."

Tristan licked his lips. "Can't wait, Aten!"

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "His chocolate cake tastes like poop!"

Otogi's eyes watered. Tristan grabbed Rhonda's plate and put it on the counter.

"Get away from the table!" Tristan roared, making Aten cringe as the deep voice of his grandfather resonated in his head.

Rhonda turned to Otogi and Aten. "Your chicken sucks!" Rhonda spit a piece of chicken across the table, hitting Otogi in the eye with it.

Rhonda crawled off the seat slowly and without warning, Tristan's hand slapped her behind.

"GET OUT NOW!" Tristan growled.

Aten jumped in his seat as he heard the sound of slapping flesh and he held his left cheek. His grandfather's voice resonated through his head from his last encounter with his grandfather.

[Stop struggling, you little bastard! NOW!] his grandfather threatened in his head, along with the sound of his grandfather slapping his face.

Rhonda cried loudly, exaggerating the force of the slap. The girl ran from the room and Tristan turned to Aten.

He slapped his hand over his mouth and saw Aten's eyes wide and holding his cheek. "I did it again! Shit! Stupid temper." Tristan went over to Aten. "Aten, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bring back bad memories!"

"I'll be good, gantfatter. I'll be a good boy dis tine."

Tristan snapped his fingers, mentally kicking himself in the ass. "Aten, come back to me, little monkey."

Aten looked up at Tristan. "I'll be good for you, gantfatter. Peas no hurt my mommy."

Tristan shook his head. "I won't hurt your mommy, Aten."

The little boy quivered as he looked up at the tall man with hazel eyes that closely matched Steven's. "Peas no tush me……you hurt me da wast tine. Peas no mate it hurt dis tine."

Tristan took a deep breath. Though Steven was at least thirty years older than Tristan, Aten still believed at times that Tristan was his grandfather. Aten's flashbacks happened mostly when Tristan lost his temper and began screaming angrily. The brunet should have remembered not to raise his voice around Aten, but his temper, as usual, was quick and fiery.

"Aten, you're not with your grandfather. You are sitting with Uncle Otogi and myself," Tristan whispered calmly.

"You're in our kitchen. You're eight years old now. You're not three years old anymore."

Aten looked up at Tristan with large eyes. "Am…Am I being good?"

"Yes, Aten. You are a very good little boy."

Aten shook his head. "What happened?"

"You had a flashback, Aten. I'm sorry."

Aten reached up, his body still shaking. "Unkie Tristan, tan you hold me, please? I'm stared."

Tristan picked the quivering boy into his arms when Otogi burst into tears.

Otogi buried his face in his hands. Tristan sat on Aten's chair and rubbed Otogi's back.

"I'm sorry about Rhonda, Otogi. She'll be gone in a few days."

Otogi wept. "I slave all day over a hot stove! I tried so hard to make everything perfect! I…I…*sniff* I…slave and try and I get nothing in return but insults from her!"

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Rhonda's not grateful for anything, Otogi. I love your cooking! I've never seen anyone make chili like you!"

Aten rubbed the raven hair. "And your Anshel Food Tate is really good! It's really yummy! I..I wish I tould eat it all day, every day for the rest of my life! I wish I tould eat it morring, noon, and night it's so good! If the uniferse was mate of your Anshel Food Tate, then there'd be no more uniferse for people to live betaws I would have eaten it! And if there is no uniferse, then you no tould mate your Anshel Food Tate and then I'd be sad betaws there would be no more place for you to mate your tate."

Tristan clenched his fist, trying to resist the urge to once again squish the boy on his lap. "Aten, you're getting close to another squishing."

"Uh-oh. I better stop being so toot bifore you skish me until I stop beaving."

"Damn right, little monkey. You're too cute for your own good."

Otogi sniffled and rubbed his eyes. "You…you guys like my cooking?"

Tristan pat his belly. "Only you could make chili that is worth second degree burns, Otogi!"

"And your tate is really good! Your shitkin is good! Your massed topatoes are good! I really love your veggie tasserole! Stir-Fly is really, really, really, really good…speckally with simp. Mmm! Don't tell Malik this, but I wike your Maroni and Teese better. Tebber Teese is good."

Tristan snickered. "It's called 'cheddar cheese,' cute stuff."

"Oh. Shedder Sheese. It's good."

Otogi smiled. He grabbed Aten and put the chibi on his lap. "Thank you, Aten. Sorry, Tristan."

"It's okay. I can run out and get you tampons and chocolate later."

Otogi rolled his eyes. "You can be such a creep, you know that?"

Tristan snickered. "I may be a creep, but this creep loves you to death. Excuse me, cute stuff, while I kiss my boyfriend."

Otogi lifted his head and kissed Tristan gently on the lips. Tristan's hands pet the raven hair delicately. "I love you, Otogi," Tristan said smiling happily.

"Love you, too, Tristan." Otogi kissed Aten's forehead. "Who wants Angel Food Cake?"

Aten smiled and bounced in Otogi's lap. "ME! ME! ME!"

****************************

The helicopter arrived in the desert as Dr. Lurchin waited outside with his staff. The pilot jumped out of the helicopter and picked the girl out of the helicopter.

"Here is the subject. She's sedated, so there's no danger from her for a while. Dr. Flemming said to keep her sedated. If she recovers from the sedative, there is a threat that she won't be able to be controlled."

Lurchin laughed. "That won't happen, I assure you. Besides, where is she going to go? We're surrounded by the desert and it's a long walk to Cairo."

Lurchin handed the girl to his assistant. "Put her in Cell 5-D. That will keep her comfortable until we can test on her."

The assistant put Aria in the cell, along with the puppy in her arms. The Boarder Collie licked Aria's hand and her cheek. It barked at her and she opened her eyes.

"Where are we?...Home?"

The dog barked at her again and nudged her.

"I'm awake." She looked around at the cell with bars on the door. "We're somewhere new!"

Aria ran to the door and saw a guard standing outside her door. "Hey, mister. Let me out."

The guard laughed. "Can't do that, GT5459-B."

Aria growled. "My name is Aria Kanika Itemri bat Bakura!!"

The guard snickered as he turned the page of his paper. "Interesting name. Now go away."

Aria walked to the back of the cell. "I'll get out of here. I just have to use my Shadow Powers."

Aria clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly. Nothing happened.

She tried it again. Nothing happened.

Aria felt a wave of fear emanate from her brother and she heard a slap of flesh. [Stop struggling, you little bastard! NOW!] She heard another slap of flesh and she growled.
"Is someone hurting my brother?! I can't stay here!"

Aria thought about someone hurting her brother. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. She heard the threat repeated in her head as well as the slap. Her left cheek began to hurt. The sedative was working to sedate her, but her anger fueled her struggle against the serum flowing through her veins.

"Nobody hurts my brother…and lives!"

Aria opened her eyes. Her brown eyes had faded to black with red spikes coming from the center of her eyes. She raised her hands as her nails became razor-sharp. Her hair became spikier and twitched with fury. Her smile revealed sharpened canines.

"Let's go, puppy."

Aria went to the bars on the front of the door. "OPEN!"

Aria pushed on the bars gently and the door was thrown across the hall.

The eight year old girl stepped into the hallway where the guard removed his gun.

"You will learn not to trifle with yami spawn!" Aria cut the air in front of her with sharp nails.

The guard gave a quiet gasp and he collapsed to the ground piece by piece. Aria had dismembered the guard without touching him. She calmly stepped up to the fallen pieces of the body and dipped her finger into the crimson puddle surrounding it.

The eight year old girl licked the blood off of her finger and moaned in pleasure. "It's been too long since I've had blood of my own without having to share it with my daddy."

Aria calmly stepped over the body as the puppy followed her. Two doctors ran into the hallway.
"GT5459-B IS LOOSE!"

Aria narrowed her black and red eyes as a purple mist surrounded her. "My name is Aria Kanika Itemri."

The doctors ran to her and grabbed onto her wrists.

"Bad move."

Aria's fingernails lengthened suddenly, piercing through the doctors' bodies. The sickening squish of torn muscle and tissue made her grin.

The doctors fell on their sides, clutching their injuries.

Aria looked down at one of them. "You were going to hurt me, weren't you?"

The doctor's face turned pale. "We…We…had orders to…destroy you…when we were done..our…

experiments."

Aria laughed. "I'd like to conduct my own test. How long will it take you to die if I do this?"

Aria opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into the doctor's neck aggressively. She bit down, closing off the doctor's windpipe, slowly suffocating him.

She laughed as she felt the doctor's heart stop. She whipped around and saw the other doctor had died already.

"What a shame," she snickered.

Two more guards ran down the hall and one doctor removed a needle.

Aria raised her hand quickly. "STOP!"

The doctor and the guards stopped.

"What's going on?" the doctor asked.

Aria climbed up on the doctor's body and grabbed the needle. "Let's see what this does!"

Aria grinned as she stuck the sharp need into the doctor's chest, piercing the heart with the needle. The doctor screamed. Aria released him from her power and he dropped, convulsing on the floor. She looked up at the two guards.

"It's really hot in here. You're overdressed for this heat. I can help with that."

Aria snapped her fingers and the guard screamed. Their uniforms and their skin peeled from their bodies.

Aria grinned, releasing them from her power. She took a satisfied deep breath as they died, inhaling the scent of blood and death.

"Nothing is better than this, puppy," she grinned, surveying the corpses left in her wake.

Aria dipped her finger into the blood again and licked her finger free of the crimson. "My father has taught me well."

Aria turned the corner and found four more guards in the hallway running towards her. The cold purple haze surrounded the hallway.

"This will never do. You men look like nothing but skin and bones!"

The men stopped short as the purple haze enveloped them. When the mist dissipated, a pile of bones were left on the floor.

The puppy followed her out of the door and into the heat of the desert.

Aria turned towards the lab. "BE GONE! SANDS OF THE DESERT, SWALLOW IT WHOLE!"

Aria backed away as a chasm opened below the lab. A sudden sandstorm rose and buried the lab completely under a pile of sand.

The puppy whimpered as it looked up at her. The eight year old girl pet the animal on the head and turned her head, seeing nothing around but empty desert.

"Seth? Daddy? I sense Seth and my daddy. Daddy Marik is here, too."

She looked behind her and smiled. "My daddy's oasis! It's still here! Follow me, puppy. Let's go find Seth and my daddy."

Aria picked the puppy up and carried it as she walked away from the lab in the heat of the blazing desert sun.

Updates: Monday

REVIEWER POLL: I'm thinking of putting in a Tristan x Otogi lemon in this story where Tristan finds Otogi wearing ONLY the pink frilly apron in their kitchen.

So, the question is……..Do you guys want a Tristan x Otogi lemon in this story somewhere? Let me know in a review.