Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Virus ❯ Chapter 29

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

This is it! Kind of an abrupt ending, but I have to go to work in about 45 minutes.

Disclaimers: I do not own Yugioh and am make no money from this.

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Virus - Part 29

Yami's heart froze as he saw his precious aibou hurting. His heart shattered as he heard his light call to another. //Yugi doesn't trust me to protect him. He cries out for his love.// Yami felt himself pushed aside as Kaiba ran to help Yugi; Mokuba was right behind him.

Yami moved to assist, but he was prevented by Pegasus's grip on his arm. "Do not try to stop me! This is all your fault!"

"Kaiba can handle Chikan. If we are to stop him permanently, you must listen to me." Pegasus told Yami what he wanted. It could be done, but he would need to use the powers of all three millennium items.

Meanwhile, Yugi's suffering was abated when he felt Chikan ripped from atop his body. He heard the sounds of struggling, and a final "take that" that sounded like Seto. Was it true? Had Seto come to help him? He felt hands yanking at the bonds. "Seto?"

"No, Yugi. It's me, Mokuba. Don't you worry. Big brother is beating up the bad guy. I'll have you out of here in just a second." Yugi relaxed fractionally, allowing Mokuba to attempt to free him. His face flushed slightly as he remembered he was naked. Well, better Mokuba seeing him like this than Tea. Now that would be humiliating. He could feel the boy tugging at the straps and muttering softly to himself.

"What's wrong, Mokuba?"

"I can't get these straps undone. Maybe Yami or Bakura can do it."

"They're here? Where are they?"

Mokuba looked around and saw the three conversing near the entrance. Seto had gotten the best of Chikan and was now trying to undo the straps as well. Yugi had trembled at the extra pair of hands on him, but relaxed as Seto spoke to him.

"I'm here, Yugi. You're safe now. Mokuba and I can't get the restraints off, and the blindfold is stuck as well."

"Stop tugging on them. You'll rip his skin off. They're magical bindings, you brainless fools."

Yugi smiled. Bakura. His friends were here. He was safe. Everyone had gathered around the altar, taking turns at the straps. Bakura noticed Yugi's shivers and removed his sweater. He lay the warm wool over the boy's body in an offer of warmth. Yami and Seto both looked at him gratefully.

"What!? His chattering teeth were irritating me! That's all!" Bakura's outraged claims drew snickers from all, including Pegasus.

Chikan rose to stand at his hikari's right. Chikan had been beaten down by Kaiba, but he wasn't finished yet. He could feel the magical energies gathering as the Other made his way to the Keep. These simpletons wouldn't know until it was too late. Perhaps Bakura would know a bit sooner than his friends, perhaps not.

He had wanted Yugi so desperately. Now he would have to make do with the dark-haired child. Mokuba was attractive enough, he supposed. Chikan would take out his frustration on the younger Kaiba once the Other claimed his offering.

They would all pay, all of them. //I think I'll start with Bakura. A few days with me, reliving our past, should teach him his place. He's a yami, isn't he? His hikari will look quite a bit like him except more innocent. Yes, that's what I'll do. A few days with the yami, then some 'quality time' with Bakura's hikari. I'll make him watch, too. Then I'll give the boy to the Other as a special gift. My reward will be great.//

Pegasus could hear his yami's thoughts. Chikan was making no attempt to conceal them; he believed Pegasus shared the same sick fantasies. He had to steel himself from reacting to the nasty images being flashed into his mind. Let him believe for a little bit longer.

Tired of watching them struggle with the restraints, Chikan spoke up. "Sweet Bakura is right. They are bound by magic and cannot be undone until the Other arrives. Which will be any second! You're all finished!" He ended the outburst with gales of evil laughter.

Pegasus ended the laughter with a well-placed elbow to Chikan's nose.

Chikan fell to the floor, stunned, and watched in amazement as his hikari joined hands with the Pharaoh and the wild-eyed Bakura. He couldn't understand what was happening. Just then, Pegasus dropped his shields and allowed Chikan to see his true feelings. Chikan gasped. "No! No, you can't!"

Yami smiled grimly. "Yes, we can." Three voices joined together and a black light seeped from the Puzzle, the Ring, and the Eye. The light wrapped around Chikan's form. He could hear them chanting, "By the power of three we banish you. By the power of three we banish you. By the power of three…."

The chanting continued for what seemed an eternity. Before his head was encompassed by the cold light, he felt the approach of the Other. "It's too late," he shrieked. "The Other is coming now! He will save me!"

The chanting ceased and Yami said, "No one can save you." A final surge of millennium energy, and Chikan was fully enveloped in the light. A moment later, only an echo of his scream could be heard.

"Pegasus, Bakura! Take the Kaiba brothers and leave now!"

There was no disobeying the Pharaoh's order. Pegasus wrenched Kaiba away from Yugi and disappeared. Bakura was a bit slower, but was able to snag an angry Mokuba. They too disappeared.

Yami turned to Yugi. He could see the darkness beginning to coalesce at the altar near Yugi's feet. The temperature in the altar room was dropping each second, as if to take form, the Other needed the warmth of the very air.

His hikari lay still on the stone, his lower half covered by Bakura's sweater. He saw Yugi take a deep breath and release it as a puff of steam. His shivers increased in volume. Yugi's occasional sniffle was the only sound in the room.

/Everyone's gone. It's just me and the Other thing. I don't blame Yami for leaving me. I'm just a stupid, helpless little kid, and he's a powerful Pharaoh. Why would he even care about me? I just wish he would have said goodbye./

Yugi felt something touch his wrist. The silence of the room was shattered by Yugi's scream of terror when Yami touched the bindings.

"Yugi, what is it? Have I injured you further?" Yami had been badly startled at the outcry, but composed himself quickly.

"Yami! Oh Yami, I thought everyone had left me here alone. I thought you were the Other! Please, please help me!" Yugi tried to jerk his wrists free of the bindings again, to no avail.

Yami stopped him and placed his hands on either side of Yugi's blindfolded face. "Trust me, aibou. Trust me. I can sever the magic holding the bindings in place, but not until the Other is fully materialized. Patience. It will only be a few moments."

Yugi loosed an uncontrollable shudder. He had to wait naked and bound for some monster to appear next to him before Yami could even begin to try and free him? Swell. He heard Yami repeat his plea. Did he trust Yami? The answer came quickly and eased his fears. Yes.

"I trust you, Yami."

Yami could see Yugi release some of the tension in his arms. Yami withdrew the five Exodia cards and prepared. He would only have a few minutes at best to break the magic and get Yugi back to the mortal world. His was the strongest monster in the Shadow Realm, but the Other was immortal. Exodia could stand against the Other, but not for long.

The Other appeared.

Yami thanked the gods that Yugi was blindfolded and the Kaiba brothers weren't here. He was even grateful that Pegasus was gone. No mortal should have to face this horror. It was…wrong. To look directly into its hideous face was to invite insanity.

It stood over eight feet tall and must have weighed at least a thousand pounds. Parts of it lay on the floor; they were dragged through the dirt as the being came closer to the altar. Yami could see that the Other would be very strong in battle. It seemed like one giant muscle. He looked at Its face.

It had no eyes. Instead, a hundred pale, thin tentacles sprouted from the sockets. Some drooled down the rest of the face, but others stretched outward, quivering like antennae. Still others wormed in and out of the flesh of its head. Or maybe those really were worms. Yami didn't want to look long enough to decide.

There was no nose that he could see. A fleshy depression in the middle of the head pulsed obscenely. Perhaps Its organ of smell rested there.

Its mouth was no more than a large hole in the lower portion of the head. Large pincers, similar to a soldier ant, grew from the sides. The ends gleamed, and a yellow pus dripped from the mandibles. Poison.

Yami could not force himself to look closer at the Other's body. From the description of the Dark Soul Ritual, he knew the Other would be large, its member already aroused. Yami didn't need to see that.

"Exodia! I summon you to battle our enemy!" Yami held out the cards and watched as Exodia's pentagram appeared between Yugi and the Other.

The Other paused. It was surprised. It was here; the offering was here. What was this creature emerging before it? It was big, bigger than itself. No matter. The Other opened Its maw wide and spewed Its opponent with a toxic venom.

Exodia was pissed. This tiny creature thought to defeat the Forbidden One, the Unstoppable Exodia, with a little spit? Time to duel, you gross little bastard.

Yami paid no heed to the sounds of battle beside him. He used the power of the Millennium Puzzle to break the enchantment keeping Yugi bound. The straps came apart easily in his hands after the magic was destroyed. Yugi reached up to remove the blindfold, but Yami stayed his hand. Mortals could not look on the Other without going insane. He gathered Yugi into his arms and cast a final glance at his Exodia. Should he ask the monster to return to the deck?

The fight was not going well. The Other had sensed the release of the sacrifice and had redoubled Its efforts. The Unstoppable Exodia was battered and bleeding. He raised his noble head to his Pharaoh and saw the small bundle in yami's arms. That is what he was fighting for. He could last another few seconds. He had to.

"Go!"

Yami heeded Exodia's plea and vanished with Yugi. He could hear the Other's scream of victory and roar of rage through his Shadow Magic. It had defeated Exodia, but lost the innocent light It had ached to possess. Once again, the Other had been betrayed. It would not slumber again until the betrayer had received proper punishment. It began to tear apart the Forbidden Keep brick by brick. It would never stop searching. Never stop searching for the betrayer…or for the light.

The End

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Ta-daaa!!!!

I will continue this in a separate story, as yet untitled. I think this particular one is long enough. Lots of questions will be answered there. What did the guys back home do while all this was going on? What happened to Chikan? Did Exodia survive? What about Pegasus? And is Tristan crazy, or is he really putting the moves on Ryou?!? Will Prax strike again? Who will Yugi choose to love…Yami or Seto? Will Pegasus ever tell Yami that there was no love potion, or will he let our handsome Pharaoh twist in the wind? And the most important question of all…what kind of clock will Seto get Bakura?

If you are interested in the sequel, let me know and let me know if there are any other questions that I can clear up.

I would like to dedicate this chapter to four special people: Ms. Prongs (whom I haven't heard from in a while..hint!…hint!), Madyamisam, Jadesaber, and Silverdrake. Thanks for all of your reviews and your enthusiasm. It makes this stuff a lot easier to write.

I would really love to hear what everyone thought of this story as a whole, especially those who haven't sent me a review yet. It is the first story I ever wrote. I hope you had as much fun reading as I did in writing.