Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Mouth of Yomi	By : Silvershadowfire Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 3145 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Next chapter in the apparently unending saga. At this point, it�s probably going to be 20 chapters, at least. Thanks to everyone reading this!
:thought speak:

<thoughts not spoken>

[�Spoken Ancient Egyptian.�]
��.....................................................................................

Chapter 11 - Hatred Does Not Die
Marik hissed as the cold tendrils of shadow wrapped around him, throwing him to another place. He tried not to throw up as he tumbled without �up� or �down� as a reference until he �landed�. The world stilled around him, his hands still clutching helplessly at the Millennium Scales as thought they could save him.
When he managed to get a grip on his roiling stomach, Marik looked around at the nothingness. Black and purple as far as the eye could see - even the �ground� he sat upon was invisible. He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths.
<Where am I?> he thought at first. Then <Perhaps that�s the wrong question. If this is some kind of Duat, then �where� is meaningless.> It certainly did not resemble any of the �hells� he knew of - neither Duat, the Ancient Egyptian underworld he had grown up with nor the �Hell� of fire and brimstone the Christians and Muslims preached.
The eye on the Scale began to glow softly. Marik looked down at the item, wondering what had caused it to activate. Although he knew perhaps as much about the Millennium Items as any living person did, much had been lost in the three millennia since they had been used - and only the Pharaoh and the Tomb Robber might know everything of how to use them. He knew the Scales were modeled after the Scale of the Underworld, that weighed a man�s heart against the feather of Ma�at, but beyond that, he knew little.

<Marik, stop babbling to yourself, idiot, and get on your feet! You have to find the others!> With difficulty he managed to stop the whirlwind of thought rushing through his head and got to his feet. Walking was difficult, because he couldn�t see the ground, but eventually he grew used to it and made progress. The eye on the Scales would glow brighter or dimmer depending on the direction he traveled, so he followed the path of the brightest light. Perhaps that would bring him in contact with one of the others who held a Millennium Item.
:No, pretty. It has led you back to me.: The voice that insinuated itself into his mind was very familiar, causing the Egyptian to freeze in shock. It couldn�t be�he was gone! Destroyed in the Shadow Realm!
:Ore-sama cannot be destroyed, little one.: the voice of his yami, the dark spirit he had created from rage and hate, whispered to him. :Ore-sama has been waiting for you, pretty light.:

�No�� Marik spun around, holding the Scales before him like a shield, trying to find the source of the voice.
:Light.: Yami Marik whispered softly in his mind, the voice becoming stronger and more clear. s, cs, come to Ore-sama.:
Cold shadows wrapped around his body, encasing him. Marik struggled futilely; his limbs grew numb. �NO! Get away from me! I destroyed you - I beat you��

:The game is not over, pretty. It is never over, until I win.: The cold seeped from his body to his mind - he hung limply in the shadows grasp, struggling mentally against he strengthening presence around him. :You lost Ra, pretty. You lost the Rod. Silly hikari - did you really think that the Pharaoh would reward you for your �service�?: The mental voice began to take on a hint of derision and a lot of insanity. :We are the ones meant to rule, little light.:

�No.� Marik moaned. Invisible fingers stroked his mind; his eyes widened as he felt his mental defences beginning to lower under their touch. �NO!�

:Yes.:

:NO!: He struck back mentally against his yami, struck with hatred and intent to destroy�and so fell into Yami Marik�s trap.

The moment their emotions resonated, the dark spirit slipped back into his former body with a laugh of triumph. There was no Rashid here - Marik had no hope of defeating him now. Here, the Shadows were strong - they fed his hate and his desire for domination. He felt the weak struggles of his hikari deep inside his mind and smirked at the other�s feeble efforts.

The Shadows released him and the yami stretched luxuriously. It felt good to be back in a physical form, no longer a helpless spirit. For a moment he considered banishing Marik�s puny mind, but dismissed the thought. The boy had a tendency to show up at the worst time and where he leasleast expected. It would be wiser to keep a close eye on him. Besides, the taste of his despair was too heady a treat to give up.

Peeking into his other half�s memories, Yami Marik smiled to himself. It appeared that most of the Items were in this particular hell with him; even better, the Pharaoh was here somewhere, and separate from his hikari.

Yami Marik laughed maniacally. �Let the Hunt begin!�
��.................................................................................
Kaiba Seto walked thought the darkness, no fear showing on his features. He would die before he gave any watching creature the satisfaction of seeing his discomfiture at being separated from everyone else. He held his briefcase like a shield and the Millennium Rod clenched tightly in his other hand. The Eye on the item glowed very slightly, illuminating the area around him. Not that there was much of anything to see.

Movement whispered in the shadows; Kaiba turned, Rod at the ready - instinct from another life. He growled to himself but didn�t take the motion back - indecision like that indicated weakness. The figure in the shadows hissed, vanishing, reappearing. It couldn�t be human - a Duelmonster? No�they were trapped spirits, but this�

The figure leapt from the darkness. Seto brought his briefcase around, smashing it in the side of the head; it toppled to the indistinct ground.

Wide shoulders, fangs, wild black hair - it looked almost human, despite the hissing sounds it made and the black blood that flowed from its lips. Faster than a cat it regained its feet and lunged again.

The Eye on the Rod flared to life and Seto gasped as its magic flowed through him again. The creature flew backwards as though hit by a giant hand; it vanished in the dark. The shadows around him moved disconcertingly.

�Nicely done. I see you have taken to the Rod, Kaiba Seto.� The voice that wafted mockingly out of the shadows teased him with its familiarity. The CEO turned to find Marik walking out of the shadows, holding up his Millennium Scales. �However, I want it back now.�
�Marik.� Seto frowned. The Egyptian boy didn�t look quite right� Then to his utter astonishment, Marik�s face seemed to warp and twist before returning to normal, and his hair stood on end as thought he had been hit by a lightening bolt.

�It�s my Rod, silly mortal. Mine. My pretty Rod�� Seto stared as Marik trailed off into insane laughter.

�Time to die, Kaiba.� Yami Marik grinned.

��................................................................
Kaiba was a good duelist, but he had not yet freed his mind enough to duel properly in the Shadow Realm. Yami Marik chuckled. He had even put away the Millennium Rod and pulled out his Duel Disk!

The insane spirit laughed softly as his monster destroyed Kaiba�s pitiful dragon, weakening him further. He didn�t even seem to know that in the Shadow Realm, a monster�s strength depended less on the stars or the attack points and more on his master�s will.

Kaiba panted, sweat falling down his forehead and into his eyes. Yami Marik savoured the sighs of the mortal�s defeat - he longed to lick the blood and sweat from Kaiba�s face, to tashat hat despair. He, Marik, wasn�t even using his cards - just calling demons from the depth of Yomi. While that technique used more power, it had the benefit of calling monsters more horrible than Kaiba had ever faced. And it made it harder for the mortal to fool himself into thinking that it wasn�t real.

The yami blasted aside the last of Seto�s defences, launching his attack on the helpless teenager.

Suddenly a creature appeared from nowhere and blocked the attack. Kaiba jerked in shock and Yami Marik growled as the Red-Eyes Black Dragon reared up and roared. That monster could only mean one thing.

A young man with tousled blonde hair stepped out of the shadows to stand beside Kaiba. Yami Marik made a feral sound in the back of his throat, his hands clenching reflexively. Jounouchi Katsuya.

He would never admit it to any living soul, but he was a bit scared by Jounouchi. The teenager had survived the attack of Ra; he had almost won that duel, and even after actually dying of shock, had the will to come back! No mortal should have been able to do that.

�Hey, Dragonsbreath, what�s happening?� the brat asked. Kaiba glared at his rescuer.

Two on one odds were not to the insane spirit�s taste. He pulled the shadows around himself and vanished, abandoning his prey. For now.

��................................................................

Jounouchi helped Seto to his feet - the taller CEO snatched his arm from the blond�s grasp.

�Who asked you to step in, mutt?� Seto snarled. �I could have handled him.�

�Sure, whatever.� He reached over and wiped a spot of blood off the white vest trench the other wore. �This from a nosebleed, hotshot?� Seto just stared. He red upd up and touched his face - three fine lines bled across his cheek, where his monster had been hit.

�I don�t know what you thought when you watched me duel Marik, Seto-kun, but I wasn�t acting up there. It hurt when my monsters got hit. Now I don�t know if it�s the Shadow Realm or just Marik, but you have to be prepared to get hurt when you duel him.�

Jounouchi paused. �Why were you duelling him in the first place?�

�Because.� Seto triggered his Duel Disk into Off position. �Marik has gone off the deep end again.�

�Oh, shit.� As they spoke, two more monsters appeared out of the shadows. The Flame Swordsman stepto tto the blond teen�s left side, and Gierfreid the Iron Knight appeared on the other.

�There isn�t a game going on, mutt. You can turn�� Seto trailed off as he stared at the resounding lack of Duel Disk on Jounouchi�s arm. �How?�

�Seto-san, I would like you to meet my guardian monsters.�
��.............................................................................
Mana the Dark Magician Girl tapped her fingers on her staff in an uncharacteristic gesture of nervousness. Her eyes darted from the darkness around them to the features of her lord and back again, deliberately trying not to stare. She was worried about Atem-sama, greatly worried.

He had been fine that morning, even laughing a little, when she and the other two Dark Magicians had set out, escorting him through the maze. Between the three of them and the power of Atem-sama�s spells as backup, they had managed to recover most of the remaining pieces of the Puzzle.

Then it had happened. Despite everything, a single monster had gotten behind them all and attacked Atem-sama directly. She had gotten it off him fast enough, but not before it had drawn blood. Before she could do or say anything, she found out exactly where those strange silver scars had come from. The spectacle of shadows feeding on the blood of her master had sent shivers up her spine. More chilling were the moans of what sounded like pleasure escaping him while they did.

Now he walked quietly between the three of them, not speaking. Her teacher Mahaado and the Magician of Black Chaos didn�t seem to notice any difference - maybe it was just her imagination; the small smirk, the wildness behind his eyes. He wasn�t really ready to burst into maniacal laughter - right?

The next attack came - Mana barely paid it mind. The other two could handle it just fine. She was keeping a close eye on Atem-sama�s back.

Her foresight paid off. A monster crept up behind Atem-sama, then another and a third. She flew down and placed herself between the creatures and their prey.

Concentrating, Mana called on the magic her master had taught her in Egypt three millennia ago. A deep voice murmured behind her.

�Book of Secret Arts.� Atem-sama gestured and the book appeared before her, it�s touch boosting her power. She attacked, raw dark magic slicing through the creatures like so much salami before being absorbed by the maze. Bright red blood splattered all over the place. Wrinkling her nose delicately in disgust, Mana spelled it off herself and her clothes. She turned to render the same service to Atem-sama and froze.

He was staring at his hands as though he had never seen them before, crimson eyes glazed. For a moment his features went masklike as shadow-wisps writhed around him. Then his eyes half-closed and a manic grin twisted his lips. Slowly, and with evident relish, the Pharaoh licked the blood from his hands, a look of sensuous pleasure on his face.

Under the circumstances, Mana was just as glad that, in her current incarnation as a Duelmonster, she didn�t eat. Her stomach lurched enough at the sight - with food, she might just have thrown up. This was so far past wrong. And it scared her. What had happened to Atem-sama?

She made sure to look away before he finished. Her instincts said that letting him know she had been watching might just get her summarily dismissed - if she was really lucky.

[�Is something amiss, Mana?�] he asked in ancient Egyptian.

[�No, my lord.�] she answered softly. [�Were you injured?�]

[�I was not. Thank you, Mana.�] His tone was so calm, so controlled. His expression had returned to his normal �game face�, but a glint of madness still lurked in the backs of his eyes. He caught her gaze and held it for a moment before turning to glance at the other two magicians, who had just finished off the last of the monsters. Walking between them, Atem gathered up a glittering piece of the Puzzle from the maze floor and added it to his collection.

As they walked towards their next challenge, Maahado drifted back to walk beside her.

:What�s wrong, apprentice?: he asked mentally. :You look unwell.:

:The Pharaoh - there is something wrong with his mind.: she answered, her eye not leaving Atem�s back. :After that last attack�:

:You saw as well.: the Dark Magician nodded. :Listen closely, Mana. We must keep the Pharaoh as far away from the fighting as we can. The Magician of Black Chaos fears for our master�s sanity if he should gain any more of those scars. And if he goes insane, what will happen? His shadow magic is growing; he has the power to affect the minds of mortals. If he loses control of it, he might well drown the world in madness.:

:But how will we do that? Lord Atem never was the type to stand back and let others fight for him.: Mana glanced quickly up at her teacher.

Mahaado placed a hand on her shoulder. :Keep close to his side, apprentice. We will guard him from danger. You must guard him from himself.:

:Yes, master.:
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Mouth of Yomi