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Binding Circles	By : Shuman Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 13567 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
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
- 15
- 16
I'm so sorry this took so long. My time ran away from me. ^^' So, without further ado, here's the sixteenth chapter of Binding Circles! Thanks so much to Darkspine29 for being an awesome beta!

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Binding Circles

Part 16

Author: Shamise

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Hissing, Atem clenched a hand over his arm. Electric pain raced from his palm to his elbow and back again. He glared at his arm and winced at the sight of it. It was starting to look real nasty, like how Yuugi's had before it had been healed. His Kroshi was glowing sporadically as it fought to keep the connection to its mate, and in turn made his arm hurt worse. It has been doing this since only a little bit after they had locked him up in here, and his skin was starting to peel from the combating magical energies.

He gritted his teeth as another spike of pain tried to push past his elbow. He could just barely keep it contained to his forearm, and if he was going to escape he would need most of his body functioning. His Kroshi-bearing arm was nearly useless and nothing was making it any better.

"Yuugi..." he murmured, tracing a finger along the boiling hot scars. What he was experiencing was only a reflection of what was happening to Yugi, and if it was bleeding through the connection this badly then something had to be seriously wrong. He snarled an instant later, and flung his free arm out to bang against the cell wall. It wasn't fair! He should have been able to protect his bonded! He should have been able to prevent this from happening! He should have paid more attention, or kept a better watch on Yuugi! He should have just taken him down below the surface and kept him safe in his city! His cousin had warned about being separated from the community, but he had wanted his bonded to get used to it. He hadn't wanted to shock him so badly that he would never accept his fate as a bonded, and it had been working! Yuugi had been getting used to him, and much faster than he had thought!

"It's not fair!" he growled, pressing his forehead against the cold cell wall. Both his arms ached now, and the bond surged with raw emotions. Why couldn't he have been strong enough, or fast enough? He had had Yugi! He had held him in his arms! Why did that girl have to spot them? Couldn't she see that Yugi wanted to go with him? Yugi...Yugi hadn't even recognized him, and he still wanted to go with him!

"Be quiet in there!"

Atem flinched as a guard suddenly banged on the cell bars. The loud noise hurt his ears, and he hurried to cover them. He glared at the Muer'in as the noise faded, and snarled when the demon stared at him. He wasn't some kind of beast to be kept at bay with a few worded commands. He lunged at the bars, aiming for the man's gills. A flash of green light shot out from the cell bars, and he collided with them heavily. It sent a shock-wave of boiling water though his limbs, and with a cry of anger and pain, he backed off. It was more than satisfying to see that the guard had stumbled back in fear, and it was worth the electric shock.

The guard cursed at him, before striking the cell bars again and swimming away. Atem snarled after him, holding his ringing ears at the sound. Curse them, curse them all! They would rue the day that they separated him from his bonded! He would not stop until they were together again, and that filthy Muer'in Dartz regretted the mere thought of hurting Yugi.

Moodily, he shuffled back into a corner. He went over the patterns of the guards in his head, trying to plan some kind of escape. He didn't know why they had kept him alive, so they must have had some diabolical plan for him. They definitely needed Yugi for something, and he needed to find out what. They had already taken the liberty to...change ) him, and take his memory away. Once his mate got his memory back he was going to freak out, that much was sure. Hopefully, by then they would be safe in his city of Zynlok.

It took several minutes before Atem noticed how quiet it was.The guard's were changing, he realized when only a moment later a new group of Muer'in swam past his cell. They are dense. Honestly, if I had gotten out, then there would have been no one to stop me.. The missed opportunity made him swear, but he knew that the green force field surrounding his cell would not have allow him any such chance. Maybe if he had been magically inclined, like his friend Mahado, or knowledgeable of the Muer'in technology like his cousin Seto, then escape wouldn't have been too hard. As it was, the only magic he had was linked through the Kroshi, and he knew nothing of Muer'in things.

Silently, he waited. He counted the seconds between guard shifts and kept track of how many times they felt the need to insult him. This new set of guards must have been younger than the rest. They were so full of bravado and cocky attitudes that Atem couldn't wait to ring their scrawny necks. Eventually, the darkness of the jail and the swish of tail-fins lulled him to sleep, where he dreamed of daylight and of Yuugi.

The next day followed with little change, and the same with the day after. They brought him food once each day, from which he carefully picked out anything recognizable. He did not touch anything that smelled funny, for fear of being drugged, and ate only as much as he absolutely needed. If they were feeding him, then they planned on him being there for more than a few days and he would need his strength to fight back when whatever they had planned would happen. It could only be something terrible His arm steadily grew worse, and he could feel bouts of alarm and fear through the Kroshi bond. His health slowly declined, and he knew that he would have to escape soon or else he wouldn't even be able to try.

A bell tolled somewhere overhead, its noise vibrating through the stone cell. Curfew, he decided. The supper meal bell had rung quite a while ago, and the night-shift guards were beginning to cycle in. He sneered at them, and lunged when they struck the cell bars. "Demons!" he yelled when they laughed.

Atem sighed heavily as he sunk down to the cell floor. Something should have happened by now. Yuugi was still alive and he was still alive, and he had seen no one other than guards and cocky priests. He imagined they were going to use him for a ritual of some sort; why else would the Muer'in priests have been lingering around his cell bars? He did not know of any Muer'in rituals that demanded sacrifice, and as far as he knew the Muer'in people did not support sacrifices. Of course, Muer'in ethics were not his strongest subject either. Something may have changed their views.

Ear's twitching, Atem tilted his head to catch a soft noise. It sounded like...humming? It definitely wasn't singing but it wasn't spoken either, and it had some sort of tune to it. It was soft, and strangely soothing. The guards passing his cell began to twitch, and he began to feel drowsy.

Atem jerked awake. A small gasp caught his ear and he spun around to glare at whoever floated outside his cell. To his surprise, the person there wasn't a guard, but it was a young girl. At first, he wondered what a girl was doing outside his cell, then he recognized her as the Muer'in who kept trying to take Yuugi from him.

The girl flinched at his snarl, but to his surprise she immediately straightened up and glared at him. Pure bravado, Atem had seen it before in the younger guards' eyes. Speaking of the guards, where were they? Surely they didn't deem him safe enough for a little girl to be swimming around.

He spared a quick glance around the girl for his guards. No one stood watch over her, and from his vantage point at the back of the cell it appeared as if they had all vanished. He grimaced. Did they think him so weak that they didn't need to watch him anymore? They would regret their misjudgment.

"Who are you?"

The girl's demand brought his attention back to her. Her posture was straight and he body language held the dignity and stubbornness of someone who knew how to get their own way. It irked him.

"Who are you?" Atem mimicked. His voice was a little gravely from disuse, honestly, who wanted to talk to their jailers? The girl jerked back at his question, and he suppressed a laugh. I guess she didn't actually expect me to answer.

"I am Rebecca Hawkins," she drew herself up tall as she said this, "Granddaughter of scholar Arthur Hawkins."

"What do you want?" He nearly snarled at her again. From her introduction, she was most likely of noble blood. Nobles, from his experience, were vain, cocky people, and they felt like they could do whatever they wanted. He did not desire to be anyone's plaything, and this girl was probably dared by her peers to go 'talk to the barbarian.' Besides, she was the reason for his and Yugi's capture.

"I..." she wavered at his demand, and her strong demeanor stumbled, "I need to know your name," she demanded stubbornly.

"What do you need to know a 'barbarian's' name for?" he did not attempt to hide the contempt in his voice. "Just go away and die in a ditch." He ignored her gasp of shock and horror and turned to stare at the cell wall.

"Well! That's just...rude!"

"Why, for that matter, would I even want to give you my name? I've been wrongfully imprisoned, my mate taken from me, subjugated to torture, and who knows what cruel plan you have for my death. Why the hell would I want to be civil and tell you my name?

"Aack!" A sudden stab of pain tore through his arm and he hissed at the onslaught. He held his arm tightly to his body in an attempt to lessen the impact, wishing desperately that whatever they were doing to Yugi was not the cause of it. White-hot pain clouded his vision before rushing out of him, leaving him trembling and gasping for breath. "Dammit!" he swore, tightening his hand over his arm as the aftermath of the pain left his arm tingly and useless.

"I-I..."

He turned to glare at her, a string of curses on his lips as he caught her staring in horror at his arm. His curses turned into a cynical laughter shortly after.

"I'm afraid you're not going to last long in whatever political scheme you have if you can't stand to see the effects of your torture."

She did not stay quiet for very long, and Yami couldn't take it anymore. "Go away!" he lunged at the cell bars, intent upon removing this girl from his presence. He was repelled violently by the green light and he shrieked from the pain. "Just...go away." Atem sunk to the floor of his cell. He just wanted to be left alone.

"I...I need to know your name because I might...be able to help. I don't think what they are doing to Ritoceh is right."

"Ritoceh?" Atem's eyes narrowed in suspicion. The girl made a nervous gesture to his injured arm and understanding dawned on Atem.

"Yuugi?" he asked hesitantly.

"We call him Ritoceh," she said stubbornly, "and I...don't think that what they are doing to you is right either."

"What?" Atem couldn't believe his ears. Spite coated his words as he responded. "You...feel bad for us? Congratulations, you've developed a conscious. A lot of good it does you; I honestly doubt you could do anything anyway. Why should I even trust you?"

"Because I'm the only chance you have!" she shouted. Her fingers clenched tightly into a fist, and her face was worried.

"Alright..."

The girl, however surprised by his answer, did not waste any time. She held her hands out and began to sing. He covered his ears at the shrill sound, which was completely different from the soft melody earlier.

To Atem's complete surprise, the cell door swung open. Green light sparked for a few seconds before dying away, and the forces keeping him from escaping were no longer there. Several seconds passed where Atem stayed completely still, and Rebecca shifted uneasily. Of course, his stillness did not last long.

Atem lunged out of his cell and tackled the stunned girl. He wrapped his hands around her neck, pleased when her breathing hiccuped. He restrained her and pushed her up against the wall. He ignored her uneasy breathing and searched the halls for guards. They lay upon the ground in random heaps and appeared dead.

"What is this?" he growled. What had this girl done to these guards?

"They're just sleeping," she stumbled over her words before gaining confidence. "They'll wake up soon, so we need to get moving."

Indecision came over him, and he waited a few minutes to think it over. It would seem logical to take advantage of the escape this girl offered, but following one of his captors did not sit well with him. He really didn't want to, but it appeared that he had no choice.

Reluctantly, he let go of her, giving up his advantage. He backed up, watching her intently as she tried to gather her wits about her.

"Lead the way."

~(*)~

The further Rebecca led him from his jail cell, the more his arm hurt. The hallways were suspiciously empty, and Atem's nerves made him jumpy. He stayed close to the shadows, and tried to be as quiet as possible.

He sucked in his breath as another swell of pain raced through him. Rebecca paused to look at him, and he couldn't restrain himself from hissing at her. "Keep going," he ordered. The only thing that would ease his suffering was Yugi's safety. The sooner they got to him the better.

Intimidated, she turned around and kept going. The pain continued to swell until they stopped in front of an archway. The small archway looked the same as any other archway in this palace, but a pulsing of green energy around it made Atem's heart lurch.

"Here we are," Rebecca whispered. She stood directly in front of the arch and held her hands out. Atem barely restrained himself from charging forward. That green glow was the same as the one from his jail cell.

He watched as Rebecca drew some kind of sign with her hands, and the green glow faded with a disgruntled pop. Atem ignored the shiver that went down his spine in favor of pushing past her and hurrying into the room. His eyes searched the room, and came to rest upon the figure strapped down to the bed.

"Yuugi!" he shouted. Anger rose within him, and the next second he was beside Yugi tearing off the restraints. With shaky hands, Atem touched Yuugi's face, taking in the pale color and gaunt skin.

"Yuugi," he whispered. He gently cupped Yuugi's face with his hands. His skin was cold to the touch, and Atem nearly cried at how lifeless his partner looked.

"How could they do this to you?" Atem passed a thumb over Yugi's eyes, desperate to see them open and alive.

Determination made Atem's eyes narrow, and he grasped Yuugi's Kroshi-bearing arm. Puss and sores squished out from under his fingers, and his stomach nearly rebelled against him. He tightened his hold and pressed his forehead against Yugi's. Their link was thin and frayed, but it soaked him up when he tried to make a connection with it and he was enveloped in Yuugi's pain.

"Atem! Atem, we need to go!"

Abruptly, Atem withdrew from their bond. The thread was a little bit stronger, but there would need to be a lot of healing before it returned to anywhere near normal. He did not take his eyes off of Yuugi, and he gently touched his face.

"What?" His voice was softer now, and his attention was spilt between heading Rebecca's warning and ignoring her for Yuugi.

"We need to go!"

He turned to look at Rebecca and spared a split second to stare at her before gathering Yuugi into his arms. Yuugi's head leaned against Atem's shoulder, and Atem could feel his partner's shortness of breath. He spun around and followed Rebecca out of the room. She now had a pack over her shoulder.

They hurried through the hallways and Atem's heart began to race again. Any moment now, someone would notice their escape and the search would start. He urged Rebecca to go faster.

"Ack!" Atem grabbed Rebecca and darted up to the ceiling. He pushed both her and Yugi behind him and compelled his body to blend in as quickly as possible. Mere seconds later, a trio of Muer'in, consisting of two female and one male guard, swam directly beneath them. "That was close," he whispered after the trio had turned down another hallway.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"That disappearing thing!"

"It's genetic," he mumbled. "Let's get out of here."

They made it outside of the palace before the alarms sounded, and by that time Atem was feeling triumphant. The coral surrounding the palace was dense and it would provide many hiding places for them. Plus, no one had seen which part of the palace they had come from, so the guards would have to waste time searching the entire perimeter.

He followed Rebecca's lead until the girl became confused. He told her to follow him, and he began the search for a suitable hiding place. The Muer'in guards were faster, regardless of their head-start, and Atem didn't want to take the chance that there were some already patrolling the ends of the coral field.

Eventually, as it was getting dark out, he found a shelter large enough and hidden enough for their purposes. As much as he loathed leaving Yuugi in the Muer'in girl's hands, he had to go scout out their location and take note of all available escape routes just in case they needed to make a fast getaway. It was much darker out when he made it back to the shelter, and he took Yuugi from Rebecca and claimed a corner in the back, close to a secondary exit.

"Why are we stopping?" Rebecca asked as she hovered nervously by the entrance.

"It would be best to wait," he replied absently. "They will have the border guarded, and it will be difficult to get through." He promptly ignored her after that, and he tried to make Yuugi as comfortable as possible. He wanted to get as much of the Muer'in curse out of him as he could.

Rebecca eventually settled down inside the shelter, and she pulled an odd looking book out of her pack. Atem sparred a moment to stare at the book, because it was giving off a weird feeling, before dismissing it as unimportant and focusing back on Yuugi.

~(*)~

Until next time!
- 15
- 16
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Binding Circles