Adult-FanFiction.org : Yu-Gi-OH

Rulers and Rogues	By : Khat Category: Yu-Gi-Oh > AU - Alternate Universe Views: 10587 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- 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
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Yeah, I'm a bad writer. This chapter just refused to write, on top of my other usual stuff, and then, when I did start getting it out, (about halfway through) word decided to screw up and I lost most of it. -_- It's even harder to rewrite.
But here it is, at last. And I'm not really sure how great it even is, really. Fight scenes, not my strong point, so I apologize for that.
Of course, there will be at least 1 more chapter, of course, but we are nearing the end, I think. And all the stuff's falling into place, which is good, and, as per usual, about 80% dumb luck and only 20% actual skill. That might be a generous estimate, actually. Oh well. It works for Jou.
******
Honda’s attempts at decoration had nothing on the show Yami was putting on, Ryou reflected, as he stood, pulling Yugi up with him. Bakura had released the chains that had held the smaller male before the horrid display had begun. The millennium items were streaming out beams of light that connected across the yard, creating a shining net above the heads of the ‘guests’ standing in the yard. They all seemed faintly entranced, just staring silently at the display.
The demon certainly wasn’t. Facing Yami across the verandah, dark mist swirled around him, the vortex growing larger by the moment, as he seethed in anger. The people up here didn’t seem to be under the items’ spell, and they were quickly fleeing, some back into the palace, some down into the crowd, where they slowed and stopped.
“You should have killed him.” The monster hissed as the last few onlookers escaped, lunging towards Honda, arm raised in what surely would have been a killing blow, had it landed. The brunet, however, suddenly fainted, just missing the attack. “Stupid mortal.”
“As I said,” Yami repeated, not seeming terribly concerned about Honda’s collapse, “it is time you left this realm. You should never have been admitted in the first place.”
“Such arrogant words, considering it was you who permitted my passage. Or, rather, your little Light, so afraid of being abandoned by his other half.” Yugi paled. He had been right all along, then. It had been his failure at the ceremonial duel that had caused all this. “How does it feel, Little One, to know the world has suffered as it has because you needed your security blanket?”
“You’re speaking half-truths, Monster. You were freed by the opening of the passage between worlds. That would have happened either way, and there would have been no one able to stop you from causing your mayhem, had I left.” Yami waved his hand wide, and a slash of light shot towards the demon, quickly countered by a swirl of dark mist.
And the battle was on, it seemed. The light of the millennium items coalesced into a sword, long and straight and slender, golden-hued, shining faintly from within. The gold tone wasn’t a solid colour, rather it swirled faintly within, giving it a liquid look. Sparks of glimmering light floated around them, a familiar warm gentleness entering Yugi, like a welcoming hug. Yami took on the same gold hue as he took the sword.
“What is that?” Ryou wondered aloud. He hadn’t felt the feeling before, Yugi realised. Bakura had left him behind when they had entered the memory world.
“Horakhty.” The smaller hikari answered. “The creator of light. I think Yami’s channelling her.” The demon had produced his own sword, and the two were engaged in a vicious duel, but Yugi’s attention was only half on it.
“He… couldn’t, before.” He murmured, the knowledge obviously coming from the spirit, even if unknowingly. “He was already tainted by the demon’s touch. We all were.” It had obviously been at work ever since it had been freed, and Honda, for some reason, had been that little bit more susceptible, it seemed.
“Why can he now, then?” Yugi just shook his head at the question, not really knowing.
“He’s been separated from it, of course.” Bakura interrupted, having moved away from the two combatants. He was missing the ring, Yugi noticed. “Now, if you two are done gossiping, Ryou, go to the key, and Brat, you can channel through the scales. Or were you planning on leaving this up to him alone?” Yugi looked over, just noticing that it was Yami who was falling back before the demon’s assault. He quickly moved to follow the thief’s command. Ryou was only a few steps behind.
Somehow, Yugi knew exactly which of the items was where. The scales were just to the left of the veranda, set on the 4 foot high base of a Magician of Faith statue, just behind the monster’s feet. He picked them up, immediately feeling the power that ran through them, and walked to stand in front of the statue. The beam of light moved with him, never breaking its flow. He could see Ryou, directly across from him, and Kaiba had moved from his spot at the far end of the open area, to stand to Yugi’s left. The crowd was starting to react, finally, though still in that entranced sort of way, moving in groups towards the now wide-open exit. Kaiba, though, was moving closer. Surprisingly, he held the eye, and it was Jou, approaching as well, disappearing behind the stage, and then climbing the far set of stairs onto it, who held the rod out. Marik, it seemed, had disappeared somewhere, probably figuring it was best to lay low for a while.
Jou drew the rod’s blade from its sheath, pausing to slice through the rope that held the psychopath’s unfortunate victim. The man just dropped to huddle at the post’s base, hands wrapped about his head. Jou moved on, down the other set of steps. There was something strange about his even, measured pace, and as Yugi stepped forward himself, he noticed that the brown eyes had an empty look.
“Jou?” He called.
“He’s fine for the moment.” Kaiba snapped. “Pay attention to what you’re supposed to be doing.” Yugi cast a furious glance at the brunet, but a sudden flash of pain quickly drew his attention back to Yami. The demon had drawn blood. Immediately, the hikari focused his thoughts back where they were supposed to be. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Malik appear, wearing the necklace, and Bakura, the ring’s cord around his neck again, but his focus now was on the fight, on his Yami, fighting again for the freedom of the world, such as it was. Even the chaos that suddenly erupted around them as Honda sent his soldiers out to try to retake control was only noted in passing. The rebels that responded seemed surprisingly well-armed.
Nothing really mattered at the moment except for Yami’s fight.
******
“You son of a bitch! Let me go.” Jou struggled against the ropes that wound around him.
“Cease your struggling and focus. Unless you would prefer the attentions of your friend and his pet.” Jou stopped fighting, instead glaring over his shoulder at the Egyptian who knelt just behind him, hands settled at his waist. The brunet’s eyes looked strained, probably from the efforts of trying to control Jou’s body. Neither of the pair had been at all willing to let him handle the rod, or any of the items, on his own, so they had come to this ‘solution’, binding the blond to restrict his ability to fight Set as he exerted his control through their link.
“Settle, Moshema.” The name had the desired result, as Jou stilled as another flash of memories surfaced. He made a face after a moment, trying to shake his head to clear it.
“Focus, Moshema.” Set repeated, his arms wrapping close around him, and he found the outer world slowly coming into blurry focus.
Chaos swarmed around them, Honda’s soldiers fighting against Grandpa’s rebels, guns and blades and hand to hand, the latter armed as well as Kaiba could manage on the short notice. One guard stumbled back, and before Jou could even think to respond, his hands were moving, the blade of the rod bared and buried in the man’s back. The soldier yelled out in surprise, at the same time as a rebel’s blade ran him through from the front. The blond shuddered, and a soothing touch brushed his mind. When he turned his head, though, Kaiba seemed entirely focused on the battle. Yugi, standing nearby, was fully entranced by the duel as well, it seemed, the smaller male’s hands white-knuckled around the scale’s post.
Set wrested control back, then, stooping to clean the blade on the unfortunate man’s clothing, then sliding it back into the sheath and holding it out again. The beam of light, which had faded, strengthened again.
And Yami needed the support. He wasn’t exactly losing, well, not outright, but the red of blood stained his white tunic where the demon’s blade had slipped through his defenses. The demon was injured too, though, leaking ichor rather than blood, a thick oily-looking green-black. Yami stumbled suddenly, and Yugi let out a wordless cry as the blade swung down for a fatal stroke. At the last moment, the ruler turned away, the weapon biting deep into the flesh of his arm, instead of his heart. The monster hadn’t expected that, and couldn’t pull his sword free fast enough to avoid the golden blade that lashed out at him, sinking into his side before he could pull away.
Both were injured badly, now, and it showed in the way they stumbled back from each other. Yami seemed to have the advantage, though, the gold mist thickening around his injury. Or maybe not, from the way he stumbled slightly.
A bit more back and forth, and now it was the demon who was retreating, trying to fend off Yami’s slashes. The monster snarled, giving a last furious attempt, and then made the fatal mistake, overbalancing just enough that he couldn’t respond when Yami’s sword separated his head from his body.
“Cherish your empty victory, mortal. I will be around long after you are all dead and gone, and I shall triumph.” Even as he spoke a cold wind swirled around the body and head disintegrating, swept away by the moving air.
The magic suddenly cut off, and Set’s control faded at the same time. The rod dropped to clatter on the ground, and Jou followed after it, albeit a bit more slowly, feeling suddenly exhausted. Yugi and Ryou dropped as well, though Kaiba and Bakura remained standing. In the brunet’s case, at least, Jou could feel the effort it took, but then, the great Seto Kaiba would hardly allow himself to be seen as merely human, of course.
Jou was looking down, so he didn’t realise anything had happened until Yami suddenly cried out, followed an instant later with an echo from Yugi. Kaiba started forward with an oath and Jou jerked his head up. Yami stood straight, a knife standing out between his shoulder blades, Honda’s hand on it. As Jou watched, shocked, the ruler collapsed. The usurper lifted his hand, staring at in confusion. Black mist swirled away from him, disappearing into thin air.
“Get a doctor.” Kaiba snarled at the nearest person, as Yugi scrambled up onto the verandah.
“I say leave him to his fate.” An acerbic voice snapped.
“If he dies,” Kaiba answered, “our agreement is void. Also, I doubt Yugi would appreciate his grandfather allowing his soulmate to die.” The old man glared at the younger, but turned and called to a woman, who, after a moment’s consideration, moved to the Pharaoh’s side.
“Come on, Pup.” Kaiba rested his hand on Jou’s shoulder as he bent to pick up the discarded rod, tucking it behind his belt again. The scales were picked up as well, and the eye made a bulge in the pockets of the brunet’s jeans. Bakura had the key and was bending over Ryou, speaking quietly to him, while Malik watched in concern.
Jou considered a moment, and pushed himself to his feet, swaying uncertainly a moment. The bastard was already striding away, obviously not even bothering to consider the fact that he might not follow. For a moment, Jou considered it. It would be easy to slip out in the chaos around him, the soldiers now milling about aimlessly, like they weren’t sure exactly why they had been fighting so viciously, the rebels turning their attention to other activities, most of them more than a little detrimental to the décor. Grandfather and his generals were slowly getting them together, and Bakura had left Ryou to Malik, obviously intent on doing the same thing with the remnants of Yami’s (Honda’s?) army.
The part of him that was him rebelled against the idea. He was meant to be at his Master’s side, had no place elsewhere any more. He had been broken, and remade to fit a specific pattern. Outside that pattern there was nothing.
:Puppy.: The tone was tired, but there was still that edge of warning to it. After a moment more’s consideration, and another glance around, the blond started after his partner. He was too tired to run, he decided, and better a soft couch to nap on then the hot desert sand.
******
Ryou opened his eyes, blinking a few times before the world came into focus. He lay on a couch in an empty room, and for a few minutes he wasn’t sure where he was, or how he had gotten there. Slowly the memories came back to him, though, the key held tightly in his grip, the power surging through him, the intensity painful. Then, darkness ending it suddenly.
He must have passed out and been brought here. Which, theoretically, meant they had won. If they had lost, he was sure he wouldn’t have been settled down to nap in a comfortable waiting room. Unless he was dead, of course, and this was the entrance to the afterlife.
A door opened somewhere behind him, and he shifted his head slightly, as if to look. He was too tired to do any more than that, though, a lethargic sort of exhaustion that made even the thought of moving seem too strenuous.
“Ryou?” Bakura looked down at him, and he managed another slight motion before falling still again, only his eyes moving as his other half walked around the couch to crouch beside of him. “Are you feeling all right?” The thief’s hand reached out to take his. The feeling seemed vague, somehow, distant, and Ryou realised that that was how everything seemed. It should have alarmed him more, but it didn’t. Maybe he had been given a sedative or something.
“Say something, Ryou.” The threat of punishment was in Bakura’s tone, but even that failed to produce any real response. He hissed in irritation, then shifted to sit back against the couch.
“Everything’s gone to hell now, hasn’t it.” The ruler huffed with an unamused laugh. “Yami’s in surgery, and the doctor, one of the old man’s people, isn’t sure he’ll pull through. Apparently that bastard’s knife hit a lung. They had to knock the brat out, he was so upset.” It wasn’t like Bakura to be this talkative, when he wasn’t grandstanding.
“Found Marik. Not sure what happened there, but he doesn’t even know his own name now. He’s making Malik look like the yami. At least Kaiba and his mongrel still have their act together.” Bakura gave him a look, and Ryou faintly realised that there was concern in it.
“And you. I can’t feel you. Like our mindlink is broken. The priest is worried you might have burned yourself out.” A moment of silence, that concerned look again.
“You should go back to sleep.” Ryou just blinked slowly. Sleep seemed like a lot of work. He just wanted to stay how he was, right now, just floating on a mental sea of nothingness. He blinked again, Bakura saying something else, but his voice wasn’t registering anymore, and the room slipped into a dull featureless grey.
******
Probably doesn't need to be said, but nobody's really in a great place atm.
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Rulers and Rogues