(no subject)

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *studies him a long moment* Sit. *will change the bed to chairs again*

Atemu: *catches up his cape before she does so, putting it back on before sitting down - everything about him is regal and graceful, it's not even conscious, it's how he was raised from birth*

*Yugi sits too, Kuriboh hovering next to his shoulder opposite Atemu and Mahaad standing on Atemu's other side.*

Kadlin: Darkness, a power much like the Shadows, seeks to overpower all.  You have been a powerful agent of the Shadows since you were young.  Darkness did not want you to find peace, it wants you destroyed, and so its agent set a trap.  Had you completed the Duel, instead of entering the afterlife as should have been, you would have been taken into Darkness and slowly destroyed.

Atemu: ..............why? What is its argument with me?

Kadlin: It is what the Powers are about.  Light is a Power of Order, Darkness a Power of Chaos, and Shadow a Power of Balance.  You have kept the balance between Light and Dark and Darkness never likes to be thwarted.

Atemu: *nods, frowning* Who is its agent?

Kadlin: You will have to learn that on your own.

Atemu: All right. What exactly was the nature of the trap? How would it have been triggered, and what would the effects have been?

Kadlin: The trigger was set as the completion of your Duel, win or lose your souls would have been captured by Darkness.  You would have existed in torment until your soul was torn apart.

Yugi: */shudders/, hugging himself* That's . . . not how I was expecting to spend the rest of my life. *sardonic...but that also scares him, though more for his other heart than for himself*

Kuriboh: *shifts up into his lap, pressing into him to try to comfort him* Kuri...

Yugi: *indulges his creature - and himself - enough for a quick but tight HUG, then gently pushes him back down* All right, so . . . we should get back to the ceremonial chamber, see if we can find any traces of the trap and who might have left it. Maybe Malik or Ishizu will know something.

Atemu: *nods* The Tombkeepers may have clues in their secrets they don't even know they hold. Mahaad, find any others you can who might know anything, find out what you can.

Mahaad: *bows* Of course, my pharaoh.

Kadlin: ...Sending you back is not so easy.  I must act carefully or your will be lost here forever.

Atemu: *considers that - to Mahaad* Go. Find out what you can. Kuriboh will stay here with us. He'll be your directly link. What he knows, you'll know.

Mahaad: *bows again and vanishes*

Atemu: Can - and will - you suggest a course of action for us? *to Kadlin*

Kadlin: ...For now I need you to come with me and do as I say. I have...something I need to...address, and then I will be able to return you to your world.

Atemu: What should we know going into this?

Yugi: You have to answer to someone for helping us...don't you?

Kadlin: ...Yes.  No matter what happens you must not interfere.  That is all you need to know for now.

Comments

[dragondancer5150]

*Their discontent ripples through the Shadows - she saved their lives, their /souls/, there MUST be something they can do in return! But . . . they both nod.*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *small smile and steps to them. She'll reach up softly touch Yugi's cheek, then shifts and touches Atemu's.* Your concern is appreciated, but every action has consequences, and I made my choice knowing the consequences.

[dragondancer5150]

Yugi: You'll be okay, though . . . right?
Atemu: *hand on his shoulder* Aibou... *just like Duels, they can't interfere*
Yugi: ...... *wants to argue, but...knows they're right - catches her hand, giving it a squeeze as he bows again* /Thank/ you. Again. We won't forget this.
Atemu: *nods* No, we will not.

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *she nods and will finally turn, motioning for them to follow.*

[dragondancer5150]

*They do so, Kuriboh bobbing along anxiously behind them.*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *leads them into the Shadows. After a time the area opens up again. She puts out a hand to indicate for them to wait.*

[dragondancer5150]

*The two stop, looking qround, Kuriboh bumping them lightly from behind, restless.*

*gets done what I need and goes home*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *steps out into the middle of the area...and drops to her knees. Shadows swirl around her obscuring her from view. The boys will hear her /screams/...it seems to carry of for hours...and then the Shadows withdraw. Kadlin is still on her knees, shuddering. She looks as though some wild animal has mauled her. Even as she sits there, though, Shadows seep across the floor to her again and her wounds slowly start to close. Kuriboh will know that things are done, they no longer have to stay back, the punishment is over.*

[dragondancer5150]

*Yugi will wind up curled up on the ground, hands pressed hard over his ears trying to block out the sound, shaking and /sobbing/ for her, Kuriboh /buried/ against his side and keening. Atemu is knelt on the other side, his arms around his aibou, /forcing/ himself to watch and listen to Kadlin’s Penalty. Finally…FINALLY….it’s over.*
Yugi: *looks up, /gasping/ at the horrific injuries, and as soon as he knows it’s okay, he’s on his feet and /bolting/ to her, dropping to his knees again next to her* Kadlin-sama!?
Atemu: *right on Yugi’s heels, crouching in front of her and looking her over for how best to help, even as he sees that she’s healing* Kadlin…

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *opens her eys and the boys will realize her eyes are so dark because of the Shadows dancing across them. Still shuddering her lifts a hand to softly touch Yugi's cheek, and even manages a small smile.*

[dragondancer5150]

Yugi: *tears still streaming down his face, /so/ upset for her!* Kadlin-sama… *covers her hand with his*
Atemu: *offers his hand, Shadows swirling around him* Will you let me help you? *offering of his own personal power to help heal her…it’s the least he can do, can’t think of anything else to help her*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *brushes her thumb over Yugi's cheek, wiping away a bit of the wet. She'll accept Atemu's hand, her fingers reating lightly on his. * I will be fine.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *hand on Yugi’s shoulder* If she hadn’t, that would have been us, except that there would not have been an end to it. She will live with the memory of the experience, but the Penalty itself is over.
Yugi: *will never be /okay/ with this…but he…can accept it…inasmuch as he /has/ to – swallows and nods, still shaking but calming finally*
Atemu: *will continue to hold her hand, there for her, and once she’s ready, he’ll help her to her feet*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *nods and brushes her fingers down Yugi's cheek, then back into his hair.* Hmm, you both have such good hearts.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *wry grin* Aibou is my “good heart.”
Yugi: *glances up at him, his own look equally wry* We’re not having that discussion again, Other-Me. *that Atemu is /good/ in his own right*
Atemu: *wry grin turns a bit self-deprecating, but he doesn’t bother to respond – to Kadlin* What happens now?

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *Atemu will find a finger in his face, and a scowl on her face.* Do not doubt your heart. The Shadows know a man's heart, I know you better than you can imagine. Yugi Mutou may have reminded you for the Light, but your heart has always been good.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *startles back a little, starts to respond . . . swallows and just nods, gaze dropping from hers – after everything he’s been through, everything he’s had to deal with . . . more recently, all the adversaries and accusations he’s faced with no memory, no knowledge at all, of his true self . . . he knows she’s right, but it will still take him some time to /not/ doubt himself anymore – after a moment* You didn’t answer my question.

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *combs fingers back through his hair before pushing to her feet.* Now you will be returned to your world.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *nods, stepping back to give her room*
Yugi: *also climbing to his feet*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *will have them stand before her.* I told you before that returning you would not be easy. To leave here you will have to face a trial, and you will each have to face your trial alone.

[dragondancer5150]

*That…doesn’t make either of them happy, wanting to be able to support and protect the other, but…neither does it surprise them, not really. So they just nod.*
Yugi: What do we need to do?

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: I will take you to where your trial will be, you will remain there until I return for you. *she looks at Kuriboh* It is time for you to go.

[dragondancer5150]

Kuriboh: Kuri… *worried, goes to bump softly against both boys, who pat him reassuringly . . . with that, he vanishes*

[socrowdedinhere]

Kadlin: *will turn and lead them for a while. She'll pause and look over she shoulder at them.* Atemu. You will remain here.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *stops with a nod*
Yugi: *HUGS him briefly before stepping back* See you on the other side.
Atemu: Remember, Aibou. Keep your heart strong. You’ll do fine.
Yugi: *nervous but nods firmly*

[socrowdedinhere]

*Atemu is left alone in the shifting mists of Shadows. A voice will echo around him from no discernible direction.*
Voice: She says your heart is good, and yet you still doubt.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: ………….I…struggle against conditioning, of a sort. *he’s been told enough times that he is good that he should believe it by now, and now that he has regained the memories of himself in life, it’s easier, but he was also told so many times that he is evil…*

[socrowdedinhere]

Voice: And what do you believe about yourself?

[dragondancer5150]

https://socrowdedinhere.dreamwidth.org/288037.html?thread=5947941#cmt5947941

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: …………………….. *he knows what his knee-jerk reaction is, but . . . he closes his eyes and really feels into things, remembering and taking into account as many things as he can as clearly as he can – his upbringing and the people who surrounded him, not just because they /had/ to because he was family and/or Pharaoh, like his grandfather and his uncle, but those who served him with willing and loving hearts, like Mahaad and Mana, even Set, and his grandfather of course, indeed all of his closest priests (again, his uncle excluded) . . . he thinks more recently of Yugi and his friends – Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Bakura, Otogi, even Ishizu, Malik, and Rashid…yes, they followed Yugi first, but even after learning of his (Atemu’s) existence, they stuck around, accepting, loving, and supporting /him/ every bit as much as they did Yugi . . . who does he listen to, those who hated him and wished him harm, or those who accepted and loved him even he made mistakes and choices he’s still not proud of? Actions may define a man, but so do the intentions behind those actions . . . finally, he opens his eyes, his voice low and steady* I believe that Kadlin is right.

[socrowdedinhere]

Voice: Even though you have sentenced people to death?

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: Consequence of their actions. I did what I felt was necessary and warranted. *as Pharaoh and as a Shadow Mage, both in the past and the present*

[socrowdedinhere]

Voice: Even though you have hurt those closest to you with you actions?

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: …………..Pharaoh is divine and flawless . . . but that is an ideal. I have made mistakes, and I have hurt people that I never intended to. I can only beg their forgiveness for that. But even then, I did what I felt was the right thing to do, even if my belief was later proven wrong. My heart was right.

[socrowdedinhere]

Voice: Even when you used the Orichalcos and lost your Aibou? Was your heart right then?

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: …………………. *knew that was coming, forces himself to keep his head held high – strong without any arrogance…or denial* I lost my way in that Duel. I failed to recognize all of the forces at work, and I let myself be manipulated into making a choice I should never have made. It was a mistake. But even then, clouded as my judgment was, I did for what I thought at the time was the right reason. I don’t excuse what I did. *though he thinks he’s already paid for it, and for what he almost did to Inspector Haga . . . he spent hours afterwards, suffering and lost, fighting his way back into the Right of things, eventually defeating not only Dartz, but many of his own demons*

[socrowdedinhere]

Voice: And do you think you deserve to move on to the afterlife with your family?
*A tendril of Shadow snakes up from the mist around him, looking almost like some kind of snake ready to strike.*

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *tenses on reflex…and forces himself to relax, looking at the tendril with steady calmness* What I think is irrelevant. You are the one judging that. *but he believes he’s vindicated himself and that the Shadows won’t deny him*

[socrowdedinhere]

*The tendril seems to study him a moment before /shooting/ forward. It sharpens and buries deep into his chest and shoots out his back. Icy pain will rip through him and then easy again, and he will be left alone.*
Voice: *fading with each word* You have been a worthy agent.

[dragondancer5150]

Atemu: *eyes widen in shock, and then he’s /crying/ out in pain before he can otherwise react, collapsing back and down, lying there for an instant of shaky reaction before he’s sitting up and looking himself over, feeling his chest*