[closed]

[pregames]

Characters: Atem and Yuugi
Location: Egypt, various
Rating: PG for mission violence
Time June 28th - July 1st
Description Catch all log for Atem and Yuugi's mission in Egypt and their subsequent travels.


The second they stepped through the mirror it was like entering another world, another time, where the past and the present collided with immensity and Atem stumbled forward before he could get his bearings. The mission mentioned tombs. What it had failed to mention was that they would be fighting within the most famous tombs in the world. Towering before them were three magnificent shapes, not covered in pristine white limestone but the color of dusty dessert sand. The pyramids of the earliest kings.

They stood in the embrace of a chorus of car horns and exhaust fumes and children playing football in the crumbling streets and the run down tightly packed honeycombs of housing that was the heartbeat of Giza. A heart sustained by a skeleton of the past.

Atem had all of two minutes maybe three to take it all in and render the image, to strip away the processing and filters and realign it with the place of memory, before an agent approached them. He was a portly man clad in a galabiya who bowed and bid them Salaam and Welcome And Shukran and thank you for coming.

It was a terrible thing to have the iconic monuments afflicted by kishin eggs; they were a national treasure and a huge source of tourists after all. They would be venturing into the grand gallery to confront their foe. He explained all of this quickly and eagerly and never once did he comment on the strange pair who looked so similar but were obviously of different stock. Shibusen had a reputation for such oddities, even one that looked as if he were plucked from the very walls they were now changed with protecting.

Atem, with one foot firmly planted within two different lands, looked ahead as the words washed over him, unheard. The assignment was clear, resolve firm, and he turned to give Yuugi a curt nod.

“Take us there.”

Comments

[pregames]

The pharaoh wouldn't expect his partner to understand the magic of a tomb, certainly not while crawling through dim, ancient corridors devoid of the sumptuous offerings left with the initial burial. These walls construction of coarse granite were mere facades, screens on which images of the afterlife could be imprinted, where the dead transcend the mortal world and the images take physical form.

When the tunnel opened up into the grand gallery, a long hall with an elegant vaulted ceiling built into the very structure of the edifice, Atem could see it. The grandiosity of a long lost time, an architectural marvel that trumped those of his finest engineers. He could just imagine that living passages that might have inspired it, fill with the court of his forefathers. Were they, even now celebrating, their deaths in this hollow space?

The sheer height of the gallery lifted his attention to the very apex of the ceiling, amazement quickly turning to a frown, tension returning to his limbs as the fight or flight instincts kicked in.

"Yuugi!"

Reaching for his partner's hand he takes off to avoid the attack that had been poised from above. He didn't need to look back, knew it would be there, knew they would both be ready as he planted his foot at the far end of the hall and pivoted, bringing both arms forward to strike back.

[mieru_mienai]

When Yuugi hears that note in his partner's voice it puts an end to his open-mouthed staring as immediately as though a switch had been flipped in his mind. He doesn't let Atem down, the glow of his body filling the tomb as he changes to his weapon form; an instant later there is a sickening crunch and the Kishin scurries back in grotesque retreat, its remaining claws skittering loudly over the granite floor. With the gleaming, over-sized scarab beetle just out of range, Yuugi has at least a second or two to examine their surroundings, a task made much easier by the superior perception of his weapon form.

Aside from the scarab in front of them, which maintains a threatening and twitchy position between them and the exit, he sees no movement; the only other notable presence in the tomb lies in the far corner, and appears to be shadowed mounds of-- Wait, are those...? Oh, gross.

I think that's the only one--let's take care of it!

The reports had indicated that the tombs were overrun, but Yuugi doesn't question what he sees. Perhaps the others are lurking in another part of the pyramid. They don't have time to wonder, because their enemy takes only a few seconds to attack again, rash and unpredictable in its injured state.

[pregames]

From his vantage point at the top of the steeply sloping ramp, the pharaoh had a moment to marvel at the oversized scarab, with its green black carapace gleaming in the low lights. He experienced a moment of revulsion, a microsecond of nausea that crashed around him with the force of a tidal wave. He didn't bother to hide it, the apprehension flowing freely through their connection.

It was irreverent, it felt completely wrong but in the time it took the fiendish bug to round on them again, the waves had receded and Atem was master over them once again. He shifted his stance, springing more than running to meet their opponent with his weapon poised to stab head on. Only at the last second did he turn the blade aside, passing over the scarab’s head and sliding neatly into the juncture between skull and thorax. They struck, utterly silent but the scarab stilled, emitted a violent shudder and collapsed to the ground.

"Hmph." He couldn't help but smirk as he pulled Yuugi free, wiping the blade down on the hem of his cloak. "That's more like it."

[mieru_mienai]

"Bloodthirsty" would be one of the last words used to describe Yuugi by any person who knew him at all, but when Atem struck at the Kishin egg he felt the brief, triumphant thrill of success. This time--this time they had made good their mission, and in a small way it began to erase the shamefulness of their defeat in Japan.

That thrill did not last long, however, cut rudely short by the actual thrust of the blade and then it was his turn to be nauseated, a faint shudder of disgust rippling over the connection of their resonance. He was still nowhere near used to that feeling.

"Thanks," he offered even as Atem wiped him clean, glad to be rid of what scarab beetle insides had clung stickily to his blade. With that taken care of he re-directed his focus, matching himself up with his partner's sense of victory. "That's one down. The rest must be in another part of the pyramid." Though it was clear he intended to fight either until they had the place cleared out or they couldn't go any further, there was the slightest of falterings before he spoke again. "I guess I should take care of this one first."

The egg's soul gave off a faint glow, unassuming enough now that their enemy lay dead, or it would be if Yuugi didn't know what came next.

[pregames]

Once the soul began to rise, Atem could finally relax, lowering the his partner till the tip brushed the ground. He had been expecting more of a struggle, more of these things by the sound of the mission post. After the last mission he wasn't about to complain about an easy victory but he wasn't going to get caught off guard again either. He gives the room another look around. The ceiling wasn't that high, there wasn't really anywhere for them to hide so he felt it was safe to say that this room was clear. Just for good measure they might as well explore the rest of the tomb, maybe even find some kind of source if they had in fact been such a nuisance for the people here.

As soon as Atem comes to that decisions he realizes his hand still wrapped around the hilt of the sword, Yuugi still in his weapon form, still resonating. He hadn't realized because the sensation was utterly natural, a second nature akin to breathing.

"Are you waiting for a drink to wash it down or what?"

[mieru_mienai]

"Er, no--I've got it," Yuugi answered quickly, embarrassed, and the tomb lit up again with the glow of his body as he changed back to his regular form, which was necessary for what came next. Even then he stared at their defeated enemy for a split second before taking action, and the thought clearly crossed his mind to shake his hand free from Atem's for a few moments, to break their resonance and keep this part to himself.

That would be a pretty stupid thing to do, though--especially after what happened in Japan--so he didn't let go, leaving the pharaoh privy to all his discomfort and reluctance and even a twinge of chagrin as Yuugi plucked up the soul with his free hand, lifted it to his mouth, and forced himself to swallow it, making a face as it went down.

Definitely not his favorite part.

Then again, he wasn't much fond of being attacked unawares and that seemed to keep happening as well; in fact the moment he finished with the first kishin's soul there came a very unpleasant sound of movement behind them. Instinct kicked in and Yuugi was back in his weapon form in almost an instant, just in time to see not one but two more of the huge beetles clawing their way out of what had seemed to be such inconspicuous (if disgusting) heaps of dung the other scarab had piled up in the corner.

Damn, he hadn't thought they'd be inside those things.

"Two more, over there!"