Wings of Time

Shadows Swallow Time and Light

Silence.

That was the first thing Yugi noticed. All the terrible noise, all the smoke, all the smells and chaos-gone. Next was that he was in his own body, though he couldn't remember Yami handing him the reigns. Beneath his hands wasn't something he could call a floor, persay, but it was dark and flat, and yet he could still see himself. Black surrounded him and for a minute he just stared down on all fours, shocked.

Then a familiar heavy pressure pressed in on him, mainly on his mind. Sweat instantly beaded on his forehead as he took a deep, shaking breath.

But Yami-where was Yami?

"Yugi?"

He could almost breath a sigh of relief at the sound of his friends voice and heaved himself to his knees. Before him, looking just as confused, if not more, was Yami as he had only seen him once, maybe twice before. His skin had taken on a cinnamon hue, royal Egyptian linen wrapped about his thighs and shoulders, and gold glinted off of various parts of his body. His eyes were the same crimson, though, staring at him.

"Why do I know you?" he asked, the most peculiar look on his face. "Yugi, I'm not suppose to know you now. All these memories, I..." Yami held his head, eyes wild. "But there's still something missing. Something's wrong."

Despite the pounding pain growing in his head, Yugi felt a bubble of excitement and made his way over to his partner. He put a hand on Yami's arm without thinking.

"You remember? Yami, that's wonderful! Do you know your name then?"

But Yami's crimson eyes, usually so full of confidence and sharp, were now wide with fear. Yugi found himself gripping Yami's wrist harder, unnerved by the lapse in his courage.

"Yami?"

"This is wrong, Yugi. The spirit I was in the future has combined memories with the me of the past. But there's something both of us don't know yet! And I felt something breaking the moment we came in here." he lifted his fearful gaze to the shadows. "You need to get out of here. And oh Ra, Aleah. Aleah Aleah!" in a flash his expression turned from fearful to murderous. "That traitor Shadi is as good as dead."

A rumble, like the sound of thunder, filled the darkness around them. An uncomfortable chill like needles ran up Yugi's back. The millenium puzzle, which had vanished from Yami's neck and had appeared around Yugi's, glowed, but it's light did nothing to penetrate the darkness.

Yami pulled Yugi behind him and stood tall. Nevertheless, Yugi could feel the pharaoh trembling beneath his grip.

"Mahado," said Yami quietly, "Mahado, can you hear me?"

"Yes," the Dark Magician formed besides him, not a trace of the previous battle showing upon him. "But what is coming for you is something I'm afraid I cannot help you with. Even I..." Mahado closed his eyes and bowed his purple capped head. "Even I am slave to its whims."

"Slave?" said Yugi. He could feel the first icy touch of real panic now, not just for himself, but for Aleah.

Another roll of thunder rumbled through them. Mahado, tall, majestic, and empowered with his dark magic, cringed at the sound.

"Can you at least tell me what happened to Shadi and Aleah?" he asked.

Mahado's frown was grim. "Oh sire, I am so, so sorry. He has them."

"He?"

"The one who is master of all shadows. The one who comes for you now."

Yami adjusted the gold summoning disk on his wrist. "Then let him come."

"It would like to say it would be better if you could flee, your majesty, but...Ra, there's no where to escape now." Mahado had a hand on his face, his staff hung loose in his limp hand. "Oh, Pharaoh, time was not meant to do this. I do not know if you are prepared, and even if you were, you are alone. There are no priests or any of the other key players here to help you."