be my mirror my sword and shield

[shegypt]

Who: Thief King Bakura OR Atem & you!
Where: Throughout the train (Bakura); gym car (Atem)
When: Llama 27
What: Bakura slacked off on getting her crystals made into a pendant….and then lost a Shadow Game to Atem. Hope you aren’t all too tired of illusions cuz she’s stuck in one now.
Warnings: MIND CRUSH.

[ Bakura ]

Bakura walks through a tomb.

Oddly enough, the surroundings comfort her - it's right that she should be here, in the catacombs no man should dare to tread, hand grazing the spells and images marked on the walls, unconsciously pausing, grabbing a rock, scratching out the pieces she needs to proceed without being cursed. Even when she encounters more physical traps - a deadly pitfall, a cluster of undead soldiers - her body takes her through the motions of dodging. This is where she belongs. This is right.

Except it's also so very wrong.

The thought of treasure, as always, spurs her onward - the thought of taking, taking, her hunger raging inside her yet battering against the walls of a hollowed-out hole. There had been something in here, once, in her heart. Something that had rooted around, burrowed deeper than any gravebuilder. Now she's left with empty passageways, a vacuum that abhors itself. She's seeking. The prize that will fill her up, that will glue her cracks, is in here - but where?

Not there....not there, either.....what is it........what did someone take from her....?

And what's she supposed to....feel.......when someone takes from her....?

Aimless, Bakura wanders the silent, still hallways of her mind. In the physical realm, her drive to pursue has lurched her body into motion - but she's stumbling, she has to lean on the walls of the train. Or she's taken a break, lying flat on her back anywhere that will fit her (a table in the gaming car, the....hallway....), slumping in corners, always with her head bowed and her eyes unfocused.

She looks like she's trying to focus, though. Like there's something on the tip of her tongue - but it keeps slipping through her fingers, like sand.

Falling through the gaps where the sun has burned her rot away.

[ Atem ]

Returning to reality, Atem observed the thief for a moment or two just to ensure they weren’t in any immediate danger (to themself, mostly). He took a few steps up to relieve her of that weapon and, calm as ever, exited the car. Silence guided his footsteps down through the various carriages. Controlled deep breaths all the way to the gym.

And he remained controlled, almost too controlled the entire time. His movements were swift; they carried purpose and intention. Focus. Smoothly walking up to a rack and wrapping his fingers around one of the dulled practice swords, he moved over toward the dummies and brought that blade swiftly to its neck. It took a disappointingly miniscule amount of effort even with such a dull blade.

He watched as the head rolled, and something about how easy it was just made him snap. The Pharaoh let out a scream -- the kind you let out at 3am when one too many things have gone wrong and that last thing was the end of the road; the kind you find yourself smashing plates and slamming doors and throwing everything in sight and for one cataclysmic moment there’s not a breath of control in sight. All that’s left is anger, a soul wrenching type that radiated off him in waves. Thick, and heavy, and damn near enough to almost knock someone over.

The kind that brings that blade right through its target. Skewers it straight through the heart or at least where the heart would be. His jaw tight, his entire body tight as he curled idle fingers around the shoulder. A grip so tight on the sword’s hilt that he could almost feel it dig into his skin. Labored breaths desperate to reel it all back in, reel back in that fire, that rage, and shuttered.

He’s okay. Just breathe. Slow, yes. Breathe. He loosened his fingers from shoulder and sword. He’s okay.

Comments

ATEM

[luckydragonsfoot]

Katsuya doesn't find Bakura first, suffice to say. Bakura isn't exactly radiating frustration of some kind, and slamming things with practice swords. No, Bakura's just kind of out there, which is definitely a contributing factor.

That's not the point.

Katsuya opens the door, Red Eyes big fat neck-head-only deal looming up behind him only to rest his head on his partner's like he's some kind of St. Bernard instead of a great enormous dragon (*head).

The blond blinks.

"Uhhhhhhhh..." Well. "...Should I uh, come back here later 'r somethin'..?"

oh pharaoh my pharaoh

[blue_ice]

Kaiba is a well-practiced late night wanderer. He's casually strolling back to the sleeper cars until he hears a roar, and then---he jolts. Something's telling him he needs to stop and investigate.

He ducks inside the gym to see a familiar face. Oh...oh no. This is something all right. He hurries over, sensing enough danger that he remains an arm's length away.

"What the hell happened to you?"

[almukhtar]

For a moment, for that small moment when he registered a voice amongst the cloud of anger, his head tilted to observe who approaches. That eye, bright and glowing wide on his forehead. Eyes violent and red and it took a few more moments -- he breathed, calming the rage in his heart.

Atem turned away, eyes fixed on the dummy before him. "Bakura," was all he could manage to get out. Though the tone was indicative enough.

[blue_ice]

Suddenly, this whole scene made perfect and terrible sense. Kaiba paled as he took in Atem's lingering anger...for his reaction to be so strong, she had to have done something. Guilt pricks at him---really, why hadn't he warned Atem about how dangerous she was? Hoping he already knew?

Well...it might've been more that Seto was a coward. Too ashamed of his failure to say a word. But that was over now, one way or another.

"What did she do this time?" Afraid of the answer, but he has to ask.

[almukhtar]

He's known, he's well known what the thief was capable of. Atem himself had almost died at their hands. He'd lost countless people several times over. The Pharaoh's relationship with his own Bakura was quite turbulent and ever the difficult one, but the thief here was -- "What did she do the last time?"

He swiftly pulled the sword out as his eyes began to fade again into a more violet nature, signs of that eye in his forehead returning to normal.

[blue_ice]

"She..."

Kaiba hesitated a little. Atem was still in quite the state, he could see that. And this was going to be a thoroughly unpleasant conversation, he knew that much.

"Before I tell you, know that I'm doing everything I can to keep it from happening again. I'm building tech that will alert me if she comes near, and I'm not dropping my guard so foolishly again---I didn't tell you before because she'd vanished, and I'd hoped it was for good."

He stops to take a breath. Drags it out a little, gives Atem a little more time to get on a slightly more even keel.

"When she first arrived, she decided to satisfy her thirst for the blood of the royalty who wronged her by spilling Yugi's. Spilling a little of mine was just a bonus."

[ Bakura ]

[zombiemessiah]

"...What the hell did you get into? Hello? Anybody home?" Murphy asks as he's passing through the gaming car, seeing the especially strange woman being especially strange in a way that's unlike herself. Less cackling and more aimless roaming. Like she'd eaten the mushroom from hell.

He goes over to where she's laying, grabs her arm, and starts to pull her up. He's stronger than he looks but that doesn't mean a languid body of a mad thief king is anything but unwieldy.

"Well, sport, looks like you're due for a trip to the medical car." He at least owes her that for trying to help him out. Usually he's a 'good luck with that' step over the legless soon-to-be corpse kind of guy. But he has his moments, mostly for his allies.

"Or your room or something. You shouldn't be out wandering around like this. Kids could put gum in your hair or something."

[shegypt]

Huh. She's...She's not alone in the tomb. That's - unusual. That's different. Bakura has the sense she's usually alone for this stuff.

She knows that voice, too, and grunts when he talks (but remains deadweight.) That's the guy...who searches for things. This is funny. Obviously that's why he's here! Maybe he knows where to find the.....whatever it is.....she needs.

Bakura chuckles to herself and stumbles forward at Murphy's side. She wants to say hey, but words are...hard. It's like....he's out on the other side of something, and she's in here. In this tomb, and there's no way people can pass through stone.

[zombiemessiah]

The chuckle tells him a lot in itself. "Yup, lights are on but no one is home," he mutters to himself, and starts hauling her in the direction of the medical car. At first he tries an ungainly half-walk, half-drag in that direction. But... yeah, yeah she's pretty gone.

"To hell with this," he mutters, ducks down to grab her under her knees and carry her princess style, which honestly feels a little ridiculous. Like porting a maniacal noodly-limbed hyena woman. Oh and the doors sure are fun to get through. Excuse him. He makes a half-ass attempt to not bump her against anything.

He plants her on a bed as soon as he gets in there.

"Give me a minute. I never do shit in here so I'm going to have to find everything they do vitals with. Hooray for having eaten the brains of a few competent doctors, am I right?" There's his own unsettling chuckle. Funny? Eh, whatever. Where is the stethoscope and that other shit he needs...

[shegypt]

Bakura sprawls on the bed, a bundle of limbs, giving even fewer damns about comportment than usual. In her mind, she's just sailed across a pit full of spikes, the bold...explorer? She does something very specific in these tombs and it's also hiding from her somewhere in these shadows. What a pain.

Fortunately (?), aside from long-healed scars all over her body, she is in the peak of health. There's absolutely no physical anomaly. She's just....on vacation. In her mind.

And unresponsive to stimuli, should he examine her.

[zombiemessiah]

"Blood pressure normal."

"Heart rate normal."

"Eyes, extra crazy." He says miscellaneous observations as he's checking her out. Though he is reminded, sadly, of a subterranean bunker far away. Of a girl laying on a table, drifting away, over-heating from bacterial infection. Of the moment he looked at her and decided that he was going to interfere.

I'm not dead. That's the most coherent thing Cassandra said once she was up again. All teeth and feral glee. Murphy had done that to her. He was the only one who couldn't see it as a bad thing, all he could see was the beauty in a life preserved even if it was at its most raw, brazen, needy function. She was his first that was truly his, before he figured out what the hell he was doing. She'd stuck loyally with him until her end.

He finds himself frowning at Bakura, before returning all the times to their various places. He retrieves a syringe and draws a small amount some of his own blood, no more than a few drops. Take the risk? Yeah. Yeah, why not. Not like he won't piss someone off sooner or later and he's gone there already.

He injects her with that small amount of blood, disposes of the syringe, and returns to her bedside to wait for it to take. This time he leans his elbows on the railing and closes his eyes to concentrate.

Respond to me when you can hear me. He thinks loudly.

Atem

[sizedoesntmatter]

Yugi felt like something was off. The closer he found himself to the gym the more he felt it, but couldn't put his finger on what.

At least that was until he finally opened the door of the gym and looked over what he saw before him. Atem seemed pissed he could tell that at first glance and it was enough to cause the other to tense up briefly.

At least until he finally speaks. "Atem?"

[almukhtar]

This was-- this was the very last person he wanted to see this. Something sharp and painful stung deep inside Atem's chest. He could see it, see the picture Bakura described so vividly and just the thought tightened his grip back around that sword. That all-seeing eye burned brightly on his forehead, and Gods... he didn't want to face the young man.

"I'm sorry Yugi," his eyes close, and he breathes again. Still not ready to face the young man. "It took -- it took everything within me to not let her fall."

[sizedoesntmatter]

"Your...sorry." Yugi was admittedly a tiny bit confused with what he said. What exactly did he have to be sorry about? The next sentence at least maybe explained a bit but not a lot really.

He figured at least something had happened that much he could at least understand as he moved a step forward. Sure, he was feeling anxious but he was also sure that something was up, and honestly, to him that was more important than how he was feeling.

"You didn't want who to fall exactly?" he asked curious, having taken another step. He wanted to at least try and help calm the other if possible even with not really figuring out what had happened.

[almukhtar]

"Bakura." Atem gets to the point, he just needed a moment to... collect himself, to stave away the fears that still rummage in his mind, his heart. That rage. He slowly removed the blade with a long exhale. Fingers steadied on the faux chest in idle movement.

"I promised back home, promised myself no more shadow games. It brought quite the stir but I had outlawed them. And then here I am," does he need to say more? The tip of that dull blade thuds against the gym floor. Its hilt still loose in Atem's hand. "When she told me what she had done, it took everything in me -- everything to not just" fucking break her. Permanently, and without mercy. He exhaled.

Atem

[controlsthedie]

Thanatos made good on his word, saying that he was going to carry the shades with him on the train. When it becomes clear that Atem is fighting in the gym, Thanatos puts them on, shifts to get his manadrive, and then returns to the gym.

"Do you wish to fight something sturdier than that dummy?"

Atem might not be the only one who needs a distraction.

[almukhtar]

And as if to punctuate a few thoughts rummaging through Atem's mind, there he is: death. In shades, too. Something about the entire thing is just enough to bring him out from his fiery wrath. At least enough to be less thoughtless with it. What were the divine if not righteous in their ire?

"When I found out what my team was known for," he tugged the blade out, cleaned it of any debris. It wasn't as comfortable in his hands as others might have been. "I thought, this can't be right." So, Atem moves over to replace it with something he knows much better. An axe. And it sat far more comfortably in his grip. Not quite a khopesh, but he understood how to wield it.

He takes a stance, "Clearly I was lying to myself." It's enough to say yes, whenever you're willing Than. "Troubled mind?"

[controlsthedie]

"It's hard to say about what really puts one on the Red Team." Thanatos walks forward to take the abandoned training sword. Normally, he would have used his own sword, but against a training axe, he'd likely cut through it. A mortal-made training weapon cannot hope to survive against a divine blade of Death. The weigh, length, and grip are all off, but there's nothing for it.

"What makes you ask that?" Thanatos responds, though really anyone who has been aware of Thanatos or anything happening on the train could guess that accurately. Was there anyone who didn't leave the mission and training with a sound, calm spirit? (... Maybe Death. She seems like she could come out from anything soundly.)

[almukhtar]

It's a little strange readjusting to something when particular weapons have become such an extension of yourself. He imagines this particularly so for a Chthonic God. Feet move a pace around, assessing the way Thanatos held himself.

"The caves, or the fact that you feel heavier than you did before." Choose your answer, both sound about right to him. "These weapons aren't much, but I hope to alleviate some frustration from you as well then."

ATEM, LATER

[shegypt]

[ The next day, Atem will enter his room to find a clay jar sitting atop his bunk. The contents are long, thin, pale, and, to put things mildly, do not smell great.

A helpful note has been left alongside this gift, written in sloppy hieratic shorthand. ]

THANKS MISTER KING

BUT IVE ALREADY GOT GUTS TO SPARE

BAKURA POST-MURPH

[luckydragonsfoot]

Earlier, and after he'd encountered Atem, Katsuya had found Bakura wandering the halls. Just stumbling against the walls, eyes vacant and unresponsive. Something was wrong. Really wrong. Heck, every goosebump he had was saying WRONG WRONG WRONG!

And then while panicking, he had the strongest possible feeling about how it would maybe go away once Bakura reached a certain carriage, so he hauled her up, turned her around, and shoved and watched her stumble off in the opposite direction before shuddering and locking himself up in the games carriage for a bit.

Just don't think about it. Just don't!! That'll work, right?? Right?

It doesn't work really well after a bit, so instead his best option winds up being a good long shower during the slow period of the day when no one on the train really cares about those. Just...don't think about it. Just don't...don't th...

Katsuya is coming out from that, towel wrapped sort of awkwardly around his top (the cargo pants aren't so bad damp, the tight-fighting polo is an entirely other story), when a sense of another sort gets him to turn his head toward the direction he'd shoved Bakura in a good amount of time ago.

Before he can come up with a really decent cover, he practically collapses in relief. "...Oh thank god, I was set t' wonder if y'd be stuck like tha' for months," he wheezes, Red Eyes already quickly peeking from the shadows to look forward. "Er... ...Y'...are all there righ' now righ'..?"

[shegypt]

Bakura is also wet! Fancy that. All drippy, like she's dipped her head in water - and her shoulders are slumped more than usual, her pace is perhaps still unsteady, but her eyes are sharp again. Hrm?

Great. He'd seen. This is gonna be a pain. She snorts.

"I might catch cold," she informs him. "Takin' this."

And she reaches for the towel. Don't mind if she does, sir! This is obviously for her, because it is an object within grabbing distance of the King of Thieves. No one who wishes to retain their items would place them in such a location.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Annnnnn' no y' ain't," he easily counters, and for once, his grip is frankly a vice. Nice try, Thief King, but much as he got booted out of stealing school, he still had to deal with fellow kids practicing on him before that point in the last life. "Nice try though. Any memory of what y' were doin' f'r th' last 10 hours 'r so by th' way?"

[shegypt]

Tch. He'd picked up a thing or two in Kul Elna after all.

Bakura will scowl at him until she gets her wrist free - and will try to hurry this along with a tug and a twist, though she won't go for the towel again. Be that way, whatever. Won't get you a cooperative response.

"Don't ask questions if you know the answers."

[Bakura]

[consider8]

Eight was wandering back after finishing some chores when she happened upon a strange sight. Strange for the train, even. At first her attention was focused on trying to determine what was going on... perhaps the train was going through yet another crisis of some kind.

Her hesitation broke at the first sign of the stumble. No. There was no room for hesitation. This woman needed help now she was in no condition to be moving around like this.

"Hey!" Eight reached to steady her. Okay. Now what? Now... now... now she needs to go to where she wants to go...? Or the medical car. "Where are you going? I will help you get there."