Void of Tears

Rating: PG-13/R

Pairing: None (well, if you like yaoi, you can make this a Yami/Yugi…)

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! (but I WANNA)

Me: first I'd like to thank my friend E-chan for coming up with the title.

Second...this is one of the most angsty fics I've ever written. Really.

Okay, I love Yami and I love Yugi. I don't own YGO, and I'm not expressing any type of hate here. NO FLAMES!!!

For all you Angst fans…Enjoy! ^_^

/Yugi to Yami/ //Yami to Yugi// \Private thoughts\

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Yami ran frantically through the streets of Domino, mentally calling his aibou's name. //Yugi!!! Yugi!! Please, aibou, answer me!!! Yugi!!// No reply.

//Yugi!!!!!//

/Y...Yami.../ a faint reply.

//YUGI! Where are you?!/ was the frantic response.

/Yami...I...sorry.../ the weak voice of Yugi Motou was cut off.

//AIBOU!!!!// Yami ran faster. Now that his hikari had spoken to him, he knew now where he was going.

He turned right at the next crossing and hurtled towards the plaza as fast as he could run. [A/N: the plaza is where Yami and the Rare Hunter dueled] \God, Yugi, please be okay...\

Yugi had been kidnapped by Seto Kaiba 3 days before. Yami had been searching tirelessly for him, but had found no trace of him. Finally, he had gotten a lead on where his aibou was being kept, but it looked like time was running out for his small counterpart. \God only  knows what Kaiba's done to him...\

The plaza was now in view. Yami pushed his limits as he ran as fast as he possibly could towards it.

Yami burst out into the open and stopped. Catching his breath, he whipped his head around frantically, searching.

//YUGI!// A small form lay face down a small distance away, motionless. Yami threw himself down next to his hikari and turned him gently on his back. He gasped.

Yugi's face was bruised in several places. A few patches of red on the otherwise white shirt gave away more wounds on the frail frame. He wasn't moving.

"Yugi...please..." Yami said in an urgent half-whisper, shaking his hikari gently. "Please..."

Nothing.

Frantically, Yami drew Yugi's upper body to him, his counterpart's head falling back. Supporting his head with one hand, Yami listened first for his aibou's breathing, then for his heartbeat.

Nothing.

Yami sat back on his heels in despair, Yugi's lifeless body falling forward to rest on his darker half's. "No..." he whispered softly, embracing the cold body. "No..."

Yami gently laid his dead hikari on the ground. His hand gently smoothed back the bangs from the angelic face, touched the tear-streaks the little one had cried in despair. "Yugi..."

Yami's hands curled into fists. Tears fell down his cheeks as the broken pharaoh raised his head to the overcast sky and let out a loud cry of despair.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!"

Unbeknownst to Yami, a black car had pulled up to the sidewalk. Two burly men in black suits got out, and made their way to the broken and distraught yami, who was holding Yugi's hand.

No preliminaries were performed; the goons just grabbed the crying teen by the arms, and hauled him to the car. Yami didn't fight; he merely stretched out a hand to the body of his hikari as he was shoved in the car. Collapsing on the seat, he merely waited out the trip to the Kaiba Mansion.

~*~*~

Yami again didn't put up a fight as he was dragged into his nemesis's residence. He didn't even bother looking up when the door was opened for them. \God...Yugi...I'll never forgive myself...\

The goons dragged him into the foyer and shoved him forward.

"Dear me, but I'm disappointed," a mocking voice cut into his thoughts. "I was expecting you at my throat by now."

Yami didn't look up as tears blurred his vision. "You killed him, Kaiba. You killed him."

"Nah, I didn't kill him. He just couldn't handle the...stress." Seto smirked viciously.

Yami's head jerked up. He glared at Seto through his tears. "You KILLED him, you baka!" he yelled. "The only reason I'm alive is gone! You killed the only reason for my existence, you KILLED him!" He flung himself at Seto's throat. "YOU KILLED HIM!"

Seto shoved Yami off of him and before Yami could blink Seto had nailed him in the jaw, sending him flying to the ground. Yami couldn't hold his tears back anymore and he sobbed, curling up in the fetal position.

Seto watched all this contemptuously. "Who would have thought that I'd be able to reduce the mighty King of Games to a sniveling dog? Just like Joey..."

Yami lifted his head and anguished crimson eyes met cold blue ones. "Kill me," he whispered. "Just kill me already." Seto blinked in surprise. "I have nothing left to live for."

Seto sighed. This was getting him nowhere. "Escort our distinguished guest to the door. I'm done with him."

Once again Yami was hauled to his feet. Seto watched as his guards carelessly shoved the pharaoh out the door, causing him to stumble and fall down the stairs. He looked out the window and watched as Yami slowly dragged himself to his feet, and began to stumble down the sidewalk and out of sight.

~*~*~

Yami continued to clumsily walk down the sidewalk, in the general direction of the plaza and the park. He shook with every step, the peaceful but bruised face of his hikari haunting him. \I should have done something...I should have protected him...oh Ra...Yugi...\

He collapsed to the ground once more in front of the main park gate, unable to go on. \Ra...just let me die...just let me die...\

"You don't know how entertaining it is to see the mighty pharaoh on the ground." Another mocking voice, but different than that of Seto's, rang in his ears.

"Just get on with it, Tomb Robber," was the muffled reply. Bakura stared at the form below him. "Beat the crap out of me. Insult me, mock me. Kill me. Take the Puzzle. I don't care anymore."

Bakura stared in open-mouthed shock. This was the former arrogant King of Games? This was the cold pharaoh? "What the hell is up with you, you baka pharaoh?! Something small goes wrong in your life and you just give up?! Get up," he ordered. "Get on with your life."

Yami couldn't take it anymore. He leapt to his feet, grabbed the former tomb robber by the collar and shoved him against the gate. Bakura was shocked to see the tear-streaks on Yami's face. "Get on with my life?!" he snarled. "How can I get on with my life when the reason I was brought to life is gone?" A tear rolled down his cheek once more. "Yugi's dead, damnit. Kaiba kidnapped him, tortured him, and murdered him. And I wasn't able to do a damn thing about it."

The shock Bakura felt before didn't compare to what he was feeling now. He could only stare at Yami as he seemed to collapse internally. "I couldn't do a damn thing, Bakura...and now he's gone. I don't have a thing to live for now, you of all people should know that." Ryou had fallen ill some weeks before, and had come dangerously close to death. Fortunately, he'd pulled through, but Bakura had felt him slipping away and had despaired. Yes, Bakura knew what it felt like.

Yami started to sob again, burying his face in his hands. Bakura did the only thing he could think of. He put his arms around his former adversary and let him cry.

They stayed that way for a few moments. Then Bakura said to the still crying spirit, more gently this time, "Pull yourself together. Where'd you find him?"

Yami made an effort to stop his tears. "I-in the plaza near here."

The former tomb robber thought for a moment. "Can you show me?"

A nod was his only reply. Yami turned and nearly fell; his natural grace was obviously out the window. Bakura steadied the distraught spirit, and allowed himself to be led to the site of Yugi's death.

~*~*~

He was still there when they arrived. It was getting dark, and several street lamps had come on, illuminating the small body on the ground.

Yami knelt beside his hikari, once more taking the cold hand into his own. Bakura drew in his breath. It looked like Yugi had been through hell.

He knelt beside the other spirit, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"I have nothing left to live for."

"Now that's bullshit." Bakura growled. "You're the one who the whole world is relying on right now, you can't just give up. You've got an entire world to fight for."

"What's the point? I'll get sealed again, only this time I'll retain my memories. I won't conveniently forget the next time I'm awakened."

Bakura didn't really have an answer for him. He'd have to live with this for the rest of his life.

At that moment, three figures entered from the opposite side, causing Yami to look up and Bakura to stand. Two simultaneous gasps were heard, for walking towards them was –

"Kaiba!" Yami growled. Shoving himself up from the ground, he hurtled towards Seto with a murderous look on his face.

The reaction was instantaneous. Both bodyguards pulled out their guns before Yami had taken more than two steps.

The plaza rang with the shots.

Yami fell.

"Yami!" Bakura yelled, running over to the other spirit.

Yami was dead before he hit the ground.

Bakura laid the dead pharaoh next to his hikari. Then he turned to Seto, an expression of anger mixed with fear on his face. "You bastard!" he yelled. "Do you realize what you've done?!"

Seto's cold, indifferent look didn't change. "They're dead."

"You baka! You've killed the only people who could have prevented the Shadow Realm from taking over! You've sealed the fate of the whole world with the death of those two!"

The full magnitude of what he'd done hit Seto full in the face. He staggered back, face pale.

Bakura looked up, and the fear on his face showed. "Look up, Kaiba! The Shadow Realm is taking over, and there's NOTHING you can do to stop it!"

Kaiba looked up at the blue/black clouds that were forming. His shocked expression changed to terror.

Bakura looked at Yami, and one final, desperate idea came to mind. He carefully removed the puzzle from his former rival's neck and placed it on his own. Immediately, it started to glow.

Bakura struggled to wield the power of the Puzzle so he could hold off the onslaught of the Shadow Realm. The Puzzle, however, fought against him. The former tomb robber was sweating with the effort as he tried to push away those ominous clouds.

*CRACK*

*SHATTER*

The Puzzle had shattered under the strain.

Bakura watched the pieces of what once was their last hope fall to the ground. He took off the necklace and held it up for Seto to see.

"You see?!" he yelled, shaking the necklace, the top piece of the Puzzle glinting ominously. "The only one who can wield its power is Yami! Or Yugi! But you've destroyed them both, and with them, the whole world!"

The blue/black clouds of the Shadow Realm descended to their location in a tornado shape. However it didn't draw anything in. The tornado landed a few feet away from them. Long, slender tendrils oozed out of the swirling form, and towards the two spiky-haired figures lying side by side.

_Pharaoh_...they seemed to whisper. _At last_...

Bakura watched helplessly as the black tendrils enveloped the two and sucked them into the swirling column.

The column ascended, and the clouds spread.

Darkness settled over the whole world, and soon screams of fear could be heard in every city, country, and continent. The void of tears had settled, and only horror and chaos would ensue.

And Seto and Bakura could only watch.

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Well I did say pure angst did I not? Hope you liked it! There will be one more chapter after this one, so never fear…sort of…*evil grin*

R&R please! Thanks for reading!