hadriel_logs | Are we the hunters?

[It’s been a rough couple of weeks, and Barry is anxious for all of this to be over. The lack of sleep and food and healing, the constant attacks, Taako’s near-fatal injury and Lup’s furious grief, it’s all been exhausting. What little rest Barry's been able to steal here and there is constantly interrupted, and while he’s still able to hold his own in battle - especially with this sharpened steel bar he’s using in lieu of a real sword - he’s running dangerously thin on magic. The Null have completely drained all of them. But they put up a good fight, and it finally looks like they’re in the clear.

Suppose all that’s left is checking for stragglers in every corner, like Fear said. It’s not like Barry is of any use anywhere else. This, he can do.

He hasn’t been very good at keeping up with everyone he’s gotten to know in the city since the attack started, aside from his immediate family - and honestly, he’s had more than enough to worry about just there. So bumping into Atem in the caves is completely unexpected, but a pleasant surprise. Hard to forget that hair. Barry looks the same as when they’d fought together outside Hope’s temple right at the beginning, except like he hasn’t slept at all in four days. There’s an odd sort of solidarity in that, both of them looking so tired.

Barry offers a weary smile.]

You on pest-control duty too, huh?

Barry! You okay?

「Upon finding him, or being found, whatever, Atem gives him a bright smile with his greeting, behind the tiredness that's it. He's truly glad to see him alive and well, again, behind the tiredness.」

Heh, that's me pest-control. I haven't found anything yet but, if they are here at all. But I guess another pair of eyes is better than a single one, huh?

「Get it? Yeah, Eye... eye joke, he's so tired. Not that he will tell him he can see pretty well with that golden Eye.」

Ah, I'm uh... I'm gettin' there, I think. You?

[He honestly doesn't want to think about the preceding weeks. It hasn't been anywhere close to okay for any of them. But Barry has gotten off easy... He almost feels a little guilty about it.]

Y-Yeah, I mean. These peepers aren't what they used t'be, but-- [He chuckles, adjusts his thick glasses.] Power in numbers, right?

[Barry has only ever seen Atem once, in the middle of battle, but he'd had the Eye then as well. He didn't ask then. It doesn't look... natural. But Barry doesn't want to be insensitive, doesn't want to poke his nose where it doesn't belong. So he refrains from asking. Maybe that's normal in whatever plane Atem is from.]

I've checked most of the southern ones, nothin' there. Wanna uh, lead the way?

Edited 2017-12-28 15:25 (UTC)

「Oh, my good sir, you look even worse than he does. Which is why being tired as he is, he definitely takes over this little mission.」

Sure, follow me.

「Or you know, follow the small dragon up ahead. They go a few minutes into the caves before Atem speaks again.」

Is Taako doing better?

「Oh no, no worries, it's not like he read his mind or anything. Lup told him.」

Uh... L-Lup told ya, huh? [He assumes, anyway. He knows Atem and Lup are good friends. It wouldn't surprise him if she'd told him. How else would he know?]

He's uh... He's gettin' there. I dunno how much Lup said, but... he took a huge hit back there. [Barry tries not to think about it, but it's hard not to. Everything had been going so well. They'd been so confident, Taako had been so confident when he'd rushed off by himself to take on the Null.

There'd been so much blood.

Barry clears his throat, tries to push the image out of his mind. It's hard enough dreaming about it almost every night, he doesn't need it now.]

He'll be fine. He's a powerful dude, just like his sister. [A thin laugh as they make their way through the cramped caves.] Wouldn't be th'first time either of them made it out of a tough scrape, y'know?

「Aw man, maybe he shouldn't have asked, he can notice the strain in Barry's voice, but lets it slide, it is hard not to come back to that topic, since it's all what they've been doing lately.」

I believe you.

「He had been lucky, something others didn't have the chance to even say.」

What about you? You seem quite used to this kind of stuff.

[Barry had been lucky too. After Taako's huge hit, he's either stayed hidden or had Lup at his side for protection. All things considered, he's emerged from this invasion as good as unscathed. Now to make sure the invasion really is over.]

Y-Yeah, I guess y'could say that.

[The Null share a lot of similarities with the Hunger, after all. Running, hiding, fighting, he's done it a hundred times over. He's not sure he's able to count all the times he died while pursued by the Hunger.]

Before we got here, this sorta thing was kinda, uh... somethin' of a-an annual event. I dunno, it's gonna sound crazy no matter how I put it. Not really somethin' y'wanna admit bein' used to, huh?

Hahaha... I will not judge you. I... am not exactly used to this, but then again, I kind of am... there is always threatening the world and somehow I've happened to be in the middle. So, I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.

「You're good, buddy.」

Yeah? [Barry laughs nervously.] Guess there's no escapin' the end of the world in one way or another, huh?

[He clears his throat, adjusts the makeshift sword in his hands. He is curious about Atem's world, where he comes from, what perils he's faced in his lifetime. Better start explaining, then. Quid pro quo.] So... I dunno how much Lup has told ya, but we uh-- we were scientists. Explorers. Back home, we discovered an incredibly powerful force that-- that we hoped could shed some light on how the universe is structured. What lies beyond the planes of matter and energy and existence itself, y'know?

W-Well, we... we set sail t'find out. And just as we did, this force descended on our world and just. Just swallowed it. Every plane, the fabric between them, every bond connectin' matter to energy to magic to life, all of it.

[He takes a deep breath.] We got away. And we kept gettin' away. A hundred years, we ran from system to system. Didn't matter if we died, we were always brought back, b-but that force found us every time, kept chasin' us down. We called it the Hunger. It was chasin' after that force we discovered, th-the Light of Creation, and it didn't matter how many planar systems it consumed along th'way. How many lives lost.

「Lup has actually never really spoken about her world, they just... happen to do all this big talk between banters, that's what their friendship has been all about in the beginning. Only lately, and only because of the so called gods, it's that he learned how alike their past had been, otherwise, maybe he would have never found out. She's a selectively secretly as he can be. So it comes as a surprise that she, that hotheaded mess is actually more than she shows.

Their story, however, as heartbreaking as it is, is fascinating. There is something always going about the dark and the light, but there is something in particular that calls his attention. Well, two things.

The Light of the Creation and Horakhty, his most beloved and powerful, the Creator of Light, the names couldn't simply be a coincidence. And the other thing... 」

How were you brought back?

We-- We're not totally sure, if I'm bein' honest.

[Even though they'd been on the run for a century, most of their time had been spent searching for the Light in every new world, or researching the properties of the Light and the Hunger, in order to find a way to stop the cycles from repeating. Not a whole lot of time had been dedicated to piecing together the exact machinations of their annual resurrection, especially considering how swift the process always was. No way to reliably gather data and test hypotheses.

Then again, a century on the run gives a guy a lot of time to think.]

We had a couple theories goin'... See, we used the power of the Light of Creation t'make the engine of our ship. Called it the Bond Engine. [How to even begin explaining this.] It runs on the uh, the power generated by the bonds between all things. Between matter and energy, between magic and the elements, between-- w-well, between people. Uncountable, unquantifiable bonds. Feelings, essentially. L-Love.

[It sounds cheesy. It sounds impossible. But here, deep in the cold caverns in the outskirts of a city in an extra-planar pocket dimension, Barry has no reason to lie or embellish.]

We think the Light of Creation fed off of the bonds between the crewmembers, our bonds with each other and the planes of existence, and-- and recorded us in a given state. So every time we entered a new planar system, we just... got woven back together by the Light. We think... W-We think the Light creates and restores because it loves.

「Mind blown! Seriously, Atem just stares with wide open eyes (while trying not to trip on some rock). A ship that runs on love? That has to be the most awesome thing there is. It sounds not impossible at all! Not for him anyway, he's seen the impossible turn possible by the mere power of friendship, just another expression of love, but not because of that, less strong.」

And the Hunger destroys because it hates?

「He sounds a little skeptical, it's not always that simple. He learned that the hard way.」

[Atem is right to sound skeptical. Barry had also thought that the Hunger destroys out of hate, they all had, for years after their flight began. But Atem is correct in his assumption. As with all things, this is not that simple.]

The Hunger... The Hunger destroys because it's... dissatisfied.

[That warrants more explanation, so Barry is quick to add:] I-I never talked to th'guy myself - 'cause surprise, there's a guy at the center of it all - but apparently he said that the Hunger is a... i-it's a combined consciousness. The Hunger claims to have seen into infinity. Seen the boundaries of existence. And he said they were dissatisfied with what they saw. Angry. Said that living is-- is pointless, because life and love and family are all so small when y'consider the boundaries of existence.

[He sighs.] The Hunger wants to destroy a-and consume every plane in every system in every dimension until there's nothin' left, so that together, their consciousness is bigger than existence itself. Taking th'space of all of existence, becoming greater than the sum of its parts, like it's gonna ascend or somethin'.

[Barry shakes his head with a weary smile. It's been over a decade since he paid the Hunger this much mind.] S-Sorry, I'm just talkin' yer ear off.

It's fine. I get it.

「It is a little too much to take in in one single loose conversation, but Atem understands, or tries to.」

Is there someone in the Light too?

Not as far as I know. We-- We barely even know how it works in th'first place.

[Barry sympathizes. Honestly, even after living with this for a hundred years, spending nearly every day researching and considering the possibilities, it's hard even for him to wrap his head around all of this.

At least Atem seems to believe him. Which is a relief.]

We managed to hide the Light from the Hunger. Kept ourselves hidden in th'same world for over a decade. Didn't really go too well, if I'm bein' honest. [This is where Barry starts to clam up. Thinking of all the lives lost in Faerûn because of them, because of his plan, makes his stomach turn. He looks and sounds like he doesn't want to talk about it.] That's as far as we got.

[The cave reaches its end, and Barry sighs as he looks around. Nothing in this end. Maybe one of the other hallways in this labyrinthine cave will yield some monsters. Barry starts heading towards the nearest crossing, intent on going down another path.]

That was mine. How about you tell yours?

Well... 「It is his turn isn't it? He tries to find a way how to begin, but the truth is that he dwells in Barry's words, the need of the Hunger seemed very alike Zorc's. Consume it all into Darkness, that same darkness that came from people's hearts... It is a constant isn't it? He wonders, loosely, what would happen if they let the Light confront it, there was something to be said about the unique balance there is between Light and Darkness, one cannot exist without the other, right?

He's not sure, he doesn't feel he understands enough to offer some kind of advice, besides, this conversation is not about that, it's just a conversation.」

A long time ago, when I was a child, my uncle created seven incredibly powerful items, the Millennium Items. Their sole purpose was to end the war that raged in my country, but... there was a price that had to be paid.

I will not bore you with little 「but important...」 details but, it was the Items' creation what brought the embodiment of the Darkness inside people's hearts to our world. It had, pretty much the same idea the Hunger had. We tried to fight it, but... It was impossible. In the end, I had to seal it away inside one of the very same Items it helped to create but, heh... I had to use my own soul to do it. So, I sealed myself with it. It was the only way I could think to defeat it at the time. And, that was the first step into getting into... this kind of stuff. I guess it ran in the family.

「He chuckles, some levity might be needed at this point.」

Then, after a long time, there was this kid who released my soul into the modern world. From there, things kept piling on us, I guess I was harbinger of chaos into his life; some would say it was fate, but, I don't know about that. We faced a lot of perils all because of me and my ties to the Millennium Items. So, yeah... you could say I'm used to this kind of stuff too.

[Barry listens carefully as Atem starts speaking, trying to pay attention and commit every detail to memory. It sounds strikingly similar to his own story, he realizes, even details he chose not to share with the young man matching up. Seven powerful items... They had hidden the Light in seven magical artifacts of their own creation. To diffuse its power and evade the Hunger. Their items had started wars, the natives enthralled by the Light's power, made willing to kill to obtain it...

He shakes off the thought. The similarities between their stories has to mean something, has to be significant. Light and Darkness locked in a struggle, powerful relics created with good intentions poisoning the hearts of men, even the number seven... He'll have to investigate this further.

Atem using his own soul to seal away the Darkness, however... that one's new. That's a kind of bravery and sacrifice Barry has no idea how to relate to.]

So... y'were locked away for a long time. [Barry considers the young man. Just looking at him, he never would have known.] I'm guessin' decades? Centuries? When-- When y'were released, did th'Darkness come out with ya?

Three millenia. 「Damn, it does sounds like a long time, doesn't it? He says it as if it was nothing, but there is a strained look in his features when he does, not that it might be noticeable in the dim lighting of the caves. He knows at least how it was for Lup, in a way.」

No, it was double sealed. I... used my name and my memories to keep it locked. When my partner released me, I didn't know who I was or where I was. It actually... took me a while to figure out he was someone else... and not me.

「He's not sure if that's understandable, but how else can he explain?」

But... It's really hard to see in the dark, you know? It fought back for its own existence, crafted a little plan and waited until the time was right to strike again. Couldn't see it coming...

「He makes a little pause, if he hadn't gotten overly curious about his past, it would have remained sealed, his soul would still be tied to the Millennium Puzzle... It's true, they defeated it in the end, but for how long? It's not like he can make the darkness in people's hearts disappear...」

It took a lot to defeat it, but we did it. The Creator of Light casted her light on it, made it disappear.

... Three... Th-Three millennia?

[Of everything he'd expected to hear, that clearly hadn't been it. Having lived a hundred years of stolen time, far longer than any human of his world has ever lived, Barry thought he knew a thing or two about unnaturally long stretches of time, but... he can't even begin to wrap his head around what three thousand years must be like.

Especially spending those alone.

He listens closely to the rest of his story, trying to follow along. It's complicated, certainly, seals and souls and memories (the loss of which is a little too close to comfort for Barry), Darkness fighting back for survival, finally dispersed by Light. The tension in Atem's voice is impossible to ignore. It must have been taxing. These things tend to be.]

Your... Your partner? [It might be a sensitive subject, but Barry can't help but latch on to it. Maybe it'll be easier to talk about a loved one rather than battling darkness incarnate.] Can you tell me about him?

「That left an impression didn't it...? Atem tries not to think much of the time he spent alone, because in truth, he doesn't remember much. Maybe, he doesn't want to remember.

One would guess that talking about something else, someone one loves would be easier, he doesn't blame Barry for asking, after all, it was he who mentioned him. While it might not be easier, it does bring some fond memories. There is a long pause before he speaks again.」

Yugi... He's the kindest person I've had the honor to meet. He has the biggest heart anyone would ever have. So big that... we could share it. He let me reside in his heart since I had lost my body a long time ago...

「But, that was obvious, right?」

When he released me from the Item, I took over his body. I... I didn't know what was going on then, but we started sharing it, sometimes I would just take over and protect him. As my host I had to keep him safe, but sooner than later we became aware of the other and became friends.

「More than friends, but it's hard to explain. How does one explain that feeling? He got to know him, intimately, just from sharing the same heart. He knew his fears, he learned to love his faults, and he wished his happiness above anything else. Love, one could call it, unconditional love.」

He fought together, and he taught me... 「Kindness.」 so much. I will never forget him.

[Sharing a body... Two minds in one shell, becoming aware of each other... Barry has a hard time imagining how that must feel, how sharing physical real-estate with another soul would even work. But it does sound like Atem and Yugi made it work somehow. A form of symbiosis, perhaps. Looking at it from a biological perspective, he can understand the workings of it a little better, not something parasitic as much as mutualistic, a biological interaction with benefits for both.

It sounds like more than that, however. The warmth in Atem's voice, even just in saying the boy's name... It sounds like he really cares for him in a way that goes beyond symbiosis. Yugi is important to him.]

You'll see him again.

[Barry sounds like he really believes that. His search for Lup has instilled in him a hope some would call naïve, an optimism almost bordering on absurd. But despite everything stacked against him, everything that could've gone wrong, he'd found her. He truly believes Atem will be reunited with his partner.] Whether in this world or th'next, or th'next one after that... you'll be with him again.

Edited (phrasing) 2018-02-09 08:48 (UTC)

「Maybe he should have told him about the power of the Millennium Pendant, now, Puzzle, how it made possible for them to coexist in the same body, but sentimentalism got in the way, besides, it was hardly important.

He knows Barry means well, but he doesn't know the whole story. He doesn't know they would really be together again, not in that way anyway, and to see each other again... well, it's difficult. He doesn't want to tell that part anyway. It still hurt deeply, as he's just finding out.

Maybe it'll never stop hurting but...」

I know...

「He manages a smile. They would never be truly apart, he had said so.」

How did you meet Lup anyway?

[Barry can tell Atem wants to drop the subject. The quick change in topic is enough to tip him off. And although he's curious to know more about Yugi, about their relationship, he doesn't want to poke at a still painful wound. If he ever wants to talk about it again, he will, whether that's with him or someone else. The least Barry could do is make this more comfortable for him.]

We uh, we met on th'ship we traveled on. The Starblaster. [Whatever chucklefucks decided on that name should've been fired years ago. Barry smiles.] I was Chief Scientific Officer, she was one of th'resident Arcanist. Before that, I just... caught glimpses of her and her brother across the Institute campus. Never dared goin' up t'talk to her.

[He chuckles all of a sudden.] Took me twenty-one years on that ship t'realize I was in love with her. Took us forty-seven t'actually become a thing. Could you imagine? Lup showin' restraint for fourty-seven years? [The grin on his face is toothy, despite the tired lines pulling at his face. Teasing his wife - even when she's not there - never fails to put him in a good mood.]

Then... th'whole lich thing, that was eighty-two years in, I think.

「Atem listens, and truth to be told, he feels a little jealous again. He doesn't like feeling like that, especially towards such good friends, but he can't really help it. He tries to ignore his own feelings (as always...) and share the glee in Barry's voice.」

Heh... I don't know, but somehow I doubt she didn't realize sooner.

「Was maybe she waiting for him to make the first move? Doesn't sound like her! Maybe she was teasing him for twenty years... That sounds more like her.」

Right. You're a lich too.

「He keeps forgetting that, after all, he never saw Barry being one cute skeleton after all.」

Was that a thing both of you did together too?

Yup.

[Barry rolls his shoulders a little, confirming he's a lich - an undead creature in blatant defiance of the laws of nature, fashioned with dangerous, forbidden necromantic magic - with the same casual tone he'd use about dinner or the weather.]

We did that together. My idea, actually. My spell. [Does Atem even know that Barry is a necromancer? Well, he does now.] It was a necessary sacrifice at th'time. I dunno how much you know about liches, but... our magic is incredibly heightened in that form. We thought it could be a useful weapon against the Hunger.

We uh, also needed a fail-safe. The Hunger was gettin' more aggressive, killing more and more of us each time. If we had a lich on th'team, we'd have someone to pilot th'ship outta the system, even if all of us were killed. Since, y'know it was my magic, I volunteered for th'procedure.

[He smiles warmly.] Lup wouldn't let me do it on my own. She wanted in.

「So, they sacrificed themselves as well... yet again, another thing that's very much alike. The similitudes in the details are a little uncanny.

Obviously, Atem assumes they don't regret, just as he would never regret his own sacrifice and would do it again if he had to. He trusts Barry and Lup would do the same, he doesn't need to ask.」

It doesn't surprise me in the slightest. 「He won't say that he knows them thoroughly, but they seem like the type.」

Barry, your magic... What can you do?

[Atem is right about that. Barry would do it all again in a heartbeat.]

Ah, well... Are y'familiar with uh, necromancy?

[This is where things tend to get awkward. Barry is quick to add,] It's not-- I-I don't run around messin' with corpses and desecratin' graves, that's not... that's not me. Necromancy deals with uh, the energy that animates everything livin'. Vital energy. Necromancy can give vital energy to dead things, take vital energy away from livin' things, it's... it's as much t'do with life as it has t'do with death, really.

[Although there's... yeah, there's still a lot of death.]

I've never animated th'corpse of an innocent, or stolen th'life force from someone unwilling or undeserving... But I guess th'point is I could, if I wanted to.

「Necromancy... It's true that it is not what he expected from Barry. But he is not as fast to judge as Barry is to try to explain himself.」

I know what Necromancy is, Barry. I only ask because... I wanted to know if magic is something anyone can learn.

[Oh. Interesting.

Barry eyes the young man over then, considering him in the dim light of the cave. He hadn't expected that.]

Uh... Yeah. Yeah, magic is uh... y'can study magic. That's what I did. [He smiles gently.] Some people are born with raw magic, some get it from their gods, their patron deities, but wizards? We study magic. 'S basically just a college degree.

Why? Y'thinkin' of gettin' into magic?

I think so, yes.

「He has to... okay maybe he can trust Barry, he's a friend, right?」

I need to... hmm, this thing is temporary.

「He turns at him and points at that creepy golden Eye of his.」

I am just wearing it out of necessity and need to think on others ways to protect others. 「And himself, not that it is important to mention it.」

Do you think... you could teach me at some moment when we are not dying out here?

[Barry glances at the Eye when Atem points it out. He wasn't going to mention it, wasn't going to ask. The first time Barry saw Atem in person, he was wearing it, so he just figured it was normal. A permanent fixture of his anatomy. But apparently not. Either it will fade or he'll remove it, and whatever... powers? abilities? it bestows him will dissipate. Barry assumes that won't be good.

He nods in agreement.] Of course. Yeah, I'll teach ya. Whatever y'need, buddy.

[Not wanting to stare and make the young man uncomfortable, Barry looks away from the Eye and keeps peering down the dark cave corridors. Thankfully still no sign of any Null.]

What, uh... What does it do? If y'don't mind me askin'. I could try teachin' ya th'same kinda magic that it possesses, or somethin' similar, if y'want.

Not sure you could do that. It allows me to summon monsters into the real life.

「He vaguely points at the dragon that keeps scouting for any movement ahead of them. He had seen Garyl, but the fabulous horse wasn't exactly an Egyptian God. Even though conjuration (was it the name?) would be incredibly handy to learn anyway. I also would probably take him years.

He omits the part in which he can read minds because, that's so totally not needed.」

Ah... I understand.

[Now the dragon makes sense. Barry wasn't sure if the creature had been conjured or summoned, or perhaps it was merely a pet of his. Like how Magnus adopted that terrible scaly monster and raised her like a dog. Even though she's scary-looking, Peanut is a pretty good dog, all things considered.

But this dragon of Atem's... apparently he'd summoned it. That's powerful magic. Way beyond the scope of Barry's personal research. Unless Atem wants to learn how to summon corpses, in which case...]

Yeah, I uh... I can't teach ya that, I don't think. [He chuckles.] But I've got some spells that are handy for crowd control, uh... protecting those around you, that sorta thing. Once this is over, I'll give you a couple pointers.

「Hahaha... corpses... it'd be promising if there were any around, pretty sure Hope wouldn't like if someone took his job away.

Protecting those around him... yep, that makes him perk up, all right!」

That's what I'm talking about! Thank you, Barry! I'm not sure what I can offer in return but-- I'll think of something, I promise.

[Barry smiles with relief then, glad to have been of some help to his friend. Times have been tough around here for a while now. Not a lot of reasons to smile anymore.

Thankfully, he's still able to be useful. Thankfully, he can help his friend become stronger, feel more safe. That's reason enough to smile for Barry.]

Nah, no need for any of that. Might let ya buy me a drink sometime. [Does Atem like being touched? Would he appreciate a pat on the shoulder, an unsolicited hug? Barry decides to play it safe and refrain for now, not wanting to risk making him uncomfortable. Instead, he just matches the young man's excited smile with one of his own.] Just happy t'help.

Sure thing, friend.

「But a drink sounds like so little and yet as something so great that they could do together, once they get out of here, once the senseless killing stops.」

Just a little longer.

「He mutters and motions at Barry to follow him through another of those tunnels, just a few thousand more of those before they can call it a day... Right?」

Are we the hunters?

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my man i'm sorry i thought i had replied to this!?

you're good fam!! ❤

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