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[knifemonopoly]

WELCOME TO YOUR PRIVATE CHANNEL, PLAYER1. FOR SECURE COMMUNICATION, USE 10.11.0.0.01 *** PLAYER1 has joined 10.11.0.0.01 <PLAYER1> If you're looking for someone you knew as Yugi before June, you've found him! It's Atem, leave a message.

Main handle: < Player1 > Anon: < turtleluck >, < actuallydied >, < burner >

Comments

cw burnscars/burn metaphors/homicidal ideateon/gore ideation

[knifemonopoly]

[A warehouse. Since Komaeda's eyes are locked on Atem's, he'll likely see the change in expression, one even less subtle on a large fog-form bat-face; red, pinprick-pupilled eyes widen, and his mouth opens slightly.

Atem's glad he's in his fog form and not his usual one. He doesn't have to feel the stiffness and pull of the burn scars over his back when he moves, under his feet when he walks. He got used to them and barely felt them anymore before the two-month naga temp, but the few days before the fog where he was back in his own body had reminded him, again, of what had happened.

As if he'd needed reminding.

Dully, anger rises in him, familiar like an old enemy, augmented by the terrible smell that came in with this fog; it's anger he's lived with since they found Steve. Like a deep burn, it hurts worst on the edges, now: it's worn through the skin where it's strongest, damaging nerves and leaving it feeling sick and wrong but numb, but where he's less used to it, where new damage is being done, that's where the pain is.

Atem's mouth closes, and he gives a nod.]

Good thing I'm familiar with Bavan's warehouse district...I spent a lot of time there looking for Daniel, at the beginning of March.

[Before he had any friends besides Noa -- when all there was to do, when someone had gotten him, was to be sure he got them back. He'd spent his days in them, sometimes, trapped in the lightless corners, pacing back and forth, waiting for the sun to go down so he could keep looking.

He wants to go looking again now. He wants to tear out Fabius's heart with his own hands and drive big, unkind fog-form fangs into it. But even through the fog that's got him mad, that's got him hungry, he knows the culprit's a naga, and they're not just fast, they've got petrification powers. Going in by himself without knowing what he was in for would be handing Fabius more material for whatever he's doing. But...Atem can do some scouting, tomorrow night.]

We're going to get him. I don't want to talk too much about him. I came here to talk to you! But...I promise, he'll pay for what he's done.

[Atem really does think Fabuis Bile is trying to do something. He thinks monster parts are being used to power a portal, or something like it...it's so much like what happened to him...

...but there are two things you can do when a friend's been hurt, and that's hurt the attacker back, or stay with the friend. The first one's on the back burner. Atem can't get lost in bad memories and imagined situations where Komaeda's the one on the bloody sacrifice-table now, or fog-rage-fuled ones where a device designed in a workshop in Dyster cracks a worm-naga's ribcage and pulls it open, so a pale hand can reach in and pull the beating heart out. Game over.]