Part XXIIA collective silenc

Part XXII

A collective silence followed Mahado's statement.

"You can't be serious" Joey gasped falling to his knees.

"Have I at all given you any indication that I was not?" Mahado asked, his tone made it unclear if it was rhetorical or not.

"But, this is, is that even possible?" Tristan stuttered in shock.

"Of, course! "The fairy boys chimed in, their excitement evident.

"We were human and we became fairies!"

"I mean it's not an easy process but it's bearable,"

"And he'll have us to coach him through it! And Chazz, he's oldest, he was there with all of us, and Dad helped him, so he knows what he's doing."

"Hold on a minute, how do we know this turn-Yugi-into-a-fairy-thing will even work?" Joey and Tristan said immediately.

"Of course it will!" Jaden stated confidently. "It worked for us didn't it?"

"Mahado can do anything," Jesse added.

"Hey wait!" Joey protested, standing "Don't we get a say in any of this? I don't care what happened between Yugi and this Yami guy, but we're still his family!"

"Just 'cause you're his family doesn't mean you know what Yugi wants," Jesse snapped.

"Oh shut up!" Tristan retorted, crossing with annoyance and anger. "I am getting really sick of this high and mighty attitude of you fairies! I don't care if Yugi slept with your dad that doesn't mean you automatically get to decide what happens to him. We're Yugi's family and, yeah, we want him to be happy but we don't wanna loose him forever either."

"We're his family too! Syrus screamed his entire being bristled with furry and tears. "Yugi loves us and we love him too!"

"So, do, we!" Joey countered.

"And of course, since you are all his family, you must know what's best for him and what he wants, correct?" The sharp retort in Mahado's words were like cloaks of silence covering everyone so effectively they froze in fear and turned to their accuser, shaking.

Even weakened from his previous spell the regal power Mahado radiated was just as strong and terrifying as ever. His back and posture were rigid in command, his knee elegantly folded over his opposite leg, his arms were straight and rested over his upper knee, his Cheshire cat smile perfectly curled, and his eyes sharp and mischievous but no emotion was betrayed by it.

"Love Yugi, you all may, but all of you are blinded by your identical fear that one of you gets to keep Yugi and one of you will lose him, and yet none of you have even spoken a word to the only one who, if at all, has a say in this situation." His eyes turned from the boys to grandpa, who remained surprisingly silent after the ultimatum to decide his grandson's fate

"Ironic how similar humans and fairies actually are: we're all incredibly selfish." Mahado pushed his seat back and stood, strolling through the continuing debate and took a position next to Solomon.

"You said I was the only one who had a say?" Grandpa asked the mage. "What do you mean by that?"

Mahado gave a sigh, but his posture did not diminish. "I like to think I know my brother well enough, but if given the same choice I am not confident enough to say I know what he would want, and to say that I do is to pretend that my wishes and his own are the same. They are not. They never are. Family wishes are what they believe, or consider to be what is best for their loved ones. Yet what they believe is best and what the child wants, even if it is their heart's desire, are not always the same. Ultimately, only the child knows what is best for them and what they truly want." He turned to the old man with stern eyes. "Can you look me in the eyes and say with pure certainty that if I asked you whether Yugi wanted to be a snow fairy or to become a human that you would know which choice he would make?"

Mahado expected to see a "yes" forming on the elderly man's lips, but instead they were calculating. He kept his words locked inside his throat, but not to stop himself from saying something he'd regret, but testing Mahado's concern for his grandson. "That's understandable," his strong hand brushed Yugi's forehead. Looking at Yugi now, Solomon was reminded of him as a little boy, once more curled into a ball on the nest of furs that acted as his bed, just as he did when he was a child and he'd curl up like a cat with his pillow, stuff toys, and favorite blanket.

But at the same time, he realized, he wasn't a child but a man. His form had stiffened and toned with muscles from hard work and skating practice, his expression had sharpened and matured, and even in sleep he had the aura of one grown and shaped by experience. "And I suppose him becoming human is out of the question, if you won't perform it. I wouldn't want him to go through something like that anyway." Solomon looked at the fairy mage who suddenly seemed less ethereal and suddenly more human to his aged eyes, and Mahado couldn't help but notice their color was the same as Yugi's. "You performed that ritual before?"

Mahado's expression dropped to grave indifference, clearly not expecting such a question. "Yes."

"On whom?" the question left Tristan's mouth before he could stop it.

Mahado looked up only once, suddenly his air was that of an old man, broken and beaten by life, hardened by war, and burdened by the weight of his own wisdom and experience. "My mother, who sought to remove all trace of my, well, our, human father whom Mother loved with all her soul."

He'd expected the faces of horrified surprise, the stunned silence and disbelieving eyes. It appeared every time someone was foolish enough to ask him to tell this story.

"What Yugi is to the Frost King: that was my Father to our Mother. But so deep was my mother's love for him that she feared his rejection should he ever see the true faces of either his wife or his children, so mother always had us, her kingdom and herself wear a glamour whenever he visited," he began speaking in a voice of mocking cynicism. "Or at least she sought to make it easier for him to feign his ignorance. It is quite difficult to ignore it when your children remained young far longer than they were supposed to and then days later appeared almost grown, our true forms are quite intense to behold. But he pretended to know nothing and my mother pretended to nothing of the human family and life he had in the mortal world as was expected of him. But their love was true, despite the pretending." Sarcastic cynicism drowned his voice. "So when Father's sudden arrival gave mother no time to glamour us, for she was too busy scolding us for the accidental death of our nursemaid, he saw us for what we really were. His reaction was as one would expect. We never saw father again, and when he left he took all that made my mother's being with him." He could see a question forming on their mouths but no one spoke.

"Fairies do nothing in moderation, you see. When they fall, they fall completely, and when they break, they shatter, and so vicious was my mother's distress that every drop of love she felt for my father became hate. Everything that reminded her of him was victim to her wrath, especially her children. All three of us were born with his eyes, after all." He drowned that single world. "So…when she asked me to remove his existence from her, I did so. She forgot all related to him and in turn he forgot everything about her. And she forgot the warmth of her lover's arms, the passion of his kisses and touch, the laughter of his people's smiles during those times of happiness, her human companions who'd she'd sent away in her rage, and, yes, even her children's faces she forgot. We became utter strangers to her. And once the task was done, she disappeared into the mountain and never returned."

He looked at the humans and at his nephews who'd never heard this story before. Faces both fairy and human, were blank with horror, their eyes frightened and their mouths formed frowns of fear. "And on that day I swore I would never perform that ritual again." The authority and accretion in his voice was so hard and intense that no one dared to question it or even argue. How could they? Even the humans couldn't dare to ask, if that was the price of returning their friends humanity.

"Then I suppose we truly have no other choice," Solomon said, brushing Yugi's forehead gain, frowning when he felt the fever return and the heat flushing his face confirmed it. "I don't want to lose my grandson, but I don't want him to die either; I want him to be happy."

"I still don't like this," Joey said hesitantly, Mahado's story putting him on his guard. "I mean, yeah, Yugi loved it here, but that's not the point. He hasn't exactly decided whether or not he wants to stay here."

"It's not such a terrible thing," Mahado said with a quite smile. "Many humans lived here for a spell of time under my mother's reign, they were all happy and either left when the spell ended or chose to stay."

"Did any of them react the way Yugi did?" Tristan asked quietly; his posture was rigid like the quiet child afraid to answer his teacher' question even though he knew the answer.

Mahado frowned. "I know not, perhaps the ones my mother sent away in her wrath, but I know not what happened to them. As I said, no one can exist in two different worlds. Mortals cannot come and go as they please in our world. It's too critical that our secret be maintained. Even your arrival has certain protocols attached to it, all regarding whether or not the human chooses to stay. Yugi's case is different. He chose to leave when the storm ended, as he was allowed to but he kept his memory so it was uncertain whether or not he'd return. Thus the King gave him permission to return if he so chose too, but again there are rules and customs of what goes on between our kind and yours. Many of your kind have come of their own will or accidentally, many more have been abducted, but all who come among us are blessed or cursed depending on the visit. I know not how your fates will end, that is my brother's will not mine."

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it," Joey said firmly, earnestly not caring about anyone but Yugi at the moment.

"Well the traditional length of time is a year and a day, as it is the minimum time needed to remove a curse or spell, but of course, there are those who chose to stay, even if they do not speak the words, but their heart and will have decided."

"Like Yugi?" Tristan said.

Joey looked at him strangely, watching him ponder the words, but Tristan kept his head down like there was something else he wanted to say but chose to keep it from his friends. "You said Yugi became part fairy because he and the King bonded but didn't realize it, and it just made me realize how much Yugi changed since he got back. I mean, at first we thought it was just from the trauma of what happened, but he was…off; when he woke up and every time after that, he was still Yugi but he seemed…different. Like everything he used to like he still liked but not as much, everything made him sick, he said he burned his hand on a pot even though it wasn't even hot 'cause it was made of metal. Was all that part of "becoming" a fairy or did he choose to stay and not realize it?"

Mahado nodded with a frown. "Both I think. Since he had become part fairy during his time with the King it makes sense that he would respond to anything that would negatively affect the fairies. His symptoms; however, were only so extreme because of his connection to Yami. But he also didn't leave the fairy lands completely."

No one looked confused or questioned him so he continued. "Some do choose to stay with the fairies forever, my father didn't, but many do. As I said, one cannot exist in two different worlds, so to stay forever; one's existence must pass from one realm to another."

"And that's what happening to Yugi," Joey said, but his tone was mellow, purposely saying it as a statement and not a question.

"In a sense, yes," Mahado explained. "He's more in an 'in-between' state. Yes, he actually returned to your world, but because he wanted to stay and, in a way, chose to when he bonded with the King, his body returned to the mortal world, but his spirit remained here, if that makes sense. He's half-in and half out. His body and spirit are being pulled between the moral world and his mortal body, and our world that his heart and will belong to. It's only going to get worse, I'm afraid."

"So than what can we do?" Joey asked, wringing and unwinding his hands in a desperate effort to sit still.

"I already told you what I can do," Mahado said with a cat-like smile, but his eyes were hollow. "The question is do you plan to continue fighting it?"

Grandpa didn't say anything, he just looked at Yugi with a solemn, unreadable gaze; Joey bit his lip and gripped his seat so tightly his knuckles started to shake, but it did little to keep himself from trembling. Tristan's eyes were hollow, his face blank, knowingly accepting that neither choice would reveal a positive outcome.

"If this works…" Joey asked nervously, unable to admit to the reality of the process. "Will we ever see him again?"

Mahado frowned, "That I can't answer. Your situation is not the same as Yugi's. Ultimately, it will be Yami and possibly Yugi himself who makes that decision."

"What if this doesn't work?" Tristan asked, cautiously. "Or worse, what if he wakes up and doesn't want it?"

"I doubt the case will be that he doesn't want it, but I will ask him regardless. I can't say what will happen after he wakes up, but at least this way he will wake up."

"You're certain?" Solomon asked desperately. He looked at the Mahado with hard eyes, daring the man to try anything that would threaten his grandson's safety.

Mahado offered the man a calming, comforting smile. "It has worked on all four of my nephews. The process is not too complex." Mahado stood up and vanished into the next room and dug so deep through his things objects flew behind him. He pulled out a heavy chest covered in over fifty gold and silver locks and chains. With a snap of his fingers they came undone and the top snapped open. Carefully, he pulled out a long branch decorated with thick winter green leaves bunched together in bushes. Large clumps of berries shaped like frozen, frosted drops of red had a bloody shine in the light. When he carried the branch, they jingled like icicles clicking together.

Mahado sat back down and explained. "All he has to do is eat these berries, and his body will join its spirit in fairy."

"That's it?" Joey asked anti-climatically. "No fancy ritual, or magical elixir, or anything like that."

Mahado shook his head, "Ironically, no. The best and simplest way for one of your kind to become one, of our kind is to grant them a Fairy Life. These berries will end Yugi's human life and grant him a fairy life by allowing his body to go through the freezing process that young snow fairies go through when they come of age, but he will simply enter the stag that matches his current age, automatically. His stage will be the same as mine and the Frost King's."

"How?" Joey asked, skeptical.

"They come from an enchanted tree." Mahado explained, "An old one. No one remembers where or how, one story is that when a King or Queen died their body became a tree and their blood froze into these berries. No one is sure, but they are nonetheless effective. Just ask my nephews, a few of these is what transformed them."

"It's true," Jaden, Syrus and Jesse said at once.

"Dad gave them to us when he asked if we wanted to stay," Jaden agreed.

"Well," Syrus corrected, "Dad gave them to you two, remember. You fed them to me, Jaden."

"Not the point," Jaden snapped. "So they're safe."

"So he'll…turn into a fairy?" Tristan said, but the phrase still felt foreign on his tongue.

"His body will yes," Mahado explained. "He will still remain the Yugi we all love, but he will change as he grows just as we all do. How much his fairy form affects that will depend on him."

"Will it hurt him?" Solomon asked.

"It's bearable," Jesse and Jaden said at once.

"His body will change," Mahado admitted. "It is not a pleasant experience, but the process is quick."

Solomon said nothing. He looked down at Yugi again and carefully shook his arm. "Yugi," he called gently. When it failed to stir him he called again louder. Slowly, Yugi started to stir. His eyes barely opened and his voice was a hoarse groan.

"Yugi?" Mahado kneeled at the boy's side. The branch in his hand, Mahado gently brushed the boy's forehead with his thumb, tugging the skin to keep him awake. "Yugi, do you understand what's happening to you?" he asked quickly.

Yugi weakly shook his head, his eyes opened only a slit.

"You're sick, Yugi," Grandpa tried to explain. "You're too bound to this place; your body can't handle the pressure anymore."

"You don't have much time, Yugi," Mahado cautioned him. "If it's not stopped soon your body won't be able to handle our world's hold over you. I can help you, but I need to turn you first. Make you a fairy like us, but I won't if you don't want me to. But I can't make you human again either, the process is too difficult: it will only hurt you and Yami more." Mahado said, accidently letting his brother's name slip.

"Yami!" Yugi gasped at that but he was still too weak to fashion an appropriate response. Yugi coughed roughly as a result. "Is he okay?"

"He's ill, Yugi, just as you are," Mahado said with a frown. "I promise to explain later, but first you must tell me what to do. If I do not turn you in to a fairy, your human body and spirit will continue to pull and tug at you, and I don't know how much longer you will last in your current state."

"Please, Yugi?" Grandpa begged. Yugi noticed him for the first time and frowned, "Grandpa?"

"I only want you to be happy, Yugi," Grandpa gave him a reassuring smile. "Whatever you decide, you won't lose me."

"Us either," Joey and Tristan said immediately.

Yugi slowly closed his eyes, his feverish mind barely processing what was happening but he understood enough. "I don't want to die…" he said clearly. "I want to be with Yami…please, Mahado."

That was all the consent Mahado needed. He nodded and carefully broke off a spring from the branch and held a few berries to Yugi's lips. "Eat these" he ordered. Yugi's lips enclosed around the first berry, then a second and third together, he barely chewed and with a small gulp swallowed them all. His head rolled to the side and he was once again asleep.

"Now what do we do" Grandpa asked.

"We wait," Mahado gently urged him to stand and carefully pulled the blanket from Yugi's body, then proceeded to unlace his boots. "You best help me," he told the old man. "These will only get in the way when his body starts to change."

XXXXX

The berries went smoothly down his throat, dissolving into his being before they reached his stomach.

The cool wave was a welcome relief to his feverish body. Like an ocean wave along the shore, brimming his every crevice. It felt so soothing, like a much needed gust of wind on a heated day: a soft, refreshing coolness. He sighed in relieved content, relaxed for the first time in weeks.

Many boyhood misadventures confirmed his preference of the winter's chill over the summer heat. He'd stay outside until his cheeks were bitten with cold, his fingers numb with frost, his lips blue and his lashes glittering with frost, but he was always laughing. Whenever he was forced to return to the warm world inside, it was always done with the greatest reluctance and followed by the worst tantrum a tiny child could muster. Though he eventually conceded, he secretly waited until he could rejoin the winter wonder world his heart longed for. He was the only kid in school who preferred winter to summer; winter break was his favorite time of year.

It was his own precious secret: his longing for the cold, his desire to be part of the winter: to embrace it even if it was only for an instant when he skated across the ice. To pretend nothing else existed and his world was the ice and a winter world where his dreams, came true. Just to imagine it, to hold it for those brief minutes. Perhaps that was why it stung so much when he had to abandon it; his dream, his world, his true love, his winter paradise with his winter king. Was there really any wonder that he had chosen it now?

He felt the cold spreading through him. Winter chilled his body from head to toe. The temperature change invigorated him. Every muscle squirmed in delight. His fingers trembled as they froze. The cold suddenly became stronger, more apparent, manifesting under his skin and flesh. He felt it. The winter's chill flowing through him. Ice pierced his skin, freezing his flesh. Frost chilled his veins. His insides contorted and moved. A sudden splash of cold air froze his organs, encasing them in glassy sheets of ice.

He could hear it! His heart pounding as it froze: loud powerful pumps so strong he felt it hammer against his ribs. His blood splashed, rushing like frozen rapids. His breathe froze, existing is body in wispy clouds of mist. His skin drained of color: the soft peach bleached to vanilla to cream to ivory before finally glittering frosty white. Not a sickly pale color but the sparkling of freshly fallen snow. Every inch of his nude body became shiny white, every hair reflected light encased in a thin sheet of ice.

"What's happening?" The voice was barely a soft whisper compared to the clamorous combination of is heart, his blood and his body.

"His energy is changing. The Freezing process has started, it won't be long now."

"When he finishes freezing the ice will come off, that's a sign that is done."

"You mean his skin is gonna come off!"

"Yes and no. The best equivalent I can give is it is like a snake shedding its skin. The outer layer will freeze and become useless and fall off, and the new skin underneath is what remains."

The air suddenly rippled around Yugi's body. Coldness pierced his skin, the surrounding air suddenly felt suffocatingly hot. So hot against his freezing body that his skin burned.

Yugi screamed at the top of his lungs, but it came out in throaty rasps. His limps thrashed desperately to make the heat go away. Multiple hands seized him as he kicked and screamed. Voices howled like loud speakers in his ears. With surprising strength, he threw them away, but the movement came at a price. The frozen burn blazed to life. His skin suddenly steamed releasing misty wisps. He clawed at his skin leaving scratches like skate indents on an ice rink. His skin was too tight, too hot, too cold, and too hard. Steam leaked through the slivers until his skin finally cracked. Mist bubbling to the surface.

"WHAT THE FUCK!"

"YUGI!"

"It's okay, Yugi, calm down, let it fall off on its own."

"Careful, he's at his most vulnerable right now."

The hands were upon him again, but gentler now. He felt nibble fingers brush away the cracked, dead layers, and wipe away solid chunks of frozen skin like packs of snow. They sloughed off like melting ice from a car window, revealing shiny, frosty white skin with a blue sheen that glittered like frozen water, beneath. New, hard and perfectly frozen like perfectly smoothed snow. But their removal was by no mean gentle.

Yugi screamed and rolled over, the hands kept him from clawing. Tatters and strips littered about falling off the more he moved. He rolled over them, feeling them curl and disintegrate into flakes of snow. The last fibers of his humanity held on with all their strength and he felt the agony of each one being pulled away.

Pressure in his ears and back forced him to roll over. The bones in his fingers cracked and molded together becoming longer and more slender. His bones broke and reshaped themselves so they were lighter and more flexible. His ears burned like thousands of needles were piercing his skin. The flesh morphed and extended forming sharp points but they weren't done there. Solid feathers pushed through the tips and the skin of the circle. With a loud scream a ring of feathers tore themselves free: icy purple and blue hues decorated with blood and puss, gruesome but beautiful.

His screams were meek rasps by this point, his throat raw and parched but the pressure in his back grew.

"What the fuck is dat?"

"Oh shit, are those…?"

"Yes, now get back! They can be deadly when they first appear."

"Kami, how much longer will this be?"

"It's almost over, he'll be alright."

"Yeah, you'll see, once his—"

Whoever was speaking never got to finish. Yugi suddenly thrust up, his back forming a perfect arch then lurched forward into an odd curl. The action tightened the back of his skin and revealed two thick mounts on the crepes of his back. The thinning skin and white, clear fluid leaking out between his shoulder blades was their only warning, before something slick and iridescent moved under the tapering surface. Their arrival was too fast to predict; ripping free from the cage of flesh that bound them so quickly and violently that Yugi didn't even feel the pain or scream until they expanded to their full length, almost slapping anyone foolish enough to remain close. Thick fluid and blood coated each icy feather. They fell wetly across his back, lying limp as his energy slipped away.

Weak, drained and dizzy from pain, Yugi finally opened his eyes, catching a glimpse of his beautiful new wings and frosty skin, and then collapsed into an exhausted sleep once more.

XXXXX

For the first time in weeks Yugi awoke feeling rejuvenated and refreshed. Awake and invigorated like he's been doused with cold water. His body felt airy and weightless, almost frolicky.

When he finally opened his eyes the world was alive with color and light. Even in a room dimly lit by wraiths and chamber fires looked illuminated by daylight. Colors and shapes were lucid and transparent. He could see every speckle of color on the walls, even hues and tints he'd never imagined stones having; every crack and ridge in the wooden beams, every wrinkle of shadow and twitch of light.

He pushed himself up in inhaled a deep, loud, open-mouthed breath. His skin and tongue and senses were so sensitive that he could feel the droplets of air particles on his cheek. He could taste the rancid musk of decaying wood, the sweet aroma of burnt flowers and berries, and the pungent, papery sourness of ash. He could smell the chemical carbonations smoking from tesla coils; the sharp, antiquarian musk of old books. But there were other things too: things he never noticed before. Like the acid of human sweat, the salty tears and oils of hair, the waxy aroma of melted candles and the burning off glass. He could hear the bubbling of liquids and the humming of fires, the patter of many feet, and the moving objects and the whine of the cold wind outside. All sensations played across his mind in a harmonic mix.

It was too much; too many at once, too overwhelming. His head screamed trying to sort them all out but it was too impossible. He fell back and shook his head fiercely, desperate to distill them and regain control of his mind. His heart started to speed up and the deafening pound was so loud and sensitive that he could hear his own heart beating and it hurt. His skin tingled unbearably like he was suddenly too hot then too cold.

Yugi

He heard a voice like a whisper among the noise.

It's alright, your just getting used to your new body. Calm down. Let it flow naturally.

Yugi obeyed. When he forced his body to relax, his mind began to unwind. He closed his eyes and focused. He took tiny, deep breathes, not caring what they tasted or smelled like. After a few minutes the storm clouds of his mind receded. He could think, breathe hear without any complication.

A tentative hand rose level with his line of vision. Jaden's bracelet slid down his now abnormally thin wrist. He flexed it experimentally, examining it. He rolled it, looking at it from different angles and lights. Immediately, he noticed the color: the frosty whiteness of his skin like freshly fallen snow and just as bright. It glowed with the lightest of blues and the palest of purples as though a veil of cool mesh lay over him.

The second thing he noticed was the shape. His fingers were longer, slender and there was an extra joint to them, folding into a perfect curl when he made a fist. The bones of his hand and wrist were thinner, longer; willowy and moved in a fluid motion like snow on the wind.

Reality suddenly dawned on him. He felt giddy and terrified at once. He felt away for the first time in his life, Alive. No, he was better than live. He was fucking supernatural!

No, better than supernatural, he was a fairy. A Frost fairy!

And he loved it!

XXXXX

When he woke up again, he felt like his old self: calm, energetic and ready to take on the day with a smile on his face and his skates on his feet. The world was just as bright as it had been before but his new eyes and ears had adjusted nicely. The world was the same, just broader and more lit.

But at the same time he winced: his head hurt horribly, his wispy arms felt heavy and weak from uselessness, he ached in places he didn't think could ache; his fingers, ears, even his very skin felt groggy like he's spelt off a horrible sickness and had just now recovered from it. All around, it wasn't as bad as some of his past hangovers.

But there was a relief too, an odd quiescence that flooded his entire being; His body felt different, changed. Buoyant, vigorous, strong, powerful: every movement fluid, ever change natural in its every sense.

Curiosity suddenly compelled him. His memory was foggy and full of holes but something big had happened. He'd known that, agreed to it. Accepted it when he realized he'd changed. But detailed evaded him. He wanted to know what had happened: what Mahado did, where Yami was, what he looked like? That last though sparked another realization.

He suddenly felt heaviness on his back when he pushed himself off his stomach; little independent, movements tingled his skin, creating little gusts. He peeked over his shoulder, eyes finally taking in his newest appendages.

"No. Fucking. Way!"

He didn't move from his kneeled position in fear he'd crush his new wings if he leaned back. He flapped them experimentally completely unaware which muscles controlled them; they moved independent of his will and of each other, moving like two insects aligned on his back. Illuminated in the light, colors shifted from the deepest of mesh purples and blues to the palest of lavenders and aquas. Splashes of green mingled with bursts of red and shades of pink, and decorated with white and green veins—they were like Twilight. Expanded to their full length he could see they were both shaped like an elongated butterfly's but were feathery and light. They clicked together and chimed like icicled on branches of trees. Though they appeared delicate, each feather was strong and sheer, each a frozen petal-shaped sheet of captured twilight.

They were beautiful. So beautiful Yugi couldn't believe they were his, but they were.

"I see you like your new body."

He recognized the voice and it filled him with such hope and dread, that he didn't know if he should be devastated or glad. Against his will, his chin rose, lifting his eyes with it. They settled on the being sitting in the corner with one ankle elegantly resting on his opposite knee, his fingers tapping against each other and his posture, grin and arched brows the image of confidence. Clad in royal purple, streaming purple hair with the slightest flecks of blond and all four purple wings flexed, Yugi's certainty was confirmed.

"Mahado!" the name felt so natural on his lips but his tone was bland.

His crystalline feathers chimed when they moved. Their melody was eerily appealing, like they were luring him to trust; the fact that he still has no idea how to control them, or that they still moved on their own only confirmed the terrifying thought.

"Where am I? What happened?" He finally chocked out. His memory hazy, he scanned the room for familiarities but found none. He found himself sitting on a nest of furs and covered by the thick black fur blanket. His last memory of blood and cracking skin, he ripped it away. The blood and fluid had been washed off and the glass fragments that broke off had been cleared away, leaving only his white skin and bare feet. No longer naked, he found himself dressed in a pair of soft pants and a matching bell-sleeved tunic made from a wispy light-blue material, he first thought was silk, but it was softer, warmer. His hand dashed to his chest and instantly his tense body relaxed when he felt the pendant, biting into his skin. Jaden and Jesse's bracelets bounded up and down his wrists with an attentive clime, clamming like a pet for its master's attention. "Where is?"

Knowing what he wanted before he asked, Mahado thrust his chin towards the stand next to the fur pile. The kimono and belt Chazz and Syrus worked so hard to make in time for the festival rested peacefully, waiting to be reclaimed. Their security confirmed, Yugi took in the rest of the world around him but nothing looked familiar.

"You're in my room," Mahado explained. "Well, technically it's the Alchemist-slash-Magician's-slash-Apothecary's lab, too many names, but I live here nonetheless. And, yes, you're in the palace. You're back in fairyland."

His words filled Yugi with dread. "No!" Yugi screamed, his eyes wide with horror, his wings bristled to life with fury. "I can't be…why did you bring me here?" He demanded shaking his head. It was hard enough to leave the first time. He couldn't do it again. He wouldn't.

Unexpecting the reaction, Mahado was too stunned to answer.

"He didn't," Yugi whirled around to face the soft voice that dared disrupt his anger. His temper softened instantly.

Syrus sat like a guilty child awaiting punishment. He kept his head bowed as he spoke. "You and Papa were so sick and we were so worried so we," he gestured to Jaden and Jesse who mimicked his guilty posture. He immediately noticed Chazz wasn't there. Syrus' words were like a trigger.

He spun around to Mahado again "When I was sick, you asked about Yami and me, you asked me if I loved him, you said we—" he didn't finish, he was waiting for Mahado to confirm it.

"You and the Frost King Bonded, yes," Mahado nodded. He chose his next words carefully. "The night you left, though I doubt either of you were aware of it. If he was, I doubt Yami would've let you leave as easily as he did," He added with a chuckle and considered it an accomplishment when Yugi smiled. "None of us knew it until you both collapses. Your symptoms were mirrors of the other and I knew it had to be more than just your broken hearts and the mortal gloom of leaving Fairyland. You and my brother bound yourselves together: mind body and soul."

There was finality in his words that both exhilarated and terrified Yugi, like grasping the universe in the palm of your hands and realizing everything else that meant something before was absolutely meaningless now. It carried with it the endless promise of existence and the finality of death. His heartstrings unwound and interwove forming a single steel cable. A connection he felt in every bit of his being. His very existence felt tied to another, like if he'd let go he'd float away and gravity would do nothing to stop him. Tied to the one person who he could say with absolute certainly was his reason for existing.

Yugi's knees buckled beneath his weight, his legs gave out beneath him, his wobbly arms kept him from crashing. Even his wings felt limp as reality enclosed over him.

"Yugi?" the boys' crowded carefully around his bed. Their voices were low and meek with concern and fear.

Yugi inhaled a breath then exhaled a laugh. For the first time in weeks he felt, not giddy but not just content either. The closest word he could think of to describe it was…happy. He felt happy, complete. No more longing, no lingering feelings, no confusing vacant emptiness in his heart; just pure happiness. The realization made him laugh so hard he almost cried.

"Yugi?" Syrus asked again, concerned.

"Please don't be mad at them, we just—" Jesse chocked out, but couldn't finish.

"Oh, no!" Yugi shook his head and pulled the three boys into a hug. "I'm not mad." He said reassuringly, "I'm actually really happy. Where's Chazz?"

"With dad," Jaden answered. "And Aunt, Mana, I think he's still asleep."

"Good, I can't wait to see him. God, him and I have a lot to talk about," he said running a hand through his bangs. He extra joint in his fingers folded into his palm when he curled his hand.

"Mahado, do you have a mirror?" he asked with a confident smile. Mahado blinked for a moment then smacked his forehead and mumbled under his breath in a manner that Yugi heard as "right, duh!" The mage returned from his lab a minute later dragging an enormous ornament mirror with great difficulty. He finally plopped the heavy golden object down on a cot and leaned it against the wall. Then collapse on the bed with a loud gasp.

Yugi untangled himself from the boys and kneeled on the cot. In the position the mirror was just big enough to reveal his whole profile. He gazed into the mirror stranger's violet eyes, the only real thing that remained of Yugi Mouto, but that was where the similarities ended. His round, oval eyes had sharpened in width and were upturned at the corners. Lush lashes outlined them in black and against the pallor of his face they sparkled like amethyst jewels. His skin, once fair, had paled to a frosty white and shadowed with the soft blue of cornflower and the pale lavender of Easter. Not a tint, nor a shade but a highlight like a veil of blue and purple lay over him but was only visible in the right light. His ears thinned and lengthened to a point through his bangs and jutted from the sides of his head. Thin bejeweled feathers struck out from the tips. His cheeks were sunken and lost their stubborn baby fat, his chin was shortened to a point. His bangs seemed perpetually blowing and clicked together with a soft chime.

His new body was outlined even under the silks. His bones felt lighted and his limps were longer and more flexible, wispier like if he jumped into the air, the wind would carry him away. The kicker was his wings. Twilight exploded from his back fluttering. So he hadn't been dreaming before. He really had become a fairy. Like Yami…

"Is this me?" he asked but there was no skepticism in his voice.

"Yes," Mahado said with a gentle nod. "You're body was already changing as a result of the Bond, returning you to your human form was out of the question. This was the only choice."

Yugi paused for a moment, taking in his new form and what it meant. He looked back at the mirror and smiled. "I can live with it," he said confidently and branded a fairy's grin. "Thanks for saving me."

Mahado laughed modestly. "Don't thank me; thank the crazy kids that brought you here."

Yugi laughed and whirled around. "Thanks guys. God, I missed you guys." He said enveloping Syrus, Jaden and Jesse in a hug. If only Chazz were here too.

"We missed you too," Syrus added. They returned the affectionate embrace but the three of them pulled away, before Yugi was finished; their faces torn between nervousness and guilt.

"We didn't bring you here, Yugi," Jesse confessed, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"They did." Jaden pointed. For the first time, Yugi noticed the corner of the room by his bedside. Recognized his grandfather resting in a large arm chair, Tristan with his back against the wall, arms folded and legs lying straight on a cot; and Joey curled and hunched over in a chair. Their identical positions confirmed they'd fallen asleep watching him, waiting for him to wake up. They were here. Joey, Tristan, his grandpa: they were here in fairyland, andhe was a fairy! He couldn't let them see him like this.

Fate had a cruel sense of time, because at that moment Joey stirred to waking. At the site of Yugi's vacant bed he became awake and alert.

"Yugi!" he cheered when he found him. The gesture awoke the other two sleeps. Joey half expected Yugi to run into his arms so he could hug him like they usually did. It was almost a ritual. Instead, they stared at each other unmoving, frozen by a mix of happy excitement and horrified shock.

Don't look at me! Yugi wanted to scream but his mouth, like the rest of his body, disobeyed. The sight of Joey standing there, being on display in front of their eyes in his new form, in this form: realization paralyzed him; like a bird caught in the gaze of a snake, a deer in headlights, an out of body experiences where Yugi questioned reality itself: Yugi felt them all in that instant.

Joey was no better. He almost couldn't recognize the person standing in front of him. "Yug?" He must've sounded more confident than he felt because Yugi smiled at him, but his smile was too fierce, the curl of his lips seemed almost unnatural.

He stared at him, frozen. It was undoubtedly Yugi, but there was so much about him he didn't recognize. His form was too thin. His eyes were too sharp and glittered feverishly. His fingers were too long and lanky like twigs. His skin was the worst. Yugi had always been pale but now his skin was so white that there was a luminescence to it. A natural glow like sunbeams glittered just beneath the frosted surface. Colors danced across it, depending on the light. And those wings glittered and flapped mockingly, beaconing him with all the lights they reflected like he was some stupid, enthralled moth. Even Yugi's hair seemed strange.

"I'm glad your O.K. buddy." He almost choked. It was honest but his eyes were a mixture of fascination and repulsion. This wasn't like the other fairies. He was used to them. This was Yugi!

"Thanks," Yugi finally found his voice. He was able to look away. "How did you—" before he could finish, Tristan lunged off the cot and smothered the smaller male in a hug.

"Tristan?" Yugi asked. Tristan looked him up and down repeatedly, his fingers brushed his feathers and the base of his wings, testing their reality. "You look…" he paused. From this angle Tristan could smell him. Yugi smelt like snow and evergreens and poinsettias and winter and it was so natural and strong it made him dizzy. "Like you."

Yugi had to laugh at that. "Well, yeah? What did you expect?"

"I have no freaking idea," Tristan said. He meant it as a joke but the words were too blunt. "Those Fantasia characters were the first thing that came to mind, but I kind scrapped every expectation I had when you sprouted wings."

At the mention of his newest appendages, Yugi suddenly became nervous. Ignoring his pleas, they flapped to life, embarrassingly trying to make their presence known.

"It's okay, Yug," Joey said reassuringly. "We're getting used to it. I mean it's weird, yeah, 'cause it's you but I can look at you without feeling like my head is being split open."

"Yeah, you should've seen us before when your boyfriend's kids showed up," Tristan added with a joking laugh. "That was pretty bad."

"Yeah," Yugi assured them with a small smile. "I got pretty bad fairy struck too. It's kind of hard not to. They're, we're, powerful to look at."

"It doesn't matter how you look," the aged voice, froze Yugi to his boned. His pushed paste Joey and Tristan, his touches left frozen fingerprints on their clothes. Grandpa had not risen from his chair, but there was an aged smile on his face. His eyes looked worn and wise. His wrinkled face was content and serene but arched in his brows. There was an excitement, a joy, a delight that had overcome a terrible dread. Like a blind man seeing for the first time.

"Grandpa," Yugi wanted to cry.

"You're still my Yugi." His smile was so real and true that Yugi could contain himself no longer. The second his grandfather stood up, Yami launched himself into the man's arms and held him tight. He burst into tears of joy when his grandpa hugged him back.

"I'm so sorry." His words were muffled by his grandfather's coat shoulder.

"For what?" Solomon asked confused.

"When I came back," Yugi began "I was so upset, I didn't even think about how worried everyone was or how scared you did not know what happened to me or where I was. I couldn't stay knowing that but when I came back I—"

"You were in love," Grandpa cut him off "And you were heartbroken," he added the last part with solemn understanding.

Yugi looked up at him with bewilderment, but Solomon only smiled.

"You know your mother was just about your age when your grandmother died? When she met your father?" Yugi didn't answer. He'd heard this story so many times, but somehow it was different this time, more real, its message ringing clear and loud in his ears. "She was as happy with him as she deserved to be. He asked her to come with him you know? When he got accepted to study abroad in America? He didn't want to be away from her long distance and all; never woks out, you know? But she decided not to, because she thought I needed her. She was just like you were, and I hated seeing her like that, because I had been where she was then where you were and I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone, Yugi. Especially not on someone I love. A broken heart, a lost crush, that's all one thing Yugi. Something that, at the time, seems so much bigger and more important than it is, like it's the end of the world, but in the end it's all nothing. You grow up, you get over it, you become part of the real world and see how silly those things really are and you become stronger. But when you've found 'the One' and you've lost that person, you lose a part of yourself as well; apart you can't get back. You feel lost and alone and broken to the point that you don't want to live anymore. It's a horrible feeling. I'd felt it when I lost your Gram, but I'd also had many wonderful years with her as well. As long as I had those memories I could go on. But you and your mom, you're young." He brushed Yugi's bangs behind his ears. They felt like flexible icicles and dangled like wind chimes when they clicked together. "You have your own life to live and your own memories to make. Memories with the one you love the most, and if you've found that person. Your One, then don't worry about your friends or what will happen to them or me, we'll be fine. All we care about is that you're happy."

Yugi hasn't spoken a word the entire time, his grandpa spoke. The message revealed in his grandpa's words cause his eyes to bulge. His lip trembled.

"You told…the mage," Grandpa paused, unsure how to address the fairy. "That you loved the Frost King and that you wanted to be a fairy to be with him. And I have no doubt you made those choices on your own accord. And I know you don't regret them, so I have to ask, are you happy here, Yugi?"

"Yes," Yugi said instantly, but added "I was happy while I was here but I-"

"You were worried about us," Grandpa finished with a chuckle. "You're such a good boy, Yugi, but none of us want you to put your life on hold for us, right gentlemen?"

Tristan and Joey both jumped when their named were mentioned after so long. "Of course!" they said in union.

"'Course we gotta meet this guy first and make sure he's good enough for Yugi," Tristan said.

"And threaten to pound his ass if he hurts ya," Joey added, emphasizing his point by punching his palm.

"The point it," Grandpa continued. "You need to spread your wings, Yugi and wherever they go or who you're with, all I ask is that you're happy."

His words almost brought Yugi to tears. Instead, he hugged his grandpa so tightly the old man gasped then laughed and returned the gesture.

"Just don't spread those wings too much, yet" Joey teased, "I'm still grasping the fact that they're attached."

Pearls of laughter filled the room.

"We can teach you to fly!" the boys cheered.

"But first, when's the wedding?" Grandpa asked pulling free from the hug.

"What wedding?" Yugi asked, bewildered.

"A wedding!" Mahado jumped like a child on Christmas morning. "Oh, I love weddings! They're so much fun to decorate!"

"I get to design the dress!" Syrus called.

"I call the food!" Jaden called next.

"Hold it!" Yugi yelled, firmly holding out his arms in the universal signal for "stop". "What wedding?"

"Well," Grandpa chuckled. "I don't know how this Bond thing works and call me old fashioned but if you love this Yami, enough to sleep with him then you certainly should have no quarrels marrying him."

"Grandpa!" Yugi's white face, blushed dark blue. "I haven't even told Yami you're here, and he's going to be furious about that as is. He's very strict about keeping the fairies a secret. The last thing anyone's thinking about is—" Yugi froze then jumped.

"Shit! He doesn't even know I'm alright!" I have to see him! He's in his room right?"

"Yes, but Yugi," Mahado began but Yugi bolted from the room waving a quick "Thank you" over his shoulder and a wave.

"Yugi wait!" the boys called, but Yugi was already down the stairs.

XXXXX

Yugi had never been to Mahado's room before but he recognized the layout of the castle as soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He found the stairs leading to the hall that housed Yami's room easily. Excitement, happiness and pleasant fear made his heart pound. His pounding heart, light and quick steps and his fluttering wings: all of it fueled his focus. His King was waiting for him. He could feel it: in his heart, his soul. His mind, every bit of him called to his King and his king called back to him. And he was going to answer.

He froze when he reached the top of the stairs. Chazz sat in a bunched ball against the wall, face buried in his folded knees, body shaking and Silver Fang nuzzling his cheek in an attempt to mollify his pain.

"Chazz!" Yugi's paternal instincts took over and he knelt down in front of him and carefully shook Chazz's shoulders. His heart clenched when Chazz raised his head, revealing red-rimmed eyed, black baggy circles and tear-stained cheeks.

"Yugi!" Chazz launched himself into Yugi's arms. "Oh I missed you so much! And Father did too. He's been awful since you left!"

"I know," Yugi admitted rubbing the boy's back. "That's why I'm here. I missed him too, I missed all of you. Is Mana inside?"

"No," Chazz shook his head with a groan. "She's trying to calm the Magisters down. The whole place has been in an uproar since we brought your family here. What exactly happened to you and dad? Luna didn't have time to explain?"

Yugi smiled. "I think you better ask Mahado, I still don't understand it myself. But you go ahead, I'll take care of Yami," he promised.

"Okay," Chazz rubbed away his tears stubbornly. "Come on Silver Fang."

The wolf followed wagging his tail. He turned to his Master's lover and Yugi could see a smile on his chops. Welcome back, Consort of the Frost King.

Yugi blushed at the words. He shook them off and thrust the door open, his heart anxious to reunite with its equal.

Following that first step, it dropped to his stomach. His hands covered his mouth, silencing a scream. His eyes bulged with stunned horror, and pricked with tears.

There, lying spread and motionless like a corpse, was the Frost King.