Soul Release

by LuckyLadybug

Post-series, my Pendulum Swings verse. Yami Marik accosts Yami Bakura and Ryou Bakura late at night, wanting a duel. Of course, he has several cruel twists in mind, including a usage for Ectoplasmer that Yami Bakura never dreamed of...

Yu-Gi-Oh!

Soul Release

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! I have no idea how I came up with such a twisted story as this one, but it insisted on coming and here it is. First time I've ever actually written out most of a duel, too. I guess you can blame that on Duel Links! Most of the cards mentioned here are ones that I use in my Yami Bakura deck in Duel Links; I usually play as him and I've given him what I call a Supernatural deck. I'm LuckyLadybug there, if anyone wants to say Hello. Thanks to Crescent Blue for encouraging me to write out even more of the duel than I first did! Meanwhile, this story takes place in my post-canon Pendulum Swings verse, where Yami Bakura was separated from Zorc, returned to Bakura, and was given the Infinity Ring to gain a mortal form and earn a second chance at life, if he learns to use the thing for good. Of course, Yami Bakura will always be a character, no matter what.

It was a dark night, chill and overseen by a full moon that was cast in yellow and periodically being hidden by clouds. It wasn't a night that Bakura particularly wanted to be out walking on, and he shivered and moved closer to Yami Bakura, grateful that he wasn't there alone.

"Are you scared?" Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura flushed. "Well . . . this is the kind of night that rather puts me in mind of Halloween," he confessed. "If I have to be honest, Yami . . . it is rather eerie."

"You think a vampire or a werewolf will come out from around the next corner and . . ." Yami Bakura spun around, his eyes wild, his canine teeth bared, his arms extended with clawed hands silhouetted in the night.

Bakura yelped and jumped a mile. "Yami!" he wailed.

Yami Bakura laughed.

Bakura sighed, placing a hand over his heart and willing it to calm itself. ". . . I am honored that Father asked us to go get that information from that colleague of his," he said. "I just wish the man didn't live so far out of the way." He hesitated. "Yami . . . do creatures like that . . . really exist?"

"Vampires and werewolves?" Yami Bakura shrugged. "There are card characters of both, but I've always assumed Pegasus came up with some of those characters on his own instead of having seen every single one of them on ancient carvings. I personally have never seen either creature, although I know there are many who fully believe in them and claim the proof is there for their existence." His eyes narrowed. "And if beings such as Zorc can exist, is it really that hard to believe that vampires and werewolves could exist too?"

His voice had darkened, and Bakura opted to reach out and lay a hand over his. "Zorc won't be back, Yami," he said softly. "And even if he does come back somehow, we'll fight him off. We're both stronger than he is."

Yami Bakura grunted, but Bakura could feel him relax a bit. He always appreciated the boy's comfort on the matter, even though he still worried. Thoughts of Halloween creatures could hardly frighten him in comparison with Zorc.

They were passing an old field now, long without an owner. The tall grass waved in the night and moved back and forth across the legs of a dark silhouette standing in its midst. Yami Bakura barely paid the figure any heed . . . until it spoke.

"Hello, you two. What a pleasant night to be out, isn't it?"

Yami Bakura snarled and immediately positioned himself in front of Bakura, who cried out in horror. "What do you want, you demon?"

Yami Marik grinned wildly as he stepped into the light from a moonbeam. "I thought this would be the perfect night to challenge you to a duel, Thief King. Especially since tonight you've chosen to appear as you did when we had our Shadow Game on the Battle Ship. It makes me so nostalgic." He stuck out his tongue.

"We don't want anything to do with you!" Bakura spat. "You've hurt Yami more than enough! And he sent you back to the Shadow Realm last time! You should still be there!"

"The boy has a point," Yami Bakura growled. "I think it's about time you told us how you keep getting out so easily!"

Yami Marik put a finger to his lips. "Oh, maybe I will . . . if you win my Shadow Duel."

"I am not going to duel you right now, you fiend!" Yami Bakura snapped.

"I beg to differ. I think you will!" Yami Marik waved his hand and the familiar purple-blue clouds surrounded them. "Especially when your little friend joins us!" Another wave of his hand.

Bakura gasped. Instead of what he had been wearing, now he was standing in a purple suit with a white cape, gloves, and hat. A monocle fell out from in front of one eye as he stared in disbelief at his attire. "W-What . . . what is this?!"

Yami Bakura was equally stunned. But he realized in an instant what Yami Marik was doing. "You've dressed Bakura as the White Magical Hat," he said coldly. "You expect him to take part in our duel as one of the monsters!"

"Oh!" Bakura cried.

"One of your monsters, to be exact," Yami Marik cackled. "I know you don't use that card in your deck anymore because it looks too much like that serial killer you fought, but I couldn't think of any other human male characters you use. Anyway, given your history with the White Death, dressing little Bakura up as the White Magical Hat seemed more fitting than anything else."

Bakura ran his hands down the purple suitcoat, still stunned by this transformation.

Yami Bakura growled. But as the card itself flew at him from Yami Marik's side of the field, he had to hurry and catch it.

"I'm sure that under the circumstances you'll play my game," Yami Marik sneered. "Am I right?"

"To free Bakura from this madness, and to teach you a lesson you won't forget, yes, I'll play." Yami Bakura took out his deck, his eyes cold. "I always enjoy beating you back to the shadows."

"But you have to put the White Magical Hat card on your field," Yami Marik said. "That makes it official that Bakura is in this game."

"And then what? You'll promptly destroy him?" Yami Bakura snapped.

"What do you think?" Yami Marik sneered.

"I think you'll drag it out as long as you possibly can." Yami Bakura turned to look at the boy. Of course he couldn't help but think on the irony of this. The first time he had met Yugi and his friends, he had sent them into the game, as he had also done with Bakura. But he had expected Bakura to help him; he hadn't intended for Bakura to be hurt. Yet he certainly had intended for Yugi and the rest to be hurt, and now his former delight in toying with them had come back to haunt him. This time, he was a victim instead of the Pharaoh.

Bakura finally turned and gave him a weak smile. "At least I still look like myself," he said. "Don't I, Yami?"

"Yes," Yami Bakura acknowledged. "You're just dressed in a costume, same as before. Only now you're in this game body and soul."

"I'm willing to go through with it," Bakura insisted. "Anyway, it doesn't look like we have much choice."

"You don't have any choice at all!" Yami Marik laughed. "If you don't duel me, it's an automatic forfeit and you'll both be stranded here forever!"

Yami Bakura snarled and practically slammed the White Magical Hat card on his field. "Then let's duel!"

Bakura slowly moved into the spot on the field where he should stand. "Am I in attack or defense mode?" he wondered.

"Defense, of course," Yami Bakura retorted.

Yami Marik laughed. "You don't intend to play his card at all, do you? You think you can just leave him off to the side in defense mode and I will ignore him."

"I know you won't," Yami Bakura growled. "But I will do everything in my power to protect him."

Bakura looked to him. "That's sweet of you, Yami, but I want to help you win this duel," he protested.

"The card isn't very strong," Yami Bakura retorted. "It only has 1000 attack points!"

"I know," Bakura sighed. "But if there's an opening where I could be of help, please allow me to do what I can!"

Yami Bakura gave him a long look. "Alright," he agreed. "But only if it doesn't require sacrificing you."

"Remember, thanks to that mind probe I know everything about the time you put everybody in the game," Yami Marik taunted. "And I know how you mocked the Pharaoh for 'wasting his time and his turns rescuing those foolish mortals.' And now you're going to do the same thing?"

Yami Bakura growled. "I don't have to defend myself to you!" he snapped. "Just make your move!"

"Oh, I will. I set a card facedown and summon Drillago, in attack mode!" Yami Marik sneered at him. "But I won't attack yet."

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes. That could be because Yami Marik didn't want to destroy Bakura right away or because of something else. In any case, he would have to stay on his guard.

"I summon Hysteric Angel," he retorted. "Attack!"

The angel swooped down, stomping on Drillago and exploding it to pieces.

Yami Marik grinned wildly, his eyes going bloodshot. "An angel card? You really have changed your deck."

"Don't be fooled, you demon," Yami Bakura retorted. "There are a lot of familiar faces in here as well. I only use Hysteric Angel because she amuses me." He sneered. "She's hardly your typical harp-player. Instead she's a stuffy bureaucrat."

"She's also a powerful Level 4 card," Bakura piped up. "She's gotten us out of quite a few bad spots."

"She won't save you from everything!" Yami Marik exclaimed. "Now I play the trap card Nightmare Wheel! I'll make your Hysteric Angel suffer for several agonizing turns! And you'll suffer too, as you lose lifepoints each turn!"

Yami Bakura growled. He drew a card and set it facedown on the field. "That's all I can do this turn."

Yami Marik cackled as his trap activated and Yami Bakura was blasted back with the loss of 500 lifepoints. "And the nightmare begins!"

"Yami!" Bakura cried. He started to rise from his defense position.

"Don't move!" Yami Bakura snapped. "I'm fine."

"Not for long!" Yami Marik said in delight. "Now I lay two cards facedown and summon Bowganian! Fire your Crossbow of Calamity! It can bypass your monsters to attack you directly!"

An arrow flew through the air, striking Yami Bakura in the chest. He snarled, again falling back.

"That's 300 more lifepoints lost!" Yami Marik grinned.

Bakura couldn't stand it. "Yami!" He broke position and ran across the field to his friend.

"Bakura, get back!" Yami Bakura snarled. He straightened, the arrow's hologram disappearing from his flesh. "You're making yourself a target!"

"Well, you already are a target!" Bakura wailed.

"Lucky for you, I'm ending my turn," Yami Marik laughed.

"And I play Remove Trap, so say Goodbye to your Nightmare Wheel," Yami Bakura countered. He watched in satisfaction as the torture device vanished and Hysteric Angel leaped back to his side of the field. "I play one card facedown. Now, Hysteric Angel, decimate his Bowganian!"

Yami Marik just laughed as the angel stomped on Bowganian from above, shattering it. "I'm barely getting started," he said. He summoned another Bowganian. "Once more, fire your Crossbow of Calamity! Take out another 300 lifepoints from my opponent!"

"No!" Bakura sobbed. He moved to get in front of Yami Bakura, but he was promptly shoved away.

"Don't you dare!" Yami Bakura snarled. "Your attack power is already low. If you lose any more of it, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to help me later!"

Bakura stumbled and turned to look back. "But . . . !"

Yami Bakura braced himself as the arrow struck. "I'm alright," he told Bakura through clenched teeth. "We still have plenty of lifepoints left."

"And now, Bowganian, attack his facedown monster!" Yami Marik continued.

Yami Bakura sneered. "Too bad. That was just what I was waiting for." The card flipped up. "Worm Dimikles. It gains 300 attack and defense points when flipped up. It was already stronger than your Bowganian, and now it's even stronger!"

Yami Marik growled, falling back. "No!"

Bowganian vanished, taking with it a bit of Yami Marik's lifepoints.

Yami Bakura laughed. "You won't find it so easy to defeat me! Of course, you never did!"

"On the contrary, you weren't much of a challenge on the Battle Ship," Yami Marik said.

"I've beat you in every Shadow Game we've played since," Yami Bakura replied. "I will defeat you now as well."

"We'll see about that," Yami Marik said.

"You can't even keep a monster on the field," Yami Bakura mocked. "I've destroyed everything you've brought out."

"You won't destroy this one!" Yami Marik flipped up one of his facedown cards. "Brain Control!"

Yami Bakura glowered. "So you'll take control of one of my monsters. The only one you can take is Worm Dimikles to destroy my Hysteric Angel, unless you plan to attack Bakura after all. Or unless . . ." The color drained from his face.

"Oh my," Bakura gasped.

"Yes! I'm going to take control of Bakura!" Yami Marik cackled. "That will assure my safety."

"No!" Bakura cried. "I won't do it!"

"Do you really think you have a choice?" Yami Marik retorted.

Yami Bakura was shaken, both at the realization of Yami Marik's plan and the exchange he had just heard. It was an eerie mirror of the exchange between himself and Yugi so long ago.

"I'm not going to let this happen without a fight," he insisted. "My De-Spell card neutralizes your Brain Control!"

Yami Marik didn't look fazed. "Don't think you're out of the woods yet." He smirked. "My other facedown card is Exchange! I borrowed a page from your book, shall we say."

Yami Bakura was not impressed. "Then come over here and take your pick." He held out his hand.

Yami Marik smirked as he crossed the field and examined the cards Yami Bakura was holding. "Perfect," he sneered, pulling one out.

"What do you want with that card?" Yami Bakura frowned.

"You'll find out," Yami Marik mocked.

"You'll regret giving me a chance to take a card from you," Yami Bakura said. "I'm taking Coffin Seller."

Yami Marik just laughed. "That doesn't bother me!"

Bakura watched, tense, as Yami Marik walked back across the field. "Yami, now what are we going to do?!" he worried.

"I stopped his Brain Control," Yami Bakura said. "I'm not worrried."

"You should be!" Yami Marik insisted. "Now I summon Melchid the Four-Face Beast and equip it with The Black Pendant! It's more than powerful enough to go up against your Hysteric Angel!"

"But it can't touch my Worm Dimikles unless you don't mind them both being taken out," Yami Bakura pointed out.

"Right now, I'll just focus on taking out Hysteric Angel," Yami Marik said. "I don't think you can afford to lose Worm Dimikles, so you won't try attacking my Four-Face Beast!"

Bakura flinched as Hysteric Angel was attacked and vanished. Oh, what can I do? he thought in distress. I need to do something to help Yami, but there hasn't been a good chance. And I know that horrible thing is going to try to find another way to use me against Yami sooner or later!

"That's enough damage for this turn," Yami Marik smirked. "Let's see what you can come up with."

"One card facedown and The Portrait's Secret in defense mode," Yami Bakura scowled.

"Ha! That's pointless!" Yami Marik mocked. "But it is about all you can do unless you can get a monster on the field with higher attack points than Melchid."

Yami Bakura growled. He certainly had some others, but drawing what he needed when he needed it was another thing again. At the moment, he didn't have any other monsters to play. Not to mention the problem of tribute summoning monsters. He refused to sacrifice Bakura, which left him with the other two, but he was sure Yami Marik would destroy The Portrait's Secret. And that would leave him with just one to tribute. If he ever drew the right card, that is.

Indeed, Yami Marik destroyed The Portrait's Secret with a raucous cackle. "Now you're on the defensive," he said. "I must say it's a nice change. But then again, I planned all of this all along."

"I'm not surprised," Yami Bakura shot back.

"And now I think I'll power Melchid up a little bit more with another Equip spell," Yami Marik grinned. "Say Goodbye to Worm Dimikles too!"

"No!" Bakura wailed.

"Now you're the only monster left." Yami Marik leered at him, his eyes going bloodshot.

Yami Bakura drew his next card and snarled. Still no playable monsters. He had just drawn Shadow Ghoul, but with Bakura as the only character on the field, there was no way to summon it.

"Now I'll play Mining for Magical Stones!" Yami Marik announced.

Yami Bakura cursed him in Egyptian.

"Oh, you do know what I'm up to," Yami Marik said. "My, does sweet little Bakura know the kinds of things you say in our native tongue?"

"Just go," Yami Bakura snapped.

"For a small price, I'm allowed to retrieve a magic card from the Graveyard," Yami Marik said. "I choose Brain Control!"

Yami Bakura stared in horror. "No. . . ."

Bakura tensed. "I'll fight it, Yami!" he promised. "I won't let him use me to hurt you!"

"You can't stop it, you dolt," Yami Bakura shot back. "And this time . . . neither can I. . . ."

"It only gets worse!" Yami Marik cackled, his veins bulging even more than Yami Bakura had thought possible. "The card I took from you was Ectoplasmer," he bragged.

"So what?" Yami Bakura retorted.

"While Bakura's on my side of the field thanks to Brain Control, I'm going to play Ectoplasmer," Yami Marik announced.

Suddenly it made sense. A horrible, chilling, unbelievable sense. "No!" Yami Bakura cried. "You fiend!"

"Ahh, now you understand," Yami Marik grinned, even as he slapped Brain Control down on the field. The greenish arms reached out to grab Bakura and pull him to Yami Marik's side of the field. "I'm going to extract his soul with Ectoplasmer and fire it at you."

Again Yami Bakura cursed him in Egyptian. Then in English he yelled, "Fight it, Bakura! You can't let him do this to you!" Would Bakura even be able to be saved after something like that? Surely he would be restored if Yami Bakura won the duel, but . . . but what if he couldn't be? And even if he was brought back body and soul, what if he could never recover from having been forced to attack his best friend?

Bakura only gave him a blank look.

"He's fully under the power of my Brain Control card," Yami Marik said. "How sad. And only a moment before, he vowed to withstand it!"

Yami Bakura clenched his fist so tightly he almost drew blood.

"What's the matter, Thief? You use the Ectoplasmer card all the time. It's not like you respect your monsters enough not to."

"That isn't it," Yami Bakura snarled. "And regardless, you know very well that isn't the same thing as what you're going to do now!"

"Of course it is," Yami Marik grinned. "The only real difference is that I'm using it on a real person. Would you have made such a distinction?"

Yami Bakura gave him a hateful look. Even at his worst, he had never thought of doing something quite this twisted and sick.

"I could play Ectoplasmer now," Yami Marik announced, "but I think instead I'll let you stare at little Bakura's blank face for a moment longer."

Yami Bakura could only look for a second before turning his attention back to his cards. It was too horrible, too haunting, to see Bakura like that. He had been so vibrant, so full of life . . . so determined to protect him, even with such low attack points. . . . Now he was just staring ahead blankly, no recognition, no acknowledgment. And there was nothing on the field or in Yami Bakura's hand to stop this cruelty. He fell back, trembling, unable to do anything but watch in horror as Yami Marik activated Ectoplasmer. "This can't be happening," he rasped.

"Oh, but it is," Yami Marik taunted.

Bakura went stiff, then fell forward and collapsed to the ground as his soul was forcefully pulled free. A bright light was suddenly barreling towards Yami Bakura at top speed.

Yami Bakura braced himself, throwing both arms in front of his face. He couldn't stand to look, knowing that this was Bakura's soul being forced to launch itself on a collision course with him. Bakura was so gentle. . . . He would never get over this. . . .

But the attack never came.

Shocked, he opened one eye. The light was gently surrounding him instead. He could faintly make out Bakura's form within it, and the boy smiled at him.

"It's alright, Yami," he said. "I won't attack you. I'll protect you."

"What?!" Yami Marik screamed. "This should have worked! There's no reason why it shouldn't have worked! The cards don't do anything they're not told to do!"

"But Bakura isn't a card," Yami Bakura frostily answered. "As you said yourself, demon, he's a real person."

"A real person under the command of my Brain Control card!" Yami Marik retorted.

"His brain is still in his body," Yami Bakura flatly responded. "It was his soul you fired at me, and his soul could not be controlled!"

Yami Marik snarled. "Fine! Then I'll extract the soul of one of my monsters." He activated Ectoplasmer on Melchid the Four-Face Beast. A new light barreled towards Yami Bakura.

"Don't stay in the way, you fool," he snapped at Bakura. "When that blast hits you, you'll both be destroyed!"

Bakura didn't budge. "Well, it is a Shadow Game, Yami," he said. "I know you'll win and get me back. Right now, I'm protecting you so that you have the chance to."

Then the beam hit him hard in the back. He stiffened, a pained cry echoing through the area before he glowed bright and vanished.

Yami Bakura just stood, staring at the spot for a long moment. Bakura was gone. His body, still clothed as the White Magical Hat, was lying lifeless on Yami Marik's side of the field. His spirit was . . . in the Card Graveyard. . . . So far away. . . .

"So, using Ectoplasmer on him did have an important effect after all," Yami Marik taunted, dragging him back to the present. "Your shattered expression was well worth it, even though he didn't attack you."

Yami Bakura looked to him, his brown eyes narrowing in hate. "You will regret ever doing that to Bakura," he vowed. "I won't rest until I've beaten you back to Hell!"

Yami Marik threw back his head and laughed. "Then by all means, proceed! But first, my turn is over and you get Bakura's empty shell back."

Yami Bakura stared as Bakura was sent back to his side of the field. So still, so lifeless. . . . He was breathing, at least, but of course no one was home. Yami Bakura had never found the sight of a soulless body chilling before, but he did now. He looked back at Yami Marik, his eyes flashing with outrage.

"Not that he's any good to you now," Yami Marik mocked. "You had better banish his body from your Graveyard."

His eyes cold, Yami Bakura took the White Magical Hat card and removed it from his Duel Disk. Bakura's body magically transported to the side of the dueling arena.

"Now," he said, "prepare to die."

"Do enlighten me on how you're going to pull that off," Yami Marik grinned.

"First I'll use the card I took from you," Yami Bakura said. "You used Ectoplasmer against me; I shall use Coffin Seller against you."

"I'm not worried," Yami Marik said.

"You should be," Yami Bakura sneered. "Those 300 lifepoint losses can really add up. I shall lay two cards facedown and place The Gross Ghost of Fled Dreams in attack mode. You have no monsters on your side of the field thanks to sacrificing Melchid's soul. So now, attack, my ghost!"

Yami Marik growled as 1300 lifepoints disappeared. But then he straightened and gave his opponent a grotesque look. "You got in a lucky shot. Enjoy it; it will be your last one."

"Show me how," Yami Bakura countered.

"I will." Yami Marik drew, then placed a monster on the field. "Swallowtail Spike Lizard! It has more than enough attack points to defeat your ghost, and after it attacks, I'll put it in defense mode so I can gain lifepoints every turn!"

"Only if I don't summon something strong enough to destroy it first," Yami Bakura countered. He looked unfazed as his ghost was attacked and vanished.

"I know what you're trying to do now, you know," Yami Marik said. "You want to get three Fiends in your graveyard so you can summon Dark Necrofear. I saw your duel against the Pharaoh on the Battle Ship, through Marik's eyes."

"You've already sent two of them there," Yami Bakura said. "What choice do you have but to keep attacking them when they show up?"

"We'll see," Yami Marik grinned. "As you know, I have other ways of bringing my opponents' lifepoints down to zero besides merely attacking their monsters."

Of course, he was right. And he used several such cards as the duel wore on. It was a long duel, a hard and taxing duel. The fact that it was a Shadow Game made it worse. Before it was ever over, Yami Bakura was weakened and struggling to stand. But he kept fighting, pushing himself to his absolute limits. Over the next several turns, he could not seem to summon any more monsters. But he had developed a strong network of traps to service him during such times. They protected him now, keeping Yami Marik at bay even as he managed to amass several monsters.

"Now look!" Yami Marik cackled. "There's no way you can stand up to me any more. My army is bearing down on you and you still don't have one monster on the field to protect yourself. All of your monsters must have been at the front of your deck, except for the high-level ones you can't summon now!"

"If you're so confident, then why don't you attack?" Yami Bakura said with a tired smirk.

"I will!" Yami Marik gestured across the field with a sweeping hand. "Swallowtail Spike Lizard, deliver the first blow!"

Yami Bakura smirked more. "You don't have a chance. My trap card is Radiant Mirror Force!"

Yami Marik's eyes went bloodshot. "No!"

"Yes! All of your monsters are destroyed!" Yami Bakura laughed as the arsenal disappeared. "It's a shame their destruction doesn't take out the rest of your lifepoints, but at least it prevents them from destroying me!"

Yami Marik quickly recovered from the shock and leered at him. "But you only saved yourself for one more turn," he mocked.

"One more turn is all I need," Yami Bakura replied as he drew a card. "I summon Gernia in attack mode!"

Yami Marik snarled as another blow was dealt to his lifepoints. But then he straightened, stuck out his tongue, and drew a card of his own. "Makyura the Destructor! It's stronger than your Gernia, so even if I don't destroy it, you can't attack me again."

"I can if I power it up with The Sword of Dark Destruction," Yami Bakura replied. "Then it will be stronger than your Makyura." He held up the card. "What say I just equip it now?"

Yami Marik growled. "You're trying to force my hand!"

"Of course!" Yami Bakura exclaimed. "Either agree to attack, knowing that will summon Dark Necrofear, or do nothing and I will wipe out your last defense!" He sneered. "Who knows, perhaps you will draw a card to power your monster up against Dark Necrofear."

Yami Marik growled. "But if that's destroyed, you'll play Dark Sanctuary!"

"Well," Yami Bakura said, "you'll have to decide what outcome holds the most hope for you in the end." He held up the equip card. "What shall it be?"

Yami Marik was clearly not pleased. He grunted and growled and snarled and finally exclaimed, "Fine! Makyura, attack Gernia now!"

Yami Bakura gave him a cool look. "Thank you." He drew a card, then cackled and placed another card on his Duel Disk. "Now, say Hello to the instrument of your destruction! Dark Necrofear!"

Yami Marik hissed.

"And you don't have anything to power up Makyura after all, do you?" Yami Bakura mocked. "Either way, I trapped you. You were ruined whether or not I summoned Dark Necrofear to the field!"

Yami Marik's expression was dark and dangerous. "Just go."

"Very well! Dark Necrofear, eliminate his Makyura the Destructor!" Yami Bakura watched with relish as Yami Marik's last monster fell.

Yami Marik stumbled, gripping his heart as his powerful creature vanished. "I must admit, you've played well," he said.

"And I'm not through yet." Yami Bakura was badly shaking, finding it very difficult to stand. "You just have one more turn before I vanquish you. Even building up your lifepoints courtesy of your lizard didn't save you."

Yami Marik drew a card and glowered at it. "There's nothing I can do."

"Then I shall end this Shadow Game." Yami Bakura drew another card and gave a tired smirk. "This will be your undoing. Your lizard didn't save you, but mine will save me, and Bakura as well."

"You don't need to draw another monster," Yami Marik said. "You could take me out with your Dark Necrofear."

"I could," Yami Bakura agreed, "but I'm going to use this to deliver the final blow instead." He set a large lizard on the field in attack mode. "A creature that had an evil heart until he learned justice. I hate you with every part of my heart and soul. But defeating you isn't merely an act of hatred. I consider it the highest form of justice. Game over."

The monster attacked and Yami Marik's lifepoints dropped to zero. The shadows began to close in around him.

"Are you going to tell me how you keep returning so easily?" Yami Bakura glowered at him, not really expecting that promise to be kept.

Indeed, Yami Marik just stuck out his tongue in reply. "I don't think so." As the darkness reclaimed him, the creature sneered at his arch-enemy and left him with one final, cruel taunt. "I wonder if Bakura's soul will find its way back to his body. Maybe it's been shattered and scattered throughout the Shadow Realm."

"Be silent!" Yami Bakura roared. "That couldn't happen."

"Couldn't it?" Yami Marik whispered as he vanished.

The shadows dissipated, leaving them in the field where this nightmare had began. Yami Bakura struggled over to Bakura's limp body, violently stumbling before crashing to his knees. "Bakura . . . Bakura, are you here?! Answer me!" He grabbed the motionless form and held him close. His voice was choked, desperate. "Bakura, please. . . . You have to be alright. . . ."

For an agonizing moment there was nothing. But then at last the boy stirred, looking up at the old thief with a weak yet genuine smile. "I am, Yami," he promised. He drew his arms around Yami Bakura. "I knew you would save me."

"Oh Bakura. . . ." Yami Bakura knelt there in the grass, clutching the boy for a moment lost in time. Bakura was still dazed; maybe to him the experience seemed like a dream, a nightmare, from which he had awakened. But to Yami Bakura it was fresh on his mind and in his heart. It had been real. And it would take him a long time to even begin to be able to get over it. But knowing Bakura was alright meant that he would be able to try.

It took some time before either of them had enough strength to get up. For a while they sat there, just with each other for company, and slumped against each other in their exhaustion.

"Yami, I'm so sorry," Bakura whispered. "I wanted to help you, not cause you so much pain."

"You did help me," Yami Bakura retorted. "You fought against that demon's Brain Control card. I didn't think it was possible. You fought it and you sacrificed yourself to protect me from the next attack. Had that attack succeeded, it would have removed a large number of my lifepoints and I might have lost the duel. I barely won as it was. Most of my lifepoints were gone by the end."

"But then I was gone and you had to fight the rest of the duel without me," Bakura said softly.

Yami Bakura looked away. "I wondered whether or not to bring you back if I drew a Monster Reborn card. But I realized that if I used it, that fiend would only find some other way to harm you. I felt it best to leave things as they were until the duel was over. Still, had I actually drawn the card, I might have changed my mind and used it. I did have Dark Spirit of the Silent, so I could have forced attacks away from you as long as I had other monsters."

"You were taking such risks," Bakura said in concern.

"I did what I had to do." Yami Bakura held him close, staring out across the field. "Bakura . . . do you . . . remember what happened to you after you were sent to the Graveyard?"

"A little." Bakura shuddered. "But it all seems so unreal now. I'm afraid you're the one who really suffered, Yami."

Yami Bakura shrugged. ". . . I was forced to look hard at myself," he said. "I saw what I had done to you and your friends the first time I tried to claim the Millennium Puzzle in this modern age. I felt the pain the Pharaoh must have felt as he tried to keep his friends safe from me. I mocked friendship so much in that duel. And now, to really feel what he felt . . ." He shook his head. "I don't know what to make of it."

Bakura smiled. "You didn't have love anymore when you mocked it. Now you have it again. That changes perspectives."

"Yes," Yami Bakura had to concede. "It does. I've become just as foolish as he was. But . . . I don't regret it. You showed me that love actually can be a good thing. . . . As sickeningly sweet as it sounds to say that."

"I'm so glad," Bakura beamed. Suddenly he stiffened. "Oh my. Father must be terribly worried by now. However long have we been gone?!"

"I don't know," Yami Bakura grunted. "But more than likely, he's still at the museum. I haven't heard your phone ring. Do you feel like getting up yet?"

"In one way, no," Bakura admitted. "But in another way, I really would like to get home. Not that I think there are any other dangers of being out in this field. Even vampires or werewolves couldn't be as dangerous as what we just faced."

"I quite agree," Yami Bakura said.

"And even if we encountered them, we would win then as well," Bakura said. "I wouldn't be afraid with you here, Yami."

"You probably should be," Yami Bakura retorted. "One needs the proper strength to fight anything, and right now, my strength is all but gone."

Bakura looked at him in concern. Yami Bakura never admitted such things. For him to do so now, he must be drained to the point that he felt Bakura needed to know for his own safety. "Yami . . ."

"Oh, I can walk home," Yami Bakura said. "But we had better not encounter any more trouble along the way."

Bakura certainly prayed they wouldn't. For if they did, Yami Bakura would fight the new enemy no matter how drained he was, and that could be disastrous.

"We'll wait a while longer," he said.

They lingered for several minutes more before Yami Bakura started to stand. "We should get going. We've still got a ways to go before we're home."

"Are you sure, Yami?" Bakura asked.

"Yes. The distance won't change no matter when we start out. We're both worn-out, but we would do better to get home and rest there."

"That's true, I suppose," Bakura said. "And at least we'll be traveling together. Oh, but maybe I should call Father and see if he can come get us. . . ."

"And what would we tell him about why we couldn't walk home?" Yami Bakura grunted. "That we were cornered by that demon and forced into a Shadow Game and you had your soul extracted and fired at me?"

Bakura shuddered. "On second thought, maybe we'd better try walking back."

"My thoughts exactly," Yami Bakura said flatly.

For a moment they walked in silence. Then Bakura hesitantly spoke. "Yami . . ."

Yami Bakura glanced to him. "What."

"You took the White Magical Hat out of your deck because of all the terrible memories the White Death has for us. I have to wonder now if you'll do the same thing with Ectoplasmer."

Yami Bakura looked away. "It's a powerful card. If I were to remove every single thing that has bad memories for us, I would probably have to throw away my entire deck. However . . . I never want anyone to be able to use that card against us again, so perhaps I will consider removing it for that reason."

Bakura smiled. "I think that might be best."

"I know you never did like that card anyway," Yami Bakura said.

"It always seemed so twisted and brutal," Bakura said with a shiver. "Even when using it on regular cards."

"I never had a problem with it before," Yami Bakura said. "Especially if it helped me out of a tight spot. And if it wasn't for the concern of someone using it on you, I would probably leave it in my deck."

"Probably," Bakura agreed.

He smiled. They might not agree on what cards should be used, but that was alright. He had long ago accepted that Yami Bakura was quite a character, even when trying to be good. And honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way. Yami Bakura had become his dear friend, his brother, someone who would do anything he could to protect him. And that was worth all the strange quirks he came with.