This text is my first story written in English. It wouldn't be like this without littlemichiru's great help so here I'd like to thank You very much again for all You did for me! You're really kind of skillful wizard and truly You are a godmother for this story :)

Enjoy!

1. Admit you need help

Bakura woke up with an unnerving feeling. It was as if something was missing. For some time he only looked at the ceiling, breathing slowly and trying to figure out what was that strange thing that interrupted his sleep. It was still dark outside. Bakura sat on the bed and kept thinking. Something was clearly wrong in there. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. A faint, blue moonbeam got through the window and lit a bit the room, but it was strong enough for Bakura to figure out he was alone.

Alone in more than one way.

"Ryou?" he asked aloud, waiting for his host to reply from the depths of their shared soul.

There was no answer so he repeated the calling a couple of times with growing irritation. Why didn't Ryou respond? He should have heard Bakura calling out his name by now.

"I thought you're more well-bred than me. It's a bit impolite not to answer me, isn't it?" he snapped and left the body to reach their soul maze.

He stood inside the ring and for some terrible seconds he was just staring, not able to even move. The maze was ruined. Completely smashed. Bakura felt a cold shiver on his spine. What the hell happened in there?

"Ryou! Ryou!" he screamed with a light trembling in his voice. "Holy shit! Answer me so I can find you, stupid brat!"

But he knew – he felt, that there was no one left in the maze to be found. This dead silence was driving him crazy. It was way too silent to deceive himself Ryou was somewhere safe and unharmed, hiding from him.

Bakura started walking through the destroyed corridors. What kind of power could have created all this mess? Whatever brought such horrible mental cataclysms in there had managed to make Bakura feel trapped somewhere in the middle of fear, anger and a rising thirst for vengeance. The white haired man made his way towards his own soul-room. The resilient, always locked door seemed even more solid in this post-apocalyptic landscape. Bakura checked around him twice before opening the door and taking a quick look at the room behind. All in order, he noticed. Why everything else is destroyed, but my soul-room has remained untouched?

Without any idea of how to explain this catastrophe, Bakura closed the door to his soul-room and ran to the one belonging to Ryou. The closer he got, the stronger the feeling that there was not even a microscopic chance for his host to be all right was growing. When he reached the place, for a few seconds, his heart stopped beating.

Bakura had been in Ryou's soul-room before. He didn't believe in anyone's privacy and wasn't the respectful type, especially if he was curious about something. It was more than possible that Ryou didn't know about Bakura's small trips to his soul-room. The King of Thieves was a highly talented burglar so he wouldn't leave behind any sign of his uninvited presence. He would get in and out without Ryou ever noticing him – it was smooth, professional work in order to gain knowledge about all of his host's secrets and use them later as a bait or blackmail in case Ryou would refuse to cooperate. The room was more than full of memories and thoughts to use against this loyal, stubborn boy, but now…

Now he was standing in front of the most horrible kind of housebreaking he had ever seen. The pretty wooden door he remembered from his previous visits was smashed into pieces with almost thrilling rage. Normally Ryou's soul-room looked like a paradise for magicians, neopagans, fortune-tellers and paranormal researchers. Now it seemed more like a battlefield after a nuclear bomb was used. Not a single thing remained in one piece, the walls were full of cracks, the ceiling had collapsed and there were many cracked holes on the floor – black, deep and leading to a distant, cold nowhere.

The worst thing, however, was the bloody marks splattered all over the soul-room. Of course no soul could bleed for real, it was impossible and Bakura knew it, but he had seen blood too many times (and many times he was the one who had spilled it) for him not to recognize it at first sight. He stepped back, not even noticing his hands shaking, before trying to lift a broken cat figurine he spotted near his shoe. In reality it was long gone, but Ryou had kept a memory of this small Egyptian figurine and had stored it safely in his soul-room. Bakura knew the other boy was very fond of it and it meant much to him, being directly linked to some good memories from his childhood. In Bakura's opinion it was silly to love such worthless objects that much, but he decided to pick up all the pieces of the cat and put them into his pocket.

Maybe, he thought, Ryou would smile when he would give him back his precious little cat. Maybe that was Bakura's way of not focusing on the terrifying idea that Ryou might be far beyond getting anything from anyone at all.

Bakura turned away from the destroyed soul maze and went back to his host's body. The maze wouldn't help him much more anyway. It was perfectly ruined by some kind of strong, evil power and it was better to look for answers in the real world. Something must have happened there, bringing such horror down on Ryou. Bakura got up and turned on the lights in order for him to search the whole room.

"What have you done this time?" he growled, checking Ryou's desk. "In the name of Ra, what have you done to yourself, you stupid, naive idiot? And how is it possible I didn't notice a thing?!" He kept throwing on the carpet everything he would find in the drawers. "You and this wicked love for paranormal of yours! Wasn't I enough paranormal activity for you? Why did you… Oh Ra!" He gasped.

At the furthest end of the upper drawer was lying a papyrus scroll. It looked so harmless and inconspicuous that Bakura was sure it was all its fault. Wolves sometimes wear sheep's coats, don't they? Unnerved by the bad premonition, Bakura grabbed the scroll and shivered as he clearly felt it. The scroll was full of untamed power waiting for idiots like Ryou to set it free. Bakura wasn't any good spirit himself but he would seem as innocent as Jesus in compare to this pure evilness unleashed. He unrolled the papyrus to find out what it was about but he wasn't able to read a single sign.

"Great. Plain hieroglyphic text without even one drawing which could give me a hint what happened in here. Congratulations, Ryou, you little fool. How am I supposed to rescue you now?"

There were so many questions about this situation. Where did Ryou get it from? Was he able to read the text? Wasn't he aware of the evil aura soaking the papyrus? Why did he use it? What was so important for this moron to bring such great danger down on himself? For sure Ryou didn't even try to fight back. He had escaped to the soul maze and that's why Bakura woke up in his body instead of his soul-room, but what made him think he would be safe there? That evil entity had proven that there were no mental barriers that could stop its fury and if Ryou read the papyrus he should know that!

"Enough!" Bakura decided.

He was tired trying to solve too many riddles at once. He glanced down at the Millennium Ring hanging on his neck but the item stayed still.

"Wonderful. No help from your side too?" he hissed angrily and started to dress, knowing he needed something more fitting for another unexpected visit in the middle of the night than those ridiculous, striped pajamas of Ryou's.

He rolled the papyrus scroll up and put it into one of his pockets. Turning the lights off, he opened the window and simply jumped out.

"No one has ever stolen anything from the King of Thieves" he whispered harshly and headed towards a well-known direction. He needed help.

…

Yami was awake before his sleepy mind realized that he was up and in Yugi's body. The body tensed and was ready to attack if there was any need for that. Yami knew there must have been something out there so he looked around carefully.

"Great Cerberus always on guard, huh?" He heard a voice saying and Yami blinked twice before fully seeing Bakura's dark shape sitting on the windowsill. "Impressing, but I'd rather talk to that smaller, kinder version of yours. Would you be that nice and switch for a while?"

"And what makes you think I would do that?" asked Yami sharply enough for Bakura to know he wouldn't let Yugi get close to him as long as he was alive – meaning for a quite long time period.

"I think I need that sweet babbling about friendship which always makes me sick, but is useful in cases like this one. You see, it's something very important and very immediate I need to talk to him about. Your cheerful, gentle Yugi for sure wouldn't be happy to hear you restrained him from rescuing one of his precious friends. I doubt he could ever forgive you." Bakura responded with a faint smile that was way too sinister to ignore accompanied by the dangerous tone in his voice.

Seeing hesitation in those crimson eyes was more than satisfying. Oh, here I got you!, he thought, but smiled to him a little bit more just to cause another exquisitely suspicious glance. Bakura of course knew Yami cared a lot about his host. Their bond was much stronger than the one he himself shared with Ryou, but anyway watching the former pharaoh so confused and yet so distrustful was a pure pleasure for him. There was something exciting about Yami facing death with no fear and watching him now – so lost only by the hint he would make Yugi angry or sad. It's almost cute, Bakura laughed inside his head.

"Do we need to wait until sunrise before you decide what to do?" he sneered in the meantime.

"Okay. But don't forget I'll be here too. Better don't try to do anything sneaky to him or you won't leave this room. At least, not in one functional piece." Yami snarled and Bakura was sure he didn't bluff. He would make a smart remark but testing Yami's patience any longer was more than pointless, so he only nodded and watched him switching with the other boy.

"Bakura?" Yugi stretched unable to cover a sleepy yawn. For sure there couldn't be any greater contrast between him and the half-transparent shadow of Yami, fully awaken with his watchful eyes set on the night intruder. "Why are you here? It's quite late."

"Quite early, I'd rather say." replied Bakura. "I mean no harm to you, despite what the other you thinks. I forgot to get the white flag with me, but I was in a hurry so try not to kill me with that murderous look of yours, Pharaoh. I almost feel pierced and cut in half, and it's not quite comfortable for me, you know."

"Why don't you tell us what you want and leave us alone?" asked Yami, but there were no more gentleness in his voice than in his sharp, crimson eyes.

"I've lost Ryou." declared Bakura and for some seconds that felt like an eternity the only reply was silence full of disbelief and surprise.

"But… How would you?... I mean…" Yugi tried to say something, but there were so many questions in his mind he couldn't choose which one he should ask first.

"I've lost him. His soul is not with me anymore." Bakura answered dryly trying to be more precise.

"But if so, where's Ryou right now?" asked Yami, still wary and cautious.

It seems he would faster believe in Bakura's new mysterious stratagem than in a story about Ryou's soul being eaten alive by some kind of ancient, powerful being. No doubt in the past Bakura had given him a couple of reasons to think so. Their mutual hatred had defeated death surviving thousands of years only to grow even stronger in modern times. Bakura knew well that there would never be anything better than great aversion between them, but he was too proud to lower his head and beg for help. Especially his help.

"Listen, that's what I don't know and can't figure out. Our soul maze has been badly damaged in a way I don't understand by something I can't remember or recognize. I can't even say what this wretched thing did to Ryou, but…"

Bakura realized his unruly voice had started trembling again, so he took a deep breath and tried hard to stay as cynical and arrogant as he always was. He didn't miss Ryou, no way he would. He was too egoistic to care for anyone except himself. He always appreciated his own comfort more than anything else. Or at least he wished to be like that.

"Look, I badly need him back. I can't pretend I'm Ryou all the time. This being-nice-and-polite thing is a damn pain in the ass. It's definitely his part and doesn't fit my personality."

"And you came here to admit you need our help." replied Yami, a small grin on his transparent lips.

"No." growled Bakura, totally too proud to admit he was not strong and independent enough to deal with his own problems all alone. "I came here because I knew you" he pointed to the younger tri-color haired boy, "like Ryou and you'll want to find him."

"Of course we will find him and bring him home!" said Yugi with valiant brightness in his amethyst eyes.

Charming, thought Bakura. No wonder why the Pharaoh respected and protected him that much. Bakura hadn't seen anyone so smart, brave and noble for circa the last three thousand years. Probably the Millennium Puzzle felt the same – after killing and driving crazy a great amount of people it had chosen Yugi as its new owner. The only successor of the young pharaoh.

"Tell us all you know!" demanded Yugi, more than ready to help Bakura find his friend.

Bakura simply nodded once again and showed them the papyrus scroll he had found in Ryou's drawer, explaining his first impression of the evil document. Yugi lifted his hand to grab the scroll and take a better look at the text, but when his hand came close to the scroll he pulled it back, avoiding to touch it. Yami also came closer, staring at the hieroglyphic inscriptions with his arms crossed in front of his chest. From his expression Bakura could tell that he definitely didn't enjoy the view – neither the King of Thieves nor the evil papyrus being so close to his other self.

"I cannot read it." Yami said at last.

"I know. You don't even remember your own name, so how could you read hieroglyphics?" replied Bakura acidly.

"I mean, those signs aren't regular hieroglyphics." clarified Yami with the same tone. He indeed couldn't remember his name but he could read hieroglyphics such fine. "Most of them I see for the first time. And… there is something wrong with them. I just don't feel right when I'm looking at them."

"I can't recognize them, either." Yugi confirmed. He knew some basic hieroglyphics thanks to the pharaoh and his grandfather.

"I believe Yugi's grandfather might be more skillful in this matter. It was him who reached your tomb and passed successfully all the traps. Maybe he will know what kind of black sorcery this thing is and if there's any way to get Ryou back."

"Of course there must be!" said Yugi without any hesitation. The thought of not being able to save his friend was not existent. "And we will find it! Bakura, would you mind leaving the scroll here so I can ask my grandpa about it? We can meet back at school so I will tell you what he said."

"Sure, you can keep it." replied Bakura, ready to jump off the window and head back home.

"Try to be the best Ryou we've ever seen." added Yami with a lazy, but rather diabolic smile. "And better study something about the Edo period. His class has a pretty difficult history exam today. Good luck! You'll need it!"