Yu-Gi-Oh!

True Night

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! This is part of my post-series Pendulum Swings verse, although it goes back and forth between two points within it. I read the novel version of Bad End Night and found it very plunnying. I wanted to write a YGO fic inspired by it. There are certainly some plot similarities, but also differences too—I hope enough to make it clearly its own thing.

Chapter One

He was running down the street, fighting off tears that insisted on falling. He blinked, but they only came all the more.

He was tired of this. So tired and frustrated and hurt. The words from the others were still ringing in his ears, as well as his responses. He had just gone into the Turtle Game Shop, looking for some cards and wanting to see the others, hoping they could have a friendly conversation, and instead . . . instead . . .

They had all been standing there when Bakura had entered. They had froze in place, as though they were criminals caught in the process of planning a crime. Uncomfortable, Bakura had looked from one to the other and finally spoke.

"Have I intruded on a private conversation?"

They had all looked at each other.

"Bakura, we all got together and we decided we're still worried about you living with that guy," Tristan had said. "We just can't trust him."

For a moment Bakura had stood there dumbly, his mouth not working, just staring at the group in shock. So much had happened since then, and Yami Bakura was just getting better from Yami Marik having tortured him, and now this?

Yugi had actually looked a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Bakura," he had said. "I know you said that he saved you when you met that serial killer the White Death. . . ."

"And he did!" Bakura had cried, shaking himself out of his daze.

"Yeah, but maybe he had an ulterior motive for doing it," Tristan had said. "Just think about it! He always did before."

"You don't really know why he did all of the things he did," Bakura had retorted. "And honestly, why is there so much concern now? Why is it that an ancient spirit has to be involved before anyone pays me the slightest bit of attention?!"

Everyone had flinched.

"Bakura . . ." Téa had stammered. "It's . . . it's not like that. . . ."

"You only think about me when Yami is causing trouble, or when you think he's going to," Bakura had said. He hadn't known where all those bottled-up feelings of pain and hurt were coming from, but now that the dam had broke, he couldn't hold it back. Nor had he wanted to.

"Hey!" Joey had cried. "That is absolutely not true!"

"So how many times did you invite me to do things with you, either before or after Yami left?" Bakura had shot back. "I can count them on one hand. And I was never invited on your adventures. Oh, I understand, you were either too worried about what Yami would do or I was out of sight, out of mind for you. And had you asked, I probably would have said No in order to protect you from Yami. But that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt that I wasn't even asked. Yami paid more attention to me than any of you did. And now that he's back and is trying hard to be good, he is still the one with whom I am the closest."

"And that's another reason why we're worried," Joey had spoke up. "You're around him so much, what the heck are you going to be picking up from him?"

Tristan had nodded. "You've always been a nice guy, Bakura, but if you're mixing with him all the time, maybe some of his personality is going to rub off on you. None of us want to see that."

"And it's not possible that some of my personality could rub off on him?" Bakura had shot back. "I have learned from him, it's true. But I've learned to stand up for myself, not how to be vengeance-driven." His voice lowered. "Anyway . . . I can't say I think he's entirely wrong on his thoughts of vengeance, and I thought that long before I ever met him."

That had stunned the others into silence.

"Bakura," Téa had stammered, and then hadn't known how to continue.

"I've shocked you, haven't I?" Bakura had said. "Well, I can't blame you. I never showed you that side of my personality before. I didn't think you'd understand. I suppose I was right."

"If we could just talk . . ." Tristan had finally found his voice again.

Bakura had started to turn away. "I do appreciate your concern for me. But quite frankly, I don't think any of you have the right to hold a committee meeting on what to do about Yami and me as though you can up and take care of the problem! He hasn't hurt any of you and he's not going to. Therefore, it's not your business and you don't have the right to make it so, thank you very much!" And he had turned, running out of the Game Shop.

"Bakura!" Tristan had yelled. "Bakura, wait!"

Yugi hadn't budged. "You know, guys," he had said quietly, "he really has a point. Me and Téa weren't really in on this, Tristan. You and Joey were just talking on your own and then you came over here to talk to us about it."

"But you were worried too, Yug," Joey had protested.

"I know I was," Yugi had said, "and part of me still is. But I've seen how Yami Bakura has rallied from being around Bakura after Yami Marik broke him. I don't think he could have come back to himself like that if he didn't really love Bakura. Bakura's right, we don't have the right to try to interfere with that."

Bakura had heard that, but it hadn't made him want to go back. He just wanted to get home.

"I never would have thought things would be this way," he said softly to no one. "I wanted him gone so much. Yet when he was gone, I wanted the silence to go even more. And it didn't . . . not until he came back. Now, we've become so close. I know I love him. And all I want now is to get back to him."

The last thing he expected was for Yami Marik to suddenly appear in his path, veins bulging and eyes bloodshot with his anticipation. "Is that so?"

Bakura stumbled to a halt, his heart racing. "Oh! Oh my. . . ."

"What's this I hear?" Yami Marik taunted. "Trouble in paradise? Well, let's see what we can do to make it worse, shall we?"

Bakura took a step back. "No! I won't let you!"

"You don't have a choice." A ball of dark energy formed in Yami Marik's hands. And even as Bakura frantically turned and ran, it struck him in the back and he went down. The last thing he heard was the fiend's mad cackling . . . and everyone else screaming as he fell.

xxxx

Yami Bakura sat in the living room windowseat, pondering. It was his favorite place to think, and right now he had a great deal to think about.

Everything had changed so much. He had changed so much. . . .

When he had first come back to Bakura, literally in tatters from Zorc being pulled free of his spirit after three thousand years, he had been hurt and confused, not really understanding who he was anymore and still feeling prideful despite it all. At least, prideful enough to continue denying his love for Bakura.

Or was it pride, really? He had been genuinely perplexed at his feelings during the White Death mess. He hadn't remembered what it was to love.

He was still a gruff soul, of course. Prideful too, at times. But Yami Marik had all but stripped that pride away during those long days of torture and torment. Yami Bakura had had no choice but to be at Bakura's mercy for his recovery. He had had to admit that he couldn't do it alone.

Something had changed between them then. They had recognized each other as brothers. Their last walls of defense had come down and they had embraced those roles.

He was more open now. He freely admitted what he had once denied and not understood: his love for the boy. In turn, Bakura trusted him with all his heart and soul. He was strong, standing up for his loved ones.

They were a strange pair, but genuine.

"Yami?"

He looked up with a start. Bakura was coming into the room from upstairs. He looked downright shaken.

"What is it?" Yami Bakura frowned.

Bakura came and sat next to him, his hands on his knees. "I . . . I know it's ridiculous," the boy said softly. "I just had a terrible dream. But what's far worse is that it . . . really doesn't feel like it was a dream. . . ."

"Well, what on Earth was it?" Yami Bakura demanded.

Bakura shifted. "It seemed to have happened several months ago, after you recovered from Yami Marik torturing you. Yugi and the others . . . well, they got together to have a meeting about what to do about you, Yami, and about me letting you live here. I stumbled on it and they started talking to me, and . . . well, I got so angry I finally blurted out a lot of horrible, hurtful things that I'd been keeping inside. Then I turned and ran out, and . . . I ran right into Yami Marik. He . . . he shot me down with some kind of dark energy." He looked down. "It was terrible."

Yami Bakura stared at him, stunned. "None of that could have happened," he objected. "We would remember it."

"I know that's logical." Bakura nodded and leaned back, but he still looked troubled. "I just have this horrible feeling, though. . . . It just keeps feeling like it was a memory, not a dream."

"That's nonsense," Yami Bakura grunted.

Bakura tensed. "You'd tell me if it really happened, wouldn't you, Yami? I know you like to try to hold things back if you think it would be too upsetting for me to hear."

"If it really happened, Bakura, you would see it in my eyes," Yami Bakura insisted. "I wouldn't be able to restrain myself from showing my hatred towards that demon."

The boy began to relax. "Yes, that makes sense," he agreed. "Thank you, Yami. I'm sorry that I troubled you."

Yami Bakura scowled. "You didn't."

Only now he was more shaken than he was willing to admit. Bakura's story did hit something in his heart. Something about it did feel real, for some reason. It felt like he knew it was true, somewhere inside himself, but he couldn't for the life of him draw out the memories.

Bah, now he knew how Duke must have felt when he started regaining memories of a life he didn't remember. But this couldn't be like that. The gem Duke had used to reset the past was gone. It couldn't have been used to heal Bakura and wipe memories of them and everyone else.

Anyway, he was really getting paranoid, wasn't he? Bakura tells me a nightmare and I think it's true? Of all the asinine, inane, foolish . . .

He trailed off. His heart was hurting now.

He looked to Bakura, who was gazing off into the distance and seemed lost to everything around him. That demon likes making me believe I've lost him. But I haven't, blast it! He's right here. He's fine. And he's going to stay fine.

"We were all trapped."

Bakura spoke so suddenly that Yami Bakura was jarred out of his thoughts. "What?!"

"In a dark shadow of . . . somewhere. Was it Kaiba's mansion? The Castle of Dark Illusions?"

". . . Dark Sanctuary," Yami Bakura whispered. "The castle of Dark Sanctuary."

Bakura jumped a mile and spun around to face him. "You do remember, Yami!" he cried. "It was real!"

Yami Bakura looked back at him, shaken. "It can't be real. It can't be. . . ."

"Well . . ." Bakura tried to smile. "Even if it is, it's all over now, isn't it? It doesn't matter anymore."

"It must matter or it wouldn't have happened," Yami Bakura retorted. "We wouldn't be remembering pieces of it. It matters." He sat up straight.

Bakura shuddered. "It's all very disturbing." He paused. "If it really happened, I wonder if Yugi and the others are remembering things too. . . ."

A shrug. "You could always call and ask them."

Bakura nodded and started to push himself up. "I think I will."

xxxx

At the Muto residence above the Turtle Game Shop, Yugi jumped a mile as he flopped over on his desk and abruptly woke up. "Oh!"

Atem, who was reading a book across the room, also jumped. "Yugi? Are you alright?"

Yugi slumped back in the chair. "I . . . I don't know. . . . That was really weird. . . . I was dreaming, and yet it seemed like it was something that actually happened. But that's crazy . . . isn't it?"

"Not necessarily." Atem set the book aside. "What were you dreaming?"

Yugi stared up at the ceiling as he gathered his thoughts. "The gang and I had an argument with Bakura. We were worried about Yami Bakura being around and Bakura got upset and said we only paid attention to him when it had something to do with Yami Bakura. He ran off upset . . . and then we found him lying on the sidewalk. . . ."

Joey caught up to the fallen boy first. "Bakura?! What the heck did that creep do?!" He dropped to his knees next to Bakura when there was no reply. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" He grabbed Bakura's shoulder. "Are you okay?!"

The others ran up almost simultaneously. "What happened?!" Téa cried.

"I don't know!" Joey exclaimed. "We all saw that freakazoid shoot Bakura down with some kind of dark energy! Now he's not getting up!"

Yugi reached and touched his fingers to Bakura's neck. "No . . . !" He rocked back in horror.

Tristan just stared. "Are you saying he's . . . ?!"

"What's going on here?!"

Everyone started and looked up at the sound of the gruff voice. Yami Bakura was standing on the sidewalk, his hands on his hips, staring at the scene.

"Oh . . ." Yugi swallowed hard. "It's Bakura. . . . He's . . ."

"What happened to Bakura?!" Yami Bakura boomed. He ran over, pushing Yugi aside as he dropped to his knees. When he touched his fingers to Bakura's neck, he went sheet-white. "Why isn't someone performing artificial respiration or CPR?!" He gripped Bakura's shoulder, turning him onto his back. But just as he was bending over Bakura to try artificial respiration himself, a shadow fell across their paths.

"That won't help."

Everyone looked up with a jerk.

"You!" Tristan roared, seeing Yami Marik standing over them with crossed arms and a cruel sneer.

Yami Bakura went stiff, staring up at the fiend with utter hatred. "You did this," he snarled. "You came back from the depth of the shadows to murder this innocent boy! If I can't revive him, you're going to wish you'd stayed in the shadows!" He bent over Bakura, desperate for the medical aid to succeed in reviving him.

Tristan got to his feet. "I'm gonna slug you one right now!"

Yami Marik stood still, letting Tristan punch him. Then he grinned wildly, the veins popping out across his face. "Yes! Your hatred feels so good! Give me more of it!"

Yugi stood up now, outraged and indignant. "What did you do to Bakura?!" he demanded.

"It doesn't really matter." Yami Marik leered at him. "What matters is, do you care enough to save him by playing my game?"

"What game, you palm tree haired freak?!" Joey shouted.

"You think this is a game?!" Téa exclaimed in indignation.

Yami Bakura paused in his attempt at artificial respiration. "Tell me how to save Bakura and I will do it," he said darkly.

"You'll have to go to the Duel Monsters' dimension," Yami Marik grinned. "And you'll have to stay trapped in a location of my choosing and replay events over and over again until you get it right and save Bakura in that world. If you do, the spell will be broken and you'll all be brought back here and Bakura will be alright in this dimension as well."

"I know there must be a lot more to it than that," Yugi said darkly.

"Oh, there is," Yami Marik promised. "And you'll learn all about that, if you agree to play my game."

"We don't have any way of knowing that you will keep your word," Yugi said.

"It's a Shadow Game," Yami Marik said. "You know how those work. If you win, you win! I can't twist that rule; I didn't make it!"

"He's right," Yami Bakura said. "And I have no choice. Yes, I will play your game. I will save Bakura no matter what it takes."

"So will I," Yugi declared.

The others echoed their assent.

"But Shadow Game or not, I still don't trust you," Joey added.

"Oh, I'm crushed," Yami Marik mocked. "Very well then! Let the ultimate Shadow Game—True Night—begin!"

The scenery began to waver and change.

"And that's where I woke up," Yugi finished. "I don't get it at all, but I don't like it." He shuddered.

Atem looked haunted. "I always knew you would start regaining your memories of that dark time at some point, Yugi. I'm sorry you are, but on the other hand, perhaps you would rather remember."

The boy started, looking to his ancestor in shock. "Huh?! It's real, and you already knew about it?!"

"Yes." Atem nodded. "I was watching over all of you from the afterlife back then. I wanted to interfere so badly, and yet I couldn't. And I wanted to believe that you would all come through that horror with flying colors, even without me there. Of course, you did."

"So, what happened?" Yugi exclaimed. "And why did we all forget?!"

Atem gave a heavy sigh. "Why don't we find out if the others are starting to remember as well? It will be a long and complicated story, one I would rather only tell once."

"That's fine with me." Yugi reached for the phone. "I'll call everyone."