Inside The Fire
Ryou blamed himself for his sister's death. He always did, though he never told anyone, he made up for it by writing letters to his sister every night to keep her posted while she rested in Heaven. He remembered how it happened. Him and his sister were playing soccer with some of the neighborhood kids in the street when a big truck came plowing though. Their mother ran to get Amane while Ryou and the other children ran to the other side of the street. He looked around for his mother and sister in case they also escaped but didn't find them on his side. He flinched when he heard the high-pitch screech of tires and the screams of two females that will haunt him for the rest of his life. He knew that when his time came he'd hear that sound as his time will one day come for him as well.
Hahahahahah!
Ooh, Devon!
Won't go to heaven!
She's just another lost soul
About to be mine again!
Bakura laughed insanely from the very first day the millennium ring came into his possession for a great number of reasons. The first was of course that he had finally regained his freedom and a chance to live on in a new host and re-initiate his long time goal. The next was that following night he had taken the chance to look into Ryou's mind to see every thing that has, and is on his mind. How lonely the boy has been since the day his sister and mother died. How socially awkward he turned out to be when his father began to neglect him and the boy had started to write letters to Amane in Heaven to make up for the time she'll never have on Earth. Ryou was a pathetic human if he ever saw one. Sure he was like that when he was human but now that he traded his soul to become a demon god Bakura had no time for sympathy even if it was for his new incarnated body
Leave her!
We will receive her!
It is beyond your control
Will you ever meet again?
Over time Bakura learned some new things about Ryou and the world that he had lost for the three thousand years he was locked away in the millennium ring. How people invented new advanced pieces of technology called cars, planes, Tvs, movies, DVDs, and so on. Another thing he discovered was that Ryou was a part of the "Christian" religion that focused solely on the worship of one God. What ever happened to the three thousand or so god's that he once believed in? What made things more interesting is that Heaven is the place where if you've been good and sinless all your life then God will let you live there for eternity. And Hell is where you'll rot if you've committed horrible, and unforgivable sins. Bakura laughed thinking that this religion was much more interesting than the ancient Egyptian one. Back then there was an Underworld where dead souls will go to, but never before have they thought of places sinners and sinless people would go to. It all just circled on the belief that the gods will punish you through the Pharaoh or the land itself. The thought of having eternal punishment just made things too interesting for Bakura and it gave him more and more ideas on how to manipulate his fragile host Ryou.
Devon! From eleven!
Was rendered un-whole as a little child!
She was taken! And then forsaken!
You will remember it all,
Let it run through your mind again!
Ryou hadn't noticed at first as he doesn't remember his dreams very well but the majority of them now have become centered around his sister Amane. It started from peaceful remembrances such as the day their parents brought her home from the hospital after she was born, to the times where they would play house in the backyard. But slowly but surely they have become more grotesque and horrifying. He remembered how when she was smaller she'd want him to look under her bed and in her closet for the "boogey man" and he apparently found this black demon in her closet. He was so scared, and he kept telling himself over and over to wake up but it did nothing.
"You killed her…" The demon said. Ryou was even more shocked than before.
"No she's alive! See!" He said turning around but then the scene automatically changed to when the truck had run over Amane and their mother killing them both.
"You chose your life over her's… She died because of you… You sent her to hell thanks to you…" The demon whispered more and more. Ryou was by now frozen stiff in fear and wanted so badly to run away and escape this nightmare but couldn't. It was horrible…
The body of his mother shifted and moved as if something was moving it away, and his sister crawled out from underneath her. Her head was caved in, there was blood absolutely every where, and Ryou felt like vomiting now.
"Why… Why didn't you save me?" Ryou woke up screaming.
Devon lies beyond this portal
Take the word of one immortal!
Give your soul to me, for eternity!
Release your life!
To begin another time with her!
Bakura wasn't quite surprised that as Ryou got older he would take an interest into the occult. He hadn't told anyone in his family about it but he to secretly bought a Ouija board so he could try to communicate with his sister to see if she truly resented him for her death. The stupid thing worked as the spirit of Amane actually showed up when he put his hand on the compass and started asking questions. When he asked if she was there, she pointed to yes. When Ryou asked another question relating to how she was doing Bakura took control before things could get any worse. He grabbed the girl and sent her to the Shadow Realm before she could answer the question. Then Bakura simply pretended to be the ghost of his sister and began moving the compass every time Ryou asked a question. When he asked if she was in Heaven Bakura moved the compass to "No" and spelt out the word "Hell", shocking Ryou much more than was needed. Ryou panicked and with shaking hands moved the compass back to the center and forced an "I-I'm so sorry! Is there anything I can do?"
Bakura smirked and placed the compass over to "Yes", and spelt out "You can join me". Confused and frightened to see how dark his sister had gotten he asked what she meant by that. Bakura then spelt out Hell again, implying that Ryou would either kill himself as that was apparently a ticket to Hell or sell his soul to the Devil. Ryou through away the Ouija board into the trash that night.
End your grief with me
There's another way
Release your life!
Take your place
Inside the fire with her!
Amane remembered being summoned by Ryou to come talk to her and see if everything was all right. She had never seen her older brother so shaken up before. It made her nervous. She then thought on how happy he would be if he found out that she still loved him and really appreciated the letters he wrote to her every night. It started off easy of course. Ryou asked if Amane Bakura was in the room and she moved the compass towards "Yes". She was happy to see her tired looking brother's face smile for what could've been a long time. When Ryou asked if she was doing okay she was about to point to "Yes" again only to have another spirit in the room to grab her and force her into the darkness. She was horrified as she was lost and didn't know where that spirit had sent her. After what felt like hours the spirit showed up in her brother's form while she was crying.
"Aw, what's wrong?" He asked sympathetically as if he wasn't the cause of her misfortune. She turned around and looked the other in the eye to be surprised to see her brother there. But then her brother wouldn't look so horrible like he was enjoying seeing her afraid. No… She knew right away that it wasn't her brother.
"What are you? Why have you taken me here?" She asked looking at the other in disbelief. How could one separate her from her brother when they haven't spoken in four years?
"Don't you recognize me?" He asked looking offended in a way that Ryou might seem when someone hurts his feelings but it won't work. She may have died young but she knew better.
"My brother would never send me to this hellish place!" She shrieked. The spirit seemed un-amused but smirked anyway.
"It's not quite Hell, dear. No this is actually called the Shadow Realm. It's an eternal dark abyss where lost souls go to. Similar to Hell, but there people are tortured for eternity. In here you are lost in the darkness forever until I decide otherwise." He smiled in a way that didn't look natural on Ryou's face. Shaken Amane continued.
"What are you going to do with me?"
"I'll keep you here for now, but I'll use you to convince your brother Ryou to join my side. It'll be easier now that you're here."
"My brother would never listen to jerks like you!"
"We'll see about that…" And with that he left without another word.
Sever! Now and forever!
You're just another lost soul about to be mine again!
See her! You'll never free her!
You must surrender it all into the night to me again!
Fire! From the desire!
As she begins to turn cold and you run out of time!
You will shiver! 'Till you deliver
You remember it all through your mind again!
Ryou's depression hasn't gotten any better since that incident. He heard bad things happen to people when they try Ouija boards so he guessed that it must be karma or something. He hated to say this but as he got older his faith in God has gotten weaker. He stopped going to church, he quit reading the Bible and he began focusing more of his time doing homework, and learning about the game Monster World. How was he supposed to know that people would go to the hospital comatose? He figured it had to do with him not doing what Amane wanted from him. Should he really go to Hell with her? Sure his faith was waning and his interest in the occult was growing stronger but the thought of burning in Hell frightened him even more.
When his father came to visit from Egypt he noticed his son changing for the worse and asked him if he was really all right. Ryou didn't want to tell him that he was losing faith in God and that he became interested into the occult as his father was a strict Christian. He told him he was fine, and when the went to church that Sunday Ryou simply pretended to be interested. Ironically the pastor did a sermon of losing loved ones and trying to keep your faith despite the pain. Ryou decided to stay for a few minutes after church and prayed to God to give him an answer to all of his tormented feelings. That night he had another Amane related nightmare.
Devon lies beyond this portal!
Take the word of one immortal!
Give your soul to me! For eternity!
Release your life to begin another time with her!
End your grief with me
There's another way!
Release your life!
Take your place inside the fire with her!
In the nightmare there was another boy that looked like him standing next to a window with his sister Amane banging on the glass trying to get out. First thing he did was run up to the glass and try and break it open so he could get his sister out. The boy next to him laughed lowly and Ryou turned slowly to him.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you." He said raising his index finger, waving it back and forth the way a parent would discipline a child when they did something wrong. Ryou felt a chill up his spine from his voice.
"Why not…?" He asked slowly trying to be careful with what he should say.
"Because if you do, then your sister will burn in hell, and you'll die instantly." Ryou shook physically as he felt tears well up in his eyes. He can't reunite with his sister? Why? What did she do? Than Ryou remembered that it was a dream. After a while of having some nightmares you begin to take some control of it. For Ryou he tried pulling himself away from the situation but couldn't move. He was stuck no matter how hard he tried!
"That won't work. You see I'm here to make a deal. And no I am not the Devil or his servant. In fact I'm something much worse…" He mused hovering over Ryou with a predatory smile on his face.
"Th-this is a dream…" He voiced aloud, not only trying to convince himself of that but also thinking that it might make things more easy to deal with.
"Maybe to you, but actually this 'dream' has a twist. Everything you do is real, and your sister is really in trouble right now. Now unless you don't want to see her suffer I suggest you do as I say." Ryou looked at Amane from behind the glass who was crying now. A few years ago she told him that she was in hell and wanted him to go with her. Now this boy here is telling him that she's on the verge of going to hell unless he does what he wants. This didn't make sense. The boy must of heard his thoughts as he smiled again.
"She wasn't truly in hell at the time. I just took her away from your conversation back then and decided to use her as a bargaining chip. I just took over and started talking to you for her." Ryou heard enough. He didn't want to hear anymore of how so easily tricked he was. He should've known that a damn Ouija board was a bad idea if this were too happen. He lifted up his fist and was prepared to strike the spirit but he caught it. He bent Ryou's wrist backward in a painful angle that made Ryou fall to his knees trying to get away from the him.
Take it away, Yeah!
"Are you ready to listen? If you want your sister to rest in peace you must give yourself up to me both spiritually and physically. Just give me your body and I'll handle the rest. Don't worry, nothing bad will happen to you or your sister. Just do as I say and everything will be fine." Ryou glanced up at Amane who was crying and shaking her head "no." Did she hear there conversation? Ryou wished he could hear what she was saying right now.
"What's in it for me?" Ryou asked. He didn't want to sound convinced but the spirit knew anyway and grinned devilishly.
"Why, I've already been doing my part of the deal. Didn't you know that every time someone bullied you they would leave you alone the next day? Or when you thought of playing with your friends forever? I'd fulfilled your wish every single day in advance for this. And I'll continue to do so as long as you do as I say" Ryou was shocked to have to find out this way. Everyone was afraid of him because of the spirit! But did he really want to risk having Amane and him suffer forever? He wanted to say no but he didn't want Amane to go to Hell.
"Then we have a deal." He let go of Ryou's fist. The window blocking Amane faded away and she ran into his arms crying. Ryou held her close and comforted her the way he should've for the past ten years. He looked to the spirit wanting to say that he didn't make a deal but the spirit smiled in a satisfied way. "You didn't have to. You're heart said it for you." It was then that everything began to slowly fade away as Amane's sobs blended in with the spirits laughter before he woke up. When he rubbed his eyes to wake himself up he realized that he too was crying.
He got up to go to the bathroom to wash his face before he felt a shooting pain in his chest. He opened his shirt to see what's wrong. How was he to know that the millennium ring his father gave him would pierce underneath the skin on his chest. He thought it was because he might have been tossing in his sleep but he heard a whispering voice saying something about putting their contract in "writing". Ryou was so scared and he didn't know what to do about the needles piercing his chest. He's never been so scared before and in that moment he actually felt like he made a deal with the Devil himself.
Give your soul to me, for eternity.
Release your life to begin another time with her!
End your grief with me, there's another way!
Release your life! Take your place inside the fire with her!
Bakura watched on with a satisfied grin on his face. Now that Ryou has agreed to listen to him he has nothing else to worry about. When Ryou woke up he sent Amane to the Shadow Realm, permanently this time. He had no need for her so what good was she to him now? He was bluffing the entire time and hadn't quite expect Ryou to believe it all but it went all better than he hoped. He had nothing to worry about as Ryou began to do some research on the millennium items that his father was looking for. Yep. Things couldn't get any better than this.
Ooh, Devon! Won't go to Heaven!
He was rendered un-whole as a little child!
He was taken, and then forsaken!
You will remember it all
And let it run through your mind again
Mwahahahahahhahahah!