Ryou Bakura sits on his couch in his apartment, away from everyone watching his favorite movies.

"My friends, you bow to no one." Says the character on the screen, and then he and his elven bride, as well as his kingdom, bow to the hero's of the story

Ryou smiles, He loves the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Although, he can't seem to keep his eyes open any longer. He shuts of the TV and closes his eyes. Strange, very strange, how much he and Frodo have in common. Both burdened by an evil ring possessed by spirits. His was different though, his was possessed by two equally evil entities. One the scarred ancient Egyptian tomb robber, who's village was slaughtered and who had sought revenge, the other a dark god, who ruled over and thrived in the shadows. Ryou recalls the constant pain and torture that "Bakura", as they had called him to tell the difference, inflicted upon his mind and body.

Two separate minds eating and clawing in his mind.

Driving him to the brink of insanity.

Threatening to push him over the edge.

He shudders at the thoughts and opens his eyes. It's all over now, no millennium items, no spirits, no more pain. He strips out of his clothes and puts on his pajamas before he crawls into bed. Somewhat afraid to go to sleep, he shoves the thoughts into the back of his head and rolls over.

Cackling, evil laughter sending familiar icy chills down his spine, he opens his eyes to the pitch darkness of his room at night. It's his imagination. It must be! Bakura is gone, long dead.

"I shouldn't think about it if I ever want to sleep again." Ryou mumbles into his pillow, but he finds himself unable to find rest. He gets out of bed to grab a glass. He was covered in a cold sweat from the dream. That's what it was, just a dream.

He walks to the bathroom and fumbles with the switch. He runs cold water in his hands and splashes it over his face. Once. Twice. Three times. He runs his fingers through his snowy hair a few times to get out the tangles of the short sleep. He fills the cup with water and brings it to his lips, leaning against the wall.

"Damn" he says as he leans on the light switch and shuts off the lights. He turns them back on and then turns to face the mirror. His brown eyes widen at a sight that made him nauseous . His stomach churns, his heart starts to pound hard against his ribcage, he feels a scream build in his throat but doesn't seem to be able to pass through his lips. Fear sinks its claws into his insides as he feels his body go numb as he finds himself unable to hold onto the glass, it falls and shatters on the ground. Looking back at him were the cold, black eyes of Bakura.

"Foolish host," hisses the dark shadow god, "Did you think that you could be rid of me that easily?"

"No…" whimpers Ryou, as no other words were able to come out of his mouth, "No! No! NO!"

Slowly the figures hands reach out of the glass and grab the edge of the counter, slowly until he was out to his waist gazing down at the boy who once was, and will once again, be his host. He slinks back into the mirror so he is standing, removing his shirt to show the millennium ring, grotesquely forming from out from under his skin. Ryous breath trembles, he tries to run out of the bathroom, but the door knob wouldn't budge. He slides to the floor and tries to scramble back, slicing the palms of his hands on the fragmented glass shards. He feels no physical pain, oh no, the fear is overpowering all other senses. He feels everything and nothing all at once. the pale, spectral hands reach out grab his shoulders

A single agonized scream was all he could muster before his vision faded and he fell into the blackness.