Special notes for this chapter: Fans of X/1999 might be able to get a jump on Malik's bizarre injuries. Then again maybe not. Its something to think about. Also, I really wanted to have Bakura a line from Scrubs, but alas, it would have been horrifically out of character. So I'll just quote it up here.

You know what people are generally? Bastards. Bastard coated bastards with bastard filling.. Dr. Cox

I feel better

Disclaimer: YuGiOh belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, and always will. I'm just borrowing the characters.

----

For reasons eh couldn't place, there was an uneasy tension in Yuugi's gut. Something bad was happening somewhere. Atemu? It had been several hours since the king had gone, and night had fallen since. But Seto was with him. And Yuugi's teacher was powerful and levelheaded if not always kind. Still, he was worried. He needed something to take his mind off of things. He needed a friend. But Jonouchi would be out on the night watch. As much as he kidded and as brashly as he acted, he was a good soldier truly devoted to the people. He wouldn't let the dark go unwatched when things were still so unstable. That only left one other person.

Slipping out from the tangle of sheets Yuugi padded down the hall, down a flight of stairs, until the sleeping quarters of his fellow mages were far behind him. None of them were truly acquainted. Seto kept them all too busy and sleep deprived for friendships to develop. That left out seeking comfort there. It had been a hard go of things. Many of the Palace's subjects refused to talk to him, though he wasn't sure why. They glared at him and the puzzle he wore around his neck. The puzzle that Atemu had given him when the attacks had become worse. This will keep you safe, should you ever be in danger. He'd looked so fierce that Yuugi couldn't possibly have refused the gift. It clearly was important to him. Was it somehow valuable? It was gold, yes, but no more so than any other jewelry worn by the royal court. Truthfully Yuugi had only worn it outside his room in the wake of the most recent attack. It was heavy, but it made him feel better. Another question for another day.

Outside of the room he heard the tap-tap-tap of feet keeping time, proof that Anzu was awake. He knocked gently on the wall outside the door before entering, pushing back the thick purple curtain that served as a door. There was his first friend, lost in the music that only she could hear. "Anzu?" He settled himself onto the steps that led to the lowered center of the room, experienced enough to know that he would have to wait until his friend came out of her reverie. He crossed his arms over his knees and settled his head on them, waiting. A few minutes later she returned, her fiery blue eyes surprised that Yuugi had seemingly appeared in her room. Yuugi waved slightly.

Anzu smiled, coming to sit beside him on the steps. "I haven't seen you in a while. Is everything all right?" She placed her slender hand over his, marveling at how similar in size they were. Her great skill was in comfort, and Yuugi in particular was no mystery to her. "Is Atemu all right?" She asked this with the tiniest bit of urgency in her voice. Atemu and Jonouchi were the twin pillars of Yuugi's world. Only they could cast such a long shadow on his face.

Yuugi sighed, uncrossing his arms. "I don't know." He said finally. "I have a bad feeling, but I'm not sure why." He was hesitant to tell Anzu of Atemu and Seto's conversation, and he remembered it only hazily anyway. So he only shrugged, hoping their bond would allow for some reassurance despite the lack of information.

Anzu started to do just that, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry Yuugi. I'm sure that you're worrying for nothing. Things look bad right now, but you'll see. Jonouchi told me once that they call Atemu 'The Invincible Soldier'. No one's ever been able to hurt him." She looked as if she were going to say more, but her eyes flitted over the golden puzzle around Yuugi's neck. A look of distress crossed her face for the barest second. She stood. "I'm sorry Yuugi. I have something I need to do. My dance still needs work, and," she smiled apologetically. "will you be all right?"

Yuugi nodded, standing to go. "I'm sorry that I bothered you so late. Thank you." Anzu waited until the curtain returned to stillness, and Yuugi's small shadow couldn't be seen behind it. Only then did the smallest tear escape her eyes. It had been wrong of her to hope, and to feel as unhappy as she did right now when Yuugi must be so happy. It was wrong, but it was still how she felt. She opened the curtain herself, slipping out onto the dark. Suddenly the dance wasn't so important any more. Not much was.

Her small steps broke into a run once the night sky was overhead. Anzu aimed for the most deserted place that she knew, a small rampart that gave a breathtaking view of the small town outside the walls. Despite the view it was strategically useless-soldiers became sitting ducks, with no way to quickly contact other units and thus serve as an effective watch. Yuugi had shown it to her. "The magic is amplified here!" He'd smiled, waving a few sparks and butterflies from his fingers for her amusement. Anzu leaned against the low wall, breathing hard and crying softly. "I tried so hard so that he'd notice me. Why didn't he notice me?"

"Hey, you're going to wake the whole castle with a sob story like that." Luckily for the person behind her the teasing was soften by a genuinely concerned voice.

"Go away Jonouchi." She wiped her eyes, deliberately keeping her back turned to him. "Can't you go just one day without bothering me?" Silently she was grateful for his brusque sense of comfort. She found it more helpful than Yuugi's sympathizing. Jonouchi had a way of making horrible things seem unimportant, easier to shake off.

Jonouchi kneeled beside her, keeping his eyes away from her face. If Anzu didn't want anyone to see her cry, far be it from him to ruin it. Especially since it had been an accident that he'd found her. "Someone like you shouldn't be up so high, you know. You'll dance right off the edge." Gently he coaxed Anzu into a sitting position, and took a place beside her. "So what are you doing up here?"

"Yuugi came to see me tonight." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "He was wearing the puzzle." Another tear slid down her cheek.

Jonouchi didn't seem surprised, which struck her as odd. Wasn't this generally considered to be a surprising occurrence? She waited for him to speak. "I'm sorry Anzu. I know how you feel about the king." He said it as if that were the only matter to discuss.

She leaned over to see into his face. "But the king is supposed to give that puzzle to his betrothed! If he gave it to Yuugi, then what about an heir? What about the tradition of thousands of years?"

Jonouchi shrugged, tracing one boot along the mortar on the stone floor. "I stay happy for my friend by not thinking about it too hard. And, no offense, but I'm not really surprised."

She shot him a murderous look. "Because I'm a dancer, right? I could never possibly be good enough for Atemu because I'm nothing more than a step above whores!" She started to stand, to storm off, but Jonouchi put his hand on top of hers.

"You're a great person Anzu. Its just that he gave his heart away a long time ago." He looked up at the stars to hide the faint pink on his face, and Anzu followed his lead. All wasn't right with the world of the heart, but it was getting there.

---

A few hours earlier….

Malik had found Ryou deceptively heavy, and he was panting by the time he reached his own small living quarters. Never mind that it was the longer way around, he was damned if he was going to spend any more time around anything that might belong to, or have been touched by Bakura. So, his place it was. He'd left Ryou on the bank long enough to scrounge a piece of clothing for him. It was a dress, granted, but there wasn't much to go around in a thieves' village and, Malik had reasoned, Ryou was certainly feminine enough to pull it off. It was more a robe than a dress anyway, long and sweeping and a pale green color. Malik had even cut small, ragged holes in the back to accommodate Ryou's wings. It had been a headache even to do that.

"Those wings must add twenty pounds." He grumbled, settling down on the floor to watch over Ryou. He was still, too still. It was eerily like when they'd found him. Was he dead? Malik no longer felt the traces of Bakura's magic around the white-haired boy. Without that there didn't seem to be much of an essence to the form on the bed. The air around him was perfectly clear, untainted by magic. No, that wasn't right. Malik recognized a bit of his own aura hovering low over the body. But it was traveling upward at a steady pace, then dissipating. Ryou was leaking magic. "Damn iiiiiiiiit." Death was no longer good enough for Bakura. This was grounds for maiming of an extreme degree. And then death. HE pushed his unruly hair out of his eyes, still swearing. "Okay. Ryou is leaking magic." He spoke to himself slowly, trying to reason. "If he loses it all then he'll be dead, and then I'll be dead when Bakura gets back. But he can absorb magic," he groaned, though it was more halfhearted than anything. Who was around to hear him if he didn't mind, anyway? "through touch. Or, kissing anyway. Okay."

Breathing shallowly he leaned over Ryou, but couldn't quite bring himself to close the final few centimeters between their lips. What was the big deal? Are you afraid that you're going to enjoy it? A traitorous voice whispered in his head. True, Ryou had kissed him before. But that had been Ryou's doing. That hadn't counted. "I always swore I'd never be like Bakura." He whispered to the prone figure. "No stealing, no murdering, no espionage, and no men." He sighed. "I guess this is just the last rampart falling." He kissed Ryou, mouth open, trying to will his magic into the boy.

As it turned out the will was hardly necessary. Ryou's will to survive overpowered every other aspect of him. Malik felt his aura straining towards Ryou, pulled by a more powerful force. The world was beginning to look hazy. This would be the time to move. Malik struggled, but found that Ryou's small hands had locked around his back, trying to drain him of every last drop of his essence. "Ryou." He was panicked, not bothered to show it. "Let me go." Of course his words were muffled beyond comprehension due to his position. Let go let go let go he tried to will Ryou off of him, his arms slackening as they had the last time he'd been stupid enough to be helpful. So this is how I'm going to die… He mused, just as Ryou's eyes slid open.

Ryou took a second to process what was going on, why he wasn't in the river, and why Malik was barely breathing on top of him. I'm dangerous. I keep hurting Malik, but I don't remember anything! "Malik?" His voice trembled. In the very short time that he'd been in the outside world this man had become his protector, and with Ryou's limited scope of experience Malik was also the only person Ryou had chanced to become attached to, Bakura aside. He focused his sight, finding Malik's fierce purple fire all but gone. It was in his own mind now, keeping him breathing and moving. But it wasn't sticking as Bakura's had, as if his body was incapable of holding it to itself. Even the littlest movements left Ryou feeling winded.

"Malik?" He shook the blonde gently. "Don't leave me alone." Malik's aura was faint, very faint. But that soft white light was still there. "Please." He threaded his fingers through Malik's, wishing he could will the other to live. He bent forward until his lips brushed Malik's ear. "Burn brighter." He whispered to the light. "Help him wake up." The breath seemed to brush the magic, let it feed the tiniest bit. Malik stirred.

"Uh," He moaned, the drawing of breath obviously physically painful to him. Encouraged, Ryou began to whisper all the more reverently, keeping the distance between himself and Malik as small as possible. When the white light covered all of Malik's body in a subtle but pulsating glow, he abated, watching Malik open his eyes with a contented look on his face. "What happened?" Malik's face was painted with confusion. "I was floating somewhere, and then someone grabbed me, and," a hard look of concentration, "and then I was here. What did you do?"

Ryou stroked Malik's hair, a gesture lifted from an accidental memory of Malik's mother so very long ago. "I told your magic to grow, to be stronger. And it listened!" Ryou's face was all but glowing.

"You called my magic?" Malik raised his hands and, shaking though they were, failed to miss the white magic. "I haven't used white magic since I was a little kid." If Ryou had this kind of power, it wasn't a wonder that Bakura wanted him. Between absorbing magic and calling it, it would be child's play to weaken the king's army to nothing. To raise their own forces to powers unlimited. And Ryou had such a pretty face. They could sneak him into the palace as a concubine…a twang of guilt struck in Malik's stomach. Now he remembered why he'd given up white magic. The guilt was a bitch. But his shadow magic was completely gone, poured into Ryou. It would take him years to build it back up again. "That's some gift you have."

The world was coming into focus now, the one outside of Ryou's gentle features. The world that was cruel and unusual, where people were by and large bastards. Ryou was holding him, close enough that Malik's back was pressed to the boy's stomach and he could hear their hearts beating in time. He could move when he felt stronger. Right now it was just comfort that he was feeling, comfort at being held for the first time in so long. "Thank you." Malik turned his head. The words had come from Ryou's mouth, though he had meant to say them.

"For what?" What had he done to Ryou except get him very nearly killed at least twice? Unless that was somehow a compliment to him. Malik would believe anything right now.

"For protecting me. For letting me have your memories, good and bad." Oops. From the look on Malik's face he hadn't meant to share so much. Which meant Ryou had all but stolen the visions in his head. He'd done a terrible thing, even if they were out of focus. He would make it up. "What can I do?" His demeanor changed completely, from soft and comforting to eager and fiery. "What can I do to help you and Bakura? For the answers the two of you have already given me I'd do anything."

"help me onto that mat then. I could really use a nap." Malik faltered at the slightly hurt expression on Ryou's face. "Come on Ryou. You don't want to promise your life for someone that you barely know."

Ryou tapped his forehead. "But I do know! I know all about you. I know that you're brave, and smart, and kind even though you try to hide it. You miss your loved ones terribly, and even if its only at the very core of you," he shifted Malik onto the makeshift bed, taking the place on the floor, "you're really scared of what you're doing." Ryou stared hard at his knees. "I never want to see anything happen to you."

"I'll admit that you scare the hell out of me." It was a cheap shot. A really cheap shot. But it was the kind of cheap shot one doles out when words ring a little too true. "But I guess I admire you too. You're so dedicated to that crazed 'cause' in your head that you're putting your life on the line." Malik propped himself up on his elbows. "Okay. Here's what we're going to do. You're going to let me sleep until it gets dark. We'll go from there." Ryou nodded. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

---

Sunset had come and gone and as a certain mage was seeking the comfort of a friend Ryou and Malik were preparing for a trip of their own. Malik had concealed Ryou's wings beneath a heavy traveling cloak, and his white hair along with it. "You'll be dead if anyone mistakes you for Bakura for even a second. With him its stab first, questions later. Understand? You don't know either of us once you get there."

Ryou nodded, the gesture mostly hidden under folds of clothing. "Malik, how'd you get that cut on your face? I don't remember it being there before." He touched a gash near Malik's right eye. It was still red and trickling blood.

Malik shrugged, covering his own face. "Stuff like that happens to me. You'll get used to it soon enough." Assured that no one would recognize him, he took Ryou's hand and led him out into the night. "Don't try to contact either of us. I promise I'll keep you safe, but I can't do that if you act like you're on our side. They'll kill you without a second thought." It was a harsh way to present the world. Malik felt another stab of guilt. He was permanently sabotaging any positive view of humanity that Ryou might have had. Eh, all in a day's work.

When the moon had risen high overhead the palace was just barely in sight. Ryou's feet were soft and underused. At this rate it would be dawn before they reached the city, and there would be nowhere for them to hide. "Ryou, come on!" His tag along was some twenty feet behind him at the moment, whimpering softly and leaving behind bloody footprints. "Let me carry you. It'll be faster."

Ryou let Malik fold him into his arms, laying his head against his protector's shoulder. "I have a bad feeling about something." He said after a while. It must have been nearly midnight by then. "I think something happened to Bakura. It doesn't seem like him to stay away so long."

There were those eerie observations again. Not for the first time Malik second guessed himself. Was it safe to leave Ryou somewhere where someone else could use his powers? Always when this thought appeared he would stare at Ryou's face, brown eyes luminous in the dark, full of a kind of worship. No, he had nothing to worry about. "Its not the first time he's been held up. He'll come through whatever it is fine." What if he didn't? Ryou was still losing the purple aura. In a short time he wouldn't have been able to walk anyway. They needed Bakura.

Ryou felt Malik's breathing change, become more ragged. They wouldn't be able to go on like this. "Malik, you should let me down. If you're tired who will make sure we make it in okay?" The knot in his gut was tightening. Whatever was happening to Bakura was getting worse. "We need a faster way to get there." Please, let me be able to do something. Anything. The dark threatened to press in on him, close out consciousness. Ryou fought to keep his head clear. For Malik's sake he would learn to use the power that took away his awareness and memory. For Bakura's sake.

"Come on, come on." He grasped the magic leaving him with invisible hands, trying to hold it long enough to use. A long moment passed, and Ryou feared that his instinct had been wrong. There was a shooting pain in his back. He doubled over, a tear dripping down his face. "It hurts." He grasped for Malik's hand, nearly crushing the bones once he found it. And all the while he could feel his wings fluctuate and burn. When the white film of pain had cleared he stood up, leaning on Malik for support. Behind him were two sleek shapes; one white and soft, the other sleek and black. They extended to the ground, brushing it every time they moved. "I think I know how to get us there faster."

"Holy shit!" The balance had shifted, and now it was Malik clinging desperately to Ryou, who had a queasy expression on his face. Malik eyed him with concern. "I really, really don't like that you're making that face when we're more than five hundred feet from the ground."

"I don't think I like flying." Ryou whispered, scanning the ground for a place to land. He collapsed on a high tower of the castle, miraculously enough one that had just recently been vacated by two stargazers. Malik clutched his chest, panting. He didn't like flying either. Especially when the pilot kept trying to close his eyes so he wouldn't have to see the ground.

"I never," he rasped, throwing back the hood of his cloak so that his sandy hair waved in the breeze, "ever want to do that again. I don't care if Bakura's bleeding to death." He reached out for Ryou's hand again. "We have to hurry."

Ryou held back, shifting his feet guiltily. "I'll come, if you promise that we'll find Bakura first. I know you had a plan. But he's here, I can feel it! I want to know that he's all right."

Malik shook his head. "You're crazy. Absolutely crazy. But fine. I don't like it, but fine." He took Ryou's hand in his own, and began to search for a way off the roof.

---

He was bleeding. That bastard, he'd die. No ordinary death, but a painful and slow one at the Thief King's hands. Slowly Bakura took his hand from the gash on his shoulder, licking the blood leisurely from his hands. He did love blood. A laugh started low in his throat, building to the cold, high crescendo that sent people to their knees whispering last prayers. He raised his non-injured arm to point at the king. "You sealed your death, your highness!"

Atemu raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. "Those are big words from you, thief. Especially since I'm not the one who's bleeding." It was true. No matter how many blows Bakura or Diabound landed the King remained unscathed. His own spirit creature, a black mage, had taken a few blows and yet he too was barely winded. It was impossible! "I would say that this fight is over."

Bakura was backed into a corner, near to the door but not foolish enough to run through it. Mater thief or no, those tunnels were extensive enough that the king would have plenty of time to make a leisurely search for Bakura's corpse. He was out of options. "I'll die before I'll surrender to you." He drew a long, gem studded knife from the sash at his waist, aiming for his throat, when his option walked through the door.

"Atemu?" Yuugi's voice was very small in the gloom, reflecting back to him in echoes. The puzzle was shining in his hands. He knew this probably hadn't been what Anzu had had in mind for him to do when she'd comforted him, but the feeling wouldn't go away. He'd found the tunnels without much trouble, but hadn't known where to turn in the dense labyrinth. But the puzzle had. It had begun to emit a faint glow, one that faded or grew stronger as he followed the endless corridors. It had been his guiding light, and there was Atemu before him! "You're all ri-" His words were cut off by the feel of cold metal against his throat.

A soft voice breathed against his ear. "If you make a sound I'll slit your throat boy." Yuugi stiffened, trying desperately to hold back the trembling. This was the bad feeling, why terror had grown in his gut. He glanced at Atemu, eyes so wide they nearly took up his entire head. The Thief pulled him close, laughing. "Looks like my luck hasn't quite run out yet, eh your Highness?"

Atemu blazed with anger. It should have been impossible for Yuugi to find this place, even with the puzzle. The puzzle reacted to the strength of a bond. That was its magic. He swore. This would cost him. "What do you want?"

"Your head on a platter, and this kingdom burning at my feet." He said it as a whisper, yet it carried throughout the chamber. "But I'll settle for the look on your face as I spill this boy's blood." His eyes never stopped moving. He'd lost track of the mage. This worried him, but there was the door at his back, and Diabound to cover the rest. "And the best part will be that you are powerless to stop me." Yuugi flinched, feeling the blade begin to bite into his skin.

"Bakura!" From the door behind him came two familiar, and most unwanted shapes. Ryou was leaning heavily on Malik. His eyes were bleary and unfocused. "I found you." He smiled. Letting go of Malik to try and stagger into the room. There was movement from the shadows, and a bronzed arm wrapped around Ryou's throat. The stakes were tied.

"Let him go, Seto." Malik's words were very deliberate. "He has nothing to do with this." Bakura spared Malik the briefest glance. Something had changed about the palace brat.

Seto snorted. "That doesn't make the least difference. Yuugi is as innocent as this boy. And their lives will suffer the same fate." He gave Bakura a look. "Whatever that may be."

"I'll kill you all." Bakura growled. He still needed Ryou. This would be taking a gamble. Briefly he tightened his hold on Yuugi, then shoved him into the mage so that the three toppled into a tangle of arms and legs. In the second that opened up he ran for the Pharaoh, his knife aimed for the heart.

"Hold just a second Thief." Seto was on his feet again, a knife of his own pressed against Ryou's throat. "Stop where you are."

It was too funny! The mage thought that he had leverage, that he had someone Bakura would sacrifice his goals for. "Fool!" He kept moving. His goal was right before him now, staring with hatred and to Bakura's delight a tinge of fear. The insanity would be in his eyes then. The bloodlust. "If I can kill this man then I want for nothing!" Atemu, realizing that Bakura would not be stopped, moved to dodge the blade a breath too late. The knife pierced his shoulder, sliding through to the other side with a sickening sucking. Bakura smirked. "Missed. But you're not going anywhere." He pulled the knife out and prepared to strike again.

"Ah!" The sound came not from the man before him but from behind. Malik was facing the mage, Ryou on the ground at their feet. A knife glinted in his hand, and he clutched his arm with the other. Blood ran in rivulets from between his fingers. Feeling Bakura's bloody gaze on him Malik shouted. "Take Ryou and run you stupid bastard! If you try and go through with this we're all going to die!"

"Don't tell me what to do, brat!" When he returned his gaze to the King the wound was gone. Atemu was smiling. "Damn." Bakura began to back away, holding the knife before him as protection.

Malik screamed, part in pain and part in frustration. "I can hold them both off long enough for you to get out of here!" He'd drawn Seto away from Ryou, leaving the white haired boy to try and stand despite his exhausted state. "Go!"

Bakura hated being told what to do, even when it was the wisest course. Calling Diabound to him as a shield his knelt and scooped the boy up in his arms. "This makes us even, brat!" With Ryou safely in his arms he called on his magic, melting the pair and his creature into the gloom. As he made the escape he felt Ryou struggling in his arms, calling weakly for Malik.

"Stop struggling or I'll drop you." He loosened his grip to demonstrate that it was no empty threat. Ryou squeaked, clutching Bakura's robe for support. From then on there was no more struggling.

"Damn you're heavy." Ryou's wings had long since returned to their original size with his waning energy, but they retained their full weight. Drained, Ryou rested his head against Bakura's shoulder, ready to sleep. A fleck of blood splattered his lips as the pair moved through the night. Ryou licked it away carefully, feeling a small shoot of energy as he did. Curious, he extended his small pink tongue, catching a few more drops of blood on it. More energy. He was beginning to feel awake again, and his heart was beating faster. But he'd lost the feeling of safety. Nothing could be perfect apparently.

He tried to drink more of the blood, wanting enough strength to rescue Malik. Bakura's death glare stopped him mid gesture, his tongue brushed against the bloody fabric. "If you move again before we get back to the base I'll finish what that mage started." Ryou nodded, terrified. He watched the night pass by in silence, fearful and breathlessly excited by turns. Was this normal?

When they had reached relative safety Bakura let Ryou down onto the bed, his hand closed over that small white throat. "Tell me how you found me."

Ryou shivered. "A feeling. I just knew where you were. I followed the call of your magic." He drew a shallow breath. "Your memory is in my head, and, and, I don't know! I just knew that you needed help."

Bakura squeezed, then released his grip. Ryou curled up on the bed, making himself as small as possible. "Some help you were, eh? Almost got us all killed, and got that idiot captured. Are you proud?"

"Please, let me help him. Let me help Malik." He tried to sit up, to go, but Bakura pushed him back down on the bed.

He pushed his face close to Ryou's. "Malik is as good as dead to me now. He will escape on his own or he will rot. I don't need him. You, however, are still useful to me." Ryou made another move to escape, and Bakura pinned his arms above his head, straddling the frightened boy to keep him still. "You're still a mystery."

"I'm not." Ryou shook his head vigorously. "Malik figured it out, figured me out. Please, if we go he can tell you."

Bakura freed one hand, the other easily pinning both of Ryou's wrists. He tilted Ryou's chin up to face him. "You're going to tell me."

Ryou felt warmth rush to his face. Bakura's look was predatory, and it was becoming so that the panic and excitement in his chest were indistinguishable from one another. "I, he, he figured out that I absorb magic from contact. Breath," he glanced at Bakura's shoulder, "blood. And magic keeps me going. But his won't stay with me. It keeps escaping. Yours didn't escape."

"Interesting." It was more a purr than real words. "So if I do this," A kiss, hard enough that Ryou could feel his jaw aching. He gave in meekly, feeling energy surging down to the tips of his fingers. And Bakura's angry red magic was settling into the spot it had carved in his mind. He pulled away almost as soon as it had begun. Ryou strained, still feeling weak. Bakura wagged a finger at him. "Ah, ah, ah. For every piece of useful information you give me I'll feed your energy reserves. And maybe if you're good we'll try another experiment." His free hand traveled the line of Ryou's body. Ryou ached for the touch, for the feelings it brought to him. It would be a long night.

"Please." He tried one last time. "Let me go to Malik. I'll do whatever you say, anything. Just let me help him."

Bakura fixed him with those eyes. In their depths Ryou could almost see burning, hear the screaming. "Know this. You seem to have garnered the quaint idea that people have gentle cores, and that if they seem to care for you then they do. But people are bastards Ryou. And they will stab you in the back. I don't hurt you because I own you, and things that are mine do not come to harm. But if you disobey me you are no longer mine. And I'll kill you." He nuzzled his face into Ryou's neck. Heated breath sent shivers up and down the boy's body. He was terrified, he was happy, he wanted to escape and to remain forever trapped in this hellish embrace. Bakura was speaking again. "Swear to obey me."

Ryou bit back tears. "I promise."

---

As soon as he knew Ryou was gone Malik dropped his knife, falling to his knees to hold the wound in his arm closed. "Who knew I'd end up here again. Eh, Seto?"

"Don't speak, traitor. The only reason that you're not dead right now is because we're going to need the information in your brain." Seto's foot lashed out, catching Malik in the stomach. He doubled over, gagging.

Yuugi ran to him, instinctively trying to help someone in pain. Seto grabbed the boy by the collar, throwing him back towards Atemu. "get him out of here! He's lucky that we weren't all killed because of him." He indicated Malik. "This man is a dangerous criminal, at the very least guilty of treason. You will treat him as such. Is that clear?" Yuugi nodded, reaching out for Atemu. The king put his hand on Yuugi's shoulder, whispering words of comfort to him.

Between the fits of pain Malik managed a choked laugh. "Don't you get it? It doesn't matter what you do to me. The only person I might have cared about is gone now, out of your grasp. You could flay me alive and I wouldn't tell you a thing. Remember, I'm used to pain thanks to you."

Seto's eyes burned. "Then this won't bother you at all." He flipped the grip on his knife, striking Malik with the hilt. The world was filled with stars. Far away Malik heard a gasp, saw the small mage bury his head against the king's chest.

Malik almost smiled. He'd been stupid enough to come here, to put his life on the line for some foolish boy that Bakura would likely kill as quickly as the rest of his pawns. He deserved this fate. Alone again… And then everything was black.

---

Next Time: Malik awaits his fate, meditating on the events that brought him to Bakura. Yes people, it's a Malik-centric chapter. Fear it.