The last thing Mahaad remembered was Bakura giving him another potion to drink, then feeling incredibly drowsy and quickly falling to sleep. It was a fitful slumber, full of strange dreams. He recalled images of a giant whip, curled up like a snake, tearing his clothes to shreds and forcing him deep inside of the coils into a room where countless versions of Bakura laughed sinisterly at him. He looked down and saw dog legs, and somehow knew he'd turned into a dog. They jeered at him, kicking him and swearing at him while a personified staff pulled at one of them, begging them to stop. Without warning, the staff spontaneously exploded into flames with a shriek, and the Bakuras laughed louder now, hurting his ears. He whimpered and curled up as the thieves grew taller and taller. As one brought its giant foot down on him, he awoke with a start, breathing heavily.

The first thing he noticed upon waking up was the smell of fire. Had something caught alight?

He jolted upright and looked around, finding Bakura smiling while playing around with some coals in a fire.

"What's the matter magician? Worried the building was going to burn down around you? That wouldn't be any fun. Don't worry you're safe from that at any rate. I'm not too sure that you're entirely safe..."

Mahaad decided not to respond, laying his head back down.

"Ah, I'm in a different room," he realized. "I'm lying down again. That's good at least," he thought. "I wonder what Bakura is up to this time... Whatever it is I don't think I'm going to like it."

"You better be thankful magician. I'm cooking up something special just for you. I personally like meat to be a little on the burnt side. What about you?"

He gave no response.

He used the tongs he was holding to pick up one of the coals in the fire.

"I'll just assume you're the same for that matter. Now then hold still," the thief said as he brought the coal over to him. He held it over the magician's face for a moment. The magician could feel the heat coming from the coal and started acting noticeably nervous, blinking a lot as beads of sweat formed on his forehead.

The thief brought the coal back up, saying, "I always love the heat from a nice fire. I suppose a coal's a bit different when it's being held over you. Ah well no matter."

He dropped the coal on top of Mahaad's chest.

Mahaad started screaming from the pain, from the heat from the coal. It burned his flesh, searing the skin. This was nothing like the pain from the whip, it was a thousand times more precise, more deadly, more vicious. He felt every pore cry out in anguish, every nerve explode in protest. It was all too much, the sheer pain of the heat. The coal burned cold, unnaturally cold; his senses failed at trying to convey how intensely the coal burned, and he felt a sharp icy pain pierce his senses. He pulled at his restraints, ever so desperately trying to throw the coal off of him but he was simply shackled too tight. He couldn't do a thing. He couldn't move the coal. He twisted and jerked but his sole reward was him bruising his wrists at the effort. The sensation was so unbearable, Mahaad wanted to die, for the pain to end, for him to never to have to feel this horrible awful pain again.

He begged for the burning to stop, for the thief to help, "Take it off! Take it off!" he screeched, but all the thief did was laugh uproariously at the agony of the magician. How could such a monster exist. How could anyone enjoy causing this much misery. Mahaad didn't know. He never wanted anyone to hurt like this, to have to feel this awful sensation. Except for Bakura. The coal kindled his hatred even further, and he felt his emotions flare up. Bakura! How many people has he hurt? Far. Too. Many. He'd killed Mana. He was halfway on his way to killing Mahaad. How many before him had this fiend harmed? The way he talked about torture, how experienced he was with it. It sickened him. It enraged him. He refused to allow this monstrous beast the pleasure of harming any more. He was angry, much, much angrier than he had ever been in his entire life. He noticed the coal burnt him less and less; he started to feel warm, soothingly so. The pain faded away. Mahaad opened his eyes and saw the coal had disappeared. He noticed that everything around him started to shimmer.

The soothing warmth enveloped him. But he was the one radiating the heat. He could feel it. He was sure of it. He burned fiercely, angrily, with a pent up rage against his tormentor on the inside, and on the outside. The metal chains which had restrained him began to melt around him into a puddle. He was free. Free! He examined where the coal had been placed on him. The skin was blackened, but was covered in flames! The fire started to spread as he watched, covering the knife and whip wounds from before.

He looked up at Bakura who had been watching him this whole time.

"Well well well thief," the magician spat contemptuously. "What were those plans you had for me?" He grinned, feeling completely alive. His body tingled, and he felt a strangely soothing heat fill his body from the inside.

Bakura wasted no times with words, he pulled out a dagger and flung it at Mahaad.

Mahaad laughed at the attack, burning more powerfully in response. The dagger melted into a liquid at his feet.

The thief bolted for the door at top speed, trying to escape.

The magician let him, cackling madly at the prospect of his revenge at last.

He jumped after him, quicker than he thought possible.

"This power... It feels so good," he thought to himself. "More, more!"

The flames leapt higher off his wounds as he embraced the magic that had been bottled up inside of him.

He chased him down the hallways as Bakura threw knives at him in a swift retreat.

Fearlessly and confidently he charged straight at them, melting them as they came close. He continued to pursue the thief without making any gains, enjoying the chase. Adrenaline pumped through his body as he relished the chance to finally punish his punisher.

Bakura ducked into a room and Mahaad followed after him, laughing, "If you want to go ahead and give yourself up now I promise I won't hurt you too much."

When the magician entered the room he saw the thief toss a bucket of water at him. It was too late to dodge it. He increased his power again and evaporated the water before it even got within a yard of him.

"Nice try thief. But it didn't work."

"Didn't it?" Bakura smirked.

Mahaad looked down and saw the flames start to weaken, and then, altogether disappear.

"Looks like you burned yourself out."

"I... No..." Mahaad said slowly, realizing in his arrogance he'd squandered all of his magic.

"Now what was that about someone giving up to someone else?" he asked.