Chapter 9

"How is Zorc communicating with them?" asked Yugi once they got back to the game shop.

"Dunno, do we?" said Marik. He turned to Bakura, who was sitting with his arm around Ryo. "I'm more interested in the gory details as to why Bakura looks like he took a bloodbath."

Bakura sighed and leaned back, absentmindedly attempting to wipe dried blood off his hands on his pants. "We just found out that Zorc can communicate with his army, maybe all of them at once. Don't you guys think that's a bit more important?"

He looked around but it seemed that no one shared his opinion. Ryo, Yugi, and Jou were looking at him with concern; Ryo was clearly still worried that Bakura was lying to him and bleeding to death. Malik and Marik were practically bouncing in their seats, eager to hear the gory details. Yami and Seto were looking uncaring but they weren't protesting the change of topic.

Bakura growled and pressed his fist to his forehead. "We lost Anzu." He ignored the gasps and continued. "I'm not going to go into great detail to spare my innocent little Ryo, and to spare Yugi so the Pharaoh won't kill me." Marik and Malik groaned. "But it was really bad. I got all this blood on me just by finding her. She was dismembered and disemboweled."

There was silence for a full ten seconds. Then Marik and Malik started singing at the same time, "Ding-dong, the bitch is dead!" Yami and Jou were grinning and Ryo looked happier and then ashamed at being happy about a death. Seto's expression still hadn't changed from his uncaring look. Yugi alone didn't look happy about her death. He looked worried. Bakura was worried too and by the way Ryo was pawing at his arm Bakura could tell that his expression betrayed that he was worried.

"Will you three idiots shut up!?" Bakura shouted at Malik and Marik and Yami, who had joined in with the singing as well. "I hate that movie." He rubbed his temples. "This is serious. I'm happy the friendship bitch is out of our lives, too. Ra knows I'm thrilled to pieces by her death but this raises a very serious problem!"

"And what would that be, tomb robber?" asked Yami.

"None of you can tell me that you didn't notice that they seemed stronger last night. Not a single one of you, and if you insist otherwise you're full of shit," said Bakura. "Two nights ago they needed a dropped gun to do any real damage. And last night, no matter how weak she was, they were able to tear a girl apart so viciously that it made me sick. No, really, I—stop laughing, you braindead blonds!—I'm serious; I threw up a little in my mouth. Of course, that was due to the fact that I tripped into a puddle of her blood over her missing leg. Oh, sorry, tenshi," he added as he saw Ryo pale.

"And this is a problem because…?" said Yami.

Bakura stood up and started to pace, which got everyone's attention as pacing was something Bakura never did. "Ra, if I weren't so freaked out I'd be rolling on the ground with laughter at having to explain this to the Know-It-All Pharaoh when it's obvious in front of his face! Ra, I'd expect this sort of obliviousness from Marik! Think, you freak! If they were able to gain that much strength in less than twenty-four hours, then how strong are they going to be tonight!? Or the next night? In a few days they'll be too strong for the hikaris, and a few days after that they'll be too strong for the yamis if it keeps up at that pace! Don't you get it!? They ripped her apart! What if the next victim is Yugi, Pharaoh? Or Malik, or Jou, or—" He broke off, unable to bare the thought of Ryo torn limb from limb like that. He sat back down and pulled Ryo into his lap, wrapping his arms around the boy protectively.

"Bakura?" said Ryo nervously, nudging his yami's chest. He had never seen Bakura like this. "Bakura, I'm fine."

Bakura nodded and pretended to feel better by the reassurances. But his thoughts were still dark. Yeah, you're fine now, he thought. But how long will it stay that way?

Seto abruptly stood up, reminding everyone that he was there. "Jou and I are going home," he announced.

"Aww, Seto," protested Jou. "Can't we stay?"

"I'm leaving and you know I'm not coming back here to pick you up when you're finished your little chat."

Jou pouted, but with a wave he followed the tall brunet out the door.

Yugi stared after them for awhile before raising his original question. "How is Zorc communicating with them?"

Yami shrugged. "I have no idea, and Bakura has already stated that that isn't his biggest concern. So unless Marik or one of you hikaris thinks of something intelligent, I don't think we'll figure it out anytime soon."

Marik abruptly pulled his hand out of Malik's pants and a look of stunned realization crossed his face. He whispered something inaudible.

"What?" asked Yami.

"The crystals," repeated Marik. "We said the day after we were all attacked individually that the crystals weren't organic, at least not entirely. They don't die with the body and melt into goop, not ash. At the time we said that Zorc must've put them there for some reason, but we didn't know why. And that night, they were destroying the buildings almost uniformly. I bet they're receiving orders through the crystals."

Stunned silence followed his words. Everyone was shocked that he could not only notice and remember this, but create a very probable theory from it. They were also shocked that Marik knew so many big words. Malik broke the silence. "Who are you and what have you done with my Marik?"

Marik plunged his hand down the front of Malik's pants, earning a low moan, and nobody doubted that this was, in fact, Marik and he had just had a smart moment.

Bakura lifted Ryo off his lap and stood up, turning to leave the room.

"Where are you going?" asked Yami.

"Out," answered Bakura without turning around.

"Wait, 'Kura!" said Ryo, standing up and making to follow. "I'll come with you."

"No!" said Bakura, much more harshly then he had intended. He felt Ryo back off and felt the hurt through the mind-link. He looked back. "Just…please, Ry, let me be alone for a bit. I'm just going for a walk to clear my head."

"Be careful," Ryo nodded reluctantly, but Bakura could see in his eyes that Ryo thought Bakura wasn't being entirely truthful. Which I'm not, though Bakura. Smart hikari.

Sure enough, Bakura had only gone a block before he felt Ryo searching for his location through the mind-link, intending to follow him. With great reluctance, Bakura closed the link, and he felt a flash of Ryo's surprise before he locked it tight. Sorry, Ryo, but I can't have you walking in if what I'm trying to do works.


Several blocks later he found himself back in the alley he had been fighting in earlier that night. He saw exactly what he had been hoping to see. A single black crystal lay in a shady corner, still untouched by the early morning sun.

Bakura sat crosslegged in front of it on the blood-drenched concrete and picked it up, careful to keep it out of the sun. It was smooth and warm to touch. "Zorc?" he said, feeling rather silly that he was talking to a rock.

He waited for a full minute. Just when he decided that it wasn't going to say anything and was about to throw it away, that horrible voice emanated from the gem in Bakura's hand.

That is "Lord Zorc" to you, Bakura Touzoku.

"Go to Hell," snarled Bakura.

I will not even point out the irony in that statement.

Bakura growled. "Why are you attacking innocent people? It's me and the Pharaoh you want!"

Who are you to presume to know what I desire? I want everyone dead eventually. Domino is merely my first target because you are there. I want you dead more than the others, Touzoku.

Bakura felt the blood drain from his face. "But what about Yami?"

Of course, I want Atem dead as well, but it was you who foiled my plans both times with your "helping."

Bakura swallowed. "And what will happen to the others…if I die?"

Once your soul has joined my ranks in Hell, I have told my forces to withdraw for one week as a…reward. That should give your pathetic friends time to get out of Japan. I'm sure you want to be assured that that white-haired angel of yours will be protected. I can assure his protection…but only for one week, and only if you leave this world. Bakura could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Don't you dare touch Ryo, you fucko!!" he screamed. With a cry of rage, Bakura hurled the crystal. It melted in midair as soon as it touched the sunlight. Zorc's laughter rang in the air even after the crystal was gone.

Bakura leaned his back against the wall and buried his face in his knees. That hadn't gone like he had planned at all. He didn't know how long he sat there like that, unmoving. He wasn't aware of reopening the mind-link with Ryo. All he knew was that he was jerked out of his haze of thoughts by Ryo's voice, begging him through the link to come back and get some rest. Bakura did as he was asked, wandering back to the game shop on autopilot, lost in his own thoughts.

A/N This chapter marks the 100th page of this fic ^.^ I had something else I wanted to say here, but I forgot. Oh, yeah. Short chapter, but chapter 10 is gonna be like really freaking long (I think) and I didn't want to make it longer.

Don't own YuGiOh, never will, stop asking.

I was wearing my Zorc & Pals shirt when I wrote this. Yeah he went to see if he could talk to Zorc to protect Ryo, if that didn't come off very clearly. Yeah I had Jou and Seto leave early on because I couldn't think of any lines for them.