Chapter Ten

Bandit Keith snarled as he deposited Weevil back at the warehouse, on his knees. The kid hadn't spoken since the abduction and he still didn't seem inclined to do so. He reached to brace himself, but then just stared at the floor with blank eyes.

"I thought this punk was as ruthless as me," Keith snorted. "Boy, was I wrong!"

"Somewhat," Yami Marik said. "Rex Raptor may be the only person he cares about."

"Maybe. Or maybe even if he doesn't care about people, he wouldn't feel like killing them. Me, I don't care what I have to do to get the competition out of my way." Keith turned away. "Not that I've ever killed anyone, but I doubt I'd have a problem with it."

Yami Marik sneered. "A lot of people think that and then freeze up when it comes time to do it."

"Only the weak," Keith insisted. "But enough about that. We'll just leave this kid here. He won't be talking to anyone." He slammed the door behind him and headed up the hall. "What is it you're planning?"

"The same thing you're planning—the total destruction of Marik Ishtar," Yami Marik grinned. "And if we take out his family and some of his friends along the way, so much the better."

"I really wanted a chance to use some of the Rare Hunters' deathtraps," Keith said. "That was what I was planning before I ran into you."

"And I'm all for that," Yami Marik said. "But better yet, why not combine the two?"

"What are you saying?" Bandit Keith frowned.

"Let's separate everyone into smaller groups of two or three each," Yami Marik said. "Put them into deathtraps and force them to fight their way through. But wherever we put Marik, he will have to deal with his mind-controlled siblings too." His eyes went bloodshot.

Bandit Keith sneered. "I like it."

"Everybody's at KaibaCorp right now," Yami Marik grinned. "Have your Rare Hunters ready and waiting for them to leave and find ways to separate them."

"I'll do that," Bandit Keith said.

"Either that or I can separate them all myself with my Shadow Magic," Yami Marik said. "I want to make sure certain people end up together."

"Oh yeah?" Keith frowned. "Like who?"

"Well, the Ishtars, of course," Yami Marik said. "But I also think it would be fun to force Tristan into a situation with the Thief King. I can't help but notice how badly they get along. That's just the sort of thing I like to toy with."

"Fine," Keith said. "I don't care about them. Do what you want. Just make sure everybody suffers. Then Marik will suffer too." He sneered.

"Oh, I will be so happy to," Yami Marik grinned wickedly.

"I thought so," Keith said.

xxxx

Everyone at KaibaCorp was baffled. Following their meal, they had returned to the level with the augmented reality game and wandered amid the Duel Monsters for a while. It was intriguing and fascinating, and a lot better than sitting around waiting for the Rare Hunters to strike. But finally they decided that they had to try to get back to their normal lives.

"Thanks again, Kaiba," Yugi smiled as they returned to the lobby. "I really think you've got a winner here."

"I think so too," Seto said. "It'll be the next big thing." He looked to Atem. "I need to get this program set up at Kaiba Land, but after that, I still want our rematch."

"Fair enough," Atem nodded. "I would like to talk with you soon. We didn't really have a chance after our return from my Memory World."

Mokuba looked up at Marik. "You'll be okay, won't you, Marik?" he said in concern.

Marik sighed sadly. "I will probably be fine. It's everyone around me who is likely to be hurt." He looked to Ishizu and Rishid. "And I still don't know what's wrong with these two. I know something is, but I don't know how to prove it."

Mokuba bit his lip. "I wish there was something I could do to help. . . ."

Marik managed a smile. "Your concern helps. I'm glad to know people care."

Mokuba smiled too. "Always."

The elevator reached the lobby and everyone stepped out. But before anyone could leave, a familiar cackling cut through the air.

"Oh no," Atem gasped.

Marik went stiff. "Where are you?!" he demanded. "Stop hiding like a coward and come out!"

"Funny," Yami Marik smirked as he stepped out from behind a pillar in the lobby, "that's what the Pharaoh always said to you during Battle City."

Marik growled.

Yami Bakura stormed forward now. "You're going to pay for what you did to me," he snarled. "I almost caused the destruction of everyone else!"

"Oh, and here I thought that was what you wanted to do," Yami Marik mocked.

"Not now," Yami Bakura snapped. "Which you know all too well!"

Tristan frowned. He had to admit that Yami Bakura sounded sincere. He had really tried to believe that the thief wasn't after some new deadly goal, even though he couldn't or wouldn't forgive him for the past. But today had left him badly shaken with his worst fears realized. Only then they had learned it was Yami Marik's Shadow Leech controlling Yami Bakura. Maybe Yami Bakura was just angry because something had taken control of him, but it did sound like that wasn't the only reason.

"Tell me honestly, Tristan," Bakura said sadly as they roamed the augmented reality area, "why can you forgive Marik and the bikers and even Dartz, but not Yami?"

Tristan frowned. "Well, honestly, it took me a while to trust them too," he admitted. "But it helped that they showed they were actively trying to change. And that they've all had pretty good attitudes about things."

"So you're saying Yami doesn't show it, just because he's a little grumpy?" Bakura frowned too. "I'm sorry, but that's not fair. He hasn't done anything to hurt you or any of the rest of us since he received the Infinity Ring. I know he still thinks he's bad and I haven't been able to convince him otherwise, but he hasn't done anything bad!"

"That doesn't mean he hasn't thought about it," Tristan muttered.

He came back to the present as Yami Bakura snarled at Yami Marik. Maybe Bakura was right; maybe it wasn't fair. And maybe what made Tristan really sore was how Yami Bakura had specifically targeted him, both at Duelist Kingdom and in the Memory World. Especially the Memory World. Maybe being possessed was what he refused to forgive.

"I'm furious too!" Bakura cried now as he stepped forward, his eyes on fire as he stared down Yami Marik. "That was horrible of you to do that to Yami!"

"Now, what do you have in store for the rest of us?!" Marik demanded.

"You'll find out!" Veins popped out across Yami Marik's face and he stuck out his tongue. Then a bright light engulfed everyone.

"What's happening?!" Téa yelped.

"I think we're about to find out!" Atem exclaimed.

The last thing everyone heard before they were forcefully separated was Yami Marik's demonic cackling.

xxxx

Téa groaned as she slowly regained consciousness. "Oh . . . what happened?" she mumbled, holding a hand to her head. "It feels like I've got the world's worst headache."

She started to push herself upright. As she did, her other hand brushed another body next to her. Immediately she went stock-still. "H-Hey . . ." Naturally it was one of her friends . . . but which one? It was so dark in the musty old room that she could barely see one foot in front of her.

"Hey!" she cried, forcing more strength into her voice. "Are you okay?! Say something!"

She felt around in the near-darkness and finally touched a soft material and a bare shoulder. That could be either Marik or Duke, but it felt more like the way Marik's lavender shirt looked like it would feel. "Marik?!"

Finally a groan. "What . . . ?" It was definitely Marik.

Téa tried to relax. "We are in serious trouble," she told him. "Your Yami went nuts and all the lights went out! Now we're here and I'm not sure anyone else is!"

Marik sprang upright. "What?!"

The lights clicked on, revealing an old warehouse room not unlike the one Téa had been locked in during Battle City. None of the others were there. But standing at the top of a stack of crates, sneering down at them, was Bandit Keith.

"You!" Marik cried. He got to his feet too quickly, swaying from the sudden movement.

Téa got up too, reaching to steady him. "What are you doing here, Bandit Keith?!" she demanded.

"I'd think you would've figured that out," Keith mocked.

Marik glowered. "I know you want revenge. It's your style and speed, and I can't blame you. What I did to you was abominable. But don't you realize how idiotic it is for you to work with the evil being I created?! He'll lead you to destruction in the end!"

"Right now, I really don't care," Keith said. "He's really got some good ideas for how to crush you. I'm glad we ran into each other."

"Then you're a fool," Marik snapped. "Where are the others? Where are Ishizu and Rishid?!"

"Your little friends are scattered here and there all over the place," Keith said. "But as for your brother and sister, well, they're right here. Or are they? It looks more like they're somewhere else altogether."

The whir of an electronic door moving upward brought Marik and Téa's attention to their right. Ishizu and Rishid were standing in the middle of a new room, blankly facing each other. Each was wearing a duel disk.

"What is this?!" Marik screamed. "Ishizu?! Rishid?! Wake up!"

"They can't hear you," Keith grinned. "Your 'Yami' or whatever you call him programmed them to act out a duel."

"In the shape they're in?! That's sick!" Téa spat.

Marik stared in horror. "It's what I did to Yugi and Joey, come back to haunt all of us," he choked out. "Only this time, both players are mind-controlled."

"That's right, punk!" Keith said in delight. "And just like you did to Téa, you'll have to watch helplessly while they battle to the death! You can talk to them all you want, but if you actively interfere with the duel, they'll both have heart attacks and die on the spot!"

"No!" Marik looked to Keith in both outrage and horror. "Do whatever you want to me, but spare them! They did nothing to you!"

"Just as little Yugi and Joey and Téa did nothing to you," Keith replied. "Now you know how they felt!"

Téa was furious. "Marik was wrong to do that to us, but you're just as wrong to do it to Ishizu and Rishid!" she snapped. "There has to be some way to stop this!"

"There's not," Keith insisted. "Both of them have one of those Shadow Leech things attached to them. They'll do whatever the leech tells them to do."

"But Bakura broke the leech's spell over Yami Bakura!" Marik cried. "This spell can be broken too!"

"You won't be able to do a thing," Keith insisted. "They've also been programmed not to hear you. They'll only listen to each other. Oh, and to me, of course. They're just waiting for the signal to start the duel."

"No!" Marik stared helplessly at his siblings. They hadn't moved.

"Okay, you two," Keith said. "Time to start. You go first, Ishizu."

Ishizu mechanically reached for a card. "I lay one card facedown and end my turn."

"I lay two cards facedown," Rishid replied.

Téa watched in helpless horror. "What happens when one of them wins?" she quavered.

"What do you think?" Keith smirked. "The other one dies. And the leeches will let go of them right then so the winner can watch and know they did it."

Marik snarled. "I'll get through to them before that!" he vowed.

"He will, too!" Téa insisted. "Even if you think you've programmed them not to hear him, they still will! Maybe not with their ears, but with their hearts!"

"Wow." Keith looked to her. "That has gotta be the most sickeningly sweet speech I've heard since Duelist Kingdom. You'll see it'll all be in vain."

Marik barely listened. He ran ahead, desperately grabbing at Ishizu's shoulder. "Sister! Please, you have to listen to me!" he begged. "You're fighting Rishid, our brother! You know you would never want to do this in your right mind!"

Ishizu ignored him. "I play Dunames Dark Witch, in Attack Mode."

Frantic, Marik ran over to Rishid and got in front of him. "Rishid, you can't do this!" he cried. "You're going to kill our sister if you keep this up! You have to understand!"

Rishid looked through him as though he wasn't there. "I play Temple of the Kings."

Marik slumped back. "No. . . ."

"Don't give up, Marik!" Téa encouraged. "Keep talking to them!"

"But get out of the way," Keith laughed, "or you'll just get blasted by their monsters and traps."

Marik glowered at him but stepped aside. "I will break this spell," he vowed. "I won't let either of my siblings die!"

"Be my guest," Keith said. "I want to see you try, so I can watch you fail over and over again."

Marik snarled. He had brought this on Ishizu and Rishid by his own revenge-crazed actions. He had taught that behavior to the Rare Hunters and given Bandit Keith and Yami Marik the idea for this abominable scheme. Now, somehow, he had to save his mind-controlled brother and sister from killing each other.

xxxx

Tristan yelped as he plunged downward from apparently the sky, knocking another person over in the process. The other person yelped as well, and then snarled something in another language. And Tristan realized with a sinking stomach who he had been put with.

"Oh great," he grumbled. Slowly he got off of Yami Bakura and drew himself to his feet. Before he could awkwardly reach to help the thief up, Yami Bakura was standing as well.

"This is a fine mess," Yami Bakura growled.

"You said it," Tristan scowled.

They were standing on what seemed to be a deserted wharf. Warehouses were on one side and boats on the other. The silence was eerie.

"No one else is here," Yami Bakura grunted. "Apparently that demon thought it would be hilarious to put us into a situation together." He started off ahead. "We'll just have to make the best of it."

Tristan chased after him. "Anything could happen!" he cried. "Knowing that psycho, it probably will!"

"Do you just like playing Captain Obvious or did that honestly not occur to you before now?" Yami Bakura retorted.

Tristan scowled. "Everything seems normal, though."

"That is when it's most dangerous," Yami Bakura insisted.

The laughter of what sounded like two dozen cruel men echoed through the area. "How right you are," said one.

"Rare Hunters!" Tristan exclaimed as the robed freaks stepped out of the shadows from all directions.

"What do you want with us?" Yami Bakura demanded. "If you're part of the plot to go after Marik, you won't have very much luck here."

"I beg to differ," sneered the leader. "Tristan Taylor is his friend, and even though you're not, he would feel responsible for anything that happened to you because of a revenge plot against him."

Tristan took a step back. "Look, why don't you all just go on with your lives instead of trying to wreck other people's?" he said. "You're all just lucky you didn't get arrested. Why push it?"

"We want to see Marik Ishtar hurt so much that we don't care about the possibility of jail," was the reply. "I'm sure the Thief King here knows what that's like."

Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes. "You won't take us without a fight."

"We didn't expect anything less." The leader advanced, flanked by his 23 companions.

"You always did have a great deal of spirit," Yami Bakura said to Tristan. "I hope you know how to use it now."

"You better believe it," Tristan growled. He stood tall with both fists bared.

The wharf exploded in a violent brawl. With so many Rare Hunters, it didn't take long to isolate each of their opponents at different spots up and down the area. That had been their orders . . . or part of them, at least.

The last thing Tristan wanted was to be stuck fighting Rare Hunters with Yami Bakura as back-up, but that was exactly what was happening. While Tristan was busy grappling with the first dozen, the Thief King was fighting with the other twelve. Each was doing his best to hold his own, but twelve opponents at once was too much for anyone.

Tristan gritted his teeth as he punched one Hunter in the stomach and narrowly avoided being thrown by another. Now one was grabbing him from behind, wrapping an arm around his throat. He reached up, desperate to dislodge it, and suddenly another was tackling him around the waist. Then he was on the dock, fighting against both of them and a third and fourth who were ganging up on him all at once. Despite his pride, he knew he couldn't fight them all off by himself. Especially not when he saw numbers five and six behind them.

"Hey!" he finally yelled in desperation. He paused, awkward and baffled. What was he even supposed to call the guy?

The arm around his throat started to squeeze tighter.

He gave up puzzling over names. "Yami Bakura! Help!"

For an agonizing moment he believed the Thief King really would come. But when the rest of the dozen Rare Hunters descended on him, beating him into submission, he realized he was on his own.

So much for that, he thought bitterly. He wouldn't get taken out by them; he's probably knocked them all into the Shadow Realm by now. He's obviously just not trustworthy, just like I thought. Figures I'd end up stuck with that major creep. . . .

A harsh blow to his head left him dazed and unable to so much as fight back. He slumped down, consciousness mostly leaving him. The Rare Hunters picked him up, viciously heaving him into the water.

The splash revived him, but not enough. He struggled, trying to lift his arms to swim and break the surface, but they felt like cement. All he could do was helplessly plunge downward.

I'm gonna die here, like this. . . .

It was a terrifying thought, but in his state of scant awareness he wasn't fully able to focus on it. Oblivion fogged his mind as the oxygen left him.

Above the water, a bright flash from the Infinity Ring suddenly sent Rare Hunters flying in all directions. Yami Bakura gritted his teeth, angry and frustrated. He had held his own against his opponents as well as he could, but more always replaced the ones he defeated. He had heard Tristan call for him and had been stunned, but when he had tried to break through the Rare Hunters to get to him, one of them had stabbed him in the side. That had detained him long enough for the other group of Rare Hunters to throw Tristan into the water. It had been the last straw; he had called on the Infinity Ring's powers to extricate himself from this mess. He always wondered what it considered a good use of its power, but he was certain that this wouldn't be frowned upon. And since he wasn't burning up, he supposed he was right.

He ran down the pier and to the edge of the water. "Tristan!" he barked. Bubbles were coming to the surface, but no Tristan. Swearing under his breath, he stripped out of his robes and shoes and leaped into the water in only his kilt.

Tristan had already sank very far down. He looked barely conscious, if that. Yami Bakura caught hold of him with one strong arm and swam for the surface with the other.

It was a relief when Tristan gasped and coughed as they broke through. But then he fell limp, still dazed. Yami Bakura pulled them both onto the pier and deposited Tristan on his side. A quick check of the boy's vital signs showed that he was alright; he just needed a few moments to recover.

His own side was shooting pain through him now. He had ignored the stab wound, figuring it was minor, but now that all the danger was past it was insisting he pay attention. He clapped a hand over it, but the blood seeped through. All the activity in the water couldn't have helped it. He stumbled to his feet and pulled a cloth out of the pocket of his robe, pressing it against the slice.

"So, you finally showed up."

He started, looking down at Tristan in surprise. The teen had rolled over and was glaring up at him from the pier. "I got so desperate I called for you, but you didn't come."

Yami Bakura glowered right back. "I was occupied at the moment. In case you hadn't noticed, the Rare Hunters were after both of us!"

"Yeah, boy, they sure hate you," Tristan said bitterly. "I wonder why."

"Well, at least we know why they were after you," Yami Bakura returned. "They're targeting everyone who is Marik's friend."

"And they nearly made me a sacrifice thanks to you," Tristan snapped.

That bent Yami Bakura's patience. Tristan had every right to hate him and to not trust him, but now he was being completely illogical. "You think I deliberately ignored you?" he shot back. "We were both fighting for our lives. If it were anyone else, you would understand that and assume that if they did not come right away, it was because they couldn't."

He tied the cloth around his side and pulled his robes back on. His hands were shaking. He shouldn't be affected this seriously by a small stab wound! Snarling in pain, he took a few steps forward. They had to get out of here before this got worse.

"Yeah, but you're not anyone else. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised by anything you did," Tristan said. "At least, not if it was something bad. I don't know how I pulled myself out of the water, but I won't forget this."

"Fine!" Yami Bakura growled. "Have it your way." He took another step and the dizziness swept over him. His heart was racing. As he lost his balance and fell, suddenly it all made sense.

Poison. . . . This has been one of the worst days I've had in the modern age.

"Hey!" Tristan cried. "What the heck?! You weren't hurt as seriously as I was. I didn't even see any bruises on you! What . . ."

He trailed off. As he got to his feet, staring down at his dripping clothes, he caught sight of blood on his shirt. But . . . he hadn't been cut. . . .

He looked back to Yami Bakura. The thief hadn't moved since collapsing. And his hair was mostly plastered down against his head and neck. It was completely drenched. . . .

"Oh no," Tristan whispered. "You're kidding me!"

He gripped Yami Bakura's shoulder and pushed him onto his side, then his back. The cloth around his torso was soaked red on the left side.

Tristan swore, slamming his fist into the pier. "I didn't get myself out of the water," he realized. "You did. And what kind of number did the Rare Hunters do on you?!"

He lifted the makeshift bandage, staring at the stab wound. It was bleeding profusely. Worse, it looked like an unfamiliar substance in the blood.

"They poisoned you!" Tristan realized in horror. "How was it I didn't see you were hurt?"

But he knew the answer. He had been so caught up in his anger and his feelings of betrayal that he had been blind to the truth. He hadn't seen Yami Bakura's wet hair and skin or realized why he was pressing the cloth against his side. And now what was he going to do? He didn't have a cellphone, and if he did, it would be ruined from the water. He was pretty sure Yami Bakura didn't have a phone either, but he went through the thief's pockets to be sure.

"Oh man. . . ." He leaned back, overwhelmed. He was stranded in the middle of nowhere with one of his most hated enemies—only now he knew that his enemy had saved his life and might lose his own. What was he going to do?!