Disclaimer: Yeah, I still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Man I've said that a lot...

AN: Wow, if my reviews are anything to go off of, the long chapter was not that appreciated. I guess shorter chapter means quicker updates... Anyway, in accordance to my number of reviews last time, I shortened this chapter quite a lot by stopping about half way through what I'd planned to write. If I was wrong in my assumption please tell me so, and I'll go back to twenty plus paged chapters, kay?

Oh also, I'm getting really lazy with these Super Special Awesome Awards, so here's two since I missed the last one—hope that's all I missed.

Okay the first one goes to Super Special Awesome Attack (kinda fitting huh?) for reviewing pretty much all of my chapters and giving me a ton of wonderful comments.

And the second one is a tie between HopelessRomantic183 and millenniumthief. Both your reviews were amazing. They really made my week reading them. Thanks so much!

Alright, now that I've gotten that over with, let's get back to the action.

Chapter XXI

A Change of Heart

"Mahad, what is that?" questioned the Pharaoh, as his eyes darted from the wincing thief to the advancing crowd of twisted constructs.

"Its the mark of a Soul Dagger," spat Mahad coldly, his dark eyes and glowing staff never leaving the thief on the ground before him, "a demonic device that binds the will of the one who bears the mark to the owner of the dagger. In other words, Bakura has once again betrayed us all; he's been working for the Dark Lord Zorc all along!"

Bakura's tongue longed to be allowed to shoot some ill conceived insult back at the pompous magician before him, but there was no time for that. Right now these three fools where the best chance he had for defeating Zorc and Malik, and if they stayed any longer the trap would be completely sprung, and there would be little hope for his revenge or for the world—not that he really gave a damn about the latter.

"If you three value your lives," hissed the King of Thieves, ignoring the pain in his hand and the threat of Mahad's deadly staff, "or want even a chance of winning this war, then you have to leave NOW!"

"Why should we believe a thing that comes out of your wretched mouth, you snake?" The Pharaoh's voice was cold, anger filled, and unforgiving. "I never should have trusted you. If it was not for the fact that that body does not belong to you, I'd let Mahad end your pathetic existence."

Mana's eyes widened at Atem's words and even Mahad seemed a bit taken aback. Mana had never heard him talk with such deep seated hatred to anyone, it almost scared her. And while she knew more than anyone that the Thief King deserved it, there was a nagging voice at the back of her mind telling her that something was very wrong here. Bakura seemed frantic, and they way he kept glancing at her...

"You fool!" yelled the white haired teen. "After everything he's done to me, do you think I would serve him willingly! Why else would he bind me with the dagger, mage! You know what happens should I break my oath to him; if I was truly on his side why would it be necessary! And more importantly, do you think that Malik would just take my hikari for the hell of it!"

Suddenly it all clicked in Yugi's mind. 'Bakura! Yami, that day in the desert. The Thief King met Malik out there and somehow he stole Bakura's soul from him and used it as leverage to get the Thief King to swear his allegiance! That's why he was so beat up when he came back—because he tried to fight! Remember, that was also the first time his hand was bandaged! We would have noticed it before!'

By now everyone's gaze was locked onto the spirit of the hikari.

'Bakura told me when he first called that the Thief King had changed, and Ishizu said we had to trust him because of a vision she saw. I think they were right, I think he really is on our side this time.'

The thief grimaced. I should have known that it would be Yugi who would believe me. From the start I should have been working under that assumption...might have made things easier.

"Yugi," said Mahad sternly, "I understand where you are coming from, but it is very unlikely that the Thief King would just suddenly change sides. He is very good at deceiving those around him, and even if he is miraculously telling the truth, it wouldn't make a difference, because, of his own free will or not, he is still working for the Dark One."

Bakura stole a glance back at the surrounding ring of shadow demons. They had stilled their advance, which meant that their goal was not to fight them, it was to keep them here long enough for Malik to arrive. If the dark pain in his hand was anything to judge by, it wouldn't be long at all.

"If you value your lives, then listen to the boy!" yelled the thief, looking past Mahad to the Pharaoh. "Think about it, what harm could I cause you by telling you to leave an area where there are hundreds of things that want to kill you!"

Both Mahad and the Pharaoh still did not seemed convinced. This was going to take a lot more motivation than a threat to their lives. The Thief King steeled himself against the oncoming blast of pain he knew would follow his next words. If he survived this, he was going to kill them later for being so damn stubborn.

His cold eyes drilled into the Pharaoh's and then slowly turned on Mana, the look he was giving the young girl causing her to recoil slightly. "Let me rephrase that,Pharaoh, if you value her life at all, then run."

The reaction was almost instantaneous, but the Thief King barely felt the smack on the side of the head from the magician's staff, or the sensation milliseconds later of being yanked roughly to his feet by the livid Pharaoh. All he felt was the absolute agony that was radiating upwards from his cursed hand and slowly traveling up his arm. It was then that the King of Thieves started to scream.

Immediately, both Mahad and Mana saw the sinister dark magic beginning to creep up his arm. In an instant, Mahad forced the Pharaoh to release the cursed creature, letting him fall writhing to the ground.

Mana's hand flew to her mouth, her eyes swimming with tears of fear and horror. Both Yugi and the Pharaoh watched in disbelief as the thief convulsed, clutching desperately at his blackening arm. Mahad felt a terrible chilling sensation grip at his heart. The only time a Soul Mark would begin to consume its host, is if that host had committed a taboo against its master. This was undeniable proof that Bakura had been telling the truth, and that Mana's life was indeed in grave danger.

Unaware of anything around him except pure electric pain, the King of Thieves thought that perhaps this was it, that he'd given too much away and that the mark was really going to devourer him. But as always, it seemed it was not his time to die—a fact that was not always welcome in his mind. Finally, the slowly advancing torture stopped just short of his elbow. That hell had merely been a warning, but it was enough to leave even him writhing on the ground gasping for air. That event made it clear that Bakura could not bring himself to directly disobey Malik or Zorc again, which meant he had lost—he was once again their slave, and his revenge meant nothing.

"W-what do you mean her life is in danger?" inquired Mahad cautiously, his voice nowhere near as harsh.

The thief shakily pushed himself up, cradling his throbbing arm to his chest. "D-don't make me say it...again. Just run. Run before it's too la—"

Bakura's final words were cut off as his soulless right hand flew to his mouth clamping mercilessly over it.

"Is that creature chewing your ear off with his useless and quite crude banter?" questioned a silky voice from somewhere behind the group. "Well, I must apologize for his lack of manners. I tried to train him, but no matter how often you hit him the little birdie just keeps singing. It gets really annoying after a while, wouldn't you agree?"

The Pharaoh and his companions turned just in time to see the mass of Hunters part and the wickedly grinning form of Malik appear but he wasn't alone. Walking beside him, wearing a twisted grin to match, was none other than Seto Kaiba, Millennium Rod outstretched and glowing.

"Kaiba, what are you doing!" shouted the Pharaoh.

"I'm afraid my son is a bit predisposed at the moment," spoke Seto in that all too familiar cold tone that he used when he was confidant of victory. "Perhaps after we claim your title of Pharaoh, I'll let him come out and play with your corpses. I bet his favorite will be of that icy-haired witch."

The pharaoh felt a heart stilling chill run through him, this scene was all too familiar. Aknadin...no, not again. What about Kisara and Pegasus? Are they...oh gods...

Between the nightmarish scene before her and the desperate look the King of Thieves was fixing her with, it was all Mana could do not to run away screaming. Bakura's words kept echoing in her ears, and she was quite sure that she hadn't felt this terrified in a long time.

"Now, now, Aknadin," crooned Malik, "we have to at least attempt diplomacy first. If the Pharaoh's not a fool, then maybe he and his little friends—all besides the traitorous thief—can live. But thankfully—for the sake of our fun—I think he is one."

Malik turned his glinting eyes to the Pharaoh. "So, what do you say Pharaoh? I'm only going to ask you once, hand over the Egyptian God Cards and I'll let you all leave. Then you can have several more hours huddled together in your home saying your final goodbyes. A very generous offer on my part, wouldn't you agree?"

Seto grinned maliciously. "Quite."

A seething Mahad stepped forwards protectively in front of his king and apprentice. "Our Pharaoh would never surrender to the likes of you!"

Malik folded his arms raising an eye brow, seemingly unconcerned at the dangerous weapon pointed directly at his face. "Are you really going to let this lap-dog speak for you Pharaoh," he questioned, curving his neck to see around the tall mage.

Mahad hissed in anger, but otherwise did not retaliate.

"I have beaten you before, Malik," spoke the Pharaoh in a calm calculating voice, holding out his already gleaming Duel Disk, "and I can do it again. If a duel is what you want, I'll be happy to oblige, but only on the condition that if I win, you will return Seto's body and soul to us as well as the Millennium Rod, release Bakura Ryou's spirit, return your body to your hikari, and that once I defeat you, you will disappear back into the darkest depths of the Shadow Realm."

Malik stared at the Pharaoh for a few beats and then began to shake with uncontrollable laughter, eventually doubling over and holding his convulsing sides. Finally, he managed to speak, his voice still punctuated with laughs. "Y-you really think...t-that I would...ha! Agree t-to such absurd terms?" More manic laughter. Malik wiped at his eyes. "You really are a hoot, Pharaoh... But in all seriousness, what is your answer."

Atem gritted his teeth, and Mahad found he had to use all his strength not to retaliate right then and there. "I was being serious, Malik. Your evil rampage ends here and now!"

This time it was Seto who started to chuckle. "He really thinks he has the upper hand doesn't he?"

"So it would seem," sighed Malik. "Well allow me to rectify the situation for you, Pharaoh. Aknadin, bring over that worthless dog."

Seto nodded and waved the Millennium Rod, the result of which was that the King of Thieves rose unsteadily to his feet and began to walk past the Pharaoh, Yugi, Mahad, and Mana over to his current puppeteer, his head hung—a sight that no one present had ever witnessed before.

It was at this point that Mana couldn't take it any more. She was far from forgiving the the Thief King for his past actions, but if he had really risked his soul being devoured to spare them this confrontation, then he was their ally—at least for now. And even he didn't deserver this horrible of a fate. Without hesitation, Mana performed a quick freeze spell that left Bakura parallelized where he was standing, no longer able to obey the Rod's commands.

"That's enough!" she shouted. If you're going to fight us, then do it, but your sick twisted games with people's lives stop here and now!"

"Mana..." muttered the Pharaoh, more than slightly surprised by her actions to defend the Thief King.

Malik rolled his eyes. "My dear, I will never stop playing that game—a fact you'll learn the hard way very soon. Besides, who are you to refer to me as cruel when you're the one holding him back from obeying his master's commands and thereby forcing the Mark to inflict more pain on him? Hmm?"

Mana gasped, her eyes darting over to the hunched thief, locking onto to the blood that was dripping down his right arm onto the ground. A look of utter horror on her face, she immediately moved to end the spell, but by now Mahad had already finished muttering the counter spell.

Free from the effects of the apprentice's spell, Bakura finished stumbling over Malik and the possessed Seto.

"Hand it over, thief," commanded Malik, after Seto had released his Item's hold on the snowy-haired teen.

Bakura gave one last look to the group of four behind him. There really was no point in resisting now. No matter what, Malik would get his hands on the item Bakura had crafted last night, and the duel would commence. Fighting back now would do nobody any good and only succeed in causing him more pain. "I did warn you," winced the thief—even in this state of defeat, his apparent need to have the last word still intact. Then, turning back to face the almost giddy looking Malik, he produced a shining spell card from his jacket's pocket.

Malik held up the card, inspecting it throughly. "Very well done indeed, Bakura, The spell modifications are quite superb. You know, I really never knew why you didn't devote more time to the arcane arts, you probably could have been a powerful magician."

Bakura did not deign Malik's latest comment with a response, choosing instead to glare seethingly up at the dark spirit.

"Yes, I think this will do nicely..." Suddenly, Malik's face became hard. Turning his attention back to Atem he hissed, "Alright, Pharaoh, since you've chosen not to surrender, let me tell you exactly how this duel will play out. It's quite simple really, winner gets the Egyptian God Cards."

"And what makes you think I'd agree to such a match?" returned the Pharaoh angrily. "Seeing as I have nothing to gain and everything to lose."

If possible, Malik's grin widened. "Oh you're right Pharaoh, you do have everything to lose," he hissed menacingly. "As to why you'll agree to duel me..." Malik flipped the card Bakura had given him over so that they all could see."

The card held in Malik's hand proved to be A Change of Heart. And though it was a powerful card, the Pharaoh failed to see how this would force him into the foolish duel with Malik.

"A Change of Heart?" questioned the Pharaoh darkly. "Despite its name, I fail to see how this card will change my mind."

Malik chuckled again. "You know you're almost as smart-mouthed as our little thief here," giggled Malik, jabbing a finger at Bakura. "But this is no ordinary Change of Heart, Pharaoh, thanks to Bakura, it will allow me to take control of any one of your monsters indefinitely."

Mahad glared. "Have you forgotten, Malik? The Egyptian God Cards cannot be affected by simple spell and trap cards, and even a with modified spell card, you could not hope to take control of one, let alone all three of the God Cards. And even if you could take control of a single one of them, the remaining two would have no trouble crushing your feeble attempt at a plan."

Malik mock yawned. "No wonder your student is such a mediocre mage. Oh I don't blame you dear," said Malik waving his hand dismissively, "he's so boring; I would have fallen asleep in his lectures too."

Atem and Yugi actually had to physically stop both mages from retaliating.

"Come now, Pharaoh," continued Malik, his demonic look returning to his face and voice. "I am not foolish enough to think that I could command one of the gods with this," answered Malik, his Duel Disk emerging from his momentarily shadow engulfed arm. "But let me ask you something, do you really believe that the most valuable card in your deck is an Egyptian God?"

Suddenly all the pieces fit together, Bakura's warning ringing out like a gong in his ears. Mana... "Mana!"

But his realization came too late. Malik dropped the card into his spell and trap card zone, and the Pharaoh could only watch in horror as the glowing white card that served as Mana's spirit door vanished from his Duel Disk and appeared on Malik's. Mana didn't even really hear Atem's and Mahad's cries, as her form flickered and faded, only to reemerge seconds later by Malik's insanely laughing side, her dark brown hair nearly covering her now blank eyes.

"What is it that you're always saying Pharaoh," yelled Malik cruelly, "Oh that's right, I remember now, 'it's time to duel!'"

sssSsss

AN: Please review, you have no idea how amazing it is to hear from you.

-Asiera