Title: A Persistent Shadow (Chapter 24)
Pairing: Ryou Bakura x Yami Bakura, possible others
Rating: M
Summary: The Pharaoh uses a spell to force Yami Bakura out of Ryou's body, but unfortunately for Ryou it doesn't work quite as well as intended.
Ryou, Marik, and the boy followed the Pharaoh to the center of the village in silence. Ryou had a moment of hope when he saw the ghosts blocking the stairs. They won't want to let the Pharaoh through, he thought.
Surely enough, the ghosts surrounded them as soon as they got close to the stairs. "Don't let them touch you," Ryou whispered to Marik. Marik nodded, eying the ghosts warily.
The Pharaoh broke into deranged laughter when he saw the ghosts, which made the sword against Yugi's neck shake slightly. "Go ahead," he told them. "Touch me all you want."
Ryou and Marik dodged the stream of spirits that suddenly rushed by. They shielded the boy between them. None of them were touched, but Ryou heard Yugi scream for a second before abruptly being cut off. Ryou looked over and saw an unconscious Yugi only held upright by one of the Pharaoh's arms. He had a small cut on his neck where he'd accidentally knocked against the sword, and Ryou was sickened to realize that if the Pharaoh hadn't caught him, Yugi's throat would likely have been sliced right open.
The Pharaoh himself was completely unaffected by the ghosts, seeming merely annoyed at having to hold Yugi up now that he was unconscious. "Let's go," he said, dragging Yugi straight through the remainder of the ghostly wall. He started down the stairs, quickly disappearing out of sight. The ghosts darted around the entrance, filling the air with distorted, angry muttering. They were clearly not happy at having lost their prey.
"We have to go after them," the boy said, stepping forward.
Ryou was about to warn him off going toward the ghosts, but as soon as the boy said it, the ghosts moved out of the way to clear a path downward. I guess they want us to do it. He stood in front of the boy. "It's dangerous down there. He only really wants the items, so..."
"I'm coming, too," the boy said, picking up on where Ryou was headed.
"You'll be safer up here," Marik said.
"I don't want to be alone," the boy said, looking down at the ground. "I don't want to be safe when everyone else is..." He started sniffling.
Ryou looked at Marik, who shrugged back at him, having no more idea of what to do than he did. Ryou looked at the ghosts and thought of the High Priest who'd attacked them. Maybe it isn't that much safer, he thought. Who knows what else is running around this village right now? Both of Ryou's hands were full, so he rubbed the boy's arm with the back of one hand to reassure him. "We'll all go," he said.
The boy nodded. The three walked through the corridor of ghosts and down the stairs.
The Pharaoh was waiting for them in the room at the bottom. Yugi lay on his stomach on the floor, still unconscious, hands bound behind his back. The Pharaoh stood over him, pointing the sword down at the exposed side of his face. "So you've finally decided to join us."
"What do you want?" Marik asked.
"I want you to put the items where they're supposed to be," the Pharaoh said, gesturing at the stone in the middle of the room.
Ryou's heart sank. It wasn't surprising, and he knew he should have realized it would come to this, but now that the moment was actually here, he couldn't see any way out of it. "This won't protect the items," he said, hoping to appeal to the Pharaoh's emotions.
The Pharaoh laughed. "Nice try," he said. "But we're long past the point where convincing the Pharaoh will help you."
"...Zorc?" Ryou asked softly. He already knew the answer, but more time talking meant more time not putting the items in the stone.
"What do you think?" Zorc replied, waving the sword around aimlessly.
"What happened to the Pharaoh?" Marik asked.
"Oh, he's still here," Zorc said, smiling as though he especially relished thinking about it. "He knows exactly how his foolishness led to this point."
"His foolishness?" Ryou asked. They needed to stall until... something happened to get them out of this. Until they saw an opportunity to disarm Zorc. Until the spirit came to save them. Anything.
Zorc laughed. "Yes, his foolishness. The foolishness of all mortals," he said. He took on a dramatic pose, face exhibiting mock terror. "They're coming after us! I'm the only one who can stop them! Anyone who gets in my way deserves what they get!" His face returned to its normal sneer. "The same idiocy, every single time."
"Because you encourage it," Marik protested. "He would never have done any of the things he did if you hadn't possessed him."
"Oh, but I didn't possess him," Zorc replied. "Not until we arrived in this lovely village, anyway," he added, waving the sword around again. "I merely slipped in through a tiny crack and waited, oh so patiently agreeing with every paranoid, delusional idea that flitted through his head."
"You talked to him?" Ryou asked, finding the idea unlikely. The spirit had said he hadn't even known Zorc was inside him, and Ryou couldn't really see the Pharaoh listening to a voice that suddenly appeared in his mind, whatever else he'd done.
"Not directly," Zorc said. "But he could feel the rightness about it, like the gods themselves agreed with his nonsense." He laughed uproariously. "He didn't have the slightest clue that something was wrong until the very end, when the cracks had widened enough for me to take over his whole being."
"But-" Marik started to say.
Zorc cut him off. "Enough of this. Put the items in the stone, now."
Marik and Ryou stood there silently, making no move toward the stone or away from it. The boy watched them fearfully from the doorway. Ryou felt horribly conflicted. He didn't want Yugi to die, but if he complied, Yugi might well die anyway, along with the rest of them.
Zorc grew visibly impatient. "I don't have to kill him immediately, you know," he said, pointing the sword at Yugi's face. "I could start with cutting off an ear. Or a nose." He touched the tip of the sword to Yugi's cheek. "Or I could just carve up his face."
The boy made a frightened sound. Marik walked up to the stone and dropped the ring and key in their respective slots. "I'm sorry," he told Ryou softly, not looking at his face. "I just can't..."
"It's okay," Ryou said. He was close to giving in himself. Even if he did it, only four items would be in the stone. The spirit still had the other three. If anyone could keep them away from the cavern, he could.
Zorc traced the sword over Yugi's cheek, leaving a long, thin scratch. "If you really-" Zorc stopped abruptly, his whole body shaking violently. His face contorted into an angry, silent scream. Ryou watched as the sword waved perilously over Yugi's face, looking like it could well end up hurting him entirely by accident. For a moment it seemed like Zorc was about to throw the sword across the room, but then he recovered, holding it right behind Yugi's ear. "Even the slightest movement could take off your friend's ear," Zorc said. "Cooperation would be wise."
"The Pharaoh's fighting back, isn't he?" Ryou asked, feeling a bit more hopeful. If the Pharaoh could retake control, they might be able to get out of this mess without anyone being hurt. The Pharaoh might have been their enemy for the past few months, but he seemed to be attempting to protect Yugi now, and Ryou doubted the knowledge of what Zorc had been doing to him hadn't made an impact.
"Yes, but it's not important," Zorc replied. "After I have all the items united together, he can say and do whatever he likes. Now, put the items in the stone." He pressed the sword closer to Yugi's ear.
Ryou broke down, certain Zorc would in fact take off Yugi's ear if he didn't cooperate. He slowly walked over to the stone and deposited the puzzle and the scale in their spots. The scale was somewhat more difficult than the puzzle, since it was stuck in an unbalanced position due to Zorc's presence while the matching slot was clearly for a balanced scale. Ryou tried to force the scale to balance by simply pushing the raised side downward, but it didn't work.
"Just set it on the right spot," Zorc told him.
Ryou was about to protest that it wouldn't go in the way it was, but then he remembered that he didn't actually want the scale in the stone, he just wanted Zorc to see his compliance. He dutifully placed the scale down over the matching hole. He was more surprised than he probably should have been when the scale was sucked downward by an unseen force, distorting itself momentarily to fit in the slot.
"Go stand with your friend," Zorc ordered.
Ryou returned to stand next to Marik. He was relieved to see Zorc pull the sword away from Yugi's face. It wasn't like Zorc had any compelling reason not to harm them now.
Zorc turned his attention to the cauldron, cutting two lengths from a rope hanging from the rim. Ryou realized that was where he'd gotten the rope to tie Yugi up with. This did not seem to bode well for them.
Once Zorc was satisfied with the rope he'd cut, he called the boy over to him. "You! Put the book down and come here!"
The boy set the book down and slowly crept out from the doorway, walking over to Zorc with his head low. Ryou watched anxiously, ready to fight if necessary. Zorc handed the two pieces of rope to the boy. "Turn around. Both of you," he ordered Ryou and Marik.
Ryou and Marik did as they were told.
"You! Tie their hands," Zorc said to the boy. "And do it well, or there will be consequences."
The boy walked over to Marik first. Marik held his hands behind his back, making it easy for the boy to tie him. Ryou wondered if the boy would even know how to tie a knot – even if he hadn't been walking around barefoot, he wouldn't have been wearing shoes with laces – but someone must have taught him at some point, because he did it without any difficulty.
"Tighten that knot," Zorc ordered.
The boy obeyed, though obviously distressed about what he was doing. He walked behind Ryou when he was finished. Ryou held his hands out the same way Marik had. The boy took one wrist, then hesitated.
"Do it," Zorc said.
The boy still didn't move. Ryou squeezed his hand to tell him it was okay, then let go. The boy tied his hands, then stepped back. Ryou tugged lightly on the rope to test the strength, finding the knot was surprisingly tight. He had a small amount of wiggle room, but he wasn't sure whether or not it would be enough to get his hands free of the rope if necessary.
"Now, all of you, sit down over there," Zorc said, pointing to the side of the room.
The three walked over to the wall and sat on the floor. The boy buried his face in Ryou's sleeve.
"What are you going to do now?" Ryou asked. It didn't seem like he intended to hurt them; it felt far more like he'd just gotten them out of the way in preparation for something else.
"I'm going to wait for the other three items to come to me," Zorc said, sitting atop the stone. He looked ready to stay there for some time.
Ryou wondered whether the spirit would actually come. They hadn't agreed on a specific place to meet after the spirit finished with the High Priest, but the center of the village was the last place they'd logically go after getting the items. Then again, the spirit did tend to assume he always did the stupidest possible thing, so perhaps he'd come looking for them there before anywhere else.
Ryou didn't know whether that was a good thing or not. On the one hand, the spirit might be able to rescue them. On the other hand, if he did come, he'd be doing exactly what Zorc wanted him to do.
Ryou just hoped he was doing okay. The High Priest hadn't seemed that difficult for him to handle...
Aknadin's anger was growing. No matter how many times he attacked, the bandit managed to dodge him with ease. He'd noticed a few moments ago that the bandit's companions – thieves themselves – had escaped while he was distracted, which only enraged him further. But it didn't matter. He would get them later.
Aknadin could feel the power surrounding him, radiating out from where the blessed artifact had been before the bandit had stolen it from him. It only confirmed what he already knew: the eye was destined to be his. How else would it be lending him its power even after it had been taken from him? He flew at the bandit once again, faster than he had any of the other times.
The bandit hit him on the stomach with the head of the rod as he evaded the attack. "You'll have to do better than that, old man." He laughed viciously, and Aknadin heard a fierce anger bleeding through the already not particularly cheerful sound.
It only made Aknadin's hatred stronger. What right did he have to be angry? His village had been destroying Egypt with its very existence. He himself had just committed a shameless act of thievery. He had done it right in front of a child, too, ensuring that he learned the foul practices of the village at that young age. The children had been Aknadin's one near regret about what he'd done, but he could see now how they'd already been thoroughly corrupted. Leaving them alive to pursue a life of thieving and beggary after their parents had been executed went against the entire point of creating the items.
And the items themselves would be used to save countless other children from even being corrupted in the first place.
"Why do you persist in fighting me?" Aknadin demanded, barely noticing the pain in his stomach where he'd been hit. "You're fated to die."
"I'm already dead, you idiot," the bandit told him. "You're long dead as well."
"Spewing nonsense won't help you!" The smoke surrounding Aknadin spilled out in all directions, knocking the bandit over. Aknadin was on top of him in an instant, strangling him with both hands. The bandit stabbed one of his hands with the sharp end of the rod, shoving him off when he screamed. The bandit got out of the way of a possible attack, but didn't counterattack. "What's the matter? Don't think you can kill me?"
"I already killed you," the bandit replied. "And as much fun as it would be to do it again, more personally this time, I don't believe it's worth the risk."
"The risk of what?" Aknadin asked, clutching his hand. The pain was making it difficult to concentrate. He had to remember what he was fighting for. "Afraid of incurring the wrath of the gods, are you? You should have thought of that before committing to a life of evil."
The bandit laughed again, this time seeming to find some actual humor in what Aknadin had said. "You are possibly the only person I could kill that wouldn't incur the wrath of any powerful being. Not even Zorc would care if you died now, since you've already served your purpose."
"And who is this 'Zorc'?" Aknadin asked, wondering why the bandit continued inventing things. The bandit couldn't imagine it would actually affect him, could he? An image of the horrifying demon that had shown after the items had been completed appeared in his mind. Aknadin frowned at the thought, but quickly shook his head. The demon had come to protect his evil followers, or simply to stop the creation of the holy items. That's why he'd killed all the noble soldiers Aknadin had brought with him. Aknadin had only survived because the items had protected him from the evil being.
The bandit noticed his brief frown. "Oh, you know exactly who Zorc is," he said. "But that doesn't really matter. I have to think of a way of getting rid of you that doesn't involve actually killing you outright. Perhaps a shadow game," he added, a smirk appearing on his face.
"A what?" Aknadin demanded. "I'll have no part of any evil magic practiced by the people of this village."
The bandit chuckled. "Yes, it's still too early for you to know about those, isn't it? But we don't have the tablets for that sort of game, so I'll have to think of a slightly different one, anyway."
Just then, a parade of ghosts floated over the top of the nearest building, swarming around the bandit and whispering to him. Aknadin couldn't make out what they were saying. A few attempted to get close to him, but the black smoke drove them away. Aknadin was heartened to see that the items were still protecting him from the evil souls of the village even then.
The bandit rolled his eyes at something one of the ghosts told him. "I let that fool out of my sight for five minutes and he's already in trouble again." He turned back to Aknadin, grinning horribly. "At least I've figured out what game to play with you," he said. All the light vanished from the air around them, leaving them facing each other in a formless purple void.
Aknadin got up on his feet. He didn't like the place they were in – it was the same color as the demon that had attacked him and his men. The ghosts crowded around them, snickering. There were two gaps in the circle, each leading to some sort of portal. The one to Aknadin's left looked like sand rushing over the surface of a stone, while the one to his right looked like a pool of ink somehow floating in midair. Each was only a few steps away. "What is going on?"
"It's really very simple," the bandit replied. He pointed to the sandy portal. "This one leads back to the village." He pointed to the inky portal. "This one leads fully into the Shadow Realm."
"Enough of this," Aknadin said, walking toward the sandy portal without even stopping to consider that the bandit could have been lying. Or that's what he would have done if he could move his legs, anyway. "What have you done?"
"We're going to play a little game," the bandit said, not bothering to answer his question properly. "The spirits of the dead will appear, one at a time, in this spot," he said, gesturing to the area between them. "We'll take turns trying to identify them either as people from this village or people from outside it. You guess correctly, you get to take a step that way." The bandit pointed toward the sandy portal. "You guess incorrectly, you take a step the other way."
Aknadin felt a small rush of fear inside himself, but immediately tried to squash it.
The bandit seemed to have noticed anyway. "What, not confident in your ability to recognize the people you judged worthy of death?"
Aknadin fumed. "Of course I am," he said, but privately he still had a small amount of doubt. He hadn't seen all or even most of the villagers up close. He was certain he could distinguish between normal people and people as evil as those of the village, but there were plenty of evil people outside the village.
"Well then, you should have no problem going first," the bandit said, waving one hand toward the floor.
The ghost of a young, apparently pregnant woman appeared between them. She turned toward Aknadin, staring past him with a blank look on her face. There was a large, bloody hole in chest, where she'd probably been stabbed with a sword. Aknadin inspected her, trying to figure out whether she could have belonged to the village or not. Her wound could have been caused by the weapons they'd used – no, that was against the point of the exercise. He should be assessing her whole being to see if she could be one of the villagers.
She seemed dead, and not just in the literal sense. She looked like she might just stand around doing nothing for the rest of eternity. The villagers were an angry people, prone to violence. Even now, the village ghosts around them alternated between furious whispering and sickening laughter. "She's not a villager," Aknadin said confidently.
He was immediately pulled one step toward the inky, black portal.
"It looks like you were wrong," the bandit pointed out. The woman disappeared, replaced by an elderly man. "Villager," the bandit said, before the man could even fully materialize. He moved a step toward the sandy portal.
"This game is unfair," Aknadin declared. "These people are your conspirators. Of course you can identify them."
"Oh, but you know our very souls," the bandit replied silkily. "That's how you know how evil we are. So we should be evenly matched. We'll both be out of here in no time."
Another ghost appeared in the center, a young man this time. He was dressed in a simple, dirty tunic, blood spattered all over the top. There was an angry red line all around his neck, as though his head had been cut right off and then been stuck back on his body. He turned to Aknadin, becoming visibly enraged when he recognized who he was looking at. "This one's a villager," Aknadin said, turning toward the sandy portal expectantly.
He was shocked to be pulled in the opposite direction.
"Ah, no. He just doesn't like you very much," the bandit said, not sounding particularly sympathetic. "He was probably executed under one of your special new laws."
Aknadin scowled.
The man disappeared, and a woman appeared in his place. "Not a villager," the bandit said easily. He moved toward the sandy portal. The woman disappeared, replaced by a small child.
Aknadin felt slightly uneasy. He was only one step away from the black portal, and another incorrect guess would put him right inside it. He looked at the child carefully. The child was young, so young that he couldn't even tell whether it was a boy or a girl from what he saw. The clothing was simple, giving no clues about the child's gender or hometown. The area around the stomach was torn up and covered in blood. The child looked frightened, and after looking at Aknadin's face became absolutely terrified.
Aknadin focused in the child's hair, which was an unusual shade of silver. He'd seen that shade of silver in the village, but he'd never seen or heard of it in children anywhere else. He stared at the child for a while after making his decision, just to make sure. After several moments, he thought he could see the signs of a future criminal clearly. The child didn't cower like a normal child, it cowered like the child of thieves. The child obviously realized that Aknadin was a High Priest of Egypt and therefore a natural enemy.
Aknadin could see the instinctive desire to steal, murder, and destroy lurking in the child's eyes, along with a good amount of blame. Presumably the child was upset about being killed. "A villager," he said with certainty.
The bandit's laugh was his first clue that he'd gotten it wrong. The pull on his body was the next. Aknadin tried to resist, struggling fruitlessly against the invisible force. He flailed his arms in every direction as he was slowly pulled toward the inky portal, at one point attempting to grab onto one of the ghosts. It didn't work, of course, and only caused the ghosts to join the bandit in uproarious laughter.
Aknadin's foot entered the portal first, suddenly becoming unbearably cold. The feeling spread up through his legs and then over his whole body. He screamed wordlessly as his whole body was pulled into the portal. The last thing he heard was the bandit's simple statement: "Not a villager."
Aknadin never found out if the bandit had been correcting him, or if he was simply taking his turn.
He had far bigger problems to deal with.