A/N: Enjoy!


Being useless sucked. Ryou let out a slow breath, eyeing the boy sitting next to her to see if he would notice that she was bored out of her mind. But it didn't seem like Bakura was going to be paying her any attention any time soon; ever since Seto had managed to call up a rudimentary set of blueprints on his phone and handed them over, both he and Mariku had been completely absorbed in trying to work out the best way to get to Illusion Island without being noticed. Considering that they really only had two methods of travel, by boat or by plane, she wasn't really sure how they were going to work out a stealth plan. But it didn't look like either boy was prepared to give up just yet.

Ryou wouldn't have minded helping. In fact, she'd love the chance to do something other than sit here on the couch and make the occasional face at Malik. Unfortunately, Ryou didn't have much experience with breaking and entering. She'd always been the kind of girl who lived on the side of the law, and she'd never expected that might come back to bite her in the ass. That, plus the fact that she didn't know much more about electronics than what it took to send and receive texts on her phone, meant that she couldn't do much here. It was exasperating and frustrating, and she finally got up when she felt like she couldn't sit there for another minute without losing her temper.

Malik got up too and followed her into the kitchen. Jou didn't notice their departure, too involved in taking apart the scattered handful of electronics that Seto had brought along with them. She seemed to have a knack for delving into the delicate machines without breaking them. Ryou didn't fault her for it, but as she swung around to face Malik she couldn't help snapping, "If I have to sit there and watch everyone else do something productive for another minute, I'm going to lose it."

"Tell me about it," Malik said, flexing her fingers. Ryou reached for her hands automatically, knowing that Malik grew cold easily, and rubbed them briskly to warm them up. "I almost wish that Mariku had been the one who went to town. Yuugi doesn't know how lucky she is. We should've gone with her and Yami."

"Why? So we can be the third wheel somewhere else?" Ryou muttered, having no doubt whatsoever that Yuugi and Yami were probably doing less shopping and more dating. Not that she really blamed them. If their connection was anything at all like the one she was feeling for Bakura... She shook her head and sighed. "I'm glad that everyone has something important to do, and I know I shouldn't complain. I just wish that there was something I could offer, too. Unfortunately, I think I missed the espionage course when we were kids."

"You and me both," Malik said, smirking. "I'd offer what I know about the Items, but..." She shrugged, her good humor disappearing under what looked like a wave of exhaustion. Ryou knew exactly how she felt. Neither of them had been asked for their opinions, nor even been given a suggestion on how they could help - never mind an inquiry as to whether or not they information or helpful skills that might move the project along faster. In that respect, it made sense that Malik was reluctant to share her knowledge. She was probably worried that the offer wouldn't be well received, and Ryou knew Malik well enough to know that Malik would only make the offer once. If she was snapped at, that was it: any chance of her ever telling the others what she'd gleaned from Isis over the years was nil.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" she suggested, glancing out the window. It was sunnier outside now, and the way the golden light fell against the green grass was inviting. She couldn't remember the last time she had walked on grass with bare feet. Living in the city, nature wasn't exactly common.

Malik studied her for a moment before shrugging. "Sure, whatever."

Ryou led the way outside, pausing only to shed her shoes before she walked down the steps. The grass was deliciously cool against her feet, the sweet scent of trees and water blowing against her face and through her hair. She tipped her head up towards the sky, not caring if she ended up with sunburn. It would be worth it. For the first time in days she felt like she could actually take the time to relax without worrying about who was watching, and it was pretty incredible. She turned around in a slow circle and heard Malik giggle. Grinning, she opened her eyes and looked back at her friend. Malik was still standing on the porch and Ryou waved to her, suddenly impatient.

"Come on. Let's see what's so great about this place that Kaiba Seto would invest his money in it."

"Something tells me he bought it for the solitude, not because of the amenities," Malik said, but she was smiling now too. She paused just long enough to kick her shoes off before joining Ryou. "I sometimes forget that there's so much vibrancy to nature. All of these colors... it makes me remember the first time we came here." She leaned down to pluck a few blades of grass. Suddenly, though, she froze, and when she straightened up there was a new tension in her shoulders.

"Maybe it was because of the amenities," she said in a different voice, lower and meant for Ryou's ears only. "Because it sure as hell wasn't for the non-existent solitude."

A chill ran down Ryou's spine and she fought the urge to turn around and search the trees. "You don't think we're alone," she said, and it wasn't a question. Now that Malik had mentioned it, Ryou could feel it too. The back of her neck was prickling with awareness. They were being watched and this time she was pretty sure that it wasn't just by one of Seto's duel monsters.

"I know we're not." Malik gripped her wrist, sliding her hand down until she could fit their fingers together. She pulled Ryou towards the back of the house, setting a pace that, to anyone watching, would like a casual stroll. It felt too slow, though, and Ryou itched to run back into the house and let everyone inside know that they had unwelcome visitors.

The back of the cabin actually had a small garden, though it had clearly not been properly tended to for several years now. Thick tangles of weeds had grown over the dirt, choking out anything else. Ryou stared at it blindly, her mind racing. At any other time she might've been interested in trying to figure out how they could bring life back to the garden, even if they were only staying for a couple of days. Now she only wondered how soon was too soon to go back into the house? Was alerting Bakura and the others worth the risk of letting their uninvited guests know that Malik and Ryou knew they were there?

"It's pretty hot out," she said finally, realizing that the silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable.

"Maybe we should go get a drink," Malik said as casually as she could, turning towards the back door. Ryou turned to step up beside her and that's when the world, for lack of a better word, twisted. There was the sound of a gun going off, jarringly loud, and something whizzed past Ryou's cheek, so close that for a moment she actually thought it had struck her. She jerked to a stop and felt Malik stumble against her as someone behind them started yelling, and then there was a brilliant flash of light followed by complete darkness.

She was never really sure how long that period of darkness lasted for. It didn't feel like very long. But it had to have been at least a few minutes, because when Ryou opened her eyes again she was lying on the ground. Her head hurt and there was an awful taste in her mouth. There was a heavy pressure sprawled across her stomach, and it took her a couple of tries before she could move her head far enough to see that it was Malik. Just the act of doing so was exhausting and she fell back, breathing heavily.

A shadow came over her. Ryou jerked in surprise, eyes widening. "M-Mystical Elf?" she stammered.

The duel monster smiled and inclined her head with a soft sound. She didn't seem to be capable of speech, but that was probably for the best because if she had spoken Ryou might actually have had a heart attack. As it was, she thought there was an excellent chance that several years had been taken off of her life. She pushed at Malik's head until she could sit up and look around. The three of them were still exactly where Ryou remembered them being before she'd - they'd? - fainted, only there was one major change: the back door of the house was wide open, the door having been kicked off the hinges.

"Oh no," Ryou said under her breath, getting a very bad feeling. It was so quiet now. The sensation of being watched was gone, but it left her little comfort. "Malik, wake up."

"Huh? What?" To her credit Malik woke up fast once she remembered what was going on, sitting up and glancing around with increasing alarm. Maybe too fast, because she groaned and put a hand to her head. "Oh wow, what hit me?"

Mystical Elf chirped. Malik jumped and stared. Ryou sighed. "That," she said, carefully easing her way out from under Malik. "I don't know what happened, exactly. I remember someone shooting at us." She lifted a hand to her cheek automatically, feeling for any signs of a graze. Nothing. She glanced back at the house and the bad feeling got worse. It looked deserted. "Malik, I think the others are gone."

Malik muttered something and stood up, swaying a little. She took several steps towards the cabin anyway, using the railing to pull herself up. Ryou waited outside until Malik poked her head back out the door. "You're right," she said grimly. "They're gone. And it looks like there was a struggle."

"Oh god." It took effort to stand, leaving her shaky and weak as she stumbled up the stairs and inside. The kitchen was in shambles. Broken dishes littered the floor and the table and chairs had been overturned. What appeared to be bullet holes decorated at least two walls and much of the counters. Ryou put a hand to her head. There was only one group that would have done this. "Kaiba Corp," she breathed. "But… we were right outside. How did they not notice us? Why would they leave us behind?"

"I'm pretty sure the answer is standing right behind you," said Malik, leaning against the doorway to the living room. She looked as exhausted as Ryou felt. "Mystical Elf is supposed to be a spell caster, right? I bet she created some kind of illusion to keep them from taking us, too."

"Is that true?" Ryou asked. Mystical Elf clasped her hands together and nodded. "Oh, well… thanks. I guess. But… how did I even summon you? I didn't have Bakura or the – oh my god!"

Both of them had the same thought at the same time. With renewed energy Ryou launched herself at the door, right on Malik's heels, sprinting up the steps and into the rooms they'd woken up in. Ryou's stomach lurched at the realization that this room had been torn apart, too. The mattress had been pushed off of the bed and slashed, the covers were strewn everywhere, even the curtains had been torn down. She searched frantically through the mess until she came across her bag. It had been upended, the contents sorted through, and she was not at all surprised to find that the Millennium Ring had been taken.

What the hell was she going to do now? That was the only thought that kept running through her mind as she sat there and stared at her empty bag. Not more than a couple of hours ago, she'd had everything. Her soul mate, her partner monster and the Millennium Ring, all the things she needed to come out on top. Now she was down to only one, and there was no telling how long Mystical Elf would be around for. Tears stung her eyes and her breathed hitched as she fought and lost against the urge to cry.

"Ryou?" Malik's voice called out, sounding worried.

"The Millennium Ring is gone, too," Ryou choked, wiping her eyes with her hands. She turned around to look up at Malik as her friend appeared in the doorway. One glimpse of Malik's face told her that the Millennium Rod was also missing. "What do you think Kaiba Corp is going to do to them, Malik?"

"I don't know. It's okay, though, don't cry." Malik poked her way into the room and knelt down, wrapping her arms around Ryou in a tight hug, so tight that Ryou suspected the hug wasn't purely for her benefit. "It will be okay, you'll see. You were really awesome, you know. If you hadn't summoned Mystical Elf the two of us would have been captured, too."

"Cold comfort," Ryou muttered. It was easier to get herself back under control now, the initial bout of panic receding. "I have no idea how I did it, and I doubt I could do it again."

Whatever Malik was about to say was cut off by the sound of a door slamming downstairs. "Malik? Ryou? Jou?"

"Yuugi!" Ryou jumped to her feet and pulled Malik up, hurtling down the stairs as quickly as she'd come up. Yuugi was standing in the kitchen with Yami and Mystical Elf. A look of relief crossed her face when she saw them and a moment later the three of them were entangled in a hug.

"What the hell happened?" Yami demanded. "Where are the others?"

"Kaiba Corp," Malik said grimly, reluctantly releasing her grip on Yuugi and Ryou to take a step towards him. "I have no idea how they found us… Ryou and I were outside when we realized that someone was watching the house. Before we had the chance to alert anyone, they started shooting at us. Somehow Ryou summoned Mystical Elf and I think…" She glanced over at the duel monster. "She must have knocked us out and cast a spell to keep us from being noticed. When we woke up, the house was like this."

Yami swore quietly and moved quickly into the living room. Yuugi, who was still holding Ryou and stroking her hair comfortingly, said, "We got a text message from Seto. It said not to come back to the house because Kaiba Corp had shown up."

"So of course you came back as quickly as you could," Malik said with a faint smile. That was so like Yuugi. Of course, that didn't change the fact that it had been a stupid move on their part: if she and Yami had arrived a few minutes earlier, Kaiba Corp would've gotten them too. "Yuugi, tell me that you took the Millennium Puzzle with you."

"It's out in the car," Yuugi said, her eyes widening as she came to the appropriate conclusion. "Oh my god, don't tell me…" She read the truth in Malik's face and groaned. "Damn it."

"We need to get out of here," Yami said. If he was perturbed by the knowledge that the Ring and Rod were gone, not to mention the rest of their friends, he didn't show it. That was good as far as Ryou was concerned: it was nice to have someone take charge. "Gozaburo's going to know that I wouldn't have gone far from Seto and Bakura. It wouldn't surprise me if he was watching the cabin right now." He chewed his lip, glancing out the window at the car. "Shit, they've probably already put a tracking spell on the car."

"Could Mystical Elf help?" Malik suggested, jerking her chin towards the monster. "She shielded us before. I don't see why she couldn't shield a car now."

""Could you do that?" Ryou asked, curious.

Mystical Elf hummed, a high-pitched, sweet sound that made the hair on the back of Ryou's neck rise. Suddenly the air felt fraught with magical energy, strong enough that even the others seemed to notice. She shivered and briskly rubbed her arms. "I'll take that as a yes. Let's get our stuff and get out of here."

There wasn't really all that much to collect. Kaiba Corp's men had done an excellent job of general destruction while they were searching. Even a lot of the canned and boxed food in the kitchen had been dented or torn open, leaving the contents spoiled and not safe to eat. Ryou just made sure she took her messenger bag and what little from inside that was still salvageable. She was turning to leave the room when she noticed something odd. It was a small knife that had fallen to the floor beside the nightstand. The handle was a simple dark wood and the blade gleamed silver.

It looked so out of place that she went over and picked it up, running her fingers over the smooth wood. Down at the bottom, she discovered a tiny set of initials. She brought the knife up closer and peered at them, realizing that it was a tiny B. Bakura. Her heart lurched. She was actually holding something that had belonged to him, and she wasn't sure how to feel about that. It was like solid proof that he'd really existed, that he wasn't a figment of her imagination.

"I'm going to get you back," Ryou promised in a whisper, slipping the knife into her bag. "I'm coming, Bakura."


Please review!