Chapter Ten: The Last Battle
The seven demons that formed from the mist were more horrible than anything that Malik had ever seen. One resembled a gray wolf, but had two heads and a man's style of walking. The strange creature was also the size of a large horse. Another had the same form as Orith in it's body, but it lacked the mystic wonder of the black dragon. This demon was scaled green and had more heads than could be counted. Another resembled a horse in some demented way, but it's teeth were long and sharp, and entrails hung from gashes in the bizarre animal's stomach to drag in the dust. A large frog sat on the field of battle, it's skin literally crawling with snakes and rats and all manner of unpleasant life. Occasionally a rat would stick out of a pore in the animals flesh, having nearly escaped. Insects and lizards poured from the disgusting animal's mouth.
Another of the seven demons of Hell was shaped like a bird. Shrouded in mist and fog cold enough to chill blood, from a distance this demon looked proud and beautiful, but in actuality was covered in lesions and sores. To the left of the bird demon there was one encased in flames, it's charred and blackened shape seeming to lean out towards the sides of it's globe, only to be brought crashing back to the center. The final demon floated above the ground with a slumped stature. It's hairy, vaguely human, form possessed elongated arms with disjointed fingers that were tipped with curling and dirty claws. Blood covered teeth three inches long descended from a mouth that led straight into a sloping forehead, the nose forgotten in it's marred complexion. Red, feral, eyes peered from beneath eyebrows that nearly covered them. The shortened legs and twisted spine only succeded in making the creature even more horrifying.
The young Egyptian nearly fell down with fright. What were these things? Looking over at Shadi, who now possessed a curved sword and a shield, Malik remembered that he was in the unseen world and created a sword of his own from the air.
Slowly, he mounted his charge and prepared for the battle that was immenant. From atop the great dragon, Malik could see the face of the girl that had been there when he awoke at Ryou's apartment that morning. With the soulbond between dragon and rider, Malik urged Orith forward a step at the site of that girl, the part of his soul that would jump into the midst of the demons alone to save her, taking over.
Slowly at first, then at full speed, somewhat like a boulder rolling down a hill, the seven demons came at them, leaving Tea paralyzed with fear. Shadi was the first to meet their charge, raising his sword high. The wolf demon met him snarling and slavering. The first stroke of Shadi's sword was caught in the jaws of one head while the other fought madly to bight the Egyptian's hand off.
Isis had seen Shadi forge the sword he had by merely concentrating. Not knowing how to use a sword, however, made it impossible for Isis to use that method of combat. She was thinking about how she could fight when the dragonlike demon charged her.
Having overshot by about twenty feet, the spectre turned around to attack again. When it began to run, so did Isis. Right before the feared collision, Isis jumped to one side to watch the hydra skid off and turn around once more. After so long it would have to run out of energy, and then she could strike.
Yami's gryffon took flight at the first sign of battle, and was soaring above the field. The Pharaoh saw Shadi struggling with the wolf demon. In the heat of the battle, he had forgotten all else. As the gryffon flapped in midair Yami spotted the mutilated horse galloping towards Shadi's back. Spurring his mount down, Yami centered his gaze on the bloody entrails dragging in the dust.
The two headed wolf released it's grip on the robed man's arm and watched as he staggered back, bleeding and screaming. It saw the horse coming up behind him. Grinning in an evil manner, the two heads howled and snapped in victory. Slumping, Shadi turned around just in time to see the teeth of the giant horse spirit open in horror as Yami's gryffon caught the intestines that had been dragging behind it and dragged it off course.
Sensing the opportunity, Shadi turned around with the fluid motions of a viper striking, and plunged his Arabic sword into the surprised wolf's chest. He rammed the point through the heart and lungs and liver and out near the spinal cord, bravely ignoring the snapping heads and flailing claws. Finally, the huge body went limp and collapsed, pinning Shadi underneath it's bulk.
Using the last of his strength, the Egyptian struggled from beneath the suffocating weight of the beast and propped his head against it's rib cage. There was no other way he could keep it up. All of his life seemed to have been spent in that last battle. He was a MD and could tell that the collapsing beast had broken quite a few bones, he could've realized that without the degree.
Absently, he wiped some of the thick liquid from his hands onto his robes. Why were his hands so sticky? Why was it so hard for him to move? The man wished that there was not so much noise in the air, and the sounds of the battle obediently faded into the distance. The stormy sky and the desert blurred. Shadi knew what was happening, and grasped the melinium key around his neck with both hands as darkness overtook him.
Yami fought to stay on top of his mount as the huge gryffon methodically dismantled the thrashing horse demon. The razor sharp claws tearing at the dark flesh and the shrill cries from the eagle's beak were enough to make almost anyone sick. Yami, however, had been witness to many battles, thusly the scene did not bother him. The tomb robber was no where to be seen, probably ran off, thought the Pharaoh.
Before the mass of blood and hair at the feet of the gryffon completely stopped twitching, it lifted itself into the air once more, to search for where else the duo might be needed.
Malik gripped the two horns on Orith's head for all he was worth. He had simply held on and endured being bitten by snakes and rats while the dragon dispatched of the beast that resembled a toad. As each droplet of blood fell, he remembered his friend's taught face, his last words, everything about that knight, and it was hard for him. He turned his head as the great serpent dodged an attack by the flaming beast, and prepared to die at last as the serpent ran at full speed into the circle of flames.
Isis used one hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead as she watched the hydra run towards her for what seemed like the hundredth time. Only this time, there was something different in it's gait. As it reached her, the creature leaped into the air. When it landed, Isis was on top of it, quicksilver dagger flashing each time it was removed from the scaly hide.
The steel hit again and again, rupturing blood vessels, cracking vertebrae, puncturing organs. Isis ignored the random head that reached back to bite her, she ignored everything but the motion of the dagger. For all she knew or cared, there was no longer an Isis Ishtal, there never had been. She was the present, she was the spirit of battle. The Egyptian woman did not stop her merciless attack until the huge beast had uttered one final, shuddering breath, and collapsed.
Marik opened his eyes when he realized that he wasn't being roasted alive, when the adrenaline running through his veins had subsided enough to reveal that his skin wasn't crisping, that his hair wasn't aflame, that his eyes weren't melting, his organs weren't exploding. He had envisioned all of these things happening to him in that horrible moment before Orith had plunged into the flame. After regaining his senses enough to look and see why he wasn't dead, Malik noticed that Orith had a plan. The great dragon's gigantic wings were beating back the flames, creating a safe area for it's rider.
Orith's gigantic jaws snapped madly at the disjointed beast in the center of the flames, his rider not fully grasping what had happened. If he could clear a path through the fire, Malik could stab the creature through the heart. A great pulsing orb of God knows what throbbed incessantly inside an open ribcage, and the repulsive light sent out by each wave shone through at the various places where the skin had been worn down by centuries in Hell.
The Egyptian finally realized what he must do. Orith could only keep the void of air clear of attacks for so long. The flames had engulfed the world behind him, before him, and all around. He had found his sister, he had found the missing half of his soul, he had no reason that he had to continue living. In the eerie shadows created by the yellow flames, Malik gathered all his courage and, jumping off Orith's back, did something more courageous than he thought he ever could.
Yami turned his head sharply when a large boom sounded to his left. He had been in a standoff with the ice demon for what seemed like forever, while the dragon and the slave were fighting with the flame creature. It appeared that the demon had won.
Yami hated that Malik had lost, the dragon would die as he did, but nevertheless he was grateful for the explosion. The Pharaoh hadn't been able to get near the bird because of the frost surrounding it, but the sudden flames gave him the only opening he would ever have.
Spurring his mount forward, the spirit said a small prayer to an obscure god, mabey one of the Egyptian's, mabey Allah, mabey The Lord our God and his son Christ. The ancient man prayed that he might succeed, for the fate of those unborn was to be determined by those long dead.
Tea looked around like a scared rabbit. All of the strange creatures seemed to be either dead or absorbed in battle. As quickly as she could on the shifting sands, the girl ran to where she had last seen the man that brought her here. Half climbing, half diving over the huge carcass of the wolf, Tea screamed.
The blood covered face that stared back at her was at peace, but it was still frightening. Just as the panicked schoolgirl's screams died down, she heard a snarling behind her.
Diving forward out of fear, and some primal instinct waiting deep within every soul, Tea grabbed the sword that Shadi had been holding and looked back. Where she had been standing, two primordial hands were trying to free a long pike from between the wolf's ribs.
Just as Tea had come to believe that someone would come to help her before the demon could free it's weapon, a ripping sound cracked through the dry, desert air. Blood splattered everywhere and the demon rushed her. Holding the curved, Arabic blade in front of her, Tea wished with all her might that she was somewhere else.
Yami's body convulsed and shivered continuously. He had tried to stab the bird's heart a myriad of times, but it was coated in mud from the ascension of the banks of the River Styx. Ice encrusted the feathers of the gryffon, and the tips of Yami's fingers had turned purple. The Pharaoh blinked frozen eyes and wiped beads of ice from his forehead. There was only one possibility of victory in the battle he was fighting and, no matter what the cost, the Pharaoh had to take it.
Yami gathered the last of his strength and lunged from his mount to the neck of the bird. Using frozen legs to grip the neck of the strange beast, the man stabbed madly, trying to find one place where ice would not deflect his blows. After he had exhausted all of his strength and lost his will, the gigantic head turned around, as if to gloat, and aimed to knock the king to his death.
At that moment something sparked inside Yami's soul. There had always been a certain invincibility to the Pharaoh, and it would not fail him even in his darkest hour. Just as the beak neared his chest, numb fingers tightened on an ice covered dagger and a spirit somewhere outside Yami's frozen and broken body guided his arm forward and forced the blade through the glassy eye of the demon, and through the skull.
As he felt the knife crack the skull of the gigantic bird, all the mist evaporated, and he could see clearly again. Somewhere a shrill, dying shriek sounded, and he fell. His used body thudded to the ground, and brittle bones were crushed by the fall and pressure of being pinned under the gigantic, crane like body. Faded, violet eyes fluttered open one last time.
Instead of seeing the battle as it was, the ancient king saw the desert landscape as it had been. Great Pyramids stood sentinel over him, and the reeds and rushes of the Nile brushed his face, the clear waters beckoned him. The mud beneath his feet crawled with life, nothing undesireable. A mouse would scurry along, a cobra would wait for it, a baby crocidile would sneak out of the roots and rushes. He was at home, dressed as a Pharaoh again.
Yami had never seen this stretch of the river before, and it was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. As the sun shone down on his back, he walked onward, wading into the crystalline waters.
Bakura's eyes fluttered open. The last thing he remembered was the seven demons emerging from a rift in the fabric of existence. Getting to his feet, the robber trotted as quickly as possible over the small dune that had kept him from being seen during the battle.
He had seen death in his life, and brutality, so the battle scene layed out before him was nothing new. The conflict that drew his attention was Tea's. Bakura watched as a girl he didn't know, wielding a sword that she would more likely stab herself with than the enemy, hold the blade in front of her, and disappear just as the ape reached her. The robber could swear that there were sky blue wings emerging from the child's shoulder blades.
"HEY YOU!!!" He screamed at the top of his voice. "Fight me, you lumbering Neanderthal!!!" Bakura panted and watched in horror as the beast, which was obviously more intelligent than he had thought, turned back and began to attack Tea once more.
Knowing that he had to save the winged figure, Bakura thought about the risk to his own life. There was a great chance that he would not live beyond the hour. The ancient thief closed his eyes and thought of the Hart in the ancient Forest. He thought of all the trees that had been hacked down, all the wolves that were hunted, all the corruption that tried to worm it's way into the innocence of nature. He was a creature of the old world, and it was fitting that he die with it. Bakura screamed the war cry of the creatures, a noise that very few have heard, none of them living.
Tea watched in surprise as a gigantic white stag appeared at the top of a dune behind the creature attacking her. It had silver antlers that spread out across the darkened sky. Blue, tear filled, eyes gazed into nothingness, remembering the most beautiful thing they had ever seen, only to return to the present. Her own eyes widened as the hart reared up on two legs, opened it's mouth, and released a shriek that would drive a banshee to madness. It was more beautiful than any song Tea had ever heard. Then the guardian of the forest charged.
Tea shut her eyes as the stag met her attacker. She didn't watch as the silver horns gored and ripped the flesh. She didn't watch as glasslike hooves broke bones and crushed organs. She didn't watch as, in the finishing move, the stag stood on it's hind legs and came down on the already shattered ribcage, crushing the demon's equivalent to a heart. When she opened her eyes, everything was quiet, and a very shaken and bloody Bakura was standing in front of her.
The seven demons that formed from the mist were more horrible than anything that Malik had ever seen. One resembled a gray wolf, but had two heads and a man's style of walking. The strange creature was also the size of a large horse. Another had the same form as Orith in it's body, but it lacked the mystic wonder of the black dragon. This demon was scaled green and had more heads than could be counted. Another resembled a horse in some demented way, but it's teeth were long and sharp, and entrails hung from gashes in the bizarre animal's stomach to drag in the dust. A large frog sat on the field of battle, it's skin literally crawling with snakes and rats and all manner of unpleasant life. Occasionally a rat would stick out of a pore in the animals flesh, having nearly escaped. Insects and lizards poured from the disgusting animal's mouth.
Another of the seven demons of Hell was shaped like a bird. Shrouded in mist and fog cold enough to chill blood, from a distance this demon looked proud and beautiful, but in actuality was covered in lesions and sores. To the left of the bird demon there was one encased in flames, it's charred and blackened shape seeming to lean out towards the sides of it's globe, only to be brought crashing back to the center. The final demon floated above the ground with a slumped stature. It's hairy, vaguely human, form possessed elongated arms with disjointed fingers that were tipped with curling and dirty claws. Blood covered teeth three inches long descended from a mouth that led straight into a sloping forehead, the nose forgotten in it's marred complexion. Red, feral, eyes peered from beneath eyebrows that nearly covered them. The shortened legs and twisted spine only succeded in making the creature even more horrifying.
The young Egyptian nearly fell down with fright. What were these things? Looking over at Shadi, who now possessed a curved sword and a shield, Malik remembered that he was in the unseen world and created a sword of his own from the air.
Slowly, he mounted his charge and prepared for the battle that was immenant. From atop the great dragon, Malik could see the face of the girl that had been there when he awoke at Ryou's apartment that morning. With the soulbond between dragon and rider, Malik urged Orith forward a step at the site of that girl, the part of his soul that would jump into the midst of the demons alone to save her, taking over.
Slowly at first, then at full speed, somewhat like a boulder rolling down a hill, the seven demons came at them, leaving Tea paralyzed with fear. Shadi was the first to meet their charge, raising his sword high. The wolf demon met him snarling and slavering. The first stroke of Shadi's sword was caught in the jaws of one head while the other fought madly to bight the Egyptian's hand off.
Isis had seen Shadi forge the sword he had by merely concentrating. Not knowing how to use a sword, however, made it impossible for Isis to use that method of combat. She was thinking about how she could fight when the dragonlike demon charged her.
Having overshot by about twenty feet, the spectre turned around to attack again. When it began to run, so did Isis. Right before the feared collision, Isis jumped to one side to watch the hydra skid off and turn around once more. After so long it would have to run out of energy, and then she could strike.
Yami's gryffon took flight at the first sign of battle, and was soaring above the field. The Pharaoh saw Shadi struggling with the wolf demon. In the heat of the battle, he had forgotten all else. As the gryffon flapped in midair Yami spotted the mutilated horse galloping towards Shadi's back. Spurring his mount down, Yami centered his gaze on the bloody entrails dragging in the dust.
The two headed wolf released it's grip on the robed man's arm and watched as he staggered back, bleeding and screaming. It saw the horse coming up behind him. Grinning in an evil manner, the two heads howled and snapped in victory. Slumping, Shadi turned around just in time to see the teeth of the giant horse spirit open in horror as Yami's gryffon caught the intestines that had been dragging behind it and dragged it off course.
Sensing the opportunity, Shadi turned around with the fluid motions of a viper striking, and plunged his Arabic sword into the surprised wolf's chest. He rammed the point through the heart and lungs and liver and out near the spinal cord, bravely ignoring the snapping heads and flailing claws. Finally, the huge body went limp and collapsed, pinning Shadi underneath it's bulk.
Using the last of his strength, the Egyptian struggled from beneath the suffocating weight of the beast and propped his head against it's rib cage. There was no other way he could keep it up. All of his life seemed to have been spent in that last battle. He was a MD and could tell that the collapsing beast had broken quite a few bones, he could've realized that without the degree.
Absently, he wiped some of the thick liquid from his hands onto his robes. Why were his hands so sticky? Why was it so hard for him to move? The man wished that there was not so much noise in the air, and the sounds of the battle obediently faded into the distance. The stormy sky and the desert blurred. Shadi knew what was happening, and grasped the melinium key around his neck with both hands as darkness overtook him.
Yami fought to stay on top of his mount as the huge gryffon methodically dismantled the thrashing horse demon. The razor sharp claws tearing at the dark flesh and the shrill cries from the eagle's beak were enough to make almost anyone sick. Yami, however, had been witness to many battles, thusly the scene did not bother him. The tomb robber was no where to be seen, probably ran off, thought the Pharaoh.
Before the mass of blood and hair at the feet of the gryffon completely stopped twitching, it lifted itself into the air once more, to search for where else the duo might be needed.
Malik gripped the two horns on Orith's head for all he was worth. He had simply held on and endured being bitten by snakes and rats while the dragon dispatched of the beast that resembled a toad. As each droplet of blood fell, he remembered his friend's taught face, his last words, everything about that knight, and it was hard for him. He turned his head as the great serpent dodged an attack by the flaming beast, and prepared to die at last as the serpent ran at full speed into the circle of flames.
Isis used one hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead as she watched the hydra run towards her for what seemed like the hundredth time. Only this time, there was something different in it's gait. As it reached her, the creature leaped into the air. When it landed, Isis was on top of it, quicksilver dagger flashing each time it was removed from the scaly hide.
The steel hit again and again, rupturing blood vessels, cracking vertebrae, puncturing organs. Isis ignored the random head that reached back to bite her, she ignored everything but the motion of the dagger. For all she knew or cared, there was no longer an Isis Ishtal, there never had been. She was the present, she was the spirit of battle. The Egyptian woman did not stop her merciless attack until the huge beast had uttered one final, shuddering breath, and collapsed.
Marik opened his eyes when he realized that he wasn't being roasted alive, when the adrenaline running through his veins had subsided enough to reveal that his skin wasn't crisping, that his hair wasn't aflame, that his eyes weren't melting, his organs weren't exploding. He had envisioned all of these things happening to him in that horrible moment before Orith had plunged into the flame. After regaining his senses enough to look and see why he wasn't dead, Malik noticed that Orith had a plan. The great dragon's gigantic wings were beating back the flames, creating a safe area for it's rider.
Orith's gigantic jaws snapped madly at the disjointed beast in the center of the flames, his rider not fully grasping what had happened. If he could clear a path through the fire, Malik could stab the creature through the heart. A great pulsing orb of God knows what throbbed incessantly inside an open ribcage, and the repulsive light sent out by each wave shone through at the various places where the skin had been worn down by centuries in Hell.
The Egyptian finally realized what he must do. Orith could only keep the void of air clear of attacks for so long. The flames had engulfed the world behind him, before him, and all around. He had found his sister, he had found the missing half of his soul, he had no reason that he had to continue living. In the eerie shadows created by the yellow flames, Malik gathered all his courage and, jumping off Orith's back, did something more courageous than he thought he ever could.
Yami turned his head sharply when a large boom sounded to his left. He had been in a standoff with the ice demon for what seemed like forever, while the dragon and the slave were fighting with the flame creature. It appeared that the demon had won.
Yami hated that Malik had lost, the dragon would die as he did, but nevertheless he was grateful for the explosion. The Pharaoh hadn't been able to get near the bird because of the frost surrounding it, but the sudden flames gave him the only opening he would ever have.
Spurring his mount forward, the spirit said a small prayer to an obscure god, mabey one of the Egyptian's, mabey Allah, mabey The Lord our God and his son Christ. The ancient man prayed that he might succeed, for the fate of those unborn was to be determined by those long dead.
Tea looked around like a scared rabbit. All of the strange creatures seemed to be either dead or absorbed in battle. As quickly as she could on the shifting sands, the girl ran to where she had last seen the man that brought her here. Half climbing, half diving over the huge carcass of the wolf, Tea screamed.
The blood covered face that stared back at her was at peace, but it was still frightening. Just as the panicked schoolgirl's screams died down, she heard a snarling behind her.
Diving forward out of fear, and some primal instinct waiting deep within every soul, Tea grabbed the sword that Shadi had been holding and looked back. Where she had been standing, two primordial hands were trying to free a long pike from between the wolf's ribs.
Just as Tea had come to believe that someone would come to help her before the demon could free it's weapon, a ripping sound cracked through the dry, desert air. Blood splattered everywhere and the demon rushed her. Holding the curved, Arabic blade in front of her, Tea wished with all her might that she was somewhere else.
Yami's body convulsed and shivered continuously. He had tried to stab the bird's heart a myriad of times, but it was coated in mud from the ascension of the banks of the River Styx. Ice encrusted the feathers of the gryffon, and the tips of Yami's fingers had turned purple. The Pharaoh blinked frozen eyes and wiped beads of ice from his forehead. There was only one possibility of victory in the battle he was fighting and, no matter what the cost, the Pharaoh had to take it.
Yami gathered the last of his strength and lunged from his mount to the neck of the bird. Using frozen legs to grip the neck of the strange beast, the man stabbed madly, trying to find one place where ice would not deflect his blows. After he had exhausted all of his strength and lost his will, the gigantic head turned around, as if to gloat, and aimed to knock the king to his death.
At that moment something sparked inside Yami's soul. There had always been a certain invincibility to the Pharaoh, and it would not fail him even in his darkest hour. Just as the beak neared his chest, numb fingers tightened on an ice covered dagger and a spirit somewhere outside Yami's frozen and broken body guided his arm forward and forced the blade through the glassy eye of the demon, and through the skull.
As he felt the knife crack the skull of the gigantic bird, all the mist evaporated, and he could see clearly again. Somewhere a shrill, dying shriek sounded, and he fell. His used body thudded to the ground, and brittle bones were crushed by the fall and pressure of being pinned under the gigantic, crane like body. Faded, violet eyes fluttered open one last time.
Instead of seeing the battle as it was, the ancient king saw the desert landscape as it had been. Great Pyramids stood sentinel over him, and the reeds and rushes of the Nile brushed his face, the clear waters beckoned him. The mud beneath his feet crawled with life, nothing undesireable. A mouse would scurry along, a cobra would wait for it, a baby crocidile would sneak out of the roots and rushes. He was at home, dressed as a Pharaoh again.
Yami had never seen this stretch of the river before, and it was more beautiful than anything he had ever seen. As the sun shone down on his back, he walked onward, wading into the crystalline waters.
Bakura's eyes fluttered open. The last thing he remembered was the seven demons emerging from a rift in the fabric of existence. Getting to his feet, the robber trotted as quickly as possible over the small dune that had kept him from being seen during the battle.
He had seen death in his life, and brutality, so the battle scene layed out before him was nothing new. The conflict that drew his attention was Tea's. Bakura watched as a girl he didn't know, wielding a sword that she would more likely stab herself with than the enemy, hold the blade in front of her, and disappear just as the ape reached her. The robber could swear that there were sky blue wings emerging from the child's shoulder blades.
"HEY YOU!!!" He screamed at the top of his voice. "Fight me, you lumbering Neanderthal!!!" Bakura panted and watched in horror as the beast, which was obviously more intelligent than he had thought, turned back and began to attack Tea once more.
Knowing that he had to save the winged figure, Bakura thought about the risk to his own life. There was a great chance that he would not live beyond the hour. The ancient thief closed his eyes and thought of the Hart in the ancient Forest. He thought of all the trees that had been hacked down, all the wolves that were hunted, all the corruption that tried to worm it's way into the innocence of nature. He was a creature of the old world, and it was fitting that he die with it. Bakura screamed the war cry of the creatures, a noise that very few have heard, none of them living.
Tea watched in surprise as a gigantic white stag appeared at the top of a dune behind the creature attacking her. It had silver antlers that spread out across the darkened sky. Blue, tear filled, eyes gazed into nothingness, remembering the most beautiful thing they had ever seen, only to return to the present. Her own eyes widened as the hart reared up on two legs, opened it's mouth, and released a shriek that would drive a banshee to madness. It was more beautiful than any song Tea had ever heard. Then the guardian of the forest charged.
Tea shut her eyes as the stag met her attacker. She didn't watch as the silver horns gored and ripped the flesh. She didn't watch as glasslike hooves broke bones and crushed organs. She didn't watch as, in the finishing move, the stag stood on it's hind legs and came down on the already shattered ribcage, crushing the demon's equivalent to a heart. When she opened her eyes, everything was quiet, and a very shaken and bloody Bakura was standing in front of her.