A/N: A rather long chapter. I could have cut it down, but then it'd be a rather short chapter. I like where it ends right now, honestly. Oh, and this is nothing like what really happens, I'm sure. I have been writing under the preface that this is an alternate universe. Therefore, no flames on "This isn't how it happened!" So, R&R!

Chapter Five: As to Why…

By Lasafara Fett

            Ryou Bakura stood at the door of the Motuhs, waiting for someone to answer his knock. His other self had explained, briefly, what was going on, and Ryou had been glad to help.

            He couldn't believe there was actually a reason for his Yami's attempts at world domination, but apparently, this Nuhaku character was one nasty fellow. Bakura wasn't even sure he was human, but he did know that Nuhaku had plans for humanity that didn't include much of the human race.

            "When the Millennium Items were first created, it was to harness the power created by the Shadow Realm. We first became aware of this power through our own version of the Duel Monsters game, and quickly realized that it was something to be feared."

            "Why?"

            "The power in and of itself is not evil, but the possibilities of it being used for evil are great. So, we managed to harness that power inside the Items. It wasn't easy. But that's not important. Shortly thereafter, an entity, for lack of a better term, began appearing in the items, attempting to take control. Apparently, he is the soul of the Shadow Realm, and he doesn't like humanity one bit."

            "What did you do?"

            "Shut up for a moment and I'll tell you. That was when we keyed the Items to specific souls, so that when those souls were reborn, only they could handle the specific Items tuned to them. But it wasn't enough. He began manipulating the people. People are stupid. They'll believe whatever they're told, and he hurt many of them. Very badly. So, we decided the only way was to put pieces of ourselves into the Items. It hurt like hell, and eventually killed us."

            "Wow. So you died for this?"

            "I'm not all evil! In fact, I'd like to think I'm not evil at all, but no one else seems to agree with me. They didn't agree, either, that we should just gather up the Items and lock them away. Not until the last minute. And then they made arrangements for them to be found and redistributed. Stupid prigs. It's easier to find the Items when they've been bonded. And it's easier to get them. Especially when weaklings like you and Yugi are the ones guarding them."

            "So that's why you want to get the Items."

            "Yes. I'm not near as awful as you seem to make me out to be."

            So now, Ryou was taking Bakura to talk to Yami Yugi. Both had agreed that Yugi was more likely to be somewhat violent were Bakura to show up on his own. So, Ryou was the choice.

            "Ryou? Hi! Come on in!" Yugi looked pleased to see his friend.

            "Hello, Yugi. Actually, I was wondering if I might have a moment with your Yami…"

            Yugi gave Ryou a strange look, but nodded. "Okay. Just a second."     

            Yugi led the boy into the living room, where they both sat down. Yugi began to look a little distant, his eyes glazing over and then rolling back.

            Then, a light flashed briefly, and the boy changed.

            "What is it, Ryou?"

            Ryou nodded and took a breath, before looking over to Yami Yugi. "My Yami needs to talk to you. About a mutual acquaintance."

            "And who might that be?"

            "Nuhaku."

            Yami Yugi's eyes widened sharply, before he glared at Ryou. "Where did you hear that name?"

            "From my Yami. He told me that Nuhaku was back. He said that he needed to talk to you immediately."

            Yami Yugi nodded. "Very well. We will talk."

            Ryou nodded, and before long, Bakura was sitting in his place.

            "You say that Nuhaku is back? How?"

            Bakura shook his head. "I don't know. Probably because you didn't seal him away well enough, baka."

            Yami rolled his eyes. "Whatever. But isn't he just a spirit now anyway? Has he been attacking your Ring?"

            "No. He came after the Eye."

            Yami gave Bakura a strange look. "And how do you know that? I don't remember you being good friends with Pegasus."

            Bakura didn't even have the decency to look ashamed. Then again, he didn't see it as the shameful act that Yami did. "I'm not. I took it from him."

            Yami glared daggers at Bakura. "And what did that accomplish, might I ask?"

            Bakura shrugged. "If I hadn't, then he would have the Eye and we wouldn't even know that he was back."

            "You probably just got Pegasus upset enough that he would resort to helping that thing!" Yami sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand. "What's done is done. Do you have the Eye now?"

            Bakura shook his head. "He got it from me."

            "How?"

            "He's taken over Pegasus's body. I don't know if it was a willing possession or not, but Pegasus is lost to us now. He's using that bastard's influence against us again, and this time he has an Item to help."

            Yami shook his head. "No, he doesn't. He can't use the Millennium Items until he has all of them. Same as anyone who isn't bonded."

            "But he can influence the real world with his Shadow powers."

            Yami nodded. "So, we have to keep him from getting the other Items. And, since we all just happen to be going to the same school here, he's rather likely to come after us next. I think it'd be best if we stayed in control for a while. Our hikari are too weak to adequately handle this mess."

            "Ryou couldn't find his way out of a paper bag without me," Bakura said, almost fondly.

            Yami looked at him a little surprised. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were beginning to like your hikari."

            Bakura glared at Yami.

            "And here I thought you were going to hate him forever. Maybe you're getting soft?"

            "One more word, Yami, and Yugi won't ever be able to put your pieces back together."

            Nuhaku sat in Pegasus's little room, calmly stroking Pegasus's head. He was thinking about what he was going to do next, but for now, he was content to sit with Pegasus.

            Pegasus was less than pleased with this attention, though. He wanted out of here. No, he wanted Nuhaku out of here. However, the control Nuhaku had over him was great, and disobedience was painful.

            "Why do you want the Items so badly, Nuhaku-sama?"

            Nuhaku looked down at Pegasus in surprise. Pegasus rarely talked to him, rarely acknowledged his existence unless he had to. Not that Nuhaku minded. It gave him more freedom to do what he wished. Sometimes, though, he wished that people, especially Pegasus, wouldn't see him as a monster. Pulling Pegasus closer, he gathered the man into his lap. Pegasus didn't seem the least bit pleased with this.

            "Come come, Peega-kun. It's a long story, and you might as well be comfortable." Nuhaku always appeared in Pegasus's room much taller than Pegasus, giving the impression of a loving father figure. Pegasus didn't like this either, but Nuhaku was insane enough, without trying to argue with him. That just made him an angry insane man.

            Pegasus relaxed into Nuhaku's arms a little, and allowed Nuhaku to position him. Then he waited while Nuhaku got comfortable. Finally, Nuhaku started.

            "Before the Shadow Realm was opened, it was nothing like what it is now. It was beautiful and peaceful, a place worthy of being called home. The dark did not cover the world as it does now.

            When it was opened, it changed. The greed and hatefulness of this world spilled in, and began to overrun the place. Your people have a legend of the Pandora's Box. How it was opened and released all the evil in the world, correct?

            Our world had nothing like that. Our world was what would have happened here had Pandora not opened the box. When your people forced their way into our world, they began to teach our people things. Things like hate, and greed, and deceitfulness. These things were unheard of in our world.

            And then they forced us to fight. I suppose I was lucky. There was never a card made for me, so I never had to bow to other's wills. They never realized that by creating the cards, they were enslaving a whole other world.

            I had to watch as my subjects, my fellow creatures were subjected to battles where they fought and often lost. Our people would bring them to the healers, and they would be healed, just in time to be forced out again. Or they would die.

            When one of our kind dies, they are instantly reincarnated. We don't reproduce; we just come back. Unfortunately, this made it easy for the intruders to come in and battle. If we died, so what? We just came right back, right?

            I got sick of it. These were my people. My subjects that were being forced to fight and die for the amusement of these people. That's when I began to fight back.

            By creating the Millennium Items, the intruders were able to harness a great deal of my power for their own, power that I was no longer able to access. But not all of my power. And once it bonded with someone, I was able to easily locate it. My first attempts were clumsy, but by the time I had figured out how to override the human, they figured out how to tune each item to specific souls, blocking me from overriding them.

            After that, they were able to stay just one step ahead of me. When I finally managed to almost overcome them, they sealed me away into a corner of the Shadow Realm, with some of their own favorite monsters to guard me. Needless to say, that didn't work awfully well, since these were my people.

            But they discovered how to lock me into the corner without the use of the creatures they said they loved." Nuhaku began to laugh at this. Pegasus tensed, unsure of what was so funny, and especially unsure as to what he should do.

            Sensing Pegasus's unease, Nuhaku stopped laughing. He rubbed Pegasus's back in a comforting manner, before continuing.

            "I was stuck there for a long time, but with the rise of Duel Monsters again, my cage was weakened, and I was able to escape. Now, if I gather all the Items and gain my powers back, I will be able to expel this world from my home, and restore it to its former beauty."

            "Will that hurt this world?" Pegasus asked his question almost nervously.

            Nuhaku nodded. "It will. A lot of people will die. But your people didn't care if my people died. Why should I care?"

            Nuhaku began running his fingers through Pegasus's hair, murmuring softly, "But I'll never let anything happen to the one who has helped me so much, Peega-kun. You'll be safe, I promise."

            Pegasus just trembled. Suddenly the world had gotten even more complicated.