Summary: Certain circumstances leave Yugi alone in the middle of a forest...
PG-13 for strong language in later chapters.
A/N: This is my first time posting to FFN, and my computer doesn't like it, so it may take me a while to get all the formatting, etc. to my satisfaction…bear with me ^grin^
Disclaimer: Hey, hey, wait a second. If I actually owned Yu-Gi-Oh!, do you really thing I would be posting here? And do you really think that the leading (female) role would be Téa? Therefore, do I own Yu-Gi-Oh! ? (Unfortunately… ^cries^)
Unknown Identity
Chapter One: Dark Duels
The clouds gathered above a dark mountain and lightning cracked through the black sky, revealing the knife-like edge of a huge precipice. Rain poured down in sheets. On the mountainside, two men ignored the rolling thunder.
Yami Bakura smirked, an evil expression that sent a chill of fear up Yami's spine. It was heightened by the knowledge that the other yami had a good reason to be smirking – he had nearly defeated the Game King.
"Come on, Yami Yugi," Yami Bakura prodded. "Surely the Game King can't be this easy to defeat?" Yami snarled, but even as he did so his false body flickered and began to fade. This prolonged battle of energies in the real world without the aid of a true physical form was wearing on him, and he was exhausted, more so than he had been since well before he had begun sharing Yugi's body.
Yugi. The yami sent a quick glance over to where the helpless young form lay prone on the ground, alive but soulless. His friends Anzu, Jounouchi, and Honda were lying next to him. Yami Bakura's first move in this final battle had been to trap their souls in soul cards, leaving them completely unable to fend for themselves, and leaving Yami with no choice but to fight.
Yami wrenched his thoughts back to his present situation just as a brilliant bolt of Yami Bakura's spirit energy caught him in the back. He fell forward and landed heavily on the ground, gasping for breath. Yami struggled to rise to his feet, but Yami Bakura planted his foot squarely on his back and pinned him down.
"I've failed," Yami whispered almost inaudibly. "I've failed…"
"Ready to hand over that millennium puzzle of yours, Yami Yugi?" Yami Bakura sneered. "Or shall I just take it from you by force?" He dug his heel into Yami's back, and Yami grimaced in pain.
"You'll…never…get…my…puzzle!" Yami snarled as a sudden burst of energy shuddered through him. He rolled over and away from the other yami's foot, then scrambled to his feet, but the sneer on his opponent's face made him stop dead in his tracks. Rather than following Yami, Yami Bakura had approached Yugi's helpless form and removed his millennium puzzle.
"You were saying?" he asked with feigned politeness. "But I think I'll give you a little choice. You can allow me to keep the puzzle, and I won't roll your precious Yugi off the cliff. Or you can fight me, and each of your friends will fall to their deaths after your demise." He glanced over the edge of the precipice. "And after looking down, I'd say the odds of survival are pretty low." He sneered.
Yami snarled, but he knew there was nothing he could do. It was his life versus the lives of Yugi and his friends – the choice was clear. His shoulders slumped in defeat.
"The puzzle is yours," the yami said softly.
"Weakling," Yami Bakura spat as he turned and began to walk away. Behind him, Yami fell to his knees in the mud and his shoulders began to shake as the reality of his failure sank in.
"Wait!" a voice called from the darkness. "Yami, stop!" Yami's head turned, but it was not him the approaching figure was speaking to. Yami Bakura halted and spun, a look of pure hatred on his face.
"Well, if it isn't my meddling other, Ryou Bakura," he snarled. "What do you want?"
"I want a duel," the normally quiet Ryou said flatly. Yami Bakura stared at him in shock, but then burst out in laughter.
"You? You want to challenge me to a duel?" His laughter rose, drowning out the rolling thunder. Ryou's eyes narrowed.
"What, afraid to take the challenge?" he prodded. Yami knew it hurt the peaceful Bakura to have to act this way, but the light-haired teen was very determined. Yami Bakura growled softly.
"Why would I fear to duel you?" he sneered. "There's no question of the outcome – I will win."
"Then you will duel?" Bakura asked, though it was more of a statement than a question.
"Yes. I will duel – you know I enjoy crushing your spirit," Yami Bakura replied.
"Ryou…" Yami spoke up for the first time. His voice was weak, a measure of just how exhausted he was. "You can't duel with identical decks. The duel will go nowhere." He paused and fumbled in a pouch at his side. His elegant fingers drew forth a deck in perfect condition, and he held it out to Bakura. "Use mine. You know it better than Jounouchi's." Bakura nodded and took it from him.
"Thanks, Yami," he said. Then he turned back to his yami. "But this will be a duel for more than just entertainment," he said. "If I win, I get the millennium puzzle and the soul cards, and you spend the rest of eternity in the Shadow Realm." Yami Bakura's eyes narrowed, but he nodded.
"I don't suppose I'll have to worry much about that," he said with a sneer, "but I have a few conditions as well. If I win – which I will – I keep the millennium puzzle and the soul cards, and this will happen to the rest of your friends." The millennium ring around his neck began to glow, and a brilliant beam of light erupted from Yugi's forehead.
"There's no saving your friend now," Yami Bakura sneered.
"Yugi!" Yami yelled, launching himself at the other yami. But his strength failed him, and he fell face-first into the mud. "What have you done?" he spat, glaring at Yami Bakura.
"Nothing of consequence," Yami Bakura said, an evil grin dancing at his mouth. "Or at least, not after…this!" Before Ryou or Yami could react he braced his foot against Yugi's side and sent his soulless body tumbling down the cliff.
"Yugi!" Bakura and Yami yelled at the same time. Yami's false body vanished and his spirit form leapt from the cliff as well. Bakura stood dumbfounded for an instant before turning to his yami with an icy determination in his eyes.
"Let's duel."
A/N: Please review, tell me how bad it is…flames will be used to burn school papers, schools, etc….