Alyz sat by the fire, where Tea was cooking some oatmeal in an old rusty
kettle. /Rinn?/ She asked.
/Yes, hikari?/
Alyz paused. There was a strange sensation she was feeling. A rough, fluid tingling... and it was not coming from any particular place, but was everywhere at once. The world seemed so distorted and twisted... the air felt heavy as lead, and Alyz was certain that should she reach out, she would be able to pull a chunk of it from the sky. The ground, however, felt anything but dense. It seemed as though she was sinking into a hole, although she knew that the earth beneath her should be sturdy and firm. The water in the kettle had been sitting over the fire for several minutes, but had not even broken into a boil. /Do you feel that?/
Alyz felt the spirit pause also, before replying. /I do,/ she answered slowly. /I feel something evil./
/What do you mean?/ Alyz asked quickly. She did not like the sound of her spirit's tone. The earth continued to pull her beneath it, and the air pounded around her head. The sky was clouded over and grey, and tiny drops of rain had started to fall, putting out the fire quickly. The water still hadn't come to a boil.
"Oh come on!" she faintly heard Tea yell. "The last thing I need right now is a downpour!"
Alyz felt as though the earth was drawing her into its clutches, and she could no longer sit and let it envelope her so. She cleared her throat and stood up, but almost fell over again. The earth... was rolling like a sea. Pitching back and forth and moving like stormy waves. "This isn't happening..." Alyz muttered under her breath. She took a step forward, and nearly fell over sideways. The ground was an ocean, and Alyz nothing more than a stray ship, doomed to be lost forever to its clutches. Alyz's thoughts were dimmed. Something was seriously wrong, but she couldn't think straight enough to try figuring it out.
Through cloudy eyes, Alyz could see Yugi and the rest of them staring at her. She must have been a strange sight, indeed, walking along like a drunkard. She could see their mouths moving, but could not hear the words they were saying. She could hear nothing but the steady pounding of the air against her head. She staggered out of the clearing and walked through the trees until she reached an enormous boulder. Sick to her stomach, Alyz vomited onto the needle-covered forest floor, which was getting rather damp from the rain that was now pouring down steadily..
/Alyz? What's wrong?/ Rinn asked. Alyz leaned against the boulder, shaking her head to rid it of the fierce pounding within. When the pounding only increased, Alyz leaned against the boulder and began to sob into it. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and could do nothing more than let them course down her cheeks. So much pain! It was numbing. Unable to answer her spirit's inquiry, she weeped uncontrollably into the boulder until her legs would not hold her any longer, and she collapsed into a heap at the bottom.
:: Rinn's POV ::
/Alyz?/ I asked. /Alyz, are you okay?/ But she could not answer me. Something was terribly wrong. Seeming how Alyz could not control herself, I decided to control her. She gave no resistance and I knew she was not in the right state of mind. I stood up and brushed off, then looked around. There was no movement, no sound, nothing. It was as if the world had ceased turning. This thought was rather frightening, considering Alyz had perceived it to be /moving/ constantly.
Alyz had receded into a far off corner of her mind, giving me complete control. I stepped around the boulder, preparing to go back to the clearing. But I heard someone laugh, and stopped dead in my tracks. I turned slowly, and found myself facing someone who I still had nightmares over.
***
Barombe had led me to the park. There were beautiful fountains and rose bushes and miles of green fields. It was really a rather beautiful place, but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. "Where are you taking me?" I asked. Barombe just smiled and took my hand. He led me over to a specific bench, that was completely surrounded by trees. It was very private and enticingly romantic.
He sat down on the bench, and I sat next to him. I giggled. "Oh, come on, Barombe! Just tell me why we're here!" I said. "I really need to go back and finish doing those plans, you know. Mother will be terribly angry if she-"
Barombe stopped my mindless chatter by pressing his lips to mine. I leaned into the kiss, savouring every second. It wasn't often that we were ever alone together, and I knew to make the most of the time we did have. So it was with a great deal of regret that I finally pulled myself away from him. He smiled.
"Don't worry so much!" he chided softly, running his fingers through my hair. His arm slid around my waist as I leaned onto his shoulder. "You and I both know you needed to get out of the house, Rinn."
I laughed. "You know me better than I do!" I exclaimed.
***
:: Bakura's POV ::
Yami grinned at the startled expression on Alyz' face. She had stopped dead, and I could only imagine what would happen next. /Don't do this,/ I said, knowing all too well that he wasn't listening to me at all. /Just let her go!/ He ignored me as usual, his eyes boring into the circular object around her neck.
"Give me the portal," he hissed. Alyz's face was stern, and she shook her head. It was then that I noticed something different about her. From the days I had spent observing her, I knew that her eyes were a soft amber, and her hair a vivid shade of red. But her eyes... they were plainly blue. And her hair was a light brown, with only a faint trace of the fiery color that it usually was.
/That's not her,/ I said, more to myself than to my Yami.
/Shut up, you./ Yami glared at whoever the girl was. "Give me the portal now, or I will have to take it from you!" he yelled.
"I know you are Barombe."
My spirit stopped. He obviously recognized the name. "I am not."
"Do you remember me?" she asked, a wicked-looking smile on her face. "I can certainly remember you. Do you remember what you did to me?" she continued. She walked up to Yami and slapped him soundly. He cringed slightly, and I felt a faint amount of his pain. "/I/ remember."
Too shocked to reply, Yami just stood there. I didn't know what was going on, but at least he wasn't attempting to kill her or anything--yet. "I thought I had destroyed you," he said slowly. "I imprisoned you in the sphere, and then I--"
"Went over to Melinda's house, and let the sphere roll under her bed," Alyz answered slyly. "Her mother found it a few months later and gave me to a museum. I was then stolen by a thief and sold on the black market to an old collecter of egyptian artifacts living in North America. Unfortunately for him, however, the ship I was being illegally imported on was hoarded by the authorities, and during the struggle, several boxes ended up overboard. The sphere sank to the ocean bottom. Several hundred years later, an aged fisherman got the sphere tangled in his line and reeled me up. I was then handed down from generation to generation and eventually ended up on Alyz's desk."
Yami stared at her, astonished. "So you survived...." he whispered, taken back. He was rather confused, and it was only at this point that I realized he had let his guard down. I could take back control of my own body. I pushed him away, and stepped back from whoever was in Alyz's body. Yami put up very little fight, merely sat back to watch what was going to happen.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Rinn," she answered. "And you are no longer Barombe, I can see."
"Why are you in Alyz's body?" I inquired, ignoring the statement about the dark spirit. Rinn cast her eyes down.
"Alyz... is not in a proper state of mind. I decided that I should take over before she hurt herself or anyone else. I think she will be okay for now, however," she replied. Her eyes became unfocused, and the sphere glowed fiercely. There was an immediate change. Alyz's hair became it's natural flaming hue, and her amber eyes returned. Then she collapsed.
I reached out and caught her before she could fall, gathering her up in my embrace. "Alyz?" I whispered. Her head moved slightly in response. I pulled her over to the boulder and sat us both against it. Alyz blinked a few times, shaking her head slightly.
"Where am I?" she asked. "What's going on?"
I hushed her and prepared to get up and leave. Alyz would be all right without me. "Bakura?" she asked suddenly. I paused before standing.
"Yes?" I answered.
She sighed and leaned on my shoulder. "Don't let me go without saying 'goodbye'," she said. I didn't reply immediately. Alyz was obviously not sane at that moment, for whatever reason that may have been, and I wasn't so sure that leaving her now would be the best thing to do. I sighed and decided not to leave.
"Goodbye," I said softly. Alyz leaned over and kissed my cheek gently.
"Goodbye!"
And then she was gone.
/Yes, hikari?/
Alyz paused. There was a strange sensation she was feeling. A rough, fluid tingling... and it was not coming from any particular place, but was everywhere at once. The world seemed so distorted and twisted... the air felt heavy as lead, and Alyz was certain that should she reach out, she would be able to pull a chunk of it from the sky. The ground, however, felt anything but dense. It seemed as though she was sinking into a hole, although she knew that the earth beneath her should be sturdy and firm. The water in the kettle had been sitting over the fire for several minutes, but had not even broken into a boil. /Do you feel that?/
Alyz felt the spirit pause also, before replying. /I do,/ she answered slowly. /I feel something evil./
/What do you mean?/ Alyz asked quickly. She did not like the sound of her spirit's tone. The earth continued to pull her beneath it, and the air pounded around her head. The sky was clouded over and grey, and tiny drops of rain had started to fall, putting out the fire quickly. The water still hadn't come to a boil.
"Oh come on!" she faintly heard Tea yell. "The last thing I need right now is a downpour!"
Alyz felt as though the earth was drawing her into its clutches, and she could no longer sit and let it envelope her so. She cleared her throat and stood up, but almost fell over again. The earth... was rolling like a sea. Pitching back and forth and moving like stormy waves. "This isn't happening..." Alyz muttered under her breath. She took a step forward, and nearly fell over sideways. The ground was an ocean, and Alyz nothing more than a stray ship, doomed to be lost forever to its clutches. Alyz's thoughts were dimmed. Something was seriously wrong, but she couldn't think straight enough to try figuring it out.
Through cloudy eyes, Alyz could see Yugi and the rest of them staring at her. She must have been a strange sight, indeed, walking along like a drunkard. She could see their mouths moving, but could not hear the words they were saying. She could hear nothing but the steady pounding of the air against her head. She staggered out of the clearing and walked through the trees until she reached an enormous boulder. Sick to her stomach, Alyz vomited onto the needle-covered forest floor, which was getting rather damp from the rain that was now pouring down steadily..
/Alyz? What's wrong?/ Rinn asked. Alyz leaned against the boulder, shaking her head to rid it of the fierce pounding within. When the pounding only increased, Alyz leaned against the boulder and began to sob into it. She couldn't stop the tears from flowing, and could do nothing more than let them course down her cheeks. So much pain! It was numbing. Unable to answer her spirit's inquiry, she weeped uncontrollably into the boulder until her legs would not hold her any longer, and she collapsed into a heap at the bottom.
:: Rinn's POV ::
/Alyz?/ I asked. /Alyz, are you okay?/ But she could not answer me. Something was terribly wrong. Seeming how Alyz could not control herself, I decided to control her. She gave no resistance and I knew she was not in the right state of mind. I stood up and brushed off, then looked around. There was no movement, no sound, nothing. It was as if the world had ceased turning. This thought was rather frightening, considering Alyz had perceived it to be /moving/ constantly.
Alyz had receded into a far off corner of her mind, giving me complete control. I stepped around the boulder, preparing to go back to the clearing. But I heard someone laugh, and stopped dead in my tracks. I turned slowly, and found myself facing someone who I still had nightmares over.
***
Barombe had led me to the park. There were beautiful fountains and rose bushes and miles of green fields. It was really a rather beautiful place, but nothing terribly out of the ordinary. "Where are you taking me?" I asked. Barombe just smiled and took my hand. He led me over to a specific bench, that was completely surrounded by trees. It was very private and enticingly romantic.
He sat down on the bench, and I sat next to him. I giggled. "Oh, come on, Barombe! Just tell me why we're here!" I said. "I really need to go back and finish doing those plans, you know. Mother will be terribly angry if she-"
Barombe stopped my mindless chatter by pressing his lips to mine. I leaned into the kiss, savouring every second. It wasn't often that we were ever alone together, and I knew to make the most of the time we did have. So it was with a great deal of regret that I finally pulled myself away from him. He smiled.
"Don't worry so much!" he chided softly, running his fingers through my hair. His arm slid around my waist as I leaned onto his shoulder. "You and I both know you needed to get out of the house, Rinn."
I laughed. "You know me better than I do!" I exclaimed.
***
:: Bakura's POV ::
Yami grinned at the startled expression on Alyz' face. She had stopped dead, and I could only imagine what would happen next. /Don't do this,/ I said, knowing all too well that he wasn't listening to me at all. /Just let her go!/ He ignored me as usual, his eyes boring into the circular object around her neck.
"Give me the portal," he hissed. Alyz's face was stern, and she shook her head. It was then that I noticed something different about her. From the days I had spent observing her, I knew that her eyes were a soft amber, and her hair a vivid shade of red. But her eyes... they were plainly blue. And her hair was a light brown, with only a faint trace of the fiery color that it usually was.
/That's not her,/ I said, more to myself than to my Yami.
/Shut up, you./ Yami glared at whoever the girl was. "Give me the portal now, or I will have to take it from you!" he yelled.
"I know you are Barombe."
My spirit stopped. He obviously recognized the name. "I am not."
"Do you remember me?" she asked, a wicked-looking smile on her face. "I can certainly remember you. Do you remember what you did to me?" she continued. She walked up to Yami and slapped him soundly. He cringed slightly, and I felt a faint amount of his pain. "/I/ remember."
Too shocked to reply, Yami just stood there. I didn't know what was going on, but at least he wasn't attempting to kill her or anything--yet. "I thought I had destroyed you," he said slowly. "I imprisoned you in the sphere, and then I--"
"Went over to Melinda's house, and let the sphere roll under her bed," Alyz answered slyly. "Her mother found it a few months later and gave me to a museum. I was then stolen by a thief and sold on the black market to an old collecter of egyptian artifacts living in North America. Unfortunately for him, however, the ship I was being illegally imported on was hoarded by the authorities, and during the struggle, several boxes ended up overboard. The sphere sank to the ocean bottom. Several hundred years later, an aged fisherman got the sphere tangled in his line and reeled me up. I was then handed down from generation to generation and eventually ended up on Alyz's desk."
Yami stared at her, astonished. "So you survived...." he whispered, taken back. He was rather confused, and it was only at this point that I realized he had let his guard down. I could take back control of my own body. I pushed him away, and stepped back from whoever was in Alyz's body. Yami put up very little fight, merely sat back to watch what was going to happen.
"Who are you?" I asked.
"My name is Rinn," she answered. "And you are no longer Barombe, I can see."
"Why are you in Alyz's body?" I inquired, ignoring the statement about the dark spirit. Rinn cast her eyes down.
"Alyz... is not in a proper state of mind. I decided that I should take over before she hurt herself or anyone else. I think she will be okay for now, however," she replied. Her eyes became unfocused, and the sphere glowed fiercely. There was an immediate change. Alyz's hair became it's natural flaming hue, and her amber eyes returned. Then she collapsed.
I reached out and caught her before she could fall, gathering her up in my embrace. "Alyz?" I whispered. Her head moved slightly in response. I pulled her over to the boulder and sat us both against it. Alyz blinked a few times, shaking her head slightly.
"Where am I?" she asked. "What's going on?"
I hushed her and prepared to get up and leave. Alyz would be all right without me. "Bakura?" she asked suddenly. I paused before standing.
"Yes?" I answered.
She sighed and leaned on my shoulder. "Don't let me go without saying 'goodbye'," she said. I didn't reply immediately. Alyz was obviously not sane at that moment, for whatever reason that may have been, and I wasn't so sure that leaving her now would be the best thing to do. I sighed and decided not to leave.
"Goodbye," I said softly. Alyz leaned over and kissed my cheek gently.
"Goodbye!"
And then she was gone.