Chapter 18: For lack of title I'll put this meaningless thing: Did u know that Malik has a motorcycle?
By: Namu/ Rikku24
Yugi walked down the streets of Luxor. The sun was now setting. Shadows were everywhere and the streets began to empty. He took a few turns without realizing where he was going.
It wasn't long before Yugi found himself in an alleyway. He looked up and saw the dead end before his eyes and turned around, only to find a cloaked figure blocking his path.
"I believe I have something that you want," an icy voice said.
Malik sat down on a small bench, watching the sunset. He closed his eyes and let his thoughts fill up with memories of happier times.
I saw the boy sitting down on a bench and sat myself down next to him.
"You will cry all alone, but it does not mean a thing to me," I whispered.
"That song…" he said, opening his eyes.
"It's your song. But you must remember what you were taught, who sacrificed themselves for you," and with that I got up and turned to leave.
"Wait…how do you know?" the boy asked me.
"I don't know," I said, leaving.
The boy just stood there speechless.
Malik shook his head; this was strange. How could this complete stranger know about Trinity and what had happened? Unless…no, it was impossible! But still…
Akila was walking with Seto at her side. The night breeze felt refreshing as it flowed through her hair. Seto seemed to be deep in thought. He eyed everyone and thing that passed. It was if he was looking for something…or someone.
"Stay back," Yugi said, trying to sound dangerous.
"You're pathetic. Now tell me where he is or you'll never get this back plus I'll beat you black and blue," the voice said, hissing.
"No!" Yugi yelled.
"Can you not cooperate?" the voice said, a little annoyed.
"HELP!" Yugi yelled, as the figure approached him.
Jounouchi and Honda sat at the dinner table, eating their life away. The little inn was empty of their friends; Anzu and Yugi had gone out to walk around the market. Ryou still remained missing, therefore leaving all of the food unguarded.
"Man, this sure is good," Jounouchi said, licking his lips.
"For once, I agree," Honda said, chewing on a piece of chicken.
"Did you hear that?" Akila asked.
"Yeah, what was it?" Seto said.
"I don't know, we should go check it out," Akila said, running off in the direction of the sound.
"Wait up!" Seto said, running after her.
The figure stood there in the shadows, watching two figures run by. They were so familiar but it couldn't place who they were. The guy, there was something about him. But what?
The figure shook its head. It pulled down the cowl of its cloak; there was no need for it in the shadows. A pale face was revealed…a pale face with what looked to be a dark blonde hair, but it was hard to tell in the shadows.
Anzu sat down on a small bench, her mind deep in thought (AN: Is that possible?). She looked around and her eyes landed on a figure in the shadows. She looked closer and nearly passed out.
"H-how…" Anzu said faintly.
Malik walked down the alleyway, his Millennium Rod in his hand. It was unsheathed, in its dagger form. He held it parallel to his right wrist, right above those veins. He no longer needed to live.
"Don't do it," a voice said.
Malik turned around. What he saw made him blink. *Clang* the Millennium Rod hit the floor. The sight before his eyes had to have been an illusion.
The girl waked into the inn.
"I want my pay," she said coldly.
"You did a great job singing today, your dancing wasn't half bad either," the innkeeper said.
"Cut the talk, I want my money," she demanded.
"Okay okay. Sheesh, here's your pay, Takhat," the innkeeper said, handing her $10 in Egyptian currency.
"Thank you," Takhat said, "I will rest now."
"Your bed is ready, I left dinner on the night table," the innkeeper said, smiling kindly.
"You are too kind. Well, good night," Takhat said, going upstairs.
Akila ran down the streets with Seto close at her heels.
They came to a narrow alleyway. Within it were two figures. Bakura and…Yugi. Bakura was holding Yugi up by his shirt collar and shaking him violently.
"Tell me where he is boy, or you'll pay!" Bakura said angrily.
"Leave him alone!" Akila yelled, sounding very dangerous.
"Oh…I'm so afraid," Bakura said mockingly, hardly turning around to acknowledge their arrival.
"Leave.him.alone," Akila said angrily, glaring daggers at the tomb robber.
"Make me," Bakura said, smirking.
"You asked for it. All of hell is upon you now!" Akila yelled.
(Written by Towairaito Zoon) Bakura, at first not knowing what she meant by those words, turned back to Yugi and hissed something violently in his ear. Seto broke forward towards the tomb robber but not before Bakura had landed a punch directly on Yugi's nose. He flew backwards into the wall close behind him and let out a pained gasp. Seto charged Bakura, but with Bakura's arm already outstretched, the thief was able to bring his arm back and bending, so that his elbow met with Seto's gut.
Seto staggered backwards uneasily and gingerly rubbed his abdomen. Bakura turned around slowly to face his aggressor, and smirked. "How the mighty have fallen…" he mocked.
"I'm just getting started with you," Seto declared as he straightened up. "Ready for the second round?"
Before Bakura could respond, Seto was at his neck. He squeezed it harshly so that the tomb robber let out a gasp for air. Then, Seto held him up so that Bakura was "taller" than he was, and smirked.
His foot collided with Bakura's chest and Bakura was sent flying.
Now it was Bakura's turn to slam back first against the wall, and with a grunt.
"How does it feel?" Seto asked as he approached Bakura once more. "Who's turning black-and-blue now?"
Bakura uneasily sat up, and spat at Seto's feet.
Seto frowned and bent down to pick Bakura up. It was time this tomb robber learned a lesson. (End of TZ's writing)
Meanwhile Akila was tending to Yugi. He had bruises all over and everywhere, each swelling by the second. His eyes were closed and his voice dry.
"Why did he do this to you?" Akila asked, concern sketched on her face.
"He wanted to know the location of *cough* Malik. He has my puzzle, Akila. And I can't get it back from him," Yugi said, tears filling his violet eyes.
"Don't worry we'll get it back," Akila said, smiling.
Yugi just nodded as Akila applied some lotion to his bruises.
"Looks like we'll be getting you another shirt," Akila said, half joking.
Yugi looked at the shirt he wore now. It had been new but when Bakura was through with him, it could just be called a piece of cloth.
(Written by Towairaito Zoon) "I don't see…why you care…about that runt," Bakura half-heartily smiled, panting between jumbled words.
Seto slammed Bakura against a wall. "I don't particularly care too much about him," he admitted, "but Akila does, and that's all I need to know."
Bakura chuckled weakly. "Pathetic…a man like you…taking orders from…such a weak little…"
"Shut up," Seto hissed dangerously. "Don't you even test my patience. You'll find I have very little when it comes to the likes of you, and your kind."
"My kind?" Bakura laughed, but Seto slammed him forcefully against the wall once more, and drove his back up against the hard brick and cement. Bakura let out a hiss and took in some air, trying to rid his mind of the stinging pain.
Seto brought up his hard fist to Bakura's jaw and slammed against it hard. Bakura grunted once more, and a trickle of blood slid down from his mouth.
"You're strong," Bakura stated.
"How observant of you," Seto said, not exactly sure about how to take what Bakura had said. "Would you like to find out exactly how strong I am?"
Bakura laughed to himself. "Fool. It takes…more than…strength alone…"
"I'm sure it does…" Seto knew he was fast as well, but he didn't know what else it might take to defeat the tomb robber, if he was still laughing now.
"Let's find out…if you have…what it takes…fool…" Bakura lifted his hands into the air, sneering at Seto. Seto himself backed up a bit to brace himself, just in case.
The area around them turned dark with shadows and the sky above blackened a little. A golden object appeared around Bakura's neck and began to fly about a little as the wind picked up.
All the while, Seto narrowed his eyes.
"The Millennium Ring," Bakura started, no longer having to take those ragged breaths, "amplifies my Shadow Powers. You, fool, are about to die." Bakura's evil grin widened as Seto's eyes did simultaneously. He brought his arms up to shield himself as a bolt of lightening struck from the sky and directly into Bakura himself! The lightening, however, stayed there after it struck and swarmed around Bakura's lithe body. Bakura cackled insanely, with his arms still extended towards the sky.
"Don't worry about yourself yet, Seto Kaiba. I think I'll have a little fun with you first." With that said, he turned to face the two figures near the corner of the alley.
"Stop!" Seto yelled horrified, realizing Bakura's intentions.
Bakura's crazy laughter rang through the stifling air as he raised his arms out as high as possible, and glaring evilly at the two frightened targets.
"Akila! Run! NOW!"
Everything after that happened too fast. The lightening struck again and focused itself into Bakura's glowing hands. The Millennium Ring moved violently about Bakura's chest as if struggling to free itself. Seto ran forward praying to all the Gods he knew that he would get there in time, that he wouldn't be too late.
Bakura now outstretched his hands towards his victims and the lightening went with them. Seto jumped at Bakura, colliding with from behind just as Bakura sent the strike. The course of the electricity swerved a little to the left, but it was still dead on to its destination. Bakura and Seto fell, as Seto felt a slight shock surge his body.
Yugi, summoning up his last ounce of courage, held Akila tightly and pushed himself to the left as quickly as possible, sending them both rolling to the side and out of danger of being hit, with Yugi shielding Akila just in case. The strike barely missed them, singeing Yugi's hair, maybe, and they could both feel a cold singe on their faces.
Seto clasped Bakura's legs and stood up, pulling Bakura upside-down. "HOW DARE YOU!" he shouted angrily. "DON'T YOU DARE THREATEN THEIR LIVES LIKE THAT AGAIN!" And to back up his point up, he swung Bakura around and around, and released him, sending him flying into a pile of crates. The crates practically exploded from the leftover energy Bakura had still within him. Akila and Yugi closed their eyes so the debris wouldn't get in them. Seto ran to the wreckage when the dust cleared and searched through them, but found no tomb robber.
He had escaped. (End of TZ's writing)
Seto brushed himself off and went to check on Akila and Yugi. They were well except for a few scratches but Yugi still had those bruises.
"Where is he? What about my puzzle?" Yugi asked.
"He escaped," Seto said flatly.
"Oh…" Yugi said, looking at the ground.
"Don't worry, we'll get it back. Now let me fix up your bruises," Akila said, trying to comfort the small boy.
"I'm going after that tomb robber," Seto said, walking in the direction of Bakura's disappearance.
"Be careful," Akila said, watching Seto's shadowed form.
"Trinity, i-it's you," Malik said in disbelief.
"What did you call me?" the figure said, looking at Malik, into Malik.
"Trinity. Trinity Ariake Soradanomi. That's your name. Mine's Malik Ishtar, don't you remember?" Malik said.
"I'm sorry sir, but my name's Tiye," the girl said looking at him.
Her eyes were a sad bluish green. Her hair was short and ended at the middle of her neck, curled into a bob. She was the living image of Trinity. Yet she claimed she was not.
"What's your last name?" Malik asked.
"I-I don't know, sir. I don't know much of my past, either. All I remember is a plane trip and hieroglyphs. I remember the fact that I'm an orphan and that my parents died in a booby-trapped tomb. I went to that tomb. I met to strange people there; their faces are vaguely sketched in my mind. I knew some people too. They were my friends; their faces are blurry in my mind. Then there was this boy; I think I loved him. Oh! I'm so sorry sir, I don't think you want to hear my babbling," the girl said, snapping out of her daze.
"It's okay, tell me more," Malik said.
"Well, I really don't know much else. The last thing I remember is a blurry image of that boy. Everything else is dark. I remember getting hurt once, I remember a kiss, and I remember a tomb robber. But that's it," the girl said.
Suddenly she clutched her head and moaned.
"What is it?" Malik asked.
"I-it's just that, whenever I think of my past, I get a burning headache. It stings my mind and burns everything in it. My focus blurs and then-" the girl collapsed.
Malik just stood there, shocked. This had to be Trinity. Now to know if she had that scar on her side. He would ask her when she awakened.
Malik picked up the limp girl's body and headed to his house, for the first time in several days.
"Thank you Akila," Yugi said, smiling sweetly.
"You're welcome," Akila said, smiling back.
Silence enveloped the two. The only light was the streetlight; it was past midnight now.
"Akila…" Yugi said, looking away.
"Yes Yugi?" Akila said, looking at the little boy.
"I-I like you, a lot. But you probably don't like me," Yugi said, looking at Akila.
"Don't say that. I like you too, a lot," she replied, smiling.
Yugi's eyes seemed to widen in happiness (AN: is that possible? His eyes are big enough). Akila just smiled. The silence of night surrounded the two. As if instinct, they leaned forward. Ever closer and closer until their two lips met. They kissed passionately. The moon flooded the empty streets with light and the sound of nightlife filled the air. The two continued to kiss, each enjoying every minute of it. They lost count of time, had they been kissing for seconds? Minutes? Hours? It didn't matter; nothing did, except that right here and now they were together and sharing one of the best moments in either ones life.
Ryou sat in the dark room, waiting for Bakura to come. He looked at the puzzle, why did Bakura want this item so bad? Ryou couldn't remember much since Bakura had brainwashed him. Sometimes he just wished he could be normal, but something like that wasn't possible for a boy like him. A boy with a Yami; a Yami who brainwashed his hikari.
Ryou heard footsteps and turned to find Bakura's girlfriend. She was wearing a cloak but took it off when she entered the room where Ryou sat.
"Bakura?" she said.
"No, Ryou," the snow-haired boy said.
"Oh…where's Bakura?" the girl asked.
"I don't know. He should be here soon," Ryou said, looking at the puzzle.
It was an upside pyramid hanging on a silver chain. Upon one of the pyramid's sides was the Udjat eye. Ryou stared into it.
"Hello? Albino boy?" the girl said.
Ryou snapped out of his trance and looked at the girl. She had long blonde hair that was curled and stuck up everywhere with deep purple eyes. Her outfit was basically a white spaghetti strap shirt with a beige knee-length skirt.
"Yes?" Ryou said looking at the girl.
"Tell Bakura that I'm gonna be out and about, k?" she asked.
"Sure thing. Can you tell me something? What's your name?" Ryou asked.
"Mai. Mai Kujaku," the girl said and got up to leave.
The kiss finally ended. Yugi looked up, blushing bright red. Akila blushed slightly as well. They smiled and Akila stood up.
"We should go home," she said.
"Yeah," Yugi said, getting up.
"I have to go look for Seto. Bye Yugi, see you tomorrow," Akila said, walking in the direction that Seto had gone.
"Be careful," Yugi said.
"I will," Akila replied, winking.
Yugi watched her go and then left as well, heading for the inn.
Anzu walked down the street, hands in pocket and head deep in thought (AN: is she smart enough to do that? I thought she could only think up friendship speeches. Unless…we're all gonna die)
In fact, she was paying so little attention to her surroundings that she ran into something…or someone.
"Oh…sorry," she said quickly.
"Hey Anzu, are you going back to the inn too?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah…have you heard from anybody at all today? I know that Honda and Jounouchi are eating us out of house home but what about the others?" Anzu asked, a little bit too concerned.
(AN: GOLDFISH! @________@ I knew I shouldn't have eaten a bowl of those cheddar monsters, I get high on 'em real easily)
"Well, I ran into Akila and Seto," Yugi said, blushing slightly because that brought memories of the kiss, not that that was bad or anything.
"Oh…well we better get going. It's almost dawn," Anzu said.
"Yeah," Yugi replied.
The two headed for the inn, stalked by some unknown figure.
Jounouchi and Honda were dueling. Honda had "borrowed" Yugi's deck while Jounouchi used his own. Jounouchi was still winning, though.
"Aw man, even with Yugi's deck you're still winning," Honda said, laying a monster down in defense mode.
"So who's the loser now?" Jounouchi said, laughing.
"Errrr," Honda replied.
"My turn, I play Flame Swordsman in attack mode and attack your face down monster!" Jounouchi stated.
"Let's see 1800 vs. my…1200. I guess I'll have to keep my defense a bit higher," Honda said, putting the monster in the graveyard.
"Also, I lay down two magic or trap cards, your move," Jounouchi said, smiling mischievously.
"I lay this monster in defense mode," Honda said.
"No can do, I activate Shadow of Eyes," Jounouchi said (AN: I know he doesn't own this card! I'm just letting him play it).
"Darn it! My monster only has an 800 attack, if it had been defense; you would have lost points," Honda said.
"My turn?" Jounouchi asked.
"Yeah…" Honda said.
"Okay, I play Garoozis in attack and attack your Mystical Elf (let's just say the attack is 1500, k?). You lose 700 Life Points, and then I attack with my Flame Swordsman. You lose," Jounouchi said smugly and you're the loser now was written all over his face.
"I guess I can't joke about your dueling abilities anymore," Honda said.
"Nope, now I can joke about yours!" Jounouchi said, practically fallen over with laughter.
"I won't ask," Anzu said, entering the room.
"Aren't those my cards?" Yugi said, seeing the Dark Magician in the Graveyard.
"-_-' Uh…yeah. I…uh…kinda borrowed them. Yeeeeeeeah. Hehe," Honda said laughing nervously.
"Who won?" Yugi asked.
"I did!" Jounouchi said, looking very full and proud of himself.
"Your deck beat mine?! Now that's hard to believe," Yugi said, shocked, "Then again, I can't be sure if Honda uses the Heart of the Cards." (Ra save us from that evilness)
"Well…the Heart of the Cards doesn't seem to like me much," Honda said.
"It's okay bud, you'll get used to it. Now for some food," Jounouchi said, changing the subject.
"But you already ate us out of house and home," Anzu said.
"I know, we should get some more food now," Jounouchi said.
"You do realize it's like one a.m." Anzu said.
"I'm going to sleep now, goodnight guys," Yugi said yawning.
"Good night, Yug," Jounouchi said.
"Yeah, don't worry I'll put your cards away. I'll be careful too," Honda said.
"Okay Honda, that's good to hear," Yugi said, going down the small corridor and into his room.
"I think I'll be going to sleep now too," Anzu said.
"Okay, goodnight," Honda said.
"Sorry, looks like you'll be here alone cleaning up. 'Night Honda," Jounouchi said.
"'Night Jounouchi," Honda said, starting to gather Yugi's cards.
Soon everyone, excluding Honda, was sound asleep in his or her beds. Thirty minutes later, Honda was asleep as well.
Isis lay in her bed, looking at the ceiling. Her brother was still missing and she feared for his life. She knew, that if he had the option, he would commit suicide. Maybe he wouldn't…but then again her brother was very unpredictable.
A door creaked open and Isis immediately sat up.
"Who's there?" she called out.
"It's me, Malik," a voice said.
"You're back," Isis said, a bit shocked.
"I'm back, but I'm not alone," Malik said.
This made Isis a little wary. Was he scheming behind her back? What if that other person was the Tomb Robber? There was no way that she could survive that. Her Millennium Tauk would be gone in the blink of an eye.
"Look who I've got," Malik said, entering the room.
"So now you kidnap people?" Isis said, seeing a limp body in his arms.
"No, it's Trinity," Malik said, showing a half smile.
"I should have known. Well, put her in a bed. Does she remember yo or anything else?" Isis asked.
"Not really, it's all really blurry," Malik said.
"It's the side effect of the spell preformed," Isis said.
"Spell?" Malik said, slightly confused.
"Yes it requires two spirits in one body. Trinity was one, and Tama was the other. Tama knew of the spell and preformed it. Both her and Trinity were reincarnated in separate bodies. The bodies are of the look and age that Trinity and Tama were when they died," Isis explained.
"But who's bodies?" Malik asked.
"A body created by a God solely for the purpose of the spell. The spell also requires tons of prayers to a God. Tama must have been on their good side. Unfortunately, it leaves the reincarnates with a slight memory loss. They'll regain their memory over time. It could take days, weeks, months, or perhaps ears to fully recover. Letting them spend time with friends and familiar faces will speed the process," Isis explained.
"Oh…but where's Tama?" Malik asked.
Isis was silent, giving Malik time to answer his own question.
"That girl, the one who I met at the inn," Malik said.
"What girl?" Isis asked.
"She was singing this song, it referred to me. She knew of Trinity and her death and a bunch of other things. But she didn't know how she knew," Malik said.
"I guess that's Tama," Isis said offhandedly.
"Look, she's stirring. You should go, let me talk to her," Malik suggested.
"As you wish brother," Isis said and left the room.
"Trinity," Malik whispered.
"Huh? Wha- where am I?" she said, opening her eyes.
"It's me, Malik," Malik said.
"You again? Will you leave me alone, sir? Please?" she said.
"B-but. Don't you remember me?" Malik asked.
"Yeah, you're the one who said my name was Trinity. I must admit that it sounds vaguely familiar but it's not my name, sir. Sorry, you must have mistaken me for someone else. My name's Tiye, Ti-ye. Got it?" she said, sounding annoyed.
Malik just sighed, this was hopeless. He looked into "Tiye's" eyes, putting on a serious face.
"You have a long scar on your side. It was caused by a dagger, this dagger," Malik said, holding up the unsheathed Millennium Rod.
"How did you know? The scar is here. Wait…I remember. You did this to me. I almost died from it. This cut…it was serious and kept breaking open. Do you want me dead? Is that why you're after me?" Tiye said, giving him an accusing glare.
"No, it was my Yami who did that. You originally thought it was me but then you found out it was my Yami," Malik said.
"I'm confused, my head hurts," Tiye complained.
"I think we shall start from the beginning," Isis said, entering the room.
"Yes, it will be much easier for both you and us. Now to get Yugi and the rest over here," Malik said.
"You go get them. I will start telling Trinity of her past with the help of my Millennium Tauk," Isis said.
"Okay, bye. Be back in a bit and good luck!" Malik said, putting on his black cloak.
~
All done. Now to start on the next chapter. See, I wouldn't get rid of Trinity that early in the story. Hope you like.
PLEASE READ THIS: I have gotten reviews telling me that Malik went through the ritual that placed those carvings on his back when he was ten. I know this. I am an expert at Malik and know almost everything about him. You must remember this is AU. So he had the ritual before his father died (somewhere around 7 and a half years old). I read the manga where he was remembering that ritual and it made me cry, a lot. Believe me, I will NOT get facts wrong about Malik unless I do it on purpose. Got it? In an AU story, some events take place and some don't. Others take place at different times like Malik getting the carvings on his back. See, Duelist Kingdom and Battle City never took place in this story and Seto has lived in Egypt most of his life and in New York the other small bit. Hope this cleared up some stuff.
A BIG GIGANTIC thanks to Towairaito Zoon for adding some kick-butt action to the chapter. So cool…
Now this is the part where you review and I go work on next chapter, k?
