Whoadie: Hmm well hopefully this chapter will make sense... *spent sleepless nights pondering over this idea*
Yugi: Alright! WHO TOOK MY APPLE JUICE!!!
Everyone: *looks at Y/B*
Y/B: WHAT!! Just b/c I steal things, doesn't mean I would sink so low to steal a midget's apple juice! I have priorities to follow you know!!
Everyone: -_-;;;;
Yami: *in the closet*
Everyone: It's Yami..
Ryou: Hey what's in the closet!
Whoadie: wow I wouldn't have seen that coming
Yami: *slurping noises in the closet*
Ryou: What's that noise? Sounds like someone's drinking
Everyone: ....
Whoadie: *presses ear against closet* I say...it's a dog
Everyone: O_O
Yami: *slurping noises*
Whoadie: Yep definitely a dog!
Y/B: Moron! It's Yami!
Everyone: Wow, aren't we quick today! *staring at Ryou and Y/B*
Y/B: ^_^ Do I get a prize?
Ryou: I found him first! I win!
Yami: *bursts out of the closet* WHO WINS?!
Everyone: *eyes the empty bottle of Apple Juice*
Yugi: So it was Yami!
Everyone: .....*walks away* We're not appreciated, no one ever listens to us
Whoadie: *staring at Yami and the apple juice bottle* I think Yami's lying... I think Malik drank the Apple Juice
Yugi: Yeaa! That would make sense since he's not here!
Yami: *is obviously holding the apple juice bottle and has some smudged on his cheek* Yea! That's it! Malik did it!! That apple juice stealing fiend!!!
Malik: *is sleeping* ZzzZZZZzzzzz -.-
Yugi: *grabs bat* Come on everyone!! Let's go teach that apple juice bottle drinking beast a lesson!
Everyone: We shall not take part in this event
Yugi: *not listening, asking Ryou, Y/B, Yami and Whoadie*
Everyone:........*leaves again*
Chapter 3- Past meets Present
Flashes of light reflected off of the dusty windows of the abandoned factory. Screams pierced through the air, echoing off the walls of the large building. "No Master Malik!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE US!!! NOOO!" The screaming ceased, the person was dead.
Yami Malik gripped his Millennium rod tightly, his knuckles were starting to turn white. He stared down at the empty shell of a body at his feet, the soul was missing. "I will not tolerate failure...YOU!" He pointed at another bowing rare hunter. The hunter cringed as he was called upon. His form began shaking more violently as Malik approached him. His feet making contact with the floor seemed to block out all the other sound in the room.
"You were the one who threw the dart...and I'm told you were successful on hitting the target?"
The hunter slowly nodded, keeping his head bowed. His eyes were wide with fear, he was going to die like the others. His soul would be sent to that awful place, the Shadow Realm. "Yes Master Malik."
The silence was killing everyone, even the other hunters who stood still as statues. They watched quietly, no one dared to interfere with what was taking place. Yami Malik sighed, returning to the rod.
"Good work...I can accept that." With that he turned away from the hunter, approaching his throne.
A sigh escaped the dry the lips of the lucky survivor. He crawled back into the line of hunters. He slowly stood but kept his head downcast out of respect. His trembling white hands pulled his hood back up so that shadows covered his sweaty face.
Utter silence responded back to him when he finally looked up. He had failed to acknowledge the fact that Malik had stopped walking and was staring at him.
"However....I on the other hand won't be as merciful!" Yami Malik's rod was pointed at him, the eye of horus glowing brightly on his forehead. His hair was much spikier, cold empty amethyst eyes stared back at the hunter.
The man didn't have a chance to scream for his soul was instantly sent to the shadow realm. His body collapsed to the ground, never to get up again.
/Was that really necessary? If you keep killing our servants, we're going to run out./
//As long as there are people in the world, there will always be an endless supply of slaves. So stop complaining.//
/Whatever./
He turned his back to the body, walking back to his throne. 2 hunters stepped forward to collect the body. As they dragged the body away Yami Malik had reached his throne and had turned around to deliver a speech.
"Now then, you have now seen what happens to failures. Don't screw up again." His eyes narrowed as he looked at every hooded figure. "I don't care who goes this time, as long as the girl is brought back without any severe injuries."
A group of 5 hunters stepped forward. One of the hunters went to one knee, obviously he was the leader of this group. "I shall go Master Malik."
"Very well, take your group and go." He didn't want to repeat himself about what happens if he failed. He sat down, an instant sign for the rest of the mind slaves to leave.
The cloaked men left the room in single filed lines, leaving their master to his thoughts.
/Why again is this girl irrelevant?/
//I'm tired of repeating myself to everyone!//
He slammed his fist down on the arm rest of his throne. The room itself seemed to shake under his frustration. He inhaled deep breaths trying to calm his nerves. 'Once I have the girl I won't need Malik anymore. I'll have full control over his body and he'll be another spirit in the shadow realm.' A smirk tugged at his lips. 'Then the Pharaoh will die and I'll have his power.'
Malik paced in his soul room from his Yami's lack of response to his earlier question. The truth was, his Yami really didn't go into detail about why they needed the girl in order to get the Pharaoh's powers. He only said she was significant to the plan.
He stopped pacing, his arms crossed over his chest. "He's planning something." He trusted his Yami as much as he trusted a pit of angry cobras. If given a choice, he'd choose the cobras. The relationship between the two was strictly business. He'd allow the Yami to borrow his body to kill the Pharaoh, and he'd in turn get his powers. That way they both got what they wanted. Sounded easy enough.
"Hmmm but it seems my Yami has something else on his mind." His fist flew out in front of him, smacking into a wall. "GRR BUT WHAT IS IT!!!!" His head rested against his outstretched arm, his body leaning into it. "I better figure this out soon, I have a feeling of impending doom." Only he didn't know his life wasn't the only one in danger.
*Flashback: During Yami's father's empire* (When I say Malik during this flashback, I mean Yami Malik as a child.)
A small boy ran through the market place, his arms were wrapped around a golden statue of Ra. Mud and dirt clung to his hair, at one time it must have been white. He ran swiftly through the booths, clinging to the object in his arms for dear life.
The shouting and protests from his pursuers died down as he ran. He let out a laugh of triumph when he turned his head to see if he had lost them.
SLAM!
He rubbed his now red nose from smacking into something, the object was both hard yet soft. He looked in front of him to see a boy the same age as him, sitting in an awkward position from falling. Purple eyes clashed with brown. They sat there glaring at each other, each blaming the other for their collision.
The tanned boy spoke first, "Watch where your going, peasant!"
Bakura sneered, "As opposed to scum of the upper class?" He looked him up and down then smirked. "No wait, I take that back. You don't even LOOK like a noble, so I guess your just scum then."
The angry 7 year old quickly rose to his feet. This mongrel needed to learn his place. Sure he was a bit dirty and his clothes were now torn, but if he hadn't crashed into this... inferior creature that calls himself human, he would have looked just fine. "Watch how you speak to me, slave!"
Bakura stood as well, a smirk still on his lips. This kid obviously didn't know anything about the lower class. "I'm no slave..." his voice dropped it's usual high-pitched tone, it was dark. He tilted his head at the boy's hair. It was an interesting color, but then again, so was his.
A grin expanded on his lips, he had struck a nerve. A sparkle caught his eye, his eyes squinted at the object in the boys arms. GOLD?! How did this worthless being manage to get something so valuable when clearly his own life would be of less expense. His grin broadened.
"STOP SMILING!! It's starting to really bug me!" He shook his fist at boy, who just smiled even wider.
He sort of had respect for this kid, he had stolen from the Temple of Ra right under the High Priest's nose. (Seth's father) Everyone knew that the High Priest was both a holy man and a executioner. Quite an ironic combination. "So...your a thief? Fascinating..."
Bakura loosened his tense fighting stance, he returned to the casual smug posture. He still glared at the kid in front of him but only because of his earlier hurtful words. "So what if I am? What are YOU going to do about it?"
The boy shrugged. He could do a numerous of things but he liked the kid too much. They were almost the same. "Nothing at all, but I can't promise you he won't." He pointed behind Bakura.
Bakura turned his head only to come face to face with legs. 'Crap!' He was picked up by the back of his shirt. He kicked and punched while twisting and turning trying to hit his grabber.
Chuckles came then booming laughter from the small boy as he stared at Bakura with amused eyes. "Your struggle against Rishid is most amusing." He stood up wiping a few tears from his eyes. "You actually thought you were caught didn't you? That's what made it all the more sweeter." He sighed waving for Rishid to set the boy down. "Meet Rishid, my most loyal servant."
Rishid gave a curt nod but didn't bow. To him, Bakura and himself were on the same level.
"He's tall for his age but don't let his looks fool you, he's really quite younger than what he seems." Again he gave a small laugh.
Bakura was even more confused, why was this boy all of a sudden being so nice to him? Almost as if they had been best friends for the longest time. "Um..your strange."
"Heh, I am many things. Strange is only the tip of the pyramid." He approached Bakura who had shrunken back thinking the kid in front of him was insane. He sighed, he was used to it. He stretched his hand out with a smirk, "I'm Malik."
Bakura stared at the hand then looked at Malik. He didn't trust people not after...he looked away. "I'm Bakura." he said it flatly without shaking Malik's hand.
Malik frowned as he lowered his outstretched hand. "I take it your not much of a social butterfly, huh."
Bakura glared at him, what did this boy know about man kind. He knew nothing. "I hate people, so I find talking to them useless." He dusted himself off the best he could, even though his clothes were far from clean. He walked passed Malik without ever giving him a second glance.
Malik's hand shot out and gripped Bakura's upper arm. "No wait! Don't go yet!"
Bakura turned his head slightly with an eyebrow raised. He shrugged Malik's hand off before turning to him. "What do you want now? As you can see I am on the run." He tightened his hold on the statue of Ra.
"Yes yes I know, but how long will the money you get from exchanging that statue last? You'll steal again? It's only a matter of time before your caught."
"So what's it to you on how I live my life?"
He shrugged. "I don't really care how you live your um..life, I just wanted to know if you want to join me on a little adventure. I'll even give you 30% of the profit that will come out of it."
"70%"
Malik narrowed his eyes. "35%"
"60%"
"50%"
"Deal."
Malik stamped his foot angrily. 'Darn! Never bargain with a thief..'
"So where exactly is this little 'Quest' going to take place?" He tilted his head in a mocking way.
"The Pharaoh's palace."
Bakura's eyes emptied as his eyes narrowed down into slits. He clenched his fists till his nails bit into his skin. He gritted his teeth, "The Pharaoh..."
He raised an eyebrow, "I see you don't like the Pharaoh, well that's ok because..." he was cut off.
"He slaughtered my family and my whole gang." Tears welled up in his eyes but he would never let them fall. He wasted too many on them already.
Malik seemed unmoved by this. "Well that's normal around here."
"Did you ever hear about the massacre in the desert that happened 3 years ago? The one when the Pharaoh ordered the High Priest to kill all the bandits there, all 99 of them."
Malik nodded. "Quite tragic really."
He looked down shaking his head. "I hate him..." His body shook with anger. "I HATE HIM!!"
Rishid looked at the boy with some pity, his family was killed also by the Pharaoh.
SLAP!
Bakura rubbed his pink cheek. "What the hell was that for?!"
"Suck it up! Be smart about this, don't let your anger blind you. Instead, use what I'm offering you as an opportunity to get back at the Pharaoh for what happened all those years ago."
He crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air stubbornly. "Who are you to tell me to bottle my anger, you don't know one thing about death."
"Wrong."
Rishid looked down at his little master.
"I've been both the victim and the murderer when it's come to death."
"How can that be? If your the victim you should be dead."
Malik shook his head. "If a family member was killed and you were there to witness it, you feel like apart of you was killed along with them." That was the closest to an example to his situation he could give to Bakura without actually dwelling in his past.
Bakura nodded in understanding. "So what exactly are we going to do?"
"Well most of it will occur there." He pointed out into the desert.
"But you said-"
"AND the Pharaoh's palace, but first we must pick up something."
"Like?"
"Have you ever heard of The Millennium Items?"
Bakura's eyes flickered with hunger for moment but the glint vanished to only be replaced with forced innocence. "Yes..."
"Well it so happens my family has a..er..'connection' ,if you will, with the Pharaoh and so we find out things that people, like yourself, would never hear."
He rolled his eyes. "But I HAVE heard of the items."
Malik raised a finger as he caught Bakura's mistake. "You've heard rumors about it, most likely false rumors, but you don't know about the power they hold."
"They haven't made them yet."
He smirked. "Haven't they? Think about when your parents and their group of bandits were slaughtered, why do you think they were killed?"
"I just thought the Pharaoh had found our location and merely wanted to remove the 'infestation'"
He waved it off, "That might have been part of it but what he REALLY needed was their soul."
He stepped back from hearing this, what he was telling him was bull shit! No way a person could take another's soul. Even if there is such a thing as a soul. "That's impossible, how can you get power from a soul?"
He shook his head. "No I'm afraid it's quite possible, you see, he needed the souls as sort of a sacrifice for these items. He found out from the High Priest that the soul can be used as a 'fuel' because of some sort of 'ingredient' in it that has, I guess 'magic.' I can't really explain it because it gets really complicated and Isis wouldn't give me anymore information."
"Isis?"
His eyes rolled. "My blood relative who was born from the same mother as me, your lucky you don't have any siblings to deal with, their quite annoying."
A short humorless laugh erupted from his throat. "Too true...so the items are real?"
He nodded, "Eh...yes and no. Their in the process of being made but the High Priest's fellow companions haven't figured out how to both create and harness this power." (Whoadie: confused? Think about all the souls clashing together into one cloud above them, how would they bottle them up and use the souls to serve their own purposes? And What kind of power would it unleash? Mind control? To see into ones mind? got it?)
"Back to the souls being used as fuel, why would he need these items anyways?"
A malevolent smile formed on his face. "Power, control, to be unbeatable."
"Magic? In the soul? How can that be?"
"Like I said, it's complicated." He sighed, "The High Priest and his little followers stumbled across a spell and a prophecy that was scribbled on a piece of parchment, almost illegible."
"Where'd they find it?"
"That's the thing that bugged the High Priest so much into convincing the Pharaoh that the items must be made."
"WELL!!?" His curiosity was getting the better of him.
"It was found in the fire, the very fire that must stay alight for the God Ra. It was just hovering in the fire, not a part of it was singed."
"Maybe he was hallucinating."
"No, other witnesses were there. They all tried to get it, but their hands were instantly scorched by the burning flames. The Pharaoh himself had to retrieve the parchment."
"I don't understand, even after that incident the High Priest STILL needed to convince the Pharaoh that the items must be made?"
He nodded. "Royalty can be quite stubborn when it comes to 'magic' and fictional things."
"Were they ever able to read the parchment?"
He threw his hands up into the air. "OF COURSE THEY WERE!"
He winced at his temper and his stupid question. If the items were being made now, then of course they had to have read it. It would have told them too. "The spell...why don't they use the spell to harness the power of the souls?"
He ran a hand through his blond locks. "They've tried, but according to the prophecy something is missing."
"What?"
"No one knows, that's why the items are still unfinished."
"I see...but what's in the desert that we need and what does it have to do with the items?"
"Well Rishid here found out a nice piece of information. The High Priest has been meeting with some 'people' in private. He's making another item in secret. For himself of course, because the others would automatically go to the Pharaoh."
"And it's hidden in the desert?"
"Right, but we must be cautious."
"Well duh."
He shook his head, some blond hair flew over his eyes. "You don't understand, they FINISHED this item. Well I can't exactly say item, it's not the real thing."
"Wha? How?!"
"Do you know nothing?! Honestly...according to the Propecy there should be 7 items not 8, but the High Priest ignored it and went off to make one of his own. Something went horribly wrong. The souls, I guess, became confused when he tried the spell. They caused a great storm, you remember the showers we've been getting right?"
He nodded. (Whoadie: Can you make the connection from the 1st chapter? ^_^)
"Their confused entities have had an effect with our environment, hence the storm, but it also...ripped a hole in the boundaries of life and..."
"AND?!"
He looked down, "The Shadow Realm..."
"What the hell is that?"
"It's a dark place where your soul will stay for eternity, sort of like hell."
"It was a horrible mix-up, things started emerging from the shadow realm, monsters. The Priest settled it by locking them away in stone tablets, the Pharaoh doesn't know. But the rip is still there. The High Priest has only delayed it by sort of trapping the hole into an item. He has yet to harness it's destructive power."
"How is it destructive?"
"A gap between life and the shadow realm?!? HOW IS THAT NOT DESTRUCTIVE?!? If he somehow MANAGES to harness that power, you could walk between the boundaries easily without having your soul ripped apart, monsters there would be under your command, sending souls there would be no problem, you become the judge of who comes and goes."
"I've heard all the items could do that."
"Yes, but according the Priest, it could remove another soul without harming you if they took refuge in your body."
"Psh like that would ever happen."
"Hey it could!"
"And so you want us to go get an unstable piece of jewelry so that we could frolic around in a black void?" He started to walk away.
He ran after him, he stood in front of Bakura to prevent him from walking away again. "NO LISTEN!! To command such powerful beasts and escape into the shadow realm where no one can reach you is the perfect crime to get back at the Pharaoh."
His face brightened at this idea, "BUT!"
"But what?"
"We must wait...let's wait a few years till the items are complete and to see if the Priest manages to harness the power, THEN we'll strike."
His mouth fell open. "WHAT!?! ARE YOU MAD?! IF THE ITEMS ARE COMPLETE THEN THEY CAN GO TO THE SHADOW REALM! THERE WOULD BE NO PLACE TO HIDE!"
"Ah but their soul would be ripped apart, and they can't go willingly. Plus, we'd have the power of the monsters on our side. And maybe.."
"Maybe what?"
"The items will be forgotten since by then no peasant will remember, it will be a long forgotten myth. That new tart, Yami I think his name is, will come to the throne and we can take our woes out on him and end the royal line."
"Or we could end it today..."
"Look I've been a thief all my life and things like this take careful planning, we can't just waltz over there and pick up the accessory. Even you said that nobody knows of it's existence yet, so what will happen to us if we're caught by the High Priest? It would be a hard situation to get out of since we know too much."
He grumbled. Rishid gave a small chuckle. "He's right young master."
He clenched his teeth, "FINE! We'll wait! Does this mean we're partners?"
He nodded. "Yes it does."
*End of Flashback*
Yami Malik sighed, 'And so we waited...for 8 years. Indeed all Bakura said came true, Yami was now Pharaoh and the items were complete. The High Priest's son, Seth, had been left with the responsibility of finishing the job. He discovered the stone tablets and stowed away the most powerful of beasts for his own purposes. But the others were discovered and thus the years of the Shadow Games came to pass. I wonder how he was able to harness the power?'
He stood up, stretching his arms and his back. He cracked his neck last, giving out a sigh. "Looks like it's time for me to visit my old partner in crime." With that he walked down his throne and out of the factory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Malik: *still sleeping*
Whoadie, Ryou, Bakura, Yami, and Yugi: *Tackles the unsuspecting Malik* DIE DIE DIE!
Malik: *wakes up* WHAT THE HELL!?!? *is knocked out by the bat* X.X
Yami: *continues kicking* This is fun!
Ryou: *joins him* Hey it is!
Bakura: *punching him* AND THIS IS FOR SLEEPING!
Whoadie: erm..maybe he WAS just sleeping...I don't think he took the apple juice at all
Yugi: Are you questioning Yami? He's ALWAYS right you know...
Bakura: No, he told me that elves DON'T dance. *shakes head*
Yami: I WAS DRUNK! Sheesh!
Bakura: *rolls eyes* riiiight
Whoadie: ^_^ whatever you say!
Malik: X_X
Yugi: Alright! WHO TOOK MY APPLE JUICE!!!
Everyone: *looks at Y/B*
Y/B: WHAT!! Just b/c I steal things, doesn't mean I would sink so low to steal a midget's apple juice! I have priorities to follow you know!!
Everyone: -_-;;;;
Yami: *in the closet*
Everyone: It's Yami..
Ryou: Hey what's in the closet!
Whoadie: wow I wouldn't have seen that coming
Yami: *slurping noises in the closet*
Ryou: What's that noise? Sounds like someone's drinking
Everyone: ....
Whoadie: *presses ear against closet* I say...it's a dog
Everyone: O_O
Yami: *slurping noises*
Whoadie: Yep definitely a dog!
Y/B: Moron! It's Yami!
Everyone: Wow, aren't we quick today! *staring at Ryou and Y/B*
Y/B: ^_^ Do I get a prize?
Ryou: I found him first! I win!
Yami: *bursts out of the closet* WHO WINS?!
Everyone: *eyes the empty bottle of Apple Juice*
Yugi: So it was Yami!
Everyone: .....*walks away* We're not appreciated, no one ever listens to us
Whoadie: *staring at Yami and the apple juice bottle* I think Yami's lying... I think Malik drank the Apple Juice
Yugi: Yeaa! That would make sense since he's not here!
Yami: *is obviously holding the apple juice bottle and has some smudged on his cheek* Yea! That's it! Malik did it!! That apple juice stealing fiend!!!
Malik: *is sleeping* ZzzZZZZzzzzz -.-
Yugi: *grabs bat* Come on everyone!! Let's go teach that apple juice bottle drinking beast a lesson!
Everyone: We shall not take part in this event
Yugi: *not listening, asking Ryou, Y/B, Yami and Whoadie*
Everyone:........*leaves again*
Chapter 3- Past meets Present
Flashes of light reflected off of the dusty windows of the abandoned factory. Screams pierced through the air, echoing off the walls of the large building. "No Master Malik!!!! PLEASE FORGIVE US!!! NOOO!" The screaming ceased, the person was dead.
Yami Malik gripped his Millennium rod tightly, his knuckles were starting to turn white. He stared down at the empty shell of a body at his feet, the soul was missing. "I will not tolerate failure...YOU!" He pointed at another bowing rare hunter. The hunter cringed as he was called upon. His form began shaking more violently as Malik approached him. His feet making contact with the floor seemed to block out all the other sound in the room.
"You were the one who threw the dart...and I'm told you were successful on hitting the target?"
The hunter slowly nodded, keeping his head bowed. His eyes were wide with fear, he was going to die like the others. His soul would be sent to that awful place, the Shadow Realm. "Yes Master Malik."
The silence was killing everyone, even the other hunters who stood still as statues. They watched quietly, no one dared to interfere with what was taking place. Yami Malik sighed, returning to the rod.
"Good work...I can accept that." With that he turned away from the hunter, approaching his throne.
A sigh escaped the dry the lips of the lucky survivor. He crawled back into the line of hunters. He slowly stood but kept his head downcast out of respect. His trembling white hands pulled his hood back up so that shadows covered his sweaty face.
Utter silence responded back to him when he finally looked up. He had failed to acknowledge the fact that Malik had stopped walking and was staring at him.
"However....I on the other hand won't be as merciful!" Yami Malik's rod was pointed at him, the eye of horus glowing brightly on his forehead. His hair was much spikier, cold empty amethyst eyes stared back at the hunter.
The man didn't have a chance to scream for his soul was instantly sent to the shadow realm. His body collapsed to the ground, never to get up again.
/Was that really necessary? If you keep killing our servants, we're going to run out./
//As long as there are people in the world, there will always be an endless supply of slaves. So stop complaining.//
/Whatever./
He turned his back to the body, walking back to his throne. 2 hunters stepped forward to collect the body. As they dragged the body away Yami Malik had reached his throne and had turned around to deliver a speech.
"Now then, you have now seen what happens to failures. Don't screw up again." His eyes narrowed as he looked at every hooded figure. "I don't care who goes this time, as long as the girl is brought back without any severe injuries."
A group of 5 hunters stepped forward. One of the hunters went to one knee, obviously he was the leader of this group. "I shall go Master Malik."
"Very well, take your group and go." He didn't want to repeat himself about what happens if he failed. He sat down, an instant sign for the rest of the mind slaves to leave.
The cloaked men left the room in single filed lines, leaving their master to his thoughts.
/Why again is this girl irrelevant?/
//I'm tired of repeating myself to everyone!//
He slammed his fist down on the arm rest of his throne. The room itself seemed to shake under his frustration. He inhaled deep breaths trying to calm his nerves. 'Once I have the girl I won't need Malik anymore. I'll have full control over his body and he'll be another spirit in the shadow realm.' A smirk tugged at his lips. 'Then the Pharaoh will die and I'll have his power.'
Malik paced in his soul room from his Yami's lack of response to his earlier question. The truth was, his Yami really didn't go into detail about why they needed the girl in order to get the Pharaoh's powers. He only said she was significant to the plan.
He stopped pacing, his arms crossed over his chest. "He's planning something." He trusted his Yami as much as he trusted a pit of angry cobras. If given a choice, he'd choose the cobras. The relationship between the two was strictly business. He'd allow the Yami to borrow his body to kill the Pharaoh, and he'd in turn get his powers. That way they both got what they wanted. Sounded easy enough.
"Hmmm but it seems my Yami has something else on his mind." His fist flew out in front of him, smacking into a wall. "GRR BUT WHAT IS IT!!!!" His head rested against his outstretched arm, his body leaning into it. "I better figure this out soon, I have a feeling of impending doom." Only he didn't know his life wasn't the only one in danger.
*Flashback: During Yami's father's empire* (When I say Malik during this flashback, I mean Yami Malik as a child.)
A small boy ran through the market place, his arms were wrapped around a golden statue of Ra. Mud and dirt clung to his hair, at one time it must have been white. He ran swiftly through the booths, clinging to the object in his arms for dear life.
The shouting and protests from his pursuers died down as he ran. He let out a laugh of triumph when he turned his head to see if he had lost them.
SLAM!
He rubbed his now red nose from smacking into something, the object was both hard yet soft. He looked in front of him to see a boy the same age as him, sitting in an awkward position from falling. Purple eyes clashed with brown. They sat there glaring at each other, each blaming the other for their collision.
The tanned boy spoke first, "Watch where your going, peasant!"
Bakura sneered, "As opposed to scum of the upper class?" He looked him up and down then smirked. "No wait, I take that back. You don't even LOOK like a noble, so I guess your just scum then."
The angry 7 year old quickly rose to his feet. This mongrel needed to learn his place. Sure he was a bit dirty and his clothes were now torn, but if he hadn't crashed into this... inferior creature that calls himself human, he would have looked just fine. "Watch how you speak to me, slave!"
Bakura stood as well, a smirk still on his lips. This kid obviously didn't know anything about the lower class. "I'm no slave..." his voice dropped it's usual high-pitched tone, it was dark. He tilted his head at the boy's hair. It was an interesting color, but then again, so was his.
A grin expanded on his lips, he had struck a nerve. A sparkle caught his eye, his eyes squinted at the object in the boys arms. GOLD?! How did this worthless being manage to get something so valuable when clearly his own life would be of less expense. His grin broadened.
"STOP SMILING!! It's starting to really bug me!" He shook his fist at boy, who just smiled even wider.
He sort of had respect for this kid, he had stolen from the Temple of Ra right under the High Priest's nose. (Seth's father) Everyone knew that the High Priest was both a holy man and a executioner. Quite an ironic combination. "So...your a thief? Fascinating..."
Bakura loosened his tense fighting stance, he returned to the casual smug posture. He still glared at the kid in front of him but only because of his earlier hurtful words. "So what if I am? What are YOU going to do about it?"
The boy shrugged. He could do a numerous of things but he liked the kid too much. They were almost the same. "Nothing at all, but I can't promise you he won't." He pointed behind Bakura.
Bakura turned his head only to come face to face with legs. 'Crap!' He was picked up by the back of his shirt. He kicked and punched while twisting and turning trying to hit his grabber.
Chuckles came then booming laughter from the small boy as he stared at Bakura with amused eyes. "Your struggle against Rishid is most amusing." He stood up wiping a few tears from his eyes. "You actually thought you were caught didn't you? That's what made it all the more sweeter." He sighed waving for Rishid to set the boy down. "Meet Rishid, my most loyal servant."
Rishid gave a curt nod but didn't bow. To him, Bakura and himself were on the same level.
"He's tall for his age but don't let his looks fool you, he's really quite younger than what he seems." Again he gave a small laugh.
Bakura was even more confused, why was this boy all of a sudden being so nice to him? Almost as if they had been best friends for the longest time. "Um..your strange."
"Heh, I am many things. Strange is only the tip of the pyramid." He approached Bakura who had shrunken back thinking the kid in front of him was insane. He sighed, he was used to it. He stretched his hand out with a smirk, "I'm Malik."
Bakura stared at the hand then looked at Malik. He didn't trust people not after...he looked away. "I'm Bakura." he said it flatly without shaking Malik's hand.
Malik frowned as he lowered his outstretched hand. "I take it your not much of a social butterfly, huh."
Bakura glared at him, what did this boy know about man kind. He knew nothing. "I hate people, so I find talking to them useless." He dusted himself off the best he could, even though his clothes were far from clean. He walked passed Malik without ever giving him a second glance.
Malik's hand shot out and gripped Bakura's upper arm. "No wait! Don't go yet!"
Bakura turned his head slightly with an eyebrow raised. He shrugged Malik's hand off before turning to him. "What do you want now? As you can see I am on the run." He tightened his hold on the statue of Ra.
"Yes yes I know, but how long will the money you get from exchanging that statue last? You'll steal again? It's only a matter of time before your caught."
"So what's it to you on how I live my life?"
He shrugged. "I don't really care how you live your um..life, I just wanted to know if you want to join me on a little adventure. I'll even give you 30% of the profit that will come out of it."
"70%"
Malik narrowed his eyes. "35%"
"60%"
"50%"
"Deal."
Malik stamped his foot angrily. 'Darn! Never bargain with a thief..'
"So where exactly is this little 'Quest' going to take place?" He tilted his head in a mocking way.
"The Pharaoh's palace."
Bakura's eyes emptied as his eyes narrowed down into slits. He clenched his fists till his nails bit into his skin. He gritted his teeth, "The Pharaoh..."
He raised an eyebrow, "I see you don't like the Pharaoh, well that's ok because..." he was cut off.
"He slaughtered my family and my whole gang." Tears welled up in his eyes but he would never let them fall. He wasted too many on them already.
Malik seemed unmoved by this. "Well that's normal around here."
"Did you ever hear about the massacre in the desert that happened 3 years ago? The one when the Pharaoh ordered the High Priest to kill all the bandits there, all 99 of them."
Malik nodded. "Quite tragic really."
He looked down shaking his head. "I hate him..." His body shook with anger. "I HATE HIM!!"
Rishid looked at the boy with some pity, his family was killed also by the Pharaoh.
SLAP!
Bakura rubbed his pink cheek. "What the hell was that for?!"
"Suck it up! Be smart about this, don't let your anger blind you. Instead, use what I'm offering you as an opportunity to get back at the Pharaoh for what happened all those years ago."
He crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air stubbornly. "Who are you to tell me to bottle my anger, you don't know one thing about death."
"Wrong."
Rishid looked down at his little master.
"I've been both the victim and the murderer when it's come to death."
"How can that be? If your the victim you should be dead."
Malik shook his head. "If a family member was killed and you were there to witness it, you feel like apart of you was killed along with them." That was the closest to an example to his situation he could give to Bakura without actually dwelling in his past.
Bakura nodded in understanding. "So what exactly are we going to do?"
"Well most of it will occur there." He pointed out into the desert.
"But you said-"
"AND the Pharaoh's palace, but first we must pick up something."
"Like?"
"Have you ever heard of The Millennium Items?"
Bakura's eyes flickered with hunger for moment but the glint vanished to only be replaced with forced innocence. "Yes..."
"Well it so happens my family has a..er..'connection' ,if you will, with the Pharaoh and so we find out things that people, like yourself, would never hear."
He rolled his eyes. "But I HAVE heard of the items."
Malik raised a finger as he caught Bakura's mistake. "You've heard rumors about it, most likely false rumors, but you don't know about the power they hold."
"They haven't made them yet."
He smirked. "Haven't they? Think about when your parents and their group of bandits were slaughtered, why do you think they were killed?"
"I just thought the Pharaoh had found our location and merely wanted to remove the 'infestation'"
He waved it off, "That might have been part of it but what he REALLY needed was their soul."
He stepped back from hearing this, what he was telling him was bull shit! No way a person could take another's soul. Even if there is such a thing as a soul. "That's impossible, how can you get power from a soul?"
He shook his head. "No I'm afraid it's quite possible, you see, he needed the souls as sort of a sacrifice for these items. He found out from the High Priest that the soul can be used as a 'fuel' because of some sort of 'ingredient' in it that has, I guess 'magic.' I can't really explain it because it gets really complicated and Isis wouldn't give me anymore information."
"Isis?"
His eyes rolled. "My blood relative who was born from the same mother as me, your lucky you don't have any siblings to deal with, their quite annoying."
A short humorless laugh erupted from his throat. "Too true...so the items are real?"
He nodded, "Eh...yes and no. Their in the process of being made but the High Priest's fellow companions haven't figured out how to both create and harness this power." (Whoadie: confused? Think about all the souls clashing together into one cloud above them, how would they bottle them up and use the souls to serve their own purposes? And What kind of power would it unleash? Mind control? To see into ones mind? got it?)
"Back to the souls being used as fuel, why would he need these items anyways?"
A malevolent smile formed on his face. "Power, control, to be unbeatable."
"Magic? In the soul? How can that be?"
"Like I said, it's complicated." He sighed, "The High Priest and his little followers stumbled across a spell and a prophecy that was scribbled on a piece of parchment, almost illegible."
"Where'd they find it?"
"That's the thing that bugged the High Priest so much into convincing the Pharaoh that the items must be made."
"WELL!!?" His curiosity was getting the better of him.
"It was found in the fire, the very fire that must stay alight for the God Ra. It was just hovering in the fire, not a part of it was singed."
"Maybe he was hallucinating."
"No, other witnesses were there. They all tried to get it, but their hands were instantly scorched by the burning flames. The Pharaoh himself had to retrieve the parchment."
"I don't understand, even after that incident the High Priest STILL needed to convince the Pharaoh that the items must be made?"
He nodded. "Royalty can be quite stubborn when it comes to 'magic' and fictional things."
"Were they ever able to read the parchment?"
He threw his hands up into the air. "OF COURSE THEY WERE!"
He winced at his temper and his stupid question. If the items were being made now, then of course they had to have read it. It would have told them too. "The spell...why don't they use the spell to harness the power of the souls?"
He ran a hand through his blond locks. "They've tried, but according to the prophecy something is missing."
"What?"
"No one knows, that's why the items are still unfinished."
"I see...but what's in the desert that we need and what does it have to do with the items?"
"Well Rishid here found out a nice piece of information. The High Priest has been meeting with some 'people' in private. He's making another item in secret. For himself of course, because the others would automatically go to the Pharaoh."
"And it's hidden in the desert?"
"Right, but we must be cautious."
"Well duh."
He shook his head, some blond hair flew over his eyes. "You don't understand, they FINISHED this item. Well I can't exactly say item, it's not the real thing."
"Wha? How?!"
"Do you know nothing?! Honestly...according to the Propecy there should be 7 items not 8, but the High Priest ignored it and went off to make one of his own. Something went horribly wrong. The souls, I guess, became confused when he tried the spell. They caused a great storm, you remember the showers we've been getting right?"
He nodded. (Whoadie: Can you make the connection from the 1st chapter? ^_^)
"Their confused entities have had an effect with our environment, hence the storm, but it also...ripped a hole in the boundaries of life and..."
"AND?!"
He looked down, "The Shadow Realm..."
"What the hell is that?"
"It's a dark place where your soul will stay for eternity, sort of like hell."
"It was a horrible mix-up, things started emerging from the shadow realm, monsters. The Priest settled it by locking them away in stone tablets, the Pharaoh doesn't know. But the rip is still there. The High Priest has only delayed it by sort of trapping the hole into an item. He has yet to harness it's destructive power."
"How is it destructive?"
"A gap between life and the shadow realm?!? HOW IS THAT NOT DESTRUCTIVE?!? If he somehow MANAGES to harness that power, you could walk between the boundaries easily without having your soul ripped apart, monsters there would be under your command, sending souls there would be no problem, you become the judge of who comes and goes."
"I've heard all the items could do that."
"Yes, but according the Priest, it could remove another soul without harming you if they took refuge in your body."
"Psh like that would ever happen."
"Hey it could!"
"And so you want us to go get an unstable piece of jewelry so that we could frolic around in a black void?" He started to walk away.
He ran after him, he stood in front of Bakura to prevent him from walking away again. "NO LISTEN!! To command such powerful beasts and escape into the shadow realm where no one can reach you is the perfect crime to get back at the Pharaoh."
His face brightened at this idea, "BUT!"
"But what?"
"We must wait...let's wait a few years till the items are complete and to see if the Priest manages to harness the power, THEN we'll strike."
His mouth fell open. "WHAT!?! ARE YOU MAD?! IF THE ITEMS ARE COMPLETE THEN THEY CAN GO TO THE SHADOW REALM! THERE WOULD BE NO PLACE TO HIDE!"
"Ah but their soul would be ripped apart, and they can't go willingly. Plus, we'd have the power of the monsters on our side. And maybe.."
"Maybe what?"
"The items will be forgotten since by then no peasant will remember, it will be a long forgotten myth. That new tart, Yami I think his name is, will come to the throne and we can take our woes out on him and end the royal line."
"Or we could end it today..."
"Look I've been a thief all my life and things like this take careful planning, we can't just waltz over there and pick up the accessory. Even you said that nobody knows of it's existence yet, so what will happen to us if we're caught by the High Priest? It would be a hard situation to get out of since we know too much."
He grumbled. Rishid gave a small chuckle. "He's right young master."
He clenched his teeth, "FINE! We'll wait! Does this mean we're partners?"
He nodded. "Yes it does."
*End of Flashback*
Yami Malik sighed, 'And so we waited...for 8 years. Indeed all Bakura said came true, Yami was now Pharaoh and the items were complete. The High Priest's son, Seth, had been left with the responsibility of finishing the job. He discovered the stone tablets and stowed away the most powerful of beasts for his own purposes. But the others were discovered and thus the years of the Shadow Games came to pass. I wonder how he was able to harness the power?'
He stood up, stretching his arms and his back. He cracked his neck last, giving out a sigh. "Looks like it's time for me to visit my old partner in crime." With that he walked down his throne and out of the factory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Malik: *still sleeping*
Whoadie, Ryou, Bakura, Yami, and Yugi: *Tackles the unsuspecting Malik* DIE DIE DIE!
Malik: *wakes up* WHAT THE HELL!?!? *is knocked out by the bat* X.X
Yami: *continues kicking* This is fun!
Ryou: *joins him* Hey it is!
Bakura: *punching him* AND THIS IS FOR SLEEPING!
Whoadie: erm..maybe he WAS just sleeping...I don't think he took the apple juice at all
Yugi: Are you questioning Yami? He's ALWAYS right you know...
Bakura: No, he told me that elves DON'T dance. *shakes head*
Yami: I WAS DRUNK! Sheesh!
Bakura: *rolls eyes* riiiight
Whoadie: ^_^ whatever you say!
Malik: X_X
