Chapter Twenty-Three:

The Agent Complex

Yami leveled Malik and Ryou with a flat stare, asking, "What took you guys so long?" An eyebrow arched. "And where's Bakura?"

"We split up a few rooms back. He's fine from what I can sense," Ryou replied, looking apologetic. "He told us to go on ahead and he'd find his way here."

Yami nodded, sweeping his wild bangs out of his eyes with a sigh. "I've heard that in the past and he's always come home with some sort of mortal wound."

"...You're not serious?" Malik asked, feeling Ryou stiffen beside him. "He's a thief, no, scratch that. He's the King of Thieves! Why would he go getting himself stuck in some life-or-death trap?"

Yami smiled slightly. "Bakura's the Thief King. Kasirika's a simple, klutzy thief with two left feet."

"That's rather reassuring," Ryou mumbled. That would explain why he can't get his hands on more then one Millennium Item at a time.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Yami spoke up, seeing the Brit's worry. "I don't think his own mind will turn against him."

"With Marik wandering around-" Ryou started.

"I can't feel him anymore," Malik broke in. "There's nothing on his end of our bond."

"What if he blocked you?" Yami asked.

"Don't be stupid, Pharaoh. We both know that you can still tell if the other person is hanging around. Marik's just... gone."

"Maybe he's out of the Ring?" Ryou tried meekly. Something in the back of his mind almost hoped Marik was still alive, figuring it was more for his yami then anything. I saw the way Bakura reacted towards Marik. I think he loves him and Yami.

That whole problem in itself seemed all too familiar to the Brit, despite that the whole situation was new to him.

"Whatever the problem is, we should find out which door is the one we're looking for," Yami pointed out.

"Just what is your ingenious plan, O Morning Star?" Malik asked sarcastically.

"If I'm interpreting Marik's riddles correctly, he said the Ring and Puzzle together can create a rip in time. We're going to find the point that your other half killed Ryou and reanimate him from that point?"

Malik looked positively confused. "And just what are your classifying as 'dead'?"

"Bakura's attuned to the shifts in a person's aura, one of the more useful gifts when playing a Shadow Game. But, death is when the spirit flees the body and that is the point that we'll bring Ryou back."

"But that'll mean that there'll be double of Ryou and Bakura. Won't that screw with time somehow... Not that I'm versed in time travel. I personally think the whole idea's freaking nuts."

Ryou looked up at Malik with narrowed eyes. "While your first bit of insight was useful, pointing out that Yami no Yugi is as unstable as Bakura is just useless information."

"Your faith in me is astounding," Yami deadpanned. "Unfortunately, even if we find the correct door, we'll have to wait for Bakura to catch up to us."

"Malik had a valid question though. What about the spirit of my past self? What do we do?" Ryou asked. "There would be some sort of disruption if you have two people in the same place at the same time."

"Kill the past copy?" Malik suggested.

"No. If Ryou's spirit is destroyed in the past, he'll die in the future."

"Well, my past self would have no memory of all that's happened while the current me would... Damn, I feel like I'm talking about myself in the third person."

Yami chuckled. "We can just send your past self back to your body and things would play out from there, hopefully no different then they have now."

"But... I don't want to forget what's happened. If some ramification from this happens, I want to know what's going on," Ryou argued. "If I can't get Bakura back with me and you're not around, I'll need some clue as to what I'm doing."

"True enough," Yami agreed hesitantly. He thought for a minute, trying to figure out how to let Ryou basically have his cake and eat it too. "If we got you back into your body and then destroyed your past self, that shouldn't effect anything."

"What about Bakura?" Malik jumped in again.

"No matter what, he can't die, so if we kill his past self, it makes to difference. At least, the Ring won't know the difference," Yami replied.

"What about Ryou's past self?" the Brit asked with a lopsided smile. "What will happen to Ryou once Ryou is back in Ryou's body?"

"Okay, cut it out! That's annoying," Malik muttered.

"Ryou is sorry."

"Focus you two," Yami snipped. "Once this Ryou is back in his body, if we let his past self cross the rip, then he'll become the future spirit and can be eradicated without a problem."

"Ryou is confused," the teenager groaned.

"Malik concurs," the Egyptian agreed wholeheartedly.

Ryou smirked. "Ryou thinks Ryou and Malik are nuts."

"And Yami agrees. Now can we please stop fooling around and start searching?" the Pharaoh asked, trying to sound stern. But the small smile dancing on the edges of his lips ruined it.

"Yami, Ryou, and Malik can start looking," the blond duelist replied. "Malik will go right, Ryou will go left, and Pharaoh will stay here to wait for Bakura."

"Can't you call me Yami like any normal person?"

"And copy Bakura? Not in a million years," Malik replied with a smirk. "Ryou, if you see anything

suspicious or threatening, come right back here."

"And you're going to do the same?" Ryou asked.

"Yes, I will," Malik lied. He hated to worry the younger teen but he also hated taking orders. "Yami, if you find Bakura, give us a shout."

"Will do. Be careful," the former monarch replied, lilac eyes searching the expansive room restlessly. "I think I'm going to go find Bakura myself. Something just isn't sitting right with me."

"Um... Okay. Watch out for Marik," Malik cautioned. "Ryou could be right and he could be anywhere."

Yami nodded. "Go on and be especially careful yourselves."

As the three parted ways, Ryou turned back in time to see Yami vanish in a puff of dark smoke. The Hell...?

* * * * *

"Magician of Illusion, destroy the King of Thieves... Once and for all."

Bakura grabbed the now glowing staff pointed at his head and gave it a solid yank, throwing the Shadow mage off kilter and obtaining a new weapon.

Yami growled, his amethyst eyes dancing angrily. "We can do this one of two ways. We can play a nice, civilized Shadow Game or it can come down to brutal force."

"In which case I'll win," Bakura shot back.

"Not against my magician, you won't."

Bakura's eyes narrowed. "You can't even fight your own battles? Still pretending to be Pharaoh or do old habits just die that hard?"

Yami smiled mock sweetly. "Why the sudden bitterness, Kasirika? I thought you said your heart now belonged to me?"

Bakura swallowed hard. "Well, I've come to remember a few key points of my past life and I'm seeing why I wanted to kill you again."

"Still mad about Kuru Eruna? My father did that," Yami replied offhandedly. "Why should his sins be mine? I didn't destroy your family."

"Your father's debts became yours when he died," Bakura shot back. Sadly, the more time he spent in this room, he more he started to remember about his past life. The one thing that stuck out most brilliantly in his mind was that Marik was in his life first, as a friend as well as a lover.

Yami had only been a fluke and that knowledge tore Bakura's heart up mercilessly.

Yami shook his head sadly. "But I'm dead as well. Any debts I held are millennia dead. Besides, more then just your life was destroyed."

Bakura snorted. "You were Pharaoh, of course you destroyed more then just one person."

The Puzzle guardian smirked. "But, enough reminiscing. How are we going to end this struggle?"

"There is no struggle!" Bakura exploded. "Yeah, I said I loved you, but..."

"Mahaado was there first."

The snow haired thief looked like he had just been smacked. "H-How did you know Marik's real name?"

"He was a Priest of mine. I should know those who served under me." Yami shrugged. "Marik did, Seto did, Malik's father and sister did, even the elusive Shadii did. They all served me unerringly... Well, Mahaado was always a problem child, bringing street trash in all the time."

Bakura snarled. "Enough, Yami. I don't know what's gotten into you, but I'm pretty sure I can beat it out." To enforce his point, the Ring Spirit brought his makeshift weapon up.

Yami merely chuckled, waving his hand casually. With the gesture came a wave of sweeping power that knocked Bakura to the floor before forcing him into an opposing wall. "You can't do anything against me. You are a fiend, but I am a god. Your days will be sadly numbered if you try anything."

Bakura growled. "What in the Hell's that supposed to mean?"

"You won't live long enough to find out, I'm afraid."

"But you just said-"

"I changed my mind," Yami replied with a chilling sneer. "It was nice knowing you, Kasirika." The Pharaoh raised his hand, which was now bathed in an angry magenta light. "Say hello to Ammut for me."

"BAKURA!"

* * * * *

It had taken Yami little effort to find the room Bakura was in, finally figuring out that the Ring was constantly changing, moving doors around and morphing rooms. But, he had followed the thief's aura best he could, his gifts more suited for Shadow games then everyday use. The trouble had paid off and he had charged into the room the same moment Bakura went flying.

"Pharaoh, how good to see you," the look alike Pharaoh purred, his hand still surrounded with his aura. "Here to save your pathetic thief?"

Yami took a moment to survey the Magician of Illusion standing at ready, another staff clutched two-handedly. He went over to Bakura, kneeling down in front of the other Egyptian. "Bakura, talk to me."

The thief, only stunned and even angrier then before, glared at Yami. "Either that was a harder hit then I thought or there's two of you."

"There's two of us all right," the Spirit at Bakura's side replied. "The question is, which one is the real one?"

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean?" Bakura demanded.

"Easy," the other Yami sneered. "Find out which one of us is the real Pharaoh."

Bakura climbed to his feet, steadying himself against the wall. "And how do I do that, pray tell?"

"Ask us a question," both of the Spirits replied in chorus.

"Gods, this is confusing," Bakura muttered. One of them has to be Marik. Only he could pull off something like this. "And if I pick the wrong one?"

"Either way, we both know what we're going," the Yami by Bakura answered serenely.

This is going to give me a headache. I have to ask each of them a question that only Marik or only Yami would know. I guess I'll play this like a game show and who ever buzzes in first gets to answer. "I'm gonna ask a question and whoever can answer it, will. Sound simple enough?"

The two Egyptians nodded in time.

Something only Marik would know. It has to pertain to our past life, but also has to be something I

know. They both know the name of my village and it's safe to assume that whatever one knows, the other will know. "Honestly, there's no way to find out whose who. What one of you know can be told to the other."

The Yami by the Magician of Illusion shrugged. "Try us."

Bakura repressed a nasty smirk and a dirty comment, mentally smacking himself for being so bitter. "Fine." I still don't know what to ask. "This is going to take a while," he muttered. In a louder voice, he asked, "Who were my two accomplices?"

"Antaios, a rich bitch runaway, and his personal slave, Kavala. Neither had the knack for theft and it drove you crazy until you taught them proper," the Yami next to Bakura replied.

"And who are their reincarnations?"

"Antaios is Malik and Kavala is Ryou," the other Yami spat out quickly.

"Ah hah!" Bakura cried victoriously. "The real Yami didn't know who was who. Nice try... Marik."

"Actually," the Magician spoke up, quite suddenly. "You're wrong."

"What?!" Bakura growled. "Only Marik could know... Wait, Duel Monsters don't talk."

The mage smiled and removed the helmet, shaking a cascade of platinum blond hair loose, underlined lilac eyes glittering maliciously. "Who says I'm a Duel Monster?"

"Oh shit." Bakura had forgotten one very important thing about Mahaado's skills as a Shadow duelist. He could create different facades for himself, from something as simple to changing his voice to taking on another form completely. And he could mask his switch flawlessly.

"So, you remember again. There's still the question of which one is the real Marik," the Yami by Bakura taunted."I can take on any form-"

"-Read any mind-" the magician continued.

"-And you'll never know it," the other Yami finished with a poisonous smirk. "So, Kasirika dearest, which one of us is your precious Pharaoh?"

Bakura growled, grinding his teeth together. There was no way to tell. Marik was as good at his 'shape shifting' technique as he was as stealing, even after all this time.

Meaning, there was no way to find Yami again. He was as good as dead.

* * * * *

Malik had quickly found out that he had given himself the joyous task of searching through Bakura's half of what were now undoubtedly the memory rooms, learning that the ivory walls in the beginning was either a ruse or some sort of symbolic crap that he didn't care to ponder.

The problem was -aside from the fact he couldn't walk all that well on his own- that he wasn't sure he wanted to go opening up random doors. Not knowing the ramifications of doing so, the Egyptian didn't want to muster up the courage to start snooping around only to have his head bitten off.

So, he was stuck with the dilemma of turning around and waiting for Ryou to turn up again or swallow his childish fears and start doing his job.

Where are the Rare Hunters when you need them? Malik whined to himself. They're idiots, sure. But their expendable idiots perfectly suited for dumbass tasks like this... The blond sighed. Okay, they're not 'dumbass tasks' because it means I'll be able to flirt with Ryou and have it look like I'm hitting on that... mutant midget.

Malik snickered at his own dialogue, wandering down an adjoining corridor. C'mon, Ishtar. If Marik were here, he'd be laughing his ass off at you. The teenager made a face. Speaking of Marik, I wonder why he was being so... cheerful earlier. Hell, why has he been so pleasant... Er, as pleasant as Marik can get, as of late. Since we found those scrolls Ishizu brought home, he's been very, very happy.

The Egyptian shuttered. He had learned at an early age that when Marik smiled and spoke to you without brutally mutilating your self-esteem, you had about three seconds to take cover before all Hell broke loose. Naturally, Malik was on guard with every congenial word that passed his yami's lips.

And why's he being so nice with Bakura? Come to think of it, why hasn't Bakura tried to rip Marik's head off yet? Malik leaned against a wall, running a ran through his wild hair. Even better, why was Marik so shaken when he read about that Priest?

Something else occurred to Malik, running scenes from the past couple of days through his head. Where in the holy hells did Bakura get that cut from? The Egyptian's face fell into a shadowed frown, trying to shove the myriad questions out of his mind and get on task. It's too quiet. I wish I still had Ryou here to talk to. I think too much when it's quiet. ...I'd take Marik cackling like a hen in the back of my mind right now.

"Malik?!"

"Shit!" Malik's head jerked up, lilac eyes falling on the slightly winded figure before him. "...Oh, Pharaoh, it's only you."

"What do you mean 'it's only me'?" Yami demanded. "Where's Ryou and where's Bakura?"

Malik raised an eyebrow. "You said you were going to find Bakura?" he replied slowly, as if talking to an idiot. Truth be told, in the blond's mind, that's exactly what Yami was.

"I did?" The former Pharaoh looked extremely confused now.

Malik's shoulders slumped and he glared flatly at Yami. "I'm supposed to be the dumb blond here, dear Morning Star."

"But Malik, I've been out cold for only gods know how long." Yami leveled the Egyptian teen before him with a deadly serious glare. "Where is Bakura? And Marik for the matter?"

A cold ball of steel settled in Malik's gut when he heard the slightly panicked tone in the former monarch's voice. "I... I don't know."

"Do you know where Ryou is? Is he safe?"

Malik nodded. "He's checking out the other half of the room," he replied. "Lemme guess, you're going to tell me to carry on and you're going to look for Bakura?"

Yami nodded. "You're not so blond after all," he shot back before taking off in the opposite direction he had appeared from.

Malik shook his head, feeling a migraine creeping up on him as he limped forward, this time more intent on searching for the correct room.

* * * * *

Ryou, on the other hand, was three seconds away from tearing his hair out. Most of the doors wouldn't open, even after a thorough beating and even a polite "Please open the hell up before I blow you up".

If Malik had seen the Brit's show of temper, he would have been rolling on the floor in hysterics.

Sighing, Ryou leaned against one of said locked doors. If things keep up like this, I'm just going to resign myself to new resident Spirit of the Ring. I mean, Marik linked the Ring to the Rod, so it's not like I'll never see Malik again. And Bakura can stay with Yami no Yugi and not have to worry about me all the time. I can even talk to the others if Yugi feels like sharing his body with another ghost.

Still, the idea of staying dead was no more appealing to Ryou after his pep talk then it had been before. Face it, you're not meant to be dead yet. The life of a wandering spirit isn't for you yet. The sixteen-year-old tugged at his side locks in frustration as he stood upright and looked around.

"There's too many doors!" he muttered under his breath, looking down the corridor and spotting someone approaching from the right. On closer inspection, Ryou saw it was a thoroughly shaken Yami. "Hey, you find Bakura yet?"

Yami stopped, leaning against a wall to catch his breath. "Malik asked almost the same thing," he grumbled. "I think Marik's been playing with your heads."

Ryou started. "But Malik said that he couldn't sense Marik anymore. He was trapped under a scythe trap." The Brit shuttered at the fresh memory. "Judging by the blood, he's either dead or mortally wounded."

Yami shook his head, sending his drooping spikes flying in a spray of water. "The guardians of the Items can't die. Sealed away again until their appointed aibou is revived or forced into hiding, but I made sure they can't die."

"Oh." Ryou eyed the still shaking Pharaoh closely. "You look like you just took a dip."

"Just about. I fell into the Nile."

Ryou's chocolate eyes went round. "Really? You mean to tell me that the memories inside these rooms are real?"

Yami nodded. "Yes, they are. And they can be lethal to you and Malik if you're not careful," he cautioned. "Now, do you know where Bakura is?"

"We split up a few rooms back. He said he's catch up to us... Wow, deja vu." Ryou shook his head. "He's pretty much blocked his end of our bond, so I really can't say where he is or how he's doing."

Yami cursed in what was probably Egyptian. "There's nothing?"

"He's extremely pissed off," Ryou offered sheepishly. "Otherwise, nothing."

Yami sighed. "You've undoubted heard this before-"

"Keep looking and you're going to look for Bakura, right?" Ryou guessed flatly.

"Actually, I want you to find Malik and you two are to stay together. You can still look around, but don't split up," Yami corrected the Brit. "He looks like he can use some company anyway."

"Okay. I'd say be careful, but I'm so sick of telling people that," Ryou sighed.

Yami's lips twitched up in a small smile and he ruffled the duelist's hair. "Once I find Bakura, you'll be the first to know."

"Fine by me." Something struck Ryou. "Where is Malik?"

"The other side of the room, about halfway down the hallway to the left... No, the right," Yami replied. He started down the way he was going, moving his sopping bangs out of his eyes. The former Pharaoh turned before he disappeared, he turned and asked, "Just how many copies of me have you seen?"

Ryou turned around, shrugging. "More then there should be, let's put it that way."

Yami sighed and shook his head. "I thought so. If you see anymore Yamis running around, ask them what name I first met Bakura under."

Ryou raised an eyebrow. "And what name was that?"

"Bakura, of course," Yami replied. "If they can't answer, run away."

"Sure thing," Ryou replied, turning back around and going off in the direction Yami had ordered him to go. Hopefully Bakura will know that that Yami no Yugi is the real Pharaoh. The Brit bit back a chuckle, recalling the same situation happening in a movie he'd seen. I wonder if Marik and Agent Smith are related?

* * * * *

Don't be so negative, Bakura. One of them's bound to be the real Yami, the thief reminded himself petulantly, glaring at the two guardians and the Magician of Illusion. C'mon and focus! There has to be something that Yami and I know that Marik would never know in a million years.

Then again, Marik was there first, so there's the chance that whatever happened when I was with Yami got back to him in some way. Bakura growled softly, running his hands through his hair. It then occurred to the Egyptian that Marik wouldn't know anything about his very first encounters with Yami.

"We're waiting," the Shadow mage pointed out.

"Okay, in the Monster World game, what piece did Ryou play as?" Bakura asked.

"The White Mage," all three replied in time.

"Goddammit!" Bakura hissed angrily. It has also occurred to him that because of Malik's traipsing in and out of his mind during Battle City, Marik would know everything about his current life. Just to be sure, he asked, "What's the operating system for mine and Ryou's computer?"

The Yami by the Magician rolled his eyes. "Windows XP, like the rest of the world."

Yeah, case and point. Not even Yami would know that. Bakura closed his eyes for a second, trying to collect his shattering patience. "Look, there's no point to this. Anything I ask can be answered rightly."

The Yami by Bakura shrugged. "Sadly, you'll have to figure out which one of us is the Pharaoh."

"And which one of us is Marik," the Magician of Illusion added.

"WHAT?!"

* * * * *

Yami was in the room where the scythe trap had fallen, nursing two nasty gashes in his palms from trying to leap over the blades like they were hurtles. He'd seen Joey and Tristan doing it in Gym class and figured he could do the same thing.

He never took into account that the hurtles they were using weren't doubled ended blades. To make matters worse, the scythe he jumped over decided to fall and nearly shave his whole backside off.

Sighing and just a little drier then before, the former Pharaoh held his hands against his jacket and looked around the room. When his amethyst eyes fell on the almost dry blood trail, Yami swallowed hard. He knew Bakura was an excellent at what he did, but couldn't help but wonder if the thief was wounded...

No. He's fine. Just because no one can find or sense him doesn't mean that he's dead, Yami reminded himself sternly. He cannot die, as you've stated a million times. Taking a calming breath, the spike haired guardian followed the bloody trail 'til it ended at a slightly ajar door.

He heard talking coming from beyond the small gap, his heart giving a leap when he heard Bakura's rasping baritone. Yami tossed the door open, freezing in place when he saw two copies of himself and what looked like a Dark Magician reincarnate surrounding an extremely frustrated Bakura.

Seeing the complete rage in the thief's eyes when he turned to regard the newly arrived Pharaoh, Yami suddenly wasn't so happy to see the other Egyptian.

* * * * *

"Fucking hell!" Malik yelped, running out of a red and black door and slamming it shut. The Egyptian was now sporting a bloody nose and an impressive shiner on his eye. Breathing heavily and looking startlingly pale, he slid to the floor with his back still to the door.

"Damn. It. That... Bakura never told us these memory rooms were a hazard to our health!" Malik mumbled under his breath. "Gods, that idiot throws some good punches." The seventeen-year-old brushed his now completely disarrayed hair out of his eyes, sighing. I'll just collect myself and-

"Hey Malik, what happened to you?"

Malik cracked his un-bruised eye open to see Ryou standing there with what looked like a set of claw marks running down his arm and a bruise on his cheek. "I would ask you the same thing."

"I asked first," Ryou shot back, sitting down by the blond with a groan.

"I found out the hard way that there were bar fights in ancient Egyptian and that the Pharaoh throws a really good right hook," Malik explained.

Ryou bit back a snicker. "You should have expected that if you're searching Bakura's half of the rooms," he teased.

"Yeah, yeah, let's all make fun of the ill-advised one," Malik grumbled. "So, what happened to you?"

"It was... interesting, to say the least," Ryou replied, looking a little guarded about talking his experience over. "I was attacked by a cat then land based by someone who looked like a body guard of Yami no Yugi's."

Malik, unlike Ryou, started laughing. "I'd say we both landed ourselves in stupid situations," he snickered, wrapping an arm around the other teen's shoulders. "By the way, there's the real-"

"Yami no Yugi running around now, I know. We ran into each other and he told me to find you." Ryou grinned brightly. "The Pharaoh had a dip in the Nile."

"No way?!" Malik giggled, nearly doubled over. "I-I'd kill for a cam-camera!"

Ryou nudged the Egyptian. "Seriously though, Yami no Yugi said to keep looking through the memory rooms, but I keep getting a bad vibe from Bakura. I think we should find him before something bad happens."

Malik nodded. "Good idea. I still can't get anything from Marik and that's not helping. 'Sides, I'll be easier to find the right room with the dead guys helping."

"Exactly," Ryou agreed, getting up and helping Malik to his feet as well. "You okay to walk or do I have to carry you?"

"I can walk fine," Malik replied flatly. "But how are we going to get over those scythes?"

"We'll come to that bridge when he cross it," Ryou replied grimly. "Push comes to shove, we'll pretend it's track and jump over them."

Malik glared down at the sixteen-year-old. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Scary, isn't it?" Ryou teased, sticking close to Malik in case his leg gave out as they doubled back to the main room.

The pair stayed quiet, listening for the slightest bit of a disturbance as they reentered the room where they'd been forced to split up with Bakura. When they saw one of the scythes had fallen over, it wasn't hard to guess who'd done it.

"There's the reason right there that Yami was the Pharaoh and Bakura was the thief," Malik intoned mock solemnly.. "He wouldn't last three seconds in a convenience store."

"You know what they are? I'm shocked," Ryou snickered.

Malik swatted the snow tressed teenager lightly. "C'mon, creampuff. Bakura should be around here somewhere."

"Stop calling me a creampuff!" Ryou trilled as he followed after Malik, intent on letting the more practiced thief go first in case anymore traps made themselves known.

The only thing that greeted them was a trail of blood and a wide open door down the other end of the narrowed room.

"This is ominous," Ryou pointed out under his breath.

"No shit," Malik agreed, wisely following the trail when he saw the patches of quicksand to either side. "Stick close, Ryou."

"Don't worry, I am."

Before the couple reached the end of the trail, a loud voice declared, "THAT'S IT! YOU'RE ALL DYING!"

* * * * *

With the appearance of the soaked Yami, Bakura had officially snapped. "I'm so sick and fucking tired of all these games! The way I see it, the real Yami will duck."

"Bakura, calm down," the soaked Yami tried, glaring angrily at the two doppelgangers and mage when they mimicked him. "Stop that!"

"Everyone just shut THE HELL UP!" Bakura yelled, his aura flickering to life around his lithe frame.

"Oi! Yami, don't!"

Things broke out into unholy confusion then as Ryou and Malik burst into the room, the latter looking slightly sheepish as he tried to shake wet sand off of his left foot. Bakura turned to see who was interrupting his raging while the Magician of Illusion took the time to send his staff flying at the thief in a solid, two-handed swing.

The three Yamis darted forward in mirror concern when Malik stepped forward, tapping the soaking Yami on the shoulder before punching the Pharaoh as hard as possible.

As the blond had hoped, Yami replied with his own right hook, catching Malik's eye again and blackening it even further.

Bakura saw the exchange, finally taking the time to study the soaked Yami. The other two had arrived dry and un-bruised while this Yami was soaked and looked like he had been playing with an alligator. That and the way he hit... Shit! That is the real Pharaoh! Only one person I know hits like a freaking girl! "The idiot dripping all over the place is the real Yami!" he cried out.

Suddenly, the other two Yamis and the Magician of Illusion disappeared without bravado.

Yami wrapped his arms around Bakura, holding the thief like he was a stuffed animal of the sorts. "You okay, Bakura?"

"I have a raging migraine," the Egyptian replied, his voice still tight with anger. "But I'll live." Bakura wrapped his arms around Yami, trying not to nuzzle the colorful hair with Malik and Ryou watching. "I've never been so happy to see you in my whole life."

Yami chuckled, hugging the diamond haired Spirit before turning his head to glance at the two teenagers trying their best not to make any comments. "Now that we're all together, how about we start searching through those rooms and get Ryou back to normal?"

"You found the memory rooms?" Bakura asked, surprised.

"Yeah, they were on mine and Malik's side of the scythes," Ryou replied. "One of which Yami no Yugi was kind enough to knock over for us."

Bakura's shoulders drooped. "You're hopeless, Yami, you really are."

"I know. Now can we please start searching? There's a lot of rooms and only four of us," Yami beseeched the others, not quite in the mood to be taunted for his lack of grace when he came to dodging perilous traps.

"Killjoy," Malik grumbled. "Whatever you want, Pharaoh," he added with an eye roll as he turned around. "Fuck!" he screamed, finding himself face-to-face with a silently hissing cobra.

"Oh shit!" Ryou yelped, looking up to see an angry looking fiend attached to said snake. "What in the Hell is that thing?!"

[giggles insanely] Never ever, ever, ever try to write after just having eaten an entire bag of Sour Skittles and about three gallons of soda. [shrugs] Nani? I decided to spend my Friday at the movies… Away from the nutcase family. Re-read the chapter and try to guess which movie I saw. ^)^

Did anyone notice that Malik and Ryou were starting to sound the like the Marauder's Map for a while? ^)^U

Akuro: I have a feeling that this chapter clears up some confusion but leaves the itching question of: Which one of the Yamis was Marik? [grins widely] I'm not tellin'! I'll tell later and let everyone stew over it! [giggles] And yes, Ryou's nickname is hilarious. Try writing it when you're trying to be serious. ^)~

Roen: …[blinks] Um… You're trying to butter me up by saying I have a fabulous mind so I'll be flattered and decide to spare Marik's life. That's it, isn't it? [grins] Of course I was playing with 'Kura! Why in the Hell would Yami go from do-gooder one moment to prancing sadist the next? [snickers] Have you ever read the manga, by chance? Yami's still windy, but so much more… sadistic. ^)^ And no, I don't have a yami. I was born like this. :}

blu chocobo:[looks shifty] They've found Yami. Now, the problem for all you lovely readers is going to be keeping tabs on the characters, looking for shifts in description and personification. [pleasant grin] Nothing too difficult. I mean, Marik can just disguise himself as anyone and has the knowledge to play the part. XD Yep… Nothing hard at all. No guess work or cliffhangers involved!

MB:[fanfare] The Real Slim Yami has been found. [grins] At the cost of Malik's right eye swelling shut, but hey, it's part of the bishie job description, right under 'Is able to cope with large amounts of stress and the constant threat of death'. ^)~

Dragona: Domo arigatou! This update soon enough for ya? ^)~

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Chapter Twenty-Four Trailer:

Home. He couldn't believe it. Standing in the doorway, looking around the neat surroundings with a sad sort of smile. Everything was just as it had been when he's taken off for Battle City, despite the few new artifacts on the walls. A mixed smell of the desert and metal cleaner hung in the air as always, not unpleasantly thick, but comforting all the same.

"C'mon kid!" Bakura whined, taking a metaphysical form next to Yami.

Ryou pulled out of his reverie and stepped into the apartment, kicking his sneakers off and shucking off his jacket. "I... I can't believe I'm actually home again."

Yami smiled, kneeling down long enough to unlace his boots and take them off. "It looks like your father's stayed busy with work."

Ryou shook his head, padding around the large Monster World table in the middle of the living room en route to the kitchen. When the Brit reached his destination, he was shocked to see a piece of paper sitting on his laptop. "What the..."

Bakura appeared around the corner in time to see his hikari pick up the letter, going over to read over his shoulder.

Ryou,

Sorry I couldn't say good bye to you, but I didn't think Solomon would appreciate the wake-up call at four in the morning. I was called to Egypt, unfortunately, to aid a project that the Domino museum's curator is working on. I should only be gone for a few weeks, a month if something goes wrong. I left money in the breadbox in case you have your friends over.

-Dad

The paper slowly floated from Ryou's now shaking hand, his face going paler then before. "H-How did... What kind of a joke is this?" he murmured.

Bakura was about to reply when he heard 'You have mail' from the formerly dormant laptop on the table. "Since when can you use a computer, Pharaoh?"

Yugi turned to regard the tomb robber. "Since he was reincarnated. Really, Bakura, be more attentive to who's in control!"

Ryou grabbed his laptop and took an empty seat. "Junk, junk, junk... Holy shit." The shaken teenager now looked like death warmed over, his chocolate eyes wide under their snowy fringe.

"What's wrong?" Bakura asked, being ever the gentleman and sitting cross-legged on the tabletop. "Cyber junk?"

Ryou shook his head. "Malik," he squeaked out, staring at the screen like it was going to bite him at any second. "He.. I... Um, how in the Hell does Malik know my e-mail address. Since when can he use a computer?"

Yugi peered at the screen. "Looks like something Yami would use if he ever learned to use a computer," he remarked, looking at the return address. "Well, open it up, Ryou!"

"I never gave him my address and he's not that psychic that he can read my mind!" Ryou pointed out, opening up the e-mail uncertainly. The poor Brit was now whiter then a sheet.

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