Unbroken
CHAPTER: FOURTEEN
Yami tried to push himself to his feet to crawl over to where Bakura sat but found his body was still disobeying him. He couldn't see what he thought he saw. But he knew that his eyes weren't lying to him.
Just a few feet ahead of him Bakura sat there with a young Ryou's head in his lap. The white haired teen's face was pale and pulled tight in a grimace. His eyes were squinted shut but occasionally they snapped open and rolled helplessly around in their sockets. Yami felt his stomach tighten up into a sickened knot. He wasn't seeing this, he couldn't be seeing this.
Bakura turned his brown eyes on Yami and for a second the powered teen couldn't tell the difference between his friend and the innocent that lay crumpled in his lap. There was a sorrow in his eyes that tore at Yami's heart.
"Bakura," Yami stopped for a moment and seemed to ponder what he was about to ask. But he couldn't find a gentle way to say it. "What's wrong with him?"
Bakura looked down at Ryou's twisted face and then back up at Yami. Yami could see the helplessness in his eyes. The want to be able to do something else but knowing he couldn't. He gently stroked his younger look a like's forehead before answering.
"I think his minds been overloaded." He whispered. "He seems to be under terrible amounts of mental pain. I can feel it when I try, but I can't seem to be able to sort anything out to relieve him of any pain."
Yami finally managed to crawl over and look down at Ryou's face. When he did the younger teen's eyes snapped open and he caught Yami's crimson ones in a wild stare. There was a raw panic in those brown orbs that caused panic to flare up in Yami's own veins.
A mental overload. It was unbelievable. Basically what Marik had done was take all of Ryou's thoughts and memories, chop them up, blend them together and then poured the mixed brew back into Ryou's head. That left Ryou unable to sort through his own mind. And it was a painful experience. It was like shutting your hands in a door leaving you with no way to free you from the pained hold.
Except Yami knew a way to help him. Granted it would hurt his own head, but he had to do it, he couldn't sit there and watch Ryou squirm in pain because of him. He gently lifted Ryou's head from Bakura's lap. Bakura tensed and shot Yami a questioning glance.
"What are you doing?" He asked, already fearing the answer.
Yami ignored Bakura's question and placed Ryou's head in his own lap. He placed a hand on either side of Ryou's head. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes. A hand latched on to his, causing his eyes to snap open. Yami looked down and saw Bakura's hand wrapped tightly around his arm.
"Yami, you can't do this." He breathed, his sharp brown eyes cutting through to his very soul. "I know what you're planning and you can't. You don't have enough of a grasp on your powers to do this!"
"Bakura." Yami sighed. "I have to do this. This is all my fault. Ryou can't stay this way for too long before his mind short circuits and he dies. And you don't have a strong enough grasp on the element mind to do this. So I have to."
Bakura tightened his grip before sighing and letting go. He knew what Yami was planning and he knew that he wouldn't be able to handle it. Yami was going to use the element of mind to slip into Ryou's mind and sort through the mess, clearing things up for Ryou who couldn't. But Bakura knew because of those damn bullets that had been used on Yami, this was probably going to come close to killing him.
"Yami please." He whispered miserably. "Please, you know you can't handle this."
Yami closed his eyes again ignoring Bakura's pleas. He needed to concentrate. Reaching out, he tapped into Ryou's battered mind. Immediately he felt a barrage of emotions, all mixed up by Marik's evil plan. He could feel the fear and joy of past memories. Flinching, he dived deeper into Ryou's mind and began separating memories, new and old. A dagger of pain stabbed Yami in the center of his forehead. He bit back on a cry and kept digging and separating. The sharp pinpoint of pain began to spread, taking over his every thought. Bakura had been right, he couldn't handle this at the moment. But he couldn't back off now. Not when he was almost done.
After a few more agonizing seconds, Yami let out a scream and ripped his hands from the side of Ryou's head. His body crumpled into a heap beside Ryou. Bakura jumped up and ran to his friend's side. He shook Yami with a frantic fear.
"Yami!" He yelled. "Yami, wake up!"
But Yami didn't move. Bakura could hear his labored breathing so he knew he was alive. But it was the scream that scared him. Yami had to be fine, because if he was hurt Bakura didn't know what they would do. They had to get Yugi get back, but Bakura knew he couldn't do it himself.
"B-Bakura?"
Bakura jumped when he heard the faint voice from behind him. Turning he saw Ryou slowly sitting up. The younger teen looked around, face pale, almost as though he didn't know where they were anymore.
"Ryou!" Bakura sighed. At least one of them was okay. "Thank God. You have to tell me anything you can. Marik took Yugi and Yami's down for the count because he helped you."
Ryou let out another moan and rubbed his forehead. Why did he have such a headache? He remembered being snagged by that strange man Marik and being brought here. But that was it. After all that there was a blank.
"I d-don't know." He whispered miserably. "All I remember is having a decent conversation with Marik before he went crazy. And then there's a blank."
Bakura sighed and held Yami's head in his lap. A thin sweat had broken out on his friends brow. His breathing had returned to some what normal. But Bakura was still afraid for him. This kind of reaction to using his powers wasn't healthy. Normally that stunt would have left Yami feeling drained, over tired. But he never would have lost it and passed out. And he never would have screamed like that.
"It's all right." He whispered, patting Ryou on the back. "I'm just nervous. I've never seen him react that way to using his powers. It was like he was in pain."
Ryou looked down at Yami's tense face and felt a pang of guilt. It was his fault that Yami was like this. After all, if he hadn't needed the help then Yami would be fine. There was no way he couldn't blame himself.
"So what now?" Ryou asked in a tiny voice. "What do we do now?"
Bakura sighed and shifted his weight into a more comfortable position. When he did this, Yami moaned and shut his eyes tighter. Bakura saw this and was instantly on his knees again.
"Yami?" He didn't want to shout but he couldn't help it. "Yami, are you okay?"
Yami groaned again as his eyes slowly fluttered open. His crimson eyes were foggy and they moved slowly around the room. When they landed on Ryou and Bakura he tried to smile but instead only managed to flinch.
"B-Bakura." He forced out. Raising an arm he brought a hand to his forehead. "God, my head hurts."
"I can only imagine." Bakura joked lightly. "I told you it would too much for you to handle at the moment. This headache is way to show you that you should listen to me more often!"
Yami chuckled to himself but stopped short when he realized that it wasn't the smartest of ideas. Struggling, he sat up and leaned his weight on Bakura's shoulder. Yami gave Ryou a light smile and then turned serious.
"Ryou," He spoke quietly. "Are you okay now?"
Ryou smiled back. He gave a short nod.
"I'm fine." He answered. "I'm just worried about you. If you couldn't have done it, you shouldn't have."
Yami weakly waved him off. It was really his fault that they were in this situation. But at the moment something else was bugging him beside his throbbing head. There was something in the back of his mind. It was like something had been planted there. A new memory that he hadn't tapped into yet. That was when it hit him.
"He wanted me to." Yami spoke more to himself then anyone. "He knew I would do it."
Bakura and Ryou swapped confused glances. But it was obvious that neither knew what Yami was talking about. Bakura placed a hand on Yami's shoulder.
"What are you talking about Yami?" He asked.
Yami turned a blank stare on Bakura. "Marik set a memory in Ryou's head that would be transferred into my mind when I helped him." Yami turned another blank stare on Ryou. "He's trying to let us know something through me. I-I have to tap into it."
"No!" Bakura grabbed Yami by the shoulders, jerking him to face himself. "You can't! It might be something dangerous."
Yami shook his head. "It isn't." He said as though he new for a fact. "It isn't. He wouldn't do things that way. Marik wants to do anything like that face to face."
After that Yami blocked Bakura's pleas off and reached into his mind. He found the memory and reached into it, opening it up. A number flashed through his mind and the word cell phone. Right after that was a quick flash of Yugi's unconscious face followed by the large words CALL FOR HIM BACK.
Yami gasped as he came back to the real world. He reached out and grasped Bakura's arm in a tight grip. Bakura jumped and grabbed Yami by the wrist.
"Call him." Yami forced the words out as his headache intensified. "Marik wants us to call him to get Yugi back."
Bakura and Ryou glanced at each other before turning back to Yami. His crimson eyes were weary, but they could tell that he knew what he was talking about.
"How are we supposed to call him?" Bakura finally broke the silence. "We don't have a phone or his number."
"555-6219." Yami spoke quickly and sounded something like a robot. "He's carrying a cell phone, whatever that is."
Ryou quickly rose to his feet, a broad smile on his face. Bakura looked at him questioningly before rising to his own feet. Yami watched them both from his spot sitting on the ground. He didn't trust himself standing yet.
"We can call him from a pay phone." Ryou announced with an excited smile. "And then we get one step closer to get Yugi back and safe. He probably still has no idea what's going on. He was still out cold last time I saw him."
Bakura grinned. He turned to Yami who was now struggling to his feet. When he straightened up, Yami gave them a weak smile.
"Then we have to go call." He demanded. "We have to get Yugi back."
As the three of them started out of the old building, Yami sighed to himself. Of course he had to get Yugi back. It was all his fault that Yugi was in danger any way. And no matter what the cost, Yami would save him.
No matter what.