O.O Over 200 reviews. What the hell!? Not that I'm complaining, I think its
great that you're all feeding my addiction. ^.^
I was in Florida last week so I didn't have the chance to write anything... sorry about that. I was out getting sunburns. -____-, (and yet I'm still pasty white.)
While I was there, I managed to watch all these shows on the Cartoon Network. We don't have any of the more adult animes here... or at least not in MY part of Canada! (grumbles) And of course, now I'm addicted to .hack//SIGN. Figures.
Next mission: Get satellite.
Heero: (snort) As if that would ever happen.
Chapter 12- Vividarium*
(*Garden. It's a random word that has nothing to do with the plotline. I'm running out of meaningful words, sorry. ^^)
Yami sat on the bed in his dark room, turning the little black disk over and over in his hand. Kaiba hadn't asked him to go out on another mission since his previous failure, and Yami was starting to become apprehensive.
"Exactly what is he thinking? What's his next move?" Yami muttered.
"He's going to finish the game soon Pharaoh." A voice at his door answered his question mockingly.
Yami looked up sharply to find a look-alike of the blonde scientist Malik. He knew well enough that this was the scientist's personal creation, Ishtar.
Yami also knew that Ishtar had been roaming around HELL for the last few days. It was obvious to anyone that he and Kaiba were plotting something. Perhaps together, perhaps individually. It didn't matter.
There was nothing that Yami hated worse then being a pawn.
Swaying his hips with mock seduction, Ishtar entered the room uninvited and sat down on Yami's cot. The springs groaned at the weight, Ishtar to permit himself as small smirk.
"Malik may be a fool, but at least I'm not living in these pitiful conditions. They times really have changed, haven't they, pharaoh?"
At Ishtar's cruel smirk, Yami looked away, pretending the comment was unheard.
"And not only that, I hear from reliable sources that your victims are coming HERE! Talk about luck! Looks like you'll be able to finish your mission after all!" Ishtar purred.
Yami's head snapped towards him at that comment, dread making his heart sink. "What?"
"Oh, Malik just told me that my former partner is coming to kill me for fixing his ugly face, and he's bringing his friends along for the ride! Isn't that wonderful?" Ishtar clapped his hands together happily. Behind the false smile, his eyes glinted like steel.
Yami's lips curled into a snarl. 'He's playing with me.'
"Get your ass out of here then. I'm not taking a bullet for you." Yami growled.
Ishtar snorted. "Oh! My partner would never use a gun! He'd be too afraid that the bullet would kill me. He prefers using his own hands, but you know what? I think he has a fetish for sharp objects, so he might bring a knife, I'd be careful for that."
Yami repressed the annoyance he felt and got off the bed. 'He's playing with me. I have to remember that. I have to play his game... even if there's no hope that I'll win, I have to play the game.'
"I'll remember that. But if I were you, I'd watch out for his punches. Malik wont want you anymore if your face is ruined." Yami replied offhandedly.
Yami watched as Ishtar's face fell. For a second, Yami could see how vulnerable he was on the subject of the blonde scientist. 'Looks like he has some doubts about Malik's loyalty. I ought to use that.'
Ishtar flushed. "He would fix me."
Yami smirked to himself. 'Looks like I really did hit a soft spot.'
"Really? Oh, that's right! He's a scientist! So that means he'll be able to shut you off when he gets bored with you."
Ishtar looked as if he was ready to kill something. He was seething with anger... and whether this anger was directed at him or Malik, it didn't matter as long as Yami was still in control of the situation.
'Looks like the game has shifted in my favour.' Yami allowed a smirk to show on his emotionless face.
"He wont leave me!" Ishtar shot back, but the words lacked conviction.
"Really?"
"Yes! I'm not a plaything he will get bored of!" Ishtar hissed
" *I* never said you were a plaything."
Smiling darkly as he left the room, Yami crushed the black disk in his hand and walked off, leaving the shards on the floor.
Ishtar stepped up to the doorframe and watched Yami walk away with unmasked hatred.
* * * * * * * *
Yami walked down the hall, putting as much space between Ishtar and himself as possible.
'I better be more careful though. Ishtar is a dangerous enemy to have.'
An explosion suddenly shook the building.
Malik ran out of his office and collided head on with Yami.
"That idiot! What is it with that damn tomb raider and explosions!" Malik cried out as he got up off Yami and brushed the debris off his clothing.
"I need to got make sure the Lacuna project isn't damaged, otherwise I wont get my pay check!"
Malik was about to scramble off but a strong hand suddenly gripped his collar and pulled him back.
"Oh no dear MASTER. You need to stay and watch your creations act out the last scene of this play." Ishtar said with thinly veiled bitterness.
Malik stopped struggling and looked at him quizzically.
"Are you ok Ishtar? Did I do something that upset you again?" Malik asked softly as another explosion shook the floor. Ishtar's doubts and bitterness suddenly seemed to melt away as his eyes softened at Malik's concern.
"Don't ever leave me or else I'll hunt you down." Ishtar leaned forward and breathed into Malik's ear. Malik shivered and nodded his consent. Ishtar smiled and he soundlessly brought Malik into his arms, kissing him fiercely.
Yami turned away in disgust.
Malik reluctantly broke the kiss off at the sound of the fire alarm. Gasping for breath, he muttered something about unoriginal tomb raiders.
Walking ahead arrogantly, Ishtar graced Yami with a cocky grin. "You were just jealous."
Yami rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say."
Yami broke into a run, paying little heed to the falling debris. The scene felt eerily familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen this before.
The alarms were blaring by now and the shrill voice on the intercom demanding that everyone remain calm.
This, of course, had no effect whatsoever on the hysterical scientists.
They were running frantically, most in the opposite direction that the voice advised. For the second time this month had to grab their life's work and run for their lives.
Malik was certain he heard one of the underlings complain that there had to be a safer line of work. He suppressed a chuckle.
'This is simply one of the perks of working for HELL.' Malik smiled to himself. 'I hope Kaiba finds someone else to fix the damages this time though.'
Malik glanced ahead at Ishtar and smiled at the view.
'All the trouble was worth it though. Ishtar may not like Bakura, but I feel otherwise. Bakura's a good friend, no matter how extreme his personality is. (I'm not one to talk though...) I'm sure that if they beat each other up enough they'll be friends again.'
(AN: Talk about twisted logic... ^_^;;;;)
His smile broadened when he saw Kaiba racing down the halls to the source of the explosion, followed closely behind by his ever-faithful canine companion.
'Bakura may not be original, but if his explosions are enough to bring the CEO of Kaiba Corp out of hiding, then who's complaining?'
At the end of the red-lit hallway, Bakura stood with his arms crossed, a smirk pulling at his lips. Behind him, Yugi and Ryou stood, their figures taunt with determination. Both boys had golden pendants hanging around their necks.
"Pulling the same tricks again number 3223? Is your imagination beginning to malfunction?" Kaiba spoke out over the siren.
"My imagination is working just fine. As a matter a fact, I think you'll find the ways I'll inflict pain on you very creative." Bakura sneered.
Ishtar's smile broadened at the sight of his former partner. Cracking his knuckles, he stepped forward.
"It was clever of you to set up those explosions so that they frightened away all the workers. And I'm sure you knew I would recognize it as your signature move, right?"
"Ah. So you really do remember." Bakura remarked.
Malik looked from one to the other in confusion. "Wait a minute, you were just a decapitated head the last time he did this!"
"I was."
"So how did you know that he did this before?" asked, confused.
"I didn't know that he did it here, in this lifetime, but it doesn't surprise me that he'd pull same old trick again. I guess that habits remain even when the memory is gone."
At Malik's blank and uncomprehending look, Ishtar sighed.
"You know that we used to rob tombs together, right?" Ishtar asked Malik patiently.
Yami raised and eyebrow.
At Malik's nod, Ishtar continued, "Well, there always guards watching the tombs to make sure no one like us got in. Bakura would distract them by making a section of another tomb nearby collapse while I stole the treasure. Simple, but it worked more often then not."
"Your story is flawed. There wasn't any gunpowder back then. Also, where the hell did you get the equipment to blow up MY building?" Kaiba asked angrily.
Bakura smiled and waved his hand condescendingly. "He never said we blew the temple up, he said we made it collapse. For both cases, I can assure you that there are people from the 'inside' who are willing to help."
"Architects are nice people you know. They don't discriminate. It doesn't matter to them if you're the pharaoh or a tomb raider as long as you pay them. And I can assure you that temple plans stating where the main pillars are located really helpful. Telling you any more then that would be giving away tools of the trade." Ishtar gloated.
Bakura nodded in agreement.
Ryou, Yugi, Malik, Kaiba and Jounouchi looked at the two former raiders in dumbly. Yami just stood there, thoroughly amused.
"Are you two friends again?" Yugi asked. Almost everyone held their breath waiting for the answer.
"Hell no! I'm gonna kill him for letting me rot in that tomb!" Bakura snarled, cracking his knuckles.
Ishtar clutched his hand into a fist. "Bring it on!"
There was a collective sight of relief.
"Oh good, I was afraid that you had changed sides." Yugi murmured.
"I was worried that I was going to miss out on watching you two fight again, I so sorry I doubted both your aggressive natures." Malik smiled happily.
Jou glared at him. "I can't believe I let a nutcase like you operate on my sister's eyes!"
Malik sighed. "Idiot, when there's a problem with the eye, you need to perform brain surgery. It was her head I played with, not her eyes."
"WHAT?!"
Jou sputtered and pointed an accusatory finger at Malik while yelling at Seto who simply groaned at his lover's stupidity.
"You let HIM play brain surgeon using MY SISTER?!"
"Has there's been any problems?" Malik ask worriedly.
"No, no, she's just fine she took off the bandages a few days ago and... WAIT A MINUTE! Stop acting like a doctor!"
Seto rubbed his temples as Bakura and Ishtar watched the argument with interest.
Ryou and Yugi just stood there dumbfounded.
Yami just sighed.
"Aren't you two supposed to be killing each other now?" he asked Bakura and Ishtar.
The two former raiders glanced at each other and both rolled their eyes at the former pharaoh.
"He's still the arrogant bastard he was before. I was rather glad when they announced that he had kicked the bucket." Ishtar mused.
Yami glared at him.
"I was really looking forward to erasing his name from the cartouches so that his spirit couldn't come back, but I just HAD to be killed before I even reached the tomb!" Bakura growled.
"It wasn't my fucking fault that you made the column fall ahead of time!" Ishtar growled.
Something inside of Bakura snapped at that comment. He let his anger take over and slammed his fist into Ishtar's face.
"I didn't make that damn column fall, you did! And you didn't come get me!" Bakura was about to land another punch when Ishtar retaliated.
"If you couldn't get your clumsy ass out of there yourself then you weren't worth it!" Ishtar landed a hit to Bakura's gut and didn't hesitate to kick his face when he keeled over.
Avoiding his leg, Bakura sent Ishtar a flurry of angry punches.
"My fucking leg was stuck! I know you planned it out so that you could keep all the treasure!"
"I did NOT! The guards didn't even head your way, they came and caught ME!" Ishtar grunted with satisfaction when he heard the dry crack of a broken rib.
"That's impossible! Why wouldn't they have come to where I was?" Bakura's pain only served to fuel his anger.
"How should I know? They killed me, they didn't answer any questions." Bitterness laced Ishtar's voice.
"Fuck that! Even with all the noise, they didn't come to where I was and I starved to death! It's impossible that they didn't know the tomb had collapsed! They should have come to where I was, not go after you!"
"But they did, and it's your fault that I was killed by some second-rate tomb guard! They should have gone after you, not me!" Ishtar cried out. Another punch nearly knocked him off balance.
"I agree! Why the fuck didn't they?!" Bakura snarled.
"It's almost as if..." Ishtar murmured, realization dawning on him.
"As if ... we were set up?" Bakura murmured.
"But by who?" Ishtar said, stepping back a little.
Bakura wiped what looked like blood from his mouth. "Who else knew our plan?"
"Rather, who's smart enough to figure out our tactics and powerful enough to tell those bumbling guards what to do?" Ishtar asked.
"Seth."
The name brought a sour taste to Bakura's mouth, and Ishtar's lips curled into an ironic smile.
"Strange how he was always two steps ahead of us..."
He turned to look at Kaiba with hate filled eyes. "... even in this lifetime."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow. This was an interesting turn of events. They really remembered everything about their previous lives?
"That damned high priest... I should have known." Bakura glared at Kaiba.
"I say we put aside our differences and have a little fun. What do you say?"
Bakura answered Ishtar with a malicious smile.
Malik smiled happily. "I knew they'd work things out."
Kaiba looked at them in amusement. Jou had placed himself in front of Kaiba protectively.
Yami knew what he had to do when Kaiba gave him a slight nod.
At once, both Ishtar and Bakura were flung back by Yami, their mutually inflicted injuries weakening them.
Kaiba smirked. "Kill them Yami."
Yami hesitated. It would be so easy... they were both exhausted from fighting each other.
But what would their deaths bring? Only more unhappiness.
And those amethyst eyes... they were so scared right now. Was he really able to watch Yugi cry?
'No...'
"What are you waiting for Yami? Kill them." Kaiba urged, but there was something strangely hopeful about his voice.
Again. Just like that other time, in his office.
'I cant.'
He couldn't be the cause of Yugi's unhappiness.
"Kill them." The command was becoming more hopeful at Yami's hesitation.
'I wont.'
He would protect Yugi, no matter what, even from himself.
"Do it now!" Kaiba ordered.
"No."
The answer was so soft that Kaiba barely heard it.
"What?"
"I said no. I wont." Yami murmured.
Yugi's eyes were so bright that it almost hurt Yami to look at them. 'Don't worry Yugi, I'll do the right thing.'
"And why not?"
It was supposed to sound indignant, but at this point, Kaiba couldn't continue his charade. He was elated! The reprogramming hadn't worked! Exactly like Malik claimed it wouldn't.
"Because it would upset Yugi," was Yami's simple answer.
Kaiba grinned. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Yugi flung himself into a startled Yami's arms and started to cry tears of joy. The pharaoh looked shocked but his normally cold eyes softened. With a murmur of reassurance, Yami embraced Yugi lovingly.
Ryou and Malik were next to their injured counterparts and let out an envious sigh.
Ishtar and Bakura were too confused to do anything but stare.
Jou was beginning to be scared. Seto never smiled. Right?
"I didn't believe you when you said that the robots kept their personalities no matter what Malik, but I'm glad you were right."
Malik grinned. "That's right. So you don't need to worry. The Lacuna Project will still be the same person he was before he died, and no one can change that."
Kaiba wasn't smiling as broadly as before, but his lips were unmistakably curved upwards.
"What's going on Seto?" Jou asked, confused out of his mind.
"If those two over there," he gestured to Ishtar and Bakura, "don't try anything, I'll show you all my secret. My Lacuna project."
* * * * * * * * *
^____^ Yay! Almost done!
I'm sorry; I know it must have been really confusing reading this. Heck, I was confusing myself! I guess I should clear up a few points by giving you the history of what happened to Bakura and Ishtar in ancient Egypt. If you read this and then reread the argument, you'll probably understand better:
* * *
Bakura and Ishtar were about to rob Yami's tomb with their old 'distract and then steal' routine, but Seth (Seto) knew all about it thanks to the architect that double-crossed THEM too.
It didn't help our friendly neighbourhood tomb raiders that Seth knew who Ishtar was (since Ishtar was a low ranking priest) and had ordered a spy to watch him.
So Kaiba knew which room they wanted to get to. (Yami's tomb)
He ordered the guards to weaken a column so that it would collapse if someone would so much as breathe on it. He then told them to ignore the column when it collapsed.
Unfortunately for Bakura, Seth simply forgot about him (priestly duties, you know) and no one went to get Bakura to put him in jail. Bakura starved to death thinking that Ishtar had abandoned him.
Ishtar was surprised to hear the room Bakura was in collapse so much ahead of schedule, and wasn't prepared to face the temple guards that attacked him. They killed him and threw his body in an empty chamber near Yami's since they didn't want to have to carry the bloody body too far. (It was almost lunchtime and they had... a more important matter to deal with. Their stomachs.)
Strangely enough, a few days later there was an earthquake and the entrance to the tomb was lost. Seth guessed it was wiser to not look for the tomb so that the pharaoh Yami could rest in peace until his soul returned to his body...
* * *
^__^ That's it for now! I hope it was worth the wait. This story should be done in two chapters.
(Grins) I'm going to be REALLY greedy now and hope for 300 reviews by the epilogue. I don't think I'll get that many, but hey, I never would have thought I would get over 200 reviews! So I'm gonna hope that I get hit by a bolt of lightening and suddenly become a literary genius, cause everyone needs to like the next 2 chapters A LOT if that's ever going to happen. ^^;
So review! Please?
I was in Florida last week so I didn't have the chance to write anything... sorry about that. I was out getting sunburns. -____-, (and yet I'm still pasty white.)
While I was there, I managed to watch all these shows on the Cartoon Network. We don't have any of the more adult animes here... or at least not in MY part of Canada! (grumbles) And of course, now I'm addicted to .hack//SIGN. Figures.
Next mission: Get satellite.
Heero: (snort) As if that would ever happen.
Chapter 12- Vividarium*
(*Garden. It's a random word that has nothing to do with the plotline. I'm running out of meaningful words, sorry. ^^)
Yami sat on the bed in his dark room, turning the little black disk over and over in his hand. Kaiba hadn't asked him to go out on another mission since his previous failure, and Yami was starting to become apprehensive.
"Exactly what is he thinking? What's his next move?" Yami muttered.
"He's going to finish the game soon Pharaoh." A voice at his door answered his question mockingly.
Yami looked up sharply to find a look-alike of the blonde scientist Malik. He knew well enough that this was the scientist's personal creation, Ishtar.
Yami also knew that Ishtar had been roaming around HELL for the last few days. It was obvious to anyone that he and Kaiba were plotting something. Perhaps together, perhaps individually. It didn't matter.
There was nothing that Yami hated worse then being a pawn.
Swaying his hips with mock seduction, Ishtar entered the room uninvited and sat down on Yami's cot. The springs groaned at the weight, Ishtar to permit himself as small smirk.
"Malik may be a fool, but at least I'm not living in these pitiful conditions. They times really have changed, haven't they, pharaoh?"
At Ishtar's cruel smirk, Yami looked away, pretending the comment was unheard.
"And not only that, I hear from reliable sources that your victims are coming HERE! Talk about luck! Looks like you'll be able to finish your mission after all!" Ishtar purred.
Yami's head snapped towards him at that comment, dread making his heart sink. "What?"
"Oh, Malik just told me that my former partner is coming to kill me for fixing his ugly face, and he's bringing his friends along for the ride! Isn't that wonderful?" Ishtar clapped his hands together happily. Behind the false smile, his eyes glinted like steel.
Yami's lips curled into a snarl. 'He's playing with me.'
"Get your ass out of here then. I'm not taking a bullet for you." Yami growled.
Ishtar snorted. "Oh! My partner would never use a gun! He'd be too afraid that the bullet would kill me. He prefers using his own hands, but you know what? I think he has a fetish for sharp objects, so he might bring a knife, I'd be careful for that."
Yami repressed the annoyance he felt and got off the bed. 'He's playing with me. I have to remember that. I have to play his game... even if there's no hope that I'll win, I have to play the game.'
"I'll remember that. But if I were you, I'd watch out for his punches. Malik wont want you anymore if your face is ruined." Yami replied offhandedly.
Yami watched as Ishtar's face fell. For a second, Yami could see how vulnerable he was on the subject of the blonde scientist. 'Looks like he has some doubts about Malik's loyalty. I ought to use that.'
Ishtar flushed. "He would fix me."
Yami smirked to himself. 'Looks like I really did hit a soft spot.'
"Really? Oh, that's right! He's a scientist! So that means he'll be able to shut you off when he gets bored with you."
Ishtar looked as if he was ready to kill something. He was seething with anger... and whether this anger was directed at him or Malik, it didn't matter as long as Yami was still in control of the situation.
'Looks like the game has shifted in my favour.' Yami allowed a smirk to show on his emotionless face.
"He wont leave me!" Ishtar shot back, but the words lacked conviction.
"Really?"
"Yes! I'm not a plaything he will get bored of!" Ishtar hissed
" *I* never said you were a plaything."
Smiling darkly as he left the room, Yami crushed the black disk in his hand and walked off, leaving the shards on the floor.
Ishtar stepped up to the doorframe and watched Yami walk away with unmasked hatred.
* * * * * * * *
Yami walked down the hall, putting as much space between Ishtar and himself as possible.
'I better be more careful though. Ishtar is a dangerous enemy to have.'
An explosion suddenly shook the building.
Malik ran out of his office and collided head on with Yami.
"That idiot! What is it with that damn tomb raider and explosions!" Malik cried out as he got up off Yami and brushed the debris off his clothing.
"I need to got make sure the Lacuna project isn't damaged, otherwise I wont get my pay check!"
Malik was about to scramble off but a strong hand suddenly gripped his collar and pulled him back.
"Oh no dear MASTER. You need to stay and watch your creations act out the last scene of this play." Ishtar said with thinly veiled bitterness.
Malik stopped struggling and looked at him quizzically.
"Are you ok Ishtar? Did I do something that upset you again?" Malik asked softly as another explosion shook the floor. Ishtar's doubts and bitterness suddenly seemed to melt away as his eyes softened at Malik's concern.
"Don't ever leave me or else I'll hunt you down." Ishtar leaned forward and breathed into Malik's ear. Malik shivered and nodded his consent. Ishtar smiled and he soundlessly brought Malik into his arms, kissing him fiercely.
Yami turned away in disgust.
Malik reluctantly broke the kiss off at the sound of the fire alarm. Gasping for breath, he muttered something about unoriginal tomb raiders.
Walking ahead arrogantly, Ishtar graced Yami with a cocky grin. "You were just jealous."
Yami rolled his eyes and sighed. "Whatever you say."
Yami broke into a run, paying little heed to the falling debris. The scene felt eerily familiar, but he couldn't place where he had seen this before.
The alarms were blaring by now and the shrill voice on the intercom demanding that everyone remain calm.
This, of course, had no effect whatsoever on the hysterical scientists.
They were running frantically, most in the opposite direction that the voice advised. For the second time this month had to grab their life's work and run for their lives.
Malik was certain he heard one of the underlings complain that there had to be a safer line of work. He suppressed a chuckle.
'This is simply one of the perks of working for HELL.' Malik smiled to himself. 'I hope Kaiba finds someone else to fix the damages this time though.'
Malik glanced ahead at Ishtar and smiled at the view.
'All the trouble was worth it though. Ishtar may not like Bakura, but I feel otherwise. Bakura's a good friend, no matter how extreme his personality is. (I'm not one to talk though...) I'm sure that if they beat each other up enough they'll be friends again.'
(AN: Talk about twisted logic... ^_^;;;;)
His smile broadened when he saw Kaiba racing down the halls to the source of the explosion, followed closely behind by his ever-faithful canine companion.
'Bakura may not be original, but if his explosions are enough to bring the CEO of Kaiba Corp out of hiding, then who's complaining?'
At the end of the red-lit hallway, Bakura stood with his arms crossed, a smirk pulling at his lips. Behind him, Yugi and Ryou stood, their figures taunt with determination. Both boys had golden pendants hanging around their necks.
"Pulling the same tricks again number 3223? Is your imagination beginning to malfunction?" Kaiba spoke out over the siren.
"My imagination is working just fine. As a matter a fact, I think you'll find the ways I'll inflict pain on you very creative." Bakura sneered.
Ishtar's smile broadened at the sight of his former partner. Cracking his knuckles, he stepped forward.
"It was clever of you to set up those explosions so that they frightened away all the workers. And I'm sure you knew I would recognize it as your signature move, right?"
"Ah. So you really do remember." Bakura remarked.
Malik looked from one to the other in confusion. "Wait a minute, you were just a decapitated head the last time he did this!"
"I was."
"So how did you know that he did this before?" asked, confused.
"I didn't know that he did it here, in this lifetime, but it doesn't surprise me that he'd pull same old trick again. I guess that habits remain even when the memory is gone."
At Malik's blank and uncomprehending look, Ishtar sighed.
"You know that we used to rob tombs together, right?" Ishtar asked Malik patiently.
Yami raised and eyebrow.
At Malik's nod, Ishtar continued, "Well, there always guards watching the tombs to make sure no one like us got in. Bakura would distract them by making a section of another tomb nearby collapse while I stole the treasure. Simple, but it worked more often then not."
"Your story is flawed. There wasn't any gunpowder back then. Also, where the hell did you get the equipment to blow up MY building?" Kaiba asked angrily.
Bakura smiled and waved his hand condescendingly. "He never said we blew the temple up, he said we made it collapse. For both cases, I can assure you that there are people from the 'inside' who are willing to help."
"Architects are nice people you know. They don't discriminate. It doesn't matter to them if you're the pharaoh or a tomb raider as long as you pay them. And I can assure you that temple plans stating where the main pillars are located really helpful. Telling you any more then that would be giving away tools of the trade." Ishtar gloated.
Bakura nodded in agreement.
Ryou, Yugi, Malik, Kaiba and Jounouchi looked at the two former raiders in dumbly. Yami just stood there, thoroughly amused.
"Are you two friends again?" Yugi asked. Almost everyone held their breath waiting for the answer.
"Hell no! I'm gonna kill him for letting me rot in that tomb!" Bakura snarled, cracking his knuckles.
Ishtar clutched his hand into a fist. "Bring it on!"
There was a collective sight of relief.
"Oh good, I was afraid that you had changed sides." Yugi murmured.
"I was worried that I was going to miss out on watching you two fight again, I so sorry I doubted both your aggressive natures." Malik smiled happily.
Jou glared at him. "I can't believe I let a nutcase like you operate on my sister's eyes!"
Malik sighed. "Idiot, when there's a problem with the eye, you need to perform brain surgery. It was her head I played with, not her eyes."
"WHAT?!"
Jou sputtered and pointed an accusatory finger at Malik while yelling at Seto who simply groaned at his lover's stupidity.
"You let HIM play brain surgeon using MY SISTER?!"
"Has there's been any problems?" Malik ask worriedly.
"No, no, she's just fine she took off the bandages a few days ago and... WAIT A MINUTE! Stop acting like a doctor!"
Seto rubbed his temples as Bakura and Ishtar watched the argument with interest.
Ryou and Yugi just stood there dumbfounded.
Yami just sighed.
"Aren't you two supposed to be killing each other now?" he asked Bakura and Ishtar.
The two former raiders glanced at each other and both rolled their eyes at the former pharaoh.
"He's still the arrogant bastard he was before. I was rather glad when they announced that he had kicked the bucket." Ishtar mused.
Yami glared at him.
"I was really looking forward to erasing his name from the cartouches so that his spirit couldn't come back, but I just HAD to be killed before I even reached the tomb!" Bakura growled.
"It wasn't my fucking fault that you made the column fall ahead of time!" Ishtar growled.
Something inside of Bakura snapped at that comment. He let his anger take over and slammed his fist into Ishtar's face.
"I didn't make that damn column fall, you did! And you didn't come get me!" Bakura was about to land another punch when Ishtar retaliated.
"If you couldn't get your clumsy ass out of there yourself then you weren't worth it!" Ishtar landed a hit to Bakura's gut and didn't hesitate to kick his face when he keeled over.
Avoiding his leg, Bakura sent Ishtar a flurry of angry punches.
"My fucking leg was stuck! I know you planned it out so that you could keep all the treasure!"
"I did NOT! The guards didn't even head your way, they came and caught ME!" Ishtar grunted with satisfaction when he heard the dry crack of a broken rib.
"That's impossible! Why wouldn't they have come to where I was?" Bakura's pain only served to fuel his anger.
"How should I know? They killed me, they didn't answer any questions." Bitterness laced Ishtar's voice.
"Fuck that! Even with all the noise, they didn't come to where I was and I starved to death! It's impossible that they didn't know the tomb had collapsed! They should have come to where I was, not go after you!"
"But they did, and it's your fault that I was killed by some second-rate tomb guard! They should have gone after you, not me!" Ishtar cried out. Another punch nearly knocked him off balance.
"I agree! Why the fuck didn't they?!" Bakura snarled.
"It's almost as if..." Ishtar murmured, realization dawning on him.
"As if ... we were set up?" Bakura murmured.
"But by who?" Ishtar said, stepping back a little.
Bakura wiped what looked like blood from his mouth. "Who else knew our plan?"
"Rather, who's smart enough to figure out our tactics and powerful enough to tell those bumbling guards what to do?" Ishtar asked.
"Seth."
The name brought a sour taste to Bakura's mouth, and Ishtar's lips curled into an ironic smile.
"Strange how he was always two steps ahead of us..."
He turned to look at Kaiba with hate filled eyes. "... even in this lifetime."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow. This was an interesting turn of events. They really remembered everything about their previous lives?
"That damned high priest... I should have known." Bakura glared at Kaiba.
"I say we put aside our differences and have a little fun. What do you say?"
Bakura answered Ishtar with a malicious smile.
Malik smiled happily. "I knew they'd work things out."
Kaiba looked at them in amusement. Jou had placed himself in front of Kaiba protectively.
Yami knew what he had to do when Kaiba gave him a slight nod.
At once, both Ishtar and Bakura were flung back by Yami, their mutually inflicted injuries weakening them.
Kaiba smirked. "Kill them Yami."
Yami hesitated. It would be so easy... they were both exhausted from fighting each other.
But what would their deaths bring? Only more unhappiness.
And those amethyst eyes... they were so scared right now. Was he really able to watch Yugi cry?
'No...'
"What are you waiting for Yami? Kill them." Kaiba urged, but there was something strangely hopeful about his voice.
Again. Just like that other time, in his office.
'I cant.'
He couldn't be the cause of Yugi's unhappiness.
"Kill them." The command was becoming more hopeful at Yami's hesitation.
'I wont.'
He would protect Yugi, no matter what, even from himself.
"Do it now!" Kaiba ordered.
"No."
The answer was so soft that Kaiba barely heard it.
"What?"
"I said no. I wont." Yami murmured.
Yugi's eyes were so bright that it almost hurt Yami to look at them. 'Don't worry Yugi, I'll do the right thing.'
"And why not?"
It was supposed to sound indignant, but at this point, Kaiba couldn't continue his charade. He was elated! The reprogramming hadn't worked! Exactly like Malik claimed it wouldn't.
"Because it would upset Yugi," was Yami's simple answer.
Kaiba grinned. "Really?"
"Yeah."
Yugi flung himself into a startled Yami's arms and started to cry tears of joy. The pharaoh looked shocked but his normally cold eyes softened. With a murmur of reassurance, Yami embraced Yugi lovingly.
Ryou and Malik were next to their injured counterparts and let out an envious sigh.
Ishtar and Bakura were too confused to do anything but stare.
Jou was beginning to be scared. Seto never smiled. Right?
"I didn't believe you when you said that the robots kept their personalities no matter what Malik, but I'm glad you were right."
Malik grinned. "That's right. So you don't need to worry. The Lacuna Project will still be the same person he was before he died, and no one can change that."
Kaiba wasn't smiling as broadly as before, but his lips were unmistakably curved upwards.
"What's going on Seto?" Jou asked, confused out of his mind.
"If those two over there," he gestured to Ishtar and Bakura, "don't try anything, I'll show you all my secret. My Lacuna project."
* * * * * * * * *
^____^ Yay! Almost done!
I'm sorry; I know it must have been really confusing reading this. Heck, I was confusing myself! I guess I should clear up a few points by giving you the history of what happened to Bakura and Ishtar in ancient Egypt. If you read this and then reread the argument, you'll probably understand better:
* * *
Bakura and Ishtar were about to rob Yami's tomb with their old 'distract and then steal' routine, but Seth (Seto) knew all about it thanks to the architect that double-crossed THEM too.
It didn't help our friendly neighbourhood tomb raiders that Seth knew who Ishtar was (since Ishtar was a low ranking priest) and had ordered a spy to watch him.
So Kaiba knew which room they wanted to get to. (Yami's tomb)
He ordered the guards to weaken a column so that it would collapse if someone would so much as breathe on it. He then told them to ignore the column when it collapsed.
Unfortunately for Bakura, Seth simply forgot about him (priestly duties, you know) and no one went to get Bakura to put him in jail. Bakura starved to death thinking that Ishtar had abandoned him.
Ishtar was surprised to hear the room Bakura was in collapse so much ahead of schedule, and wasn't prepared to face the temple guards that attacked him. They killed him and threw his body in an empty chamber near Yami's since they didn't want to have to carry the bloody body too far. (It was almost lunchtime and they had... a more important matter to deal with. Their stomachs.)
Strangely enough, a few days later there was an earthquake and the entrance to the tomb was lost. Seth guessed it was wiser to not look for the tomb so that the pharaoh Yami could rest in peace until his soul returned to his body...
* * *
^__^ That's it for now! I hope it was worth the wait. This story should be done in two chapters.
(Grins) I'm going to be REALLY greedy now and hope for 300 reviews by the epilogue. I don't think I'll get that many, but hey, I never would have thought I would get over 200 reviews! So I'm gonna hope that I get hit by a bolt of lightening and suddenly become a literary genius, cause everyone needs to like the next 2 chapters A LOT if that's ever going to happen. ^^;
So review! Please?