Shadows of Demons
Yami opened his eyes slowly as he awoke. He was still huddled up against his aibou-koi, but bright light illuminating the curtains suggested that it was time to get up. Yawning, he carefully left the bed, being sure not to wake Yugi. He grabbed his clothes from where they had been discarded, and a
towel, making his way to the bathroom for a shower.
The warm water massaged his tanned skin gently, and Yami's mind kept wandering. 'What would happen now?' was the most common thought. The truth had been revealed, Anzu was dead... thinking of which, her body was still
in Yugi's bedroom. He screwed up his face, thinking that he would get
Bakura to help with that later.
The phone rang loudly, and sighing, Yami rushed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around him as he went. His wet feet skidded on the bathroom floor, and he fell back, hitting his head on the shower. Not a serious injury, but enough to annoy him as he straightened up, and proceeded towards the phone more slowly. He picked up the receiver, saying an irritated "Moshi moshi"
before he was interuppted.
"Yami, it's Bakura. We've found Malik; but he's in the Shadow Realm!" a
voice said frantically. Yami frowned. "The Shadow Realm? How'd he get
there?" he said, rubbing his head where a bruise was forming under his hair. "No idea; but, he's bound up pretty tight. I need you to come help me free him. Please make it quick; he's been in there a month already!" Bakura said rapidly. "OK, OK, calm down. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Yami
said, replacing the phone with a click.
Hurriedly, he returned to his room, currently shared by Yugi, who was still
asleep. He pulled on his normal outfit, and scribbled a note in his reasonably bad Japanese. Hopefully, Yugi would know what he meant. He laid it on the pillow next to his sleeping koi, and kissed Yugi gently on the
cheek, before hurrying off.
~
Yugi blinked awake with tired eyes. He instantly noticed that Yami was
missing, and sat up. He scanned the room for any sign of the older boy, before his eyes fell on the note. He picked it up, and frowned as he tried
to make out the badly-written characters.
'Yugi,
Bakura found Malik in the Shadow Realm. I go to help him get Malik free. I
be back soon. Aishiteru, Yami'
Yugi giggled at the writing, promising himself that he would make sure that
Yami could write Japanese properly. He laid back against the pillows
contentedly.
~
Yami rang Ryou's doorbell, annoyed that he had forgotten several pieces of
his attire. His socks, for one, were not on his feet, but lying on his
bedroom floor somewhere, making his boots feel very uncomfortable. Less important, the array of belts he usually wore. Plus, his hair was drooping
in a strange manner, with his normally spiked bangs hanging perfectly
straight either side of his face.
Bakura opened the door, took one look at Yami, and laughed. "Shut up, tomb robber." Yami muttered as he walked in. He narrowed his eyes, as Bakura's
laughter continued. "Look, do you want me to help or not?" Yami said, irritated already. Bakura nodded, calming down. "Of course, of course. It's very strange; Malik seems to have fallen into the area of the Shadow Realm
that provides trap cards." he explained. "He's in a Trap Hole." Yami
frowned. "A Trap Hole? We'd better go pull him out. Got a Remove Trap handy?" he said slowly. "I don't feel like spending too long in the Shadow
Realm today."
Bakura nodded, holding up a 'Remove Trap' card. "Let's get this over and done with." he said, his Ring beginning to glow. Yami sighed, the Puzzle
glowing, and they disappeared into the Shadow Realm.
~
Yami looked around slowly. They were surrounded by traps; a maze of Mirror Walls, Trap Holes, and even Waboku waiting to be summoned. Yami shook his head, and grabbed Bakura's arm, leading him past the traps. "You want to be
more careful, Yami?!" Bakura exclaimed, knowing that these traps were likely to go off if they put one foot wrong. "Iie, Bakura, I'm the Pharaoh; none of these traps will hurt me." Yami, told him irritably. "But they'll hurt me!" Bakura complained. "No they won't; that's why I'm holding onto
you." Yami said.
"You're not normally like this..." Bakura said quietly. Yami ignored him, walking to the edge of one of the Trap Holes and looking in. "Found him..." he said. At the base of the deep, dark pit, Marik sat unconscious, his back against one of the pit walls, and his head hanging forward. Bakura noticed the Millennium Rod lying nearby; not inside the pit, but next to a Mirror
Wall.
"Come on, no time to lose." Yami sighed, standing up straight. "Cast it quickly." Bakura frowned slightly, but moved towards the pit, and held up the Remove Trap card. In a quick flash of magic, the base of the Trap Hole
rose up to level the ground before them, and bring it's captive to the surface. Bakura hastily picked up the Millennium Rod, and knelt down next
to Marik, who was now lying out flat on the dark ground before them.
"Hey, Marik, you in there? Wake up now!" Bakura said, half cheerfully, carefully wrapping one of his friend's hands around the chill gold of the Rod. Sighing as Marik's eyes stayed firmly closed, he shook the boy gently to try and wake him. Yami's eyes slid shut, and the Puzzle glowed softly.
"He's still in there." he reported to Bakura. The Puzzle glowed brighter. "He hasn't gone past the Second Shadow Gate, which is lucky considering the
time he's been here." Smiling, Bakura supported Marik into a siting position, and smacked him across the face. Pale lavender eyes shot open, and the Rod was reflexively raised to attack. "Hey! I just saved your life,
idiot!" Bakura said, standing up. Marik rubbed his head. "Bakura? Yami?
What's going on? Why are we in the Shadow Realm?" he asked, very slowly standing up. "Don't know, but you were in a Trap Hole for a month." Yami
told him. "But I suggest we get out of here now." His crimson eyes were suddenly filled with worry. The Puzzle's light began to flicker and go out.
"Bakura, take Marik and go. Now." Yami said quickly. Bakura looked at him in confusion. "Why?" Yami closed his eyes tightly, like he was trying to hold something in. "Because it's too dark here, and I can't get out quickly enough! Go!" he said loudly. Realization dawned on Bakura's face. "I'm not going, I can stop him, you know that!" he said, stepping forward to grab
the Pharaoh's arms.
"In your dreams!" Youkai's eyes opened sharply, the red Eye forming on his
forehead and wings wrenching themselves from his back. Bakura stumbled backwards. Youkai appluaded sarcastically. "You really are clever - getting Yami into the Shadow Realm for me. You didn't realise, did you? No light?
Just like a moonless night!" he said.
"Bakura... what's going on?" Marik asked quietly. Bakura glanced over his shoulder. "Well, it takes forever to explain, and Yami's the best one to do that so..." Bakura's deep brown eyes settled on the Rod clutched in Marik's
hands. "Got it! Marik, use the Rod on Youkai!" he said quickly. Marik stared at him blankly. "Yami." Bakura told him. "We just need him out of
the Shadow Realm!"
Youkai was behind Bakura in a second, twisting his arm up behind his back. "No, no, we mustn't be doing that..." he murmured. He put his free hand in the air next to Bakura's head. The tomb robber's eyes widened as a long, black dagger formed in it. "Marik, if you're going to do anything, do it
now..." Bakura said quietly.
Marik shook his head free of confusion; now was not the time to ask questions. Despite being weakened by his holiday in the Shadow Realm, he
raised the Rod. Magical light flowed from it, illuminating the area,
including the half of Youkai's face that wasn't obscured by Bakura's
shadow. The light revealed a worried, pleading look. Marik forced his
presence into Youkai's mind.
~
It was dark. Very dark. Marik scanned the room; this was Youkai's mind. Not
much to hold onto and control... but a dim ray of light illuminated one
corner. In that corner, a figure, lying out on the cold, stone floor,
asleep, with chains around their wrists. The light was too dim to see
exactly who it was, but even Marik could guess.
~
"Get... out... of... my... head..." Youkai growled quietly, releasing
Bakura. "It's not your head!" Marik shouted. The magic took effect, and Youkai stood still, eyes blank. Bakura rushed forward and transported them
quickly out of the Shadow Realm.
~
"Yami-kun, wake up..." Bakura shook the ex-Pharaoh violently. He stood up,
sighing. "It's no use; he won't wake up." Marik looked confused, Bakura looked annoyed, and Ryou looked frustrated. "You did de-spell him, didn't you?" Ryou asked Marik quietly. "Yes..." the Egyptian replied. "None of my
magic is left in him. But... maybe we should take him home..." Bakura
smirked. "I'm sure Yugi could help wake him up."
Carrying an unconscious boy through the streets of Domino was bound to look suspicious, so Marik spelled people; making them ignore the unusual group. Yami was breathing shallowly, he was certainly still alive, but it was like
his mind was missing; unable to wake without it.
Ryou rang the doorbell as they arrived at the house joined into the Kame
Game Shop. Yugi opened the door, greeting them brightly.
"Yeah, yeah." Bakura pushed past him quickly, putting Yami down on the sofa, happy to rid himself of his load. "What happened?" Yugi asked, eyes wide in shock. "The Shadow Realm. It was too dark, and Youkai came out." Bakura explained. "Marik stopped him magically, but when we got back into
the true realm, Yami wouldn't wake up." Yugi frowned. "Marik controlled
Youkai's mind, which was at the time holding Yami's mind captive." he
stated. Comprehension dawned on Marik's face. "I can't sens eany of my magic in Yami, because it's not there. It's still in Youkai, whoever that may be, and unless I command it, Yami's mind won't be released." he said
quickly. "But without Youkai in true existance, I can't de-spell him."
Yugi knelt down beside his sleeping darker. "I'll have to do it." he said. "The Puzzle doesn't work for me the way it does for Yami, but I'll have to
try. The next new moon isn't for another month."
"Good luck..." Ryou said quietly.
~
Pan: Updates will be fewer and further between now, I'm afraid. I'm back at school again, and I'm steadily running out of ideas. I don't know how I'm going to finish this off. It may end up in a sequel. Oh well. I'll do the
next update as soon as possible.
Yami opened his eyes slowly as he awoke. He was still huddled up against his aibou-koi, but bright light illuminating the curtains suggested that it was time to get up. Yawning, he carefully left the bed, being sure not to wake Yugi. He grabbed his clothes from where they had been discarded, and a
towel, making his way to the bathroom for a shower.
The warm water massaged his tanned skin gently, and Yami's mind kept wandering. 'What would happen now?' was the most common thought. The truth had been revealed, Anzu was dead... thinking of which, her body was still
in Yugi's bedroom. He screwed up his face, thinking that he would get
Bakura to help with that later.
The phone rang loudly, and sighing, Yami rushed out of the shower, wrapping a towel around him as he went. His wet feet skidded on the bathroom floor, and he fell back, hitting his head on the shower. Not a serious injury, but enough to annoy him as he straightened up, and proceeded towards the phone more slowly. He picked up the receiver, saying an irritated "Moshi moshi"
before he was interuppted.
"Yami, it's Bakura. We've found Malik; but he's in the Shadow Realm!" a
voice said frantically. Yami frowned. "The Shadow Realm? How'd he get
there?" he said, rubbing his head where a bruise was forming under his hair. "No idea; but, he's bound up pretty tight. I need you to come help me free him. Please make it quick; he's been in there a month already!" Bakura said rapidly. "OK, OK, calm down. I'll be there in fifteen minutes." Yami
said, replacing the phone with a click.
Hurriedly, he returned to his room, currently shared by Yugi, who was still
asleep. He pulled on his normal outfit, and scribbled a note in his reasonably bad Japanese. Hopefully, Yugi would know what he meant. He laid it on the pillow next to his sleeping koi, and kissed Yugi gently on the
cheek, before hurrying off.
~
Yugi blinked awake with tired eyes. He instantly noticed that Yami was
missing, and sat up. He scanned the room for any sign of the older boy, before his eyes fell on the note. He picked it up, and frowned as he tried
to make out the badly-written characters.
'Yugi,
Bakura found Malik in the Shadow Realm. I go to help him get Malik free. I
be back soon. Aishiteru, Yami'
Yugi giggled at the writing, promising himself that he would make sure that
Yami could write Japanese properly. He laid back against the pillows
contentedly.
~
Yami rang Ryou's doorbell, annoyed that he had forgotten several pieces of
his attire. His socks, for one, were not on his feet, but lying on his
bedroom floor somewhere, making his boots feel very uncomfortable. Less important, the array of belts he usually wore. Plus, his hair was drooping
in a strange manner, with his normally spiked bangs hanging perfectly
straight either side of his face.
Bakura opened the door, took one look at Yami, and laughed. "Shut up, tomb robber." Yami muttered as he walked in. He narrowed his eyes, as Bakura's
laughter continued. "Look, do you want me to help or not?" Yami said, irritated already. Bakura nodded, calming down. "Of course, of course. It's very strange; Malik seems to have fallen into the area of the Shadow Realm
that provides trap cards." he explained. "He's in a Trap Hole." Yami
frowned. "A Trap Hole? We'd better go pull him out. Got a Remove Trap handy?" he said slowly. "I don't feel like spending too long in the Shadow
Realm today."
Bakura nodded, holding up a 'Remove Trap' card. "Let's get this over and done with." he said, his Ring beginning to glow. Yami sighed, the Puzzle
glowing, and they disappeared into the Shadow Realm.
~
Yami looked around slowly. They were surrounded by traps; a maze of Mirror Walls, Trap Holes, and even Waboku waiting to be summoned. Yami shook his head, and grabbed Bakura's arm, leading him past the traps. "You want to be
more careful, Yami?!" Bakura exclaimed, knowing that these traps were likely to go off if they put one foot wrong. "Iie, Bakura, I'm the Pharaoh; none of these traps will hurt me." Yami, told him irritably. "But they'll hurt me!" Bakura complained. "No they won't; that's why I'm holding onto
you." Yami said.
"You're not normally like this..." Bakura said quietly. Yami ignored him, walking to the edge of one of the Trap Holes and looking in. "Found him..." he said. At the base of the deep, dark pit, Marik sat unconscious, his back against one of the pit walls, and his head hanging forward. Bakura noticed the Millennium Rod lying nearby; not inside the pit, but next to a Mirror
Wall.
"Come on, no time to lose." Yami sighed, standing up straight. "Cast it quickly." Bakura frowned slightly, but moved towards the pit, and held up the Remove Trap card. In a quick flash of magic, the base of the Trap Hole
rose up to level the ground before them, and bring it's captive to the surface. Bakura hastily picked up the Millennium Rod, and knelt down next
to Marik, who was now lying out flat on the dark ground before them.
"Hey, Marik, you in there? Wake up now!" Bakura said, half cheerfully, carefully wrapping one of his friend's hands around the chill gold of the Rod. Sighing as Marik's eyes stayed firmly closed, he shook the boy gently to try and wake him. Yami's eyes slid shut, and the Puzzle glowed softly.
"He's still in there." he reported to Bakura. The Puzzle glowed brighter. "He hasn't gone past the Second Shadow Gate, which is lucky considering the
time he's been here." Smiling, Bakura supported Marik into a siting position, and smacked him across the face. Pale lavender eyes shot open, and the Rod was reflexively raised to attack. "Hey! I just saved your life,
idiot!" Bakura said, standing up. Marik rubbed his head. "Bakura? Yami?
What's going on? Why are we in the Shadow Realm?" he asked, very slowly standing up. "Don't know, but you were in a Trap Hole for a month." Yami
told him. "But I suggest we get out of here now." His crimson eyes were suddenly filled with worry. The Puzzle's light began to flicker and go out.
"Bakura, take Marik and go. Now." Yami said quickly. Bakura looked at him in confusion. "Why?" Yami closed his eyes tightly, like he was trying to hold something in. "Because it's too dark here, and I can't get out quickly enough! Go!" he said loudly. Realization dawned on Bakura's face. "I'm not going, I can stop him, you know that!" he said, stepping forward to grab
the Pharaoh's arms.
"In your dreams!" Youkai's eyes opened sharply, the red Eye forming on his
forehead and wings wrenching themselves from his back. Bakura stumbled backwards. Youkai appluaded sarcastically. "You really are clever - getting Yami into the Shadow Realm for me. You didn't realise, did you? No light?
Just like a moonless night!" he said.
"Bakura... what's going on?" Marik asked quietly. Bakura glanced over his shoulder. "Well, it takes forever to explain, and Yami's the best one to do that so..." Bakura's deep brown eyes settled on the Rod clutched in Marik's
hands. "Got it! Marik, use the Rod on Youkai!" he said quickly. Marik stared at him blankly. "Yami." Bakura told him. "We just need him out of
the Shadow Realm!"
Youkai was behind Bakura in a second, twisting his arm up behind his back. "No, no, we mustn't be doing that..." he murmured. He put his free hand in the air next to Bakura's head. The tomb robber's eyes widened as a long, black dagger formed in it. "Marik, if you're going to do anything, do it
now..." Bakura said quietly.
Marik shook his head free of confusion; now was not the time to ask questions. Despite being weakened by his holiday in the Shadow Realm, he
raised the Rod. Magical light flowed from it, illuminating the area,
including the half of Youkai's face that wasn't obscured by Bakura's
shadow. The light revealed a worried, pleading look. Marik forced his
presence into Youkai's mind.
~
It was dark. Very dark. Marik scanned the room; this was Youkai's mind. Not
much to hold onto and control... but a dim ray of light illuminated one
corner. In that corner, a figure, lying out on the cold, stone floor,
asleep, with chains around their wrists. The light was too dim to see
exactly who it was, but even Marik could guess.
~
"Get... out... of... my... head..." Youkai growled quietly, releasing
Bakura. "It's not your head!" Marik shouted. The magic took effect, and Youkai stood still, eyes blank. Bakura rushed forward and transported them
quickly out of the Shadow Realm.
~
"Yami-kun, wake up..." Bakura shook the ex-Pharaoh violently. He stood up,
sighing. "It's no use; he won't wake up." Marik looked confused, Bakura looked annoyed, and Ryou looked frustrated. "You did de-spell him, didn't you?" Ryou asked Marik quietly. "Yes..." the Egyptian replied. "None of my
magic is left in him. But... maybe we should take him home..." Bakura
smirked. "I'm sure Yugi could help wake him up."
Carrying an unconscious boy through the streets of Domino was bound to look suspicious, so Marik spelled people; making them ignore the unusual group. Yami was breathing shallowly, he was certainly still alive, but it was like
his mind was missing; unable to wake without it.
Ryou rang the doorbell as they arrived at the house joined into the Kame
Game Shop. Yugi opened the door, greeting them brightly.
"Yeah, yeah." Bakura pushed past him quickly, putting Yami down on the sofa, happy to rid himself of his load. "What happened?" Yugi asked, eyes wide in shock. "The Shadow Realm. It was too dark, and Youkai came out." Bakura explained. "Marik stopped him magically, but when we got back into
the true realm, Yami wouldn't wake up." Yugi frowned. "Marik controlled
Youkai's mind, which was at the time holding Yami's mind captive." he
stated. Comprehension dawned on Marik's face. "I can't sens eany of my magic in Yami, because it's not there. It's still in Youkai, whoever that may be, and unless I command it, Yami's mind won't be released." he said
quickly. "But without Youkai in true existance, I can't de-spell him."
Yugi knelt down beside his sleeping darker. "I'll have to do it." he said. "The Puzzle doesn't work for me the way it does for Yami, but I'll have to
try. The next new moon isn't for another month."
"Good luck..." Ryou said quietly.
~
Pan: Updates will be fewer and further between now, I'm afraid. I'm back at school again, and I'm steadily running out of ideas. I don't know how I'm going to finish this off. It may end up in a sequel. Oh well. I'll do the
next update as soon as possible.
