Into Darkness
Ame no Mizu
Chapter six:
Dance of Darkness
Malik moaned as he came to, and the first things he saw were sharp chocolate eyes staring into his.
"Mmmm… Ryou?" he whispered, but the eyes moved as their head shook.
"No, you idiot. It's me."
"B-Bakura!" Malik cried, sitting up and grabbing the yami's shoulders, "Are you alright? What happened?"
"I'm fine. I've been unconscious until about five minutes ago. How's Ryou? Is he hurt? Did that bastard put his hands on my hikari?" Bakura demanded.
"No. Ryou was fine the last time I saw him. Have you seen Marik?"
"Yeah. He's Hynes' little lapdog now, from what I've seen," said Bakura, "Hynes must have put some sort of spell on him. He hit me with one when he took me here. Knocked me out good the first time, that one did. However, I kept waking up every half-hour. His magic's not that good. He finally got someone else to do it for him. He must be only part magic. It happens, from what I've heard."
"Who was the other person he got to work the spell?" asked Malik.
"I'm not sure, but she was one gorgeous woman. If I wasn't in love with Ryou, I would've… you know…" Bakura grinned, but the grin faded, "I'm worried about Ryou. I've been worried since this whole thing started…"
"He's been worried about you, too," Malik smiled sadly.
"Really? He said that?"
"He couldn't stop saying how much he missed you and wanted you back. I… I even offered to comfort him… in my way, you know… I confessed to him just after Marik was also taken. But he refused. You know what he told me?"
"What?"
"He told me that he loved you, and I loved Marik, and I do, don't get me wrong, and that he wasn't going to let me act on my feelings because he loved you too much to do that to you."
Bakura's eyes filled with tears and they spilt over onto his cheeks. Malik drew him into his arms and let Bakura cry into the fabric of his shirt.
Never had Bakura loved Ryou more than now… and he may never see his beautiful hikari again. He cried into his ex-lover's shoulder, and Malik rubbed his back soothingly.
Bakura felt soft lips on his neck, and he knew they belonged to Malik. He didn't have the strength to stop him, and let the blonde kiss him and touch him and comfort him. A hand slipped beneath his shirt, and Malik moved to whisper in his ear.
"How long has it been, Bakura?" the blonde yami hissed, and licked his earlobe lovingly, "How long has it been since we were alone together like this? You know I never let go of my feelings for you, my love… tell me you haven't either…" A hot, moist tongue explored Bakura's neck and shoulders, but the albino yami didn't even notice.
Images flashed through Bakura's mind, images long forgotten. Him and Malik back in Egypt, robbing tombs together; At night, making love at the edge of the Nile; Waking up in each other's arms, looking deep into each other's eyes…
Then, other images surfaced… the life he led now, with Ryou. Those angelic chocolate brown eyes, his silky smooth skin, his sweet mouth…
He looked up into the eyes of his ex-lover's, and his mind was made up.
"Malik…"
Tears fell from Ryou's eyes as his captor dragged him to a long table. He caught only a glimpse of it before he was thrown on top of it. It was a golden table with Egyptian hieroglyphics written. Bakura had been teaching Ryou a little Egyptian, but none of the glyphs were familiar to him. Large shackles attached to the table were locked around his wrist, and beside him, the same was happening to Yugi on another table. Ryou struggled against his bonds, but it was no use: they were far too strong.
The man's hand dipped beneath Ryou's collar and the boy gasped as he pulled out the cord to the Millennium Ring. The man pulled hard, hurting the back of Ryou's neck, and the cord snapped. The two men left the room, Ryou's Ring possessed by one man, Yugi's Puzzle in the hands of another.
That meant Ryou's theory was right: Hynes wanted the Items. But what were the elaborate tables for, and the separate kidnappings of Bakura and Marik? What was Hynes really after?
"Ryou?" came Yugi's voice from Ryou's right, snapping the albino back to reality.
"Yeah, Yugi?"
"I… I'm scared. Why are we here?"
"I don't know. Our yamis will come for us, though. They won't let us get hurt, you know that."
"Yeah, but… I'm still scared."
"I know you are. But stay brave. Don't let them know you're scared, and they won't be inclined to hurt you."
"How do you know that?"
Ryou winced as horrible memories surfaced in his mind.
"I just… do."
"Oh…" Yugi had gotten the hint that it was a delicate matter, and Ryou was grateful, but knew he would be bombarded with questions when they got out of this.
If they got out of this.
No… don't think like that, Ryou. This isn't the end. Nothing will happen. Bakura would never allow it. Hynes will not get away with this. Bakura will come for you. Just wait.
He continued to reinforce these thoughts as Yugi began to whimper and cry Yami's name softly. Ryou wanted to comfort him, wanted to say something to make him feel better… but no words would come.
Hynes suddenly came into the room, smiling in Ryou's direction, followed by Marik. Yugi immediately began to growl uncharacteristically.
"You traitor!" he screamed at Marik, "How could you? I accepted you as my friend! How… how could you?"
"Yugi!" Ryou cried, "That's enough! It's not Marik's fault! Hynes is controlling him! Don't you remember what Yami said?"
Yugi fell silent, but still looked doubtful.
"Marik, love," said Hynes, "Climb on the table like a good little boy, will you?"
They walked to the table together, and Ryou caught the blonde's eyes again: they were no longer red, and one of them winked at him.
Marik's faking it!
That one thought sent his spirits soaring. There was finally hope.
"Go on, child," Hynes purred, "Get up."
A sudden growl arose in Marik's throat and his elbow flew back. Ryou heard a crack and Hynes' yell of pain. Marik moved to free Ryou and Yugi but Ryou stopped him.
"No! Get the yamis!" he yelled, "You don't have much time!" Indeed, Hynes was already recovering slightly from his apparently broken nose. Marik nodded and raced out the door.
"Get him!" Hynes yelled thickly.
Ryou smiled, and knew that a little time was bought.
I know you can do this, Marik. I believe in you.
"Malik…" Bakura began, looking into the blonde yami's eyes, "I know that you still have feelings for me, and I can't deny that I return those feelings… however, I'm still attached to Ryou, and I like being with him. What we had in Egypt was great, yes, but what I have here is even greater. I'm not saying that I don't care about you," Bakura added hastily, seeing Malik begin to look hurt, "But I love Ryou, just as I'm sure you love Marik. I know you do. We can't do this to them."
"I… understand," whispered Malik, "But… maybe when we're out of all this, we could… you know, just once, for old times' sake…"
"I don't know, Malik," said Bakura, "I'd have to ask Ryou, but… we'll see."
"Of course."
There was a tense silence in which they stared at each other for a few moments. Malik couldn't stop himself. With a soft growl, he leant forward and pressed his lips against Bakura's. He moaned and prodded the albino's lip with his tongue, looking for permission to enter.
He broke the kiss when Bakura refused to kiss back.
"Bakura… I'm sorry. I can't keep my hands off you, love. You're irresistible," he purred, but Bakura didn't look him in the eye, "Why won't you look at me, Bakura?"
"I… I love Ryou," he whispered, "I can't do this to him, just as he refused to do this to me. Malik… I really think you and Marik need to talk about loyalty. You two need each other, and I think that if you remain loyal to each other, you'll begin to see that. Marik wants so much more, I can tell, but he's held back because he didn't want to be hurt. He knows about your feelings for my hikari and me. He's jealous, and he's been waiting for you to notice. He loves you, and wants to be with only you. He doesn't want to share, and I can see why. What we had in Egypt was special, but things have changed, and we've moved on. We're no longer alone to fend for ourselves. You know we didn't love each other. Things happened because we only had each other. That's no longer true. We've both found love, don't you see, Malik?" Bakura smiled, "We love our hikaris, therefore we don't need each other any longer. We care for each other, yes, but it's not love. It's lust. If we act on that lust, we risk hurting the ones we really love."
Malik stared at his old lover, seeing him in an entirely different light. He hadn't known Bakura's feelings for Ryou ran so deep. It made him think of his own hikari. Marik did love him, and Malik loved him back, but… a small part of him hesitated. Sure, they slept together, and confessed their love to one another, but their love was hesitant. Did he really love Marik as much as Bakura said he did?
"Bakura, you're right," Malik laughed, "I guess I have been taking Marik a little for granted. I do love him. I want to love him."
"Well, then, the first thing you need to do when you see him again is to tell him so," said Bakura, "You need to make a promise to him. You need to promise to love him, and only him, for the rest of your existence. I did the same for Ryou, and we've never been happier."
Something dawned in Malik's mind. An idea. A good idea. The perfect way to make Marik his forever, even after they left this world…
A crash outside the door brought him back to reality. A shout was heard, and Malik recognized it immediately: It was his hikari.
"Marik!" he yelled, standing and running to the door, "Marik, is that you?"
"It is, yami," called Marik, "Stand back, I'll break the spell on the door."
There was a click, and the door swung open, revealing Marik Ishtar, still dressed in black. With a whimper, Malik stepped forward and gathered the boy into his arms.
"Are you okay, Marik?"
"I'm fine, yami," he said impatiently, "But we don't have much time. Hynes still has Ryou and Yugi. Do you know where Yami went?"
For the first time, Malik realized that the former Pharaoh wasn't with them. He looked around at Bakura, who grinned.
"He wouldn't shut up about Yugi, so Hynes had him put back into the Puzzle," he said, "Without Yugi, he can't get out."
"Well, follow me," said Marik, "I just hope we aren't too late." He stepped aside to let the yamis out of their makeshift prison.
"Don't worry, love, you're right on time."
Malik froze, and instinctively grabbed Marik and held him close. Derek Hynes stepped out of a room next to them, holding a bloody piece of cloth to his nose.
"You thought that trick back there was cute, little hikari?" he hissed, "You'll pay for that." With a growl, Malik stepped between his hikari and the injured man.
"Get away from him, you sad excuse for a creature," he hissed venomously, "If you think I'm going to let you put your greasy hands on my hikari, you've got another thing coming."
"I do, do I?" laughed Hynes, "We'll see how cocky you are when you realize your little ex-lover's hikari is still in danger. How much do you love him, Bakura?" he asked the albino yami, "Do you think you could possibly love him enough to save him from the very ritual that sealed you in this little piece of jewelry?" He held up the Millennium Ring, and Bakura gasped.
"So that's why you had Yami removed! He knows all the secrets of that ritual! You removed him so he couldn't stop it!" he hissed, "Where is Ryou? What have you done with him?"
"He is fine… currently," purred Hynes, "But soon, his soul will be locked away forever, his body mine to use however I like."
"I understand," said Malik, "You're planning to use Ryou's body to house another spirit. But you can't very well do that if Ryou's still in it, can you? If Ryou was in the body, Bakura would have the power to rid his mind of any outside force. But with Ryou gone, Bakura can no longer live inside his head, for the spirit would not be his hikari."
"What does all that mean?" asked Marik. Hynes remained silent.
"It means that Hynes wasn't after all the Items like we thought," answered Malik, "He was after only our three. You see, not every body will survive having its soul ripped out and another one installed. He wanted the bodies of those who had already experienced having an extra soul, and whose body is capable of harnessing magic. Sorcery and shadow powers aren't that different. I wouldn't be surprised if any of the hikaris are semi-wizard. What he plans to do is put in the extra soul, then take out those of the hikaris. If I'm not mistaken, the three souls he chose to put in are the souls of some powerful wizards or sorcerers."
"You've done you're homework, yami," said Hynes, "Well done. Too bad you're too late. The hikaris will be sealed away in an hour's time."
"You bastard," Bakura hissed, "Release him, or else."
"Or else what?" Hynes growled, "You're powerless if your hikari hasn't got the Ring on! What can you do?"
"He can do nothing," said Malik, "But I can do this!"
He lifted his hand, and a blast of power shot from it, knocking Hynes backwards, into the wall.
"Idiot," hissed Malik, "My hikari still has his item. That fool left it with him," he turned to his hikari and Bakura, "Let's go. We still have to find Yami. I think Ryou and Yugi'll be fine without him around." He pointed towards the unconscious Hynes.
"True," said Marik, "He seems to be the ringleader."
"Well, then," said Bakura, "We have a Pharaoh to catch."
Next time: Malik, Marik, and Bakura go to find Yami, but are Ryou and Yugi really safe?