Chapter Four: Leap Before You Look
Mokuba very nearly bit the person holding him; after all, a hand was covering his mouth, and it would have been sinfully easy. But overall, he was not a violent boy, and settled for kicking backwards.
"I'm trying to save your life, you idiot," a somehow familiar voice hissed, and the owner of said voice pulled him further into the shadows.
Indeed, there were sudden running footsteps nearby, then ominous silence. Mokuba's captor let go, and a moment later, light flared from a newly lit torch.
"Oh," Mokuba said softly. "Malik."
It was certainly the psychotic Egyptian spirit-to-be, complete with golden earrings and those blue-lavender eyes. Except he didn't seem too terribly psychotic, and his soft blonde hair was not trying to defy gravity.
"Yeah," Malik Ishtar said. "How did you - oh, you're a sorcerer, aren't you. A Seer, probably."
"Did you really just save my life?" Mokuba asked suspiciously.
"Probably." The Egyptian shrugged. "If they'd caught you, they would have killed you. They kill all intruders. Even the ones who haven't seen anything. Say, you /haven't/ seen anything, have you?"
Mokuba remembered the bleeding corpse, and said, quite firmly, "Not one single thing."
Claws scraped on stone, and a small cat wandered aimlessly past, then turned and peered at them.
"Rana," Malik said. "I have to talk to Akil. Get him, please?"
Rana stared at him with cold green eyes.
"Oh, come on," the Egyptian said desperately. "I know you know what I'm saying. I helped train you. Go. Get. Akil. Now!"
The cat purred and sauntered off in a way that screamed, "I'm going of my own free will, and probably I /won't/ be getting anyone. Ha."
Malik turned back to the small boy, and frowned. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"
"It was an accident," Mokuba said. "Who's Akil?"
Before Malik could find a suitable answer, Bakura walked up to them, Rana in his arms, and stopped dead.
"Him," Malik said helpfully.
* * *
Bakura tried to put aside the shock of seeing Mokuba Kaiba and Malik Ishtar in a place where neither should logically be, and focused on something far more pressing.
He remembered this.
The visions crowded his mind, pushing for attention, and as he stared at Malik, words swirled around, barely staying long enough to be considered thought.
-Best friend. Commoner. Murderer.-
And that was just memories from the past-present; the present-future tried to invade. -Lunatic. Enemy. Evil.-
"Akil," Malik said. "This kid was wandering around. We have to get him out of here. I think - "
"Oh," Bakura said. "Didn't you hear? I go by Bakura now."
"What?" Malik took a step back. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Neither do I." Bakura absently stroked Atenna's head. "I have to find Leila. I have to...well, 'kill' would probably be the mildest word I would use."
"What, Leila? That little handmaiden? What could she possibly have done?" Malik shook his head. "Akil - Bakura, I mean - gods, that name is weird - I think that Shizu might be setting us up for betrayal." He flinched, as if expecting some kind of harsh punishment.
Bakura wasn't really listening. "Hmm? Oh, yes, sounds just like her."
"I saw," Mokuba started to say, then decided that he really didn't want to be saying anything until Malik was gone.
"But you - you love her, don't you?"
"I don't...know. Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter. The point is, whatever we're doing, it's wrong. We have to stop."
"But, 'Kura," Malik said, the use of the nickname coming surprisingly easily, "we can't /stop/. Do you have any idea - we'd be thrown in the Nile for sure! Which isn't that bad, not for me, but you can't swim."
"Yeah," Bakura said ruefully. "I know. Somehow, though, I suspect it might be in our best interest to stop."
"We can't," Malik repeated. "But I have a plan."
"I'm not going to like it, am I?"
"Probably not. Definitely not. It's a good plan, though. Really cunning."
Bakura stared at his - well, he wasn't sure anymore - his /confusing entity/, that best summed it up - and wondered exactly why he felt this overwhelming...this...
This /trust/.
"We're both going to end up dead," he said, resigned.
"Very probably."
"And you're not even going to tell me the plan?"
"Need-to-know basis. And you really don't need to know."
Leap before you look, thought Bakura. This is a complete maniac. He hurt Ryou. He almost got Ryou killed. He almost got Mai killed. And he almost succeeded in banishing me to the Shadow Realm forever. He's going to be able to control the Winged Dragon of Ra. This man is a dangerous, psychotic freak.
But he does have a certain talent for cunning plans.
"All right. I'll take Mokuba upstairs. You just...get on with the plan."
Malik smiled brightly. "I knew you'd see it my way." He stared at the sword strapped to Bakura's waist. "Oh, that's what was bothering me. Are you sure you can use that?"
"Well, why shouldn't I?"
Malik's gaze swept upwards to meet Bakura's. "Oh, the memory thing. Khepri told me. You're allergic to metal. Copper in particular. That's why - oh, forget it. If you /want/ to end up a sneezing, itching, vicious little person by tomorrow, be my guest. Just - this time, don't have me thrown in the dungeon. I was only trying to help."
**The sense of danger must not disappear:
The way is certainly both short and steep,
However gradual it looks from here --
Look if you like, but you will have to leap**
Mokuba and Bakura got as far as out-of-Malik's-hearing before Mokuba half- shrieked, "That was Malik Ishtar!"
"Yes," Bakura said absently. "I know."
"He's crazy! And evil!"
"Not yet."
"Well, he's going to be!"
Bakura's eyes were long gone, however, staring at some vision that Mokuba couldn't see. The tomb robber rubbed absently at his wrist. "I know," he repeated. "I just don't know why."
Mokuba opened his mouth to say something else, and was stopped by Rana leaping at his face. He caught the cat, expecting her to try to claw at him - he'd heard stories about Atenna, after all - but instead she just hissed and stared icily at Bakura's wrist.
Eventually, Bakura blinked and glanced at his companion. "I'm not going to let it happen."
"Let /what/ happen?"
"Whatever it was that drove Malik insane. I'm going to stop it."
"You can't - you - that's changing /history/! I might not be born! I - you - Malik - your stupid cat is biting me!"
"She likes you." Bakura detached Rana from Mokuba's finger. "You'll be born, never fear."
"But what about /our/ Malik? And Isis? Maybe they - "
"I don't care!" Bakura cried, dark eyes snapping. "He's a good person! I remember it! He doesn't deserve what the future holds for him! I'm just - not going to let it happen!"
"What if you can't stop it?"
Involuntarily, Bakura glanced down at his wrist, then shook his head. "I know that I can. I have this weird feeling that I can do anything."
"Oh, really?" Mokuba cast about for a test that Bakura couldn't possibly pass - really, changing history was just going too far - and lit on something that only a priest could know. "Tell me what kind of magic I have!"
Bakura set Rana down and drew his sword. "That's easy."
Before Mokuba could even figure out what was happening, the tomb robber grabbed his hand and sliced his palm open.
"Ow!" Mokuba bit his lip hard and jerked away, staring at the blood seeping from the cut. "Why - "
He stopped talking.
Blue-white sparks the color of lightning danced around the wound. There was a slight tingling sensation, and the pain vanished.
"I - "
"So, you're a healer-mage," Bakura said thoughtfully. "In complete contrast to your brother's shadow powers. Fascinating."
Mokuba wiped the blood off on the wall and stared at his unmarked skin.
"Fairly powerful, too."
"But - "
The ex-spirit started walking again, quite rapidly, and Mokuba had to run to keep up.
"Bakura, wait, I - "
"You'd better learn to control it," Bakura said abruptly. "I think - I'm not sure, mind, but I think that one of us is going to be hurt, probably very badly. And I think...that if you know how to use that power...you might get there in time to help."
"Get hurt? But - oh, what if someone /dies/?"
"Yes, that's possible too. Damn vague dreams."
"What if Seto dies?"
"Well, obviously, you needn't worry about him until he's played the Shadow Games. We know that /that/ happened. There's that big rock thing Isis is so fond of."
"What if - "
"Look," Bakura snapped. "Just get Ryou's watch working and get out of here, then. That way, no one has to get hurt."
"If you're planning to - "
"I'm not cunning plan guy," Bakura said firmly. "That's Malik's territory. I'm guy-without-decent-memories. Take two rights and a left, and you'll be at the stairs. I have to talk to someone."
Rana hissed and scratched her way out of his arms.
* * *
Joey was - there was no other word for it - moping.
He, Ryou, and Yami had been walking the corridors for nearly an hour, trying to find the kitchens. It didn't help that every slave they passed screamed and ran from their pharaoh. After all, being so close to a god was dangerous business.
"Joey," Ryou finally said. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep slouching like that. It's bad for your spine."
"Muh," Joey said despondently.
Yami turned another corridor. "It will be night soon. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow?"
While Ryou and Yami argued about this, Joey slipped further into despair. Mai, who he loved despite having a perfectly good girlfriend, was in love with his best friend. Oh, and an evil psycho spirit-who-wasn't-a-spirit- anymore-probably.
It just wasn't fair.
He'd always assumed that if she wanted anyone other than Bakura, it would be him. After all, she knew that he loved her. And she'd liked him once.
Well, maybe it wasn't too late. Bakura would be busy doing whatever it was he had done in Egypt, but Joey really wasn't busy. He could always try comforting her.
Flowers might not be a bad idea.
Oh! And chocolate.
On second thought, they didn't have chocolate in ancient Egypt, did they? Scratch that.
"I," Yami said in his most imperious I-am-a-god-or-at-least-/they/-all- think-so voice, "am going to bed. Because I am tired."
"But Yami needs to talk to you!"
"He can wait."
"But maybe he can't!"
Joey barely caught a flash of someone short and dark-haired before that someone was hugging him desperately. "Oh," Mokuba cried. "I'm so happy to see you all!" He flew over to Yami and tugged on his arm. "There's /dead people/ in the catacombs."
"Yes," Yami said, slightly amused. "That would be why they're called catacombs."
"I mean real dead people who were murdered! Recently! And Malik Ishtar - and a cat - and - I am /never/ going down there again!"
It took a little while for Yami and Joey to calm him down, by which time he was able to relate what he remembered of his journey into the catacombs.
"Malik," Yami whispered. "And the tomb robber? Working together? But they /hate/ each other."
"Not anymore." Mokuba shuddered. "There are very scary people down there. Plotting something. I don't know what. But I think we're all in terrible danger."
It was at this point that Joey noticed something.
"Where did Ryou go?"
**Tough-minded men get mushy in their sleep
And break the by-laws any fool can keep;
It is not the convention but the fear
That has a tendency to disappear**
Ryou had, in fact, hurried off upon hearing Mokuba mention that Malik Ishtar and Bakura were working together. Whatever state his yami was in right now, Ryou knew that Malik was nothing but evil, and trusting him was out of the question.
And if the others were just going to bicker and yell and refuse to help, he'd have to find the catacombs by himself and force his yami back to his senses.
This plan, of course, was destined to remain unacted upon, because just when Ryou began to smell food and hope that he was near the kitchens, something leapt on him from behind.
He cried out and collapsed, being quite unequipped to fight back. The whatever-it-was had long claws that dug into his skin, and he managed to gasp out, "Please, I haven't done anything wrong - "
"You used it!"
Oh. Well, that explained a lot.
Ryou attempted to roll over and managed to dislodge the demon. He got to his knees and stared at it, crouched in the middle of the hallways.
"Did you /follow/ me?"
The demon looked rather harassed. "Yes, I did. Five thousand years, eh? I didn't know you had it in you. Stupid mortal child."
"Hardly a child," Ryou pointed out. "I'm nearly seventeen."
The demon smiled, revealing sharp fangs right out of any vampire movie ever made. "I doubt you'll live that long."
Ryou shook his head. "I'm sorry, I thought I just heard you say that I'm going to die."
"It's inevitable."
"Oh, really? How do you know?"
"You used it."
Ryou moaned and shakily got to his feet. "Well, now we're right back where we started. Look, Yami's in trouble, I've got to help him out before Malik hurts him, and - "
"You're in far more trouble than your other half."
The boy glanced around quickly, then grinned. "I don't see anyone hovering in the shadows waiting to kill me."
The demon snarled. "You really /are/ an idiot, aren't you? You used Sathaugula."
"Just once."
"Once is enough!" It was beginning to look like the demon would explode out of sheer frustration. "The deal was for three times! And it was used three times, and then lost! Then you found it, and you used it! Now the bargain clearly states that you're going to die!"
"I only used it once!"
"It doesn't matter who uses it, just that it /was/ used!" The demon flexed its long fingers, as if itching to wrap them around Ryou's neck. "It's stuck, isn't it? And it will draw the life slowly from you. You will die in agony unless it is removed - and it cannot be. Not unless you want to chop off your hand."
Ryou wrapped his right hand protectively around his left wrist, feeling the cold metal of the watch under his fingers. "You're lying. I feel fine."
"It may feel that way, for a day or two. Then you will find yourself growing weak. You will realize that it is getting harder and harder to sleep at night. You will be plagued by visions. Your ability to heal will desert you. You will bruise easily, feel the pain magnified. Gradually, you will slip into a coma and die." The demon seemed to take a fierce pleasure from these simple, haunting sentences.
Ryou stared down at the gold glinting between his fingers, then thrust his arm out at the demon. "Take it, then! I don't want it! I never did!"
"I cannot remove it. No one can. That is the price you pay for breaking the deal."
"I didn't /make/ that deal! I don't even know who did!"
The demon's yellow eyes glittered maliciously. "You don't, do you."
Ryou mutely shook his head.
The demon smiled. "Well, you could probably guess, if you took the time."
It only took a moment before Ryou's warm, dark eyes widened. "/Yami/?" he whispered.
"Yes. Your other half." The demon grinned and raised its hand. "And as you die, remember: it was he who murdered you."
And with that parting shot, the demon snapped its fingers and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
**Much can be said for social savoir-faire,
But to rejoice when no one else is there
Is even harder than it is to weep;
No one is watching, but you have to leap**
The first night in a new place is generally the hardest.
Yami got little sleep. His bed, though probably the softest in the entire kingdom, wasn't at all comfortable compared to the feather bed he had in the future. It didn't help that priests tiptoed in repeatedly to make sure the candles stayed lit.
Kaiba also remained awake, staring at the ceiling. The Shadow Games weighed heavily on the High Priest's mind. Yami had informed him that they would have to play against each other at least once, to inspire that rock carving Isis would use to show them the past. Kaiba hadn't particularly enjoyed the Shadow Games during Battle City, and knew that it was probably even more dangerous now, when the monsters were real, not holographic projections.
Mokuba slept, and dreamed of the dead girl, and woke in the morning wide- eyed and fighting not to scream.
Mai slept, and dreamed of Yugi, and woke trembling with desire and self- loathing.
Yugi and Ryou got no sleep at all. The nobles had them up all night running various errands. They ran into each other twice, delivering fleeting smiles before continuing on their ways.
Joey intended to simply fall asleep, but received the news that he was supposed to stand guard outside the pharaoh's room all night. "Graveyard shift," he muttered, but took up his weary post.
Bakura fell into a deep sleep, the first he'd had in a long while, and woke refreshed and, overall, the happiest of the eight.
**A solitude ten thousand fathoms deep
Sustains the bed on which we lie, my dear;
Although I love you, you too will have to leap;
Our dream of safety has to disappear**
~~
A/N: "Leap Before You Look" is a poem by W.H. Auden. I did not use all of the verses, because I didn't like some of them.
Why is Bakura allergic to metal? Because Yami is allergic to cats. Can't give /one/ of them an allergy and not the other. Humanizes them, too. I actually have a friend who's allergic to metal.
Khepri is a random name and a random person. It means "morning sun." I'm fairly certain it's a girl's name. Yep, it is.
Notes to my reviewers will come every other chapter. So. Not now.
Oh, and I did my homework! Well, some of it, anyway. Still have to write a two-page paper on Roman gladiators, and revise my essay, but that can wait. Four-day weekend. Joy.
Next Chapter: Hello. At least two kisses (and not who you'd expect, either!), Bakura gets his memory back (all of it, this time) and Ryou attempts to rid himself of Sathaugula.
Mokuba very nearly bit the person holding him; after all, a hand was covering his mouth, and it would have been sinfully easy. But overall, he was not a violent boy, and settled for kicking backwards.
"I'm trying to save your life, you idiot," a somehow familiar voice hissed, and the owner of said voice pulled him further into the shadows.
Indeed, there were sudden running footsteps nearby, then ominous silence. Mokuba's captor let go, and a moment later, light flared from a newly lit torch.
"Oh," Mokuba said softly. "Malik."
It was certainly the psychotic Egyptian spirit-to-be, complete with golden earrings and those blue-lavender eyes. Except he didn't seem too terribly psychotic, and his soft blonde hair was not trying to defy gravity.
"Yeah," Malik Ishtar said. "How did you - oh, you're a sorcerer, aren't you. A Seer, probably."
"Did you really just save my life?" Mokuba asked suspiciously.
"Probably." The Egyptian shrugged. "If they'd caught you, they would have killed you. They kill all intruders. Even the ones who haven't seen anything. Say, you /haven't/ seen anything, have you?"
Mokuba remembered the bleeding corpse, and said, quite firmly, "Not one single thing."
Claws scraped on stone, and a small cat wandered aimlessly past, then turned and peered at them.
"Rana," Malik said. "I have to talk to Akil. Get him, please?"
Rana stared at him with cold green eyes.
"Oh, come on," the Egyptian said desperately. "I know you know what I'm saying. I helped train you. Go. Get. Akil. Now!"
The cat purred and sauntered off in a way that screamed, "I'm going of my own free will, and probably I /won't/ be getting anyone. Ha."
Malik turned back to the small boy, and frowned. "What are you doing down here, anyway?"
"It was an accident," Mokuba said. "Who's Akil?"
Before Malik could find a suitable answer, Bakura walked up to them, Rana in his arms, and stopped dead.
"Him," Malik said helpfully.
* * *
Bakura tried to put aside the shock of seeing Mokuba Kaiba and Malik Ishtar in a place where neither should logically be, and focused on something far more pressing.
He remembered this.
The visions crowded his mind, pushing for attention, and as he stared at Malik, words swirled around, barely staying long enough to be considered thought.
-Best friend. Commoner. Murderer.-
And that was just memories from the past-present; the present-future tried to invade. -Lunatic. Enemy. Evil.-
"Akil," Malik said. "This kid was wandering around. We have to get him out of here. I think - "
"Oh," Bakura said. "Didn't you hear? I go by Bakura now."
"What?" Malik took a step back. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Neither do I." Bakura absently stroked Atenna's head. "I have to find Leila. I have to...well, 'kill' would probably be the mildest word I would use."
"What, Leila? That little handmaiden? What could she possibly have done?" Malik shook his head. "Akil - Bakura, I mean - gods, that name is weird - I think that Shizu might be setting us up for betrayal." He flinched, as if expecting some kind of harsh punishment.
Bakura wasn't really listening. "Hmm? Oh, yes, sounds just like her."
"I saw," Mokuba started to say, then decided that he really didn't want to be saying anything until Malik was gone.
"But you - you love her, don't you?"
"I don't...know. Maybe. Maybe not. Doesn't matter. The point is, whatever we're doing, it's wrong. We have to stop."
"But, 'Kura," Malik said, the use of the nickname coming surprisingly easily, "we can't /stop/. Do you have any idea - we'd be thrown in the Nile for sure! Which isn't that bad, not for me, but you can't swim."
"Yeah," Bakura said ruefully. "I know. Somehow, though, I suspect it might be in our best interest to stop."
"We can't," Malik repeated. "But I have a plan."
"I'm not going to like it, am I?"
"Probably not. Definitely not. It's a good plan, though. Really cunning."
Bakura stared at his - well, he wasn't sure anymore - his /confusing entity/, that best summed it up - and wondered exactly why he felt this overwhelming...this...
This /trust/.
"We're both going to end up dead," he said, resigned.
"Very probably."
"And you're not even going to tell me the plan?"
"Need-to-know basis. And you really don't need to know."
Leap before you look, thought Bakura. This is a complete maniac. He hurt Ryou. He almost got Ryou killed. He almost got Mai killed. And he almost succeeded in banishing me to the Shadow Realm forever. He's going to be able to control the Winged Dragon of Ra. This man is a dangerous, psychotic freak.
But he does have a certain talent for cunning plans.
"All right. I'll take Mokuba upstairs. You just...get on with the plan."
Malik smiled brightly. "I knew you'd see it my way." He stared at the sword strapped to Bakura's waist. "Oh, that's what was bothering me. Are you sure you can use that?"
"Well, why shouldn't I?"
Malik's gaze swept upwards to meet Bakura's. "Oh, the memory thing. Khepri told me. You're allergic to metal. Copper in particular. That's why - oh, forget it. If you /want/ to end up a sneezing, itching, vicious little person by tomorrow, be my guest. Just - this time, don't have me thrown in the dungeon. I was only trying to help."
**The sense of danger must not disappear:
The way is certainly both short and steep,
However gradual it looks from here --
Look if you like, but you will have to leap**
Mokuba and Bakura got as far as out-of-Malik's-hearing before Mokuba half- shrieked, "That was Malik Ishtar!"
"Yes," Bakura said absently. "I know."
"He's crazy! And evil!"
"Not yet."
"Well, he's going to be!"
Bakura's eyes were long gone, however, staring at some vision that Mokuba couldn't see. The tomb robber rubbed absently at his wrist. "I know," he repeated. "I just don't know why."
Mokuba opened his mouth to say something else, and was stopped by Rana leaping at his face. He caught the cat, expecting her to try to claw at him - he'd heard stories about Atenna, after all - but instead she just hissed and stared icily at Bakura's wrist.
Eventually, Bakura blinked and glanced at his companion. "I'm not going to let it happen."
"Let /what/ happen?"
"Whatever it was that drove Malik insane. I'm going to stop it."
"You can't - you - that's changing /history/! I might not be born! I - you - Malik - your stupid cat is biting me!"
"She likes you." Bakura detached Rana from Mokuba's finger. "You'll be born, never fear."
"But what about /our/ Malik? And Isis? Maybe they - "
"I don't care!" Bakura cried, dark eyes snapping. "He's a good person! I remember it! He doesn't deserve what the future holds for him! I'm just - not going to let it happen!"
"What if you can't stop it?"
Involuntarily, Bakura glanced down at his wrist, then shook his head. "I know that I can. I have this weird feeling that I can do anything."
"Oh, really?" Mokuba cast about for a test that Bakura couldn't possibly pass - really, changing history was just going too far - and lit on something that only a priest could know. "Tell me what kind of magic I have!"
Bakura set Rana down and drew his sword. "That's easy."
Before Mokuba could even figure out what was happening, the tomb robber grabbed his hand and sliced his palm open.
"Ow!" Mokuba bit his lip hard and jerked away, staring at the blood seeping from the cut. "Why - "
He stopped talking.
Blue-white sparks the color of lightning danced around the wound. There was a slight tingling sensation, and the pain vanished.
"I - "
"So, you're a healer-mage," Bakura said thoughtfully. "In complete contrast to your brother's shadow powers. Fascinating."
Mokuba wiped the blood off on the wall and stared at his unmarked skin.
"Fairly powerful, too."
"But - "
The ex-spirit started walking again, quite rapidly, and Mokuba had to run to keep up.
"Bakura, wait, I - "
"You'd better learn to control it," Bakura said abruptly. "I think - I'm not sure, mind, but I think that one of us is going to be hurt, probably very badly. And I think...that if you know how to use that power...you might get there in time to help."
"Get hurt? But - oh, what if someone /dies/?"
"Yes, that's possible too. Damn vague dreams."
"What if Seto dies?"
"Well, obviously, you needn't worry about him until he's played the Shadow Games. We know that /that/ happened. There's that big rock thing Isis is so fond of."
"What if - "
"Look," Bakura snapped. "Just get Ryou's watch working and get out of here, then. That way, no one has to get hurt."
"If you're planning to - "
"I'm not cunning plan guy," Bakura said firmly. "That's Malik's territory. I'm guy-without-decent-memories. Take two rights and a left, and you'll be at the stairs. I have to talk to someone."
Rana hissed and scratched her way out of his arms.
* * *
Joey was - there was no other word for it - moping.
He, Ryou, and Yami had been walking the corridors for nearly an hour, trying to find the kitchens. It didn't help that every slave they passed screamed and ran from their pharaoh. After all, being so close to a god was dangerous business.
"Joey," Ryou finally said. "You're going to hurt yourself if you keep slouching like that. It's bad for your spine."
"Muh," Joey said despondently.
Yami turned another corridor. "It will be night soon. Perhaps we should wait until tomorrow?"
While Ryou and Yami argued about this, Joey slipped further into despair. Mai, who he loved despite having a perfectly good girlfriend, was in love with his best friend. Oh, and an evil psycho spirit-who-wasn't-a-spirit- anymore-probably.
It just wasn't fair.
He'd always assumed that if she wanted anyone other than Bakura, it would be him. After all, she knew that he loved her. And she'd liked him once.
Well, maybe it wasn't too late. Bakura would be busy doing whatever it was he had done in Egypt, but Joey really wasn't busy. He could always try comforting her.
Flowers might not be a bad idea.
Oh! And chocolate.
On second thought, they didn't have chocolate in ancient Egypt, did they? Scratch that.
"I," Yami said in his most imperious I-am-a-god-or-at-least-/they/-all- think-so voice, "am going to bed. Because I am tired."
"But Yami needs to talk to you!"
"He can wait."
"But maybe he can't!"
Joey barely caught a flash of someone short and dark-haired before that someone was hugging him desperately. "Oh," Mokuba cried. "I'm so happy to see you all!" He flew over to Yami and tugged on his arm. "There's /dead people/ in the catacombs."
"Yes," Yami said, slightly amused. "That would be why they're called catacombs."
"I mean real dead people who were murdered! Recently! And Malik Ishtar - and a cat - and - I am /never/ going down there again!"
It took a little while for Yami and Joey to calm him down, by which time he was able to relate what he remembered of his journey into the catacombs.
"Malik," Yami whispered. "And the tomb robber? Working together? But they /hate/ each other."
"Not anymore." Mokuba shuddered. "There are very scary people down there. Plotting something. I don't know what. But I think we're all in terrible danger."
It was at this point that Joey noticed something.
"Where did Ryou go?"
**Tough-minded men get mushy in their sleep
And break the by-laws any fool can keep;
It is not the convention but the fear
That has a tendency to disappear**
Ryou had, in fact, hurried off upon hearing Mokuba mention that Malik Ishtar and Bakura were working together. Whatever state his yami was in right now, Ryou knew that Malik was nothing but evil, and trusting him was out of the question.
And if the others were just going to bicker and yell and refuse to help, he'd have to find the catacombs by himself and force his yami back to his senses.
This plan, of course, was destined to remain unacted upon, because just when Ryou began to smell food and hope that he was near the kitchens, something leapt on him from behind.
He cried out and collapsed, being quite unequipped to fight back. The whatever-it-was had long claws that dug into his skin, and he managed to gasp out, "Please, I haven't done anything wrong - "
"You used it!"
Oh. Well, that explained a lot.
Ryou attempted to roll over and managed to dislodge the demon. He got to his knees and stared at it, crouched in the middle of the hallways.
"Did you /follow/ me?"
The demon looked rather harassed. "Yes, I did. Five thousand years, eh? I didn't know you had it in you. Stupid mortal child."
"Hardly a child," Ryou pointed out. "I'm nearly seventeen."
The demon smiled, revealing sharp fangs right out of any vampire movie ever made. "I doubt you'll live that long."
Ryou shook his head. "I'm sorry, I thought I just heard you say that I'm going to die."
"It's inevitable."
"Oh, really? How do you know?"
"You used it."
Ryou moaned and shakily got to his feet. "Well, now we're right back where we started. Look, Yami's in trouble, I've got to help him out before Malik hurts him, and - "
"You're in far more trouble than your other half."
The boy glanced around quickly, then grinned. "I don't see anyone hovering in the shadows waiting to kill me."
The demon snarled. "You really /are/ an idiot, aren't you? You used Sathaugula."
"Just once."
"Once is enough!" It was beginning to look like the demon would explode out of sheer frustration. "The deal was for three times! And it was used three times, and then lost! Then you found it, and you used it! Now the bargain clearly states that you're going to die!"
"I only used it once!"
"It doesn't matter who uses it, just that it /was/ used!" The demon flexed its long fingers, as if itching to wrap them around Ryou's neck. "It's stuck, isn't it? And it will draw the life slowly from you. You will die in agony unless it is removed - and it cannot be. Not unless you want to chop off your hand."
Ryou wrapped his right hand protectively around his left wrist, feeling the cold metal of the watch under his fingers. "You're lying. I feel fine."
"It may feel that way, for a day or two. Then you will find yourself growing weak. You will realize that it is getting harder and harder to sleep at night. You will be plagued by visions. Your ability to heal will desert you. You will bruise easily, feel the pain magnified. Gradually, you will slip into a coma and die." The demon seemed to take a fierce pleasure from these simple, haunting sentences.
Ryou stared down at the gold glinting between his fingers, then thrust his arm out at the demon. "Take it, then! I don't want it! I never did!"
"I cannot remove it. No one can. That is the price you pay for breaking the deal."
"I didn't /make/ that deal! I don't even know who did!"
The demon's yellow eyes glittered maliciously. "You don't, do you."
Ryou mutely shook his head.
The demon smiled. "Well, you could probably guess, if you took the time."
It only took a moment before Ryou's warm, dark eyes widened. "/Yami/?" he whispered.
"Yes. Your other half." The demon grinned and raised its hand. "And as you die, remember: it was he who murdered you."
And with that parting shot, the demon snapped its fingers and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
**Much can be said for social savoir-faire,
But to rejoice when no one else is there
Is even harder than it is to weep;
No one is watching, but you have to leap**
The first night in a new place is generally the hardest.
Yami got little sleep. His bed, though probably the softest in the entire kingdom, wasn't at all comfortable compared to the feather bed he had in the future. It didn't help that priests tiptoed in repeatedly to make sure the candles stayed lit.
Kaiba also remained awake, staring at the ceiling. The Shadow Games weighed heavily on the High Priest's mind. Yami had informed him that they would have to play against each other at least once, to inspire that rock carving Isis would use to show them the past. Kaiba hadn't particularly enjoyed the Shadow Games during Battle City, and knew that it was probably even more dangerous now, when the monsters were real, not holographic projections.
Mokuba slept, and dreamed of the dead girl, and woke in the morning wide- eyed and fighting not to scream.
Mai slept, and dreamed of Yugi, and woke trembling with desire and self- loathing.
Yugi and Ryou got no sleep at all. The nobles had them up all night running various errands. They ran into each other twice, delivering fleeting smiles before continuing on their ways.
Joey intended to simply fall asleep, but received the news that he was supposed to stand guard outside the pharaoh's room all night. "Graveyard shift," he muttered, but took up his weary post.
Bakura fell into a deep sleep, the first he'd had in a long while, and woke refreshed and, overall, the happiest of the eight.
**A solitude ten thousand fathoms deep
Sustains the bed on which we lie, my dear;
Although I love you, you too will have to leap;
Our dream of safety has to disappear**
~~
A/N: "Leap Before You Look" is a poem by W.H. Auden. I did not use all of the verses, because I didn't like some of them.
Why is Bakura allergic to metal? Because Yami is allergic to cats. Can't give /one/ of them an allergy and not the other. Humanizes them, too. I actually have a friend who's allergic to metal.
Khepri is a random name and a random person. It means "morning sun." I'm fairly certain it's a girl's name. Yep, it is.
Notes to my reviewers will come every other chapter. So. Not now.
Oh, and I did my homework! Well, some of it, anyway. Still have to write a two-page paper on Roman gladiators, and revise my essay, but that can wait. Four-day weekend. Joy.
Next Chapter: Hello. At least two kisses (and not who you'd expect, either!), Bakura gets his memory back (all of it, this time) and Ryou attempts to rid himself of Sathaugula.