Chapter Twelve: The Center Cannot Hold
Bakura dropped his sword and, in a few long strides, was at Malik's side. "Where /is/ Mokuba? We could really use him right now..."
"It's only a flesh wound," Malik said, attempting to push Bakura away.
"Ah, you've been watching Monty Python, I see." Ignoring his friend's confused look, Bakura pushed his hands aside and examined the wound. "You're right, it doesn't look deep, just...really painful."
"No kidding. I should know. There are guards coming, we really should leave."
By then, the others had clustered around them. "Ryou," Yugi said breathlessly.
"Yes, of course. We'll get him and...hide. Somewhere. Anywhere. Pharaoh, haven't you got an impregnable bunker or something?"
Yami shrugged. "I don't know. At any rate, do you really want to bring Malik with us? Evil traitor, yes?"
"No," Bakura said coldly. "Not evil. Not a traitor. My /friend/, Pharaoh. Can you stand, Malik?"
Mai gave Yami a look that plainly said, "He's gone mad, hasn't he?"
With Kaiba's help, Bakura got Malik on his feet, and they all set off. "He's in Yami's bedroom," Yugi cried, and led the way.
----
Mokuba kept shooting glances at Joey as they made their way back toward the stairs. The blond had a faraway look in his eyes, and carried the Millennium Scale as if it weighed nothing - though it had to be heavy, if it was made of gold, as it appeared to be.
"Where are we going?" he asked finally.
After a moment, Joey realized that the younger boy had said something. "What? Anywhere."
"I mean, where do you think Seto and the rest of them are?"
"What? Somewhere."
Mokuba stopped walking, watched as Joey didn't appear to notice, and ran forward. He tried to tug the Scale out of Joey's hands. "What is this thing doing to you?"
Joey didn't even struggle; he just held on and stared at a point on the wall a foot above Mokuba's head. "It hasn't done anything to me. I've no idea what you're talking about."
"You don't even sound like you anymore!"
"You're mad, Mokuba."
"Stop it!" Mokuba let go of the Scale and backed away, eyes wide. "You're scaring me, Joey. Snap out of it!"
"I'm not /in/ it, Mokuba. I can't imagine what you think is wrong. I'm fine."
"I'm going to get help," Mokuba decided, but before he could even take a step Joey's free hand wrapped around his wrist in a grip that could be described as iron or, perhaps, steel. "Let go of me!"
"I don't think we want anyone to know of our little discovery, do we, Mokuba?"
Mokuba stopped struggling and stared into Joey's blank eyes. "It's like when Malik was controlling you - with the Millennium Rod. Who's controlling you now, Joey? Who /are/ you?"
Joey smiled, a bright, false smile. "I'm Joey Wheeler, Mokuba. You know that."
"No...please let me go..."
----
Ryou was conscious by the time the others trooped into the bedroom. He had dragged himself onto the bed and was lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling through glazed eyes.
"I'm going to die," he said, and it wasn't a question or a whine or a plea for help. It was only a statement.
"No, you're not," Bakura snapped as he and Kaiba eased Malik to the floor. "I am /not/ going to let you die."
"You don't have a choice." Ryou coughed, a harsh, tearing sound that made Yugi wince and Mai shudder. "I don't...I mean, you heard Zahara, Malik, she said...what's Malik doing here?"
"Dying," Malik said cheerfully. "How nice. We can be judged together."
Kaiba looked down in distaste at the blood smeared across his robes. "We need a healer."
"One who won't kill Malik and me on sight," Bakura added.
Mai sighed. "Mokuba, in other words."
Kaiba snapped his fingers. "That was just what I was going to say."
"I'll go look for them. But I need to talk to you first, 'Kura."
"Yes, darling," Bakura said, in tones of great suffering, and grinned when she rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back."
They stepped into the corridor, followed by Kaiba, who headed off without looking at them.
"All right," Mai said, as soon as Kaiba had rounded a corner. "What's going on?"
"With what?"
"You. Malik. Ryou." She planted her hands on her hips - never a good sign - and glared at him. "That evil traitor isn't dying, we both know that. Your other half /is/ and you've barely looked at him. When are you going to /do/ something about it?" Before he could answer, she went on, "And what are you doing, bringing Malik with us? He'd kill you or Yami as soon as look at you - "
"He's my friend, Mai, and I'm going to save him from what he's going to become. Okay?"
Mai stared at him. "You're going to change history?"
Bakura laughed and waved a hand at their surroundings. "And all this - us being here, everything - doesn't change history? As long as we're at it, why not make life better for everyone? Avoid the Shadow Realm, both of us?"
"You know, it wasn't so bad. I can't even remember most of it. And we're here now, together, and what if we /aren't/ together in the future because of what you're doing? For that matter, how do you know it didn't happen this way originally?"
Bakura smiled, and looked down at the floor. "Because I'm sure I'd remember being here with you. I love you."
Mai reached out to caress his cheek. "I know. I love you. I always will."
Bakura leaned forward and kissed her, gently and chastely. Before she could wrap her arms around him as she usually did, he pulled away.
"I have to go back inside, love. Can't be out here in the open with half the population out for our blood."
Mai grinned. "Which half? The guards or the rebels?"
He didn't answer.
----
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow.
----
"Are you sure we should be here?"
"We should have told the High Priest."
"Be quiet!"
"Where are we going?"
"Stop hitting me!"
"I'm not, I have no idea - "
"Not you, him!"
"Would you all just shut up?"
"Yessir," several voices said at once, and fell silent.
The Elite Priest of Ra shook his head and raised his hand, with glowed with pale light, illuminating the corridor. The catacombs were dangerous for more than one reason, and he didn't want to be found.
The tunnels twisted and turned, and eventually they came upon a guard, dragging a whimpering boy along.
The Elite Priest recognized the child after a moment - the High Priest's apprentice. "Halt," he commanded. "Where are you taking him?"
"These cellars are dangerous," the guard said in a strange voice. "I'm taking him to safety."
The boy appeared to be sizing them up, and then started shouting. "Help, help, he's gone insane, help, get the Scale from him - "
The Elite Priest eyed the balance that the guard held. "That looks important," he said accusingly.
"It is."
"Release the boy. He will come with us."
The guard let go of the boy's wrist, and the child immediately ran into the crowd of priests - eight in all. "Where are you going?"
"To perform the rites that will make the separation between our land and the Shadow World complete."
The boy stared up at him with wide blue-grey eyes. "Oh, no. No, you can't. You'll mess everything up - "
"Please, child, cease your talking. We know what we are doing. Ra smiles on us."
"So does Osiris," a priest added.
"And Set."
"Nephthys, too."
"Thoth - "
"Shut up!"
"Yessir."
----
After a heated discussion, Bakura took the Ring from Ryou and, accompanied by Yami, set off in search of the rest of the Millennium Items.
They found the Eye in a statue of Ra, and pried it out with some difficulty. Bakura wanted to keep it, since it was his in the future, but Yami took it from him and glared.
They found the Millennium Necklace gracing a statue of, appropriately, the goddess Isis. Yami grabbed it before Bakura could. He did the same with the Key, which was being held by Thoth, but Bakura got to the Rod first.
Yami held out a hand expectantly. "Give it to me."
Bakura shook his head. "No. You've got too many as it is. This is Malik's."
"You're going to give that psychopath the means to destroy us?" Yami's eyes narrowed. "What's he done to you?"
"Nothing!"
"You know what he's capable of, Bakura! He banished you to the Shadow Realm - and Mai, Ryou - you just /can't/ - "
Bakura laughed. "That's the first time you've called me by my name, Pharaoh. And it isn't even mine."
Thoughts temporarily derailed, Yami blinked. "Well, what is your name, then?"
"It's Akil."
Yami frowned. "That sounds familiar."
"It should." Bakura shook his head. "Anyway, no. This is Malik's. Just like the Ring is mine. The Eye, too, I want it back. Let's just find your Puzzle and the Scale and not argue." He held up the Ring and watched the prongs fly up and twist to point left. He headed in that direction, and paused when Yami made no move to follow. "Pharaoh, let's go."
"Give it to me." Yami's voice was low, and gave no room for argument.
Bakura smirked. "No, I don't think I will."
"He's got you brainwashed, Akil."
"You're the good guy, Teremun," Bakura snapped. "I would think you'd know that there's some good in everyone."
"Is that my name?"
Bakura blinked, then backed away warily. "Yes. Let's go."
"How do you know it?"
"I...just do."
Yami advanced on the white-haired thief. "You remembered!"
"Not remembered, per se," Bakura hazarded.
"You did! What else do you remember? Why don't I remember anything? What have you done, sold your soul to Malik for memories you don't need?"
"No! I haven't sold my soul!"
/Just my hikari's life./
The truth hit Bakura like an iceberg. His back hit the wall and his legs gave out, and he slid to the floor, clutching the Rod desperately. "Oh, gods," he breathed. "What have I done? What have I /done/?"
----
The Shadow Monsters clustered around the doorway, breathing in the scent of the real world - of freedom.
They could sense that the doorway would soon open. Already there was a crack of golden light around the edges. Soon, once again, they would be free.
There was no time in the Shadow Realm, not for the Monsters. For them, it might have been aeons since the last duel. It might have been seconds.
They craved life, freedom, blood. Sacrifice. They longed to be /real/.
As the crack wavered and began to disappear, they howled, screamed, gibbered. Threw themselves against the doorway, crying for vengeance, for death, for /freedom/.
Human minds were so rarely strong. They easily tore apart the words of the spell.
Mokuba, eyes wide, watched the ceremony and heard the Elite Priest falter.
"No," he whispered. "Oh, no."
The Monsters lunged...
The doorway shattered...
They were through. They were free. They were not simple shadows of themselves, they were /real/.
Slyphr cackled, though it came out as a roar, and speared a shrieking priestess with his claw. Blood spurted, and he laughed and laughed and laughed.
There was not enough room for them all here, underground. But that didn't matter. The doorway was open. They could come through at any of a dozen points.
But first, there were these stupid humans to take care of...
----
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow.
----
Mai used a bedsheet to staunch the flow of blood from Malik's wound. He didn't much care. It really wasn't so bad. The guard had barely grazed his skin.
Bakura was gone, he'd taken the pharaoh with him. Malik didn't understand why Mai, Yugi, and Ryou kept staring at him with such fear. They couldn't know he was a rebel...could they? Bakura would never tell them. That would mean death for Malik for sure.
But they knew something. He could see it in their eyes. And they certainly knew his name.
And it really seemed like Bakura was /cooperating/ with the pharaoh.
Something very weird was going on.
Ryou moaned, and Mai leapt up and hurried to his side. "Are you okay?" Yugi raised his head from his contemplation of the hieroglyphs on the wall to gaze at his friends.
"No, I'm not bloody okay. I'm dying."
"Stop saying that, I hate when you say that. You'll be fine. We'll be home soon."
Malik took the opportunity to get up - not an easy task - and slipped out of the room.
He had to find Shizu, had to get information about the rebellion. Find out who was winning, which side it would make sense to be on.
Probably hers, when all was said and done.
She had plans. Yes. They couldn't lose.
Malik set off for the catacombs, and was thrown to the ground when the palace shook.
----
The workers who were digging irrigation ditches paused in their work and looked up as a cloud moved over the sun.
They heard the roars and screams from the other side of the Nile.
"What do you think that is?" one asked.
"Dunno," another replied, shading his eyes - hardly necessary, since it was growing darker by the second.
They couldn't see the palace. They did, however, see the sudden stream of people fleeing, jumping into the Nile. Better to drown, apparently, than suffer whatever was happening.
Several of the workers ran to the river. They managed to rescue a few, but they were obviously delirious - babbling about monsters and swords and blood.
One of the workers stood up suddenly and stared. He had good eyesight, and could now see the palace.
"Ra save us," he whispered.
There was a huge red dragon lounging on top of the palace.
Someone behind him screamed, and he turned just in time to see a rush of golden feathers and teeth, and then he died.
----
Kaiba found the Millennium Puzzle quite accidentally.
It was complete, sitting on a table in a storeroom he wandered into while looking for his brother.
Kaiba hesitated, then picked it up. It wasn't his, certainly, but it was better to take it himself than let some random Egyptian find it.
- You're not mine - said a voice in his head.
"Er," Kaiba said, and nearly dropped the Puzzle.
- Where is mine? -
"Not...here? I don't understand. This is impossible - "
- A skeptic. I see. Take me to mine. I want to be used. -
"Please tell me it's not a piece of jewelry talking to me," Kaiba said, and instantly felt stupid. Of course it wasn't, and now he was talking to himself. Honestly.
- I am no piece of jewelry, skeptic-magician. I am the Millennium Puzzle. I am the only hope for this world. The Shadow Monsters are free. -
"They can't be," Kaiba said, and regretted it.
- OF COURSE THEY ARE. YOU ARE A MAGICIAN. CAN YOU NOT FEEL IT? -
Kaiba winced. "No need to shout."
- TAKE ME TO MINE. I WANT TO BE USED. -
"I have to find my brother!" Something occured to Kaiba then. He refrained from grinning deviously and said coldly, "I know where your...your owner is. But I won't take you to him unless you help me find my brother."
- That is not my purpose. That is the purpose of the Millennium Ring. If you do not want to die, then take me to my own. -
"Did you ever talk before?" Kaiba asked suspiciously.
- I am not talking now, skeptic-magician. I am only an item, an object. We can't talk. Everyone knows that. Need I ask again? -
Kaiba set off for the pharaoh's bedroom to find Yugi, and wondered what was going on.
----
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow.
----
Shizu was sitting on the pharaoh's throne when Malik arrived, surrounded by heavily-armed rebels.
"Malik Ishtar," she drawled. "Long time no see."
"I had...other business, Shizu." He bowed his head, his only concession to her self-imposed pharaohship.
"You are hurt," she noted. "Not badly, I trust?"
"Oh, no. I'm all right, really."
Shizu laughed. "Of course. How typical of you. Now, then, I've orders to give, for all of you." She sat forward in the throne, her blue eyes glittering.
"Yes, Shizu?" Malik said, suddenly horribly unsure.
"I want them," she said softly. "The ones bound up in Akil's fate. I want the handmaiden who looks like me, the yellow-haired guard, the slave - I trust we all know which one? I want the pharaoh, the High Priest, and that little boy who follows him around of late. I shall entrust Akil to you, Malik."
"Bakura," he whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Shizu." Impulsively, irrationally, he added, "What about the slave who looks like Bakura? Akil, I mean?"
Shizu blinked at him. "Who?"
"He's...like Bakura. Almost exactly like. He's dying."
"Bring him, then. I will not even ask how you know that."
"Er, you already gave me a job - "
"Forget it," Shizu said impatiently. "I will find Akil myself. Bring them to me on the cliff overlooking the Nile, you know the one, all of you." She grinned, the sort of grin with a fin on top, slicing through the water. "We will use them to find out what's going on, and then we will kill them."
Malik winced, tipped his head again, and strode off.
He couldn't trust her, but he couldn't trust Bakura, either.
----------
A/N: (whispers) There are two chapters left! And then a threequel with nineteen chapters! But that shouldn't stop the elation of Fallen being nearly complete! And on top of that, I have raspberry lemonade!
Ahem. Okay. I am now thoroughly annoyed, as it seems ff.net no longer allows asterisks. I'm still wondering if they allow the / in summaries yet. Grr. I should email someone about that, instead of stewing quietly.
Not such a terribly long wait here, I guess. The next chapters should come quickly.
Oh, and if you hadn't noticed, I changed my name. I'm now Naodrith, instead of DarkMage Tygress. Don't be alarmed. I have been Naodrith at heart for months; nothing else is gonna change.
Oh, and, I have been reading a lot of Terry Pratchett's books lately, and I kept thinking there were eight Millennium Items instead of seven because of him, and all of you should go read "The Color of Magic" and the rest of his work straight away.
I should really stop talking.
Notes on the Chapter: Hey, those priests? They were introduced in chapter seven. Just thought I'd point that out. Also, the spelling of the Sky- Dragon's name seems to be a point of contest, so I have chosen Slyphr because it looks cool. Go figure.
Next Chapter: Whisper. Many, many kidnappings, along with Malik's desperate search for something to believe in.
Bakura dropped his sword and, in a few long strides, was at Malik's side. "Where /is/ Mokuba? We could really use him right now..."
"It's only a flesh wound," Malik said, attempting to push Bakura away.
"Ah, you've been watching Monty Python, I see." Ignoring his friend's confused look, Bakura pushed his hands aside and examined the wound. "You're right, it doesn't look deep, just...really painful."
"No kidding. I should know. There are guards coming, we really should leave."
By then, the others had clustered around them. "Ryou," Yugi said breathlessly.
"Yes, of course. We'll get him and...hide. Somewhere. Anywhere. Pharaoh, haven't you got an impregnable bunker or something?"
Yami shrugged. "I don't know. At any rate, do you really want to bring Malik with us? Evil traitor, yes?"
"No," Bakura said coldly. "Not evil. Not a traitor. My /friend/, Pharaoh. Can you stand, Malik?"
Mai gave Yami a look that plainly said, "He's gone mad, hasn't he?"
With Kaiba's help, Bakura got Malik on his feet, and they all set off. "He's in Yami's bedroom," Yugi cried, and led the way.
----
Mokuba kept shooting glances at Joey as they made their way back toward the stairs. The blond had a faraway look in his eyes, and carried the Millennium Scale as if it weighed nothing - though it had to be heavy, if it was made of gold, as it appeared to be.
"Where are we going?" he asked finally.
After a moment, Joey realized that the younger boy had said something. "What? Anywhere."
"I mean, where do you think Seto and the rest of them are?"
"What? Somewhere."
Mokuba stopped walking, watched as Joey didn't appear to notice, and ran forward. He tried to tug the Scale out of Joey's hands. "What is this thing doing to you?"
Joey didn't even struggle; he just held on and stared at a point on the wall a foot above Mokuba's head. "It hasn't done anything to me. I've no idea what you're talking about."
"You don't even sound like you anymore!"
"You're mad, Mokuba."
"Stop it!" Mokuba let go of the Scale and backed away, eyes wide. "You're scaring me, Joey. Snap out of it!"
"I'm not /in/ it, Mokuba. I can't imagine what you think is wrong. I'm fine."
"I'm going to get help," Mokuba decided, but before he could even take a step Joey's free hand wrapped around his wrist in a grip that could be described as iron or, perhaps, steel. "Let go of me!"
"I don't think we want anyone to know of our little discovery, do we, Mokuba?"
Mokuba stopped struggling and stared into Joey's blank eyes. "It's like when Malik was controlling you - with the Millennium Rod. Who's controlling you now, Joey? Who /are/ you?"
Joey smiled, a bright, false smile. "I'm Joey Wheeler, Mokuba. You know that."
"No...please let me go..."
----
Ryou was conscious by the time the others trooped into the bedroom. He had dragged himself onto the bed and was lying flat on his back, staring at the ceiling through glazed eyes.
"I'm going to die," he said, and it wasn't a question or a whine or a plea for help. It was only a statement.
"No, you're not," Bakura snapped as he and Kaiba eased Malik to the floor. "I am /not/ going to let you die."
"You don't have a choice." Ryou coughed, a harsh, tearing sound that made Yugi wince and Mai shudder. "I don't...I mean, you heard Zahara, Malik, she said...what's Malik doing here?"
"Dying," Malik said cheerfully. "How nice. We can be judged together."
Kaiba looked down in distaste at the blood smeared across his robes. "We need a healer."
"One who won't kill Malik and me on sight," Bakura added.
Mai sighed. "Mokuba, in other words."
Kaiba snapped his fingers. "That was just what I was going to say."
"I'll go look for them. But I need to talk to you first, 'Kura."
"Yes, darling," Bakura said, in tones of great suffering, and grinned when she rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back."
They stepped into the corridor, followed by Kaiba, who headed off without looking at them.
"All right," Mai said, as soon as Kaiba had rounded a corner. "What's going on?"
"With what?"
"You. Malik. Ryou." She planted her hands on her hips - never a good sign - and glared at him. "That evil traitor isn't dying, we both know that. Your other half /is/ and you've barely looked at him. When are you going to /do/ something about it?" Before he could answer, she went on, "And what are you doing, bringing Malik with us? He'd kill you or Yami as soon as look at you - "
"He's my friend, Mai, and I'm going to save him from what he's going to become. Okay?"
Mai stared at him. "You're going to change history?"
Bakura laughed and waved a hand at their surroundings. "And all this - us being here, everything - doesn't change history? As long as we're at it, why not make life better for everyone? Avoid the Shadow Realm, both of us?"
"You know, it wasn't so bad. I can't even remember most of it. And we're here now, together, and what if we /aren't/ together in the future because of what you're doing? For that matter, how do you know it didn't happen this way originally?"
Bakura smiled, and looked down at the floor. "Because I'm sure I'd remember being here with you. I love you."
Mai reached out to caress his cheek. "I know. I love you. I always will."
Bakura leaned forward and kissed her, gently and chastely. Before she could wrap her arms around him as she usually did, he pulled away.
"I have to go back inside, love. Can't be out here in the open with half the population out for our blood."
Mai grinned. "Which half? The guards or the rebels?"
He didn't answer.
----
Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow.
----
"Are you sure we should be here?"
"We should have told the High Priest."
"Be quiet!"
"Where are we going?"
"Stop hitting me!"
"I'm not, I have no idea - "
"Not you, him!"
"Would you all just shut up?"
"Yessir," several voices said at once, and fell silent.
The Elite Priest of Ra shook his head and raised his hand, with glowed with pale light, illuminating the corridor. The catacombs were dangerous for more than one reason, and he didn't want to be found.
The tunnels twisted and turned, and eventually they came upon a guard, dragging a whimpering boy along.
The Elite Priest recognized the child after a moment - the High Priest's apprentice. "Halt," he commanded. "Where are you taking him?"
"These cellars are dangerous," the guard said in a strange voice. "I'm taking him to safety."
The boy appeared to be sizing them up, and then started shouting. "Help, help, he's gone insane, help, get the Scale from him - "
The Elite Priest eyed the balance that the guard held. "That looks important," he said accusingly.
"It is."
"Release the boy. He will come with us."
The guard let go of the boy's wrist, and the child immediately ran into the crowd of priests - eight in all. "Where are you going?"
"To perform the rites that will make the separation between our land and the Shadow World complete."
The boy stared up at him with wide blue-grey eyes. "Oh, no. No, you can't. You'll mess everything up - "
"Please, child, cease your talking. We know what we are doing. Ra smiles on us."
"So does Osiris," a priest added.
"And Set."
"Nephthys, too."
"Thoth - "
"Shut up!"
"Yessir."
----
After a heated discussion, Bakura took the Ring from Ryou and, accompanied by Yami, set off in search of the rest of the Millennium Items.
They found the Eye in a statue of Ra, and pried it out with some difficulty. Bakura wanted to keep it, since it was his in the future, but Yami took it from him and glared.
They found the Millennium Necklace gracing a statue of, appropriately, the goddess Isis. Yami grabbed it before Bakura could. He did the same with the Key, which was being held by Thoth, but Bakura got to the Rod first.
Yami held out a hand expectantly. "Give it to me."
Bakura shook his head. "No. You've got too many as it is. This is Malik's."
"You're going to give that psychopath the means to destroy us?" Yami's eyes narrowed. "What's he done to you?"
"Nothing!"
"You know what he's capable of, Bakura! He banished you to the Shadow Realm - and Mai, Ryou - you just /can't/ - "
Bakura laughed. "That's the first time you've called me by my name, Pharaoh. And it isn't even mine."
Thoughts temporarily derailed, Yami blinked. "Well, what is your name, then?"
"It's Akil."
Yami frowned. "That sounds familiar."
"It should." Bakura shook his head. "Anyway, no. This is Malik's. Just like the Ring is mine. The Eye, too, I want it back. Let's just find your Puzzle and the Scale and not argue." He held up the Ring and watched the prongs fly up and twist to point left. He headed in that direction, and paused when Yami made no move to follow. "Pharaoh, let's go."
"Give it to me." Yami's voice was low, and gave no room for argument.
Bakura smirked. "No, I don't think I will."
"He's got you brainwashed, Akil."
"You're the good guy, Teremun," Bakura snapped. "I would think you'd know that there's some good in everyone."
"Is that my name?"
Bakura blinked, then backed away warily. "Yes. Let's go."
"How do you know it?"
"I...just do."
Yami advanced on the white-haired thief. "You remembered!"
"Not remembered, per se," Bakura hazarded.
"You did! What else do you remember? Why don't I remember anything? What have you done, sold your soul to Malik for memories you don't need?"
"No! I haven't sold my soul!"
/Just my hikari's life./
The truth hit Bakura like an iceberg. His back hit the wall and his legs gave out, and he slid to the floor, clutching the Rod desperately. "Oh, gods," he breathed. "What have I done? What have I /done/?"
----
The Shadow Monsters clustered around the doorway, breathing in the scent of the real world - of freedom.
They could sense that the doorway would soon open. Already there was a crack of golden light around the edges. Soon, once again, they would be free.
There was no time in the Shadow Realm, not for the Monsters. For them, it might have been aeons since the last duel. It might have been seconds.
They craved life, freedom, blood. Sacrifice. They longed to be /real/.
As the crack wavered and began to disappear, they howled, screamed, gibbered. Threw themselves against the doorway, crying for vengeance, for death, for /freedom/.
Human minds were so rarely strong. They easily tore apart the words of the spell.
Mokuba, eyes wide, watched the ceremony and heard the Elite Priest falter.
"No," he whispered. "Oh, no."
The Monsters lunged...
The doorway shattered...
They were through. They were free. They were not simple shadows of themselves, they were /real/.
Slyphr cackled, though it came out as a roar, and speared a shrieking priestess with his claw. Blood spurted, and he laughed and laughed and laughed.
There was not enough room for them all here, underground. But that didn't matter. The doorway was open. They could come through at any of a dozen points.
But first, there were these stupid humans to take care of...
----
Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow.
----
Mai used a bedsheet to staunch the flow of blood from Malik's wound. He didn't much care. It really wasn't so bad. The guard had barely grazed his skin.
Bakura was gone, he'd taken the pharaoh with him. Malik didn't understand why Mai, Yugi, and Ryou kept staring at him with such fear. They couldn't know he was a rebel...could they? Bakura would never tell them. That would mean death for Malik for sure.
But they knew something. He could see it in their eyes. And they certainly knew his name.
And it really seemed like Bakura was /cooperating/ with the pharaoh.
Something very weird was going on.
Ryou moaned, and Mai leapt up and hurried to his side. "Are you okay?" Yugi raised his head from his contemplation of the hieroglyphs on the wall to gaze at his friends.
"No, I'm not bloody okay. I'm dying."
"Stop saying that, I hate when you say that. You'll be fine. We'll be home soon."
Malik took the opportunity to get up - not an easy task - and slipped out of the room.
He had to find Shizu, had to get information about the rebellion. Find out who was winning, which side it would make sense to be on.
Probably hers, when all was said and done.
She had plans. Yes. They couldn't lose.
Malik set off for the catacombs, and was thrown to the ground when the palace shook.
----
The workers who were digging irrigation ditches paused in their work and looked up as a cloud moved over the sun.
They heard the roars and screams from the other side of the Nile.
"What do you think that is?" one asked.
"Dunno," another replied, shading his eyes - hardly necessary, since it was growing darker by the second.
They couldn't see the palace. They did, however, see the sudden stream of people fleeing, jumping into the Nile. Better to drown, apparently, than suffer whatever was happening.
Several of the workers ran to the river. They managed to rescue a few, but they were obviously delirious - babbling about monsters and swords and blood.
One of the workers stood up suddenly and stared. He had good eyesight, and could now see the palace.
"Ra save us," he whispered.
There was a huge red dragon lounging on top of the palace.
Someone behind him screamed, and he turned just in time to see a rush of golden feathers and teeth, and then he died.
----
Kaiba found the Millennium Puzzle quite accidentally.
It was complete, sitting on a table in a storeroom he wandered into while looking for his brother.
Kaiba hesitated, then picked it up. It wasn't his, certainly, but it was better to take it himself than let some random Egyptian find it.
- You're not mine - said a voice in his head.
"Er," Kaiba said, and nearly dropped the Puzzle.
- Where is mine? -
"Not...here? I don't understand. This is impossible - "
- A skeptic. I see. Take me to mine. I want to be used. -
"Please tell me it's not a piece of jewelry talking to me," Kaiba said, and instantly felt stupid. Of course it wasn't, and now he was talking to himself. Honestly.
- I am no piece of jewelry, skeptic-magician. I am the Millennium Puzzle. I am the only hope for this world. The Shadow Monsters are free. -
"They can't be," Kaiba said, and regretted it.
- OF COURSE THEY ARE. YOU ARE A MAGICIAN. CAN YOU NOT FEEL IT? -
Kaiba winced. "No need to shout."
- TAKE ME TO MINE. I WANT TO BE USED. -
"I have to find my brother!" Something occured to Kaiba then. He refrained from grinning deviously and said coldly, "I know where your...your owner is. But I won't take you to him unless you help me find my brother."
- That is not my purpose. That is the purpose of the Millennium Ring. If you do not want to die, then take me to my own. -
"Did you ever talk before?" Kaiba asked suspiciously.
- I am not talking now, skeptic-magician. I am only an item, an object. We can't talk. Everyone knows that. Need I ask again? -
Kaiba set off for the pharaoh's bedroom to find Yugi, and wondered what was going on.
----
Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow.
----
Shizu was sitting on the pharaoh's throne when Malik arrived, surrounded by heavily-armed rebels.
"Malik Ishtar," she drawled. "Long time no see."
"I had...other business, Shizu." He bowed his head, his only concession to her self-imposed pharaohship.
"You are hurt," she noted. "Not badly, I trust?"
"Oh, no. I'm all right, really."
Shizu laughed. "Of course. How typical of you. Now, then, I've orders to give, for all of you." She sat forward in the throne, her blue eyes glittering.
"Yes, Shizu?" Malik said, suddenly horribly unsure.
"I want them," she said softly. "The ones bound up in Akil's fate. I want the handmaiden who looks like me, the yellow-haired guard, the slave - I trust we all know which one? I want the pharaoh, the High Priest, and that little boy who follows him around of late. I shall entrust Akil to you, Malik."
"Bakura," he whispered.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Shizu." Impulsively, irrationally, he added, "What about the slave who looks like Bakura? Akil, I mean?"
Shizu blinked at him. "Who?"
"He's...like Bakura. Almost exactly like. He's dying."
"Bring him, then. I will not even ask how you know that."
"Er, you already gave me a job - "
"Forget it," Shizu said impatiently. "I will find Akil myself. Bring them to me on the cliff overlooking the Nile, you know the one, all of you." She grinned, the sort of grin with a fin on top, slicing through the water. "We will use them to find out what's going on, and then we will kill them."
Malik winced, tipped his head again, and strode off.
He couldn't trust her, but he couldn't trust Bakura, either.
----------
A/N: (whispers) There are two chapters left! And then a threequel with nineteen chapters! But that shouldn't stop the elation of Fallen being nearly complete! And on top of that, I have raspberry lemonade!
Ahem. Okay. I am now thoroughly annoyed, as it seems ff.net no longer allows asterisks. I'm still wondering if they allow the / in summaries yet. Grr. I should email someone about that, instead of stewing quietly.
Not such a terribly long wait here, I guess. The next chapters should come quickly.
Oh, and if you hadn't noticed, I changed my name. I'm now Naodrith, instead of DarkMage Tygress. Don't be alarmed. I have been Naodrith at heart for months; nothing else is gonna change.
Oh, and, I have been reading a lot of Terry Pratchett's books lately, and I kept thinking there were eight Millennium Items instead of seven because of him, and all of you should go read "The Color of Magic" and the rest of his work straight away.
I should really stop talking.
Notes on the Chapter: Hey, those priests? They were introduced in chapter seven. Just thought I'd point that out. Also, the spelling of the Sky- Dragon's name seems to be a point of contest, so I have chosen Slyphr because it looks cool. Go figure.
Next Chapter: Whisper. Many, many kidnappings, along with Malik's desperate search for something to believe in.