Yami's consciousness returned with painful clarity, and he blinked in the darkness surrounding him. His head ached – it appeared that he had knocked it during his fall – and it took him several seconds to gather his wits and to realize that he couldn't move from the sitting position he was in. He strained against bonds the darkness hid and bit back a growl of frustration and anger. Instinctively, he sought out the familiar presence of Yugi's soul through their bond.
It wasn't there. He wasn't there.
Yami cursed silently. Of course he wasn't. They now had physical distance between them and no longer existed and communicated soul-to-soul as they had before. It made sense that they couldn't reach each other, but did little to reassure him. He felt even more alone, and fought desperately against the cold fingers of panic clawing at his gut.
A low chuckle permeated the silence. Yami held his breath and strained his head around for any clue as to the source of the sound. Suddenly a golden flash lit up the darkness, blinding him painfully. The laughter increased, and there were two voices now.
'Ah, Pharaoh. Forgive me for not bowing, and I shall forgive you for not rising.' The malicious voice broke off in a sharp cackle.
As the colourful spots in Yami's vision began to fade he made out the softly glowing shape of a large ring containing a pyramid shape.
'Tomb robber…' he growled.
'None other.' There was a flash of teeth in the darkness, and the second voice spoke out.
'Surely you would also remember me… the last of a line forever burdened with guarding your final resting place, Pharaoh!' it spat.
Yami glared back at them. 'What do you want?' he asked angrily.
'Revenge,' the robber whispered.
'Power,' answered Marik. 'But for now we will settle for your memories.'
Yami flinched as two torches on either side of him suddenly burst into flame with a load flaring noise.
'My memories?' he repeated, blinking in the sudden light.
Marik laughed at his confusion. 'Don't worry; we won't take them from you. Not when we worked so hard to unlock them.'
That statement only served to confuse Yami more, but he refused to let his captors see it. His eyes flashed an angry red in the firelight.
'I will never help you.'
The ring spirit stepped forward and gave a malicious smile down at the bound Pharaoh, baring his teeth which glinted wickedly in the flickering light.
'You don't get a choice.'
Yami's only response was to spit at the grinning face, which quickly withdrew with a growl and then made to rush at him. Marik held him back, whispering something quickly with a glance in Yami's direction. The robber spirit allowed himself to be subdued then violently snatched his arm away from Marik's grip.
'I swear Pharaoh, one day there will be no reason to hold back. I will make you pay!' he hissed.
With a cursory glance in his companion's direction, Marik withdrew a golden item from the folds of his robes. It glittered in the firelight and Yami's eyes widened as he recognized the shape.
'The Millenium Key!' he gasped. 'But… Shadi…'
Marik grinned. 'Was not as adept at wielding the powers of darkness as he thought. A shame… after all, he was your little spy, wasn't he? The loyal servant of the great Pharaoh, informing him of our actions…' Marik was moving as he spoke, circling behind the chair Yami was bound to. Yami fought the impulse to twist after him, and just sat with every muscle tensed and his eyes closed. The taunting voice drifted close to his ear. '… and now those pathetic children that you seem to care so much about are all alone. Lost in a dangerous tomb, with no guide… where anything could happen to them.'
Yami's eyes shot open. 'Leave them alone…' he breathed.
A chuckle. 'Oh, we won't have to touch them. The builders of this place have set enough dangers to finish them off for us. In any case, I would be more worried about your own fate.'
For the first time, a confident smile crept onto Yami's face. 'I am quite capable of defending myself. As you will learn if you do not let me go.'
'Oh yes. The almighty magical powers of the pharaoh!' Marik re-entered Yami's field of view, throwing his hands up dramatically. 'Whatever shall we do against such magic?' he pleaded sarcastically.
During this time Yami had again closed his eyes and sought out the core of power within his soul, to call it forth. But… it was like grasping at nothing, at air. He couldn't reach the power inside of him!
'Look at the ground, you fool,' growled the ring spirit.
Around the Pharaoh a chalky white ring was evident, with hieroglyphs circling the edges. A memory surfaced and Yami uttered a small gasp of realisation and dread. 'A ring of binding…'
Marik nodded proudly. 'A very old spell, not mentioned in any easily accessed records. It was quite hard to reproduce.' He flourished the Key meaningfully. 'It drains all strong soul energies, which means that without your Millennium Puzzle or deck, you are quite unable to resist us.'
The other spirit was growing impatient. 'Just do it already!' he growled.
Marik cast a glare in his direction and held out the Millenium Key. The tomb robber took hold of it with a grin and, holding it between them, they advanced on the Pharaoh.
Yami tried to twist out of the way, but his bonds held tight and as the golden tip touched his forehead a shiver of power gripped him. He gasped as his focus was forcibly directed inward, to his soul room. Mental barriers were torn down and cast away as the two intruders rode a wave of power from the Key. Through the mental pain Yami realised that Marik was wielding the power of the Key as he did the Rod – using force to take whatever knowledge he desired. Shadi had used it skilfully, probing for answers. Marik was using the power not as a tool, but as a battering ram. If he resisted any longer… irrecoverable damage might be done.
With a shudder he finally opened his mind to the Key and felt a memory be plucked and examined.
He was cast into it as it played out, helpless to halt it.
The six priests had reached the climax of their chanting. Now it was the time, but he refused to be afraid. He did this for his people. The channelled magic coursed through him like a wild river, into the portal of darkness. In the back of his mind he knew that he was screaming. The magic was tearing away at his consciousness, washing away parts in a flood of terrible, beautiful, pure power. His memories were shattered and then gone, and finally all he could do was let the flow take him where it would, for he knew no reason to fight…..
Darkness.
With a gasp he was thrown back into reality, and opened his eyes to his two captors. Marik's violet eyes shone with knowledge and he whispered 'that's it… I know how it was done…'
Joey finally collapsed against the stone block, panting with exertion.
'It's no good… there's no way we're ever gonna move this thing.'
Everyone looked away. As much as they didn't want to admit defeat, the stone was too heavy for even all of them working together to budge.
Yugi looked down at the puzzle nestled in his lap with tears in his eyes. If only he knew how to use it like Yami did, he could move the block and go after him. If only he wasn't so weak, maybe they could move it without magic. If only…
A hand touched his reassuringly, and he looked up. Tea's eyes were also bright with unshed tears, but she was smiling.
'You've gotta have faith, Yugi. Yami won't let a little thing like this get him down. He's strong, and knows all about these kinds of places.'
Yugi looked down at the puzzle again. 'But it's my fault…' he said ambiguously.
'It's not…' she whispered, seeking out his gaze.
Before he could reply, Seto strode over to where Yugi was huddled, picked him up by the front of his shirt and backhanded him across the floor.
The others stared at him in shock. Yugi pulled himself up off the dusty stones and touched a hand to his bruised cheek in disbelief. Seto glared down at him.
'Stop being so damnably dramatic. If he weren't capable of keeping himself alive for a few hours without being in close proximity to you lot, he wouldn't be worthy of being my rival.'
He stepped up onto the block that had fallen across their path and looked back.
'If you want to hang around moping until hunger does you in, it's not my problem. We can't do anything about this rock until we find help, and that involves getting out of here first. Are you coming or not?'
'Kaiba, you…' Joey growled, but was interrupted before he could complete his threat.
'Yes.' Yugi followed him up onto the stone. 'I'm coming.'
Amazed, the others trailed after. 'Did I just miss something? Or was Kaiba actually being… helpful?' whispered Tristan.
'Stranger things have happened,' answered Bakura quietly.
'Yeah, but if he ever gets that helpful again I'm gonna be helpful right back at him,' threatened Joey.
Yugi heard them but just smiled. That blow had knocked some sense into him – just because they were separated didn't mean that Yami wouldn't be all right. He believed in his spirit protector just as strongly as he ever had, and felt foolish for ever letting that belief waver. Yami would not disappoint him. He would come back.
What had surprised him was that Seto believed in Yami just as strongly.
*hangs head in shame once more*