Dark Crimson Night: Memories
Author's note: And now, the answer to the prologue has come… enjoy. ^_^
Warnings: Yaoi, cussing, death, blood, mass destruction, lots of dark things and who knows what else at this point.
Pairings: Well… Bakura/Ryou, some subtle hints of Seto/Jou, and Ishtal/Malik… others are still to come. ^_~
Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it… sure wish I did though…
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"So be it…" was Yami's reply.
An uncomfortable silence had fallen over the room as Yami thought about where to begin. Ishtal, unwilling to face reality again, had vanished back into his soul room where he could drown out all knowledge of the subject, leaving Malik to hear it for himself. Seto and Jou settled themselves on Yami's couch, waiting patiently for him to begin while Ryou and Bakura looked on quietly. The crimson-eyed spirit sighed heavily at last.
"You have to understand," he murmured. "This is a difficult memory… for all of us." Seto nodded in understanding. He knew this would be difficult, but he had to know…
"Just say it," Bakura snapped, hiding the pain in his voice through frustration. Yami nodded to the pale spirit.
"Very well… It was over fifty years ago now. We were in the main safe house…" Yami furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember the night as best he could. "A message was delivered, we didn't know who from. Everyone else had left and we were the only ones there…"
"Honda, Anzu, Shizuka and Mokuba should have been with you," Seto stated, interrupting.
"They took the young ones out to find you and Jou," Yami told them. "They were worried. You hadn't come back and it was getting late."
"We ran into a band of wraith's that night," Seto noted. Yami nodded to him.
"What about the message?" Jou asked curiously.
"Short. Short and to the point," Bakura snarled, eyes narrowing. "All it says was 'darkness has you'. We didn't know what to do. We knew he was after us but…"
"We left the safe house," Yami continued. "His wraith's fell on us as soon as we were in the open."
"I should have known it was a trap!" Bakura cursed. Ryou gently tugged a lock of his spiky hair, running it through his fingers in an attempt to calm the thief. Yami waited a moment, watching the thief carefully before continuing.
"We were taken to the citadel, our hikari's with us of course. He forced us from our hosts bodies, trapping Bakura and I in our items…"
"What about my yami?" Malik asked, slightly confused. A dark flash of sorrow fleeted across Yami's eyes.
"What he did to the two of you could be considered the worst of all," the former pharaoh sighed. "You must know, that Ishtal is not an ancient spirit like Bakura and I are. He was created by you, actually, on the tenth birthday of your past life when your father initiated you as the head-to-be of your clan. He was born of the fear, pain and rage you felt that day, and the Sennen Rod you hold is what gave him the power to become a spirit of his own. Malik shuddered, unconsciously reaching a hand up to brush the blackened scars on his back.
"What did he do to us?" he asked numbly, needing the answer but fearing it at the same time.
"Somehow, that demon managed to complete the splitting of your soul and sealed Ishtal in the Sennen Rod," Yami answered. "After that…" the spirit's voice cracked and he looked away. "After that… he tortured you, Ryou and my own light Yugi to your deaths." Ryou shivered involuntarily, burying his face in Bakura's shirt. It was almost as if he could hear the screams of a forgotten memory echoing in his mind. Bakura growled, low in his throat, and wrapped his arms more protectively around the pale boy. No one was going to get through him, not this time.
As if sensing his hikari's distressed emotions, Ishtal reappeared from the Rod, wrapping his arms around Malik from behind in some awkward form of comfort. Malik shivered, looking back to give his darker a thankful smile as he leaned back into the tanned yami's embrace. Had the moment not been so tense, Seto might have laughed at the child-like confusion that passed over Ishtal's face at his hikari's reaction. Yami looked away, torn by the pain of his memories and jealousy towards his fellow dark spirits. They had their hikari's back where they could protect them. Yugi was still missing. Seto let out a long sigh.
"Did you managed to find out who this 'dark one' is?" he asked impatiently. Yami's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing to twin bloody slits.
"That fiend… he shouldn't even be here…" the pharaoh hissed in absolute hatred.
"Who?" Jou asked.
"The Egyptian demon god Seth."
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"Kaiba is taking us to the main safe house tomorrow," Bakura's gruff voice broke through the darkened silence. A soft noise from a little ways off was the only indication that Ryou had heard him. They had split off from the rest, settling in a small, unlit room down the hall from Seto's lab.
Bakura frowned as he watched his hikari. Even in the dark, he could easily make out the pale solemn features of Ryou's face as his troubled deep brown eyes stared away from him, a sign that he was lost in thought. They were darker than he remembered, those eyes. Most of their innocent glitter had been lost to this new word. Only a tiny glimmer remained, one hidden beneath a mask of silence.
"Hikari…" Bakura was a little taken aback by Ryou's demeanor. Even in the past, the boy had never been this… lost.
"I should ask your forgiveness," the delicate voice murmured. Ryou didn't turn, only continued to stare into space. Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by his light's explanation. "I shouldn't have asked you to relive that, Bakura-sama." The thief flinched visibly. Then, eyes creased, he approached the boy, wrapping his arms around Ryou's shoulders. The boy made no move to pull away, but neither did he move closer.
"It's Bakura," the former tomb-robber murmured, leaning his chin on his smaller double's shoulder.
"What?" Ryou asked, tilting his head in sincere confusion.
"My name is Bakura." A small smile graced the boy's lips and he leaned back into his darker's embrace.
"I don't understand any of this," he murmured, his voice wavering. "I was just a normal human being yesterday, just trying to get by. Malik and I… we were just…"
"Ordinary?" Bakura asked idly? Ryou nodded silently. "Even I was merely mortal once, yadounshi. You though, from birth to death in this life and in your past, you have always been special, even if just to me." Ryou smiled again, absently rubbing his arm where his scar was hidden by the fabric of his shirt.
"Something tells me you've changed a lot from the being I used to know," he murmured. Bakura smirked, closing his eyes and raising one arm to catch Ryou's hand as it brushed against his scar. The thief stroked the mark carefully, before drawing Ryou closer to him.
"Sometimes it's impossible to know how special something his… until you loose it."
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Tainted shadows filtered through the darkened lab where Seto sat, staring ahead without acknowledging the deadly presence.
"Show yourself," the former CEO growled. A dark chuckle was his only answer as the demonic figure solidified.
"You have something I seek, priest." Seto's sapphire eyes narrowed.
"I should have know it was you, Seth," he hissed. The still shrouded figure stepped forward, amber-gold eyes glittering in amusement. The demon's tanned fingers traced over Seto's shoulder, causing the sable haired man to flinch.
"You know where they are… my priest…" there was a slight, snake-like hiss to the strange voice, almost manipulatively soothing. It only served to make Seto angrier.
"I am no servant of yours," he snapped, earning a quiet chuckle from the figure.
"Don't deny your fate, my priest. You were mine in the past and will be again. My little servant of chaos, you will give me what I need… the three I seek. I can sense you have found knowledge of them," Seth murmured almost softly. Seto couldn't help but shiver again at the strangely melodious voice. How could a demon, even one as powerful as Seth have such a beautiful tone? It was compelling in its beauty… and dangerous, very dangerous… and Seto knew that all to well.
"I am no longer your servant. I am not who I once was."
"You sold me your soul for power," the demon laughed with a sharp smirk.
"My soul belongs to me." A single blackened claw traced Seto's cheek.
"You will be mine again. It's in your name… Seto, Seth… my priest of darkness." The demon's laugh echoed through the room. "You can't hide what you know from me, Seto…" The former CEO flinched at his name. "I know they have been reborn. Fate, time and shadow, the only beings in current existence that can still oppose me. I know they are alive, I can sense them. With or without your help, I will destroy them once again."
"I will not betray them to you." Seto's voice was firm. The figure behind him began to dissolve, fading back into shadow.
"We shall see… my priest."
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Yugi and Otogi finally arrived at a row of shabby, run down buildings near the outskirts of the half destroyed city. The windows of the grimy buildings had long since been boarded up, not allowing the tiniest hint of 'sunlight' to shine through. Not that it would have helped any. True sunlight didn't exist beneath the ever-present shroud of clouds that covered Domino. Only the slight lightening of those clouds distinguished night from day.
Glancing around, Otogi led Yugi around the back of one of those buildings to a heavy old cellar door built leading into the building's basement. Yugi stood by as Otogi leaned over the door, twisting one of the handles to it's side and rapping three times sharply.
The ancient wood and metal door groaned loudly as the hinges turned and a crack appeared. A pair of dark eyes glanced out, eyeing them carefully before a slightly tanned hand was held out. Otogi grinned, beckoning to Yugi, who nervously took the offered hand and slipped inside. Making sure his hood was still in place, Yugi looked up to see Otogi leap down into the darkness.
Their greeter shut the heavy door and turned the latch. From a small alcove near the door, Otogi lifted out an old lamp and lit it, Causing Yugi to jump at the sudden light. The young man who had opened the door for them frowned, dark brown eyes narrowing slightly. At a look from Otogi, the man sighed, running a hand through his dark brown hair.
"Do you know where Isis is?" Otogi asked him. The man nodded.
"She's in the main room, for a change. Probably knew you were coming back," he replied, his voice sounding mildly tired.
"Thanks Honda." Honda blinked, raising an eyebrow. Compared to how he had once looked in the past, the tall brunette's hair was less ridged, slightly longer and wilder, and his eyes held a faint touch of weariness within them. The dark eyed man yanked Otogi's sleeve, sending the emerald-eyed man a suspicious look.
"Aren't you going to tell me who this is?" he asked. Otogi gave him a playful grin and wink.
"You'll see." And with that he guided Yugi ahead, leaving a confused, slightly dumbfounded Honda behind.
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Author's note: And next chapter, we'll finally meet Isis ^_^ Hope you're enjoying so far.
Honda: So… who was that?
Otogi: *grins*Yugi: *sheepishly tugs at hood*
Seto: And since when have you decided to pick on me?
All: *strange look*
*hisses* They. Don't. Know. Yet. Baka!
Seto: *eye twitch* Damn author…
See ya around next time. ^^ Please Review!