Chapter Thirteen- The Past Returns

-Ryou-

"Ow, ow, OUCH!!" I cried at the last step through a thorny bush. Y-yami, are you sure you know where we're going?

Bakura grunted at me. ((Positive.))

I sighed in discontent. This was not how I had hoped I'd spend my Saturday evening, trudging around in the mud, on the whim of my yami. I suppose though I should be grateful. He could be beating me to death after my disobeying him and him losing all his energy to the shadow realm.

((Damn right.))

I shuddered. Bakura had reappeared so abruptly at home I couldn't help but do exactly as he said. He's not the kind of person you threaten twice. Heck, I'm surprised I did that once.

((Ggrr, I said go left here, not right!!))

I looked from the left to the right. ((The right path looks better yami and-))

A few choice words on his side of our mind connection, and I was soon getting stuck with stickers, and not the type you stick on coloring books. He's just doing this on purpose. There's nothing on this path that the other path couldn't take me to, and it would be safer too. At Bakura's growling, I quickly shut off my thoughts. I didn't need to give him any more of a reason to beat me than he already had.

((Now go through those bushes.))

I did and, unfortunately, they also had thorns in them. Oh, my aching feet.

((Oh, shut up.))

I looked up to see Joey, Yugi and Kaiba in the clearing. Joining them was a fourth mysterious person who I had never seen before. "Hi guys." I said in a less than cheerful way. Joey ran towards me. He looked as though he didn't know whether to be happy or worried.

"Hey Ryou. How'd you get 'ere?"

I tried a smile but it didn't work, "Bakura told me to come here."

-Normal-

"Why?" Joey was curious about many things that had to do with Bakura, but at the moment, something that had to do with Ananias sounded more important.

The albino boy turned his head down for a moment. When he spoke again, it was Bakura's voice coming from his mouth, "I sensed a great deal of shadow magic coming from this area and I had to know what it was. It would appear that this enemy that the pharaoh's vessel is presently fighting is the source of this power."

Joey was shocked, "How? He doesn't have a millennium item, and I thought that you had to have one to use the shadow realm."

"The shadow realm is not a toy to be used at one's leisure; it is meant to feed on the darkest feelings in a person's heart. When someone feels an abnormal amount of anger or hate the shadows feed on that anger and manipulate it.

"The millennium items were used as channels to control the power of the shadow realm without anger. The items could somewhat 'cancel' the power of darkness, and make a level playing field with the combatants. It was necessary because a person without shadow magic could never defeat a person who did have it."

"But then Yugi can't beat him!"

Bakura shrugged, "Not my problem now. I was just curious." The yami closed his eyes and gave Ryou control again. Ryou blinked his eyes a couple times and had the look on his face that said, 'I still have no clue what's going on.'

"Yugi! Listen!!" Joey screamed at his best friend.

Yugi spoke quietly to start out, "I heard what he said, Joey. But I don't care!" Yugi's eyes flashed at the blonde, "I'm not going to let this jerk see me weak!" He looked at his opponent. "Finish up your turn, Ananias!"

"Alright then, I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn."

Yugi drew. I'll show them who's going to beat who. "I sacrifice my Alpha the Magnet Warrior for the all-powerful Summoned Skull!"

Ryou watched the demonic beast of lightning come to the field. "So... why exactly is Yugi dueling?"

The blonde duelist sighed, "Long story short: if he doesn't duel, Mokuba's a goner." Ryou opened his mouth to ask something, but decided against it and just nodded.

"Now Summoned Skull, attack his Luster Dragon!" Yugi's monster's eyes glowed red before carrying out the attack on Ananias's dragon. Yugi then took one card from his hand, "Now I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Ananias drew a card and smirked, "Your demon monster's arrival will be short-lived. I activate the magic card known as Fissure." As the card activated, a hole began forming underneath Yugi's side of the field. "That hole will destroy the monster with the lowest attack points on your side of the field. Seeing as how your Summoned Skull is the only monster you have, it is sent to the graveyard." The hole continued to grow until it was large enough for the Summoned Skull to fall. "Next I summon the Lord of Dragons in attack mode! Attack Yugi's life points directly!"

"Reverse card open!" Yugi's trap card flipped face-up, "Spellbinding Circle! I know the effect of your monster, which protects dragon cards, but your Lord of Dragons is still vulnerable to my magic and trap cards!" A glowing circle wrapped around the monster's waist and stopped its attack.

"Ugh, fine. I end my turn here."

Yugi drew. Raigeki. If I use that card, I can wipe out all his monsters, but I don't have any monsters to attack him with. If I save it for my next turn, I can direct attack him with whatever monster I get, but he may sacrifice his monsters to summon a stronger one that could wipe out the rest of my life points. "I activate Raigeki! This card destroys all monsters on the opponent's side of the field!" Lord of Dragons and Anny's facedown monster, The Dragon Dwelling in the Cave, were destroyed and left the field barren. "I end my turn with that."

"Not much else you can do right now, huh Yugi?" Ananias drew, with the slightest look of worry on his face. I have to get a monster this turn; otherwise I'll be open for an attack like Yugi was. The worry disappeared from his face, "I summon the monster called Grey Wing!" A small scaly dragon appeared, "I attack your life points directly with my new monster!" The creature bit hard into Yugi's right leg as Yugi screamed in pain.

Crap. It didn't do that much damage to my life points, but it really hurt. Yugi hopped around holding his leg before the pain subsided. "Is that all?"

Ananias laughed, "Yes I suppose that is all. You'll lose next turn anyway, so I'll watch you squirm during your last moments in this duel."

"Ch-cheerful." The tiny boy coughed. He thought to himself. This is probably my last shot. If I don't beat him this turn, my life points are so low, it won't matter if I hold him off this turn. I'm not even sure... that I have a chance to win at all.

"Finally accepted that you got rid of Yami because of you being jealous of him?"

Yugi glanced at him, "What do you mean?"

"It's simple. You never really won any duels on your own." Ananias taunted, "Yami always won them for you."

Yugi interrupted, "I was able to save Joey on my own!"

"If it hadn't been for your friend here, you'd still be at the bottom of the sea." The raven-haired duelist continued, "I'll bet that Yami thought next time that happened, Joey wouldn't be there, so he wouldn't let there be a next time." Anny's gaze deepened, "You wouldn't have that though, so you did the only thing to get out of his shadow: you got him out of the picture." He laughed, "Am I right?"

Yugi didn't answer. I didn't really think about it the first time he told me, but now... Is he right? I... haven't wanted Yami around really, and I guess I've wanted to duel again. But it can't be! I've always thought of my friends first. I'm like that, aren't I? This is a fine time to be rethinking my motives.

"Let's go, Yugi!" Ananias said impatiently.

The tiny boy didn't answer. Maybe... maybe I do miss Yami. A lot. I know I've been anti-Yami for awhile now, but I guess, I know that even being blocked out by Yami couldn't compare to this... loneliness I'm feeling right now. "Yami... please come back." A single tear fell down Yugi's face and onto his backpack. When it touched, Yugi could have sworn he heard, 'It's okay, aibou', before a bright light blinded them all.

Joey covered his eyes with his arms and shut his eyes tight, "Ah, man. I can't even see myself think." The blonde noticed the lack of light coming from between his arms. He was shocked to see that it was still dark, pitch black. "Ahhhh!! I'm blind!! Please!! Help me!!!" He grasped out into the dark to feel for something so that he'd know he wasn't just dreaming and felt hair, "Oh god, where am I?"

The darkness started to drip away, like water, and soon there was no sign of anything odd happening there, except that the Millennium Puzzle was resolved and back around Yugi's neck. When the tri-haired boy spoke with a regal and well-respected voice, everyone knew that Yami was back in control, "Don't worry, aibou. I won't leave you now."

Joey snapped back to reality when he noticed he wasn't blind and jumped around in his merry way, clinging to what he'd held onto in his 'blind spazz', "Yes!! Oh, it's never felt so good to see!! Sight is a wonderful thing!!"

The thing Joey held growled, "Let go or I break your arm." Joey looked at his hand to see a very disgruntled Bakura being held by the hair. "What don't you understand about 'Let go'?" Joey, not as spazzy, let go of the albino's hair and edged about four feet away from him. Bakura grunted again and let Ryou have control again.

Joey looked to see Yami back in the duel, "Mou hitori no Yugi."

The previous pharaoh smiled, "Hey, Joey. Would you like to fill me in?"

The blonde was about to answer, but Anny beat him to it, "Basically you're about to lose unless you can get a monster on the field. Is that good enough?"

"You know, I may not be up-to-date on everything in this time, and my ways are very old fashioned, but I do know that it is still rude to interrupt someone." Yami glared at his opponent, "But I would like a chance to look over what's happened here." With that he checked the cards in his graveyard and, much to the displeasure of Ananias, his opponent's graveyard. He thought out the whole thing and knew there was one solution.

(You have to quit.)

(What?)

(There's no way to win against him, I screwed up.)

(There is one way.)

Yami drew. Yes! He looked up with confidence, "Ananias, you'll pay for intruding in the hearts of Yugi and his friends. Now, I play the card Valkyrion the Magna Warrior! With its effect, I can sacrifice it to summon the three Magnet Warriors from my graveyard! And believe me, they have enough power to take you down!! Now attack!!"