A/N: The mindlessness continues…and plenty of it. This is my longest chapter so far, and I think possibly my best. Took me an age to type up, so I really would appreciate it if you reviewed. Although this chapter features a duel, it isn't the main event, and the characters themselves aren't very concerned with it until later on. I myself dislike the entire duelling aspect of Yu-gi-oh, and I only included a duel because the story seemed to go naturally towards one. Also, I find it acts as a sort of backbone, something which is always there in the background and which the characters find slightly reassuring because it is the only constant thing happening, and it is something they can return to, something to draw their minds back to reality. I tried to explain the events of the duel clearly, for the benefit of those who aren't too familiar with how duelling happens in Yu-gi-oh.

Oh, and in answer to questions asked/things to be cleared up: when Yami Malik says that it is all Malik's fault that his life is 'fucked up' because he did things like running away from home, etc. keep in mind that Yami Malik set everything off by killing Malik's father. Shadi then came along and told Malik that 'it is the will of the Pharaoh' so Malik runs away and starts Operation The Pharaoh Will Die. That's basically what happened, anyway.

In answer to other questions: yes, this is a three-person duel. Malik and Yugi verses Ryou. To make up for the fact that Ryou is outnumbered, the turns go as follows – Ryou, Yugi, Ryou, Malik. More explanations will follow at the end.

Warnings: Mucho bad lingo, violence, psychotic hikaris.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Fasten your seatbelts, all Malik and Bakura fans, it's going to be a bumpy ride...

Chapter Seventeen: A Hikari's Revenge

For a moment there was only an uneasy silence. Then Will whispered, "I don't understand. How…how can he do this?" He was staring avidly at Ryou. "I…I thought only spirits could do this sort of thing. You know, shadow powers or whatever you call it. How can he do it?"

"I think we'd all like to know that," Malik answered him.

Yami shrugged, an un-Pharaoh like gesture. "What is there to know? It seems there can only be two possible explanations to me. It could just be the Tomb Robber playing around. Just because the Ring isn't glowing doesn't mean it isn't him doing all this."

"It can't be Bakura," Malik said with certainty. "And I'm not just saying that because he's my friend," he added defensively, as Lyra shot him a disbelieving glance. "He's in worse condition than the Pharaoh. He'd never be strong enough to do this."

"What's the other possibility?" Will asked quietly.

The spirit hesitated. "Its so ludicrous I hardly want to suggest it."

"What?" Malik asked sharply.

"He…he could have been born like that. With shadow powers. Its not totally impossible."

"But we've known Ryou for more than three years," Yugi interjected. "No way could he have managed to keep them hidden from us for all that time."

"He might not have known about them. Things like that sometimes wait until you're older before surfacing. Not to mention that if he'd used them at all the Tomb Robber would find out. They might just have been…buried all this time."

"So how could they come out? And why now?"

"It's possible he could have been mentally suppressing them all this time. Without realising, obviously. But they might have chosen to come out now because his strong emotions and the fact that he was asleep meant his mental guard fell."

"What sort of strong emotions?"

"Fear. For the Tomb Robber. Or of him. And possibly anger."

Yugi made a dismissive sound. "Aibou, Ryou never gets angry."

"Exactly. It's the quiet ones you always have to watch out for. The ones who bottle up their feelings, never letting them out. Until one day they can't take it any more."

"My Ra," Malik whispered. "We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"That is one way of putting it, yes."

"Are you finished analysing me yet?" came a bored voice. "Because if so, I would like to duel you today."

Timidly, Lyra said in a hushed voice, "I…think you should do as he says. I'm not trying to be a wimp or anything but I don't think you should make him angry. He might hurt you."

"Might?" Ryou echoed. He gave a demonic smile. "Weakling, you and the rest of your friends are going to get hurt whether I get angry or not. The only question is who will get hurt first."

Yami raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Yugi said quietly to Malik, "You know who he's starting to remind me of? The other you."

The Egyptian gazed at the ground as if he hadn't heard.

Noticing the way Ryou was tapping his foot on the ground, Will pointedly nudged Malik, who looked up and gave a resigned sort of shrug.

"Fine, lets just get on with this." He and Yugi took their places behind the podiums and waited.

"Oh, one last thing." Yami's voice was very casual. "Try and win quickly. As this is a shadow game, every lifepoint lost is going to feel like hell."

"Thanks so much for the encouraging advice," Malik said in an undertone.

The smoke behind him swirled upwards, and then formed into the shape of three chairs. Will fought the urge to laugh at this as he sat down. "At least he doesn't expect us to stand around."

"Allow me to correct you," Ryou said silkily. "I don't expect you to be capable of standing once I've finished with you."

This remark effectively killed what was left of their optimism.

Ryou placed his deck in position, while indicating Malik and Yugi should do the same. They all drew five cards, and Ryou started his turn by drawing a sixth one.

"So, what actually happens in a duel?" Will said suddenly. The loudness of his voice caused Malik and Yugi to turn around and stare at him for a moment. "I mean, is it the same as when Yugi showed me at the inn or do you do it differently?"

He received blank looks in answer. "What…what do you mean?" Malik said uncertainly. To him and Yugi, playing Duel Monsters was part of their lives. They'd forgotten how strange it looked to an outsider.

Yami explained. "We use holograms to give the monsters the illusion of reality. To add to this, the concept of having lifepoints to show your score is tied in with your real energy. This is especially appropriate when turning the safety settings off on a duel disk, which is like a portable arena so you can have a duel anywhere, or when the duel takes place in the Shadow Realm. In other words, the more lifepoints you lose the weaker you feel. This is generally accompanied by pain, usually spiritual."

"Sounds fun," Lyra commented sardonically.

"Actually, it's extremely popular back in our world."

"Fine."

Yami's attention turned back to Ryou, who had set two cards face down and was waiting silently. "Aibou, I think it's your turn."

"Oh. Okay." Sounding slightly confused, Yugi drew. (Aibou, you'll help me, right? We always duel together.)

((Of course I will.)) His lighter half adjusted the way he was holding his hand so that Yami could see the cards too. He didn't really feel like getting up, and was quite content just to sit in his chair and watch. Ryou was giving off so much excess shadow-power that it was making Yami a little stronger, just for now, and he could even feel his own powers beginning to return. They hadn't exactly left, but before he hadn't had the strength to use them.

Feeling strange duelling without his Dark Magician, Yugi decided to summon its female counterpart - the aptly named Dark Magician Girl. She smiled at him, twirling her staff easily in one hand.

Ryou's certainly making these monsters realistic, Yami thought. It makes Kaiba's Duel Disks look like children's toys.

"Attack the face-down card!" Yugi indicated the one on the left.

Ryou flipped it over to reveal Earthbound Spirit, and the monster rose up to counter the magician's blow. It had 2000 defence points, the same as Dark Magician Girl's attack, and so it was a draw. No losses for either side. At least, not for now.

Coolly, the monster was tributed to summon the Dark Ruler Ha Des, and the grotesque monster leered at Yugi before lashing out, sending him staggering back. Yami was out of his seat and beside his other half in an instant.

"Aibou?"

"I…I'm fine." Yugi was trembling in his arms. "That h-hurt."

…………..

Ryou: 4000 Yugi: 3550 Malik: 4000

…………..

"It's called pain," a familiar didactic and somewhat condescending voice said.

Malik looked round uncertainly, recognising the voice yet scarcely able to believe he could be here. "Bakura?"

"The one and only." The spirit looked at his other half, then at the ground, then his eyes flicked yet again to Ryou.

"Why did you take so long to appear on the scene?"

"Actually, I've been trying to split off for the last ten minutes," the spirit shot back. "But Ryou kept holding me back. I only succeeded just now because he was laughing so hard at the pain the Pharaoh's Pet was in that he let his mental guard down."

Will looked up, and saw with a shiver that Ryou was sniggering silently. "My God. I can't believe Ryou is doing something like this. He's normally so nice."

Malik agreed. "I know what you mean. Hell, Bakura, Ryou's acting like you when you duel. You must be rubbing off on him."

Bakura glared at him, unamused. "Are you implying that I approve of this?"

Startled by the venom in his voice, Malik answered, "No, of course not."

"You'd better not be. I'm fully aware this is all my fault, so there's no need for anyone else to rub it in."

"You're not blaming yourself just because Ryou happens to be a part of you, are you?" Lyra questioned. "Because I don't see how all this is your fault."

"Oh really?" the spirit retorted. "Isn't it obvious?" He clenched his fists. "Ryou's sleepwalking because he has all these conflicting emotions and he doesn't feel that he can confide in anyone about them. Not Yugi, not the Pharaoh, not Malik, not me. Especially not me."

"I see what you mean about it always being the quiet ones," Will said to Yami. The Puzzle-spirit merely shrugged.

Pantalaimon had jumped into Bakura's arms, a look of understanding on his face. "This is because you hurt him before, isn't it?" he whispered.

The spirit hesitated before giving a reluctant nod. "What am I supposed to do?" he murmured fiercely. "I can't stop him. No one can."

Pan licked his face as Bakura sat down in another chair, signs of his inner struggle clearly visible on his face. The daemon rolled onto his back, all four legs waving hopefully in the air. Bakura sighed and tickled his stomach with a slender finger, slightly mollified. "You know what he's dreaming right at this very moment? That I'm hurting him." He clutched the puppy-daemon to him like a favourite toy.

Malik growled softly and averted his eyes.

On the other side of the duelling field, Ryou snickered. "Aw, you feeling left out, Malik?"

Everyone looked slowly up. Ryou was grinning maliciously, even as he mentally reached out and began to look into the Egyptian's mind. "Its all here, you know. I can read you like a book, Malik. How do you like that, hmm?" His grin widened. "Tut tut, yami, you do treat your friends badly. Poor Malik here thinks you don't like him anymore. He thinks you prefer Pantalaimon. How sweet. He's jealous."

"Get out of my head!" Malik screamed. He backed away, clutching his head, and somehow met Bakura's eyes. The spirit was staring at him in total shock, seeing him in a new light.

"Am…am I really like that?" he whispered.

"It d-doesn't matter. Shut up."

"My Ra…" Bakura dropped Pantalaimon like a lead weight. The next moment he had picked him up again, holding him forgotten in one hand, as he stared at Malik. "Why…why didn't you tell me…?"

"Fuck off." The Egyptian avoided his eyes. "Summon Drillago. And set a card face down." He shoved the cards in place with barely restrained violence, hands shaking. He couldn't explain why but at that moment he hated Bakura with every part of his body.

"Someone's getting angry…" Ryou chanted in a singsong voice.

This time it was Bakura who said it. "Ryou, shut up!"

A smile. "Of course, my dear yami. Anything you say." He drew. "Dark Ruler Ha Des, direct attack!"

Yugi let out a terrified sound and shrank away from the forthcoming blow. In a sudden moment of conscience, Malik flipped over his face down card. "Activate Holding Arms!"

Ryou's monster let out an angry snarl as it was encased in arm-shaped ropes, paralysing it. With a grateful smile at Malik, Yugi summoned King's Knight, and hid it under one of three Magical Hats.

Ryou shrugged at this, and brought onto the field none other than Yugi's Dark Magician, accompanying the action with another provocative smirk. As if to show his opinion of Malik protecting Yugi, he directed the monster at the Egyptian's Drillago. Malik gasped and clutched his arm, feeling as if someone had slashed it down to the bone. He now didn't blame Yugi's reaction. The Pharaoh had been right: every lifepoint felt like a searing wound.

………

Ryou: 4000 Yugi: 3550 Malik: 3100

……….

Ryou had also set a card face down. Malik eyed it suspiciously through the ringing in his head. A trap? Or just a bluff? After thinking for a moment, he used his newly-drawn card, Rope of Life, to bring back Yugi's Dark Magician Girl with an extra 800 attack points, and attacked his opponent's monster.

"Activate trap!" Ryou proclaimed in obvious delight. "Fearful Earthbound!"

Yet Dark Magician howled and vanished. Malik's confusion increased. What had the trap achieved?

His question was answered as his own lifepoints went down and Ryou's went up. "What?" he whispered. The words choked in his throat as more pain washed over him.

………..

Ryou: 4200 Yugi: 3550 Malik: 2600

………..

"It's a continuous trap," a subdued voice said next to him. "Every time you attack him your lifepoints decrease by 500, and every time he loses a monster he gains 500 points."

"Oh." Malik looked around and saw Bakura standing next to him. His eyes were downcast, but as the Egyptian looked at him he met his eyes hesitatingly.

"He…he also has Premature Burial in his hand," he whispered haltingly. His tone carried a clear, if tentative, note of apology. "It's a bit like Monster Reborn. And he also has Puppet Master, and Portrait's Secret."

"Thank you," Malik said stiffly. He wasn't sure if he was quite ready to fully forgive Bakura yet.

"I…I'm sorry," the spirit whispered. "For…you know. Forgetting about you."

Malik tried his hardest to retain some vestige of his original anger, but Bakura had that expression on his face which Ryou was so good at, those damn puppy eyes. And his expression was tragic, mouth pulled down at the corners, and he did look genuinely sorry. The Egyptian sighed.

"Stupid bastard." He gave his friend an awkward hug, as best as he could do while holding his cards in one hand.

"I-I'll help you beat him," Bakura said quietly. "I can look through his eyes and see his hand. And I might be able to read his mind."

"Just as long as he doesn't hurt you."

"I'll be fine." Bakura seemed to be regaining a little of his old confidence. Turning to Yugi, he said, "Your magical hats won't work. Its almost like he's telepathic. He can sense which one the monster is hiding under."

The light nodded, looking grim. "Thanks."

Malik stared slowly at his cards. "End turn."

Ryou drew.

"He likes the Dark Magician," the spirit said suddenly. "I think he's going to revive it. Then attack-"

"Fuck you!" Ryou screamed. "You cheating bastard! Do I have to rip your fucking head off to get you to shut up?" His voice, tinged with shadow-fire, roared insanely around their minds.

For a minute there was only shocked silence. Then Bakura whispered in what sounded like a whimper, "…Oh my Ra. He's gone crazy."

"Yes." Yami's voice was slow, almost thoughtful. "I think he has."

"You think so?" Ryou breathed. His voice, before so out of control, was now quiet, soft, reasonable. The contrast was enough to make the group shudder. "What is insanity? It's just a title, a state of mind. A damning way of degrading those who are different. Those who have power."

"Now he's a megalomaniac?" Bakura murmured, in a tone so quiet none could hear him. "Make up your mind, Ryou."

"You never know when to shut up, do you?" Ryou said softly.

"No, I guess not."

"Shut the fuck up now!"

When the spirit shrugged, Ryou lost it completely. An immense blast of shadow-power hurled itself at Bakura, who only stared in disbelief. The old Bakura would have dodged it almost without thinking, but the spirit's reflexes were slowing with the waning of his strength and he just stood there.

Moments before he would have been blasted into oblivion, Yami made an impatient noise and, seizing his wrist, pulled him to one side. Instead of striking him square in the chest, the beam just grazed his side as it hurtled past. It struck the ground with a colossal explosion, and a smoking hole erupted.

Both yamis simply stood there, shocked by the force of the blow. Feeling as if he were in a dream, Bakura managed to stammer out, "Th-thanks Pharaoh."

Yami sighed and shook his head. "Don't worry about it." He touched the other spirit's side cautiously, and his fingers came away red. "Did he get you?"

Bakura winced, but attempted a careless shrug. "Its barely a scratch." He carefully peeled up his shirt and looked at the livid crimson stripe down his ribs in perfect indifference.

"'Kura, if that's what you call a scratch I'd hate to see what you'd consider a 'real wound.'" Malik came over to him, and Bakura gave a smile at the concern written on his face.

"I'll be fine, don't worry." He gave another smile, with an obvious effort. "Now back you go. You have a duel to win."

Personally, Malik was starting to think that if they survived the duel in one piece it would be an astounding achievement enough, never mind trying to win.

Ryou revived Dark Magician with his Premature Burial card, just as his yami had predicted he would. Staring intently at Yugi's three magical hats, he closed his eyes. A moment later they opened again, and he pointed calmly at the one on the left. "Attack!"

Yami clutched his lighter half in his arms as he shook, making tiny unconscious sounds of distress. "Sssh, aibou. Its okay."

………

Ryou: 3600 Yugi: 2650 Malik: 2600

………

Yugi straightened, and everyone saw his face was pale and frightened. (Why do we have to do this?) he whispered fiercely.

((Don't worry. I'll help you duel.))

"The fuck you will," Ryou sneered. "Pharaoh, I can hear what you two are saying, and you make even one suggestion as to how he plays and I'll trap you in here for the rest of your eternal life. We'll see how well your little pet plays after that happens."

"Shut up," Yami said clearly.

"Speak to me like that again and I'll trap him here instead of you."

The spirit clenched his fists, eyes burning, before falling silent.

Ryou smiled at this, before setting another card facedown and ending his turn.

Out of nowhere a new person appeared next to Malik, who looked at him in loathing but said nothing.

Bakura also noticed the additional presence. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Watching," Yami Malik said promptly. "I can get a better view from here." He giggled. "Heh, this is funny, Tomb Robber. Your hikari's gone crazy."

"Fuck off," Bakura snapped. "I can only deal with one psycho at a time."

Ryou gave a devious smile. "Yami, you've made a point. Would you like me to get rid of one for you?"

Yami Malik suddenly let out a strangled sound and clutched his head. "Ow! Get off me!"

Ryou was laughing in obvious glee. "You may not be the only person who thinks I'm crazy, although that's a bit rich coming from you. But I'd much rather be crazy than weak."

The spirit twitched. "I'm not weak."

Another laugh, raucous and twisted. "That's the biggest load of bullshit I've heard in a long time. Look at yourself. You're not even strong enough to try and fight me."

Yami Malik closed his eyes as Ryou pushed harder, and the pressure inside his cranium increased.

"How does it feel being weak? Go on, tell me. I'm interested. Psycho."

Translucent flames flickered around the yami as he summoned the last dregs of his shadow powers in a desperate attempt to make Ryou leave him alone. But the teenager merely laughed.

"That's the best you can do? Pathetic."

He squeezed even more, and the flames around Yami Malik vanished as his shadow powers failed, rendering him completely defenceless. Now it was just a frightened child staring back at Ryou. The spirit's fantasy worlds had crumbled away along with his powers, forcing him to accept the cruel reality of the situation.

Ryou released him, scorn vibrating in every syllable of his sentences. "How could anyone be afraid of you? Without your shadow powers you're nothing. Come to think of it, you aren't much with them either."

Purple black flames rose up in front of the spirit, assuming the vague figures and images of his hallucinations, the nightmares from his dreams. They rippled towards him like fire on oil, gliding along the ground.

"Run, little psycho," Ryou whispered softly. "Run as fast as you can."

Yami Malik let out a terrified shriek and backed away, hitting the edge of the section of Shadow Realm Ryou had summoned. He clawed desperately at it. "Let me out!"

Ryou snorted with laughter as the wraith-like beings floated irrepressibly towards the petrified spirit.

"Come on. Lets play. I want to try and kill you. You may be immortal but you aren't indestructible."

The yami fled to his soul room. He breathed a shuddering sigh of relief, which morphed into a scream as a transparent Ryou appeared in his soul room. You can't get away that easily. He gave a high pitched giggle, imitating the way the spirit had used to do it.

(Yami?) Malik's voice floated uncertainly over to him.

((Get that crazy little thing away from me!))

Ryou laughed and vanished. The spirit waited until certain he was gone, then nearly collapsed with relief.

Outside, everyone saw Ryou's form, which had previously been slightly translucent, become solid again. "I'll let him go for now. Malik, tell the Psycho I'll get him tomorrow. It'll be fun."

The Egyptian shuddered.

"Don't you like what I did to him? Aren't you supposed to hate him?"

Malik wanted to say, I hate him but I wouldn't wish something like what just happened on anyone, not even him. But he stayed silent, and Ryou's eyes narrowed even further, crimson slits in his white face.

"No? Pity. After all, what happened to him was really a premonition of your own fate. And I don't intend to let you go."

Malik really didn't like the sound of this. He stared nervously back at Ryou who looked away, having lost interest in him. For now.

"Pharaoh, is your pet intending to continue taking part in this duel or not? I seem to recall it being his turn."

Yami growled softly and gently nudged his lighter half. Yugi drew, shakily, and slid a card under one of the two remaining magical hats.

Ryou selected the one which had previously been in the centre, and again it was the right one. The hat tipped upwards and the Dark Monster Ha Des collided with Big Shield Gardna.

Will looked taken aback. "…Why did he attack if his monster wasn't powerful enough to defeat yours?" His question was directed at Yugi, but it was Bakura who answered it.

"I think he can probably sense the energy the monster is giving off, and so can tell which hat it is under. But he doesn't know how strong it is." Ryou glared venomously at him, and the spirit swallowed. "I'll just shut up now."

"You do that." Ryou's tone was very controlled, very quiet.

"He attacked a monster in defence mode, so he didn't lose his own monster, only a few lifepoints." Yami's tone was also controlled, but with a visible effort. "And remember Fearful Earthbound? If he does lose his monster he'll gain 500 lifepoints."

"Oh." Will sounded almost subdued. "Then its quite a good card, isn't it?"

"Yes, for a trap card. But all trap cards can be vulnerable. We need to hope they draw a 'Remove Trap' card, or similar."

"They won't," Ryou stated coldly. He indicated his other monster on the field: the Dark Magician. "Attack Big Shield Gardna!"

Yugi gave something that was almost a satisfied grin, and revealed his face down card. "Activate Swords of Revealing Light!"

Will and Lyra gave an involuntarily gasp as the field was flooded with light.

"What does that card do?" Lyra questioned. "Apart from brighten the place up, I mean."

"It means that Ryou can't attack for three turns," Malik explained. He was feeling the first faint flicker of hope, a slight feeling that told him maybe they could win after all.

………

Ryou: 3500 Yugi: 2650 Malik: 2600

………

"As good as that may be, remember that you two still can't attack him. Not unless your monster has more than 500 more attack points. Otherwise you're just giving him more lifepoints." Bakura's words had the effect of cooling the excitement somewhat. "Or unless you draw a 'Remove Trap.'"

Trying to bear this in mind, Malik drew. The card, however, wasn't the one the two spirits had mentioned. Damn. He was sure he had a 'Remove Trap' somewhere in his deck.

"Dark Magician Girl, attack Dark Magician!"

"I never thought I'd be pleased to see Dark Magician destroyed," Yami mused.

"It isn't the proper Dark Magician," Yugi said stubbornly. "Ryou took it. And anyway, it doesn't look like the Dark Magician. It's all…weird."

He had a point. The Duel Monster had a sinister, twisted smile on its face quite different from usual, and there was something warped about its eyes. They glowed with the same fiendish blood-red as Ryou's did.

It vanished in a shower of rainbow sparks, howling. Malik placed a card facedown and ended his turn.

Ryou drew, and instantly a wide smile appeared on his face as he looked at the card. Like the Dark Magician, the expression was distorted, deformed from the innocent smile they all knew.

"I think he drew a good card," Bakura mumbled unnecessarily.

"I think he just lost a good card," Malik corrected with a grin. He flipped over his facedown card. "Activate Muko!"

Ryou looked up, his gaze questioning.

"Discard the card you just drew," the Egyptian said in satisfaction.

His opponent looked surprised. More than that: astonished. He looked at Malik as if querying whether he was sure, his eyes flicking from his new card to the Egyptian, then back to his card. Then, instead of withering and shrivelling up like a dry, dying flower, the grin spread even further across his face. Before sending the card to the graveyard, he turned the card up and briefly showed it to them. It was Dark Necrophia.

Malik, Bakura and Yami swore in unison, Arabic curses filling the air. When Yugi said nothing they looked at him expectantly, awaiting his reaction. Yugi's reply was to look mildly astonished. "Oh no. Fancy that happening."

Bakura looked as if he wanted to throttle him. Unfortunately the Pharaoh was in the way. "You…are you incapable of uttering obscenities?"

Yugi blinked several times. Hesitantly: "I don't really know. I don't think I've ever tried."

"Oh for the love of Ra!" Bakura now looked on the verge of having a spasm. "Say something you consider impolite. Anything. 'Fuck' will do." He was watching him closely.

"F-F-" Yugi made a few stammering attempts and gave up. "Um, fack?"

"Pharaoh, stand aside."

"Look, if he doesn't want to-"

"It's for his own good."

"What good will it do for him learning to swear?"

"You do it."

"That's different. I'm a dark half. I'm allowed to."

"Malik swears," Bakura expelled triumphantly. "And he's a hikari."

"That doesn't matter. We all gave up on Malik years ago."

"Hey!"

Bakura suddenly grinned. "I like that. The Pharaoh has a sense of humour after all. Face it Malik, you're nothing more than a wannabe yami."

"I should kill you for saying that."

Yami was trying unsuccessfully not to laugh. "You know, we're all inches away for being trapped in the Shadow Realm and all we can do is stand around and discuss how Malik is a wannabe yami."

"Well if you come to it, you're practically a wannabe hikari," Bakura said thoughtfully. "The way you fuck your light and everything-"

"Change of subject!" Yami said hurriedly. "Where were we with this duel?"

Bakura gave him a teasing look. "Seems like someone's in denial."

"Be quiet, commoner."

"Whatever. Anyway, this wannabe so-and-so stuff is getting a bit boring. Where were we? Ah yes. Malik fucked up."

"I didn't mean to," the Egyptian protested defensively. "How was I supposed to know he would draw that card?"

"I'm not blaming you." Bakura responded absently, his mind turning back to the duel. "And of course, with Dark Necrophia sleeping in the grave, you reveal field magic card Dark Sanctuary…"

"Coming right up," Ryou said sarcastically.

"So what does this thing do?" Will asked, gulping as the field turned even darker and hundreds of lid-less eyes appeared, all glaring at them.

"The Tomb Robber can tell you," Yami said. "I don't know all of Dark Necrophia's special effects."

"It means Ryou can play up to ten magic cards on the field at a time." The humour had completely vanished from Bakura's voice. "It also means that the Resentment Spirit is floating around our side of the field, possessing a different monster each turn. If you attack with the possessed monster, the attack is cancelled and it loses half of its attack points, which are directed back at you. It also hurts like hell."

"But if you chose a monster which isn't possessed, it attacks as normal?" Will questioned.

"It would, if Fearful Earthbound is got rid of. Ryou can see which monster is being possessed each go, but no one else can. And if he has a card called 'Dark Spirit of the Silent' in his hand, it allows him to change which monster the Resentment Spirit possesses, if his opponent tries to attack him with an unpossessed monster."

Lyra stared. "Is there any way of beating it?"

"Drawing 'De-spell' would work, if either of them have that card. Or 'Monster Reborn,' to raise Dark Necrophia. But until that happens…" The spirit didn't bother ending his sentence.

Ryou ended his turn.

Yugi reached out to draw.

((Trust in the heart of the cards, aibou.))

He nodded.

"I wasn't helping him," Yami added coolly to Ryou.

The teenager shrugged. "I know that. I also fail to see how that cliché can possibly be of help to anyone. But no matter. Please don't let me distract you." He gestured disdainfully to Yugi's deck. "Now hurry up and draw. I'm getting old here."

Bakura let out a snorting sound. Yami looked at him strangely. "What are you on?"

"Nothing. It was funny, that was all."

Ryou smiled eerily at him. "I'm glad you liked my sense of humour, dear yami of mine. You'll like it even more once I show you what I have in store for you."

Bakura abruptly stopped laughing. "What?"

Ryou's voice turned mocking. "Why should I tell you what I am going to do? You'll enjoy it more if it's a surprise."

The spirit shifted slightly, uncomfortable. Malik was also looking uneasy.

However, instead of enlightening them further Ryou simply looked at Yugi, his blood-tinged eyes glowing in the darkness. "You planning to draw?"

"Yes," the Puzzle-holder mumbled. He did so, and smiled, the expression lighting up the duelling area like a sunbeam. "I play Remove Trap!"

The group grinned broadly as Ryou's Fearful Earthbound vanished to the Graveyard. Ryou looked furious. Yugi then changed his Big Shield Gardna to defence mode and summoned Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts.

"End turn."

An expression of annoyance visible on his visage, Ryou summoned Terrifying Goblin Zombie and sacrificed it to Dark Necrophia. He was obliged to tribute one of his monsters to her each turn, to keep her special effects active. As you could only summon one monster to the field per go, it meant that he would only have one to attack with – the Dark Ruler Ha Des, which had been out originally. He couldn't attack anyway until one more turn had passed, thanks to Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light. Yugi and Malik were safe, for now.

Malik drew, and smirked. It was the same sort of triumphant smirk that had been on Ryou's face when he had drawn Dark Necrophia: the sort of expression you give when you have drawn the card, the one which will win you the duel, or at the very least cause total inconvenience for your opponent.

Seeing his expression, Yugi inquired, "What card did you draw?"

The Egyptian only smiled. "Give me a moment." He ran his eye over the field, counting silently. "Sacrifice Dark Magician Girl, Big Shield Gardna and Gazelle, King of Mythical Beasts to summon Winged Dragon of Ra!"

The three doomed monsters wailed despairingly as they were surrounded by black smoke and yanked sharply downwards as the sacrifice was accepted.

"So you have to offer other monsters as a tribute if you want to summon really powerful ones?" Will asked slowly.

"Yes. It depends on how high the level of the monster is as to how many monsters you offer. To summon Ra I have to give three." Malik gave an unconcerned smile as a ball of light burst into life on the field. "It's worth it though."

Yugi, however, was not so happy. "You…you bakamono! We're supposed to be working as a team! That means you can't just choose to sacrifice my monsters to benefit you!"

Bakura arched an eyebrow. "The Pharaoh's little pet said a 'bad word.' I'm impressed. Even if it was in Japanese."

Yami gave him a warning look. "Tomb Robber…"

"I'm not listening."

Cracks began to appear all over the orb, letting shafts of blinding light shine through. Then the shell fragments tumbled away, and it burst open to reveal Winged Dragon of Ra. Leathery wings created blistering winds around it as it roared forth its greeting through bursts of crimson flames.

"Now that is a cool monster!" Will exclaimed.

Malik smiled, pleased. "Thank you."

"What do you do with it now?" Lyra asked.

"There are three verses I have to chant that will give me control of it," the Egyptian explained. "Then I can-holy shit…!"

Will blinked. "How will that help you?"

Malik didn't hear him. He was gaping at his newly summoned monster, eyes nearly bulging out in horror and fury. "What the fuck did you do to it? You…you…"

Bakura followed his eyes, and immediately saw the problem– Winged Dragon of Ra's stats were displayed as 0000/5300.

"How the fuck did he do that?"

Ryou threw back his head and roared with laughter at their expressions. When he eventually calmed down he explained triumphantly: "Near the beginning of the duel I used Grave Robber to steal your Terror Strike card. I used it on the three monsters just as you sacrificed them."

"No," Malik whispered.

Ryou simply laughed even harder. "Yami, why are you looking so annoyed? Don't you like that card? It reminds me so much of you. Besides the obvious, it has so much in common with your nature. Like stabbing other people in the back…"

Bakura let loose a growl that made Lyra look at him in alarm.

"I see it now," Yami said slowly. "Clever of him. Very clever. He must have realised that with a God card out his Dark Sanctuary would be useless…"

Will tapped him on the shoulder. "Update please? What did Ryou do?"

Yami sighed. "Normally, when you sacrifice three monsters to summon God of Ra, the stats of the sacrificed monsters are combined together to make up Ra's stats. But Ryou used a card to sap the attack power of the three monsters down to 0, meaning that Winged Dragon of Ra has 0 attack. The attack points which were lost are also added onto Ryou's lifepoints. And it was a well-timed move because God cards are immune to Magic cards and possession, so he had to use it before the monster was summoned."

"My God."

…………

Ryou: 7900 Yugi: 2650 Malik: 2600

…………

Tanned hand shaking uncontrollably, Malik changed God of Ra to defence mode and ended his turn. His face was deathly white from shock, and there was a sort of hopelessness in the way he rotated the card sideways.

Ryou was grinning from ear to ear. "I know I'm going to enjoy this. Which is why I'll do it as slowly as possible. Prolonging the agony makes it so much better to watch."

Agonisingly slowly, he drew. He glanced at the card in a dismissive fashion, before summoning Jowgen the Spiritualist. Activating its special effect, he discarded a card from his hand and chose to destroy Winged Dragon of Ra.

"Now, direct attack!!!"

The Dark Ruler Ha Des shrieked in reply and hurled itself down the field at Malik. The Egyptian cried out as white-hot lances of pain drove themselves into his body, the force throwing him backwards to the ground.

Ryou laughed again, more bitterly. "You think this is pain? You have no idea what real pain feels like. Something more like this."

He lashed out with his shadow powers and Malik screamed, feeling as if his whole body was aflame. Agony exploded in his back and he rolled over, limbs tingling from the aftermath but he didn't care; he just wanted the pain in his back to go. It flared even more, until he was nearly blinded with the pain, and then there was the sensation of being smothered in a thick black blanket as he lost consciousness.

Will stared at Ryou in disgust. "You sadist."

An indulgent smile. "Wrong half." His eyes bored into his yami like lasers. "Aren't you going to help him?" Ryou whispered. "Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"

Rooted to the spot, his body rigid with disbelief, Bakura suddenly snapped out of it and rushed to the Egyptian's side.

To the surprise of everyone Yami also did so, bending down next to him. He carefully placed a hand on Malik's shoulder, and Bakura felt the sudden tinge of nearby magic.

The light opened his eyes slowly. "…Where am I?" He looked around, before groaning aloud. "Oh Ra, not here. Anywhere but here." He put out a hand and struggled upright, Bakura supporting him.

"I'll get him for this, don't worry," the spirit whispered.

Ryou gave a sour, biting laugh. "Yes, you'll get me. Just like all the other times. Remember them, yami? All those times you hurt me?"

Bakura clenched his fists. "You deserve it right now."

"Oh I always deserved it. I always deserved to be beaten up, kicked around, hit until I cough up so much blood I choke on it. They don't know what I'm talking about." He indicated the group with a dismissive wave of his hand. "You want me to show them what I mean? What it looks like? How it feels?"

Bakura shifted his position very slightly. He could feel Malik starting to shake again. Suddenly he let out an exclamation and made a grab for his Item, just as Bakura and Yami felt the familiar pungent tang of Shadow magic. Black flames shaped into the form of hands were tugging at the Millennium Rod, previously nestled safely in the Egyptian's pocket. There was a brief tug of war, which Ryou won.

The Item hovered in the air, supported by a column of swirling smoke. Ryou activated it – How? Malik thought. I'm the only one who can use it – and a large window was drawn in the air, using the bottom of the Rod like a pencil. But this wasn't a way into another world; instead it was a view into the past, a memory.

………………

Get up, yadonushi. But he couldn't, it hurt too much. He tried-

Do as I tell you. Somehow he forced himself to stand. Then out of nowhere came the contemptuous kick, and he fell back against the wall. There was something in his mouth, something warm, salty…

Oh God, it was blood. His blood. And he was screaming silently at himself not to swallow it, the only other option being spitting it out. But he couldn't breathe; he could almost feel it clogging his lungs, his stomach –

His yami watching emotionlessly as he retched, then with an effort coughed it up, throat raw and red. The splatter as clots of it hit the floor. The redness. And here was redness in his vision now, and black, and he knew he would pass out. Which was okay, because then the pain would end.

Sharp pain in his ankle, slamming him back into unwelcome reality. And blood was flying through the air, and it was coming from his mouth, which meant there was more of it – oh God no, please no, not more-

Tortured, laboured breaths of air, breathing while he still could. Someone help, there has to be someone…anyone…

Why won't Malik help? Is he going to just stand and watch? Come on, please help me…

And he met the purple eyes and for a moment joy bubble up within him and he thought, yes, he'll help…and then the slight shake of the head.

Fight your own battles.

But why…won't he…help-

Aww, you want help yadonushi? Another kick. Who the hell do you think would want to help you? A pause of understanding. You think Malik will help you? He doesn't care. He turns to his friend. You want to help him?

No. Why should I care? His tone very casual. Nothing important is happening. Why should he be concerned?

I think he's disappointed now. Isn't that sweet? You thought Malik would help you out, didn't you hikari? Go on then. Beg for help.

He is shoved forward, stumbling. And the disgust on Malik's face is more wounding than any physical blow. He despises me…

For Ra's sake Bakura, don't bring him near me. I don't want blood all over my clothes.

………….

Silence as the memory ends. Then more silence, but the loudest silence they've ever heard.

"…My God," Lyra breathed at last. Her eyes travelled over to Bakura and Malik. The former was staring at his lighter half, and the latter was gazing carefully at the ground. "You…you two were total bastards to him…"

No one said anything. Ryou was still staring at his other, and it was Bakura who shuddered and looked away.

((Ryou, don't…))

"Don't what?" Ryou snarled. "Show them what you did to me? Or even show you how it feels? Exactly how it feels?"

"…This is why you did all this, wasn't it?" Bakura said dully. "The duelling, everything…just a sideline. For the main event…getting back at me."

"And I'll do it, make no mistake. I'm going to put you through just as much pain as I went through, all those times you hurt me."

The spirit stared at the ground, silently bracing himself. He could deal with physical pain; hell, he could even enjoy it. Even when it happened to himself.

"I know you can," Ryou murmured softly. "You really do love pain, don't you? Any type of physical pain, to other people or yourself. But are you as good at dealing with other types?"

"…What do you mean?" Bakura whispered.

A laugh, radiating scorn. And above that, hatred. "I know I'll never break you by physically hurting you. You'd enjoy it too much. But can you stand it if someone else close to you gets hurt in your place? Until they're the one coughing up blood?"

Bakura's eyes travelled slowly around the group; passing over Yami and Will, pausing briefly on Pantalaimon, and finally stopping on Malik.

"No. Please don't…"

"Until he starts coughing up blood," Ryou whispered. "And until you break. Then, maybe, I'll stop."

Bakura's mouth opened in protest, but it withered in his throat. Raw shadow power slammed into Malik and he screamed, feeling as if he'd been punched in the gut.

"Screaming already?" Ryou crooned. "But I've hardly even begun…"

Acid was eating through his body, paralysing him, agonising him…Malik suddenly felt thick bile rise in his throat, along with something else. He coughed, involuntarily, and red liquid splattered onto the ground.

"Such a hypnotising tone," Ryou murmured. "The splatter as it hits the ground. And it's so red…"

The Egyptian gagged as he felt the warm liquid in his mouth, choking on the nauseating lumps. He coughed more up, lungs screaming for air, but the blood kept on coming; would keep on coming until Ryou chose to make it stop.

Bakura watched helplessly as the Egyptian's purple eyes clouded over and he collapsed.

"It isn't over. I can wake him up as many times as I want…"

Malik writhed on the ground, limbs curling instinctively into the foetal position. He choked, and was forced to uncurl as blood lodged in his throat, obstructing his windpipe. It felt as if an invisible hand was closing over his oesophagus, and he felt dizzy, head spinning round and round as if he were on a rollercoaster. But despite this his senses were still working, and he could feel all too clearly every fresh agony Ryou was inflicting. Pulling himself up onto all fours, his limbs trembled uncontrollably as he vomited, the expelled substance not only blood but food from his last meal. Then there was more water, and he knew the enforced throwing up when there was nothing left to meant the lining of his stomach was probably ripped. This explained why the blood was now darker, the lumps and clots all too visible.

"Ow…"

Ryou gripped his mind and yanked hard, and the Egyptian let out a tiny whimper. At Ryou's bidding more blood filled his mouth, choking down the pitiful sound.

"Stop it!" Bakura shouted. "You fucking bastard, leave him alone!"

"Or what?" Ryou questioned quietly.

"Or I'll hurt you. I'll hurt you so much the things I did before will look like nothing. I'll send you to the fucking Shadow Realm, you little bastard, and see what you have to say for yourself then! Fuck you!"

Silence.

"Well now, my dear yami," Ryou said almost caressingly. "You have fucked up now, haven't you? The rest of the group were just beginning to feel sorry for you."

Bakura was screaming in his fury. "I don't care what they think! I don't care what anyone thinks! Fuck it, leave him alone or I'll march right over to you and hit you until you fall over, you-"

"You can't," Ryou said matter-of-factly. "If you or any of the group leave your half of the arena, you forfeit the duel."

"Shut up about the fucking duel!"

Ryou made a disdainful movement with his hand. "Fine then. Go ahead and try it. Cause all your friends to get trapped in the Shadow Realm. See if I care."

"Fine! I will!"

Lyra gasped. "But…!"

"You see what he is like when he gets angry?" Ryou remarked in a conversational, almost bored tone to the group as a whole. "You were starting to think he wasn't so bad, weren't you? But you don't know him until you see him angry. Then you see what he is really like."

"Fuck that!"

"I rest my case."

"Yadonushi, shut the fuck up!"

"Hmm, your beloved 'y' word. I was wondering how long it would take for you to use it. So much more natural than 'hikari' or 'Ryou,' isn't it? It comes so easily to you." He paused. "Do you know what one calls things like you? Something that lives off its host, sapping his strength, while convincing itself that what it is doing is natural and right? A parasite. That's what you are."

Bakura let out an animal snarl, and made as if to march over to Ryou, but Malik reached out weakly and tugged at his jeans.

"Bakura, don't. He's only goading you."

"Ah, the voice of reason," Ryou said in an almost dreamy voice. "Comes in many forms, doesn't it?"

The Ring-spirit's eyes blazed crimson, and Malik was suddenly struck by the likeness between them. He staggered upright, and immediately Bakura turned to help him, putting an arm around his shoulders. Malik winced and shrank away. "Careful. My back…it h-hurts…"

"Sorry," the spirit whispered apologetically. Malik could hear the tremble of anger in his voice.

Feeling the Egyptian's muscles throbbing in his back, Bakura said very quietly, "Should I have a look in case anything's broken or something?"

"If you want." Malik was still gasping slightly.

Carefully, respectfully, Bakura rolled up his shirt to reveal the carvings of the Pharaoh's memories underneath.

"Wow," Will said in awe. "Are they tattoos?"

"Of a sort," their owner said in a strained voice. He winced again as Bakura ran his fingers lightly over them, feeling for any bumps.

"I think you're okay. But you should sit down." He struggled with the Ring for a moment or two, and a chair rose up from the smoke pawing at their feet.

"He has to stay within his area of the field," Ryou recited.

"For Ra's sake, don't you care about anything except the shitty duel?"

"Plenty, as I think I've already proven. I'm only stating the conditions. I've already told you the duellists will be trapped for eternity in the Shadow Realm if they don't abide by them."

Bakura simply stared at him in disgust. "You really are a fucking bastard, Ryou."

"'Ryou,' is it now? What happened to 'yadonushi'?"

His yami ignored him. "Okay Malik, just lean on me. Seeing as that bastard won't let you even sit down."

Ryou began to hum softly.

"Cut that out."

The teenager stopped. "Did you give me a chance to sit down when you hurt me? No, it was 'get up yadonushi and stop whimpering, the pain isn't so bad once you get used to it.' You want me to play fair? Yami, you're the last person who can talk about fairness. As for him-" he jerked his head at Malik- "he deserves everything that happens to him. He's just as bad as you."

"Oh yes? And what has he done?"

"Oh, nothing whatsoever," Ryou answered softly. "Just sat and watched. And did nothing. But that's just as bad, after all. Isn't it, Pharaoh?" He mimicked, "Sitting there and watching someone getting abused is just as bad as doing the abuse."

Bakura's face turned white with rage. To Yami: "You! You put all these ideas into his head, you…"

"Actually, he didn't," Ryou murmured. "The Pharaoh would never bring himself to interfere in other people's affairs, would you?"

Yami didn't say anything.

"Not denying it, are we? In fact we're staying nice and silent, hmmm? That's certainly a change from usual. You're normally more than happy to tell me what I should be doing to stop the Tomb Robber beating me up. But as for actually doing anything, well that would be interfering, wouldn't it?"

Yami was stung into replying. "What did you want me to do?"

"Nothing that you would find particularly strenuous." Ryou appeared to be thinking for a minute. "Maybe something along the lines of telling him to leave me alone, and then actually making sure he does it, instead of feeling so proud of yourself and walking off again. You see, I would do this all myself-" as Yami opened his mouth to protest- "but there's the small drawback that he can take over my body whenever he wants."

Yami was steeling himself to remain calm, and not make the same mistakes in his replies as the Tomb Robber had. "…Perhaps you have a point," he said quietly. "I should have made more of an effort to help you." Inside he was practically reeling at his own blindness. How could he not have seen something like this coming? Had he not even managed to get Ryou to admit some of his feelings?

Don't you hate them? Both of them?

I…don't know. Maybe on the inside. But not on the surface.

That's as good as a yes, Ryou.

It had been a yes, Yami thought suddenly. Ryou had even admitted that he had probably buried his feelings deep. And he, Yami, had foolishly left it at that. Oh Gods, how could he have let this happen?

"Seems like someone's feeling guilty," the light whispered. "It's a bit late for that now. I had to do things myself. I realised I couldn't rely on your half-promises. And I'm doing things now, Pharaoh. I hope you approve."

He smiled serenely as Yami's face flooded with shame. "Aw, the Pharaoh's upset. Go run and cry to your little pet. I'm sure he'll make you feel better."

Yugi met his dark's eyes, and was astonished at the feelings there. (Aibou, stop blaming yourself. This isn't your fault.)

((I could have prevented this. I should have…))

The teenager hugged him tightly. (You couldn't have stopped this.)

"He's feeling better already," Ryou remarked. "I suppose that's what a pet is for."

Yugi made an unintelligible noise.

"You know, there is a reason why everyone calls you the Pharaoh's Pet. After all, that's all he thinks of you as. A naïve, stupid little boy who relies on his aibou to win all his duels and fuck him at night and-"

"You're lying!"

Ryou grinned at the look on Yugi's face. "If only." His tone darkened. "Have you any idea how many hours I spent at school, sitting on my own, and wishing, hoping you would realise what my yami was doing to me? All those wasted hopes. Because you were too naïve, too goddamn happy to notice the state of anyone's life apart from your own. What right have you got to be so fucking happy with him?" he screamed suddenly.

Yugi whimpered.

"In the beginning," Ryou continued, his voice forcedly calm, "I used to wonder if it was something I had done. I used to think that somehow it was my fault my yami was like this, wondering if he was right and I really was just weak and deserving of this pain. But now I see differently. He was the one who chose to act like this to me. And I'm no longer weak. You-" he pointed to Malik, who cringed- "you may be a lighter half, an omote. And the Pharaoh was correct before- my yami is a bad influence on you. But that still isn't an excuse. You both knew what you were doing."

Silence.

Sudden flare of shadow power, and Ryou fingered the Millennium Ring beneath his fingertips. "Even this Item is weak." He strained with his powers, and one of the tines began to bend. Bakura started to shake in pain.

Ryou released his hold and the dangling prong sprang back into shape. "Like a voodoo doll," he said thoughtfully. "I hurt this – I hurt you. Convenient. And it saves having to do it through other people." He shrugged and let go of the Ring, and it hung limply around his neck.

Suddenly Bakura's hand shot to his shirt, closing on air. "You took it. How?"

"Temporarily," his light said in a bored tone. He closed his eyes, and the Ring oozed through the spirit's shirt. "As to how I did it- Yami, the Ring is sensitive to shadow energy. It only normally appears with you because it moves to the half with shadow power. Or, in our case, the half with the most power. That would be me. I can hardly believe you haven't worked that out yet."

The Ring-spirit blinked in sudden understanding. "Two days ago…when it appeared again around your neck…I thought I was hallucinating…"

Ryou made an impatient gesture. "Careless of me. I was too easily satisfied."

"What?"

"I get it now," Will said slowly. "He was happy. You must have been being nice to him. Yes, I remember. You came back carrying him. I remember being so surprised at that. And Yami said earlier that shadow powers come out more if you have strong emotions. God, has he never been happy before?"

Bakura seized on the memory, and the first part of Will's sentence. "Ryou, remember what happened then. I was nice to you, wasn't I? Nicer than I've ever been before. Hell, I remember making a conscious effort to make you feel better."

"The Pharaoh doesn't have to make a conscious effort to be nice to his pet," Ryou whispered.

"For Ra's sake Ryou, you fell asleep in my lap! Doesn't that count for anything?" Bakura burst out.

"A year, yami. A whole year of you hurting me. And you think five minutes of reprieve will make me forget what you've put me through? Because no matter how many times you erase my mind with that fucking Ring, I'll always remember."

Bakura's eyes were hard. "I've changed. Can't you accept that? What more do I have to do to make you believe it?"

"I don't know." Ryou sounded vague, dreamy, almost uncertain. "I don't really know anything any more. Who I am, how I feel towards you, anything. I don't even know if I want you to be 'nice' to me. I don't know if I can take it after everything that's happened. Maybe I want you to carry on being like you were before. That's easier. Then I can just keep on hating you. But I don't even know if I want to do that."

You know what I wish right now?

What?

That you were my yami all the time.

We both know I'd never leave Yugi.

Then things blur, and the memory changes.

Could…could you stay out of the Ring for a bit longer? I need to know you're there.

Sure.

Nightmares.

I still scare you, don't I?

Don't be stupid.

Ryou, don't lie to me. I can feel your fear. You can't hide things like that from me.

Ryou swallowed hard, passing a hand across his eyes. "…Let's…let's just hurry up and duel." He took another card from his hand, and everyone saw the fingers which held the card were shaking.

"Summon Sangan. And sacrifice it to D-"

"Activate Sacrifice Sealing Mask!" Yugi said suddenly. He was the only person in the group who seemed to have recovered at all. Bakura was staring unseeingly at the ground, Malik was resting his head in his hands, Yami was shaking his head silently from side to side and Will and Lyra were looking at their daemons as if they were the only real things left in this crazy world.

Yugi watched as, unable to tribute his chosen monster to Dark Necrophia, Ryou simply shrugged and sacrificed Dark Ruler Ha Des instead. He was playing such a defensive game now, Yugi mused. It seemed like the most important thing left was to keep the Dark Sanctuary going.

He drew. Ah ha. Dark Sanctuary certainly wouldn't be going any longer once he used this.

"I play Monster Reborn!"

Yami looked slowly up, and some of the life returned to his eyes. "Well done, aibou."

"Raising Dark Necrophia, I suppose," Ryou said dully.

"You got that right." The blue woman rose up on Yugi's side of the field. "And since I no longer have Dark Sanctuary to worry about, I am free to attack you once more. Dark Necrophia, attack Sangan!"

A roar as the monster vanished. Ryou's eyes went wide and he took a step back, clutching his shoulder.

Yugi slowly changed his sole monster, Dark Necrophia, to defence mode, and ended his turn.

……….

Ryou: 6700 Yugi: 2650 Malik: 150

……….

Again his hand was shaking as he reached out to draw. His eyes were closed, and they could all feel the concentration radiating from him. Then came the smile.

"How appropriate." He threw the card onto the podium, and it landed face-up. "I play Change of Heart!" The smile widened. "Now, I'll take control of my Dark Necrophia and sacrifice it to summon Puppet Master. And I'll use its special effect to revive the Dark Ruler Ha Des, Earl of Demise and Dark Magician!!! Haha! And of course, with Dark Necrophia back in the graveyard, the magic of Dark Sanctuary returns. Now that I have my maximum amount of monsters, who would like to lose first?" He grinned at the two disbelieving duellists facing him. "The Pharaoh's Pet first, I think. I want to see everyone's face as he loses for the first and last time in his life."

"You can't do this," Yami whispered. He pulled his light close to him.

"I can do anything I want," Ryou retorted calmly. His eyes were a lighter shade of red than they had been before-in fact there was almost a hint of brown in them. "Pharaoh, I can hardly believe you of all people are arguing with me over this. It was a duel. They lost. That's all there is to it."

"Don't do this, Ryou," Bakura whispered. "Please."

"And why not?" the light questioned absently as he eyed his monsters. "Now, which one should I use first? Perhaps Dark Magician. There is a certain irony in being destroyed by your own monster, I think." But he made no attempt to order an attack. He simply gazed vaguely at the field. The glow from his eyes was visibly draining away, and he seemed restless, almost uncertain.

Why isn't he attacking? Bakura thought. Is he trying to prolong it again?

"No," his light answered, still in that vague, dreamy tone. "I don't think so. At least, I'm not meaning to… Why, am I doing it? Prolonging everything?"

"…I…suppose so." The spirit of the Ring was uncertain in his reply, unsure as to whether or not maybe something else was happening.

"I didn't know," Ryou said very quietly, almost to himself. "And suddenly it's so hard. Everything is." A pause. "What should I do, yami?" he asked suddenly. "What should I do with them? These…people." He indicated the group vaguely. "What do you want me to do?"

"…Uh…" Bakura shuffled his feet, feeling more confused then he'd ever been in his entire three-thousand-long life. "…I don't know. You seemed so keen to kill everyone a moment ago. Although I'd really rather if you didn't. Why are you asking me anyway?"

"I don't know. Maybe I do value your opinion more than I thought." (Help me yami…Help me decide…)

Bakura stared.

"Oh, what's the point?" Ryou said wearily. "It won't solve anything. Nothing will." He gave a shrug and left his area of the duelling arena. "Just forget it, yami." Now his eyes were the familiar muddy dark brown again. He sighed, and indicated the arena. Immediately it vanished, and with an alarming swirl of colour the group were back in the field, next to their sleeping bags.

(Night, yami.)

He walked over to his sleeping bag and sank into it, clearly exhausted. Everyone stared at him, expecting developments. When he didn't stir Bakura cautiously whispered, ((Ryou?))

No reply.

"I…I think he's asleep again," the spirit said slowly. "…If he was even awake. And I think I'll follow his example and go to sleep. Night, everyone." He vanished into his soul room, just as the last traces of shadow-power vanished from the air and he retched, halfway to his bed.

"That sounds like a good idea," Will said eventually. "The sleeping part."

There were murmurs of assent from everyone, and they climbed into their sleeping bags. Malik and Yugi fell asleep almost at once, but just before closing her eyes Lyra leant over to Will and whispered, "I've just got an idea."

"Tell me in the morning."

……….

A/N: Hmmm. That seemed to turn out pretty well. I'm actually quite pleased with this chapter. As with before, I really would appreciate it if you reviewed, as I spent so long typing everything up. Over 11,000 words, too…

Oh, and explanations, as promised, in case you missed them/didn't get it:

In chapter 14, when the Ring moved from Bakura to Ryou, it was because Ryou was really happy (or at least what passes for really happy with him) and because of this strong emotion, his shadow powers came to the surface, just for a few moments. The Millennium Ring sensed this power and moved to him, because it could detect the most shadow-energy coming from him.

Also in chapter 14, when the word 'parasite' flashes into Bakura's mind, it was because the thought leapt into Ryou's mind, and Bakura heard the thought but didn't realise it was Ryou's.

In chapter 15, when they discover the camp had been wrecked – well, you know Ryou had that bad dream about his yami hurting him? He sleepwalked that night, and wrecked the camp. And he was going to hurt Yugi and Malik, but Yugi's Dark Magician came out from its card and protected its sleeping master. Ryou got angry at this, and his shadow powers caused the Dark Magician and the rest of Yugi's deck to be scattered all over the ground. That was why his and Yugi's decks were warm in the morning– because the cards had been used that night. The Dark Magician winked at Yugi because it was trying to tell him about what had happened.

Also in chapter 16, Ryou didn't sleepwalk the night he was awake with Lyra, because he was awake and so couldn't possibly sleepwalk. The reason that they didn't take it in turns to sleep was that they knew this enemy was a powerful one, and it would be better to face it as a pair.

In chapter 16, the Dark Magician submitted to Ryou because it knew what had happened the night before, and recognised his superior powers.

I think most of the mysteries are clearer now, is that correct? One last one which I won't divulge just yet: the bird which stole the alethiometer, and its reason. Try and guess at that one. But if not, you'll all find out in chapter 19.

Lastly, to the people who thought I was leaving out Yugi, Will and Lyra: I tried to give them a bigger part in this chapter, Yugi especially, but I can't really help it that Ryou, Bakura, Malik (and Yami Malik?) are my favourite characters, and I naturally tend to centre most on them. Will and Lyra will get more important roles in chapter 18. I've tried to give Pantalaimon a role of reasonable importance so far, but I can't promise Kirjava will get much attention. The book doesn't really mention her, actually, and although she only appears near the end, her character is somewhat overlooked. grimaces at the word 'overlooked' dammit, I have a thing for overlooked characters. I'll probably start planning a fanfic around her now…No! Noooooo!