Chapter 4: Fifty-Two Degrees South, Sixty Degrees West
It was dark. His eyes weren't open, and he could tell it was dark. It smelled too. Smelled awfully funny. Like fish, and saltwater, and something else completely revolting. Odd smells, not ones to associate with Domino city, which was next to entirely land based...
Now wait just a second.
Was the ground supposed to be rocking?
Was he aboard a ship?
Wait again.
How in the name of Ra had he gotten on board a ship?
With a deep groan, Yami no Malik rolled to one side and slowly opened eyes. He was confronted by a large sealed box, and the disgustingly uncomfortable feeling of warm clothes against your skin. Where in the hell was he?
He sat up slowly, feeling dizzy and nauseous. He figured that may be because of the boat, but somehow felt that he'd probably feel the same way even if he wasn't at sea... No, that was confusing, stop thinking about it...
Yami no Malik put a hand to the side of his head, his fingers coming across an egg-sized bruise underneath his hair. It was extremely sore. He did dearly want to know where he was, but also wanted to know why he felt so sick. He wasn't all that boat-intolerant, was he?
He forced his fogged mind to work. The last thing he remembered was... well, lots of lights for one thing, and a lot of pain for another. Not entirely helpful. But he had been in Domino city, which he wasn't anymore. So he was not in Domino. There was one fact.
His head seriously hurt, as did the rest of his body and his stomach. Now, what could that have been caused by? The lights, yes, but how? How, damnit, HOW?
He coughed, and a smattering of blood boiled up his throat. That was bad. Very bad. Internal bleeding? How was that possible?
Hold that thought.
Was he solid? As in, flesh and blood?
He had to be. He couldn't bleed otherwise. But... there was no Rod in his hand. Malik's presence was non-existent. Had his 'kinder' half finally been destroyed?
No, that couldn't be. He was Malik's emotions, how could he exist if his beholder didn't exist?
Right, so Malik was still alive.
And he, Yami no Malik, was solid. Had they finally been torn asunder? Was he his own person now? He'd have to assume he was, which meant taking care of this body and figuring out just why there was blood in his throat... or stomach... or wherever it had come from.
Carefully, Yami no Malik stood up, taking a few moments to calm his roiled stomach and to adjust to the rocking of the boat. A wooden pail skittered across the damp floor and knocked him in the ankles; he nearly fell but clung to a nearby box to stay upright. That must be what had caused the lump on his head.
Slowly, he began picking his way across the crowded room. There were crates and boxes everywhere, water on the floor and that putrid fish smell. He found a stairway nearly opposite where he'd started and sank down on the bottom step to rest a moment.
This was frustrating. He wasn't lazy, per say, but it was far easier to retreat and let your other side deal with things such as this. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this body business.
Interlude 4.1
Tver
Something... was burning. He could feel his eyes watering from it. It hurt. Was it... Ra damn it, he was burning!
With a choke and a cough and a splutter, Bakura's eyes snapped open and the first thing they saw was that irritating (to put it lightly) Russian woman whom he'd encountered on his first venture into consciousness in this country. He growled low in his throat and tried to sit up. It wasn't so difficult this time. His brain didn't feel quite so... out of sorts. He didn't feel sick.
He was suspicious. "What did you do to me?" He demanded, glaring at the woman.
She showed him a small bottle and replied, "You pass out. I give you brandy."
Bakura gently touched his throat, then asked, "Is that what was burning?"
The woman nodded.
His annoyance returned in seconds. Even after who knew how long of unconsciousness, he still hadn't forgotten the matter that had set him in that state. "Where is the Ring? You stole it, didn't you?"
The woman cocked her head at him, shaking it while she replied, "I see no ring."
"Don't lie to me! I know you have it. bitch!" Bakura's temper was on the rise again; he could not deal with this lack of power.
"I ask you no call me bitch. I not know what ring you talk about." The woman said flatly, rising and backing away from his while she crossed her arms and stared down at him darkly.
Bakura leaned against the wall behind him while he rose to his feet, growling, "It's big, and golden. I had it around my neck. Where did you put it?"
"I not see it! It not with you when I find you and no where near you either. You lose it?" It was clear the woman was becoming frustrated with their difficulty communicating; perhaps she simply thought that Bakura didn't understand her.
Bakura slumped against the wall. If she didn't have it, then where was it? What had happened to it? He was solid which meant... no wait. It didn't mean a thing. Ryou didn't need to be destroyed for him to have his own body if...
"Oh no." Bakura muttered, placing a hand on his forehead. "No, no, NO!" He ripped around and slammed a fist into the wall, several of his knuckles protesting loudly at the abuse and three of them tearing skin open and bleeding.
"What wrong?" The woman asked cautiously, looking as if she didn't know whether to go closer or to run away.
"Damn! Damn hell! DAMN IT ALL TO HELL!" Bakura was yelling now, sinking to his knees while beating mercilessly on the wall and pavement with his fists. It couldn't have happened, not after this long, he needed that Ring.
"What wrong? You hurt self!" The woman sounded panicked; did she think he'd suddenly gone mad? To be sure, she probably already though him half-crazy, but this would seal her opinion to his lunacy.
"It's gone! It's been destroyed! DAMN!" Bakura howled angrily, taking no notice of the blood now seeping from his wrists and knuckles.
"It just a ring!" The woman protested.
Bakura turned to her, eyes wild. "Just a ring? JUST A RING?" He screamed, losing his cool completely, "That Ring was my entire life, my entire fortune, my entire power! I have nothing now, nothing but this puny body and stupid memories of my strength, strength I can never have again! And you call it just a ring!"
"I not know." The woman replied coolly, though she was shaking a bit, "You need calm down."
Bakura was now kneeling on the ground, blood soaking the pavement beneath his hand, furious tears trickling from his eyes. This was awful. Awful. He couldn't move; his shoulders were shaking from the force of his emotions, and his interior felt light and airy. He felt empty. Entirely.
"You... alright?" The woman asked cautiously; she was obviously not an entirely cruel person, though it was apparent Bakura scared her.
"No." Bakura muttered bitterly, "No, I'm not alright."
"You hungry? You not eat in long time. Five hours, more." She moved closer to him, offering him her hand.
Bakura looked at it, longing to scoff and smack it away. But he didn't feel like he could do that right now. There was nothing in his body except for blood and soul; there was no energy, no feeling, no sustenance. Much as he abhorred to admit it, he needed her help.
He took her hand and heaved himself from the ground.
Location: Domino City
He awoke to the sound of tapping keys. Yugi's eyes fluttered open into artificially lit darkness and he sat up, wondering where he was. He'd been moved from his chair, and was now lying on a long couch. Jounouchi was asleep at the other end of the couch, his head and shoulders on the bed but his knees folded on the floor. Tristan was spalyed out in a chair across the way; Ryou appeared not to have moved from when they'd arrived, though there was a glass of water and bottle of pills on a small table next to him.
"The doctor came in while you were unconscious." Kaiba's voice came from somewhere near the source of light.
Yugi stood up carefully, discovering that his ankle had been wrapped tightly with bandages and could stand the smallest portion of his weight. Painfully, he limped his way over to Kaiba, who was still sitting at the computer, looking for all the world like the only thing that'd moved in forever was his fingers. A little container of pills was next to the keyboard, but the seal on it wasn't broken.
Yugi turned his eyes on Kaiba, "You didn't take the medication he gave you?"
"The doctor said that you should only sleep for short periods of time for the next while," Kaiba went on coldly as if he hadn't heard Yugi speak, "You ankle was badly sprained and should heal within two weeks. Your white-haired friend in the chair may have suffered internal damage, but the doctor's not sure yet. He took some samples and will have the results soon. Your friend is on sedatives. The other two were more or less fine, but the dog needed a dressing on his leg and spear-head suffered minor injuries resulting in bruises and a few cuts."
"Thanks, Kaiba." Yugi said quietly; he really appreciated Kaiba having remembered all that and decided to drop the issue of the other teen's drugs. He instead tried to appeal more to Kaiba's interests. "What are you doing?"
"Simply put, I'm trying to find Mokuba." Kaiba replied shortly, his eyes scanning statistics and figures that flashed across the screen, "But it's more difficult than it sounds."
"I'm sorry." Yugi murmured softly, "I don't know either."
Kaiba smiled bitterly, something that was more a smirk than a smile to be honest, "Go back to sleep, Yugi."