hated weather...? If not... I DO.
It's still in Ryou's POV.
Enjoy.
GUIDE
: Ryou to Bakura :
: : Bakura to Ryou : :
Blah is thoughts
-----
I was taking the highlight tour of the museum, mostly to get the basic layout. Bakura was
somewhere nearby, probably on a roof of a nearby building, sketching things as I told him.
I was dressed in the usual, the only thing different was I had on a big floppy hat. It
should've stood out, but several tourists were wearing them, so it was my perfect disguise.
: Two intersecting hallways to right, : I said. I was alternately pretending to look at a little
hand guide they had handed out and listening to our guide. Truth was, I couldn't tell you
one thing he had said since the tour began. : A long corridor on the left. I think it leads to
another part of the museum. :
: : Ahab said it was in this part. : : he replied. We had nicknamed the guy that approached
us the very common and derogatory 'Ahab'. Who knew that Marik was a Ray Stevens
fan?
: 'The eye of the beholder', he said. Just what am I on the lookout for? : I asked. : Two
skylights, north-south, by the way. :
There was a pause before he answered. : : How the hell should I know? Just look for any
possibilities. : :
Ahab had said that he would tell us what to get after we had cased the museum and had a
plan of action. He was holding the trump card and I still didn't like it. If I wasn't
out-voiced three to one I would've walked the first opportunity that arose.
"Isn't that magnificent?" a woman beside me said as the group moved on. I nodded,
having no idea what she was talking about. "I last testiment to love! So romantic! Beauty
is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose."
"What did you say?" I asked, my full attention on her. She was a tourist alright, American
I'd say by the accent. Oh, and the fact that her Arabic was worse than a drunken Malik's.
"You heard him, didn't you? The guide?" I shook my head.
"I was too busy admiring," I replied smoothly. She smiled and repeated what the guide
had said.
"I know, it was certainly beautiful. The statue was commissioned by a king to comemorate
his wife's beauty. It was carved out of solid gold and inlaid with so many jewels! Did you
notice her eyes? They were diamonds! The inscription at the bottom says 'Eye of the
Beholder', which was what the king nicknamed his wife and her eye for beautiful things.
Oh, how I wish my husband would do something like that..." I tuned out and relayed the
message to Bakura.
: : Well, shit the bed! : : he exclaimed. I mentally groaned at his choice of phrases. That
was one of his favorites.
: I sincerely hope not, : I replied monotonely.
: : Can you get away and get back to it? : :
: Not at the moment. Tour's almost over, anyhow. There were some benches back there;
I'll pretend I'm taking a rest. : Bakura sent a mental nod of agreement.
I still didn't like it.
-----
I watched the guard and followed his movements with my eyes. Okay, back and forth,
pause at the column, back and forth, pause at the other column, repeat, I said to myself. I
was currently crouched behind the one column, and I noticed that he never looked my
way. What is it with security guards? Are they all really that bad, or just ones we come
across?
As soon as he paused, I reached out and quickly lifted the keys to the door. He started
walking towards the other end, unaware that anything had occured. I now had to
somehow get the pass card that was around his neck without alerting him or anyone else.
Hmm, how to do this? I could knock him out, but someone might notice him missing.
Maybe I could.... It was risky, but I knew I could do it.
I looked around and grabbed a small stone. Tossing it lightly when he paused at my
column again, I didn't hesitate as soon as he turned his head. I reached out and unclipped
the card from its chain and moved back behind the column. I waited, holding my breath,
but a moment later I heard footsteps walking away. I peered around the bottom of the
column, and sure enough he was back on his routine. I dashed off to the back.
: I got them. I'm coming around, : I said. The others were at the side entrance, waiting for
me.
Once inside, Bakura easily disabled the alarms with his new toy he bought with his share
of our last job. He nodded to me to lead the way. We had to be quick, just in case there
was a silent alarm attached to the others.
I led the way to the where the statue was housed inside a case of glass. We all stayed a
good distance from it, for even with the alarms disabled, lasers could still be in play. Marik
sprayed the air, so any and all laser beams would show up. Nothing. Something was
definitely not right.
: If this thing is as priceless as Ahab said, then why isn't it protected more? :
: : ...Stay on it. Wait here, just in case, : : he replied. I moved to the shadows while they
went forward. I glanced around, keeping my eyes open and alert. Something wasn't right
about this.
Malik stationed himself on the other side of the glass case, taking up the same position I
held. Marik and Bakura went over the case, to see if any independent alarms were in
place. The statue, thankfully, was only about fourteen inches high plus a two inch base.
Anything larger that was made of solid gold wouldn't be easy to sneak out. Satisfied, they
began to lift the case....
And that's when all hell broke loose.
Out of no where a few dozen guards appeared, their guns aimed straight at Marik and
Bakura. I smirked, neither of them had to worry about guns or even getting killed. I then
felt something click at the back of my head.
: Shit. :
: : WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?! : :
: I'm coming out, : I said. I walked out of the shadows, my hands in the air. I saw that the
same thing was happening to Malik. Someone walked out of the hallway to my left,
clapping. : Ahab. :
: : I'm going to kill that bastard as soon as someone tells me what the fuck is going on! : :
Bakura nearly screamed through our mindlink.
"Not bad my friends, you truly live up to your reputations. Except this time, you were
caught, and now the legend ends," he said.
"Just who the fuck are you, Ahab?" Marik spat. He didn't have to worry about dying, but
Malik did, and if Malik died so did he. The same went for Bakura and I.
"You offend me, Egyptian," he snarled. "I am Inspector Muhammad al-Jizna, and you are
my greatest capture."
"A fucking cop?" Bakura growled. "How in the hell were we caught by a Ra-damned
cop?!"
"As much as I would love to take full credit for my actions, I received most of my
information from a most reliable source," he stated.
"Your master," I said. He nodded.
"Yes, and he is quite the philanthropist when it suits him, and you suited him well," he
said. I glared. "Apparently he has some sort of grudge against you."
"Does your master have a name?" Malik questioned.
"Pegasus J. Crawford," he replied. I looked to Bakura.
"Shit. The. Fucking. Bed," he said. : : He wants the Sennen Eye back. : :
: You still have it? Where is it? :
: : In the Shadow Realm, : : he replied. : : Like hell I'm going to give it to him. : :
: Take a look around, Bakura; do you have a better idea? You and Marik may not have to
worry about guns, but Malik and I do and there's no way we can take on all these cops. :
"Malik!" Bakura shouted. "Can you...?"
"Not all," he said, shaking his head. I knew Bakura was asking about his mind control
abilities. There was too many minds to take over at once; had he time, he probably could
have done it.
"Ryou, Malik... soul rooms, now," Bakura ordered.
Malik and I wore the same expression. If we went into our soul rooms, then Marik and
Bakura would have to take over our bodies, which would temporarily rend them mortal. It
wasn't that I didn't trust Bakura, but I just didn't see what he and Marik could do.
"Whatever you are planning it won't work. We know all about your little Sennen Items,"
Ahab or Muhammed, whatever his name was, said.
"Just do it! Now!" I complied.
The following few minutes seemed to be an eternity. I paced anxiously, waiting for Bakura
to give the okay. Without warning, I felt a tugging and was suddenly thrust back into
conciousness. I blinked and looked around. Bakura was back at the case and Marik was
just letting Malik back into control.
"What happened? Where is everyone?" I asked. Bakura didn't reply, only paused for a
moment. He took the statue and checked it. Without warning he threw it as hard as he
could at the wall. It shattered. A fake.
"C'mon," he growled, stalking back towards where the doors. I looked at Marik and
Malik. Marik shrugged and followed. Malik did the same, leaving me alone in the
museum.
I knew what had happened. Bakura had sent them all to the Shadow Realm, killing them. I
dropped to the floor and threw up. The thought of it made me sick to my stomach. I knew
Bakura had killed in the past, but nothing like this. He actually tried to avoid murder if he
could, but wasn't past doing it.
Shakily, I stood and followed.
-----
I was on the roof of our hotel. It was still night, and cold breeze was sweeping through the
city. I shivered, but not just from the cold. My mind kept making up scenes of Bakura
sending all those men to the Shadow Realm. An image of him laughing, covered in blood,
ran through my mind. I shook my head, trying to rid myself of it. It didn't go away.
I looked up at the stars. They were so clear here. Bright beacons of light, used for
centuries for people to find their way home. A thought of the others looking at the same
sky over in Japan crossed my mind, but I banished it. Japan wasn't my home any more. I
was rogue, a vagabond, a nomad... where I laid my head was my home.
There's a song about that. Metallica's "Wherever I May Roam". I'm living that life, and I
have never before been so lost in it. Even after that night at the Mexican pyramid, I at least
knew my place in it all. Now, I'm not so sure.
I love being a thief. I love the thrill, the excitement, the secret knowledge, all of it; but if it
means that innocents are going to die, then how can I justify it? How can say the end
justifies the means? I've never been more confused in my life.
Bakura and I haven't spoken. He's cut off our mindlink and won't even look at me. I
don't know whether he's ashamed or just teaching me a brutal lesson of being what I am.
Honestly, I don't know which answer I'd rather hear.... Perhaps none at all would be best.
My vow is as clear to me now as it was when I first made it. I vowed not to ever kill if I
even had an ounce of control over it. Somewhere inside me, I knew what Bakura would
do if I went to my Soul Room. I knew. I should've fought that and tried to find another
way out of it. I should've... but I didn't. Bakura would have forced me into my Soul
Room anyhow, but at least I would have given a fight. I did nothing.
I was so confused about it all. I didn't even know which way to turn. The time had come.
I was going to leave them. I didn't know for how long or even where I was going to go. I
just had to get away and be alone for awhile. I needed time to think about it all.
How was I going to tell them that? How could I break the news to them? I know they
would try and stop me. I finally decided on leaving them a note. I'd write it in the
morning, when they all would go downstairs for breakfast and their first drink of the new
day. I'd leave a special note for Bakura. I hope he won't be too angry with me. I hope
he'll understand that I can't do this, at least for the time being.
I just hoped.
A/N: Bet you didn't see that coming! And I'll give you a little hint now... that won't be
the last time you'll see good ol' Peggy-boy. ::grin::
I made up the Arabic name. Well, the last name. If it's wrong or you have a better one,
please tell me. I'll fix it as soon as I can.
Also, I mean no offense with the 'Ahab' thing. I just didn't think that they'd be politically
correct, you know? If I did offend anyone, I'm sorry.
About the Sennen Eye... I have no idea where Bakura keeps it on the show. He took it
and then, far as I know, it disappeared. So I took a leap and said the Shadow Realm. I'll
probably be proved wrong, but it made sense to me as I wrote it. (If it doesn't to you,
don't feel bad. Weird things make sense to me.)
Reviews, please?