"Stop following me before I'm forced to send you to the shadow realm," Bakura snapped noticing that Duke was still at his heels.
"We both know that you lose your shadow powers when you take form outside of Ryou. You need to be with him," Duke shrugged it off.
"You want to test that theory?" Bakura growled. "Things are different now." He slipped a card from his back pocket. "Man-Eater Bug!" A flash of light responded and Duke tensed, preparing for the assault, but no bug appeared. Duke let out his breath in relief as his apprehension melted away.
"See..." he said matter-of-factly. No sooner had the word slipped past his lips that a shadow descended upon him, cornering him into an alley. Bakura smirked as Duke's eyes snapped shut and his hands moved to protect his face as the creature inched closer.
' Bakura!' he heard the small scolding voice at the back of his mind. He sighed and rolled his eyes, slipping the card back into his pocket. With it's disappearance the bug also went. ' Curse you Ryou. Even when you aren't here I still hear you. I hate myself for becoming as low as the stupid Pharaoh, letting his light control his actions.' Bakura shook his head and continued toward his destination, wherever that happened to end up being. Duke opened his eyes slowly and lowered his arms, quickly recomposing himself as if nothing had happened.
"Now stop following me," Bakura reiterated. Duke persisted.
"Can't you see that it's in your best interest for me to help you? I'm not asking for anything that you haven't wanted to do yourself anyway."
"I don't need help. Especially from you," Bakura replied disdainfully. Duke stopped his pursuit, a look of hurt crossing his face. The quick withdrawal took Bakura off guard and he turned back a little surprised. Duke smiled, taking that as a sign of him reconsidering.
"Everyone always sees it my way," he said victoriously. Bakura narrowed his eyes and raised a hand to banish him but that scolding voice took over his mind again. Bakura scowled and moved on.
"Ever when he isn't here he won't shut up," he grumbled. He stopped and smirked. " That's right... He ISN'T here." He turned on the black-haired stalker and smiled, a smile way too pleased for Duke's comfort. The boy started to tense up again. "How much do you value your life?" Bakura purred. Duke's eyes widened and he found it hard to maintain his normally cool composure.
"Well I like to think..." He stopped short when Bakura moved toward him.
"Time's up," Bakura raised an eyebrow in amusement over the look on Duke face. Fear crept into his eyes ever so slowly. Bakura raised a hand to the boys face, pinching his cheeks together and probably leaving a bruise. "You really should be more careful with who you chose to play your games with. Some people really don't like games." Duke pushed Bakura's hands away and backed up, trying to regain feeling in the spots where Bakura's fingers had been. He noticed Bakura advancing on him again and turned, making a mad dash away from him. Bakura's smile widened. "They always run." He pulled a card from his pocket. "But they NEVER get away." He flicked it over his shoulder gracefully as he continued on again, a flash of light appearing and disappearing behind him. The growl of a monster quickly responded and a scream followed shortly. Bakura continued on his way, ignoring any pangs of guilt that seemed to want to surface. He thought about Ryou again and frowned. ' How can I be out here trying to save the very same being that I wished was never there to begin with?' he thought to himself.
Because you need him...
The answer hung in the air but remained unsaid. He sighed and pressed on, tossing any memories of what had just happened aside. If Ryou caught him thinking like that he'd be mad and he hated it when the kid was mad. The silence was too unbearable.
"Where do we find him?" Kaiba asked as he and Yugi exited the grounds and he ushered him into the limo. Yugi still seemed distant. He was smiling now but his mind was elsewhere...and the smile was starting to scare Kaiba. The door closing behind them seemed to wake him up though.
"Huh? Oh..." Yugi looked down and blushed. "I don't know. We never really found out..." Kaiba looked at him unamused.
"Yugi...this isn't any time to be fooling around."
"I know...and I'm not. I honestly don't know where he is. I really hadn't thought that far ahead..." Kaiba rolled his eyes.
"Fine. I don't know why I always have to do everything myself." Kaiba barked orders at the driver and they started off.
' How did I let this happen?' Yami closed his eyes helplessly, and sunk into his own deep dark thoughts, becoming oblivious to everything else that was going on around him...including all the noise that Joey was making as he attempted his escape. He only broke out when he heard the blonde speak.
"Hey man, are you okay?" Not to him. Yami traced the wall from the spot where Joey had used to be to the spot where he now was, hovering over Tristan. Tristan still seemed unconscious but the doubtful laugh in response to Joey's inquiry told his otherwise.
"Yeah. I don't think 'okay' is the best word to describe the situation right now," he said pushing himself up straighter as Joey took the ties away. Joey smiled and moved on to Tea. Tristan frowned and stretched, then joined him.
"You sure you should be moving like that?" Joey asked. Tristan shrugged it off.
"How's she look?" he nodded toward Tea.
"Well I'm not a doctor but I'd say not good. She's really cold and I still don't think she's breathing." Tristan helped him untie her and move her so she was lying flat on her back.
"She was beaten pretty badly," Tristan said agreeingly.
"Maybe Marik has something against women," Joey said looking at him. Tristan wasn't amused.
"Dude, this is no time to be joking around," he said crossly. Joey shrugged.
"It's a coping mechanism or something. I can't help it," he defended himself.
"Well cope some other way. Give her CPR or something."
"What?! No way! Why do I always have to do all the weird stuff?"
"You're closer," Tristan pointed out. Joey backed away from the body.
"What if she's already dead? I'm not..." Her eyes twitched as if she was having a nightmare and both boys screamed and hugged each other. She relaxed again and didn't move or make another sound. Tristan pushed Joey away from him so hard that he landed only a few inches from where Yami was. "Oh hey," he blushed and brushed his hair back. "I forgot you were still here." Yami just looked at him. He straightened himself up and moved to untie him.
"Hey, I think she's waking up!" Tristan exclaimed. Joey abandoned the spirit once again and crawled back over to them.
"But I don't wanna go to Kaiba Corp..." she whined in her sleep. Joey and Tristan exchanged looks of shock and worry.
"She must be talking to you," Tristan said smiling. Joey scowled and crossed his arms, looking away. He started to make a smart remark back but Yami's words stopped him.
"Someone's coming," he said, causing everyone's eyes to shoot toward the door. Yami turned back to them. "Don't just sit there! Untie me already! And help Tea wake up," he screamed frustrated. Joey rushed over to him and fumbled with the ropes as Tristan tried to shake Tea awake. The doorknob turning made them all freeze again as they watched the door in anticipation of who might be coming through it. The door creaked open and a figure made it's way slowly inside.
"Ryou?" all three said in unison, all confused and all in surprise. "Is it really you?" Joey added, forgetting Yami once more. The boy smiled cheerfully and everyone awake sighed in relief that quickly turned back to fear when laughter broke out.
"That's not Ryou," Yami said, voicing their thoughts aloud.
"You thought you could escape? I admire you efforts. I take it this means you didn't like my accommodations." Joey immediately went back to releasing Yami. Yami sat up and rubbed his wrists.
"Release him Marik," he ordered. Ryou's body shook with laughter again.
"I have a better idea. And to make it a little more interesting, I brought you some more company." Ryou shifted so that someone behind him could push someone else into the room. Everyone gasped.
"Mokuba..."