I don't own Yugioh.
Chapter 39
They were staying at a hotel while Ryou and Yugi rested up. Yami went uncharacteristically quiet during some times, just thinking. Yugi and Sugoroku knew what it was about, but nobody else did. But when Yugi woke up, he told them everything that Shadi told him, even the warning about the Millennium Rod.
"Lemme guess," Jou spoke up from his seat on a chair, "You want Seto, me, and Anz to stay behind while you magic users go, right? No way in hell. I got left outta this one, and I'm not getting left out again…"
"You want to be put in danger!?" Yugi sat up in bed, tears running down his face, "I don't want anyone else to be hurt! I don't want to have to fight you if the ones who captured Isis really do have the Millennium Rod! Shadi-san wouldn't give me that warning if he didn't know that we'd soon have to face that person who owns it!" More tears rolled down his face.
"Yugi…," Anzu started.
"I know you're concerned about us," Seto stated, "But we're stronger then that…"
"You don't understand," Yugi whispered, "This isn't a battle of wills. This is magic. Real magic, real monsters, and real summoning. The Millennium Items respond to magical powers."
"But magical strength is determined by will," Seto protested, "We may have powers. Ryou discovered that he can get premonitions of danger."
"We can learn magic," Jou grinned, "Cause we gots strong wills!"
"There isn't enough time!" Yugi shook his head, "I can't risk it! I just can't!"
"And what if they find us and attack us here, huh?" Jou growled.
"We'll end up in the same place, anyway," Anzu agreed.
"They can't find you if you don't have the Millennium Items with you when you check into a different hotel," Yami crossed his arms.
"So you're on his side?" Seto indicated to Yugi.
"Would you be able to live with yourself afterwards if you were to harm any of us because you were reckless and went in there?" Yami raised an eyebrow at the three.
All three went quiet.
"It's not fair," Anzu whispered. "I want to learn magic so I can help."
"Unfortunately," Sugoroku spoke up for the first time, "There isn't time to learn. Another time and place, I'm sure that you three would make excellent Spellcasters. Of course, I see Jou more as a swordsman then a Spellcaster, but that's my opinion. Either way, for now, this battle with the Rod is one that you would best sit out."
"Alright," Seto nodded, "As long as someone stays back and teaches us how to use any innate powers we might have."
"Are you out of your mind?!" Yami looked at him, "Who the hell can we afford to leave behind!? We're talking about people who are strong enough to capture the leader of the Shadow Realm, the one who has organized it and lived there! That's some pretty damn strong powers! We can't…!"
"Wait," Sugoroku shook his head, "I will stay behind with them."
"Jiichan…?" Yugi blinked.
"This argument is getting both sides nowhere," Sugoroku stated, "And besides, I have lost so much of my magic abilities that all I can do now is teach the basics to others, and hope they have the capacity to use it. I would be useless in that fight because my powers are so weak."
"Jiichan…," Yugi whispered.
"Stay sharp, Yugi," Sugoroku smiled, "It'll be alright."
Yugi nodded and wiped his eyes, "Okay…"
"We just were reunited," Sugoroku smiled at his grandson, "I don't think fate is so cruel that they will separate us just yet. I trust in you and your friends, Yugi."
Yugi wiped his eyes, "Arigatou, jiichan."
Jou turned to Seto and muttered to him, "You have this bad ability to speak for all of us, ya know? Why the hell'd you say that?"
Seto didn't respond for a bit, watching the exchange between Yugi and his grandfather. Finally, the older Kaiba turned to Jou and replied in the same hushed tone but with a hint of sheepishness to it, "…I didn't think he'd agree."
* * *
With Sugoroku, Seto, Jou, and Anzu in a different hotel and all the Millennium Items among the ones going, they set off.
They purchased some camels, and went on them. Ryou and Yugi were in the lead on the camel, following the Millennium Ring's direction. Following them on the next camel was Yami, with Honda sitting behind him. The Millennium Items they had were distributed among the group. Yugi wore the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, and Ryou wore the Millennium Ring around his neck. They were the only two in sight. Honda wore a backpack containing some supplies, and hidden among the supplies were the Millennium Scale and the Millennium Eye. Yami had the Millennium Ankh in his pocket.
Suddenly, the camels were pulled to a stop.
"What's going on?" Yami asked.
"The ring's cone…it's pointing up," Ryou glanced up, then winced, "But with the sunlight in my eyes, I can't see anything…but I can definitely feel it."
"Then we'll get a scout," Yugi pulled out a card, "Winged Dragon!"
The dragon appeared and roared.
"Can you fly up and see if anything's there?" Yugi asked it.
The dragon nodded and flapped its wings, taking to the sky.
They took shelter in a nearby oasis while they waited for the dragon to return, shielding them from the burning sun. Soon, the dragon came back.
"See anything?" Yugi asked it.
Yes, I did. There is some sort of castle up there, resting on the clouds.
Honda blinked, surprised to hear the dragon's voice.
"Thank you," Yugi nodded.
The air is very thin up there. It is a far distance. Kin'iro can fly up there.
"Who?" Honda frowned. He exchanged puzzled glances with Yami.
"That's their nickname for Curse of Dragon," Yugi smiled, then patted the Winged Dragon on the muzzle, "They all have names, you know."
The Winged Dragon nodded, then glowed and returned to card form, going into Yugi's pocket.
"Do you know all their names?" Honda asked.
"No," Yugi shook his head, "Only a couple. The ones I've used more often I get to talk to more."
"I'd like to hear their names. Perhaps you can tell us on our way up," Ryou stated.
Yugi nodded, and they tied the camels to the oasis area on a long rope so they could eat and get water.
"Curse of Dragon!" Yugi shouted, summoning the dragon.
"How come you don't use their names?" Honda asked.
"Until they remember or learn everyone else's name," Yugi responded, "I don't want any confusion."
"Good idea," Yami nodded, climbing onto the dragon. Everyone else got on as well.
"Up we go!" Yugi pointed.
The dragon took into the sky when they were all riding on it.
"Woa!" Honda held on, "Fast…!"
"What'd you expect?" Yami smirked.
"Kin'iro, we're looking for a castle high up in the sky, resting on the clouds," Yugi called over the wind to the dragon.
Kin'iro nodded, and flew up higher.
"That strange presence is getting closer," Ryou informed them.
"I just thought of something," Yami stated, "How are we going to rescue Isis? We don't have a plan."
"How can we make a plan?" Honda sighed, "As long as we hold the Millennium Items, they know we're coming before we get there."
"Then let's get there fast!" Yugi stated.
"How are we going to navigate that huge castle?" Honda gulped as the huge, black stone castle loomed in front of them.
"The same way we've been navigating," Yami indicated, "Bakura's Millennium Ring."
They dropped onto one of the towers from above, and the Curse of Dragon became a card again, going back to Yugi.
"Let's go. Bakura, you're leading," Yami indicated to the stairs.
Ryou nodded, and concentrated on the ring. It started to glow, and pointed down.
"Figures," Honda grunted.
"Shh!" Yami hissed, "Let's move."
They descended the torch-lit, spiraling stairwell.
"Damn, that's a lot of stairs," Honda sighed.
"Quiet!" Yami snapped.
"Sorry," Honda shook his head.
Ryou was in the lead, with Yami following. Yugi came next, and Honda brought up the rear.
As they finally reached the bottom, torches lit up when they stepped off.
"Either that's some magic," Honda muttered, "Or we've been expected."
"I think it's a little of both, actually," Ryou whispered back.
They got back in order and continued going.
"I thought of something," Yugi whispered.
"What's that, aibou?" Yami glanced back at the small boy.
"If they know we're here, then they probably know that we're using a Millennium Item to find them. If they can sense us with the Millennium Items, then we can sense them, and vice versa. Right?" Yugi started.
"Go on," Yami prodded.
"Well, what if they removed the Millennium Pendant that Isis holds and put it somewhere else to throw us off?" Yugi asked.
The group stopped.
"I hadn't thought of that," Ryou whispered.
"Damn…he's probably right," Yami thought, "And we'd be walking right into a trap."
"What do we do?" Honda asked.
"What else can we do?" Yami shrugged, "We try to locate Isis by magical energy."
"But there are so many dark powers here," Ryou looked around, "And we don't know what her signal looks or feels like."
"Honda…?"
"No clue," Honda shook his head.
"Dead end, there," Yami sighed, leaning against the wall.
"If we can find the prison cells, then we can find Isis," Yugi spoke up quietly.
Suddenly, Yami and Ryou, who were leaning against the wall, fell right through it.
"Yami!? Ryou!?" Yugi shouted, going over to the wall and feeling around it, but couldn't find the weakness.
Honda shouted their names and went over as well, trying to find how it happened.
/Yami…!?/
//I'm alright, aibou. Bakura's alright, too. We're in some sort of room, and……shit.//
/Yami…? What's wrong…?/
//Nevermind. Yugi, go on ahead. Bakura and I will handle whatever this is and try to meet you in the dungeon. Take Honda and go!//
/But, Yami, I don't know how…and I don't know what…/
//You can do it, aibou! Trust me! Trust yourself! You can do it! I have to go…get out of the dead end, then go to your right. There's a set of stairs there. Go down them, and bear left. Head strait, and you should run right into the prisons. Hurry! You can---!//
Whatever Yami was going to say was suddenly cut off.
/Yami…? Yami?!/ Yugi gulped. It was like the connection wasn't working.
"Damn it!" Honda swore.
Yugi wiped his eyes and turned to Honda, "We have to keep on going! Yami told me to keep on going!"
"Where…?!"
"Right, then down the stairs, then left," Yugi stated, grabbing Honda's hand, "Come on, we don't have any time to lose! If they set a trap, then they definitely know we're here! We can't linger in one spot!"
"But what about…?"
"They'll be fine!" Yugi stated as they rushed out of the dead end, "I trust Yami, and Ryou!"
Honda glanced back and noticed that the area in the dead end where they had been standing a moment before was not filled with sharp objects sticking out of the sides of the walls that would have impaled them.
Honda shook his head and looked up, "I wish I was as confident as you are…"
* * *
Yami looked around as the link was broken. Descending down on them from the ceiling were spikes, large ones.
Ryou sat on the ground, looking across the room in shock at the monster that stared back at them, blocking the exit. It was in the only safe square.
"Wh…what do we do?" Ryou gulped.
Yami thought for a moment, then looked at what they had to work with. Spiked ceiling slowly moving towards them, a small room filled with bones of those who tried to make it enclosed by bricks, and a monster standing in the only safe spot from the falling ceiling.
Yami's mind raced. There was the Shadow Realm, but knowing who they were up against that lived there, going there would probably be a trap and put them in even more danger then they already were in.
"Yami…what kind of monster is that?" Ryou pointed.
Yami glanced up, "I'm not sure. It won't help us, that's for sure."
Ryou gulped.
Yami blinked, then pulled out the Ankh. How do we know it won't help us? He pointed the Ankh at the monster, and was bombarded by the strangest feelings in the world. Nothing could describe it, and he ended up taking a couple steps back.
"What's wrong?" Ryou was on his feet, shooting a tentative glance at the ceiling that was still falling down on them.
"Hey," Yami turned to the monster, "We won't hurt you. Can you help us?"
"Are you mad…?!" Ryou glanced at him.
The monster cocked its head to the side.
"Can you understand me?" Yami asked, a bit rushed as the spikes got closer.
That I can. Usually, the other fools try to fight me.
Yami nodded, "I figured as much. But you don't like to fight, do you?"
Nor do I like to kill. But they leave me no choice when they attack me to get to the door that's behind me.
It was too easy. Ryou glanced at Yami, seeing that as well.
"What do we have to do to get to the door?" Yami asked as the ceiling was only a couple feet from hitting them.
Ryou made a motion with his hands, and both he and Yami got to their knees to give them more time from the deadly ceiling.
All you need to do is answer me a riddle.
"We don't have time for that!" Yami exclaimed.
It's either that, or you die anyway.
Yami growled, wishing they had some of Honda's explosives with them.
"What is the riddle?" Ryou asked.
Yami glared at him.
"We do not have a choice," Ryou shook his head, "We have nothing to fight him with, and I'm sure that these skeletons weren't all from the ceiling, and…"
"Just ask!" Yami growled, "The ceiling is getting closer!"
"C-can you tell us the riddle?" Ryou stammered.
Indeed I can. Okay, here it is. Ready?
They nodded, getting onto their fronts as the ceiling got even closer.
When I am open, I see you and you see me. When I am covered, I see nothing, but you see me. What am I?
The two were quiet for a bit.
"You're kidding!!" Yami exclaimed. Riddles wasn't one of his strong points, and he suddenly wished that Yugi was there. He liked puzzles and games, but riddles…that was something else.
Kidding, I am not.
Ryou was quiet, silently repeating the question to himself and looking around.
"Do we get a clue?" Yami asked.
No.
"What the fuck?!" Yami exclaimed as the ceiling fell farther, slowly bearing down on them even though they flattened themselves on the floor. "You can't seriously expect us to solve a riddle in that small amount of time! We'll be dead first!!"
It is your only hope. You solve the riddle, the ceiling nor I will harm you. You solve the riddle, and you can leave this room of death.
"Is it a mirror?" Ryou spoke up.
That it is not.
Ryou went silent again.
Yami was fuming.
"It does us no good to be angry about it!" Ryou reminded him, "We might as well think of the answer…"
"What if he doesn't hold to his word?!" Yami hissed.
"You saw him with the Ankh. You know as well as I do that he will," Ryou whispered back.
"…You take a lot of risks, Bakura," Yami spat, "You're braver then I thought."
"No, I just don't want to die yet," Ryou responded, "I'm not brave at all."
Yami sighed, glancing up, "Well, the spikes up there are almost on us. We're as good as dead anyway. What's the point?" The third eye on his forehead began to glow, "I'm using the Shadow Realm on him. We'll be going deeper into the trap, but at least I know that we'll still be alive for a little while…"
"No, Yami! Wait!" Ryou put a restraining hand on Yami's arm.
"What is it, dammit!?"
"What will that accomplish? They expect us to use the Shadow Realm!" Ryou reminded him.
Yami glanced up at the spikes, "Yea, well, I'm not sticking around here to be impaled by a bunch of spikes! Open your eyes, Bakura! We're stuck!"
Ryou was about to comment back, when it hit him. He blinked, "When I am open, I see you and you see me. When I am covered, I see nothing, but you see me……when I am open, I see…when I am covered, I do not see……"
"What are you muttering?!" Yami shouted, looking up to see the spikes only about a foot and a half above their heads. "Bakura…!!!"
"An eye…," Ryou whispered, looking at the monster, "An eye!"
The monster nodded, then reached behind it and pulled a lever. Good luck.
The floor opened up beneath them, and they were falling again, then landed on soft sand.
Good luck.
* * *
Honda held out the torch, casting the only light they had. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"Nothing…"
They continued down the hallway after nearly falling to their deaths about three times on the trapped stairs.
"Traps all over the place, I'm telling you," Honda whispered, wiping blood from his face.
Yugi shook his head, wincing from the cut on his forehead by his temple that trickled blood a bit, and another from a cut on the back of his hand. "We didn't have a choice."
"But now they can't follow…the stairs are destroyed," Honda indicated.
"Let's not look back," Yugi instructed, "Keep on moving forward."
Honda nodded. He looked down at the small boy.
Suddenly, they were looking at the dungeons. The cells were small, and some of them hosted the strangest looking creatures.
"I think we found the dungeons…," Honda gulped.
It was dimly lit, and they could barely see. But there were eyes peering at them from around the corners.
"They need a new decorator in here…," Honda muttered, then jumped.
"What?" Yugi whispered as they continued down the hall, trying to avoid the clawed hands or paws of the creatures.
"I thought I felt something…I probably brushed against one of the cages," Honda shook his head.
Yugi nodded, when suddenly, all the torches came to life, and blazed with fire. He and Honda spun around, looking, when a voice boomed from ahead of them.
"Welcome, Tenko Motou, to the dungeons!"
They looked up and saw a cloaked figure standing there. It pulled back the hood, and grinned. Blood red eyes peered back at them through tanned skin, and white hair stuck out all over the place. It looked like he was wearing Egyptian robes underneath, but Yugi couldn't be sure. The person didn't look any older then Yugi did, maybe even younger.
Yugi gulped, but then thought he could feel Yami and his courage.
/Yami!/
Fueled by Yami's presence, Yugi stepped forward, "Let Isis go!"
The boy snickered, "No. You don't have the power to stop me. In fact…I think you will obey me!" He pulled something out of his robes that looked like a rod with a strange colored gem at the end of it and pointed it at Yugi, "You will be my servant, and obey my command!"
Yugi felt strange. Like prickling all over his body. A voice in his head kept on telling him instructions.
Walk over here…walk over here, then turn around. Walk over here…walk over here…Yugi shook his head, backing up a bit. The pendant under his shirt was glowing slightly. He wouldn't give into that voice that sounded suspiciously like the boy in front of him.
Walk over here! Walk over here, turn around, and fight the other boy! Fight Hiroto! Fight him! FIGHT HIM!!
"NO!" Yugi shouted, falling to his knees with his head in his hands. He looked up at the boy, then stood up shakily. His pendant stopped glowing, and the voice stopped.
The boy was staring at him strangely. "I have never known anyone who could resist the power of the Millennium Rod. You must be more powerful then I thought. I think I need to test your power…and your loyalty." He pointed the rod again, but this time, not at Yugi.
Yugi jumped when Honda walked past him like someone possessed, and knelt down in front of the boy.
"Honda…?!" Yugi started, feeling sick suddenly. What was going on…?
Honda turned around. He looked normal, but his eyes were blank.
Yugi took a step forward, "H-Honda…?"
Honda moved faster then lightning, and something went flying through the air.
Yugi gasped and cried out in pain as a shuriken embedded itself into Yugi's left arm by the shoulder. Yugi whimpered, pulling it out with some difficulty. Blood soaked through the sleeve on his shirt, turning it red. What wasn't absorbed by the shirt trickled down his arm. He clutched at the wound in pain, staring at Honda.
"Hmm…looks like you've been betrayed," the boy grinned, "Your friend was never your friend. He was your enemy from the start!"
Yugi stared, pain occasionally shooting through his arm from his shoulder. His eyes were wide, but he shook his head. "No……NO!"
"Believe it!" the boy shouted, pointing the rod at him.
He is your enemy…fight him! He is not your friend! Get up!Yugi shook his head, still on his knees where he had fallen when he was hit. The pendant around his neck was glowing a bit again. He heard someone stir in a cell nearby, and then heard a feminine voice in his mind.
[Don't listen to him. Please.]
Yugi blinked. Who are you?
[Unimportant right now. Just don't listen to him! Don't give in!]
Yugi nodded and shakily stood up, the voice from the other boy and the rod gone in his mind. He glared at the boy, "I want you to let Honda and Isis go! And stop messing with my friends!"
The boy looked shocked. "How are you, a stupid Holy Spellcaster, able to stop my Millennium Rod…!?"
Yugi didn't reply, but merely stood his ground. He was afraid, but his eyes shone with determination.
"Very well, then," the boy snarled, "I will have you fight your own friend, then!" He pointed to Yugi, and Honda pulled out a sword he was carrying and started forward.
"Honda, stop! Listen to me! It's me…! Yugi!" Yugi yelped as he dodged the sword, tripping and falling over backwards, slamming his head on the stone floor. He gasped, spots dancing in front of his eyes.
[Move to you left!]
Yugi rolled to his left, and the sword barely missed him.
[Roll left again!]
Yugi did so, and again, safely avoided the sword. Suddenly, he felt a pained call in his head from the female voice that had been guiding him. He glanced up, backed to the wall.
Honda had momentarily stopped his advancement, and the boy seemed intent on something.
[P…please……he isn't…usually…this bad. I b-beg…of you…please…free…him…]
Yugi blinked, looking at the boy who had a snarl on his face. Suddenly, he knew what to do. "Sorry, Honda." He pulled out a card, "Celtic Guardian! Restrain Honda!"
The elf appeared, and grabbed Honda in a bear hug. Honda struggled, but then seemed to give up, his eyes still lifeless and empty.
Yugi looked up at the boy, who seemed intent on torturing the person in the cell but was now staring at him.
"Give Honda back his soul!" Yugi shouted, "Or I'll do it myself!" He had noticed that Honda had dropped his bag, and snatched up the Millennium Eye when nobody was looking. He remembered what Shadi told him.
"The Millennium Eye can take souls away…but the Millennium Puzzle can put them back."
Yugi just hoped his plan worked.
The boy spun on him, snarling, "You won't live!" The Rod was pointed at him again.
Yugi ignored the small voice telling him to have the Celtic Guardian kill Honda, and then realized that mind control was the only weapon this boy had. The monsters in the cages were useless against Yugi's monsters…the boy and Yugi knew that. It would be unnecessary battle and stupid loss on the boy's part. Yugi's hand closed around the Millennium Eye that was sitting in his pocket. He knew what was going on, somehow, and knew what he had to do. His first objective, however, was restoring his friend's soul back to the body where it belonged. There was only one problem, Yugi realized, as he resisted the voice and Honda struggled to get free from the Celtic Guardian's grip. And that was that he had no clue how to activate the Millennium Eye.
* * *
"Where are we, now?" Ryou asked tentatively, looking up.
"I'd say, a room padded with moss," Yami blinked, then indicated the stairwell nearby them, "I sense dark powers being used from down there. I'm guessing it leads strait to the dungeon."
Ryou stood up and brushed himself off, "Then…shouldn't we be off?"
Yami nodded, "Yes. But there's one thing I want to know." He took the lead.
"What's that?"
"How did you figure out the riddle?" Yami asked.
"If you hadn't told me to open my eyes, I wouldn't have," Ryou chuckled, "Think about it…if an eye is open, a person looking at the other can see that other person. Likewise, the person with the eye open can see the other. But if one of those people closed their eyes, they can no longer see the other person in the room. However, the other person can still see them."
Yami nodded in understanding, then grinned, "I had you figured wrong, Bakura. You're braver then I thought."
Ryou turned red, then shrugged, giving a small laugh, "It was luck, really…"
"Luck, my ass," Yami grinned.
Ryou shook his head, "How about calling me by my first name, then?"
Yami paused, then nodded, "I'll see what I can do."
/Yami!!/
Yami's eyes went wide, and he started down the stairs faster.
"What is it?" Ryou asked.
"Something's happening," Yami shook his head, "We have to get down there, now!"
Ryou nodded, hurrying down the steps as fast as he could.
* * *
Yugi took a deep breath, and pulled out the Millennium Eye.
The boy laughed, "What do you plan to do with that? You don't know how to use it…!"
"I don't," Yugi admitted, "But…at the same time, I do."
The boy frowned.
Yugi took a deep breath, and concentrated. A white glow surrounded him, and all screams, chatter, and commands were silenced immediately.
Yugi concentrated. Before, I needed to use the Polymerization and the Dark Magician to help me. But that was because I was in the Shadow Realm, and couldn't do it on my own. But now…I think I can…I think I can become a Holy Spellcaster with my own powers.
The pendant around his neck glowed a bit.
Yami and Ryou arrived at the base of the stairs just in time to shield their eyes from the blinding flash of light that made everyone else cover their eyes as well.
When the light died down, everyone was shocked.
Yugi stood there, still at the same height, but wearing the white robes of a magician, without the hat. He looked up, opening his eyes and staring right at the other boy.
"I'm taking my friend's soul back," Yugi stated, his voice quiet yet booming.
Everyone was too shocked to say or do anything.
Concentrating his power through the Millennium Eye, he opened up its ability. Transferring the power from the Rod through the Eye, then to the Puzzle, and to Honda, he saw a flicker as Honda's soul traveled along the path created for it, going back into the body.
The boy started, "N-no…it can't…it can't be…!"
Honda blinked and looked around as the Celtic Guardian went back to being a card.
Yugi held up his hand, and a staff made of wood with a circle at the end of it appeared in his hand, and he pointed it at the boy. "Now…usually, the dark has to be separated from the light. But here, I see that the light has to be separated from the dark. As asked, I shall do so!" There was another blinding light, and a stream of white/blue energy hit the boy.
The boy screamed, and suddenly, the scream was doubled as a mirror image of the boy was ripped from him, as if emerging from the evil boy like a caterpillar emerging from a cocoon. Except this one didn't have the smug look, or the crimson eyes. Rather, his eyes were a violet color, and he wore a regular orange T-shirt and khaki shorts with sneakers and white socks.
A voice, the same female voice that had been talking to him, shouted from the cell next to where Yugi was standing.
"Malik!"
The others blinked and looked at the area.
Still standing there was the evil boy, but next to him, getting to his feet, was the one called Malik.
"Malik!" the woman cried again.
"Isis-sama…?" Honda breathed, his eyes going wide. He ran over to the cell, "Isis-sama, is that you in there…?"
"Help Malik!"
They turned back and saw that the evil version of Malik was getting ready to slice the boy up after beating him to death with the Rod.
Malik turned scared eyes on the evil boy.
"Stop it!" Yugi shouted, but knew that none of them could ever get there on time. Nor could a summoned monster get there on time.
"Bakura! Ryou, Bakura!" the woman, Isis, shouted.
Ryou turned, startled, that she would know his name.
"Concentrate on the evil one there! Make him stop!"
"But I don't know how to…"
"Just concentrate on making him stop! Then, Tenko, can you get Malik away from the evil one?" Isis stated.
Yugi nodded. He looked at Ryou, "Go for it!"
Ryou was concentrating on making the evil Malik stop.
Suddenly, the evil Malik couldn't move.
Yami and Honda were staring. Ryou was surprised at his own power, but could feel the evil Malik straining against it.
"Silver Fang!" Yugi shouted, "Use your speed and get Malik out of there! The good one!"
The giant, silver wolf appeared, and leapt forward, snatching Malik up by the back of his shirt as Ryou lost his powers and the Rod came down.
A throwing star prevented the Rod from hitting the wolf, slamming the stick away from the target and wrenching it out of evil Malik's hands.
"No…!" the evil Malik shouted. He leapt for the rod as the wolf brought the young Malik back to the group.
"No you don't!" Yami shouted. In the confusion, he had been inching closer to the area where evil Malik was standing, and now leapt for the Rod along with evil Malik.
The two collided, but Yami stretched out with his powers, feeling evil Malik do the same thing. Suddenly, it felt like he had more power then the evil Malik. He looked behind him, and saw Yugi, Isis, Ryou, and Honda concentrating their powers into him.
With the burst of power he had, Yami was able to use the darkness to pull the Rod back to him from the tug-of-war the two had.
The Rod landed in Yami's hands, and he gripped it.
The others broke the connection, and Honda struggled to get Isis out of the prison cell while Ryou slumped to the ground, exhausted. The little Malik was looking around, scared, as the silver wolf stood over him protectively. Yugi moved towards Yami to help him out as evil Malik started to open up his powers.
"He's going to kill us all!" Isis screamed over the din of the gathering dark power.
"What's he doing?!" Honda shouted, trying to find the right key to fit into the hole to free her.
"He's using the Shadow Realm!" Isis shook her head, "That other boy is, too, to hold him off, but they'll be at a stalemate, and one of them will weaken eventually…!"
"No, they won't," Ryou gasped from the ground.
The two glanced at him as Isis was freed. She didn't look any older then fifteen. She stepped out of the cell and saw the little boy, Yugi, step up next to Yami.
"What is he doing…?!" Isis blinked.
//He's evil. He must be put back where he belongs. In the Shadow Realm, and sealed there, never to come back out! But I can't do it alone!//
Yugi stepped up next to Yami, nodded. /I know. I'll help! We'll both use our powers!/
//Won't the light and dark cancel each other out?//
/There's only one way to find out./
Yami blinked, then grinned, the third eye on his forehead glowing.
But Yugi was right…it was all or nothing.
//Ready?//
/Ready when you are, niichan!/
Yami smiled at the nickname. //One…//
/…two…/
//Three//!
/Three!/
At the same time, Yugi and Yami unleashed their powers towards the evil Malik, who was unprepared for it. The blue light coming from Yami and the golden light coming from Yugi swirled together and slammed into the pitch black coming from evil Malik, driving it back and completely shattering it.
Evil Malik screamed as the energy tore through him.
"Begone!" Yugi and Yami shouted at the same time, both throwing their right hands forward, palms out, as a new wave of power coursed out and hit the evil Malik.
The others watched, stunned, as evil Malik was hit with the powers, and screamed. A dark hole opened up behind him, and his scream echoed even after he was pushed through it. The hole sealed up, and all the light waves stopped.
Yugi glowed, and was wearing his normal outfit again. Yami's third eye was gone. Both managed a smile at the other before collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Note: If Malik and/or Yami Malik seem a little OOC, I'm sorry…I have no CLUE what their characters are like since I haven't seen that season of Yugioh or read the manga. But this is AU, so I guess it doesn't matter if the characters are a little different, huh? That's about it.