Daricio: Ok, everybody! It's time for another chapter of Where's Yugi!
Radley: Yay, I'm so excited.
Malik: I'd rather if this was another chapter of Millennium Magic...
Daricio: Oh well, I decided I'd better start the next chapter of this before somebody hurts me...
Malik: If you don't start the next chapter of Millennium Magic soon, I may hurt you. I want to see that battle scene!
Daricio: (sweatdrop) I'll start it later, ok?
Malik: -.-
Kura: So what happens in this chapter?
Daricio: A lot of stuff... (to reviewers) I may end up with a few events a little bit mixed up... Things get a little weird from here on out. For example, DMCat15 guessed that the weird thing that happens in this chapter was going to be the virtual world... Actually, no, sorry. (sweatdrop) I'm completely skipping the virtual world in this story. I may come back to it in a later sequel, but it's going to be as if it never existed for now.
Radley: Any other stupid notes?
Daricio: (amused sweatdrop) Nope, not really. Except to say "Thanks" to Tamara Raymond for her critique. I would just like to say that, yeah yeah, I know. (sweatdrop) Last chapter sucked. I figured that it was going to... Mostly because the duels in there really had no point where Daricio being there could really make any difference... Same with the first duel in this chapter... This is why most of it isn't shown... (sweatdrops again) but thanks a lot for your input, I appreciate it!
Later, if you'd like to tell me what some of the plot twists you had thought were going to happen, I may or may not actually be able to work some of them in. (happy look) I've been trying to improve that chapter without much luck...
Daricio: (sweatdrop) But anyways, another quick note before we begin... B/k, just a reminder so that I don't get yelled at later, I'm not calling Bakura "Ryou" in this story, that's just what Radley and the random nurse call him in it...
Radley: I still don't get why you don't like calling him Ryou in the first place... I mean, that is his name, isn't it?
Daricio: Never mind that, Radley. But anyways... (sweatdrop) Now on to the story!
(----Divider----)
-Daricio-
Yugi and Yami were both watching Kaiba's duel against Isis, along with the rest of their friends. Daricio, however, was taking a break from the dueling.
Quietly, she stepped into her kitchen, looking for a snack. Because of her sudden "naptime" that she had taken, she had missed dinner.
A snack wasn't necessary, though, as her mom had put some plastic wrap around a plate of food that they had left for her.
She stuck it in the microwave to warm up, then slowly looked around the room, simply reveling in the peacefulness. It was a huge contrast to what was going on in her mind and in the Yu-Gi-Oh world...
Everything there was chaos... She hoped everything would calm down soon, though.
"Hey Daricio." DVD's voice came through the darkness, startling Daricio slightly.
She blinked towards him until her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to see him. "Hi. Why are you still up?"
"Wanted to ask you what was going on in your world... I checked your soul room earlier, you weren't in there." He answered.
"Oh. It was nothing much... Just some of the semi-final dueling stuff..." Daricio said with a small smile. "That and Yami Bakura kidnapping me..."
DVD came closer to her with a confused yet concerned look on his face. "Are you serious?"
She nodded, then they both sat down at the table. As she ate her dinner, she began telling him all that had gone on, and about the duel that was currently happening.
"Personally, I hope that Isis manages to beat Kaiba..." Daricio admitted after a while. "It'd show him..."
DVD shrugged. "I dunno, something tells me that Kaiba needs to win... I mean, how else is Yugi going to get Obelisk, unless she gives it to him, like she did to Kaiba in the first place?"
"Yugi can beat her, too... And besides, didn't she predict that he would give her back the card?" Daricio argued.
"I've never believed in prophecies, myself..." DVD said, grinning. "People keep proving them wrong."
Daricio laughed. "True, but this is real magic we're dealing with."
"Yeah, but it's also the future. It's always been rather unpredictable, and even this could prove to be wrong."
Daricio looked up at her brother with a calculating look on her face and she sighed. "I suppose you're right..." then she laughed. "My own brother is getting smarter than me..."
DVD laughed too.
The two of them talked for a little bit more, before DVD decided to go to bed. Daricio stayed to finish her dinner, and also to enjoy the silence a little longer.
Finally, she headed back upstairs. Lying down on her bed, she closed her eyes with a small sigh.
Within seconds, her rather messy soul room came into her mind's eye, and she frowned at the mess. Not even bothering to attempt to clean anything up, she headed straight for Yugi's room.
Yugi's room was almost as cluttered as her own, and she had to pick her way across the room to a chair before she could sit down; otherwise she ran the risk of stepping on a particularly sharp toy.
"Hey, Yug'. Who's winning?" she asked tiredly, taking a temporary physical form next to her friend.
'Actually, the duel's rather close at this point... There was a point where Isis could have attacked him directly and taken out the rest of his life points just last turn, but for some reason she didn't attack. Now, he's got Obelisk out, and she's wide open... But Isis looks like she has something planned for him...' Yugi summarized through their thought link.
Yami nodded, having also taken a physical form beside Yugi. 'They've both fought hard...'
Daricio looked up at the dueling, blinking at Obelisk's huge form on the field. "How'd he get Obelisk out in just one turn? Soul exchange?"
Yugi nodded. Near the elevator, Yami Marik was preparing to leave.
"Obelisk the Tormentor! Att-..." Kaiba started to command. Suddenly, though, there was a bright light shining across the whole field, coming from the Millennium Rod!
Daricio's first instinct was to close her eyes, but for some reason she didn't, instead staring into the whiteness of the light.
When the light faded, she was no longer standing on the Dueling Blimp, but instead she was in a long stone corridor. There were large tapestries on the walls, and a few Egyptian looking statues on pedestals.
She could hear laughing coming from further down the hall, and she went to go investigate.
'What am I doing here? Where is here?' she wondered to herself.
Peeking into a room that had no door, she smiled as she saw five children playing together. All of them were dressed rather fancily, as if they were all the children of high officials.
Especially a certain one, looking to be about 4 years old, with spiky red, black, and gold hair and purple eyes.
Daricio blinked as she recognized the chibi Yami... Looking around at the other children, she was startled to realize that she knew the other four Egyptian kids as well!
There was an Egyptian version of Tea, one of Joey, one of Kaiba, and one of... herself!!
Suddenly, everything went hyper speed. She saw these five growing up together, being the best of friends, images flashed before Daricio's eyes, until suddenly...
She blinked and looked around her. "Wha?!" she exclaimed.
Yami looked over at her with worry. "Are you alright, Daricio? You spaced out there for a moment. And so did Kaiba..."
Daricio blinked again, realizing that whatever that vision from the Millennium Rod was, it was over and she was back on the blimp.
"I... I'm fine, I think... The flash from the Millennium Rod..." she murmured. Yami nodded.
"Yes, it appears to have triggered some ancient memories for Kaiba. Take a look."
Daricio did. Kaiba was staring ahead of him with a look of disbelief on his face. Slowly, he looked down at his hand, then he turned to look at Obelisk behind him.
Suddenly, his confusion ceased and his calm collected expression returned. "I play this magic card, Silent Doom, to special summon Gadget Soldier in defense mode. Then I sacrifice it and Obelisk for the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"
Now Isis' expression held even more shock than Kaiba's had. "But... This is not the same!"
"I told you, I choose my OWN destiny!" Kaiba yelled in her direction. "And Blue Eyes still has enough attack points to take you down! Blue Eyes White Dragon, white lightning attack!!"
The dragon attacked, scattering the blue lightning across the top of the blimp. The duel was over.
"I don't get it!!" Yami Marik yelled, still standing by the elevator. He was glaring at the Millennium Rod. "Why would it show Kaiba a vision, and not me?! Am I it's master, or aren't I?"
Everyone pretty much ignored his ranting, instead looking up to see what Isis' reaction to losing a duel that she had thought she was destined to win would be.
The look of shock remained on her face for several long seconds as the holographics began to fade away. Then, slowly, she began to smile.
"Thank you, Kaiba, for showing me that the prophecies can be wrong." She said, bowing her head. "This brings me great comfort. Now I know that you will help me save my brother..."
Kaiba simply shrugged and headed for the elevator with Mokuba. "Believe whatever you want to, I'm in this for me."
Everybody else took his lead and also filed into the elevator. (Still staying as far away from Yami Marik as possible, of course)
When they all got out, they began to head towards their respective rooms.
"Pharaoh, wait." Yami turned at Isis' voice. "I need to speak with you."
He nodded, and everybody went to her room. There, she told them the tale of Marik's past...
(A/n: No, I'm not telling it right here. You wanna read it, you go read Runaway. Tis my one-shot.)
When she was done with her tale, she gave Yugi the Millennium Necklace...
"It was yours originally, Pharaoh, and you'll need all the items to fulfill your destiny." She explained. Yugi nodded, thanking her.
Once Yugi was back in his room, Daricio told him and Yami what vision she had seen when the Millennium Rod activated.
Yami nodded, deep in thought. "That makes sense... Even as the son of the pharaoh, I would have had friends that I grew up with... And with what Isis said, that the things of the present are linking to the past, it makes sense that those friends would be people that I know now..."
Daricio nodded as well, looking out the window of the blimp.
"Do you think that Kaiba had the same vision, or a different one?" Yugi wondered out loud.
"Probably a different one. Why else would he summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Yami answered.
"True..." Yugi smiled after a moment. "Hey, I wonder what Kaiba's reaction would be if he knew that you two grew up as friends in ancient Egypt..."
Yami shrugged. "Probably wouldn't believe me. As usual."
Daricio laughed and nodded. "Probably."
There was silence for a while as the three of them thought...
After a while, Daricio spoke up again.
"So... Only four more finalists, huh? You, Joey, Kaiba, and Yami Marik..." she noted.
Yami nodded, still looking out the window. "But that's tomorrow. For now, we should get some sleep..."
Yugi nodded tiredly and Daricio smiled. "Right. If any of us can sleep after all this..."
Yugi laughed. "Well, good night, Daricio..."
"Night, Yugi. Night, Yami." Daricio said, disappearing into Yugi's soul room so that she could head back to her own.
Yami nodded towards her and disappeared into the puzzle.
Yugi sighed and lay down on his bed, closing his eyes and trying his best to sleep.
(----Divider----)
-Bakura-
By the time Bakura got back to his body after taking Daricio to Yugi's soul room, Radley was awake and wondering where he was.
"What were you doing?" he demanded when he saw him come in.
Bakura didn't answer him, instead passing by him to go sit down on the bed in his soul room.
"Why you... Look at me when I speak to you, and answer my question!"
"Why should I? You betrayed me." he shot back at him, mostly just to avoid his question.
"Because I still hold more power than you do, you brat." He answered icily. Then he sighed and sat down next to him on the bed, looking like he was actually trying to control his temper.
Bakura looked at him in surprise.
"Look, Ryou. I just want to know." He said, obviously holding back his frustrations. "What were you doing?"
Bakura blinked at him, then looked down. "I was taking Daricio back to where she belongs."
Radley nodded slowly. "Okay.. That sounds like typical you. Another question: Where's the Millennium Ring?"
He blinked again, mentally checking his body and realizing that he wasn't wearing it. "... I don't know... When that duel was over, I wasn't even thinking about that... I was mostly just thinking about trying to get the two of you to wake up..."
Radley raised an eyebrow at his hikari. "Gee, I didn't know you cared." He said sarcastically.
"Well..." Bakura looked back up at him. "We are supposed to be working together, remember?"
The eyebrow went up further. "You are way too trusting of me." He commented.
He smiled. "That's what I'm here for..."
(A/n: Yeah, yeah, they're being nice to each other again... problem with that?)
Radley was about to say something more to him, but then he stopped, sitting up straight and concentrating on something.
"What is it?" Bakura asked softly.
He didn't answer, instead taking control of the body and sitting up. As Bakura looked through his eyes, seeing as he actually didn't just block him out this time, he could see Tea standing near him with the Ring.
As she spoke to Radley, though, it was obvious that this was really Marik, and not Tea.
Bakura listened in silence. Apparently, Marik had a darker half, a yami, as well... and now he wanted Radley's help to defeat him, as he was too weak at the moment...
With the promise of the Millennium Rod once again, Radley agreed to help.
As they were walking down the deserted halls of the blimp, Radley suddenly remembered about Bakura. 'Oh, uh... This is ok, right aibou?' he said offhandedly.
Bakura mentally shrugged. 'Yeah, now that he's actually trying to do some good...'
Radley rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything more. When they reached Rishid's room, Marik stopped them and told them to go in.
Radley opened the door, arriving just in time to stop Yami Marik from killing him. "I'm afraid that I'll have to step in now."
Yami Marik turned, annoyed at the interruption. "Hmm? Ah, the spirit of the Millennium Ring..."
"Yes, but it's not just me. I've brought an old friend to see you. He's not too pleased with you." Radley said, folding his arms. Marik took a temporary physical form so that his yami could see him.
"You are NOT going to hurt Rishid, you monster." Marik almost spat, clearly very mad. "You'll have to deal with us first."
(A/n: I want my body back! XD)
Yami Marik just laughed, raising the Millennium Rod. "Fine, then. I will!"
Radley suddenly found himself pinned to the wall, unable to move. He blinked, then activated the Ring's powers for a counter attack. As Yami Marik turned to finish off Rishid, he found himself equally unable to move.
"I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken." Radley hissed. Yami Marik struggled to move, and finally the two of them released each other at the same time.
Yami Marik laughed. "So we can't use our powers to push each other around, then. We'll settle this over a duel!"
Radley smirked. "I can't wait."
Without further words, they exited the room and headed for the top of the blimp. Once they were there, the duel began.
'This will work out just fine. I know his deck inside and out.' Marik reassured the other two.
'It had better.' Radley returned, drawing his cards.
"I must warn you two... The loser of this duel pays the ultimate price!" Yami Marik called.
Radley just laughed.
Yami Marik frowned. "You won't be laughing for long, rest assured."
'Let me talk to him...' Marik asked.
Radley mentally rolled his eyes. 'Go ahead...'
Marik took control. "Yami, it's me." He started. He then began telling his yami how he had overheard his sister telling everybody about his past, and how he had learned that it was really Yami Marik that had killed his father.
Bakura listened with curiosity. Radley just seemed bored. 'Mushy stuff...'
Yami Marik laughed again. "Marik, you forget. You are not completely blameless for everything that has happened. I was born from your hatred, and therefore, you are guiltier than I am."
Marik looked down. "I know. But I can change that. From now on, I'll make up for everything bad that I've done." He looked up again. "And the first way to do that is to defeat you!"
Now Radley was really bored. He took control again. "Enough chatter, it's time to duel!"
'If we win this, you have to promise to tell me some things. You've been keeping something from me, and I want to know what it is.' Radley said to Marik.
Marik nodded. 'Yes, I'll tell you.'
'Good.'
The duel commenced. The shadows billowed around the dueling field as Radley looked at his beginning hand. He smirked.
"Already, my deck is showing you no mercy. I play one card face down and summon Goblin Zombie in attack mode!" Radley said to Yami Marik.
"Hmm. I'll also play a card face down, then I'll play Drillago. Drillago, attack his zombie!"
"Activate trap card. Fearful Earthbound."
"What?!"
"This trap card takes 500 life points from you each time you attack." Radley said, smirking. Goblin Zombie was destroyed from the attack, and Radley lost 500 life points, but Yami Marik also took the same amount of life point damage.
As the life point counter went down, suddenly a part of Radley's arm disappeared! Radley stared at it in slight confusion. "What are you doing to me?" he demanded.
Yami Marik laughed. "It's part of our dark game! The more life points you lose, the more of your body is consumed by the shadows! This is a death game!"
Radley rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I know how the shadow realm works. Besides, it's you who will be going there. Is it my move yet?"
Yami Marik frowned at Radley's calmness. "Go. But beware; none of your moves will surprise me. I've already seen your deck in action."
"Hmm." Radley drew.
Bakura mentally frowned. 'He's right, he has seen most of our strategies, Radley... We can't play Destiny Board; he's bound to have a way to get rid of it.'
Radley nodded slowly. 'Yes, but for now he doesn't have enough monsters to sacrifice for Ra, so we still have time.'
'Ra won't be a threat to this duel, even if he does summon him. He may know many of your cards, but I know all of mine.' Marik pointed out.
'Quiet, I know what I'm doing, and I don't need your help.'
'Oh yes you do. I know all of Ra's secrets, and I've got a plan that can put him into our control.'
"Quit stalling over there!" Yami Marik called out, clearly amused.
Radley glared at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, he placed two cards face down. "Two face down, and Gernia in defense. Your move."
Yami Marik laughed. "Hiding now, are we?" he drew. Looking over his hand for a second, he pulled out a card and played it. "Card of Sanctity, which allows us both to draw until we hold 6 cards in our hands."
The two of them drew, and Yami Marik's look of annoyance grew.
'He hasn't drawn Ra yet...' Bakura realized. Radley nodded.
"Trying to get Ra, are we? I'll do you a favor." Radley activated one of his face downs. "Multiple Destruction! We each discard all the cards in our hands and draw the same number we had before. In exchange, for each card I discard, I lose 100 life points."
Now Yami Marik just looked confused. "Are you trying to destroy yourself?!" he wondered as another part of Radley's arm disappeared.
"Did you draw your card?" Radley asked, ignoring the question.
Yami Marik snorted. "No." he placed a card face down. "Your move."
Radley smirked as he drew. "I'll sacrifice Gernia for the Puppet Master. He may have 0 attack points, but for 1000 life points, I can summon 3 monsters from my graveyard to the field."
The three monsters appeared on the field, and a part of Radley's torso disappeared.
'Be careful with those life points, you've only got 1900 left.' Bakura warned. Radley mentally rolled his eyes.
"You can't attack with those monsters yet." Yami Marik pointed out smugly.
"I wasn't planning to." Radley returned. "Activate face down trap card: Dark Designator! Move your Winged Dragon of Ra to your hand."
Yami Marik frowned. Silently, he moved the Winged Dragon of Ra from his deck into his hand. "I'm on to your plan, and it won't work."
"We'll just see about that. Activate Exchange!" Radley said, grinning.
The two duelists moved next to each other so that they could take from each other's hands. Radley, of course, chose Ra. Yami Marik chose to take Radley's Monster Reborn.
(A/n: Ever notice how everybody has the card Exchange?! T.T I want that card...)
'Darn, he took a good card...' Bakura commented. Radley ignored him, doing his best to concentrate on the duel. He was doing well so far, but that could always change fast...
"Hmm. Don't get too cocky. Even with my Egyptian God card in your hand, there's no way you can even use it." Yami Marik taunted.
"Yes he can, he's got me on his side, remember?" Marik spoke up, glaring at his other half.
Yami Marik wasn't fazed. "Oh, so the poor weak spirit can't duel without his little friend, then? How pathetic."
Radley glared silently.
'Just ignore him, he's an idiot.' Bakura said, trying to calm him down.
Marik nodded. 'Only one more turn, and we'll have him beat.'
Radley grit his teeth and nodded as well. "Go, Baka."
"With pleasure." Yami Marik returned, drawing his card. He smirked as he looked everything over.
"How does it feel to know that your best card is in your opponent's hand?" Radley taunted.
Yami Marik ignored him. "I play the magic card Vengeful Bog Spirit. Now, monsters cannot attack in the same turn they were summoned!"
"You're only delaying your destruction." Radley said, drawing a card for his turn.
'We have to summon Ra!' Marik said, stating the obvious.
'Duh.' Radley mentally rolled his eyes. "I sacrifice my three monsters for the Winged Dragon of Ra!"
"Activate trap card, Joyful Doom! This strips your three tribute monsters of attack points!" Yami Marik said, smirking. "And adding them to my life points!"
As the monsters disappeared and Ra's huge form began to materialize, Radley stared, shocked, at its attack points. "What?! Zero?!"
'One of Ra's abilities is that it takes on the attack points of the monsters that were sacrificed for it...' Marik explained somewhat dully, also staring at the huge powerless god.
Radley rounded on him. 'Why didn't you warn me that something like this could happen? You're supposed to know his deck!'
'I... I didn't know he had that card... He must have switched the cards around in his deck...' Marik admitted.
Radley growled. "Fine, I switch Ra and Puppet Master to defense mode."
(A/n: Waaait, how could he do that? He's switching Ra to defense mode in the same turn that it was summoned in attack mode... (shrug) oh well...)
Yami Marik laughed. "And now I've got you on the run!"
(----Divider----)
-Random Nurse named..... Oh, I dunno..... Joy. XP-
Checking the charts, the girl walked into the patient's room to make sure everything was still going all right. She saw many patients every day, but for some reason, even though he was unconscious, this John Doe was her favorite.
Recently, his name had been discovered, but the place where he came from was still unknown. She watched him silently, wondering what his untold secrets were...
Ryou Bakura...
She sighed as she remembered what the doctors had said on the day he had come in, so long ago. They didn't expect him to live very long after they took him off life support, and they had made the comment that even if he didn't, the poor guy really had nobody who cared...
She had decided then that she would care.
But that day, they had taken him off of the support... His body functioned normally on its own. Almost as if... it was just in standby mode, waiting for him to come home...
She sighed again and laid her hand on his arm. His skin was cool to the touch. Not unhealthy, but not normal, either.
She frowned at him. "What's up, Ryou?" she asked him, even though she knew he couldn't hear. She didn't know why, but whenever she came in here, she liked to talk to him...
He, of course, didn't answer her, but she went on anyway. "Yeah, I know... Sometimes, I- Oh!"
She stopped talking and pulled her hand back suddenly in shock as she felt his arm move slightly. "Wha... Ryou, are you... waking up...?"
Ryou's form didn't move as she watched with wide eyes. Finally she settled down, mentally chiding herself for being too jumpy. Of course he didn't move... he's comatose, and has been for years... why would he wake up now?
(----Divider----)
-Back to Bakura-
"I attack your Puppet Master with Drillago! This duel is finished!" Yami Marik exclaimed.
"We've only just begun!" Radley shot back. "I have the card to turn this duel around! Ra may be powerless, but I can still sacrifice it. I'll do so now to summon Dark Ruler Hades!"
The huge god vanished from behind the tomb robber and the Dark Ruler appeared in front.
Yami Marik chuckled. "You'll regret sending Ra to the graveyard."
"Ra is too weak for me. Even if you do manage to summon him, he'll still have zero attack points." Radley said, purposely sounding smug. "But speaking of the graveyard..."
He placed his card on the field and the duel disk automatically spit out the three cards he wanted out of his graveyard slot. "I remove these three monsters from play..." he said, tossing them down to the ground for now. "To summon Dark Necrofear!"
Yami Marik wasn't impressed. Radley didn't really expect him to be, and he continued.
"Now I play Premature Burial. I pay 800 life points to get a monster back from the graveyard. I choose the Earl of Demise." He said, placing the card from the graveyard onto the field. A part of his leg was consumed by the shadows.
'With three monsters on the field, he'll be more reluctant to attack me.' Radley explained, though he was talking to himself more than anyone else.
'Just be more careful with our life points! You keep wasting them like that, and you're going to-' Marik started.
'Hey, I'm the one dueling here! Do not give me orders!' Radley snapped at him. 'I know what I'm doing here, unlike you. If I hadn't listened to you, I'd still be winning right now!'
'If you hadn't listened to me, you'd be dead right now, so shut up!'
Yami Marik looked amused. He couldn't hear their conversation, obviously, but it was rather obvious that the two were fighting. "Quit wasting time and finish the duel! With Vengeful Bog Spirit still in play, none of your monsters can attack me this turn."
"I know!" Radley almost snarled at him with annoyance. "Make your move!"
Yami Marik laughed. "Fine then, I will. And believe me, you won't have another turn after this! I'll take you down with the very god you so quickly threw away!"
Radley scoffed. "You're bluffing."
"I'm not. Ra has many special abilities that neither of you two are aware of!" Yami Malik chuckled.
'That's impossible. I know all of Ra's abilities!' Marik protested.
'Apparently, you don't.' Radley stated dryly, watching his opponent.
"I play the magic card Monster Reborn! Winged Dragon of Ra, come forth!" Yami Marik announced dramatically.
Radley's eyes opened wide and he tried his best to hold back several swear words.
'Calm down, he can't use it. It still had zero attack points Besides, Vengeful Bog Spirit is still in play, and magic cards only work on gods for one turn.' Marik said, rolling his eyes.
'You idiot! Would he have wasted a Monster Reborn if he didn't know what he was doing?!' Radley said, not calming down at all. 'You didn't tell me this could happen!!'
Yami Marik smirked. "I activate two of Ra's special abilities. Point to point transfer, and Instant Attack!" With this, he crossed his arms and began the chant.
'... That's not the same chant that I use, he's doing something else!' Marik realized.
As Ra appeared, Yami Marik finished his chant, keeping his arms crossed. A smirk began to appear on his face as the shadows suddenly swirled around him.
Slowly, starting from his feet, Yami Marik began to disappear...
'He's sacrificing life points to feed Ra!!' Bakura suddenly realized. Radley nodded gravely.
"You very foolishly left your monsters in attack mode." Yami Marik noted, even though his mouth had already disappeared. Bakura, Radley, and Marik all looked up at Ra, realizing that the voice had come from up there.
Sure enough, there was Yami Marik, merged with the Jewel on Ra's forehead. He smirked.
"I have left myself a single life point so that I do not lose the duel, but a single attack from Ra to any of your monsters will wipe out the rest of your life points." Yami Marik said nastily.
Radley was in a sort of shock. "This... can't be happening!"
Yami Marik laughed again. "Oh, but it can. Winged Dragon of Ra, attack him now!"
Ra opened its mouth, and the huge beam of flames shot towards them. As one, they all screamed as pain shot through them with the flames. With the attack, Radley's mental link with Marik was ripped apart, Marik himself being thrown off into the darkness.
'Ok, ow... that hurt..' Bakura said, rubbing his head.
Radley didn't say anything back, focusing mainly on staying standing.
"Prepare to enter the darkness!!" Yami Marik cackled.
Radley glared up at him, standing up straight as more and more of him slowly vanished. "You fool... I am the darkness, and the darkness never dies..." Radley took a breath and continued, even as the very last of him disappeared. "You haven't seen the last of me..."
The moment the last of Bakura's body was gone, the two suddenly found themselves floating in darkness, the Millennium Ring having been left with Yami Marik by the shadows themselves.
Radley began to idly rage at them. "Stupid souls! Following that idiot, when you used to only follow me! And you call yourselves loyal! I aughta come and beat some manners into you." He began rolling up his sleeves.
Bakura giggled. "I don't think they have a choice, Radley, they're just shadows..."
Radley turned his glare on the boy, though most of the harshness was dropped. "Oh, I know, but I have to yell at something around here..." He sighed. "Well, I suppose we should head to the puzzle..... Bakura, where are you going?"
Bakura blinked. He didn't think he was going anywhere. "I'm not going any-" but then he noticed his movement as well. Something was pulling him slowly away from his yami!
Radley quickly grabbed ahold of his hikari's wrist to keep him from going too far, then turned to growl at the shadows. "You leave him alone, you hear? Only I'm allowed to do anything to him."
"Gee, that makes me feel better." Bakura said, smiling slightly. His smile faded as he felt his wrist sliding out of his yami's hand. "Radley, I'm slipping!"
Radley looked back at him, holding onto him with his other hand as well. "I noticed, Ryou... Whatever's pulling you isn't these puny shadows. I'm holding on as hard as I can here..."
Bakura held onto his yami with his free hand as well, not wanting to get pulled someplace where there was nothing to defend him from anything.
The pull strengthened, and soon, both hands or not, Bakura knew that whatever wanted him wanted him bad... Their grip on each others hands failed, and Bakura went flying backwards in the direction he had been pulled.
"Radley!!" He cried, startled at the sudden acceleration.
"Bakura!" Bakura could see Radley's now small form running after him in the shadows. "Get back here!"
His form disappeared over the horizon, and Bakura was alone in the Shadow Realm, being pulled toward an unknown destination. He sighed and closed his eyes tight, trying not to be scared...
In a place of shadows, this was not easy...
(----Divider----)
-The random nurse again-
When Joy glanced at her watch about a half hour later, she realized that it was time for her to go. Slowly, she rose, still watching the young boy.
"Good night, Ryou." She whispered as she gathered up her things. "It's been nice talking with you today."
When she had everything, she headed out the door. She was about to close the door when she suddenly heard a rustling sound behind her. Startled, she turned.
"Is somebody else in here?" She asked quietly. There was no answer. She sighed, going over to Ryou's bed, where she could see the whole room clearly to make sure that there wasn't somebody or something hiding in there.
As she stood at the foot of the bed, looking away from it, she concluded that there was nothing unusual in there. Suddenly, she heard the rustling sound again and realized that it was coming from the bed itself!
She turned slowly. "Ryou...?" she asked hesitantly.
The boy's eyes were still closed, but now his arms were up, holding his head as if it was in pain.
"Where am I?" he asked, his voice faint.
Joy's eyes lit up. He was awake! "You're in St. Peter's Hospital."
Ryou's eyes snapped open and he looked at her curiously. "A hospital? How did I get here? How long have I been here?"
"You've been here for about... Oh, 4 years now, I believe."
"4 years?!?" Ryou's eyes went wide. "What's today's date?!"
Joy looked at the calendar on the wall and told him. He seemed to relax a little. "Are you going to be ok?" she asked him.
He nodded slowly and swallowed, seeming to be thinking.
"I have to go tell some of the doctors that you're awake now, all right, Ryou? I'll be right back. Would you like the light on?"
"No, that's ok. Go ahead and leave it off..." Ryou said distractedly.
She frowned at him worriedly, and quickly left the room to share the exciting news. Ryou Bakura had finally woken up!
(----Divider----)
-Daricio-
Daricio was woken by the sound of the telephone ringing. By the time she threw the covers off, somebody else had gotten it. Quickly, she looked up at the time; it was 12:00 AM. Sighing, she lay back down on her bed.
For a few minutes, she tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. She was up, even if it was midnight.
Quietly, she jumped down from the bunk bed, trying not to disturb her sister. Pulling on a bathrobe, she headed downstairs to see who had answered the phone.
It was dark downstairs, she realized when she got down there. Whoever had gotten the phone, probably her parents, had answered the one upstairs.
Since she was already downstairs, she sat down at the dining room table. Closing her eyes, she entered her soul room to see if Yugi was awake.
She crept through their link into his room, opening the door quietly and peeking in. She was startled to find that the room was empty, meaning that Yugi was currently in full control of his body.
She blinked and took a temporary physical form next to Yugi so that she could tell what he was doing.
They were standing on the top of the blimp on the dueling platform, and a thick heavy darkness around them was just fading away, revealing Yami Marik.
He walked past the two of them, Yami/Yugi and Daricio, chuckling to himself. "Trying to interfere with my games again, Pharaoh? You're too late." Without another word, he got into the elevator and closed the doors.
Yugi took a temporary physical form separate from Yami and Daricio turned to them, confused. "What's going on?"
"Tea woke up in the middle of the night and found herself in Bakura's room, but he himself was gone. She came and told me, and we went looking for him..." Yugi said, still gazing towards the elevator where Yami Marik had gone.
Yami looked down with concern in his eyes. "With Yami Marik up here and Bakura still missing, I think... We can assume that he's been sent to the Shadow Realm..." he said solemnly.
Daricio frowned. "Poor Bakura... Radley's probably the one who started the duel, and now Bakura has to be in the Shadow Realm too..."
Yugi nodded. "Yeah, I know what you mean..."
"Hey, where'd Tea go?" Daricio suddenly noticed. "Didn't she come up here with you?"
Yami looked around, realizing the same thing. "Yes, she did... Where would she have gone?"
"I dunno, maybe we should go look for her. I hope Yami Marik doesn't have anything to do with this... If it did, I-" Daricio paused mid-sentence, tilting her head as she faintly heard her name being called.
Yami and Yugi listened as well. "I hear it too." Yami said. "It's coming from your side, Daricio. You'd better go."
Daricio nodded and let her physical form fade away back into Yugi's soul room so that she could go back to her own.
Once there, she was fully aware of DVD shaking her slightly as he repeated her name to try and rouse her.
"I'm up, I'm up..." She mumbled, opening her eyes. "What is it?"
DVD's eyes were wide. "The hospital just called. Bakura woke up from his coma..."
"What??" Daricio was shocked. "But he's in the Yu-Gi-Oh world, how could he be here... as... well..." her voice faded as she realized something.
"What is it, Daricio?" DVD asked. "Tell me quick, cause we've got to get ready. Dad's going to drive us down there to see him, since we were the ones who identified him..."
Daricio nodded absently. "yeah, ok... But DVD, over in the Yu-Gi-Oh world right now, Bakura is missing and Yami thinks that Yami Marik might have sent him to the Shadow Realm... What if instead of going to the Shadow Realm, he ended up getting sent back to his old body?"
DVD blinked. "Sounds pretty farfetched to me, but I suppose it's possible."
"We'll have to ask him about it when we get there, I guess... For now, let's get ready." Daricio suggested. DVD agreed, and they hurriedly got ready to go.
(----Divider----)
Daricio: .... To have more story, or not to have more story... That is the question... Eh, 20 pages is long enough for one chapter I think...
Malik: Maybe, possibly... (rolls eyes)
Daricio: (sweatdrop)
Radley: You know, I noticed that all of the weird things that happen to your characters.... usually end up happening to me and Kura...
Kura: (sweatdrop)
Daricio: (sweatdrop) 's not my fault that you're my favorite characters... Along with Malik...
Malik: (sweatdrop) Which would be the reason we're your muses...
Daricio: Right! See, so far I've written Malik stories, Bakura stories, Radley stories... sorta.... or at least Radley parts of stories...
Radley: Uh huh... We care why?
Daricio: ... I dunno... You just do...
Radley: (smacks forehead) That's not what I meant.
Daricio: I know. (happy grin) Anyway, please review! Ideas are welcome, even if the story's mostly planned out! Happy! XP