Disclaimer: "You don't own Yu-Gi-Oh..." Voices in my head keep telling me that every day...

A/N

Err...hello? I hope there are people out there who are still reading this story.../sweatdrops/

I know I should've updated sooner but...I was kind of busy and wasn't really in the mood and when I'm not in the mood to write, I shouldn't write because it turns out sloppy and cheap in the end and being a perfectionist I am, I'm not satisfied and... /takes a deep breath/ what I write, ends up in Recycle Bin in the end...Yeah...Hmm, mental note to myself: You're not really good at explaining things...

Anyway, it took me a while to write this and I'm not too happy with the result, but I know if I delayed this further, it'd take me a whole lot longer to update…And a huge thanks to everyone who reviewed! You have no idea how much that means to me!


The Legend of the Three Souls

Chapter XXI – Out of the dark

-by Alena S. Anigor


It was still fairly dark in the underground chamber despite the thin beam of light that was creeping in through the small gap on the ceiling. It was getting cold and Mai rubbed her palms against her upper arms, trying to shake the numb feeling off. Beside her, Serenity was sitting on the cold floor, huddled in the corner, her head lowered and her hands clasped, fingers intertwined. Mai guessed she was praying and felt somewhat ashamed. She noticed her lips moving slightly, the way her eyes were shut tightly in concentration.

A few feet away from them, Tea and Ishizu were staring at the small gap like in some kind of trance, trying to hear something or someone, anything that would assure them that the boys were all right. But, they couldn't hear voices that resembled human ones, they could only hear a thundering sound coming from outside, like the whole ground and the whole desert were shaking and trembling under the battlefield.

"What is happening out there?" Tea whispered, cerulean eyes wide and staring upwards. Ishizu glanced at her briefly; her expression troubled and worried, her whole demeanor tense and anxious. For a moment, she felt so restless that she wanted to push the rock further and climb out of the chamber, just to see what was going on. She was standing still now, listening to the disturbing sounds and echoes of roars and blood-curling screams of the cloaked creatures.

"I don't know," she replied dully, clenching her fists and staring at her feet. One of the Jackals moved from above, and Tea stepped back quickly when the remaining dust and dirt flew down and on her hair. Mai looked up from her position and glanced at the gap, her eyes tired and weary. She just wanted to go home already...

A strange sound came from outside, followed by a loud thud and Serenity opened her eyes, staring at the gap as well. One of the Jackals let out a quiet, vibrating roar and Ishizu quickly grabbed Tea by the shoulder and pulled her back, deeper into the darkness of the chamber. Mai was already ready to say something when Ishizu shushed her by putting a finger over her lips. Mai's thought was left unvoiced as she was staring at the gap wide-eyed, the commotion outside becoming more and more audible.

"Let's just hope they don't find us here," was the last thing Ishizu whispered before the air outside was suddenly filled with shrill howls and the temperature in the chamber fell down drastically.


Yuugi wished he could've seen something but due to the group of Jackals that were standing protectively in front of him, the chances to see anything at all were close to zero. Next to him, Joey and Tristan were shivering, their ears covered and their eyes shut firmly. A little further to his left, Seto Kaiba was standing, still clutching the important relic securely. His eyes were also closed, but it seemed like they were closed in some kind of concentration, creating wrinkles at the bridge of his nose and around his eyes. Although his lips were sealed tightly, his jaw was set firmly, shuddering. Yuugi managed to lift his foot and take a wobbly step to the left, stepping on one of the Jackal's foot clumsily. He looked up quickly but the creature was standing stiffly in his spot, completely immobile. He made his way through the crowd of the creatures, careful not to stumble and fall down.

"Yuugi!" Joey yelled from behind and he turned around briefly to look at Joey, looking at him worriedly. "Where are you going?"

Somehow, he wasn't in the mood to explain, so without replying, he took a few hesitant steps forward, until he was by Kaiba's side. The taller young man was clutching the bust almost painfully, his brows furrowed and his teeth gritted.

"Kaiba!" Yuugi had to yell due to the noise made not so far away but the CEO made no attempt to answer him. His head was swarmed with another set of visions that were swirling through his mind painfully, making his head throb achingly and his breathing shallow and ragged. He could hear the voice of someone, but it was like it was coming from someplace far, far away. Yuugi wanted to shake him, but decided against it, remembering what happened the last time the same thing happened.

"Kaiba, wake up!" Yuugi screamed at him before letting out a surprised yelp. His body was suddenly pushed backwards, the Jackals taking a few steps back, pushing them all into the background where other Jackals were standing calmly. He could Joey and Tristan yelling something as well, before Joey half-limped to his side and grabbed him by the hand so tightly he thought he broke every bone in it.

"Yuugi, what is going on?" Tristan shouted through the deafening noise, grabbing onto Joey's shoulder.

Something must've happened, Yuugi thought and bent down to peep through the small hole between numerous feet. His eyes widened when he spotted cloaks, mingled together with the feet of the Jackals.

"Oh, no!" He yelled and quickly glanced at the petrified looks on the guide's faces. They stared at him in some kind of mixture of fear and anticipation. Yuugi bit his lower lip and glanced at Kaiba who was still absorbed in the world of visions and lost memories.

His head was full of images, flashing violently through his mind, appearing and disappearing again as explosions of light. His headache increased tenfold and he was struggling to keep his sanity and consciousness. The visions were always followed by such repercussions but they were never so excruciating like now. He felt dizzy and sick and his head threatened to explode with the intensity of the pain he couldn't stop. It was like he found himself in hell; images of him and Amukh, dancing furiously around, images of people screaming, burning under the wrath of the ancient Priest, swirling together in one, sickening feeling and making him want to scream in agony.

"Make it stop," he growled laboriously, breathing heavily. From below, Yuugi and the boys glanced at him and their eyes widened in panic.

"Kaiba!" Yuugi yelled again, noticing just how pale he was, beads of sweat trickling down his face.

"Make it stop! Stop it!" He screamed, letting the bust fall out of his hands to grip his head, fingers digging into his skin. "I don't want to see it! I've seen enough! STOP IT!"

Yuugi decided to grab him by the shoulders now; shaking him vigorously while Tristan and Joey bent down to grab the bust quickly before someone else had a chance to snatch it.

"Kaiba, wake up!" Yuugi shouted, and already raised his hand to slap him across the face when the CEO finally stopped jerking and blue eyes snapped open, wide with something raw, staring intently ahead as if seeing someone from his worst nightmares. Yuugi stopped shaking him and was observing his pale complexion warily, Joey and Tristan gaping at them from aside mutely.

"Kaiba?" Yuugi whispered croakily, his voice cracking from all the yelling. Tiny specks of light still danced in front of his eyes, but his vision was slowly starting to become clear and traces of dark sky and something tall in front of him finally came into view. He blinked and looked down to see Yuugi, still holding him by the shoulders, his face pale and his expression perplexed.

"Yuugi..." He replied wearily, in his normal, leveled voice and then looked at the two Egyptians, eyeing him somewhat cautiously. He noticed the bust in Tristan's arms and the dark-haired guide quickly handed it to him, afraid he might do something to him if he didn't. Kaiba grabbed the bust from his hands angrily and glanced ahead to see a tall body of a Jackal in front of him.

"Are you okay?" Yuugi asked him in a concerned voice and he looked at the commotion ahead, hearing the disconcerting sounds of battle.

"I'm fine," he replied stoically then without another word, pushed his way forward, squeezing between the two Jackals. Yuugi, Tristan and Joey only blinked in astonishment, watching him moving forward.

"Where is he going now?" Joey exclaimed worriedly and bent down to see better. Cloaked creatures were fighting against the Jackals mercilessly. Spears were flying across the sky, hitting the targets expertly but that didn't cause enough damage; the cloaked monsters kept on coming again, swinging with pale, skeletal fingers and hissing maliciously at them. Yuugi bent down also to see something and his breath got stuck in his throat when he spotted Bakura, fighting with a young sandy-haired Egyptian and a few feet away, Shaid was standing stiffly, sending death glares in Amukh's direction.

"Shadi is in trouble!" He exclaimed, and Tristan bent down next to Joey to see for himself. Joey redirected his attention from the Jackals to the right and spotted the four of them. Almost simultaneously, the two of them gasped, staring at the young Egyptian who was ready to attack the thief again with his dagger. They were staring at him, speechless, their eyes wide in shock.

"It can't be," Tristan breathed in disbelief. Joey shook his head in amazement.

"Yeah, but...he's...there," he added, making Yuugi look at them in confusion.

"But...we thought...he died, he was supposed to be dead!" Tristan exclaimed in bewilderment, still not believing his eyes. Yuugi stared at them, puzzled for a moment.

"What are you talking about?" He asked them and they were quiet for a few seconds before Joey gulped and pointed at the young boy, trying to reach Bakura to stab him.

"Marik," he answered, his voice shaking a bit. Yuugi gave them another inquiring look. Tristan took a deep breath to finish what Joey started.

"Ishizu's brother."


Bakura was having a hard time trying to avoid getting stabbed by his old friend, now a foe. He wanted to avoid hurting him while defending himself but that didn't go both ways. Marik was merciless, swinging with his dagger swiftly and efficiently, occasionally landing a blow at his knife that came out as a clang or grazing his robes, tearing the material apart. By now, Bakura's robes were torn and in tatters, revealing his skin and exposing him to the danger of getting stabbed. And still, Bakura had no clue how to bring him back to his senses. He only had a second to glance at Shadi who was glaring at the ancient Priest threateningly, before he had to duck to avoid getting a haircut.

Across from them, Shadi and Amukh were leading a mental battle; glowering at each other, sand swirling around them wildly from the demonstration of power.

"Damn, it Marik! What did he do to you?" Bakura screamed and made one, dark-haired young woman gasp inside the underground chamber.

"That was Bakura, right?" Tea was by the gap in a second, looking out as if expecting to see Bakura standing above her. Ishizu was standing stiffly in the dark, eyes wide in shock and disbelief.

"Marik?" She whispered and clenched her fists, exhaling deeply and slowly. "It can't be...You're...no..."

Mai looked at her oddly after noticing her mumbling something to herself. Her attention was immediately on the small gap when a loud roar was heard and the muddy surface of the chamber shook slightly, making the dirt fall down again. Tea backed away quickly, becoming scared again. She clasped her hands on her chest and stared at the gap helplessly. She wanted to go out so badly, to help, to do anything, just so not to feel so helpless and useless, standing in the dark chamber while her friends were out there, risking their lives to save them.

She almost yelped when Ishizu suddenly pushed her aside and stepped on one of the stairs, raising her hands in the air once again.

"Help me," she said to Tea and she looked at her as if she had gone mad.

"But-" She started before the young archeologist cut her off.

"Help me!" This time, it was a command, followed by her serious expression and a strange gleam in her eyes. Tea was looking at her for a few moments numbly before she stepped on the stairs as well and raised her hands in the air until she was touching the cold rock.

Mai and Serenity were gaping at them incredulously. "What are you doing? Are you insane?!" Mai screamed but they didn't pay attention to her.

"Push!" Ishizu shouted and Tea gritted her teeth, pushing the rock with the little strength she still possessed. This time it was easier and the rock nudged a bit, the thin beam of light becoming wider and illuminating the chamber more.

Without asking question, Tea kept on pushing the rock, ignoring Mai's protests when Serenity joined them as well. She glanced at Ishizu and noticed an almost wild look in her eyes. Something must've happened that made her want to do something drastic as getting out of the chamber when the battle was raging outside.

"I hope you know what you're doing," she said on which Ishizu's gaze hardened. She had to get out; she had to know if her missing brother was truly still alive and somewhere out there...She wanted to see him...she wanted to know what happened to him.

She needed to know the truth.