Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, and neither do you, FOOLS! HAHA!

MidnightBallad's Notes: Here's the new chapter to fill in the big plot hole – Bakura can do some explaining for us. Enjoy!

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Chapter IX:

The Creator

'That's impossible,' Yami growled. 'Bakura would not have had the knowledge back then to do such a thing.'

'So you say,' Marik muttered. 'Ask him yourself, you'll get the same answer out of the guy.'

In her head, Tory's brain was churning over questions. She had been in a few off-putting situations with Bakura, and she didn't fancy having to talk to him again. But she still asked Marik, 'We'll need his help, won't we?'

Yami glanced at her sideways. 'Hmm? What're you talking about?'

Tory spoke quietly. 'Bakura created six out of seven items...that means he knows where the rest of the Essence Items are, doesn't he?'

Marik saw that Tory didn't like that, but he said nothing of it. He didn't want to start another row again, after all. Eventually, he just sighed deeply and nodded.

'You know Bakura, so you talk to him.' Yami said, looking back to Marik, who held up his hands to Yami.

'Hold on a sec, Bakura doesn't trust me. After the Battle City Tournament, he'd rather rip out my soul than help me.' Marik snickered afterward, recognising that he had the upper hand in this to-be argument.

Yami nodded in agreement, paused, and then shook his head. 'I suppose Bakura would not trust me, either. But if you talk to Ryou –'

'Ryou wouldn't know,' Tory pointed out, still talking quietly. 'He...the memories...' She took a deep breath and smiled. 'Fine, I'll talk to him.'

'Are you sure?' Yami asked with doubt in his voice. Tory whacked him on the arm with the back of her hand.

'I'm not going to see him alone – you and Marik will come, too.'

'We will?' The two boys asked in unison, as if disappointed.

Tory watched as the ambulance, now with Kontan lying in the back, drove away down the street. 'Yeah, and fast, too.'

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In the back of Seto Kaiba's limousine, the young CEO was busy polishing his newly claimed Essence Eye. He was so happy that he had, once again, beaten Tory to another Item. He tried not to smile, but he couldn't help it.

Jemu glanced at him from the other side of the limo. 'What're you so happy about?'

Still smiling, Seto placed the Essence Eye in the black foam packaging inside its little box. 'There are only two items left, Jemu. I have two, and Tory hasn't got any (A/N: He doesn't know Tory has the Tauk). Unless she and her two friends can come up with a brilliant plan to steal those items before I get them, then I've already won this race.'

Jemu raised an eyebrow. 'Oh, really?'

'When all the Essence Items are together, they unlock the place where the Essence Puzzle, the master of all the Essence Items, is hidden. And once the place is unlocked, I can take the Puzzle and use it for myself. So far, I only have the Scales and the Eye, but I'm well on the trail of the Essence Ankh (A/N: Key?) is.'

'So...you're saying that even if Tory gets an item, she'll have to give it to you if she wants to get the Essence Puzzle also?'

Seto put the little black box containing the Essence Eye on top of a larger black box, where the Essence Scales were being kept. With a sweeping smile in Jemu's direction, he leant back in his seat and awaited the trip back toward the airport.

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The door to Ryou Bakura's house swung open, and the white-haired teen was greeted by three familiar faces:

Tory Bryson, Yugi Motou and Marik Ishtar.

'Hello?' Ryou said. Not a greeting – a question. 'Can I help you three?'

'Bakura can help us.' Yugi said rather darkly for his young body.

'Bakura?'

Ryou suddenly scrunched up his eyes and slammed the door in the trio's faces. Tory giggled. 'Yeah, you were right, Yugi.'

She, Yugi and Marik turned as Ryou came walking down from the side of his house, eyes clouded with a strange evil that was almost unexplainable unless one knew this teen's past.

'Bakura,' Tory said with a short nod, no longer giggling. 'Still occupying Ryou's body, I see.'

Bakura just laughed under his breath, before turning to Marik. 'So...you're here too, are you? What are you doing with these two?'

'That's none of your business.' Marik said, his eyes also dark.

Bakura addressed Yugi. 'Ah, still following Tory around, I see. And with Marik Ishtar? Well, well, this will be an entertaining story –'

'Can it, ahou, we don't want to hear it.' Tory snapped. 'Why we are here is a serious matter, and come hell or high water, we're going to get the information out of you that we need.'

Bakura gave her a very icy look. 'Last time we spoke, you insulted me; now you threaten me. You should learn to hold your tongue, Tory.'

Tory just said, 'Likewise.'

Bakura held his head high and spoke to Yugi and Marik. 'I don't want to cause a brawl today, so hurry up and ask me whatever it is before I lose my temper.'

Marik pointed to the Tauk around Tory's neck. 'The Essence Items.'

Bakura took a quick breath through his nose, as if shocked.

Marik lowered his finger. 'Or have you forgotten them, Bakura?'

Bakura could think of nothing to say, before he clicked his tongue and went over to Tory. 'You found out about my creating of the other Items, did you?'

'Of course,' Tory said, feeling a deep hate bubble within her. 'You cursed my Crest, and created the other Essence Items. We want to know how, and where the rest of them are.'

Bakura was, once again, lost for words. What did Tory want with the Essence Items? Had she suddenly figured out their power?

Bakura rounded on Marik. 'You told her, didn't you?'

'She had a right to know just how dangerous her...Crest...Tauk...is. Or, how dangerous it has become.'

'You backstabbing lowlife.'

Yugi placed his hands on his hips and said stubbornly, 'What happened to you not wanting to start a brawl, Bakura?'

Bakura hissed, 'Shut up, Yugi. You know nothing of this – maybe the Pharaoh within you does, but you certainly don't.'

The little boy had been stood down, so he just glowered at Bakura as he continued to argue with Marik.

'Well, seeing as you've told everyone my past secret, maybe I should tell Tory some of yours.'

Marik looked like he was holding back the urge to punch Bakura straight in the face. Eventually, he relaxed and went silent as Yugi had.

'So...' Bakura said with a sigh. 'You know about the Essence Items. And what do you want with them?'

'Kaiba wants them,' Tory explained. 'He plans to gather six of them and then get to the Essence Puzzle. We're trying to stop him by getting the items first and destroying them.'

Bakura wiped his nose for no reason at all. 'Kaiba is smarter than I thought. He knows that by gathering them together he'll be able to unlock the tomb where the Essence Puzzle resides. Has he got any yet?'

Tory nodded. 'Two. The Scales from some American and the Eye from a man who lives not too far from here.'

Bakura said, 'I buried the Scales beneath a statue of Horus, just on the outskirts of the city where the Pharaoh Atemu once reigned. The American guy must have just dug it up. The Essence Eye...I have no idea how it got out of Egypt, but I assure you I had nothing to do with it.'

'That's great,' Tory said snappily, yet with little interest. 'We just need to know where the other items are, before Kaiba gets to them.'

For some reason, Bakura agreed. And in her head, Tory knew why: the Essence Items must be so powerful, so dangerous, that even Bakura thought they should be destroyed.

'So,' Yugi said, deciding to speak up. 'Where are the other three items?'

'Only three?'

'Tory has the Tauk and a shard of the Rod.'

'Well...the Ankh and the Ring are in Egypt, buried in the sands, in other's tombs. But the Puzzle...it is in the most secret of all places.'

Yugi took a desperate step forward. 'Where is it?'

Bakura only said darkly, 'Find out for yourselves.' And with that, he just left the trio on the road –

'Bakura, wait!' Tory said suddenly, making Bakura turn around. 'How did you create the Essence Items in the first place? And what powers do they hold? It could help us.'

Bakura thought for a second before he decided to reveal everything. 'The Essence Items were made by a power you could not understand. As for their powers – each one is different, seemingly helpful, but if not used correctly, then it can be dangerous,

'The Essence Rod controls all the elements on earth, and can also send a person into a sleep of eternal nightmares,

'The Essence Tauk has great immunities to the Shadow Realm, can also summon monsters from their cards, but is one of the darkest of all the Essence Items,

'The Essence Ankh has no real power, but once the Essence Puzzle is located, it can help unlock where it is,

'The Essence Scales send those who have sinned greatly to the Shadow Realm,

'The Essence Eye allows the wearer to see into another person's soul, and also delete selected memories,

'And the Essence Ring points out both Essence and Millennium items. Also lets the wearer transform into a Duel Monster for an hour.'

When he was done, Bakura grinned. 'Satisfied?'

Marik wasn't. 'What do you mean the Tauk is the darkest of all? And what about the Puzzle?'

Bakura did not feel like answering either of those questions. The Tauk had a secret that only he knew about, and the Puzzle was so dangerous that not even himself, the creator of the Essence Items, would dare even touch it. He cast a look at Yugi – not even his other personality could handle the power that the Essence Puzzle had. He glanced at Marik. No way... Bakura muttered, shaking his head. And then he looked at Tory. In her previous life, she may have been powerful, but now, she was a no one. Besides, the secret that her Tauk held would keep her stumbling right through this race against Kaiba.

Finally, Bakura gave in. 'The Essence Puzzle holds an evil spirit known as Samut within it. And Samut is like the God of Death himself – anything Samut touches will be sent to the Underworld, never to be brought back. It is dangerous, deadly – no one could control him. No one can control him.' Saying no more, Bakura went back inside his house, slammed the door, and the trio heard it lock.

'Ahou...' Tory repeated under her breath.

'This is serious,' Yugi said in quite a small voice. 'If Kaiba gets the Essence Puzzle first, then –'

'He can't get to the Essence Puzzle first, because we still have some of the items,' Marik pointed out. 'Still...we better hurry up.'

-End Chapter IX-

MidnightBallad: Done and done. Yeah, confusing, I know. You don't really need to concentrate on anything Bakura said; it's just some background info. Actually, do concentrate on the stuff he said on the Essence Puzzle and Tory's Tauk. More stuffs to come :)

Anyway, replies to reviews:

Replies to Reviews:

Ayame akakuru Kaiba: Aha...wow. Long review, am very delighted to answer some stuff or make comments on some of it, cause I'm bored right now. Here we go...

- Yugi annoys me, Yami is much better plus he's needed more than Yugi is.

- I have an obsession with eyes, especially the multi-coloured ones. Too much Final Fantasy X...

- Tory'll be nicer to Marik eventually.

- The receptionist was supposed to be an idiot.

- Someone swore?

- Akogi is an idiot, like his receptionist. He's too in love with himself to worry about Duel Monsters. Let's just say his brain's made of money.

- Akogi is also sick and an idiot, so Tory will get him back later on, don't worry :D If not, feel free to kill him yourself.

- I don't recall him drinking wine, but once again, he's got money – and he knows how to use it.

T-Bone and AuroranWings: The trio fell into a plot hole. A big one.

Sylvia Viridian: Jemu's only about 14 or 15 – seeing as Kaiba's heaps older, it'd probably never work between them two. So...they can just be good friends. Even if it's not Jemu, though, Kaiba still needs a girlfriend :) And don't worry about the reviewing, cause I have to go back to school very soon, so I'll be updating slower.

CatDemon-MilalaYeah I know, sorry :P It probably wouldn't hurt the guy, though. Just weaken him.