Author's Notes: This chapter contains a duel! Aahhghhgff. Don't worry, if you can follow the duels in the series, you should be fine with this one.
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I hear the breath of ghosts
Hiding behind the wind
Like an icy choir exhaling
A promise to rescind
I hear the breath of ghosts
Whisper in my ear
With every drooling syllable
It preys upon my fear
I hear the breath of ghosts
Slowly fade away
With ever decreasing frequency
As colors change to gray…
~ Assemblage 23, 'Breath of Ghosts'
As Ryou's sneakers pounded against the shadow-strewn pavement, he almost stopped to think about how incredibly foolish his plan was. Almost.
But he had started mulling over this idea the second it became obvious that the Pharaoh would not help them. Bakura had said there were two people that could help her; if one failed, he decided, it was natural to try the other. Even if that other was a deranged Egyptian.
Ryou did not expect Marik would comply with his wishes; he fully intended on fighting. He wasn't as sure in his ability to overtake the larger, Rod-wielding man without the element of surprise, but he had brought his deck with him. Physical fighting wasn't what he had in mind.
After he and Bakura had gone back home, he had briefly turned on the news under the pretense of distracting himself. In truth, he was hoping that there'd be a story that detailed the last known whereabouts of the stranger terrorizing Domino. For once, luck was with him. When Bakura fell asleep, one look at her face, twitching at half-realized nightmares, was all it took to convince him to challenge the tomb-keeper.
Ryou passed by the site of Marik's last attack. There were police questioning bystanders, and paramedics loading mysteriously cationic people into the back of an ambulance. He used his powers of introversion to render himself invisible in the crowd, staring at the ground and hunching his shoulders as he crossed the street quickly. Marik couldn't have gotten too far away by now.
He went around a few blocks, following only his gut and ducking away from the patrolling police cars, feeling a bit criminal for slinking around. Nevertheless, he didn't want a well-intended officer to stop him for questioning and slow him down.
Ryou finally spotted the tall, cape-swathed form of his target. He was walking down the street with several of his mind slaves, chatting jovially with them, even though they were silent and their motions jerky and zombie-like. Ryou set his jaw. He tried to dwell on the same well of courage that'd allowed him to tell off the Pharaoh, but it was harder against a man that was much larger and far less tolerant.
"Marik!" Ryou shouted as bravely as he could and pulled out his deck, "I challenge you to a duel!"
He came nowhere close to the level of intimidation the Pharaoh managed to instill in those words.
Marik's mind slaves acted first, turning around like dolls on strings, moving to protect their master. He then slowly turned, with a grin already on his face. Marik waved off his mind slaves dismissively, stepping forward.
"Well, look who it is," he chuckled, setting his chin against the Rod, "The thief's pet boy! What's the matter, don't you like what I did to your master?"
"I want you to change him back," Ryou demanded quietly, refusing to be intimidated as the larger boy approached him.
"Hmm, hmm… now, why would I do that?" Marik twirled the Rod, "Personally, I much prefer him this way – but then, perhaps you're more inclined towards men."
"Just fight me!" Ryou bristled, shuffling his deck to distract his nervous hands.
Marik laughed and shook his head. "Touching, but I really have more important things to do than waste my time on love-struck mortals. In fact, since I'm in a good mood, I won't even kill you for distracting me."
Ryou watched him turn and start to head back down the street. Why had he figured that Marik would take him seriously? He sought for something to say, something that would make the Egyptian mad enough to fight him – then his eyes fell on a nasty bruise on the back of Marik's neck, from the comatose-inducing blow Ryou had landed during their last encounter.
"…I see I left quite a bruise," Ryou noted, forcing his voice to drop into the sly, dark tone Bakura always used while in his body.
Marik stopped. His head craned around again, but this time, there was no grin on his face. "You were the one who did that?"
Ryou allowed himself a slight smirk. Trying to emulate Bakura gave him a strange amount of confidence. "Unless you'd like me to give you another one, I suggest you not turn your back on me again."
Marik growled an inhuman sound, gripping the Rod tightly as he removed his deck from his back pocket. "You asked for this, boy," he hissed, narrowing his dead eyes.
Ryou's smirk broadened. It felt alien on his normally sweet face, but part of him was genuinely happy. He was afraid, too, of course, but that part was overwhelmed by his drive to fight for Bakura.
Possibly because his fear of Marik was outweighed by his fear that he did, indeed, like what Marik had done to her. It made him feel as though he had an obligation to help her get changed back.
He was getting too attached.
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Yugi stared at the moon that hung low in his window. He couldn't sleep. There was a buzz in the air, something he couldn't identify as anything other than creepy. He'd felt the same the night the Rod was stolen…
He may not have had any magic powers like Atem, but he had been the holder of the Puzzle long enough to have a sense for dark magic. The small boy glanced over at the floor, where the Pharaoh lay on his makeshift bed. Sleeping on the floor of Yugi's bedroom was the best compromise he could come to; it was sufficiently close to his partner without truly invading his space.
"Pharaoh?" Yugi asked quietly, reaching out and shaking the slightly larger boy's shoulder. He was a little hesitant to disturb him. The former ruler had come home in something of a mood, after leaving mysteriously. It wasn't like him to not at least tell Yugi where he was going, but he hadn't said anything before he left, or after he returned.
"Mh? What is it, Yugi?" Atem sat up slightly, rubbing one of his eyes.
"Can you feel that?" Yugi murmured, glancing out the window.
The Pharaoh furrowed his brow in puzzlement, before his eyes widened in realization. "A Shadow game!"
He stood up quickly, pulling his Item around his neck. "Come on. We have to stop this!"
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Sure enough, they came to a dark stretch of street with an unnatural black cloud cloaking several dozen yards of pavement. But it was dissipating even as they ran up to it, and soon revealed the only remaining participant.
Marik shook his head, chuckling as the black wisps of fog curled around his cape. There was a deck of cards lying scattered on the ground several feet away.
"You!" Atem balked, but stood in front of Yugi protectively. "The thief wasn't lying!"
"Oh? Well, good evening, Pharaoh. It seems I'm getting to meet all of my old friends tonight," Marik laughed to himself, "Shame that the last one had to leave so quickly."
The Pharaoh's puzzle was already glowing. "I'll fight for the freedom of whoever you sent to the Shadow Realm, you monster," he growled, and his hand went for his deck –
"Out of my way!"
An angry, female shriek startled him, and a blur of white shoved him aside bodily. The Pharaoh stumbled, and all eyes turned to the enraged girl that was suddenly among them.
"Where's Ryou?" Bakura demanded of all of them, a dangerous fire burning in her eyes. The Ring was around her neck this time, and seemed to glow with malevolence.
"Ryou? Oh, the boy," Marik shrugged, "I can't say which part of the Shadow Realm I sent him to. I wasn't really paying attention."
"Brother!" Ishizu and Odion weren't far behind Bakura, but they both kept their distance. They knew to be wary of their possessed sibling.
Atem was confused. He had been certain he had gotten rid of Marik's dark side. He looked at the other tomb-keepers for explanation, but Bakura's infuriated voice interrupted him before he spoke.
"You will fight me, you bastard," Bakura seethed at Marik, running over to Ryou's cards and gathering them up, "Right now!"
Marik laughed again, folding his arms, "I'm so popular tonight. I'm honored, but really, I don't care to--"
"You should listen to my host, young spirit."
Everyone stopped and looked at Bakura once again. Atem clutched his Puzzle. He could feel the presence of an incredibly dark force, one that made Marik's black aura pale in comparison.
A dull look overcame Bakura's face, and her eyes went blank. Her voice had become deeper and distorted all of the sudden. She froze, swaying in place slightly, before a strange grin curled across her lips.
"I am sure you don't care about your host's siblings," the distorted voice continued, and she cocked her head. The Ring glowed. "But I'd wager that he does."
"What are you getting at?" Marik scowled, looking confused and perhaps a bit intimidated. He felt the same thing as Atem. "Your bluff doesn't fool me. I eliminated your powers, girl--"
"The girl is no longer speaking."
Bakura's head bobbed slightly. She was like a marionette being puppeteered by someone lacking the patience for elegance. Atem stood closer to Yugi. Bakura must have been right about that, too – he hadn't managed to get rid of her darkness completely, and sensing her weakness, it had come back with a vengeance.
"I have my reasons for wanting to fight," it continued, using Bakura's voice, "So why don't I give you some? Two, to be precise..."
The thief's slim hands motioned skywards, and two dark forms burst out of the ground, directly behind Ishizu and Odion. The undead duel monsters, made very real by the Ring's magic, lurched towards the older Ishtars and set blades and bony claws against their throats. They struggled, but they were without any Items and powerless.
For once, the smirk was wiped from Marik's face. Something seemed to flash in his eyes, a glimpse of his true self breaking through. His face twisted slightly, distorting into an angry grimace, and he started to thrust the Rod forward – before yelping and dropping it, doubling over to clutch his hand.
"Tomb-robber, stop this!" Atem went for the Puzzle, but it seared his hand too, and he had to throw it to the ground before it burned through his shirt.
"Idiots," Bakura's head was tilted back, and her light, feminine laugh sounded disturbingly sinister, "The same hate and blood that fuels those Items is precisely what gives me my strength. Do you really think you can use it against me?"
Marik shook his head, the spirit forcing himself back into control. He snarled and picked up the Rod, ignoring the pain. The dark fog started to coalesce around them once again. "Very well then, whatever you are. If you wish to join your former vessel so badly, I'll oblige."
Bakura's body suddenly jerked, as though her strings had been cut, and she stumbled back into awareness. She looked distinctly unsettled.
The Pharaoh could only watch as the darkness enveloped both thief and grave-keeper once again.
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"Here we find ourselves again," Marik sneered, "Only this time, you've brought a friend, I see."
Bakura steeled herself against the cool wind that blasted from the Shadow Realm, shifting her glare from Marik to the spirit that hovered behind her. "Why did you assist me?"
"Simple, pretty vessel," the spirit purred, "I want you to lose so I can have your body. Unlike you, I hardly care about the details of the body I inhabit."
"What a friend!" Marik laughed, glancing down at his deck. He still held the hand from his duel with Ryou. "But even I feel two against one is a bit unfair. And besides, I wouldn't want to make the duel too rough, seeing as I'm fighting a lady. I am quite the gentleman, after all--"
"Enough of this!" Bakura snarled, quickly taking out her deck and drawing a handful of cards.
"Tell you what," Marik began, glancing down at his hand, "I'll make this simple. Your vessel actually put up quite a fight. He got me all the way down to 800 life points and destroyed most of my monsters. If you can destroy the one monster I have left – just one – I'll give you back everything taken from you. I won't even reset my life points."
Bakura bristled at the insult to her dueling skills, but remained alert. He was setting the conditions of a Shadow game. He could not lie or rescind. There had to be a catch, though. "And if I don't?"
"Then I think that spirit will get his wish," Marik smiled.
"What about Ryou?" She narrowed her eyes, gripping her cards tightly.
"If you lose, you'll be able to spend all eternity with him in the Shadow Realm. How romantic," Marik chuckled, tilting his head at one of his cards in particular. "Though…"
"Just go!" Bakura hissed around the knot of anxiety building in her throat and stomach. What kind of monster would he risk an entire duel on? Had he managed to get his God card back? Was it something as powerful…?
Either way, a quick glance at her hand eased her fears. Her deck had been good to her, and had already given her Destiny Board, along with Cyber Jar, Dark Necrofear and Earl of Demise. Unless this monster could finish off her 8000 life points in less than five turns, she had already won. She grinned slightly, "Let's see this all-powerful monster you have."
"Very well then," Marik's grin matched hers, and he lifted the monster card, revealing it. She squinted. It had the orange card of an effect monster, and she blinked as she recognized the art on the card.
Shining Angel? That was a weak monster, with only 1400 attack points and its effect only kicked in when it was destroyed. Even then, it was nothing more impressive than letting the user summon another Light-type monster in its place, and Marik had said he was out of monsters. She furrowed her brow, and he set it down in attack position.
"I see that you're confused, thief," his grin widened, "Were you perhaps expecting the Winged Dragon of Ra? No, this card will be much, much better than that. Why, I think you'll be flattered…"
A white glow formed in front of Marik, slowly taking the shape of the angel on the card. One pair of golden wings uncurled from the monster, then another set unfurled, revealing it completely. Bakura paled, and the spirit behind her started laughing.
Ryou blinked and squinted at the dark clouds enveloping them. Dark as it was, it was bright compared to where he had been.
"Bakura? I… what's that behind you? What's going on--" He yelped when he turned and saw one of the large golden wings sprouting from his back and holding him aloft.
"I took a page right out of your own book, thief!" Marik cackled, insanity creeping into his voice, "A fitting tribute, I think, to such a lovely woman. Your move."
"No!" Ryou struggled, wings flapping uselessly. He couldn't move from attack position.
Bakura stared in disbelief for a long moment, before shaking her head. She drew quickly; Dark Hole. That wouldn't work, but she could still win this duel without hurting him. "A nice trick, but useless. I play--"
"Ut," Marik interrupted her, showing her the other card in his hand, "Destiny Board won't help you now. My other card is Heavy Storm – it'll just obliterate your magic cards. Goodness, you're such a cheater. I've already made things so easy for you; is it so much to ask for you to try to win fairly?"
Bakura panicked slightly. She couldn't summon Necrofear or Earl of Demise without tributes, and Cyber Jar's side effect sent all monsters to the graveyard. All of her wonderfully destructive monsters and trap cards were suddenly the last things she wanted. The thief closed her eyes and steeled herself. Perhaps her next draw would be more helpful.
"I end my turn," she muttered quietly.
"Giving up already? Where's that fighting spirit?" Marik lowered his head, "You know what this means. Shining Angel, attack her directly."
Ryou protested, struggling harder, but he was forced to lurch forward. "No! I won't hurt her! You can't--"
But he was unable to break free of Marik's command, and he came at her, fist pulling back. His punch connected with her jaw and sent her reeling.
"Bakura!" Ryou cried out, and tried to reach for her, but since his attack was over, he was drawn back to his side of the field. "No," he croaked, wings curling slightly.
Bakura stumbled back to her feet and rubbed her jaw, tasting blood in her mouth. She had no idea her vessel could hit that hard. It brought her life points down to 6600 and left her with the slightest feeling of betrayal. Marik was laughing.
"It's not his fault," she muttered to herself and drew again. She became tense. Raigeki wouldn't help her either. She inhaled raggedly, shuffling her hand, "I… end my turn, again."
Ryou's eyes went wide, and she looked away from him, but stood her ground.
"Cards not being kind, are they? Or is it that they're being too generous?" Marik taunted, then motioned forward, "Well, time for another attack. Shining Angel, knock some sense into her."
Ryou wailed, but was once again propelled forward against his will. He struck her in the cheek, hard enough to leave a bruised welt that forced her right eye closed. Bakura was unable to hold back her cry of pain this time.
"I'm sorry," he whimpered helplessly, tears streaming down his face.
"You know, according to the boy's memories, those same fists used to snap concrete blocks," Marik noted casually, as if sharing a bit of interesting trivia, "I'm afraid your pretty face doesn't stand a chance."
Bakura clutched the tender side of her face, her heart racing. It went against everything in her being to allow herself to be attacked like this, but she would not be made to destroy Ryou. She hadn't let Marik destroy him before, in the fight against Pharaoh and his Sky Dragon, and she wouldn't let him now.
The spirit leaned down, whispering in her ear. "This is all a bit familiar, isn't it…?"
Unbidden, memories of the nightmare she'd had about Ryou rose to the surface of her memory, conjured by the spirit's will. "Heh heh. Let's hope he sticks to punches, mm?"
"Get away from me!" she snapped, her voice slightly muffled by her swollen lip. She knew the spirit was conspiring with Marik, trying to unsettle her, trying to make her so desperate that she fought back. The draw of her next card didn't help, either. Mirror Force. It wouldn't destroy him instantly, but it would destroy him.
Nevertheless, she refused to bow to them. She still had 5200 life points.
"I end my turn," she hissed, and Ryou cried audibly now.
"Really, now, I expected more from you," Marik let out an exaggerated sigh, "To think, I once admired you. I might even call you a bit of a role model. Don't I ring any bells? A powerful Egyptian man, full of hatred and bent on revenge…"
Bakura looked up at him. She ignored the spirit and narrowed her one good eye, "You are nothing like me."
"Oh, not now, certainly! But back then," he grinned darkly, "we might as well have been cut from the same cloth. But I digress. This is so easy it's becoming tedious. Shining Angel, why don't you see if you can break her nose this time?"
He did. Her head cracked back, and Ryou was spouting gibberish now, begging her to fight back but too choked up to speak properly. Blood trickled from her nose, and blackness pooled around her formerly good eye.
Bakura shook her head, vision filled with stars. The pain in her face was becoming unbearable; her head rang, and her neck ached from being snapped back three times, now. Her footing was shaky, and she fought to keep a grip on her cards. She had endured far worse beatings in the past, but never in a body as weak as this one – and never from someone she trusted so much.
"You're not doing him any favors by letting him live," the spirit hissed softly, and his voice seemed to swim around her head, "If you lose, I'll get your body, and what use do I have for such a weakling? I'll kill him first. I'll stab him over and over--"
Bakura found a sudden strength in a new wave of rage, and she peeled her lips back in a fearsome snarl, even though the motion strained her damaged features. "You will not touch him!"
"Oh, it won't be me anymore. I'll be you. What would he do against you? He loves you so much he'd let me carve him up!"
Her rage wavered in the face of growing fear. She was in a catch-22. If she destroyed Ryou, he'd be sent to the card graveyard, and a mortal like him would be destroyed instantly in such a place. Not even the Pharaoh's magic would bring him back. But if she lost, the spirit would win. Desperate, she drew, and cried out in frustration. She was down to 3800 life points and she had drawn Trap Hole, a card that would've been useless even if it wasn't destructive.
"Besides, if you do win, you'll be me again anyway. He said he'd give you back everything you lost if you destroyed the boy – that includes what the Pharaoh's game took away. We'll be one again. You'll have all that strength and your own body again! Absolute freedom and power! That is what you want, isn't it…? Aren't you getting a bit tired of failing all the time? We'd be unstoppable…"
"I end my turn!" Bakura shouted above the poisonous promises of the spirit, trying to shut him out.
"Tsk." Marik glanced at his deck and drew a card, examining it. He grinned slightly, "I play Forceful Sentry. Show me your hand, thief – or rather, show us."
Bakura blinked, wondering what the purpose of that would be, but complied. In her fingers was a destructive spread that, under any other circumstance, would've been a great hand. It seemed like fate was mocking her along with the spirit and Marik.
Marik snickered. "Get rid of Trap Hole – I want him to see the other cards. See, boy? She can destroy you any time she likes. You'd better start hitting her harder if you don't want to die!"
Ryou paled slightly, but shook his head. "Bakura, please," he swallowed, "Use your cards. I don't want to hurt you anymore…"
"Be quiet," she growled, but it was forced. She'd never seen him look so torn and broken before.
"Go on and hit her again – aim lower this time," Marik commanded with wicked glee. "Attack!"
Ryou flew forward, coming much nearer than he had previously. She blinked up at him with one bleary eye as his wings cast shadows on her, strangely comforted by the brief closeness. He looked away in utter guilt.
Bakura's eyes bulged slightly as he punched her square in the stomach, knocking the breath out of her. She doubled over, gasping and nearly dropping her cards as she fell to her knees. Her strength was being sapped, and her life points had fallen all the way to 2400. Hope rapidly left her along with it, the familiar sting of inevitable defeat sinking into her chest.
She drew again, unable to get up off her knees. Man-Eater Bug. Tears of pain and desperation threatened in her eyes. Bakura didn't even have to announce the end of her turn, this time; her hanging head made it obvious. The spirit was laughing, loudly, happily. He could smell victory.
Marik rolled his eyes. "This is pathetic. You look like an abused dog. Shining Angel – kick her like one."
Bakura didn't look up in time to see Ryou's roundhouse kick come at her head, but she certainly felt it. She fell to one side, barely catching herself with the hand that held her cards. Her arm shook, and she swayed. The shadows of the game seemed to grow much darker, and it was so tempting to just fall down and give in to them, to let them win…
What could help her now?
"Good thing one more hit will finish you off. This duel isn't even good for a laugh at this point," Marik snorted.
He was right. She was down to 1000 points. She distantly heard Ryou's voice, sobbing as he pleaded for her to destroy him. Faintly, she heard the spirit laugh and start to boast of the things he would do when he had her body. She sensed him heading over to Ryou to taunt him specifically.
Bakura barely managed to lift herself back to her knees, fingers trembling as she reached for her deck once again. They came to rest on the next card, and it took more force than she expected to pull it off the top of the deck and draw it into her hand. Wearily, she looked down at what she'd drawn, certain it'd be another useless monster or trap card…
She blinked.
Ryou was running out of hope himself, when suddenly, he quieted his sobbing. He was the one who heard it first, and he glanced over at the thief in disbelief. But soon, it was loud enough for Marik and even the spirit to hear.
Bakura was laughing.
It was not a mad, desperate laugh brought on by the shock of defeat. It wasn't a bluff to try and confuse them. It was a real, genuine, victorious laugh, the kind of laugh she hadn't been able to have in a very long time.
She lifted her head with a sudden fire in her eyes, and a defiant grin on her otherwise broken and scarred features.
"I play," she wheezed, slamming the card down on the field with the last of her strength, "Change of Heart!"
The smirks that had been on both Marik and the spirit's face suddenly disappeared. In their absence, a smile spread over Ryou's face.
Marik stepped back. "What? No!"
Ryou spread his wings and flew over to her side, spreading his wings in front of her protectively. She smiled weakly. This seemed familiar, too. She was hunched over as he had been, and his wings were spread as her arms had been in the face of the god dragon…
"Destroy them, Ryou," she ordered quietly, "Destroy them both."
Ryou complied, wings lifting him high, before he swooped down like a hawk. He slammed into Marik with all the strength of his rage, and his attack sent out a wave of blinding light. It slowly engulfed Marik's side of the field and caught the spirit as well, chasing away all the shadows.
A howling wind rushed over the field and muffled the screams and protests of the spirits. Marik's life points fell to 0.
As Ryou's attack dissipated, the shadows of the Realm suddenly zeroed in on Marik, before rushing to swallow him, moving like a swarm of enraged insects. The shadows were hungry, and made hungrier by their joy to have captured two victims instead of one. In the face of their bloodlust, even the spirit's dark power wavered for a fleeting moment. It was long enough for him to be devoured.
Suddenly, the shadow game was over, and Ryou suddenly fell back to the earth, normal again. He quickly scrambled back to his feet and ran over to where Bakura had fallen.
"Did it work?" she asked in a voice that was little more than a groan.
He kneeled down beside her, and without a second thought, scooped her up into his arms. "You won," he congratulated her, tears of happiness following the streaks of their more desperate forebears. It was only diminished by the fact that all the damage he had caused had carried over into the real world, and her face was a mess.
She curled up and pressed her bruised and bleeding face against him, muttering. "You idiot."
He laughed quietly, downright happy to hear her call him names for once. Ryou held her tight and set his head against hers, his tears trickling down to her face.
The spirit's words echoed in her head, though she knew it was her own memory, and not the spirit speaking them.
'He loves you so much…'
An unusual warmth replaced the physical pain, making it minor, bearable, unimportant. She reached her shaking arms up and set them around his neck.
She supposed it was no coincidence that his soul's card that had saved her.
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Bakura slowly became aware of some of the activities around her. She felt a strange, weightless sensation, before she realized Ryou was carrying her.
The two Ishtars had been freed, the monsters the dark spirit had summoned destroyed after the duel was over. They had rushed over to the collapsed form of their brother, and were smothering the confused, dazed - but now normal - boy with hugs.
Ishizu composed to herself and explained the situation to the Pharaoh, and they exchanged nods. Simultaneously, they looked over at Ryou and Bakura. The thief had just enough energy to glare at the former king.
He approached them, his head lowered slightly. "My… apologies," he sighed, "I should have had more faith in you. Ryou… thief… I will see if I can help you, now."
They both perked at that. Maybe it didn't matter that Marik hadn't turned her back. Ryou had started to set her down, when a confused sound from the Pharaoh made them pause and look up.
"What's going on? The Puzzle, it's," he held the pyramid in his hands, looking at it at every angle, "It's… dead."
"What?" Bakura scowled, but felt her own Item. She hadn't been startled at the lack of its magical energies since she had grown used to their absence, but now she could sense absolutely nothing. No magic, no power, and thankfully, no spirit.
The Pharaoh quickly walked over to Marik and picked up his Rod. "The Rod, also… there's nothing here, anymore. It's just gold."
"What's the meaning of this?" Bakura sounded suspicious, still gripping her own Item and glaring down at its limp pendulums. To be cut off from her own Item was bad enough, but for all of them to suddenly 'die'…?
"I believe it means, Thief King," Ishizu stood, stepping away from her brother and leaving Odion to console him, "that you have finally succeeded in putting the souls of your family to rest."
Bakura just blinked up at her, uncomprehending.
"With the dark side of my brother banished, along with the manifestation of your own hate, the unbalance in our world brought by the Shadow Games was corrected. Everything that didn't belong in this world was finally expelled," Ishizu met Bakura's gaze, then moved to the Pharaoh, "The games are over, and the ninety-nine spirits that fueled the power of the Millennium Items are now at peace."
"So everyone's Items…" Yugi started, poking the Pharaoh's puzzle curiously.
"Nothing but ancient metal, now," Ishizu finished, smiling.
It took a while for the news to register for Bakura. She'd… won? Not just the duel, but she'd finally finished something that had tormented her for so long, for over three millennia?
She hadn't killed the Pharaoh. She hadn't gathered all the Items. She hadn't even had any of her occult powers. The time when she was at her weakest, lowest point, deprived of all the things she'd always depended so much upon, was the time she had won.
The thief laughed in quiet disbelief. She hadn't been powerless.
She had never needed power to begin with.
It was finally over. The spirit, the voice, her eternal tormentor – was gone. No more stupid Shadow games. No more monsters, ghosts, and nightmares. No more dark magic. A long-deserved sense of relief filled her and further eased any pain she felt, but it would take weeks for the revelation to really sink in.
"But you didn't change back…?" Ryou's uncertain observation interrupted her thoughts, keeping his eyes on her. They were large, brown, and so deeply concerned that she felt somewhat embarrassed to look into them.
She realized that there also meant there was no way to get her old form back.
"No, I suppose I wouldn't," Bakura conceded, wincing. It hurt to talk. "His condition for changing me back was to destroy you. That was… unacceptable."
Ryou said nothing, but she could feel his smile on her, and his arms tightened a little. If she'd had any more energy, she would've snapped and told him to put her down, but she was exhausted. Besides, she was still holding his neck.
"Just take me home," she murmured, closing her eyes and settling her face against his shirt.
She couldn't see him, but she knew Ryou was still smiling, and they left the Pharaoh and the Ishtars behind to deal with the aftermath. Bakura had done enough.
Home.
She hadn't had one of those in a long time.
And if this was the price for a home – for peace – for Ryou – well.
For once, she was willing to pay instead of steal.
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Author's Notes: Most of the cards Bakura and Malik use in the duel are now illegal and would never, ever come up in a 5Ds-era duel. But a quick run down of each card and its effect:
Bakura's cards:
Destiny Board: The oujia-board card set Bakura uses in his duel against Yami / Slyfer in the Battle City tournament.
Man Eater Bug: An Effect monster that can destroy one monster on the field when it's flipped up from face-down position.
Raigeki: Destroys all monsters on the opponent's side of the field.
Trap Hole: Destroys a summoned monster that has more than 1500 attack points.
Mirror Force: Upon activation, it destroys any monster on the opponent's side of the field that is currently in attack mode.
Earl of Demise: A Normal monster that requires a tribute summon (eg, a monster already on the field)
Dark Nercrofear: An Effect monster that can't be summoned without 3 Fiends in your graveyard.
Change of Heart: You oughta know what this one does! Allows the user to take control of one monster on the opponent's side of the field for one turn.
Cyber Jar: An effect monster that destroys all monsters on the field when it's flipped up from face-down position.
Malik's cards:
Shining Angel: An Effect monster with 1500 attack points.
Heavy Storm: Destroys all magic and trap cards on the field.
Forceful Sentry: Forces the opponent to show you their hand and allows you to pick one card to discard from their hand.