Author's note: Alright, let me first of all sincerely apologize for the delay in the update, but I have very good reasons for that. For one thing, something kind of happened, and I was down for a few days. It seems to be getting better now, so that's good. The other thing is that my teachers find that the entire year isn't enough to torture us with loads of work, so they really pounded us hard this last week of school, plus finals next week. So I'm really sorry for the delay, I've just been really busy. Well, here it is now, so enjoy and thanks for reading! It's appreciated
Guilt had beat on them a bit as they continued on the trail. Not until they had actually seen what had really happen did they truly understand just how miserable everything was for him. Everything he had ever told to them, more so Yami Yugi, was a common day thing to moan about in their world, so it was easy to assume it was only simple complaint and did not take it as seriously as it should have been. The true extremes of his situation had hit them hard.
The trail led them into a cave of shining crystals. Everything in the cave besides the ground sparkled from the purple, pink, clear crystals hanging on the walls on and the ceiling. The lighting in the cave hardly became darker, so they were able to see where they were going as they continued on. Finally, they had come to a larger area of the came, Anubis standing in the middle of it, waiting for them. They took a cautious approach towards him, but their looks toward him were not as vengeful.
"We didn't know that-" Anzu tried to talk to him, but he cut her off.
"I do not want nor need your sympathy," he stated. "An act with no reason is simply sick. It would be inane for me to see myself better than anyone if my actions were not justified."
"Why do you kill?" Kaiba asked him. "Do you think because you can kill people makes you better than them?"
Anubis did not bother answering his question.
"I did not come here to explain everything," he said. "I came here to play."
The group looked at each other. As usual, Yami Yugi wanted to be the one to take the challenge, but he was again stopped. Unexpected, Bakura put his arm in front of Yugi, signaling he would fight this time. What a surprising fighter he was. He had hardly anything to say this entire time, and he was definitely not the most courageous or strongest of the group, but he took the fight anyway. Knowing he was being seen oddly by his friends, Bakura made himself sound completely serious.
"I'll be okay," he told them. "I'll fight him this time."
Deep inside, Yami Bakura only laughed.
Anubis pointed to a narrow stairway that led them to an upper level of the cave. Up there was a window which they could watch from. Still unsure whether Bakura would be fit for such a fight, the group waited a moment before leaving. Bakura shooed them away, trying to convince them he would do just fine. Eventually they gave in and headed up the curvy stairs to the upper level. Once up the stairs, a massive boulder fell in front of the narrow path, blocking the way back.
"We are alone now," Anubis smiled at him. "Now if you want to stop hiding behind that phony innocence…"
Yami Bakura knew what he was talking about. His face became darker and his eyes now had a death stare. He smiled as if he had just taken pleasure in killing someone. As he had suspected, the spirit present in this foe was not his true self. It was of another being, one much more twisted and sick, almost the complete opposite of him.
"Humph, so you return," Yami Bakura laughed. "How many times are you going to come back and fail?"
"I have not failed, not this time," Anubis argued back.
"Have not failed yet," Bakura mocked. "I see straight through your plan. When I saw those visions, I understood. You know that it won't work."
"I have on my hands a know it all," Anubis laughed at him. "Alright then, if you know what I am planning to do, tell me why it will not succeed."
"It's simple: mortals are not good enough for it. They aren't good enough to die. They can only continue their own failing path until they die. That is their fate," he said.
"You have no power to tell the fate of people, where as I can determine and enforce it. And that is what I will do," Anubis almost bragged. "Tell me: what is your purpose? Why have you come back? What is it you plan to carry out?"
Bakura stood in silence. The fact of the matter was he did not know how to answer his questions.
"Why do you hesitate?" Anubis asked him. "Do you not have a motivation, or are you driven merely by instinct?"
"Driven…by hate," Bakura admitted, because it was the only thing he knew. "I know what I have to do, and I'll do it, no matter what becomes of it! I know there's something I don't see, but I feel the answers will come shortly."
"No, you will never know the answers. Your time ends here."
"I'll end here? I'm not the one with a curse upon his soul. You can never rest in peace. You're left to wander the Earth aimlessly, alone and unseen. That must be miserable."
"That curse has become my strength, because I can never die. I can always come back and continue on my destruction. You were able to come back, but again you have been left in the body of another soul, memorizing only hate. To me, it is you that is the unfortunate one."
"Let's not forget that any destruction you do is undone," Bakura smirked. "Continue your destruction my ass. If you mess up once, you have to start over."
"As if it is hard to put back things to the place they were. Better yet, putting them back in a new, better order you had never even thought of before. That is how it works."
"You think you're so immortal, but I plan to show you that that's not true, and you're nothing but a fake."
"You dare to call me fake when you use your host as a disguise?"
Their argument continued for a few minutes. Watching from upstairs, the group could not hear a word being said. They knew that there were things being said that Anubis did not want them to hear. They watched on as the argument between the two came to an end.
"There is no need to argue about strength when it will soon be determined. Who will win his game? This will determine the one who brings him down," Anubis told him.
Yami Bakura did not understand him, but he was ready for him. He still believed this man was a weaker foe than what he looked; his strength was merely overrated. He went to the other end of the cave, as Anubis did the same. Amazingly, the Millennium Ring appeared around his neck. He grabbed and looked at it, wondering how it came to be with him again.
"Do not get your hopes up. That is not the real Sennen item," he told him. "It is only for the use of this fight."
As long as he had something relatively close to a Millennium Item, Yami Bakura had confidence he would win this fight. He was well aware of how to work with it. The grin on his face seemed irremovable with the ring around him.
"In this battle, I shall face you, Bakura!" Anubis pointed at him.
"Idiot, I know that," Bakura laughed. "Get on with it already."
"I believe you misinterpreted me. I said I would be facing Bakura, not you," he laughed loudly.
"What?" the grin finally left his face in confusion.
Anubis' pearl began to glow. Yami Bakura felt himself separating from his host. He no longer had control of the body, and all senses of touch and scent had been lost. Yami Bakura now knew he would not be in this fight. He saw as his soul was completely away from the original Bakura. Even his own spirit he could not control. Anubis had him caught.
"You, too, are mortal," Anubis told Bakura. "That makes you like everyone else."
"Kisama!" Yami Bakura scolded.
"Do you honestly think you would accomplish anything by using your weaker half as a shield?" he yelled. "You are nothing but a cowardice opportunist, one without courage to face his own problems straight up! Such scoundrels will not be given any chances, especially ones with no memory."
Yami Bakura's soul began to disappear. He screamed in pain as he was slowly disintegrating into the air.
"It is to Hell with you," was the last thing he heard before completing vanishing to Hell.
The group had watched that entire thing from above. They felt immensely deceived by Bakura, whom they had trusted so much earlier. However, they knew it was not of the real Bakura's control. It was his dark side that had been using Bakura for such acts.
"Wait, if Yami Bakura is down there, then Bakura is down there!" Jounouchi panicked.
"What?" Honda tried to understand him.
"Yami Bakura has vanquished…so that means…fighting Anubis right now…is Bakura Ryou…" Yugi explained.
The group turned back to watch through the window. Bakura Ryou had fallen after his Yami had been released from him. Slowly, he rose to his feet, unsure of where he was and why. A bit frightened, Bakura looked behind him to see a significantly larger in every aspect Anubis at the other side of the room. He stepped away, but progressed nowhere.
"Who are…you? Where am I? Why I am here?" Bakura asked him. "What's going on?"
"Such a mindless fool you are," Anubis said to him. "You have no idea what is happening do you?"
Bakura shook his head. He was standing against the wall behind him, moving as far as he could from his enemy.
"You are in a Yami no Game," he told him. "Around you neck you wear a copy of the Sennen no Ring. With it, you are to use a powerful stream which strength is determined little by the physical strength, but by the will of its user. It will shoot automatically, but how long it lasts and how it matches with the opposing stream depends on the strength of the will and desire of the item holder. That is you."
Bakura's face turned white. He had been given the shock of his life. He was stuck in a game to the death with someone he didn't even know. Even worse, he knew not where he was, how he turned to be there, or why.
"This is exactly what you did to Pegasus, or do you not remember that either?" he asked Bakura.
Bakura had no answer. He did not know of anything Anubis was telling him. He just wanted to get away from everything, but had nowhere to run. He was trapped.
"Whether you are ready or not, the game is on…now!" Anubis told him.
Energy streams of bright lights emerged from the ring and Anubis' pearl. At the center of the room in the cave, the two streams collided. The streams continued directly attacking one another, neither of them fading or weakening. Bakura was still dazed as of exactly what was going on. He did not know how he was tapping into the powers of the Millennium Ring, but he tried urge himself on so he could leave. This allowed him to keep his stream of light kept up with Anubis' for a bit of time, but Bakura became tired anxious. He did not want to be there or hurt anyone. He wanted to be left alone. The more he thought about wanting to leave, wanting to end it, the less urgency he had within him. It led to the weakening of his stream, and it was becoming overpowered by his foe. Both began moving closer to him until his could no longer stand up to Anubis'. Bakura thought if he gave him the victory, he could leave. From the start, he truly had no faith in himself he could win, and he had no intention of winning. From the beginning of the fight, there was no chance for Bakura, especially without his Yami.
Bakura's stream had become too weak, and it faded when it was a few feet from hitting him. Anubis' stream went straight against Bakura, knocking him back to the wall. Bakura laid on the ground in defeat, holding his back as Anubis walked over to him.
"Bakura!" Yami shouted from the top, the window blocking the sound. He knew what was coming and could not stand to watching losing another one of his friends. He ran back down the stairs in hope he could save him. Everyone else followed him, trying to stop him from getting himself killed, for they doubted Yugi alone could stop him. Arriving at the bottom of the stairs, they found it was blocked by a boulder. Together, they tried to push it free. Even all of them could not make it budge. Though they knew they were making no progress, the group continued to push.
Back in the cave, Bakura continued lying on the ground. Anubis stood above him, looking at him in disgust.
"You've won," Bakura told him. "Now could you leave me? I just want to be alone…"
"I do not give my enemies what they want," Anubis laughed. "Fool, do you not know you have inhabited a dark spirit in your body for the longest time?"
"I…" Bakura stuttered. He could not admit the truth. It was not Yami Bakura using Bakura as a shield, but more of the opposite. He hid behind his darker half. His life had been full of hardships and tragedy. He couldn't take it! As long as he had his Yami, he would be strong and be protected! It was the only way he could be.
"You are the most pathetic living being I have ever seen!" Anubis screamed at him. "You are a nothing! You hide in fear of life and have no desire to play it out! You run and hide so nothing happens to you! It is so much easier to run, is it not? Well no one ever got anywhere by running and hiding!"
Bakura looked away. He wasn't going to deny it. Anubis thought of him just as he thought of himself: a weak and cowardly being. Nothing for him ever seemed to go right, and so he was always alone, and that was how he wanted it. He did not want to bring harm to anyone, so he stood alone for much of his life.
Anubis could not stand looking at such a person. Someone so weak, he could not tolerate. He would be rid of him, but not without making him suffer first. He grabbed hold of Bakura, who did not even bother to fight back, and viciously began beating him. Throwing him against the crystal covered walls, the sharp edges of these stones dug into his skin. Along with furious punches and kicks, every piece of Ryou began to feel broken. Cuts scattered about his body bled all over, as well as his nose. He could hardly move, let alone breathe. Bakura simply lied down taking anything that came at him. To him, there was no point in trying to even defend himself when all his defense would do is fall.
Behind the boulder, the group could hear Bakura shriek in pain as he was tossed around like a ragged doll. They knew Anubis was ripping him apart, and Bakura could not fight up against him. They pushed the boulder even harder to no avail. It simply could not be moved by the likes of them. Nevertheless, they continued anyway.
Anubis paused momentarily to remind Bakura of something he had never revealed to anyone, the one thing that sparked his fear. Anubis did not want to kill Bakura before haunting him with it.
"I know why," he pressed his foot on his chest. Bakura coughed. "Years ago, you had been left alone by your parents…except you were not very alone, were you? You were not the only one there. Left behind also was your sister, Amane. What a sweet young girl she was, and she was left solely to your responsibility."
Bakura's eyes began to water, remember his younger sister.
"But that was a responsibility you could not handle!" he continued. "That fatal day, your sister was walking across the street to retrieve some food from the store. You came outside and saw her…and saw the car coming. It came so fast, but it was at a distance which you could have saved her from it. Instead, you watched on as it slammed on its breaks not in time to stop itself from hitting her. She was hit hard…so hard that she goes flying feet down the street. Worst of all, she did not die instantly. She had to suffer through minutes of pain before death. And what did you do? Be nothing but a spectator! Even after she was hit, you did not come to her aid! Nobody knows of her, and it is all because you have kept her existence and death a secret! You were ashamed of her! What kind of a person are you? Were you too concerned about your own life being hit by that car rather than hers?"
Bakura covered his ears. He did not want to listen anymore. He was already haunted by this memory everyday, and it hurt him. It was not his shame in her, but himself. He refused to acknowledge it for his own sake, to stop him from putting himself down more than he already did.
By saying that, Anubis knew he had done enough suffering to Bakura. Yet he was not through. He continued his assault after that, and Bakura's body became nothing more than blood and bones. Anubis slammed him to the ground, and desperately Bakura crawled on the ground to his aggressor's feet.
"I…I know…what I did…about her…wasn't right," Bakura cried, with tears flowing from his eyes and blood from his mouth. "I can't…keep pretending…it never happened; that she never existed. Please…make me pay for it. If that would be death…then so be it."
Anubis looked at him, and suddenly had remorse. It suddenly occurred to him that Bakura's life was easier than his was. He too was alone and haunted by something. For him, it was his sister, while for Anubis, it was his name and cursed soul. While Anubis did not find their similarities enough to forgive him for what he was, it was enough to stop a torture that could have gone on for much longer. He took the dagger from his boot and grabbed Bakura by what was left of his shirt. He pressed him gently against the wall.
"You are not forgiven, but I will release you from your misery," Anubis said to him, holding the dagger to his chest. Bakura had accepted it.
He pointed the tip of the blade at his heart area and stabbed straight through it. He dropped the body to the floor.
The gang was still pushing the boulder. Anzu had run up the stairs to look out the window and see if he was still okay. When she was upstairs, she had just missed the killing. All she saw was a lifeless, beaten Bakura lying against the wall, Anubis standing next to him. She knew there was no longer a need to continue attempting to push the boulder. Bakura was already gone.
She ran down and informed the others of Bakura's death. Angrily, the remainder of them stopped pushing. They had never felt so helpless. Even when trying to save someone, it could not be done and everyone was doomed. At that point, they began questioning as of whether continuing the trail was even worth it if they were only going to end up in failure. Kaiba, being the only one refusing to be taken down by this thought, led them out of the cave.
And only four remained.
Author's Note: I've read little Yu-Gi-Oh Manga, so I do not know the full story of Bakura's sister Amane, other than the fact she was killed (and I think it was by a car accident, too). So if I have that wrong, I apologize.
On another note, summer is almost here! Just have finals next week to deal with, and I'm done! My schedule for finals isn't too tough, so perhaps I will get some time to work on 17 during then. As far as updates in the summer go, I can give you no guarantee I will be able to update every week as I usually do, but I'll do my best to give them as frequently as possible. I tried to get this done before summer vacation, but obviously that didn't happen. I have quite a few chapters to go before this story is complete.
I hope that everyone is doing well, and that everyone has a great summer! I hope you continue reading and reviewing. Love y'all!