x.x.x.

In the Shadow of the Castle

x.x.x.

"Yami?" Yugi's voice whispered through the darkness of Yami's soul room. The child had been calling his name for several minutes now, with increasing worry, and Yami was trying very hard to gather enough strength to answer him.

Yami's soul room was a twisted mess of corridors and rooms and stairs, seemingly defying all logic and at least twelve major laws of physics. Yami lay on the floor (or perhaps it was the ceiling; he couldn't really tell anymore) and stared up through the many hidden mysteries of his own soul, listening to Yugi's voice.

The pain was getting worse. It had been increasing steadily for a while now, and Yami had said nothing of it. He didn't want to worry Yugi or Seto or… Mokuba. Mokuba, that poor boy. Yami regretted what had been said the last time he had talked to Mokuba. He hadn't meant to hurt Mokuba's feelings, but he couldn't have allowed him to get his hopes up. Mokuba was young yet, and deserved far more than the love of a ghost.

"Yami!" Yugi called again desperately. "Yami, please answer me! Are you all right? Are you still there?"

Yami took a deep breath, shuddering at the wracking pain that filled him. "I'm alright, Yugi," he lied, trying to keep the pain out of his voice. "Don't worry about me."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Yugi exclaimed with obvious relief. "You were quiet so long, I thought you were-" He trailed off, not wanting to even mention what he had thought had happened.

"I'm alright," Yami murmured again. "Concentrate on your duel. You'll lose your advantage if you don't pay attention."

"Oh, right!"

Yami let out a sigh as Yugi's attention was diverted back to the duel the boy was currently playing. Yami had only been paying scant attention to it; Yugi's opponent seemed to have something of a fetish for insects, and rather looked like a bug himself. Yami had given encouragement and suggestions at the beginning, and had trailed off as the pain worsened. It seemed Yugi was still doing alright on his own, though.

"Pharaoh?" a quiet voice broke in on his musing.

Yami's eyes flew open, startled to find someone else was in his soul room. His visitor wore purple robes, an almost exact matching color to his long violet hair. His pale blue eyes were worried. He looked like the little portrait picture on Yugi's favorite card. The Dark Magician? What was a duel monster doing in his soul room?

"Who're you?" Yami muttered, struggling into a sitting position. A sharp pain lanced up his sides, and he curled forward, willing the thrumming pain to stop.

"Pharaoh, you must try to remember. My name is Hansha, I am one of your Guardians."

"Guardians?" Yami's eyes widened as he remembered the legend of the Guardians, a fairy tale that children were told long in the past to help them sleep. When a person was alive, a Guardian would watch over them. And when that person died, their Guardian led them to the Other Side. "Go away. I'm not dead yet."

"I know," Hansha murmured, approaching. "I'm here to keep you from dying. You must try to hold on, Pharaoh. You are still needed."

"What do you think I've been doing?" Yami demanded.

"Listen," Hansha said urgently. "You are fading much faster than your partner Yugi is. You're going to need help if you're to survive long enough to face Pegasus."

"I have help," Yami said. "Yugi and Seto…"

"They are good friends, and they will help you a great deal. But you're going to need more than that. You are familiar, I believe, with the one that bears the Millennium Ring?"

"Him? I have to ask him for help?" Yami growled. "I think perhaps I'd rather die."

"Dying is not an option, I'm afraid," Hansha murmured. "And yes, somehow you will have to convince this Tomb Robber to give you strength. There are others on the island as well… other holders of Millennium Items. You will need their help, but do not trust them."

Yami frowned. "I still think I'd rather die."

"Focus, Pharaoh!" Hansha snapped at him. "Yugi and Seto need you. And Mokuba needs you."

"Mokuba?" Yami sighed and shook his head. "The other two, maybe. But Mokuba I think would be better off without me around. He's an impressionable child, and already he's getting these ideas…"

"He's not such a child," Hansha murmured. "I think you may have noticed that. I think perhaps you may need his help most of all."

x.x.x

Night would be falling soon. Already the sky was turning soft shades of red and orange and pink, preludes to the majestic sunset that was to come. Malik sat high in a sturdy tree, watching the sky change colors. This was one of his favorite times of the day, when the whole world was repainted in jewel-toned colors. He'd spent so much of his childhood never seeing a sunset or sunrise. He wondered perhaps that if he had, the bright lights of the outside world would have chased out the darkness that was festering within him.

Ishizu did the best she could to protect him from this… other side of himself. But Ishizu had always been such a sweet, passive creature. Even as a child, if Malik begged her had enough for something, she would in the end consent. She would never be able to stop him. As much as Malik wished she would.

"They're here," whispered the dark voice within him, making Malik tremble. "They're here on the island now. The Millennium Ring, and the Millennium Puzzle."

"They aren't what we came for," Malik softly reminded that eager, dark voice. "We're here for the god cards. And we'll get them." He looked down at the glove he wore, its metal cuff already boasting two new stars that he had won that morning.

"It is no longer enough!" snarled that dark presence. "I want the Millennium Items. Find them. Get them for me."

Malik took a deep breath. For a long time he had wanted to disobey his dark self's commands, but he had never dared… "I… I don't want to."

"WHAT!"

Pain overwhelmed Malik, a sharp shooting pain that began in his head and in his heart, quickly spreading throughout his body. He let out a cry, losing his balance on the tree branch and tumbling to the ground. He hit several other branches along the way, landing with a heavy blow that he was sure snapped a bone or two.

"Now you listen to me, you ungrateful sack of shit," snarled the voice in Malik's head. "I'm the one in charge here. If I tell you to jump, you jump. If I tell you I want the Millennium Items, you get them for me. IS THAT CLEAR!"

Malik groaned, staring up at the patches of jewel-colored sky shining through the tree branches. "Yes… Master."

x.x.x

Ryou didn't know how long he had been in this place. He supposed it wasn't such a bad place to be, on the whole. It was quiet, comfortable and warm. Dark mists of sapphire light danced around him, embracing him in sympathetic caresses. He didn't remember much of how he got here, but he wasn't too concerned about leaving. If he left, that… thing would be out there. That dark voice inside his mind that said horrible things to him, and sometimes stole control over Ryou's body. It was the dark thing that sent him here, but Ryou didn't mind so much anymore. Sometimes he felt that he could lay down here in the mists and sleep forever.

A shaft of light pierced through the purple mists, illuminating Ryou. He shielded his eyes from its sudden brightness, peering hard at the figure that approached. Though he could barely make out the form, Ryou did recognize the voice of the dark thing.

"You," Bakura said quietly. "I need your help with something."