Chapter 18 – Part 1: A Friend in Need…

"Wake up Akari and I will take you to Bakura." The mysterious voice said as the hooded stranger gently shook Akari's sleeping form and groaned in frustration as she moaned softly in her sleep and rolled onto her side. "She sleeps like the dead, I'll bet she's even harder to wake than that dolt Bakura. AKARI WAKE UP!"

"You don't have to yell so loud…" Akari murmured as she sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Now can you please tell me where Bakura is?"

"Follow me and be quick about it." The hooded stranger said with a hard icy tone in his voice as he turned around and began walking away at a swift pace. "Besides you don't want the monsters to get you."

"So now what do we do?" Tea asked as the group of friends entered the temple to find a room with four doors.

"Every door in this room takes you deeper into the temple…but only one will lead you to your friend." A gentle voice echoed as they all looked at each other.

"Well it looks like we've gotta split up." Yugi said after a moment's silence had passed and no one said anything. "And to make it fair, four of us will draw names from a hat. The first name that you draw will be the person you're paired up with. So who wants to go first?"

And so as the group of friends drew their names from the hat, they had no idea that the group members they chose would be the least of their worries…

"Before we go any further I've gotta know, who are you and why are you helping me?" Akari asked as the hooded figure stopped, turned to face her, and slowly removed his hood.

"You could say that Bakura and I are related, although I'd say connected is more like it." The figure said as Akari stared in shock. The boy who stood before her looked almost exactly like Bakura except his features were highlighted by dark shadows and his eyes had a sinister look to them.

"Then you're…"

"Man I can't believe my luck!" Joey complained as he walked alongside Kaiba who was leading them down a long, dark corridor. "The poisonous darts and flesh-eating bugs I don't mind, but you are the exception to that rule."

"Whatever…" Seto mumbled as he continued walking forward, calmly ignoring Joey's insults and complaints as he scanned ahead for anything out of the ordinary. "You weren't exactly my first choice either, but Akari needs our help. By the way, there's a large boulder ahead, could you help me move it?"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Joey said nervously as Kaiba ignored him and began pushing the boulder out of the way. "who knows what else you might set off."

"If I remember correctly you were the one who set off the traps earlier. And just where did you get that idea anyway?"

"Right here from my trusty guidebook!" Joey said proudly as he held up a large, thick book titled 'Ancient Egypt for Dummies'

"Idiot…" Seto mumbled as he pushed the boulder out of the way and gazed into the inky darkness. "So what do you think is inside?"

"Kaiba that rock was there for a reason!" Joey scolded as Kaiba ignored him, then began running around in circles and began swatting at half a dozen bats as they followed him. "Ahhh! Get 'em off me!"

"Yes, I'm the darkness that was born in Bakura's heart when the ritual to seal the evil inside him was performed. You may call me Ryou." The young man said as he bowed slightly.

"Then why are you helping him now?" Akari asked puzzled as she continued to follow him.

"I've had a lot of time to think about my life and the things I've done, and I'm ashamed of the things I've done…" Ryou said as he paused for a moment and looked down at his hands.

"And you think helping Bakura will help you earn his forgiveness?"

"I don't know…but I know how much he means to you and unless we do something to stop them, he will disappear from this world completely." Ryou said solemnly as Akari looked at him again, but this time she noticed his eyes had a somewhat gentle look to them. "It always begins the same way; the darkness calls to light and the light calls to the dark and poor Bakura always gets caught up in their fighting. I've tried to help him before, but he just pushes me away…"

"Be careful where you step Mai," Serenity called back over her shoulder as she stepped over a large crack in the floor. "I think there might be some weak spots in the floor."

"Thanks for the warning hon.," Mai said appreciatively as she did her best to follow Serenity's footsteps. "but you really ought to watch where you're going."

"No problem." Serenity said cheerfully as she continued walking forward then yelped in surprise as her foot slipped and she started falling into a deep pit filled with thousands of writhing snakes. "Mai I'm falling!"

"Don't worry I've got you!" Mai yelled as she dove forward and caught Serenity's hand. "And whatever you do, don't look down."

"We're here," Ryou said as they finished their trek and began looking around for Bakura, "but are we too late?"

"NO BAKURA!" Akari screamed as she saw a large group of monsters fighting each other and took off running at breakneck speed.