HEEGLE HIGGLE HIIIIIIIIIIIGLE!! YAY!!
Disclaimer: No, no, no, no, no, no, and for the last time, NO!! I don't own YGO!! GEEZ!!
D/N: BUWNNNANANANNANANA!!! ... I mean, BWUHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHHHAHA!! Geez, I've been typing 'n' or 'm' instead of 'h' a lot lately... I think it means something. Ok, so WHATEVER!!
Yay! I finally get to respond!:
HarUwHiTe2blAcK: Trust me, you are not annoying. ERISO is annoying. You aren't. (Eriso: AHHHHHHH!!! FLAME SWORDSWOMAN SAID 'LOL'!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!) ... Like I said...
Silverdemon171: I know! Nothing will ever top Diplomacy! :'( And why do I only write YGO fics? Uhm... well... I dunno! What else would you want me to write?
Flame Swordswoman: (Eriso: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! NO MORE LOL!!) ... LOL. (Eriso: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Faints) ... Well, if I knew by saying that you'd faint, I'd have done it long ago!
Mandapandabug: Oh, no, I don't mind abbreviations, just so long as you don't put them in stories. Eriso just doesn't like em at all. Be sure to shout LOL in your next review! (Eriso: twitches)
Congratulate me! I found a use for bold!
Note: The cast knows that there's a Ryou and Bakura, a Malik and a Marik, and a Yugi and a Yami. Oh, and this chapter is gonna seem sooooooo Mummy, but it's really not. (Eriso: Suuuuuure it isn't.) ... And can someone look up suture for me?
OOOOOOOO
Once upon a time... The End!
OOOOOOOO
D/N: XD I ALWAYS WANTED TO DO THAT!! (Eriso: -.-;; Typical life goal...) ... But enough stalling! On with the actual chapter!
OOOOOOOO
"So, where exactly are we going?" Yami, in his spirit form, asked Yugi.
"We're going to Joey's house." Yugi replied. "They're having problems with a new dog or something."
"They?"
"Yes, Kaiba's over at Joey's house." Yugi said, walking around the corner onto the next block.
"And what, may I ask, is Kaiba doing over at Joey's house?" Yami questioned suspiciously. "Their relationship, last I checked, was not at the point where they would willingly spend time with each other. In fact, I seem to remember them doing the exact opposite."
"Well, it isn't really their choice." Yugi shrugged. "You see, they have to work on a project together. It was going alright, I guess. I mean, they're both still alive, so that's good, but then Joey's dog somehow changed Kaiba into a rat and was continuously attacking him."
"A rat?"
"That's what I heard."
"How fitting."
"Yami!" Yugi scolded. "That's not a nice thing to say about Kaiba, regardless of what you think of him!"
"But Yugi..."
"Or how true it may be..."
"Welcome to the dark side, Yugi." Yami smiled. "I hope you have a pleasant stay." Yugi just laughed to himself.
OOOOOOOOO
Joey was pacing around on the floor in front of Kaiba. KaibaII had stopped thrashing around in the closet, and had become eerily quiet. Joey wasn't sure if that meant the dog had hurt himself or had escaped, but he definitely wasn't checking. If KaibaII had enough power to turn Kaiba into a rat in a neutral mood, Joey hated to think what would happen if he summoned his magic now, especially after leaving him in the closet for over an hour.
'What's taking so long? Yugi should be here by now!' Joey thought to himself. 'I mean, I know it's practically 11:00pm right now, but still! He should've been able to get out of the Game Shop with Gramps' permission!'
The doorbell broke into his thoughts. "That's him!" Joey cried out happily, as he ran to the door, whipping it open. "Yugi! What took you so-" Joey suddenly yelped and jumped back in utter shock, for the person standing at the door was not Yugi - no where near - but instead...
"Are you just going to stand there gawking at me like the impudent mortal that you are or are you going to let me in?" Bakura growled. Pushing past Joey, who was still in utter shock over the appearance of the Tomb Robber, he raised his Millennium Ring in front of him.
"Now, Razatul... where are you hiding?" Bakura muttered to himself, as his Ring began to glow and the spokes begin to move. "Ah. So you're in here. Hiding from me, eh? That won't work, I'm afraid." Bakura grinned to himself, as he began moving towards the closet, which was where the Millennium Ring was pointing to, pushed away the 'barrier' and was about to open the door when he was suddenly stopped by someone.
A very small someone, that you're already quite familiar with.
Bakura laughed long and loud at this sight. "Well, well! It seems the High Priest has finally taken the form of a much more suitable creature!" Bakura snickered, grabbing Kaiba quite tightly and raising him in front of Bakura's face. "And how did you get this way, Priest? Did you accidentally stumble upon your ancient magic from another time?"
Kaiba squeaked furiously at him, until Joey came and snatched him out of the Tomb Robber's grasp. "Hey, leave him alone!" Joey scowled, plopping Kaiba back onto the coffee table that he was previously resting upon.
Bakura raised an eyebrow in amusement. "And what is this?" His grin grew. "Have you become the Priest's protector? Perhaps things will play out again as they did before." He paused and thought to himself, grasping his Millennium Ring and staring into it. "That would be very... interesting. And it would make my job so much more easier."
"What are you talking about?" Joey demanded to know. "And what are you doing here?"
"I'm talking about the incident that occurred in Egypt 5000 years ago that led to Razatul being in his current... state." Bakura smirked. "As for what I am doing here... Well, I can't have one as powerful as he free to roam the streets and possibly interfere with my secret plans, now can I?"
"Oh, no, we can't have that, can we, Tomb Robber?" An angry joined the conversation, as Bakura leisurely turned to face Yami, who had apparently let himself in. "And what, pray tell, would your plans be?"
"Well, Pharaoh," Bakura rolled his eyes. "If I told you, they obviously wouldn't be secret anymore now would they? No, I think I'll keep that information to myself. You'll learn of them soon enough."
Yami growled deeply at him. The sound was enough to keep Joey quiet. "What are you doing here, Tomb Robber?"
"I believe I already answered that question, Pharaoh." Bakura said, turning back towards the closet door. "Besides, I wouldn't complain if I were you. Truly, I am the only one who can stop this little... inconvenience since your memory is quite clearly diminished. I wouldn't antagonise me, if I were you. I may just decide to leave."
Yami opened his mouth to speak but Joey beat him to it. "Just listen to him for a little bit, Yami." Joey pleaded. "Who knows how powerful this guy is?" He eyed the closet. "So... if Bakura's no help, then he leaves."
Bakura's eyes narrowed. "You are in no position to be telling me what to do, mortal. I would suggest you keep your comments to yourself. Your skills will not be necessary this time." Joey merely blinked in confusion at Bakura, while he reached for the doorknob once again.
"What are you doing?!" Joey cried out, trying to stop him before he opened the door. But he was too late, and Bakura had already wedged the door open. Joey held his breath as all four peered into the closet. It was completely destroyed. Everything in there had scratch and teeth marks embedded in them, and not a single thing was left unscarred. But perhaps the most intimidating thing was the fact that the closet was completely-
"Empty." Bakura growled, slamming the door in fury. His eyes then automatically began scanning the room. "He's escaped somehow. I should've known. His power is as strong as ever. Most likely stronger, since he has had over 5000 years to train himself."
Curiosity finally got the better of Joey, and he blurted out quickly, "Is Razatul the spirit of a Millennium Item?"
Both Yami and Bakura's gaze fell upon him, and utter silence nearly deafened him, but finally Bakura said, "He... no. He was being punished for a terrible crime, but something went wrong and left him endowed with Shadow Magic. Eventually he was able to harness those powers to extract life from others in order to make himself seemingly immortal."
Joey looked at Bakura curiously. "Crime? What did he do?"
Yami sighed impatiently. "We don't have time for this, Joey."
Bakura smiled to himself. "I should think you'd want all the information you can get from me, as it will assist you greatly in the near battle against Razatul." Bakura sat down upon the chair that was closest, as Yami and Joey sat down as well.
"Long ago," Bakura recited, "The land of Egypt was a rich and prosperous paradise. Magic of all sorts ruled the laws of the people, and the people themselves. Almost all persons were taught magic, except for foreigners and slaves for fear they would cause trouble, and rank in the social classes were dependant on the amount of magical power and knowledge of Shadow and Light Magic someone knew.
"Now, the social classes were divided into four categories: The Magical Elites -the class your beloved Pharaoh belongs to - who knew practically all of the secrets of both Light and Dark Magic, the Mages, who were knowledgeable in the art of magic but not so much as the Elites, the Magicians, who were only introduced to a very small portion of magic - the peasants and young - and finally, the Foreigners, who - since almost every drop of magic was located in Egypt - knew next to or absolutely nothing about magic.
"It just so happened that Razatul was a Foreigner who came from a land long forgotten and travelled to Egypt in search of a better life. Unfortunately, most Egyptians saw little or no use for those who were unable to perform even the simplest of spells, and so Razatul was forced to beg like a dog searching for a scrap of food.
'How fitting.' Kaiba thought to himself.
"One day, when he was as close to death without actually being so from lack of food or water, a young maiden came across him. Her soft heart instantly ached with sympathy for Razatul, and she took him into her care. Now, it just so happened that this young maiden was the daughter of a very powerful Magical Elite, one who's power rivalled that of your little rodent there, and thus, she was very well instructed in the way of magic. Light Magic, actually, for her tender heart saw no need for the outbreaks of violence that Shadow Magic caused.
"So, upon Razatul's awakening from his pained state, the maiden began to teach him the ways of Light Magic, so he would be able to heal not only himself, but others, and be able to devote himself to being a healer, like she was. Eventually, Razatul grew strong in magic, and soon saw the need of healing powers, and soon began to learn more and more about the ways of Light Magic. As a matter of fact, after people got over the fact that they had never seen or heard of him before, the Egyptians began to believe he had lived in Egypt all his life, and was treated with great respect. In fact, he was quickly immersed in the Elites once word got out about his spectacular healing abilities.
"However, one fateful day, an outburst broke out between the Magicians against the Mages and Elites. They demanded to know why they couldn't be introduced to more magic to aid their dying crops and thin livestock, or why the Mages of Elites couldn't help them. Once again, the maiden's gentle and caring nature came to the rescue, as she travelled from farm to farm, doing the best to could to summon the healing rains during the droughts, and curing the ailments of the cattle.
"Almost at once, the Pharaoh and Elites dismissed all thoughts of further distress, for they sent more Mages forth to aid the Magicians in their 'time of need.' Unfortunately, they were greatly mistaken in a further decision, for soon some of the Mages decided that this could become very profitable. They began taxing the Magicians to pay for the Mages' services. This, of course, resulted in greater turmoil, and the renewed demands for the Magicians to learn simply how to make the rain fall when need and to cure their dying livestock.
"The Pharaoh made the one smart yet hasty decision in his reign, and quickly rid the taxes on the Mages' services. This, however pleasing to the Magicians, was greatly looked down upon by the Mages. Some of the Mages had abandoned their previous duties to devote themselves to aiding the Magicians, and thus, were out of work. The Mages demanded that the Pharaoh return the right to charge the Magicians, and the Pharaoh, out of fear the Mages doing more damage than the Magicians, complied to their demands. This, in turn, angered the Magicians, whose numbers vastly outnumbered the Mages and Elites combined, and, if they combined their magic in a certain way, could do great amounts of damage.
"And so began the never-ending cycle. The Pharaoh would constantly give and then take away the rights to aid the Magicians for money, for it seemed nothing could please either side. The Elites did their best to help the situation, but it seemed nothing they did worked. It came to a point where full-out war broke out between the Mages and the Magicians, and soon the Elites were quickly divided between the two groups.
"By the time the entire escapade was over with, with the Mages being given back their former occupations and the Magicians allowed to study a touch more magic, severe damage had been done to the once prosperous land. The country fell into great debt, as they struggled to rebuild by hiring many to come work for them. Finally, the kind-hearted maiden herself took it upon herself to assemble a crew of Elites and Mages to work without wage to use their magic to rebuild the city. Razatul helped by healing every person he came across, and thus, became freely accepted throughout Egypt.
"However, one day, one tragic, tragic day, something went horribly wrong. The maiden was busy inspecting the work of the building that had been repaired, but unfortunately, a very young and new Mage had been sent to work on it, and pushed something barely an inch too far. But that inch did a lot in the long run. Because of the great height, the overlapped inch grew to a foot, than a metre, than two metres, and increased the higher up it went. While the maiden was checking the structure, she noticed this, and set about fixing it.
"Unfortunately for her, she agitated it a little too much, and soon the entire building collapsed in on itself, crushing her and killing the maiden instantly. The land of Egypt wept for the loss of the maiden, for she held a special place in each civilian's heart. But no one mourned the death of the maiden more than Razatul himself. He tore down the streets of Egypt and bolted into the destroyed building, where he saw men uncovering her corpse under the debris.
"He summoned all of his Light Magic and nearly killed himself from expending too much energy trying to revive her, but you cannot heal the dead. Finally, Razatul gave up, and the maiden was taken away to be mummified. Razatul sunk into depression, unable to grasp the realisation that the maiden, who had cared for him so tenderly, gave him a new life in Egypt, and who he had begun to fall in love with had been taken away from him so suddenly. So he dedicated the rest of his life to trying to find a way to revive her." Bakura paused, as Joey had a clear expression on his face signifying that he wanted to say something.
"So, it was kinda like Pegasus' life story, right?" Joey asked. "I mean, he was in love with some chick and married her, but she died, right? And then Pegasus went and made the Duelist Kingdom tournament so he could try and bring her back, right?"
"In a way, I suppose it would be like Pegasus' situation," Yami said, thoughtfully, "But Pegasus knew her for a longer time, and therefore had a longer time to fall in love with her. Razatul must have had a very strong bond with this woman in order to be so traumatised when her death arrived, seeing as how he knew her for only a short while."
"A very short while. Only a few weeks, actually." Bakura told them. "I apologise for making it seem as if the events happened in months or even years, but it was barely a month."
"The girl must've had some serious effect on Razatul then." Joey pointed out. There was a small pause. "So... uhm... go on, then."
Bakura nodded, and then resumed his story. "As I said before, Light Magic has its limitations, for once life is extracted from a body, then Light Magic has no effect on this. Razatul was overwhelmed by this, and isolated himself from every other person as he mourned for the maiden's death. Then it came to a point where his mind slowly slipped away from him, and soon after, he began to wander the streets.
"The same people who had treated him so kindly before now fled from him, for the look of insanity was clearly in his eyes. However, there was one person who dared to approach him, who, ironically enough, has his reincarnation here... however repulsive his form is now." Bakura's piercing gaze fell upon Kaiba, as the room fell utterly silent.
Kaiba then began to squeak and shake his paw, which was apparently supposed to resemble a fist. It wasn't nearly as intimidating without a thumb, by the way.
Yami and Joey smirked at each other. "I'm guessing he's trying to say that he still doesn't believe in those 'fairy tales.'" Yami laughed.
Joey looked - amazingly - thoughtful for a moment, as he said, "So, I guess Kaiba, if the rest of this story plays out like I think it will, you brought this on yourself!"
"What goes around, comes around!" Yami began laughing hysterically now. "The first rule of karma."
"You two also played a very important role in driving Razatul over the edge." Bakura simply shrugged. Both shut up, and just blinked at him, while Kaiba 'laughed' to himself. "Now, will I be continuing my tale or shall I just sit here listening to your annoying peals of laughter?" Kaiba fell silent. "Good.
"When the High Priest learned of Razatul wandering the streets, he saw it as a threat to society, and of course, went to go speak to Razatul to find out exactly what was occurring. Razatul was obviously very eager to talk to someone, for before the maiden's death, he was withdrawn into himself and reluctant to talk to anyone, though most jumped at the chance to talk with someone as powerful as he.
"Upon hearing Razatul's sad story of the pain he had endured, the High Priest - surprisingly enough, and very... different from his usual nature - took pity upon him and let it slip out that while Light Magic effected only the living and soulful, Shadow Magic ruled over the dead and mindless, therefore he could, when trained to perfection, learn to revive a corpse. But the High Priest was also quick to relate the great warning of the spell: the one he intentioned to bring back would be nowhere near what they were like in life.
"Razatul however, in his haste to be reunited with his lost love again, gave no heed to the Priest's warnings, and demanded to be taught how to conduct Shadow Magic. And so, he was instructed in the ways of the unholy magic, and once again, proved to be a very competent learner. So competent, that he had surpassed greatly the expectations of the High Priest, and was soon ready to revive the lost maiden. However, Razatul's power had vastly exceeded the usual limits of what was normally expected of an apprentice, or any wielder of Shadow Magic or magic in particular, and thus, made the greatest mistake that still has yet to be surpassed.
"The maiden was buried with her hundreds of loyal servants all mummified around her, so as Razatul was reviving her, his increased power began to have an effect on them. Quite quickly, he saw his beloved awaken once more, and rushed to her, but the High Priest's words held true, for she was not the kind and caring person she what was, but now an undead monster.
"The undead maiden quickly knocked Razatul aside, for he was completely traumatised as to what had just happened. And soon, her servants began to awaken. The maiden ordered the complete destruction of Egypt, and almost immediately, she and her servants had her tomb completely destroyed.
"Word was eventually relayed to the Pharaoh and the Elites when the maiden began terrorising the citizens, and soon after the Pharaoh dispatched his Elites and Magicians to aid the country and stop the undead maiden, but in the end, it was futile. The spell the High Priest had taught Razatul had made it so only the one who revived the corpse would be able to control it. Now, if Razatul had felt shocked and traumatised before, just imagine what he must've felt now."
"How would he have been able to come out of that sane?" Joey asked.
Bakura glowered at him. "Well, mortal, if you'd shut-up for more than a few moments, I'm sure you'd have your answer, now wouldn't you?"
"Bakura..." Yami growled.
Bakura smirked and continued. "Actually, he didn't. In the end, Razatul was forced to destroy his beloved in order to save Egypt. Unfortunately, his sane and rational mind was completely gone by now, and out of anger and sorrow he attacked the Pharaoh and his followers. As a matter of fact, he would've won, if it weren't for the incident that occurred."
"Incident?" Both Joey and Yami asked in unison.
Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but a wild bark and sudden squeak of surprise from Kaiba echoed in the room. The three managed to see something grabbing Kaiba, but a flash of utter darkness blinded them before receding. Once the darkness vanished, however, a new threat arose.
There, in ceremonial robes coloured brightly in red, violet and green, stood a man with dangerous and icy amber eyes. With his sandy hair and tanned skin, he reminded the group of Marik, if not for the fact that this man was much older and looked as if he had been starved for life. Which, in fact, he had been.
"I always told myself that I would have my revenge against the High Priest, and I have." The man grinned and laughed maniacally. "Now, Pharaoh, it is your turn."
"Razatul." Yami uttered.
Joey glanced at both Bakura and Yami quickly. But their glaring expressions weren't what startled him.
There, tugging on Razatul's robes and growling furiously, was KaibaII.
OOOOOOO
OOOOO
OOOOO
D/N: OH!! OH!! I BET NONE OF YOU SAW THAT COMING!! OHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!! I AM CLEVER LIKE A BILLY GOAT!! AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHA!! (Eriso: Gotta admit, she had me going there.) AHAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAHAHAAHHAHAHA!!! YOU ALL THOUGHT IT WAS THE DOG!! WELL THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED YOU TO THINK!!! SO I COULD LAUGH AND SAY YOU WERE WROOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!! (Eriso: O.o Whoa... Calm down there!) BWUAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHHHHAHA!!! ... Oh, and don't forget to review! Until next week!