Hi all! This is Ferris Ulf reporting once again! How is everyone? (smiles)
Yay we've got a new member on board! Welcome Bamf2me! I was overjoyed to receive your review! Thank you very much for the compliments. I try to have good grammar…most of the time…sometimes rules are meant to be broken. I know there are probably spelling errors and such, but hell: I'm human, peoples. Anyhoo, I'm dedicating this chappie to you.
About having Ryou in the spotlight more…um…the story isn't really focused around him as much as a few of the other characters. Don't fret though! He gets his moments to shine….like in this chapter, actually. I'm telling you guys, this story is getting awesome! I'm getting really excited! Just finished chappie…twelve? Thirteen?...(scratches head) can't remember at the moment…
Satra, darling! You are my most loyal reviewer! I love you! (hugs) I would like to say I reallyrealllyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally appreciate all you do! Woo, my spelling checker didn't like that.
If you guys are looking for other awesome authors and stories, I'll post a list of some either at the end of this chapter or the beginning of my next chappie. Who knows? It could be YOU!
Let's get down to business now…this isn't really a poem, but it fits..so…er…BOOYA!
Insanity
The mind can be very sick indeed. It is easily swayed by all things around it. There is no guarantee that one can remain sane. So simple, it is to creep across the barrier, the dark void. Once can scarcely begin to imagine how simply this process can be done. It can occur in an instant or can be drawn out over years and years and years until the last fiber of thread snaps and there can be no return. Resistance is futile. There is no choice but to surrender to an unknown call…deep in the darkest corners of the mind… the ones that should never be explored.
Chapter Seven: Control
"This is incredible!" Yugi murmured as his eyes scanned the solid gold pages.
"I'll never be able to thank Marik enough," Yami sighed contentedly.
"Do you think he was all right? He didn't look so good when he left," Yugi asked, eyes wide with concern.
"Ah, he'll be fine, Yug. Just was wearin' on 'im, that's all," Jou waved his hand.
"So can you decipher any of it?" Anzu asked excitedly.
"Let me…" Yami took the book and began studying the text. "These are all spells…" he muttered to himself, slowly flipping through the pages.
The others watched. They began to grow worried as Yami didn't take nearly as long on a page as the previous page. He got to the point where he was frantically turning them.
"Nothing."
"Whaddaya mean 'nothin'?" Jou nearly screamed.
"These are spells, nothing more. I don't remember anything!" Yami sobbed in defeat.
"Well…" Yugi began quietly. "Maybe you could use one to help you recover your past."
"Sounds plausible," Honda readily agreed.
"Start from the beginning," Anzu suggested. "Read each one out loud. We'll find a spell that'll help with all of us working on it!"
Two hours later they were still sitting in the living room…
"…this one's about sucking someone's organs out through their mouth…" Yami continued.
"Ugh. Don't think that'll be too handy…Unless Kaiba's pushing his limits," Jou grinned.
"Jou!" Anzu cried in disgust
"Well, keep going, Yami," Yugi nodded.
"This isn't getting us anywhere…"Yami complained, wanting to discontinue the idea.
"That had better not be you giving up," Honda scowled before popping a piece of apple into his mouth.
"We're getting closer," Yugi smiled encouragingly.
"All right all right!" Yami groaned, giving in. "But these don't even seem to be helpful spells. They just look like torture ideas…"
"Nobody said Priest Set was a ray of sunshine," Honda laughed, nearly choking on a chunk of apple.
"Of all the…!" Yami's eyes bulged as he stared at the page.
"What?" Yugi asked innocently.
"Nothing. I'm not reading that out loud," Yami hurriedly turned the page, ears slightly pink.
"Heh, so he was a pervert too, eh?" Jou grinned.
Yami squirmed, uncomfortable with the conversation. Yugi was looking about slightly confused. Jou and Honda were grinning like maniacs while Anzu scowled un-approvingly.
Yami's eyes searched the hieroglyphs for any possible spells or hints that could be used to help uncover his past. Anything, also, to get the others off the topic of…
"Heh, bet Priest Set was a naughty boy!" Jou hiccupped after he'd stopped laughing at a vulgar joke Honda had made.
"Would you two stop it! Honestly!" Anzu scolded, quite peeved by the whole conversation.
"Well, Priest Set seems a bit obsessed with violence and such…" Yugi began.
"Yeah, and such!" Honda smirked, nudging Jou's side. They both fell over in a hysterical fit of laughter.
"That does IT!" Anzu shouted, thwacking the giggling boys repeatedly with a pillow. This only caused them to laugh harder, further enraging the girl.
"Yami?" Yugi asked, noticing his darker half had gone quiet. The others paused, glancing over at the almost identical boys.
The former monarch sat as still as stone, eyes frozen on the page before him. There was a look of shock and perhaps hope, as well, in his violet eyes.
"Did you find something, Yami?" Yugi questioned softly.
Yami looked up quickly, as if coming out of a hypnotic trance. He opened his mouth but seemed unable to find his voice. He nodded instead, pointing a quivering finger at the page. The group circled around him, staring at the symbols.
"Erm…Yami? Hate to break this to you, man, but we can't read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs," Jou grinned, patting Yami on the shoulder.
"Huh? Oh right right!" Yami smiled apologetically. He cleared his throat. "Right. This spell I just found….it's…well…" he scratched his neck thoughtfully, trying to word it right.
"Okay, we know it's a spell," Honda chuckled.
"Shh!" Anzu glared. "Go on, Yami."
"Well, basically it tells how to take someone's memories so you can view them…"
A light went on in Honda's head. "Whoa, you mean like you could take Bakura'a memories and find out about the past? That's amazing!"
"That doesn't sound very good to me," Yugi stated. "I mean, it's Bakura's past we're talking about here, not Yami's."
"But their paths crossed in ancient Egypt!" Honda persisted, getting excited.
"But you shouldn't just take someone's memories!" Yugi continued defiantly.
"Yug, it's Bakura you're defending here. Don't you want Yami to finally remember his past?" Jou asked.
"…yes…"
"Besides, we've tried everything else," Honda added.
"But will Bakura forget the past completely if you take them? We don't know what this will do to him," Anzu pointed out.
"Don't worry 'bout that! There's gotta be some way to put 'em back! All we gotta do is have Yami take 'em, view 'em, then put 'em back!" Jou insisted.
"Can you put them back?" Honda questioned Yami who was already studying the text again.
"I…Yes! Yes I believe I can!" His voice raised an octave.
"Booya! We have a plan!" Jou cheered, slapping Yami's shoulder hard.
"Not quite," Yami winced, though his smile remained.
"Yeah, how are we going to lure Bakura?" Honda wondered.
"Easy. Taunt him and run like hell," Jou shrugged, sitting back in his chair.
"You're all forgetting about Bakura's Shadow Magic," Anzu pointed out.
Their smiles fell at this statement. They soaked in the harsh reality. There was no way they'd be able to perform the spell on the tomb robber when his Shadow Magic was at full strength.
"Damn!" Honda shouted, banging his fists on the back of Jou's chair.
"It's just as well; I didn't like the idea anyway," Yugi shuddered.
The sound of a motorcycle filled the room as it pulled up outside the game shop.
"I'll get that!" Yugi volunteered, running out of the room to the front.
"There must be some way…" Honda frowned, staring at his hands.
The bell above the door jingled as the customer entered the shop
"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"
They all tensed.
"Bakura." Yami muttered.
Marik moaned in pain as he opened his eyes. Everything was sore. He attempted to sit up but fell back to the couch with a yelp of pain.
"Marik!"
The Egyptian turned his head to see Ryou.
"Oh. Hey," Marik groaned, glancing down at his arm which was expertly wrapped.
"How are you feeling?" Ryou asked nervously.
"Like shit…" Marik muttered. "At least it's a little easier to breathe."
"Oh…um…that's good," Ryou shuffled his feet.
"Kura's angry, huh?" Marik mumbled, closing his violet eyes wearily.
"You could say that, but it'd be an understatement," Ryou replied softly.
Marik grimaced. "How'd he find out? Was he listening from the stairs or something?"
"I don't really know what's going on, but the Millennium Ring allows Bakura to tap into telephones, among other things," Ryou added, still not looking at Marik.
"Blast that ring! So he took it out on you, did he?"
"N—no. He went to the Mutou's."
Marik eyes shot wide open. "WHAT?"
"He went to face Yami about this," Ryou mumbled, eyes downcast.
"And you didn't stop him?" Marik cried.
Ryou looked up at the boy, eyes burning intensely.
"Right right," Marik rambled. "He wouldn't let you."
"I wanted to go after him, but I couldn't just leave you here!" Ryou seethed, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Marik remained silent, staring at the hikari before him. Ryou was a lot stronger than most people assumed. He was becoming bolder. There was a fire of determination in his soul that was not easy to extinguish.
'Just like Kura,' Marik thought fondly.
"Great," he muttered out loud. "They'll probably get into a Shadow fight…again. Yami's a bit distracted though; perhaps that'll even things out a bit."
"But Bakura's really shaky right now," Ryou whispered, concern etching his voice.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Marik asked sharply.
"He used a lot of magic on your wound. I'm not sure what he did, but it weakened him immensely," Ryou said, body trembling.
"Shit! Ryou, help me get up now!" Marik struggled into a sitting position, ignoring the throbbing pain in his arm.
"What are you…?" Ryou rushed forward to steady the blond.
"Kura's storming into a fight he can't win! The puzzle's already a stronger item than the ring. Damn, this is what I was trying to avoid!" Marik ranted as Ryou helped him cross the room.
"What are we going…?"
"To the motorcycle! I can't steer so you'll have to drive," Marik ordered as they reached the vehicle.
"But…!" Ryou stared with a frightened look at the bike.
"There's no time! Get on then help me up."
Ryou reluctantly climbed atop the bike, pulling Marik up behind him. A few minutes of hasty instructions later they were speeding off in the direction of the game shop.
Marik held the white-haired boy's waist as best as he could with his bad arm. The hikari's muscles were clenched in fear.
'Ry driving a motorcycle,' Marik mused. 'If this weren't so damn serious it'd be hilarious.' He gently rested his head against the boy's back, sickness coming on from his wounds. 'Damn you, Kura. You'd better be all right.'
"What are you doing here, tomb robber?" Yami asked coldly upon entering the game shop.
The other yami stood seething next to the front desk. His white hair was wild from being under a helmet. Blood was stained all over his jeans. What drew Yami's gaze was the other's eyes. They promised pain and revenge.
"What the hell did you think you were doing? Thought you'd take ancient Egyptian booby traps for a spin on Marik?" the thief snarled advancing on the monarch.
"What? That's bull! We didn't make Marik do anythin'!" Jou growled from the door.
"You stay out of this, mutt!" Bakura shrieked, eyes blazing.
Jou cowered back, quiet, intimidated.
"How dare you!" Yami glared. "How dare you waltz in and accuse me of such! Marik voluntarily helped us! Perhaps that's hard for you to accept but that's not my problem. After he was wounded we helped him. That's right, tomb robber: we helped him.
We cleaned his wound and he insisted on trying the spell again. It might sound like a lie but I swear it's true!"
Bakura began to chuckle louder and louder until it became maniacal laughter. Yami stood his ground, refusing to be intimidated. For the others it was no such matter. The four stood huddled in the doorway. Yugi had joined them, quickly moving as far away from the white-haired yami as possible. Honda stood next to Yugi, the book against his chest.
"What's so funny?" Yami asked, narrowing his eyes.
"What's so funny? Dear Yami, surely you realize what you've done?" Bakura's tone was chiding.
"What are you getting at?" Yami retorted icily.
A humorless smile appeared on the tomb robber's face. "You and your darling little hikari call up Marik and tell him if he helps you open a book you'll leave me alone. He agrees. He's injured by a trap that's been laid on the book and you think some pretty bandages and oils will help? And they call you the master of the Shadow Realm!"
"What's that…?"
"You've truly forgotten a lot, haven't you? So even though you can't even remember certain aspects of Shadow powers you think you can get through anything?" Bakura's voice was taunting.
"I have mastered my own Shadow magic, tomb robber; which, I might add, far surpasses your own."
"You tell 'im, Yami!" Jou yelled supportively.
Bakura's smirk did not waver. "But you think so? So tell me, did you treat Marik's wound correctly?"
Yami froze. Bakura's eyes pierced him. He recoiled slightly, unsure of himself; his mind now plagued by uncertainly.
"Of…course!" he insisted, not sounding convincing at all.
"Hmm…you think so? Let me tell you something for future references, Yami. When a wound caused by Shadow magic turns black like that it means there's poison in it. Did you remove the poison from Marik's arm?" Bakura's face was serious now, eyes studying the pharaoh.
Yami could not respond. He felt a wave of guilt rush over him. Marik had been so helpful and this was how he repaid the boy?
"I'll take that as a no," Bakura said quietly.
"Bakura, I swear I didn't….!"
"Know? Yes well, that's quite obvious," the thief leered closer. "You want to remember something and seem willing to risk anything or anyone to do it. Let me tell you something, Yami," he whispered, only a foot away now. "It's not worth it. Your past isn't worth any of this."
"That's your opinion!" Honda retorted aggressively, stepping up next to Yami.
"Believe what you will, it concerns me not," Bakura muttered. "But when someone uses my friend and harms him: that does concern me; and I will not tolerate it." This ended in a snarl.
"How could you tell me my past isn't worth it?" Yami said softly. "How could you tell me to give up and forget? I won't! I don't know who I am!" he shrieked blasting the thief into the shelves with a ball of Shadow magic.
Bakura steadied himself, staring down his nemesis.
"Do you know what it's like not to know anything about yourself? Have you ever lain awake late at night wondering what your past was like?" Yami was seething now.
'If only,' Bakura thought sadly.
"Well I have!" Yami screamed. "And you are Not going to keep it from me any longer!"
Yami snatched the book from a shocked Honda. The Millennium Puzzle shone with power as he quickly muttered the spell in the ancient tongue.
"Yami wait! DON'T!" Yugi screamed.
Bakura's eyes widened in fear as a bright light illuminated him. Then there was pain. Excruciating pain.
Marik refocused as the bike suddenly jerked violently.
"Ry, what the hell?"
"It's Bakura! Something's happened to Bakura!"
"Oh gods." Marik whispered. "Hold on, Kura. Hold on…"
The unearthly scream was terrifying. Yugi slowly opened his eyes, horrified by the sight before him. The tomb robber lay on the floor. His entire frame was convulsing intensely. His brown eyes were wide and bloodshot, staring into the abyss.
Yami stood before him, panting. The book was clasped tightly in this shaking hands; he seemed dazed.
"What the hell?" Jou whispered, staring at the tomb robber who now lay completely still on the floor.
"Is he…?" Anzu whimpered, unable to finish the sentence. No one answered.
There was the roar of a motorcycle ouside followed by the door swinging open. Marik stood before them supported by a hysterical Ryou.
"BAKURA!" the hikari shrieked, rushing forward, all but dragging Marik along.
They knelt over the limp figure. Ryou held his yami's hand. It was ice cold. The boy choked back a sob as he stared at the other half of his soul.
"Pharaoh," Marik's voice quivered with rage as he spoke. "What did you do to him?"
Well…(clears throat) that's all for now. What a cliffy, eh? (earns glare from readers) What? (tries to look innocent)
This is where things really start getting interesting. I'm still fretting over whether to make this an extremely long story or give it a sequel. I'm still leaning towards sequel land but it's still open for debate. You guys can't really give your opinions because you don't know what's gonna happen…at least, I hope you don't. That would ruin the fun. (pouts)
How'd you like Ryou and the motorbike Bamf2me? I hope you approve. I thought it was funny…and cute too. Just so you all know: even though Ryou's been crying, and will be crying more, he is by NO MEANS weak. I hate it when he's just curling up in a ball and sobbing. I sincerely hope I'll never have to write such a scene, however, it may happen at some point so don't hold me to that. (sighs) Ah the unforeseen future…
If anyone wants to complain about Marik's out of characterness, take it somewhere else. It works for this story. If you've got a problem with it, sucks to be you. It's not that I hate Marik the way he is; he's just good for humor and I needed him to be more open to Kura.
'Any other hints?' they cry. Nope. (laughs insanely.) Oh the torment! Oh the drama of it all!
Um…anyhoo…review please!