Yay! They realized I was serious! I applaud you few brave souls who've joined us. Yay!
Lily: Yay! A new reviewer! You can't tell me how much I (and the other reviewers) appreciate this! I want to hear from you again, got it? The ten reviews thing still stands(smiles joyfully) Love ya!
Toasted Manga: (smirk) Your name is awesome. I love you for reviewing. You reviewed within ten minutes of me posting that up. I applaud you. Don't stop now. The ten reviews thing still stands. I love you!
Satra: (laughs) That's determination for you. o.O...blackmailing your friends so I'll update? I hate maths as well. Don't think the spell worked? (smirk) You'll see...I love ya! (kowtows)
dragonlady222: I love you, dear. You're wonderful...Jou and his red eyes? Well, it's gone now. But momentarily yes. (smiles) Hope Bakura's okay? Has Bakura every really been okay? The spell make things worse? (smirks) You'll see...Review again, dear!
Freak in the Shadows: Hate my siblings do you? (laughs) They'll hate me too soon once they find out I told you all. (cackles)...o.O You're...13? That's not possible...(smiles) Hehe! That's fun! Review again, dear! Love ya!
Ryou VeRua: (Laughs) yes I dedicated it to you. ...haha! i love how you describe the reasons for giving the dragon to Jou. Of course...the dragon's gone now. I hope I made that clear...(scratches head) hmm...anyhoo, review again, dear! Love ya!
Dreaming Child: (cackles) You don't want Bakura to go back to his old self? I admit I like the ancient thief too...Review again, dear!
Wishfull Thinker: You doubt I'd read reviews? Honey, I live for reviews! You like my portrayal of Anzu? (sigh) I hate her...no, loath her...yet I wanted to hear from her fans...so yeah, am I doing all right? Furthermore: I LOVE your criticism! You don't insult, just point out. I like it. Very few people do so. I thank you! I know some of my poems are a bit off. They're supposed to be. I write in many different styles. I usually stick with rhyming, but occasionally I abandon it. Thanks for pointing that out, though. Review again! Love ya!
Anei Aikouka: There you are! Geez! I was wondering about you! I know. I update incredibly fast. Most people wait at least a month inbetween chapters. (I'm weak.) I'm just too damn excited to wait! You like Jou and Bakura interactions? There's plenty more where that came from...you liked Ryou's outburst? I felt it was time. The kid needed to vent. (smirk) Review again! Love ya!
Bluegrass Elf: Thanks for the review, darling! You're wonderful! I love cliffies, don't you? Mwahahaha! Review again! (kowtows)
This is a first. I'm dedicating this chappie to our two new arrivals who will continue reviewing cause they want the story to continue! (so we won't have to keep waiting for 10 reviews...-.-;) Toasted Manga and Lily, this chappie's for you guys!
Screams of Shadows
Whispers in the eardrums
Pulse pounding in the head.
Dead flowers on the tombstones
Heartbeat quivers in dread.
Cannot escape the terror
With its dark, ebony claws
That shred apart all sanity
And rips dreams in its jaws.
Build up all of the barricades,
Attempt to avoid pain;
No matter the precautions,
Screams of shadows will remain.
Chapter 15: Empty Shell
"There! Done! Let's get out of here!" Marik shouted, racing over to Ryou who was kneeling on the floor in exhaustion, trying to keep the link from severing.
Yami ran up beside them, releasing his hold on the door, allowing it to slam shut. A great grinding came from within. He grabbed Marik's arm.
"NOW!"
There were screams. So many screams. Jou opened his eyes to find himself alone. Shrieks of fear and agony were echoing all about, yet he couldn't spot anyone. Wherever he was appeared to be engulfed in a shadowy fog.
"Hello?" he yelled, turning about.
Suddenly a young girl with copper skin and a white, tattered robe came racing out of no where in his direction. Blood was trickling down the side of her face.
"Help me! Someone! ANYONE!" she howled desperately.
Jou quaked in fear as a man on a huge black horse came out of nothing in hot pursuit. The blonde turned and began to run, too frightened to do anything else.
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh!" He turned to see the girl with a spear now sticking out of the side of her back. She collapsed to the ground, the rider almost upon her.
"Hold on!" Jou yelled racing back to help.
He'd never forget the sound of the horse's mighty hoof as it crushed the girl's skull, the entire back of her head collapsing; nor would he forget the way her small limbs twitched, fingers tensing as she was stomped, the cry turning into the squelch of blood and bone.
Jou screamed, taking off as the rider charged at him, parts of the girl grotesquely sticking to the horses hooves.
"HELP!" the boy bawled in complete terror. There was no where to hide. Everything was just shadows, fog.
A hand reached out and snatched him, pulling him into a cloud of mist. Everything suddenly reeked of smoke and blood. Jou turned in shock to his rescuer.
"Bakura!"
The thief looked beyond terrified. There was no name for the gleam of absolute horror in his wide eyes. He was clutching Jou's shoulder to the point that his nails were drawing blood.
"There you are!" Jou yelled.
"Make it stop!" Jou was shocked. They could understand each other? Where the hell were they?
There was no time for explanations as a spear whizzed by, only millimeters from Jou's ear. The duo turned to find seven riders charging straight at them.
"RUN!" Jou screamed.
The riders laughed cruelly at this. "You think you can get away? There will be no escape for you!"
Bodies—dead mangled humans—suddenly were littering the ground. A few were still alive, begging the soldiers surrounding them for mercy. Savage laughter filled the air, drowning out the petrified shrieks. Jou tried to ignore it all.
'This isn't happening! It can't be happening!' he thought frantically.
A faint light off to the left caught his eye. He grabbed Bakura's arm and dragged the thief over to a door. The door was solid iron, a thick metal chain padlocking it. What was curious was the chain's links were tightening, on the verge of snapping.
"Come on! OPEN!" Jou begged desperately, yanking on the chain with all his might.
Bakura collapsed to his knees, shuddering against the door. The soldiers closed in around them.
"I told you there was no escape!" the head soldier laughed maliciously.
Bakura let out a sob, trembling against the door.
"You stay the hell away from us!" Jou yelled aggressively, giving the chain a final tug.
It fell apart, links clinking to the ground, the music of freedom.
"See ya!" Jou grabbed the hood of Bakura's sweatshirt and wrenched the door open.
"Ryou? Come on, buddy, wake up," Honda said gently as they all gathered around the boy's quivering form.
"Ba…kura…" the boy whimpered, eyes not focusing.
"It's done, Ryou," Mr. Mutou said soothingly, running a damp cloth over the boy's forehead. "It's done."
"We can hope," Marik whispered to himself.
"Ohhh…my head…" Jou groaned, sitting up on the floor of his living room.
He was shocked to find his body wasn't sweating, nor his breathing harsh. He glanced about for the door he and Bakura had come through.
"Oh god, Bakura!" Jou exclaimed, turning around frantically looking for the thief.
"Oh…shut up, mutt," the yami groaned from the couch.
"…!" Jou was completely blown away.
Bakura was lying on his back. His brown eyes were wide, staring up at the ceiling. His entire body was shaking, fingers gripping the couch cushions tightly, knuckles white.
"You…I can understand you!" Jou stuttered, coming forward cautiously.
"No shit…" the yami muttered, closing his eyes wearily.
Jou came right up to the couch, kneeling in front of Bakura. He gripped the arm of the couch, staring intently.
"Get the hell away from me," the thief growled, not opening his eyes.
Jou shook his head. "No. What just happened? Where were we? Whose soldiers were those?"
Bakura's eyes shot open. "What?"
"I want to know what just happened," Jou said stubbornly, not moving.
"It's none of your business," Bakura muttered darkly.
"Like hell it isn't! I was just chased clear across some creepy, dank realm full of fog by some bloody-thirsty…"
"My soul room."
Jou stopped. "What?"
"The creepy, dank realm; it's my soul room," the thief stated bluntly.
Jou paused, flustered.
Bakura grinned humorlessly. "It appears Yami and Marik have retrieved my memories. You just got taken along for the ride."
Jou blinked slowly. "Your…memories?"
"Hmm…lucky you," the tomb robber sneered, staring at his hands which were trembling violently.
"Wait, so what was with the soldiers and the…the people who were being…"
"Slaughtered?" Bakura grinned, sharp canines flashing.
Jou nodded, his stomach quivering.
"It seems the spell that Marik and Yami used jolted around my past memories a bit before it freed my more present ones," the thief said softly.
"Those were…that was part of your past?" Jou whispered.
Bakura's whole body was quivering, his eyes dark. He was glaring at the ground.
"DAMN HIM! Damn that self-centered bastard!"
"What?" Jou asked.
Bakura rounded on him. "He wants to know his fucking past so he goes and messes with my head! Then he forces me to go and relive parts of my past!" He was screaming by this point. "Well, damn that fucking piece of shit to the lowest depths of hell! It's bad enough to hear the screams every time I'm in my soul room and see them get cut down every time I close my eyes…" He sank back down onto the couch, burying his face in his pale, shaking hands. "I can't do this anymore. Not again," the thief's voice turned into a sob, his entire frame trembling violently. "Not again…"
Jou stood in stunned silence. Bakura's mask was down. This was the person—the human—that lived all those centuries ago. Just what exactly happened to make the tomb robber so full of hatred and anger? The blonde cautiously placed a hand on the yami's shoulder.
"Back off!" the thief hissed, face still buried.
Jou didn't remove his hand. "You don't always have to be so in control, you know," he said softly.
Bakura looked up, tears brimming at the edges of his eyes, threatening to fall. 'I will not be weak! I promised myself…promised them…never again…'
"Bakura," Jou whispered, increasing the pressure on his shoulder. Bakura shook his head, turning his face away. "Listen, I don't know what Yami did to you in the past. I don't even know what all that stuff in your soul room was about. All I know is: everyone needs to vent. All this anger you've bottled up for all these thousands of years…you can't do that, man. It destroys everything else that you are. You'll become an empty shell with only a single goal in life. You need to show some damn emotion before that happens!"
Bakura's body vibrated as he chuckled darkly. "Too late for that." He got up and wandered down the hall, leaving Jou alone in the living room.
"How are you feeling, Ry?" Marik asked as they all relaxed in the living room at the Mutou's.
"Better. Still weak, but better," the hikari nodded.
"Thank goodness. You were in pretty bad shape when you all finished the spell," Honda stated from his spot on the floor.
"So did it work?" Anzu pressed.
Yami and Marik exchanged glances.
"Well, we won't really know for sure until we find the tomb rob…Bakura," Yami quickly corrected himself, earning an appreciative smile from Ryou.
"You could try contacting him," Yugi suggested.
"I've tried. His link is blocked by too many barriers at the moment," Ryou replied somewhat helplessly.
"Probably just being his old, stubborn self," Marik grinned.
The phone rang. Without a word, Yugi jumped up to answer it.
"That's most likely the museum wondering where their scroll is," Ryou giggled, nudging Marik's side with his elbow.
"Heh. Forgot about that," Marik snickered, earning a stern look from Mr. Mutou.
The others tried to hide their smiles. Yami chuckled softly. Now they only needed to find…
"It's Jou! He's got Bakura with him!" Yugi yelled joyfully, racing into the room with the phone.
"Is he all right? Lemme talk to Kura!" Marik exclaimed rushing forward.
"Like hell! Yugi, let me talk to Jou!" Honda argued, trying to snatch the device from his shorter friend.
"W-wait a second!" Yugi laughed, dodging them both and rushing to the other side of the couch.
"Abiou, now is not the time for telephone keep-away," Yami scolded, a grin on his face.
"But I…hey! Marik!" Yugi whined as the blonde stole the phone.
"Put Kura on!" Marik ordered into the phone.
"What! Not even a 'Hi Jou, how are you…?"
"I said put him on!" Marik snarled.
"Fine fine! Geez! Lemme go get 'im," Jou grumbled.
"Give me the phone!" Honda ordered, racing around the couch after Marik.
"You stay where you are!" Marik halted, holding up the Millennium rod. "Or do you want two fingers wedged up your nostrils again?"
"Fine!" Honda stormed toward the kitchen. "But let me talk to Jou when you're done!"
"Whatever," Marik mumbled holding the device up to his ear, fingers tightening around it in anticipation. "Kura? Hello?"
"…what?" a gruff voice asked.
"Oh thank Ra! How are you? Are your memories all back?"
"Yes." A silence followed.
"Well, Great!" Marik said enthusiastically. "Can't wait to see you! Ryou's here! Do you want to…" The others watched the blonde's face darken. "Oh. All right. Um….see you tomorrow then…" He handed the phone over to Honda who'd re-entered the room.
"Is everything all right?" Yami asked with concern.
Marik managed a forced grin. "Sure. Y'know, he's tired and all. Been under a lot of stress…all this memory business and all…" he slowly wandered from the room, face pale.
The others exchanged worried glances. Honda talked with Jou for a while longer, passing the phone along to everyone else so they could talk to the blonde. Ryou sat quietly on the couch amidst the chatter, exchanging somber looks with Yami.
hahaha! Didn't see that one coming, did you? Don't worry, the story's not over yet. (Dreaming Child must be very angry at me for changing him back. hehe! I love you, dear!)
Next chappie has one of my favorite scenes in the whole story. It's another Jou/Bakura interaction. Yay!
The ten reviews before I update thing still stands.
REVIEW!