The Polaroid Effect

Disclaimer: Forgot about these things, ya? Oh well, I do not own it, and nobody gives me money for writing this stuff…

A/N: Mentions of blood and such. Do note that the President of the U.S. in this is a completely fictional character that I haven't even bothered to name. Boowah. Some swearing.

You can sort of… ignore the title. It made sense at the time, but I'm not entirely sure if it still does. It makes a vague sort of sense.

Unsure pairings, but: Thar be Marik/Ryou in this chapter! Names are mix and match Japanese/Western. Spoilers. I foresee spoilers. For like… the end of YGO or so and crud.

Thankies to Silvershadowfire (Heh, I don't think Ryou could ever have the shadow powers now… you'll see why), LeDiz (Booyah! I updateth), bast4, Kekewey, Shinigami (Yeah, and that unclearness makes my life difficult. Bah!), SoulDreamer, AzzieAz (Heh, any other title I though up would pro'ly be horribly corny. Like 'Life in Negative' or something.), LilAznSp0nge, lilmatchgirl007 (Oh, he's out of the Shadow Realm already. Wasn't actually completely in it… good ol' doorframes! Er…), Abi2, Hikari Tsuki Chi (Nah, I think I'll stick with this one for now. I'm kinda' used to it.), Kyoko Komiashi, Alaskantiger, LBL, female half – breed, citrus luver, Silver Goddess1, Bakajin, avery bigfan, Windswift, Sabishi Tomo and anyone I missed. Apologies for misspelled names.

Please be reviewing! Now on to fic!

Sorry for the long wait people, but zOMG! Longest chapter yet! XD

Chapter 5:

Even after I was reborn, my life was filled with pain for a time. Pain from my head, my arm, my ribs… and from that cursed hole in my soul that refused to go away. But it didn't hurt so much anymore and I ignored it, and for the first time in a while I didn't have to pretend to be happy. I was a new person and would no longer spend time pining over the dead.

My time in the hospital was boring, the dull monotony of the days broken only by visits from my friends and family, wishing me well. But other than that, there was little to do. I soon bored of the small games and puzzles brought to me, and there was little entertaining material on the television. So instead I went soul searching, began to rethink my life and redesign myself.

I was in my soul room one day, packing up the toys that littered its floor when I was struck with a sudden bout of nostalgia. I wondered what had happened to his soul room after he had gone, and so I ran out into the corridor that had existed between our souls and there was his door, the same as it had always been. And for a second it was as though I was that old Yugi, the weak Yugi, and I was filled with a hope, an overwhelming conviction that he hadn't left, that it had all been a bad dream, that he was still here!

I flung open the door, expecting to see the strange maze of stairs and doors and stone, expecting to see him waiting with open arms…But all I found was darkness.

Well, not just darkness. More like the darkness, the shadows, the realm of monsters and lost souls that I'd come to know so well.

He was gone. This was the last and final proof of it and without thinking about it I began to lean forward, falling into the darkness.

And as I was swallowed up by the shadows, it recognized me, just as I had recognized it. I was the one who had been with the Pharaoh and it was curious as to why I was here and where Atemu had gone, for it had not felt him for so long…

I opened my mind and let the darkness read from it what it would and as it did I realized that it was lonely. That though full of creatures, it missed contact with a living being, to be able to experience the other world through them, missed the games that people used it for.

Strange, how I could empathize with something that was both conscious and yet not, neither truly living or truly dead, something so completely inhuman. But I did.

And so I embraced the darkness, offered my companionship, and it embraced me in turn. In trade for sharing my body, and life, and company, I would have powers that those who carried items could only dream of, the full extent of the dark realm's abilities.

I was happy as I was returned to myself and when I woke I found that I no longer ached, for the power had healed my bones, and the shadows had filled the emptiness in my soul.


Ryou awoke to find strong hands tilting back his head, and warm lips pressed to his own. Panicking, he clenched his fist and punched the offending person in the side of the head.

"Ow! Fucking-!" the person snarled, falling back.

The white-haired man blinked, sitting up from his place on the floor. "Marik…?"

"Yes, you stupid bastard!" The blonde Egyptian snarled, holding his head.

"…what the hell were you doing, kissing me!"

"I wasn't kissing you, asshole! You stopped breathing for awhile."

"I… stopped…" Ryou sat for a moment, staring into nothingness. He shuddered. "I think… I think that we should leave Yugi alone."

"No way!" Joey broke in, snarling. "I won't let him go around killing more people!"

Seto, who had come back sometime during Bakura's trip to the world of the not-breathing, glared at the blond man. "What happened?"

"I-I found him," the white-haired man began. "Only, I guess he felt me because he pulled me into his mind, I'm not sure how, I think he made a pact with the Shadow Realm through Yami's empty door, but- Oh kami! I almost fell into there! The Shadow Realm… he pushed me… and-"

"Whoa, slow down!" Marik said. "What's this about empty doors and Shadow Realms?"

Ryou took a deep breath. "I asked him how he could still do it – use the shadows you know? – Since the rest of us can't, and he took me into my own mind… into the corridor that existed between my soul room and his. And his door was still there, the tomb robber's. But behind it there was no soul room, it was just that darkness, that horrible, malevolent darkness…"

He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I'm thinking that there was one like it in Yugi's mind, from where Yami- Atemu used to be, and I think he used that link to make a deal with it, and he got its powers without the use of an Item."

"And after he told you this, he pushed you into the Shadow Realm?" the Egyptian question.

"That bastard-" Joey started.

"No! No… it wasn't like that, it was something I said. I made him angry! He's not insane!" The braided man looked pensive for a moment. "Well, yes, I suppose he's a bit crazy, but not like that. He said something… that he wasn't a murderer. That he was doing what was right…"

"Well, when he's a fucking psycho, he probably makes up his own version of what's 'right'!" the tall blonde snarled.

"It's not like that, I'm sure of it!"

"He tried to send you to the Shadow Realm, Bakura! Why are you defending him? Did he threaten you, is that it?"

"Why are you turning on him like that? I know he hurt you, but why can't you accept that maybe-!"

"Ryou," Marik cut in. "I know you want to help him, want to think that there's still some good in him, but let's face it, some people just… snap. I know. And Yugi's been through a lot."

The white-haired man gaped at him companion, feeling strangely betrayed.

"I've been through the files on all the people he killed," the Egyptian continued, holding Ryou's gaze steadily. "Hell, I've run my own background checks on them. There's nothing there that would give me a reason to believe these people deserved killing."

For a moment the braided man couldn't believe it, and so he went against his better judgments and used his temporarily enhanced abilities to look at Marik's mind. He brushed across the blonde's wards, looking for something, anything, just a hint that he was lying… but all he could find above that shield was a warm projection of honesty, and so he let it go.

"Fine," he said, defeated. "Go on, hunt down Yugi, capture him, kill him, bring him to justice, whatever. But I'll have no part in it."

"What? Bakura!" Joey shouted.

"Leave it, Wheeler," the tanned blond said, raising a hand. "He can go if he wants, any sensible person would be scared right now."

Seto Kaiba cleared his throat. "I'll get you traffic back to Japan tomorrow, but for now I'll book you guys a room in this hotel, it's too late to be going anywhere."

"Thank you…" the braided man said quietly, then sat down on the couch to wait.

Ryou was ignoring him.

Marik scowled at the ground, Seto had rented them suites – a one-bedroom for Wheeler, and a two-bedroom for Bakura and himself – and he'd been hoping for some time alone to convince Ryou to stay… But now the white-haired man was ignoring him. He was not a man who liked to be ignored.

So, sure, he'd gone along with Joey, and not Ryou. And sure, he had lied about what he had found about Yugi's victims. He was quite sure that a lot of them did, indeed, deserve to die, but his companion didn't know that, and it's only a bad thing if you get caught. Really.

The Egyptian blew at his bangs. Okay, so maybe he felt a little guilty for lying to the guy, he's a nice person. A bit too nice for the blonde's tastes, but nice. He had a job to do though, and for that job he needed to find Yugi, and to find Yugi, he needed Ryou. Therefore, no matter what it took, he would convince the other man to stay. Besides, it wasn't like he'd let anything happen to any of them.

Time to put his plan into action.

Walking over to the room that the white-haired man had sequestered himself in, Marik knocked lightly. "Yo, can I come in?"

"Go away, Marik," came the muffled response.

The dark-skinned man tried the doorknob, finding it unlocked. "You know, if you really wanted me out, you should take better precautions."

There was a snort from the bed. "As if a locked door would keep you out…"

"True, true," the Egyptian said, nodding thoughtfully. Then he sighed, as though regretfully, and moved to sit on the bed. "Ryou…"

"Forget it. I'm going."

"Aw, come on! We need you here, and you know it."

Silence.

The blond leaned forward, breath ghosting over his companion's neck. The braided man shivered. "I need you."

Sitting up suddenly, Bakura glared at him, brown eyes fierce. "Stopit, Marik."

A darkly tanned hand reached up to brush at his bangs, and when he moved to swat it away, the other hand caught his wrist.

"Ryou, look at me," the Egyptian whispered, a strange hint of command in his voice. He couldn't help but obey, staring into hypnotic lavender eyes. The fingers around his wrist began to dance, rubbing lightly at his skin.

"I- I-…" He couldn't look away, couldn't speak, couldn't…

The hand was moving down, tracing patterns on his skin, leaving burning trails. Down to his elbow, then up, up to his shoulders, other hand joining it. He felt sort of dizzy, strangely warm, and his eyelids drooped. "M-Marik…?"

"Ssh… It's okay, Ryou," the blond said, still staring. "Trust me, Ryou, I'd never let anyone hurt you."

He's doing something to you, a voice whispered in the back of his head, don't listen to him.

But it was getting so hot, and so hard to think… he couldn't concentrate on it. And… and why shouldn't he trust Marik?

Don't trust him. Break away. Now.

But he couldn't and he was so hot… Sweat dripped down his temple and warm lips clashed with his own, and the hands kept dancing across his skin, under his shirt, everywhere… He was losing it.

Stop him.

"Trust me…"

"Yes…" And he was lost.

Fool.


Marik sat up with a sigh, running a hand through his sweaty hair. Glancing back at Ryou's naked form, he felt a twinge of emotion. Regret? Maybe.

Standing, the blond Egyptian searched for his pants and pulled them on. Turning back to his slumbering companion, he pulled the white sheets over his bare flesh, spell marks fading from the expanse of pale skin. Leaning down, he places a kiss upon the other man's forehead.

"Sorry Ryou, but I can't have you leaving just yet," he mumbled to the darkness. "I have a job to do, and I need your help to do it."

As he walked from the room, Marik assured himself that there was nothing to feel guilty over. He was just getting his job done. Besides, there was one thing he wasn't lying about: He wasn't going to let anyone hurt his – dare he say it? – friend.

Ryou was asleep, in both the real world and his mind. He was sprawled across the bed in his soul room, resting lightly. A slight frown crossed his visage as a small shadow broke away from the darkness beneath the bed and began to climb the drooping sheets. His hand twitched and the shadow paused, waiting. When he moved no more, his face smoothing once again, the shard of darkness moved on.

Moving soundlessly, the shadow crept up the bed, settling over Ryou's mouth and nose. For a moment nothing happened… then the pale-haired man jerked. Tried to suck in breath, opened his mouth in a silent scream, then clawed at the darkness upon his face. The shadow tightened its grip on the man's head.

Flailing and tearing wildly at the shadow, the young man was slowly suffocating, weakening… But he couldn't die yet! He was too young, he didn't want to go, he wouldn't die. And with a sheer blast of willpower, the slice of darkness was sent careening into the wall.

Though gasping for breath, Ryou acted quickly, vaulting from his bed and bringing a heavy foot down upon the squirming darkness. After his breathing calmed, the man reached down, and dangled the shadow a safe distance from his face.

"What the hell…?" He muttered. "What is this?"

As if in answer, the shadow began to twist and grow, forcing the white-haired man to let go. It thinned and took shape, forming into roughly the shape of a man, though parts of him – arms, legs, torso – flickered and shifted, fading in and out of existence.

Ryou stepped back with a gasp. It was himself and yet… not.

The figure that stood before him, though faded and incomplete, looked remarkably similar to him. He seemed taller though, maybe darker, his hair shorter and spikier, and on his cheek there was an impression of scars that flickered in and out, as though unsure they should exist.

And suddenly, with a shocking certainty, Ryou knew who this spectre was. The late spirit of the Millennium Ring. The young man didn't know how the ancient soul had returned – perhaps he had escaped the Shadow Realm when Yugi opened the door – and he didn't really care. What he knew was that his body had been forfeit to the will of this madman for too long, and that he was not about to let that happen again.

"Get out." He growled.

"Make me," the spirit taunted, though there was something in his eyes that seemed almost… frightened.

"I said GET! OUT!" The door to Ryou's soul room slammed open, almost breaking off its hinges and the spirit was once again tossed through the air and into the corridor outside. His faded body smashed into a wall, causing its flickering to worsen.

Ryou stalked into the hallway, and with a thought the other door flew open to reveal utter darkness. The ancient soul's eyes widened in fear and he lunged at the other man, throwing his incomplete body at his feet, hands grasping at his legs.

"No! No!" the spirit screamed, pulling at the young man's pant legs. "Don't make me go back there! Not the darkness. No!"

There was no more pretence of the dark man that had once governed Ryou's body, all that he saw now was a lost spirit, helpless, weak and frightened. He wasn't even a full soul anymore; just a tattered fragment of what was once a powerful man.

"Why shouldn't I send you back there?" the white-haired man demanded. "After all you did to me, the things you did with my body, why shouldn't I?"

"Don't remember, don't remember…" the spirit mumbled. "Only the darkness, the darkness that tears and hurts, and so alone but NOT alone, the horrible, horrible things in the darkness. Don't make me go back!"

Ryou stared down into pleading, frantic eyes, the shattered soul pawing at his legs like an animal, and he felt pity.

"Please don't send me back," he whimpered.

"You're pathetic," Ryou muttered. The door to darkness swung shut. "If you so much as blink the wrong way, you're out of my mind, got it?"

The spirit nodded enthusiastically, and let go of the other man's legs. Returning to his soul room, Ryou was followed by the fragmented soul. Glaring at his undesired tenant for a moment, he sighed and flopped down on his bed.

"You need a name," he decided, turning over to look at the spirit. "Maybe I should just call you Stupid."

The ancient soul glared at him, flopping down beside the bed.

"No?" Ryou grinned. "How about… Thief? Since that's what you were."

"Thief?" the incomplete man questioned. He took a moment to think the name over, then shrugged.

"Fine, Thief it is then." The white-haired man yawned. "I'm going to go back to sleep now, so don't try anything, or its straight back to the darkness."

Thief peered over the edge of the bed, watching the younger man drift off. "He did something to you, you know."

"Hm?" Ryou asked sleepily.

"The blond man. He did something to your mind."

White eyebrows drew together in a frown. "Marik? He wouldn't do anything to me, I can trust Marik…"

The spirit remained silent after that, staring at his sleeping landlord. After awhile he muttered to himself. "Don't say I didn't warn you. I told you to break away…"