Hello people! I'm writing this after I've written the chappy, so me is very tired... Still, gonna do responses now! Yeepie!

Response to reviews:
Sorceress Vanessa: Awww, come back S.V.!
Ryoura: Ya, I'm still here! -huggles S.V.-
See, doncha feel special? He's got a huggle just for you! Glad you like the chappy and hope you like this one too!

yugirules: Bwha! All fear my final sentences! Glad you liked it, though ya, it was a very sctive chappy, no time for pauses in the whole thing. T'would make a cool eppie! XD Hope yaz like this chappy too!

BookDragon: Heehee, you'll just have to read and see! Glad you liked it, and thankies so so much for reviewing! -glomp-

pagethereviewer: You're not the only one, Ryoura's my fave original character ever! That's probably why I pick on him too... but he's still my fave!
Ryoura: And she's planning on using me in original stories but with a name-change!
See! That's how much I love him! -glomp- I even have an original story-line with the basic idea of Ryoura and Bakura's friendship in a dif plot-line!
Ryoura: Now she's just gotta stop being so lazy and start writing it. XD
Exactly... thankies for the review ad hope you enjoy the chappy!

Chicary: I know... I'm evil...
Ryoura: To put it lightly.
Yup. Glad you like the way I wrote the whole Millennium Item thing; I always see it working kinda like that. XD The spirit's identity will be revealed... next chappy I think, so look forward to that! Hope you like this chappy and thankies fo reviewing!

Warning: Anti-climatical scene ahead -sweatdrops-

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"This is talking"
"These are thoughts"

Chapter Nine - Bakura's Failure

The spirit chuckled lightly and pulled Ryoura's body out of the black water as soon as he stopped moving. Tossing him backwards, he allowed the teens body to land hard on the stone steps leading up to the pool. He smirked when he noticed the boy was still breathing normally. "Perfect..."

He had been concerned that what he had learned about the pool would have been wrong in some way, but he needn't have been. The pool had no affect on a living beings physical state.

"Which means your life force is mine for the taking..." he hissed, a sinister grin set of his features, as he reached down and pressed the palm of his hand on Ryoura's forehead. "Yugi's life force would be enough to sustain me, but I'd rather keep him around a little longer. You, on the other hand, are disposable..."

As he spoke, a soft glow emitted from the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, and his hand glowed brightly as he began to drain all the physical energy from the body before him. Ryoura didn't react as his life force quickly dwindled, but his breathing slowed more and more until, after only a few second, he stopped breathing completely. His body fell limp and lifeless as the spirit drew his hand away, breathing heavily at the amount of energy tearing through him.

The spirit forced himself to his feet and tilted, as if dizzy, before stumbling down the stone steps slightly. His mind was racing and his -or rather Yugi's- body burned with the abnormal rushing of two life forces inside the one vessel. If he didn't rid himself of some of the energy soon, Yugi's body could go into shock and shut down completely, killing them both. "Focus!" the sprit yelled mentally at himself, a powerful glow emitting from the Millennium Puzzle and enveloping him.

An excruciating pain, like and electric shock, coursed through him, jabbing at ever nerve in his body, causing him to yell in pain and fall to his knees, his voice a mixture of his own and Yugi's. He could feel his energy draining, the very life force going through him draining with shocking speed. At the same time, however, he also felt himself being removed from Yugi's, one of the strangest feelings he'd ever felt. It was almost like his soul had been liquefied and was slowly pouring into another body, which was slowly forming beside Yugi's.

And then it stopped, and the spirit steadied himself as Yugi's body collapsed on the floor beside him, drained from the over-exertion the spirit had put it through. The spirit gasped heavily, trying to steady his breathing, and held his hands in front of himself. He flexed his fingers and looked down over his body.

He did not wear the identical clothes of Yugi, as what usually happened when two souls split from a body, but the clothes he wore when he soul had appeared in the spirit world; a pair of semi-tight black pants, shoes and loose, sleeveless shirt. He grinned at himself and clenched his hands into fists as he looked down at Ryoura.

"Thank you very much, Bakura, your life force was just what I needed. Oh wait, you can't here me, can you?" he asked in fake shock, turning to look down, once again, at the deep pool of black water. Somewhere within that lake of blackness, lay the soul of the body that lay lifeless by his side. "Having a nice swim?" he said to the pool, then chuckled, "It's about time I fed my revenge, Bakura..."

Looking down at his hands once again, as if to make sure he was still solidly there, he smirked. "With a physical form, I can now do some serious damage... but first," he spun on his heel and began to walk towards another flight of steps leading even down into the temple, "I have a number of items to collect..." He looked back at Yugi's unconscious form as he began to descend the steps, eyeing the Puzzle he had left around the younger boys neck. He grinned and whispered, in a playful voice, "I'll come back for the Millennium Puzzle later... until then... take care of it for me, young one..."


Ryoura opened his eyes almost as soon as his world turned black, jerking slightly when he found himself underwater in the all too familiar setting he had seen in his dreams for the past number of months. "Wh-what? How'd I get here?" he thought fearfully, covering his mouth in an almost automatic reaction whenever he caught a glimpse of this place in his dreams.

Only this was not a dream, and unlike in his dreams, the true horrors of his situation were revealed to him. For even after he covered his mouth, he realised the water that had gushed into his did not bother him in the slightest.

How could it when he wasn't breathing.

"What's going on?" Ryoura yelled mentally as he began to panic. He wanted to take a breath, to in some way keep a connection with the world of the living, but his body refused to let him. It just seemed to refuse to attempt to breath in the slightest. "What's happening to me, what's going on?"

And then that chilling whisper that haunted him echoed through the water around him, as clear and cold as if the speaker was whispering directly in his ear.

"Having a nice swim?" a chilling, amused chuckle, "It's about time I fed my revenge, Bakura..."

"Who are you?" Ryoura called out through his mind to the voice, but after a few short moments he realised he wasn't going to take a response. Fear began to overtake him and he began to shiver uncontrollably, but his heart did not race like it usually did. His heart was silent, too. Reminded of his bodies situation, he tried to take a deep breath again, but couldn't. He tried again and again, but to no avail, only causing him to shiver more and his vision, though unaffected by the water around him, blur behind tears. "This can't be happening... This can't be happening!"

Without looked his reached down and grabbed the chains around his ankle, knowing it was there from the countless times he had dreamed about it, and tugged hard on them, panic blinding logic. "I've got to get out of here!"

A groan from nearby caused Ryoura to jerk upwards and looked around, noticing for the first time he was not alone. About a metre so away from him was another human, chained to the ground as he was, though their body looked asleep, floating lifelessly in the water. Beyond them was another human, and then another. All around him were dozens, hundreds of souls just like the first, lifeless and still. Blinking in shock, Ryoura spun around, looking at everyone around him, all unfamiliar faces.

Except the one closest to his left.

"Yujhi?"


"Once the door opens, you must hurry through." Shadi said as he lifted the Millennium Key from around his neck, holding it out in front of him just centimetres from the slot he had to insert it into. "My power will only last a short while, and once it runs out, the doors shall begin to close once more."

The group nodded in understanding and tensed their postures, ready to run. Shadi looked back to make sure they were ready, then pushed the Millennium Key into the slot, a bright glow erupting from it before the stone doors began to open just as they had for the spirit. Bakura, Joe, Steve and Ilia were quick to get through the doorway once there was enough room to squeeze through, which proved a smart move as Shadi's magic ran out much quicker then first anticipated.

The group turned to face Shadi, but instead found the man had disappeared, much to the surprise of everyone but Bakura. Three Items -the Scales, Eye and Key- lay glowing on the floor momentarily, before exploding into a stream of light and shooting past the group at an alarming speed.

"What the heck-?" Joe spun around, watching the 'Item's speed out of sight before looking back at the stone doors as they closed. "What the heck's going on? What happened to the robey guy?" he asked as the group took off after Bakura, who had already turned and started making his way to the staircase at the opposite side of the room.

"Shadi's a spirit," Bakura answered simply, "he used up all of the magic that he used to become physical to open that door."

"What!" Joe exclaimed in shock, shaking his head. "Ok, that's the THIRD person we've met that's a frickin' ghost! Can our lives get any weirder?"

Whatever answer both Ilia and Steve looked like they were about to give him was cut short when Bakura cried out, dropping to his knees instantly with one fist pressed against his chest and the other leaning on the floor to hold him up.

"Bakura! What's wrong?" Ilia asked when she and the other two teens stopped around the tomb-robber. She couldn't see how he could have been injured, but he had a pained, as well as shocked, expression on his face.

"Something's happened to Ryoura," Bakura whispered, his voiced unusually forced, as if he was in shock. "He's hurt... badly..."


The small orb of light floated slowly off the ground, making odd, squeak-like noises that sounded highly confused. It seemed to be slightly dazed by the blow it had received from the spirit, and was now trying to recover. It jerked back to reality and zoomed directly to Yugi and Ryoura's side, bouncing worriedly through the air above them and emitting worried tones as it seemed to try and awaken them.

Pausing suddenly, the orb floated down near Ryoura's face, nudging him lightly, but getting no response. Realising what had happened, the orb leapt back in surprise before floating to his side once more.

"Do not worry... I will not let him steal away your life with such ease..." the spirit muttered. The orb floated down and leaned itself against Ryoura's arm, waves of light radiating from it and running over Ryoura's unmoving form. "My life force is very limited, but I shall give you what I can to sustain you..."

And so as the white light of the orb darkened to a pale blue, the small amount of life the spirit ha to offer was enough to get Ryoura's body breathing again, though only barely. The orbs glow dimmed so much that it almost became invisible in the dark room, at which point it stopped giving it's life force to the white-haired teen and dropped the ground, unable to even keep itself suspended in the air, as was it's nature. Flickering dimly like a weak light-bulb, it sat motionless on the floor between Ryoura and Yugi.

"I'm afraid when your friends arrive," gasped the spirit's exhausted voice, the orbs light flickering weakly as he spoke, "we will have to take what we need from them..."


"Bakura slow down!" Steve called after the racing tomb-robber as he ran as quick as he could down the steps without falling, holding onto Ilia's hand to help her keep up, while Joe ran ahead of him.

"Think he's lost his sense of hearing, pal," Joe called back, jumping the last few steps into the third floor and stumbling slightly before racing after Bakura again. News of his best friends danger had only served to speed his pace, and undoubtedly Bakura's. The spirits worry was enough to put them all on edge, though, because he always tried his best to hide his emotions.

And then they reached the fourth floor.


The spirit hummed tunelessly as he walked down the third flight of stairs he had reached since getting his own body, hands set casually in his pockets as he took in his surroundings. The walls were lined with paintings and carving telling many of the stories Egyptians had taken to heart in their time, like the weighing of the heart after death, how the Morning God Khepri began the day, and one of the more violent tales of how the God of Evil, Seth, chopped his brother Osiris to pieces and scattered his body throughout Egypt. "A truly gruesome tale... perhaps Bakura would enjoy a role-play..." he chuckled, running his finger along the blade at his side, "I could be Seth... and he Osiris..."

The spirit's leisurely stroll was upset, however, when the wave of magic in the air shifted, interrupted, no doubt, by the entrance of another magical presence into a part of the temple nearby. He stopped in his tracks and cast his mind back, trying to pick up whatever trace of magic he could. The slight drop of magic he could sense from this distance was enough to tell him it was Bakura.

"I thought I took all their Items!" he thought angrily, glaring down at the Ring and Necklace in his hands. He regretted not taking the Puzzle from Yugi when he had the chance, but his worry was short-lived as a grin spread across his face. "Why should I worry? Yugi has neither the knowledge nor the intelligence to tap into the greatest of the Millennium Puzzle's power. Dangerous though he is, I'm sure I can counter him as long as I have these two Items, because one would not be strong enough. And once I collect whatever other Items are resting in this temple, they won't stand a chance..."

Satisfied, he hung the Necklace and Ring around his wrists and put his hands in his pockets so as not to lose them. As he walked, he lifted his free hand and chuckled, letting his fingers run lightly along the stone wall. "But it may be best to keep them at bay a while longer..." as he spoke, wisps of black smoke floated from the wall his fingers slid over, "arise my creatures... attack the group should they try to come this way..." he whispered as monsters formed from the black smoke, snarling, hissing and spitting at each other, though listening obediently to their master. "But do not kill them..." the spirit warned his creatures once a dozen or so had appeared, then smirked back at them, "at least not all of them..."

The creatures seemed to almost chuckle with the same sinister amusement as their master.


"Ryoura!"

"Yugi!"

The group of four skidded to a stop by the sides of their collapsed comrades, Bakura and Joe by Ryoura, ignoring the weak flickering of the ball of light next to him, while Steve and Ilia knelt beside Yugi. Pulling them away from the stone steps so they didn't have to lie in such an uncomfortable position, Bakura smearing getting some of his light's blood on his shirt as he did so, they lay them both flat on the ground. Bakura wiped some of the blood on his hands off his pants grabbed Ryoura's wrist to check for a pulse, Ilia doing like-wise with Yugi.

"They're still breathing," Steve noted, looking from one to the other. The wound on Ryoura's arm was still bleeding, though much slower them before, and he looked very pale. Yugi seemed perfectly fine save his skin was slightly paler then usual and he had a bruise on his forehead from hitting the floor when he fell. Steve looked to Ilia and asked, "Is everything ok?"

Ilia nodded, placing a hand on Yugi's forehead and closed her eyes. Though she didn't have her Millennium Item, she could still use some spells using some of her own magic instead of Millennium Magic. This spell didn't take much energy, and she opened her eyes and sighed. "He's fine. His body's unharmed, but his soul's in some sort of weak shock... The spirit inside him's gone, but it must have put his soul on serious strain to be able to effect it at all..."

"No..." Bakura whispered to himself, pulling his hand away from Ryoura and shaking it, before pressing it harder against the teens forehead. Shutting his eyes, he concentrated hard, the growled and shook his head. "No... no!" he growled, getting frustrated, and did the same thing a third and forth time. "Don't do this Ryoura!"

Joe looked worriedly from Ryoura to Bakura, frowning. "Bakura, what's going on?"

Joe's words seemed to bring him back to reality, because Bakura suddenly stopped his procedure and stared at his hand, which was still placed on Ryoura's forehead. In a quiet voice, he muttered, as if only realising it himself, "His soul is gone..."

The group fell silent and all eyes turned to Ryoura.

"What?" Ilia breathed, shock evident in her voice.

"To... the Shadow Realm?" Bakura whispered to himself, pushing himself to his feet and ignoring the rest of the group as he turned around, staring at the wall behind the pool, his eyes growing wide as he mentally deciphered they hieroglyphs meaning. "He didn't..." he muttered, eyes dropped to the black pool.

"Is that..." Ilia stood up also, looking at the pool and then at the wall behind it. "'The Doorway of Great Darkness'?" she read, her voice confused. Then her eyes widened. "I've heard of this! Ryoura's soul isn't... in there, is it?"

"Why? Why's that bad?" Joe asked, still looking at his seemingly unconscious friend.

"This... This is a place where the High Priests of Ancient Egypt punished those that were handed somewhat of a death sentence..." Ilia explained, watching Bakura's hands clench into shaking fists out of the corner of her eye. "The moment the water enter's your body, it tears out your soul... Transports it elsewhere... And traps it..."

"So he's in the Shadow Realm?" Ilia bit her lip when Steve asked, "Not exactly. A soul only goes to the Shadow Realm by means of a Millennium Item of if you lose a Shadow Game... but this wasn't the case..." she glanced at Bakura, getting increasingly worried about what seemed to be a build-up of anger, "Ryoura's soul is trapped somewhere in between our World and the Shadow Realm..."

Bakura turned slowly away from the pool and looked down at Ryoura, the entire group watching his every move as if expecting him to lash out. But he had lost all the fight in him; he didn't want to hit anything or anyone, he just didn't think the knot in his chest would let him. But anger and the physical pain inside him insisted on revealing itself.

So he yelled. He yelled in agony at the physical pain he felt inside; he'd let Ryoura down, he had failed to protect his lighter half. He collapsed to his knees and took deep breaths, trying to calm the overwhelming feeling of anger towards himself. "How...?" he whispered in a shaky tone, falling forward onto his hands and knees. "How could this happen...?"

Joe blinked hard to try and suppress he burning tears that Bakura was provoking by his actions. "Bakura..."

"How could I let this happen?" Bakura yelled, punching the floor in rage.

Steve stepped forward, holding his hands out to try and calm the tomb-robber. "Bakura it's not your fault-"

"I was supposed to protect him!" Bakura yelled, tearing at his hair, "I promised him! I promised I'd never leave him and I let that psycho get him!"

"Bakura calm down!" Ilia yelled to try and over voice him, "You won't be able to help him if you don't calm down and focus!"

Bakura shook his head violently, still pulling at his hair, "I can't help him, I've failed! He would have been better off without me!"

It was Joe who finally silenced Bakura's actions, by clenching his hand into a fist and striking him hard across the face. "Would you get a hold of yourself!" he yelled as he stood above Bakura, who was rubbing the side of his face. "I've known Ryoura longer then any of you and I know what you just said is a lie! You know it too! Ryoura looks to you for strength, Bakura, so if you want to help him control yourself!" he pointed towards the pool of blackness, "Because knowing that weirdo he's probably found a way to spy on you from there!"

One thing Joe had gained from Ryoura; making jokes at the most serious of times to hide his fear and nervousness.

Bakura remained silent, staring at the floor, but nodded in agreement to what Joe had said.

"Good..." Joe sighed, running his fingers through his hair. He knew when his adrenaline ran down he would probably break down on sight of his friend, so he had to use it while he could. "Ilia, how can we help them."

"Well... not we exactly..." Ilia said, eyes glancing to the side a few times before she looked over.

"Me?" Steve blinked, confused.

Ilia bit her lip. "You're the only one who can do it..."

Steve stared at her for a second, as if waiting for her to explain. The realisation his him and he looked down at the Millennium Rod in his hands. "What? With this? Oh no, nu-uh. I only took it cause Freaky-Eyed-Guy forced it on me!"

"Steve, the rest of us don't have any Millennium Items!" Ilia stated, looking down at Yugi, "he's out for the count and we can't use his Item... you're the only chance Ryoura has! And Yujhi too!"

"Yujhi," Steve asked, bewildered now, "I thought he was in the Shadow Realm!"

"His soul was taken, but he never lost the Shadow Game," Ilia explained, looking back at the black pool. "So his soul must have been trapped between both worlds... where Ryoura is."

Steve was very uneasy about the entire situation, but as he looked from Yugi to Ilia, to Joe then to Ryoura, he knew he really didn't have a choice. And one glare from Bakura sealed the deal. "Ok, I'll try, but you'll have to help me out!"

"Of coarse!" Ilia smiled proudly at him; she knew how much he hated getting involved in magic after everything he and his friends had been through, so to have him agree to help was a pretty big step.

Glancing nervously at Bakura he was slightly taken aback when he realised the thief's features had softened and he nodded in thanks, though he still had the feeling Bakura would have found something sharp and made him use the Item had he not agreed. Taking a deep breath he glared down at the Millennium Rod. "Ok then... You're the reason Yujhi's in the Shadow Realm... and now your going to help me get him out..."


To Be Continued
Starnge place to end it, I know, but I'm KNACKERED! -starts falling asleep on the keyboard- Shouldn't be doing this at 12:05a.m. when I've got school in the morning...
Ok, again, this was a sort of set-up chapter, but do not worry, the real good stuff should start the chappy after next! Not many left now... aww... -huggles fic ad Ryoura- Ryoura: Me's in a fweaky place -hugs back-
Heehee, aww... anyways, hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are really appreciated (me lovies!), but not necessary. Just thought I'd say that coz I sounded like I was forcing it on yaz last chap -sweatdrops-
Please review and slán slán for now!
Bay Bay!
Bayleef