Chapter 13: Betrayal

When Ryou went to check on the diorama one afternoon, there were a number of things in the room that hadn't been there before. A mummy hung suspended by chains behind one side of the diorama, and two statues of Egyptian gods stood on the other side. In addition, four coffins had been laid out on the floor.

"Where did all this stuff come from?" Ryou wondered out loud.

"The museum got a new shipment of artifacts yesterday and they needed a place to store it," the Spirit spoke from inside the Ring.

"Oh! I see." Ryou clasped his hands together. "Pretty soon we won't need this room anymore. Time really flies," he mused with an air of solemnity.

"You should know that I moved everything in here by myself," the Spirit bragged with upmost pride.

"All by yourself?" Ryou studied the new objects in the room again. "But that's impossible. These statues are huge! There's no way I would've been able to move them."

"Maybe because you're weak."

Ryou scowled. "Don't call me weak, Spirit. We share the same body. We literally have the exact same physical strength."

Ryou started climbing up the stairs towards the diorama. The table was placed on top of an enormous platform modeled after the Millennium Puzzle, and he always had to climb a bunch of stairs to reach it. He felt that the platform was highly unnecessary, especially since they would need to get rid of it once the table was moved to the exhibition, but the Spirit had insisted upon the platform's inclusion because, in his words, "A work of art like this has to be respected." Ryou didn't completely understand the Spirit's reasoning, but the Spirit had been so passionate about it that Ryou decided to go along with it.

Ryou sat down in one of the elaborate chairs and stretched his arms. "You know, I was wondering why my arms felt so sore this morning. Next time, please give me a heads up before you do these types of physical activity."

After taking out a notebook from his schoolbag, Ryou quickly went through a checklist he had made for himself. "Let's see …the palace has been repainted, the courtyard is set, the course of the river's been adjusted…I think we're basically finished." Ryou dropped the notebook into his lap and relaxed into the chair. "And right on schedule too! What a relief."

"You've done a good job. Very impressive work."

"Thank you!" Ryou beamed.

In another two days, the museum's exhibit on Ancient Egypt would finally open and Ryou could move on with his life. He finished the diorama early on purpose because tomorrow was the day that Yami Yugi would bring the God Cards to museum and open the door to his past. It was kind of funny how these two events were scheduled right next to each other, but it sure made life more interesting.

"You might be getting your memories back tomorrow! Isn't that amazing?" Ryou said to the Ring.

"Indeed," the Spirit agreed solemnly.

Suddenly the weight of what was happening hit hard. What was going to happen after the Spirit got his memories back? Would anything change between them? Or would everything stay the same?

Ryou turned sentimental. "Listen, Spir– I mean, Bakura. I know we don't always get along, and I know we tend to get on each other's nerves a lot, but I just wanted you to know that I've genuinely enjoyed building this diorama with you."

Ryou waited for a reply, but the Ring was silent.

So he continued. "Once you get your memories back, let's try to connect more. Alright? You already know everything there is to know about my life, and now it's time for me to get to know yours."

XXX

The Memory World adventure came and ended. The Pharaoh's lost name was discovered, Zorc was defeated, and the main members of the Gang returned to the real world and got ready to go home. Honda hoisted Ryou's unconscious body onto his back and was planning on carrying him along, but there was just one problem.

"Where the fuck is the exit to this place?!" Jounouchi cried out in frustration.

There was no visible door anywhere in sight on all of the four walls surrounding them, and they couldn't find the room's exit no matter how hard they tried. Honda got tired of carrying Ryou, so he placed his friend's limp body gently on the floor and propped him up against the wall. By now, Honda, Anzu, and the two Yugis had given up on searching for the exit, but Jounouchi was still running around looking for it.

"GAAHHHH! We're never getting out of here!" Jounouchi lamented.

"Don't be so overdramatic. Let's just wait for Bakura to wake up and tell us," Anzu said.

"Can't he wake up any faster? I have to go to the bathroom!" Jounouchi said as he desperately continued to circle around the room. Suddenly he came up with an idea. "I've got it! A wet willie will wake him up." He started stalking towards Ryou while moistening his index finger with his own saliva.

"That's disgusting," Anzu said with a grimace.

"You're seriously gonna do it?" Honda said incredulously.

Anzu and Honda exchanged nervous glances with one another. Each other them was hoping that the other would make a move to stop Jounouchi, but neither of them did, and the Yugis were too busy chatting through their mind-link to notice what was going on.

Crackling like a maniac, Jounouchi inserted his moist finger into Ryou's ear and wiggled it around. It took a couple of seconds, but Ryou finally stirred and opened his eyes. As soon as he realized what was happening, he shoved Jounouchi away and bolted up from the floor.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Gross! Gross! Gross!" Ryou shrieked, jumping up and down and flapping his arms.

"See, I told ya it'd wake him up!" Jounouchi grinned and triumphant thumbs-up in Honda and Anzu's direction.

Ryou began to repeatedly pound his fists into Jounouchi's chest. "You're so mean Jounouchi! Why did you do that?!"

"OW! OW! Cut it out Ryou, that hurts! Stop hitting me!" Jounouchi grabbed hold of both of Ryou's wrists to make him stop. "I just wanted to know where the door was!"

"The door?" Ryou echoed.

"We've searched everywhere and this room doesn't have a door! How the fuck do we get out of here?" Jounouchi said, letting go of Ryou's wrists.

Ryou looked around himself and realized where he was for the first time since he woke up. "Hmm…the door is…"

"Don't tell me you don't know either?" Jounouchi cried out in despair.

Ryou crossed his arms and turned up his nose. "I know where it is, but I'm not telling."

"Why not!?" Jounouchi demanded.

"Because I don't want to, that's why."

Jounouchi desperately grabbed ahold of the black trench coat that Ryou was wearing and gazed at him with imploring eyes. "Please Ryou, this is an emergency! I really need to pee!"

Ryou smiled down at Jounouchi innocently. "Well, okay. Since you asked so nicely." He pointed at the nearest wall and said, "Right there. There's a hidden door in the wall. All you have to do is push."

Jounouchi immediately went up to the wall and pushed against it with all his might. "It won't budge!" he grunted.

"Push harder! Sometimes it gets stuck," said Ryou.

Jounouchi slammed his shoulder into the wall, kicked it, and punched it a few times. But nothing happened.

"Oh my, it must be really stuck today. Back up a bit and try running into it with your head," Ryou said with an innocuous smile.

Jounouchi took a few steps backwards from the wall.

"Back up a little further," Ryou advised.

Jounouchi took a couple more steps back.

"A liiiiiiitle more," Ryou instructed, and Jounouchi kept backing up until he was halfway across the room. "Perfect! Now go!"

Jounouchi charged forward like a bull, yelling a battle cry, and rammed himself headfirst into the wall.

CRASH!

"ARRGGGGG!" Jounouchi cried out in pain and knelt to the floor while clutching his head in agony.

Ryou doubled over in a fit of giggles. "Oh man! I can't believe you fell for it!"

"Ryou you little – " Jounouchi cursed. "That's it." He got up from the floor and began charging at Ryou.

"Eep!" Ryou tried to flee, but Jounouchi quickly caught up and tackled him.

"Tell me where the door is, Ryou!" Jounouchi held Ryou in a headlock and nogied him on the head.

Ryou shook with uncontrollable laughter as he struggled in vain to get away. "Alright, alright! I'll tell you! Jounouchi let go, stop it already! I'm sorry!"

Once they were done roughousing, Ryou showed his friends where the door was actually hidden. "The wall over here rotates," he explained as he pushed firmly against the wall in a different part of the room. The section of the wall turned around, one of the Museum's stone slabs on the other side.

Jounouchi immediately rushed out to find a bathroom, and everybody else lounged about casually next to the doorway as they waited for him to come back.

"How did you guys get in here if you didn't know where the door was?" Ryou wondered.

"Our bodies were carried in here while we were running around inside Atem's soul," said Honda.

"Atem?" Ryou said, raising an eyebrow.

"That's the other Yugi's real name," Honda explained.

Ryou looked over to where Yami Yugi was standing. By now, Atem was already absorbed in another mental conversation with Yugi and was too distracted to notice that the others were talking about him.

"Wow! You guys found out his real name? Congrats! Does this mean he has all of his memories back?" said Ryou excitedly.

"Yep," Honda and Anzu both beamed with pride.

"Did you find out about the Millennium Items' origins too?" Ryou pressed on hopefully.

The question caught both of his friends off guard. "Origins?" Honda repeated with a frown.

"Who created the Millennium Items? How were they created, and why?" Ryou said, barely resisting the urge to jump up and down in his eagerness.

Anzu and Honda glanced at each other warily. "We never found out. Everything happened so quickly," Anzu admitted after a tense pause.

"Oh…" Ryou slumped his shoulders and breathed out a sigh of major disappointment. He was having a miserable day. First he had to go through school while running on very little sleep because of what had happened with the God Cards the night before, then he wasn't allowed to go into the Memory World, and now his friends were telling him that they failed to find out the Millennium Items' origins. In addition to that, Ryou had failed to be of any help in getting the Spirit's memories back. How could this day possibly get any worse?

Spirit…!

All of a sudden Ryou realized something. "Hold on a second," he said, patting at his chest. "I'll be right back," he told his friends, and he took off running towards the diorama in the middle of the room.

"Where are you going?" said Anzu.

Ryou dashed up the staircase. In order to get a good view of the room, it would be best to be on higher ground. "My Millennium Ring's missing again. I have to–" When he got to the top, he froze in shock when he saw the state of the diorama. The city and temples were reduced to rubble, the earth was jagged, and the whole thing looked like a miniature earthquake had run through it. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DIORAMA?!" he freaked.

Anzu and Honda broke into a run towards Ryou. Even Atem stopped what he was doing and turned to follow.

"No no no no no no! How could this happen? All my hard work's practically gone to waste!" Ryou was panicking.

Anzu and Atem stood on ground level next to the diorama and watched Ryou at a distance. Honda, on the other hand, climbed up the stairs and approached Ryou from behind.

"Calm down Bakura," Honda tried to comfort him.

Ryou shook his head and buried his face in his hands. "I can't. The exhibition opens tomorrow. What am I going to tell my father?"

At that moment, Jounouchi returned from his trip to the bathroom. "You guys are still in here? Let's go home already."

"I'm not leaving without my Millennium Ring!" Ryou shouted. Even though he was in distress about the diorama, he would never leave the Spirit behind.

Jounouchi's expression turned deadly serious. "Not this again," he murmured as he made his way towards the area where everyone else was standing.

"You guys have to help me look for it," Ryou said, crouching down and scanning the area underneath the diorama table.

"It's not there," Honda said.

"How can you be so sure?" said Ryou, straightening up and turning to face Honda.

"Because…" Honda's voice trailed off. He tried to keep a straight face, he really tried, but he couldn't resist the urge to glance over in Atem's direction. It was a very brief glance and he hoped that Ryou wouldn't notice.

But Ryou did notice. By following Honda's line of vision, Ryou saw Atem and immediately understood. "Atem. May I have my Ring back?"

"I don't have it," said Atem.

Ryou was silent for a moment of contemplation. He wanted to believe Atem's words – he sincerely wanted to – but this exact same scenario had happened before at the end of the Battle City tournament. "You're lying. You do have it." Ryou darted past Honda and began making his way down the stairs. "Look, I know you only want to protect me, but I can take care of myself." After reaching ground level, Ryou started walking towards Atem with his hand held out for the Ring.

"For fuck's sake!" Jounouchi cut in front of Ryou and blocked him from going any further. "Listen Ryou, forget about the Millennium Ring. It's too dangerous for you to have it."

Ryou cast Jounouchi a tired look. "I've told you a million times that the Millennium Ring isn't dangerous. As long as I'm not wearing it, it's just a piece of jewelry." He had given his friends this excuse so often that it repeating it had become a habit.

"But you have been wearing it," Jounouchi stated accusingly. "The Spirit of the Ring took control of you again."

"Ah…whoops." Ryou rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. At long last, his secret had been discovered. "He didn't do anything bad, did he?"

Jounouchi was speechless.

"He almost brought about the destruction of the entire world," Honda stated, having followed Ryou down the stairs.

Ryou chuckled. "Oh please, you've got to be exaggerating."

"It's not an exaggeration!" Honda exclaimed in frustration. Ryou was such an airhead sometimes that trying to explain things to him was like talking to a brick wall.

Ryou eyed Honda with a look of concern. "What on Earth did he do?!"

"Do you remember way back when he sealed our souls into figurines and made us play a shadow RPG with him? The exact same thing happened again, except this time we were in Ancient Egypt," said Anzu.

"And we weren't put into figurines this time," Honda added needlessly.

"Also, Zorc was real. The Spirit almost summoned a literal demon that would've terrorized the Earth if we hadn't stopped him," Jounouchi said, finally finding his voice.

Ryou stopped for a moment to process all this information. It was a lot to take in, but something didn't quite add up. "Where did he get an RPG table for the shadow game?" he wondered.

"It's right there," Anzu said, pointing at the diorama.

Ryou gasped. "Oh my God! So that's how it got destroyed! How could he do this to me?"

"Did you build that thing?" Jounouchi stammered, finally putting two and two together.

"Yes! I've been working on it for months," Ryou fumed. As soon as he got the Ring back, he was going to give the Spirit a piece of his mind.

"But why? Why would you build such an awful thing?" Jounouchi said beseechingly. Had Ryou been collaborating with the Spirit? He didn't want to believe it, but he couldn't shake off the possibility.

Ryou suddenly felt pang of overwhelming guilt. By agreeing to build the diorama, he was now partially responsible for almost bringing about the world's demise, not to mention all of the trouble it had caused his friends. It didn't matter if he had been tricked into it; the fact stood that he had built that diorama out of his own free will.

"Obviously the Spirit forced him to do it. Isn't that right, Bakura?" Anzu stated with confidence.

For a moment Ryou was tempted to say yes. It would be so easy to lie, to blame the Spirit for everything, to claim that he himself was not at fault for putting his friends (and the rest of the world) in danger. But he had already lied to his friends for so long about not wearing the Millennium Ring, and he couldn't bear to lie anymore.

"No. I wasn't forced." Ryou lowered his head guiltily.

And then his friends' faces took on various expressions of incredulity. For Honda it was a mixture of confusion and disbelief. For Anzu it was surprise and betrayal. For Jounouchi it was absolute bewilderment because he hadn't actually expected his suspicions to be confirmed. One of Ryou's deepest, darkest fears had come true; his friends didn't trust him anymore.

Only Yugi seemed to understand what had really happened. After switching places with Atem, he walked over and tugged on one of the sleeves of Ryou's black coat, and Ryou looked down into Yugi's comforting, nonjudgmental eyes.

"It's okay, Bakura. Tell us the real reason you built it," Yugi said in the most reassuring voice that he could manage.

Everybody crowded around Ryou as they waited for him to start explaining. Ryou hated being put on the spot, but he supposed he deserved it after everything he'd done.

"I just wanted to please my father," he said meekly. "There's a new exhibition of Ancient Egypt opening up tomorrow, and my diorama was supposed to be part of the display. I had no idea that the Spirit would use it for a shadow game."

Honda, Anzu, and Jounouchi visibly relaxed and breathed out sighs of relief. Yes of course, they thought. Ryou would never willingly betray them. I knew it all along, thought Jounouchi.

"Other Me says that you built it under the Spirit's supervision," said Yugi.

Ryou nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it was the Spirit's idea in the first place. I still can't believe he would betray me like this."

"He planned it all along." Yugi had had misgivings about telling Ryou this part, but Ryou needed to know.

"No way…" Ryou couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it. If all this was true, it really put the past three months into a completely different perspective.

"Are you okay Bakura?" Anzu said worriedly.

Ryou squeezed his eyes shut, trying to fight back tears. Then at last, he got his voice to work again. "C-Could I…could I have the Ring back now?"

"Why do you still want the Ring after everything he's done to you?" Jounouchi said.

Ryou sniffled. "I'm not going to wear it anymore, but I still want to talk to him. I need to ask him what his reasons were. So please Yugi, please can I have it back?"

Yugi hesitated, biting his lip. "He's not in the Ring anymore," he said after a pause.

"What are you talking about?" said Ryou.

"He's dead!" Honda interjected.

"Yeah, I know. He is a spirit," Ryou said, uncomprehending.

Honda facepalmed. "I meant dead as in gone! Gone forever!" He exasperatingly struggled to figure out a way to explain it. "His soul was fused with Zorc, okay? When we killed Zorc, we killed him too! Who knows where that guy is now."

Ryou's eyes widened with realization. "It can't be…!"

"Isn't it great? We finally got rid of him for good!" Jounouchi said. He felt guilty about doubting Ryou and wanted to lighten the mood, so he pumped his fist into the air and initiated a cheer. "Hip hip…"

"HORRAY!" Yugi, Honda, and Anzu joined in on the cheering with exuberant delight. Everyone (except Ryou) started patting each other on the backs, praising one another for a job well done and happily celebrating the Spirit's death.

Honda put an arm around Ryou's shoulders and said, "Congratulations Bakura! You're finally free from his control!"

"Yeah, congrats!" Jounouchi said, punching Ryou in the chest in an affectionate manner.

Ryou managed a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Now let's hurry up and go home already. Or better yet, let's head off to Burger World. I'm starving," Jounouchi announced.

"I don't know…" Anzu said, pursing her lips.

"Look," Jounouchi reasoned, "I know you don't want your old boss to recognize you, but we just saved the entire fucking world! We should go celebrate."

After a moment of hesitation, Anzu broke into a smile of acceptance. "Alright, just this once," she said.

"YAY!" Everyone cheered again and started heading towards the exit in a flurry of excitement. Everyone except Ryou that is.

Having noticed that Ryou was lingering behind, Honda looked back at him and said, "You coming?"

The rest of the gang also turned back to look at Ryou.

"I'm going to stay here and look over my diorama. I want to see if I can salvage anything from the wreck," said Ryou.

"You want any help?" said Anzu.

Ryou shook his head. "No, it's fine. You guys have fun."

The main members of the gain looked at each other, contemplating.

"Okay, suit yourself," Jounouchi said, and they all began to leave the room.

Yugi was the last to leave. He lingered in the doorway and gave Ryou a look of concern. "Hey Bakura, if there's anything troubling you, you know you can always tell us about it, right?"

Ryou smiled. "Of course!"

"Okay. See you at school tomorrow." Yugi left the room and closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door was shut, Ryou broke down sobbing.