Chapter 5
Playing with the Dark
The swirling abyss that had entertained Bakura's Soul Room before had been suffocating, leaving an imprint of promise he could not forget very well.
Now, as he entered the Shadow Realm, the sensations seemed to have magnified. There was a thick blanket of dark rather than a swarm; stretching out over Bakura and the Dark Marik like a waiting storm.
Bakura didn't need to look at it, it was already invading his being, telling him where it was and what it wanted. It was so close and Bakura could have took it all with the greedy delight he had always planned for...
"Bakura?" the human voice in his mind was quiet and frightened. Bakura felt the link that was Marik, and it cleared away some of the dark mist that was bothering his eyes.
He blinked and things became clearer, the dark cover above hummed gently.
Dark Marik stood a few feet away, but close enough so that Bakura was able to read his expression. The twisted version of Marik blended with the backdrop of dark to some extent; almost like his body was folding into it at points.
Bakura had experience with humans, he knew their fear when they reached the Shadows, the way they screamed and begged. They were predictable like that.
This new darkness wouldn't be like that. Dark Marik was not all human. It could work to Bakura's advantage in some ways, if he could figure out it's purpose.
"Are you feeling at home, Spirit?" Dark Marik queried conversationally.
Bakura grinned.
Dark Marik returned it; "I know you are, I can feel you embracing the shadows, my shadows."
"Hm," Bakura rolled his eyes, looking anywhere but at the other; "I sensed your power in my Soul Room. I admit it feels very strong."
"Ah, I remember," Dark Marik nodded, "I watched you for a long time, I recognised your potential like you recognised mine."
"Isn't that precious. It's like we're made for each other."
Dark Marik just kept grinning; "we both have great power, because we come from a place the human soul cannot fight against."
Bakura could almost understand that. It made him think of something inside of him, something that was hard to find within his memories. For a moment he tried to gather them, so he could put this new forming epiphany together. There was so much dark though, it was hard to see through it all.
The search was interrupted by a violent stinging that rushed all through his body.
The darkness that had buzzed, that had swept around his Soul Room, and had torn Marik from his body, was enveloping him again, and now it was stronger than Bakura could imagine.
It was the swarm and then the abyss, and now it made Bakura want to see all of it.
He staggered, only just managing to catch himself. His chest was burning with the Ring, or perhaps it was just his body. He could barely move to check it.
As suddenly as it had arrived, the darkness lifted. Bakura gasped and sank to the floor. The Ring was not glowing and it was cool against him, but his body felt hot and it was shaking.
He felt an essence in his mind; a much needed coolness, and yet provoking the warmer side of him too;
"Are you okay, Bakura?"
Bakura had forgotten about the human again. Perhaps he should keep the link nearer to the front of his mind, but it felt hard to reach for some reason.
"I'm fine, Marik," he said, standing up.
"How are we going to get my body back?"
Bakura looked up; where the cover of dark was rippling occasionally. He was about to answer the human when his attention was snapped away from the link anyway.
Dark Marik laughed, and seemed pleased with himself; "this is just a taste of my power, Spirit."
Bakura kept his eyes above; "How did you get so powerful?"
"You should know."
Bakura grimaced. His body-his host's body- was aching with the darkness, it felt numb and unstable, like it might break.
Human things were not made for this place, he couldn't expect it to survive very long.
"We are the dark part of another, we both have these powers if we want to use them," Dark Marik carried on. "I can rid you of my weaker self, the one that keeps distracting you."
"Distracting?" Bakura considered.
"Yes. I can feel him inside you, biting, trying to say things that don't matter. It's stopping you, ruining your potential."
"I'm touched you're so concerned," Bakura smirked, ""But please don't insult me. Humans do not affect my power."
Dark Marik shook his head, still all amused. "Your power? Please, Spirit. You have power far beyond what you know, if you only learned how to properly use it."
Bakura folded his arms. The dark was confusing, but he'd never been able to question it before now; "Are you going to just keep flattering me?"
"I was following your lead. You took us to the Shadow Realm, you requested my weaker self's body, it's all in your hands."
Bakura narrowed his eyes. "So easy, is it? Very well, I request you give your other half his body back, then."
Dark Marik's laugh was spiteful; "I would wonder why you care, if I didn't already see inside of you," he raised the Millennium Rod and pointed it at Bakura; "I can do much better than that, Spirit."
Bakura set his Ring into motion, but Dark Marik was quicker.
The slab of agony that met Bakura's head was brief but vicious. He clutched at his hair, pulled at it, like that might wrench the pain away. It didn't help.
When Bakura thought his mind might explode, the immediate pain suddenly subsided and became a dim throb.
Then there was a scream within his mind that he knew was human.
"Marik?" Bakura grasped around for the link.
The sound was awful, and still it went on, making Bakura's ears buzz and his mind jumbled. He could barely focus on the link, but he could focus enough to know the human presence was beginning to fade away, slipping all out of his mind...
Then the scream, the sound like Marik's voice that had been an echo in his head, suddenly became clear and real. It was close to him.
Bakura turned around.
Marik was shivering on the ground, his eyes were wide and streaming. The human opened his mouth but words were lost in a confused whimpering sound. He was looking at Bakura like the Spirit knew what to do or say.
Bakura did not know, but he reached out a hand anyway, because Marik was warm and familiar and shouldn't look like he did in that moment.
He halted in the motion when a deep chuckle vibrated around. Bakura looked at Dark Marik;
"What did you do to him?"
Dark Marik raised his brows; "you're angry?"
"What did you do to him?"
"You requested his body back," Dark Marik looked bored. "I gave him his body back."
Bakura stared down at the human Marik, who looked mostly shocked and scared. A sight that was so weak it should have been disgusting to the Spirit, but Bakura was compelled to kneel down and look the human in the eye.
"Bakura..." Marik started, his voice shaky. His hands twitched, in that human way, like they wanted to hold something.
Bakura shook his head, but found his own hand touching Marik's chest anyway. He knew trembling chests, they breathed and they had heartbeats inside of them. They were warm, and Marik was warm.
"He has his body again." Bakura realised.
He turned, and as he took his hand away from Marik, the darkness came to him again. Bakura stood up, tendrils of mistiness curling round his arms.
"How did you do that? It isn't possible."
"Weren't you listening to me?" Dark Marik was grinning; "I am more powerful than you know. I am more than the darkness that you are familiar with, Spirit. I am complete darkness."
"Complete?" Bakura laughed. "You shouldn't brag to me about things like that. Don't you know what I am?"
A strange smile crawled up Dark Marik's face. "Do you know, Spirit?"
"What do you mean?"
Dark Marik shook his head; "I don't think you do."
Bakura scowled. He felt Marik standing close to his side. He could sense the human's blind fear.
Dark Marik was still smiling; "Tell me, Bakura. Why do you handle humans so easily? Why do you let my weaker half stand by you like that? And why do you let him, of all creatures, invade your mind and see your deepest thoughts, and your only weakness?"
"Weakness?" Bakura's throat felt dry; "what do you mean?"
Dark Marik looked almost annoyed; "Don't take me for a fool, Bakura. I have been in your Soul Room. I was the swarm you fed, and you allowed me to invade you. Did you not think I'd find it?"
"Find what?" Bakura snapped. He felt a bit heady with the smog of dark now. It was coiling all over him, because he let it. His anger would always let it in.
"Don't tell me you don't remember?" Dark Marik's eyes were suddenly wide with amusement. He stared up at the thick blanket above them; "But of course. The darkness is much stronger, it makes sense."
"Unlike you," Bakura sniped. "This is getting tiresome. Please explain what you're talking about."
"Very well," Dark Marik spoke slowly and easily; "tell me, Spirit, do you find your human essence hinders you much at all?"
Bakura stared at the other. "What?" came from his mouth, weak and quiet.
Dark Marik's grin broadened. "Is it a hindrance? I am curious to know, having no soul of my own," he paused. "It makes me feel a bit left out."
Bakura shook his head, mostly to himself. He didn't know what he was shaking, or trying to shake, but he needed to get rid of it. The things that swam about his mind, that flashed strange images, that reminded him of something he didn't want to remember.
"Does it hurt? Having to push it away all the time?" Dark Marik asked, mockingly concerned. "I'd imagine it does. Souls don't survive very long in the Shadows. But then, you know that better than anyone, right?"
Bakura concentrated, gritting his teeth against whatever was resurfacing in his mind. He didn't need it.
"I'm surprised it's still there, Spirit," Dark Marik said; "how has it managed to survive, I wonder?"
"Bakura...?"
The hand on his shoulder made Bakura jerk back, away from it. He opened his eyes, not even realising he'd closed them, and glared at the human stood next to him.
"Don't do that," he hissed.
Marik looked hurt, but Bakura didn't care.
"Jogging a few unwanted memories, am I?" Dark Marik asked, "it's a shame, isn't it? Just think of all the power you could have if you could only be rid of it."
"It stays hidden enough," Bakura glared.
"But it's still there, isn't it? Listen, Spirit. Without your weakness you can be complete darkness, just as I am," Dark Marik raised his arms, the Rod glowing a little in them. "And I hold powers that you need."
"What would I need from you?" Bakura asked, full of contempt.
"Isn't it obvious? I can free you of the human spirit within your soul."
Wisps of the dark were curling around Dark Marik's arms now, and they were forming circles at the tips which seemed to get bigger. Soon they had melded into one whole circle, and Bakura remembered the abyss, the thing that had called to him back in his Soul Room. It was a magnet, and Bakura felt it's attraction all at once.
He wouldn't let it escape this time.
He raised an arm, even though he was too far away to reach the dark. That didn't matter. He could feel it already. It was so strong.
"Bakura?"
Bakura remembered the human Marik, who was quiet and shaky by his side. He turned and saw Marik's strange, desperate eyes, and wondered for a brief moment why the human should even be there.
The dark fuzzed in front of his eyes then, and waved his attention, and so much more, back to Dark Marik.
"I will join with you," he said slowly. "But grant me my own body, away from my host, first."
Dark Marik raised the Rod with an indulgent grin; "Very well."
88
"Bakura, don't," Marik moved his hands toward the Spirit, but remembered it was Bakura, and then dropped them uselessly. "Don't," he said again, feeling hopeless.
The Spirit's eyes were too dark, and it worried Marik more than anything else.
"Keep out of this," the Spirit said oddly.
Marik tilted his head; "Bakura, we got my body back. We don't need to stay here anymore. Come on, let's go, we got what we wanted-"
"No," Bakura faced him then, and his expression was angry. "You got what you wanted, Marik."
Marik felt his stomach sink; "What?"
"Did you think I was going into this without expecting anything for my own gain?"
"I..." Marik suddenly felt so stupid.
Bakura glared at him; "Did you think this was all for you? Really, Marik. I thought you knew me better than that."
Marik remembered Bakura's Soul Room; "I do know you! I know you better than anyone! Especially better than that!" he managed to look at his dark half, as hard as it was to do.
His dark half was watching them both with some amusement.
Marik turned back to the Spirit; "Listen, Bakura. I do know you! And we came to get my body back and that was it. Can't you remember? We were working together!"
Bakura stared at him, and Marik saw the confusion there for a tiny moment.
"Marik..." the Spirit started.
Abruptly a bright yellow light haloed the Spirit. Marik watched, disturbed and horrified, as Bakura's eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to pin points. The Millennium Rod's power crackled all around him.
"No-" Marik grabbed the Spirit's arm, but the yellow light was a rippling electricity, and it bit into him. He pulled back in pain.
He could only watch.
Bakura's body twisted, and two screams came into existence at the same time. The electricity distorted everything, and in the next moment all the light had gone.
Marik looked at the ground, where two people now lay.
Ryou stirred first, rubbing his head and groaning.
"What...what happened?"
"Ryou, you're alright," Marik grabbed the boy's arm in relief. "I thought you might..." he peered over Ryou's shoulder, where he could see Bakura was coming round too, shaking his head.
"You couldn't have made it less painful?" the Spirit was looking at Dark Marik.
Dark Marik waved the Rod carelessly; "Now that they're separate from you, we can be rid of our weaker halves."
Bakura grinned dangerously; "One more thing," he said as he stood up. "I want your power too. We can do away with the humans afterwards. It'll be more fun."
"Hah. As you wish!" Dark Marik looked gleeful.
Marik felt Ryou move close to him, and he couldn't believe what was happening. He shivered, as the darkness began curving; the black blanket above them all was slowly starting to descend, stemming off like pieces of string.
Bakura stood up and raised his arms. The strings of dark glided toward his fingers, and then began disappearing into them. Opposite, Dark Marik was doing the same.
"Er, what's going on?" Ryou asked, sounding quite disturbed.
"I... I don't know,"
The blanket was beginning to thin out now, with Dark Marik and Bakura seeming to be taking it all away. Both their faces were greedy and grinning, watching each other with a strange delight.
"Not that this isn't entirely fascinating, but this doesn't look very good for us," Ryou held Marik's arm very tight, "Hey, you got your body back," he said in a voice that was trying to be optimistic but failing very badly.
"Yes," Marik said. It didn't seem that important anymore. "Bakura," he said weakly. "Bakura, what are you doing?"
The Spirit did not answer him, it was like he wasn't aware of anything but the darkness. Marik could recognise the hunger in the Spirit's face.
"Bakura," Marik repeated. "Listen to me!"
"Don't-" Ryou grabbed at Marik too late. Marik ran toward Bakura.
"Bakura, what are you doing, you idiot-"
The slam of Shadows that crashed into Marik's gut sent him reeling back across the ground. It took him a second to realise that Bakura had hit him with it.
"Don't touch me," the Spirit's voice was an unnatural hiss, and it split through Marik like a knife.
Marik stared at Bakura, not really feeling the pain in his stomach, or Ryou at his side, helping him upright.
The Spirit was not what Marik remembered; consuming itself in the darkness that had always been there, it's mouth all fangs and it's eyes wide and feral. Marik had always known Bakura could be frightening, but never like this. And though Marik had always been cautious with Bakura, he'd never been afraid of him.
Now he was afraid.
"Bakura," he whispered. "What...what's happening to you?"
Bakura stared ahead, and Marik saw his darker half and shuddered. The creature that called itself Dark Marik was laughing, and the Rod was shining in his hand, even as the dark was being absorbed into him.
"It's too dangerous," Ryou was saying, his voice shaking. "Why did you do that, stupid?"
"It's that...my dark half," Marik realised. "He's taking Bakura's soul away!" Marik started to lunge forward again. He was caught by Ryou's surprisingly fierce grip;
"Nam...Marik-whatever your name is! We need to get out of here, now. And preferably not the suicidal way!"
"We can't get out! Not without Bakura!"
"The Spirit?" Ryou paled. He looked doubtfully at Bakura, who looked anything but sane company. Marik wasn't surprised when Ryou shook his head; "I told you, I'm not taking the suicidal way."
"He has the Ring, he summoned the Realm, we need him to get back," Marik struggled to get away, but Ryou held him firm.
"You're saying that maniac demon is our only way out?"
"Yes,"
Ryou looked like he might be sick. "Remind me why you thought all this was going to be a good idea, again?"
"I don't...I thought I could trust him, I thought he'd be different," Marik could hear himself faltering. "He said he'd help me!"
Ryou rolled his eyes and looked frustrated. "You trusted a demon Spirit that likes to possess people and send them to the Shadow Realm on a regular basis? Can I ask you where your brain had wandered off to at the time?"
Marik scowled. It wasn't that simple, surely it wasn't...
He'd seen more of Bakura, more than Ryou knew. He'd been in Bakura's Soul, and it had been terrifying, but there had been something else there, and it had been warm and wonderful, and it was what had told Marik things might work out.
If only he could find that again...
It hit Marik all at once, an idea which made him turn to Ryou and grasp his shoulders hard.
"Ryou! I need you to talk to Bakura! Right now!"
Ryou looked at him with a concerned face; "I already told you, I'm not suicidal, Marik."
"No, no, not like that. I mean through your link! Can you do that?"
Ryou looked unsure, and Marik squeezed his shoulders a little more, willing him to try. Ryou seemed to see this, and his face softened;
"Ok," he said, smiling sickly. "But if my head explodes or I get taken away in that big black thing, I'm blaming you."
"That's fair enough," Marik took Ryou's hands in his own.
"What are you doing?" Ryou was alarmed.
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Bakura showed me."
"Oh," Ryou rolled his eyes; "now I feel loads better."
"Please," said Marik, imploring. "Just concentrate on the link."
Ryou sighed unevenly, but didn't object anymore. He closed his eyes to focus, and Marik did the same.
For a moment Marik thought he'd found Bakura's link through Ryou at once; he could feel the same cold darkness edging into his mind again. Then he realised he was in the Shadow Realm. This was all the darkness, and all of it felt like Bakura. Marik would need to search much harder than he had in the Soul Room.
He opened his eyes a moment and looked at Bakura. The Spirit was standing very still, his hands raised as they had been before, but his eyes were wide and transfixed on the darkness above, like he was in a trance. His mouth was a vague and unaware grin.
Marik gripped Ryou's hands a bit tighter, remembering Bakura's own hands, and how tight they had been on his own.
"Ow," Ryou grumbled.
"Sorry," Marik said, "are you getting anything?"
"I-no, I don't think so," Ryou sounded sorry. "Marik, I've never tried to get into it's mind before."
"Never?"
"Conversing with demon spirits has never been very high on my list of priorities."
"Don't you feel anything? Anything at all?" Marik could feel the darkness around them tangibly now, and Ryou's hand shivered a bit in his; he must have felt it too. Time was running out. He dug his hands into Ryou's a bit more, scrunching his eyes up so tight that he saw little dots.
"I'm not finding anything. But I am feeling really cold, and my hands have definitely gone numb," said Ryou.
Marik opened his eyes and broke away from Ryou, groaning in frustration. This wasn't working. But Ryou had a link, it should have worked...
The dark had thinned dramatically from above them all now, though it didn't reveal any light. If anything, things had gotten dimmer, and definitely colder.
"Look how the dark comes to them," Ryou said, like he might be pretending it was all a very impressive special effects show. "Why are they doing that?"
"To become more powerful," Marik's voice cracked as he realised. "The dark is too powerful, that's why we can't get through the link."
"It goes through their fingers," said Ryou, and it sounded like nothing.
For a moment it was nothing. And Marik stared at his own hands, unsteady and a bit sweaty. Then something dawned on him.
He staggered up, and ignored Ryou's unbelieving voice behind him. He walked toward Bakura, who was not aware of him anyway. It would be easy, he could catch the Spirit by surprise.
"What are you doing?"
"Get off, Ryou, I know what I'm doing," he pushed Ryou's hand away, and kept it away this time. He was too close to Bakura, and Ryou wouldn't dare come any closer.
Marik couldn't blame him.
Bakura's face was corpse white, his lips an odd greyish blue, but his eyes were the most terrifying thing. They were empty, with no reflection, and they stared straight up at the darkness like it was the only thing in the world.
"Bakura?" Marik stood in front of him, but the Spirit's face did not change and nor did it speak.
The dark was still stemming into Bakura's fingers, which were like white claws. Marik glanced down at his own hands, shaking rather badly.
"Don't make me regret this, Bakura," he recalled what he'd told the Spirit in the Soul Room.
Bakura didn't respond.
Marik was terrified, but it was too late for that.
He lunged up in one clumsy step, and grabbed Bakura's hands in his own.
They were like ice, and immediately closed in on his. Nails like razors dug into his flesh, but Marik didn't care, and he watched as Bakura's eyes flashed. They were furious, but it was okay, because now Marik could see himself in them again.
His back hit the ground as Bakura threw him, but Marik held on, taking the Spirit with him.
"Bakura," Marik winced.
Bakura hung over him, teeth bared, his eyes wild. He pulled savagely against the tomb keeper.
"Let go!" his voice was still mostly that abnormal hissing sound, but Marik ignored it. He squeezed Bakura's cold palms into his own as hard as he could, pressing his warmth into them. He ignored the stinging pain that stabbed at his body, and Ryou's cry that sounded distant and like it wasn't a part of any of this.
Marik shut his eyes tight, focussed fiercely on the link.
It was easier to ignore the pain in his body once he was inside, and he found himself seeing the spreading, inky darkness of Bakura's essence much quicker. It was easy, now he knew what he was looking for.
Bakura's angry growls and cries were trying to bring him back though, his hands pulling viciously in Marik's, trying to get away.
Marik ignored it all, and found the edges of a dark red he remembered in Bakura's Soul Room.
His head hit the ground and stars exploded in his eyes as he opened them. He saw Bakura's snarling face.
"I'll kill you," the Spirit said, full of hate.
"No you won't," Marik ignored the ache at the back of his head. He blinked, regaining his focus on the Spirit.
"Weak human, why do you bother?"
Marik shook his head, which didn't do him any favours. He shut his eyes again quickly to find the link. He couldn't do this much longer, he felt like he might pass out...
The rush of warmth that filled his thoughts almost did the job for him, but the pleasant emotion that came with it helped him stay alert, because that was what he had been looking for.
He found himself reflected in Bakura, those images of himself laughing or smiling or being stupid again. He found his own eyes, as the Spirit saw them. He found himself as the Spirit saw him.
"Look, Bakura," he squeezed the Spirit's shaking hands as best he could. "I found your soul again."
There was a moment of heavy silence, both within his mind and outside. Marik held his breath, held onto the memories which were not really his, and hoped that Bakura had found them too.
He heard Bakura's gasp as the darkness spread away, and then the heavy rhythm of his breathing close to his face.
Marik opened his eyes, and Bakura was staring at him, wide eyed and in a terrible shock. The Spirit's hands were hot and they trembled as much as Marik's. Marik watched Bakura recoil, the memories set in his eyes. The darkness that had been clouding around them both was rushing away in desperate plumes.
"I couldn't remember," the Spirit's voice quivered.
Marik smiled, tired but mostly relieved; "You got my body back, ok?" He lowered his hands, his grip slipping a little from Bakura's.
He felt the Spirit shift off him, although their hands stayed linked. Bakura pulled him up into a sitting position and his arm was quick and felt safe around Marik's back.
"That's interesting," Dark Marik said.
Marik looked up to see his dark half was hardly visible, mostly screened in all the darkness that had gathered all around him, but he could still hear his sneer;
"My weaker half knows how to find your own weakness, Bakura."
Marik felt Bakura move slightly, and then his hoarse voice; "I'm not worried. I told you I can handle humans." he stood up, and Marik winced as he tried to follow. He felt the Spirit's hand on his arm, telling him to stay down.
"Keep close to my host," Bakura said, so only Marik could hear.
Marik shuffled to Ryou, who held his arm and asked if he was alright.
Marik nodded, even though he thought he might pass out. But he needed to keep focussed. He watched Bakura; the Spirit was close, his back to them as he faced Marik's dark half. He held the Millennium Ring in his hands and it started to glow.
"What now, Spirit?" Marik grinned., "Grouping them both together so we might finish them off quicker?"
"Not quite," Bakura said, and there must have been a telling look on his face, even if Marik couldn't see it, because his dark half raised his brows.
"Is that how it's going to be, then?" the dark half asked, and then he rolled the Rod in his hand, and it began to glow too.
There were a few painful seconds of nothing, and then bright light. Dark Marik struck first, and Bakura staggered back. The Ring came into action just in time, countering the Rod.
The Items' powers formed a struggling snake-like beam in the middle, each fighting for dominance. Marik felt lightheaded, but he kept a hold on Bakura's link, like that might lend the Spirit some more power.
Bakura was the only thing stopping the Rod's powers from getting through, and though Marik knew the strength of the Ring, he still couldn't be sure of Bakura's own strength.
For a few seconds the Ring broke through the Rod's powers, and it hit Marik's dark half, making him slink back into shadow to recover. Bakura backed up quickly and crouched next to Marik and Ryou, the Ring burning in his hands.
He looked mostly at Marik;
"We're leaving now, close your eyes."
Marik didn't need to be told that, he was already nearing unconsciousness.
The last thing he felt was the undefinable strength of the Ring and the arm looping round his shoulder. It was cold but safe and he knew it was Bakura.
88
Ryou staggered but managed to keep a hold of Marik, who was slumped fairly senseless against him. Ryou almost dropped him a couple of times, but the Spirit on the other side helped keep him upright.
The raw and bright light of the real world hurt Ryou's eyes for a moment, and then he realised they were back in the blimp, in the room where the Spirit and that strange version of Marik had met.
As the light became normal Ryou just caught the blur of blue rushing toward them, and then a sharp and angry hissing sound and a crash on the floor.
Ryou stared at the ground where Yami was pinning the Spirit down tight; his hands fierce round his collar. The Spirit was snarling at him, his own hands were round his own neck, and Ryou realised he was clutching the Ring like nothing else mattered.
An audience of Yugi's friends were all there too, faces stunned and frightened. One of them was a woman who Ryou did not know, or even remembered being on the blimp at all. She rushed forwards and grabbed Marik's shoulder. There were tears in her eyes.
"My brother!"
Ryou wondered distantly how many more skeletons Marik had in his complicated closet.
"He's okay," he told her instead. "We got out okay."
The woman who was Marik's sister pulled Marik away and set him on the bed. The fake Marik was still there too, and he seemed to be stirring a bit. Ryou didn't really notice. He watched, feeling sick, as Yami pulled hard on the Ring round the Spirit's neck
"Give me the Ring now," Yami demanded. The Puzzle was glowing round his neck.
"What's the problem, Pharaoh?" the Spirit managed, through a vicious tug; "think I'm going to send you all to the Shadow Realm?"
"You know that's what I think!"
Everyone cringed back, except the Spirit himself of course, who sneered through his constricting breaths like it was all a game.
Ryou swallowed uneasily, he didn't like to see this. It didn't matter who it was.
Yami snarled and slammed the Spirit hard into the ground. There was a nasty cracking sound as it's head met it, and the Spirit groaned, closing it's eyes, hands falling away from the Ring.
Yami wasted no time, scrabbling to pull the Ring off, and throwing it across the floor.
"Got it," Joey snatched the item up triumphantly.
Yami got off the Spirit quickly. He looked round at Ryou, his face immediately concerned, and much more how Ryou was used to it.
"Ryou, what happened? Are you alright?"
Ryou nodded; "I-I'm fine. Just a bit shaky. Nam-er, Marik took the worst of it."
"That's definitely Marik, then?" Duke asked, quirking an eyebrow. "Not the guy lying on the bed, or the guy with the cloak and the crazy tongue thing?"
Ryou blinked; "er-"
"It is Marik, my brother," said the woman on the bed, her face mixing relief and concern.
"That solves one problem, but we still have that one," said Tristan, eyeing the Spirit on the floor.
"How did he-" Tea started to speak.
A low sigh escaped the Spirit, and everyone watched as it hauled itself upright. For a moment it looked dazed, running a hand along it's neck, eyes widening when it found nothing there.
"Where did you-"
"Finders, keepers," Joey dangled the Ring, a safe distance away.
"Give me the Ring," the Spirit said in a deadly voice. It reminded Ryou that it was the voice in his head he had heard so many times before.
"Nope," Joey said.
"You-" The Spirit started forwards, but a burst of yellow light crashed into it's chest before it could get very far. The Spirit staggered but managed to stay upright. It glared at Yami.
Yami was holding the Puzzle up, and it was glowing brightly.
"Keep back, Bakura." he warned. "I'll do much worse, I promise."
The Spirit laughed; "The Shadow Realm? For some reason I'm regretting I ever left," the Spirit looked at Ryou, and then at Marik.
Ryou didn't know what to make of it; it made him feel uneasy.
"Are you going to send me back, Pharaoh?" the Spirit started forwards again, and Yami hit it with another flash of Shadow Magic.
"That's too easy," Yami said, "First you'll tell me what you were doing with Marik and Ryou."
Everyone had formed a rough semi circle round the bed and all eyes were on the Spirit. The Spirit glared at them, not seeming inclined to say anything that Yami wanted to hear. Ryou noticed it grimace as it rubbed it's side.
Ryou did not like the Spirit, but he could understand it had protected him. Without Marik to defend it there was no-one else.
"Yami, the Spirit saved us,"
Yami and the Spirit turned to Ryou, both wearing similar faces of surprise.
"It saved you?" Joey asked, like it might be a joke.
Ryou nodded. "It got us out of the Realm, from that, er, weird version of Marik."
"What?" Yami stared at the Spirit, still angry, but there was confusion there now. His Puzzle's warning glow was fading a bit.
The Spirit folded it's arms. "You always were far too hasty, Pharaoh. Aren't you even curious to know how I'm here, without my host?"
"Yeah, that's a point," said Joey, looking horrified. "How'd that happen?"
"Erm, that was thanks to that weird Marik thing too," said Ryou.
Yami looked between him and the Spirit, still all confused and rather worried. Ryou could sympathise. His brain was still trying to catch up with everything and work it all out.
The Spirit grinned at Yami; "My own body. Jealous, Pharaoh?"
Yami opened his mouth, and looked like he might swear. Marik's murmuring groan stopped him, and everyone turned to the bed.
"Marik," the Spirit moved to him at once, ignoring the startled noise from the woman who was Marik's sister.
Yami looked surprised too, but his face quickly rearranged itself; "Is he alright, Ishizu?"
Marik's sister nodded; "I think so. I'm taking him to his bed."
She started to get up, putting an arm around Marik. The Spirit followed, his hand wavering near Marik's arm.
"You're staying here," Yami said.
The Spirit looked at him with disinterest. "No I'm not."
"Yes you are," Yami stood in front of the Spirit. "you owe us some explanations."
"I'll just have to owe them then, won't I?"
"Listen, pal-" Joey raised a fist.
The door opened then, spreading a little more light over the awkward group. Seto Kaiba was standing there, his face full of irritation. Mokuba was at his side, staring obviously at Ryou's strange doppelgänger.
"I should probably be surprised," Kaiba considered. "But after everything that's already happened, I think I'm immune."
"Oh this is nothing," said Duke. "You should see them on a bad day."
Kaiba pulled a face, surveying the entire group superiorly; "Evil spirits, crazy versions of other stupid people, and ridiculous fog that somehow manages to get inside my blimp are the last straw,"
"Are you saying we can finally get off this damn blimp?" Joey asked.
"The tournament is on hold, for now," Kaiba eyed Yami meaningfully. "Till you freaks can sort out your messed up fantasy games. I'll be waiting for those God cards."
"You'll get your duel, Kaiba." Yami said.
He was still watching the Spirit, and the Spirit was watching him, eyes glinting and mouth curved up. He was close to Marik, and Ryou wondered what he was thinking, though he dared not tap into their link.
Ishizu seemed to be the only one not sensing anything so awkward about it all, and she pushed between them, her arm round Marik. It was only this that made the Spirit look away from Yami.
"I already told you, Bakura-"
"Just let him come," Ishizu said quietly. "I don't mind."
Yami opened his mouth, like he might protest, but he noticed the imploring look on Ishizu's face.
"Don't you try anything," he said.
The Spirit smiled sarcastically; "don't worry your spiky, royal Pharaoh head."
The group watched the three file out, and the tense atmosphere seemed to lift a bit. Ryou was relieved not to have to look at the voice in his head anymore.
He cleared his throat and smiled weakly at Yami;
"So, er. Lots to talk about, right?"
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