I am done with disclaimers. You know already.
Chapter 3
Action
Sands are long in passing
But sands are never lost
Books may be long in burning
But words never die
Magic is long in passing
But magic is never gone
A stone is long in crumbling
But its grains are always there.
Shadows remain in long lost corners
And I am a shadow of time.
It took a while before Bakura could break into the museum. He had spent his days at Marik's house planning and scrutinizing the layout of the museum. Marik had taken the time to walk through the building and plot everything on paper. He had one diagram showing the entire layout and several other papers showing the details of each room they would need to know.
All of this took weeks, and Bakura took the time to help his friend by passing by and looking for the cameras. He spent little time around the item he searched so he wouldn't draw attention to himself. The good thing about the item was that it was hidden. The bad thing was that it was hidden.
The problem with the item was that it was within a closed sarcophagus of an ancient pharaoh of Egypt. The pharaoh's tomb dated back to a time before Yami Yugi. Bakura knew about this pharaoh. He had wanted to plunder his tomb once before but when he learned of the man's power he respected the resting spot and abandoned his plan. Now he found himself after the man's resting spot yet again.
The Pharaoh's name was Ankh-Amun-Ra. He was a legend among kings as being the one and only man to tap into the true powers hidden away in the shadow realm. It was through the legend that Bakura had learned about another item of value. It was a book that Ankh-Amun-Ra had written called The Book of lost Shadows. In Egypt, Bakura had sought the book and found the secrets of the shadow realm. Through that he also knew that anyone with any small connection to the shadow realm could not touch the Shadow Stone of the Valley of the Dead, or they would suffer a horrible death and have their soul destroyed.
Bakura also knew that the only way one could touch the stone, and wield it's power was through the hidden magic of the shadow realm because its power protected the person. The one with such power would be able to touch the stone and control the darkness they harnessed.
Because of this Bakura was the only one who could steal the stone. Ants crawled under his skin from his excitement. He didn't care what he had to do to get the item, as long as he obtained it. He preferred not to make a scene so that the Pharaoh wouldn't have a forewarning.
The night had finally come when they would break into the museum. The wonderful thing was that Marik knew the people that worked in the building and had gained their trust. Late in the afternoon Marik walked into the museum casually and checked the place out for any complications. The building would close in half an hour but he didn't mind. That was exactly what he wanted. He had a small walkie talkie in his pocket that he had bought in a toy store. It was on and ready to receive messages from Bakura when the time came. In his other pocket was the millennium rod.
An announcement came over the speakers announcing that the museum was about to close and the Egyptian smirked. Marik waited for the night guard to appear before doing anything else. He didn't have to wait long.
Back at Marik's house, Bakura was waiting patiently for the clock to reach seven. It was late enough in the year that it would be late into the night by then. The cold air outside would ensure that fewer people would be outside. He was glad for that. Darkness was his best friend, next to Marik of course.
Once the clock struck seven the tomb robber stood up and stretched. It was time for him to make his move. Casually he opened the door and took a step outside. He sighed to take in the cold, dry air. The darkness was perfect. Clouds obscured the full moon above him. The night was truly perfect.
As he walked down the streets and through the alleyways he kept his ears open for any gangs that could cause him trouble. Fortunately it was a quiet night. The silence didn't last long though.
A few yards away from his destination he heard soft footsteps. He stopped to analyze what he was hearing. The steps were delicate and had a feminine rhythm about them. He stopped when he saw a figure turn a corner. Even in the darkness he recognized the figure. He allowed his voice to take on the softer tone of Ryou's and said, "Tea? What are you doing out here so late at night?"
The girl jumped at the surprise and looked up. "Ryou? I was looking for you! You haven't been at school for so long, I was worried. I was about to go visit you at your house. You haven't been answering the phone at all. This isn't like you, are you alright?"
Bakura mentally growled. The girl was always annoying. Now she was meddling. Still, he kept his cool and stuck to his plan. "I'm alright. I've just been sick and I guess I forgot to turn the phone's ringer back on. I turned it off a while ago so that people wouldn't wake me up. I'm fine now though."
He heard the girl sigh and take a few steps closer to him. "I'm so glad. I suppose that means we'll see you again at school soon right?"
Unfortunately for Tea the clouds parted at that moment and Tea gasped. Since he had broken free from his Hikari he had decided to change his appearance to something more suitable. He was dressed all in black with leather pants and a black shirt decorated with an angry Anubis surrounded with black flames. He wore a thick black leather jacket with silver buttons and studs on the shoulders. Around his neck was a silver pendant with a silver Ankh over the millennium ring and he wore silver spike earrings much like Marik's. Around his waist was a black leather belt with a silver buckle carved with the face of Anubis and a menacing knife tucked behind it and to the side. The most stunning change, however, was that he had cut his hair. It was barely touching his shoulders.
He stared down at the frightened girl and gave her the most menacing smirk he could muster. She began to tremble. "You're the darker Ryou. Where's Ryou? What are you planning on doing?"
"My name is Bakura Touzku-Oh. The king of thieves," he replied with his normal voice, "and now you have become quite a burden." She shrunk back and tried to scream when she saw the look in his eyes. She tried to scream and run but nothing would work. Bakura's smile widened and he reached into his jacket.
Tea stood frozen as she looked down the barrel of a black forty five with a silencer. "P-p-please," she stammered, "I won't tell anyone you were here!"
"I don't trust you," he said. He pulled the trigger and stood straighter when he saw her body fall to the ground with a heavy thud. "What a nasty surprise Yugi will have the next day," he mumbled as the clouds covered the moon again. He stepped over her body, making sure that his feet didn't touch her or her blood.
He pulled the radio out of his pocket and pushed the button to talk to Marik. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," came the voice at the other end, "I'm having the night guard do all the work so that my finger prints aren't on the equipment. Once you tell me you're at the door I'll have him unlock it from in here."
"I'll be in there in a few minutes." He hurried down the alleys and turned a corner. There before him was the museum. His heart was pounding with excitement. Soon, he would have all the power he needed.
"I'm here," Bakura said, "Just tell me when you're ready."
"I have all security systems down, you just have to walk through the front door."
A small laugh escaped Bakura's lips. With a quick sprint, he was up the steps and in the building. The place was dark but it didn't matter. "I'm in." Soon, a few of the smaller lights came on from the other rooms.
"I have all the security camera's off and the guard is erasing the past half hour from all the tapes, but one of the security system's in the room you need to get into is still on. It's around the sarcophagus. To dismantle it you need to go towards a wall that has a small black door."
Jogging through the rooms he found the one he was looking for and stopped to look around. There, on the far left wall, was what he was looking for. "I see it."
"Good, don't move. The lasers are also around the box. You need to follow my instruction's very carefully. I see you, so you can trust me."
"I understand."
"There are four lasers between you and the box. Shuffle slowly towards the box until I tell you to stop, then I'll tell you to step over." Bakura followed all of his instructions until he reached the box. The last laser was right across the door. "I had the night guard go down and leave the key below the door. To turn off the last laser you need to turn the key to the right. Be careful." Bakura followed the instructions perfectly.
"Now, open the door and punch in the numbers: 639817"
Bakura slipped on a pair of latex gloves and once he typed the numbers in he heard something shut off. Carefully he walked over to the sarcophagus and looked down at it. It was out in the open so he just had to open the lid. As he lifted the golden cover he felt his stomach clench. This was a man he had respect. This was, however, the pharaoh that gave his successors the right to the magic. When he reminded himself of that he relaxed.
He placed the heavy lid on the floor as he opened the wooden box that was within. There, in the faint light was the mummified body of Ankh-Amun-Ra decorated in rich jewels. Around his neck was a jewel darker than the darkest black. It didn't even reflect light. Even in it's blackness Bakura could see something swirling within it.
Carefully he reached out and touched the stone. It was alive in his hands with raw power. He broke the chain it was on and removed it from the tomb. He closed the wooden box and then proceeded to remove the ankh from the chain around his neck. He slipped the pendant in his pocket and placed the stone on the chain instead. It felt good around his neck. The power reached into the millennium ring and into his soul. The stone pulsed when it felt the power that was coursing within him.
Bakura turned back to the sarcophagus and began to slip the golden lid back into place. "I have to give the night guard more instructions so I'll tell you the number combination right now. It's: 729364. Once you type it in you close the door and turn the key to the left first then to the right. The lasers will not turn on for another thirty seconds after. Leave through the back and meet me outside."
"Understood." He went back to sliding the lid on and was relieved when the task was done He began to make his way to the door when something caught his attention. It was a sound, too silent for untrained ears.
The lid had been magnetically rigged and it had set off a silent alarm. "Marik, get the hell out of here now. A silent alarm has just been set off!"
"What?" came an angry voice through the radio.
"Do what you have to do and run! Screw setting the system in here back in place. I'm getting out!"
"Fuck, I don't have time!"
"Shut up and hurry!" Bakura yelled. He could hear distant sirens screaming. They only had a few minutes before they could leave. Fortunately Marik had come on a bike it was one of the precautions they had decided to take. Unfortunately it could only carry one person. As Bakura ran down the halls he could hear the police surrounding the building.
"Marik, where is your bike?"
"Just outside the back door." It was a good thing and a bad thing. The police were completely surrounding the building.
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Author's note: Thank you for the reviews I have received. I promise things will pick up next chapter.
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