Hey, guys! Sorry for the… inordinately long break. I don't often write fan-fiction, and I don't often get the drive for it, so… It's kind of correct that it took three/four years before I'd swing back around.

Anyway, for those who weren't aware of it, I've actually recently REVAMPED the story, which is now under HOSTage.0! The first five chapters (and prologue) have been edited so that they're not so unbelievably awful, and there'll be new stuff, too.

AS OF RIGHT NOW, I AM RETIRING HOSTAGE.

I'll keep working on the revamp for however long I have the steam for it. But what follows below is the last of what I have from 2009—after this, everything is new.

Thank you for your support, and if you'd like to continue with the story, please check out the revamp! Over their, Chapter 6 will actually be finished and then the story should, hopefully, be taken through to its conclusion. ((I also have multiple other stories if you're interested…?)

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT OVER THE YEARS!

Lauren "Atakiri"

Chapter 6 -_-_- Breaking In New Quarters

Yugi sat in his Room of Mind, surrounded by toys and games. And an oppressive feeling of loneliness. He'd been in the Room of his Mind before, just sitting there, thinking, or trying to avoid having to feel or think about anything. But he'd always been able to come out whenever he wanted, and he could always trust his body to Yami and trust in what Yami was doing. He'd never realized, before how… small it was. How the air became so stale so quickly.

Somewhere deep down he knew the room was as large as it always was, that it was of an average size and not really that small at all. But being trapped in one spot… with nothing to do, no way to help himself…

He brought his knees up and rested his chin on them. He was feeling more alone than he ever had before. He couldn't talk to his friends, couldn't even see how they were doing, and to not even have Yami… He felt his throat close and huddled down even further.

He had always known Yami was his closest friend—after all Yami lived inside him, and you can't get much closer than that—but he had never really realized just how much Yami actually meant to him. He'd been his best friend, the person he could always rely on and talk to. Yami would always be there for him. He'd believed that so much. The person he could always rely on. Sure, sometimes it would make him feel sad and useless always having to rely on Yami… at night, when he couldn't sleep and when Yami was buried deep in his mind, and everything was so quiet he was forced to go into his own conscience to find stimulation he'd think over the things he couldn't stand to think during the day, around his friends.

He shook his head violently, trying to shake out the thoughts. This was exactly what he was talking about. With nothing to do, his darkest, guiltiest thoughts came to the surface. He needed something else to think about.

He looked around again, but it hadn't changed since five seconds ago.

This was crazy. He was going to go insane in here. He could feel time moving—tell that he had hidden here in this Room twenty minutes ago about, but that didn't help him much because he had no idea what time twenty minutes ago was. Maybe he would have been able to come up with some sort of plan if he knew, for example, that he had woken up at 3:15 p.m. on Sunday (which he was pretty sure he hadn't), but he didn't know anything at all.

He paused.

He was going to make a plan? He realized that he'd already decided that. Sure, if he stayed in his room his memories would be safe from Yami Bakura. But he couldn't stay here forever. He didn't know—couldn't even imagine—what Yami Bakura wanted the God Card for, but he was as resolute as ever that Yami Bakura couldn't have it. But he couldn't stay here forever. It was possible that he'd go so crazy in that little room that he might lose control of himself and open the door out of necessity, letting the memories out and Yami Bakura in. No… he'd have to leave his room, but he'd have to make it count.

The only other person who knew where the God Card was was Yami, who had helped him find the hiding place. Maybe Yami could grab the God Card before Yami Bakura. But how would Yami know that that was what he needed to do? Neither of them could have possibly imagined that Yami Bakura would show any desire for the Egyptian God Cards—hadn't he been obsessed with the Millennium Items? No… Yami wouldn't think the card was in any danger, so he wouldn't come to get it.

Speaking of which, where was Yami? Yami Bakura had said that the two Egyptian spirits had traded items; did that mean he was with Bakura? This thought gave him more comfort than he would have expected—that meant Bakura had a friend, that Yami could really help Bakura. Yugi understood now that Yami Bakura had been the root of all of his friend's problems, but it was a realization in passing. Somehow he had to use Yami being in Bakura's body to his advantage. Could he get a message to him? Could he somehow tell Yami to go and save the God Card?

No, that wouldn't work. He'd have to leave the Room for that, and gain control of his body. And he had no idea how strong Yami Bakura was—if he was anywhere as strong as Yami, which he suspected he was, if Yami Bakura didn't want Yugi in control, then Yugi would never move his own body again. But what if that power, if that control, faltered for a second? Could he surprise Yami Bakura and usurp control of his body for a moment to get the message out?

He was suddenly filled with excitement. Yes! That was perfect! That's what he would do—he would rush out of the door, rush into control, and shout his warning to Yami. It was perfect! But then reality hit.

The moment he opened the door Yami Bakura would have the memories too. He couldn't check the body to make sure that he was in the same room as Yami. He couldn't be sure Yami was the predominant soul in Bakura's body at the time; if it was Bakura in charge, he would understand the message too late. If Yugi hesitated at the door for even a second Yami Bakura could swoop down and grab him, taking in the memories and then tossing Yugi back in his room.

And suddenly he realized the plan was incredibly dangerous, incredibly risky. He'd have to gamble all or nothing on good luck. And he also knew that he had made up his mind. He was going to do it. All that mattered now was to get the timing right, and pray to god or whoever else was up there that he'd get it right.

Marik walked into his room in the bottom of an abandoned building. It was dusty in here, but he was trying not to attract attention. Yet. The glitzy hotels could come later.

He was already removing the deep purple robes of the Rare Hunters, letting it fall to the ground. The stale, dusty air swirled around him, kicking up dust. Dammit—he'd lived his entire life in one tomb, he felt no desire to be in one of a different kind.

"Well well," a voice from the middle of the darkened room said. "It looks like whoever sprays you does a thorough job, Marik."

Marik jumped and banged his hand on the lightswitch, filling the room with light. He was brandishing his Millennium Rod like a club, but he lowered his arm as his eyes lit on a small body sitting in a chair—which he noticed had been moved—in the middle of the room.

"Yugi?" he asked, confused. He was sure the voice he had heard hadn't been Yugi's—similar, he realized now, but different. Deeper, angrier, dripping with contempt. Yugi rolled his eyes at him and shook his head.

"I think the tanning beds have started to melt your mind, Marik," Yugi said, laughing darkly. The hair on the back of Marik's neck stood on end. This didn't sound like Yugi—it sounded like Bakura! "Of course, that would require that one was there in the first place…"

"Bakura!" Marik shouted, furious. What the hell was going on here?! Why was Yugi speaking with Yami Bakura's voice?! Yugi laughed, and it was a perverted version of Yami Bakura's laugh—Yugi was too small to pull it off entirely correctly.

"Maybe those tanning booths aren't as carcinogenic as people think." He laughed again and Marik felt himself grow angrier.

"What the hell is going on here?!" he demanded. Yugi smirked and pushed himself out of the chair. His hair looked somewhat unkempt—although it was hard to tell with that ridiculous hair style—and his school uniform was rumpled. Not like he had seen Yugi at all. What. The. Hell. Was. Going. On. "Why do you look like Yugi?!"

"How do you know Yugi doesn't just look like me?" Marik scowled angrily at him and Yugi laughed again. "Well, you are correct—it is me in here."

"How," he demanded flatly. Yugi—no, Yami Bakura—shrugged nonchalantly.

"Suffice it to say that I, like your dear Pharaoh, am a spirit who was previously residing in the body of that white-haired child you've seen me in up until now. But the Pharaoh and I had a nasty… incident… and it would seem we've traded hosts now." Yami Bakura laughed. It took Marik a second to understand this—the spirit of the Pharaoh no longer lived in the body of Yugi?

"Where is the Pharaoh now?" he demanded. Yami Bakura arched an eyebrow at him; these arrogant expressions looked so ridiculously out of place on Yugi's face.

"Ahhhh, does the little rebel boy miss his master already?" He laughed scornfully and Marik had to choke down a growl. And a lot of curse words. Yami Bakura waved his hand airily before Marik could respond. "He's residing in my prior host. Unless he was lost to the Shadows. Wouldn't that make things easier?"

"Where is the God Card? I assume you brought it?" Yami Bakura shook his head and waved one finger at him.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Marik. We're not talking about you right now. I need to make some… adjustments… to our deal." He looked nonchalantly at his fingernails, waiting for Marik's reply.

"Like what?" Marik demanded.

"Like, instead of getting me the Millennium Puzzle and leaving it at that, I want you to get me the Millennium Ring from my host and kill him." Marik arched an eyebrow at him.

"You want me to kill the boy?" he repeated. Yami Bakura rolled his eyes and sat back down on the chair, slinging one leg over the armrest; on the other one he rested his elbow, and put his head in his hand.

"Are you a parrot? Yes, kill him. Slit his throat, shoot him, break him in half. I don't care what you do—he's of no further use to me." He looked at the back of his hand again, considering the skin there. "I think Yugi will be much more helpful for me and my goals. And besides—when you kill the boy, you'll as good as have killed the Pharaoh, and then no one can stop your nefarious little half-baked plots." He rolled his eyes and shook his head, showing how ridiculous he thought the idea.

"And in return?" Yami Bakura rolled his eyes and threw his hands into the air.

"And in return you get your precious little damn God Card and to kill the Pharaoh! What else do you need, you greedy little Egyptian bastard?! You want me to toss in a motorcycle, too? God knows you collect those things like a girl collects Barbie dolls." He noticed three Motorcycles resting against a far wall nearly completely lost in shadow. "What's this? Malibu Bicycle and her friends Baby Doctor and Cheerleader Motorcycle?"

"The Vet Motorcycle's coming out soon, only in a Toys R Us near you," Marik said mockingly. "Why don't you go jump on a plane to America and go get one for me? And I'll consider not shooting you down over the Pacific Ocean." Yami Bakura chuckled and rose to his feet, walking towards the door.

"I'll give you that God Card when you bring me the Puzzle and the boy's head," he said as he shoved past Marik and out of the only door. Marik glared at him as he left, still not entirely sure what to think. The fact that Bakura was a spirit as well disturbed him greatly, but he knew there was nothing he could do with this fact now, and he'd have to ignore it.

Scowling, he stepped further into the room and slammed the door shut. He'd use Yami Bakura as much as he needed to until all three Egyptian God Cards were his.

It felt strange having a non-malevolent presence inside of him. Bakura had grown so used to Yami Bakura—his arrogance, his contempt. Yugi's Spirit was nothing like that. He was confident and sure of himself, but not in a way that made Bakura feel smaller; in fact, it made him feel stronger himself, having someone so confident within him. And this spirit was kind and seemed to respect him. It wasn't an admiring respect, but the kind that said, "You're a human being, too, and I'll treat you as one."

Bakura was making his bed. It wasn't a very heroic thing to be doing when his only friend was in danger, but it was something to do. After all, he did have to get used to the feel of his own body again. The Spirit of the Millennium Ring had been in control for so long that he felt stiff and clumsy.

Though he couldn't really call him the Spirit of the Millennium Ring anymore, could he? Now Yugi's spirit inhabited the Millennium Ring and Bakura's spirit was in the Millennium Puzzle.

That thought made him sick.

His spirit was with Yugi.

That terrible, cruel, all-controlling spirit was with Yugi. It was too much to even think about. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew he had to do something. He'd been with the Ring long enough to know that he wouldn't wish it on anyone else, even his own worst enemy. Not that being with the Ring would have much effect on Yami Bakura anyway. Somewhere in the back of his mind Bakura already knew he had to take the Spirit of the Ring back, even though he didn't want it. Sacrificing himself. Destroying his own future and happiness in order to make sure it didn't happen to anyone else.

If he'd been aware he was thinking these things he would have been so proud of himself.

He tried to lift a pitcher of water Tea had put on his bedside table, but barely got it an inch or so up before it was too heavy for him and he had to put it down. He could feel Yugi's Spirit's disapproval.

Bakura, why have you been so tired? he asked him. It was strange hearing the Spirit talk to him from within his mind—usually his own Spirit would be using Bakura's mouth to speak to him aloud. Your body and soul are both so weak. Is this the fault of the Spirit of the Millennium Ring's? Bakura sighed and slumped to the ground, relaxing his tired body. He'd been up for fifteen minutes and wanted to go to sleep again.

"Yes…" he admitted, staring at the ground. "He's been pushing my body to its limits. I don't know why… or even what for.