AN: At this point, this fic is following the manga timeline, which means the Noah and Doma arcs never happened. So this chapter finishes up the Battle City/Battle Ship arc and then goes straight into the Memory World arc.
As Bakura's soul burned away, he took comfort in the knowledge that a piece of Marik's soul was in Anzu, and that he'd sealed a piece of his own soul inside the Millennium Puzzle. Because of this, neither of them could be completely destroyed. As the last of his form faded away, everything went black.
He soon regained consciousness. He knew immediately that he was now inside the Puzzle, the larger part of his soul having been banished by Marik's alternate personality. He hoped that someone would manage to defeat Marik's dark side, allowing Marik to get back into his own body. And he hoped that he could somehow make it back to Marik. But inside the Puzzle, Bakura could do nothing. For the moment, he was powerless. So he waited, feeling helpless, not knowing what to do.
Eventually, he felt a pull. He didn't know exactly how long he had been in the Puzzle- it was hard to keep track of time in places like this- but it didn't seem like too long. Certainly not long compared to the amount of time he'd spent trapped inside the Ring. The pull brought his consciousness back to the larger part of his soul, which had apparently now come back into being. For only a moment, just when the two parts of his soul joined together again, he was able to see Marik and the Pharaoh standing across from each other. He realized that the Pharaoh must have defeated Marik's dark self- that was why Marik had his body back now, and why the larger part of Bakura's soul had been released. Of course, unlike Marik, Bakura had no body of his own to return to once his soul was released from the place where Marik's dark side had sent it. So he wasn't too surprised when things quickly went black for him again.
By the time that he regained awareness, he knew for certain that he had been sucked back into the darkness of the Ring. And so, inside the Ring, he waited yet again, hoping to be found. Would Ryou come for him? He needed to get out. Time was short- he could not allow Yugi to assemble all the Millennium items. He had to beat him to it.
Ryou's entire face lit up when he saw the Ring. He felt a stab of anger at Yugi for hiding the Ring here and not telling him where it was. But he'd found the Ring now...was it possible that Bakura's soul was still inside? He knew Bakura's soul had been consumed in his battle against Marik's dark side, but he thought he'd heard Bakura calling out to him somehow, leading him here...
He ran over and picked up the Ring, holding it before him and looking at it with affection. Then he immediately slipped the Ring over his head. And...yes! It was the voice of the spirit! He was here!
"Wait," Ryou thought, knowing now that Bakura could hear him. "I don't want Yugi to know that I have the Ring. Wait until we're safe and alone."
Ryou shoved the Ring underneath his shirt, so that Yugi and the others wouldn't be able to see that he'd found it and now possessed it again. And then Ryou ran.
He made sure to get far away from Yugi and the others. Eventually, he believed he was safe, and only then did Ryou feel comfortable enough to retreat completely into his mind so that he could meet Bakura in his soul room. He hadn't wanted to have this conversation any other way- he wanted to be able to look at Bakura while they talked.
"Bakura! I finally found the Ring! But how did your spirit get back inside? I thought you might be..."
"I was able to survive because I sealed a piece of my soul inside the Puzzle. But I couldn't get out of there or do anything. Luckily, when Marik's dark personality was defeated, it freed my soul. But of course, that caused my soul to get sucked back into the Ring and I was trapped here again. I was hoping you'd find me," said Bakura.
"You know you can count on me," said Ryou.
Bakura looked at him a bit skeptically, but he didn't contradict Ryou's statement. Instead, he asked about Marik.
"Marik thinks you're dead, Bakura," answered Ryou. "Like I said, I thought you might be, too..."
"So where he is?" asked Bakura.
"He went back to Egypt," said Ryou. "Said something about trying to start a new life. Do you want to go to Egypt and let him know you're alive?"
"No," said Bakura. "The time to put my final plan into action is almost here. It shouldn't take long to complete. Once I've achieved what I set out to do, I can go and find Marik. But there's no reason to involve him now...I won't ask for his help. It seems he's been through enough recently. Besides, knowing him, he'd just screw something up. And I don't want you involving yourself, either."
"But Bakura, I want to help-" started Ryou.
"This is my vengeance quest, and mine alone," Bakura cut him off. "It's not yours any more than it is Marik's. It's not your responsibility to help me with this. You've done plenty. From here on, I go alone."
"But why?" asked Ryou. His eyes were large and round with worry.
Bakura shook his head with slight exasperation. Hadn't he just explained why? Yet he softened a bit as he looked at Ryou's worried expression. Finally, he said, "Because that's the way it's done."
"Alright...but...if you need me..." said Ryou quietly.
"I won't," said Bakura firmly.
Ryou held his tongue, but inside he knew that he would attempt to follow the spirit wherever he was going.
"Just don't forget that you can count on me," Ryou said stubbornly, as a final word on the subject. "But what is this plan of yours, anyways?"
"Best that you know as little as possible," said Bakura. "I admit that if I succeed, there will be...consequences...but I can take care of it. Once I get all the Millennium items and my revenge is taken, I'll make everything right again. Trust me."
Ryou was not entirely convinced, but he nodded anyways. He knew from long experience that there was no use in arguing with the spirit on the subject of his vengeance quest.
Bakura wasted no time in going to the memory world. Once there, he was forced to relive some of his worst memories as he saw his past self and the things that had happened near the end of his life.
The things he saw weren't all bad, though. He saw the rock slide that his enemies believed had killed him in the past, and commented snidely that his past self obviously wasn't dead yet, for if he'd died then, he wouldn't be here in the present now.
He was even able to go back to his old village and talk to the spirits that were still trapped there. They did not seem pleased that he was using a Millennium item, but he tried to reassure them. He told them he was doing what was necessary to get vengeance for all of them, and to ultimately free their souls.
However, the longer he was there, the more he could feel the pull of Zorc. The fact that a piece of Zorc's soul was sealed inside the Ring with him was a secret he'd kept from everyone. He himself sometimes wondered if it was wise to accept Zorc's help in completing his goals. But Zorc had promised him that if he succeeded in raising him, he would help him get vengeance, and the spirits of his murdered family and friends would finally be free. Once this goal was achieved, he could take care of Zorc. It wasn't as if he desired to live in a world of darkness- and that's how it would be if Zorc was allowed to rule.
But as the events in the memory world unfolded, he seemed to be controlled by Zorc more and more. Usually, he spoke in his own voice, as he recalled memories from his past and talked of the slaughter that had happened in his village. But sometimes, he- or rather, Ryou's body- spoke in Zorc's voice. Bakura realized that his own soul was connected to a fragment of Zorc's soul, and that it was affecting him. But there was nothing to be done about that now. He had started this, and he would finish it. As he witnessed the events of his past, pain stabbed at his heart. He had to get his revenge...it was all that mattered now.
He managed to raise Zorc and felt hope that he would succeed. But as it turned out, even raising Zorc was not enough to allow Bakura to defeat the Pharaoh. Despite his careful plans and strategic steps, the Pharaoh surprised him by putting up a formidable fight, and raising his own crushing offense. Bakura watched helplessly as each of his measured attempts fell short, and his single chance to avenge his village was lost.
The end came all too soon as Bakura watched Zorc, the dark and powerful demon that he was, fall to the Pharaoh's killing blow.
Bakura felt like he was being torn apart. As Zorc was vanquished, the last thing Bakura knew was searing pain and an overwhelming sense of confusion.
Back in Egypt, Marik sat alone, knowing nothing of these events. He had left Japan after getting his body back, and as far he knew, Bakura had been killed by his dark personality. And now his mind was tormenting him with memories of everything that had happened. Bakura was gone, his soul banished by Marik's own dark side. Another person in his life that his dark personality had killed. But this had been far worse than what had happened with his father. His dark side had killed his father for torturing his children. But Bakura had been killed because he'd been trying to help Marik- to save him and his family.
Marik still wondered if he'd made the right decision when he'd chosen to give the Millennium items to the Pharaoh and show him the carvings on his back. But he'd come to realize that the Pharaoh wasn't entirely bad...after all, he'd helped him in defeating his dark side. And ironically, it turned out that what the Pharaoh wanted to do wasn't so different from what Bakura had ultimately wanted to do. The Pharaoh wanted to collect the Millennium items so that he could put them in the tablet, and then seal them away, never to be used again. And isn't that what Bakura had always desired? For the Millennium items- the weapons made from the blood of his people- to never again be used to fulfill the selfish desires of their possessors?
Of course, if he'd believed that Bakura's soul was still in the Ring, he wouldn't have given it to the Pharaoh. But Bakura's soul had been banished. And Marik reasoned that it couldn't be in the Ring anymore- if it was, then Bakura's soul would have been able to control Marik's dark side while he was wearing the Ring.
Giving the Ring and the Rod to the Pharaoh had seemed like the best thing to do. Bakura wouldn't have wanted Marik to continue using the Rod for his own purposes. If the Pharaoh succeeded in sealing the items away forever- well, maybe that would have satisfied Bakura on some level. Marik hoped so.
And Rishid had wanted him to help the Pharaoh. Faithful Rishid, who had remained loyal to him even when he had treated him terribly and involved him in his murderous plots. Rishid had been able to let go of their past and to accept their duty, so shouldn't Marik be able to do the same?
It was because of Rishid's encouragement that Marik had found the will to live, and had finally been able to destroy his dark personality for good. When Marik had fought his dark personality with Bakura at his side, Marik had still had an inner strength. Despite the fact that he was already feeling guilty for some of the things he'd done, he'd had the will to fight, to try to defeat his dark personality and protect those he cared about. But after he'd watched his dark side kill Bakura, that strength had left him. He'd been consumed by guilt and felt no more will to fight or even to live. And because of that, he had almost allowed his dark personality to destroy him, thinking he might be better off dead. It was only Rishid's words that had convinced him to stand against his dark personality and destroy him once and for all. If not for Rishid, he would have let his dark side banish him and keep his body. He owed Rishid a lot.
And it wasn't only Rishid who wanted him to help the Pharaoh; Ishizu had wanted the same thing. She had given her Millennium Tauk to the Pharaoh. With Bakura gone, his sister and brother were all he had left in the world. If his actions made them happy...well, that was good, wasn't it?
Still, he felt conflicted. Maybe that was why he'd gone back to Egypt instead of joining the Pharaoh's little group and trying to aid them. He didn't hate the Pharaoh the way he used to, but he still couldn't bear the thought of being one of his little helpers. He wouldn't team up with the person that he- and Bakura- had been trying to kill for so long.
True, the Pharaoh wasn't all bad- but he wasn't all good, either. Marik wondered why people thought the Pharaoh was so great. He'd heard tales of some of the things that the Pharaoh had done- drawing innocent people into dark games for no good reason and then killing them, torturing them, or driving them insane. Bakura- and Marik himself- may have done some bad things, but certainly no worse than what the Pharaoh had done. And neither Bakura nor Marik had been crazy enough to burn people alive or destroy their minds, as the Pharaoh had. Of course, he and Bakura had killed, but there had always been a greater purpose- they had never gone around killing people for just the faintest ghost of a reason, the way he'd heard the Pharaoh had.
But still, the Pharaoh did want to seal the Millennium items away forever. Maybe that was enough. It would have to be. At least it meant that the whole thing would be over...this whole thing that had started over 3,000 years ago, when he'd first heard of the plan to slaughter everyone in Bakura's village.
He wished Bakura had never shown him the memories from his past life. He wished he'd never met Bakura in this life. He wished Bakura hadn't tried to be so brave and heroic, risking his own life in an attempt to save Marik. Bakura was gone, and it was his fault. Bakura had been destroyed because he'd tried to help Marik, and it was Marik's own dark personality that had destroyed him.
He put his head in his hands and tugged at his hair. It was all his fault...
He had come back to Egypt to try to start a new life- to start over and forget about everything that had happened before. Yet he could do nothing but dwell on the past.
He wanted Bakura to be here. But he knew that was impossible. Bakura had said that he'd always come back and find him again, but that couldn't happen this time. He leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and remembered the way Bakura's skin had felt against his own.
AN: Only one more chapter left now! Next chapter: Ceremonial Duel arc.
Thanks to everyone who has been reading! Please review and let me know what you think!