Chapter Thirteen

Duke had been driving for a few minutes when he decided maybe he needed to try talking with the angry and hurting thief on the backseat. They had hardly ever associated, so it would likely be awkward, but on the other hand, they didn't have the kind of antagonistic relationship that was had between Yami Bakura and Tristan, so perhaps it wouldn't actually be so difficult.

"Hey," he said, "I'm sorry about what Tristan said. You know how he gets."

"I know," Yami Bakura flatly answered. "But he was right. . . . I should have protected Bakura. I didn't even know that blast was going to hit us. There were two Duel Monsters. The first distracted me while the second launched that fatal attack."

The Dark Magician turned to look at him in concern. "Then how could you have known?"

A shrug. "Oh, I really couldn't have," Yami Bakura said in annoyance and disgust, "but I should have. Bakura saw what I did not. He tackled me out of the way and was too close to the blast. He was killed because of me."

"You would have done the same for him," David said quietly.

"Yes, I would have," Yami Bakura said. "But sacrificing oneself is never a good solution to such a problem. The one left behind has to pick up the pieces."

"Yeah." Duke gripped the steering wheel. This was a subject he and David understood all too well.

"A lot of times, the person never means to sacrifice himself," David said. "They hope they'll get out of it too. But it doesn't always work out that way."

"Whether it was the intention or not, it doesn't change the difficulty of dealing with it," Yami Bakura said. "Duke had such trouble with it that he finally had to reverse time altogether. And I would also do that, if I found a way. I would have done it millennia ago for Kul Elna, if there had been a way."

"Everyone who loses someone would want to do that," Duke said quietly.

"But is there any chance that Bakura is still alive?" David wondered. "What if Johnson couldn't reveal it because it would foil some of the Big Five's plans?"

"Or what if Johnson really thinks Bakura is dead, whether he is or not?" Duke suggested.

"Don't think I haven't wanted to think something like that," Yami Bakura growled. "But how would Bakura's state have anything to do with the Big Five's plans?"

"Maybe we should first ask why they wanted him to die," David said. "We might find some answers that way."

"I find no answers," Yami Bakura retorted. "We know they want to kill all of us. Bakura would not be an exception. I can see no reason to pretend he's dead, unless it's to break morale."

"Instead, they've only increased your determination to stop them," David said.

"Exactly." Yami Bakura's eyes darkened. "If they thought I would roll over and die, they are sadly mistaken! I'll see them all suffer first."

"But it won't bring Bakura back," Duke said.

"I know," Yami Bakura snarled. "But I still can't let them get away with any part of their scheme."

"So what is it you want?" David wondered. "Revenge or justice?"

"Sometimes I wonder if there's really such a difference," Yami Bakura grunted. "For me, justice isn't merely stopping a plot, but making the perpetrator suffer for it. Johnson deserved to feel pain after what he did to Bakura." He gripped his arms. "Just as I know I deserve to feel it after everything I've done."

"And you're feeling it," David said. "Knowing that someone you love is gone is probably the worst punishment you could have, especially when you already experienced it in the past."

"Yes," Yami Bakura said quietly.

"But if you never hurt anyone like that until Zorc poisoned you, like Bakura said, then I don't think you deserve to be punished to some extreme," Duke said. "I mean, in that case it really wasn't entirely your fault."

"Heh. That's what Bakura says," Yami Bakura said.

"Then why don't you listen to him?" Duke countered. "Whether he's dead or not, I know it would mean a lot to him for you to find some value in yourself."

Yami Bakura leaned back, staring up at the sky without fully seeing it. It was strange. . . . He had always been a vain person, perhaps seeing too much value in himself. He was still vain about his physical appearance; he knew he was attractive. But he had also thought himself great in other ways. Or had some of that been Zorc? Zorc had thought what they were doing was something to be proud of. So had he. But when Zorc had been stripped away and he had been left to himself and the realization of everything he had done, his opinion of himself as a person had shifted 180 degrees. He believed himself terrible, no matter what Bakura tried to tell him. And not just Bakura; even Dartz had expressed the view that he was not as wretched as he believed himself to be. And Tristan and Joey, and Duke to an extent. . . . They had all distrusted him and saw him as he still saw himself, but even their views were shifting. They saw he really was different now.

So why couldn't he accept that?

Sensing the conversation had gone as far as it was going to, Duke said, "It's just something to think about."

Yami Bakura came back to the present and looked to him. "You're being awfully helpful," he remarked. "You distrusted me deeply, almost as much as Tristan. When that fiend controlled me with his Shadow Leech, even Joey felt I wasn't to blame. But Tristan did, and you did. I saw it in your eyes."

Duke looked away, focusing instead on the road. "Yeah, I did," he acknowledged. "And yet I never really had the complicated past with you that Tristan had. I barely encountered you. I mostly just heard stuff second-hand. The only thing I actually saw was you dueling Atem . . . and forgetting about Marik's scheme so you could save Bakura."

"Which I insisted I was doing because I still needed him," Yami Bakura said.

"Well, the point is, one of the only things I saw was one of your better moments." Duke tensed as a group of T.A.D.P.O.L.E.s hopped in front of the car. He served, wildly, and barely avoided them. A cloud of dust rose from the tires on the right side of the car.

David gasped, holding a hand to his heart. "Duke, warn me when you're going to do that!"

"Maybe they should have warned us they were going to get in the way," Duke countered. To Yami Bakura he continued, "Anyway, so it was probably easier for me to accept your return than it was for Tristan. And even though I was suspicious of you after that incident with the Shadow Leech happened, I remembered the good things you'd done and your caring for Bakura before long. Plus, once all the dust settled, I found out you'd almost got killed trying to save Tristan later that day and then maxed out any remaining strength you had trying to help Marik."

"And that changed all of your feelings, just like that," Yami Bakura snorted.

"No, but it went a long way toward helping," Duke said. "I'm sure you know that Tristan and I don't really have heart-to-hearts. But for some reason I was present when Yugi, Atem, Joey, Tristan, and Téa were all discussing you a couple of days after that. There were still a lot of confused feelings. Tristan said you told him he might change his mind after he had time to think about everything and he might go back to distrusting you again. He said he hadn't changed his mind. And Joey . . . well, he said that if the Thief King risked his life for Tristan, he couldn't be all bad. And Téa added that you'd also risked your life on multiple occasions for Bakura, especially against that serial killer the White Death."

Yami Bakura looked up at the dragon flying overhead. ". . . They said I was one of them now," he said quietly, in awed amazement. "They said they wanted to be friends." He scoffed. "Me? They want to be friends with me?" He shook his head. "But I know them too well. They wouldn't lie. They meant every word." He looked away. "Tristan wasn't there then. And when he came, the first thing he did was to blame me for what happened to Bakura." He clenched a fist. "Rightfully."

"You couldn't help it," David insisted.

"And Tristan is always running off at the mouth," Duke added. "I've heard him say plenty of garbage to Joey too, when he gets mad enough. And of course, Joey's the king of stupid comments when he's ticked off. But they both feel bad about it when they calm down enough. Tristan won't stay mad at you. He knows you're hurting more than he ever could, even though he cares about Bakura too."

"Perhaps," Yami Bakura grunted, unconvinced. Did he want Tristan to not be mad at him? He blamed himself; Tristan had a perfect right to do so as well. But . . . it had been nice, when Tristan had stopped feeling so antagonistic towards him. He didn't really want to go back to how it had been, now that he had had a taste of what it could be instead. He was hurting so badly inside. It was nice when others provided comfort and assurance instead of more hurt. Maybe it meant he was weak, but . . . he wanted it to stay that way. He had been without love and caring for almost all of his existence. To have it again, he realized how starved he was for it and how much he had believed he would never have it after Kul Elna . . . and after Dalilah had left him.

Bakura had once promised him that even death would not separate them. If he died, he would still stay, as either an Earthbound spirit or a guardian angel. Yami Bakura knew the boy meant it. And it was so tempting to take the Infinity Ring off, to see if becoming a spirit again himself would open his eyes to that other plane. . . .

There wouldn't be any harm in it, just for a moment. . . .

He reached up, slowly pulling the Ring off from around his neck but still holding onto it. "Bakura?" he rasped. "Are you here?"

Dark Necrofear turned to look at him in concern. If he remained in spirit form, the wounds from Zorc's destruction would start opening up again. She could already see it starting.

And Duke was just realizing that his passenger had become transparent. "What the . . . ?!" The car swerved again.

"Duke!" David yelped. "Keep it steady!"

Quickly Yami Bakura replaced the Ring and returned to his mortal form. There was no sign of Bakura, or any other spirits either. He sighed and leaned back against the seat, gazing up at the sky. "Where are you?" he whispered.

"Warn me when you're going to do that!" Duke cried.

Yami Bakura merely shrugged. He doubted he would do it again any time soon. Becoming part of the spirit plane and still not finding Bakura was even worse than just wondering whether he was there.

He frowned. Was there any possible chance that Bakura was alive? He didn't want to believe in false hope, but he didn't want to give up prematurely either. It didn't seem reasonable that the boy lived, but still . . . part of him wanted to hope so badly.

Bah, he really was weak, to believe in hope.

xxxx

In the sky, on Red Eyes, Tristan was still both fuming and reeling. "There's no sign of Bakura down there," he said. "He's just nowhere to be found."

"You don't really think it's Yami Bakura's fault, do you, Tristan?" Téa said in concern.

Tristan scowled. "It was such a shock. I needed someone to blame and he was there."

"It's the Big Five's fault," Atem said grimly. "But no one blames Yami Bakura more than he does himself."

"Yeah, I guess." Tristan looked away. "I should probably apologize when we land. . . ."

"I think that would be nice," Yugi said.

"It's funny how things go," Joey said. "Even in spite of him teasing us and everything, I guess I really have ended up believing that we can trust him. And then when it looked like he might be dead along with Bakura, I didn't wanna believe it about either one of them. I was happy to see him back. And I still want to believe Bakura's still alive too."

"Me too," Tristan said, "but I don't know how he could be."

"In a world that plays with your mind, anything is possible," Seto finally spoke up from where he was still tightly holding on to Johnson. "I don't know that I believe Bakura is alright, but I'm not denying he could be." He glowered at his nemesis. "I hope he is alright. I don't want these sleazeballs using my technology to kill people!"

Tristan hesitated. "Yeah, about that. . . . You know those Dark Magicians we found?"

"What about them?" Seto demanded.

"Well . . . the truth is, they're not holograms," Tristan admitted. "None of these Duel Monsters are. They told us a portal opened from their world and they came on over."

Johnson stiffened in shock. "That can't be!"

"What?!" Seto snorted. "They were probably re-programmed to say that!"

"And were they programmed to try on clothes in a department store too?" Tristan retorted. "Instantaneously?"

Seto went stiff. "Holograms couldn't do that," he said in a monotone of horror.

Atem looked back at him. "So you're saying these monsters are all real?!"

"They sure seem to be," Serenity said. "Actually, it's pretty cool!"

Joey pondered on that. "So . . . we're riding on a real Red Eyes? That's not just cool; it's awesome!" He looked practically starry-eyed.

"And that means this is a real Shining Friendship!" Téa exclaimed. "Aww, he's so cute!" She scratched the Duel Monster's chin and he closed his eyes in bliss.

"How did this happen?!" Seto cried. He glared at Johnson. "You'd better explain!"

"But I can't explain, Mr. Kaiba!" Johnson gasped. "All we did was re-program your game. How would that cause some kind of magic to happen?!"

"That's what I'd like to know!" Seto barked.

Marik suddenly went stiff. "Oh no."

Mokuba looked up at him. "What is it, Marik?"

"If the monsters are all real, then what about the Egyptian God Monsters?" Marik worried. "Kaiba said he put them in the game too!"

Yugi gasped. "That's right! Oh wow, they're probably going to be furious!"

"Not to worry, Yugi," Atem cut in. "I should be able to calm them down if they show up."

"And will you be able to calm this down too?" a Southern voice suddenly echoed around them.

Johnson's eyes widened. "Lector. . . . No, don't do it! I'm their prisoner!"

But if Lector heard, he didn't care. Without warning, a tornado ripped towards them from the street they were just approaching as they neared the end of the canyons.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Joey cried. "Again?!"

"This time it's a land tornado," Atem said. "Everyone, brace yourselves!"

Red Eyes roared. He was unable to withstand this force any better than he had Gansley's underwater version. As it drew closer, he was pulled in despite his best efforts to strain against it. Down below, Duke's group screamed as they were also caught up in it.

Téa held onto Shining Friendship for dear life. "Where are we going to end up now?!" she wailed.

Serenity clutched at her brother. "Joey!" Her hair blew wildly into her face.

Joey gripped her in desperation. "Don't worry, Serenity!" he yelled through gritted teeth. "I'm . . . never . . . gonna . . . let you go!"

Any further words from anyone were lost in the whirlwind.

xxxx

"Téa? Are you alright?"

Téa groaned as consciousness slowly returned. Through the fog over her mind, it seemed that Atem was talking to her. And yet, it didn't sound like Atem. . . .

Shining Friendship warbled, poking her on the arm.

Slowly she opened her eyes. Her Duel Monster was next to her, his eyes bright and concerned. And kneeling near her was a very tense Seto Kaiba.

Immediately she was fully awake. "Kaiba?!" She sprang upright. "Where's everyone else?!"

"I don't know," Seto said through gritted teeth. "We're the only ones here. And my Battle Ox."

His Duel Monster, standing to the side with folded arms, grunted in agreement.

"But then . . . Mokuba. . . ." Téa looked around in horror.

"The Big Five might have him," Seto agreed. "And we were supposed to be heading for Lector's section of the city. His tornado blew us all the way into Crump's."

"You're kidding!" But Téa saw with a sinking heart that Seto was right. Penguins and glaciers were everywhere. She had desperately hoped that she wouldn't have to encounter Crump again. Now, it was almost a sure thing. The only possible upside was that she wasn't alone this time.

Seto got up. "Let's get going. We have to find Mokuba now!"

Téa fully agreed. She stood as well. "Maybe the Big Five didn't get him," she hoped. "Maybe he's with one of the others."

"Maybe," Seto agreed. "Or maybe not." He set off at a brisk pace in complete determination.

Téa hurried after him. "Wait up!"

Seto slowed . . . slightly.

Téa frowned as she caught up to him. "Kaiba . . . you're limping," she realized. "You've been hurt!"

"I'm alright!" Seto insisted. "We have to find Mokuba. We can't stop for whatever petty injury I may have gained."

Téa bit her lip. Seto certainly had a point, and yet . . .

"When you're hurt, you won't be able to look as efficiently," she pointed out. "Maybe if you get that taken care of, you'll be able to look for him easier!"

Seto clenched his teeth. Téa always had spoken her mind. She was never the type to just sit back and let anyone tell her what to do, even if that someone was the most powerful person in Domino City. And he had to admit, she had a point.

"It's probably just a bruise." But he stopped walking and pulled up his pant leg enough to examine the spot.

"It looks like a bad one," Téa frowned.

"Well, it's too bad all this ice is fake," Seto said with dripping sarcasm. "I could just take some and numb it with that." He let the clothing fall back down over the injury. "As it is, there's nothing we can do. We'll have to keep moving."

"If you keep putting pressure on it, it could get so bad you won't be able to walk," Téa said.

"Then we'll deal with that if it happens," Seto shot back. He started off again.

Téa sighed to herself as she followed. Well, at least maybe if he gets that bad, Battle Ox could carry him, she thought. Like he would ever let anyone do that.

She prayed everyone else was alright.

xxxx

"Tristan? Wake up."

Tristan groaned as the deep and gravelly voice filled his ears and echoed through the area. Somehow, everything felt so dark and dank and cold. . . . He shivered.

"Tristan!"

He held a hand to his head as he rolled onto his back. "Okay, okay. I'm awake." He squinted in the near-darkness. Now he could make out the wild white hair, as well as the slight glow from Dark Necrofear's eyes in the background. "Where are we?"

Yami Bakura straightened, his hands going to his hips. "I believe we're locked in a mausoleum in the cemetery."

"WHAT?!" Tristan flew to his feet. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Do you have a flashlight?" Yami Bakura asked.

Tristan frowned, thinking. "I've got a penlight." He took it out of his pocket and shined it around the room. Moss was growing on all the stone walls, while cobwebs draped from the corners of ceiling and floor. Several old autumn leaves were also scattered about the floor. The sight of a sarcophagus in the middle of the room, displayed prominently on a stone slab, caused him to groan aloud.

"I've tried the door, of course," Yami Bakura said. "It's locked."

"And your friend can't Doom Gaze it open or something?" Tristan scowled.

"Trying it caused a laser beam to ricochet around the mausoleum," Yami Bakura shot back. "But she's going to try her axe now."

"Well, it'd better work, is all I can say," Tristan grimaced. "I'm not staying in here for hours with a stiff."

"The owner of this tomb or me?" Yami Bakura's voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Oh, you're a riot." Tristan pulled himself to his feet. "At least I know you. I don't know anything about the person whose eternal rest we're disturbing."

Dark Necrofear was starting in with the axe now. The sounds of the weapon hitting the heavy door echoed eerily in the chamber.

"Hmm." Yami Bakura smirked. "I might think you'd think that knowing me would be worse than being with an unknown corpse."

Tristan looked away. "Look, I'm sorry about what I said earlier. That was crummy. I didn't mean it, really. . . . I was just upset about Bakura and it came out."

A tired shrug. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." Yami Bakura hesitated. "You know, the funny thing is that out of all of Yugi's little entourage, I probably always liked you the best."

Tristan stared at him in stunned disbelief. "What?! Why?!"

"As I told you, you have spirit," Yami Bakura said. "Perhaps . . . in some strange way, you reminded me of myself. You have always been quite a scrapper, never giving up despite the incredible odds against you. I have been the same."

Tristan sighed and looked away. "I never thought I'd end up compared to you. Or that I wouldn't even be that mad about it. I'm not mad at all right now, really. Not at you, anyway. I'd like to punch out the Big Five."

"You may yet have your chance," Yami Bakura said.

Tristan fell silent, listening to the sound of the axe. ". . . Something I've always wondered," he said at last. "You talk with class, like you're really educated. I thought you picked that up from Bakura. I guess possessing him was how you learned English. But in the Memory World, you talked the same way in the past. How would a thief left on his own since childhood grow up able to talk like that? I didn't think anyone from a lower social class could get an education back then."

"Not a traditional kind, certainly," Yami Bakura said. "But anyone could get something, if they were willing to work at it. I spent most of my time lurking in villages and cities and listening to the people talking. I picked up quite a vocabulary from that. And not all of it is very classy, I assure you."

"So . . ." Tristan shifted. "Did you pick up the reading and writing and arithmetic from Bakura, or was that something else you could do in the past?"

"A thief needs the ability to count or he might get taken by any hustler that comes along," Yami Bakura said. "Sometimes reading and writing are necessary as well."

Tristan shook his head. "You're something else."

Yami Bakura smirked more. "I know."

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Not very modest, are you."

"I simply know my abilities are impressive for one in my station, especially back then."

"Well, when you're right, you're right," Tristan sighed. Part of him wondered why Yami Bakura was behaving this way right now, when he was naturally still grief-stricken over Bakura. The other part recognized that Yami Bakura would not be likely to show his pain to Tristan. He was probably trying to hide it.

Tristan looked to Dark Necrofear, still hacking away at the door. It finally snapped and creaked open on ancient hinges, revealing the cemetery beyond. It was almost night now, and wisps of fog were curling around the graves and the ground.

Tristan looked to Yami Bakura with growing uneasiness. "You're . . . not doing that, are you."

"No, I am not." He was serious now, glaring at the scene as he stepped out from the mausoleum.

Several Dragon Zombies stepped out to greet him. Goblin Zombies, Clown Zombies, and other Zombie Duel Monsters were beginning to close in from all angles.

Tristan came up next to him in horror. "Oh no! And we don't have any Shield and Sword cards! That's the only thing that can defeat Zombie Duel Monsters!"

"It depends on several factors," Yami Bakura said. "But I wouldn't be surprised if the Big Five would go with that rule." He growled, quickly looking around the misty cemetery. "There may be some of those cards here. The only problem is getting past these creatures to look."

Dark Necrofear looked ready to give it all she had. And then a purple lizard waddled up to Tristan, tugging on his pant leg.

"Huh?" He blinked, looking down at it. "A Thunder Kid?"

Yami Bakura looked. "That one is an Electric Lizard," he said.

"Oh. Right." Tristan frowned. Yami Bakura had used one of those against them on their first meeting. But this one seemed friendly. "It looks like I've got my first Duel Monster buddy," he mused. "And just in time, too; I think he knows something that will help us!"

"Well, good," Yami Bakura grunted. "Right now we could use something." He watched as the Zombies Dark Necrofear had just defeated regenerated. There were too many for her alone to deal with; several were reaching out for him from other angles. He growled and jumped aside. "Ring, send them back to the underworld!" he ordered.

The Ring lit up and blasted the nearest Zombies. They stayed down. But there were far too many of them for Yami Bakura to manage to attack all at once. He snarled as one grabbed his leg and started to pull him down. He blasted it away, only to be assaulted by two more.

Electric Lizard hurried off, winding around the tombstones. Tristan gave chase. "Hey! Wait for me!" Then he saw the precious Shield and Sword card behind one. "Alright!" He grabbed it and held it out. "Offensive-Defensive Flip!"

Yami Bakura looked over from where he was wrestling with the Zombies and smirked. "Now Dark Necrofear is even more powerful. And the Zombies are all out of luck." He watched with relish as she and Electric Lizard defeated them for good.

Tristan held a hand to his heart. "Whew. Fighting zombies in a cemetery is not my idea of fun." Not to mention that the last time it had happened had been when Yami Marik had controlled Yami Bakura with a Shadow Leech. Not good memories.

"Well, don't relax yet," Yami Bakura warned as he started off. "I'm sure that wasn't the only danger Lector put in here."

"Great," Tristan groaned, although he imagined that was indeed true.