Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter which is written by Renagade~! This is a really good one hope you enjoy!

Renagade's DeviantArt Account: RenagadeRexRider. deviantart. com

Renagade: Thief Bakura & Yami Bakura

Miss-DNL: Ryo, Yugi, Yami, Anzu, Honda & Jonouchi

Chapter 5: Final Gamble: All or nothing

Akefia immediately released hold of the straining energy he had pulled back from the damaged point of the Ring which had allowed Ryou his "freedom", 'Good play momentary ally…' he thought to himself as he glared at the 'opposing' Yami across the table. Thankfully, Yugi's Yami had acted accordingly to Akefia's newfound plan and removed Ryou from their Yami's impending wrath; now looking out at the gameboard where his Host stood defiantly he couldn't help but grin, 'That should help.' He thought as he felt himself trying to recover.

The act of diverging enough energy from the already weakened area had been no small feat, even for the split few seconds it took for Ryou to be effectively "freed" undetected, it had left him feeling far more drained than he'd initially thought it would. Shifting ever so slightly within his shadowy binds, Akefia couldn't help but smirk at the fact that the Yami had been so preoccupied with mocking his adversary that he had not taken notice of his prisoner's stealthy grip on his shadow energy's flow, the Yami's immediate astonishment at the new development of his Host suddenly appearing on the board allowed him all the distraction needed to release the energy without being detected. Akefia smirked; even bound he was still the cunning King of Thieves.

Yami Bakura's eyes were wild and wide open in shock as he stared down at the new figure on the board, "What is this?!" he hissed through tightly gritted teeth, his voice shaking in rage, "How the hell did you get out?!"

From across the table, Yami Yugi's laugh made Yami Bakura twitch in anger, "Like I said, Zorc mirrors you, so through him I pulled Ryou out." He stated maintaining his regal composure, a grin on his lips, "This is a Shadow Game after all, many things are possible."

Yami Bakura's eyes burned in pure rage as he glared at his opponent, How DARE this bastard mock him with his own game?! How DARE he remove his piteous excuse of a serfling host in the median of his deserved chastening for daring to defy him?! Yami Bakura shook in his seat, his stomach in such violent turbulence of wrath that it threatened to retch up hellfire.

From the game board Ryou held his head high as he could muster and looked to his Yami face to face, "I'm tired of suffering because of you! I'll help them defeat you!" he called defiantly, his voice determined in the light that he was now free to fight with the help of his friends.

Yami Bakura turned his frenzied and venomous glare towards the voice of his Host, 'You… little….' He thought stiffly, blinded by anger. The mere sight of his serfling host looking at him with such an insolent and defiant look served to send him onto the brink of blind wrath, the thought to reach out and crush his figure along with himself into dust sent a shiver of delight through him but only a moment… but in the light of that thought alone he dug up a far more hellish delight and a crooked grin crawled onto his face as he straightened himself, "Very well. As you so wish it… But let me tell you your fate now that you have joined the Shadow Board," he hissed each word sliding off his tongue with a lethal calm as he waved his right hand as if holding up the prize, "In the event that you win… any and all of the friends of those bound into figures will be released back to their original bodies…. But if you lose…," he said with a heinous grin as he lowered his right hand and raised his left, tightening his grip so tight that the flows of blood from his injury increased and fell freely onto the desk and parts of the already bloodied game board, "They will all be sealed away in their chosen dolls as planned…. But you?" he hissed, his grin making Ryou's very soul shiver in distress, "I'll see to it that you never see the light of day again, and I'll KEEP this body "Landlord", Hehehehehe~"

Akefia grit his teeth from the confines of the Ring, the waves in the Yami's fury forcing him to cringe by the sheer weight they possessed; The Yami's demonic cunning almost suffocating in comparison, so much so Akefia felt the weight of the situation in full. This was a final gamble…

Yami Yugi scowled at his opponent as he threatened his friends, Ryou clearly wavering in the shadow of the demented Yami's display, "That's IF you win," he interjected, drawing the Yami's attention, "And I won't let you. I've done my turn, it's you-"

Ryou, spirit's lifted by Yami Yugi's confident words shook off his fears as he realized his new edge in the game and quickly piped up before his chance was missed, "No it isn't, I'm faster than him, I get to go." He said looking to a questioning Yami Yugi, "I may have joined your group, but I'm an NPC. I move on my own and don't need anyone to roll for me. I'll use my turn to raise everyone's defenses," he explained turning to his friends on the board, nodding as he pointed his staff at his friends immediately casting his spell raising their defenses sharply, "No more one hit kills." He said with a bright smile as his friends perked up excitedly.

Yami Bakura gave a frustrated growl as his Host cancelled his swift victory… or had he? Yami Bakura then smiled and began laughing as he took up the dice, "My turn then…~~"

As Yami Bakura laughed aloud, Zorc too began laughing as his form suddenly began to warp, Bakura and his friends watching in horror as Zorc's appearance became skeletal and far more demonic as he shifted shape before them. Once completed, the demon glared down at them like a hungry wolf amongst frightened sheep,

"Behold, Zorc's final form and the instrument of your demise fools! Not only does his level increase… he gets another attack~" Yami Bakura boasted, a gleeful smirk twisting his features once more, "It's over…" he declared as Zorc stood up, a small opening on his chest opening wide, revealing an eye glowing with pulsating energy.

Akefia's eyes widened in alarm as the eye began to glow more intense, 'This is too intense even for me!' he thought frantically trying to find some way to halt the impending doom, there was no way the players could survive that blow, they could barely survive the other form!

Staring up at the impending attack, Ryou began to think swiftly; there had to be a way to stop this attack! The attack was charging, but his friend's characters were not fast enough to escape the assault. Ryou blinked, 'He just did his turn, I'm the fastest in the group, I have a chance to save them!' Immediately he jumped in front of his friends and raised his staff just as Zorc fired the dreaded attack; despite the gasp and cries of his friends, Ryou forced himself to remain strong and cast a strong shield spell, halting Zorc's attack. The force was unbelievably strong, and Ryou quickly found himself using his character's health points to keep his wavering shield up. For a brief moment as he neared his final health points, he feared it wouldn't be enough… but then to his great relief, Zorc's attack finally ceased,

"I…I did it." he managed, his voice shaking from both panic and relief before he collapsed. Yugi and the others quickly caught him as he fell, smiling gratefully,

"Bakura, You did it!" Yugi praised as he helped to steady his weakened friend.

Ryou smiled faintly at him, "I did…. But you need to hurry," he responded looking back to Zorc, gasping as he saw the eye was still visible, but was quickly closing, "That's… his weak point," Ryou managed quickly pointing to the eye, "Hit it and we'll win."

Yami Yugi blinked and quickly took up the dice, grinning at the info, "Got it. Looks like we win 'Bakura'." Yami Yugi said smugly as he cast the dice for Anzu; to everyone's excitement, the die rolled a super critical and they all watched as Anzu cast a devastating blow, a cloud of dust billowing where Zorc once stood prompting Anzu, Yugi, Jonouchi and Honda to rejoice… But Ryou and Yami Yugi's expressions became weary as they observed Yami Bakura's knowing grin; his laugh forcing everyone to go silent as he waggled his finger at them mockingly,

"Not so fast now~" he chuckled as he then motioned to the board. To everyone's shock, Zorc, although severely damaged, was still very much alive and soon once more stood snarling down at the players viciously for their disrespect.

"You forget the increase in his level. Even with your combined efforts, he is still standing." Yami Bakura grinned savagely in glee as he continued, "That will cost you all your lives~~ Come next turn, you'll all be trapped forever! GAHAHAH!"

Akefia tensed angrily as he sensed a distinctive energy form and immediately knew what the Yami intended to do, 'The bastard…' he growled to himself. Unable to escape his confines, Akefia growled at his own plan… but he was out of time and had no options. There was no other way…

'Boy!' Akefia called through a small tether of stolen shadow energy, 'Yami is about to tamper with his dice! I have a plan… But it's risky as hell and it can only work if you agree to it.'

Ryou was far too tired from his exertion to even feel surprised as he heard Akefia's voice echoing in his head. Rather than attempt to question he simply listened to the Spirit and perked at both his urgency and his offer… Sensing no time, Ryou resolved to listen and accept without further inquiry, 'Tell me, whatever it takes I can't let him win.' He responded through the mental tether.

Akefia immediately began to explain as he too began bracing himself, 'He's about to transfer a piece of his soul into the die to land a critical… you have to get in there and fight it off yourself. I have just enough in me to hold an opening for you, just long enough for you to get in with him.' he explained readying the stolen tether to jerk Ryou back into himself for the plan to work, 'If you miss this chance Boy… You're all dead.' He added, waiting tensely for the boy's response.

Ryou didn't even hesitate, 'I'll do it.'

Akefia blinked in momentary surprise before he grinned and swiftly allowed the tether to drag him back in, 'Alright…'

Yami Bakura, now focused on his dice, oblivious to the return of his host, grinned maliciously as he activated the Ring, 'Now… I'll form my Offshoot Dice!' he mused to himself as he began pulling energy from the core of the Millennium Ring, making Akefia wince faintly as the shadows momentarily constricted him in response.

Akefia felt the energy's direction and swiftly locked into it as the Yami's soul fragment slithered through; immediately he gathered all the strength he had left for himself and held the small opening open, 'NGH! NOW BOY!' he cried out to Ryou, his grip failing faster as the Shadow's continued to constrict him.

Not willing to let his possibly last chance slip away, Ryou scrambled for the opening and dived through, the opening vanishing as Akefia's grip finally gave out. Righting himself, Ryou looked around his new surroundings within the dice and almost immediately spotted his Yami's soul fragment, an ugly thing that was slinking its way to its goal.

Ryou winced and quickly rushed at it, 'No you don't!' he cried out as he made contact with the Soul Fragment, tackling it roughly to the 'ground', effectively confusing it.

Outside the dice, Yami Bakura grinned as his dice were completed and prepared to cast them, pausing only to look up and grin cruelly at his opponent, "This turn, we both roll. Winner claims the first attack and victory…" he smirked, knowing full well that the game was already won, "If I win, I will have Zorc self-destruct and take them ALL out with him, and I win!" he mused, his eyes glinting eagerly.

Within the dice, the Soul Fragment, being made for only a single purpose and therefore lacking in creative intelligence was caught off guard by the sudden assault and began quarreling with the intruder. Ryou, now retaliating with the instincts of an ancient fighter, acted accordingly and managed to grab one of the Soul Fragment's arms and twisted it harshly behind the Soul Fragment's back hindering it before he began striking it hard with his free hand; to his surprise, the Soul fragment seemed to buckle under his assault, encouraging Ryou to fight harder.

Yami Bakura gripped his dice and commandingly addressed his opponent, "FINAL ROLL YUGI! Let this roll decide the fate of our souls~" he laughed as he cast his dice into the air.

"Very well!" Yami Yugi called, gripping them confidently before also letting his dice fly.

Akefia, still worn from the exertion and the tether now gone, was unable to commune with Ryou any longer and could only grit his teeth as the die flew, nothing notable having declared any favorable news, 'Come on Boy, I know you have some fight in you… Fight hard!' he thought frantically.

Ryou winced as the Soul Fragment became more desperate to free itself, slashing fiercely at him in attempt to free itself, no doubt trying to fulfill its purpose. The sudden pain of the attack only roused Ryou's pent up frustrations towards the evil spirit; his anger, pain and hatred for his cruel tormentor fueling him harder than before, "I won't…Let. You. WIN!" he shouted fiercely as he struck the Soul Fragment once more.

Yami Bakura watched the dice fly, completely unaware of the struggle within the dice, an insane grin on his face over his immanent victory as Yugi's dice rolled to a stop. His eyes lit up hysterically as he observed a double zero, a super critical, 'HAHAHA! Oh so perfect! Watch your hope die!' he thought hysterically to himself, struggling to contain his bursting glee.

Within the Offshoot dice, the Soul Fragment sensed its moment as the dice hit the table. Fighting with a sudden burst of energy, the Soul Fragment struck Ryou a stunning blow, allowing the Fragment the chance to struggle away and take hold of its purpose… on the table, the die came to rest…. A super critical.

Akefia winced as the die landed, 'Fuck!' he managed to himself as the Yami finally allowed his sheer elation free, his cruel mocking laughter chilling everyone in the room, "OH HOW CRUEL! The fate of your little friends slipped right through your fingers~ AHAHAHAHAHA!"

Akefia stared, teeth gritted, shaking in anger, 'Damn it…. DAMN IT! So damn close…..' Akefia bowed his head, unwilling to accept the fact that he'd lost… that the one chance they had had failed… if only the Yami had just….

Akefia froze and his head perked up, his mind racing, 'Wait… if the die now contains part of his own soul…' his eyes widened in realization, 'And it's on the board! THIS GAME ISN'T OVER! He just made a fatal mistake! Boy…' he pleaded furiously as he looked out at the dice, the Yami's own desperate move to save himself now their final hope for victory, 'For the love of every god in existence…. Keep fighting like hell!'

Inside the dice, Ryou recovered as a cold chill seized him; something bad had happened. He could feel it… Gritting his teeth at the Soul Fragment, he got back up and attacked once more, striking the entity dead center with in another tackle, "If I'm going down… I'm taking you with me!"

The Soul Fragment, already weakened from its earlier attacks, began weakening much faster as Ryou began fighting back striking it blow after blow in any way he could manage. The Fragment, now bound to the dice and not made to endure such an assault, then began shattering; cracks developing wherever Ryou struck.

Ryou gazed in wonder at the phenomenon, 'There's still a chance!' he gasped with a renewed wave of hope.

"It's over Yugi! Now watch as Zorc destroys himself and sends all your little friends to…." Yami Bakura paused as he suddenly sensed a disturbance, then winced as he heard the faintest sound, like something cracked. Immediately his attention dropped down to the RPG Board and he visibly flinched as he noticed a distinctive disturbance on the surfaces of both die, 'What… What the hell is this?' he questioned frantically as the disturbances began spreading, 'Cracks in my Offshoot dice?'

Ryou, breathing heavily clenched his fist at the now twitching entity that refused to move any more. This was it! Drawing up all the energy and faith he had, he swung one final blow at the Soul Fragment's heart. The effect was immediate and the Fragment shattered on contact… the dice themselves exploding into dust from the sudden expulsion of energy inside. Ryou, blown out and immediately by the force, was drawn back into his game character by the still present Shadow game, gasping as he felt his player's exhaustion return full tilt.

Yami Bakura's eyes widened in total alarm as his dice shattered before his eyes, his pupils constricted into tiny pinpricks in his mortified shock, "N-…no! HOW?! NO!" he stammered. No. it couldn't be! How had this happened!? A good portion of his SOUL had been in that dice! That acted as a secondary player for himself... And now it was…

Yami Yugi, surprised by the event but just as grateful, grinned, "I don't see the dice 'Bakura', therefor you lost your roll!" he smirked as he saw 'Bakura's' furious expression turn to one of complete alarm at the realization, "We get the finishing blow! And I landed a Super Critical."

Anzu quickly raised her staff and a surge of power erupted forth and down onto the hapless Dark Monster Zorc who was immediately engulfed by the inferno, shrieking in furious pain as he was blown away to nothing.

Yami Yugi smirked at his visibly shaken opponent, "We Win!"

Yami Bakura shook his head in pure disbelief, unable to speak, breathing out of control in a titanic mix of fury and possible fear as the last portion of his represented soul was annihilated before his eyes, his mind in a tangle as he tried to make sense of it all. He…. HAD LOST?! No. NO! He couldn't have lost! It was IMPOSSIBLE! HOW? HOW?! It was all going to plan! HOW?!

"AAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" a violent and unearthly shriek ripped from 'Bakura's throat as the Shadow Game turned on him, the Shadows rushing to claim their promised prize, not caring for the Yami's plans in the least and initiated the Penalty he himself had forged.

The Shadows disappeared, dragging their prize down deep into the darkness, silencing his wrathful screams at last as the Shadow Game finally lifted, the figurines on the RPG board going still and emotionless just as the sound of snapping leather was accompanied by a hollow metallic clatter as the Millennium Ring struck the floor.

A weak murmur drifted from Ryou's lips as he slowly opened his eyes; his body and mind feeling beyond exhausted. His soul, although feeling the strain as well, rejoiced in the light of its regained freedom, bringing a weak smile to Ryou, 'I won…'

"Bakura!" Anzu cried as she finally sat up, finally returned safely to her body. Immediately she was on her feet and rushed to the white haired boy's side, gently placing her hand on his shoulder in worry, "Are you ok?"

Jonouchi and Honda, also returned to their bodies stood and rushed over to him as he slowly sat up, "Yeah, you don't look so good." Jonouchi commented noting Ryou's drained and even paler than normal appearance.

Ryou gave a weak laugh, "I'm just worn out." He insisted as he took a grateful breath, "A good rest and I'll be fine."

Blinking slowly, his smile faded away and he bowed his head in regret, "I'm sorry you guys went through all that because of me…" he whispered.

Yami Yugi, still in control of Yugi's body for the moment, Yugi himself watching on from within his soul room in relief, approached Ryou and smiled at him reassuringly, "Don't worry about it Bakura. We all got out alright, and you're free from that evil spirit. It all worked out in the end." He said giving him a thumbs up.

Ryou smiled weakly but happily at the uniform nod they all gave him, "Thank you, all of you." He managed beyond grateful as he pulled himself to his feet. A faint bump against his heel drew his attention down, blinking he bent down and came back up, the Ring in his hand.

Everyone immediately recoiled at the sight of the Ring, and shifted uncomfortably. Honda shuddered and cleared his throat nervously, "Maybe you should get rid of that thing… just in case." He added hintingly.

To everyone's shock, Ryou shook his head in response, "I can't. My father gave it to me. If he found it gone, he'd be crushed." He explained looking to his friends before smiling reassuringly, "Besides, the spirit is gone. I'll be fine."

Looking back to the Ring he gazed at it perturbedly, 'Also, it wouldn't be fair to him… if he's still there.' He thought to himself. Setting the Ring down he turned to his friends and smiled, "You guys could use some rest after all of that. I'll show you out."

Everyone nodded in agreement and said their goodbyes as they headed out the door, each in profound relief that they had made it out as Ryou shut the door behind them. Ryou drew a long relieved sigh as he let himself fall onto the couch closing his eyes slowly, 'It's only been a few minutes… and I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders…'

Many days drew by and life had begun to return to normal. Everyone that had been imprisoned by the Evil Yami's Shadow Games had finally awakened unharmed; each without memory of what had happened to them. Ryou himself was by far the most happy, finally his mind was able to rest knowing that all of his friends were free at last, his game room now empty of prisoners.

Currently, Ryou sat at his desk quietly finishing the last bits of his homework, his mountain of makeup work finally removed allowing him to finally begin relaxing. After finishing the last of his work, Ryou stretched and glanced towards the edge of his desk and paused. There sitting on the edge of his desk was Millennium Ring.

Ryou sat staring at it for a long moment before looking to his still healing wound on his hand and then reluctantly down to where his Yami had 'bonded' the ring to him. Slowly he sighed and shook his head anxiously, 'I haven't heard or see it do anything…' he thought slowly to himself; after the last Shadow Game, the Ring had not done anything at all, just sat quietly wherever he set it. For obvious reasons Ryou had been afraid to do anything beyond picking it up, but still yet another worry picked at him conflicting him every time he looked at the thing, 'Maybe since Akefia was attached to Yami, he got pushed out too.'

Looking back to the Ring he sighed and bit his lip. Slapping his hands onto his desk with a reluctant sigh, he took up the Ring and headed into his game room straight towards his work desk in the corner where he pulled out a long strip of brown leather fabric he used for his figures and made a loop for the Ring.

Ryou paused as he held the Ring in his hands, his heart in his throat as he stared at the glinting item as if it was daring him mockingly, 'I may be crazy for doing this… or it's just be a piece of jewelry now…' he mused as gulped down the throbbing lump in his throat.

Ryou continued to stare at the Item for a few more heart stopping moments before he slowly, very slowly, raised the Ring over his head and reluctantly let it settle over his heart, which was racing uncomfortably in his chest as he awaited the impending maniacal laughter that was now echoing in his mind…

Its far from over yet! Who's in the Ring? Is anyone in there at all? Get ready we'll be hitting Duelist Kingdom soon~!

I'm on chapter duty now~! I'll get that up soon as possible ;)

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