Here is the "second half" of chapter 12. I couldn't just randomly have a super long chapter in the midst of my normal length chapters. So last chapter was more of an extra! Hooray for excess information!
NOW there are two more chapters left! XD
There is an anime reference in here. Cookies to anyone who knows the anime...
Disclaimer: I don't own YGO.
Chapter 13
Jailbreak Shadows
Bakura, no matter how hard he tried, could not get out of his "soul room," a cheap looking motel room with some gold and rubies in a treasure chest on the table. People could get in—the maid, a pretty girl in her early twenties dressed in a skimpy maid's outfit, cleaned his room three times a week—but he couldn't leave. He tried simply opening the door, using Shadow Magic, anything. All his attempts were relentless. If he looked out the window he could see what "Ryou" was doing—mostly schoolwork and chores—but he couldn't interact with him at all.
"That bastard!" Bakura once more threw the lamp across the room, shattering it. It was a good thing the maid was very patient; he'd completely destroyed the room ten times in the past two weeks.
And he was bored out of his mind. The television had the weirdest channels: Azazel laughing was channel 1; news channels from America, Japan, France, and England took up channels 2-8; some anime about swimming was on channel 9; channels 10-19 were static, 20 was of an odd looking man with blue hair, grey eyes with red "X's" as pupils, inhumanly long fingers and a little green orb that did whatever the man told him to; and the rest were American shows for children. The swimming anime was too gay, children's shows were always stupid, news often bored Bakura, and the channel of Azazel laughing at his misery made him want to destroy a village.
It didn't help that the only books in the room were the phonebook and the Bible. He knew the reason why the maid was so young, beautiful, and dressed so scantily. He was mildly tempted twice, but he didn't do much but make sure she was super uncomfortable whenever she entered the room. Bakura wasn't a lover, but stealing things wasn't the only thing he did in Egypt. In past host bodies he occasionally went out for fun—clubbing fun, not murder fun—and would take a girl home. With Ryou however, that wasn't an option. He took many things away from his light, but having his light loose his virginity to a stranger was not something he would do.
However, as the independent party that he was right now, he could do whatever he wanted. And as week three rolled around, his boredom became too much. So he stopped creeping out the maid and she soon realized that he was devilishly handsome.
Bakura was no longer bored on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
It had been two and a half months before Bakura grew bored again. The maid that Azazel had given Bakura was very good, but he needed to move on with his plans. Sex with a maid wasn't productive. His patience has been worn thin, and this was coming from the person who waited 5,000 years in the Millennium Ring for revenge.
On the days she wasn't there to "clean," he took his time to strengthen his Shadow Magic. He had a feeling that Azazel could've taken it away if he wanted to, but that would defeat the purpose of making the mirage "real." No one knew what his soul room looked like anyway, and he knew it was a trap from the start. Ah well. Getting out shouldn't be too hard.
So on a Saturday Bakura walked over to the film-covered mirror on the inside of the shabby looking closet door. He stared at his reflection and said, "Zorc."
The mirror didn't shift.
"Zorc." He said again.
The reflective glass remained still.
"Oh for goodness sake," Bakura groaned. "Zorc Necrophades."
An image briefly flickered in the mirror but it otherwise remained unchanged.
He narrowed his eyes and chanted something in Ancient Egyptian before repeating, "Zorc Necrophades."
Bakura's reflection flickered out twice before it was fully replaced with the human-esque form of Zorc. A look of deep indignation was on his face.
"That took too long," Bakura commented.
"Where are you?" Zorc demanded.
"In a motel," Bakura answered lazily. He swung the mirror around so Zorc could see.
The demon growled. "How did you get there?"
Bakura cocked a white eyebrow. "Have you not figured it out yet? Someone's been scuffing with our connection."
Zorc roared loud and long. Bakura covered his ears and the mirror cracked.
"Warn me next time you do that," he yawped.
"THOSE TWO IGNORAMOUSES!" He boomed.
"Wait… two?" Bakura raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Explain."
Zorc didn't notice and had transformed into his typical beat form and was storming around shooting fire at things. Bakura could only see part of his foot. "ZORC!" he bellowed.
The demon stopped, and in a ripple of shadows transformed into the human-esque form again. Smoke was still billowing out of his nose, but he heeded Bakura his attention.
"You said two." The Spirit continued. "What two? I only met Azazel."
Zorc's red eyes widened and he slurred out a string of curses in a language Bakura could only faintly follow. "I told them to leave you alone."
"Please," Bakura stressed, his annoyance slipping into his tone. "Enlighten me."
After a few more swears and grumbles, Zorc reluctantly told Bakura about Azazel and Murzix, their past together, his meeting with them, everything. He also explained that the thick Shadow Magic, and Murzix's spells; that was the reason that Bakura has a hard time trying to communicative with him at first. He was fuming when he finished.
"And what happened with you and my… colleagues?" the demon inquired.
So then it was Bakura's turn to tell his tale about his dealings with Azazel and how he was in the situation he was in.
"You fell for it?" Zorc barked. "How could you be so ignorant and careless?"
"I knew it was a trap the moment he mentioned it," Bakura offered. "There was nothing I could do to get out of the situation."
Zorc flapped his wings relentlessly and closed his eyes. "I'll deal with those fools in the near future." He growled. "In the meantime, to answer that question I know you will ask, I will assist you. Though it is one of Murzix's spells, it is very sloppy, especially for him. I am sure he did that unbeknownst to Azazel to spite him when you three escape."
"Why would he do that?" Bakura smirked.
"Because none of us work well with other," Zorc admitted, "and Murzix's loathing of Azazel is even greater than my own."
Bakura chuckled.
"Do you have a plan?"
"I do."
"Then we begin." Zorc tapped the mirror on his side and where his clawed finger touched, the mirror spider-webbed and shattered to the ground. He ducked and stepped through the portal, muttering as he wedged his thick torso through the thin mirror. A few minutes of struggling with the tiny mirror, Zorc broke the closet door in half and quickly sealed up the portal.
Bakura watched with a keen eye, mildly surprised that Zorc was keeping with his human-esque form. Deep down, he was also relieved, but that thought didn't even make the forefront of his mind.
Quickly and silently, Zorc surveyed the room before resting his eyes on a picture above the bed. It was a faded photograph of a daisy and Bakura never gave it much thought.
"Your observation skills are superb," Zorc jested.
"Are you using sarcasm?" Bakura sounded impressed. "That's a first."
Zorc gave Bakura a look that could curdle dairy, removed the picture, and pointed to the nail it rested on.
"You're joking."
"That looks like a Murzix… 'Easter egg' I believe is the term," the demon stated. "He is a fan of unnoticed things, but if you look hard enough you'll find them. Azazel prefers things that are hidden and impossible to find, but Murzix would never give him his way. If Azazel asked for a maze, Murzix would give him a 'fun house' instead."
"Brushing up on your modern terms too?" Bakura was trying not to smile. "Look at you getting with the times!"
"Akefia." Zorc warned darkly.
Bakura twitched his mouth angrily but let it slide. "How do you activate it?"
"Like this," Zorc conjured a hammer from the shadows and slammed it hard against the nail. The nail went all the way into the wall and the whole mirage shattered like glass before blowing away as shadows. When it cleared, Bakura and Zorc stood in the light grey and blue area that Bakura, Malik, and Ryou were in two months ago.
"That seemed too easy," Bakura commented.
"No," Zorc flapped his wings, "it wasn't. If you looked hard enough you could've found the nail, but your 'maze' was more of a holding cell. It wasn't meant to trick you at all, just keep you still. Azazel probably wanted you convinced you were in the real world as well. Murzix, however, just kept you waiting. He wanted you to be the first one out. You know the shadows. Those two boys do not. They will be harder to help escape."
"I take it you are done assisting me," Bakura observed.
"Yes. I have helped you far more than I wished to. Do not expect my aid in the future. However," Zorc waved his hand and Diabound floated out of a portal, "Diabound will assist you again. He has been cleaned of Azazel's tricks and is fine now. Do not call me again, Bakura," he warned. "I allowed it this time because I knew Murzix and Azazel were up to something."
"I'm flattered you were worried about me," Bakura put his hand on his heart in mock gratitude. "But I had everything under control."
"If you did," Zorc said, "you wouldn't have been in that room for over two months." And he slipped away in the shadows.
"Screw you too," Bakura muttered and turned to his Duel Spirit who was once again joyous to see his master. "Any ideas?"
Diabound pointed up and Bakura followed his finger. Though the shadows where he was standing were light, the ones hovering ten feet above him were very dark and menacing, like storm clouds looming before releasing hell.
Testing the waters, he released a shadow and shot it upward. It collided with the other shadows and torn a small rip, light escaping from the fracture for a moment before sealing again. He nodded to himself and willed the shadows to push him up.
"Diabound," he called. "Card form."
The monster flew up to his master and willed shadows to bend around him, twisting the monstrous form into a card that Bakura plucked from mid-air and slipped into his pocket.
"Now," he grinned deviously, "let's get down to business."
:::^:::
Malik felt beyond stupid that he didn't pick up on the oddities of the world sooner. Two and a half months of mostly being convinced he was back in the real world... Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe a part of him wanted it to be real. Maybe he just ignored all the things that were off so he could continue to live contently. Deep down he knew it was a trap, a lie. He just wanted a normal life so badly that he started to believe in the lie until Ryou showed up and snapped him back to his senses.
Ripping from one part of the mirage to another was one task; Malik, a week after Ryou tore through his own illusions, knew that it would be a much bigger project if he was going to escape the trap totally. If Ryou, someone who was just learning how to us his Shadow Magic, could achieve what he did, Malik believed he could rip open the "worlds" separating he and Ryou and even tear the whole maze apart. But he needed to be careful. Since "Ryou" visited, his siblings had been keeping a suspiciously close eye on him. He couldn't go outside without "Ishizu" asking a thousand questions about where he was going. He even noticed that "Odion" would follow him from time to time. Malik knew he was going to have to make his move sooner rather than later, but he how he was going to achieve his goals was proving more difficult than he had anticipated. It took longer than he hoped, but after three days he devised a plan to escape. Now he just had to wait for the right time.
It was nearing three months when Malik was out getting groceries with his "sister." He planned to make his escape the following day but as he glanced out the store window his jaw nearly dropped. There was a sudden change of plans.
"Hey Sis," he said. "I left my wallet in the car, let me go get it."
"I was going to pay for groceries," she said, mild suspicion creeping into her voice.
"I know, but I wanted to help," he added, smiling innocently at her as he started inching backward. "I'll be right back." He turned and ran out without waiting for an answer.
"Don't be long!" "Ishizu" called after him.
The automatic doors slid open and Malik glanced both ways of the sidewalk, looking for the familiar face. He ran to the left, almost crashing into civilians and jumping over a man bending over to tie his shoe. He looked back, hollered a "Sorry!" and just as he turned his head to round the corner, he ran into someone.
"Bloody hell!" the person yelled. "Watch where—"
He turned and Malik, forgetting that he hated this man with all his heart, hugged the Spirit of the Millennium Ring.
"Bakura!" He cried. "How the hell did you get here? You are you right?"
Bakura, disgusted by Malik's affections, shoved him off and wiped off the areas that the Egyptian touched. "Don't you dare touch me again." He growled. "Yes, I am myself. If you want proof," he procured a card from his pocket and flashed it briefly at Malik, "here it is."
"Your Ka," Malik observed. "I never thought I'd say this, but I am so glad to see you."
Bakura sniffed and rolled his eyes, but imparted, "Likewise," in an uninterested tone.
"How did you get here?" Malik asked. "Ryou was able to rip through the maze to warn me, but—"
"My host was able to break through the mirage?" Bakura's voice was almost incredulous.
Malik nodded and tensed up, looked over his shoulder. "Ishizu" left the store and was searching for him. "Shit. Look, I don't have much time. Since Ryou did that, my 'siblings' have watched me like a hawk. I have a feeling you are going to aid us getting out."
"It's not like I have any other choice," Bakura drawled. "I could leave you here, but that irritating dark of yours needs to go."
"Then we agree on two things," Malik glanced over his shoulder again. "Ishizu" was walking towards the car. "Do you have a plan? She'll probably still recognize you."
Bakura smiled cunningly. "I have an idea."
/…\
Bakura's idea was for him to pass as Ryou, which was much harder for him to do since he actually didn't have access to Ryou's body. He had the mannerisms and voice down to a tee, but his hair was still too wild and his features still too sharp. Malik was a bit worried when the two approached "Ishizu," but she bought it hook, line, and sinker. It wasn't a problem with "Odion" either. Malik told his "siblings" that "Ryou" was in town for a few weeks because his father was on a dig and wanted to bring him. "Ishizu" and "Odion" said it was okay if "Ryou" wanted to crash at their house for a few days while his dad was on site.
"That went better than I imagined," Malik commented as the two entered his bedroom. He closed and locked the door for good measure and hopped over to his bed, sitting cross-legged. "Where have you been?"
Bakura told his story to Malik, starting from when "Ryou" picked up the "Millennium Ring" to how he was trapped in a shabby motel room, the maid—"Azazel gave you a hooker," Malik said in a jaded tone. "Unnecessary information, you asshole."—and how he escaped, excluding the small detail that Zorc was actually the one who assisted him. He finished by explaining how he entered into Malik's own maze: each section of the puzzle was poorly constructed and a strong Shadow User would be able to pierce through it.
"Your turn," he said when he finished.
And Malik retold his adventures, how he reclaimed his body, parting his "friends," and returning to "Egypt," adding in the odd things he noticed and the strange behavior of his "siblings." He ended with his encounter with "Ryou" and Ryou.
"Looks like yadonashi has his head in the game," Bakura stated.
"I was genuinely impressed," Malik said. "I think Ryou wants out the most."
Bakura narrowed his eyes. "Perhaps. But that doesn't matter because we are all getting out of the stupid façade."
"Your plan?"
The Spirit pulled the Diabound card out of his pocket. "Diabound knows where the weak spots are in the maze. He will lead us to them. Are we set to leave tonight?"
There was a brief silence as Malik listened for the door, thinking that someone was listening in, but when he walked over and opened it no one was there. Nodding he said, "No."
Bakura resisted rolling his eyes at the precaution, but understood Malik's actions.
For the next three hours, Malik was gradually reminded that he hated Bakura as they made awkward conversations that soon lead to arguing. When the clock chimed 4:00 A.M., Malik breathed a sigh of relief as they snuck out of his bedroom window of the one-story house.
"'Ishizu' wouldn't let me get a motorcycle," he grumbled as they pushed the '05 Corolla out of the driveway and down the street so the engine wouldn't wake his "siblings." "You think that would've been an indicator for me. Geez, I'm such a dumbass."
"Yes you are," Bakura huffed.
Malik flipped him the bird and his companion returned the favor.
The car ride was awkward but quick because Malik didn't obey traffic laws.
"Where are we headed?" he asked.
Bakura looked down at the card in his hand, Diabound glowing brighter with every mile. "The card will be blindingly bright when we've reached our destination."
"So you don't know."
Bakura's eyes flashed and Malik turned his attention back to the road.
They arrived at the outskirts of Cairo when Diabound glowed an obnoxious LCD white bright. Malik stopped the car and got out. There were houses in the distance in front of them and the city behind. Their current spot was deserted.
"A deserted lot?" Malik looked skeptically at the white haired thief.
"I don't choose the location," he retorted and released Diabound from the card. "Where?"
Diabound flew off to the left, stopping in front of a lone lotus flower growing as a separate party. Bakura smirked and chuckled to himself.
"I don't get it," Malik said. "A lotus flower? Aren't those water plants?"
"That's the point," the chuckling didn't stop. "It's something that goes unnoticed unless you actually look," Bakura bent over and plucked the flower from the ground. Without warning, the ground started to sink like quick sand. Bakura and Malik were dragged down through the ground. Malik thought he was going to die. He was breathing in sand, there was no air, he was suffocating, there was nothing to grab on to, he was sinking, sinking, sinking, dying, dying, dying…
And it was over quickly. The sand swirled into shadows and blew away. He and Bakura were back in the same grey and blue shadowed area from nearly three months prior.
"That was… simple." Malik said blandly. "Shouldn't there have been a great fight or struggle?"
Bakura wasn't listening. He was looking up, his brow furrowed in concentration and frustration. Malik turned his head upward and grimaced. The shadows hanging above their head were thick and deadly, like poison gas and toxic waste morphed together. Dark shadows dripped down in globs and slithered away.
Getting Ryou out wasn't going to be as easy as it appeared to be.
The shadows suddenly changed though, trying to cling together, to the "ceiling" but falling in heavy drops. They quickened, moving like two restless seas fighting each other; a crack of light ripped open in the middle of the mass, the shadows trying to close it but falling to the ground. A hand reached out of the crack and released a large and powerful shadow. The shadow arched back and pierced the mass of shadows, a large fissure starting to form from the impact. Another shadow ripped out of the crack with such a force, the tiding shadows cracked in half. Slowly the shadows began to melt away and the hand disappeared. Without warning, a body fell from the crack and landed lightly in front of Malik and Bakura. Ryou looked up and grinned a small and slightly guilty smile.
"Er… hi." He said lamely.
Both Malik and Bakura were slack jawed.
"Ryou?!" Malik didn't even try to mask his shock. "How—?" He left his question hanging and looked back up. The dark shadows were completely gone. The maze was no more.
Leaving out his encounter with Bakura in his soul room—he'd find out anyway, and Ryou dreaded telling him sooner—he recalled his adventures from when he first found himself on the blimp to when he tried to shadow travel to Malik.
"After that I secretly started strengthening my Shadow Magic," Ryou was a bit sheepish. "I figured that if I was able to connect with the shadows then they'd be able to lead me out. Something in my flat always seemed off and after learning to tune in to the shadows; I realized it wasn't my flat per say, but the Millennium Ring imitation." He avoided Bakura's eye when he spoke next. "I tried to activate its power, but instead it just ripped a hole in the mirage. I forced my way out and... here I am."
Malik's expression read "dumb fascination." "Ryou… I don't think you realize how powerful of a Shadow User you are."
Ryou blinked. "Really? I was just doing what felt… natural. It's exciting in a way! It's all brand new and…" he trailed off as his eyes travelled to his dark's face. Bakura was dangerously calm, but he was radiating a dangerous aura in great pulses.
"Ryou, I am seriously impressed you escaped," Malik rubbed the back of his head a bit embarrassed. "You figured things out far quicker than me."
Ryou laughed lightly. "It just felt wrong and I wanted out."
Malik opened his mouth to reply, but a blood-curling scream escaped his lips instead. Shadows, tentacle-like and menacing, wrapped themselves around his legs and arms, ripping his flesh. Ryou quickly shot a shadow from his hand, but one of the tentacles parried his strike. Bakura, unmoving, summoned shadows around his feet and drove them toward the other shadows, but his attempts were also useless. A shadow wrapped itself around Malik's mouth and voices echoed around them.
"This is between you and me!" The pharaoh's voice was urgent, almost pleading. "Leave Yugi out of this!"
"That's what you think, pharaoh," Marik cackled loudly and the shadows pulled Malik under. "You're forgetting about my lovely, little weaker half."
The voices faded and Ryou and Bakura stood, breathing heavily.
"The Shadow Duel begins," Bakura finally said.
"Marik must be using Yugi and Malik as bargaining chips," Ryou observed. "What do we do now?"
Bakura breathed slowly. "We wait." He turned to his light and folded his arms. "As we wait," a shadow crossed his face, "I have a few questions for you."
:::^:::
Azazel stormed into Murzix's castle, throwing shadows at the obstacles set up to prevent intruders. He wasn't going to sneak into his castle, not this time. He came guns blazing, shadows angrily slithering around him and erupting from his feet with every step he took. He reached Murzix's study and threw open the doors.
"Yes?" Murzix didn't look up from his cauldron, continuing to stir the red concoction he was cooking.
"Why the fucking hell did you purposefully make a damaged spell?!" Azazel spat, still standing in the threshold.
"I don't know what you mean," the magician's tone was bored. "And don't use such coarse language. You sound uncouth."
"Oh, you most certainly do," the shadow stormed over and grabbed Murzix's shoulder, forcing the magician around to face him. "The maze."
"I did what you asked me to," Murzix said, brushing Azazel's hand off his shoulder. "Don't touch me."
"I will touch you if I damn well please," the white's in Azazel's eyes were replaced with red and he grabbed the black lapels of Murzix's trench coat and forced the magician down to his height so he could look him in the eye. "You botched the maze."
"Whatever do you mean? You asked for a maze and I gave you one."
"No you didn't. You half-assed it. You. You never purposefully ruin a potion. That goes against your code. Why the fuck did you ruin this one when it was so important to me?!"
Murzix blinked at Azazel before a smile suddenly broke through his placid expression. "Don't you see Azazel? The moment you stepped foot in my castle I wasn't going to follow through with any plan that you had. If you told me to create a love potion, I'd make it so that the drinker would never leave you. You told me to create a maze. I made a fun house. Three different layers with their own quirks and faults. I made it imperfect to spite you. You want to keep them here, so naturally I want to let them go. I hate you, Azazel. I always have. I just humor you for my entertainment because you are so easily manipulated."
Azazel's eyes were wide with shock the entire time Murzix spoke. Without warning he lashed out, shoving Murzix aside and overturning the cauldron, shooting shadows everywhere, breaking furniture, flasks full of potions and spells, cracking walls, and creating havoc. He transformed into his full shadow form and ripped through the castle, trying to tear it down brick by brick; he screamed in frustration and ire as he tore the place apart.
Murzix's smile widened and he cackled loudly over Azazel's screaming as he watched his house turn to rubble. "You are a child, Azazel!" He called between giggles. "A child," his smile was gone, his hair caught fire with anger, and he threw out his hand, a pulse escaping his palm and stopping everything in mid air. The shadows froze on spot. He slowly and leisurely strolled through the carnage, finding Azazel immobile in his bedroom. "A child who needs to be taught a lesson." He closed his palm and all sucked all the shadows into his hand, stripping Azazel of his shadow form. "I helped bring life to your shadows," he leaned in to Azazel's face and whispered, "and I can take it back." He snapped and the shadow dropped to the floor. Murzix turned and started walking away. Azazel cried out to him.
"What," he breathed heavily, "did you do?"
The magician stopped. "I just disanimated all your shadows," Murzix said simply, not turning to answer.
"Y-you can't do that!" Azazel protested, a small whine slipping into his voice.
"I can," Murzix turned so he could see the shadow out of the corner of his eye, "because I animated you. My first perfect and successful animation from millions of years ago. And then you went and rebelled against me. You were too perfect. I created a whole new Egyptian god, the god of shadows. No one, not even you, ever knew of what you are. Shadow demon, yes. Egyptian god of shadows, yes. Creator of the Shadow Realm, yes. You are completely free in every sense of the word to speak, think, and act; you are a one of a kind being. But first and foremost, you are animated shadows that I created."
Azazel's mouth was slightly open, his eyes wide, disbelief and shock registering on his face. He tried to speak, but nothing came out.
"You will regain your powers in the future," the magician imparted. "But for now," Murzix turned fully and smiled at the broken shadow sitting shattered on the floor, "you will remain but a simple shadow." He snapped his fingers and Wioque flew into the room and hurriedly started cleaning.
Azazel remained on the floor for a time before retreating to the deep pits of the Shadow Realm. He no longer cast a shadow, but was a shadow cast aside.
PLOT. TWIST. *evil laugh*
Did any of you guys get my anime reference? It was very small. Cookies to anyone who spotted it...
This is more along the lines of how I wanted the last chapter to go, but that obviously didn't happen. Back on track now! TWO MORE CHAPTERS!
Review?
Over and out,
Mahersal
