Alister had believed that the hour's trip (which should have been an two hours without the speed limit breaking motorcycle) to the hotel and back would not be long enough for some disaster to befall the boy. For a rare moment, he had trusted the boy- Ryo's-"friends" to be able to handle any situations that would arise and to follow common sense, like not letting Ryo out of their sight for more than five minutes or checking on him when he had been showering for more than a half hour.
As a steel-toed boot kicks open a locked bathroom door, Alister decides to refrain from making any such mistakes in the future. Heat is completely absent from the bathroom, and Alister swears that he can see ice along the edges of the mirror. His gaze first travels to the empty shower, but the sight beneath him soon captures all of his attention.
The boy looks like he did at the bridge. Chalk colored skin and dark, dark circles under his eyes. Just like then, he does not appear to be breathing.
Alister rushes to the boy's side and checks for a pulse- that beats faintly in the boy's neck. Alister breathes out, but intakes sharply when he feels the ice-cold temperatures of the boy. His breath pauses when he sees the glowing Ring.
There is movement in Alister's peripheral vision, and the Pharaoh comes into view. Alister, too busy trying to awaken Ryo, does not stop the Pharaoh as he grasps the rope attached to the Ring. The tug of the rope causes Ryo's hands to tighten their grip on the Ring. The boy does not react in any other way to either the Pharaoh or Alister's actions.
"The Millennium Ring is doing this. We need to remove it before it kills him."
Alister does not respond to the Pharaoh's words. He remembers the bridge and the way the spirit had been so intent on saving the boy. Alister doubts that the Pharaoh's statement is accurate. Crimson eyes narrow at Alister's silence, and the Pharaoh once again opens his mouth to speak. The sight of Ryo opening his eyes causes the Pharaoh to pause. Alister does not pause. Instead, he checks the clearness of Ryo's eyes and places a hand on Ryo's shoulder.
"Hey, kid, are you alright? Do you know who I am?" The words are calm, but Alister's free hand is clenched. Ryo looks at Alister in bleary confusion. However, as his green eyes clear, recognition enters them.
"Ali… Alister." The boy closes his eyes again, but opens them a few moments later. His gaze travels to the Pharaoh.
"Yugi, sorry I-"
"It's fine. I should have known that the Ring Spirit's influence would cause you to take it back." The Pharaoh eyes the Ring, and Alister can tell that he is waiting to snatch it away.
"No." The boy's trembles and icy temperature seeps through Alister's hand.
"You need to be somewhere warmer. Can you stand?" Alister can feel the Pharaoh's crimson-eyed stare, but he refuses to meet the dark one's eyes.
"I don't know…" The hand on Ryo's shoulder moves to a better position to help the boy stand. Once Ryo is on his feet, he attempts to stand on his own, but starts to fall back. Alister's strong arm steadies Ryo and the white-haired boy leans on the steadier young man. The Pharaoh watches.
It surprises Alister that the Pharaoh waits until the redhead has helped Ryo shuffle out of the bathroom before trying to snatch the Ring. Strangely, Ryo does not seem surprised and merely wraps the rope around his own arm. The Pharaoh's outstretched hand retracts, and his lips tighten into a thin line.
The other three notice the Ring.
"Aah." The blonde takes several steps back while the male with brown pointed hair takes only one step.
"Hey! Where did that come from?" says the pointed-haired male with a faint quaver to his voice.
"He took it from Yugi before we left," Says the girl still by the front door. Her breath is short, and she leans against the door.
"What!?" The blonde's voice is incredulous.
"Why would you do that?" pointed-haired male's tone has a hard edge that attracts Alister's glare. The redhead does not notice that his grip is too tight on Ryo's shoulder until the boy gives an almost inaudible gasp. Alister forces his hand to relax.
"Let me explain first." Ryo sounds out of breath.
"Explanations and questions can be saved until after you are warmer." Alister states. His glare, which promises a torrent of violence, causes great unease. Within the minds of some of the others, reactions to Alister's statement and look nearly become vocal. However, when the two taller adolescents turn their eyes to Ryo and his shaking, their glares soften and they head to the bedroom to snatch some blankets.
While the taller adolescents disappear into the bedroom, the girl turns up the heat. Only the Pharaoh follows Alister and Ryo, and he keeps a hawkish gaze on the pair as they settle on the couch. The Pharaoh himself settles, if one can call it that, by leaning against the opposite wall. The taller adolescents and the girl return, and Ryo is soon cocooned in a few blankets. Alister sits only a few inches away.
After Ryo is taken care of, Alister nearly starts when he notices the Pharaoh has shrunk and now has bright purple eyes.
Oh wait, that's his host.
"What did you want to explain, Ryo?"
Ryo, who had closed his eyes at one point, opens them and looks at Yugi. His green eyes are bleary, but Ryo's voice has become clearer and stronger than before.
"Why I took back the Ring."
The blonde and Tristan start to speak, but either Yugi's quiet words or Alister's glare stops them. Ryo continues.
"The Spirit of the Ring is the only one who knows what truly happened to my siblings and parents. Even if you can't forgive me for trying to contact him under my own will, I am sorry."
Yugi stays silent for a moment.
"It is all right. You didn't do anything wrong." Yugi's eyes and tone are honest and forgiving.
"Yeah, I might have contacted a creepy spirit too if Serenity was involved." Concedes Joey.
Ryo breathes a sigh of relief. However, his expression soon turns anxious.
"He is not a creepy spirit…"
Alister watches as Ryo's knuckles turn white from the tense grip on one of the blankets.
"The Spirit- Bakura- is me. At least, he was before Father gave me the Ring. After that he was not-" Ryo's face becomes tainted with pain. He places a hand on the side of his head.
"Was not a part of me anymore. Father did something to me to…tear a piece of myself away." Ryo's tone grows monotonous with each passing word. His eyes remain dry.
But Dartz said that there was an ancient spirit.
As Alister's glare softens into confusion, Yugi's shadow watches. The adolescents of the room merely sit in shocked silence.
As Ryo continues to explain his reasoning and to tell of some of the memories that he has uncovered, Yugi stays silent. The description of the state of Ryo's soulroom brings to mind Shadi's abilities with the Millennium Key.
What if a similar power was at work on Ryo's soulroom? Yugi catches himself wondering.
"His father or the Ring Spirit would have to be the ones responsible." Yugi's darkness thinks to him.
Ryo's speech halts, and Yugi's attention is drawn back to the outside world. Ryo's eyes are dull and look past Yugi.
"Ryo?" Yugi's concerned tone breaks the white-haired boy out of his trance.
"Oh, sorry, I was just thinking about my mother." His voice is subdued. Besides Ryo, Alister watches the white-haired boy carefully.
"You mentioned that she was the one that led you to your soulroom. Was there anything else about her that you wanted to say?" Prompts Yugi.
Ryo looks down before answering. "There was one thing. My…Something happened to her, changed her after she died." Ryo's voice falters but then he looks up into Yugi's eyes and forces himself to continue.
"When I was younger, she looked very different. She was more like me with the white hair and green eyes. Her eyes were kind. She also looked human." The boy swallows. " Now she…her body has morphed into that of a bald doll's with blue skin. Well, more like a puppet because of the j…joints and the way that she moves with that creaking noise." Ryo shudders.
Everyone, besides Alister, gapes and pales at the description. Alister looks a bit green. He looks away and places a hand on his mouth.
"Her eyes are amber now and almost…empty." He stops, breathes out harshly, and says, "I don't know what happened to her."
Wide amethyst eyes stare at Ryo as the information sinks in. Yugi does not know how to respond.
"This sounds like the end result of a penalty game."
Yugi jolts at the sound of his Other Self's mental voice. Without prompting, his Other Self continues.
"Penalty games can turn a person into a monster. If Shadow magic was involved with her death, then that could have been what happened to her."
"Yugi?" Ryo's voice is laced with worry.
Yugi blinks. "Oh, Other Me was saying that it could have been a penalty game that turned her into that."
Ryo's eyes widen slightly. "That would explain it…"
The boy pauses for a moment.
"Yugi, it is alright if you want to add anything else. If you know or have anything else to contribute to anything that I have already said, I wouldn't mind if you brought it up. I think that it would actually be better that way." What he means to say is that a conversation is better and more productive than the alternative. Everyone knows that those words actually mean that this is way of talking is preventing Ryo from breaking down like before.
Yugi hesitates before speaking.
"Well, I actually had some comments on what your father said about the Ring. Before Tea and I came back, Grandpa explained a little bit about the Ring's history."
As Yugi explains what his grandfather told him, some of his thoughts turn inward.
Should I tell Ryo any of this? He has enough to worry about without me adding all of this onto it.
The darker presence from the back of Yugi's mind surfaces.
"Ryo did say that he wanted to know everything that you do. Besides, if he learns of the Ring's tendencies and history now, he might be better prepared to combat it in the future."
Some of Yugi's discomfort dissipates. However, some of it still remains to eat away at his thoughts. The small adolescent is able to hide this discomfort from Ryo's gaze. Soon they move onto other topics associated with the Ring.
"So, Ryo, what exactly was the Spirit's relation with your family?" Yugi's voice is gentle, but Ryo looks away.
"I…I don't think that I could talk about Bakura and my family's relations right now." Even before Ryo can fully refuse to discuss this aspect, Yugi's eyes are drawn to the Ring. He quickly looks back to Ryo's face. Yugi chooses not to say that he noticed the spikes of the Ring shift during Ryo's refusal.
"The Spirit of the Ring," Other Yugi pointedly says. "Does not want Ryo to reveal His secrets."
Yugi makes the mistake of nodding. The Ring's shifting stops, but the angles of its spikes are out of place enough to disobey gravity. Yugi can feel his inner darkness tense.
"Umm, Ryo, your Ring is looking really weird right now." Says Joey whose face has grown paler.
All of the spikes point to Joey who then stumbles back with a yell. Before anyone else moves, they have returned to normal, and Ryo merely looks at the Ring in confusion.
"He is laughing at you." The white-haired boy says.
"He sounds rather childish," States Alister before he encourages Ryo to continue. After the Other Yugi settles from the incident, Yugi feels great unease at the calmness Alister displays. However, he does not take long to dwell on it as Ryo continues speaking.
"As I said, my father was the one who did this to me, but he has not acted like he did."
"What do you mean?" asks Yugi.
"I have been living with him for several years, and-" Doubt plagues Ryo's face. "At least, I think so. He is on trips often, so I don't see him much." Less often then he has received letters from Amane. Ryo shakes his head.
"He is the head of the Domino Museum, so he has to be here." Yugi wants to cringe at the desperate edge to Ryo's voice.
"Why don't you ask the Ring? He probably knows." Tristan's voice is cutting enough to cause Ryo to look towards him.
"Yeah-" Joey begins but Tristan cuts him off.
"He probably has just the memory to explain the situation. I am sure that he can't wait to tell you the whole truth since he is such a trustworthy guy."
The sort of silence where one can hear pins and needles drop descends upon the room. Tristan's voice cuts through.
"I mean, he has been looking out for you for all of these years. Taking away all your horrible memories and crafting a perfect little life for you where you have friends that stay with you forever." The figurines of Monster World come to the forefront of everyone's, but Alister's, minds.
"Hey, since it is not his style, it's not like he probably is the one that made your mom stick around as a doll monster.
A whimper escapes Ryo. Yugi tries to interfere.
"Tristan, stop-"
"Stop what? Pointing out the obvious?" says Tristan as he pushes himself off of the wall he was leaning against. "We are all acting like it is okay to trust the demon Ring's version of Ryo's life. Am I the only one who remembers last week?" Tristan's glare overlooks everyone.
"This guy sure wasn't so helpful and nice when everyone was at his mercy. In fact, didn't you end up dead for a minute because of him?"
Ryo shakes violently, and Yugi can tell that his friend is breaking down.
"I don't trust this story either, but we should not be tearing apart Ryo's view of his world. Not with his mind as fragile as it is."
Yugi does not have time to respond to his Other Self before Tristan continues speaking.
"He is probably trying to stop Ryo from remembering that he killed everyone and is trying to blame the whole thing on some guy who has been in the ground for-"
"My father is not dead." Ryo's voice cracks and his eyes grow wide. He wraps his arms tightly around himself. His breath becomes rapid and shallow. The Ring remains still, but Alister does not. The man stands in an instant and starts closing the distance between himself and Tristan. At the same time, Yugi can feel his whole body vibrating as his Other Self tries to take over.
Yugi does not understand why his Other Self would take over at this point until he sees Alister's eyes. They lack the vibrant emotions that they usually have. Their stormy appearance is gone, in its place are eyes made of unbreakable stone with no emotions within their depths. No, there is one emotion. When Yugi recognizes it, he nearly loses the last grip he has on his control. It is the same look that Hirutani and Ushio and even Shadi have all shared when Yugi or his friends have faced them. To call it murderous would be accurate.
When Ryo runs between Alister and Tristan, the look evaporates and is replaced first by confusion and then concern. Alister's hand reaches out and misses Ryo's wrist while the redhead calls the white-haired boy's name. Yugi's gaze follows Ryo's path from the spot between Alister and Tristan to one of the closed doors in the hallway.
Everyone rushes after Ryo, and the previous moment becomes temporarily forgotten. When they reach Ryo, the closed door has been flung open and a small closet revealed. A single box has been opened and Ryo scatters papers from it across the floor as he searches for something. The teen gives an excited squeak. Before anyone can speak, he shoves a piece of paper in Tristan's face.
"He is alive."
Yugi stands on tiptoes to see the paper- a newspaper article- and reads the large words printed on it.
Dr. Bakura Discovers Basis for the Incans' Ancient Nazca Myth
Yugi glances at the date from three months earlier and then at Ryo's face. His friend's expression is overjoyed and relieved. Tristan frowns and opens his mouth to speak, but he is silenced when Alister pushes him out of the way to see the article for himself.
"This is good news, right, Ryo?" Alister speaks over the beginning of Tristan's protests. Yugi takes the opportunity to try to get Tristan's attention but notices Joey whisper something in Tristan's ear. By the expression on Joey's face and the one creeping onto Tristan's face, Yugi knows that those two recognize Alister's look from before.
"Of course Joey would notice. He has been forced to look out for cues like that for years." The Other Yugi's thoughts travel through Yugi's head.
"Hey, Ryo," says Tea. "Maybe there are other clues in those boxes." She points to the cardboard boxes in the closet. A desperate green-eyed gaze alights on them. Before pale hands begin tearing through the boxes, Ryo glances towards Yugi as if asking for permission.
"We can all look. Maybe we will be able to piece more of this together." Yugi's tone is passable as light-hearted. The tension he works to keep out of his voice would have revealed the anxiety that courses through him. Questions concerning Alister, the Ring, and Ryo's mental state echo through Yugi's mind as he settles himself for what could be several hours of work.
For an hour, everyone searches for clues. Yugi's own effectiveness is affected by his thoughts. Alister's look of before and the way he now sits in between Ryo and Ryo's friends as though to separate them makes Yugi concerned.
The search slows down only when today's events and the short adrenaline rush take their toll on Ryo. When the boy has fallen asleep for the third time, Yugi convinces him to go to bed with the promise that the rest of them will keep searching for clues.
In actuality, the overdue conversation between the newcomer and Ryo's friends begins.
When Alister steals the Ring off of their sleeping friend, the Dark Yugi's opinion of the young man is forced to restructure itself yet again. It is infuriating how quickly the man's goals and motivations seem to change. The dark spirit does not like being a step or two behind those he considers opponents. However, in a way, it is entertaining. A difficult puzzle, no mater how frustrating, is always satisfying to solve.
"It may have saved him, but I sure as hell don't trust it," says Alister to the particularly shocked Tristan. While he speaks, the stranger lets the Ring dangle at the end of its rope.
"Why did you let him keep it in the first place?" snaps Joey. Within the blonde's voice, Other Yugi can hear the traces of last night's conversation on the stairwell and the nervousness at the sight of the Ring and its manipulations from an hour ago.
"Ryo's cracking and this is one of the few stable things in his world. Do you want to tear it from him when doing so will break him?" Alister's condescending tone causes Joey to respond combatively.
"What about when he wakes up and finds it gone? Did you think of that Mr. Fake Cousin?"
Alister does not shrink down or show any other obvious signs of doubt, but the Other Yugi can tell by the way that Alister's glances at the door several seconds longer than another might that Alister has doubts. Also, he would not have broken eye contact with any of them for so long if he was not distracted by some emotion.
The man possesses obvious signs of distrust, so his doubt must be quite significant to distract him.
Dark Yugi does not let this thought seep past the barrier between himself and Yugi.
When it starts, no one notices. Tea has volunteered to stay with Ryo, so of course she does not notice it through a closed door. Joey, Tristan, and Yugi (to extension Other Yugi) are focusing too much on Alister's actions. Alister is too busy glancing at the door.
It is only when the length of the rope has burned itself to Alister's hand and he jerks with a yelp that anyone's eyes are drawn to the Ring. The rope disintegrates to nothing but drifting ash while the Ring plummets to the ground.
At first, they all just stare, and Alister holds his injured hand. It is only when the Ring hits the ground and cartwheels away on its too stiff pointers that they all move. Joey stumbles back with a yelp. His eyes dilate. Tristan jerks his foot away as it cartwheels past him, and Alister steps back. Yugi does not move except to grow taller and for the look in his eyes to darken.
When the Ring disappears into the kitchen, Dark Yugi has fully taken over. Crimson eyes glance back at shocked companions. They narrow as a realization hits the dark spirit.
"H…How did it do that?" says Tristan.
Joey's head whips towards Tristan.
"Because it is a freaky, cursed Ring!" Joey's voice cracks at the end of his sentence.
The Dark Yugi starts to-
Tea opens the bedroom door.
"What is going on out here?" You're going to wake Ryo."
The Ring comes cartwheeling out of the kitchen towards the open door. Tea stares at it until it is only two feet away. A flash of brown hair and a door slam later, the Ring has rolled up the door, fallen back onto the ground, and cartwheels towards the living room.
The Dark Yugi hisses. "It has been taking his energy. That's why Ryo has tired so quickly and the Ring has become so active."
The Ring disappears from sight.
Joey swallows. "What are we going to do about it, Yugi?"
Alister's eyes simmer. "Catch it."
Tristan refuses to take his eyes off of the end of the hallway. "How?" his voice is a whisper.
"We cannot touch it directly. If it can burn through rope, then it can burn through other things." The Dark Yugi's words are followed by Alister tightening the grip on his own hand.
"It can possess others, too. It took over me at the bridge when I touched it."
Three pairs of eyes flash to Alister.
"Why did you not mention that sooner?!" snarls Tristan. Joey opens his mouth to speak, but then the Ring rolls down the hallway towards them. Half-formed words become a yelp and everyone retreats to the kitchen. The sound of the front door causes everyone to freeze except for the Ring, which bounces up and cartwheels back to the front door.
"Yugi, Tea, how is Ryo-eek!" Miho does not notice the Ring until after it has cartwheeled past her and out of the door.
"NO." Both Dark Yugi and Alister shoot forward. Joey and Tristan follow.
Miho only has time to step out of the way as they rush past her.
"Why are we chasing it?" Joey's words echo in the outer hall.
"If we don't catch it now, it will come back and set fire to us in our sleep," answers Dark Yugi. They rush past an open door with Maya craning her head to look down the hallway towards the stairwell door that closes.
"What was-" She says as they zip past. Suspicion creeps into Dark Yugi's head, but when he glances back to see the eyes of a confused and startled girl, it dissipates. The gang disappears from sight through the stairwell door.
Maya stands at her door for several more seconds before stepping inside and closing it. A glint of gold can be seen just a few feet into her hallway before the door has closed completely.