Magic, power, desire. Darkness grows inside a Spirit, it is so simple to just succumb to the darkness, to the shadows that haunt your mind. You know what you crave, you crave to be part of the item, the one that brought you to life. You are a demon after all, brought from darkness to cleanse this world, to bring forth new life. Only you can do it, My Pharaoh. You are the one that can lead us to greatness, they do not understand. Yuugi will be able to see, to realize the true you, the one who deserves everything, who will rule over all. You cannot give in, you will come find me, eventually. After all, the Puzzle is with me.
-x-
A stray snowflake drifted quietly in the darkness. Domino was engulfed in the harsh clutches of Winter once again, winds blew through the alleyways, bitter and cold. The few people walking to darkened streets pulled scarves closer to their faces, and curled up more as they rushed to make their way out of the cold, back home to family and loved ones.
The sound of panting broke the Winter slumber, quick footsteps rushing throughout the streets. Joey knew he couldn't stop, having seen Yami again after so long, it had been months since he had left them alone, months since any of them had seen him.
As he turned the corner he ran through the door, closing it and locking it quickly behind him. The house seemed to be quiet, apart from a soft noise and a light from the sitting room. Joey looked in, at once seeing Atemu, flicking through the pages of a book that Ishizu had let him borrow.
"Oh, Atemu. I saw him! Yami, he's not looking good I tell you. You know how Bakura looked? It's like he's using that magic stuff again."
Atemu, who had glanced up when he had heard the door, furrowed his brows and stood. He moved to glance out the window, to see if he could see anything different.
"We have not heard or seen Yami for months, are you sure it was him? Where was he?" Th Egyptian turned to look at Joey once more, who moved some hair from his eyes, leaning against a wall to catch his breathe.
"He was by the old school, and it was definitely him. I don't know many other people with hair like you guys, and I would of thought it was Yuugi, but he had this weird black shadowy stuff crawling up his arms. I'm sure it was him, unless Yuugi has been using Shadow Magic?"
Atemu sighed, falling back on the chair he had been sitting on, fingers running through his hair.
"He must have access to it. I'm worried he went after the Puzzle. I've been waiting for something, but I feel if we act too late something bad might happen to Yami. Promise you will keep this with me just now. I know you want to tell Yuugi, but we have just got him...well less stressed anyway. I am going to go look for him." Joey frowned, and turned to the door.
"Fine 'tem. I wont tell, but you gotta get this sorted, otherwise I can't keep Yug in the dark. He needs to know, he cares for Yami. I know you want to protect him, but they have known each other longer."
The Egyptian nodded, moving to stand up and grab his coat.
"I'll find him, and bring him back. Just give me a few days that's all, to know what's going on and get this sorted. At least to get a grasp on the situation so I can work something out. Tell the others I went to the museum to help Ishizu with something. First of all, I need to talk to Bakura, hopefully he'll tell me something about Malik."
"We've been interrogating him for months 'tem. I don't think he's gonna spill the beans, seems him and Malik have a thing going, who knew there was honour amongst bad guys" Atemu chuckled, and turned to Joey.
"I know, but I need something, besides I've not really had time alone with Bakura yet. I could get an answer out of him if I really wanted to."
The smirk stayed on his face as he pushed the door open to the place they were holding Bakura. He had not moved, however the shadow like tendrils had all but disappeared from the others skin. With little exposure to the magic he looked almost back to normal, though Atemu didn't care about his looks.
"So you come to visit again, oh great Pharaoh. How can I help you?" Bakura grinned, looking up from his seat. Even with months of interrogation, and being locked in this room, he hadn't given anything away. No words, or hints regarding Malik. There had been heightened shadow activity outside of the house, but Atemu was able to keep an eye on it, and stop any chance of escape.
"I'm here to make a deal with you Bakura. I will let you go, if you tell me the location of Malik. Simple terms, and it benefits you." The grin stuck to Bakura's face, eyes never leaving Atemu's. However nothing was said, the two men watching each other warily.
"I don't see why you don't take the offer. You don't actually care for Marik's dark half, do you? You get your freedom, and I get what I want. Two birds, one stone." Again the white haired criminal said nothing in regards to their deal, instead looked to one of the walls.
"So, the Spirit of the Puzzle hasn't returned yet? I have not heard the pair of you arguing outside yet. How long has it been? Two months, three? I always knew when I saw him at the museum..." he stopped mid sentence, his grin growing wider. "You are nowhere close to finding him, are you? I know exactly where the Spirit of the Puzzle will be. It's where we're all drawn to, us creatures of shadow. Let me go, and I'll give you a clue"
Atemu snorted at that, rolling his eyes and turning back to the door.
"I don't need a clue Bakura, I need answers, but if you are not going to provide them I'll leave you to your demons. I really can't be bothered to play games" With that Atemu opened the door, before stepping out of the room. He wasn't going to fight against Bakura, fighting and arguing was what the demon enjoyed doing, he liked playing with weakness and showing he was strong. No, he would have to find Yami the old fashioned way. The way Bakura was talking, made it seem like they were all linked, all going to the same place. Something was going on, and there was no doubt the Millennium Items were involved.
As he stepped outside, snowflakes landed on his hair. Amethyst eyes scanned the street, people were rushing too and fro, some as couples, some on their own. He had to find Yami, though he refused to admit it himself, he was missing the other just as much as his friends were. They were the perfect team, and he could always count on Yami to back him up when others refused to listen. Maybe it was because they were one in the same, they were almost identical.
He put his hood up, and pulled his scarf closer to him. The cold was biting at his skin, but with Joey having seen him, Atemu knew he had a chance of finding his friend.
-x-
Darkness, pure darkness. It covered the senses, covered the mind. He could not think, barely breathe. Alone...lost...forgotten. The friends he knew and cared for, were against him. A fool, emotions had taken over, he shouldn't have yelled at Yuugi...at any of them, and he shouldn't have insulted Ryou. Bakura made him so angry! Just the thought of that demon being in the house of his friends, he had to apologise...had to go back.
As he pushed himself up, the dizziness struck, and he fell back against the wall. His surroundings were black, he couldn't make out anything. The last thing he remembered, was wandering the streets, his rage having got the better of him again.
Yami groaned, running course fingers through his hair. Where was he? Trying to get up once more held no results, as his legs were weak, and his mind was spinning.
Suddenly, a light. Purple shadows struck his vision, blinding him momentarily.
"So, you are awake. I finally have you in my hands~" The deep voice caused him to involuntarily shudder, and he looked up to see lavender eyes staring down at him.
"You! What do you want with me?!" Yami snarled, trying to back away from Marik's dark half, but with his back against the wall he couldn't move any further. He tried to kick out, but Malik grabbed him effortlessly. He was strong, far stronger now than the last time he saw him.
"Now now, Spirit of the Puzzle. I have you here to make you my own. After that awfully sad display with your light half~ It was about time I took you under my wing, gave you a taste of what true power is like. You have experimented with the magic after all, you know what it feels like."
Yami snarled, fighting back, trying to break from his grasp.
"I will never use shadow magic like you do! The evil deeds are disgusting, you should be punished for all the misery and suffering you have brought to this world, to the innocents you continue to torment!"
Malik said nothing, dropping him to the ground before stepping away, tendrils of shadow magic curled around Yami's wrists, before shaping themselves into chains. Yami struggled, tried to use his own natural affinity to shadow magic to break them from his wrists, but he was unsuccessful.
"Let me go!" He snapped, pulling against the magical bonds.
"Hush now, you will use shadow magic 'like me', and you will enjoy it. Pity it wont be your will, Marik bring the book and the Puzzle."
Another figure stepped out of the darkness, Yami gasped, pulling against the bonds.
"Marik! What has he done to you?" The young man was beaten, bruised, scars covered his face and neck, however he said nothing, just handed the book and the Puzzle to Malik, when Malik looked through the book, he mouthed a quiet 'I'm sorry' to Yami. Yami looked to the other curiously, before looking at the book. He had no care in the ancient tomes from Egypt, the magic and tales. That was Atemu's forte, he preferred sleeping. It was foolish that he had not been prepared, that he had not paid further attention. He tried again to break from the bonds as Malik stepped closer, Puzzle in front of him, causing Yami to squirm further. Atemu had told him not to go near it, the Puzzle had a strange affect on him.
"What are you doing?! Do not bring it any further!" Yami tried, before Malik placed it over his head, with that he began muttering an incantation. Words he recognized, but could not make out, ran through his head, echoing throughout the dark room.
He noticed candles surrounding the ground around him, a thick purple haze beginning to form around the three, Marik kept his head down, not wishing to look the other in the eye, however Malik was reading from the book easily.
The light of the candles begun to fade, Yami's vision began to grow hazy before his world went dark, and his body collapsed to the ground.
Marik moved to walk forward, but Malik reached out a hand to stop him. With that he continued the incantation. The purple haze grew thinner, flowing gently to the Puzzle, which seemed to engulf the surrounding Magic, Malik's voice grew louder, and the Millennium Rod began to glow. Soon both items were shining, as bright as stars in the night sky, before the purple haze disappeared, and the room went black, and silent.
-x-
Yuugi gasped as he shot up from the bed. Something was wrong, something...something had been lost? He couldn't think what, but all of a sudden he felt like he was missing something important. As he pushed himself up out of bed, he groaned, rubbing his eyes and sitting on the side. He needed a glass of water.
As he stepped down the stairs, he noticed the light on in the sitting room. Atemu had returned home an hour later, when it got too dark and cold for him to spend any more time searching for Yami.
As Yuugi looked into the room, he noticed Atemu clutching his papers tightly.
"Atemu..." The lighter half muttered softly, stepping into the room. The older male turned to him, eyes filled with confusion.
"Yuugi...do you feel it too? I feel...Yami is gone." He noticed tears fill up in Yuugi's eyes almost instantly, and moved to wrap strong arms around him.
"What happened Atemu?! Why is Yami gone? Where is he? What...how is that possible? Is he? Is he dead?" Panic began to fill Yuugi's voice, as he clung tightly to Atemu. All Atemu could do was cling back, he was just as curious, and just as concerned. Without warning he stood up, placing Yuugi back on the chair.
"I need to go ask Bakura, he is the closest piece of information we have right now. I wont be able to get a word out of him, but Ryou should be able to"
Soon Ryou was down in the sitting room, looking tired and confused as Atemu had woke him up. He was more panicked about Yuugi however, as soon as he saw he was crying, and did his best to try and comfort him, even though he had no idea what was going on himself.
"Ryou, I need to ask a favour. We've...we've lost Yami. The feeling of Yami I mean, the connection we share, Yami's...Yami has just gone. The closest person, who would have any idea what would be going on, is Bakura. I would not ask you if it wasn't an emergency Ryou, but we need to find out what has happened to Yami...if this is Malik's doing, if something has gone wrong, and Malik is involved. Bakura is the only one that would have any information at all. He wont talk to me, but we have a chance with you."
Ryou looked to Yuugi, then back to Atemu, before nodding softly.
"Of course, you both have done so much for me, putting you out of your comfort zone, this is the least I can do to help my friends."
Atemu smiled softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Thank you Ryou. It means a lot that you would do this, it really does"
Ryou walked to the room that held Bakura. Joey was standing outside, making sure no attempt at escape was being made. Ryou gave a soft smile, and Joey nodded.
"Hey Ryou, you want to have a word with 'im? I think he's asleep right now, at least he was when I last checked." Ryou nodded, moving to the door.
"It's okay Joey, I can still spend some time with him, just keep an eye out for me please" Joey nodded, giving a mock salute which caused Ryou's grin to grow slightly, before opening the door to the room.
Bakura did look asleep, slouched on the chair with his eyes closed, but this was different...there was something about Bakura he was not used to...something weird.
As he stepped closer, Bakura's eyes didn't open, causing Ryou to step in further. As he stepped up to the sleeping man, he noticed a strand of white hair fall over his face as he shifted, ever so slightly in his sleep. With that, Ryou reached out to move it back, only to find his hand go right through the strand. He tried again, but his hand went right through, and right through Bakura's face, causing the image of Bakura to shimmer and go transparent for a brief second.
Ryou groaned, before running to the door.
"This is not Bakura Joey, he seems to have escaped" Joey cursed, walking over to the figure on the chair.
"It's an illusion, all magic. Who knows how long it's been here in place of Bakura. This is bad Joey, I need to go see Atemu and Yuugi, something terrible is going on"
He ran back to the sitting room, Yuugi was curled up on the chair, listening to Atemu talk about all the options, what could have happened to Yami, when he caught eyes with Atemu, the other seemed to know instantly what had happened, and dropped the book, shaking his head violently.
"No! No no no! We were doing so well! We had rescued you from them, the demons were...!" He slammed his fist against the wall, causing both Yuugi and Ryou to jump.
"We are fools, we were relaxing when we should have been looking, and preparing. Yami is gone! It's all my fault, I should have been more careful! I should have known. We need to find Bakura, Malik...those demons have tormented us long enough. I'm getting payback"
Ryou sighed, but gave a soft nod. They had to find the pair, otherwise they would never get peace...and they had to find out what happened to Yami...he could only hope the news wasn't too bad.
-x-
"Nice to see you again, you took your time~" The soft voice of Malik travelled through the darkness, and Bakura smirked.
"Sorry, I didn't expect them to have so much information, and I had to be careful Ryou or Akefia wasn't around, they seem to be able to predict my magic, which is irritating. Nice to see you again though, and you're looking stronger, enjoying the book? Oh, and I see Marik returned to you, you must have used a pretty strong spell against him"
Malik took the chance to sneer, standing up from the plush chair. With a saunter he walked over to a desk, lifting the Millennium Ring and throwing it over to Bakura. "It was a good thing we took this before you went on your wild goose chase, imagine if they had gotten it? This plan would have failed miserably. Yes by the way, Marik came here all on his own. Though perhaps with some persuading from myself, but he has been excellent in helping me, which was a surprise all on it's own. Speaking of surprises, I have something to show you, a welcome home gift, to show just how much I missed you"
Bakura rolled his eyes, but gave a slight smirk, putting the Ring back over his neck. It glowed faintly, before returning to it's normal state. The thief followed Malik down a flight of stairs, and into a dark room, with a figure slouched in the centre.
"Oh, so this is where he has been this whole time, you caught him?" Malik chuckled, turning to Bakura.
"That's not all I did, Marik was kind enough to translate another spell for me, this one, I think you will enjoy. Yami, stand up" The figure stirred at the order, before pushing himself up onto his feet shakily. His eyes were glazed over, and he looked unfocused.
Bakura gave a smirk, circling the now standing man.
"So you used a spell so he would do as he's told?" He took the chance to turn back to Malik.
"The Spirit of the Puzzle now obeys me and me alone, isn't that right, slave?"
Yami turned to look at Malik directly, before nodding his head, and giving an unsteady bow.
"Of course, Master Malik"