Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Apocalypse ❯ The Castle of Dark Illusions ( Chapter 63 )

The Castle of Dark Illusions

 

Bakura's POV

 

I clutched onto Ryou tightly as I watched his fact contorted with horror.

My lover didn't deserve to die like this…..

He was too good to die a violent death.

I wanted to hold Ryou closely, but the daggers protruding from his skin prevented any close contact with his body. I pulled a dagger out of Ryou's chest and looked down at my hand grasping the handle firmly.

I don't deserve to live without my Ryou.

I can't exist without him.

“I vow to avenge your death, my Angel,” I growled as I pressed the blade against my skin. I drew the blade across my palm to seal my oath…..but the blade did not make me bleed.

“What the hell is this?”

A chuckle behind me came from my enemy. “This is the Castle of Illusions…..Nothing is what it seems.”

I stood up and turned towards The Unfaithful Guardian.

“I'm not having fun in your Funhouse!”

Steven laughed. “I thought seeing my son die before your eyes would entertaining. I was right. Of course…..that isn't my real son. My real son was separated from you when you first passed through the door to this castle.”

Ryou is gone?!

“RYOU! RYOU, WHERE ARE YOU?!”

Steven chuckled. “He's safe, Bakura. After all….he is with your illusionary self.”

Shit!

If my illusionary self is the person I was in the past, Ryou could be in a shitload of trouble…..

“What of Malik? Was he an illusion too?”

That bastard laughed and nodded. The Ishtars are still lost in this Funhouse of his.

“They have also been split up not long after they have arrived.”

“DIE, YOU ASSHOLE!”

I lunged towards The Unfaithful Guardian and dodged his whip of barbed wire which came from his hands. I dodged and rolled under his barbed wire until I stabbed my blade into his gut.

His blood poured out when I ripped with my dagger. I saw his internal organs start to poke through the wound….

But the asshole still laughed!

“You should have shattered! You should be dead!”

Steven laughed. “The living suffer one death. The dead suffer no more.”

Steven grabbed me by the throat. I could feel his barbed wire poking through my skin. I growled and hacked his arm off at the elbow with my dagger. I fell to the ground and threw his arm away.

“I will make you suffer, Bakura Osiris Itemri,” Steven said, holding out his other arm to grab me. I backed away and jumped to my feet.

I had to find Ryou! He could be in serious danger!

I turn and raced from the room.

“YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!” I heard him scream out to me as his barbed wire whip hit me on the back, cutting my shirt.

I jumped over Malik and Ryou's illusionary bodies and raced down the hallway. I saw Ryou walk down the hallway with my illusionary self!

“RYOU! STAY RIGHT THERE!” I called to him.

“Bakura?”

I ran towards him and suddenly the floor fell from under my feet and I fell through the floor…..

 

*******************************

 

Ryou's POV

 

I turned and heard footsteps behind me. I saw another Bakura running towards me very fast. His neck and clothing were covered in blood.

“RYOU! STAY RIGHT THERE!” he called to me.

“Bakura?” I asked in amazement. Bakura was standing right beside me. Why is another Bakura running towards me?

Before I knew what was going on, he stepped on the floor and he fell through the floor!

I've never seen anything like it.

“Bakura, did you see that?”

My yami turned to see me. “That was very strange. But then again, this is the Castle of Illusions. Things aren't always what they seem here, hikari. Remember to stay close to me.”

I nodded. “It's been a while since you've called me that.”

“Yeah, well, you deserve the title. You are my Light, after all.”

I smiled and took Bakura's hand. “I hope we find Malik and Marik soon. I'm starting to worry.”

Bakura stopped and turned to me. He looked down at me with those big brown eyes of him. He reached up his hand and stroked my cheek. “Don't worry, Angel. We'll find them. You just have to have faith.”

“I know, Bakura. It's just that the scream was so frightening!”

Bakura wrapped his safe, secure, and protective arms around me. “Don't worry, kitten. I'll take good care of you.”

We walked down the hallway and I saw stairs leading down and a staircase leading up.

“I don't want to go down there,” I said. “Let's try up.”

Bakura looked down. “Okay. I'll go down. You go up.”

I looked up the dark stairs and swallowed nervously. “O—Okay.”

I walked up the steps slowly. “Hello? Anyone there? Marik? Malik?”

I saw a light underneath the door at the top of the steps. “Hello? Anyone up there?”

I slowly reached out for the doorknob and slowly opened the door.

It was a room with a bed and two endtables. The room had a familiar scent to it.

It was lady's perfume.

It was expensive lady's floral perfume.

I saw a door and saw a toy on the bed.

I walked towards the toy and picked it up. It looked like Aten's old Change of Heart plushie.

I looked at the bedsheets and covered my mouth.

I was in this room before.

Sixteen years ago.

……….

……….

The cabin.

……….

“I have to get out of here!”

I dropped the toy on the bed and turned around to see Bakura standing there.

“YAMI!” I exclaimed as I hugged him. “I gotta get out of here! This is the cabin!”

“What's the rush?” he asked quietly.

“The cabin, yami! I can't stay here!”

Bakura put his hands on my shoulders and he shoved me back onto the bed. I looked up at him and narrowed my eyes.

“What are you doing?! I have to get out--!”

With a snap, he slapped my face.

“I knew you'd come here….back to where you were your grandfather's whore.”

I rubbed my cheek and looked up at him.

“Bakura?”

Bakura laughed. “You loved that, didn't you? Being his little whore?”

This was not my Bakura….

Was that other Bakura my real Bakura?

“Since you loved it so much….I figured we should bring an old friend. You loved being his whore, too, for your little boy's safety….of course, your sacrifice was for NOTHING.”

The door to the room opened and I saw Tim enter.

Everything in my body started to tighten.

My lungs tightened and it became hard to breathe.

“I think you should at least put on a good show for your father over there.”

I turned and saw my father sitting where he used to sit when Jessica and Tim were with me. He would sometimes sit on a chair and watch….other times……I was not so lucky.

Tim pulled me into a kiss and I pushed against him.

“No! I'm not doing this again!”

I felt Bakura trying to pull me higher on the bed.

I struggled with them, refusing to be tied down again!

 

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Marik's POV

 

I lead Malik down a long hallway. I saw a set of stairs going up and one going down. Ahead of us was an empty hallway.

“Well, yami?”

I walked ahead and was stopped suddenly. I rubbed my nose and looked ahead at the empty hall.

“What the hell?”

I reached out and touched a wall.

“The hallway is an illusion too, Marik,” Malik said touching the invisible wall ahead of us.

“We go up or down.”

Malik looked both ways. “Let's go down.”

I couldn't help but laugh. “I like going down.”

“I know you do. That's why I suggested it.”

Malik and I walked down and I heard a blood-curdling scream.

I ran down the steps and saw torches lit beside an altar. I saw Malik bent over an altar with his father carving into his back.

The Malik on the alter turned to me and screamed through the gag in his mouth.

What the hell is going on? Malik's standing right beside me! How can he be there too?!

I removed my dagger from my jeans and narrowed my eyes at Malik's father carving into him like a slab of meat.

“I killed you once! I will do it again!”

I raced towards him when the other Malik stepped in my way last minute. My dagger went through the Malik who was walking with me and he shattered.
Malik's father laughed. “Do you think it will be that easy to get rid of me this time? Oh, Ra, accept this offering of my child's blood, the Noble Name of Ishtar sings praise to you!”

I saw Malik's father pierce Malik's skin again and I raised my dagger to strike him.

My Blade struck another blade which had interfered.

I looked into a reflection of myself.

“You stay out of this! I am going to kill this man!”

My mirror image laughed. “I am here to protect him. You must go through me!”

“So be it!”

My other self removed a second dagger from his robe and he glared at me. “Do you think you can defeat me?”

Malik's screams intensified through the cloth gag in his mouth.

I didn't have much time.

I lunged my dagger towards my clone and he jumped back. He brought the dagger close to my face, but I jumped back.

My clone lunged at me and I caught his wrist with my free hand and blocked his strike with my own dagger.

We struggled against each other until I head-butted him and kicked him in the stomach, making him drop one of his weapons.

I grabbed the second dagger and grinned. My clone stood up and we circled each other, eye-ing each other up. I growled at him angrily and he grinned.

“Do you think you can defeat me? Well? Come after me, Noble Ishtar!”

A light appeared above the ceiling and Itemri fell onto his back with a loud curse.

My clone turned to see what it was and I jammed the dagger to the hilt into his neck. I impaled the other into the back of his neck and he shattered.

“Where the fuck were you?” I asked Itemri.

Bakura stood up and he rubbed his back. “FALLING THROUGH FUCKING TIME AND SPACE, ASSHOLE!”

I turned back to Malik's father and lunged for him. He didn't notice me coming and he shattered when I sunk the blade in deep.

Bakura ran to Malik as I untied him.

“Malik, say something!”

Bakura removed the gag and he sighed.

“I'm glad to see you!”

He sounded calm.

“You just had your father carving your back and that's all you can say?”

Malik shrugged. “I didn't feel anything.”

“Do you remember the gag?”

“Yes, but I didn't see anyone here,” Malik responded.

I turned to Itemri. “Tell me what the hell is going on!”

“Steven is here. I thought he killed Ryou and Malik. He said that we got separated from each other when we entered the castle.”

Malik rubbed his cheek. “This Marik was acting fine until we got down here. Then he tied me up and gagged me. It was kind of strange.”

Bakura rolled his eyes. “You Ishtars tie each other up every single night. What's so strange about that?”

I grinned at Bakura. “Malik likes it.”

“Now that we found each other, now we have to find Ryou. Steven said he was with my illusionary self. If he's anything like I was, Ryou's in deep trouble.”

I nodded. Ryou in the hands of Old Bakura was not a good thing.

“Okay, genius, so how do we find him in here?”

 

*************************

 

Normal POV

 

Bakura lead the Ishtars up the stairs and looked down the hallway. “How can we know which way to go if the hallways change constantly?”

Marik narrowed his eyes. The halls suddenly end, too, and you ran nose-first into a wall.”

Malik looked around. “We better just forget finding Steven. We'd be better off just finding Ryou and going.”

Bakura nodded. “Yeah….I agree.”

Bakura turned right and he looked down the three possible hallways. “It's going to take us a while.”

Malik called out. “RYOU!”

“STOP, TIM! STOP! HE'S JUST A BABY!”

Marik gripped the Millennium Rod tightly. “Where did it come from?”

“Behind us?”

“Ahead of us?”

“RYOU!” Bakura called.

“Ryou!” Marik called.

Malik narrowed his eyes. “We're never going to find him!”

“We will!” Bakura growled. “I'm not letting anything hurt him!”

Bakura lead the Ishtars down the hallway. Ryou's pleading became louder as they approached.

“BAKURA, STOP THAT! IT HURTS!”

Bakura narrowed his eyes. “If I never made him say that, it wouldn't be happening right now!”

“Keep yelling, Ryou!” Marik cried out loudly.

“MARIK! PLEASE STOP!”

Marik narrowed his eyes. “I won't listen!”

Malik turned his head to see a crowd of soldiers chasing them. “GUYS! LOOK!”

Bakura turned his head and saw Yami's guards chasing him. “Soldiers!”

Marik growled. “At least they don't have firesticks!”

Bakura and Marik stopped. “Malik….get back.”

“How are you guys going to fight them?”

“The way we used to,” Marik grinned as he gripped the dagger of his Millennium Rod tightly.

Bakura growled. “Just like old times.”

The soldiers raised their weapons as they approached them. Marik stopped one of their swords and kicked the soldier in the stomach, making him shatter.

Bakura ducked a slicing sword and cut the stomach of the soldier. The thief jumped through the shattered soldier to confront the next one.

Marik ducked a slicing sword and jumped aside as another solider brought down a scythe where he was standing.

One solider slipped through and Marik kicked the soldier's back, knocking him down. He turned quickly and stabbed the soldier before he could get to Malik.

He faced his old opponents and growled as the scythe and the sword rained down at the same time.

He took the spare dagger on his hip and threw it at the head of the soldier. The soldier shattered as it landed in his eye. The dagger fell to the ground with a clink. Marik jumped to the side and grabbed the dagger.

“You're next,” he growled as he charged the soldier. The soldier shattered as Marik stabbed him.

Bakura slashed the last soldier and felt his body tremble. “Is that all of them?”

Marik panted along with his partner. “I think so……”

Malik hugged Marik and then Bakura. “Are you guys okay?”

“No blood…no broken bones. We're fine.”

“PLEASE STOP!” Bakura heard Ryou cry out again.

Marik and Malik rushed after him down the hall.

“DAMMIT, RYOU! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?!”

“YAMI!”

Malik stopped. “Stairs going up!”

“GODS, MAKE IT STOP!”

Bakura ran up the stairs, leading the Ishtars. They burst into the room and found Ryou tied up on a bed with his shirt pulled up and his jeans unbuckled.

Malik and Marik ran to untie Ryou from the bed. Bakura shook Ryou gently.

“Ryou, it's us!”

Ryou opened his eyes and gasped. “Yami?! How do I know it is you?!”

Bakura kissed Ryou. “It's me. I promise.”

Marik cut Ryou's restraints with his dagger. “We gotta get out of here.”

Malik nodded. “We can't lose anyone on the way out.”

Bakura nodded. “Stick together no matter what. Let's get out of this place.”

Bakura lead the family downstairs and felt the ground shake under their feet as they ran.

Ryou turned his head and saw the floor falling out behind them. “Keep running!”

Bakura ran his family faster as he heard a deafening roar. From the side he saw a wall of spikes rushing towards them. “FUCK! RUN!”

Bakura ran the family down the hall as the spiked wall turned with them.

“Bakura, how do you know where you are going?”

“I don't! Just keep running!”

“With the way this place is, we could run into a dead end any minute!”

Malik looked back. “It's gaining on us!”

“Quick! A right!”

The family ran right and they saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Run!” Marik called out.

Ryou panted and gripped his chest. “It hurts….”

Bakura pulled Ryou's arm. “No, you don't! Run!”

Marik and Malik ran out first, followed by Bakura and Ryou.

The spiked wall stopped as they ran outside.

Bakura held Ryou in his arms as his husband struggled for breath. Bakura pet Ryou's hair. “It's okay, baby…..We're out now.”

Ryou clutched onto Bakura tightly.

“Do you think you really found Steven in there?” Marik asked.

“I don't know, Ishtar…..but we can't go back in there to look. We can't get in now.”

Malik giggled. “All we gotta do is let Ra blast us a way in!”

Bakura shook his head. “No….Steven can't be in there. What we saw in there was an illusion….Everything in there was fake. So, what I saw must have been fake, too.”

Malik rubbed Ryou's back. “Sorry you had to go through that, Ryou. Are you hurt?”

“No…I'm not hurt,” he said standing up.

Marik looked up at Ra. “We should go home. I've had my fill of this place.”

“I agree,” Malik said approaching Ra.

Bakura put his arm around Ryou. “Let's go, angel.”

Bakura lead Ryou to Ra with a backward glance at the castle. “I'll never let you get your hands on Ryou…..never.”

 

 

Updates: Tuesday

 

Note: I am currently working on moving out of my house, guys. I'm relocating from Philadelphia to Wisconsin and I'm in the midst of arranging everything for the move. So, I will try my hardest to update, but as the time gets nearer, I may have to take a couple weeks to get situated in my new apartment. I appreciate your guys' and gals' patience. Thankx.