Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Ryou Bakura: Time Master! ❯ The Crumblings of an Espernation ( Chapter 21 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and he can't wait to see Ryou take down my villain. Neither can I. Rath is really, really mean.

 

It was a grueling task to complete for Ryou, to climb up the `slope' Gilden had mentioned. It only looked like a slope; in actuality, it was unstable and prone to crumbling apart at the slightest provocation. More than once, Ryou nearly slipped and fell down, but he managed to catch himself every time. He still had to help Sith, if she hadn't been thrown into Oblivion yet. She couldn't be killed, this he finally knew, but if she was sent to the abyss, that was the end of her. Ryou couldn't let that happen.

 

“I can't believe… Rath would pull this…” Ryou huffed, pulling himself up along the wall, “Stupid Mystic… I hope Sith kills her… by the time… I get there.” He looked over his shoulder and realized he must've been close to the second floor. He was higher up than he expected, and he saw his friends watching in silent awe, though he could tell Forte was just waiting for him to fall down. The Reploid had such a smug grin on his face; it was hard to tell if he wanted the group to succeed or not. Ryou thrust his hand upon a small ledge to use as stable ground, but because he was looking down at his friends, he didn't see the cracks in the stone. It began to crumble, and Shimbou had to point up before Ryou realized what was wrong.

 

“Hey, dude, you're going to fall!” Shimbou called, as Miho started pointing frantically to the crumbling wall as well, “Get down from there before you die!” Ryou finally looked, his eyes widening in fear as the wall started to crumble. He let go of the stone and looked for another hold as the ledge broke down into dust, spraying tiny rocks below.

 

“Ryou, come on! That wall's going to crumble!” Katt called, but Ryou shook his head. He had to keep trying. This was the only way to get inside.

 

“Sith needs help!” he called back, pulling himself further, “I need to help her!”

 

“What help will you possibly be if you're dead!?” Kaiba exclaimed, “I might not believe in magic, but I do believe in death, and you're running right into it! Get down before you kill yourself, you idiot!” Ryou growled as he valiantly continued his climb. His friends were worried, and it touched him. But if he couldn't make it, how could he know who won the battle? How would he know if it wasn't Sith?

 

“What about Si… DAMN IT!” Ryou screamed, as the wall crumbled just as he pulled himself up. He tried to reach for a new hold, but he was too slow. He fell as dust and pebbles sprayed from the walls, and finally, he crashed into the dusty yard below. It hurt as pain shot up his spine and through his arms and legs, but he survived. He grasped at the ground and pulled up dirt as he slowly sat, trying to get the dizzying feeling out of his head. Immediately, he felt his friends running over, but his head was spinning. All he could see were blurry masses of color.

 

“Ryou, are you all right!?” Anzu asked, helping him to stand as Jou said, “That was epic! If I find a camera, will you do it again!?” Ryou shot Jou a flat glare before shaking his head and clearing his mind from the small bout of terror he had just faced. He sighed; he had made it relatively far and now he had to climb back up. He walked back to the wall, but as he looked up, he knew his chances for scaling it had crumbled along with the wall itself; there was no stability left. Ryuuzaki whistled as he joined Ryou.

 

“Wow, I guess the castle isn't nearly as strong as Sith remembers,” the duelist commented, “I've seen graham crackers that were in better shape than this.” Ryou sighed in defeat, looking down at the dusty ground. There had to be a different way inside, but Gilden hadn't suggested any, and neither had Katt.

 

“Does this mean we can't help her?” Miho asked, frowning, “She's on her own!?” When Ryou nodded grimly, Miho threw her hands up and said, “You can't let that happen, Ryou! She's not strong enough to win by herself! You heard her! If she loses, we're…”

 

“Don't you think I know that!?” Ryou snapped angrily, glaring at her, “Don't you think I understand how badly we're screwed right now!?” Miho backed away, slightly intimidated with Ryou's harsh words. Ryou himself turned back to the ruins, his body shaking furiously as he stared at the wall. Bakura put a hand on his shoulder, and he shuddered, not expecting the touch. He sniffled, and as Bakura hugged him, he said, “I don't understand why Sith chose to go in alone again. She promised I'd be right by her side.”

 

“I know,” Bakura whispered, patting his head, “I know, Ryou. Sith said a lot of things that don't make any sense to us anymore. I don't think she knows what she's doing; I think all she can see is that Rath is right here and needs to be killed before she kills you.” Ryou shivered again, and Bakura looked up as he said, “Espers are too simple-minded sometimes. It's hard to tell what they mean and what they will do. Almost too much of a nuisance, if you ask me.” Ryou nodded, sniffling slightly. That was partly what made it so hard to live with Sith, though her single-minded tenacity was what always kept him alive. Until, of course, now. She wasn't with him now.

 

“Was she always like this?” Ryou asked quietly, seeing Yami walking up to him and Bakura out of the corner of his eye. Yami stopped, looked down, and nodded. He sighed; he had known Sith a very long time.

 

“Every moment of every day,” he replied with a chuckle, “Her stubbornness is what made her a good soldier. But it never made well for her relationships.” Ryou snorted. He loved Sith very much, but there was truth to Yami's statement. And, if she did have anyone else she had loved, there wasn't much surprise that it didn't last. He let go of Bakura and turned back to the wall.

 

“That's her game… and these are her rules,” Ryou said, quietly at first, “If I want to be in her life, I have to learn them.” Bakura blinked, raising a concerned brow as Ryou closed his eyes and touched the wall. He felt a calm power inside of it, and knew he felt it before; it was Sith's energy, or at least similar to her.

 

“Ryou, what are you doing on about?” Bakura asked, but Ryou simply smiled.

 

“This is just a game to them,” Ryou said, still in some form of trance as he kept his eyes closed, “The Espers. They don't take our existence seriously. This was a game for them. And Sith was its master.” Bakura glanced back at the others, but they seemed just as confused as he was. Ryou didn't even appear to notice that anyone was trying to get his attention.

 

“Uh… Ryou? Buddy, you're not making any sense here,” Jou said worriedly, as the glow in Ryou's hand grew just slightly, “Can you hear us?” Ryou continued to ignore them. He continued his converse.

 

“Sith's always been its master. That's why everyone was after her, wasn't it?” Ryou asked to someone no one else could see, and even Gilden began to grow concerned for the boy's sanity, “That's why they all centered on her. She's the master, isn't she?”

 

“Master? Ryou, what the hell are you going on about?” Malik asked, “Who are you even talking to!?”

 

“Did she know?” Ryou asked, and then laughed, “I didn't think so. She could never hide it that long. But… why not tell us? Magical imbalance… I don't understand. What imbalance could there be? You… you think?” Malik's eye twitched, and wondering if Ryou actually managed to finally go insane, he tackled Ryou over, both falling to the ground, breaking his connection with whatever he was trying to speak to. He looked up, blinking in confusion. It was obvious he didn't know what was going on.

 

“What did you do that for?” he asked calmly, frowning, “He was telling me what was going on.”

 

“Who was!?” Malik asked, grabbing Ryou's shoulders and forcing the boy to look up at him, “Ryou, that was creepy. What were you doing!?” Ryou blinked again, and then frowned. Whatever just happened, he was successfully snapped out of it, and no part of him could remember who he was speaking to or why he had felt them.

 

“I… I don't remember,” Ryou said, genuinely perplexed, “Maybe it was Sith? I don't know… but it was someone close to her… they said that this is just a big game to the other Espers, and we're just watching it unfold. And that Sith doesn't like games.” Katt hummed, but something did appear to be bothering her. She walked over, and closed her own eyes as she reached out to the wall. A minute later, she thrust them open. Malik looked at her with worry, and her skin paled.

 

“That voice,” she whispered, “That wasn't Sith. That was dad.” Malik's eyebrows rose and he slowly got off of Ryou, walking over to Katt. She looked up at the sky distantly as Malik hugged her, frowning.

 

“Your father?” he repeated, and she nodded as Bakura and Yami both turned to her.

 

“I… I think so,” Katt replied quietly, “Some of us can still remain on this plane even if we're dead. He's been waiting for Sith and I to take the kingdom back… but he's not being clear about what's going on.” She looked over at Ryou, smiled, and asked, “What did he tell you?” Ryou stood up slowly, brushing the dirt off of him.

 

“That this is the equivalent of one of my RPGs. And the battle in there is a massive tug-of-war for power,” Ryou replied, looking down and blushing, “I think he was using terms I'd understand… but he also said something about an imbalance in Sith. That if she manages to die, this world's link to Oblivion could collapse. But I don't understand why that'd be. Sith already destroyed it, didn't she?” Gilden nodded, but something else had to be up. The Mystic kept looking up into the castle, but they couldn't hear anything behind its thick walls. Ryou sighed; he had to know what was going on if what her father said was to make sense. He touched the wall again, but no voice came to him.

 

“Think it's because she's a zombie?” Honda asked, and Ryou jumped, slightly surprised that he'd talk. He had nearly forgotten he wasn't entirely alone. He turned, and shook his head. That wouldn't make sense, either.

 

“I don't know what it could be,” Ryou answered sadly, “But I need to see if she's okay. I think I understand what I was told. I wonder… if she struck Rath… did she somehow absorb Rath's energy? Or was her own energy absorbed? Does she have something in her that Oblivion reacts to?” He looked up at Gilden, who began to ascend to try to get on the roof his own way. Gilden looked down, and then snorted, realizing Ryou expected him to answer. He landed again and crossed his arms, but his gaze remained on the castle.

 

“She might have, but I don't actually know,” Gilden replied, “It was a long time ago and I haven't seen her since then. Either way, it doesn't change anything. If she loses, we're screwed anyway.” Ryou nodded absently, turning back to the wall again. He sighed. Game or not, he had to get in there, and he didn't care if he'd be breaking the rules. He broke the rules in the last game he was trapped in, and everything ended up being fine. In fact, that was the reason he was even able to finally get himself married. Like hell if he was giving it all up. He tried once more to reach for the voice, but just as he closed his eyes, a huge explosion slammed into the wall, sending him and anyone close to him flying across the yard to slam into the gardens. His eyes shot open angrily as he glared at where the explosion came from. It successfully destroyed the wall, so now at least he could get inside. But, it caused injuries to his friends, as well.

 

“Okay, that really hurt,” Yugi commented, slowly standing up and squinting his eyes. A thick cloud of dust sprawled through where the wall had burst apart, making it impossible to see if there was anything coming out of it.

 

“What the hell caused that?” Basch asked, using his sword to help him stand as Forte and Ishtar helped the others behind them. Ryou scrambled up, but the dust was unwilling to clear. He huffed in frustration, and stormed over. Malik watched him.

 

“Ryou, wait! It could be dangerous in there!” he called, but Ryou ignored him. The dust thinned slightly, and he could see three figures huddling where most of the ruins of the wall laid, crumbled to pebbles. His shoes crunched on the broken shards of stone, kicking up even more dust, but he didn't notice it as he bent down and dragged one of the figures up. He recognized him from his cap, which had a purple feather, along with his purple cloak.

 

“What are you doing here!?” Ryou demanded, “I thought I made it clear you three are to leave me alone!” Bakura raised another confused brow, until he heard the voice from the figure. Then, everyone stared flatly as they heard what was, in their mind, the world's stupidest bards.

 

“Aye, you did, and that, we tried! But as we headed to leave, we were nearly fried!” the man said, “For, don't you know, even as we flee, Rath intended to kill us, the Bards Three! Eric, Derek, and Jimmy…”

 

“Awwww, man, not these morons again!” Malik exclaimed in disbelief, throwing his arms up as Miho and Anzu exchanged bewildered glances, “What the hell are they doing here!? Don't they have a bar they can linger at!?”

 

“…who are those three?” Kaiba asked, as no one other than Yugi, Malik, or Ryou even saw them before. Yugi sighed, shaking his head. Kaiba was obviously lucky not to know who `those three' were.

 

“Idiots who're trying to pass off as the next Shakespeare,” he replied simply, as Malik snorted, “They talk in nothing but rhymes, and trust me, Sith nearly shot their heads off for it. If any a time I'd condone her abusing her magic, that time would've been it.” Jou blinked, looking at the bards. Then, he turned to Yugi.

 

“But those Paradox Brothers talked in rhymes and we didn't want to kill them,” he reminded his friend, who sighed again and shook his head.

 

“Speak for yourself,” Yugi stated, “Yami was ready to unleash a Mind Crush on them.”

 

“You act like that would've been bad,” Yami said innocently, as Yugi laughed at his statement, “Trust me, be thankful Sith wasn't our friend back then or she would have murdered them. And possibly anyone else they worked with. Would've made the ordeal easier, but still…” Ryou growled, and though he still had one of the bards clutched in his hand, he turned back to his group of friends in annoyance.

 

“Who cares about what happened back then!” he snapped, “I'd like to focus on now. Now, we do know Sith, and now, we have to deal with these three blithering idiots again!” That definitely silenced any talking Yami was intending, and when he felt relatively calm again, Ryou turned back to the bard he was capturing and said, “Tell us what is happening or I will set you on fire.” The bard shivered, and though everyone else knew Ryou wouldn't actually back up that threat, the bard deemed it a serious danger, for he took off his cap and shivered as his long hair fell to the floor.

 

“Of course, kind sir! We'd gladly tell! Just please don't kill me here with your spell!” he replied, and Ryou growled in warning again, “You see, we were trapped, and then by a spell, our door was opened, an outing from hell.”

 

“From a young woman, who gave out a chase, to another dark woman, with a cruel, cold face,” said another of the three bards, “Their fight raged on, causing such terrible explosion. Why, if we weren't so scared, we'd have been frozen!” Ryou's growl worsened as they continued their rhyme.

 

“We know not, who won that battle, but all I can say is that it smells like dead cattle,” the last bard said, “As if on cue, as we reached that wall, a fireball slammed us, and broke the… well, wall. And now we're here, as you can see. We're Eric, Derek, and Jimmy D.!” Ryou's eyes narrowed flatly again, and he promptly dropped the bard he was holding, not caring which one it was. All three of them looked at him, waiting to hear if he liked their rhymes, but he didn't answer them. He continued to look into the gaping hole he now faced, but he couldn't see Sith. He could hear metal clanging somewhere, but no fight was in his line of view.

 

“…was any of that supposed to make sense?” Kaiba asked, and Ryou actually laughed. If only Kaiba knew. He turned back to his friends and shook his head.

 

“Of course not, so just ignore them,” he replied, “We have a way in. Let's take it and find Sith.” Anzu, Bakura, and Shimbou all nodded, and not waiting to hear anyone else's approval, Ryou proceeded to climb into the large, gaping hole. The sides were prone to crumbling, but he was able to get in with relative ease. Katt came in next, followed by Malik and Yugi, and slowly, they all began to climb their way into the castle… or what Ryou could effectively call what was left of it. The interior had been thrashed soundly, as every piece of furniture or decoration in the room they were standing in had been crushed or burned, sporting either slashes or burns respectively. Judging by the fact that there was still half a couch left to the room, Ryou guessed they were in a parlor of some sort, though from all of the ash piles and broken wood from the artwork that littered the room, it certainly no longer looked like it. The floor, which Ryou imagined was beautiful when Sith was younger, was marked with dirt scuffs and terrible burns. His lips thinned; he could only imagine Sith's reaction to this room.

 

“Wow, someone got pissed,” Jou commented, breaking the ongoing silence that had formed inside of the castle, “Not even my room looks this messed up!”

 

“You don't think Sith's hurt, do you?” Anzu asked, looking at one of the many broken windows within the room. Katt snorted, and crushed a piece of glass under her boot. The tiny shrapnel bounced off the edges of the wall before she answered.

 

“Doubt it,” she said confidently, “Dad seemed pretty sure she was all right, and she wouldn't let Rath stop her even if she was a bloodied torso with stumps. Seeing as how there's no blood here, I think she's fine.” Ryou hummed a bit. That was comforting to hear, but that didn't mean there wasn't bloodshed elsewhere. He'd be a fool to think Sith was completely unharmed. He stepped toward the doorway leading into the large entrance hall, and peeked out. The banisters had been sliced apart, no doubt from Sith herself. All of the cuts were from the same angle, and from a sword. Sith had a sword; Rath didn't.

 

“Judging from the angle of those cuts, I'd say the fight made its way to the upper floors,” Bakura said, studying the stairs alongside Ryou, “If Sith up there is smart, she'll knock Rath out the window.”

 

“Like that'll do any good. Rath can fly, remember?” Ryou reminded him, and grinned, “Besides, that isn't Sith's style. She is way too fond of fire to let Rath die from a drop. I'm sure we'll be smelling burning flesh the moment Sith wins.” Bakura laughed, and after a quick call, Ryou led everyone up the stairs, making sure to carefully pick their way through the debris and splintered wood. He heard another clang of a sword, and knew he was probably close. He turned to make sure everyone was with him, and when he saw the three bards, he immediately called out, “No! No way! Get those three out of our group now!” Jou and Honda both shrugged, and went to push two of the bards down the stairs until one of them called back.

 

“Hark, kind sir, won't you let us join you?” he asked, and Ryou growled again, knowing his blood pressure was spiking to unreal degrees, “Perhaps to you, we can offer a clue?” Ryou sighed. He didn't want to let them follow him, but what choice did he have? They'd come even if he said no. He couldn't see how that could be an advantage, until Malik spoke.

 

“At the least, we can use them as fodder and let Rath kill them first,” he whispered, and that got a laugh from Ryou. He nodded; he liked that idea. He allowed the bards to join them, and then continued up the stairs. He noticed the fact that they were made of crystal, though it was cracked now. He was beginning to wonder how much wealth Sith could possibly have if she were really the queen here, until he heard another sword clash, followed by a loud, angry curse. His eyes widened.

 

“Sith!?” he called, and ran the rest of the stairs, sometimes taking two at a time, “Sith!!” The clashing became louder, and he knew they were close. He didn't care that he'd left his friends to wonder where he was going; Sith cursing usually meant the battle wasn't in her favor, whether it was actually a physical battle or not. Miho glanced over at Yugi as he stared up the stairs, wondering what Ryou was trying to do.

 

“How badly do you think it's going up there?” she asked worriedly, but he didn't answer. Forte moaned miserably and sat down on a stair, glaring sourly at the floor below.

 

“Mom better not die on me, or I'm going to be pissed!” he exclaimed, “The future's been destroyed, and without her here, I've got no place to go!” Kaiba patted the Reploid on the back, but Forte merely grunted in slight acknowledgement. Bakura looked up stiffly, wondering if Ryou would be coming back, but it was pretty clear Ryou wouldn't. If he had any reason to think Sith would be in danger, he wouldn't be back until he got her out, and Bakura knew that.

 

“I say we stop sitting on our asses waiting for him to return,” the old thief growled, glancing at Yami, “Let's go see if Sith left any piece of Rath for us to kill. After all, it's our world as well as Sith's that Rath is blowing up.” Yami nodded, and with a few loud shouts and orders, the rest of the group was running up after Ryou, who had stopped momentarily to check one of the rooms out. He walked out as his friends came up the stairs, and upon seeing Katt's quizzical expression, he half-smiled wryly.

 

“I don't know who's winning, but the fight's getting worse the farther down we go,” he explained, “There's still no sign of blood, though, so at least neither of them are hurt… yet.” Yugi nodded, relieved to hear that, but when he turned to Malik, it was clear that something else was bothering to blonde man. He looked critically at where gashes and slashes marked the walls; they had to be from Sith's sword. Katt tilted her head when his gaze wandered down the ruined hallway. Dull sunlight filtered through the slices Sith had created, illuminating the hallway for them to see. He couldn't tell if that was done for her sake or because she literally couldn't land a hit, and that worried him. Katt tapped his arm after he said nothing for what felt like some time.

 

“Malik, what's wrong?” she asked calmly, and Ryou looked at him with grim worry as well. He seemed to guess at what Malik was thinking.

 

“It's just… Sith is this seasoned warrior or something, right?” he asked, and Yami nodded, “Well, she doesn't appear to have landed a single blow, and I don't understand why that is. Normally, she blasts her opponents to Oblivion with one shot, so why is she fighting so poorly now? Did Rath weaken her out there?” Ryou had to wonder that, too. As he saw the hallway, he did know it was unusual for Sith to not hit her opponents. A lot of things could've explained this, but Sith almost always found a way to at least crack their enemies once with just a spell.

 

“We need to find her and ask her,” Ryou finally said, “She's the only one who knows why she can't hit Rath. Let's go. I think we're close to where the fight is.” He started down the hallway, using the slices on the walls as guides to show exactly where Sith had been. His friends slowly followed, and once again, another loud clang of metal sounded. It was close; it send reverberations up everyone's spines, and even knocked Gilden to the floor, as he was currently trying to fly toward where Sith was. Ryou knew that attack. Sith had only used it once, but it had done its job in stopping the train that had pursued them some years ago, when Ryou had stumbled into Hell itself. The memory was daunting to see again, and he wondered if Sith was getting desperate to win. He turned into a large room, and saw that Sith and Rath were fighting. Sith was deflecting Rath's whip with her sword, but she was being backed into a corner, and unless she had a second weapon, she was forced to constantly deflect. Ryou now knew why she was cursing; she couldn't get a shot in.

 

“Still think you can stop me, Sith?” Rath asked, her whip smashing the wall next to Sith, spraying the woman with crumbling stone, “All you can do is dodge and dance as I slowly break apart your father's empire. Isn't it almost sad?” Ryou saw that there was a thin line of blood across Sith's cheek, most probably from a shard of stone, but she didn't appear to either notice or care. She was too locked in battle.

 

“You're a damn coward, fighting like this,” Sith spat, deflecting another blow that Ryou was sure could've taken her arm off if it hit, “There's only one way to kill me, and it's your fault it's that way. Why fight physically when you know this?”

 

“Pain is a better wound than death, my dear cousin,” Rath retorted, and Ryou growled at the cruel tone to her words, “I want you to pay for everything your family did to me. You specifically caused me the worst when you sliced me in half. Did you honestly expect me to forgive that?” Another whiplash, this one finally grazing Sith's arm. She winced in pain, but it finally gave her a small opening. She grabbed the whip and pulled hard, stunning Rath momentarily in shock.

 

“Actually, I expected you to die and stay in Oblivion where you belong,” Sith replied seriously, “Just like I expected Bahamut to leave me alone, and just like I expected Ryou to not follow me and let me battle you my own way.” Ryou blushed heavily, now realizing Sith knew he was right in that room, watching her. She gave an odd smile, though, and with a flick of her wrists, sent Rath slamming through the wall and out of the castle, where she screamed in agony as her blood spattered from the resulting shards she made. Ryou noted that her blood was black, something highly unusual even for non-humans. He made a mental note to point it out to Sith. Sith herself watched Rath fall, and then turned to face Ryou, a stern expression on her face that told him she wasn't happy to see him.

 

“Don't tell me I shouldn't be here,” he said firmly, crossing his arms. Sith sighed, and her expression softened. She snorted as she reached down for her sword.

 

“You act as though my disapproval ever truly stopped you, dear,” she replied, and then glanced back at the hole she had created, “For the while, we're safe. We need to strategize.” She walked forward to leave the room, but Ryou grabbed her arm. She glanced back, and he simply stared seriously at her. Perking an eyebrow, she turned to face him, and he walked forward, wiping the blood off of her cheek. She sighed and said, “Ryou, we…”

 

“Shut up,” he told her, and her eyes widened in shock at his remark, “Just shut up and let me do this.” Sith's ears lowered slightly as he took a cloth from the table and wrapped it around where Rath's whip had struck her arm. The cut was red, most likely a burn, but no blood issued from it, and he aimed to keep it that way. There were other, smaller cuts, but they'd heal up within minutes without his help. He looked her over, and when he found no other injuries than her arm and cheek, he hugged her for a second and then smiled weakly.

 

“Curato would've done that for me,” she remarked slyly, and he laughed. That was true; Curato was one of the only healing spells both he and Sith knew that physically healed injuries. He simply shook his head.

 

“There are times where I prefer to do things the human way,” he told her calmly, “Now, what about this battle plan you want to do?” Sith's eyes narrowed critically as she studied his expression. He was eager to hear what she had to say, and as she looked on at everyone else, it was clear they all wanted to be involved. She nodded, and with Ryou's help, made her way to a chair that, though Ryou thought was impossible, managed to survive the onslaught of their battle. She fell into it tiredly, crossing one leg over the other as she looked out the window. With her blue over-coat and its golden trimmings, she looked as regal as Ryou imagined she had to be. She definitely looked like some form of ruler, even if it wasn't a `proper' queen.

 

“I'm sure by now, you all realize both Rath and I are undead,” she started, and wasn't surprised to get slow nods, “Normally, undead can be dispatched with silver, fire, or prayer, but when you come across a particularly powerful undead… beast, as we can be referred to as, there are only two ways to kill them.”

 

“What are those ways?” Ishtar asked, when Sith stopped for a moment. Sith looked down at her sword.

 

“One is a slash through the heart so that you can't regenerate,” she told them, “The other… much less merciful way… is to send them directly back to Oblivion. Most undead that don't come from this world… Liches, werewolves, evokers, certain species of ghosts and vampires, and were-Espers… come straight from Oblivion. There are other cases, to which I am one, but for the most part, undead are created primarily from Oblivion itself.”

 

“But isn't Rath from Aeroglyph, too?” Malik pointed out, raising a concerned brow. Sith nodded bitterly, and it was clear that she was ashamed to even admit that. Katt seemed absolutely furious to admit that Rath was part of their family, as well.

 

“Yes. Her un-death was self-inflicted when she opened up this world's portal into Oblivion itself,” Sith told him grimly, “When she did that, she caused a wave of evil magic from Oblivion to settle itself into your world, causing undead to sporadically appear throughout your world's timeline. That is why zombies exist in various worlds, because someone at some point finds Oblivion and sets it open.” Malik blinked. That meant Rath wasn't the first, and when he asked her about that, Sith laughed and said, “Most of the time, normal humans accidentally open the portal, but when Rath did… the Espers put together a group of elites to seal up those opened portals before a complete collapse of Oblivion occurred. They're known as ESB, or the Esper Sentinel Brigade. That is why I'm in so much trouble; I inevitably caused this world more danger by releasing the evil magic that resided in Rath. I didn't know it until about two-hundred years too late, when I already began a new life in a new world.”

 

“That's got to be the imbalance your dad was mentioning!” Jou exclaimed, and when Sith looked at him, stunned, he said, “Ryou and Katt said your dad spoke to them and said something about magical imbalances and stuff.” Ryou frowned, and after Jou said that, Sith became silent, almost distant from them. Whatever had happened to the man, his presence pained Sith deeply.

 

“So our father's still here,” she finally said, and Katt nodded, “No wonder… Bahamut brought me back. My own father was trapped here. I do not… think I was sent here as punishment now. My father is a new element, one that I had never considered. Does that mean there are others? Including yourself, Gilden?” Ryou looked back at Gilden, who blinked profusely at the prospect. He had never considered himself `trapped,' but Sith may have answered a question Ryou asked himself since finding out about her true self.

 

“It's possible, Lady Sith,” Gilden agreed, “It's not much wonder then, that the old lizard hasn't wringed you for marriage to Ryou yet. I'm going to guess he brought you here to save the Espers, not to punish you.” Ryou looked down, and Sith glanced at him. She could tell that he harbored a lot of hatred for her race, especially recently, but she didn't call him on it. Much of her life would never make sense to him, and it came crashing on him like a waterfall less than a week ago. She reached out and took his hand.

 

“All this time… I blamed Bahamut, thinking you didn't deserve this,” Ryou said sadly, “You always took what happened even if you didn't like it, and you never once spoke badly until you realized my hatred, Sith. What have I done?”

 

“You've done what every human in history has done since the beginning of time itself,” she replied gently, “Ryou, I felt the same way. It's not wrong to hate us.”

 

“I don't hate you!” Ryou exclaimed, and Sith fell silent, “Why would I marry you if I hated you, Sith? I just… I…”

 

“You hate what Esper life is like, which is contradicting and confusing, even to us,” Sith answered for him wisely, and he stared at her, “You don't hate us. You can't. But you do know this is ridiculous, and you're not the only one who feels that way. Many of us, on both sides, want this to end as badly as you do. I think I'm the only one who can stop her, because I started her in the first place. And I know Bahamut realized that before I decided to run.” She sighed, and shook her head, “Some queen I'm turning out to be. I destroy my own kingdom and leave it for the Mystics to rule, and don't even realize what's been done until a few thousand years too late. A grand place this would've been under my rule.” Ryou's lips thinned, especially as Sith stood up and walked quietly to the window. Everyone watched her, wondering if she would speak, but she simply looked out of the window, arms crossed and with a stern expression on her face. She didn't appear to be looking at anything in particular.

 

“Sith…” Ryou started, but then said nothing more. Sith hummed, but didn't move.

 

“Some life we've had, eh?” she asked suddenly, and Ryou tilted his head, “It's been a long road, Ryou. A very long road, and not a damn of it makes any sense to us. Anymore than it did when we first met. Even now, I'm still confused.”

 

“What do you mean?” he asked, joining her at the window as they both stared across the vast ocean, the sun throwing an orange haze onto it. She smirked wryly, the red lenses of her glasses hiding the glint her eyes had gotten as she glanced at him.

 

“Remember when we first met? Years ago… and I forced you and Malik to travel with me?” she asked, and Ryou nodded, “Well… I'm not sure what to make of it all. It seems so illogical, once I stop fighting long enough to think it through. I no longer know what anything I'm doing is about. Is it about you? Is it even about me? I don't know.” Ryou bit his lip as her tone trailed slightly. She seemed to be having true difficulty accepting any of this, even more so than he would. He was sure it had always been like that; she was just a bit better at hiding it than he was.

 

“It's easy to think it's about us, I guess,” Ryou told her, “I'm not sure we'll know, Sith. Maybe that's the point.”

 

“Then what was the whole purpose of fighting any of them?” Sith asked, her calm voice neither rising nor falling with the question, “It's not…” She looked down, “Every time I ask, this makes less and less sense, Ryou.”

 

“The problem is, none of them had any actual reason for what they did other than they wanted power,” Ryou told her, and she looked at him, astonished he'd be lecturing her, “Our power, to be exact. I noticed something really intriguing. Rath doesn't appear to be interested in us, Sith. She just wants you dead. No absorbing my power; no absorbing you. Just your death, and then that's it. I think what we were dealing with was the Mystics trying to get power for something, but I never knew why.”

 

“And you have an idea?” Sith inquired, her smirk suddenly curling downwards, “Ryou?” Ryou nodded.

 

“I think it's to stop Rath, just like us,” Ryou replied, and when Sith looked at him incredulously, he said, “I'm not saying they were good, Sith. They're as evil as they can get. But Gilden said Rath was insane. What if she's so insane that she's putting both worlds in danger?” Sith blinked, and then looked back out at the sky. Since Rath had been thrown down, the sky returned from its darkening spiral of clouds to a hazy orange, meaning that evening wasn't too far ahead. Ryou could tell that Sith was considering what he said with delicacy.

 

“So insane… as to put both worlds… in danger,” Sith repeated slowly, and smiled, “Ryou, for once, I believe you are right, dear. No, a sane person would not dispatch what she has dispatched onto us. A sane…” Sith didn't finish her sentence, and within a split second, something large swooped from the gap in the wall, sending Sith slamming into the other side hard enough to crumble it. Ryou screamed; finally, a trail of blue blood streamed from the ruined walls. It was Sith's blood.

 

“Sith!” Yugi yelled, running over with Anzu and Jou toward the new gap. But, Sith had gone over, along with whatever had attacked her. Ryou's eyes narrowed into a glare, and before he could even stop to think, he found himself jumping after Sith.

 

“Ryou, stop it!” Bakura called, looking over the edge himself, “Ryou… damn it! He's not listening!” He growled, turned to everyone else, and said, “Come on! Don't just sit on your lazy asses! Let's go and help them!” Everyone nodded, and they left the chamber to get into the courtyard. Meanwhile, Ryou landed safely in a pile of broken stones. Sith had landed in front of him, but she wasn't standing. She had been dropped, and one of her wings had broken. It laid feebly against her back, the other ruffling just enough to show she survived. Ryou bent down, his eyes softening. If Rath was there, she would need to wait. He picked Sith's head up. Her glasses were intact, so she wouldn't be fighting half-blind. But there was bloodshed. He sighed.

 

“…silly, old woman,” he whispered, unbuttoning his own coat, “At least now you can't tell me not to get involved.” He put the coat over her to let her rest. Then, he turned and faced the courtyard. Whatever was there, he had to try and fight it himself now. At least until his friends came to his aid, if they could. Sighing, he bent down and picked up Sith's sword. If it burned him to use it, then he'd have to live with it. Someone had to put up a fight, and it wasn't going to be Sith.

 

“Rath, get over here and face me this time. I'm your target, not Sith.”

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

And so, after getting into the castle of Aeroglyph and rejoining Sith, Ryou tells Sith of his meeting her father, and his theory on the Mystics and what each ordeal could really have been about, prompting Sith to rethink of why she would have been forced to come here. Unfortunately, something just caused the Esper to go completely out of commission, and now Ryou is going to face the threat solo, for a while. What caused such a sudden attack, and can Ryou actually hold it at bay? Was it Rath? And, if so, will her madness be Ryou's quick end? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!