Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Shadow and Light ❯ Chapter 5

Author's Notes:

I got a review!!!!. Thank you, Redconvoy!!!!! Yes, I thought I'd go with something different. Now you see why it's alternate universe, yes? Thank you for being my first reviewer - even if this damn site deleted it when I tried to update just now! Dammit. I had to repost the entire story!!!! Please visit again. Pretty please?

 

Ryou and Marik have joined the story. I did a different take on Ryou for this - what do you think? What do all you other people reading and NOT REVIEWING think? (hint)

 

Warnings: see the first chapter.

 

Disclaimer: No, I don't own. But wouldn't it be fun if I at least owned Marik? * grins evilly *

 

Chapter 5

 

“Oh, this is rich! One for my memoirs, sure and certain. The Kelar's pet assassin, coming to me for advice!” The old man cackled with delight, clinging to the edge of his writing table as he rocked back and forth in his chair in delirious mirth.

 

Ryou An'arath held his rapidly mounting temper with difficulty. Yes, he now served the Kelar, a secret organization that worked to undermine the treachery and lies spread by the Andra and others like them. However, he had only agreed to do so if they would first help him hunt down those responsible for the slaughter of his gypsy friends. The immortal fighter had little choice but to endure the cackling fool, since the Kelar had informed him that this man possessed information that he was unlikely to get elsewhere.

 

Cherbly Nimk was a retired Zantonish agent that had once served in the Darkhold Tower, the hold of some of the world's most feared dark sorcerers. The ugly old man reminded Ryou strongly of a spider; he was thin to the point of emaciation, except for a bloated stomach, his eyes small and his face scrunched up. His skin sagged against his bones as though there were no fat to support it, and he even moved like a spider, scuttling to and fro. Every time Ryou had dealt with this creature, he had half expected him to have grown another pair of arms and legs, so as to have the proper eight that a spider did. Nimk's home was fitting for a spider, a filthy cavern under the docks of Meshay, dimly lit by cheap lamps and filled with trash and junk.

 

Finally the retired agent wound down to a chuckle ands swiped at his watering eyes. “Sit down, sit down. Make yourself comfortable, and let's talk shop.”

 

Ryou highly resented his cozy inference. This man had also been an assassin in his day, but he had nothing in common with this vile human. He sat on the edge of the chair Nimk had gestured at and said bluntly, “I need a way in and out of Darkhold Tower. A hidden way that I won't get caught traveling in,” he added pointedly as Nimk opened his mouth to state the obvious, showing nastily browned, crooked teeth.

 

The old bastard got down to business. He pulled out several maps and reference papers and explained the defenses of Darkhold in detail. He warned him of the hidden traps and gave him a detailed listing of the bribable guards and when they came on duty. Listening, Ryou was able to form a plan.

 

“And your fee for this information?” he asked at the end of the session.

 

“Twenty ambersmere,” Nimk said promptly.

 

“Five,” Ryou said coldly. “I have a perfect memory, and no need for your outdated maps.”

 

“Ten, and I'll throw this in,” he shot back, holding up a gilded wooden box which, Ryou knew, contained an enspelled key that would unlock almost any lock. He had borrowed it from Nimk on occasion. It was expensive, but it would make this so much the easier.

 

“Done,” Ryou said curtly, and the money and the box changed hands. He rose and strode for the door that led out of the filthy cavern the agent called home. “Oh,” he said, glancing behind him, “if you betray me, the Kelar will send a letter detailing this transaction and all of our past ones to Lady Nishimi.” He smiled thinly. “I understand the good commander-in-chief of Darkhold Tower is no friend of yours, and will not be pleased to hear that you have had dealings with some of her worst enemies.” The door shut behind him with a final sound.

 

The old man chuckled. “Not bad,” he admitted to himself. “With a devious mind like that, he just might make it out of the Tower alive.” Then he reconsidered. “No. Kristoff will smell him out in the end.”

 

 

Ryou strode over to the fallen Chaos monster and plucked his still-glowing Ring from its dying body. He wiped it clean absently on the creature's fur, his thoughts bent on Cherbly Nimk. The good agent had failed to mention to him that the Tower was guarded by a creature of Chaos. It was only because he was reincarnated, and filled with the powers of millennia of fighting, that he had survived the encounter with the beast. He will pay, just as soon as I finish my work here.

 

The fighter moved silently through the Tower, completely undetected; as he moved he dropped a dusting of powder here, a drop ofliquid there. All of it was accomplished with perfect, deadly skill. The poisons he used were untraceable, and slow-acting so that the members of the Darkhold would not at first realize they were ill. But soon, the weakness would come, and then the pain...Ryou smiled coldly in grim satisfaction. His gypsy friends would soon be avenged. Darkhold had both funded and provided the prison scum that were responsible for the gypsies' deaths, and provided them with the weapons to do it. Now all within it would pay, and pay dearly.

 

 

Days later, the Tower was filled with moaning, agonized sick. No one was spared, from the lowest guard to the high commander herself, the Lady Nishimi. The lady herself refused to admit anything was wrong, until a glowing arrow came hurtling through an open window to strike the table she was seated before. She unfurled the message attached with trembling fingers.

 

It read only a few words. The Arami are avenged. And with that, Lady Nishimi knew that Darkhold Tower was no more.

 

 

“I thought I would find you here,” Malik said softly, trying not to disturb the quiet peace of the rooftop.

 

Bakura tossed a pebble over the edge of the rooftop and listened to the distant plink it made on the now-silent street below. His rusty brown eyes were turned unseeingly towards the sunset, his expression unreadable. “Am I getting predictable? I'll have to be more careful.”

 

“This was your favorite place to brood, when we lived here.”

 

Bakura's eyes flickered. “That's over and done with.”

 

“Do you regret it?”

 

“What?”

 

“Any of it.”

 

Bakura was silent. It was a token of how deep his friendship with this sylven went that he didn't lash out at him in wild anger at the very personal question. He respected Malik, and gave the question an honest examination, something he would not have done for anyone else, including Yugi.

 

“No,” he said finally. “I think, sometimes, that it would be nice to have the power again, to be able to use it for so much good on such a large scale, but overall, I stand by my decision. It was the right one to make.”

 

Malik nodded. He had thought perhaps...but no. “I will continue to respect your decision, then.”

 

Humor flashed in Bakura's eyes. “You have no choice,” he pointed out wryly.

 

Malik chuckled, and sat down, setting his back against his. Bakura leaned back, resting against him. There was a peaceful silence for a time, until Bakura broke the quiet.

 

“I've missed you.”

 

Malik looked up at the dimmed sky. “I've missed you too, me-achar.”

 

The old pet name made Bakura's throat tighten oddly for a moment. He swallowed and reminded him, “That's over now.”

 

Malik stood and looked down at him, and Bakura was struck by the appearance of lines on the handsome sylven's face, lines of care and worry that should not have been there so early in his life. “It is not over by my will, Kura,” he said quietly, sadly, and left the shapeshifter with far more than a simple journey to protect some friends to think about.

 

 

Yugi wandered the lonely streets of Androm, eyes taking in all the details they could of the beautiful city. High, proud columns, sweeping terraces, elegant balconies - they all had the perfect flowing beauty that was characteristic of anything built by the sylvens.

 

The sweet teen missed Marik's presence. The demon's taunts and pranks often lifted him out of a depression that seemed to have followed him about persistently since the night Marik had dropped down out of that tree into their group. He looked at the sky. The sun was nearly set. He sighed, and turned down a side street that he knew would take him back to the inn where he and Bakura were staying.

 

When he got to the inn, he found Marik engaged in a game of darts. He'd thoroughly enraged several half-drunk travelers by his ability to never miss the exact center of the target.

 

“Yer magickin' the darts!” one of them accused, his slurred voice marking him as more drunk than his fellows.

 

“Nonsense.” Marik sniffed. “If there is one thing I pride myself on, it is my ability to play this sort of game well without the use of my powers. You're just sore losers.”

 

“You -” The man took a swipe at Marik.

 

That was a mistake. A flick of Marik's fingers, and blue lightning smashed the man straight through the nearest stone wall, and through several walls following that.

 

“My apologies,” Marik said mildly. Another flick of his fingers repaired the hole in the wall. “I did not think your companion would be so weak as to be unable to fight a little spark.” The rest of the drunkards fled.

 

Yugi shook his head, coming into the tavern. “Can't stay out of trouble, can you?”

 

“Trouble?” Marik blinked at him. “Young one, what are you - oh. Well, he started it. And I wouldn't call a little spark `trouble'.”

 

“I do hope that man isn't dead,” Yugi said in a warning tone; he was currently the only one from whom Marik tolerated that sort of tone.

 

“Of course not,” Marik said dismissively. “I wasn't aiming to kill, so he won't die. He'll be in mortal agony for the rest of his pathetic life, but that's what he gets for trifling with me.”

 

“Arrogant,” Yugi murmured, sliding into a chair by a table near the stairs that led to the bedrooms.

 

“And proud of it,” Marik retorted with a smirk. “Hey, you!” He gestured at a server. The lass approached fearfully. “Double Avery on the rocks for me. And Yugi will have-”

 

“Lemonade,” Yugi interrupted smoothly. “No sugar, please.” The woman dropped a hasty half-curtsy and fled.

 

Marik sighed. “Lovely one, what is this aversion you have with alcohol?”

 

“It's not an aversion,” Yugi returned. “I simply do not wish to start drinking yet. My body would not have a very high tolerance for it as of yet, and I prefer the taste of lemonade anyway.”

 

“Hmph.” Marik leaned back lazily, then grinned. “Oh, I've thought of another series of tricks to play on Bakura. Listen-”

 

After a time, Yugi had to press his hand to his ribs, which ached from severe laughter. Between last chuckles, he asked, “Really, Marik, does your mother know you're this insane?”

 

For just an instant, too fast for Yugi's weak human eyes to catch, Marik's violet eyes darkened with a storm of emotions. But in the next instant, he nodded, comically sad. “The few gray hairs she has on her head are my doing. But-” with an exaggerated change of mood, “I send her plenty of money, so she can pay to have them dyed!”

 

“I hope she beat you as a child,” Bakura's voice grumbled. Yugi looked up and smiled as the shapeshifter sat down at their table.

 

Bakura looked at Yugi's sweet face and relaxed a little. The server reappeared, bearing Marik's and Yugi's drinks. “I'll have a double Avery with lime on the side, please.” The woman curtsied and tried to back away at the same time, and nearly fell over. Bakura frowned as the woman hurried away. “What's wrong with her?”

 

“Marik,” Yugi said by way of explanation, and Bakura scowled.

 

As they sat and drank their drinks, Marik began to verbally spar with the shapeshifter. The handsome demon scored a number of hits that, coming from anyone else, could have been considered grounds for a challenge. However, Bakura was forced to sit and let them pass. The man really could not do otherwise; Marik's words were issued with such friendly delicacy that Bakura would have made a fool of himself if he had reacted to them - it would have seemed as ludicrous as swatting at soap bubbles. Needless to say, Bakura was seething when he finally escaped upstairs to sleep.

 

 

I want to run away.

So why don't you?

I'd leave so much behind.

That's the point, isn't it?

Yes, but...

But what?

Not everything here is -

Terrible?

Yes.

There must be a way...

To what?

To keep the things that are okay, and get rid of everything else.

Nothing that's good lasts.

True.

Y'know, I thought you were supposed to cheer me up.

I'm your other self, not a miracle worker.

Gah. Go away, why don't you.

No use fighting me. Voices in your head always come back, you know.

So why don't you do something useful besides bug me?

Like what?

Like....

No. That's the one thing I can't - won't - do.

Why not?

If I did that, do you know what would happen?

........

Do you?

If you won't do it, then never mind.

I asked you a question.

And I'm not answering it.

That still gives me an answer of sorts.

Shut up.

...You're going to do it, aren't you?

I said to shut up.

Hah. What are you going to do to stop me?

This.

Hey! Don't!

(quiet laughter)

You bastard. You really had me scared. What's wrong with you?

You know that better than I do.

Huh. I meant besides that.

I....

Don't know.

Finishing my sentences now?

Our sentences. We're the same.

Maybe.

What's that supposed to mean?

Nothing. Go away. I want to sleep.

Whatever. You're the boss..

Right. So shut up.

(sigh) You must be the only person in the world who can order around the voices in his head.

If I can order you around, then do as I say and let me get some rest.

Shutting up now.

Good.

Good night.

Good night. Now shut up.

I have.

Then why are you still talking?

I'm not. You're the one making all the noise now.

....I give up.

Good. It's about time.

Aargh.

 

Bakura woke with a jolt. As he lay flat on his back, he felt his mood shifting into a dangerous, destructive kind of feeling. He hadn't dreamed about his other self in years; indeed, he had dared to hope that the persistent voice in that corner of his mind had finally faded away, though he should have known better.

 

He hadn't thought about that particular conversation in a long while, either.

 

You're going to do it, aren't you?

 

Bakura sat up and gripped the wooden end of the bed, and found a twisted pleasure in listening to it shattering into little pieces under his vicious clenching. It reminded him of a certain pain he himself had suffered long ago, a pain he had gone to great lengths to avoid again later in his life.

 

He felt the strength of his anger going to his head, making his powers begin to surge out of control, and didn't care. He knew the consequences of allowing his barriers to break completely, and welcomed them. He wanted danger. He was tired of being safe.

 

Yugi's eyes flickered open. He looked up at the ceiling, bewildered. Why have I...? He felt a sudden flare of power and gasped, bolting out of bed. Bakura!

 

Downstairs in the bar, Marik looked up from his tenth drink and smiled. Finally, he thought to himself, standing and prudently moving outside of the inn.

 

Yugi tore down the hall to Bakura's room, but before he could fling open the door, the sheer power of Bakura's out-of-control magic did it for him. Bakura stalked out of the room, smiling slightly, his eyes flaming a strange, terrifying gold.

 

“Bakura!” Yugi cried pleadingly.

 

The shapeshifter paused, and looked at Yugi. When Bakura met Yugi's eyes, something happened. A jolt went through Yugi, like lightning down his spine, and he realized that somehow, his perception had been altered. He couldn't see how, only that...something about all of his senses in general had changed.

 

Bakura saw that he was scaring his little friend, and cast a cage of willpower around his flaring magic. The powers subsided to a brilliant aura close to his skin, but the danger was not lessened. Yugi could feel how tenuous the control was, and began to tremble. This was wrong. This wasn't his friend, his mentor. He began to back away.

 

“Yugi...?” Bakura murmured, his voice pulsing with magic.

 

Yugi turned and ran down the stairs just as Bakura became aware of just what was frightening Yugi so much.

 

A voice spoke in his head, a voice he hadn't heard since Bakura had reached adulthood and come into his full strength. You didn't think I would sleep forever, did you? it sneered.

 

Noooo.....Too late, Bakura realized what allowing his control to snap had done. He had known that allowing his anger to escalate to such a level would throw his magic powers out of his control, and hadn't cared. But what he hadn't known was that losing control would awaken his chaos self, the dark side that all shapeshifters possessed. It was their curse, the thing that was meant to give balance to the fact that shapeshifters had so many powers, because they were so close in power to the creatures of chaos themselves.

 

With his last control, he teleported himself outside the city. And just in time, as his chaos self fully awakened and slammed his will against Bakura's in an attempt to take over the body they shared. Power blasted across the field Bakura had landed in as he fought, refusing to allow his dark side to take over.

 

No! You - will - not - !

 

Bakura, listen to me! Another voice rang in Bakura's mind - his other self, the self Bakura had had that conversation with so many years ago, the self that Bakura had denied and refused so many times.

 

No! I - will not - let this - happen - again!

 

Bakura, you have to let me join you! The voice rang with panic. If you don't, your dark side will win!

 

No. Bakura's eyes burned with held-back tears of anger and pain. I turned away from you, I gave the responsibilities I would have had to fulfill to another- I will not be controlled by that stupid thing they call duty!

 

Bakura, if you don't listen to me you're going to destroy the city!

 

Bakura! The single word was a mental roar that drove Bakura to his knees and threw his chaos self into the far reaches of his mind. Finally able to breathe without fighting, Bakura looked up to see Marik standing on the edge of the field. Now!

 

Bakura called upon all the willpower he had left, and threw all of it at his chaos self. The demon let out a shriek of fury - You can't hold me forever! - then vanished from his mind.

 

I...don't want to say this, but that thing's right. The voice of his other self shook. You can't hold it in for much longer, Bakura, not without me. I've avoided contacting you these past years because it was your wish, but I cannot remain silent anymore. You just put an entire city in complete danger because of your lack of control. Let me join with you, please!

 

No, Bakura said coldly and flatly. That time is over. I am my own person now, and I refuse to allow that to change.

 

You damn stubborn idiot! his other self shouted. Then the voice calmed. We are separate and the same, Bakura. If you would just meet with me, you'd understand. We are reincarnations - join with me, and you'd remember what was once between us -

 

SHUT UP. Bakura gathered the last shreds of his will and shoved at his other self mentally. Caught off guard, the spirit of that voice was thrown out of Bakura's mind, and with his last strength Bakura set up guards to keep him out.

 

“Bakura!” The last thing Bakura saw was Yugi tearing across the field towards him, plainly in a panic, before everything went black and the shapeshifter pitched forward onto the ground.