Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Of The Night ❯ Return To Your Roots ( Chapter 20 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Return To Your Roots

Seto flipped through another tome and pushed it aside.  Joey stood at the doorway watching his husband rub his tired eyes. Seto sat back in the chair and groaned. “Hours of searching and still I’ve found nothing.”
Joey sighed as he watched the CEO’s shoulders sag with resignation. He’s been trying so hard to find a way home.  I’m surprised he hasn’t collapsed from exhaustion.
Seto stood up and climbed the ladder to reach another book high above the ground. He descended the stairs with another book in hand and dropped it onto the desk.  He lit another candle and sunk into the chair with an exhausted sigh.
“Fifteenth time the charm, I hope,” Seto mumbled as he opened the old book bound with goat hide.
Joey quietly and slowly walked toward Seto in the chair. He stood behind Seto and placed his hands on Seto’s shoulders lightly. The brunet turned his head quickly as he tensed.
“Hello, Joey.  How is your mural coming along?”
The blond proceeded to massage his lover’s shoulders. “It’s coming along.  How is the hunt?”
“This is my fifteenth book and I haven’t found anything yet. I did find a decree to create the Millennium Items as a way to seal Zorc away and as a means for power and domination.”
“You found the decree? Where is it?”
Seto reached over and handed Joey a scroll. “This makes for a good bedtime story.”
Joey unfurled the scroll and saw each Millennium Item sketched and particular details scribbled in Ancient Egyptian. “This is amazing!”
“Perhaps this is an exercise in futility,” Seto sighed as he leaned back in the chair. “Time travel is impossible!  It’s nothing more than a fantasy.”
“Remember when Bakura tried to destroy the world after Battle City with Zorc? He challenged Yami in that big board game with the Millennium Puzzle? Somehow we were able to travel to the past.”
Seto’s head snapped up. “Joey, you are a genius!”
“What’d I say?” the blond asked with confusion.
“That is how we were transported to the past!  The Millennium Puzzle may help us get home.”
Joey snapped his fingers. “What did Marik do with the Millennium Puzzle?”
“I can’t see him allowing Yami to keep his Puzzle. I also can’t see him willingly giving it to us.”
“It’s worth a try, Seto. Perhaps we can get a hand on it while he’s distracted.”
Seto nodded.  “I will have to be at the coronation ceremony. You will be free to wander the palace.”
Joey and Seto’s eyes met as they looked at each other, suddenly quiet. Joey put the scroll on the desk. The blond took Seto’s right hand and kissed it gently. “I forgive you, Seto.”
“What?”
“I forgive you for....whatever happened with you and Aria.”
The brunet man stood up and put his hands on Joey’s shoulders. “Joey, I am very sorry for everything that’s happened.  What I did was very wrong and I acknowledge that. I hope that you and I can move past this together.”
Joey sighed. “We’ve been through rough patches before, master,” the blond said with a slight smile. “It still hurts me, but...we’ll pull through this one together.”
Seto caressed Joey’s cheek. “That’s my puppy.”
*************************
Ryou laid in the bed as he watched the roaring fire in the fireplace.  His left arm rubbed the side of his stomach as the flickering flames sent shadows upon the floor and walls.  Ryou sighed as he felt the baby shift. “There we go, boy. Settle down.”
A knock sounded on the door and the door knob turned. Ryou raised his head to see Aria enter the room. “Hello, baby girl,” Ryou said as he sat up on the bed. “What can I do for you?”
“I said I would check on you to see how you are doing.” Aria stood beside the bed. “Mother, we have to get you out of here.”
Ryou looked up at his daughter. “Marik would send everyone to the dungeon.  The guards at my door are posted constantly. They won’t let me leave. I’m not allowed out of the room unless Marik is with me.”
“Has Father Marik hurt you?”
Ryou looked at the fireplace. “No.”
“Be honest.”
“Aria, I know Marik isn’t acting on his own behalf. Ever since Snefru and his sister have entered the picture, the Ishtars have been acting out of character.  They have to be responsible. Maybe they are controlling Marik and Malik. I don’t know how they are doing it, though.”
“What about the Millennium Rod? Do you think they are being controlled by their own Millennium Item?" Aria sat beside Ryou. “They just come out of the blue and claim they are Father Bakura’s brother and sister. Do you think they really are his family?”
Ryou nodded. “I saw Snefru as a newborn at Bakura’s mother’s home.  At least Snefru’s story checks out.”
“Perhaps I can find out more about them and what they are capable of.”
Ryou took Aria’s hand. “Sweetheart, if they are capable of controlling Marik and Malik, be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to my special girl.”
Aria smiled. “Mom, I’ll be alright.  I just don’t want you to be around Marik and Malik with them going psycho.”
“I’ve lived with Bakura and Marik when they were worse. I know how to handle them.”
“I love you, mom.”
Ryou smiled and pat Aria’s hand. “I love you, too, sweetheart.”
Aria and Ryou heard the door open and saw Marik and Malik enter the room.
“Little Bakura, what are you doing here?” Yami Marik asked.
“I’m here visiting my mother.”
Malik smiled. “That’s sweet, but we’re here to visit him now. Get back to your room.”
Aria stood up. “You’re not going to harm him, are you?”
Marik grinned. “Why would we do that?”
The teenaged girl narrowed her eyes. “Because if you do, my father will not be the only one who will rip your balls off and feed them to the dogs.” Aria reluctantly left the room.
Marik and Malik watched Aria as she left the room. “That girl’s got spunk, Ryou.”
“I’ve always said how much Aria is like her father.”
Marik turned to Ryou. “That’s exactly why she is dangerous,” he replied quickly.
“Aria’s not dangerous, Marik. She’s just concerned about me.”
Marik approached Ryou. “Were you and she conspiring against Malik and I?” the blond asked as he caressed Ryou’s face. “Are you planning to be whisked away in the middle of the night before your little nightingale comes to your rescue?”
Malik stood behind Ryou. “We may not like that, Ryou.” Malik placed his hands on Ryou’s shoulders and drifted down to his arms. “You’re not going anywhere,” Malik whispered in Ryou’s ear seductively.
*******************  
Robbie bounced Heaven on his lap as he watched Bakura prepare for the raid on the palace. Aten looked at Little Marik fidgeting nervously with his hands. The boy’s toes flexed in his sandals as he waited anxiously.
“Father Bakura, do you think this will work?” Aten asked.
“This has to work.  Have you and Marik found anything in your scrolls?”
Little Marik looked up at Aten. “We’ve looked everywhere.”
“We’ll find something, Father Bakura. I’m trying to remember if my father mentioned anything to me.”
Little Bakura stood beside the other blond child. “Do you have to go back to your daddy? He’s mean.”
“I have to go back to him,” the blond boy sighed. “It’s the only way to save your friend’s friend.”
Yami Bakura shifted on his feet and rolled his shoulder. “Who the hell is touching me?”
Robbie and Aten exchanged glances. “No one, Bakura.”
Bakura reached to his left shoulder with his right hand. “I feel like someone is touching me. Hold a second. //Ryou, what the hell is--?//
/Cut off the mindlink!/
//Ryou, don’t cut--.//
Yami Bakura grabbed his hair as Ryou quickly cut off the link.  “Ryou....I have to get into that palace!” Bakura looked at Aten. “When is Marik holding the celebration?”
“Aria just said that preparations are nearly complete.”
Bakura rubbed his forehead. “It doesn’t take a couple hours to prepare a celebration on the scale he is planning.”
“Perhaps Marik’s father will know the day of the celebration.”
“What do we do with him?” Robbie asked, pointing at Little Bakura by the door.
“Keep him safe. Be careful that he is unharmed.” Yami Bakura looked at the two young boys. “Are you ready to go back home, Little Marik?”
Little Marik turned to the younger Bakura. “Do you think we can play again together sometime?”
The younger Bakura nodded. “We can play anytime you want.”
Little Marik hugged his friend and looked up at Yami Bakura. “I’m ready.”
“Marik?” Little Bakura said quickly as he ran in front of the door. “Be careful.”
“I will.  I’m an Ishtar. We always watch our back.”
Yami Bakura sighed and shook his head. You weren’t watching your back when your own son shoots you....ending your life in my arms. “It’s time to go, Little Ishtar.”
Little Bakura whimpered as he saw his older self leading Little Marik out of the room and down the steps. The boy sat at the top of the stairs as a tear crept down his cheek.  “Goodbye, my friend.”
************************
Yami Bakura tucked the little boy under his cape as he walked.  He felt the child shake as they crept along the shadows towards the entrance to the city. “You’ll see Bakura again, Marik. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m afraid my father is going to be furious at my absence.”
“I will be lingering in the vicinity, Marik. I won’t let him hurt you.”
The child stopped and pushed aside the cape obscuring him from view. “How are you going to get to the palace?”
“I am going to hide under your carriage. You must not allow your father to look under the carriage.”
Little Marik nodded. “I’ll do my best.”
“I’m counting on you, little one. I have to get into the palace. My friend is in danger as we speak and I want to be there to protect him.”
“Alright,” the boy said nervously. “You can count on me.”
Yami Bakura kneeled beside the little boy and placed his hands on Marik’s shoulders. “In the future, Marik, I want you to know that I will always watch your back. Not a day goes by that I don’t thank the gods for our friendship.”
A small smile crept on the boy’s face. “Really?”
“Ask Bakura when you see him next. I’m sure he’ll be grateful that one soul has chosen to share his happiness, joys, and sorrows.”
Little Marik hugged Bakura. “Thank you. I always wanted a friend like you.”
“You’ll always have me, kid. Let’s get you home.”
Bakura lead the boy to his home on the outskirts of Cairo. Marik looked up at his family home and took a deep breath. “Don’t be afraid, Marik. I’ll be out here. I have no doubt your father is going to want to go to the party.”
Bakura watched the boy approach his home. I don’t know anything about this party.  I hope the old fart has useful information.
Little Marik reached for the door and opened it up cautiously. “Papa?”
“Boy? Marik Jibade Ishtar Ibn Kaemwaset! Where have you been, you little wraith?” Marik’s father bellowed angrily.  Bakura ran to the front of the house and peered in through a window.
“Father, High Priest Seto took me from the jail to go into the desert.”
Kaemwaset hovered over the seven year old boy. “Then why did you not return to me where you belong? Do you have any idea how worried I was about your absence? What if the bandits of the streets got to you? What if you perished in the desert? How did you leave the sanctuary of the Tombkeepers?”
“I...I-the boy in the cell found a way to open the door.”
Kaemwaset pointed at the young boy. “I don’t expect that kind of behavior from you, child! You stay away from that little dog! You are an Ishtar. I will not tolerate you becoming lax in your duties or evading the law.”
Bakura watched the boy kneel before his father. I knew Kaemwaset was an ass, but I didn’t realize he was this bad with his son.  
Marik held out his arms. “I’m sorry, papa!”
“If your mother saw you right now, how disappointed would she be that you are leaving your father’s side? You are making your mother cry, boy! Is that what you want? To upset your mother and make me look like a bad father?”
Marik lowered his head. “No, sir.”
“You should be grateful for all that I have done for you. You should be thankful for your mother who laid down her life so you could take your first breath!”
“I am grateful, sir,” the boy whispered quietly.
Kaemwaset turned his back on the boy. “Marik Jibade, dare not profane your mother’s sacrifice by being a bad boy. Go to bed this instant.” Marik bowed his head. “Yes, father! Right away!”
Bakura narrowed his eyes. “Poor boy. No wonder he was so frigged up as an adult.”
The thief watched the man walk into his study and proceed to arrange his important papers on his desk.  Bakura watched as the man proceeded to sign documents. This is as exciting as watching paint dry.....
“What am I going to do with that boy? Rebellious little runt.”
Bakura narrowed his eyes. He’ll pay for that remark. The thief’s mind drifted to Ryou and the quick severance of the mindlink. If I jeopardize my way into the castle, rescuing Ryou would prove more complicated. How do I get him out of there? What is Marik doing to him? I would have no chance of rescuing him with a frontal assault. This mission requires cunning and stealth. Bakura clenched his fists as he thought of Ryou. The thief hid near the entrance to the Ishtar home, shielded by the foliage of large bushes.  Hold on,Ryou. Don’t give up hope.
***************
Marik’s eyes shot open wide as a loud bang shook the double doors.  Yami Marik sat up casually and walked to the door.  He opened the door as Anubis stood there with his fist raised. “Why did you have to knock so hard and wake me out of a sound sleep, you buffoon? I was just having the best dream.”
“The messengers have been sent out for the celebration tonight. The men have also prepared themselves to acquire your family.”
Yami Marik chuckled. “Bakura thinks he can hide from me. Ha! I burned down his oasis, so he can’t hide there. There’s only two other places he could hide.  Malik and I will prepare to lead the charge.”
“Yes, my lord,” Anubis said with a bow.
Yami Marik closed the door and heard a whimper come from one of his bedmates. Yami Marik strolled to the bed and saw Ryou squinting his eyes as his arm draped over Malik.
“Good morning, sexy boy. You were magnificent last night.”
Ryou’s shaking hand covered his forehead as he groaned. “Marik, what happened?”
“You passed out soon after we began. It was quite disappointing,” Marik said.
“How could you?” Ryou asked as he rolled onto his back. Ryou arched his back and turned on his side. Ryou reached around to his sore back. “How could you do that to me?”
Yami Marik grinned. “It’s been a long time since we used the whip, Ryou. Your screams were like those of an angel singing a beautiful hymn.”
Malik caressed Ryou’s face. “You were perfect last night.”
The white-haired hikari swallowed nervously. “Bakura’s going to make you pay, Malik, when he finds out.”
Malik sat up and stretched. “You won’t see him again, Ry. We’re going to get rid of Bakura.”
Ryou felt a tear creep down his face. “You can’t kill him.”
“You’re right about that, Ryou.  However, I think it’s about time that you and Bakura learn what it was to be locked in a tomb for five thousand years and not being able to leave. You will be out of our way.”
Ryou felt his heart begin to race. “You can’t do that to us, Malik. What about our baby?”
“That child will be raised as our own, Ry. You and Bakura may be immortal, but that child you carry is as mortal as you once both were. I couldn’t condemn that soul to the same torment that you both will suffer.”
“We will both fight you, Malik,” Ryou said confidently. “Bakura and I will tear you apart if you take our boy.”
Yami Marik rolled Ryou onto his back, making the hikari suddenly squeal with pain. “Let him come. We are prepared for him.”
Ryou pushed against Marik’s chest. “Get off me!”
Marik grinned and caressed Ryou’s bare chest. “It’s been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself inside you, Ryou.  I hope we can have another night like last night soon.”
“I hate you,” Ryou whispered.
“I know you do,” Yami Marik grinned as he kissed Ryou’s forehead. “Let’s go, Malik. It’s time to round up the rest of our family.”
Ryou watched Marik and Malik leave. The hikari curled up on the bed and hugged the sheets against him. Ryou felt the baby move and looked down to see a tiny bump form on the right side.  “We won't let you go, baby boy, I promise."
**********************
Little Bakura hid behind the chair with a smile on his face. Aten felt bad watching Little Bakura watch his friend and his older self leave the brothel. The little boy waved his friend away with a tear in his eye. Robbie pulled Aten aside and suggested that they play a game to help raise his spirits.
Robbie watched little Heaven crawl around the floor to search for him. “Where’s Bakura, Heaven? Where’d he go?”
“Ba-ba?”
Robbie smiled as he followed her around slowly.  He had managed to talk the ladies of the night who were not working upstairs to join in the search. “Find Bakura, Heaven,” Robbie said excitedly again as he walked slowly behind her.
Aten saw the little boy’s legs and feet behind a chair and grinned. “I don’t know where Little Bakura went. He must be miles and miles away from here.”
Little Bakura grinned and watched Heaven crawl closer and closer. A pair of hands grabbed him and picked him into the air. The child squealed with happiness as one of the women lifted him into the air and began to tickle his stomach.
“Stop! That tickles!” the child pleaded with a laugh, kicking his legs and trying to grab the hands that tickled hiim.
Heaven lifted her head. “Ba-Ba! Da! Ba-Ba!” She pointed and smiled up at the boy in the woman’s arms. Heaven waved her arms in the air. “Ba-Ba!”
Aten picked up the baby girl. “Good job, Heaven, you found him!”
Robbie and the group of women turned to see the brothel owner return with three very uncomfortable looking women. “Welcome to your new home, ladies. You, girl, show them the ropes. The rest of you lazy bones get out there, spread your legs, and start making me some money!”
Aten narrowed his eyes at the man.  “How dare you speak to these women like that!”
The old man stepped up to Aten and looked closely at the eighteen year old. “Two different colored eyes, two different colored hair. You should join my girls out there. I’m sure there’s a pretty lady who would love to let you stick it in her for a good price.”
Robbie’s eyes widened as Aten punched the brothel owner unconscious with a single blow. Aten’s shoulders hung low and his fists clenched tightly. The Egyptian quietly seethed, his nostrils flaring with fury.
“I hate him. I hated her.” Aten paused as his mind whirled with memories of the cabin in the woods. Jessica. Steven. Tim Cinetti. His mother. The bed. “I hate them for what they did.”
“You were a little boy, Aten. You couldn’t defend yourself.” Robbie watched Aten’s hair spike. “Oh.....poop.”
Aten turned to Robbie with his lip curled in a sneer and a low-rumbling growl.
“Oh....double poop.”
“Bring me something...............sharp.”
Little Bakura stepped close to Robbie as he saw Aten’s eyes darken. “Is he alright?”
“Aten, take a deep breath. He’s just a butthole.”
“Bring me something sharp so I can gut him!”
Heaven started to cry in Robbie’s arms. She clutched onto Robbie tightly.
“Aten, you’re scaring the kids.” Robbie’s only response was a deeper growl.
Robbie and Aten turned to the door as they heard horses stop in front of the brothel. Robbie swallowed nervously. “We’ll continue this at another time.”
Aten turned to Robbie. “Get upstairs with the kids. I’ll hold them off.”
“Are you crazy? Get upstairs with us!”
“Go!”
Little Bakura whimpered as he looked up at Aten. “Are they the bad guys?”
“Be careful, Aten." Robbie took the little boy’s hand. “Follow me. We’re going to play hide and seek upstairs.” He took the boy’s hand and carried Heaven upstairs.
Aten turned his attention towards the door. He grabbed a poker from beside the fireplace and held it in his hands. [[Robbie, are you hidden? They’re surrounding the house.]]
[I’m trying to find a way out. I have the kids hidden.]
[[Make it quick. I just heard swords.]]
[Thank the Lord they can’t kill us with those things.]
[[No, but they can kill Heaven and Little Bakura.]]
[Triple poop.]
Robbie and Aten jumped when they heard the door being kicked in by General Anubis. Aten narrowed his eyes at Bakura’s old nemesis, the man who killed him. “Get out of here.”
General Anubis smiled. “Pharaoh Marik and Pharaoh Malik Ishtar are growing impatient for your presence at the palace. You and your little friends are coming with me.”
Aten’s coal-black eyes narrowed. “I’ll break the hand that touches me or my family,” the teen growled defiantly. /Aria! I need help!/ a frightened Aten called to his sister through the mindlink. //Aten? Aten, what’s wrong?//
/General Anubis is here! He’s trying to capture me, Robbie, and the kids!/
Fear flooded their mindlink. //Aten, don’t do anything stupid!//
/What am I supposed to do? I can’t let Little Bakura fall into the hands of my father!/
//Get out of there!//
/They have us surrounded and everything around us is burned!/
Aten stabbed one soldier in the chest as he advanced on him. Aten’s poker pierced through the man’s beating heart. The bitter smell of blood and death delicately scented the air around him, making him grin.   The soldier collapsed dead on the ground as Anubis looked at him angrily.
“Now you are under arrest for murder of a city guard.”
One soldier grabbed his left wrist. Aten punched the soldier in the face with a quick strike. Four guards rushed toward him, grabbing his wrist, grabbing a fistful of white and blond hair, and restraining his movement.
“Find the others in this dump,” Anubis growled to the rest of his men. Anubis grabbed a metal collar and clamped it around Aten’s neck.
Paralyzing fear flooded the mindlink like a tsunami. Robbie and Aria froze where they stood.
Anubis grabbed rope and tied it to the collar’s hole. “Now you be a good little pet and behave yourself.”
Aten struggled as the soldiers tied his arms behind his back. “Robbie, get out of here!” Aten screamed.
Twin child screams echoed from the upstairs and Aten lowered his head. /Aria, he found the kids./
//Are you alright? What is this shit around my neck?//
/They have me in a collar. Aria.....I’m afraid./
//Brother, take a deep breath. I’ll see what I can do to help you before you get here.//
/I love you, sister./
//Hold tight, Little Brother. Big Sister will take care of this.//
Aten watched two guards walking down the stairs with children in their arms. Heaven was crying in alarm and Little Bakura was trying to punch his captor angrily. He recognized some of the curse words the little boy was saying. /I had no idea Father Bakura had such a potty mouth at four years old./
Two soldiers held Robbie’s arms as they struggled down the stairs. They threw Robbie against the wall and bound his arms behind his back. Anubis noticed the teen’s extreme limp.
“What is wrong with you, cripple?”
“I have a bad foot,” Robbie responded defensively. “And it hurts.”
“Perhaps we can take care of that for you in the dungeon. If we cut it off, it won’t hurt you anymore, will it?”
Robbie struggled against the guards. “Leave me alone!”
Anubis grinned as he saw Robbie’s severe limp. “I want you to walk in front of me. You are entertaining to watch.”
“Go suck a rock,” Robbie retorted.
Aten raised a curious eyebrow. [[What does that mean?]]
[I don’t know. I couldn’t think of anything else to say. It sounded funny, though.] Robbie responded with a shrug.
General Anubis made the guards pull Robbie out of the brothel first followed by Aten and the kids. Aten and Robbie stepped outside and saw Snefru standing beside Ausaira.
“Well, if it isn’t Master Marik’s step-son and his little butt-buddy, Robert. It’s so nice to meet you, despite the circumstances.”
Aten narrowed his eyes. “What have you done to my father?”
“We have helped him realize his true destiny,” Ausaira grimaced as she approached the captive Ishtar. “We have helped him to see through the wall of illusion clouding his mind. His mind is now clear and he has taken control of his rightful place as pharaoh.” Ausaira caressed Aten’s hair. “Such a beautiful child our Pharaoh has made considering his birth.”
Aten pulled his head back. “Keep your hands to yourself. I’m not your pet.”
Ausaira smiled. “Oh, but you are, my boy. You are,” Ausaira’s hands touched Aten’s chest and traced the pacemaker scar on his chest with her finger. “Very handsome.”
“Hey, lady, he’s mine to touch only. Back off,” Robbie demanded protectively.
Ausaira reluctantly backed off from Aten.
[[Thank you.]]
[I can’t have her touching you like some kind of Pomeranian to pet.]
“Patience, Ausaira. I’m sure the father is anxiously awaiting his son’s presence.”