Queer As Tachi – Chapter 36
Odeon answered the door with a startled and angry look at who was standing with the pharaoh in the hallway. “You!” he seethed. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been invited along for the party,” Bakura said in a pleased lilt. “So, you also know who I am?”
“I know enough. Pharaoh…” Odeon turned confused eyes on Yami, who stood with his hands in his pockets and his eyes downcast. “Why?”
“He can be of some assistance,” Yami said simply, lifting a gaze to Odeon that said he would not stand to be argued with. “We have the information we need. Are you ready to go?”
Odeon stepped back, allowing the two ancient spirits to enter his flat. “What do you mean? The police haven’t…”
“The police are of no use to us now,” Yami declared as he crossed the room. “If you’re up to it, I would like you to come along. We’re going to rescue Marik. I know where he’s being held. I called Joey, he’s on his way to pick us up and take us there.”
“But how do you know?”
Yami glanced at him, and Odeon was able to see the tiredness behind his stern look. “I will explain everything on the way.”
Shortly after, Joey appeared in the doorway trying unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. “Yo, are you sure about this, Yug?” he asked his friend as he joined them. “Bringing the freak show along too?”
“Is that any way to treat an old friend, Joey?” Bakura said snidely.
“Don’t give me that,” Joey retorted. “I know who you are. You’re not Bakura. You’re the other one. The nasty one.”
Bakura started to give Joey a raised middle finger, but Yami got in between them, blocking their view of each other. “Joey,” he said seriously, facing his close friend, “we need his help. It’s because of him I was able to interrogate the men who attacked me, and find out where Marik is. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“I trust you,” Joey assured. “It’s him I don’t trust.”
“Nevertheless…” Yami looked around at all of them. “Are we agreed, then? My truce with Bakura will last until Marik is safe, or until he chooses to leave. Until then, we are together.”
“Fine,” Joey sighed.
“I agree,” Odeon nodded.
The four of them went down and piled into the car Joey had borrowed from Mai, after being dragged out of a deep sleep in the middle of the night with the news that his best buddy had been attacked in his home by thieves seeking the Millennium Puzzle. As promised, Yami related the story of what happened in Yugi’s bedroom while they drove to what was commonly referred to as the “bad” side of town. Yugi didn’t know it very well, but Joey had frequented that area in his street-punk days when getting into trouble was his favorite pastime, so he not only recognized the address, he could take them straight to it. They parked a couple of blocks away, and followed as Joey led them through yards and alleys to the back side of the building in question. They grouped up behind a crumbling wall and peered past it to the abandoned building, noting that there were lights on in a room near the back corner of the structure. “There she is,” Joey pointed out in a low whisper. “Place is supposed to be deserted, any business that tried to move in has gone belly-up within months. But it looks like somebody is home.”
“It’s them,” Yami said quietly. “It must be. This is the place the man said he brought Marik. The same two who attacked me were the ones who took Marik earlier.”
“What are they doing up?” Joey wondered, still looking past them at the lights gleaming in the back windows. “It’s two in the morning!”
“They’re guarding a prisoner while their colleagues supposedly break into houses on the other side of the city,” Odeon reminded him with a touch of exasperation.
“Oh…you got a point there.”
Yami shifted his gaze, meeting Joey’s eyes. “Joey? Are you going to accompany us?”
“Hell yes,” Joey said sharply. “I’m not lettin’ you go in there by yourself. Not with a freak and a cripple as backup. You need some force behind you.”
“All right, then. As long as you know what you’re getting into.” Yami peered around the wall at the back of the building, locating the nearest door with just a glance. “We have to get Marik out of there before they take him anywhere else, or hurt him. The others may have failed, but Archer doesn’t know that yet.”
“Are we gonna sneak in or bust in?” Joey asked.
“What do you think?”
“Let’s just go and get this over with,” Bakura grumbled. “I’m all for barging in and beating the crap out of them.”
“It’s the pharaoh’s call,” Odeon argued. “He chose this time to act.”
“Look, this ain’t complicated,” Joey put in. “There’s no time to discuss it in committee. We’ll break in. See?” He pointed around the corner. “There’s a loading dock back there, it’s probably locked but at least we can get to it without being seen. If they’re really on guard, they’ll be watching that other door. By the time we get in they’ll be onto us anyway, so I say we go in hard and fast.” He gave Yami a fierce look. “I’ll go in first. I’m bigger than you, and I can get in a few good hits before they even know what’s coming.”
“You don’t have to protect me, Joey,” Yami said softly. “I’m not the fragile friend you’re used to. I’m in control of more power than you would expect.” He reached into his coat, then, and from behind his back drew the Millennium Rod. Faint light from the street gleamed sensually around the curves of its smooth, spherical head.
All three of the others recoiled in surprise. “You sly bastard,” Bakura complained.
“Yug!” Joey exclaimed, trying not to shout. “What are you doing with that?”
“Are you sure this is wise, pharaoh?” Odeon added.
Yami laid the head of the Rod in his hand and gazed down at the Eye facing him. “I know what I’m doing,” he murmured. “I trust that I will be able to wield it, just for tonight. Just for as much as I need it to do. The important thing is that we go in without hesitating, and ensure Marik is safe first. After that, we will deal with his kidnappers by any means necessary,” he said darkly.
The others stared at him, but then Joey laid a hand on his arm. “All right, I’m with ya,” he said firmly. “You do what you have to do. Come on, let’s do this.”
He led the way across the empty lot to the loading dock in the rear of the building, where in times past various businesses had brought in supplies, but the door was padlocked now that no one owned it. All it took was a piece of a metal bar in Joey’s hands, and he had pried the lock right off the door. While he was working on it, Yami crouched behind him, holding the Millennium Rod gently and closing his eyes to turn his mind inward. Yugi was with him, bonded, listening, but he knew that this was the pharaoh’s time and allowed him a pure, uninterrupted connection to his powers contained in the Puzzle. When Yami spoke within his mind, it wasn’t to his partner, but to the Items in his hands. Millennium Rod, he intoned seriously. I don’t know whether it is my right to bear you, but as the Pharaoh I ask you to lend me your strength. You have great power and are capable of many things, but your true keeper doesn’t know of his right to carry you. For now, I ask that you obey just this once. Once is all I need. He heard the rattle of metal as the lock fell to the ground and opened his eyes, looking to see the others tensed to rush in. Joey gestured for them all to be quiet as he poked his head in, listening for any sign that anyone had heard the break-in. Yami rose to his feet, back straight, Rod in his right hand. Very well. The time is now.
Joey went first, with Yami right behind him, followed by Odeon and Bakura trailing last. It was next to impossible to see anything in the pitch-dark building, but it was completely empty of even furnishings or shelves, so they didn’t run into anything along the way. Light filtered through cracks around the door to the room where the thugs must have been holed up, but no one stood outside it on guard, at least not in this direction. Joey and Yami paused together, gauging the threat, and nodded to each other to indicate their readiness. If the door was locked, they were about to foolishly announce their presence and fail to capitalize on the element of surprise, but there was no other way they could enter. Joey lowered his shoulder, put himself into a ready stance, and took a deep breath. The others could almost see him silently count to three, and then he lunged, slamming into the door. It burst open, spilling him into a room lit by a single dangling lightbulb. Yami was right on his heels, swinging the Millennium Rod around and pointing it straight into the room. Whether or not he knew what he was doing was not the issue anymore; he remembered seeing Marik’s evil side do this with the Rod when he possessed it, so he automatically assumed it was one of the Rod’s powers. At least, it would be in his hands. The instant he saw the three seedy-looking men jump up in surprise from their makeshift table, his boiling emotions focused on them as the source of an entire night’s worth of pain and anxiety, making them an immediate target for the Rod’s wrath. He could feel the energy raging in him and surging through his arm, as a shockwave pulsed outward from the Rod and bowled into the strange men, knocking them all sprawling. Joey had regained his feet and rushed into them, then, a fist cocked back to strike. He grabbed the nearest one and slugged him in the jaw while the others were still trying to pick themselves up from the invisible shove they had all received. Yami was still charging, going straight into the middle of them and leveling the Rod at one. “Where is he?” he commanded.
Bakura had been the last one into the room, but he saw what the pharaoh had done and stared in shock that he had been able to use the Rod so. He saw the third man getting up behind Yami, while the pharaoh’s attention was distracted with his interrogation, and raced for him, barreling into him from his blind spot and knocking him over again. Yami glanced briefly to see what had happened, but didn’t take his attention off the thug before him for a moment. Bakura gripped his victim’s face in one hand, grinning in delight. “Don’t move, or I’ll put your soul someplace nasty,” he challenged in a grim hush. “Or maybe I’ll just rip it out of you and let it float away into nothingness.”
Yami ignored him and pointed the Rod at his own adversary, glaring down its length. “The one you’re supposed to be guarding,” he demanded, “where is he?”
“Pharaoh!” Odeon had hunted around the room, and found a closet off to the side with a locked door. He shook the handle, but it wouldn’t budge for him. “Here, I think he’s here,” he called out.
The thug tried to reach for the Rod and push it away, but instead of using its shadow power, Yami just raised it and clouted him across the head with it. The one Bakura was intimidating was the only one left conscious, now that Joey had gotten his aggression out by beating on the third, so they all closed in on him. With the Rod in his hand like a scepter and a vicious glare on his face, Yami looked every bit the powerful pharaoh as he stood over the man, trusting Bakura and Joey to hold him down so he couldn’t hurt any of them. “Give me the key to the closet,” he ordered in a low voice. “Now.”
Seeing as he was outnumbered, the thug had no reason to withhold it. He pointed to the man Joey had beaten up. “He’s got it! Damn, where the hell did you people come from?”
Odeon rolled the dazed man over and searched him for the key, finding it in a shirt pocket. He unlocked the door to reveal Marik hunched on the floor in a little ball, his arms bound behind his back, his feet lashed together, and a gag in his mouth. He barely lifted his head as Odeon rushed in to untie him, groaning a little at the bright light that invaded his prison so suddenly. Seeing him there like that inflamed Yami’s aggression and fury tenfold. Threats to his lover and friends were incendiary enough, but the sight of Marik hurt, dazed, and captive pushed him over the edge. Bakura felt the pulse of a fresh wave of shadow magic and looked up sharply to find the pharaoh glowering darkly down at the thug who had the misfortune of being still conscious at the moment. “Are you responsible for what was done to Marik?” Yami seethed.
The man raised an arm defensively, even though Joey was still clinging to it. “We didn’t touch him!” he cried. “He came here like that! We just tied him up and threw him in there, we were waiting on orders where to bring him.”
Yami held his deadly gaze. “From Archer?”
“Yeah, yeah, that guy. The American. He was coming back after he heard from the rest of his group. Said he might want to ask this kid a few questions. I don’t know anything about the rest of it!”
“Hey. Yami.” Joey reached up and brushed the Millennium Rod aside with a gentle gesture. “It’s okay, we got Marik. This guy’s nothing. Let it go.”
Bakura said nothing. He was watching everything intently, wondering just how far the pharaoh would go when pushed, but afraid of what he’d find. For all his taunts about the pharaoh being unable to remember how to use the power of the Puzzle, he could see for himself now what Yami was capable of under the right circumstances. When his emotions were plucked in just the right way, instinct took over and if it came down to a battle of shadow powers, Bakura realized he would lose. It was in his best interests to just keep silent and neither provoke nor warn the pharaoh right now.
Yami still held the Rod in white-knuckled fingers, ready to thrust it at the cowardly man and use its power to pin him down, throw him into the wall, even drive out his soul if that were possible, but then he felt a softness trickle through his mind like falling water, like snowflakes or sakura petals. Phantom arms seemed to come around his soul, and he could hear his partner’s gentle voice from within. “Don’t, Yami. Let him go. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
Taking a deep breath, Yami let it out in a heavy sigh and lowered the Rod to his side. “What do you think, Joey?” he asked in a weary, solemn voice. “What should we do with him?”
“Well, we gotta stop all of them from coming after us,” Joey noted. “I say we tie ‘em up and lock ‘em in the same closet where they had Marik. See how they like it.”
Yami breathed slowly, calming himself, while Yugi’s spirit caressed him from within to quiet him even further. “Can you handle that?” he asked Joey.
His friend grinned. “Oh yeah. Watch me. Hey, Bakura, give me a hand, eh?”
Though he didn’t much want to, Bakura consented to assisting with the binding and imprisoning of the three men who had been left to guard Marik. Meanwhile, Yami tucked the Millennium Rod away inside his coat and went to see to Marik for himself. Odeon had loosed him and held him until he could regain his wits, so now Marik sat slumped on the floor, leaning against his brother, squinting up through one swollen eye. “Pharaoh,” he realized as Yami crouched beside him and touched his face gingerly. “How did you guys find me?”
“It’s a very long story,” Yami sighed. “Are you all right?”
“I’m pretty sore,” Marik admitted. “I could use some sleep.”
“At this point, we all could.”
“Hey,” Joey interrupted them from across the room. “I got my cell phone. Want me to call the police and tip them off that these guys are here?”
Yami glanced over his shoulder and faintly smiled. “I think that would be just fine, Joey. But let’s get out of here, first. I’d rather not have to explain our vigilante actions to them.” He glared for the briefest second. “But we still don’t have the one who started it all. Archer. He wasn’t here, and I’m not waiting around for him to come back.”
“Not after we incapacitated his other henchmen,” Bakura pointed out. “His plans are shot to hell. I don’t think he’ll come back here. These cowardly fools are left high and dry.” He closed the door on three very worried-looking small-time thugs.
“Now isn’t the time,” Marik worried, clasping Yami’s hand. “Let’s get out of here, first, and give ourselves time to rest and recover. We’ll regroup in the morning. By then, the police may know more.”
“Very well,” Yami agreed, reaching to help Marik to his feet. “Come, I’ve got you. Joey…”
“If you don’t mind,” Bakura said as they passed through the door and located the nearer one which led straight outside, “my flat isn’t far from here. I’ll take my leave, there’s no sense in dragging me along while the rest of you get all fluffy with each other.”
“Fine.” Yami gave him a quick look. “Your assistance was appreciated.”
“I told you, pharaoh,” Bakura said hotly, storming past him into the yard and away towards the street. “You’re going soft on your enemies. Tonight meant nothing – I am still your enemy, and you had better treat me as such or you will lose that Puzzle before it’s time.”
Yami glared after him as he stalked away into the night. “No, Bakura,” he murmured under his breath. “I haven’t forgotten that you are my enemy. I am all too clear on that point.” He shook his head and continued to guide Marik along with him. “Let’s go.”
In the glaring brightness of morning, Yugi had to beg and plead his grandfather to swap shifts with him so he could go back to sleep, which required a reluctant admission to the break-in and other tragic events of the previous evening which Solomon had slept straight through. As much as he wanted to scold Yugi for getting in over his head and acting without waking his grandpa up to tell him right away what had happened, one look at Yugi’s weary, sad eyes made him rethink it. Instead, Grandpa just asked whether the police had been called about the incident, and upon hearing that they had, told Yugi to go back to bed. There wasn’t anything they could do now, except fix the broken deadbolt on the skylight in Yugi’s room and move forward. When he finally got up, Yugi bundled himself in his coat and said he was going to check on Marik, to use his remaining free time in the day to compare notes and decide what to do next.
Sleep and a fresh new day had left Marik looking much better than he had in the middle of the night, sporting just a bruise under his left eye and a cut lip as evidence of his ordeal. Yet, he sat wrapped in a blanket in the middle of the living room, a morose look on his face even after Yugi came in and sat with him for a while and talked of being glad they were all okay. “It isn’t over,” he complained to Yugi. “I don’t think the pharaoh’s warning will make a bit of difference to Archer, he isn’t through with us yet. And now both Odeon and I are injured – him worse than me.”
Yugi glanced up and through the door to the bedroom, where Odeon was currently on the phone to Egypt to brief Ishizu on the important happenings. “I know, but now they’ve done enough harm to get the police involved,” he reminded his friend. “Hurting both of you, kidnapping, breaking and entering…he can’t expect to traipse around here free and easy anymore. And if he tries to leave the country, they’ll be waiting for him.”
Marik tried to smile through his pain, his blue eyes soft. “That wasn’t what the pharaoh thought last night, or he wouldn’t have done what he did.”
Yugi sobered considerably. He had been a full and willing partner with Yami through it all, though he had not made any of the decisions himself. “He didn’t have a choice,” he explained. “His loved ones were in danger. The police didn’t know where to look for you, and they had no intention of staking out my place on my suggestion that maybe they’d be coming after me next.”
“What you did was incredible,” Marik murmured. “Everyone. You even got Bakura to help you.”
“I’m pretty sure he was just helping himself in some way,” Yugi grumbled. “So…what do we do, now? Do we go back to standing guard until Archer shows up again, or do we sit back and let the police handle it?”
“Odeon spoke with the detective who has all the Interpol business in his jurisdiction this morning,” Marik reported. “He’s on the hunt, but he can’t promise any kind of swift action.”
Odeon appeared in the doorway, then, carrying a cell phone. “Marik?” he asked gently. “Do you want to say goodbye to your sister before I let her go?”
“Please…” Marik reached up and took the phone, a smile reawakening on his face as he heard the sweet voice on the other end. His own voice changed for the softer. “I’m okay, Ishizu,” he assured his sister. “Really. Yugi’s here right now…” He lifted his chin and smiled at Yugi. “She says hi,” he added. “I promise, I’ll take better care of myself. Hm? Oh…okay. Thank you, sister. Yes, I will. Goodbye.” He closed the phone and handed it back to Odeon, his face going stony again. “What is this you’re supposed to talk to me about, now?”
Odeon gave him a hesitant look. “Ishizu has a reason to have asked you to return to Egypt, it isn’t about you being hurt and captured last night.”
Yugi looked up at both of them, startled. “What? Ishizu wants you to go back to Egypt? When?”
“As soon as possible,” Marik said sadly. “I don’t want to leave, though, our work isn’t finished, here. While Yami was able to take very good care of things last night, he may not be so lucky next time. You need allies.” He pouted up at his brother. “What happened to me only makes me more firm in my desire to stay here and protect the pharaoh. I won’t fail again.”
“Marik…” Odeon dropped his kind, brotherly tone in favor of a scolding one. “It isn’t about you getting hurt. Something happened in Egypt last night as well. Ishizu is still dealing with the aftermath.”
Marik’s eyes went wide. “What? Why didn’t she say anything to me?”
“Because she’s your sister and she loves you. Now listen to me.” Odeon faced him sternly. “We weren’t the only ones attacked. A few hours ago, while it was still dark in our home village, someone broke into the ancient catacombs where we used to make our home as tombkeepers. They were looking for further news of the Millennium Items, since the Rod and the Necklace used to reside there. It appears they know of the ones that never left Egypt, and are desperately seeking Shadi as we speak. None of us are safe any longer.”
Marik scowled viciously, sitting up sharply. “They’ll never find Shadi. They have no idea where he dwells or even what they’re looking for. We hardly know where he is, most of the time, and he’s been in contact with us more than anyone else lately.”
“Nevertheless, the trouble never did truly leave Egypt to come here instead,” Odeon said solemnly. “It appears Archer is not in charge of the operation after all. He may have hired the men who attacked us last night, but someone else is pulling his strings – someone who could order forces in both countries to make their move on the same night. Someone who is probably far away from us all right now and has the resources to be paying for all of this criminal activity.”
“Then, it’s not safe in Egypt, either,” Yugi worried. “Why should you go back home if people are there looking for you?”
“It’s not us.” From the melancholy tone of Marik’s voice, Yugi guessed that he understood exactly what all of this meant. He stared at the floor as he spoke. “They saw the scriptures on my back last night. They must have told Archer, who in turn knew to look back in Egypt for their meaning. Damn them, they’re no better than tomb robbers, for breaking into our former home. Much is still kept in that sanctuary, not all of it having to do directly with the Items, but with the pharaoh.”
Yugi began to feel some of his defeat in his own heart. “At least the tablets are safe with Pegasus.”
“Yes, thank goodness for that small blessing.” Marik shook his head slowly. “I’m sorry, Yugi. This is serious news. I…I have to consider it. I’m not safe no matter where I go, but right now our enemy knows that I’m here. I may need to leave the country after all.”
As much as he wanted to beg Marik not to go, Yugi understood that this was bigger than him, beyond his power to control. He simply clasped Marik’s hands between his and held them warmly. “I’ll leave you to think about it,” he said wisely. “It’s your decision. You and Odeon need to talk it over, and decide for yourselves. If you have to go, I’ll just find some other way of protecting myself.”
“I’d suggest you come with us,” Marik added with a wry sort of smile, “but I don’t think the pharaoh ought to be hanging around where people are looking for every last trace of him.”
“No, probably not.” Yugi rose to his feet and made to leave them. “At least we know one thing, now – Yami was able to use the Millennium Rod when he needed to. It might come in handy again.”
“You be careful with that,” Marik warned. “It’s a powerful Item, yes, but it doesn’t belong to you or I. There’s no telling what effect it might have.”
“Don’t worry…” Yugi smiled at them and took his leave, wishing them both well before heading out to the street and walking home. He went upstairs through the house instead of the shop, not wanting to face his grandfather just yet, and wandered silently through the rooms to the linen closet. He had hidden the Rod again after returning home in the middle of the night, but the reminder of it made him want to go and check on it. It was fine, resting comfortably wrapped in a towel to keep it from being scratched. As he settled it back in its place, Yugi’s hand found the Necklace also hidden there, and drew it out for just a moment. The smooth, polished finish of the Eye made light play across its curves in a mesmerizing fashion, until Yugi realized he was staring into it, losing himself in his thoughts. He remembered the one time the Necklace had responded to him – or, really, to Yami – and showed him the future. Would it do it again, if only he asked? He had a desperate need to know this was going to work out, that Archer could be found and no one would be killed or Items stolen. Yet, as he held the Necklace, trying to muster the strength of will to ask it, something in his heart said no. No, he said to himself, and to his listening partner. I can’t. It’s not right. What if it shows me something I don’t want to see? What if the future won’t turn out all right? I wouldn’t know what to do. He brushed his hand across the Necklace reverently and wrapped it back up with the Rod in their safe place and closed the closet door. “Yami?” he whispered aloud.
The pharaoh’s phantom presence appeared at his shoulder. “Yes, my love?”
“Remember what I said, not too long ago, about finding myself wishing for adventures when my life gets boring and routine?”
Yami chuckled softly. “Regretting your comment, are you?”
“Just…the next time I say that, because I know I’ll say it again…” Yugi tried to smile. “Tell me, ‘be careful what you wish for.’ Maybe then I won’t be so eager for these adventures.”
The following morning, Yugi lurked around the house as if expecting bad news at any time, knowing that when Marik and Odeon did finally show up or call to discuss their next step with him, regardless of whether they were staying or fleeing, it wouldn’t be happy for anyone involved. Now that they knew the lengths to which Archer and his mysterious foreign backer would go to obtain the Millennium Items, things had gone from casually worrisome to completely awful. In a fit of morbid angst, Yugi found himself curled up on the couch with the Puzzle in his hands, mentally discussing with Yami where this episode ranked compared to some of the other terrible things they had gone through together as a result of the Items and the pharaoh’s existence. At least this time no one was losing their souls, but the threat of being killed over an ancient treasure seemed just as bad to Yugi. It was with great relief that an innocuous phone call interrupted this dark line of moody thought. “Hey!” Duke Devlin said brightly as Yugi took the call. “I just wanted to see if you were interested in coming down to watch the regional tournament at my shop. Find out if there’s anyone interesting going for a shot at you, you know.”
“Oh, Duke,” Yugi sighed. “I’d like to, I really would. But…things are a little crazy around here at the moment. I don’t know if I’ll have time to get away…”
“I know the feeling,” Duke said wryly. “Holiday rush and all. Are you guys staying open later hours?”
“A little, but…that’s not what I meant.” Yugi stopped himself there, not wanting to drag anyone else into his problems at this point. Joey was already too involved as it was. “I can’t make any promises, but I sure would like to watch. It’s next Sunday, right?”
“Yeah, a week from this Sunday,” Duke affirmed. “It’s set up to be a one-day thing, I’ve got arenas on four levels committed to it. Man, you should see all the kids who signed up to compete. Good thing I’ve got extra help around the store for the holidays already, it’s going to be a madhouse.”
“All right. Well, I’ll see how things are next week, and maybe I’ll show up,” Yugi said quietly. “I know Joey and Mai were curious, too. Maybe if things work out, we’ll all be there together.”
“I’ll save you some VIP seats,” Duke chuckled. “No worries, if you can’t make it, it’ll just be a surprise when you get to the world tournament. Cool. Catch you later…”
Yugi hung up the phone with a sigh, and inwardly cursed Archer and his cronies with a few choice words Yami was sure he had never heard Yugi use before.
It was very late at night when Marik finally came by, having waited until after the game shop was closed and he could have Yugi’s undivided attention for a little while. Odeon was with him, but remained quietly in the background in a purely observational stance while Marik sat with Yugi on the couch. He was looking rather downhearted already, but Yugi couldn’t be sure if that was because of the news he was about to deliver, or because he and his brother may have argued earlier about their plan of action. “Is there anything new?” Yugi asked first of all. “Any word at all from the authorities?”
“They’re looking, but this guy is good at what he does,” Marik sighed. “He didn’t give any information to the guys who were holding me, so they had nothing to tell the police. There’s no way to contact or track him, and the two hired thieves Bakura struck down are of no use. They haven’t regained consciousness.”
Yugi nodded in acknowledgement. “And, what about Egypt? Is Ishizu okay?”
“Yes, she’s fine. But she’s going into hiding, at least temporarily, until this can be brought to an end.” At that, Marik’s eyes saddened even further, his head drooping a little more. “Yugi? May I speak to Yami directly about this?”
Yugi blinked at him. “Uh…I guess so. But…anything you say to him, I’ll hear anyway…”
“It’s not that I want to keep anything from you,” Marik assured, lifting his eyes just enough to force a smile. “I just…feel more comfortable discussing his fate with him, face to face. I think he’s the only one who can protect you, now.”
Though it filled him with some trepidation to hear it put like that, Yugi consented, and in a flash Yami was awake and sitting straight with deep, solemn eyes focused on Marik. “Then, it is as I feared,” he murmured. “You’re leaving.”
Marik lowered his gaze again. “Odeon and I have argued long about it,” he admitted. Behind them, where Odeon stood by the wall, he, too, looked away. “My heart wants to stay, and I’ve tried reasoning out why I should, but in the end, I have little choice. I’m no longer a guardian, I’m a target just like you, which makes it really hard for me to effectively protect you. I don’t want you to think that I’m abandoning you, but…any power I had to guard you and keep your enemies at bay is being stripped away from me every minute that goes by. You had to save me, that’s not how it should work.”
Yami gazed sympathetically at him. “I don’t feel as though you’re abandoning me, Marik,” he said reassuringly. “I understand the difficult position you’re in. I know your heart is strong, and you desire to stay here and protect me against all better judgement. But not even I can demand that you do so, when there are other things to consider.”
“The only thing that I could do now is to take the Rod as you offered,” Marik added, “and tap into its powers again, but it’s left me. Once a Millennium Item is passed on to a new guardian, the old one needs to just let go. It can never come back again.” He lifted his head and met the wise eyes of the pharaoh’s spirit. “As long as you know I still have this little gem of foolish courage deep down that wants to ignore all logic and reason and stay here till the end. The rest of me knows, it’s time for me to go. It’s not practical for me to stay here, in a foreign country far away from home, when my sister is in danger there and all the people who can do the most immediate damage to me are here. I need to get away before they try to use me against you. I’d like to think I’m strong, but there’s no telling what they’d do to me to make me give in.”
“I’d be more concerned about them using you as a means to get me to come to them, and bring them the Items to ransom your life,” Yami said quietly. “They don’t know of my other friends, all they know is you and Bakura. The two of us can take care of ourselves, but you no longer have control of shadow powers.”
“Exactly why I need to get away. Far away,” Marik sighed.
“Go to your sister,” the pharaoh encouraged. “She needs you now, and she would be very angry with me if I selfishly kept you here for my sake.”
Marik suddenly leaned forward and seized his hands. “It’s up to you to protect Yugi,” he demanded. “You’re the only one. I saw with my own eyes what you’re capable of when you have to take control. I can’t leave without making sure that you won’t let anything happen to him.”
A warm look glowed in Yami’s violet eyes. “My entire existence is dedicated to protecting Yugi. Asking me to do this is like asking me to breathe. You don’t need to worry that I’ll let him down.” He pulled his left hand free and brandished the silver ring at his friend. “I promised I wouldn’t leave him or fail him. This is my witness.”
Giving a soft sigh, Marik nodded and withdrew. “I know,” he said, “I expected nothing less but…I just needed to hear you say it. For my own comfort.”
Yami nodded. “When are you leaving?”
“Tomorrow. We have a flight out in the afternoon.”
“Yugi will probably want to work an early shift, then, so we can be at the airport to see you off.”
Marik bowed his head modestly. “You don’t have to do that…”
“Of course we do. We are both your friends.” Yami smiled faintly. “It will be sad to see you go, but I know we’ll see each other again. Especially if you continue to do your duty as a tombkeeper so well.”
Marik laughed a little. “Yes, I’m pretty sure we’ll cross paths again. Maybe sooner than either of us expects.”
Nodding again, Yami closed his eyes to signal that he was about to depart. Yugi regained control of himself and clasped Marik’s hands again. “I’ll come down to say goodbye at the airport,” he promised. “I know the others would want to as well, but the less noise we make about you leaving, the better. Right?”
“It’s probably for the best,” Odeon agreed, finally speaking from where he had been listening. “We must slip away before Archer realizes we’re gone. We’ll have to have the big send-off some other time.”
“I miss you already,” Yugi complained.
“Me too.” Marik squeezed his hand and let go. “It’s been nice to see friends again. Everyone here is so cool, and so much fun to hang around with. I wish I could stay long enough to see this madness end so I could see them all one more time. But it’s all out of my hands, now. I need to return to Ishizu so all three of us can lay low for a little bit. I’ll make sure to contact you once it’s over, all right?”
“Of course.” They lingered just long enough for Marik to pass on the flight time and information, so Yugi could meet them at the airport, and then they said their farewells for now. It was late anyway, and Yugi needed to go to bed so he could take the early shift in the shop. Yet, Yami within him had to sigh in regret as he watched his young love lie awake for several hours, too depressed to sleep and too tired to talk. All he could do from his spiritual position was sit by Yugi’s side, understanding everything, communicating his reassurance without words, and wish that he had the corporeal hands to stroke Yugi’s hair until he could fall asleep.
Yugi put on a brave smile by the time he made it to the airport, and was strong enough to embrace Marik and promise him that he and Yami would be careful, so long as Marik and Odeon did the same. The brothers had packed up everything they brought with them to Japan, and it was all on the plane now save for Marik’s backpack, which carried their money and dueling decks to pass the time on the trip. It was a much more bittersweet parting than the last time they had said goodbye to each other, because Marik knew what he was leaving behind and he wished one last time that he didn’t have to. “I just hope it works,” Yugi fretted. “As long as it keeps you safe, then that’s all that matters.” He clasped Marik’s hand once more, and then Odeon’s. “Tell Ishizu I say hi. Oh, and when you can get back to the ‘net, email me and I’ll send you any pictures from Mai’s party that Serenity sends me.”
“Oh, yes,” Marik remembered. “Please do. I want to see those. Tell everyone I’ll miss them – Joey, Mai, everybody.”
“I will,” Yugi promised. “Aw, and I’m going to miss your birthday, now! I’ll send you something. As long as you email me your address where to send it,” he laughed.
Marik smiled. “As long as everything’s back to normal and I’m free to do so.”
The airline attendants at the desk behind them called for boarding, so Marik had to let go of Yugi and finally leave. As he picked up and shouldered his backpack, Odeon leaned down to speak confidentially to Yugi. For once, his golden eyes were smiling again. “Don’t worry,” he assured, “come Marik’s birthday, I will make sure there is a wireless duel disk waiting for him.”
Yugi found himself grinning. “Awesome. Take care, guys,” he added to both as Odeon stepped away. Both brothers waved, turned on their heels, and vanished through the doorway to the boarding ramp.
Rather than wait for the plane to take off, Yugi tucked his hands into his coat pockets and left, trusting that the two were now safe from harm and pursuit, at least for as long as they were in the air. Whatever happened when they returned to Egypt was out of his hands. All Yugi had now was the comforting weight of the Millennium Puzzle around his neck, buttoned protectively under his coat. He could feel it thumping against his middle as he walked, and retreated into the safe silence of simply meditating on it while he took a bus across the city and then walked the rest of the way. He had one errand to take care of, something he could do now that he didn’t have bodyguards tailing him – get Grandpa’s Christmas gift. He needed to get it done quickly, because the longer he roamed about alone, knowing that he was a target for trouble, the less comfortable he felt with it. Just a quick stop at the bookstore on his way home, and it would be enough.
Unbeknownst to Yugi, another Millennium Item was making its way slowly towards him. Ryo Bakura was not up to anything sinister, he merely needed to swing by the bookstore and get some class supplies, since his final exams were just about upon him, but he had taken to wearing the Millennium Ring on his person ever since being attacked out of fear that someone might try to steal it again. It was safer with him, even if any fellow students who noticed it under his sweater gave him odd looks for having such a huge, odd pendant. As he approached the bookstore, he felt the Ring twitch, and glanced down into the folds of his coat to see that one of the dangling tines was pointed ahead and to the right as if indicating something around the corner. That’s strange, he said to himself. It’s almost like it senses…another Millennium Item. Could it be? Despite the Ring spirit’s presence inside him, aware of what he was thinking, Ryo felt a tiny blossom of warmth in his heart. There was only one other person in town with a Millennium Item. He quickened his pace to turn the corner and see if the Ring was correct.
Yugi walked with his head down, mostly watching his feet and the sidewalk just in front of him, but he became aware of Yami within him snapping alert. Though the shared sense filled him with dread, he knew he couldn’t be ignorant of what the spirit might be aware of. Yami? he asked through his thoughts.
“I don’t know, Yugi,” came the reply in his mind. “It may be nothing. I can’t tell whether it’s malevolent or benign.”
Glancing around, Yugi couldn’t find any reason for Yami to be riled up. There were a few people passing on the sidewalk but not many, and a perfectly quiet flow of traffic past the storefronts. The bookstore was just ahead, he resolved to duck into it and then take a minute to catch his breath and look around, see if perhaps he was being followed. But before he could take another step, a dark car screeched up to the curb beside him and the doors flew open. Yugi hardly had time to even recoil in surprise as two men in suits leaped out and dragged him toward the car. Only then did he realize that they weren’t the same dark-clad lackeys as before – these weren’t Pegasus’ men. That wasn’t Pegasus’ car. “Hey!” he cried. “Stop it, let me go! Who are you? Hey! HEY!” He struggled, but the men were bigger and just kept pulling him. Yugi began to thrash and scream. “Let me go! No! No, stop it! Let me go!!”
One or two people walking by glanced at who was making the ruckus, but shyly averted their eyes and slunk away timidly. One of the men smacked Yugi across the face with the back of his hand. “Shut up!” he demanded. Yugi stared at him in shock – he was American. These weren’t locals, and they weren’t familiar. The other pinned his arms behind his back and muscled him bodily into the car, throwing him across the seat. Then he and his comrade piled in after him, slamming the door even as the car sped away from the curb.
Bakura had come around the corner just in time to hear the squeal of tires, and watched in horror as thugs swarmed on the short, lithe figure with the obvious hairstyle who had been walking up the street. He started to run towards them, but bumped into a couple of passersby who were hurrying away and could only stare as Yugi was pulled into the car screaming for help. They were gone by the time Bakura reached the spot where he had stood a moment before. Somewhere deep inside his heart, the small flame of courage that Ryo always guarded to himself flared up into bold daring, and he raced off down the sidewalk in pursuit of the car. Fortunately, between afternoon traffic and the slowness of those downtown city streets, it wasn’t hard to keep it in sight, but while he ran he let the Ring dangle free so its tines could guide him the rest of the way in case he lost the car.
Yugi cowered in terror in a corner of the luxury car, arms wrapped around himself to keep anyone from touching him. He could feel Yami yearning to get out, but asked him to stay quiet for now, until they knew what they were up against. There was no one recognizable in the car, just the thugs, and they stared silently forward as they rode through downtown, taking him further and further away from home. Who are they? What do they want with me? Yugi wondered. Are they kidnapping me? How am I going to get out of this? Yami, no… He closed his eyes so he could envision Yami facing him, where they could speak openly to each other. “Not here,” he begged. “We can’t get away from them when were driving down the street. Wait until we stop. If there’s any chance at all for us to break free, then yes, take over, do whatever you have to do.”
Yami looked supremely angry, but also intensely worried inside this place in their minds. “We must get away, Yugi,” he insisted. “If they’re trying to take us out of the country, to whoever wants the Millennium Items…”
“If nothing else, make a big huge scene,” Yugi suggested, taking his partner spirit’s hands encouragingly. “Scream and yell and kick and make it so they can’t go anywhere without having the whole world staring at them.”
Yami held his hands strongly. “I will do anything it takes to get you safely home.”
The car made its way leisurely downtown to the big forest of skyscrapers surrounding the massive KaibaCorp building, not seeming to be in any big hurry to get there. The thugs in the back seat said nothing even as the car pulled up to one of the upscale hotels on that block, parking along the curb out front. The driver waved off the bellhop who started to come forward and opened the door himself, at which point one of the men in suits got out, stopping and looking both ways. The second man pushed Yugi before him, so that the two surrounded him and made it impossible for him to cut and run. Yugi held onto his composure for now, carefully studying his surroundings and the faces of the men guarding him so he could report everything to the police later. The men took him each by one arm, and then one pressed something hard into Yugi’s ribs – a knife handle, a gun, he didn’t know, it was beneath their coats where no one else would see. “If you make a sound or try to alert anyone,” he warned, “you’ll be sorry. Now move.” Both of them pulled at the same time, steering Yugi forcefully through the door of the hotel.
Bakura had very nearly fallen too far behind, as he was reaching the end of his endurance, when the car stopped outside a luxury hotel. The tines of the Ring all pointed straight ahead as Yugi was pulled out of the car and ushered inside by the determined guidance of the men on either side of him. Ryo could see the grim look of terror on his face even at this distance, but he couldn’t let himself be seen in turn. He slowed to a walk and made sure the thugs had gone out of sight, into the hotel, before dashing the rest of the way to follow. When he pushed through the revolving door to the lobby, they were nowhere to be seen, but the elevator doors across the way were closing. Bakura stared after them, his hope starting to deflate since he would not know which floor they were heading to, when he got an idea. Already out of breath, he raced up to the front desk and slammed his hands down on it, startling the concierge. “Did you just see a couple of men come in with a boy with weird hair?” he cried.
The concierge blinked at him, at his wide, pleading eyes and breathless state. “Uh…perhaps. I don’t…”
“Please, it’s important!” Ryo shouted. The other hotel clerks stared at him as well, unsettled by his urgency. “That boy, he…I saw him get abducted! I saw them snatch him off the street, I think they’re going to hurt him!”
“What?” one of the female clerks cried. “Are you sure?”
“Yes! He was screaming for help and trying to get away. I followed them here, somebody has to help him!”
The concierge tried to calm him with a placating hand gesture. “Sir, please, just…relax. I’m sure they’re not going to hurt him, he wasn’t yelling when they came through here.”
“You saw him!” Ryo yelped. “Please, tell me what floor they went to!”
“I-I don’t know…”
“At the very least you have to call the police! I promise you, I’m not making it up! I saw them abduct him right in front of me!”
The hotel clerk picked up the phone. “I’ll call the police,” she said. “Right away.”
“Yes, thank you!” Ryo faced the concierge. “Do you have any idea what floor they might have gone to? Please, he’s my friend! I don’t want him to get hurt!”
The concierge had finally gotten it through his head that this hysterical teenager was not joking. “I don’t know,” he said worriedly. “I don’t think they’re guests here. They may be visitors to someone else staying here.”
Bakura grimaced and tore himself away from the desk, running to the elevators. “Then I’ll just have to try every floor!” he decided, nearly slapping the button when he thought better of it and pushed open the door to the stairwell. He may not have known which floor they went to, or which room, but the Ring would know. The Ring would lead him straight to Yugi.
Aware of the weapon prodding him in the side, Yugi kept quiet and as calm as he could, though he wore an angry glare the whole way. After crossing through the lobby and being unsuccessful at catching the concierge’s eye, they met no one else on the way up to the top floor and a very big private suite on it. The man without the weapon knocked, and after a moment the door opened to reveal a face Yugi finally knew. David Archer smiled almost in relief when he saw what the henchmen had brought him. “Well, well,” he said, stepping aside to allow them to enter. Yugi couldn’t help the momentary flash of awe that passed through him upon seeing the fabulous suite with its velvety carpets and gilded furniture. Archer commanded the men to wait right there, and the moment the door closed they finally let go of Yugi’s arms. He rubbed at his arms with a frown, but watched to see what Archer would do. He went to the wide door leading to another room of the suite and leaned on the frame. “They found him,” he reported to someone inside. “We’ve got him.”
Another American voice responded from within. “Ah, good. Does he have the Item?”
Archer turned and glared at Yugi. “You, kid. Open your coat.”
Yugi hesitated, but decided to do it rather than let the henchmen paw him and violate him. He unbuttoned his coat to reveal the Millennium Puzzle in all its golden glory. Archer’s eyes gleamed greedily when he saw it. “He’s got it,” he affirmed.
Yugi could hear someone in the next room get up from a chair. “All right, then. It’s time I had a look at this little delinquent for myself.”