LB: ha ha! tremble in fear, the good guys are here! welcome to the first published joint fic between The Muffin and Lightning Baron!! *mass cheering*
TM: Wooo! Wooooooo! Wooooooooooo!
LB: You can turn the cheering tape off now....
TM: *turns off tape* all done ^^.
LB: ......good....ahem chapter 1 is mine...yes! all mine!!! mwahahahaha!
TM: Wooo! Wooooooo! Wooooooooooo!
LB: *glares at TM*
TM: *shuts up*
LB: now thats sorted, on with the fic!!
TM: *cheers*
LB: ...........Oh yes, please R&R
TM: *looks puzzled* Gah?
LB: I'll explain it to you when you are older
TM: OO
LB: On with the fic!
Disclaimer: Neither Lightning Baron nor The Muffin own Yugioh…yet
Additional note: Hikari Malik = Malik, Yami Malik = Marik, Hikari Bakura = Ryou, Yami Bakura = Bakura, Tea = Anzu or Friendship whore
Chapter 1 by Lightning Baron
Parks.
Parks were peaceful places and in the beautiful town of Domino, they were exceptionally so…right? Well, no. Not if the park is occupied by three ancient spirits who loath each other…
"Come and get him, if you are willing to face oblivion, cowards" Yami's deep voice threatened. He was at that moment shielding his hikari in a protective embrace, his tearful eyes buried in Yami's chest. Yugi had mistakenly thought he could take a walk round to the local shops to pick a few essentials up for his grandfather and ended up getting ambushed by the two most dangerous yamis in Domino.
The pharaoh and his light stood across from the two intimidating figures that had set upon the little Motou. The taller of the two had unruly white hair and a pale complexion and was wearing tight jeans and a black roll neck and was currently scuffing the grass in an uninterested fashion. The other figure had sandy blond hair that was arranged in many spikes adorning his head, the large cloak he wore hid the rest of his body and he was also not listening to Yami, instead he was twirling his Millennium Rod in his hands.
"I think the pharaoh is trying to scare us, don't you think?" Bakura's ancient voice cooed sarcastically, the scuffing had ceased with a big pile of mud being slung at Yugi…which hit him in the back. The figure next to him chuckled, placed his robed hand on his hip, and lent forward slightly,
"Yes, and I'm terrified…Ahahahaha!!!" Marik laughed hysterically, pointing his finger at Yugi, who was trying to brush the dirt from his coat.
"Silence!" Yami barked. He was getting irritated by the two's constant jibes and flippant natures,
"Either go home or face the punishment!" he growled, shielding his hikari once again.
Marik stopped his laughing and straightened up again. He smirked and casually placed both his hands on the tomb robber's shoulder. Resting his head on Bakura, he smirked evilly;
"…make us…"
Yami narrowed his eyes dangerously.
"Please, Yami…can we just go?" Yugi pleaded. His yami was starting to scare him.
"Do not worry yourself, Aibou…I'll protect you." Yami stated softly, placing his hand on Yugi's cheek…
Yami turned to face the two delinquents again….
"I won't let you have him…or the puzzle…"
Bakura grinned…..
…,,,***~***,,,…
The soft blue trainers made little noise as their wearer dashed down the roadside, desperately trying to reach his location before it was too late. Ryou had realised that Bakura was up to no good about fifteen minuets prior…when he was enjoying the white frosted doughnut he brought for himself.
The day's events had started normally…as normal as his started, anyway. Bakura had left the house in a foul mood again, saying something about Marik…he always went to Marik….as if he ever did anything without him. The two often stayed together over night, Ryou sometimes getting a hint of it through a sloppily maintained mental link. Some things he just didn't need to know…especially Marik's guide to whipped cream…
About fifteen minuets ago, he got a bad feeling…like he got when Bakura was about to beat him up for some reason…and that feeling is never good…so Ryou rushed off to find his yami, before he did anything bad.
Another ten minutes…still nothing. Ryou was getting tired, his feet were wet from running through too many puddles and his hair was being whipped about by the ever-increasing winds. The silver haired youth looked down the road several times each way, trying desperately to think of where Bakura might be. He let out a frustrated sigh and slumped his shoulders.
He was just about to give up when he heard something coming up the road. A few more seconds confirmed it wasn't a car…but a motorbike. A few more and it was revealed as a yellow bike….
"Malik has a yellow bike…" Ryou whispered to himself. He craned his neck and stepped closer to the road to get a better view. His trademark yellow matching leathers confirmed it was the Egyptian renegade. Since laying eyes on the American super bikes, Malik decided to purchase one with his vast amounts of money, well, the vast amounts that Isis let him get too, anyway. Thinking that maybe he'd know something, Ryou tugged his jacket off and began waving it at the motorist. Ryou thought he wasn't getting anywhere and almost gave up when Malik screeched to a halt beside him, the smell of a hot engine enveloping his senses.
Malik pulled his yellow helmet off of his head and shook his sandy blond hair. Ryou hid a blush, hiding his face while he put his jacket back on.
"Why did you stop me….have you gotten lost?" Malik said sarcastically, noting that Ryou was blushing as he stammered to reply. Malik smirked.
"N-no, I….do you know where Marik is?"
Malik regarded his question for a moment, before checking his mirrors. Ryou stood for a moment and looked around. Finally he asked again,
"Malik...have you…."
"Yes, he's in the park with Bakura…picking on the pharaoh's little runt I do believe"
"Don't talk about Yugi like that!" Ryou said heatedly. The two looked at each other for a while…Ryou trying hard not to bite his lip while Malik stared at him with his bright lavender eyes….finally Malik sighed;
"I s'pose you want me to give you a lift to the park….hmmmm?" he stated, cocking one slender eyebrow and once again staring out Ryou. Panic stricken, Ryou looked around nervously;
"On that? I-I've never ridden one…."
Malik raised an eyebrow and then laughed at the disgruntled English boy. His laughing ceased however when he saw Ryou's face fall…damn, he was worried, wasn't he? Malik cleared his throat;
"Sorry Ryou….it's easy. All you do is get on, hold on to me, relax and we're away. Just don't try and balance the bike for me or we'll both fall off, understand?"
"Err...Um, ok….so I just…hold on to you?" Ryou stammered. Malik nodded and replaced his helmet, Ryou climbing on behind him and thanking the sky he couldn't see his face…he was blushing like mad. He held loosely on the sides of the tanned Egyptian boy
"They're in the park…"
"Y-Yes"
"Ok, then. Hold on!"
Malik pulled off quickly, shifting up the gears rapidly causing Ryou to shift his grip to hold Malik round the middle and squeezing his eyes shut. Malik ignored this and continued to speed up the highway, towards the park, ignoring the raindrops that were threatening to remove all traction from the road.
…,,,***~***,,,…
"That was Anzu, she said she's seen Yugi in the park with Marik and Bakura, lets go Joey, they may need help" Tristan Taylor stated, he was in the town centre with Joey Wheeler, another classmate and friend of Yugi's. The two were somewhat reckless and would do anything necessary to protect their friends, especially Joey. He feels he has some kind of debt to re-pay Yugi after all he did to help him in Duellist Kingdom. The two took off into the now pouring rain, towards the park.
…,,,***~***,,,…
By the time Ryou and Malik arrived in the park, they were both soaking wet. Ryou was shacking like a leaf, half due to the rain, half due to the ride he had just had from Malik. He swore he'd never ride with him again. The Egyptian boy drove his bike to the central car park; he could see the yamis through the rain. He dismounted and put his yellow bike on its stand and grabbed the still traumatised Ryou by his sleeve, who was just swinging his leg over the bike, and tugged him towards the centre of the park.
All of the groups converged at once, Malik and Ryou approached from the bandstand, while Tristan and Joey met Anzu and approached from the kid's park.
The scene that greeted them was one of utter tension, each side not willing to make the first move. Yami knew that as soon as he moved to get his light out of the way, one of the other yamis would strike. And Bakura wasn't about to let the millennium puzzle slip though his fingers again…
"I grow tired of your pathetic façade, pharaoh….give up the puzzle!" Bakura growled, flicking a clump of white hair from his eyes, the rain had soaked him to the bone and he wasn't happy.
The tension mounted further as neither side moved an inch, the rain continued to come down in thick sheets. Bakura muttered something filthy in Egyptian and began to move towards Yami and his frightened hikari. Anzu let out a strangled scream and bolted off towards Yugi, clutched in Yami's arms.
Foolishly, she ran in front of Marik, who sneered and snatched at the back of her jacket and yanked her as roughly as he could towards him.
"Ha! Your foolish attempt got you far, didn't it, Anzu" Marik shouted in her face. Bakura stopped in his tracks…he could use this to his advantage,
"Now then, pharaoh, hand me the puzzle and little Anzu goes free…don't give it to me and…well, Marik's been edgy lately…." He poked his thumb towards the grinning Egyptian.
Anzu struggled against Marik, but it was useless, the more she struggled, the tighter he gripped, twisting her collar until it bit into her neck.
"No! Don't hurt her!" Yugi screamed as he witnessed Anzu clutching at her neck, trying to relive the pressure that Marik was exerting on her. Yami growled, he would have to do something quick, now that Marik had Anzu little Yugi was panicking; he could feel him shaking against his body.
"I grow tired of this" Yami muttered. He quickly threw Yugi aside, out of harms way. The little hikari tried to scramble back to his dark, but Joey grabbed him from behind,
"Leave it, man, he knows what he's doin'!" he shouted through the rain and wind.
"What are you doing pharaoh? Are you forgetting something?" Marik jeered, shaking Anzu for emphasis, her strangled sobs barely audible over the weather.
"It's about time I banished you to the shadow realm, the both of you. You are a threat and a danger to the whole world…I think we can do without you…" Yami said calmly. Bakura growled and took a step back. Surely the pharaoh wouldn't risk the application of such powerful magic in the presence of those he holds dear? He looked over his shoulder and noticed for the first time his hikari, standing with Malik, getting soaked. No doubt trying to think of a way to stop us both, he smirked to himself.
Ryou noticed that Bakura was watching him and took a step forwards, but was stopped by Malik,
"Are you stupid?" he hissed, "leave them to it, we can pick up the pieces when they are done"
Ryou opened his mouth to protest but was cut short by his yami speaking to him through their link,
"Take one step closer, Ryou, and you will regret it, I'll make sure you have a bruise big enough to enter into an art competition, understand?"
Ryou whimpered and took a step back, averting his eyes to the ground.
"Stupid baka, he'll hurt himself…" Bakura thought.
Marik strolled up to stand next to his partner in crime, dragging the sobbing Anzu with him and folded his arms over his chest, the Millennium Rod clutched in his right hand, his left still wrapped around Anzu's jacket.
The tension in that moment became almost unbearable; both sides itched to move, to save Anzu, to stop Marik and Bakura, to help Yami, to kill Yami…
The rain poured, the wind howled, whipping up an icy barrage of pain that stung the eyes and skin of the bystanders. The Egyptian members' bronzed skin pimpled, not used to such weather, preferring sandstorms to storms of the wet kind.
"We have to do something!" Malik yelled over the raging torrent, "something bad is about to happen…I can feel it"
"I know! But didn't you just say to stand back?!" Ryou yelled. Malik glared at the sopping wet English boy for a moment before turning back,
"Yea, well I changed my mind, c'mon Ryou" Malik commanded.
The two boys had only walked a few paces when what seemed like a small apocalypse was let loose. Yami had let out an almighty yell and what seemed like a ghostly white light was slowly oozing from him millennium puzzle, snaking its way around the pharaoh,
"By Ra…he's actually gonna do it…you stupid fool!" Marik yelled, backing off slightly, still dragging Anzu with him. The two renegade yamis braced themselves as the light shot forwards at lightning speed…
Then a huge explosion occurred which made the bystanders shield their eyes and reel back a few paces. When they could face the duel again, everybody thought all was lost but an amazing site greeted them. The tomb robber and his delinquent in arms were fighting back with their own magic; the force of the conflicting sides was enough to form a bubble that the weather couldn't penetrate. Inside the bubble, Anzu was begging to panic, but when she tried to break free again she got a severe wrench from Marik. He obviously couldn't tell her to 'shut the fuck up' as he was so desperate to, so had to retort to threatening to snap her neck.
In the arms of Joey still, Yugi was also struggling. He could tell that Yami was loosing the battle, not even he could take the force of two millennium items being pitted against him, the beam of light was threatening to overwhelm him and send him to the shadow realm instead,
"Joey!! Let me go, please!! Yami needs my help!" he cried, the tears from his eyes were torn away from his face by the wind as if it echoed his grief, wanting to make his pain a part of the storm. Yugi's constant worming was proving difficult to deal with, especially when the boy's body was slippery from the rain. Joey called Tristan to help him but Yugi took advantage of the momentary concentration lapse and slipped free. Joey made a wild dive for him, but fell short; Yugi was already half way there;
"Give it up pharaoh, your losing" Bakura smirked, he knew they were going to win…Yami looked as though he would collapse at any minute. Marik gave a shrill laugh and gave one almighty mental shove. The two yamis broke the young pharaoh's strength and the now unblocked shadow magic hurtled towards the distraught Yami…
"No! Yami!!" Yugi squealed and threw him self in front of his beloved Yami, the shadow magic bouncing off of his Millennium Puzzle and changing direction chose another target…
"…Malik?...."
"Awwww….shit…."
The entire group watched helplessly as the beam of deceptively innocent white light engulfed Malik and Ryou, their screams mingled with the howling wind, their forms twisted and disappeared as quickly as it had begun.
Bakura stood blinking the rain out of his eyes…what had happened to Ryou? He was dumbfounded for a moment…before turning to rage;
"You stupid idiot!! You knew shadow magic is dangerous…why did you use it!?" the tomb robber bellowed at Yami. But Yami wasn't listening; he was kneeling down, Yugi cradled in his arms,
"Aibou…what have I done?" he whispered. The force of the reflected magic was so powerful Yugi was left in a coma, the only signs of life were the small rise and fall of his chest, and his eyelids were closed to the world….maybe forever.
Joey walked over to Yami; he couldn't believe his eyes,
"It's all your fault!! If you hadn't tried to assault Yugi in the first place, we wouldn't have lost our friends!" he spat towards Marik and Bakura.
"Bollocks…the stupid pharaoh didn't have to use shadow magic that powerful, it's his thick headed pride that lost us our hikaris!" Bakura raged back. Marik snorted and realised he still had Anzu. Glaring down at her he was about to vent his anger upon his victim when Yami snapped his head up,
"You dare…give her back…haven't you done enough?" he stated, his eyes narrowing into deadly slits. Marik growled and threw Anzu to the floor, her body making a squelching sound as she hit the muddy grass,
"Fine…have her back…she was making me feel sick anyway" he said in a deathly whisper as he watched the pathetic wretch scramble over to Tristan, who helped her up.
"C'mon Marik…lets go…we need to get our hikaris back…somehow" he virtually spat the word towards Yami. Grabbing Marik by the sleeve Bakura began to lead them away from the small clearing;
"Why didn't you just let me kill that damned pharaoh there…" Marik growled, bringing the Millennium Rod up and changing its end into a dagger for emphasis. Bakura shook his head, he knew full well if they couldn't get their lights back, the stupid pharaoh would be their best bet to retrieve them. Marik looked up from his swearing and spotted a familiar site…
"Ah well, at least we don't have to walk home" Marik stated, nodding towards Malik's yellow sport bike.
"Do you know how to drive it?" he asked Bakura, who nodded, he'd seen Malik ride it and when he wasn't looking at the boy himself, he was figuring out how to use the gears and such. Marik knew that his hikari kept a spare key fastened just under the bodywork and snapped it off its restraints. Taking one more look behind him at the pathetic posse, he clambered on the back behind Bakura and wrapped his arms around him.
"No distractions please" Bakura said,
"Hmph"