In a different Light

Chapter Three

"U-Unh…" Yuugi whimpered softly, closed eyes furrowing as a dull pain covered his body.

He propped himself up on shaky hands and knees, only to have a fresh wave of pain knock him back to the ground. The teenager cried out weakly, letting out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself. What was going on? Where was he? And this pain... it felt like something had been ripped away from him forcefully, something important... Yuugi gave a steadier breath as the pain slowly ebbed, while he continued trying to remember what had...

Yami!

The boy's eyes shot open violently as he recalled what had just transpired.

Yami gave the Puzzle to Yami Bakura, that was the last thing he could remember. He remembered watching in horror as Yami grudging handed the Puzzle to his enemy, then... then darkness had fallen. What had happened when Yami was taken from him?

Yuugi winced slightly, trying to grasp at any other possible clues as to what was going on but failing miserably. Slowly Yuugi pulled himself upright, glancing around the area.

To his surprise, his gaze was immediately confronted with the sandy bricks, winding stairwells and dark, knotted door of his yami's Soul Room. Dazedly, Yuugi stood up, laying a hand on the dry bricks. But, how was he here?

For a moment, Yuugi felt hope grow. If he was in Yami's Soul Room, then the spirit himself must be here! The young man dashed forward, turning a corner with a smile on his face, hoping against hope that his friend and partner would be just around the bend.

Nothing was there.

Yuugi's smile faded.

"Yami?" He whispered to the air. A haunting wail of wind was all that answered.

Yugi gulped slightly, and the fact that he could be alone in here hit him.

No. No, it wasn't possible. This was the Puzzle's Soul Room, right? So obviously Yami had to be in here...

"Yami! Where are you?" Yuugi called out as he continued to run, trying to hold onto the hope that was swiftly fading. In a few seconds, he ended up right where he started.

Yuugi leaned up against one of the stairs, wrapping his arms around himself as a chill began to settle over him. Without Yami in the Soul Room, the place was so intimidating, and...

Lonely.

Bakura chuckled softly as he leapt up the tree leading to Ryou's bedroom window. He smirked slightly as he opened the window, recalling how Ryou kept silently disapproving of the way his yami liked to enter his home— like a thief, the boy had mentioned once. Bakura chuckled once more in amusement. So what if he preferred an unconventional method of entering? It was how he was used to getting into buildings.

Besides, he knew that after his actions today, Ryou would have a lot more to disapprove of than just this.

Bakura slipped into Ryou's desk chair, admiring his newest Item that now hung around his neck. He couldn't help but feel a touch of ironic sadness that it ended this way. He had always imagined the Puzzle would be his final conquest, after beating the Pharaoh down slowly, oh-so-slowly, until he was nothing and Bakura had won once and for all. But Bakura had grown impatient. Except the Eye, he had not yet seen a good opportunity for getting the five Items other than the Ring and the Puzzle, and he knew he need to gain more power soon if he was to succeed. Well, he could always torment the Pharaoh once he had finally won. Besides, seeing his tortured visage in their match was enough to tide him over for the moment.

The Ring spirit smirked once more, then clenched the Puzzle with one fist. It was time to find out more about his newest asset.

Yuugi rested his hand on the round door handle, hesitating for a moment. Only a short while of standing in the middle of the room had made him decide he should try and find a way out, but now that he was here, he wasn't quite as sure any more. If he was here… then where was Yami? If his yami wasn't here, where could he be? Was Yami in danger? Was he in danger? Even while he found this place unnerving, Yuugi knew he was safe here… but what would he find outside? With Yami gone, he had no assurance of even finding his own soul room. But…

Yuugi gulped, then turned the handle and pushed the door out. He had to find out what was going on.

A blast of freezing air hit the small boy, and he cowered back, shielding his eyes and wondering why he thought the lonely breeze in Yami's room was cold. This air was icy and biting, stinging at the boy's covered eyes.

After a few more seconds the wind died down, and Yuugi uncovered his eyes and looked around. As he glanced around the area, he came to the conclusion this was definitely not the corridor between his and Yami's soul rooms.

The corridor, instead of being an endless stream of black, was lit by a cruel blue light, making the close dusty brown walls almost painfully visible. Right across from Yuugi was what Yuugi assumed to be a door, although the slightly different coloring was the only marker on that account as it blended seamlessly with the corridor walls. Well, not quite the only defining point; Yuugi also noticed it also had the same knotted dark growth that was on the door of his own yami's…

A sharp clang rang out, and Yuugi shook his head slightly and pulled back as he realized he had unconsciously been walking towards the door. He turned around to find Yami Yuugi's soul room door had swung shut, presumably the cause of the clamber.

Yuugi blinked. While he was turning back, something had caught his eye…

The boy turned to the left, and felt his eyes widen to find a third door. This door was a simple one, one you might find in any house. Yuugi did notice the pure white paint chipping in a few places, though.

Yuugi paused for a second, then walked towards the far more inviting door at the head of the corridor.

He knocked on the door, hoping for some answers but feeling a little silly. It wasn't like he was going to one of his friend's houses or anything, after all.

The doorknob turned, and the door swung open with a quiet squeak.

"W-what is it?" a white-haired boy asked with a very confused expression on his face.

Both boys stared at each other for a second, wide-eyed. Yuugi gulped at the air for a moment until he gained enough to whisper the other boy's name.

"R-Ryou?!"

Bakura opened his eyes to the familiar darkness of his soul room. If he wanted to find out the full capabilities of the Puzzle, it would be best to do it from the inside. He waved his hand to the side, forcing the shadows to retreat for a moment and reveal the path out. He strode out quickly, unfazed by his surroundings. He was used to the sprawling, concealing darkness. It was just doing what he had invited it to do. He much preferred these shadows to what was hiding behind them.

Bakura pushed the door open with one palm, listening to the dull thud as it slammed against the dusty walls. Time to look for the Puzzle…

"What was that, Ryou?"

"I-I'm not sure…"

Bakura froze, frowning slightly. Who had said that? How could there be someone in here for Ryou to talk to? Unless his yadonushi had finally snapped… but no, that first voice didn't sound like Ryou's. In fact, it almost sounded like…

Bakura paled a shade. No… no, that couldn't be. He had known of the possibility of having to deal with the Pharaoh, but not him! Still…

It wasn't impossible. In fact, it wasn't even really such a bad thing. If it really was him, it would be easier to deal with him. And if he played his cards right…

A wicked smile slowly grew over the Thief King's face. This might turn out better than he could have ever hoped.

He walked across the hall to where the new addition lay. He rested a hand against the dark material; quickly divining no one was in it at the moment. Bakura turned away and swiftly stalked towards his host's Room, kicking his own Room's door shut as he went. He could find out more about the Puzzle later. First, he would find out what exactly was going on and plan his next step.

His hand rested on the door handle and gently twisted, opening the door noiselessly to keep from alerting the inhabitant. A small smirk grew on his visage once more as he confirmed his theory.

Yuugi was there.

The two teenagers were sitting on Ryou's bed. The spiky-haired boy was hugging his knees, a look of dawning horror on his face as he came to grips with the fact that not only was he in a situation completely out of his or any of his friends' control, but was also no longer even in his own body. Ryou, on the other hand, had a look of sad, quiet determination glistening in his clear blue eyes. But both were obviously confused, and both also obviously had no idea of what to do next.

"So what were you saying, Yuugi?" Ryou asked softly, facing away from Bakura and unaware of his yami's presence.

"Oh, right. You know that Bakura stole the Puzzle?"

Bakura suppressed a snort. Stolen, indeed. He had fairly beaten the Pharaoh, no thievery involved. Not this time.

"Yes… and I'm assuming that's how you got here?"

"That's the only possibility that makes sense, but… it doesn't quite fit. I mean, I'm the Puzzle's host, but my soul's my own. Yami is the one who inhabits the Puzzle. So… if one of us was taken… why was it me?"

Ryou bit his lip in thought, leaning back against the bedpost.

"Well, maybe… Yami was in control when my yami took the Puzzle, right?"

"Yes."

"So, perhaps it's not that your soul is always in your body, and Yami's is always in the Puzzle."

"What do you mean…?"

"Well…" Ryou leaned forwards slightly. "We know there always has to be one soul for each Soul Room, and vice versa, correct? And the Items themselves are what house the additional Soul Rooms. So what if, unless there is some type of interference, the soul that is not in control temporarily inhabits the extra Soul Room? And then you were taken while your soul was in your yami's Room… it makes sense, doesn't it?"

"My my, how knowledgeable you are, yadonushi."

Both boys let out synchronized gasps, and whirled around to face the smirking Yami.

"B-Bakura!" Ryou exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Don't you mean, 'what's Yuugi doing here'?" Bakura asked, pinning his dark gaze on his enemy's host. Yuugi gulped quietly, unable to flinch from Bakura's overpowering stare.

"Well, don't worry. I won't interrupt; I just wanted to confirm something. Stay here and don't cause trouble."

Ryou leapt up from his seat as Bakura turned to leave the room, correcting anticipating his yami's intention.

"Bakura, wait, don't—!"

Ryou's words were lost on Bakura as he closed the door behind him, grasping the handle and letting a bit of shadow magic seal the two away. He couldn't leave them to possibly interfere with his upcoming experiments. If everything worked as he hoped it would…

In an instant the spirit's attention snapped back to the real world and the body he currently inhabited. He had a new plan, thanks to his acquisition of the Pharaoh's former host, but he needed to make sure that it would work. Slipping the Puzzle over his neck once more, Bakura leaned back against the headboard of Ryou's bed. If this was going to work, he would have to be... careful. He couldn't afford to risk Ryou regaining control if things went wrong.

Gingerly pulling the Ring off from underneath the new Item, Yami Bakura let out a slow breath as he twisted his fingers around the thick rope and lifted the Ring to meet his eyeline. This was more of a gamble than he'd prefer, but if he lost control, the Ring would drop back in his lap and he could take over once more.

Clenching the rope tightly but making sure no part of the Ring touched his body, Bakura steeled himself. This was the tricky part, trying to pull himself completely from the Ring. The yami eased his eyes shut once more, and slid back into the harshly-lit hallway. He could hear some frantic pounding from the opposite side of Ryou's door, but the shadows held fast like Bakura knew they would. After pulling the door to Yami's soul room open in a careless hurry, the spirit turned to face his room.

Unanchoring his soul from the Ring would be difficult, to say the least. If he hadn't seen what had happened to the Pharaoh after their game, he wouldn't have even considered trying.

Well, waiting around wouldn't make things any simpler. Bakura flung open the door to his room and tugged at his essence with all his might.

For a moment, not much of anything happened. Then the soul room started pulling back. The yami strained, gritting his teeth in his invisible war against the Ring. Soon his head started to ache and his muscles began to stretch and pull, but he held on tightly.

In a moment everything changed. The force Bakura was tugging against suddenly stopped, no longer offering resistance. The lack of pull caused the yami to fly backwards, into the Puzzle's soul room. Cautiously Bakura pulled himself to his feet, and glanced around. This was still the Pharaoh's soul room, but now it was clouded, obscured by the dark haze Bakura always kept present. He could feel things, scraps of emotion and memory, his memory, flitting about in the darkness. He strode across the hallway and looked in at his former room.

The space was bare. Not black like before, the room was now a soft grey expanse that screamed emptiness and seemed to stretch on for eternity. A smile slowly growing on his face, the spirit shut the door firmly.

Pulling back to the real world with careful optimism, Bakura glanced up at the hands- his hands- holding onto the Ring. He flung the Item away, letting it land on the wooden floor with a clatter.

Bakura grinned.

It had worked out perfectly after all.

After trying vainly for several minutes to wrench the door open, Yuugi and Ryou decided to wait out their lockdown. The two hosts sat next to each other, leaning up against Ryou's soul room bed. Ryou pulled his legs to his chest and bit his lip in consternation. He should have done something! Back then, in the Shadow Game, he should have done something, anything, instead of standing there doing nothing. But he couldn't help it… Bakura terrified him. It always took all of Ryou's will to oppose him with anything more than inward disapproval… but he did feel a strong sense of guilt for his inaction. He should have recognized what was at stake. Even though he knew he probably wouldn't have been able to change anything, he still felt as though this was his fault. And now his best friend was in danger…

"I'm so sorry you were pulled into this, Yuugi." Ryou murmured, sadness etched plainly on his face. Yuugi turned to regard the taller boy and frowned slightly, then gave his friend a hug.

"Don't be! I was involved in this ever since I got the Puzzle, you know."

"Yes, but Bakura…" Ryou's hands waved in the air vaguely as he tried to gather his thoughts. He had to explain things to Yuugi before Bakura turned his attention to both of them again. Things were not good, but being prepared could only improve Yuugi's chances of getting out of this relatively unscathed. "He's very… overbearing, and… volatile. You're in danger here, Yuugi."

Yuugi gulped slightly. Yes… he knew being here was quite possibly the most dangerous situation he had ever been in, and he had gotten in some pretty bad scrapes before. And now he didn't even have Yami by his side… he was all alone, and he was acutely aware of that fact that, even if he tried his best to act carefully, he could get hurt. Still, he plastered his best impression of a sincere smile on his face and grinned up at Ryou.

"I know. But you'll be here, Ryou, right? You'll help and protect me, ne?"

Ryou smiled shakily. "Yeah. I promise I won't leave you alone."

Author's notes: ...oh my gosh you guys I am so so so so SO sorry. I don't know if anyone is still reading this, but... well, there's stuff on my profile. Anyway, I'm back! I'll be responding to reviews via PM from now, so these notes don't eat up so much space. Anyway, you guys are all totally awesome.

Oh, just in case you were wondering, my idea about the Millenium Items, and that Yuugi was taken instead of Yami, is really not all that far-fetched. In fact, there is support for that idea in the manga. In volume 4 of the original manga, when Yami, Jonouchi and Mokuba are having dinner, Yami takes off the Puzzle and uses it to defeat Mokuba. He stays in control the whole time, even though he is not touching the Puzzle or even the Puzzle's chain. (However, the idea that Yuugi went there is my own idea.) Sorry if that was long and/or unnecessary, I just didn't want people complaining how it couldn't happen in the actual series.

Thank you so much to everyone who's read/favorited/reviewed, and I hope you enjoyed this (very long time coming) update!