Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Change of Heart ❯ Iol ( Chapter 4 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: sterlingsylver 
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.27.2002 | Pages: 3 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 407 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 06.27.2002 | Pages: 3 | Words: 1.8K | Visits: 407 | Status: Work In Progress
Title: Change of Heart
Author: Britani Gael
This is a longer than the rest, I think. Lot's of dialogue.
* * *
Bakura didn't like silence
Sure, he didn't talk all that much, but with friends like his he didn't need to. Joey in particular came to mind. But Joey wasn't here. He was. And his Yami didn't look like he much felt like talking.
Bakura didn't know where they were. He didn't know why they were there. He didn't know where they were going, and he didn't know why they were going there. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to ask.
Ask and ye shall receive. Yeah, ask and receive a pounding.
The tunnel was about half an hours walk long, before they stepped out into the desert. A strange desert it was too, flat and gray. His Yami's face darkened even more on seeing it; Bakura decided not to ask.
When he had turned around, the entrance to the tunnel was gone. He didn't ask about that either, and his Yami didn't seem to think it was particularly strange.
His headache had decreased considerably, now it was only an light pounding in the back of his head. He could forget about if for a few minutes at a time, at least, and that was a definite improvement.
They walked another hour, maybe, time was hard to keep track of when you didn't have anything to mark it with. And they walked in complete and total silence. Bakura wasn't sure if he could stand it much long.
Okay, he was going to ask. He cleared his throat nervously. "Uh ... Where are -"
"I don't know," his Yami cut him off, irritably.
"Ah, okay then. Uh, where are we go -"
"I don't know."
Bakura chewed on his lower lip. "Then why are we -"
"I don't know."
Bakura looked at him. Looked like he wasn't the only one in the dark. "You don't know anything, do you?" He cringed after the words came out of his mouth, he knew that wouldn't sound at all how he meant it.
His Yami gave him a warning look, but said nothing. Either he was in a good mood - unlikely - of he had more important things to worry about than keeping Bakura in line.
Bakura looked up at the sky. The solid, unchanging gray made it look fake, like you could reach up and touch it. Maybe you could, he didn't know. He was feeling braver now. "Are we going to stop to sleep?" he asked.
"I've think you've gotten enough sleep to last you a week."
"Oh." They walked in silence for a few minutes. "Do you know how we got here?"
"I woke up. We were in the desert. That's the extent of my knowledge."
"Then how did we get to the lady?"
"She sucked us into a portal."
"Right after we got here?"
"No." Yami's voice had been getting lower and lower throughout the conversation. This time it was dangerously low, indicating that the conversation was ending, now.
Not quite.
"You just sat waiting for her to come get you?"
"No."
"Then you just wandered aimlessly around the desert?"
Long pause. "Yes."
"But then how did I -"
"Shut up."
"But I didn't -"
Yami cut him off with a glare. "Your voice is annoying me. Your accent is annoying me. Stop talking."
Bakura complied, not wanting to push his Yami any farther than was necessary. He was hoping that his Yami knew the direction that they were supposed to be going in, because there weren't any landmarks in sight. He kept walking, and Bakura kept following.
Then he had a thought he couldn't ignore. "Uh ..." he said.
His Yami spun around to face him. "What?" he snapped.
Bakura took a step back. "Do we have any food?"
Long pause. "Are you hungry?"
"Not really."
"Are you thirsty?"
"I don't think -"
"You don't think you're thirsty?"
"Fine, no."
"Then let's assume that we don't need to eat or drink here."
"So, we can't die here?"
Yami rolled his eyes. And then he punched Bakura in the arm. Hard.
"Ow!" Bakura grabbed his arm. "Why did you - I didn't -"
"Hurt?"
"Yes!"
"If we can feel pain, let's assume we can die." He turned around and started walking again.
Bakura rubbed his arm a few times, and then fell into step behind him. His Yami had already discovered the pain thing, it seemed. He looked like someone had beat the living crap out of him. Bakura vaguely wondered who.
He heard a scream on the air. He froze. A bird was in the air above them, screeching its little heart out. Then it swooped down, and landed on Yami Bakura's shoulder.
"Hello again," it said.
Like before, his Yami didn't look worried. So Bakura tried not to be.
He tried not to be very worried, at least.
* * *
Yami Bakura glared at the bird that was digging its claws into his shoulder. Iol, the woman had said he was. The bird she obviously had a very big problem with.
"Mmm," he said in response to it.
"What happened to your face?" Iol asked.
Yami ignored him. He started walking quickly, hoping that it would catch the bird off guard. Instead, Iol just dug his claws in deep enough to draw blood.
"Well, at least the kid's up. Now you won't have to haul him every where."
Yami stopped in his tracks.
"Did I say something?" asked the bird, innocently.
The look on Bakura's face was a mixture of horror and shock. And quickly progressing towards amusement. Okay, the bird had done him a favor, but favors only went so far. He made a grab for the bird, preferably the throat, but it jumped out of the way, onto his other shoulder. He tried again, it hopped back.
Anger had taken an almost tangibility during this trip. He could feel it sitting in his chest. He was going to have to lash out at someone pretty soon, otherwise he was going to lose it. He would prefer to lash out at the bird, because he was probably going to need Bakura's help down the line.
He started walking.
"Ah, headed towards the pyramid, are you? It's not going to like you, you know. Liable to think you're schizophrenic."
"The pyramid isn't going to like us?" Bakura asked, the first thing he had said for the entire conversation. Probably had taken him awhile to get used to a talking bird. Or maybe to get used to the fact that his Yami had actually carried him halfway across the Goddamn desert.
Yami made another grab at Iol, hoping to catch him off guard, but the bird was ready. He made another jump, and landed on Bakura's shoulder.
"Nope, it won't. I think it'll let you in, though. But it will not give up the Paradox. Not easily."
"What's the Paradox?" Bakura asked.
Iol cocked his head. "She didn't say."
"I don't know, I was -"
"Passed out. Understandable."
"Why?" Yami asked.
"Why what?"
"Why is it understandable?"
"Because of the trinket the two of you share."
"But," Bakura said. "It's never done anything like that before."
"But," Iol said, smugly. "You've never been near the Paradox, have you? It changes the rules. It warps reality. Your trinket is a tool here, but it has no power source. She has to get the power from something linked to it. And since that fellow there isn't actually alive ..."
"It gets it from Bakura," Yami said.
"Yes. That's my guess, anyway. The trinket is rejecting this dimension, it is trying to take itself back, and a good part of that energy is going towards keeping it here, otherwise it would just whisk itself, and her, back to your world."
"Why doesn't she just do that, then?" Yami asked. "I thought she wanted to get out."
Iol shook his head, wobbling on its perch. Bakura winced, and Yami felt a bit of satisfaction. He knew how sharp those claws were. "She can't go back with the Paradox in operation. It would destroy her."
The bird hopped to Bakura's other shoulder. "Some of the other energy goes to causing the rather strange phenomenon that's been occurring around here. The rest of the energy she's taking is for vanity reasons. She hasn't had a body for herself in quite a while, and she's managed to create one of her own."
"Then," Bakura said, "Why doesn't she just build herself a better one."
"Well, the energy required to completely create a body is about equal to the energy required to completely sustain one. You do the math."
Bakura quite visibly cringed.
"In other words, she could end your life at any time. She won't for a while, but, after that, you should watch your back."
"For what?" Bakura asked, sounding close to panic.
"Just an expression. If she wants you dead, nothing you can do about it. Sorry, that's the breaks of the living."
Bakura paled.
"What effect does it have on me?" Yami asked..
"None that I'm aware of. Though, I haven't entirely figured out what she's up to, yet."
"She said it was an echo."
"Then I guess it's an echo of the pain he feels." Iol pecked sharply on Bakura's skull to indicate him.
"Ouch!"
"That was just an echo?" Yami asked. Damn, that must've been one hell of a headache.
Iol cocked his head.
"Anything else?" Yami asked, seething. "And I thought you were just a spectator."
"I was. No I have a job to do, thanks to the two of you." He stretched out his wings. "I do hope you have fun. The pyramid is the sight to see around here."
"I bet," muttered Yami.
He pecked Bakura on the skull again.
"Ow. What?"
"Oh, I just thought you should know you should be thanking your friend."
"Why?"
Yami narrowed his eyes at Iol, but he either didn't notice, or chose not to.
"Oh, just for the fact that he risked his life trying to save yours." Iol looked at Yami, and he could have sworn that the bird was grinning. "Twice, I might add."
Yami made a last lunge at the bird, but it saw him coming. It swooped up, laughing his awful hacking laugh.
If there had been any rocks around, he would have thrown one at him. But it would have missed, or stopped in midair. Maybe it would have come hurling back at him.
He was getting used to the way things worked around here.
* * *
Author: Britani Gael
This is a longer than the rest, I think. Lot's of dialogue.
* * *
Bakura didn't like silence
Sure, he didn't talk all that much, but with friends like his he didn't need to. Joey in particular came to mind. But Joey wasn't here. He was. And his Yami didn't look like he much felt like talking.
Bakura didn't know where they were. He didn't know why they were there. He didn't know where they were going, and he didn't know why they were going there. He wanted to know, but he didn't want to ask.
Ask and ye shall receive. Yeah, ask and receive a pounding.
The tunnel was about half an hours walk long, before they stepped out into the desert. A strange desert it was too, flat and gray. His Yami's face darkened even more on seeing it; Bakura decided not to ask.
When he had turned around, the entrance to the tunnel was gone. He didn't ask about that either, and his Yami didn't seem to think it was particularly strange.
His headache had decreased considerably, now it was only an light pounding in the back of his head. He could forget about if for a few minutes at a time, at least, and that was a definite improvement.
They walked another hour, maybe, time was hard to keep track of when you didn't have anything to mark it with. And they walked in complete and total silence. Bakura wasn't sure if he could stand it much long.
Okay, he was going to ask. He cleared his throat nervously. "Uh ... Where are -"
"I don't know," his Yami cut him off, irritably.
"Ah, okay then. Uh, where are we go -"
"I don't know."
Bakura chewed on his lower lip. "Then why are we -"
"I don't know."
Bakura looked at him. Looked like he wasn't the only one in the dark. "You don't know anything, do you?" He cringed after the words came out of his mouth, he knew that wouldn't sound at all how he meant it.
His Yami gave him a warning look, but said nothing. Either he was in a good mood - unlikely - of he had more important things to worry about than keeping Bakura in line.
Bakura looked up at the sky. The solid, unchanging gray made it look fake, like you could reach up and touch it. Maybe you could, he didn't know. He was feeling braver now. "Are we going to stop to sleep?" he asked.
"I've think you've gotten enough sleep to last you a week."
"Oh." They walked in silence for a few minutes. "Do you know how we got here?"
"I woke up. We were in the desert. That's the extent of my knowledge."
"Then how did we get to the lady?"
"She sucked us into a portal."
"Right after we got here?"
"No." Yami's voice had been getting lower and lower throughout the conversation. This time it was dangerously low, indicating that the conversation was ending, now.
Not quite.
"You just sat waiting for her to come get you?"
"No."
"Then you just wandered aimlessly around the desert?"
Long pause. "Yes."
"But then how did I -"
"Shut up."
"But I didn't -"
Yami cut him off with a glare. "Your voice is annoying me. Your accent is annoying me. Stop talking."
Bakura complied, not wanting to push his Yami any farther than was necessary. He was hoping that his Yami knew the direction that they were supposed to be going in, because there weren't any landmarks in sight. He kept walking, and Bakura kept following.
Then he had a thought he couldn't ignore. "Uh ..." he said.
His Yami spun around to face him. "What?" he snapped.
Bakura took a step back. "Do we have any food?"
Long pause. "Are you hungry?"
"Not really."
"Are you thirsty?"
"I don't think -"
"You don't think you're thirsty?"
"Fine, no."
"Then let's assume that we don't need to eat or drink here."
"So, we can't die here?"
Yami rolled his eyes. And then he punched Bakura in the arm. Hard.
"Ow!" Bakura grabbed his arm. "Why did you - I didn't -"
"Hurt?"
"Yes!"
"If we can feel pain, let's assume we can die." He turned around and started walking again.
Bakura rubbed his arm a few times, and then fell into step behind him. His Yami had already discovered the pain thing, it seemed. He looked like someone had beat the living crap out of him. Bakura vaguely wondered who.
He heard a scream on the air. He froze. A bird was in the air above them, screeching its little heart out. Then it swooped down, and landed on Yami Bakura's shoulder.
"Hello again," it said.
Like before, his Yami didn't look worried. So Bakura tried not to be.
He tried not to be very worried, at least.
* * *
Yami Bakura glared at the bird that was digging its claws into his shoulder. Iol, the woman had said he was. The bird she obviously had a very big problem with.
"Mmm," he said in response to it.
"What happened to your face?" Iol asked.
Yami ignored him. He started walking quickly, hoping that it would catch the bird off guard. Instead, Iol just dug his claws in deep enough to draw blood.
"Well, at least the kid's up. Now you won't have to haul him every where."
Yami stopped in his tracks.
"Did I say something?" asked the bird, innocently.
The look on Bakura's face was a mixture of horror and shock. And quickly progressing towards amusement. Okay, the bird had done him a favor, but favors only went so far. He made a grab for the bird, preferably the throat, but it jumped out of the way, onto his other shoulder. He tried again, it hopped back.
Anger had taken an almost tangibility during this trip. He could feel it sitting in his chest. He was going to have to lash out at someone pretty soon, otherwise he was going to lose it. He would prefer to lash out at the bird, because he was probably going to need Bakura's help down the line.
He started walking.
"Ah, headed towards the pyramid, are you? It's not going to like you, you know. Liable to think you're schizophrenic."
"The pyramid isn't going to like us?" Bakura asked, the first thing he had said for the entire conversation. Probably had taken him awhile to get used to a talking bird. Or maybe to get used to the fact that his Yami had actually carried him halfway across the Goddamn desert.
Yami made another grab at Iol, hoping to catch him off guard, but the bird was ready. He made another jump, and landed on Bakura's shoulder.
"Nope, it won't. I think it'll let you in, though. But it will not give up the Paradox. Not easily."
"What's the Paradox?" Bakura asked.
Iol cocked his head. "She didn't say."
"I don't know, I was -"
"Passed out. Understandable."
"Why?" Yami asked.
"Why what?"
"Why is it understandable?"
"Because of the trinket the two of you share."
"But," Bakura said. "It's never done anything like that before."
"But," Iol said, smugly. "You've never been near the Paradox, have you? It changes the rules. It warps reality. Your trinket is a tool here, but it has no power source. She has to get the power from something linked to it. And since that fellow there isn't actually alive ..."
"It gets it from Bakura," Yami said.
"Yes. That's my guess, anyway. The trinket is rejecting this dimension, it is trying to take itself back, and a good part of that energy is going towards keeping it here, otherwise it would just whisk itself, and her, back to your world."
"Why doesn't she just do that, then?" Yami asked. "I thought she wanted to get out."
Iol shook his head, wobbling on its perch. Bakura winced, and Yami felt a bit of satisfaction. He knew how sharp those claws were. "She can't go back with the Paradox in operation. It would destroy her."
The bird hopped to Bakura's other shoulder. "Some of the other energy goes to causing the rather strange phenomenon that's been occurring around here. The rest of the energy she's taking is for vanity reasons. She hasn't had a body for herself in quite a while, and she's managed to create one of her own."
"Then," Bakura said, "Why doesn't she just build herself a better one."
"Well, the energy required to completely create a body is about equal to the energy required to completely sustain one. You do the math."
Bakura quite visibly cringed.
"In other words, she could end your life at any time. She won't for a while, but, after that, you should watch your back."
"For what?" Bakura asked, sounding close to panic.
"Just an expression. If she wants you dead, nothing you can do about it. Sorry, that's the breaks of the living."
Bakura paled.
"What effect does it have on me?" Yami asked..
"None that I'm aware of. Though, I haven't entirely figured out what she's up to, yet."
"She said it was an echo."
"Then I guess it's an echo of the pain he feels." Iol pecked sharply on Bakura's skull to indicate him.
"Ouch!"
"That was just an echo?" Yami asked. Damn, that must've been one hell of a headache.
Iol cocked his head.
"Anything else?" Yami asked, seething. "And I thought you were just a spectator."
"I was. No I have a job to do, thanks to the two of you." He stretched out his wings. "I do hope you have fun. The pyramid is the sight to see around here."
"I bet," muttered Yami.
He pecked Bakura on the skull again.
"Ow. What?"
"Oh, I just thought you should know you should be thanking your friend."
"Why?"
Yami narrowed his eyes at Iol, but he either didn't notice, or chose not to.
"Oh, just for the fact that he risked his life trying to save yours." Iol looked at Yami, and he could have sworn that the bird was grinning. "Twice, I might add."
Yami made a last lunge at the bird, but it saw him coming. It swooped up, laughing his awful hacking laugh.
If there had been any rocks around, he would have thrown one at him. But it would have missed, or stopped in midair. Maybe it would have come hurling back at him.
He was getting used to the way things worked around here.
* * *