After the Light

See part one for details.

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"What?!" Bakura shrieked bounding to his feet.

Ryou's mouth dropped open into an o of stupefaction. He sat on the sand staring up at his yami looking utterly lost.

"You can't be away from Ryou for more than 24 hours…probably less before you start feeling like - " she paused and scrunched up her face in thought. "How was it that Dick so eloquently put it? Oh yes, feeling like: 'someone's trying to remove your bones by liquefying them and twisting up your veins while yanking them through your naughty bits all at once.' It sounds rather unpleasant." Maeve muttered. The albino tomb robber began to curse prolifically in ancient Egyptian while his kicked up sand with his bare feet and flailed his arms around in rage.

"You could bring back…Marik and Atemu that way?" Malik asked timidly at last gathering his senses. Isis glanced at him with disquie her her dark eyes as he spoke. Beside her Seto Kaiba seemed to have lost his vocal chords as his usually confident and controlled eyes continued to drift from hikari, to yami, to Maeve and back around again. Joey was eyeing Bakura warily.

Maeve rubbed her face tiredly with one hand while Yugi gently held onto her other. His large violet eyes looked up sorrowfully at his sister then back down to the sand as his soft voice replied to Malik. "I…I can't bring other me back, it would hurt him, it wouldn't be right."

"An' you'd be crazy to wanna bring back that other nut job Malik! That one an' Seto here are bad enough." Joey gestured with his head first toward Bakura and then to the CEO standing beside him.

"Maeve, you said that you could put souls away as well. Maybe you could use the puppy as an example," Seto shot back swiftly despite his shock.

"At least I dun cough up hairballs from bein' so catty all the time," Joey countered.

"I think Yugi needs to get you a proper muzzle and some breath mints pup. Since the veracity of your bark is twice that of your bite and the only tremors I have from your sound are those of abhorrence from the stench," Seto waved his hand nonchalantly in Joey's direction without looking at him.

Maeve gently squeezed Yugi's hand and shook her head raising her face to meet Malik and Isis' gaze. Deciding to ignore the ranting albino throwing a tantrum and the two men bickering she attempted to answer Malik's question. Maeve always hated to explain things because she found it difficult to get across exactly what it was she meant. "It doesn't work that way…the spirit has to want to do so for me to be able to release them to life or the otherworld. If they aren't bound here anymore I can't bring them back from where they rest, they need to be in limbo for me to help them to move on…I can only work with those living in the shadow realm so to speak. I can't bring Pharaoh back because he's moved on, he's no longer bound here…as for Marik…I'm not sure."

The brown-eyed boy seethed in anger with his eyes flashing as he swiveled to face Kaiba raising a pointing figure towards him, "I am not a stinkin' mutt you arrogant pussy!"

"HA! The fucking all-mighty Pharaoh's buggered off at last then huh? While I'm back in the flesh! A dream come true!" Bakura shouted, tossing his head back and throwing out his muscular arms wide as though to embrace the sun. "Except," he swiveled and pointed an accusing finger at Ryou. "I'm bloody well chained to this stupid, worthless cunt! Wait…no…at least a cunt has use, you're completely useless to me! Why can't you jbuggbugger off and leave me alone? Why for fear of Ammut's* leathery ass, am I cursed to be burdened with your ineptitude Ryou? You're pointless and you hold me back."

Seto reached out and grabbed Joey's pointing finger roughly, "At least felines are clean and elegant, a breed far more cunning than any blindly obedient and filthy mutt, you should tuck your tail between your legs and bow your head and shut your mouth and let your superiors speak."

Yugi closed his fathomless eyes tight and gripped his sister's hand as his shoulders tensed with anger at Bakura's unkind words.

"Could you…try?" Malik's voice was barely above a whisper.

"Malik! What are you thinking? Have you lost your mind? Why would you set him loose again onto the world?" Isis demanded turning her brother to face her.

Ryou's large eyes stared up at Bakura who was looming over him, his shadow blocking the sun from the smaller albino and casting him in shade. He swallowed and blinked back the tears that threatened to spill from his doe-eyes. "I'm sorry…"

Bakura's eyes were turning a deep red in his aggravation. The truth of the matter was he was terrified right now. But he would never allow such a weakness to show through his hard weathered exterior so he was covering his fear with rage and striking out at the most open target. "You should damn well be sorry. This is all you're fault Ryou. You're irritating, and will never amount to anything because you're completely useless, you know that?"

"What the fuck is your problem Kaiba?! Do you think yer shit dun stink? Yer nothin' but a spoiled, control freak! The only friend ya have is Yuug 'cause he doesn't know any better then to be nice to a lying, self-centered, pussy whose heart is a block a' ice!" Joey growled.

Malik reached out and gently took his sister's hands in his, "Isis, I know it's foolish but…he was born of my anger and I'm not angry any longer…don't you think he should be given the chance to exist free from all that as a person for himself?"

"Bakura! That's not true!" Yugi cried out angrily.

"You're right…I'm a burden and I'm worthless…I'm sorry…" Ryou whispered lowering his head as bright tears spilled from his eyes to be instantly soaked up by the sand.

"Geeze, and I thought my group of friends were messed up," Maeve muttered darkly to herself.

"You want to know my problem pup? I'll tell you my problem!" With that the tall brunette lunged forward and clamped him mouth against Joey's with dominating force. The shorter of the two's brown eyes went wide with amazement.

The tomb robber raised his arm aggressively and Yugi darted forward and came between him and Ryou. "Haven't you hurt him enough! Haven't you hurt enough people you care about Bakura?" he demanded.

"It's alright Yugi…I deserve it…" Ryou's soft voice sounded from behind his small friend. He honestly believed he did deserve any punishment Bakura gave him. Bakura was a part of his soul and thus a part of him. If his other self thought him to be worthless and in need of a punishment, there must be truth in it. Besides, Bakura was much older and experience in matters of life then he was. He knew more, he had seen more and been through much worse. He had seen his family and home slaughtered…he deserved so much more…but Ryou wasn't strong or worthy enough to give it.

Bakura froze. His eyes widened and he looked at his hand as though he had never seen it before and then down at the two smaller boys in front of him.

"If you hit my little brother I swear to whatever divine deity or deities it is that are watching us I WILL bring you agony in the most creative way I can think of…when you least expect it…"Maeve growled.

Isis studied her brother's eyes intensely and frowned, "what you speak is true brother…but…I think we should talk further on this before you make a rash decision."

Malik sighed, "maybe you're right…" though he had already made up his mind. Behind them Seto and Joey were engaged in an all-together different war of tongues than the verbal one they usually engaged in.

Bakura lowered his hand and turned his back to the group. "…I need some time alone."

"Bakura…" Ryou's voice sounded so vulnerable. The tomb robber did not respond to him but kept his eyes locked on the desert expanse.

"I need to go eat and pass out…so…you all do whatever it is the hell you want to one another…I'm going." Maeve announced. She walked over and grabbed Yugi's hand in one of hers and Ryou's in the other. Dragging them both up she began to walk back towards the road. "And someone give Bakura something to wear!"


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* Ammut, or the 'Eater of Hearts' is the Egyptian demoness of punishment. She had the head of a crocodile, body of a leopard and backside of a hippo.