Fuu Fuu: *pins Yami-WSJ to the ground* Ha! Me win again! ^_^

Yami-WSJ: *pretends to scowl* Aw, well, I let ya' win...

Fuu Fuu: ^___^ I'll bet...

WSJ: *casts an annoyed look at the two* I think they're bonding... You know, you two could always help type! This isn't exactly easy! *sighs* Even Heero'd be some help right now... I'd jus' tell him it was a mission... ^-^; But alas, Brood has muse-napped him too... It almost has me wishing ShadowWolf and her yami were around... *realizes what she just said, and flies enraged at the camera* BROOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHANGE ME BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M LOSING MY MIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yami-WSJ: *giving Fuu Fuu a sisterly noogee* WSJ doesn't own YGO.

()()()()()

All Saints' Night

Chapter 6 -- Fallen Angels...

"Ryou... Please, aibou, stop..."

Bakura struggled to his feet, wheezing heavily, his left arm hanging useless at his side. His hikari still floated in front of him, "staring" down at the Motos with vacant eyes. Yugi was slumped against the back wall, apparently unhurt, but obviously neither the soul of the Pharoah nor the hikari were in there. At Bakura's rasping call, Ryou turned his head to face his yami, an unreadable expression on his features.

"They betrayed me," he said, his voice an emotionless monotone. "They deserved what they got."

"How can you say that?" Bakura asked, slumping against the wall. His left arm was numb from the shoulder down, although it did take the initiative to throb painfully every now and then. Probably a result of a broken or dislocated shoulder. He was certain he'd cracked, probably broken, several ribs, and his right knee and ankle were giving him trouble too.

Bakura wobbled slightly on his feet, and dropped to his knees, still staring at his aibou. Ryou looked so much different then Bakura had ever seen him! He looked... Cold, unfeeling, almost heartless. "They're your friends!" Bakura insisted again, willing himself to get through to this boy.

Ryou's eyes seemed to waver uncertainly, and for a moment they cleared. And they were scared. "Bakura!" Ryou whimpered. "H-help me! Sh-she's-" But whatever he was about to say was lost when his eyes again became cold.

"No, they are not my friends. They never were. And neither are you."

Bakura was shocked at this turn on events. Surly this wasn't the sweet blind boy he'd known for the past two months! His mind flashed back to that morning two months ago, when he'd first realized Ryou was blind, when he'd had that over-whelming sense of guilt... The first real feeling he'd had in over five-thousand years. And when he'd almost lost Ryou to the Shadow Realm... That had been the worst. That had torn Bakura, both heart and soul.

An expression of puzzlement wafted across Ryou's face. "Your mind is in turmoil, why?"

Bakura paused to wonder just how it was that Ryou could read his mind, and then chalked it up to his seemingly growing psycic powers. "Why? Why?! Because you just un-soulified your best friend and his other! Because you actually hurt me! Because you're-" Bakura stopped, an expression of horror on his face. "So much... Like... Me..."

He was suddenly taken back farther, almost against his own will. The very first time he'd ever beat little Ryou, when the kid had only been six. Even back then, Bakura had been bigger and stronger then him. And later, the most brutal beating Bakura'd ever given him, (save the one that left Ryou blind) on Halloween of last year, just after Player Killer's assult on Yami, after everyone else had gone to bed. And so many other times... So many other beatings...

There was a wetness in Bakura's eyes as Ryou smirked at him, the cruel expression looking so out of place on the gentle boy's face. "So now you know what it looks like to stare into the face of a monster, Bakura, let's just see if you can find out how it feels too!"

And with that, Ryou desended on his yami, sending a barrage of psycic blasts at him with an accuracy and strength Bakura hadn't known he possessed. Ryou easily lifted him off the ground, and threw him into the wall again, casing several more cracks to echo through Bakura's slim frame. Ryou pinned him there, and licked his lips, a victorious grin on his face. "There now, that wasn't so bad, was it? Although we can easily arrange it to be so,"

Bakura could do little more then groan in responce, which he did. Ryou cackled and closed his right hand into a fist, using his powers to crush Bakura's right leg, causing the ex-spirit to scream and writhe in pain. "Wh-why Ryou? Why are you doing this?" Bakura stopped to cough violently, nearly choking on the blood that filled his mouth as he did.

"Why?" Ryou asked, still sneering as he hovered over his other. "Because all my life I've been kicked around. If not by you, then by Ushio or other bullies at school. But no more. I have the power, and now I will use it to destroy all those who ever hurt me!"

"You never believed in that before," Bakura coughed again, but forced himself to continue. "You always told me that with great power comes great responcibility, remember?"

"Yes," Ryou sneered. "And whenever I said that it just made you hurt me more. I will not stand for it again!" With that he released his hold on Bakura, sending him to the ground in a crumpled heap. Bakura cried out again, and struggled to raise his head.

"But hikari," Bakura said, almost pleading. "I haven't hurt you! Not anymore! Ryou, you mean the world to me, and you know it! I don't let anyone else hurt you either! Remember what I did to Ushio after he beat you so badly? Do you remember how I got this scar?" Bakura raised his right hand, with only a bit of effort, to point at the scar that ran along his cheek, which he'd aquired in the knife-fight with Ushio.

Ryou's eyebrows knit together in confusion, and Bakura remembered with a jolt that Ryou couldn't see him. But surely he must know what Bakura ment! Slowly Ryou blinked his cloudy brown eyes, and with a start Bakura realized what had been nagging him all along. Of course Ryou's eyes were cloudy from the blindness, but usually they had a certain innocent sparkle to them as well. But now they didn't. They were just... Blank...

"Ryou?" Bakura asked as a tear slid down his cheek. It ran into a newly-formed cut on his jaw, and he hissed at the pain of salt in the wound, but ignored it as more tears fell. "Aibou?"

"I-I remember..."

Suddenly his eyes lost their cloudiness, save the usual dull sheen of blindness, and regained their sparkle. Ryou began to feel tears of his own gather in his eyes. With a muffled sob he let his psycic powers drop and fell to his knees next to his yami. "Oh Bakura! What have I done to you?!"

"Shhh..." Bakura soothed, ignoring the pain in his ribs and arm as he let Ryou cradle him close, allowing his aibou to sob into his chest. "Nothing that cannot be mended. Although I don't think I'll ever quite walk the same again..." He looked down at his right leg, which was now a mass of cuts and bruises and shattered bone, and he was pretty sure his knee wasn't supposed to bend in that direction.

This admition just caused Ryou to cry harder, but finally he was able to raise his head. "It wasn't me Bakura! I promise! This wicked lady took over and-and I couldn't fight her! Oh Bakura, gomen nasai!"

Bakura smiled slightly, happy that Ryou couldn't see just how bad he'd been hurt. He was beginning to feel weak, and knew he'd pass out soon. "It's okay, aibou. Now please, think. What did you, or she, or whoever, do with Yami and Yugi?" He didn't know what his hikari meant by 'she', but doubtless it could wait. There were more important things to think of at the moment.

Ryou gasped and his dull eyes widened slightly. "Yugi! I-I think he and Yami are in the Ring... Or something..."

"Can you get them back into their body Ryou? I don't think I can stay awake much longer, and you need someone else here with you."

Ryou nodded tearfully. "I-I'll try." He concentrated, and across the alley Yugi's body gave a small spasm and began to cough.

Bakura smiled weakly and let his head drop against his hikari's chest. "Good..." he said faintly. "Arigato Ryou..." He was quiet a moment, and just when Ryou was about to burst into tears again, he spoke up. "R-Ryou," his voice was much weaker. "I never told you... What happened... In the Shadow Realm,"

"No, you didn't Bakura," Ryou said, hugging his other tighter and causing him to wince in protest. "You said you would when we were both ready."

"Yes, and- Oh curses on mortal bodies!" Bakura coughed again, longer and harder, bringing up more blood as he did. Finally he was able to continue. "You were on an alter, and I cast a spell... To switch our places, so that you would survive... No matter... No matter what..."

Ryou's eyes widened and he teared up again. "Oh Bakura! Bakura? Bakura! Please aibou, wake up! Onegai, don't leave me! Please Bakura! You can't!" The white-haired hikari collapsed into sobs, and it was only when he felt Yugi pulling him away from his yami that he finally gave in to the sudden exhaution that surrounded him.

~*~

They were in a cold place, filled with shadows and bits of broken glass, huge bits, that stuck up from the ground like jagged mirrors. They stood back to back, white feathers tangling around black dragon wings. One was slightly taller, but other then that they were identical. Both stood with their heads bowed and eyes closed, almost as if in prayer, leaning back against the other for support. Though neither opened their eyes or moved their mouths, their words echoed through the void around them, filling in the empty silence.

'Is this what it is like to be dead?'

'No, although I almost wish it were. We still have time left, I think.'

Both were silent for a moment, and then: 'I almost wish we were dead.'

'As do I. As do all, I think, at one time or another. But who knows, maybe we still have a part to play.'

Silence reigned once more, and then the taller one began to muse, almost to himself, not quite speaking to his companion.

'Fate, Time, Death, War, Hatred, Passion, and Desire. The most powerful things there are. Who knew we would be trapped by Fate?'

'Fate. Pah, don't speak to me about Fate!' the other objected. 'Fate curses me! She makes my life miserable!'

'Fate brought us together aibou.'

The two figures turned to face each other, their wings sweeping around behind them. They clasped their hands together in front of them, and smiled at each other, their eyes opened now.

'Yes, I suppose, if you want to be technical about it...'

~*~

"What happened to them?" Yugi asked in fear. As soon as he and Yami had woken up, they'd seen Ryou on the ground, clutching somthing close to him and screaming incoherantly with tears running down his face. When they'd gotten closer they'd seen it to be a badly beaten Bakura. When Yugi had put his hand on Ryou's shoulder to pull him away, the Blind One had collapsed aginst him and gone limp.

"I don't know, aibou," Yami said. "And I wish I did. This bodes ill on my heart. Just before Ryou attacked us, I felt a flash of power. It was almost like the energy signature I get when Malik uses the Rod to control another person's mind. But it wasn't exactly. I think there was someone controling Ryou, but it wasn't Malik,"

Yugi quietly let out the breath he'd been holding. Over the past months Malik and his yami had relented much of their heartlessness, and were even coming to be considered friends, as far as Yugi was concerned. He didn't want to think what would happen if Malik suddenly fell into another bought of insanity. "We have to get them inside,"

Yami nodded, agreeing with his hikari whole-heartedly. "Yes. Come aibou, I think the Ishtars are the closest to here, are they not?"

Yugi nodded after glancing up at the street-sign that hung at the mouth of the alley. "Yeah. Let's hope Malik and Isis are willing to let us crash there tonight, I'm bone tired," He saw his yami's face and laughed, although it was strained. "Yami, I know how you feel about them! But please, I think I'll collapse if I try to walk back to the Game Shop! And besides, Yami-Malik helped you out rescuing Mokuba, and he's the one who got Bakura and Ryou out of the Shadow Realm. He can't be all bad! And besides, Bakura changed."

Yami sighed and nodded his concent, carefully lifting Bakura into his arms, not wanting to injure the tomb robber further. "All right aibou, but only because I don't want you to collapse on your way back to the Game Shop," The fomer pharoah suddenly noticed a slight problem. "Yugi..."

Yugi looked up from where he'd been trying to hoist Ryou over his shoulder. "What?"

"You can't carry him!" Yami said, shaking his head and laughing a little.

"He's not that heavy!" Yugi protested. "Really! Besides, it's not like you can carry him and Bakura too,"

"Um... Hikari?" Yami's eyes were wide, and Yugi gasped when he noticed what his other was staring at. Slung over Yugi's shoulder, Ryou was glowing white, ever so slightly. His quiet voice suddenly penetrated their thoughts.

I can levetate slightly to make myself easier for Yugi to carry. Hurry, I'm tired... Ryou's voice faded, but the glow stayed, and Yugi realized that it did indeed feel a bit like Ryou was floating. "How...?"

'I will explain later, when we are safe. Please Yugi, Yami, I am so tired...

Yugi blinked, then looked up at Yami, his face set, and nodded.

Yami sighed, but saw no way around it, and set off at an as brisk pace as he could manage. He tried not to jar Bakura around too much, for even though he didn't necessarily like the theif, it was obvious that he was in a lot of pain.

After about five minutes, they reached the little white house that Yami had always thought looked just too innocent, considering who lived in it. To the Motos' intense relief, there was a light on in the livingroom, and another in one of the upstairs bedrooms, signaling that one person, at least, was still awake. Yami began to furvently pray that it was Isis.

Apparently Yugi senced this, and sent his other an exhasperated look as they reached the pourch. Yugi, who really only needed one hand to balance Ryou over his shoulder, pounded on the door. It was opened after a moment by Malik, who looked like he was about to offer a stinging retort, until he saw who it was.

The Egyptian's eyes widened, and he hurridly stepped aside and gestured for them to come in. "What happened to them?"

"We don't know," Yami grunted as he lay Bakura down on the couch. "We found them that way,"

"Well, not exactly," Yugi sighed, propping Ryou up in a sitting possition beside the couch where Bakura lay. "A lot has happened tonite... We're hoping Ryou can answer our questions when he wakes up. It doesn't seem like he's hurt at all, just exhausted,"

Ishtar suddenly matirialized next to his hikari, causing the Motos to jump slightly. "This is bad..." he said, frowning down at the tomb robber. "Isis is gonna kill us for getting blodd-stains on the couch... Again..."

Malik rolled his eyes and hit his yami over the head, causing Ishtar to mock-glare at him. "Aibou...."

Yugi's eyes widened and he shushed them both, pointing at the couch. Ryou had shifted around so that he was facing his yami, and he'd opened his eyes as well. Ryou reached out a hand and gently rested it on Bakura's fore-head, and he began to glow slightly with a light-blue aura. Ishtar gasped and Malik yelped a little at this, but Yami and Yugi quickly shushed them again.

In the silence, Yugi, Malik, and their yamis became aware of music drifting down to them from upstairs, where Isis was apparently listening to the radio. Each of the four marveled slightly at how the song seemed to fit the situation, and blended perfectly into the scene they were watching in front of them.

God will save His fallen angels,
And their broken wings, He'll mend.
When He draws their hearts together,
And they learn to love again.
All their sins will be forgiven,
In the twinkle of an eye.
All the saints rejoice in heaven,
When the fallen angels fly.

Bakura's various cuts and scrapes were beginning to heal, mending his broken body. His leg straitened and healed as well, and the fingers on his right hand twitched slightly as feeling came back. Bakura coughed violently, and his eyes cracked open. The first thing he saw was Ryou, and he smiled. "Ari-arigato, aibou..."

Ryou smiled back at him. "Doitashimashite, mou hitori no boku,"

"Gomen nasai,"

Ryou looked vaguely surprised, but then grinned. "Yoroshii..."

Behind them, the other four were in slight shock. The clock chiming brought them out of the seeming-trance they had fallen into, and Malik nudged Yugi in the ribs. The smaller boy looked at him questioningly, and to his surprise, Malik chuckled. The blond Egyptian grinned at Yugi and pointed at the clock.

"It's midnight again,"

()()()()()

Ryou & Bakura's convo:

Bakura: Th-thank you, aibou...
Ryou: You're welcome, my other half.
Bakura: I'm sorry.
Ryou: It's okay.

~*~

Okie-day, incase you didn't catch the meaning of the last line (or you haven't read VotH), what Malik said was something of a private joke. During chapter 15 of VotH, Malik makes a comment to Yugi that everything always seems to happen to them at midnight.

WSJ: *oogles at the spiffy long-ness of the chapter* HOLY KURIBOH!!!! *falls over in buggy exhausion and begins to wheeze* So tired... Wanna keel... Over...

Zutsokaki: *snorts* If you die, will the story continue?

WSJ: Er, no...

Zutsokaki: *brightens up* Die, die, die, die!

WSJ: -.-;; I'm beginning to see what Brood ment when she called you a 'kick in the side'... *sighs* Reviews people! I would have had this up sooner, but my dad banned me from the internet for being on too long...

Chapter 7: Conclusion!!! All is well again, things get explained, and Yugi gets worried...

God bless minna-san!