A/N: This was inspired by an episode of the Outer Limits, though I've screwed with the plot so much it's very different from the way the show went. Yay for twisted endings! Oh, and Dark Elf is my favourite card, I have three in my deck, but I just had to have a wicked duel monster, and she was the only one I could think of using. So sorry for making her evil... then again, she is supposed to be evil anyway, so... Whatever. Enjoy!
One for All
"Well, hello. It's nice to see some new faces around here, welcome to the shadow realm."
Ryou said nothing, his eyes trained on the floor as he listened to the tall, dark-skinned woman talk. He wasn't quite sure how he and his friends had gotten here - to the shadow realm - since his yami had been controlling him at the time, but by now he was too exhausted to care where he was. Yugi and his Yami would find a way out. They always did, and Jou would be there to cheer them on, while arguing with Kaiba, who would be his usual arrogant self and push Jou around just for an excuse to touch him. And Bakura... he would stand in a corner and watch everything, sneering at them all, and use Ryou as his puppet when it suited him. He was past caring, by now.
Raising his head a little but still keeping his chocolate eyes in the shadow of his white hair, Ryou listened to what was going on. They were somewhere in the shadow realm, in a huge forest with trees that were so high their tops were lost in mist, the same mist that crept along the ground like a blanket and hid the floor. The roots of the trees were huge, twisted masses large enough to hide people in... or other things. Who knew what lurked within those black gaps between the roots?
The moment they'd gotten to the shadow realm they'd been confronted by a beautiful, wicked-looking woman with deep purple hair - the Dark Elf - who had appeared out of the mist laughing cruelly.
"You're in my world now," she smirked, flicking a lock of hair behind her.
"Send us back, tomb robber!" Yami demanded, glaring at Bakura, who just shrugged.
"I can't." He said as though it didn't really matter to him where they were.
"So we're stuck here?" Jou shivered. He seemed to be afraid of the misty, dark atmosphere of the place, not helped by the crushing weight of the never ending trees towering above.
"Aww, is the puppy afraid?" Kaiba mocked, folding his arms and looking down at Jou, who scowled at him.
"This ain't the time, moneybags." The blonde growled, turning to the Dark Elf, who was now perched on a huge tree root, watching them with interest in her eyes. "How about you? Can you get us out of here?" He asked, looking hopeful.
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I will." The Dark Elf smirked, cocking her head to the side as she watched him. "How about we play a game? Yes, that's it, that's what we'll do!" She seemed pleased with that idea and hopped down from the root, looking at them all in turn. "Are you all in? If you win I'll open a portal back to your world."
"What is this game?" Yami demanded, frowning and holding Yugi close since the little duellist was shivering from the cold, damp air.
"Before I tell you, you all have to agree to play. And once you agree, you're bound by your word to last through the whole game. No backing out!" She laughed, watching them all for their answers.
"Hmph. Well it's hardly as though we have a choice. I'm in." Kaiba said, not looking too happy about it.
"Yeah, me too. Though I'd rather know what the game is before I jump right in..." Jou muttered.
"I will play," Bakura grinned. Hell, it almost sounded fun.
"And I." Yami nodded.
"Same here," Yugi agreed, then they all looked to Ryou.
"Well, are you playing?" The Dark Elf asked him, and he looked up at her with tired eyes, smiling softly.
"Of course, I wouldn't want to ruin all you fun, would I?" He said softly.
"Excellent!" The Dark Elf laughed, a cruel glint appearing in her eyes. "Now I suppose I should explain the rules to you, shouldn't I? Well, I'll give you two hours, and when I return you must all vote for one of your little party to die. The others will live, and I'll open a portal for you to get back to your world. And should you all refuse to vote, you'll all die." She smirked, narrowing her eyes at Yami. "Let's see which of your so called friends you value least, shall we? Or will you all die together? Oh, what a wonderful game!" She laughed again.
"Wait, you didn't say anything about-" Jou began, his face pale.
"Ah, ah," the Dark Elf shook her head. "You already agreed. If you back out now it counts as refusing to vote, and I'll just take all your lives."
"Why would you do this!?" Yami growled, knowing that he could never vote for one of his friends to die just to save himself.
"Why not? I've been alive a lot longer than you have, human, and entertainment like this is hard to come by. How could I pass up such an opportunity? And now that you've all agreed, the contract is binding." She hissed, whirling around so that her back was to them. "Now I'll leave you to decide what to do, and I'll be back in two hours. Have fun, little humans!" The Dark Elf laughed, ignoring Yami's protests as she was swallowed up by the mist.
"Damn it!" Bakura growled, having changed his mind about the whole 'fun' thing. Of course, he would have liked to have voted for Yami, but he knew his hikari would never forgive him for that. Not that Ryou exactly loved him anyway, but it looked like he would have to play nice and refuse to vote along with the rest of these idiots. Then again, from the thoughtful look in Ryou's eyes, the white haired hikari was planning something. Bakura froze. Ryou wouldn't.... Would he?
* * *
Yugi clung to Yami, trembling and sobbing into his chest.
"What are we going to do, Yami? We can't vote!" The tiny boy gasped, his large eyes filled with tears.
"I know, aibou. We won't. No one should have to die for anyone else, that's too much to ask." The Pharaoh murmured, holding Yugi in his warm embrace.
'But I would die for you, my light.' Yami thought, knowing that if it came to it, he would give his life for the rest, so that they could live. Especially his Yugi, who was the most important thing in the world to him. Two hours to go, that might be all the time he had left with Yugi. Stroking the petit boy's spiky hair gently, Yami leaned down to kiss his forehead, smiling.
"Don't be afraid, little one. It will be alright."
Yugi shivered in his arms, cuddling closer. He couldn't shake the feeling that for once Yami was wrong.
* * *
"Afraid, puppy?" Kaiba asked, a smirk on his lips. Jou scowled.
"Aren't you? Leave me alone, Kaiba." The blonde duellist went back to what he'd been doing, namely sitting on the soft ground with his back against one of the thick roots, behind one of the trees where nobody else could see him.
"Not really." Kaiba replied, then sat down next to Jou, sighing and running a hand through his dark brown hair. "I hope Mokuba's alright." He murmured quietly, staring off into space.
"It's us you should be worried about." Jou muttered, his head pillowed on his folded arms, which were resting on his bent knees. "Dunno how you can be so calm all the damn time. Although I suppose you're safe, if you think about it."
"Oh? And how did you come to that conclusion?" Kaiba asked, staring at the puppy through half-lidded sapphire eyes. Jou shivered at the look and turned away, closing his eyes.
"You know that none of us except maybe Bakura will vote, and if Bakura votes it'll be for Yami. If he *doesn't* vote all of us will die, unless you vote. And I doubt you'd die along with the rest of us. So you'll probably decide to vote, and..." Jou trailed off, sighing. He knew who Kaiba would vote for, and if it would save the rest he'd go along with it. "You'll vote for me."
"What makes you think that?" Kaiba actually managed to look a little surprised.
"Oh, come on." Jou snorted. "You've hated my guts for practically forever."
Kaiba was silent for a while, seemingly thinking.
"And if you had to vote?" He finally asked. "Would it be for me?"
"Nah. If I absolutely had to it'd be Bakura, 'cause of all the trouble he's caused for Ryou. But even then I'd never forgive myself. I ain't voting. Couldn't face Shizuka if someone - even that evil bastard - had to die to get me out of here."
Kaiba smirked.
"I would have thought you'd be jumping at the chance to get rid of me for good."
"Then you ain't the genius they say you are." Jou retorted, staring off into the darkness. Suddenly he froze as he felt long fingers running through his shaggy blonde hair slowly, as if savouring the feel of it.
"Let me tell you a secret..." Kaiba whispered, leaning over so that his breath was warm in Jou's ear. The blonde duellist shivered, his eyes sliding closed as Kaiba caught his wrists and held him still.
"You make me feel weak. Every time I see you I long to touch you. Ever since the first day I saw you, I've wanted to do this..." Kaiba hissed, moving to straddle Jou's legs when the blonde straightened them. After taking a moment to stare deeply into Jou's honey-coloured eyes, Kaiba leant forward and kissed him passionately, releasing his wrists and moving his hands down to Jou's waist.
Once they broke off for air, Kaiba moved his lips to Jou's throat, nipping and kissing the soft skin there and listening to the breathy gasps Jou offered him. The puppy's hands came up to clutch at Kaiba's shirt, his whole body trembling at the brunette's touch.
"I-I though you hated me..." Jou moaned, shuddering as Kaiba chuckled against his throat then bit down on the soft flesh, leaving a mark.
"I hated the way you made me feel. But we only have an hour and a half left to live; I don't really think it matters much anymore. I can't die without making you mine at least once."
"A-ahh..." Jou groaned, arching his head back against the giant root behind him, giving Kaiba more access to move down his neck.
"Perhaps twice..." Kaiba whispered against the puppy's collarbone, one hand slipping down between Jou's spread thighs to press firmly against him, earning a muffled cry of pleasure.
* * *
Ryou sat alone in the darkness amongst the twisted roots of one of the trees, shivering. His arms were wrapped around his knees and his eyes were closed, his body hunched over as though he wanted to curl up and disappear. Unlike the others, who had their own romantic ideas of who was going to die and how the game would end, Ryou knew what was going to happen with dead certainty. He knew who was going to be leaving the shadow realm and who wasn't. He was so tired of Bakura using him as a toy and hurting the people he cared about, but now he had a way to stop Bakura using him forever. Bakura would never be able to touch him again, if he had the courage to do what he had planned.
* * *
Bakura watched, his eyes narrowed as Ryou shivered, alone in the shadows. Somewhere nearby he could hear the faint sounds of Yugi sobbing into Yami's chest, and somewhere beyond that the even fainter traces of Jou and Kaiba making love, assuming they only had an hour left to live. Bakura knew differently. He, also, knew exactly who was going to be leaving alive.
What he really wanted to do was stalk up to Ryou and kiss him like he'd never been kissed before, but Ryou would probably be terrified. It was better to leave him alone.
Bakura smirked, thinking to himself that it would be better for Ryou if he left him alone altogether, permanently. He couldn't help it, though. Every time he took control of his hikari he could be closer to Ryou than anyone else ever would be. He could see Ryou's soul. Even with his own body, he couldn't stop possessing Ryou. He knew it was the only way he could ever be that close to the beautiful little hikari, even though it always ended in trouble for Ryou and his friends. Like now, he'd ended up sending them all to the shadow realm, and he doubted Ryou would ever forgive him. Not that it mattered; Bakura knew what Ryou had planned. He could stop it, if he wanted, right now, but that would involve hurting Ryou or taking him over again. He'd done that once already today and the poor hikari was exhausted from just those few minutes. Besides, perhaps what Ryou was going to do was for the best. Bakura knew, somehow, that Ryou was going to vote for him. After all, what better way to get rid of him and save all his friends? Kill two birds with one stone? Not a bad deal, unless you happened to be Bakura, the tomb robber thought with a bitter smirk. In a way it would be nice to know he wouldn't be hurting Ryou anymore. Then again, did Ryou really think he was that easy to get rid of? He had an ace up his sleeve that could possibly get him off the hook, but whether to use it or not was another matter.
* * *
"Well? Have you all decided?" The Dark Elf asked, having appeared out of the mist and perched on one of the roots again. The six duellists stood before her, Yami with Yugi trembling in his arms, Kaiba with Jou leaning against his chest, his arms wrapped around the puppy's thin waist, and Bakura and Ryou stood a little way from the others and each other.
"I ain't voting." Jou announced, his eyes determined.
"Nor am I." Kaiba added, clutching Jou tighter.
"Then you two vote for you all to die." The Dark Elf smirked.
"I'm not voting either." Yugi said, then looked up at Yami.
"I..." Yami began, then looked down at Yugi.
"Don't you dare vote for *anyone* Yami." Yugi frowned, knowing that Yami would do anything to save him. Yami closed his eyes for a moment then leant down and kissed Yugi.
"Alright, tenshi. I refuse to vote." Yami said softly, looking back up at the Dark Elf, who shrugged elegantly.
"Two more votes for you all to die. What about you?" She looked over at Ryou, who raised his head and smiled softly.
"I'll vote." He murmured.
"No! Ryou, you can't!" Yugi gasped, clinging to Yami, who frowned. He couldn't believe Ryou would vote for one of them to die.
Here it comes, Bakura thought. Well don't think you can kill me that easily, hikari.
"So who would you like to sacrifice?" The Dark Elf asked, looking pleased at Ryou's decision to kill one of them.
'He wouldn't!' Yugi thought frantically, biting his lip. He couldn't believe that Ryou would kill someone, even his own yami, who'd caused him so much pain.
"I vote for..." Ryou whispered, looking over at Bakura and smiling softly. "Myself."
Bakura gasped, his eyes widening.
"What?? You were supposed to vote for me! I'm the one who hurts you all the time, why don't you just get rid of me now?" The white-haired yami ran to Ryou, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. "Fool!"
Ryou closed his eyes and lay his head against Bakura's chest, making the tomb robber freeze.
"I know..." The English boy whispered. "You hurt me, possess me... But I could never kill you. Every time your soul is inside me we're closer than any two people could ever be... and I feel your love. But it hurts so much to have to harm the people I care about, and I'm so very tired..." Ryou breathed against Bakura's warm chest, silent tears leaving his closed eyes.
"Hikari..." Bakura whispered, looking down at the boy in his arms.
"Bakura... I do love you, but I can't let Yugi and the others die when it could be me instead." The white haired boy smiled softly through his tears, looking up into Bakura's eyes. "Do you think I could have a goodnight kiss?"
Bakura shuddered at those whispered words and leant down to press his lips to Ryou's, kissing him as he'd wanted to for so long. His fingers buried themselves in Ryou's snowy hair, tilting the hikari's head back a little to deepen the kiss and holding him up as his knees threatened to give out.
"Well, how sweet." The Dark Elf laughed, her eyes narrowed as she watched Bakura release Ryou, who slid to his knees, gasping for breath. Bakura raised his head from where he'd been looking down at Ryou and glared murderously at her.
"I still have my vote. But I need a moment before I cast it."
"Fine, then you have two minutes." The Dark Elf shrugged, folding her arms and smirking.
Ryou watched from where he knelt on the floor as Bakura walked over to Yami and Yugi, his eyes cold as death.
"Get lost, brat." Bakura snarled at Yugi, who clung tightly to Yami and attempted to hide behind him.
"Don't you dare talk to my hikari like that, tomb robber!" Yami growled, but Bakura gave him a cold look that silenced him straight away.
"I need to ask a favour of you. Alone." The former tomb robber frowned down at Yugi, who backed away, towards Ryou.
"It's alright, aibou. Don't worry." Yami smiled at Yugi, who nodded and ran over to where Ryou knelt, trembling.
"Now, what is it, thief?" The pharaoh demanded, narrowing his eyes. Bakura glanced around to make sure nobody else was listening to them, finding that Kaiba and Jou were now with Ryou and Yugi, and the Dark Elf was sitting on a root looking bored.
"I need you to change your vote." Bakura announced.
"Oh? And why would I do that?" Yami asked, confused.
"To save my hikari, idiot." Bakura smirked, unable to resist mocking the almighty king of games.
"How? Who am I supposed to vote for?" Yami scowled, choosing to ignore Bakura calling him an idiot.
"Well, I though you were supposed to be the one who comes up with all the amazing plans to rescue everybody. However, it seems it must be my turn. I can save everyone here, and most importantly I can save my hikari. So, do you feel up to it, pharaoh?" Bakura raised an eyebrow, knowing that Yami wouldn't be able to resist such an offer.
* * *
"Time's up, humans. So who do you vote for?" The Dark Elf asked, looking to Bakura for an answer.
"Wait a moment. May I change my vote?" Yami interrupted, striding forward to stand between Bakura and the duel monster.
"I suppose so, but only you. I don't have time to stand around here while you all change your minds." She frowned. Yami nodded his thanks to her and folded his arms across his chest.
"Then I vote for Bakura." Yami turned and pointed to the tomb robber, who grinned wickedly.
"And I vote for myself. I guess it's me, then." Bakura said, ignoring Ryou's gasped plea for him to stop.
"That's too bad, I was hoping you'd all refuse to vote so that I could kill you all. But, at least I get to kill one of you," the Dark Elf smirked, vanishing and reappearing right in front of Bakura, who looked up at the tall creature nonchalantly.
"Before you take my life, let me ask something. Are you bound by your word, the same way we were? Once we agreed to play this game we couldn't back out. Now you have to swear that since I've been voted for, the survivors get to leave." Bakura growled at her, narrowing his eyes.
"Fine, you have my word. Now it's time for you to die, little human." The tall creature hissed, reaching out her hand to touch Bakura's chest over his heart.
"No, Bakura!" Ryou cried, watching in horror as Bakura gave a sharp gasp of pain and staggered back against one of the huge trees, sliding down to the ground. The English hikari's eyes met with those of his yami for a moment before Bakura's slid closed and he vanished, his body fading into the mist all around them.
"B-Bakura..." Ryou whispered, stumbling over to where Bakura had been, kneeling down on the ground there and sobbing into his hands. "I love you... I love you..." He gasped, his shoulders shaking.
"Well, that was all very romantic and loving. However, now that I've had my fun I suppose I must keep my word and send you back where you came from." The Dark Elf sighed, about to open a portal for the survivors to return.
"About damn time," A deep, hissing voice announced, and the Dark Elf whirled around in shock to find Bakura walking over to Ryou, who was staring up at him with wide eyes.
"How can you be here?" Ryou whispered, on his knees before his yami.
"Yes, I just killed you!" The Dark Elf growled.
"Actually," Bakura smirked, taking Ryou's delicate hand and helping him up, "you didn't. I've been dead for almost five thousand years. You can hardly take my life when I don't have one, can you? You kept calling us humans and mortals, but two of us are neither. That baka pharaoh and I are spirits of the sennen items, and, although he seems to have forgotten, we don't have lives to take. You can't kill what isn't alive." Bakura hissed.
"What?!" The Dark Elf gasped, while Yugi, Jou and Kaiba all stared at Bakura and Yami, blinking.
"I thought you were going to vote for me. I was going to vote for myself as well, since I knew I couldn't be killed, just to see if you'd give a damn. I never thought you'd vote for yourself." Bakura said quietly to Ryou, who he'd drawn into his arms.
"I had to vote for someone, and you should have known that I'd never want to hurt you, no matter what you do to me." Ryou whispered back, leaning up a little for a kiss.
"Damn you!" The Dark Elf growled, glaring at Bakura, who just grinned.
"A deal is a deal, is it not?" The tomb robber said, watching as the Dark Elf grudgingly used her sharp nails to rip a portal in the air back to Domino City.
"It is, now get out of here before I change my mind." She snarled, vanishing back into the mist and leaving the portal hanging in the air. Kaiba smirked and lifted Jou into his arms, ignoring the blonde's protests as he carried him to the portal.
"Come on, puppy. We're going home."
Next Yami took Yugi by the hand, spared Bakura a quick glance, and led the small boy through the portal after Kaiba and Jou, who had already disappeared back to their own world.
"Shall we, hikari?" Bakura murmured against Ryou's throat, moving to kiss the boy's cheek and then his ear gently.
"Thank you, Bakura. That was quite a risk you took." Ryou smiled softly. "But... If I go back with you, you'll just keep using me as a puppet to hurt my friends, I can't-"
"I don't need to." Bakura whispered against Ryou's ear, making the boy shiver in his arms. "I possessed you so that I could be close to you. But I've just thought of a much better way to be inside you..."
Ryou gasped as Bakura's words were breathed against his skin, a shudder of anticipation running through him as he was picked up in strong arms and carried towards the portal.
"Then take me home, Bakura." Ryou whispered, laying his head against his yami's shoulder and closing his eyes.
The End