Ryou: *sweatdrops* What's she ranting about?

Bakura: She had a dream about you last night. It was actually a pretty cool one, and she's going to work it into Sacrifice of Shadows somehow.

Ryou: -_-;; She's started work on SoS already? But VotH isn't even close to being done!

WSJ: *getting to her feet, now back in her right mind* Actually, closer then you think Ry-chan. What is this, chapter twelve? *thinks for a moment* It'll probably run about sixteen or seventeen chapters, twenty at the most. ^_^ And it gets a lot angsty-er. These next two chapters will be sort-of humorous, but after that it goes right downhill again. *sniffles* Ok, small teaser: Ushio, Ryou, hospital. *sniffles again*

Ryou: *sighs* Don't give too much away onee-chan...

WSJ: *waves him off* I won't... After all, I was hinting at the "Yami-Mokuba" thing for like four chapters and only a couple people actually got it. *sighs* Maybe I'm not as good as I tend to let you guys let me think... I don't think this story is sad at all! I've read much sadder ones. But you guys keep saying it's so great... *shrugs* Whateva'... *giggles* Watch out for Joey in this chapter. He tries to play hero. ^_^; He doesn't quite suceed, but we love him anyway... Practically this whole chapter is forshadowing for SoS. ^_^;

Bakura: She doesn't own us.

WSJ: Oh, and in chapter 9, one line of Bakura's spell is Elvish. Quenya. ^_^ It means 'darkness has come, darkness has fallen'. Kudos to those who noticed. As to the reason I put it in... *shrugs* I just wanted to see if anyone did notice. Hey Bakura, present!

Bakura: O.O What is it? *edges away from the box*

WSJ: Nothin' much, jus' a present from HotaruMaxwell. *the name gives her an idea* Hey, Hotaru! How 'bout I save these for Pine Cones and Holly Are Not Good to Eat? *giggles* They'll make a great chapter, all on their own! Not to mention the plane tickets... *grins evilly*

()()()()()

Visions of the Heart

Chapter 12 -- Wanted Men

~Joey's POV~

All around the room eyes widened and jaws dropped as the cops continued to pound on the door.

"Chikusho, they're fast..." Yugi muttered. Later on that would bug me, since Yugi almost never curses, but at the moment we all had bigger things to worry about.

Ryou seemed to be thinkin' about the fastest out of all of us. I guess goin' through that much hell and trama in 48 hours can cause a guy to be quick on his feet. "Hurry," he said, motioning to a door next to the one that led to the den that none of us had noticed before. "Go down into the basement. I'll stay up here and act as if nothing's wrong." We hesitated and he heaved a sigh. "Look, it'll look suspicious if I wait too long to answer the door. Just go."

Everyone nodded and headed for the stairs, but I held up a hand to stall them. "Wait a sec. I gotta idea." I grinned. "Hey Kaiba, up for a little haunting?"

He eyed me suspiciously. "What do you have in mind chihuaua?"

I grimaced. "And ta' think when I thought you was dead I was gonna miss ya'... Let's have Mokuba, Ryou and Kaiba be the only ones up here. No, better idea, Bakura, Mokuba and Kaiba, since no one knows Ryou's blind 'cept us. Bakura, you immitate Ryou and read a book on the couch or somethin'. Kaiba, you and Mokuba pretend to be ghosts. Talk ta' the coppers and such, but Bakura, you pretend that ya' can't see or hear 'em. Like they really are ghosts."

Tristan grinned and gave me a thumbs up. "Great idea! And that'll freak 'em out enough to give us time to come up with something better!"

I nodded. "Tha's the plan." Everyone quickly agreed, even Kaiba, which surprised me, and the rest of us headed for the basement. It was cold and dank, like most basements, and was lined with shelves. Row opon row of bottles, cans and jars.

"You were right Ryou," Yami said as he inspected a nearby row of cans. "I don't believe some of the stuff Bakura's got down here..."

Malik sweatdropped as he stared at a huge metal drum in the corner, it's contents printed across the side in black along with a bright yellow radioactivity sign. "Nitroglyserin? Is that really what he's got in there, or just the tub he's using to hold something else?"

Ryou sighed and sweatdropped slightly. "It's nitroglyserin... He's got so many explosive chemicals down here that if someone were to light a match the whole place would go off like a nuclear explosion."

I gulped and backed into the center of the room, Tea, Tristan, Yugi and Isis quickly joining me. My foot hit something, and I glanced down. Then I yelped and jumped several feet to the side. "Holy cheesburgers! That's a flamethrower!!!"

"Shhhhhh!" Malik said, running over and putting her hand over my mouth. "I hear something..."

We were distracted for the moment from Bakura's stockpile of black market weaponry as footsteps sounded overhead and we heard muffled voices. There was a cruel laugh that I knew could only be Kaiba, and then screams and more footsteps as lots of little fat men in blue sprinted for the front door, slamming it behind them.

We stayed huddled in the basement for what seemed like an eternity, crowded in on all sides by explosives and every sort of weapon you can imagine, from sabers to machine guns, trying not to breathe too loud, lest something go off.

Finally the door at the top of the stairs opened and Kaiba stuck his head around. "Ok, come on up. They took Mokuba and Bakura with them."

"What for?" Yugi asked as we hurried up the stairs, grateful to leave Bakura's lab behind.

Kaiba sighed. "They believed my ghost act, but not Mokuba's. They 'rescued' him, and arrested his 'kidnapper', aka Bakura."

"Why didn't you just explain to them what happened?" Tea asked.

Yami-Malik sweatdropped. "Oh, sure, 'See, it wasn't these guys who murdered me. No, it was this guy over here, but he was posessed by a demon at the time, so let's all just shake hands and be friends, ok?' Yeah, that'd go over really well..."

Tea mushroom-sighed. "I see your point..."

"We should get out of here..." Yugi said nervously, as if a copper might jump out and bite him at any moment.

The rest of us agreed. "My house is closest to here." I said. "We should try and head over there. Dad'll be at work this time of day. Serenity's comin' ta' visit sometime today, but after she hears the news headlines I doubt she will."

And so began our mini-journey. We snuck through back-alleys and even-farther-back-alleys for a little over four blocks until I saw the welcoming sight of my house ahead of us. I was just about to leap out of the alley and run for the door when Tristan grabbed ahold of my arm. "Watch it, cops at three-oh-clock."

"Wha'? But it's only eleven-thirty."

He sighed. "Forget it Jo'..."

"Leave it to me." Kaiba said, darting into the shadows and steadily creeping closer to the duo of police officers stationed on our pourch. He then sprinted across the lawn and around the side of the house. The cops, with a shout of disbelief, quickly followed.

The rest of us ran like hell for the door and I desperately fished around in my pocket for my house key. Oh why hadn't I had it ready?

To my surprise the door was suddenly opened by Serenity. For the moment I had to let it go as we ran inside and I hurried around closing drapes, lest someone catch a glimpse of us.

"Joey!"

I turned at Tea's shout and could have smacked myself. She stood next to the door, giving me a very distressed look, and I instantly knew why. In the rush to get to the door and out of sight, we'd forgotten that there was no way Ryou could know this terrain well enough to run it blind. He was still crouched in the mouth of the alley, a vaguly paniked look on his face.

"I'll get 'im." I said, knowing that I had to hurry. The cops wouldn't be distracted by Kaiba-the-ghost for long. I stuck my head out the door and then sprinted back across our yard, expecting at any moment for a cop to appear and stick a gun in my face. I made it safely to Ryou, but was chagrined to find I was sweating something horrible.

I grabbed his arm and whispered feircly "Even with me to guide you you won't be able to run fast enough to make it back inside. So I'm gonna pick you up, toss you over my shoulder and sprint. Ok? Just trust me."

He swallowed hard and nodded. "I do, Joey."

I smiled, even though he couldn't see me. "Good. Ok, get ready." He braced himself and I heaved him so that I was holding him around the knees, his face and arms trailing down my back. I took several deep breaths to calm myself, and then ran, the Millenium Ring, hanging down from around Ryou's neck, bouncing against my butt.

We almost made it. Unfortunately, in this game, "almost" didn't count. I was within five feet of the pourch when a cop stepped out in front of me, his arms spread wide. "Stop, in the name of the law!"

"Do ya' have any idea a' how cheesey that sounds?" I asked, trying to dart around him. He managed to catch my shoulder, almost causing me to drop Ryou on his head.

As it was, both of us got thrown to the ground, and before we could get up again the cop had his gun out and trained on us and his partner was running up, drawing his own as he came. I put a hand on Ryou's shoulder to stop him from trying to run again and looked desperatly at the door to the house.

Tea and Malik stood on one side of it and Yugi on the other, their eyes wide in horror. Between them I could see Tristan struggling to hold onto my sister, who was tryng to get away, tears in her eyes. I locked eyes with her a moment, and she calmed down a little, seeing there was nothing she could do. Now instead of struggling to get to me, she just turned and began to sob into Tristan's trench coat.

"You are under arrest for possible involvement in a murder plot. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law..."

I tuned out the rest of my rights as the other cop hauled Ryou and I to our feet and cuffed our hands in front of us. Thankfully he got the message, however, that Ryou couldn't see and led him to the cop car instead of just expecting him to walk on his own.

They shoved the two of us into the back and then the two of them climbed into the front. We started off, sirens blaring.

I realised suddenly that I was trembling, and Ryou was too. I scooted over a little on the padded seat and leaned my shoulder against his, just so he'd know I was still there. He turned a little and smiled at me, showing he appreciated my support, and both of us were a little calmer.

~Bakura's POV~

I had been sitting in the corner of the holding cell for about twenty or so minutes, my cuffed hands laying across my knees, trying to figure out how in pharoah's name I'd gotten myself into this mess. The cops had stormed in and immediately placed me under arrest, demanding to know where Mokuba was. I said I didn't know, and they didn't believe me, so the Kaibas started up their ghost act.

Unfortunately Mokuba came out of the den, where he'd been hiding, before Seto came out from the kitchen. The cops set on him with a mind to 'rescue' him, and even when the elder Kaiba did appear they just ran away screaming, dragging Mokuba and I along. Once we'd gotten to the police station they'd thrown me in here, ushered Mokuba into a nice cushy office, from what I had seen of it, and I hadn't seen the little black-haired brat since.

I didn't look up when the cell across from mine was opened, nor when the one next to it was opened as well.

One of the cops snickered at me as he turned to go. "Looks like you've got some company punk."

I sneered at him and turned away, but a familiar tossel of snowy hair in the cell directly across from me caught my attention. "Ryou!" I crawled forward as best I could and sat down next to the bars. "Ryou, did they hurt you at all?"

My hikari shook his head, I was relieved to see, and my voice had caught the attention of the third prisinor in the hall with us.

"'Ey, Bakura. Long time no see, 'eh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Oh great, now they've desided to torture us by putting Joseph into the cell next to ours."

Joey looked at me indignantly, clanking his own hand-cuffs against the bars of his cell. "'Ey, don't be a yami..."

This statement was so absurd that Ryou began to laugh, and I snickered. "Joey, you have no idea..."

But as quickly as it had come, the light-hearted moment passed. "We're in real trouble..." Ryou said quietly. "If they caught us, they won't give up until they get the others too."

"But we're innocent. We know that, so we just gotta make 'em see." Joey said.

"I think that's easier said then done..."

We sat in silence for a long time, the only sounds being the faint chatter of a radio news report in an ajoining office. "'Ey," Joey said, frowning. "Did they jus' say somethin' about Yug'?"

The three of us strained our ears, trying to catch the fuzzy sounds.

"...Wheelers house... Moto... himself up... arrested..."

"Dangitall!" Joey yelled, throwing his fists, along with the heavy hand-cuffs, against the concrete floor. "Yug', don't be an idiot!"

"He's thinking that by giving himself up he might be able to get us out." I snarled. "Yeah, that sounds like him all right..."

"No..." Ryou whispered softly, so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. "No, iie, ~no~!"

I stared at my hikari in amazement as around his neck the Millenium Ring activated, throwing off a pure white light instead of it's usual gold glow. The light spread, until it outlined Ryou, flying from his finger-tips and sparking off the ends of his hair, which was now floating behind him, like a bizzare, snowy cape. His eyes flashed once, and were suddenly completely white, from edge to edge. No pupul, no iris, no color, not even any dullness, nothing but pure white.

"Bakura, what is it? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

In the back of my mind I registered the fact that Joey was yelling at me, but at the moment ignored him. The way our three cells were situated, Joey and Ryou both had a clear view of me, and I of them, but they could not see each other. Maybe that was for the better.

My jaw dropped as Ryou began to speak, and I felt reality distort around us. He was doing something, but I didn't know what, and I don't think he did either.

" مَا هُمْ لَهُ هُمْ بانَ كَ صِدْق هُمْ مُسَاعِد بانَ كَلَّا نَهِير أَهْدَى هُمْ بُهْتَان الحالِيَّة أَهْجَرَ هُمْ رَأَى كَوَّنَ هُمْ تَعَقَّدَ أَنَا خَلِيل كُلّ مُتَفَكِّك"

The glow began to fade from around him, and he blinked. Once he did, his eyes were normal, and I mean normal, but just for a second. He looked across the small hallway and into my eyes, a small smile lighting on his features. "أَنَا كانَ كَثِير عِنْدَئِذٍ أَنْتُنَّ حَزْر أَنَا آخَر نِصْف" he said.

And then he blinked again, and his brown eyes were once again dulled and sightless. He kneeled motionless in the middle of the concrete cell for a moment, and then, ever so slowly, like he was just laying down to sleep, he tipped to the side and fell.

"Bakura!!! What just happened?" Joey asked, a rather annoyed look on his face as he vainly tried to stick his head out between the bars and get a look at Ryou. "What was all that jibberish?"

"Arabic," I said numbly, still staring at Ryou. His eyes were closed and his breathing even, so I knew he was asleep. But Joey's question was a good one. What had just happened? It wasn't magic, I knew that. The Ring didn't have that kind of power, and besides, it just didn't have the same feel that magic or a cast spell did.

"So, what did he say? I didn't know Ryou spoke Arabic."

Neither did I.

I forced my mind away from the puzzle at hand and looked at Joey. "He didn't say much of anything." I lied, casting my mind back for what his words had been.

"What they once thought they knew as truth, they will know no more. Give them lies and let them see, make them set my friends all free."

It sounded like a curse, but I got the feeling that the words were just for show, and Ryou could have done what he did even without saying them. But more chilling then that, to my mind, was what he'd said when, for his one moment of sight, he'd looked into my eyes, and it seemed like into my very soul.

"I am more then you guess, my other half..."

More then you guess...

I sucked my breath in sharply as the answer appeared before me, as clear as a bell. "Oh Ra..."

But I didn't have time, at least not then, to find out if I was right. A big, burly policeman walked in, scratching his head and looking altogether puzzled. "You three are free to go. I just don't know what could have happened..." He unlocked our cells and then led us outside, Ryou carried in my arms, still mumbling to himself.

I grinned as I looked down at my sleeping light, and then over at Joey's confused face.

I knew what had happened.

~Third Person POV~

"Briar-Rose, you failed to capture a pure heart for our beloved and beautiful realm. What do you plan to do about this?"

Briar-Rose looked at the Five Elders sitting in front of her. Each were in their own way unique, and each had taken the form of a Duel Monster, for convienience, although they were far more powerful then those pathetic creatures. The first, and the one Briar-Rose trusted the least, was Witty Phantom. He was also the strongest of the Council of Five, which made her like him even less. Next was the Harpie Lady, followed by Dark Magician, Magician of Faith and Celtic Guardian.

Briar-Rose bowed slightly. "I have already found my next target. A maiden with the most pure heart I have seen in millenia. And this time no yamis or hikaris or any mortal of any kind will get in my way!"

Dark Magician nodded at her. "All right then. Go."

Briar-Rose nodded. "As you wish."

()()()()()

WSJ: *giggles* Bakura may know what happened, and what Ryou did, but do you? No more about it will show up in VotH (except, maybe, the last chapter) but it'll play a big part in SoS once it comes out.

Ryou: *sweatdrop* "Maiden with a pure heart"? WSJ, I think you've been reading too many Sailor Moon mangas again...

WSJ: ,-_-, I know onii-san, but I only read them so I can draw mustaches on all the pictures of Rini! Can I help it if I hate an idiotic pink-haired brat?

Ryou: *blinks* Now that you mention it, no. So who is this "maiden with a pure heart"?

WSJ: ^_~ That's for me to know and you to find out in SoS!

Ryou: *sigh*

WSJ: Big hugs to Eruantale, who helped my out with the Arabic in this chapter! *hugs* And, to thank her for her help and her lovely website, I give her a Chibi-Yugi of her very own!

Chibi-Yugi: *smiles shyly* Hewwo...

WSJ: *squeals* I'm also giving out a Chibi-Bakura, because Jo drew me a fanart!!! *super-big hugs* The first time anyone's ever drawn me a fanart! I draw a lot, but somehow I can never do it for my own stories... *scratches head* I tried to draw Jakan (from A Yami of my Own) and it came out looking like Joey on steroids... *winces*

Chapter 13: Now free of the police, our heros try to figure out what the heck happened. Bakura knows, and Ryou half-way knows, but neither one of them are tellin'. All too soon their weekend of relaxation ends, and it's time for all of them, Ryou included, to go back to school...

God bless minna-san!