Hello again, and I'm sorry for any confusion, but I forgot to mention that Marik is Yami Marik, and Malik (who will be appearing later), is Marik/Malik Ishtar. I apologize for any misunderstandings~ Oh, and I own nothing. With that, let's continue!

-Echo

All was quiet as Bakura sat down in front of his bloody dinner, all kinds of meat lay before the demon and he picked up the nearby bottle of whiskey, taking a strong swig of the drink. His eyes seemed to move on their own as they glanced back over to his door, no longer hearing Marik and Yami whining about the cold. He shook his head to shake off any guilty thoughts, hoping they had just fallen asleep, and sank his teeth into a steak, ripping off a piece and letting the juices run down his chin.

The demon didn't notice Marik's wild hair as he peeked through the window, giving his head a sad shake, the earrings he wore flashing as the faint moonlight hit them, and plopped down beside Yami. He again curled up while Yami also decided to lay down, using his arm as a pillow of sorts. Marik's ears flattened sadly and he sighed, starting to shiver in the cold again.

Bakura growled and put down his fork, hearing a clatter. Assuming the reason he hadn't heard anything from Marik and Yami was because they had somehow managed to sneak in, he gave out an irritated shout, "I thought I told you two to stay outside!"

"We are outside!" came Yami's voice from near the door, his deep voice laced with annoyance.

Confused but skeptical as he didn't hear Marik reply, his flashing red eyes scanned every crack and cranny in the room, watching for a glimmer of gold or hearing a swish of a tail.

"This is nice, not home, but nice."

He heard a voice, it was too small to be Marik's and he spun around, looking wildly for the source, "Who was that-?" "Up here, dude." The voice automatically answered. With that, Bakura turned his gaze upwards, his red eyes widening as he spotted to fairies flying above him. One had dark brown hair that came to a point, a yellow magic surrounding while other, which had a long black ponytail, radiated with green magic that matched his eyes.

His narrowed eyes sharpening into a glare, Bakura demanded, "What the hell are you doing?"

"Chillin'." shrugged the brown-haired one, giving a casual shrug.

A growl rumbled in the demon's throat and his fangs flashed dangerously, but before he could do anything, a booming crash interrupting him and making him spin around. A group of dwarfs had pushed a glass case, containing what appeared to be a dead girl inside, onto his dining table, shoving his dinner off and crashing to the floor. His mind reeling from all the sudden activity, Bakura placed his arms on the container and began to press against it, "No, no! Dead broad off the table!"

"Where else are we supposed to put her?" one of them defied, most likely the leader, "The bed's taken!" Bakura blinked stupidly at the short creature before rushing over to a black curtain and pushing it to the side, revealing a wolf in a pink nightgown reading a book, relaxing in his bed. The demon went from confused to angry as the canine looked at him dully, "What?" Lips curled in a snarl, he snatched up his uninvited guest by the back of his shirt and roughly dragging him to the front door. Angrily opening the door, he tossed the wolf outside, but his eyes widened as he saw that his yard was filled with witches, gnomes, and whatever other fairytale creatures you could think of. Among them, Marik and Yami looked around in confusion, though the hybrid looked happy as well at the thought of not being alone anymore.

Shaking with anger, the demon stomped his foot and howled at everyone, fangs gleaming and eyes glowing, making him look even more dangerous than usual, "What the fuck are you doing in my swamp?!"

As his deep voice echoed through the trees, every creature froze in their tracks and stared at Bakura, eyes fearful and bodies shaking. Some rushed for cover inside the tents that had been put up and fairies and gnomes tried to hide behind taller creatures. One poor witch even fainted.

The pale demon pushed away those that were far too close to his home for comfort, growling, "Get out, just keep moving!" However, some of the smaller visitors managed to run past him and into his house, slamming the door behind them. "No, not there you bastards!" As he yanked the locked door, he set his flaring glare to Yami and Marik. Alarmed at being the victim of the enraged male's anger, Yami put up his hands and blurted out, "Don't look at us, we didn't invite them!"

A small girl with blonde hair stepped out from the crowd, slowly moving her wooden arms as she explained, "Well, no one invited us, we were forced to come here."

"By who?"

"Lord Pegasus..." the wooden girl began, flinching and mumbling sadly, "He signed an eviction notice."

Heaving a loud sigh, Bakura shook his head, this would only happen to him. He gazed at the crowd and spoke, "Who knows where to find this...Pegasus?" There was a moment of silence before Marik grinned brightly, shooting up his hand and forcing Yami's up, "Oh~! We do! We do!"

Trying his best to ignore the hybrid, Bakura stared hopefully around at the crowd, almost praying someone else would raise their hand, anyone at all at this point, "Does anyone else know where he is? Anyone at all?"

"We do, we do, we do-" Marik continued to chant, waving his arm around, gaining several odd look from nearby creatures.

Sighing in defeat and his shoulders slumping, Bakura nodded, "Okay, fine!" Practically glaring at the crowd, he snarled loudly so everyone could hear, "Attention all of you, don't get too comfortable! Once I find this Pegasus guy, I'm kicking all of your asses out and back to wherever the hell you came from!" There wasn't a peep from the crowd before they broke out into loud and happy cheer, excited about the thought of returning back home. Turning his sharp gaze to Marik and Yami, he growled, "As for you, you're coming with me."

Marik nodded quickly, ears perked up and tail weaving with excitement, "Yes! C'mon Yami, we're off on an adventure!" He grabbed the magician's arm as he followed Bakura. The demon roughly yanked a torch out of a gnome's hand and headed out into the forest, the firelight glowing in his eyes. Marik continued to blabber on about whatever subject popped into his head, giving both Bakura and Yami a headache in the process.

...

There was the clapping of feet against stone as a man proudly strutted down the long hallway, his red suit standing out against the dull colored walls and silvery-purple hair. Behind him trailed a handsome brunet man with eyes as cold as his personality. The two paused in front of a tall door, two knights standing guard but instantly moved out of the way as they saw their lord, letting the two men easily pass. The man in the rich red suit, who was Lord Pegasus, easily opened the door, greeted with a hacking noise.

He let a deep smirk grow onto his face and he stepped forward, telling a man in a black mask, "I believe he's ready to talk." The masked male nodded and moved out of the way toward the wall, revealing a teenager strapped to a cold, metal table. His hair was thick and messy and a bright golden blond, a pair of dog ears laying atop his hair like it was hay. Pegasus sneered down at him like he was simply disgusted just by looking at him, "Okay, freak, are you ready to tell where the rest of you fairytale heathens are?"

The blond shook his head, straining against the shackles that held him down and barked at the lord, spitting in his eye, "Bite me, ya bastard!" He instantly had one of his limp ears yanked by the taller male, who warned, voice showing that he had all intentions of going through with his threat, "If you don't tell me, I'll chop off your ears, you mutt."

The blond glared back at Pegasus, teeth bared, "Do it, I dare ya!" But before any ears could be hacked off, there was a clang as the door was thrown open, shivering as it hit the cold wall, "My lord, we found it!" the captain of the guards declared, his eyes wide. Pegasus's face lit up, completely forgetting about the interrogation and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? Bring it in!"

Merely a few moments passed before two knights came in, carefully carrying a large object covered with a soft-looking cloth. As they neatly hung it up, the blanket was removed to reveal a beautiful mirror, extraordinary designs and marking etched into its frame. However, what amazed everyone was that a face soon appeared in the glass. The face seemed to be wearing a red hat and had a purple stand of hair sticking out from the rest of his brown hair.

Pegasus, keeping his enthusiasm, whispered excitedly, "Magic mirror..." The face tilted his head and interrupted, "Uh, actually my name is Rex." "Don't tell him anything!" the blond strapped to the table barked, beginning to struggle against his binds again. With a swift movement, Seto muffled his protests by putting his hand over his mouth, and even when he continued to struggle, one harsh glare from the brunet effectively shut him up.

Doing his best to block out what the dog-eared boy said, Pegasus continued speaking to the mirror, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, is this not the most perfect kingdom of them all?"

Rolling his eyes as he was still not called by his correct name, he answered slowly, "Well, technically you're not a king."

At that, Pegasus glanced at the black masked man, who pulled out a tiny hand mirror and shattered with it a punch, the shards of glass clattering to the ground. "You were saying?" the lord sneered, raising an eyebrow, expecting no more defiance. The face went pale, his eyes widening and he stuttered out, tripping over his words, "Well, wh-what I mean is, you're n-not a king, yet! Though, you can become one, all you have to do is marry a princess." He paused for a moment, then added, "...or prince, whichever sex you prefer."

Pegasus's dark eyes lit up at the thought, having a prince rule by his side, "A prince...what a marvelous idea. Carry on."

"Well, let's see. Hm...who would be right for you...?" After a few moments of quietness, the lord grew impatient and crossed his arms, shooting an irritated glare at the mirror in front of him. Noticing this, Rex exclaimed quickly, "Oh, I know! How about Prince Ryou?" His face faded away, swirling around only to be replaced by an image. The picture depicted a boy with a lovely, innocent face, pale skin, long ivory hair past his shoulders, and deep brown eyes like those of a doe. His expression was bored and lonely, staring out the window of a stone tower.

"Prince Ryou...he's perfect." Pegasus stated, his eyes staring at the picture until it faded away and Rex's face returned. "Though, he's kind of, you know, trapped in a tower guarded by a monster." Rex said, and he also tried to add something else, a hesitant look on his face, but Pegasus had turned away and ordered, "Captain, gather your best men! We're going to have a tournament."

...

There was rustling in a field and Bakura's figure stepped out, Yami and Marik following right after. Marik looked around curiously as they seemed to walk through a parking lot before all three pairs of eyes locked onto the massive castle that reached up into the sky, having a regal air to it as all castles should.

Marik's tail weaved around and he smirked, saying with a victorious tone, "See~? I told you I'd get us here!"

Acting as if the blond hadn't even spoken, Bakura turned his attention back to the castle, "So that's Lord Pegasus's castle, eh?" A smirk crossed his face and he glanced back knowingly at Yami and Marik, "You think he's compensating for something?" The demon snickered at his joke and began to head for the castle, his laughter continuing to follow him and drift in the air. Yami rolled his purple eyes as the immature joke while confusion was written all over Marik's face, he didn't seem to understand it. As the distance between them and the demon grew, Yami called out, starting to run after him, "Hey, wait for us!"

Bakura paused for a moment, not because the magician had told him to, but took the time to stare oddly at the turnstile that stood in his way. Rolling his eyes, he easily pushed through it, Yami quickly following. However, Marik didn't have all the grace of a feline so he somehow got stuck between the bars and as he struggled, the turnstile spun around completely, flipping Marik with it. The hybrid landed harshly on his stomach, his tail laying flat in pain. Opening his eyes, he smiled sheepishly as Bakura and Yami stared at him, rolling their eyes at his stupidity.

There wasn't a person in sight and there wasn't a sound, just the light howling of the wind. Yami scanned the courtyard, raising an eyebrow, "It's quiet..." he whispered, expecting the place to be bustling with life. "Too quiet..." added Bakura, his eyes glowing with suspicion, "Where is everybody?"

Right then, as if the world has been generous enough to answer the demon's question, the blaring of trumpets echoed proudly from the other end of the courtyard. The three wasted no time in rushing toward the sound, almost becoming a blur. They slowed down, looking around carefully as they went into a tunnel before entering a clearing, it seemed to be an arena with people crowding the seats. Bakura headed for some knights who were in a straight line and had all their focus on Pegasus, the man standing proudly atop a balcony with knights on either side of him.

His voice was loud enough to even be heard among the cheering and shouting of the crowd. He began proudly, placing his hands on the edge of the balcony, "This is to see which brave knight gains the honor...no, privilege, of rescuing the lovely Prince Ryou. If by the off chance the winner fails his quest, the runner-up will take his place...and so on and so forth." He gave an uncaring shrug of his shoulders, smiling to himself before continuing, "Some of you may die...but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make." Despite the horrible statement, the knights stood their ground and stood proudly as the crowd continued to jump with excitement, Pegasus finally declaring, "Let the tournament begin!"

But, it never began as Bakura pushed past the knights, finally stepping from their spot to put some distance between themselves the the demon. The crowd stopped cheering and began to gasp and stare in shock upon seeing the pale creature, a hybrid and magician following in behind him. Pegasus's dark eyes widened and his nose wrinkled in disgust, crying out, "Ugh! What is that?! It's hideous!"

Bakura gave a slight pout and crossed his arms, "Now that's not very nice..." He glanced back at Marik, who looked back at him, "It's just a hybrid." The blond behind him had a look of shock spread across his face, his jaw practically dropping and tail bristling with offense.

"...indeed." Pegasus stated, nodding and slightly amused by Bakura's sense of humor. With a snap of his fingers before pointing at the white-haired creature, the lord proclaimed, "Knights, new plan! The first one to kill the demon is the champion, kill him!"