A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed! To be honest with you guys, last chapter was not how I was originally planning on Bakura finding out about Marik. There were two other possibilities; Atem coming in as a member of Nemesis, with him being from the Capital, so he'd know about Marik's tattoos under his eyes. And... then he'd point that out in front of everyone. Either that or... well, it happens in this chapter, so read and find out!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own YGO. Only this story.

NOTES:

1) Chronos Times is the newspaper. I forgot to mention this before, but Chronos is actually the name of the world they live in. Chronos is the god of time.

2) The name "Kek" for Malik comes from Miss Macabre Grey. Thanks for letting me use it!

3) There will be Deathshipping in this fic.

Chapter 4:

TRUTH AND LIES

A deadly silence filled the bathroom, Bakura staring at Marik with wide eyes. Slowly, he closed the bathroom door, trapping them inside. He let out a cold laugh, his eyes glaring at Marik with an intense hate. "So, let me get this straight," Bakura hissed. Marik winced at the ferocity. "First of all, you're from the royal family - which, may I remind you, created this fucked up world we live in now. Second, you're on the run from the Legion, already putting me and my brother in enough danger. Do I have it down?"

Marik looked up at Bakura. Guilt-ridden lilac met infuriated crimson. "Yes," he said slowly. "You're correct." In a fit of rage, Bakura grabbed Marik by the throat and pushed him up against the wall. He didn't squeeze, but the threat remained. Marik's breath hitched in fear, eyes wide. Was he going to die here? Now? By Bakura's hands, no less?

"One more time. You're telling me that my little brother is in danger, more danger than he's ever been in before," Bakura growled. Marik didn't trust his voice, so he nodded. The hands tightened for a fraction of a second, before loosening again. He didn't know why he expected anything less. The Cerberian was obviously a brute, and seemed to be the type who acted before thinking. A person driven by pure emotion, if it was strong enough. And that current emotion was rage. Honestly, what had Marik gotten himself into?

Bakura's mind was in overdrive. He was confused, unsure what to do with the tanned teen he had pinned against the wall by the throat. He didn't want to kill him, as much as his hands itched to, and he sure as hell didn't need a murder charge on his head on top of all thus. Plus, Marik was royalty, apparently, and he was sure he'd at least get tortured before they killed him.

In his fog of fury, Bakura felt like something was off. Something... didn't fit; didn't make any sense. Why was Marik here, and not in the Capital? Again, he was royalty, and who didn't want royalty? It was strange. This teen before him was wrapped in mysteries. Did he know something that everyone else didn't? About... everything that had happened in the last 6 years? Bakura didn't like this. He had a bad feeling about what he was getting into, and he didn't know why.

As the two stared each other down, Bakura came to a decision. He let go of Marik's throat, the other sliding down on the floor, grasping at his neck. Marik looked up, confused. So... Bakura wasn't going to kill him? Deciding to chance speaking, he slowly stood up. "So, what are you going to do with me? Throw me out? Leave me for the Legion?" he guessed, staring Bakura in the eyes.

Bakura scowled. "You know something," he said lowly. "You know something that everyone else doesn't know, am I right?" Marik bit his lip. What should he say? A couple moments of silence passed between the two. "I'll take your silence as a yes, then," Bakura sighed, scratching the back of his head. "Come on, we have to get back to bed." He turned, opening the door. A hand grabbed his elbow, stopping him. Bakura turned, scowl still plastered on his face. "What?"

"Why are you letting me go?" Marik asked softly. "You were... going to kill me, right? Why didn't you do it?" Bakura stared at Marik like he was crazy. Did the kid have a death wish or something?

"You honestly thought I was going to kill you?" he chuckled. Marik simply nodded once. "Wow. You impress me, Ishtar. But, you underestimate my intelligence." The tanned teen puffed out his cheeks.

"And what's that supposed to mean? By the way I saw it, you looked like you couldn't give a flying fuck whether I died or not. So, why didn't you do it yourself?" he grumbled. "And it's not like I want to die or anything! I'm just... curious."

Bakura stayed silent, before flashing Marik a smirk. "I'd rather die a quick, painless death than be tortured for murdering a royal family member," he explained. "Besides, you know things others don't. I'm not letting that knowledge go to waste." With a quiet laugh, he left the bathroom, backtracking to the bedroom.

Marik gaped after Bakura, then hurried after him. "What, so I'm a fountain of information for you now?" he hissed softly once he caught up to the Cerberian. Bakura grinned down at him.

"You know what they say. Information is power. And in Nemesis, the more power you have, the higher up you are," he whispered. As they reached their bedroom door, still open, Bakura turned to Marik. "So, Ishtar. Will our conversation be public, or will it be private?"

Marik glared at Bakura. So, this is what it lead to. Blackmail, of course. "Private," he hissed out. Two could play at that game. "Unless you have your own death wish, that is. I'll let you know the prince isn't very forgiving. You're already in for a slight torturing just for knowing me and helping me out. Granted, I've been eluding him for six years now, so I'd be off worse. However." He stepped closer to Bakura, glaring right into his eyes. "You said you'd rather die a quick, painless death. I can assure you that if we get caught, that won't happen. But go ahead, release this information. Be my guest."

Bakura returned the glare. The little royal bitch had turned the tables on him. He underestimated Marik, that's for sure. Slowly, a smirk made his way up his lips. "Alright, Marik," he said slowly. "You have a deal. I won't tell anyone anything, and neither will you."

Marik grinned. "I'm glad you saw reason," he said slyly. Stretching, he backed away from Bakura and made his way to his makeshift bed. "I'm going back to sleep. Say hi to Ryou in the morning for me."

Marik woke up feeling better than ever. After that whole confrontation with Bakura, he actually felt... refreshed; like a weight was lifted off his chest. Vaguely, he wondered if it even happened, and if it was just a dream, instead...

"Hey, princess, get up," Bakura's gruff voice demanded. Marik's eyes snapped to the whitette's form, currently sprawled out on his bed reading a Chronos Times issue. So, princess was his new nickname, then. Marik guessed it the whole confrontation did happen, and now Bakura knew about him. Slowly, the younger teen stood from his pile of blankets, yawning.

"Don't call me princess, asshole," Marik growled, rubbing his eyes. He looked over to the window; the sun was high in the sky. "Yeesh, what time is it?"

Bakura scowled at him. "It's nearly 1 PM," he growled. "I wanted to wake you up earlier, but Ryou said to let you sleep. He left around an hour ago, and I decided to go ahead and wake you, unless you didn't first." His scowl turned up into a smirk. "I guess princesses need their beauty sleep, hm?"

Marik flushed, glaring at Bakura. "I said, don't call me princess!" he hissed. "I'm not... I left the Capital to get away from all that, jerk face!"

Bakura raised an eyebrow at him. "Jerk face? Man, Marik, your insults need some serious work," he commented, sitting up and getting off his bed. "But then again, princesses do need to censor themselves. It's unrefined to insult others." He chuckled as the other puffed out his cheeks in anger, setting his Chronos Times on his night stand.

"Ugh, whatever," Marik groaned. Suddenly, there was a knocking on the door. Bakura growled, making his way over and throwing it open.

"What?" he grunted, glaring at the Nemesis member before him. Marik moved next to Bakura, eyebrows furrowed. The girl on the other side of the doorway looked nervous, a worried frown present. Her hands were behind her back, as if hiding something.

"Charon," she began, setting her eyes on Bakura. "I have... a letter for you. It's from the Capital. I didn't open it, but..." She put her arms in front of her, forcing towards Bakura a brown envelope. Bakura snatched it from her hands, looking it over. Indeed, it did say it was from the Capital. And addressed to him, from... The girl rushed off, now that her task was done.

Bakura didn't say anything, but shut the door slowly. "It's from the prince," he announced. Marik stiffened, staring at the envelope. With a grunt, Bakura tore open the envelope, and read out loud the contents.

"Dear Mr. Charon, and possibly Mr. Ishtar..." Marik's eyes widened at this. How had they found him already? "I send this with my deepest condolences. You see, you have something very precious of mine, Mr. Charon. In return, I've taken something precious from you." Bakura's eyes widened, mind cranking. "If you don't return Marik to me, I'm afraid I'll have to take drastic measures. And I'm certain you wouldn't want that. Come to the Capital. Don't try to run off. I'll know right away if you try anything funny. Signed, Kek."

"Kek?" Marik muttered thoughtfully. "I see... so he took on a different name." He looked up at Bakura, who was staring at the page. "Hey... how long ago did you say Ryou was out?" Bakura's eyes met his for a split second, before they rushed out of the room and down to the bar area. They received numerous curious glances from the other members.

"Kujaku!" Bakura called out. Mai turned, blinking at her fellow member. "We-" he gestured between him and Marik "-are going out for a while. If we don't come back, don't look for us."

Mai narrowed her eyes at the two men. There was a rush in Bakura's voice that she didn't like. Bakura was their best thief, and if Nemesis lost him, it would be a huge loss. "And where exactly are you going?" she asked hesitantly.

"We're going to the Capital," Marik answered. The bar area went deadly silent. "We... have business to take care of there."

"The Capital... huh..." Mai repeated slowly. "So, do you have a way of getting there? Or rather, do you even know the way there?"

Bakura grinned, putting his arm around Marik. "I have an escort, you could say," he said slyly. The tanned teen flushed, trying to pull away. Mai smirked at this display.

"But of course," she said smoothly. "I hope you two have a wonderful time." Marik's cheeks burned, opening his mouth to retort. But, he was cut off, as Bakura dragged him away, outside the hideout. They continued to walk away from the hideout, until they found an alleyway to hide in.

"Okay. So, mister Cyprian, show me the way," Bakura stated. He reached into his pocket, pulling out some sort of device. He clicked a button, and a holographic map showed up. Marik stared at it with wide eyes. Bakura caught this and sighed. "It's a little doohickey one of our Techs invented, but it's still in the prototype stage. You can touch the hologram and basically set a way point. It's convenient, but it still has a bunch of glitches. The Tech's trying to finish it up, but I took a beta one from one of our Labs," he explained.

Marik hummed, examining the map. It showed the four nations, each with the borders of the districts. Apollo was in the upper left, Scylla underneath it. Next to Scylla was Helios, and above that was Cerberus. In the Apollo area, the Herb Forest was colored in green, up in the left corner. It nearly completely covered the Aceso district, and filled up a littler over half of Epione. It also filled a tiny bit of the upper left corner of Iaso.

In Apollo, Epione took up nearly the entire north. Aceso was larger, taking up a big part of the left. Asclepius was smaller, at the bottom left corner. Iaso was large, taking up most of the middle and down to the bottom right corner. For Scylla, it was divided in half. Hydros took up the bottom half, it being the largest. The upper half was divided into thirds; Eidothea being on the left, Phorcys in the middle, and Tethys on the right. In Helios, Aether took up the majority of the upper part. Below it, Selene was to the right, Ouranos underneath it. Eos was to the left. Lastly, Cerberus was the most complex. Hades was a large part of it, right in the middle. Nyx was in the upper left corner, Thanatos in the bottom left, and Erebos at the right. Erebos was long, and thin, like a snake.

Each district of each nation had a different color. In the Apollo nation, Aceso was a dark green, Epione was a soft green, Iaso was a forest green, and Asclepius was a teal color. In Cerberus, Nyx was a crimson red, Hades was near black, Erebos was a light gray, and Thanatos was a fiery orange. For Helios, Aether was a light red, Selene was pink, Ouranos was a soft blue, and Eos was magenta. Lastly, in Scylla, Hydros was an aqua color, Eidothea was light blue, Phorcys was a deep purple, and Tethys was a dark blue.

The map also highlighted the other various landmarks. Separating Cerberus from Scylla and Apollo, was a large black line with the name the Great Rift. At the bottom of Hydros, it colored in the beach and ocean. All in all, it was a very impressive map. But...

Wait. Something was missing. Marik looked at Bakura with a frown. "Where's the Capital on the map? I don't see it," he pointed out. Bakura gave Marik a look.

"Since none of the Nemesis members have been to the Capital, we don't know where exactly it is," he explained. "That's where you come in. You know where the Capital is." He looked back down at the map. "So? Where is it?"

Marik looked at the map as well, biting his lip. "On the other side of Cerberus. Helios isn't connected to it; there's a large body of water between them," he explained. Slowly, he put his pointer finger on their current location. "To get there, we have to go around the Great Rift." He dragged his finger down. "That means, we'll have to go through the Iaso district. Luckily, I know it enough. And once we pass there, we have to go into Scylla." He dragged it down to upper right of Scylla.

"Tethys is our first district there. Once we're there, we'll have to dip down to Hydros for a ways or two." The finger lowered, before moving to the right. "Once we get past Hydros, we'll be in Helios. The Selene district, to be exact. And with that, we move up to the Aether district. And when we clear Aether, we'll enter Cerberus. Or, rather, Thanatos." His finger followed his directions. "From there, we go North East up to Hades. It'll take some time, but we have to get to Erebos." Marik looked up at Bakura. "You're from Erebos, right?"

Bakura grunted. "Yeah. I'll warn you now, Cerberus isn't the happiest of places," he commented. "What you might've heard about death and famine, that's all dimmed down in description. It's much worse." Marik nodded once, looking back down at the map.

"I'll keep that in mind. We'll have to stock up on food in Helios before we get there, then," he sighed. "Anyway, after we pass Erebos, we'll be in the outer Capital." A soft smile graced his lips. "That's where Yami found me, in the outer Capital." He coughed slightly, realizing he was getting off track. "The outer Capital goes on for miles. It'll be a long time before we make it to the actual city." He sighed, tapping the edge of Erebos. "I'm guessing the Cerberus to the Capital part of our journey will be the hardest. Especially if what you're saying about Cerberus is true." Biting his lip, he looked up at Bakura.

Bakura met his eyes with a scowl. "What? Why are you staring at me?" he growled.

"Sorry, it's just..." Marik sighed, scratching the back of his head. "I'm sorry for dragging you and Ryou into all of this. It's my family problems, and I never meant for outsiders to get involved, so..." Bakura scoffed, interrupting him.

"Don't be stupid, and don't apologize. I don't know why you ran away, but there has to be some reason behind it," he said, shrugging Marik's protests off. "Besides, it's a little late now. Let's just hurry up and save my brother."

Marik stared at Bakura for a few seconds, before beaming up at him. "Yeah!" he laughed, taking Bakura by the arm and pulling him along.

Malik was in the middle of interrogating Yugi when a knock came at the door. "Come in, Rishid!" he called. The door opened, and Rishid walked in with a passive expression. He scanned over poor Yugi's unconscious, beaten up body. Malik was known to be... merciless.

"We've captured another person who we believe is connected to Marik," Rishid explained, closing his eyes. Malik smiled widely.

"Really?" he beamed, bounding over to Rishid. "Where? What's their name?"

"His name is Ryou Charon. He was born in Cerberus, in the Erebos district. He's Nemesis," Rishid explained. Malik's eyes widened as his smile fell. Nemesis? So his little brother was hanging around those losers? Oh, Marik, how you've fallen...

"It matters not if he's in Nemesis. He knows Marik, so he's important in my book!" Malik cackled. "Show me to him, Rishid. I wish to meet this... Ryou..."

"Very well, my prince," Rishid said, leading Malik out of the interrogation room. "We're holding him in a special cell, since he's Nemesis." He looked at Malik out of the corner of his eye. "I was uncertain whether you cared if he was or not, for I know how much you hate them."

Malik simply grinned at Rishid. "No, no, you did well. I have much in store for this Ryou," he said. "I'm just glad he's not a girl. You know how I hate women, too." He giggled softly. "As long as Marik's not involved with any females, I'm happy. It negates him hanging with Nemesis, I mean."

Rishid couldn't understand the prince's logic.

A soft dripping awoke the whitette. Slowly, he opened his eyes, wincing as his head gave a painful throb. He tried to grab at the spot, but his hands wouldn't move. Eyes widening, Ryou realized he was chained to a wall. With all his might, he tried to break free of the restraints. But, of course, with his small physique, he was too weak.

"It's useless you know. You won't be able to break free." A deep voice, filled with malice and venom, filled the air. It sent horrifying shivers up Ryou's spine.

"W-who's there?" he squeaked, trying to peer through the darkness. As his eyes got used to the darkness, he could vaguely make out another figure. "Who are you? Where am I?" The figure chuckled, a sound Ryou didn't like. With a crackle, lights blinded him. He winced, closing his eyes tightly against the light. Slowly opening them, he could see the figure. A tanned man, older than himself, with spiky ashen hair. He... looked like Marik.

The other saw the recognition in his prisoner's eyes. "Me? You can call me Kek. I'm the prince of Chronos... My Legion rounded you up," he informed. "As for where you are... I'm afraid I can't answer that." He smiled; it made him look insane.

Ryou's eyes widened considerably. "Y-you're the prince? But... but you look like..." He stopped himself. No, it was just a coincidence. There was no way Marik could be related to this guy. He was the prince! And Marik was Ryou's friend, he couldn't be...

Malik's smile widened. "I look like...? Who? Who do I look like? Please tell me! I'll let you go if you do, trust me..." he purred. Ryou knew he couldn't trust him. Why did it even matter who he thought Malik looked like? The tanned other frowned. "Come on, tell me. I don't bite, just say the guys name!" Ryou stayed silent; Malik's frown increased. "Okay, then I'll guess a name... Is the name your thinking of... Marik?" Ryou's eyes widened. Malik smirked. Bullseye.

"How... do you know Marik?" Ryou asked slowly. He didn't want to believe it. He didn't want to believe Marik was connected to this man... the prince! The man that had started all this trouble; the war, the Legion, Nemesis, everything!

Malik grinned. "Marik? Ah, yes... He's my dear little brother, you know. Ran away when he was eleven," he said, ending with a sigh. "Have you ever wondered why the Effect, or whatever you people call it, happened?" Malik looked Ryou in the eye; the other nodded. "You have Marik to blame, of course. All of this was his fault. It's because he was such a coward and ran away." Ryou's eyes widened in shock as Malik began to pace back and forth.

"Yes... He didn't favor becoming a prince. In fact, he hated the idea! Can you believe that?" The tanned individual halted in his steps, looking at the ground. "He ran away from his family, his destiny. He left me behind. Poor, big Malik, left to defend himself against his evils. No little brother to help." Malik threw his head back and laughed; Ryou shuddered. "Marik ran, and look where that got him. A war broke out, and it's all his fault! He should die, don't you think?" Ryou's eyes widened as Malik gazed into them. "Yes... Marik should pay for his crimes. The deaths of millions are on his shoulders." Malik grinned. "Don't you agree?"

As silence followed, Ryou realized Malik was expecting him to answer. He tried his best to calm his nerves. "I... don't think anyone deserves death," the whitette said carefully. Malik scowled. "I-I mean... we've lost enough, thanks to the Impact... I wouldn't want there to be any more loss..."

"Why?" Malik questioned. He walked towards Ryou, who froze under the others scrutiny. "I'm sure you were affected by the war. Everyone was affected by it. You must want him to pay, to suffer for the hardships he forced you to endure."

Ryou swallowed heavily, his mind in overdrive. No. He could tell Marik wasn't like that. He wouldn't want this. He didn't know how, but he could just tell. "Marik... Marik, he... he must have had a reason for running away!" he shouted. "Marik is my friend, and I trust him, no matter what! He... I know that Marik would have never wanted this kind of thing to happen. The Marik I know is kind, and caring... he would've never wanted a war!" A loud silence followed as he finished. Malik stared at the whitette, face passive, hiding all emotion. Had Ryou said something wrong? Was Malik going to hurt him?

Suddenly, a laugh. Malik was doubled over in laughter. Why? Ryou's throat went dry, he couldn't say a thing. "Marik? Kind and caring?" Malik repeated, choking out more laughter. "I've never heard something so ridiculous in my life!" He stood up straight, wiping a tear from his eye. "That was a good joke, little one." Mauve eyes met frightened brown ones. "Would you like to know a secret? It's something no one knows about, other than me." Without an answer, Malik walked closer to Ryou, leaning in. The other shivered, face flushing at the close proximity. "Marik, you know... He killed his own father."

Ryou's face paled, eyes widening. Malik grinned, backing up and cackling. The sound echoed off the metal walls. It was terrifying. "Y-you mean... Marik... killed his own family...?" Ryou squeaked. "No... that can't be true..." Tears began to perk out. He knew Marik wasn't like that. He just knew... "You're lying! You must be making that up! Marik wouldn't do something like that!"

Malik stopped laughing, and frowned at Ryou, who was staring at the ground. "Why do you think I'm lying? I'm telling the truth. I wouldn't lie about this sort of thing," he said, watching as tears streamed down the pale teen's face. Scowling, he walked over to Ryou. He placed a finger on the others chin, lifting his face up to meet his eyes. They examined each other closely. In the very back of his mind, Ryou wished he knew what was going on in the prince's head.

A grin spread across Malik's face. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, little Ryou," he chuckled, backing away. "I'll come back for you soon. You're too cute to leave alone." Ryou's cheeks flushed, and he avoided Malik's eyes. Laughter sounded, and he flushed even further as the door close.

Just what was going on here?

A/N: Let me say right now; thank the heavens I drew a map of the nations before this chapter. Otherwise, it would've taken a lot longer to write. Please leave a review and tell me what you think!