This Chapter Contains . . .
Violence: Blood and mild violence
Language: None
Drugs: None
Nudity: None
Sexual Content: None
Edit Update: 10/12/2015
Re-uploaded.
"What?!" Kaiba asked in disbelief, standing from his chair and slamming the palm of his hands against the top of the office desk. "We have intruders who are after the Pharaoh?!"
Mokuba nodded. "That's right! I was trying to get some information out of him and-!"
"I don't care about the details." He said, holding up a hand for silence. "Just tell security to be on the lookout. We can't risk losing the Pharaoh now."
"But-!"
"That's an order, Mokuba!"
The little boy looked up at him with pleading eyes, wanting to explain to Kaiba how that woman had treated him, making his older brother show concern and promise to track her down himself, to show that he cared. But all he got in return were two blue eyes that were harsh and without sympathy. The same as they always were. Or at least, ever since they were adopted by Gozaburo. Before that, Seto had always been there for him. Even though the orphanage they lived in was terrible, they were happy because they had each other. But now . . .
Mokuba stormed off, clenching his tiny fists. He knew it wasn't Yugi's fault, but he decided to blame him anyway. He wanted to put all of his anger and frustration into something that he could destroy. And destroy him he shall. Once he was gone, Kaiba would pay attention to him again. Deep down he knew this wasn't true, but this lie made him feel better.
When Mokuba left the room, Seto Kaiba looked out the window and wondered if he should postpone the meeting with his clients until this whole mess was sorted out. No. He had promised them the Pharaoh and they were already on their way. He would just have to pretend that everything was normal and trust that his staff would be able to stop the intruders before they arrived.
The phone beeped twice, snapping him out of his thoughts, and he pressed a button. "What is it?"
"Mr. Kaiba, the lower floor has been breached."
The lower floor. Were they trying to rescue the two prisoners he had put down there with the Chopman? "Wait for them when they come back up. And then shoot them on sight."
"You said once that you didn't have much time left." Bakura said as he pulled a chip of dried blood out of his hair. "What did you mean by that?"
"My Past Life is trying to take over. When he does, my soul will be devoured by the shadows."
Bakura snorted and then started laughing so hard that he rolled onto his back, holding his stomach as he did. What was so funny? But of course, this was Bakura, who thought that death was one big joke. While he waited for him to stop his fit of hysteria, Marik saw the chainsaw man's eyeball, which Bakura had dropped earlier, and it stared back at him. He looked away, but he could feel that it was still there, making him shiver.
"What gave you that idea?" Bakura finally asked after he had calmed down.
"Isn't that what happens?"
"No." He chuckled. "Nothing like that."
Marik became silent for a while. He had always been told that when someone's Past Life took control of the body, the previous owner was pushed out; like a Cuckoo bird putting their egg in another bird's nest, only to have the baby hatch and push the other eggs out, letting them fall and crack open when they collided with the ground below. "Than what does happen?"
"If it does happen, you will simply be dormant until he lets you take over again." Bakura pointed to himself. "How do you think I was able to fool Yugi and his friends all this time? I simply let him have control until I felt like coming out."
"But I can't choose to be in control?"
"I can't vouch for everybody, but my host hasn't been able to take control from me yet."
Marik supposed that that was better than being consumed by darkness, but still . . .
"Marik!" That voice. But it couldn't be.
It was.
Rishid stared wide-eyed at the carnage around him. He covered his mouth, either to block out the strong smell of blood or to prevent himself from throwing up, and then he staggered across the room and held up a ring of keys and Marik's Millennium Item, both of which had been in the other room. He bent down and unlocked the manacle around Marik's wrist before giving him the rod. And then he turned towards Bakura, who glared up at him.
"Unlock his too." Marik said as he rubbed his sore wrist, which had formed a purple bruise.
"Are you sure?" Rishid asked. "After he did all of this?"
Bakura grinned and cocked his head to one side as he crossed his arms. "How do you know Marik didn't do it?"
"Marik isn't capable of it."
Marik hung his head. If only Rishid knew of the sick fantasies that had consumed his mind.
"Everyone is capable." Bakura said. "Most just choose not to."
"How did you find me?" Marik asked as Rishid, who was glaring at Bakura, began working on the white haired boy's manacle. "Did the Millennium Tauk show you where we were?"
"No." Rishid answered. "Ishizu hasn't been able to see the future ever since you left."
At first Marik stood there in disbelief, and then his body stiffened before shaking with anger. He had resisted killing the Pharaoh because he had thought that Ishizu would see him do it. But all this time, he could have gotten away with it. He tightened his grip around the Millennium Rod as Bakura watched him with a cocked eyebrow, not knowing why Marik seemed so upset all of a sudden. And then his brown eyes widened when Marik stood over Rishid, who was trying to get the key in the blood soaked lock, and raised the Rod over his head, his eyes filled with blind rage as he brought it down on Rishid, who fell to the ground as blood seeped from the wound on the back of his head. He was still alive, but unconscious. Marik stood there, breathing heavily as his entire body trembled. Bakura looked up at him in complete shock. And, quite frankly, respect.
Marik straightened up and looked at Bakura as he smiled. "Let's go and kill the Pharaoh."
Bakura grinned from ear-to-ear. It looked like this boy would be quite entertaining.
"Come on, guys." Honda, who was ahead of the others, said as he looked at the map. "It's not that much further."
"That's what ya said hours ago." Jonouchi said.
"We've only been walking for an hour and a half."
"It feels like it's been ages." Anzu, who had lost her bravado and stamina after trudging through the thick foliage and jumping at every little noise, groaned before leaning against a tree. "Can't we take a break?"
"Yeah." Jonouchi agreed. "We should renew our energy."
"If we stop for too long we'll be stuck out here at night." Honda explained. "We need the daylight so we don't get lost."
"I know, but-" Anzu stopped when she heard rustling in the bushes to her right. She screamed and jumped back a full foot.
"What is it?" Jonouchi asked as he and Honda ran over to her.
"T-t-t-there's something in there!" Anzu managed to say, pointing at the bush.
The three of them stared at it, expecting a deadly wild animal to lunge at them. Whatever it was, it continued to rustle the leafs, staying hidden and not revealing its identity, until finally it stepped out into the open.
"A baby?" Jonouchi exclaimed as he looked down at a small baby boar, who looked up at them with curious eyes. "We got all worked up over a baby?!"
Anzu, who loved all things cute, picked the boar up, who rubbed his muzzle against her nose. "Isn't he adorable?"
"I don't think that's such a good idea." Honda told her.
"Why not?"
As she asked this, the baby's mom, who was as big as the taxi they had come up the mountain in, let out a loud squeal as she jumped out of hiding. Anzu quickly put the baby down before the three teenagers ran as fast as they could, not bothering to look behind them. If they had, they would have seen that the mama boar had lost interest in them and was nuzzling her baby, who completely ignored the excitement that had just taken place.
When they were sure that they were a good enough distance away, they finally stopped and dropped to the ground as they tried to breathe.
"I thought we were goners!" Jonouchi said.
"Next time," Honda said to Anzu, "don't play with the wildlife."
"I'm sorry, okay?" She said huffily, crossing her arms.
"Hey, guys." Their blond friend pointed at something in front of them. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we found the mansion."
Sure enough, just beyond the cluster of trees they were currently in, was a giant building that looked more like a modern castle than a mansion.
"We'll rest here and stake it out tomorrow." Honda told them, and his friends let out a sigh of relief before laying down in the grass.
Anzu rolled onto her side as she thought about Yugi and his grandfather. "I hope they're okay."
Marik and Bakura ran up the spiral staircase, the dried blood that was covering their bodies cracking and peeling off; the flames from the torches flickering as they ran past. And they were both smiling. But for different reasons.
Marik was still feeling the adrenaline of what he had done. A part of him felt guilty and wanted to turn back, to make sure that Rishid - who had always supported him and stayed by his side - was all right. At the same time, he wanted to get as far away from his brother as possible so that he wouldn't have to face him. He also felt free for the very first time in his life and was proud of what he had done. Now nothing was holding him back and he felt like he could do anything.
Bakura was enjoying watching the boy slowly descend like a fallen angel from the sky. There was something amusing about it; seeing someone change from one thing to another in such a short amount of time. When he had first seen him, Marik always seemed depressed and dead to the world. But now there was life in his eyes. Not the kind that Bakura loved to snuff out. The kind that you knew would someday cause him to crash and burn. And he wanted to see that happen.
When they made it to the top steps, they were met with a firing squad.
Five men all pointed their guns at them, getting ready to shoot and kill them where they stood. Marik's eyelids lowered and he stepped forward, making the men nervously step back, wondering what this boy who was covered in blood was going to do. He held up the Millennium Rod in a nonthreatening manner and it began to glow. The armed men once again took aim, but as they looked at the bright orb, their consciousness slipped from them and their eyes glazed over as they lowered their weapons.
"Leave." Marik demanded.
As the five men began to do as he commanded, Bakura frowned. He had hoped that Marik would order them to shoot themselves. That would have been fun. Watching them place their guns against their temples before blood and brains spattered out of their heads and splattered on the wall. Marik hadn't hit the bottom yet. He still had some innocence left. He should have known this, considering that Marik had let Rishid live. A sudden thought came to Bakura. Maybe Marik had never killed before. If that was the case, he would have to change that.
The two of them began searching the building, and when they happened to come across two more gun wielding men, Marik used the opportunity to brainwash them before asking for the Pharaoh's location. As they ran in the opposite direction of the two brain dead men, Bakura's hands twitched, wishing he had a weapon. While they had left Marik's Millennium Rod, someone had decided to walk off with his knife. He wasn't too upset about it. He needed a new one anyway. It had become dull from being used so often. But he couldn't stand watching all of these security guards being left alive. It was like being a starving man who was forced to walk past an orchard of apple trees. He craved death. And he wanted Marik to feel that craving.
When they reached the room where the Pharaoh was being held, they stopped in the open doorway and saw Ishizu, watching over Yugi like an overprotective mother. She looked up at them and gasped upon seeing the blood.
"Where is Rishid?" She asked, worry in her blue eyes.
"After he helped us escape, we were attacked and got separated." Marik said, and Bakura marveled at how easy it was for the boy to lie so effortlessly.
Ishizu looked at the floor. "I hope he is all right."
"Why don't you go and look for him." Bakura said, noticing the impatience in his voice.
She shook her head. "I must stay with the Pharaoh. And the two of you would have a much better chance of finding him."
Bakura clenched and unclenched his fist. It would be so easy to snap her neck.
Yugi blinked, but everything remained a fuzzy blur. And their voices were muddled, making it impossible to make out what they were talking about. Who was the women who had saved him talking to? He felt so helpless, and he found himself thinking about how easily Mokuba had almost killed him. Yugi had always tried to trust everyone, but now he wondered if he should change that.
"But you can't protect him on your own." Marik pointed out. "Find Rishid and we'll take the Pharaoh outside to safety and wait for you."
At first it looked like she was going to protest, but then she nodded. "Yes. That is probably the best plan." She carefully lay Yugi on the floor before she silently left the room to find her older brother.
"I would have preferred killing her, but I guess this will have to do." Bakura said, and his smile disappeared when he saw his companion. "Are you all right?"
Marik had his hand over his face and he looked like he was fighting off a massive headache. "I'm fine." He managed to say through clenched teeth. "Just grab the Pharaoh and let's get out of here."
"Why don't we just kill him right now?" Bakura asked before turning towards Yugi with a sadistic smirk on his face. "Yugi is defenseless. It shouldn't take long to drive the Pharaoh out and-"
He stopped talking when he felt a sharp blade pierce his lower back.
