Cairo shoots up in bed in the middle of the night, panting and looking around frantically. It is mostly dark, with the skylight in Yugi's room allowing the moon to shine in. She had managed to drift off to sleep, despite not wanting to initially. In doing so, she had a dream that felt all too real and seemed like an indicator of what's to come.
Rubbing one of her eyes, she lazily gazes over to the floor where Yugi lies on a mat. His blue blanket lays partially on top of him while one leg pokes out and his arms are sprawled out at his sides. But the other mat is neatly made with no signs of her father having laid in it. Her head goes from left to right to see if he's still in the room. When she doesn't see him, she silently gets out of bed and creeps out of the room to look for him.
After going down the stairs, she peeks behind a doorway leading into the kitchen. Her father leans over on the counter, keeping himself up with his elbows. His head is bowed slightly and his eyes are closed as if in deep meditation. That is, until he feels the presence of someone lurking nearby. His eyes open and immediately go in the direction of where Cairo is and she fully comes from behind the doorway.
"What's wrong?" Cairo asks him out of nowhere, causing his eyes to widen.
Why is she asking him this? Is the stress he's feeling that evident on his face? Instead of answering the question directly, he decides to reply to her question with a question of his own. "Can't sleep?"
The girl shakes her head with her eyes lowered to the floor.
Atem looks at her, waiting for his daughter to respond further, but she doesn't. He lets out a sigh. Clearly something is weighing heavy on both of their minds, but neither is refusing to say anything. Remembering what Mana said about their stubbornness, he lets out a half suppressed chuckle to Cairo's surprise. Her eyes lift up to him, only to see a smirk on his lips.
"Perhaps your mother was right after all," he remarks somewhat jokingly, adding to Cairo's confusion.
"Eh...?" she tilts her head to the side, blinking repeatedly.
Atem only shakes his head.
"So," he starts off, now sitting with her on the couch in the living room. She gently rocks back and forth with her legs crossed. "The Magician of Black Chaos…"
Her eyes scroll over to him. "Yeah?"
"I believe that is one thing you never mentioned to me before. I didn't know you could summon him until we were in the Millennium World."
"Ohhh…" She looks up to the ceiling briefly before twiddling her fingers. "Uh…"
"What?" he asks, wondering why she's hesitating on speaking on the subject.
"I don't know how to summon him on my own," she reveals shyly.
Atem raises an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"
"Yeah, in this form or my other form, I don't know how to. He just sorta shows up on his own when I'm in trouble," she says, rubbing the back of her head.
"You're kidding," Atem replies, shocked by this reveal, blinking multiple times as a drop of sweat goes down his temple.
"Heh…luckily he seems to listen to me. I'm always scared he won't," she mutters, looking away.
Atem smiles. "Perhaps you can ask your mother the right way of summoning your ka once we return to the afterlife."
Cairo lets out a faint, nervous chuckle followed by a shrug as her eyes lower. A feeling of uneasiness overcomes her as she thinks back to her very realistic dream. Would she even be able to go back to the afterlife? Or perhaps she is taking this dream of hers too seriously. Nevertheless, her anxiety lingers and it only grows as she feels a dark presence heading toward them.
And her father can sense it too. His smile fades, morphing into a more serious expression as they both look toward the window. "You feel that?"
Cairo nods her head. "Yes. He did it," Cairo replies, causing her father to look over to her. "He's been infused with my dark energy."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah…but something feels different."
Atem readies his diadhank, springing up to his feet and heading to the door. The last thing he wants is for Yami Marik to come there and put Yugi and his grandfather in harms way. Cairo quickly gets up as well, following him outside.
"No, Cairo," Atem says, looking at her from over his shoulder. "Stay inside. Yami Marik is—"
"My enemy as well," Cairo cuts him off. "I feel the need to remind you that I'm still on an assignment from the gods. And now that he has shown me who he truly is, it's my duty to bring him back to the Shadow Realm. So I need to be present."
Atem stays silent at first. There truly is no arguing with the will of the gods. As much as he wants her to stay where it's safe, she's right. He reluctantly nods his head and they begin to briskly walk down the sidewalk in the direction of the dark energy. But Atem can't help but wonder what will happen once they do come face to face with Yami Marik. Will Cairo be able to hold her own? And once everything is said and done, what will be the ultimate outcome? He looks at his daughter from the corner of his eyes, and her wariness is very much visible on her face. He suddenly stops and turns to her, much to her surprise.
"Dad?"
"What are you hiding?" he asks out of the blue.
"W-What?"
"Yami Marik became the soul keeper of the Shadow Realm after you left. But it's clear he's unfit for the role and I'm sure the gods are aware of it now as well. So once you return him to the Shadow Realm, what happens?"
Cairo averts her gaze. Did he somehow get a glimpse of her dream? The one in which she dreamt that she was trapped in the Shadow Realm once again due to no suitable keepers being able to stand watch over the evil souls other than herself? It's no wonder why that dream felt so real. Because it is a very real possibility. And it looks like her father has finally started to put two and two together.
"What happens, Cairo?" Atem asks once again, his voice slightly raising. But she continues to stay silent and avoid his gaze, only making realization set in for him even more. He abruptly turns away, putting a hand up to his head briefly before using that same hand to punch a brick wall. No amount of physical pain can outweigh what he's currently going through in his heart.
"It honestly just hit me not too long ago, as well," Cairo tells him. "You could even say I was in denial up until recently. Before I came back here with Yami Marik, I asked the gods to promise me that I would never be summoned to the Shadow Realm ever again. But they never responded. And I guess we know why."
"You poor souls," a voice says from above, followed by a purple hue that brings Atem and Cairo's eyes up to the sky. But their eyes are immediately filled with horror, seeing a blast coming toward them.
"Dad!" Cairo yells, seeing her father completely defenseless. She quickly runs over to him, pushing him out the way right before the blast comes crashing down, sending her falling through the sidewalk and into the sewer below. Landing on the ground several feet away, Atem gasps with horror, seeing the gaping hole in the ground caused by Yami Marik's attack.
"Cairo!" he calls out, running toward the severely damaged area, only to be blocked by Yami Marik who grins maniacally. "Marik…"
Yami Marik snickers. "Oh, I've been waiting to do this for a long time," he says, stretching out his hand and sending a blast Atem's way.
If not for Atem's quick reflexes, he probably would be a goner. In a crouched down position, he glares over at Yami Marik, readying his diadhank. "Have you not learned from Mimic's demise? The darkness will only consume you as well."
Yami Marik's snickering only progresses to full blown laughter at this point. "Nonsense, pharaoh. Do you truly believe I wouldn't learn from Mimic's mistake?"
Atem's raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm going to enjoy ending your existence," Yami Marik says, launching a dark purple blast.
Atem calmly stands up, just as the blast seemingly collides into him, earning a grin. But as the smoke begins to clear, another silhouette appears in front of Atem, and soon, a pink colored blast goes headed toward Yami Marik instead. It is a direct hit, throwing him back until he crashes through a glass window of an abandoned building.
Sensing Cairo's energy coming from the hole in the ground, Mana immediately tries to go to her daughter's aid. And she is almost there until Marik emerges from the building, his angry gaze set on the maiden.
"You again," he snarls, aiming multiple blasts at her. She quickly dodges each one that comes at her, but each blast comes increasingly close to hitting her.
Finally getting a small opening, Mana counters with a pink blast of her own that manages to hit Yami Marik. Panting, she waits for the smoke to clear in order to see what damage she's caused, if any. To her dismay, she has only managed to inflict minor damage, with only small cuts along his arms.
Atem grits his teeth. 'The dark energy has made him stronger,' he thinks to himself, growing apprehensive by the second.
Mana lands several feet in front of Atem, staying on guard and keeping her eyes on her opponent. "I have some concerns," Mana says to Atem.
"You and I both," Atem agrees.
"This power truly is amazing," Yami Marik says, opening and closing his hands, studying the energy emitting from them. He eyes the pharaoh, grinning. "You should have stayed in the afterlife, pharaoh. To think it would end like this. All of your hard work in reaching your destiny, finally resting in the afterlife…only for you to perish here once and for all."
"The only one who will perish is you, Marik," Atem counters with narrowed eyes. "I won't let you win."
"From where I'm standing, I'd say you're wrong," Yami Marik says, about to blast them both.
Unbeknownst to him, a small figure jumps out of the hole in the sidewalk, high into the sky, before coming crashing down with a punch so massive, it sends Yami Marik down to where she once was, in a different hole. Then she stands beside her mother.
"Cairo!" Mana exclaims, crouching down to her. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine," Cairo assures her mother. "Thank goodness my durability and strength didn't go away."
"It's going to take more than physical strength to take him down," Atem says, causing them both to turn their heads to him.
"What's the plan?" Mana asks, standing up straight.
Atem looks to Cairo. "That depends. How long can he go on like this?"
Cairo cups her chin and looks down with thought. "Well unlike Mimic, Yami Marik doesn't appear to be pacing himself…"
"Which means he could meet his demise much sooner?"
"There's definitely a high chance since he's doing it alone."
"What do you mean by that?"
"A normal human being can't handle the darkness alone. The fact that mom even struggled with it should be telling enough. A normal person would need the power of two normal human beings," Cairo explains. "And even then, they will still meet their end eventually."
"I think I know where you're going with this," Mana says.
Atem nods. "If we just hang in there long enough, he'll eventually meet his end. For good."
"Okay, let's do this!" Cairo exclaims, beginning to step forward until she feels her body stop on its own. "Huh…?"
Mana magically waves her hand so that Cairo floats over to her father's side to the little girl's confusion.
"You're staying right here," Atem tells her to which Cairo grunts and pouts in protest. He then looks over to Mana who stands on the opposite side of him. "Do you think you'll be able to hold him off?"
"I should be," she replies, beginning to walk away until Atem grabs her gently by the wrist and pulls her back. She looks back at him with a raised eyebrow. His eyes show a hint of concern as he stares into hers. "Hm…?"
"Be careful. He could be hiding anything up his sleeve," Atem warns her.
Mana nods her head. "Right."
Cairo watches their small exchange, frowning when her mother briefly presses her forehead against her father's. She can tell her father is anxious. Or perhaps, they both are. They always had this knack of showing up for one another when one is feeling more on edge than the other. From Cairo's memory, there were hardly any instances where both outwardly showed their stress at one time. And typically her father is the strong one. But it looks like even he needs someone to lean on from time to time, even if he does show it in the most atypical ways.
As she watches her mother step forward, going on guard as Yami Marik reemerges, she has a feeling of helplessness that she has not felt in practically centuries. If only she could help her mother out. She has no doubt her mother is strong. Much stronger and skilled than her. So why is doubt continuing to linger?
Yami Marik grins as he starts to slowly approach the maiden. "Mana, was it?" he starts off and Mana narrows her eyes. "So, you are that brat's mother…"
Without a word, Mana shoots a magical blast at Yami Marik that makes direct impact. He stops for a moment to regain his composure before chuckling and continuing on again.
"Aren't you quite feisty?" he continues, licking his lips. "I'm sure that combative nature of yours has come in handy. But I wonder…where was that when your daughter needed you the most?"
Atem can see Mana's fist balling up at her side and a pink magical sphere forming around it. "Don't let him upset you, Mana. He's doing this to throw you off," Atem cautions.
Mana keeps her narrowed gaze on him. How dare him refer back to that fateful day as if he were there to witness the events personally? She takes a deep breath to calm herself, but she keeps the magical sphere in tact, in case he pulls a fast one on her.
"You weren't there for your husband either," Yami Marik continues to taunt, causing Atem's eyes to widen.
"What are you talking about…?" Mana asks lowly.
"Don't tell me you've forgotten," he says. "After your daughter perished, there were events that ultimately led to the pharaoh sacrificing himself, sealing himself within the Millennium Puzzle. While he walked the endless confines in the puzzle alone, you were allowed to rest peacefully in the Afterlife. You weren't worried about him or your precious daughter."
Mana simply lowers her head, her bangs hiding her eyes. How can she stay calm? She knows he is purposefully trying to gain a reaction out of her, but it also appears to be working. She begins to second guess herself. Surely Atem and Cairo don't think she abandoned them. As years and years went by, there was nothing more that she wanted than to be reunited with her family again. But did she do enough?
"Marik!" Cairo shouts. "Now you've taken it too far!"
"So, am I wrong pharaoh?" Yami Marik asks, now looking to his old foe, grinning. "I noticed you didn't deny what I said."
"Silence!" Atem snaps. "You could never understand what happened that day! Nor the painful decisions that had to be made!"
Yami Marik shrugs. "Face it. She failed in all aspects—as a queen, a wife and a mother." The moment he utters that last sentence, a huge ball of energy goes barreling into him, sending him flying until he skids on the ground, landing on his back. Grunting as he sits up, he sees a dark silhouette going to him from a distance. Her eyes glow pink, with a death stare that is enough to make him somewhat anxious and an aura surrounds her body.
Just as his vision clears up, she vanishes to his surprise. He cautiously looks from left to right a few times before she appears directly in front of him, glaring down and preparing another blow more severe than the last. Yami Marik quickly crosses his arms for protection, feeling his body being flung back once more. This time, he's able to recover on his feet, but it isn't long until Mana goes charging at him.
Deciding to retaliate, he shoots dark colored blasts, only for it to be deflected by a shield that Mana quickly puts up as she runs. "No…!" Yami Marik exclaims in shock. Where did this power come from?
"Incredible…" Cairo says as she watches with awe. She can feel her mother's power building as the seconds go by. Even the attacks that Yami Marik has managed to counter it with don't even seem to faze her mother, nor her father. Never has she seen her mother's power in full display like this. But even without outwardly saying it, Yami Marik's words have definitely triggered something within her.
She slowly gazes up at her father, who stands tall and his fists clenched at his sides. His eyes are narrowed as he witnesses the battle between Mana and his old enemy. But what surprises Cairo even more, is that there's a golden aura that surrounds him. Perhaps his own emotions and anger are fueling Mana as well. Aside from the personal jabs Yami Marik has taken against him, there is obviously the history between them as well. The trouble he's caused, the friends he's hurt.
Perhaps they will be able to beat Yami Marik after all. There's no way he can take a beating like this and still manage to fully utilize his dark abilities.
Yami Marik gets slammed to the ground and lies with his eyes toward the sky, in a daze. But a smirk remains on his lips, much to the annoyance of Mana. She lands lightly on her feet, awaiting for his next attempt of action. However, something does strike her as strange. Even after the multitude of attacks she's inflicted, she hasn't really sensed a decrease in his energy, despite the injuries on his body.
"Something's wrong," Atem comments. "He's not showing any signs of weakness—not from his use of the dark abilities or Mana's attacks."
"But how?" Cairo questions. "There's no way he can handle that power alone. Unless…"
"Marik!" a woman's voice calls out from behind them.
Atem and Cairo simultaneously turn around, seeing Ishizu running towards them with a look of worry and panic. "Ishizu!" Atem exclaims. "What are you doing here?"
She finally reaches them, taking a few moments to catch her breath. "It's my brother. I fear something terribly wrong has happened."
Atem's eyes widen. "What do you mean?"
"His motorcycle…I found it incinerated in the middle of the street, but I didn't find any signs of my brother anywhere!"
"Are you serious?"
She then looks to Yami Marik who begins to slowly sit up. "For some reason…I have a feeling he had something to do with his disappearance."
Cairo's eyes slowly scroll over to him as well as she studies him. Then she gets a horrible feeling in her chest as realization sets in. "Wait…he didn't…"
Yami Marik cackles. "I did. And it's all thanks to you, Cairo."
Atem growls inwardly. "Explain yourself!"
Yami Marik chuckles again. "Why, it was your daughter who gave me the idea of reuniting with my other half in order to harness this dark power," he replies, setting his sights on the girl. "It would take 'two of me' in order to handle it…isn't that what you said?"
Cairo gasps in horror. He actually took to what she said?
Ishizu covers her mouth, horrified to learn that her brother has once again fallen victim to his dark half. It pains her to know that he is once again under Yami Marik's grasp. "No…brother…"
Yami Marik takes this moment to turn the tables on Mana, attacking her instead and sending her into the defensive. She grits her teeth as she tries to dodge his blasts and physical attacks. It seems he has had a surge in power out of nowhere and their original plan of stalling will not be effective after all.
'Now what?' Mana thinks to herself.
"This is all my fault…" Cairo whispers partially.
Yami Marik aims his hand at Mana, firing off a large blast that causes Mana to cry out and plummet toward the ground. This attack causes Atem to cry out as well, falling to his knees.
"Dad!" Cairo yells, going to his aid.
"Pharaoh!" Ishizu exclaims with worry.
Mana lands nearby, sliding a few feet before coming to a stop and resting on her side, grimacing. She slowly lifts her head, looking toward Atem. "Are…are you alright?" she asks, knowing the blow was quite severe.
Atem grunts, clutching his chest and turning his head to her. "It's you I'm worried about."
"I'm fine…" she assures him weakly before collapsing face down and Atem does the same.
"Mom! Dad!" Cairo cries, trying to shake her father awake.
"Look out Cairo!" Ishizu yells, causing Cairo to gasp at her warning as Yami Marik appears behind her.
The feeling of the crown of her head being grabbed by Yami Marik's enormous hand and lifting her up in the air, is an all too familiar indicator that she is too late to react. She can see his hand glowing purple as he charges up to land a devastating blow at a close range. But she isn't willing to give up.
Swinging her foot back, she kicks him in the abdomen. And although it feels like she has hit a brick wall, it is enough of an impact for her to free herself and allow some space. But right as she lands on the ground, Yami Marik launches his enormous attack and she grits her teeth fearfully.
She tries to whip out her wand as her body begins to tremble uncontrollably, but she can't seem to even do that. She is way too much into her head. She thinks back to her mothers words.
"Just look deep down inside yourself. And I think you'll be surprised at what you can really do on your own."
Even so, she finds herself frozen and unable to react.
Right as the blast is about to connect, a rather tall figure stands protectively in front of her with his hands out to catch the blast with the palm of his hands. Squinting through the blinding light, Cairo's mouth goes agape, seeing Arcana protecting her.
Noticing Arcana there, Yami Marik growls inwardly and proceeds with the attack nonetheless. "You insignificant fool!" he yells. "I will make you pay dearly for interfering!"
"Arcana!" Cairo yells with surprise.
As Arcana gets pushed back, he grimaces, slowly looking at Cairo from over his shoulder. "S-Stop…holding back," he manages to say. "You're the…only one who can stop him…"
Her eyes widen. "Arcana…!" Seeing the blast beginning to overcome him, she attempts to go to his aid. "Arcana stop! You'll cease to exist!"
Arcana smirks weakly, the palms of his hands beginning to feel the burn and his skin beginning to unravel with every passing second. "That's alright…there is nothing for me to live for anymore. That ship has sailed a long time ago," he says, referring to ever being reunited with the love of his life again. "And I only regret that I didn't realize that before being manipulated by Marik once again. If it weren't for my foolishness, you wouldn't be fighting to regain your dark abilities."
He grimaces and resists dropping down to one knee. But he can feel himself growing weaker and weaker as Yami Marik bumps up the intensity of the blast.
"I apologize," Arcana continues. "Part of this is my doing and I must pay back my debt. It's the least I can do for the trouble I took part in."
Cairo can't bear to look at it anymore. Any second now and Arcana will perish. She shuts her eyes, trying to fight back tears. Even as she thinks back to when she first ran into him, he seemed like a very troubled. But he didn't seem like a bad person to her. Even after following Yami Marik's orders, he still released her from the curse that was tormenting her mind with distressing visions. It only showed her that he yearned to make up for his sins. And he intends on continuing to do so until his final breath.
"I wasn't wrong about you!" Cairo yells out to Arcana to his shock, going back to the conversation they had at the park. "You really are a good person! I know that you are, deep down! And…I want you to find peace! Because you deserve it!"
"What…?" Arcana says to himself.
"Well isn't that nice?" Yami Marik taunts, still overpowering Arcana with his ongoing blast. "Even after everything you've done, she wants you to have peace. But I'm afraid, that will never come."
"Marik no!" Cairo pleads.
Yami Marik puts more power into his attack, causing the blast to grow substantially stronger. Arcana can feel his body giving out and the end drawing near. He looks back at Cairo one last time and smiles softly, nodding his head before the blast finally overtakes him to her horror.
"NO!" Cairo cries. But the wave of the blast doesn't stop there, heading right toward her. Despite shielding her face, there is a blinding light, followed by pain and darkness as her screams echo through the air.
YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO
AN: It looks like Yami Marik really has the upper hand here. What will happen next? Stay tuned and leave a review! Reviews always make my day!
