Oh wow, thanks for the kind reviews I got! You guys are really great. I tried to get this chapter done as soon as possible so here it is, and thanks to a much-needed snow day.
Chapter 2: As Luck Would Have It
Everyone stood silently for a moment as Marik and Ryou locked gazes. Ryou held his hands in front of him and his fingers would not stay still. Whenever he was unreservedly nervous, his hands were kept busy doing something.
He had to be lying
How could this stranger, if he could even be called one, just appear from almost nowhere, and claim to have known Ryou before? "Remember? You and I?" he had said, but surely he hadn't meant it like…that.
"Listen," Malik finally said, taking a small step forward, "This is insane, Marik. You can't just come here and expect Ryou to understand. Not even I know what you're talking about."
Bakura shrugged lightly. "Malik's got a point. This must be a slight shock."
"I don't care what it is," Marik said stoically. "Just make it stop."
"Make it stop?" Bakura repeated. "What makes you think I can?"
"He did share a body with you."
"So? The moment I was first awakened, Ryou was like he is now."
"And how is that?" Ryou asked, feeling somewhat offended.
Bakura smirked. "Clueless obviously."
Ryou opened his mouth to speak again but Marik finally spoke up, and idea obviously present and ready.
"This must be a test," he said simply, antagonism tinting his voice. "I'll bet He's laughing right now."
"And who would that be?" Malik wondered.
"Ra, of course. He seems awfully fixed on making my life miserable."
Bakura nodded. "Yes, I suppose. That pesky eye is still on your forehead."
"...Yes." Marik touched it lightly without really noticing.
"Ra?" Malik said, clearly disbelieving. "As in the god? You actually think he would meddle in your affairs?"
"He has before."
"Like when?"
"Like when he killed you."
Malik's violet eyes widened and he sighed angrily. There was no way he was going to go along with all of this.
Ryou looked at the glowing symbol upon Marik's forehead and gasped. "It matches the emblem that was upon the rock just outside."
"Of course it does," Marik said. "I made it that way."
"So you're the one... The one who lived here before..."
"Yes." He added, "Not alone of course."
"Aw Ryou," Malik ran a hand over his face. "Please tell me you're not believing this."
"But it all makes sense," Ryou said. "Marik says he's from the past and this place does appear to be thousands of years old. Plus how would you explain the eyes on his head and that rock piece? They match."
"Malik," Marik began, "Let me ask you this: When you decided to revolt against your family and search for the Pharaoh's power... why do you think you did it?"
Malik thought about it for a moment. "I wanted that power."
"Yes... but why? There's no reason behind it. No motive. Do you know why?" Malik remained silent, obviously without an answer. "Because of me. Your hatred for the Pharaoh didn't just evolve overnight. It was something you inherited by being linked with me. It was also enough to awaken me and after that was accomplished, it was easy to manipulate your mind to my liking."
"...What are you saying?" Malik struggled out, his voice not more than a whisper.
"I used you to try and get the Pharaoh's powers because I knew that with them I'd be able to get Ryou back. Of course that was before I realized that Bakura and Ryou were still linked and," he motioned, "After I almost killed him."
Malik was flabbergasted. For a moment, he felt like he might throw up, but instead his eyes became moist against his will and he shook his head and ran off through the entrance and back outside.
"Nice job," Bakura said skeptically, before exhaling noisily and going after him.
"Finally," Marik sighed, "We're alone."
Ryou wasn't sure that was such a good idea. "Is everything you've said true?"
"Of course it is." His lilac eyes darkened. "I thought you believed me."
"I do," Ryou said hesitantly, "But can't you see that it's hard to do?"
Marik gave him a strange look. "When I arranged for us to meet again... I hadn't counted on this. No matter," he waved it off. "It's probably just a small phase. I'm sure that once we're together for a little while, the old Ryou will awaken as well."
"The 'old Ryou'?" Ryou said confused. "And what exactly will happen to me when the old one comes back?"
Marik thought about it for a moment. "I'm not sure. I hadn't really considered that. You'll probably be in there somewhere."
Ryou's brow furrowed. "I can see why Malik didn't like you very much. You don't have a very kind disposition."
"Of course I don't. I'm Marik."
Ryou wasn't sure where logic fit into that, but he accepted it as an answer anyways.
"Well, are you coming?"
Ryou looked up at the hand that had been offered to him. "With you?"
"Who else?"
Believe it or not, this wasn't an easy decision to make. How was he supposed to just take the hand of this former enemy? Marik's expression remained serious, maybe even a little irritated, but still, Ryou couldn't deny that somewhere, somehow... he recognized him.
Raising his hand slowly, he went to take ahold of Marik's, but a sudden quaking of the ground interrupted him and was so jarring that it knocked Ryou forward into Marik's arms.
Marik steadied the former healer and looked around trying to find out what the cause of the horrible tremor was.
"What's happening?" Ryou asked, suddenly afraid.
"I don't know."
All of a sudden, the sand that made up the ceiling at the opposite end of the vicinity began to collapse, and quite quickly too. The power that had once held it up had somehow been cut short. Like a tidal wave of water crashes, so did the sand, and it was quickly approaching Marik and Ryou.
Before either could say anything more, Marik grabbed Ryou's hand and just as the sand pounded into the ground where they were standing they disappeared in a flash of white light.
-
"Oh no!" Malik said fearfully as the last of the sand collapsed. "Ryou was down there!"
Bakura took a step forward and watched as the sand settled and looking as though it had been that way forever. "That's not good." He crossed his arms. "At least Marik's gone."
"We have to try and help them," Malik said, going toward the previously unstill area, but Bakura grabbed him by the arm and stopped him.
"It's not safe to go near there."
"So now you care about my safety?"
Bakura noticed immediately the hurt in his words. "I don't see why you're getting upset."
Still impractical as ever.
"I know you don't. You never have."
"Fighting already?" Marik asked, suddenly appearing beside them, along with Ryou.
"I thought you'd make it," Bakura mused uncaringly. "Though I was hoping I'd be wrong."
"It's gone." Ryou turned, looking back at the ground that they had all once stood beneath. Why did he feel like he had lost his home?
"Marik, can you explain what on earth just happened?" Bakura asked.
"If I knew," Marik began angrily, "Don't you think I would've tried to stop it?"
"How should I know?" Bakura defended, just as ticked. "I'm still trying to find out whose side you're on."
"No one's," he answered darkly. "And don't forget that."
Another rumbling sound caught everyone's attention once again. They turned just in time to see the rock with the mirrored eye upon it, sink slowly into the sand, and disappear."
Ryou looked at Marik just in time to see him close his eyes and shake his head, a look of loss tainting his features.
"Ra's made it clear. He doesn't want us here." Marik turned and faced the others. "Do as you please. I'm leaving. But Ryou," he looked directly at the soft-spoken teen, "Rest assured that you will be mine."
With that said, he turned and began walking away from them.
"Why is he so sad?" Ryou wondered aloud, watching his retreating back.
He hadn't really expected an answer, but Bakura provided him with one. "He once told me that he built that place as his home, along with Malik's help. It held a lot of memories. We all lived there at one time."
"So it is true then? What he said about Malik and I being alive in the past?"
At this comment Malik sighed. He was finally giving up.
"Naturally it is. Marik may do bad things and hate the world and most of the people on it, but he's oddly not a liar. He does have a bad habit of withholding information though." Bakura blinked and suddenly looked shocked. "Wait. Why in blue blazes am I sticking up for him? I hate him," he lowered a brow, "Just so you both know... It's just that I owe him."
"For what?" Malik questioned.
"Something he did for me," he growled out. He obviously didn't want to talk about it.
Malik rolled his eyes. "I guess he's not the only one who withholds information."
"I want to help him," Ryou said suddenly.
"Help him?" Malik said as though Ryou were insane.
"Yes. I can't help but feel like some of this is my fault, even if it's indirectly, but I'm sure that this "other" Ryou is somewhere out there. I'm gonna go catch up to him. When you two are ready, you can come along as well." He started off in the direction Marik was headed.
"Hm," Bakura narrowed his gaze. "The other one may be closer than you think."
"I'll try," Malik said, and Bakura faced him. "I'll try to look past what he did. It's not going to be easy though. If I was indeed alive in the past and was supposedly acquainted with Marik as he alleged, then maybe there is more to this than meets the eye."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that it could be fate." Bakura scoffed. "What? Don't you believe in it?"
Bakura focused his dark gaze on Malik. "At one point in time, I would've said no, but now... Let's just say that I've seen my share of fulfilled destinies and I'm not too fond of it."
Yami's reincarnation of sorts and even his own were enough were enough to confirm that. But, if destiny was indeed to be carried out, then Bakura decided that it'd be best to keep his distance from Malik- for Malik's sake.
"Well let's catch up to them."
--
With the help of Ryou's map and more so of Malik's knowledge of the land, they finally made it back to Cairo. It was good to finally be around people again and both Ryou and Malik were over-relieved.
"Is this where we say goodbye?" Malik asked.
"Goodbye?" Ryou was unsure of what he meant.
"Yes. I remember you were carrying bags when we first bumped into one another and Ra knows where they went during all of the following chaos. I assumed you were leaving."
"Oh my gosh!" Ryou looked at his watch. "My train leaves in fifteen minutes!"
"You're not leaving without me," Marik stated as fact, and almost as a threat.
"Then I'm coming too," Bakura said. "There is no way I'm leaving Ryou alone with you."
That would be like asking for trouble.
"Then," Malik sighed. "I should come too, but only because I don't trust either of you at the moment."
"Three more tickets?" Ryou inquired. That was most definitely going to clean out his wallet. Thank goodness they were heading straight home. "I guess it won't be a problem."
As Ryou left momentarily to purchase the vouchers, Malik watched as Bakura and Marik stared each other down with enmity he recognized from Battle City, and maybe another time as well. Already he could tell that this might not have been the best idea.
"Come on," Ryou said, reappearing with the passes. "The train is boarding now."
Marik languidly followed him until they had reached the train, but felt somewhat unsure about riding it. He'd never ridden one before after all and this so-called train was much larger than the blimp. He had this thing about technology. To put it plainly, he hated it.
"Marik, are you getting on?" Ryou asked from the door. Bakura and Malik had already boarded.
"In a minute."
"There's nothing to be afraid of-"
"I'm not afraid," Marik said dangerously and Ryou couldn't help but smile.
Immediately Marik cursed himself. Even now, even after they had all established that the present Ryou wasn't the one he had known and cared for so long ago, Marik couldn't help but be fond of that kind smile. It was the same; it matched his old one perfectly. Along with the smile was the personality. Ryou acted almost the same as he did 5,000 years ago and it made Marik feel somewhat relieved. But, along with the reprieve came the pain and Marik was determined to find Ryou- not the one that was standing in front of him, but the one who had once loved him- no matter what. If that meant hurting some feelings along the way, then by all means, Marik would.
Glaring at him, Marik stepped onto the platform and pushed hastily past Ryou, almost knocking him down, and Ryou had to grab onto the rail to steady himself.
"This is going to be very complicated," he confirmed.
Reaching over slightly, Ryou rubbed his shoulder and lifted the sleeve. There, in dark black ink, was a tattoo of an eye that very much so matched both the one on Marik's forehead and the rock shard. Looking around to make sure that no one had seen him, he lowered his sleeve and went to meet up with the others.
Very complicated indeed.
---TBC---
Very wordy chapter. Almost too wordy. Yes, Ryou knew he had the tattoo but he's kind of afraid to show anyone else. Things are still very hectic in my opinion but in CH.3 everything slows down a LOT and the plot comes more into focus. The next chapter will also allow me to start in on the MarikxRyou-ness. That's the only bad thing about doing sequels. Former yet needed information can stall relationships.
Ah well, thanks for reading at any rate! And thanks to Hui for helping me with this chapter. You make my life easier. All of ya! I'm just curious, is it snowing like a madman where you guys all live? looks out the window Pretty soon, I won't be able to leave the house.
AmethystRoze
