A/N: It was really hard for me to write this last chapter. At some point, I was crying while listening to "If We Hold on Together" (Land Before Time…yeah, I like old school stuff). Thank you to all my faithful reviewers and to all those who reviewed this story. After more than a year, this story finally comes to an end. Enjoy.
Testament of Things to Come:
Smiling a wicked one, Dartz stared up at Marik. "You want to know why?"
"There is no way someone like you can resist the power of the millennium items." Marik took a step back. "Unless…"
Laughing softly, Dartz reached inside his cloak, taking out a necklace. A pendant with a bead inside. All of a sudden, a bright, green light flashed from the floor below. A huge circle formed beneath them that expanded throughout the entire hall. In the middle were lines forming something similar to the devil's star but not quite. Symbols were engraved on the outer rims almost as if they were in a satanic ritual.
"This seal dates back to the time of Atlantis." Dartz explained. "The seal was a test to find out who remains in the dark side. In the past, however, many people failed proving that only few humans in the race are pure, and those few remain and are left in this world. However, the seal doesn't go away without taking a soul with it."
Marik gave a short laugh. "Dartz, there is absolutely no point to put out this stupid seal in the first place when we have both failed. We both gave in to the dark side for a long time."
"You can't imagine how powerful this seal is…unmatched with your own power." Dartz gave a crooked grin.
Remaining silent, Marik withdrew his sword as well as Dartz. The two charged towards each other, trying to slash one another. Wielding out his sword, Dartz quickly turned, hurling his sword towards Marik.
Stepping to the side, Marik caught Dartz's sword by the handle, glaring at him darkly. "No extra weapon, huh?"
Scowling, Dartz stood up, glaring at him. "It doesn't matter anyway Marik. One of us will not be able to get out of this seal alive. There is no possible way you can break the seal."
Marik's eyes read the symbols. It had been a long time since the last he saw this sort of writing. Finally, he looked up at Dartz, smirking slightly. "Actually, there is a way to get rid of the seal. Of course, I'm aware that my life is at risk. However," he tilted his head to the side. "Make no mistake that you will not be able to get out alive."
"There is no way you could figure out how to break the seal." Dartz kept his fierce gaze on the pharaoh of the south.
Taking Dartz's sword, he pierced and stabbed the very center of the seal. Streams of light shot out from where the sword was pierced.
"No!" Dartz's eyes widened. "It can't be! You can't!"
Taking out his millennium rod, it began to glow. Closing his eyes, Marik began to chant something in an ancient language. Opening his eyes, the color only remained hollow.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dartz became enraged. Yet at the same time, there was a hint of pleading to his voice. Slowly rising to his feet, he tried to make his way towards Marik.
Raising his rod, he slammed it onto the sword handle. Their surroundings turned into darkness. Marik's body tensed greatly, feeling shockwaves shoot throughout his body. Screaming in pain, the millennium rod grew bright, a powerful gust surrounded them.
What seemed like hours later, the seal below them cracked. Light surrounded Dartz, freezing him at his place. The millennium symbol appeared on Marik's forehead, the ball of the rod glowing into a ball of light.
Closing his eyes, he whispered. "The seal doesn't disappear without taking a soul along for the ride Dartz. And you know what that means."
"What?" Dartz eyes widened with fear. Before he could say anything, the symbol of the seal appeared on his forehead. White light shot from the ground, trapping Dartz. A huge scream of terror filled the halls. The seal before them disappeared along with Dartz. Breathing heavily, Marik's grip on his millennium rod loosened, falling to his knees, he too collapsed onto the ground.
(-)
"Marik? Marik?" a soft voice called out.
Opening his eyes slowly, Marik found himself in the darkness. Slowly sitting up, he looked about his surroundings, noticing the purplish black haze surrounding him. All of a sudden, white light shone in, causing him to wince slightly.
"Who's there?" Marik called out. "Who are you?"
"I thought you would find yourself stuck in this position." a soft voice called out. Soon enough, a familiar figure with blonde hair slowly approached him, kneeling down two feet before him.
"Mai?" Marik cocked his head to the side. "What gives?"
"I don't know." Mai looked about before she stood up, still looking down at her father. "Questions that need to be answered perhaps."
"What kind of questions do you want?"
"Well…" her eyes glanced about for a second before she returned her gaze back to him. "The only thing I've wanted to know is about my past."
After a few minutes of hesitation, Marik rested his hand on the cold floor. "Why do you wish to know such?"
Mai continued to stand there, unmoving. "A few reasons. I don't wish to move on to the next world without knowing who I really am. Two, I can give you Shadi's true weakness."
To this, Marik chuckled. "Is that so? You think you know Shadi's flaw? I thought it dealt with you."
"There's more to that than what you see everyday." Mai paced slowly around him. "It could be either silence or having Anzu's life at risk. You do love her, do you?"
Silence hung in the air as Marik's eyes glazed at the floor. "Very well. You might as well know. Otherwise, I will be haunted by such images for a lifetime." Bringing his knees together, his head rested on them, staring off into the nothingness, recalling the past.
"At least 16...17 years ago if I recall, I was almost in the same position as how I am now with Anzu. After my parents died in the war of the north and south, I felt loneliness as well as madness slowly consuming me. Shadi, who was a close friend and a few years younger, did not live far away and his family was also killed. So I offered him to stay at the palace. Although it was not the same. I still felt alone, even if we did chat on a daily basis. Then, he introduced me to the world of escorting. Needless to say, he introduced me to a neighbor of his and she became an escort shortly after. I can't recall her name though. However, a love affair has elicited and she became pregnant by the time I was 15. I was still a child back then and did not know how to take it. Nine months passed by and she gave birth to you. Sadly though, she died giving birth."
As he said those words, his eyes closed, remembering that memory as if it was yesterday.
In the meantime, Mai's fist were clenching, but not out of anger. "What happened? Even if she died giving birth to me, why have you disregarded me as your daughter?"
Marik was silent for the longest time, his gaze kept at the ground. He then slowly looked up at her. "Do you wish to really know?"
Mai nodded.
"Very well. Your birth was a lot of things dear. Relief, joy, but also of sadness, deep regret, and a mistake. No matter how much you were my child, I could not raise you. It was best to not know your own past and what has become. Would I have seen you as a daughter, you may very well follow the same path your mother had. I had your memories erased and bored you a new identity before handing you to Shadi to raise you."
"So those times you refused my offer of becoming your escort was because of that?" Mai seemed to be taken back.
Marik nodded slowly to her question. "Child, I tried to protect you. You know as well as I know that would have been incest, and even the highest ranking pharaoh could be tried charges for such case."
"So I see." Mai gazed at what appeared to be nothing. "About Shadi…"
"What about him?" he arched an eyebrow.
"I cannot exactly tell you what his weakness is, but I will give you a clue." Smiling softly, she turned on her heel, her back facing towards him. "What has one lost from the beginning of time, they could only wish they had cherished." She slowly began walking away but stopped. "Tell me something Marik…or should I say father? What do you really see me as? Is it all right to be considered your daughter, even if I am no longer around? Or do you see me as an empty shell?"
Marik's form cloaked in with the surrounding darkness, disappearing before Mai. In the next second, he appeared behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder, causing her to startle.
With a hand cupped under her chin, he tilted Mai's head up, then to the side before tilting it to the side, his eyes piercing down into hers. "I see what I wish to see. I'm sure you see what you wish to see as well. As cruel as fate is in this realm, we cannot bypass destiny by simply interfering. We are who we are, that's all we can ever be." At that, he leaned forward, kissing his daughter for the first and last time softly on the cheek.
Two Hours Later….
Slowly, Marik's eyes opened, finding himself in the same hall he had laid on for hours long. Slowly sitting up on the floor, he looked around, having his millennium rod in hand.
"I'm glad to see you're awake Marik." Shadi stood before him, smiling.
"Shadi," Marik hissed, slowly getting up. "As if my life could not get any worse than this."
Smiling calmly, Shadi offered his had to help him up. "Come now Marik, let's not get these events to make the most out of us."
Frowning, a sneer crossed Marik's features. Taking a step back, Shadi then turned on his heel, glancing back at Marik. "Follow me Marik. If we are going to settle our differences, we should take it some place big enough."
Arching an eyebrow, Marik slowly got up and followed Shadi, gripping onto the millennium rod in his hand, waiting for the right moment. Going upon the stairs and to the towers leading up to the rooftop, the area was nearly empty, clear of anything that would normally be scattered.
However, the one odd thing that stood on the corner that caught Marik's eyes was a huge hourglass. The sand filled the top half of the glass, having to be blocked by a small white sheet. On the bottom half of the glass sat a person. Unsure of who it was. Marik blinked a few times, taking a few steps forward only to get a clear, horrific view. "Anzu!"
Looking up, Anzu quickly spotted Marik wide-eyed. Her fists pounded weakly onto the glass, appearing to be shouting or screaming something.
Giving a dark look, Shadi peered down at her. "I thought I told you to keep your mouth shut child." Immediately, he yanked the sheet that divided the sand from Anzu, causing it to fall onto her.
"Anzu!" Marik could not believe what Shadi had done. Withdrawing his millennium rod, he attempted to stop Shadi's plans. However, Shadi hurled what appeared to be a spear, knocking the rod off of Marik's hand.
Withdrawing his sword, Shadi smirked at Marik. "Now, now Marik. Let's not get a little to violent like how you usually are. This is a special moment between me, you and Anzu-chan."
Meanwhile, Anzu continued pounding violently on the glass, screaming something yet her voice could not be heard.
"And what's so special, Shadi?" Marik looked up at his former friend. "If you want revenge for me executing your potential lover, it's not exactly going to take you anywhere. But if you so much desire to be with Mai, by all means, I will be more than willing to help you get there." he felt his foot touching the very corner of the roof.
"Do you still expect me to sit idly by and cry over my only loss?" Shadi's face twitched. Taking out a dagger, he hurled it towards Marik.
Dodging it by stepping to the side, Marik watched the dagger stabbing a few inches before him onto the crack of the concrete of the roof. "Even if you don't truly acknowledge the loss of my daughter, if you truly love her, you would still cry in your heart over the pain. Because even now," he bent over to pick up the dagger. "I cry for Anzu when she's in pain, even at those times I had especially when she is punished. But I'm a man. I hide these feelings away from anyone." He then stopped himself, realizing what he just said. Never, in all his life, had he ever said those words. He was merely speaking of how he truly felt about Anzu.
Shadi gazed at Marik rather confusingly, tilting his head to the side. "Well, this is a first. You actually care about your escort. What happened to your status a torturous mad pharaoh?"
Withdrawing his own sword, Marik got into a stance, gritting his teeth. At that, he leapt in the air, aiming the blade towards Shadi.
Shadi in the meantime withdrew his scythe from his sheath, blocking Marik's attack. At that, a huge swordfight broke out. Endlessly, Shadi and Marik fought with all their might, Attacking, defending, and even drawing blood countless times. At times, Marik would end up getting slightly distracted, watching in horror as sand continued to fill up, smothering Anzu. If he did not do anything soon, Anzu was as good as dead.
Knocking Shadi's scythe off of his hand, Marik knocked it far enough to force Shadi to grab his only weapon while he retrieved his millennium rod from the edge of the roof, pointing it towards him.
Looking up at Marik, Shadi smiled a crooked smile, cocking his head to the side. "So, you got your millennium item, no?" Reaching inside his cloak, he withdrew his millennium key, pointing the tip towards him. "Remember this?"
Laughing softly, Marik chuckled, shaking his head. "Shadi," there was a twisted glinted in his eye. "Who said I was going to use this on you?"
Shadi's eyes widened, not expecting this kind of response. "What?"
At then, Marik, with all his might, hurled his millennium straight for the hour glass, shattering the bottom half of the glass. Sand spilled as a knocked out Anzu tumbled along with it.
Glancing at the spot where the sound came from, Shadi's shocked look turned into a smirk. "It doesn't matter anymore. She is as good as dead."
Releasing a low growl, Marik began to charge towards Shadi, preparing for another attack. With his sword, he slashed his chest, watching the dark blood ooze out. All of a sudden, he felt a sharp pain through his stomach, blood gushing out through his mouth. Looking down, he noticed that the whole time, Shadi had held his scythe out.
Taking out the blade from his stomach, Shadi released a chuckle, watching Marik collapse to the floor. "See Marik, it's all easy when you don't really think about it. You who has taken lives, endlessly torturing those who are below you. Now you get to experience the true meaning of death.
Weakly looking up at Shadi, Marik tried to regain his strength. Why won't this bastard die? Suddenly, he heard Mai's riddle repeat over and over in his head about Shadi.
What has one lost from the beginning of time, they could only wish they had cherished.
His eyes widened, as if he had finally figured out the answer to the riddle. That's it! Why didn't I see this coming?
"Rest in pieces Marik." Shadi chanted in a cold voice, the scythe raised above him.
Looking to his left side, Marik noticed Shadi's millennium key not too far away from him, some of the rope still looped through the hole. Without thinking twice, he reached for the millennium key, and before Shadi could bring down the scythe onto his ex-friend, Marik held up the millennium key, pointing the tip onto his forehead. All the while, his eyes shut itself tightly, not expecting it to work.
Only when he opened his eyes, he noticed a look of pain on Shadi's face. Suddenly, a white flash surrounded Marik as he found himself in another place. The walls were dark as well contained a few chains and shackles racked upon the wall.
Where he found himself was in Shadi's mind. Aware of what he needed to do, Marik whipped out his millennium rod, changing the scenic space in the mind atmosphere. Images of his family as well as Mai appeared, like a movie being played in a projection over and over.
"Times of Shadi's true happiness. What he was weakened by was his only loneliness that plagued him ever since the death of his family." Marik said softly as he disappeared from the mind world.
(-)
Finding himself back on the roof, he slowly sat up, noticing Shadi laying on his side. His eyes were in a daze, staring out into nothing, as to the effects of the power of the millennium key.
"Live in your own world Shadi." Marik looked down at him somewhat sympathetically. He struggled to get to his feet before shuffling towards Anzu, who was slowly sitting up, a bit dazed after being buried in the sand. Only when he stopped five feet behind her, Marik softly called out.
"Are you all right?"
Startled, Anzu slowly looked up, instantly smiling as she saw Marik, despite the fact that she was concerned at how badly Marik was injured. "I'm fine." She brushed the sand off of her hair, shaking her head a little to get the rest off.
Smiling softly, Marik reached out and stroked Anzu's hair. "That's nice to hear." That smile turned into a weak smile as he collapsed onto her.
Eyes widened in shock, Anzu tried to shake Marik awake. "Marik, are you all right?" Her eyes looked over the multiple slashes, wounds, and the few stabs that carved his whole body like a canvas. With as much strength as she had left, she rolled Marik over, noticing he was still bleeding profusely from the stomach, looking at him with disbelief. She then fidgeted, about to stand up. "Oh Ra, you're hurt badly. Let me get…"
But Marik's hand shot out, his fingers wrapping around her wrist firmly, whispering. "Don't. Stay here."
"Are you nuts?" she ranted. "Look how badly hurt you are! There's no way we could be able to get back to the south…"
With a single finger, he placed it on her lips, silencing her, giving her a weak smile. Taking her hand, he guided it to his chest, resting it over his heart, which was beating unusually slowly. "I have to admit Anzu, you were really brave for what you have done back there."
"Marik…" Anzu's eyes widened slightly, unsure of how to take his comment.
With his other hand, Marik reached behind him, taking out his millennium rod. The hand that placed hers on top of his heart reached for her free hand, wrapping her fingers around the rod, pressing it firmly onto hers. "Take it dear. It is now yours."
Looking down at the millennium rod, she was slightly confused at first. Suddenly, she realized why he had given her the millennium item, her eyes darted towards him, slightly shaken. "No…it can't be. You can't…" Tears welled up in her eyes, burying her face in his chest crying softly. The smell of his own blood mixed with her own tears had no effect on her.
Marik's hand reached for the back of her head, massaging it. With both hands, he lifted her head to face him, pulling her gently so they were face to face. "The last thing I want to see is the mistress of Egypt crying."
Anzu was shocked. What exactly did Marik mean by that? Was she supposed to take over his title as ruler of Egypt? Before she could even ask, Marik pulled her down gently, meeting his lips with hers, kissing her softly, silencing her cries.
Mine and mine forever… Marik's voice softly spoken in Anzu's mind. At that, Anzu felt his lips losing its grasp. Pulling back, Anzu watched Marik's eyes rolled back, groaning softly. His hand the whole time had rested on his cheek, grazing it as it collapsed to the floor.
Wide eyed, tears began to stream down Anzu's face, watching Marik die within her own arms. Noticing the millennium rod in her hand, she gripped onto it tightly, her tears dripping onto Marik's immobile body. She then stood up, making her way towards the edge of the roof, looking upon the sunset over the horizon. The rod held tightly close to her chest.
(-)
Meanwhile, from down below, a simple peasant passed by the palace, looking upon Anzu at the rooftop as he sat on his horse. Removing the cloak that covered his head, he spoke softly.
"So it's come to this," he watched Anzu, his jaded gaze met with the figure. "His own goddess shall finally rule all of Egypt."
"What was that Yami?" a small boy asked sleepily, wiping his eyes, looking up at him.
Smiling softly, Yami glanced down at his comrade. "Nothing Yugi. Go back to sleep." Placing the cloak back on to conceal his identity, with the reigns, he nudged the horse to go forward.
(-)
The End
