Escape:
Across the street from a depressed and locked up Bakura, two Egyptian boys were spending the day in front of the television, playing a few new video games that they had recently stolen. Usually on weekends, the boys took a break from trying to rule the world. Everyone needs a little time off, right? Even psychotic villains bent on world domination.
Malik watched as his yami shifted the controller in his hand, "You gotta use your hammer! If you don't he's gonna-"
"Are you kidding me? If I use the hammer, it wont do anything, I have low flower power left and regular wont… Damn it!" Marik called out, realizing that Bowser had just killed Mario and his life was over. The end music played and Marik groaned, "I can't do this, it's causing me emotional stress. Malik, you're up."
"Yeah, okay, I-"
Ring Ring Ring!
Malik leaned back on the couch and picked up the phone. "Malik Ishtar speaking, who is… Oh, hi, Ryou! Are you going to the airport now?"
"Yeah, I am. I just left Bakura about twenty minutes ago." Ryou bit his lip while shifting the phone to his other shoulder, "You should have seen him, he was actually whining for me not to leave him!"
"No way. Man, I wish Marik would miss me when I went away."
Marik glanced at his hikari, hearing his name being said, "Stop talking about me."
Ryou laughed, "Yeah, well, I kinda got a favor to ask, Malik…"
"Sure, what is it?"
He cleared his throat, "I've been spending the last fifteen minutes trying to find someone in the neighborhood to come over to the house everyday to give Bakura water. But no one wants to do it! I even asked that old lady across the street. She had a heart-attack when I said his name and I had to call the paramedics."
"…Cool. So, the favor is…?"
"Could you baby-sit him for the week? I mean, only including going over about twice a day to give him water and make sure he hasn't destroyed the house. Just for a week, Malik, please! I'm so desperate!"
Malik blinked, "Sure, it's not a problem."
"Really? Oh, you are my best friend! I'm about to pull into the parking lot now, so I'll only be gone a week, I should be back by Saturday. Bakura's water bowl is in the bottom cabinet by the stove. He likes the faucet water to be served at two centimeters past the hot tap. And at around two o' clock he likes his belly rubbed."
"What?" Malik gasped, "Ryou, I can't-"
"Oh… one more thing, I think it would be in everyone's best interest if you kept Marik at home when you went over there. I've got nothing against Marik, but he seems to influence Bakura… You remember what happened the last time they were left alone together, don't you?"
"Eh… Ah ha, yeah, I do."
Flashback:
Malik waved at his yami and Bakura when he went into the gas station. His orders were simple. 'Just wait in the car until I get back' was what he said, but for some strange reason, forgetfulness seemed to be quiet contagious that day.
"Hey…" Marik looked over at Bakura who was in the driver's seat. Himself, being in the passenger's. "I bet I can drive this thing better than you."
"What are you talking about? You've hardly ever driven before. You ride the bus for Ra's sake."
"Don't be such a cow, Bakura. C'mon, are you scared or something?" He grinned, knowing how easy it was to bait the Tomb Robber.
Bakura smirked and turned the keys in the ignition, "Oh, you are so going to eat your words! Watch and behold my mighty skills of modern-day engineering…!" Marik sat back and watched as his friend pushed his foot on the gas, pushing harder than need be. It seemed to be going good, and Marik didn't want to be shown up, so he reached over to the gear and pulled it.
"GAH!" They both yelled as the car went zooming backwards, crashing into a large eight-wheeler and went backwards up the ramp, flying off into one of the gas pumps. Everything caught fire in a large explosion, fortunately Marik and Bakura had flown out of the car early in the accident.
People ran around in circles, screaming and scrabbling around. Malik came out of the gas station and starred at everything in a fiery chaos, and Marik and Bakura standing right in the middle of it, giving each other a high-five.
End Flashback.
"Guh…" Malik cringed, "Okay, Ryou, I'll leave Marik over here."
"Thanks, Malik, you really are too much! I'll see you in a week, good bye!" Ryou chirped and then the line went dead."
Malik put the phone back on the cradle and stood up thinking, 'I'd better get this over with.' He looked over at his yami who was glaring at him, "What?"
"Where are you going? And what was that about leaving me here?"
"Oh, you're such an eavesdropper!" He threw his arms up in exasperation, heading over to the front door, "I'll be back in about twenty minutes. Ryou's going to England for the week and left Bakura at home, alone. I gotta go give him water…" Malik decided to leave the part about rubbing his belly out.
"… Well, I'm coming, too!"
"You are not! You plus Bakura equals a fiery explosion, and we all know it's true. So, you just relax and I'll go over and take care of everything. Besides, I'm only gonna be there for like ten minutes."
"Bakura's my friend! I should be allowed to go over there too!"
"Ryou said no!"
"So what!"
Malik folded his arms and opened the door, only pausing to say, "This isn't some social visit, I'm going over there to do a friend a favor. Don't make me have to lock you in the house like Ryou did!"
Marik stood up, "What? Just you try it, you little-"
He slammed the door shut, not even bothering to lock it. What he said before was just an idle threat, he knew that, if he really wanted to, Marik would just break the door down. Malik continued to walk down the street, towards Ryou and Bakura's house.
Meanwhile, at the house, Bakura was trying desperately to get out of the house. Ryou seemed to be a very sweet, mild-mannered young boy, but to take extra care that his yami couldn't get out, he reinforced the windows with extra glass and made sure the walls weren't penetrable, fortified with an extra three feet of brick. Bakura sighed, nothing was working. He'd tried to send the door to the shadow realm, but he guessed that Ryou had taken care of that as well…
"Well, I'll just have to do it the old fashioned way, then!" Bakura huffed and rammed his head into the oak door. It sent him rebounding off the wood and he fell backwards onto the couch, "…Ow."
He looked up and the door was still standing, hard as ever.
"… One more time." He said to himself, gathering all his strength and charging at it again. But before he even hit the door, it flew open, Malik holding a key in his hand. Bakura went running right out of the house and looked up as he skidded to a stop. "… I'm free!"
"Oh no, you're not." Malik said holding onto his shoulder and leading him back into the house. Bakura sighed, 'This close to freedom…'
"What are you doing here?" He asked when Malik began to walk for the kitchen.
Malik turned around, "Ryou told me to come over here and water you. So, here I am. He gave me some instructions…"
Bakura blinked.
"… And I'm not rubbing your belly!"
Bakura folded his arms and sneered, "I thought my hikari left you instructions."
"…" Malik thought about letting that one go. And he did, strolling right past Bakura and into the kitchen. 'Okay…' he thought, 'Cabinet by the stove… Ah, here we go!' He picked up a large black and silver bowl, decorated with Bakura's name and Egyptian script and gaudy sculls. Malik blinked and looked back at Bakura, "…?"
"What?" He shrugged.
"Oh, never mind!" Malik rolled his eyes and ran the faucet water. Two centimeters past the hot tap… While he was doing that, Bakura was looking around, expectantly.
"Hey… Where's Marik?"
"I left him at home."
"What? What is with you and Ryou these days? Treating us like puppies or cats! We are human beings, we disserve to leave the house whenever we want! And I don't want to stay here any longer! I demand my rights! I'd bet my millennium ring that Yugi doesn't treat the Pharaoh that way."
Malik sat the bowl down on the floor, "Here ya go."
"I-I don't want water!" Bakura grabbed Malik's hand and headed for the door, "We're going to see Marik!"
"Ah! Oh no, we're not! You're supposed to stay here, and I-"
Ring Ring Ring!
Malik looked at the phone then picked it up, "Hello-"
"Shh… Listen, Bakura, it's me. I'm gonna get you out of there, but you have to get Malik out of the living room." Marik's voice was hushed and Malik recognized it right away.
He sighed, "Marik, Bakura's not going anywhere. I'll be back at home in a few minutes, 'kay?"
"What? Malik! Why you little-" Malik put the phone back on the hook. He looked back at Bakura who was on his knees.
"Please! Let me come home with you! I'm lonely! Marik's my only friend, please!"
"I'm sorry, Bakura, but I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Bye." He headed for the door once again, and when he was getting ready to leave there was a humming sound. Both boys looked around, confused. Malik cried out, "What now!"
And as if to answer the young Egyptian's question, the middle of the living room, the pink couch began to shake, violently. When the humming got louder, the carpet fell to pieces in a hole that was made. The couch broke in two and from the hole came a bright light followed by an auger. The drill, itself, was about as big as half the living room and when it surfaced, Bakura and Malik were cornered by the wall, quivering in fear.
"What the hell is that!" Malik yelled over the loud hum of the drill.
"How the hell should I know!"
The drill came to a slow stop and the light turned off. A sound came from inside as the top popped open and a spiky blonde head shuffled around for the exit.
Marik jumped out and dusted himself off, "Hey, Bakura!"
"Finally!" Bakura went running over to him, "It's about time you came for me. What is this? Where'd you get it?"
"Long story, actually, I was at the-"
"STOP!" Both Marik and Bakura looked at Malik who had staggered over to the auger, hyperventilating and gasping, "M-Marik, what have you done! Do y-you even know what… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!"
"Well, it's not my fault. I just came to get Bakura!"
"You've completely destroyed Ryou's house! It's… it's awful! Ryou's gonna die when he gets back! This is a disaster! How could you do this!"
"If you would just let him come over like I told you…!"
"If you would just listen to me once in a while…!"
Bakura cringed, "Hey, hey, hey! Stop it! Ra, is this how you spend your Sundays? Arguing like some eighty-year-old, Jewish couple?"
They nodded, "Mostly."
After a moment of confused silence, Marik grinned, "Well, since the living room is totally destroyed… and Ryou's going to have a fit anyway, Bakura might as well stay with us for the week, right Bakura?"
He smirked, "That's right."
Malik's eyes were red and his fists were balled up. He let a breath out slowly, like they taught him in lamas class and said, "… I just can't win, can I? (They shook their heads) And since that's the case, let's go home…"
Marik and Bakura jumped up and yelled, "Yeah, baby!"
