Last minute update because I'm not leaving JUST yet for my vacation!! Yeah..I'm going to be deprived of a computer system for two weeks, and while I'm waiting for my ride I thought I should just cram this last chapter in.
Larisha: O.O You always seem to die and faint while reading my chapters!! Please don't file a lawsuit, this fanfiction is not published hence I can't make money from it to pay for your possible eulogy and hospital bills!! XD
Shattered Farewell: I'm so pleased you like my fic!!
Sei-san: OMR when I read your review, you totally made my day entirely!! I am so shocked that you like my fic so much!! I went to your favs...O.O Oh my gosh, I can't believe that the only HP crossovers there are WhiteAngelChan's, Lizeth's and mine!! I feel so honoured! I absolutely adore their writing and am a huge fan of their works, especially Lizeth's! OMR OMR OMR OH MY RA..you've driven me speechless!!
Peter Kim: You asked when there would be other appearances, like I said, Mokuba won't be making an appearance, but twahahahaa, look at that! Shadi's here!
Now I grant you, Chapter Sixteen. Thank you so much for all your reviews! I know this chapter isn't as good as the others, but I wrote this one a long time ago, and I didn't have that much time to spruce it up too well. Please forgive! (bows hastily)
You know....what I want for Christmas? (winks)
READ AND REVIEW!!
Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Harry Potter. How annoying. .
Chapter Sixteen:
Harry sat comfortably on his bed, his body arched forwards, his back against the cold headboard of the four poster. The draperies around him flittered gracefully in serene, slow waltzes, glistening as the moonlit sky slowly began to bleed the shades of the oncoming rise of the sun. It was now Saturday; regardless of the fact that the early morn star was now sweeping rays of golden pink through his sheer draperies and bathing the rest of the dormitory in a golden aura of light, Harry did not leave his bed.
It had been days since Marik had been submitted to bed. In those few days, the young tomb keeper had awakened, but was far too weak to speak to anyone, hence only their presence was allowed in the Hospital Wing, not their voices. Umbridge had also been admitted to the Wing, however, she made very little recovery. No one knew exactly what was wrong with her, which only now began to unnerve Harry slightly. She had seemed literally Petrified, staring into oblivion, abandoned all surroundings of reality. Harry did not understand. Her body, Madame Pomfrey claimed, was working properly, she was not dead, but rather, almost unconcious. Hermione had suggested a possible concussion, but Ron had incredulously reminded her of Madam Pomfrey's talents with such injuries.
It didn't make sense to Harry.
One sentence echoed vibrantly in the midst of confused debris of Harry's mind though.
"PENALTY GAME!"
It echoed brightly within his cranium, never ceasing, always repeating.
What did it mean? Penalty game?
Harry frowned. He didn't want to suspect Marik of any wrongdoing; considering the Toad was now in a possible magically uncurable coma, that didn't seem to be a big conspiracy looking it that way. But...all the same...where had that magic come from? Where did Marik come across it, managed to possess it? Did it have something to do with the marks upon his back? What was that...golden wand? Why was Bakura so eager to get it away from Marik when he was so upset?
Harry frowned even deeper. It seemed that Bakura and Yugi both knew the abilities of the wand...clearly they knew the consequences if it was used and was trying to prevent Marik from using it. Was that why it was so dangerous? Because it put people in a coma?
Odd incantation though..."penalty game".... why was it referring to a game? Was it some sort of riddle? What, where was the word "game" used as such a metaphor?
Harry blinked.
"Those idiot Egyptians....they must've hidden it for years..."
"The Millennium Items? But they cannot grant Voldemort immortality..."
"He wants to possess the reincarnation of the Pharaoh?"
"The legend depicted that the same games that occured in Egypt would come again..."
"....the Millennium Items were used to defeat the monsters...they only obeyed their proper hosts.."
Luna's article.
Harry quickly scrambled off his bed. Perhaps...perhaps Luna's mother's files could help..
....Yugi wanted them too....
...which could only mean...
Marik, Bakura and Yugi were all in on this.
If Marik was capable of sending Umbridge into a coma...what could Yugi and Bakura do?
Harry frowned at the incredulous absurdity of Yugi ever sending anyone in a coma. He was going to call himself silly for even thinking Ryou could be capable of it, but he had remembered those disturbing monsters on his desk...and the angry glint in his eyes, that cross expression....
It bewildered Harry as to why....HOW ....Ryou could change so drastically. It was almost as though he had two different personalities...
Without further ado, Harry quickly threw on his robes and hurried out of the dormitories.
Yami blearily awoke; he had never left Marik's side since the Dementor's incident. He blinked exhaustedly, moaning as he realized headaches had fatigued him again. He gingerly turned his head to face the form of the Tomb Kepper...
...until he realized that the Keeper was gone.
Snapping out of his sleepy reverie, he scrambled awake, whipping around him for any sight of his friend. Marik couldn't get up now! He was too weak, he needed to rest, what was going on?!
Yami quickly turned to the sleeping form of Ryou next to him and gently prodded him awake The ivory-haired hikari slowly fluttered his large doe eyes open, shaking his head. He wearily raised his head to meet his eyes with the pharaoh's and inquired softly, "Huh? What's wrong, Yami?"
"Marik's gone," said Yami bluntly.
Ryou blinked himself awake. He also scrambled up and began to look around for the Kepper, and swallowed nervously when he couldn't find Marik's presence.
"Oh no," moaned Ryou. "We were supposed to watch him...where could he have gone?"
"I'm not sure," sighed Yami worriedly. His heart was beating rapidly. "We have to find him!"
"I know," said Ryou, his eyebrows knitted together in an anxious look. "But where?"
Yami quickly grabbed Ryou's wrist and led him out of the Wing. Both of them stopped short and looked towards their right and towards their left.
"I'll go check the higher floors," concluded Yami. "You take the floors below us."
Ryou nodded.
"Alright. Let's go," Yami commanded, and without further ado, pelted down the hallway and up some nearby stairs.
Ryou shook his head again and ran the other way.
He didn't manage to find Marik anywhere on that floor...
Nor the one below that...
He looked in classrooms, in cupboards, even inquired the house-elves. No one gave Ryou an answer.
Finally, he ended up himself in the middle of the Great Hall, now empty because of the early morn. His footsteps echoed in the cold barrier as he slowly began to approach the large entrance. Perhaps Marik was out there...where else could he be?
Ryou looked out the large oak doors of the early morn. Cool, tinged wind swept into his face, teasing his white hair with grace. The sun was a blurred pale yellow that melted against the fresh pink sky, as the clouds drifted sleepily away, preparing for the oncoming sunrise. The air was fresh and tangy, a crisp coolness that refreshed Ryou as he stepped outside. Outlines of the tall green trees began to evolve into focus, along with the sparkling lake. Another outline became clearer as the sun began to emerge, casting luminous, tranquil rays through the trees and onto Hogwarts. The figure was sitting absent-mindedly on a tall stone rock that loomed over the lake, his fair hair whisping lightly into the wind.
"Morning," he said softly. "What are you doing up so early?"
Marik remained silent as he gazed upon the horizon.
Ryou stepped up tentatively on a near rock. "Marik?"
Silence.
"Oh baka," snapped Bakura suddenly. "Snap out of it....what's wrong?"
Marik blinked and turned towards the spirit. "Nothing."
"Liar," said Bakura as he climbed up the rock. "What's eating you, tomb keeper?"
At this, Marik suddenly grabbed a pebble and threw it into the lake. The pebble skipped a couple of times, slapping the water smartly repeatedly before sliding smoothly into the depths of the waters.
Bakura folded his arms and stared out into the horizon.
"Spit it out, Ishtar-sama," said Bakura softly, as he threw another rock after Marik's. "There's no point in keeping it all inside. Even the Pharaoh's worried."
Marik was quiet for a moment before he looked up into the pink sky.
"I fancied a swim," he said.
Bakura snorted quietly and was about to reply before Marik actually began slipping off his shirt. In silence, the tomb robber stared aimably at Marik's tanned back, bearing the dark scar he carried since his tenth birthday.
"The old toad really got to you, didn't she?"
Marik closed his eyes, a subtle, pained expression spreading across his face.
"I thought....I thought I had forgotten," he said quietly. "Apparently not."
"I would never thought you'd forget something like that," replied the spirit. "Everytime you look in a mirror, everytime you change, it's a constant reminder of who you once were. How could you possibly forget?"
Marik sighed silently, as he opened his eyes. "I suppose I just wanted to."
Bakura was silent.
"But..." Marik looked down at his hand, where Umbridge had etched a faint sentence there. "...when it happened again, I just...remembered everything. And Odeon's not here to help me control my feelings."
"What difference would it make?" asked Bakura, playing with a rock. "You and I were together to over-throw the pharaoh. My only regret is that you backed out in the end."
"It brought back memories I thought I could forget," whispered Marik. "And...this feeling...it was almost as though my yami had returned. Hate, anger, pain, sorrow. All together, once again. How could a memory scare me so?"
Marik looked up. Bakura's face was stoned, in a cross, stern expression.
"I know how you feel, Bakura," he said suddenly. "I know what you're really thinking. Even though you have the facade of being the murderous, sadistic psychopath, I know that you can still feel something. When those weird ghouly thingies.....those Dementors.... even though you will not admit it, but I know that you also saw images of your own hated past. The worst memory you could experience. I know you saw your village being killed, theif-sama."
Bakura snapped out of his stony spell.
"I know that you felt what I felt. Pain, anger, sorrow, hate. Except all of them were addressed to the Pharaoh. I had no one to unleash them on, except my own father, who I cannot blame. And that yami began to feel like he was evolving again, and that scared me."
Bakura looked down at the watery depths, his mouth pursed.
"You know....even though I hate to admit it," laughed Marik sadly, "but I guess we won't have that much of a chance to overthrow the Pharaoh now. As much as I know you want to, and as much as you know I want to, we can't really do anything now. We're in danger, theif-sama. As much as we wouldn't want to work together..." he gave the spirit a look. "...or rather, not wanting to admit it, we have to. Just to simply survive. We have no choice whether we want to pursue our own dominating goals, because our main priority is to live first."
He stood, throwing his shirt over his shoulder and held out a hand. Bakura looked from the hand to Marik's face. He was about to retort something back when his eyes floated over to Marik's shoulder, as though subconciously hoping to see the scar again. His face softened slightly.
"You've gone way softer than I thought," said the theif, disgustedly. Nevertheless, he smacked Marik's hand in a casual high-five.
"Want to walk around?" asked Marik, his face still rather dark.
Bakura jumped off the rock with leisure and began to walk randomly in one direction. Marik slipped on his shirt and followed.
"Something's eating you too," he observed, walking in long strides.
Bakura's only expression was a look of contorted disgust.
"I don't have feelings," replied the spirit, almost proudly. "You may have gone soft with the Pharoah, Marik-sama, but I can't simply let go like you do." He let out an insane laugh. "Soon after we're out of here, I'm planning to strike the pharaoh as soon as I can. Just waiting for the opportune moment."
Marik snorted. "This has nothing to do with the pharaoh, and you know it, theif. It's about Ryou, isn't it?"
Bakura looked determinedly dark. "What?"
"Ryou," replied Marik simply. "I think he's starting to rub off some humanly nature on you."
"Shut up, Marik," growled Bakura deadly.
Marik waved away the warning. "Looks like I'm not the only one gone soft, am I? You knew what was your worst fear, tomb raider. And you hated it." Marik laughed. "I know what you're afraid of, Bakura. Possessing the Rod gives me advantages, regardless whether it's for good or bad. And I know precisely why you can't face the Boggart that Lupin gave us. I know exactly why you always let Ryou do it. But it looks like Ryou can control his fears a little better than you can, doesn't he?"
Bakura threw his hand out to assault Marik; Marik ducked, still laughing.
"I know you're afraid that Ryou'll be hurt," he said softly. "If Voldemort asked you to kill him, in the beginning you would readily do so. But you've got a dent in your head with moral written all over it. You know that if it hadn't been for Ryou, if it had been someone else, you wouldn't have gotten this far without him. You wouldn't have had a body to use, an asset to the pharaoh, or a ..." he smirked. "...friend to talk to."
This time, Bakura's aim was true. Marik winced as he grabbed his shoulder where the tomb robber had punched harshly.
"I don't care, tomb keeper," whispered Bakura deadly, putting heavy emphasis on 'tomb keeper'. "Ryou's nothing to me other than a host. A body to use. The only most convient one, because he's so close to the Pharoah's brat. And nothing more."
Marik snorted as he rubbed his wound ruefully. "Oh sure? And I suppose that's why you're protecting him from Sirius?"
Bakura looked extremely dangerous.
Marik laughed again. "Face it, theif-sama. You're not the only one who's gone soft."
Bakura whacked Marik extremely hard on the head, but Marik kept on going, ignoring the assaults with epic air.
"I don't care for my hikari, tomb keeper," snarled Bakura. "I hurt him a few times, haven't I? Tortured his friends, captured them into little idols, sent them into comas for months before the Pharaoh got onto my ass?"
"You only hurt Ryou three times, baka," replied Marik. "That one time to jammed the points of your ring into his chest, the other time you impaled his hand on a toy tower! The only other time you have actually hurt Ryou in any way was the time you swore allegiance with me, and thrusted your knife into his arm." Marik stopped. "I actually wanted to hurt Ryou even more than you did. I actually wanted to use his life at stake from Slifer's attack, but you stopped me."
"I only did so because I would never have gotten what I wanted," defended Bakura.
"In fact..." Marik looked rather sly. "You still are in allegiance with me. See that scar?"
Marik yanked at the sleeve of Bakura's shirt, uncovering a long, slanted scar on his upper arm.
"Scars are permanent memories," he said softly. "Like my initiation. And that scar on your arm signifies that you are still in allegiance with me. So I guess you really have no choice, do you, theif sama?"
Bakura looked dangerously dark.
"Face it, theif-sama. You're human. You got feelings. Don't deny that."
Bakura threw his fist out and made contact with the top of Marik's head, who ducked to avoid the assault. Ryou fought for control and gained it, with much struggling of holding back the sadistic tomb robber.
"Marik!" Ryou quickly dropped to his knees and helped Marik up, who's fair hair was slightly sticky with blood. Marik touched the wound with his fingers, inspected the blood, and wiped his hands on his pants.
"It's nothing, Ryou," he said. He was never that used to Ryou much. "I've seen Bakura do worse and I've been through worse."
"Still, he shouldn't have done that," said Ryou firmly as he got up.
"You didn't hear what we said, did you?" asked Marik cautiously
Ryou looked slightly disappointed. "No...he blocked me out entirely after the discussion about you. Why?"
Marik smiled, one that only brought amusement to himself. "Nothing, Ryou. Nothing at all."
"You going to be okay?" asked Ryou, looking truly worried. His large brown eyes shone innocent concern as the scanned Marik's face for any emotional features. He found some.
"I'll be fine," repeated Marik, but his face was dark as he saw the cut on his hand.
"You know," started Ryou, gazing across the lake. "You don't have to be uncomfortable with me, Marik. You can tell me anything at all."
The Egyptian boy snorted, but obviously moral had been dented into his head as well. His face held an expression of uncomfortable guilt.
"This is a beautiful lake," said Ryou suddenly, his voice quiet and rather misty, as though in deep admiration of the water's surface. "And it's going to get bigger."
"What?"
Ryou smiled at Marik, looking a bit melancholy and serene. "It will. After the years go by, it'll whisk away each of the rougher, darker edges of rocks on the side, and grow bigger and more beautiful. Eventually, it will be as large as the sea, and everything around its side...the shores, the rocks...willl all be smooth, and the debris would simply flow away down the rivers."
"You're getting a bit Dumbledore-y there, Ryou," replied Marik, looking annoyingly confused.
Ryou laid a hand on Marik's shoulder.
"It's not a big deal," he said softly.. "It takes time to forget these things. But everyday, a little bit more is eroded away." He kicked a pebble into the lake; the small rock plopping peacefully through the dark depths. "That's one part of your dreaded past, Marik. Soon all of it's going to be gone, flowing down the rivers of your heart, and it'll leave your soul forever. It just takes time."
Marik looked at the lake, mesmerized and sad. His lips slowly spread into a smile, and he lightly punched Ryou in the arm.
"You're not all that bad, Ryou," he said, looking genuinely appreciative.
Ryou smiled back. "I can never hold a grudge for long, Marik," he said. "Yugi forgave you even though you pratically murdered him and his friends and caused his life to be a living hell. If he can do that to you, so can I. Everyone just needs a second chance." He returned the punch. "And you just got yourself one. Another chance to make your life better than it was before, and I know that you're going to make it soon."
Marik nodded. He eyes glazed dreamily as he stroked the gold bands that wound his arms, shining the rays of the now risen sun.
"We should get back," said Ryou, looking slightly worried.
"It's Saturday," replied Marik. "We can stay here all we want."
Suddenly, a rustling came behind them, as though various tree branches were cracked broken. Marik immediately grabbed his Rod, holding it in front of him, so that either abilities of the Item were easy to access. If he couldn't send the intruder to the Shadow Realm, at least he could defend himself with the blade hidden.
The branches of the evergreesn began to break and sway, and the sounds of hooves pounding the dirt were clear. With a growl, the intruder burst through the whiping branches and reared in alarm, his hair flinging and his torso bearing the strong muscles and various scars.
"Shadi!" yelled Marik.
"Would you be Marik?" asked the centaur sternly.
"Never mind that," snarled the young boy as he quickly ran to the person riding the centaur. "Shadi!"
The other Egyptian man was hanging limply, obviously tired and wounded, held on only by the centaur's hair, that was wound around his stomach securely. His turban was slightly undone, hanging scraggily in front of his sweaty face. His robes were stained with dried blood, and Marik could see that the Millennium Key that usually hung around Shadi's neck was missing. There was a red mark around the Egyptian's neck, as though something had rubbed harshly against it. Marik suspected that the Key had been forcefully ripped from Shadi's possession.
"Marik..." Shadi, who was usually mysterious and expressionless, was looking alarmed and tired. Beads of sweat trickled from his stained turban and down his tanned face, that was slightly pale.
"Shadi!" Ryou quickly ran towards the centaur and held out his arms, hoping that that Shadi wouldn't fall just yet, since the Egyptian man looked as though he was ready to collapse.
"Marik." Shadi shut his eyes tightly, and suddenly, as though he had retrieved more strength, sat up straight on the centaur's back and looked at Marik with the same, mysteriously blank expression on his face.
"Shadi, what happened?" demaned Marik. "What happened to the Key?"
"The Key and Scale have been stolen, Marik!" said Shadi. He narrowed his eyes. "It had been my soul duty to protect the Items, and I would have, had not only I had realized that if I were to die, then I couldn't live to protect them again."
"What happened?"
"Men," replied Shadi simply. "Men who cloak themselves in black, men who declare allegiance to the Dark Lord. They wanted the Items and would stop at nothing to get them. I tried to banish them myself, thinking they were nothing but worthless ingrates, but they had anticipated it. They knew precisely how to counter it."
"No one can counter Shadow Magic," argued Marik.
"They found a way. They used magic of their own to possess me, but I fought them off. After that, caught off-guard, they used a torture spell to prevent me from protecting the Items. I would've died."
"You should've!" yelled Marik. Blinking at his rude remark, he quickly shut his mouth. "I-I'm sorry.""I could've, Marik," replied the Egyptian man, wincing at his wounds. "But I did not want to, because then I would not have the chance to retrieve them back. Using my last bit of strength, I entered the mind of one of the dark souls. You are close to him, Marik. His blood runs in one of those that you know very well here at Hogwarts."
"But---"
"You must tell the Pharaoh this," said Shadi sternly. "The scale and key have been taken, and now fate is unbalanced. If you're not careful, Marik-sama, then your Rod will soon be taken as well."
"No one will take the Rod!" snarled Marik aggresively.
"Tell that to fate," replied Shadi. "You'll have to convince fate otherwise."
Looks like Voldemort finally realized where he could get SOME of the Millennium Items. Uh oh.
Reviews please. Merry Christmas. A cliffhanger! Twahahahhahahahaaa! XD