In honor of the new season of Yu-Gi-Oh! andthe premier of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX, I am posting the final three episodes all at once! Enjoy.

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Fanfic Chapter 112: Genesis of Evil
Episode Basis: The Tomb-Keeper's Secret

Previously on Yu-Gi-Oh! Talk about an upset. By playing the trap card Exchange of the Spirit, Ishizu was able to return all the cards that Kaiba destroyed due to his Crush Card and Virus Cannon cards to her deck leaving Kaiba with a six card deck. Once he uses up those cards, he will lose. But Ishizu wasn't done yet. She secretly set a trap card that would destroy Obelisk once it attacks. Everyone thought this would be the end of Kaiba, but then without warning, Marik's Millennium Rod activated and showed Kaiba a scene of an Egyptian Priest over the fallen body of a girl and a stone tablet depicting his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Realizing that the dragon was calling out to him, Kaiba switched his strategy and in a move that surprised everybody, he sacrificed Obelisk and a resurrected monster to summon his faithful servant, Blue-Eyes White Dragon. It was the Blue-Eyes that delivered the finishing blow winning Kaiba the match. What did Kaiba see? And why was Marik's Millennium Rod the one showing him it?


"Have you been able to finish translating the card?" Kaiba asked as he and Mokuba walked into the computer room.

"Just about, but even with the Industrial Illusion's database, the computer is still having trouble translating the last line."

Kaiba looked at a close-up of the Winged Dragon of Ra and gasped in amazement, for he understood what it said. What… this can't be… I can read it, I can read it like it was written in English, but I never saw this language before… wait, have I? What is…? Kaiba recalled what Marik said during his duel with Mai when the real Winged Dragon of Ra made an appearance.


"Only those who are descended from Egyptian Nobility can decipher the text and control the dragon. Myself, the Pharaoh, and possibly even Seto Kaiba. Several people on this vessel can trace their lineage back to Ancient Egypt."

Kaiba then recalled what Ishizu showed him when they first met.


"On the left is the priest who betrayed the Pharaoh. According to an Egyptian archives that I discovered years ago, the priest betrayed the Pharaoh and killed everyone who was close to the Pharaoh. He then gathered his followers and battled against the Pharaoh. The battle was long and costly. Soon, the priest was able to challenge the Pharaoh directly. The conclusion of the battle could not be found either in the archives or on here. Doesn't the priest look familiar?" Kaiba grunted. "Yes, it's you, Kaiba! If you have any doubt, look at the monster carved above him." Ishizu pointed to the dragon-like image carved above the priest. "It's the Blue-Eyes White Dragon!" Kaiba was flabbergasted, it did look like his beloved dragon.

And what just happened during his duel…


The stone tablet became different, more rectangular in shape, and the image it showed was of his Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba suddenly found himself in a strange stone ruins. An Egyptian Priest was kneeling in front of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon stone tablet. In his arms was a girl with long blonde hair.

This isn't real, I am the President and CEO of Kaiba Corporation, not some ancient magician. And yet… The image of the priest holding the girl was still in his mind as fresh as if it just happened. Kaiba dropped to one knee.

"Seto, are you all right?" Mokuba asked.

"I don't know," Kaiba muttered. What's happening to me?


"Round One of the Battle City Finals is now over!" Roland announced over the loudspeaker. "The remaining finalists are Yugi Moto, Joey Wheeler, Marik Ishtar, and Seto Kaiba! The competition will resume tomorrow when we reach our next dueling site."


Yugi and his friends heard it in the hallway. "Looks like we're not dueling on the blimp any more."

"Fine with me," Joey said. "I was getting air sick."

"The important thing is that we all made it to the next round," Yugi said.

"Not all of us," Harold said. The others looked at him. "Didn't you hear the announcement? You guys were mentioned but not me. Since I jumped into the duel between Marik and Mai, Roland has probably disqualified me."

"But I jumped in too," Yugi pointed out. "So why wasn't I disqualified?"

"Kaiba probably asked that you made an exception, maybe because he wants your God Card. But as for me… looks like I'm back to being extra weight again."

"I knew the finals were going to be intense," Amara said. "But not this intense."

"Tell me about it," Tea agreed. "Bakura and Odion are knocked out and Mai's in the Shadow Realm."

"It's all because of Marik," Tristan said punching the wall. "Man, that guy pisses me off."

"Me too," Duke agreed.

"Don't worry, Yugi and I will clean his clock," Joey assured the rest. "Hey Yug, that reminds me, we should probably go check on Mai."

"Yeah, good idea, Joey."

"May I join you?" It was Ishizu. "I would like to visit Mai with you. Since Marik is my brother, I feel… somewhat obligated."

"Sheesh, between you and Harold, we're just lucky there aren't any sharp objects around," Amara cracked.

"Is that all right, Joey?" Yugi asked.

"Hey, I don't mind," Joey shrugged.

"Thank you."


Yugi, Joey and the others walked into Mai's room. Kevin and Serenity have been keeping vigil over her.

"No change, huh?" Joey asked.

"No change," Kevin confirmed.

"She hasn't said a word," Serenity added. "I'm beginning to get worried.

Kevin stood up, "I'm going to talk to Kaiba about letting me take part in the tournament! I have to get Marik back for what he did to Mai!"

"No, Kevin," Joey said. "In a way, I feel responsible for what Marik did; I'll get revenge on Marik!"

"Joey…" Kevin began.

"That's enough, both of you!" Serenity scolded. "Anger and revenge only make things worse! Look at Marik, it was his anger that caused him to do this to Mai!"

Amara saw Ishizu cast her eyes towards the porthole. "She doesn't know," Amara said. Ishizu nodded and turned back.

"When I first took off my bandages, this isn't what I wanted to see," Serenity continued. "I didn't want to see people angry and upset, and caring about nothing but revenge!" Overcome with emotion, Serenity turned away and cried into Harold's shirt.

"Sorry," Joey and Kevin muttered.

Yugi turned to Ishizu, "What if there's no way to save your brother? It may be too late."

"My duel with Seto Kaiba showed me that nothing in the future is certain. I was told long ago that my brother would begin down a path to darkness. But since this duel, I began to wonder if it was possible that he could be brought back to the side of light."

"Why would you want to save a nutcase like him?" Tristan asked.

"Tristan," Tea hissed.

"Its okay, Tea, I don't blame him. Marik wasn't always the way he is now. He was hopeful and joyous. But that innocence that I loved about him is gone now, replaced by a dark void. I can remember when that evil was born, it was on the day he received the Tomb-Keeper's Initiation."

"The what-who-where?" Amara asked.

Yugi turned to Ishizu, "What if there's no way to save your brother? It may be too late."

"My duel with Seto Kaiba showed me that nothing in the future is certain. I was told long ago that my brother would begin down a path to darkness. But since this duel, I began to wonder if it was possible that he could be brought back to the side of light."

"You first told Yami that I needed to defeat this dark force to recover my memories and save the world. We established that it was your brother, Marik. Now you're saying he needs to be saved?"

"If you ask me, that psycho doesn't deserve to be saved," Kevin said harshly. "Look at what he did to my cousin! Look at what he did to his own ally! How could you even think about saving such a…"

"That's enough out of you," Amara said stomping on his foot.

"I hate to say this, but in a way, I agree with Kevin," Joey said. "It's hard to believe that Marik was ever nice."

"Please, trust me," Ishizu pleaded. "It was not long ago that Marik started to lose his way…"


For thousands of years, a member of the Ishtar family has stood watch over the Millennium Items and the Pharaoh's Tomb. Tradition says that the first-born male would assume the mantle of guarding the Pharaoh's Tomb until his return. Marik was chosen over me, and over Odion.

"Whoa, freeze-frame a sec," Amara said. "Odion was in the picture even back then?"

Ishizu nodded, "Even though he doesn't have the same blood as Marik and me, Odion was raised with us like he was our brother."


Odion, according to him, was found outside the underground entrance as a baby. My parents briefly assumed that since they would have no children of their own, that they would raise him. But then I was born and then Marik. My father decided that Marik would bear the secret of the Pharaoh on his back as he had and his father before him. But Marik didn't want to, and Odion and I pleaded with our father to not give him the initiation. But our father was steadfast in making Marik the next Guardian of the Tomb. As Tomb Keeper Guardian, Marik was forbidden from ever stepping foot outside the underground lair where we lived, hidden away from the world. Being a girl, I was allowed to exit only for food and supplies. I mentioned it to Marik…

"I'm going!"

"Be quiet, Marik!"

"It's late and our father's probably already asleep. You promised to show me the outside world one day, why can't we go now?"

"If Father finds out, we'll both be in big trouble! The outside world is forbidden to us, we're not allowed to talk to anyone on the outside or even see someone who isn't a Tomb Keeper."

"Odion can cover us."

"Of course."

"Please, Ishizu, please sister?"

"Its okay, Ishizu, I'll take care of everything."

"Oh, all right."

"Oh thank you, Big Sister!" Marik's hug was returned but I had a bad feeling about doing this.

In the early morning, we snuck to the secret steps leading outside. Odion arranged it to look like Marik was still sleeping.

"So this is the outside world," Marik said in awe.

I knew it was forbidden, I knew I shouldn't have done it, but I didn't see why. Everyone deserved to see the sun at least once in their lives and I thought Marik was no exception.

But the evil that had taken root prior to this outing was already growing.

"Hey, come on, Ishizu, you should take a look at this!"

"Marik, hold on, don't wander away from me."

Items that might seem mundane to you were like a treasure to Marik. He has never even seen a television before, and the only pictures he's seen was on the walls. I was more than a little embarrassed when a vendor noticed how he seemed to be into a television show.

"You look like you've never seen a television before."
"Hey Mister, what's that guy riding on?"

"You're kidding, right? Haven't you ever seen a motorcycle before?"

"Mo-tor-cy-cle."

I yanked him away from the television. "You're impossible!"

"But I want to ride a motorcycle."

I've decided that Marik had seen too much and insisted that we return underground.

But on our way back, we encountered a strange man in a white cloak and turban.

"The Pharaoh will soon return. You must prepare yourselves, for the Pharaoh will soon walk this Earth once again. If you reject your sacred duty, it will only bring tragedy."

"Tell me who you are!" But he was dissolving into the ground, like he was going underwater.


"I didn't know at the time who the man was," Ishizu explained. "Nor do I know how he knew about our connection to the Pharaoh. But I did know that I made a big mistake in showing Marik the outside world and in doing so, made him reject his family and his duty."

Yami emerged from the Millennium Puzzle and Yugi cast an eye in the spirit's direction. The way Ishizu described the man who disappeared, it was the exact same way as Shadi had after he searched Yugi's mind.

"My mistake was showing him the outside world and soon, my mistake would cost all of us, especially Odion upon our return."


We could never find the man who warned us, so we returned to the lair, but by then we have been discovered and my Father had taken his rage out on poor Odion. He had whipped him almost to the point of unconsciousness. I was horrified, and Marik…

Marik was angry.

"I warned you what would happen if you defied me. Now you will be punished!" Our father turned on us, intending to do to us what he did to Odion, beat us within an inch of our lives. But it was then that the evil Marik emerged.

"Your pitiful threats don't scare me any more."

"Are you defying me, Marik? Your own father?"

"The question is 'are you defying me, Old Man?" The Dark Marik went over to the Millennium Rod, one of the two Millennium Items we were guarding. "From now on, we're doing things my way." He used the Millennium Rod's magic to hold our father to the wall.

The Millennium Rod has many secrets, but one of its most dangerous secrets is that it is two weapons in one Millennium Item. The rod was really a dagger. And he took the dagger and he… he… he stabbed father dead.


Ishizu shivered, "I can still remember the screams as if it was yesterday. The site of my father dead will be etched in my mind forever."

"So why didn't you try to stop him?" Harold asked.

"I did, the gods only know I did, but I was incapacitated just as father was. I'm sure Marik was going to kill me and Odion as well, but Odion…"


"Master… Marik."

"Huh?"

"You can't… kill me yet… you need me… to protect you!"

The darkness was suppressed. "O… Odion?" Marik looked at his Millennium Rod and dropped it. "Oh no, what have I done?"

"It's okay now, Master Marik, everything's going to be fine now."

Suddenly the man who first warned us out in the marketplace appeared, "You've taken the first step on a dangerous path into total darkness," he told Marik. "Only the return of the Pharaoh can balance the light and darkness inside you. If the darkness is left unchecked, then you will be destroyed!"

Marik raised the Millennium Rod more as a defense maneuver than offense. "Who are you? How do you know so much?"

"It matters not; the Pharaoh decides the path of all, for his power is divine, only he can decide if you walk the path of light… or the path of darkness!"


Marik's anger and rage created this dark form of him, Yugi thought.

"Are we supposed to feel sorry for that spoiled brat just because he grew to be an evil nutcase?" Joey asked, losing patience with every word. "He trapped Mai's mind in the Shadow Realm, now she's experiencing who-knows-what kind of horrors! If you ask me, he doesn't need to be saved, he needs to be smacked and I'm just the guy to do it!"

"Joey, that's enough," Harold said. "You can't place the blame for what Marik did on Ishizu's shoulders. She did her best to prepare Yugi for this trial as a way of redeeming herself for her mistakes. And if you ask me, Marik's father is the one who deserves punishment for the torment he put all three of them through! If he didn't force Marik to go through that hokey ritual, Marik wouldn't even need that dark side. You have every right to be upset at Marik for what he did to Mai but you can't blame the whole family for the mistakes of one person."

"Yeah and how would you know?" Joey retorted. "You don't even have a family!" Harold clenched his fist so tight that a trickle of blood fell onto the floor. Harold turned and stormed out.

"That was a low blow, Joey even for you!" Tea scolded. She and Yugi were the first to learn of Harold's partial amnesia. Joey and Tristan only learned under close confidence with Yugi and Tea.

"Sorry," Joey said, his head lowered in shame.

"It is possible to destroy the bad Marik without destroying the good as well," Ishizu told Yugi. "The man said the 'Pharaoh decides the path of all, for his power is divine. As the Pharaoh's vessel, you have the power to decide the fate of Marik. In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh' word was a mandate from the gods."

Great, just what I need, another burden, Yugi thought.

"Lights out in two minutes!" Roland called over the PA system.

"Well I think I'll crash in Joey's room," Tristan decided.

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, your room is like a palace, you won't even notice I'm there."

"I'll notice by the smell. Night, Serenity, Kevin. Hey Yug, we better get some shut-eye. Odds are one of us will be facing Marik in the finals."

"Yeah," Yugi agreed.

"How do you know you two won't be ending up facing each other?" Serenity asked.

Joey hushed her, "Don't jinx us!"

Joey, Tristan, Duke, and Amara left to go to their rooms (or Joey's room in most cases). Yugi was about to go to his room but Ishizu called for hi, "Yugi, wait, I have something for you." She placed the Millennium Necklace in his hand.

"Your Millennium Necklace?"

"It can no longer show me the future and it will benefit you more than it did me. When the time comes, you will need all seven of the Millennium Items. And now, my mission is completed. The rest is up to you. Good luck, Yugi."

Yugi stared at the Necklace. Ishizu said there were seven of them, I already have two. But there's still a long way to go before I obtain all seven.

"Serenity, you should go stay with one of the others," Kevin recommended. "I'll watch over Mai."

"Well, I would but… technically, I'm on here illegally." She let out a little chuckle.

Kevin also chuckled, "So am I." The two had a good laugh


Harold stared out his window, watching the dark sky past them by. Joey's words still rang in his mind. "Yeah and how would you know? You don't even have a family!"

What do I know? Harold thought.


"Ishizu, wait up," Tea called. "I need to ask you something." What will happen once Yugi gets all seven items?"

"According to the ancient scripture, the Pharaoh's true power will be released and that which is bathed in darkness will be shown the light."

"So the Spirit will get his memories back, and then what?"

"Everything has a purpose, Tea, and once that purpose is achieved, there will be no need for whatever is used in obtaining that purpose. The Millennium Items are no different."

"But the Millennium Puzzle is the reason that Yami is here with us now. If what you're saying is true, then once the Pharaoh's memories are revealed, he'll…"

"He'll be sent to the afterlife," Ishizu confirmed and went away.

Unknwon to Ishizu, Tea's eyes grew dim and blank. "I will not be discarded so easily! That fiend may have control of my body but a portion of my mind still resides within Tea. And if I'm going to beat him, I'm going to need help." Tea brought the Millennium Ring into Bakura's room and placed it next to the sleeping Bakura.


Yugi was in bed but sleep was the farthest from his mind. "The Battle City finals end tomorrow," he said out loud.

"You should get some rest, Yugi, we have a big day ahead of us," Yami advised appearing on the edge of Yugi's bed.

"But I'm worried, Yami."

"I know, but don't worry, we can get through it together."

"But this tournament has gotten so out of hand. First Bakura and then Mai. And just when I think Marik couldn't get any worse, he goes and gets twenty times eviler than he was before!"

"We'll beat him," Yami assured his young host.

"Let me guess, if we trust in the heart of the cards, we can win," Yugi droned. "Somehow, that doesn't seem like enough any more. I don't want to lose any more friends." Yugi turned over and tried to get some sleep, trying not to let Yami see the tears of worry dripping from his face.


Yami-Marik came into Odion's room carrying the Millennium Rod. "It's time to do what I should've done years ago," he said. "As long as you exist, you'll continue to be a threat to me, it's time to put you away once and for all. Farewell, Odion!"

"Looks like I'll have to step in now." A magical force threw Yami-Marik to the side.

Grunting, Yami-Marik stood, "Who's there?" Yami-Bakura appeared, "The Spirit of the Millennium Ring!"

"You're half right," Yami-Bakura said. "You see, this time I'm not alone." The spirit of Marik's original self appeared.

"Remember me?"

Yami-Marik hmphed, "So, you're here."

"I want my body back!"

"Forget it, your body's mine now!"

"I beg to differ," Yami-Bakura rebutted. "Your former self's agreed to turn over the Millennium Rod to me in exchange for getting your body back."

"I see, you're the fool who's trying to collect all the Millennium Items." Yami-Marik used the Millennium Rod to nail Yami-Bakura to the wall the same way he did his father years ago. "I'll take care of you after I deal with Odion."

"I don't think so!" Yami-Bakura's Millennium Ring power overpowered the Millennium Rod and once again pushed Yami-Marik into a wall.

"It seems our Millennium Powers are equal, so how about dueling for the Rod."

"Gladly!"

The two got their Duel Disks and decks out and met on the dueling platform. Yami-Marik laid out the ultimatum, "The winner gets to keep the Millennium Rod and the loser will be banished to the Shadow Realm forever!"

The End