As Marik walked through the streets of downtown Domino, his brain still struggled to comprehend what had happened last week. Like Pegasus, Yugi was now also in a coma. After Tea had found Yugi that night, Solomon had had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital due to the shock he experienced from seeing his grandson in such a horrifying condition. Luckily, Solomon had recovered, but he was still in the hospital. Yugi had not woken up at all, and the doctors were just as puzzled with his condition as Pegasus' doctors had been with him. Tea, Joey, and Tristan spent most of their time at the hospital these days. Tea had even stopped attending school altogether. There was no evidence of anything that might have brought on Yugi's condition. Marik suspected that the strange people who had been seen entering Pegasus' castle right before he fell into his coma had something to do with this as well. The only problem was that there was no sign of any outside involvement this time around. No one in the neighborhood had witnessed any suspicious activity, and there were no cameras to record anything at the Kame Game Shop. It was even considered normal for Yugi and Solomon to sometimes leave the front door unlocked when the shop was closed. The media had quickly picked up on the news of Yugi's coma. Headlines in newspapers everywhere, tons of online sources, the radio, and television reported that the famous King of Games, Yugi Mutou, was now in serious condition. But it was also now being said that this could be linked to the attack on Pegasus due to the fact that both he and Yugi were important figures in the world of Duel Monsters.
Marik had taken the time to visit Yugi in the hospital yesterday. He felt horrible that one of his only friends had ended up like this. Yugi had forgiven Marik for every horrible thing that he had done to him. He didn't deserve this. Even though he knew that it was irrational of him to believe it, Marik couldn't help somehow feeling guilty for what had happened to Yugi.
After everything I did to him, I should be the one who has to suffer like this, not him. Marik thought to himself.
Yugi's condition wasn't the only problem weighing on Marik's mind, though. Yami Marik was still alive and well inside of Marik's head, and he didn't show any signs of wanting to leave, either. Even though he hadn't been able to actually take control, Marik still had to endure the threats and taunts from his worse side every day now. Marik now suffered from a permanent headache, no matter what he did. There was no respite even in his sleep because Yami Marik continually invaded his nightmares. Marik had pretty much given up on sleep these days, and Ishizu and Odion could tell that something was very wrong. But Marik was still too afraid to tell them his awful secret. He was afraid that they might want to do something to him in order to get rid of his dark half, simply because they would decide that the risks were too high.
Do what, exactly!? The pharaoh is gone, and we don't have the Millennium Items anymore! So there really is nothing anyone can do to help me. Unless they kill me, that is. Marik thought to himself grimly. But despite his fears, Marik tried to reassure himself that things were still fine. Yami Marik didn't seem to be going anywhere, and as long as it stayed that way, there wasn't a real problem.
As Marik turned on to the next street, he tried to focus on what he had come here for. He may not have felt comfortable enough to tell Ishizu and Odion about Yami Marik's return. But there was one person that he knew that would understand exactly what he was going through.
xxx
"Oh, good! You're finally here! I was starting to think that you had gotten lost. There are quite a few turn-arounds on the way here, after all! Please, come inside." Bakura said with a smile as he held the door to his apartment open for Marik.
"Thanks, Bakura. Sorry about showing up so late. I wanted to at least try to get some homework done this week." Marik apologized ruefully as he stepped inside.
"Don't worry, it's quite all right. I'm a night owl, anyway." Bakura said with a sheepish grin.
Marik looked around Bakura's apartment as he followed him inside. As usual, the place was a gigantic mess. The living room was cluttered with various types of books, board games, and video game cartridges. A pile of dirty clothes overflowed from the clothing hamper. There was also a permanent ring from what Marik had guessed was a coffee mug etched into the nearby end table. Bakura was an even bigger gaming addict then Yugi, and it wasn't uncommon for him to stay up for hours every night playing games or working on some campaign project for his favorite role-playing game, Monster World.
"Bakura, I really think that you should start doing something about all of this. I wouldn't be surprised if those dirty clothes have developed their own DNA at this point!" Marik said seriously.
"I did mean to do a little cleaning yesterday, but I had to answer a bunch of questions from players on the Monster World message board, and I guess I just lost track of the time. It seems like people are still having a hard time figuring out that you have to find the mythril dagger before you challenge the King's Specter a second time. But it's no big deal! I'll just do it tomorrow!" Bakura said cheerfully. But he usually didn't end up cleaning anything whenever he said that.
Ever since Bakura had gotten legal permission to use Monster World in name, he had been working with a classmate who was an amateur game developer to make an online version of the game. Even though Marik had heard Bakura rant far too often about how gamers did not appreciate the original RPGs that were not played in front of a screen, he knew that Bakura was enjoying himself with the project nonetheless. However, between writing weekly campaigns and answering questions on the message board, Bakura was stretching himself thin.
"Well, maybe if you could receive some royalties off of Monster World, you could then hire someone to do all of this work for you!" Marik joked.
"That would be nice. But enough about that. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Marik?" Bakura asked curiously.
"Before I tell you, you have to promise not to tell anyone else. Can you do that?" Marik asked seriously.
"Okay. But now I'm worried. This sounds serious." Bakura said worriedly.
"That's because it is. I don't want to alarm you…but it looks like my dark side has returned." Marik confessed.
Instead of showing any fear, Bakura looked merely puzzled. "But how is that even possible? I always thought that the Shadow Realm was a one-way trip without any outside assistance." He said.
"I have no idea. He hasn't been able to take control of me. But we can hear and talk to each other. Only I wish that I couldn't hear him! He says he's going to find a way to kill me and take over again! And after that, it will be everyone else! I don't know how he would do it, but he wants revenge, and I…" Marik trailed off in despair.
Bakura looked at Marik sympathetically. "When did this start?" He asked calmly.
"Last week." Marik said.
"Well, all I can really tell you is that you should just tell yourself that nothing has happened so far. Maybe he can't control you anymore." Bakura said.
Suddenly, a horrible idea came to Marik. "Have you heard anything from…him? If it can happen to me, I'm worried that it could be the same for you, too." Marik said.
Like Marik, Bakura had also been possessed by an evil spirit. A very different kind of spirit, though. Whereas Yami Marik was simply a split personality that had developed a life of his own, Yami Bakura was the three thousand year-old spirit of a thief king who had been out for revenge. While Yami Bakura hadn't acted nearly as sadistic and psychotic as Yami Marik, he had tried to resurrect an ancient evil to destroy the world. His motives and actions had just been a lot more calculated and goal-driven.
"No, I haven't heard anything, and I hope it stays that way. I still feel responsible for so many things…" Bakura said guiltily.
"You still haven't told anyone else about it, have you?" Marik asked.
"Does it really matter? Yugi is in a coma, and he's the one who really deserves an explanation. But I just don't think that I can admit anything." Bakura said
"Look, you have to realize that it wasn't your fault. He tricked you." Marik insisted.
"I know. I still can't believe I fell for everything he said about wanting to change. Duelist Kingdom should have been the last straw. But once he started doing things that actually were helpful to us, like finding Yugi in the warehouse, I believed him. During Battle City, he said that it was important that it looked like you wouldn't suspect anything. He said he was going to help save the world. He always had some sort of convincing argument. He could make you believe anything. For a while, I thought that we were friends. I thought that we were a team like Yugi was with Atem. Just a little bit different. It made me feel important. But after Battle City was over and you and Yugi explained everything to me, I started having doubts. And even after Yugi took the Millennium Ring away, I kept hearing him. Always telling me about the pharaoh's lost memories and insisting that I had a mission to help him get what he wanted. He was just so…obsessed. It was scary. I realized that I had been wrong, but by then it was too late, and he took over again and almost destroyed the world! I could've prevented everything if I had just been honest with Yugi!" Bakura said.
"The important thing is that you realized that he was bad. And it could've happened to other people as well. After all, I was stupid enough to believe that he would help me when I still wanted revenge against the pharaoh. Sociopaths like him have a way with people." Marik said.
"I guess you're right. I just wish that Yugi would wake up. And Pegasus, too. It's eerie how all of this is happening at once." Bakura said.
"I know. But I still think that you should tell Joey and the others everything. If they can forgive me, then I doubt that they would be angry at you for being tricked like that. You weren't trying to hurt anybody, and we didn't even know what he really wanted for a long time. Trust me, they won't blame you." Marik said confidently.
"I'll try. But I think that you need to also tell the others about this. Or at least just Ishizu and Odion." Bakura said.
"That's different. With the way Yugi is right now, this will be the last thing they'll want to know about. Nothing has happened, so maybe he really can't do anything like you said." Marik said. But he sounded more like he was just trying to convince himself.
xxx
The next day, Marik walked past the display cases in Domino City Museum as he made his way to Ishizu's office. He still wasn't sure if he was ready to tell Ishizu and Odion the truth yet. But he hoped that being around a place that had some similarity to their home country might make it easier for him to start talking.
Marik had just been about to enter the curator's office when the sound of arguing from inside made him stop.
Great! He's back again! Marik thought to himself sarcastically as he recognized Kaiba's angry voice.
"I don't know why you are being so difficult about this! It's not like I'm going to hurt anything!" Kaiba complained.
"On the contrary, you are talking about disturbing things that are meant to be left alone!" Ishizu argued.
"How is it disturbing anything when I would make sure that it is all back in place afterwards!? This is ridiculous!" Kaiba said in frustration.
"No matter what you say, my answer is still no. You need to move on from this, Kaiba. The past is past. You cannot interfere with fate." Ishizu said firmly.
"Don't even give me that "destiny" garbage again!" Kaiba practically shouted.
After a few seconds, Kaiba lowered his voice before he continued to speak. Marik had to practically press his ear against the door just to hear what he was saying. "-reverse also should be true." Kaiba said.
"-not a place for you." Marik could just barely make out Ishizu's response.
Damn it! What am I missing!? Marik thought to himself in frustration as the hushed conversation continued.
"-not the same. I need to know!" Kaiba said in a voice that almost sounded whiny.
"As I have said before, what you are attempting to do is impossible. And even if I could assist you, I would still choose not to. Now, if you have nothing else to discuss, then I suggest it that you leave, Kaiba. I am quite busy." Ishizu said.
"Fine! Whatever." Kaiba said angrily.
Marik quickly backed away from the doorway and walked a few paces away from Ishizu's office. The last thing he wanted was for her to find out that he had been eavesdropping.
Kaiba threw open the door and stormed down the hallway; his long coat billowing behind him.
Marik would never admit it to anyone, but he did respect Kaiba as a person. Despite being rude and arrogant, Kaiba was honest and worked hard to achieve his goals. During Battle City, Kaiba had shown no fear of Yami Marik, and Marik believed that Kaiba could have won against his dark side if they had been forced to duel each other. There was also the fact that Marik believed that Kaiba was somewhat responsible for stopping Yami Marik. If Kaiba hadn't lent the pharaoh his Devil's Sanctuary card during the tournament finals, then he might have actually lost the duel against Yami Marik. But right now, none of that really mattered to Marik. He was just sick and tired of Kaiba coming here to bother his sister, and he was going to say something about it.
Marik purposely walked in front of Kaiba, blocking his path. "Kaiba, this is the third time this week that you've come here to bother my sister. You need to stop." Marik said firmly.
Kaiba looked irritated. "Great, just what I need! Another equally annoying Ishtar sibling! What makes you think I'll listen to the likes of you!? I make my own decisions. Decisions that are none of your business, Marik." He said.
"It is my business if you're harassing my sister, Kaiba! So you had better quit now if you know what's good for you." Marik warned. Other people might have been afraid to say such things to the imposing CEO, but not Marik. After everything he had gone through in life, this was merely a trifle. He was not afraid of Seto Kaiba.
Kaiba looked amused. "Or else what? Do you really think that I would be afraid of your pathetic little threats?" He sneered.
Marik felt like he wanted to punch Kaiba and then shove him into one of the display cases. All of the sudden, he heard Yami Marik from inside of his head.
"Yes! Very good, Marik! Get angry! It will only make me stronger! Then I can come out and kill Seto Kaiba for you! I know that's what you REALLY want! After all, he won't be able to come back here if he's DEAD!" Yami Marik shouted with sick delight.
"No! Shut up!" Marik said distractedly. He only then realized that he had said that out loud.
"What did you just say to me, Marik?" Kaiba asked with a deadly calm in his voice. He had clearly thought that Marik's outburst had been directed towards him.
"Nothing. Look, can you please just leave already!? We have a lot to do right now." Marik said.
"You don't have to convince me to leave." Kaiba replied. As he started to walk away, Kaiba accidentally bumped into a sign. About five books fell out of his coat. He looked furious with himself.
Marik knelt down to look at the books. He was surprised to see that they were all about ancient Egypt.
"What do we have here? Mysteries of Ancient Egypt, Pharaohs of The Dynasties, The Book of The Dead. That's quite a collection! Since you are this interested, I could lend you a copy of Egypt on Five Dollars a Day if you'd like. Although I'm afraid it is a bit outdated now." Marik taunted Kaiba.
Kaiba hurriedly picked up the books and shoved them back into wherever he kept them behind his coat. He looked like he had just been caught doing something shameful and embarrassing.
"You will never speak of what you just saw!" Kaiba hissed furiously.
Marik shrugged his shoulders casually. "Wouldn't dream of it." He said nonchalantly.
Suddenly, the communication device in the collar of Kaiba's coat flashed. Kaiba pressed it quickly.
"What is it, Mokuba!?" Kaiba asked tensely.
"Seto, the board meeting started ten minutes ago! Everyone's waiting for you! You're never late! What is holding you up!?" The frantic voice of Kaiba's younger brother questioned him through the intercom.
"Nothing of importance. I'll be there soon." Kaiba said.
"Looks like you have other matters that you should be attending to. But remember what I said, Kaiba." Marik said.
"Don't worry. I'm done coming here. It's all proved to be a colossal waste of my time anyway." Kaiba said. He walked away from Marik; heading towards the exit.
And yet you keep coming back! Marik thought to himself in annoyance.
Marik walked into Ishizu's office to find his sister hastily flipping through some papers.
"Sister, how was work today?" Marik asked as casually as he could.
"Don't pretend that you didn't hear anything, Marik. I can tell from your expression that you were listening behind the door the whole time our "guest" was here." Ishizu said.
"Okay, you got me there. But I didn't hear everything." Marik admitted.
"You're probably better off not knowing." Ishizu said wryly.
"Not knowing what?" Odion asked as he entered the room.
Marik turned to his brother. "Odion! You are the head of security here! Can't you do something about Kaiba!?" Marik practically begged him.
Odion raised an eyebrow. "He's not causing any damage to the exhibits. He hasn't actually refused to leave when he's been asked to; I don't see how he's breaking any rules." Odion said. He looked curiously at Ishizu.
"True, but Seto Kaiba seems to want to interfere with things that should remain untouched." Ishizu said.
"Such as?" Marik asked.
"He wants to try reopening the Door of Darkness in the hopes that he can meet with the pharaoh again. So he's been trying to convince me to get permission for him from the Egyptian government so that he can go there again." Ishizu explained bitterly.
"What!? How dare he try to disturb the pharaoh's afterlife!? Let me guess, he wants to duel him again, right!? Does Kaiba not have a life!? I can't believe this! And it's horrible that he doesn't even care about Yugi right now! You would think that he would have at least recognized how good of a duelist he is after he beat the pharaoh and all three of the Egyptian God Cards! But all he cares about is his precious ego! He makes me sick!" Marik ranted.
"It would be good for him to duel other people. I bet that you could give him a run for his money, Marik! But more importantly, how would Kaiba even go about doing what he wants to? The Millennium Items are buried deep underground, and even if he did find them, I doubt that they would hold any more power." Odion said.
"Either way, it doesn't matter. I'm not giving him permission to go there." Ishizu said.
"Good!" Marik said fiercely.
"Still, I can't believe that he chooses to start taking all of this seriously now! He is such an infuriating man!" Ishizu said angrily. She slammed the drawer to the file cabinet shut; causing a little golden figurine to fall off of the top of the cabinet. Marik couldn't help feeling a little surprised by his sister's behavior. She was usually so calm and collected.
"Well, maybe Kaiba won't come here anymore now that he knows that I'm just going to yell at him too if he keeps pressing this." Marik said hopefully.
"Maybe. If that's the real reason that he keeps coming here." Odion said thoughtfully.
Marik and Ishizu both glared at Odion.
"Just what are you implying, Odion!?" Ishizu demanded furiously.
"Never!" Marik said in outrage.
"Oh, dear. It looks like I may have gotten myself into trouble!" Odion joked nervously.
xxx
"But if you really want to use Fire Princess, then you're going to want to switch your deck theme from Burn to Cure-Burn." Marik explained to Kelda over the phone. It was late at night now, and Marik was having one of his marathon phone calls with his new friend.
"I guess you're right. It's just frustrating because I wanted everything to have fire in its name, you know? Or anything related to fire, like flame or something." Kelda said.
"That's the hardest part. Getting too caught up with cards that you really want to use when they aren't exactly practical for your deck's theme. It's happened to me more than once." Marik admitted.
"Well, it's good that you're helping me to resist that temptation. Or I would just be getting nowhere fast!" Kelda joked.
"Speaking of that, do you want to bring homework again like we did last time? I've fallen a bit behind this past week." Marik said.
"Oh, no! It's not because of me, is it!?" Kelda asked worriedly.
"No, it's nothing like that. If anything, you are actually helping me finish what I can. I've just been a bit under the weather, that's all." Marik answered.
"I think we all get that every so often. But I'm glad I can help. So, do you want to go to J'z again?" Kelda asked.
"How about that new place? What's it called again? Finish Line?" Marik asked.
"I know where you mean. Normally I would say yes, but I swear, they dump about a gallon of this nasty artificial sweetener stuff into all of their lattes! I mean, I like sweet drinks, but I draw the line there! No pun intended. It's like they are doing that just to mask how awful the coffee tastes." Kelda complained.
Marik laughed. "I'll keep that in mind!" He joked.
"But if you really want to try it, we could still go." Kelda offered.
"That's okay. I'm afraid to go there myself now! So, tomorrow at eight again?" Marik asked.
"Yeah. Sorry it's always so late." Kelda apologized.
"No, it's fine. You have work, and I hardly sleep as it is." Marik said. He then cringed inwardly; worried about how Kelda might interpret the last part of his second sentence.
"You should try staring at just one single part of the ceiling until your eyes get tired. That usually works for me. On the rare occasions that I actually have trouble falling asleep, that is." Kelda said.
"Thanks, I'll try that. I should go now, though." Marik said.
"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow!" Kelda said.
"Alright. Bye!" Marik said. He then pressed the button to end the call.
Marik couldn't help smiling to himself for a moment. He really liked Kelda. She was friendly and easy to talk to. But he also liked how perceptive she was when it came to a lot of things. Kelda had to seemed to know right from the start that Battle City was not normal. And she seemed to have recognized just how different Marik was now just from watching videos of the tournament. It seemed like everyone else hadn't even noticed. But it also worried Marik. He didn't like lying to Kelda, but how was he supposed to explain it to her?
It's not like I can just say: "I was under the control of my evil split personality who had been trying to take over the world and kill everyone. And by the way, he might be back again. Oh, and I was also the leader of a criminal organization that stole and made counterfeit copies of Duel Monsters cards!" Marik thought to himself sarcastically.
Marik knew that he was playing a dangerous game. Yami Marik could very well take control of him again, and Kelda would be right in his line of fire. Oddly enough, Yami Marik was strangely silent when it came to Kelda. He never even acknowledged her existence. But somehow, that just worried Marik even more. He knew that he shouldn't risk getting close to anyone else right now. But he couldn't help it. Besides how much he enjoyed her company, Kelda made Marik feel normal again. It was nice to have a friend who didn't know anything about magic or evil forces trying to destroy the world. Because more than anything, Marik just wanted to put all of that behind him and live a normal life for once.
After he turned off the lamp on his nightstand, Marik tried focusing on one point of the ceiling like Kelda had advised him to.
"Nice try, Marik. But you're in for a long night either way. The Shadow Realm is always just behind your eyelids!" Yami Marik taunted.
Marik groaned in frustration. He then got up and headed towards the bathroom in search of more aspirin. It was going to be a long night.
xxx
In a small darkened room, a man sat behind a large computer screen with a glass of wine in his hand. Displayed on the screen were images of six different people. First, there was Yugi, Pegasus, and an image of a very old photograph of Shadi, the keeper of the Millennium Scales and Key. A big red check mark was displayed next to all three of them. Next to those were images of Bakura, Ishizu, and Marik. The man's eyes narrowed in hatred as he glared at the image of Marik. He then threw his glass of wine at the screen in a rage; shattering it into a million pieces.
Author's note: I would like to thank everyone who has viewed, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! I really did not believe that it would get this much attention! I would also like to thank Cowardly Dragon for giving me the idea of Yami Bakura being the "charming sociopath" who tricked Ryou into believing that he was good for a while. I hope that all of the characters are um, in character so far. Also, you may have noticed that I am ignoring DSOD in this. I liked the movie, but it doesn't fit with what I am doing in this story.