Marik still couldn't believe it. What had happened to Yugi was bad enough, but now Bakura had also fallen victim to the mysterious coma. When Marik, Joey, Tea, and Tristan had shown up at Bakura's apartment yesterday for a game of Monster World, they were horrified to find him lying unconscious on the kitchen floor. The strangest part about the scene was that there had been two half-filled coffee mugs resting on the counter. It looked like Bakura had been serving guests at the time. But if that was true, then just who were they, and where were they now? Once again, there were a lot more questions than answers, and it was more scary than ever.
Bakura's accident had hit Marik harder than Yugi's had. Even though he liked being around Yugi, Marik always felt that his own guilt about the past had been preventing him from becoming true friends with him. The same went for Joey, Tristan and Tea as well. But Bakura was different. He had always been somewhat separate from Yugi and the others, and that had somehow helped Marik to sort of mentally detach his guilt when it came to him. Plus, Bakura was the only one who truly understood what it was like to be possessed by an evil entity. After he had moved to Japan, Marik had had a lot of conversations with Bakura about the events of Battle City. Bakura was a true friend to Marik, and now he might not ever wake up again.
Marik came to the depressing realization that his life would probably not return to normal anytime soon.
Oh, well. It was fun while it lasted. Marik thought to himself with bitter sarcasm as he dragged his feet into the kitchen.
After he had made himself some coffee, Marik sat down at the table next to Ishizu and Odion.
"What do-" Marik started to say before he was interrupted by Ishizu.
"Shh! Not now, Marik." Ishizu said vaguely; her eyes glued to the television screen.
Marik couldn't help feeling irritated with his sister. Just where the hell did that come from!? He thought to himself.
Turning to look at the TV, Marik quickly found the answer to his question. Some reporters were interviewing Kaiba, and he did not look happy about it.
"As I have already said, Kaiba Corporation is in no way responsible for the conditions of the three individuals mentioned. Our Duel Disks use state-of-the-art technology, and to even suggest that they could have somehow caused any health issues for their owners is simply ludicrous! Also, both Maximillion Pegasus and Ryou Bakura are not even active duelists. There is no "dueling disease", and there is no point in asking me anymore questions about this. Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have a company to run!" Kaiba said irritably. He then turned and left; ignoring the outburst of questions from the reporters and onlookers in the crowd.
Ishizu, who had been gazing intently at the TV screen during Kaiba's comments, abruptly turned the television off with the remote control. She then turned to face Marik and Odion.
"I've been thinking about all of this a great deal lately. But it wasn't until Bakura also fell victim to this tragedy that I have finally started to put some of the pieces to this mystery together." Ishizu explained solemnly.
"Are you saying that you have an idea about how all of this has happened?" Odion asked carefully.
"Most likely, yes. But it is still only technically a theory at this point." Ishizu answered.
"Well, I'm assuming that you're not buying into the media's dueling disease theory. You can't very well accuse Seto Kaiba of something like that, right?" Marik said in a slightly sarcastic tone of voice.
Ishizu chose to ignore Marik's verbal jab. "Of course not. But at first, I did wonder if there was a possible connection to famous people in the world of Duel Monsters. However, I'm afraid that the conclusion that I have come to is far worse than what I had initially thought." Ishizu said grimly.
Marik and Odion looked at Ishizu expectantly; almost afraid to hear her explanation.
"All of the people who have fallen into comas so far were once wielders of the Millennium Items. I don't think that this is a coincidence. And if this continues..." Ishizu explained; her voice trailing off.
Marik immediately understood what Ishizu was implying. But there were still a lot of things that didn't make sense.
"But if you are saying that someone is actually stealing the souls of all of the former Millennium Item holders, then why are they doing it in the first place? We don't have any powers without them, so wouldn't it make more sense to just excavate the items themselves? And how would they even be able to find Shadi? He is, well,...dead!" Marik said.
"I do not know. But if this pattern continues, then whoever is behind all of this will eventually come for both you and I, Marik. We need to do something." Ishizu said firmly.
Marik felt sick. He hadn't thought that he would need to worry about becoming a victim himself. The Yami Marik problem was already bad enough, but this was just too much.
"But what can we do!? We don't have any powers anymore, and it seems like these people can get through anything! After all, not just anyone can get past Pegasus' security team, but they made it look like child's play!" Marik said anxiously.
"We should go to Egypt for a while. That way, I can contact the government's security forces. They should be able to help us until we can solve this mystery." Ishizu said.
Marik grimaced as he remembered the time that his sister had unleashed those very same forces against him and the Rare Hunters back when he had been trying to steal all of the God Cards. Since they had easily fallen victim to his Millennium Rod, Marik didn't have much hope that they would fare any better against a whole team of soul stealers.
Odion must have sensed Marik's unease, because he then spoke up. "No matter what, I promise that I won't let any harm befall either of you. We're a family, and that is not something that can change because of the actions of some cowardly evildoers." Odion said firmly.
After exchanging a look between each other, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion nodded their heads in agreement.
xxx
A few hours later, Marik, Ishizu, and Odion had left the house after packing a few belongings to take with them to Egypt. But they had decided to take a quick detour to the shopping center in Domino City before leaving for the airport to board their flight to Egypt that Ishizu had booked after their conversation in the kitchen.
Feeling depressed, Marik walked aimlessly around the men's clothing department; not searching for anything in particular. Other than a mother with a crying toddler and a man wearing a hoodie and sunglasses who was admiring some polo shirts, Marik was alone. He looked again at the last text message that Kelda had sent him earlier that day: I think that I'm finally ready to start building my deck! Pay day was today, so I thought that we'd go to that new card shop a couple of blocks from me. What do you say!? Marik hadn't answered. He felt horrible about it, but it would be safer if no one knew where they were going. As much as he hated it, Marik knew that the brief peace in his life was now over. It was time to go back to the world of dangerous magic and evil body-possessing psychopaths.
xxx
"Unfortunately, it appears that we still have a few hours until our flight is ready." Ishizu explained to Marik and Odion after she returned to the airport's waiting area from the front desk.
"Maybe we should get something to eat? There was a coffee shop back over that way." Marik suggested as he pointed towards the western hallway.
xxx
There was not much conversation between the three Ishtar siblings as they quietly sipped their coffee at the small airport cafe. Aside from them, there weren't many customers. Just a few random couples and a man with sunglasses and a hoodie who was reading a book.
Marik thought vaguely about their return to Egypt. Their move to Japan had been a way for him to have a fresh start away from all of the bad memories about his father's abuse. This just felt like a step backwards into all of the misery that they had endured back then.
xxx
After they had left the cafe, there was still some time to kill before the flight was announced, so Marik and the others decided to browse around in the gift shop for a while. Marik was looking at some T-shirts; wondering if there was possibly a safe way to send Kelda a souvenir. As he turned towards the counter, he was surprised to see another man with sunglasses and a hoodie.
"Is that a new style or something!?" Marik said quietly to himself. With a jolt, he realized that this was the third time that he had seen this particular ensemble today. What if it was the same man!? Given their present circumstances, this couldn't be a coincidence. And the fact that Marik had already seen this man before they were even at the airport only made him feel more suspicious.
After finding Odion, Marik whispered to him, "See that? I think that we might have a problem... That's the third time today that I've seen him."
Odion made his way over to their possible stalker as indiscreetly as he could.
"Is there a problem?" Odion asked Mr. Sunglasses in a tone of voice that sounded more like a warning than anything else.
"Uh, no... I was just looking at these paperweights, dude! I swear!" The man said nervously. He was clearly intimidated by Odion's towering height.
Without another word, Odion rejoined Marik and Ishizu at the counter. He silently mouthed the words, "time to go" to them.
xxx
After they had left the gift shop, Marik and the others were just about to enter the room with the gate for their flight when they saw something that made them stop in their tracks. The waiting area was flooded with black-cloaked figures. Just what had happened to everyone else in the airport?
"We can't let them see us. This way!" Ishizu said as she quickly turned back towards the hallway; Marik and Odion following as quickly as they could.
After only going a few steps down the hallway, the trio found their way blocked by two more cloaked men. Marik also noticed that about three more were already chasing them back from the way that they had came.
"Let us pass!" Ishizu commanded firmly. Despite how terrifying their current situation was, Marik knew that his sister was a strong woman who would try to stand up against an adversary for as long as she could.
"Sorry, but that's not going to happen! Since you guys knew enough to try to escape beforehand, then you must know what we're after! Now be good and let us do our work!" One of the men said in amusement. Marik noticed that he was holding a strange, metal device in his right hand.
Without warning, Odion lunged toward the man and punched him in the face so hard that he fell to the ground, out cold.
"Marik, Ishizu! You have to run now while I hold them off!" Odion shouted as he grappled with the second man.
"Stay out of this! We have no business with you!" The second man yelled at Odion angrily as he attempted to fight him off.
Before Marik could even attempt to reply to Odion, Ishizu grabbed his hand and practically dragged him away as she started to run again. Trying his best to ignore the sound of more punches being thrown, Marik ran along with her. He knew that they had to trust Odion for now and attempt to escape. Because if their pursuers got even one minute, he had a feeling that they would use that strange device to steal their souls. Then there wouldn't be any way for them to help Odion.
It wasn't long before Marik and Ishizu were ambushed again. This time, Marik had a horrible feeling that their luck had finally run out.
"Alright, that's it now! It's useless to try to escape!" The man said impatiently as he reached into his pocket for the soul-stealing device.
"Why are you doing this!? It can't possibly benefit anyone for this to happen! Does this have anything to do with the Millennium Items!?" Ishizu questioned frantically. Marik could tell that she was trying to buy more time by keeping the conversation going. But he didn't think that that would work. He knew that he had to try to fight, but his feet didn't seem to want to move.
"That's for us to know. Now, as they say, ladies first!" The man said mockingly.
Before Marik could even move, the man took out a small bag and threw the contents of it over Ishizu. A blast of golden light encircled her. After that, he used the metal device to bring forth a beam of light that quickly sucked up the light around Ishizu.
"NO!" A shout came from behind Marik, revealing that Odion had finally caught up with them. He quickly knocked out the man before he could do anything to Marik.
For a split second, Ishizu looked at Marik and Odion; her hand stretched out towards them. She then fell to the ground with a vacant expression in her eyes.
For a moment, neither Marik or Odion could speak. Then, Marik let out a wail of despair.
"ISHIZU!" Marik yelled in agony. He felt an unbearable surge of anger and sadness take hold of him. His head throbbed with pain, and Marik had to hold it in both of his hands just to be able to stand it. As he started to shake uncontrollably, Marik recognized the terrifying sensation that he was experiencing. He was starting to lose control of himself again. Marik felt a ringing in his ears as heard Yami Marik cheering inside of his head; his voice sounding clearer than it had in a long time.
Odion placed his hands firmly on Marik's shoulders and forced him to look into his eyes.
"Marik! We have to leave now!" Odion said urgently.
"No! I'll kill those bastards right now!" Marik said viciously. His voice was slightly distorted and his facial expression was twisted with rage. Then, as quickly as it had happened, Marik seemed to recover himself. He stared down at Ishizu's unconscious form; unable to say anything else.
Looking truly alarmed now, Odion quickly grabbed Marik's hand and started to run.
After a short distance, Marik and Odion reached a door with a lighted exit sign above it. But before they could open it, they heard the sound of several pairs of feet chasing after them down the the other end of the hallway.
Odion turned to Marik. "You must escape while I hold them off. It should buy you enough time to lose them." He told Marik firmly.
"No! I can't just leave you! And we have to save Ishizu!" Marik argued.
"I will make sure that she is safe. But you need to leave while you still can! I will catch up with you later, I promise!" Odion insisted as the footsteps came even closer.
"But-" Marik started to protest.
"GO!" Odion shouted as he pushed the door open and practically pushed Marik outside.
xxx
Hours later, Marik sat by himself miserably inside a bleak motel room. He had pushed all of the furniture in the room against the doorway to deter his pursuers if they found him. Even so, Marik also kept glancing at the window; half-expecting someone to come up to it on a ladder and break through the window.
Marik couldn't seem to remember everything that had happened after he had fled from the airport. What had happened to Odion!? What if he had been killed!? And then there was Ishizu... How had everything fallen apart so quickly!? Marik had been tempted to call Odion to find out if he was alright and tell him where he was staying. But he knew that it wasn't safe for him to use any type of phone now. Marik had a feeling that the mystery men would be trying to trace his location in any way that they could. Some distance before the hotel, Marik had performed a factory data reset on his cellphone, and then had quickly smashed it and thrown it away in a trash can. He only hoped that that would be enough...
Unable to calm himself down, Marik started to pace restlessly around the small bedroom area.
"Marik." A voice spoke so quietly that Marik almost hadn't heard it. Surely there couldn't be anyone in here with him!? The door was blocked, and Marik had specifically told the motel manager that he did not want to see any guests.
"Marik, it's me. Don't tell me that you have already forgotten about me?" Yami Marik said in amusement.
"Please, no! Not now!" Marik begged.
Yami Marik chuckled. "Look over here. Towards the left." He commanded.
Marik's eyes searched the left side of the room frantically. It wasn't until he looked at the long, full-length mirror that Marik noticed what his dark side had wanted him to see. Instead of seeing his own regular reflection in the mirror, Marik now saw Yami Marik grinning evilly at him.
"Surprised to see me? You shouldn't be after all of the excitement today!" Yami Marik said.
"Leave me alone! You're not taking control of me again!" Marik said angrily.
"Oh, but I already have! How else do you think that you were able to escape from those fools!? I would say that you should be thanking me, but that would be stretching the truth quite a bit since I'm going to find a way to kill you anyway." Yami Marik said.
"If you really did take over, then why am I in control right now!?" Marik demanded.
"It seems as if my time is more...limited than I would like. At least for now, that is." Yami Marik explained with a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"I still don't believe you." Marik said.
"Then let me show you." Yami Marik said.
Suddenly, Marik found himself lost inside of a memory. Just like that, Marik witnessed what had happened right after he had made it outside of the airport. He saw himself lose it completely as Yami Marik took control of his body. Two of the men caught up with him then. It didn't take long for the predators to become the prey as Yami Marik charged towards them with a speed that seemed almost inhuman. He didn't need the Millennium Rod to kill people, and he proved that by simply snapping the men's necks.
After the memory ended, Marik felt sick. "You killed them!" He accused Yami Marik fiercely.
"Yes, and it was so exhilarating! It's been too long since I've had that much fun!" Yami Marik said in delight.
"But you can't do that! It's wrong!" Marik argued.
"Don't act so self-righteous. You're just as responsible for this as I am. After all, you're the one who created me. They died by your own two hands!" Yami Marik taunted. Marik couldn't help wincing as his guilt from the past consumed him again.
"But why didn't you just let them take my soul? Then you would have full control of this body!" Marik said in frustration.
"It is certainly worth looking into once I've found out a bit more from them. But for now, I can't just assume that it wouldn't affect me as well. But why are you even asking me this? In a hurry to join our poor sister!?" Yami Marik sneered.
"No..." Marik said as the memory of losing Ishizu replayed again in his head.
"Well, she's as good as dead now. I wonder how long the doctors would be able to pump life into her empty shell of a body before it expired? That is, if it was even found. That poor fool Odion was probably killed as he tried to play the hero!" Yami Marik said happily.
"Please, just stop! I can't take it anymore!" Marik pleaded.
"Sorry, Marik! But I am only just getting started! I finally found a pathway to freedom again, and nothing will stand in my way this time! But I don't want to work on getting rid of you just yet. I will prolong your suffering! And I plan on having a LOT more fun than I did today!" Yami Marik said excitedly.
"Nooo!" Marik said fearfully.
"Yes! Say goodbye to everything you hold dear! No more dreams, no more hope! The darkness is here to stay! Ah, ha, ha, ha! AH, HA, HA, HA!" Yami Marik vowed as he burst into a fit of insane laughter.
Crying silently, Marik curled up into a ball on the floor and covered his ears to block out Yami Marik's voice; praying for the nightmare to end...
Author's note: Sorry that it took me so long to update this. Whether it is reviews, or just views, thank you for all of your support, everyone! I feel like this has sort of turned into some kind of Yami Marik horror show, and I hope that it is still okay so far. Maybe I went too far at the end? XD I swear that this is all going somewhere, and that I am not just deliberately torturing Marik. XD Thanks for reading!