DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

Awakening of Evil Part IV

Odion looked sombre, almost like he was preparing for something.

'I don't get it, guys,' Téa said. 'Why isn't Marik attacking?'

'I'm not sure,' the Pharaoh murmured.

Odion lifted his – surely fake – Millennium Rod. 'All right, Mr. Wheeler, prepare to experience an ancient power like nothing you've ever seen before, or will see again.' He closed his eyes.

The Pharaoh and Shamee ignored the scared and apprehensive responses of their friends.

Odion looked at him again. 'I am Marik, and I will now play my Egyptian God card to prove it!'

'I wouldn't if I were you!' Shamee called, loud enough for him to hear her.

Odion tensed but ignored her.

Joey glanced down at her before turning his attention back to Odion and saying sarcastically. 'Didn't see that coming.'

'Oh, no,' Mai said. 'Marik is going to play the Winged Dragon of Ra.'

Shamee smirked. 'Well, he's going to try.'

YGO

Sharee – or Shamee or whatever her spirit was called – seemed confident that Not-Marik wouldn't be able to play the God Card. She knew more about those things than anyone else, so Joey trusted that. It should be interesting, though, to see how he wouldn't be able to play it.

'Now,' Not-Marik said, 'in order to release my Egyptian God Monster from the Ark, I must sacrifice my Mystical Beast Serpent first!' The Beast rose up. 'Once this Guardian of the Temple is no more, I can release the most powerful creature that ever walked the earth from within the Sacred Ark.'

'Be very careful, Joey!' the Pharaoh called.

Not-Marik turned to the Temple, holding his Rod out to it. 'Ancient One, hear my call.' As he spoke, the Ark became to glow and the flame torches lining the stairs extinguished like a Mexican Wave. 'I now offer up my Mystical Beast, along with half my life points,' the points dropped to 200, 'to release thee.' The Beast disintegrated.

Out of the corner of his eye, Joey saw Sharee dropped her head in exasperation.

Not-Marik went on. 'Come forth my Winged Dragon and reveal your awesome strength in the name of the next Great Pharaoh, King Marik!'

The lid lifted off of the Ark. The glowing shape of a card rose from within. Now, Joey was starting to worry. What if Sharee was wrong? It didn't seem to be disobedient of this guy. He glanced down and saw she was still watching all of this calmly. There wasn't a trace of doubt on her face. The glow flashed away from a second. Joey looked back, and suddenly had to cover his eyes as an even more luminous glow escaped and shot up high into the sky, turning gold as it went.

It caused dark clouds to spontaneously appear and twist around. The light then expanded and a silhouette seemed to take shape in the light. 'What's going on?' Joey looked up, up into the dark clouds that had been created by the summoning. He started in fright as lightning began to crack and strike all around the blimp. A set of glowing slitted eyes appeared in the clouds.

'It's time,' Not-Marik proclaimed. 'Show yourself my Beast!'

Something began to descend from the clouds, but it wasn't quite what Joey expected. It's form shimmered and trembled, like there was something wrong with the projectors. It appeared over the back of the temple, more like a glowing outline picture rather than a duel monster.

Not-Marik obviously didn't seem to notice. 'Let anyone who doubts my power feel the fire of the mighty Winged Dragon of Ra!'

YGO

Shamee huffed at the sight of the thing.

The others were rather pointlessly worried. 'That thing looks unstoppable!' Tristan insisted.

'It is,' the Pharaoh said. Well, yes, when used correctly and by the right person. There was just one little thing wrong.

The Winged Dragon of Ra is not supposed to look like that.

'Behold the strongest of all the Egyptian God Monsters!' As Odion didn't seem to take note of this, Shamee presumed it was either a fake and supposed to act like this so the true way to use it was not revealed, or he'd never actually seen the thing used and didn't know how it was really supposed to be summoned. 'A being like no other! And, remember, my Mystical Beast had absorbed the power of your Jinzo, you Insect Queen, and your Legendary Fisherman. This increased my monster's overall attack power to an enormous 5825. Now those attack points are transferred to my Winged Dragon of Ra! And once it attacks you, Mr. Wheeler, you'll wish you'd never entered this tournament. Brace yourself, because you're about to lose the rest of your life points.' He laughed.

'So what are you waiting for?' Joey asked. 'Take your best shot, baldy!' Not-Marik – and he was still convinced of that – didn't move. 'Well, I'm waiting. Come and get me already!'

'Your time has run out, Mr. Wheeler,' Not-Marik said.

YGO

Shamee knew it was coming. As such, a nearly-permanent wince had taken up residence on her face. Odion was but a mere servant of the Will of the Gods. Trying to use their great power would not go down well. In fact, she was very wary of those bolts of lightning still striking all around them. She actually cringed down as Odion called out the command.

'Dragon of Ra, attack his life points directly.'

The half-summoned Dragon threw its head back. Shamee sensed the rage of the beast go through her Bandanna. It nearly sent Sharee through the roof. But Shamee never could let foolishness go past her. She turned her head and looked at the real Marik. He was looking down, to his duel disk, in confusion and a bit of fear.

Shamee cocked her eyebrow and let one corner of her lips tug up. The Winged Dragon of Ra had been angered. He could now sense that. Anyone with half common sense could have seen that coming from a mile away. Shamee kept the knowing look on her face until Marik saw her.

Then she turned back to the duel and watched with her breath bated.

Joey noticed too, despite having no Shadow Powers. 'Looks like your Dragon's got other plans.'

Odion turned around. 'Obey me, and attack my opponent right now!' He was foolish. This should have been the part where he realised that he did not have the power to control it and it would be striking him down.

'Why isn't it attacking Joey?' Tristan asked.

'What's happening?' Téa demanded.

The Pharaoh could see what she did, but he wasn't going to share anymore than she would. 'Something's gone wrong.'

Inside her head, Sharee shuddered at the waves of power both of them could feel emanating out from the true Winged Dragon of Ra.

YGO

Oh, the Pharaoh knew precisely what had gone wrong. Odion was not meant to control the power of the Winged Dragon of Ra. His and Marik's attempts to fool them by this ends would just result in the harsh punishment that was coming Odion's way. They could only hope that Joey was not also struck by the Dragon's wrath.

'It's like his card has a mind of its own,' Tristan said in surprise.

'It's more than a card,' the Pharaoh stated.

'Now what?' Odion demanded.

'What's going on?' Joey asked, quite reasonably. 'And what's up with this storm?' Lightning struck again. It was closer this time. The Pharaoh had a nasty feeling that, soon, those bolts were going to be hitting the field, and the duellists on it. Joey looked around. 'Either this is the best Duel Monsters hologram I've ever seen, or we better take cover!'

As expected, the lightning started hitting all around the field.

'Joey!' the Pharaoh called in alarm. It was going to hit everyone involved in the duel.

'Get down from there!' Serenity leaned forward as she tried to call him from the arena.

Odion closed his eyes and bowed his head. Unlike Joey, he knew what was happening. And he knew his punishment for doing such a thing. He opened his eyes a bit just for a second. Then he lifted his head and waited. He didn't have to wait long until it finally happened.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning hit his head. The fake Millennium Rod in his hand shattered. He fell forward, turning his head to the left just before he hit the ground. Joey jumped in alarm. Enemy or not, Joey was still a good person and he stepped forward, asking, 'Hey, are you okay?' He cried out in alarm again and stopped as a bolt of lightning struck right in front of him.

The Pharaoh cried out a warning. 'Don't move!'

'Oh, please be careful!' Serenity called.

Then another bolt of lightning shot out of the sky. CRACK! Joey was struck right in the head this time. Unlike Odion, he was not hit so hard because he had not been the one to incur the wrath of the God Monster. But like Odion, he fell forward too. He laid there, flat on his face.

Everyone froze.

Serenity gasped. 'Joey!'

Tristan ran forward. 'Joey!' He ran forward and hauled himself up, leaving him hanging by his elbows from the edge. 'Joey, are you okay, pal?'

The ref stepped over. 'Get down. There's a duel going on here!'

Shamee scowled. 'I don't know if you're just ignorant or stupid, but people who've been struck in the head by lightning are generally lucky to be alive. There is no duel going on here. It ended the moment they were hit. So either call it a draw, or find a way to declare a winner.'

The ref drew back. First he glanced at the two unconscious duellists, then back at Kaiba.

'I don't know where that lightning came from,' Kaiba said, clearly annoyed. 'But it had nothing to do with the Kaiba Corporation's Duel Disk System. Whatever it may have seemed to be, this lightning storm is a freak act of nature and nothing more.'

'Who cares what it was!' Mai snapped. 'Just end this duel now!'

The ref looked unsure. 'Should I declare the duel a double-forfeit? Disqualify them both?'

'Not yet,' Kaiba said. 'Since the duellists are tied with 200 life points each, we'll give them five minutes. Whichever duellist gets to his feet first will be declared the winner and will continue on in the Finals.'

'Wha…?' Tristan sounded as gobsmacked as his word suggested.

'Kaiba!' the Pharaoh snapped. 'That's ridiculous!'

'Wake up, Joey!' Mai called. 'You can do it!'

Tristan called to him too. 'Come on, buddy!'

'Please, Joey!' Téa just about begged. 'Snap out of it!'

'We're here for you, Joey!' Tristan yelled, despite being closest to him.

'Come on, big brother!' Serenity called.

Mai's fists were clenched so tight, it was surprising she hadn't cut her hands on he nails. 'Stand up now, Joey!' Mai ordered. 'I know you've got what it takes to beat this joker!

The Pharaoh glanced over at Odion. As he did so, he spotted Shamee looking over her shoulder at the real Marik. He turned his head and looked too. He was bent over, one hand gripping his head as if he was in great pain. Perhaps the Winged Dragon of Ra was punishing him for his foolishness.

'They each have three more minutes,' the ref said, checking his watch. 'Once that time elapses, both duellists will be immediately disqualified from the Battle City Tournament Finals.'

At that moment, Odion began to stir. His eyes slid open. Shamee had to admit, she was impressed as she watched him forcing himself onto his forearms. His muscles shook in protest. Shamee had no doubt his body wasn't ready to be moving just yet. Still, he gritted his teeth and tried to struggle to his feet. He managed to get to his hands and knees.

'No way!' Téa insisted.

'That's not good,' Mai said.

'Joey!' Téa yelled.

Odion mumbled something, pushed himself to his knees.

'And the winner is…' The ref raised his hand.

With a groan, Odion collapsed again.

The winner is not, Sharee said.

'You can still win, Joey!' the Pharaoh called.

'Please, get up, big brother!' Serenity begged.

Téa and Mai both called at the same time. 'Joey!'

YGO

'Come on, Joey! You gotta wake up!' Téa's voice pushed through his consciousness. 'Joey! Earth to Joey!'

'Rise and shine!' Duke called as he threw a die at his head.

The sound of a bell ringing finally got through. Joey opened his eyes. 'Huh?' He lifted his head from the desk. His friends were standing around him: Tristan, Duke, Tea, Yugi, Sharee, and Bakura.

'Wake up, sleepyhead!' Téa snapped. 'This is no time for napping!'

'Sorry.' Joey rubbed his eyes. 'I'm feeling kinda lazy.'

Tristan slapped a hand on his head. 'Snap out of it and start showing some life, will you?'

Téa slapped her hands on the table. 'Come on, Joey, this is a big deal so get your butt in gear!'

'She's right, Joey,' Yugi insisted. 'Time is running out!'

By now Joey was just confused. 'For what?'

'Don't you know?' Yugi asked. 'It's your dream. Today's the most important duel of your entire life!'

'Remember when you said "I'll show 'em all that Joey Wheeler's no amateur"?' Téa demanded. He had to admit, she did a good impersonation.

'Sounds like me,' Joey said. 'But I'm really drawing a blank, Téa.'

Sharee, as usual, cleared it up. 'Joey, you've been knocked out in the middle of a duel, and you've got about,' she checked her watch, 'one minute, thirty seconds to wake up.'

'Ah!' Joey found himself suddenly tipping over his whole desk. His cards came out of nowhere and went flying everywhere.

'Joey, will you get serious?' Tea demanded.

All the same, they all knelt down to help him pick up his cards.

Yugi picked up a card. 'Let's put together the best duelling deck from this mess and then head out.'

'Let's hope you're a little less scatterbrained when the competition begins,' Téa said.

'Thanks.' Out of the corner of his eye, Joey spotted Kaiba standing a few desk rows down. He, of course, scoffed. Joey turned his head. 'Huh?'

'Just give it up, Wheeler,' Kaiba said, and then he walked away.

Joey clenched his fist. 'Kaiba, how'd you like to give up all your teeth?'

Tristan pulled his attention away. 'Don't even waste your energy on that loser.'

'Tristan's right,' Yugi said. 'You've got more important things to worry about, Joey.'

'Like my duel!' Joey insisted. 'But how do I wake up?' He couldn't actually remember it, but if Sharee said it then it must be true.

Suddenly Serenity and Mai were there too, helping pick up the cards.

'Well, that's up to you, isn't it?' Mai asked with a smile. 'You're the one who's unconscious, so you're the one whose gotta pull himself around.'

'But we all believe in you, big brother,' Serenity said.

'Serenity! Mai! What are you doing here?'

'You're dreaming, Joey,' Mai said. 'And dreams don't always have to make sense.'

'Plus, today's your big day, Joey,' Serenity told him. 'We had to be here.'

Joey's eyes watered. 'Aw. thanks, you guys.'

Tristan hooked an arm around his neck and pulled him aside. 'Hey, got a sec? Come here. Slight problem, dude. Check it out. You both got hit, but you're only just slightly dazed.'

'Man,' Joey said. 'This dream just gets weirder and weirder. What was I hit by anyway?'

'Ask when you wake up.'

Joey closed his eyes. 'Thank goodness that I'm not in this thing by myself.'

'Why, dude?' Tristan asked.

'If you guys weren't here, I'd be clueless.'

'What are friends for?'

'I'm lucky. You guys are the best buds anyone could ever have.' Joey looked back at the others. 'I've done some dumb things before, but you guys have always stood behind me no matter what. I won't forget that.' He looked back at Tristan again.

'Thanks, Joey,' Tristan said.

'We're finished! You'll be hard to beat with these cards!' Yugi called their attention back.

'No doubt,' Duke said.

'Awesome!' Joey said. 'Let me check 'em out.'

Yugi brought the cards over. 'Here.'

Joey took the cards. 'Thanks, Yug.' He kissed the deck. 'Sweet! With your support, there's no way I'm gonna lose this duel.'

Téa came over too. She laid a hand on Yugi's shoulder. 'It's time to go.'

'Yup.' Yugi said.

They headed back to their friends.

'Let's do this,' Duke said.

Mai only stopped when she noticed Joey still sitting on the floor. Tristan did too.

'Come on,' he said. 'Let's get outta here, Joey.'

Joey didn't move. 'Thing is, I would but something's wrong. I don't have enough strength to stand up.'

'Yes,' Sharee said. 'Yes, you do.' She came back and crouched in front of him. 'The point of this is to wake up. The loss of strength is a representation of what's really happened to you.' She offered him her hand. A tiny golden bauble sat in the palm of her hand. There was a smiley face drawn on it. 'This should help.'

Joey reached out and touched the bauble. He gasped as he suddenly saw everyone's hands come to rest on top of his: Yugi's, Téa's, Mai's, Bakura's, Duke's, Tristan's, and Serenity's. Just like that, he felt a sudden burst of strength come to him. The dream world faded away.

Joey regained consciousness.

The next thing he knew he was back on his feet, back on the field. I'm standing. He couldn't recall actually getting up though.

'Good work!' Joey's attention was called by one of his friends and he turned his head.

'He's up!' Mai announced.

'You did it,' Yugi said.

'That means you win the duel,' Serenity stated.

Sharee chuckled. 'Guys, a little slack, huh? He probably has no idea what just happened.'

'You're right,' Joey said. 'I don't. I'm lost. Could you fill me in, please?'

'You're duelling in the finals,' Téa said, looking annoyed at him.

'And you scared us, you dope!' Mai snapped. 'Don't ever do that again!'

'Sorry!' Joey had no idea what he was apologising for.

Sharee gave them bland looks. 'He got hit in the head by lightning. I think the case of scatterbrain is forgivable in the circumstances.'

Joey looked across the field. 'So who's that guy?' It was slowly coming back to him.

'I'll clear it up later,' Sharee called.

'His card went nuts,' Joey mused, running it over in his head. 'And that's the last thing that I remember.'

The ref drew his attention as he raised his hand. 'And so the winner of this duel is Joey Wheeler!'

Joey looked at him, still a bit confused. 'So I won?'

'Yes, you did,' Yugi said.

'I knew you would!' Serenity insisted.

Tristan climbed up the rest of the way. He ran over and hugged Joey, before hooking his arm around Joey's neck. 'So…who's my main man?'

Joey walked over. 'Wait.' The arena began to lower.

'What's up?' Tristan asked.

'I think the other guy's still hurt.'

'He is.' Sharee was the first of their other friends down there to climb up. She was already fishing in her pocket. She pulled a familiar tube out and pulled the cap on it. Satisfied with what she was doing, Joey rolled the guy over and propped him up. Yugi was close behind Sharee.

'Come on, man,' he said to the guy. 'Wake up.'

Sharee knelt down first and wafted the tube under his nose.

'Those look like the smelling salts you used the other time,' Tristan said to her.

Sharee cracked a grin. 'That's because they are.'

There was a twitch on the guy's face and he opened his eyes. When his eyes landed on her, Sharee smiled.

'I hope you really didn't think that trick would work,' she said gently. 'I know who all of you are, remember?'

'A fact we overlooked.' Not-Marik finally abandoned his charade.

'Easy enough to do, I suppose.'

'You know him?' Joey asked Sharee.

Sharee nodded. 'You were right. This is not Marik. This is his manservant, Odion.'

'Manservant?' Tristan asked.

'So you work for him?' Joey asked Odion.

'Yes,' Odion said. 'Please forgive me, Joey. I'm sorry. It was an honour to duel you. But now I fear things have gone too far for Master Marik.'

'What do you mean?' Yugi asked.

'Hey, guys!' Téa called from the sidelines. 'I think something's wrong with Namu!'

Sharee's eyes widened. 'Oh.' She twisted around and bolted with no preamble. Joey turned his head to see what the fuss was about. There was Namu, at the back clutching his head and grunting, as if he was being taken over by something. Téa took a step forward, to try and help him. Sharee vaulted from the arena's edge. With the kind of precision only she had, the American cut Téa off before she'd taken two steps. Mai took Téa's shoulders as she stumbled back in surprise.

'What's going on?' Téa demanded. 'Sharee, what are you doing?'

Sharee didn't answer. She just stood between their friends and Namu with her arm out.

'Can't you see he needs help?' Téa demanded, trying to push past. Not only did Sharee's arm not budge from blocking her way, but Mai kept a firm grip on Téa's shoulders.

Either Namu was getting mind-controlled, or Namu was Marik.

'Come on, come on!' Sharee snapped at him. 'I haven't got all night!'

Suddenly Namu's head jerked up. His countenance was entirely changed. Instead of the gentle and unassuming, he was wearing an evil smirk and had a mad glint in his eye. He turned to face Sharee properly. A gold rod that sure as hell looked like it could be the Millennium Rod was clenched in his hand.

'You fools!' he sneered in the familiar tone, revealing the truth.

'Who's the bigger fool, Marik?' Sharee asked, smirking. 'The fools who fell for a trick they had no way of knowing was a trick, or the fool who played the trick knowing full-well that one person he was trying to fool knew what his face looked like?'

'So Namu lied to us all along?' Téa demanded.

'Yes!' Sharee was obviously short of patience.

'Namu?' Marik demanded. 'He was a disguise to get me closer to Yugi.'

Joey glared at him. It seemed his suspicions were sound. 'You little worm.' He'd thought Namu was a little too conveniently placed.

'He's the one who brainwashed you,' Yugi said.

Marik chuckled, and lifted his head. 'So, Pharaoh, we finally meet face-to-face.'

'Master,' Odion called out weakly.

Marik ignored him. 'Now, at last, I can finish the job my pathetic servants couldn't!' He smirked cruelly. 'Yugi, your Puzzle and power,' his voice seemed to distort, 'will soon be where they belong.' He grunted and slapped a hand to his face, as if in pain again. What was going on?

Odion weakly spoke, to explain what was happening. 'Oh, no. I was afraid of this. We're all in great danger.'

'Odion?' Sharee called across to him. She must have heard him somehow.

'Beware,' Odion said. 'The Great Evil hidden within.' He seemed to struggle to stay conscious.

'What are you talking about?' Joey asked.

'Master Marik has a darker side,' Odion explained. 'And I am unable to contain it anymore. It's too late now…' He fell limp.

'What's too late?' Joey demanded.

Marik suddenly began to growl. They all turned their attention back to him. Something was happening. Joey wasn't sure what, but there was something. He gripped his face. Yugi stood as that distorted voice emanated from Marik once more. This time, though, he didn't seem to move his lips.

'Let me out. You can't restrain me anymore!'

Marik threw his head back and screamed. Sharee and Yugi both flinched back. That had to be them ancient spirits in them. They had be sensing something that both could feel coming through. Joey was sure glad he couldn't feel anything, from the looks of it. Soon the scream stopped though.

'I'm gonna file this in the category of "not good",' Joey said.

'Bright fella,' Sharee remarked.

Yugi stepped forward again, to confront the threat. 'Marik! What's going on?'

Marik dropped his head. Now, he stood there. His hair seemed to have extended out. A millennium eye glowed on his forehead. His purple eyes were blank, void of any emotion. He chuckled darkly. 'I'm finally free again.'

Yugi's eyes narrowed.

Marik's voice was distorted again. 'Which means I can do things my way.' He looked at his manservant. 'I was retrained for many years by that fool, Odion.'

'Who are you?' Yugi demanded.

Marik turned and looked at his Millennium Rod. 'I'm the true Marik, and I'm not as kind as the one you've come to know. And soon I'll finish the job he couldn't complete and strip you of your powers.' He turned his gaze out. 'For I deserve to be Pharaoh. Not you.' He turned back to Yugi. 'So get ready for the real battle.'

Yugi's eyes widened.

'And when I'm through with you, your Puzzle will be around my neck where it belongs!' Marik turned to him properly. 'And you will be trapped forever in the real of eternal darkness.' He let his eyes wander over all of them. 'Along with your friends, and Odion as well.'

Joey narrowed his own eyes. 'Hey, pal, get a life!'

'You fool,' Marik said. 'Thanks to Odion's failure, I now have a life. Of course, by failing, Odion did prove one thing. Only a chosen few can control the Egyptian God Cards. Kaiba, you're one.'

'Heh.' Kaiba closed his eyes at this, disdainful. 'Marik, I'm sick and tired of hearing these Egyptian fairytales. I control Obelisk the Tormentor because I am a Master Duellist.'

'Ha!' Marik scoffed. 'Don't deny your ancient past. You'll find you can't escape your 5000 year old memories. You'll learn in good time, Kaiba.'

Kaiba and Yugi glanced at each other. For being such big rivals, they sure did seem to think together well. Maybe it had something to do with the ancient past Marik was ranting on about. Sure was weird to think about, but Kaiba was really the only one who even bothered denying it.

Marik went on. 'Your role in this game runs much deeper than you can imagine. However, that won't matter once I take over.'

Sharee glanced over. 'Mad he may be, but he's a kind of man that can do a lot of damage. I wouldn't want to be forgetting that.'

Yugi nodded. Joey snuck a glance back at Kaiba. He caught the tail end of Kaiba glancing at Sharee, but not in irritation. He was glancing at her more in acknowledgement. Even Kaiba would not deny that Marik was a dangerous creep, regardless of what he thought of the guy's motives.

Marik completely ignored her. 'Yugi, the battle for the Pharaoh's power will begin right now – a conflict 5000 years in the making. And there's no turning back.' He began to chuckle, and that soon turned to maniacal laughter. 'The Great Egyptian God Monsters will serve and protect me, while I rule the earth as the new Pharaoh!'