AN: I apologize for the superbly long delay. But this chapter is a long one so I hope I can be forgiven /hides from rotten tomatoes. Also, a little bit of fluff near the end... AHEM.
Interlunar
Chapter 6: Suspicions and Realizations
Bing bong. Screams and shouts. Hustle and bustle. On time. Delayed. Security breach. Board. Five minutes. Turbulence. Bing bong.
Everything passed by in a blur; everyone talking at once, kids crying, people running everywhere trying to get on a plane to somewhere. It was crazy to Atemu, but to the other kids, it seemed to be normal. One would think that the Cairo airport wouldn't be that closed in; it was a spacious building, with big glass dome ceilings joined together via concrete tunnels, and a few wall-less rooms opening up to the blistering outdoors framed by palm trees. The building itself wasn't too grand, with simple white painted walls with a few hieroglyphs, paying homage to the city's ancestry. Bodies were everywhere though; many not paying attention to where they were going, and pressing close to the group that it gave the illusion of a closed in airport. It could have been that half of the airport was empty, but with everyone so close to him, it was hard to tell. After a while, Atemu stopped paying attention. He just stayed close to his aibou, only following the movements of Yuugi's body and not bothering with what the others around him were doing.
Except for Malik.
If there was one person who could be deemed as up and down, its him. He literally had two different sides to him, a perfect balance of order and chaos. Atemu had thought that since Battle City, the chaos side of him was destroyed, but if that was the case, why was Marik still around? That dark side of Malik had been created from his hatred for Atemu and all the crazy things that had happened to him in the Pharaohs name. At least, that was what Atemu thought. Now he wasn't so sure.
A chuckle resonated inside his head. Tick, tock goes the clock. Whipping his head around, he tried to find the source. Crimson eyes flamed as they scanned the crowd, trying to decipher meaning in the nameless mess of humans. Tick. His eyes darted to the right, but saw only a wall. Tock. To the left, he found little else. Yuugi moved forward and handed someone a ticket; Atemu did the same, keeping his body close to Yuugi. If he felt his hikari move an inch, he moved to cover that distance unconsciously.
"Hey! HEY!" A snap in front of his face brought his attention to the girl sitting next to him. He turned in his seat, the belt keeping him constrained-
Wait. When did he get on the plane?
"We boarded five minutes ago, which you would have known if you weren't so busy daydreaming. It must have been a gooder since you were gone for… oh I don't know. Twenty minutes? Half hour? Something like that." Beithwal reported, grabbing the in flight magazine in the pocket in front of her and crossing her legs. Atemu grunted at her, half listening and half scanning for his aibou. Beri sighed, closing the magazine with flair. "He's up front with Ryou and Malik, now sit still and be a good little boy. The plane is going to take off soon. Honestly, you kids and your hormones."
"He's with Malik?" Atemu said incredulously. Reaching around, he undid his buckle, and rose up. Beri grabbed his tunic and yanked him back down, nearly ripping off a bit of its cloth. "Would you just-"
"He's fine. You can survive without your hikari for a few hours. It's not like he's going anywhere." Again the former Pharaoh rose from his seat and again was pulled back down. "If you keep doing this you're either going to get some unwanted attention or I might rip off your tunic. Which I guess means that the former could be the consequence of the latter."
"Then stop tearing my tunic."
"Then stop acting like a child. Hard to believe you were once a great king." He glared at her, ignoring her little comment. Her hand clamped down hard on his arm sensing what he was about to do. Atemu yanked his arm back, a chill settling in the air between the two. What is with this woman? "If you try to get up again fool, I'll tie you down to that chair and I promise it won't be fun."
"Why is it so important for me to stay?" Atemu hissed.
This whole situation was ridiculous. "Why is it so important for you to get to Yuugi? Nothing is going to happen to him during the plane ride." She said back, raising her eyebrows and knocking on the seat in front of her. The man in front turned around and barked something in Arabic to Beri but his heart wasn't really in it.
As much as Atemu would have loved to argue, he could see she had a point. Malik was not going berserk just yet, but one never knew; Marik was as unpredictable as the weather. So far, he had been restrained to the spirit world, but anything could happen, however the odds of it happening on an international flight filled with tourists was an unlikely setting. Beri sighed. "Look if it makes you feel better, switch spots with me. He's in the aisle seat two rows up on the left. You can sit and watch his every move if it makes you feel better."
Atemu blinked at her, stunned for a moment. "Are you actually doing something nice for me? Without a sarcastic remark?"
"Shut up, I do lots for you," Beri remarked.
"Not without some quick retort of the tongue," the Pharaoh pointed out.
"Move now, before my charity slips away, and my tongue regains its wit," Beri said calmly, narrowing her eyes. Quickly, the two changed seats and Atemu could see that Beri was right. He did have a good view of Yuugi from here. He could see that his aibou was chatting amiably with Ryou while Anzu was leaning forward in her seat, listening. Yuugi's laughter floated to Atemu's ears. At that moment, Yuugi looked like a normal teen. The scene brought a smile to the Pharaoh.
"Oh so you can smile. And here I thought you had a permanent scowl on your face." Her thumb pressed down on buttons as she fiddled with the controls for her TV. Atemu didn't bother to answer and just kept a close eye on aibou. "Oh gee thanks Beithwal, your such a nice person. Hey no problem Pharaoh, just wanted to help out. Of course courtesies are too much to ask." Beri muttered to herself and flipped through faster before an electronic voice told the passengers to focus their attention on the flight attendants.
Everyone stopped talking out of courtesy and listened to the voice, except Atemu. He watched Malik closely, observing his every twitch. It could be that he was taking this out of proportion, but if being Pharaoh had taught him anything, it was suspect everyone. Assassins lurked around every corner, a dagger was hidden under every cloak, blood was always found in shadows and everyone wanted yours. Being scared paranoid was never a good thing; it made one slow and clumsy, however, being cautiously paranoid was practical. Early on, Atemu had learned from his father how to read what a person was thinking from their body language; words can come false on the tongue much easier and quicker than gestures.
The voice stopped talking and the attendants went about their business again, leaving the passengers to their own. Yuugi turned back to his friends beside him and continued talking to them. Malik seemed utterly at ease, his shoulders and neck were relaxed; a small smile was playing at the corners of his mouth as he leaned across Ryou towards Yuugi like he was genuinely interested in what the other boy was saying. No sheen of sweat, no glimmer in the eye, not a thing out of place. Malik was his lighter self at the moment, but Atemu was still unconvinced.
As the plane rumbled under his feet, he made a silent promise to Yuugi that he would not take his eyes off of Malik for as long as the plane was in the air. It was the only way to make sure he would be okay.
Only when the sun began to set beyond the horizon and the flight attendants started handing out pillows did Beri say something. "This is ridiculous. As I said before, and I reinforce it now, nothing is going to happen to him on this plane." Atemu said nothing, just watched as Yuugi passed a pillow to Malik then another to Ryou. "Look they are all going to fall asleep soon, maybe you should do the same. I know I will."
Atemu shook his head. "His guard will be down. I'll be his eyes and ears while he sleeps." Beri sighed but didn't bother to argue. She just wished him happy stalking and fell asleep.
He wasn't sure how it happened, but the atmosphere in the plane changed once everyone but him was asleep. It took on that ethereal quality that was the Shadow Realm, with everything and everyone around Atemu disappearing until all that remained were the purple clouds with no up or down, left or right. At first he thought he had fallen asleep as well, but with a quick pinch on his arm he disputed that theory. Atemu looked around, but he couldn't see anything beyond the clouds. If he stopped and listened, he thought he could hear light whispers of tortured souls. Atemu's eyes scanned the realm, looking for any sign of the other one.
I've traveled again. But I didn't do it, at least not on purpose. Did he bring me here again? Atemu frowned, worrying about what would be happening to his aibou. I got to get out of here, but... how? He clenched his teeth and moved forward; the mad man had to be around here somewhere.
It didn't take long for Atemu to find him; this time, he didn't bother hiding himself. Marik was lying on top of one of the clouds, utterly at ease, watching Atemu with a small smirk. The only thing missing from the picture was a cup of grapes. "Well this is a first. Normally birds don't fly into my maw willingly." He chuckled softly. "What brings you back Your Lowness?"
"I did not come here willingly," Atemu replied hotly.
"Restless soul are we then? Not surprising." Again he chuckled. With a flourish, the madman disappeared off his cloud and reappeared in front of the Pharaoh almost nose to nose. To have him so close made his skin crawl but he refused to move. He would not be the one to back down. "What's on your mind then? Oh wait let me guess, your wondering why I'm here? Shouldn't I be dead and gone?" He pulled away laughing. "Wouldn't you like to know? Oh no, no. One does not simply tell all. What do I owe you? Nothing! But you however, owe me your life!"
Atemu couldn't help it; he laughed. "My LIFE? Please enlighten me, as I seem to have forgotten, how I owe you that? The last time we met, you were hell bent on destroying me and taking down anyone that got in your way."
Marik swatted away the thought with his aloof hand. "That's eons ago. Another reality really." Suddenly finding his nails more interesting, Marik looked the picture of haughtiness. "You just don't get it do you? I would have been happy where I was." The world around them became colder and darker, as did Marik's voice. "It wasn't heaven, no where near in fact, but it's better than being lost in here." Purple eyes darted up to look at scarlet pools. Clouds swirled in Marik's eyes as he regarded the former Pharaoh with little liking. He flipped his cape and moved around the Pharaoh. "What do you see around you? Mist? I see everything that has happened to me, all my failures; all my torments, they twist around in the clouds. If I stop and listen, I can hear them play out. Listen!" Standing still, he closed his eyes. "If they hadn't plucked me from where I was, I wouldn't have been able to save you."
Atemu's jaw dropped to the floor. He scoffed at the other man. "Save me?"
"Yes, save you." Marik twisted around and glowered at him. "You may not like it, and believe me, I hated it. I would have preferred to see you die slowly and painfully."
Atemu was flabbergasted. "How... Why-"
"- Did I do it? Because I had no choice. I see things in these clouds. I may not like you – hell I may hate your fucking guts – but I hate what I see more. This is one Game of Darkness that should not be played"
He couldn't believe it. Marik's sole purpose had been to kill Atemu; he had been created from Malik's own hatred. To let him live was against his very creation. Atemu was speechless. He had a whole speech mapped out in his mind, but the words would not come.
"What, I get no thanks? If I hadn't been there yesterday, they would have gotten inside your body and who knows what would have happened."
Atemu perked up. "Who's 'they'? What is this Game of Darkness you mentioned and why would you fear it? After all you were the one who played it vigorously."
Marik was silent. "Go back to your body. Stop floating away and maybe, you'll live long enough before they win and the Game starts. Find out the truth about yourself before time crashes together."
"Time crashing together? You're crazier than before."
He ignored the Pharaoh. Tilting his head to the side, Marik listened to the air before continuing. "Seams have been ripped and old blood pours through." He straightened up, his lavender eyes flashing to a deep shade of plum. "War is sleeping but the wall weakens-" Suddenly, Marik collapsed onto his back. Atemu stayed where he was, leaning backwards slightly ready to either stand and fight or flee, though he would have preferred the first choice. A black hole ate its way through the others' stomach. "Can't you hear it? The screams, the taunts, the laughter of all the broken souls?" The laugh that came out of him was anything but human; the dual tone from his own voice made it sound even more bone chilling. As Atemu watched, the man writhed on the floor, the hole eating up his body. He backtracked away from Marik. Reaching with his mind, the Pharaoh called upon the shadows and let them engulf his own body in a translucent purple barrier. Marik got up slowly, his form slipping in and out of existence as the hole grew in size. When he looked into Atemu's eyes, he felt like he was back in the tomb in Egypt; a fierce chill worked its way into him, making him feel frozen to the spot.
His eyes were the purest black.
"Prepare yourself, Son of Aknenkaten for the Ultimate Game." It wasn't Marik's voice that came out of his mouth, but a genderless rumble that sounded like metal. Red veins appeared in his eyes and as Atemu watched, extended out onto his face. The patterns they formed shifted as more of Marik was being sucked away. "A beautifully simplistic Game, but one that no one can truly win. A Game with two rules: Survive and conquer." The darkness around Atemu rippled, waiting for orders from a mind too disjointed to give any. Half of Marik was gone now; only his upper body existed. He threw his arms to the side, as if to embrace the Pharaoh. "Let the bloodbath begin!" With a final flourish, what was left of Marik disappeared into the darkness, leaving Atemu alone.
Once the echo of his voice left, Atemu released his shadow shield and fell onto his knees suddenly feeling too weak to stand. What had just happened?
The plane awoke Yuugi with a jolt as it touched down. The plane ride had been all smooth sailing, letting Yuugi catch up on some well-deserved rest. Sure he had slept at the hotel briefly, but trudging through the desert had taken a lot more out of him than he had thought. Around him, he noticed his friends stirring as well; Ryou was yawning and stretching, looking a bit like an albino cat. Malik was rubbing his eyes and looking out the sunny window while Anzu rubbed her face. Turning in his seat, Yuugi looked back at his other half.
Simply put, he looked razzed, like someone had tied him to a metal pole in a lightning storm clothed in nothing but aluminum foil. Beithwal, who was sitting next to him, was chatting rapidly to him. From his seat on the plane, he couldn't tell what she was saying, but judging from his other half's stoic face, he could guess that he was not happy. Yuugi tried waving to him to catch his other half's attention, but he just stared ahead, eyes not blinking, body not moving, a perfect statue of a Pharaoh.
"Welcome to Domino City! It's a stifling 30 degrees outside so load up on sun block before you wander out!" The captain's voice crackled over the intercom, too cheerful for most non-morning people. "If this is home, then welcome back, hope you enjoyed your trip. If this is your travel destination then enjoy your time here in this lovely city. Have a great day!" With that, the seatbelt sign came off, every belt clicked at once and everyone stood up to leave the plane.
"Can't say I'm particularly happy to be back in Domino City," Malik commented to Yuugi, making the shorter one turn slightly, keeping his eyes on the progress of the slow progression of people. "At least things are different now, right?"
"Of coarse, Malik-kun! Why wouldn't they be?"
"I-I'm not really sure Yuugi-kun." The blonde looked away to the back of the plane. Yuugi's own darted to see what he was looking at and felt a strong shiver go down his spine. Both Atemu and Beri were staring at Malik, dark suspicion clouding their faces. It was eerie how similar they looked at that moment. "Something tells me I'm not welcome here."
"Don't be silly! We all owe you so much, and the other me knows that as much as I do." Still looking unconvinced, Malik turned away from the stares. Yuugi could see that Battle City was something the blonde was not proud of, but what was done was done. They were all mature young adults; they could move forward and forgive. Surely the Pharaoh knew that. "I'll talk to him okay? See what's troubling him." After all if there is anyone the Pharaoh would even consider talking to openly, it's me.
Malik managed a weak smile. "Thanks Yuugi-kun." Yuugi nodded, smiling to his friend.
"Not to worry." It was time for Yuugi to move off the plane, so he took his place in line behind Ryou, thinking to himself. Something must have happened while he was asleep to make the Pharaoh display his displeasure so openly, and to have Beithwal join him as well. Smiling, Yuugi thanked the stewardess and walked out into the heat of Domino City, slowing his pace so his other half could catch up. When he did, he didn't seem to notice his hikari and just kept marching, Beri keeping pace behind him, arms folded casually behind her back. Yuugi jogged a bit to catch up.
"Hey, other me. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
"Nothing that is of consequence to you, aibou."
Yuugi snorted. "That's what you always say when something is eating away at you. Haven't we been through enough together? You know you can trust me." He reached out to gently grasp his other half's arm, feeling the heat radiate off of the monarch's skin. Tension rolled off his sun-kissed skin as soon as his aibou's hand touched him. His pace slowed until he gradually stopped and he looked at Yuugi, with Beri marching past them, melting into the crowd.
"I understand aibou. I trust you more than I can trust Ra to reemerge victorious every morning. Understand, however, that this is nothing of importance to you." His scarlet eyes softened slightly as he pulled Yuugi into a hug. "I promise."
Yuugi sighed into his other half's chest, sensing that the Pharaoh was lying. But why? He wasn't able to ask, before he felt the heat from his darkness leave him, and was left standing in the middle of the runway, watching him march forward with a purpose. Shaking his head at the stubbornness that his darkness portrayed, Yuugi half jogged to follow behind him, looking very non-chalant. By the time they entered the building, the Pharaoh looked very lost. While all the other passengers meandered their way over to the baggage claim after meeting up with loved ones from the city, he stood still, his pose radiating annoyance with a hand on a hip that was jutting out as his head slowly moved from side to side, scanning the crowd for…
His other half's head froze, his hand dropping from his waist as he stared to the left. Yuugi followed his gaze, and saw a familiar blonde head bobbing amongst the crowd of nameless faces.
While this airport was not as busy as the Cairo airport, there was still a considerable amount of human traffic milling about. In all honesty, Yuugi would not have seen his friend if he wasn't so distinct in his appearance. He was thankful for this as he tailed his other half through the crowd, easily loosing him due to his shortness.
Always the polite one, Yuugi didn't shove people aside so he didn't get there in time to see what caused the sudden exclamation that echoed to his ears, but he could have easily guessed. With a bit more urgency, he skirted around a married couple pushing some strollers to come in front of the bathroom, its door still swinging from the force of the previous guest. Looking around quickly, the young boy confirmed his suspicions that the two of them had gone inside. Cautiously, he slipped through the door ready to intervene on his friend's behalf, wondering what had angered the Pharaoh so much, but the next words that floated to him stopped his plan.
"Tell me why you have summoned Marik." The Pharaoh's calm commanding voice inquired.
"Wha-? I-I honestly don't know what you-"
"Don't presume me to be a fool, hry-pr." There was shuffling and a small thump followed by a sharp intake of breath. Yuugi brought his hand to his mouth, a sense of repulsion forming in his throat. Quickly he rounded the corner, his large lavender eyes hard as he took in the scene before him.
It was as he expected; Malik was in the hold of the Pharaoh, pushed up against the wall by the young monarchs slight body, a mixture of fear and confusion warring on his face. The Pharaoh on the other hand, looked like his was about to set the building alight with just his eyes they burned so bright. His entire form was rigid, his face slipping from its usual calm mask to a ferocious snarl, probably the by-product of the red handprint on his face.
Without a second thought, Yuugi charged in, shooting a glare at both Malik and his other half, while grasping both their shoulders. "Enough! Haven't we had enough problems already?"
"He can't be back! He was only a thought form, an illusion of my own making." Malik struggled against the Pharaoh's hold, not paying Yuugi any attention. The blonde almost resembled a frightened horse as his hands tried to push away the firm grip the other had on him. "I destroyed him! He can't exist without me, and I swear, he isn't in me!"
"Lies." The Pharaoh snarled, pushing himself closer to the other, not leaving Yuugi any room to interfere.
"Other me, let him go! Can't you see he is terrified?" Yuugi gripped his other half's arm. Storms of fire turned to the younger one, the mask slowly being worked back in place. Noticing he had the Pharaoh's attention, Yuugi continued. "I mean if he had intentionally summoned Marik, don't you think his other side would have appeared by now?"
"He's there aibou, clinging to the blackness that remains in this child's mind waiting to gain strength again. I won't allow him to come out and hurt you again." His darker half replied through gritted teeth. Yuugi shook his head.
"At-Other me. Marik hasn't been around since Battle City. That was two years ago, and since then Malik has shown that he can be trusted, and in fact you did trust him. I remember you commenting on how much he had changed when we were going to your final resting place. Don't you remember?"
The storms rage deepened in colour as the Pharaoh reflected back to that moment. It was the truth; his other half had said it to Yuugi while his spirit casually floated behind the boy as they trekked through the sand to the final resting place only a few days ago. Had it really been that short of a time ago? It seemed almost a year ago with every crazy thing that had happened to them since.
"Opinions change, aibou. Fact remains that this boy cannot be trusted until the darkness is purged. I will not have him out and about again, and will take every precaution to make it so."
Yuugi scrunched his brow, trying to figure why his other half was acting so freaked out. To others he would have just seemed down right pissed off, but Yuugi knew him better. The way his eyes widened slightly, the slight nibble on his lip and the twitching tendon in his neck were clear signs to Yuugi, but were usually easily assumed by others to be due to anger. Slowly, his eyes swept over his other half's face, taking in every detail, noting that the only thing out of place, aside from the red mark, were the big dark circles under his eyes. The younger boy thought back quickly to the plane ride, the way his other half's eyes smoldered at Malik from his seat, a look that hadn't been on his face when they got on the plane. Which meant…
"You saw him- Marik- didn't you? On the plane." The slight twitch of the others eye told him he was right. Yuugi's heart sped up, flashes of that duel running in front of his minds eye, reintroducing the terror he had felt then. Malik paled, and stopped squirming, turning to Yuugi then back to his captor. Taking a deep breath, the younger one pulled on a brave face for his friend, knowing how scared he was going to be.
"I- I mean. What has- He didn't…. he can't be… doesn't expect… Oh by all the glorious of Osiris." His hands fell down by his sides, his face becoming blank as all fight left him. The Pharaoh had to change his role from interrogator to rescuer quickly as the blonde slumped down, catching him just before he could hit the floor. "I don't understand. He was destroyed, consumed by his own game in the end. How could he have…" His voice went quiet as he turned in on himself, growing completely still against the Pharaoh. With surprising gentleness, he propped Malik against the wall, moving away so he could remain crouching down without his burden, his arms folding on his knees, as his fingers tangled themselves into his hair.
"Do you understand other me?" Yuugi questioned, brushing away a stray blonde lock that had fallen in front of his other half's face with a shaky hand. "Malik is more shocked than you."
The Pharaoh grabbed Yuugi's shaking hand with his own and squeezed it reassuringly. "I didn't know what else to do. Marik is connected to Malik; it would make sense for the mad man to latch back onto his former host."
Yuugi nodded, understanding why his other half acted the way he did, but there was still something bothering him. The mask the Pharaoh wore was usually impregnable; only Yuugi had ever gotten to see what was under it, and this time it had slipped so fast. It was just not like the Pharaoh to loose his cool so fast, even if Malik had slapped him across the face. Granted, Marik was a notorious mad man, but he was just that. A man. The two of them have faced down so many others who had commanded more terror than this one, and they had beaten them with no casualties.
So why was he so shaken?
Hesitantly, he cleared his throat. "Its not just Marik that has you spooked, is it?"
The Pharaoh huffed out a small chuckle. "I shouldn't bother trying to hide anything from you. You're stare is more powerful than the Sennen Key."
"Well yeah, you shouldn't. I would have thought you'd have learned that by now."
"I'm trying to protect you, aibou." He closed his eyes, and leaned into Yuugi. Swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat, the lighter half of the two put a consoling hand around the other's shoulder.
"I understand At- other me, but don't you realize that when you try to shield me, you end up making the problem worse for yourself?" The Pharaoh tried to intervene but Yuugi continued. "Think back to Duelist Kingdom, Battle City, hell even back to Dartz and his crew." He felt the Pharaoh wince at the mention of the Orichalcos, and Yuugi sighed. He knew that his other self still mentally beat himself up over that so it's a very sore spot, but Yuugi needed to get his point across before the Pharaoh sunk into a deep depression like he was known to, usually do when keeping something from Yuugi while still trying to keep him safe. "I'm not something to be wrapped up in bubble wrap. I can help."
"Bubble wrap? Hmm, tempting idea you have there."
"No! That's not what I'm trying to say!" Yuugi huffed in slight frustration.
The Pharaoh chuckled, shifting himself to be upright once again, fixing Yuugi with a gaze. "I know that you're a capable strategist, but if something were to happen to you - something that I could have prevented - I'd never forgive myself."
Yuugi rubbed the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks grow warm. "The other me-"
"I mean it aibou. You have fixed my soul – a broken, twisted, vengeful shadow of a soul- and have sacrificed more than what was needed of you willingly." He picked up one of Yuugi's hands, his fingers running over the long healed scars. His hikari shuddered at the touch, and the Pharaoh's gaze softened. "You have done so much, maybe too much. I've put you in so much danger already –"
"Stop." Yuugi's eyes sparked, and the Pharaoh blinked at the sudden fierceness in the boy's voice. "You're just as important to me. More than you realize. Ever since I solved the puzzle, and set you free, you've changed my life for the better."
"No teenager should have to go through what you have."
"I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Sure there were rocky years, but it's the end result that counts. You can't reach true happiness without conquering your problems, At- other me. It's how we grow, and it's how we become who we are supposed to be." Yuugi smiled, twining his scarred fingers with the Pharaoh's smooth ones. "I'm complete."
The Pharaoh was speechless. He looked at Yuugi and turned his eyes down to their entwined hands, slouching his shoulders. There was more he wanted to say, the worlds swirled in his mind but he just couldn't. It was too soon. Plus, the Pharaoh would be leaving his life for better or for worse when his jewel dies. No point in making it harder than it needed to be. So Yuugi kept quite.
Silence hung in the air for minutes, until Malik came back to them. "He's really back, isn't he?"
The Pharaoh turned his downcast eyes to the blonde. "That would appear to be the case."
"What does he want?"
"That I cannot say, but what I do know is what he told me might hold water."
Malik's eyed bulged a bit bigger. "What did he say?"
He shrugged. "A lot of nonsense really, but he did mention that he was not brought back by his own power. Someone dragged him out of his Hell."
Yuugi tilted his head. "Why would someone do that?"
Again, the Pharaoh shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine. Taking a soul from its resting place takes strong magic, and it's risky. Worst-case scenario is the soul becomes so twisted it turns into a monster, capable of possessing anyone."
"Maybe that was their plan. To try and take you down." Malik suggested.
"He also mentioned a Dark Game."
"WHAT?" The two teens cried together.
"It's very possible that one could happen at any moment. I am still here after all, which means the Games continue."
"Did he say anything about what it could be?"
The Pharaoh looked away. "He mentioned time crashing together."
"That's impossible! No one can do that, not even Dark Gamers. Right Yuugi?" Malik turned to his friend, blinking when he saw that his face had gone blank. "Yuugi?"
Yuugi gnawed on his lip. "I don't know Malik-kun. Think about it, At- the other me and Kaiba were able to see visions from the past, and we even traveled back in time to recover some of the Pharaoh's memories."
"That was an RPG though." Malik pointed out.
"Mm, but it still was time travel, there were just two Gamers who were controlling everything. It was on a small scale however, but we can't ignore the possibility of it happening full scale. What else did Marik say?"
The Pharaoh stood up from the floor, crossing his arms. "Just some nonsense about saving me."
"Saving you? How? Shouldn't it be the other way around?" Malik said, also standing up off the floor.
"My soul has been restless ever since what happened in my resting place. It wanders outside my body, where it goes I do not know. All I know is that both times it has happened, Marik has been there."
"It's happened twice now?" Yuugi jumped up as well, looking surprised at his other half. The Pharaoh closed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists.
"I don't understand how, but he has stopped any outside spirits from entering my body, and has returned my own self to where it belongs. I don't understand why he is doing this in the first place when he could so easily do it himself." The Pharaoh's eyebrow twitched in frustration. "He claimed that he doesn't want to partake in the Game that is to come, but I'm not buying it. What is to come, is said to be the Ultimate Game. Something with that big of title must appeal to Dark Gamers such as him." Yuugi continued to gnaw on his lip, his thoughts turning inwards.
"Let's say for a moment that Marik is telling the truth; he really doesn't want anything to do with the Game. That means he's not the one we should be worried about. It's whoever set him free in the first place."
Malik scrunched his brow. "I guess releasing him from his prison could upset the balance of Ma'at."
"I think I cause enough imbalance." The Pharaoh interjected. "I should've been put to rest thousands of years ago, yet here I stand. To release a soul as young as Marik wouldn't upset much compared to myself."
"What if it's just the start?" Yuugi asked.
"Aibou?"
"Think about it, great things take time. You can't just jump right to the hardest part of a game, you have to get introduced slowly, set the tempo right. What if he's just the first of many imbalances?"
"It does make sense, but what about the Pharaoh? He brings up a good point. Him staying in this world is a big imbalance."
Yuugi exchanged glances with his other half. Malik raised a good point. If someone wanted to create chaos, wouldn't they have kept the biggest source of darkness in the physical world? His line of thought stopped. Someone did keep him here.
"You're right, it's risky for His Majesty to stay in the realm of the living, but it's a necessary risk." A new voice interjected making the three boys turn and face her. Beithwal leaned against the wall next to the door with a small smile on her face as she casually inspected her nails. "It's really entertaining listening to you girls gab in the bathroom like this. Everyone was wondering what was going on. My bet was on a threesome."
"Are you behind this Beri?" Yuugi asked calmly, ignoring her jokes. Beri's smile disappeared and looked up from her nails, one eyebrow raised.
"No, but I know who is and I've made plans to stop them."
"How long have you known about the Ultimate Game," the Pharaoh demanded coolly, jutting a hip out and leveling her with a glare. "If you're not the one who started it, who is." Beri winced slightly at the heated glare and looked away.
"It's another reason I had you stay. It's all interconnected; everything almost always is. This Game would have happened a lot faster if you had just been whisked away to the after life knowing only a little bit of yourself and no one would have been able to defeat the GameMaster without you. I did you all a favour keeping him here."
"Who is the GameMaster Beithwal?" Yuugi asked, adding his questionable look to the Pharaoh's arsenal. Beri sighed, her green eyes casting downwards.
"I can't tell you."
"Then you are behind it." The Pharaoh curled his fingers and darkness leapt up into his palms. Beri watched him with interest and stood upright.
"Listen, I would tell you if I could, but this is a personal issue. My hands and tongue are bound because it has to do with your past, Pharaoh. All I can say is think over everything that Marik said to you, even the most insignificant thing. He could have slipped up and given you a clue without realizing it."
"I have shared everything I can recall about my encounter with Marik."
"Are you sure about that? What about the first time? What happened then?"
Yuugi watched as the Pharaoh blinked, the heat from his eyes disappearing. Malik stood on the other side of the Pharaoh, careful to keep a comfortable distance between them.
"The other me?" The Pharaoh looked down, his brow scrunching, the darkness leaping up to ghost around his shoulders.
"That's impossible." The Pharaoh whispered, fists clenching at his sides. Yuugi put a tender hand on his shoulder, but even his presence could not calm his other self. Darkness nipped at Yuugi's fingers and he jumped back in surprise. Clenching his hand to his chest, the youngest of the group looked over at Beithwal only to see her reclining on the wall again, a regretful half smile on her face.
"Nothing is impossible anymore, Pharaoh." She stated quietly.
Malik blinked, exchanging quick glances with Yuugi, at as much a loss as he is. "What is impossible other me?"
The Pharaoh lifted his eyes, looking at Yuugi through a curtain of blonde bangs. A chill went down his spine. He's seen that look a hundred times; it was one of quite determination, and self-loathing. It spoke to Yuugi before the Pharaoh's words left his mouth.
"It's me. I'm the GameMaster."
AN: CLIFF HANGER. And also a chapter that has double the pages of almost all the other chapters. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long, but my sisters wedding is in a few weeks and I haven't finished her conte portrait /sobs.
I also apologize if it doesn't make sense. Again, it makes sense to me. If you need clarification let me know. I'll do what I can without spoiling anything. And sorry if grammer sucks, I might have gotten a bit excited in submitting this eh heh.
Review?