A/N: I know, long time no update, but I am really struggling with school and stuff. Just hold on folks, I promise this story will get finished. I really appreciate you all staying with me. Rock on reviewers! Seriously, you guys rock my world and keep me writing!

Unreal Truths

Chapter 22: Searching

Odion's POV

I looked up at the Kame game shop as the Taxi pulled up alongside the curb.

Glancing at Ishizu, she gave me a nod and we slid out of the back seat of the car.

We walked up to the main entrance and went inside, hoping to see Yugi or his grandfather behind the counter.

It wasn't Yugi, but his grandfather who was smiling at us as we walked inside.

He blinked up at us in surprise before a large smile appeared on his face, "Well hello there! I haven't seen you two in years! To what do I owe this momentous visit?"

I looked to my sister and she nodded for me to go on.

"We were actually looking for Yugi, Mr. Motou."

Solomon looked back at the door that lead to their home then looked back to us, "Yugi is sick with mono right now. He is up in his bedroom sleeping, well at least he should be." He shook his head, "That boy never listens to me."

"Oh well…could you tell him we stopped by? It's kind of important that we talk to him sometime in the near future."

"I will let him know you were here."

"Gramps?"

Solomon sighed as Yugi came walking through the doorway that lead to the house, still dressed comfortably in his PJ's, "Gramps did I hear-" He looked up to Ishizu and I and a small smile crept on his face, "Odion, Ishizu, I thought I heard your voices. I am glad I wasn't just hearing things like I originally believed." He laughed and walked over to the counter, sliding onto a chair beside his grandpa, "So what are you two doing here? Come to visit Marik?"

Ishizu and I exchanged glances with each other and I lightly bit my lip, "Well…that's what we came to talk to you about Yugi. You see…the last time we saw Marik, several weeks ago, he was…He was with Bakura."

Yugi's expression remained the same, and if anything he looked puzzled as to why we found this such a big deal.

"Well yeah…" The young king of games gave a half-hearted shrug, "He was with Bakura the last time I saw him too, though I about got my foot smashed in the door because I called him Bakura and not Ryou. Be careful if you call him by his last name around Marik, he may just bite your head off or something."

Ah, he thought we were talking about Ryou Bakura, the boy who played host to the millennium ring and in turn the spirit of the former tomb robber who shared his name.

Ishizu stepped up beside me and spoke up, "Oh no Yugi, not your friend Ryou Bakura, we're talking about Bakura…the thief and spirit of the millennium ring."

Now Yugi looked shocked.

"Bakura? Crazy ring spirit and insane tomb robber Bakura? How the hell is he back?"

"I don't know." I clenched and unclenched my fists and looked into Yugi's now worried eyes. "All I know is that I saw him with my own eyes. He was in a different body, most likely the one he had when he was human, but I knew it was him and it was confirmed when Marik called him by name. He has an aura around him that can't be mistaken."

Yugi now looked slightly panicked, "I should have known…if Atem could come back…I just should have known."

Wait…What did he just say?

"Did you just say Atem?" Ishizu looked at Yugi, her eyes wide with surprise.

Yugi blinked a few times and looked at us as if he was seeing us for the first time, "Oh right, heh guess you guys didn't hear the news did you?"

"What news?" Evidently a lot had been going on since Ishizu and I had last seen Yugi and his friends.

"The pharaoh came back…" He took in a deep breath, preparing to tell us a story he had probably told a thousand times over.

"You're going to get the abridged version right now, since I really don't know all the details." He looked at Ishizu and gestured towards the millennium necklace, "So, you guys obviously know that the millennium items have returned."

I nodded and Ishizu did the same.

"Well, not long after I got the millennium puzzle back, the pharaoh started visiting me in my dreams." Yugi took in a deep breath and continued on, "pretty soon after that, he was able to manifest in spirit form beside me for short periods of time. As time went on, he was able to stay manifested for longer and longer amounts of time. Finally, just the other day, he touched the millennium puzzle and became solid again, like, completely solid. I could touch him and everything, and so long as he was in contact with the millennium puzzle he stayed that way."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The pharaoh was back and had his own body as well. What was going on here? What supernatural forces were at work this time?

Most of all I wondered if this was ultimately a good thing?

Sure, Bakura was back but, something seemed off. For some reason that was beyond me at this moment, I felt like this was all supposed to happen and that it was a good thing he was back.

I remembered Marik's tears the days after the final ceremonial duel and his confession to me later about his relationship with Bakura and the things they did together.

It had broken my heart to hear the mourning tone in my brother's voice, and to know that the one thing that had made him truly happy was banished from this world forever.

"Okay. So…" I chewed gently on my lip, "The millennium items are back along with the spirits who once inhabited them." I gestured to Yugi, "Okay so you have the puzzle, and Ishizu and I have the necklace, scales and key. Bakura had the ring when I saw him with Marik, so that leaves the eye and rod."

"I assume Marik has the rod."

"I don't think so Ishizu." I looked at her, "He didn't have it when he was with Bakura. Now, it may have returned to him originally, but he doesn't have it anymore." I frowned, thinking all of this through out loud, "But if Marik doesn't have the rod then who does? Bakura didn't have it on him when he was with Marik, and I highly doubt he would have just let it lay at home while he went on a massive hunting trip."

"What about Ryou?"

We both looked at Yugi and he gave a small shrug in response, "Like I said, I saw Marik when I went to visit Ryou, why would Bakura leave him all alone?"

I tilted my head slightly, "Are you suggesting something Yugi?"

"Think about it Odion. Bakura wouldn't leave Ryou alone to possibly run for help, and he wouldn't dispose of him, Ryou would be too valuable to him."

I just looked at Yugi, eyes urging him to continue on because I wasn't exactly following his logic.

"What if Bakura isn't working alone?" Yugi looked from me to Ishizu with a slightly worried gaze, "What if he has help?"

"But who would help him Yugi?" Ishizu's voice sounded strained, as if she was trying so very hard to prevent Yugi's words from happening just with her well-wishing.

I paused, knowing exactly where Yugi was getting at, my stomach dropping at the mere thought of the possibility of him being back.

Yugi looked at me, meeting my eyes and giving a slight nod, "Odion knows who I am talking about."

Ishizu looked to me and I gave a light sigh, nodding solemnly, "He's talking about Mariku."

"Mariku? Marik's darker half?"

Both Yugi and I nodded in tandem.

"How is that even possible though? We destroyed him!"

"Not destroyed Ishizu. Sent to the shadow realm." I looked at her, everything beginning to become clearer to me.

"So?" Ishizu looked puzzled, but I could see the gears turning and the thoughts clicking in her head.

"So," Yugi continued on, "Mariku and Bakura must have worked together in order to escape from the shadow realm."

"Where does that leave Mariku then." Ishizu looked from me to Yugi and the young king of games' eyes widened, "Ryou."

Yugi ran to the closet and grabbed his coat, throwing it on and grabbing shoes, "We have to go make sure Ryou is okay!"

"Yugi." I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, forcing him to stop tying his shoes, "You're sick, you can't go outside, you should be in bed!"

"We have to go and make sure Ryou is okay!"

"Ishizu and I will Yugi, you need to stay here and rest. Trust me, if we have to encounter Mariku or Bakura you're not going to be in any shape to get into a physical conflict."

Yugi gave a defeated sigh and his shoulders slumped, "You're right."

I gave a nod then added, "If we find anything useful we will let you know right away okay?"

Yugi gave a reluctant nod and I gave him a reassuring smile, "It will be okay Yugi, you don't need to worry about us."

"Alright guys, just let me know what's up okay?"

We both nodded and walked out of the shop and into the street, nearly running into the one person we never thought we would see again.

Ishizu about had a coronary.

"Pharaoh!"

The former king blinked up at us, ruby eyes wide with disbelief, and something else as well that I couldn't place.

"Ishizu, Odion." He nodded to each of us in turn and gave a slightly weary smile.

I fought back a slight frown. It seemed like even the pharaoh was having his fill of this situation.

Ishizu's smile was wide and she inclined her head in a bow, "My king, I was wondering when we would see you again."

I think I was the only one to see Atem's frown at her submissive gesture.

"Yeah, it's been awhile." He shifted his position and gently eased past Ishizu, "I hate to cut things short, but I want to check in on Aibou if that's okay with you."

Ishizu's enthusiastic smile faded slightly but she hid it instantly, "Oh of course. We'll see you another time."

Atem gave a small nod and walked inside.

I exchanged a glance with my sister and saw the confusion in her eyes as well, "Let it go Ishizu, we have enough on our plate right now. Come on, let's go and make sure Ryou is okay."

She nodded and we both walked to the car, Ishizu pulling out a slip of paper with Marik and Ryou's address on it.

"Okay, he lives about twenty five miles from here, it would be quickest to head South through the city."

"Right." I started the car and pulled out onto the road and heading in the right direction.

"…Did you notice anything…off about the pharaoh?"

I had been wondering how long it would take her to bring that up.

"Well…he did seem a little…off didn't he?"

I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye as I changed lanes.

"I don't know Ishizu, maybe he is just having a bad day. People do have those you know."

I heard her let out a light sigh, "Yeah I suppose."

Sometimes I thought Ishizu was still a little too invested in this tomb keeper thing.

Instead of speaking more on the subject I merely continued driving on, letting the slightly awkward silence hang in the air around us.

Mariku's POV

Waking up next to my Fluffy one was like some sort of fantasy dream come true.

Giving a smirk I looked down at his slumbering form and brushed white bangs from his face.

Last night had been absolutely mind blowing and I just hoped Ryou thought the same when he woke up.

Slowly and carefully I untangled myself from the young Brit and slid out of bed, stretching my stiff muscles.

Giving one last glance to Ryou, I smiled and walked out into the living room. Omote was still asleep in his room and I knew Bakura was most likely out on one of his daily errands; whatever that consisted of.

So that meant the house was all mine for a few hours.

Or at least I thought it was.

My head perked when I heard the sound of gravel crunching underneath car tires, the noise becoming progressively louder as the seconds ticked by. Whoever it was, was coming here, since we were the only house in the immediate vicinity.

Scowling I walked out to the living room and looked out the window as a light blue car pulled up in front of our dwelling.

I clenched my fists and watched as Odion and Ishizu got out of the car and walked up to the porch.

This had to be fixed, and fast.

I quickly made sure that the door was locked then crouched low, looking out the window to watch and see what my two 'siblings' were up to.

Ishizu approached the door and rapped on it several times. I held my breath and hoped that Ryou was a deep sleeper or else my whole plan would be ruined.

Luckily there was no movement within the house once my sister quit knocking and I watched as the two moved around to the back of the house, most likely to try the back door.

Now was the perfect time to put my plan into action.

Once I made sure they were out of sight, I snuck out the front door and over to their car, quickly popping the hood and glancing over the various different parts.

Calling on my shared knowledge of motorcycles from Omote I quickly identified the break line and ripped it from the engine compartment.

Giving a smirk, I turned and scurried back inside the house.

This would teach those two to put their noses in where they didn't belong.

Looking one last time out the door, I grinned and moved into the spare bathroom to take a shower.

Those two wouldn't be bothering us again.

Odion's POV

After walking around the house several times and checking all the doors and windows, Ishizu and I had come to the conclusion that no one was here, and they hadn't been here for a long time.

The grass was way overgrown and the house just looked desolate.

"I don't understand." Ishizu heaved a small sigh as we walked to the car.

"There must be something we're missing." I unlocked the doors and we both slid in at the same time.

"But what Odion? It seems like there hasn't been anyone there for quite a while."

"I don't know Ishizu, but something is up. Ryou has to be somewhere."

"Unless Bakura killed him."

I give Ishizu a sharp look and she looked out the window, "Just saying Odion, it wouldn't be above him."

I scowled and turned on the ignition, slowly backing out of the driveway, "We're going to find Ryou and Marik, and they are both going to be alive when we do."

Ishizu let out a light sigh and I pulled out onto the road and headed back towards the city, "We can't give up hope Ishizu, if we do then everyone is doomed."

"You're right Odion, I'm sorry."

I nodded and hit the brakes when a car suddenly pulled out in front of us.

Only problem was, we didn't stop.

"ODION THE BRAKES!"

"I can't stop!" I slammed my foot down on the pedal but to no avail as our car collided with the one ahead of us, sending both vehicles into an out of control spin and off the road.

Our car skidded off to the left while the other one slid right. I jerked the wheel to the right as rapidly as I could and managed to get the car into a controlled spin.

Finally we came to a stop when our back end collided with the guard rails, causing Ishizu and I to jerk in our seats.

Shakily I turned my head to looked at my sister and luckily she only looked shocked.

"You okay Ishizu?"

She gave a brief nod, "You?"

I gave a nod in return and saw her shoulders sag in relief.

Swallowing hard I leaned back into the seat and tried to catch my breath.

Something was seriously wrong. Our brakes had worked on the way over here. What had happened?

I felt my heart drop into the pit of my stomach as one name flashed through my head.

Mariku.

Phew, glad I got that chapter finished, it took a lot longer than I expected. Oh well. I promise I will try and make the upcoming ones more interesting! And now, your preview!

"I stopped and reached out, running my hand along the ankh in the middle of his back and trailed my fingers down to tease his entrance, "Morning sexy.""

Well there you go. As usual I don't know when my next update will be but I am trying I promise. Don't lost faith; this story is still alive and kicking. Until next time!