Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Soul Of The Night ❯ Dark Revelations ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Dark Revelations

Yugi ran down the hallway, his bare feet patting against the floor as he dashed for Seto’s room.  The guards stationed in front of the room uncrossed their spears as he approached. He burst into the room. “Seto! Joey! Wake up!”
Yugi saw Joey slowly raise his sleepy head. “Yug, it’s the middle of the night. Go back to bed.”
Yugi ran to Seto and shook the CEO. “Seto! Wake up! Marik’s in trouble!”
Seto groaned as he turned his head. “Who? What?”
“Seto, you have to get to the throne room! Marik is going to be brought in!”
Seto rubbed his eyes. “Did they capture him?”
“They’re going to bring the Ishtar family to Yami. You have to be there!”
Seto sat up tiredly. “I hope we can get some answers now.”
Joey sat up and looked down at Yugi. “Quick, Seto! We have to get there before Yami has him hanged!”
Seto nodded and stretched. “I don’t know if any amount of pleading for his life will help Marik. He slaughtered innocent people and burned people’s homes.”
“We have to try to save him, Seto!”
Seto stood up and grabbed his long, white robe. He fastened his white cape around his neck and lead Joey and Yugi to the throne room.
Yami saw Yugi enter the room. “My son, why are you still awake? You need to go back to bed. Why did you wake my High Priest?”
“Yami, what are you going to do with Marik?”
Yami slowly walked to the wall and removed a whip from the wall. “Teach him a lesson.”
Seto’s eyes widened and stepped back from the whip. Joey turned and saw the look of terror in his lover’s eyes.
“Seto? Are you alright?”
Seto swallowed hard and shivered. “Yes.”
“Yami, maybe Marik didn’t do it!”
“The soldiers heard the insurgents say they want to place Marik Ishtar on the throne. I already told you, my son, that anyone who challenges me will pay a hefty price.”
Joey and Seto’s head snapped up when they heard shrieking.  Yugi looked towards the entrance. A middle-aged man struggled in the arms of two soldiers. The man’s arms were bound behind his back. Around the man’s neck was clamped a metal collar with chains.
Seto, Joey, and Yugi gasped at a small child screaming as his arms were bound behind his back with a collar similar to that of the adult man. Tears streamed down the boy’s face as he cried.
“Get moving, you little brat,” the soldier said as he yanked hard on the chain connected to the collar around the boy’s neck.
“You can’t do that to him!”  Joey exclaimed as he ran up to the soldier and pushed the soldier aggressively.
Yami unfurled the whip and looked at the two struggling Ishtars. “Bring them before me.”
The soldiers brought the two Ishtars before Yami.
“Seto, is this Marik?”
Seto stood in front of the shaking little boy. Marik kept his head lowered as he kneeled before the pharaoh.  “Marik Jibade Ishtar?”
The child whimpered as his head kept bowed.
Seto kneeled before the child and tipped the boy’s head up. “Are you really Marik Ishtar?”
“Yes, sir,” the little boy said.
“This isn’t the Marik I saw yesterday,” Seto said. “He’s too young.” The High Priest paused. “What is going on here? Is this a dream?"
Yami approached the two bound Ishtars. “Such revolutionary behavior ill-befits my Nobility,” the pharaoh growled.
“My lord!” Kaemwaset exclaimed. “I would never revolt against your greatness! You are beautiful! You are supreme!”
Marik kept quiet as he looked at Seto with terror. “Please untie my hands. They hurt.”
Yugi looked up at the soldier. “Untie him now!”
“My lord, he is dangerous.”
“That kid certainly doesn’t look dangerous,” Joey added as he saw the boy around seven years old sob and lower his head.
“Kaemwaset, have you raised your son to revolt against me? Have you taught him to honor me and his station, yet have primed him to take over my position as pharaoh?”
Seto stood beside Yami. “This is not the Marik Ishtar I saw, pharaoh!”
“This is Master Kaemwaset’s child,” Yami said as he glared at the child.
Yugi watched as the boy kept his head lowered. ‘Marik never talked about his life as a really young child in Egypt. He never told anyone about this.’
“Do you want to know what happens to those who revolt against me?” Yami’s foot quickly struck against Marik’s chest, sending him collapsing onto the ground.
“Pharaoh! Stop!” Yugi exclaimed.
Yami calmly walked around to the side of the boy and placed his foot on Marik’s ribs. He glared down at the child. “Do not test my meddle, child.  I will crush you beneath my feet like a bug.”
Yugi stood over Marik and held his hands out to Yami. “Don’t do this!”
“Go to bed, Yugi.”
“No!” Yugi growled defiantly. “I won’t let you hurt a kid!”
“Akhen-tep, get my son to his room and do not let him out.”
One soldier grabbed Yugi’s arm. “It’s time to leave, little master.”
“No! Let go of me!”
Joey grabbed the soldier’s shoulder. “Keep your hands off of my friend!”
“Joey, don’t,” Seto said. “Joey, take Yugi back to his room. Stay with him until I get back.”
The blond turned to the High Priest. “But, Seto-!”
“Go, do not make me repeat myself.”
Joey and Yugi were taken aback by Seto’s gruff response. Joey escorted Yugi out of the room with a glance back at his lover.
Seto looked down at the motionless boy. “My pharaoh, you will gain nothing by injuring the boy.”
“How hard do I need to press before I crush you, little bug?” Yami placed pressure on the boy’s side making him scream.
“He’s a child, my pharaoh! How can he threaten your power?”
Yami grabbed Marik’s side-lock of youth. “You would be amazed at how powerful a child can be. This little one needs to learn a lesson.”
“My son and I would never try to remove you from power!” Kaemwaset exclaimed.
“How could I trust you?” Yami glared down at the child. “You will respect me. You will respect your station. If I find you rebelling against me again, Little Ishtar, you will be my personal toy and will be fed to the wolves after I desecrate your corpse.”
Seto watched Yami release the child’s hair and remove his foot from his body. “This child is not the one I saw invading the city, Pharaoh Yami!”
“Then who invaded the city? The soldiers and citizenry identified the Ishtars as responsible.”
“Look at the boy! How could he invade a city and cause such devastation?” Seto asked.
“Perhaps Kaemwaset has hired goons to invade the city and place his son on the throne.”
“I don’t want to be pharaoh,” the child squeaked. “I want to go home to my toy.”
Seto shook his head at the whimpering boy. “The adult Marik Ishtar is out there somehow, my pharaoh.”
Yami laughed loudly. “Marik Ishtar is a pathetic bug whimpering and crying on my floor. Kaemwaset has no other children."
Seto crossed his arms against his chest. ‘I know I saw Marik---the adult Marik---invading the city. The real culprit is still out there. This boy is innocent.'
“Take the Ishtars to the dungeon. Perhaps a few days in chains will help them reconsider their revolution."
Seto narrowed his eyes as the soldiers dragged the boy and his father from the room. “My lord, you have to listen to me! That boy is not the culprit of the invasion!"“Nevertheless, High Priest Seth, the child and his father will remain in the dungeon for three suns as an incentive not to question my authority again."
Seto turned and left silently fuming from the room. He huffed angrily as he walked to his bedroom. Joey stood up from the bed when Seto arrived.
“What happened? Did you convince Yami to release them?"
Seto shook his head. “No, the kid’s going to spend three days in the dungeon with his father."
Joey sighed. “Marik shouldn’t even spend one night in the dungeon, honestly. But, I guess it could be worse."
“Yami didn’t even listen to me. He seemed more intent on terrorizing the poor kid."
“Marik wasn’t hurt, was he?"
Seto sighed. “I think he’ll be alright."
Joey paced nervously. “I don’t know about that, Seto."
“What options are there, Joseph? If we bust the kid out of jail, Yami will find out and we could be in deep shit."
Joey sighed and sat on the bed. “I hope you’re right."
***********************
Bakura and Aten rode towards the Ishtar home. Bakura held the reigns tightly as Aten held onto his stepfather. “Do you think we’ll find something at the Ishtar home?”
“Marik has to be hiding out somewhere in the area. The first place to start would be where he spent his whole life.”
Aten held onto Bakura tightly. His eyes shifted around them. “Father Bakura, do you think we can talk to my father?”
“That’s if he is around, boy. When we get to the manse, stay near me. Don’t wander off.”
Aten swallowed nervously as the Ishtar home came into view. ‘I hope my father can listen to me. I hope I can talk some sense into him.’
Bakura turned his head and saw the teen’s head resting against his back. He patted Aten’s hand. The Egyptian was pressed against Bakura’s back so closely, he could hear the teen’s unsteady heartbeat thump against him.  The teen’s unsteady heartbeat continued into undeath.  “It will be alright, Little Marik. You have your dagger. Don’t let it out of your sight.”
The horse approached the Ishtar home. Bakura’s eyes went to the sand. “There were many people here.  It almost looks like a battalion of horses raced from the gates.”
Aten looked at the mansion and gasped. “Father Bakura, look at the door!”
Bakura stopped the horse at the front door of the home. “This is bad, Aten.”
“It looks like an army came here.”
“Dismount,” Bakura said.
Aten dismounted the horse followed by Bakura. The two saw the wooden doors smashed open. One of the doors hung loosely off its hinges.  
“What happened here? This is awful,” Aten said.
Bakura looked into the darkness.  “Marik’s younger self is in that home.  I can only hope that he is safe somewhere in there.”
“You found my father’s younger self? Like you found your younger self?”
Bakura nodded. “These two boys are caught in the middle of something they are too young to understand.”
“Do you think he is in there?”
“I don’t know. It looks like Yami’s army or Marik’s goons came in here.”
Aten cautiously approached the door and placed his hand on the wood. The wooden door crashed to the floor. Aten jumped back to avoid his foot being trapped under the heavy wood.
Bakura grabbed his dagger and slowly stepped onto the fallen door. He cautiously peeked his head into the reception hall and saw other doors in similar condition.  Smashed glass and vases littered the ground. “Be careful where you step, Ankhenaten.”
Aten followed Bakura as his eyes widened at the destruction within the home.  Statues were smashed amid broken vases.  Murals on the walls were smashed and defaced. Bakura climbed the stairs slowly as he held his breath.
“Marik? Marik, are you here?”
Aten stepped through a smashed doorway and saw a room full of scrolls and papyrus bound with animal hide. Aten reached down and picked up a pile of papyrus whose binding was torn. Aten picked up the scroll and saw a folded piece of papyrus fall out. “What is this?”
Aten kneeled beside the pile of discarded papers and unfolded the paper. Written was a page of heiroglyphics written in Noble script:
‘Marik Jibade Ishtar, Year 8, Month 5 of Pharaoh Yami’s reign. Ra, I ask you and pray to you each day. Please send me a companion.  My father concerns himself with our lands and his servants. When I ask to play with him, he swats me away like a fly from a piece of fruit.  My heart cries with loneliness and yet, you do not answer. Why? I study my lessons, I please my father, I say my morning prayer and each night as I go to bed, I pray for a companion, a friend.  Send me one friend that I may play and be like other little boys and smile once again.'
Aten sighed as he lowered his hands. “Father, I never knew you were so sad as a boy.” Aten opened the papyrus bound with gazelle hide. It was a ledger detailing crops and business sales from the crops.  Aten flipped through the ledger and his eyes widened when he saw a page with no numbers, but a record:
‘10 deben, 1 pig, 15 ducks to Ra-Aten-Hotep, wife of Kaemwaset, for midwife services to deliver 1 male infant, hereby named Marik Jibade Ishtar Ibn Kaemwaset, strong of body, born into the service of Ra.’
Aten’s jaw dropped. “The receipt for my father’s birth! Wow!” Aten’s eyes scrolled lower on the page. “1,500 deben for mummification services, 200 fowl, 40 bushels of grain for Sacred Text scroll for Ra-Aten-Hotep, wife of Kaemwaset, who died shortly after childbirth.”
Aten slowly placed the scroll on the floor. “My father lost his mother just after he was born. No wonder my father was lonely.” Aten stood up. “Suddenly, I want to go back to my mother and give him a big hug.”
Aten left the room and looked around for Bakura. He moved into the next room looking for his father, unaware a set of eyes glared at him from behind a pillar.
Bakura stepped into Kaemwaset’s room and saw statues smashed and glass shattered on the ground. “What happened to you, you bastard?” Bakura asked as he saw the mattress slashed. “Marik, did you kill your own father?”
Bakura heard a creak coming from the little boy’s room. Bakura stepped into the hallway and saw one of Marik’s toys laying in the middle of the hallway. “Marik?”
Bakura stepped into the room and saw his lover standing before his childhood bed, his head lowered. “Hello, Marik.”
The yami watched as the blond turned to him, his eyes black, and his lip curled in a snarl. Bakura saw the blond cross his arms, the Millennium Rod’s dagger covered in dried blood.
“Marik, what happened to you?”
A low, threatening growl rumbled in his throat.
“Don’t you know who I am?”
“I know who you are, murderer,” Marik snarled.
Bakura crossed his arms defiantly. “You know I never killed in cold blood. I always killed with a purpose.”
Marik gripped the Millennium Rod in his hand. “You made a mistake coming here. Why are you here?”
“I came to find you.  Marik, what happened to you? How did we get here and how do we get back home?”
Marik chuckled. “My brothers brought me back to a time when I can change the course of history and reclaim my birthright.”
“What is your birthright?”
Marik grinned. “I am going to be pharaoh.”
Bakura shook his head. “The last time you were ranting about that is Battle City on that Ra-forsaken blimp ride and that duel tower. Marik, you don’t want to be pharaoh. I don’t know what happened to you, but that is not you.”
“It is exactly who I am, Bakura,” Marik licked his lips. “I was meant to be pharaoh! I was born to be pharaoh!”
“No, Marik. You were born to be a father to your son-.”
“WHO WAS TORN FROM MY ARMS!” Marik bellowed.
“Father Bakura, who is that?” Aten called from downstairs.
“Aten, stand outside,” Bakura screamed.
Marik grinned. “You are trying to protect my son from me?”
Bakura stepped closer to Marik. “Marik, you have lost your mind. Ryou and I, as well as your son, are very concerned about you. We’re worried about you. We want you back with your family.”
Marik growled. “My brothers are my only family.”
“Who are your brothers? Why did you attack the city?”
Marik stepped in front of Bakura. “I am going to be pharaoh. They are going to make it happen.”
“Who are they?”
“They have helped me see the light,” Marik leaned forward to Bakura. “And realize I don’t need you.”
Marik grabbed Bakura and stabbed his lover in the arm. Bakura screamed in pain and stabbed the Ishtar in the side with his free hand. Marik released Bakura and covered his bleeding wound. “You have made a very dangerous enemy,” Marik growled.
“You will never be my enemy, partner,” Bakura trembled as he held his injured arm. “I want...you back.”
Bakura heard the floor boards creek behind him as he turned quickly. A grinning woman took a vase and broke it over Bakura’s head, knocking the yami to the ground.
“So my brother came back for you. How pathetic,” the girl said.  
Marik glared at the fallen yami. “I don’t need him. I never needed him.”
“I heard everything he said. Who is Ryou?”
Marik’s lip curled into a snarl. “A nightmare from my past. I owe allegiance to none.”
“Is that boy down there your son?”
Marik nodded. “I am his father. Allow me to dispose of him.”
“Snefru is doing the honors as we speak.”
***********************
Aten looked up nervously at the Ishtar home. “Father Bakura, be careful.” Aten heard the horse bucking and stamping its hooves. “Shh...quiet! I don’t want anyone to know we are here.”
Aten felt an arm wrap around his neck and punch him in the face. The Egyptian teen crumbled to the ground.
“So you are the seed of Marik Ishtar,” the laughing voice chuckled. “You do not wield the toughness of the Ishtar family, unlike your father.”
Aten winced as he tried to raise his head to look at his assailant. “What do you know about my father?”
The figure placed his foot on the back of Aten’s neck, holding him onto the sand. “He is going to be the next pharaoh of Egypt. The question you must answer is are you willing to follow your father’s legacy?”
The Egyptian tried to grab his assailant’s leg, but only caused the mysterious stranger to grab his arm.
“Do you want me to break your arm, young Ishtar?”
“No! Please, don’t!”
“Are you willing to follow your father?”
Aten swallowed nervously. “My father would never raid a city and kill innocent people without reason!”
Marik approached his son with the Millennium Rod in his hand and Malik at his side. “I wouldn’t say it was without purpose that I slaughtered innocent men, women, and children, my son.”
“It’s called payback, Aten. And as you know, payback is a bitch,” Malik smiled.
“Father, tell him to let me go!” Aten exclaimed.
Marik kneeled down to Aten and caressed his head. “Such a pretty, pretty boy I made.”
Aten cringed under his father’s petting hand.  “Where is Father Bakura?”
“You need not worry about him. Will you join me, my son, and we can rule Egypt as father and son?”
Aten looked up at Marik. “What about mother?  Father, we must get back to our own time.  Doctors won’t know what to do for him in this time period. He needs to go back to our time so he can see Dr. Zira.”
“Why should I care? He doesn’t carry my child.”
Aten ripped his arm from Snefru’s grasp and struggled to stand up. “How dare you! Bakura cared for me just as well as you! Father Bakura was a father to me even though I wasn’t his son.”
“My son deserves to be by my side as the Ishtar family sits on the throne of Egypt. Bring him to his feet.”
Snefru and his sister brought Aten to his feet and held his arms. “What do you say, kid? Do you want to join your father in Egypt’s palace?”
Aten glared at Marik. “You are not my father. My father would never kill innocent people!” Aten looked at Malik. “You tried to kill Robbie, Heaven, and myself! You tried to kill my mother! Malik, tell me what happened! How did we get here?”
Snefru chuckled. “The boy wants answers, Malik. Isn’t that cute?”
“Our brother wanted answers, too,” the woman giggled.
“Brother?” Aten asked.
“Bakura is our older brother,” Snefru said with a grin. “The prodigal thief has returned to his homeland, but I see that we have brought back others with us.”
Aten’s eyes widened in surprise. “I didn’t know Father Bakura had a brother or sister.”
Snefru smiled. “Bakura holds many secrets from you, Son of Marik Ishtar. Will you come with us and join our fight against Pharaoh Yami and claim your birthright as rulers of Egypt?”
A smash of a vase accompanied Snefru releasing Aten from his grip. Aten, the woman, Marik, and Malik turned their heads to see Bakura standing with a spear in his hands.
Malik chuckled as he stood in front of Aten. “Well, it seems as if your Daddy Bakura came to rescue you, Aten.”
“Father Bakura!” Aten screamed as he stomped on the woman’s foot and elbowed her face.
Marik grabbed Aten’s arm as he tried to run to Bakura. “I thought you were unconscious.”
“I had to gain consciousness for him.”
Malik chuckled. “Do you think you can use that? You’re a thief. You only use daggers.”
Bakura spun the spear and pointed the blade at Malik’s chest. His eyes narrowed and his hair spiked. “Don’t fuck with me, Malik Ramses.”
Aten struggled in his father’s arms. Marik gripped tightly on his son’s arm.
“Ehai kala, Malik!” Marik growled as he tossed Malik the Millennium Rod.
Malik caught the Millennium Rod and struck towards Bakura’s head. Bakura raised the spear to block Malik’s strike. Bakura pulled back the spear and struck the blunt end towards Malik’s ribs. Malik struck towards the yami’s hips and turned to strike Bakura’s shoulder. Bakura blocked the strike with the spear and kicked his opponent’s knee. Malik staggered backward.
Aten punched Marik’s shoulder. The yami grabbed his son’s wrist and growled at him.
“You insolent little brat!”
Marik punched Aten in the chest and watched the boy collapse to the ground, holding his chest.  Marik glared at the fallen teen and shook his head. “How sad that he chose not to stand with his father.”
Aten looked up at his father. “Even in death, you know my chest can’t take that!”
The woman rose to her feet. “Your son needs to learn some manners, Marik. Brother, why did you not teach this boy some manners and loyalty to his family?”
Bakura struggled with Malik sitting on top of his hips. The Millennium Rod and the spear crossed as their owners battled. “Nothing is wrong with that boy!” Bakura growled as he pushed Malik off of his body. Bakura leapt to his feet and pressed the blade of the spear against Malik’s neck.
“Leave him alone, Marik,” Bakura panted as he gripped the spear.
Aten rose to his feet as he looked at his father. “Daddy, what happened to you?”
“Nothing is wrong with me, kid. I’m going to be pharaoh. Since you do not see fit to sit beside me, you stand against me. You are my enemy.”
Aten lowered his head. “I love you, father. Somehow these people have changed you.  I don’t know what they did, but my father would never consider me an enemy.”
Snefru placed a dagger to Aten’s back and turned to Bakura. “Brother!”
Bakura turned his head. “Aten! Snefru, release him!”
“You release Malik.”
Bakura removed the spear from Malik’s neck and stepped away from his defeated opponent. Malik stood up chuckling. “I always knew you were weak, Bakura.”
Snefru grabbed Aten’s hair and threw him to the ground. “Marik, perhaps you should give our friends something to play with while we make our escape.”
Marik grinned and folded his hands before him. “Nobleman Eater Bug! Arise and show these peasants why the Nobility is stronger than they will ever hope to be!”
Bakura watched Marik’s monster materialize before them.  ‘He summoned his monster without his deck! What the hell?’
The purple haze of the Shadow Realm crept around them. The squealing, clicking insect raced for the fallen teen, but Bakura held is spear in front of him to protect Aten and himself. Aten gasped and rushed behind Bakura.
“Farewell,” Marik said casually as he and his entourage walked to their horses.
“Snefru, get back here, you bastard!” Bakura growled. “Get back here, you little bitch!” he called to his sister.
“Goodbye, Bakura,” the woman said. “It was nice knowing you this brief time.”
Marik, Snefru, his sister, and Malik rode away.
Bakura kept the clicking, angry creature at a distance with the spear. The creature lunged for the couple as Bakura skewered the insect. Bakura watched the creature shatter before him.
The thief lowered the spear and winced at the pain in his left arm. He heard Aten sniffle behind him. Bakura panted as he turned his head. “Don’t listen to him, Aten.”
Aten rubbed his chest as tears fell down his cheek. “That’s not my father, Bakura. What did your siblings do to him and Malik?”
Bakura put his arms around the teen and hugged him. “I don’t know, Aten. We need to return to the oasis. If Marik attacks it, only Robbie and Umi can defend Aria and your mother.”
“I’m certain Aria would fight to protect mother.”
Bakura nodded. “That girl has her father’s dedication to her family that I know you have, as well. You are a great son, Ankenaten. Any man would be proud to call you their flesh and blood, including me.”
Aten rubbed his eye. “Really, Father Bakura?”
Bakura smiled. “You’ll always be our little monkey, our little Picasso. That man who said all that bullshit is not your father.”
“Honestly?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Aten. Let’s rush back to the oasis.”
**********************
Seto lead Joey and Yugi down the spiral dungeon steps.  Torches lined the dark dungeon hallway. Yugi looked up at the barred windows on each door. “This is how Bakura described the prison.”
Joey nodded. “It doesn’t look like the prison had changed in the next twenty years since Bakura comes here in about fifteen years or so. He has to be out there. If Marik’s younger self is here, Bakura’s child self is still around.”
“Unless he was killed in the raid,” Seto said solemnly.
“If the child Bakura is killed, how will that affect our Bakura?” Yugi asked.
Seto looked inside a jail cell and saw the child Marik curled up in a fetal position in the corner. The boy was crying into his hands with a chain connecting his ankle to the wall. Seto unlocked the door and handed the keys to Joey. “Find the boy’s father. He’s older and fatter. He’s still in his expensive clothes.”
Yugi opened the door to the cell and stepped inside. The boy lifted his head and gasped as he shivered in the corner.
“We’re here to let you go,” Yugi said calmly. “Are you alright, kiddo?”
Marik sheepishly nodded as Seto stood behind Yugi. “Yes?”
Yugi approached the boy and took his leg in his hands.
“I’ll be good! Don’t hurt me!”
“Yugi won’t hurt you,” Seto said. “He’s going to remove the chain.”
Marik watched Yugi remove the chain. The boy stood before him and bowed in deference.
“Thank you, my lord.”
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Marik rubbed his teary eye. “I was sleeping with my toy and these men burst into my room. They took my toy away. They wouldn’t let me take it.”
Yugi raised a curious eyebrow. “This is the future psychopathic, soul-stealing lunatic that will terrorize us in Battle City? Crying for his toy?”
“Marik, did you see a big version of yourself? Did you see a tall man who claimed to be called Marik Jibade Ishtar?”
The child put his finger in his mouth and nodded slowly. “My daddy called him by my name.  Then my daddy hurt me and made me cry.”
Seto kneeled on the ground. “What did your father do to you?”
“He shoved me. He does that when he’s angry at me and I don’t obey him.”
“Do you know where the big you is? Where is you all grown up?”
Marik lowered his head. “He’s under the sand.”
“Where, son?” Yugi asked.
“I’m not a Tombkeeper yet, so I can’t know. I have two more years before I am initiated.”
Seto looked at the boy. “Can you lead me to the entrance?”
“I don’t know where, my lord. I have not completed the Tombkeeper’s Initiation.”
“Maybe his father knows, Seto.”
Seto narrowed his eyes. “The Tombkeepers are responsible for this nonsense? I thought they disappeared from the face of the earth.”
“They are an old society.  They are strong.”
Yugi looked at Seto. “Perhaps we should check Yami’s tomb. That’s where Malik spent his childhood.”
“Do you know where Pharaoh Yami’s tomb is, Marik Jibade?”
Marik nodded. “It’s being built in the desert.”
“Can you show High Priest Seto and I where it is?”
Marik shifted uncomfortably on his feet. “I can try, but father may not like it.”
“We can handle your father,” Seto said. “Yugi, get the boy some food and water. We can’t have our little guide starving.”
Yugi stood up and took Marik’s hand. “Are you hungry, Marik?”
A little smile crossed the boy’s face as he nodded. “Yes, please.”
“Let’s get you some food.”
Seto looked at the boy leave with Yugi. “I wonder what we will find. Marik’s hiding somewhere in the desert. When I find him, I will make him pay for killing innocent people.”
****************
Bakura and Aten returned to the oasis. Aria met her brother and father at the edge of the oasis.
“How did you know we were coming?” Bakura asked.
“I smelled blood,” Aria said.
Bakura held his arm. “We found Marik,” Bakura said as he continued through the brush.
“Did he do that to you?” Aria asked as she followed him.
Bakura sighed. “It was Marik, but not the Marik we know, Aria Kanika.”
Aria followed her father and brother into the clearing of the oasis. Ryou was holding onto the younger Bakura, who was sobbing and holding his arm. Umi was sitting with Heaven and Kailani on his lap beside Ryou.
“Bakura, what’s wrong?”
Ryou whimpered as he held onto the boy.  Bakura rushed to Ryou’s side and looked down at his semi-conscious husband.
“Ry, what’s wrong?”
“I’m sore,” Ryou sighed as he rubbed his belly.  Ryou licked his parched lips. “Bakura was playing when he suddenly cried that his arm was hurting him.”
Bakura saw the boy‘s arm bleeding through a crude bandage. “Do I need to kidnap a doctor for you?”
“I took care of Bakura." Ryou winced. “No, this happened when I was pregnant with Aten and Aria, remember?”
“You were pregnant for only two weeks or so from beginning to end. We couldn’t really judge this against that. “
Ryou saw Bakura’s arm trickling with blood. “Yami, what happened to you?”
“Marik stabbed me in the arm,” Bakura said as he crawled to the lake and washed the arm in the cool water.
“Do I need to kidnap a doctor for you?” Ryou asked as he sat up.
Bakura shook his head. “That’s my line, hikari.”
Ryou smiled and leaned back on his arms. “Well, if I had to get someone for you, I would. Although I wouldn’t be as effective as you when it comes to kidnapping.”
Bakura nodded. “You’d ask nicely if you could take them against their will.” Bakura cleared his throat. “‘Excuse me, sir, but may I ask you so kindly as to tie your wrists and hop on my horse so that I may take you somewhere against your will?’ It would be bloody nice of you to do so.’”
Bakura kneeled in front of Ryou and caressed the child’s hair. “You’ll be alright, Bakura."
The adult thief sighed.  “So if I get hurt in this world, our younger selves feel it. I wonder if it works the other way around."
The little boy sniffled as he rubbed his eye. Ryou placed him on the ground. Ryou examined Bakura’s arm. Ryou reached for Bakura’s dagger and cut a piece of cloth from his own tunic. Ryou wrapped the cloth around Bakura’s arm.
“Why would Marik do this to you?”
Aten stepped towards his mother. “Father didn’t act like himself, mother. He said many....hurtful things.”
Ryou turned to Aten and put a comforting hand on his son’s shoulder. “What did he say, baby?”
“He asked me to sit beside him when he became pharaoh. When I said I would not join him, he called me his enemy.”
Aria crossed her arms. “I think Father Marik needs a good ass-kicking.”
“Marik said he didn’t need me anymore,” Bakura said.
“That isn’t all,” Aten said quietly.
Robbie stepped through the clearing. “Aten, you’re back!” Robbie limped to Aten and hugged him.
“What else?”
“You know Snefru and the girl, Bakura?”
Bakura shrugged. “I haven’t seen them before in my life.”
“They said you are their older brother.”
Ryou, Aria, Umi, and Robbie gasped and looked at Bakura. The thief’s jaw dropped and he lowered his head.
Bakura dropped to his knees before the group.  “It makes sense now.”
“I hope you can make sense of all this,” Umi said. “Because I’m more confused as ever now.”
“When I went to find food for Bakura, I saw my mother nursing a newborn boy. My mother had just given birth to Snefru.”
Aten looked down at the younger Bakura, who stepped up to his older counterpart.
“Did I do something wrong?” the child asked.
“No, Bakura. Do you know about your brother?”
Bakura shook his head. “Father chases me away with a hammer if I try to go home. I don’t go home anymore because he almost hit me last time.”
“What happened to my brother? How did he become a Tombkeeper? What connection does he have to Marik?”
“How did Father summon his Nobleman Eater Bug without his deck? That’s what I would like to know. He summoned the Shadow Realm.”
Ryou looked at Aten. “He summoned his monster without his deck?”
Aria looked at Umi. “Try to summon your monster, Umi.”
Umi swallowed nervously as everyone looked at him. “I can try.”
Umi turned to the lake and stepped towards the shore. Little Bakura took a step towards Umi, but his older self brought him into his arms. Umi closed his eyes and reached out his right hand to the calm water. “Sea Prince! Come to me!” The waters didn’t shift or bubble. “What about....Great White!”
Robbie shifted on his walking stick. “I don’t think this will work.”
Umi shrugged and turned to the group. “I can’t do it.”
Aria thought as she looked at her father. “Maybe I can try.” Aria closed her eyes. “NIGHTMARE DRAGON! YOUR MISTRESS BECKONS!”
Ryou, Bakura, and Umi looked around them. Aria turned her head and looked behind her.
“What gives?”
“Father had his Millennium Rod.”
Bakura looked down at the Millennium Ring dangling around his neck. His fingers caressed the gold circle. “Dark Necrofear, your master beckons!”
Purple haze crept around the sand. Little Bakura clutched onto his older self and began to shiver.  “What’s going on?” the child asked nervously.
Aria took Kailani in her arms and Robbie took Heaven as a figure emerged from the purple haze. Little Bakura screamed and clutched onto his older self tightly as he saw the tall monster holding a dead baby in its arms. “Lord Bakura,” the creature said, bowing before him.
“Dark Necrofear, why did the Nightmare Dragon not respond to Aria’s call?”
“I sensed your Millennium Item, master. Why are you here?”
Ryou stepped towards Dark Necrofear timidly. “Do you know how we came to this timeline?”
“What timeline, Little Master Ryou?”
“We’re in Ancient Egypt. What could bring us from modern day into this world?”
“There are those who can manipulate time and the Shadow Realm.  When you summon me, you normally do not do so in the middle of the desert.”
Little Bakura gasped and trembled as the baby in Dark Necrofear’s arms opened its mouth.
“Who could have brought us here?”
“Very few people can manipulate the Shadow Realm and even fewer can engage in time travel.”
The child in Bakura’s arms whispered in Bakura’s ear. “Who and what is that?”
Dark Necrofear looked at the little boy. “I am your guardian, my Little Master.”
“Dark Necrofear, who can manipulate the Shadow Realm and time?”
The creature looked at Ryou. “The dead can manipulate the Shadows. Lord Bakura is the King of the Shadow Realm.”
The adult Bakura grinned with pride. “And don’t you forget it.”
“So that’s why I couldn’t summon my monsters,” Umi said.
“My Nightmare Dragon usually comes to me when I call him.”
Robbie turned to Aria. “Dark Necrofear said she sensed Bakura’s Millennium Ring. Maybe you need your Trident.”
“I didn’t always need my Trident.”
“Perhaps it’s because we are so far in the past,” Aten said with a shrug.
Kailani began to cry in Aria’s arms when she saw the creature before Bakura. Aria rocked the baby in her arms and stepped away from the group.
“Who do you know can manipulate time and the Shadow Realm? The dead can’t manipulate time. If so, I would have traveled here years ago to kick my father’s ass and get revenge on the pompous-ass pharaoh.”
“There are those known as Tombkeepers who can manipulate the Shadow Realm because they are undead. Time manipulation seems nothing more than a fantastical theory.”
Bakura sighed and looked at his younger self in his arms. “So my brother and sister are dead?”
“None other than the dead can manipulate the Shadow Realm.”
“It appears as if my sister died when she was only slightly older than myself when I---.” Bakura looked down at the little boy. The child looked at him with wide eyes. “When I died.”
The child gasped. “You’re dead?”
Bakura nodded slowly. “Yes, child. I am dead and you...are me.”
“Dead things don’t move. My dinner doesn’t move after I beat it against the ground.”
Bakura shook his head. “It’s hard to explain, child.” The thief put the child on the ground. “My brother and sister are Tombkeepers?”
“The same Tombkeepers that Malik was initiated into when he was nine years old?” Aten asked.
Ryou watched Bakura turn his back to Dark Necrofear. “You may leave.”
Dark Necrofear bowed and disappeared along with the purple haze.
Bakura disappeared into the foliage of the oasis quietly.
Ryou watched Bakura disappear sadly. “Poor baby.”
The young Bakura looked up at Ryou. “If he’s dead, how is he walking?”
Ryou sat on the ground beside the child. “Bakura, you are really young. There are special powers given to some people to return back to life after they stop moving. These people live for a really long time.”
“Wow,” the boy whispered. “They live for one hundred years? That’s really long!”
Ryou chuckled. “They live for much longer than one hundred years.”
“How long?”
“As long as you want to think.”
Bakura turned to where Dark Necrofear disappeared. “That person didn’t look like you or me. Is it dead, too?”
“Yes, dear,” Ryou said, ruffling the boy’s hair.
Aria watched with concern as her father separated himself from the crowd. “Daddy?”
Bakura stepped out of the oasis and sat on the sand. The thief put his hands over his face and sighed. “I knew I had a brother, but I didn’t know I had a sister as well.  My siblings are both dead. I never knew they became involved with the Tombkeepers. Is that why they were killed?”
“Daddy?” Aria asked as she emerged from the oasis.
Bakura looked up at his teenaged daughter. “Aria?”
“Daddy, are you alright?”
Bakura sighed. “I didn’t know I had a sister. I never knew what happened to my brother. It was rare when I would see him around the city.”
“Did you ever go up and speak to him?”
“What was I going to say? ‘Hi, I’m your older brother who was kicked out of the house because of you?’ He would have only been fifteen when I was murdered.”
Aria rocked Kailani in her arms. “I’m sorry. It must have been scary for you.”
“I don’t honestly remember how much pain I was in when Anubis strangled me.  I remember feeling all sensation leaving my body. I could feel my heart stop.” Bakura closed his eyes tightly and lowered his head. “The last thing I remember was a snapping bone in my neck. I was no longer hungry or in pain. Aria, it’s hard to look at that boy back there and know what he has to endure. He has no idea how he’s going to die....alone and broken.”
Aria kneeled in front of her father and reached out her hand to touch his shoulder. “That’s awful.”
“He’s going to grow up angry which will only continue after he takes his last breath.”
“Are you angry now?”
Bakura shook his head. “I’m not angry at Marik for stabbing me. I am, however, quite furious with my brother and sister. What did they do to Marik and Malik? How can we get them back? Marik wants to become pharaoh. I wonder, Aria....if Marik gains control of Egypt. If Marik becomes pharaoh, how will that change things? Will Marik still capture me and kill me? What will become of Yami?”
“I think Father Marik would make a better pharaoh than Yami.”
“Will that change our future? How will that change me, you, and the others?”
Aria saw Little Bakura emerge from the brush and stand beside his adult self. The boy tried to look Bakura in the lowered eyes.
“You don’t look well,” the child said to Bakura. “Are you sick?”
“No, little one,” Bakura said.
“Can you play with me?” the boy asked.
Bakura looked at his child self. “Play?”
Aria smiled and stood up. “He’s four years old, dad. Think of this as practice for when your new baby is born.”
Bakura sighed and chuckled. “You’re right.”
“I have to put Kailani down for her nap,” Aria said as she walked into the oasis.
The boy looked up at Bakura. “What do you want to play?”
Bakura raised his head and looked around the oasis.  In the distance, he saw the peak of a royal pyramid nearby. He looked down at his child self. “We’re going to play a little game I call, ‘Tombrobber.’”
**********************
Marik held onto the edge of Seto’s chariot. He smiled as the wind blew through his blond hair. Seto held the reigns as he heard the boy giggling at his side. “What’s funny, Marik?”
Marik looked up at Seto. “The wind tickles the faster we ride, Master Seth!”
Yugi and Joey rode in their own chariot beside Seto. Yugi saw the child face the wind with a big smile.
“I think he’s having more fun than all of us, Joey,” Yugi said.
Joey smile. “He is certainly a cute little guy.”
Seto’s chariot bucked and Marik squealed with a laugh. Marik pointed ahead of them. “It’s not far now. Go between those two mountains.”
Seto and Joey saw an oasis emerging from a desert nearby. “Looks like we have a rest stop if we need to get away from the summer heat.”
The chariots raced between the mountain cliffs. Thousands of men were hauling bricks, digging in the sand, and artisans leaving and entering the tomb. Yugi’s eyes widened as he saw the thousands of chained people carving into the rockface of the mountain.
“Yami used slaves to dig his tomb?”
“It would mean cheap labor,” Seto said as he stopped the chariot.
Marik jumped from the chariot and watched the workers carve at the mountain rock. Seto took the boy’s hand and lead him towards the foreman.
The man turned and bowed before Seto. “My Lord High Priest! What brings you to the pharaoh’s tomb?”
“I came to inspect what you have done so far with Prince Yugi.”
Yugi and Joey jumped off the chariot and saw a soldier whipping a young woman who was piling bricks too slow to form a pillar near the entrance. Yugi ran to the woman and stood in the path of the whip.
“Stop that!” Yugi said.
Joey grabbed the whip and whipped the soldier. “How do you like it, punk?”
Yugi looked down at the woman. “Are you alright?”
“Thank you, my prince.”
“Don’t thank me.”
Seto called Yugi and Joey over to him and Marik. “Be careful, you two.  If Marik used to live here, we may find traces of the Tombkeeper’s here. We may even find Marik’s older self here.”
“If the tomb is under construction, I’m sure they would be detected.”
Seto looked down at the seven-year-old boy. “Have you ever been here?”
“My father and I sometimes went hunting this way for desert creatures. I’ve never been inside, though.”
“Keep a hold on my hand, son,” Seto said, leading Marik, Yugi, and Joey into the tomb.  
Seto held a torch as they stepped down the flight of stairs to the lower level. Yugi saw murals of Yami’s birth from a lotus flower and his coronation when he was a young boy.
“I’ve never seen where Yami was buried. I never seen his tomb.”
Joey felt the air in the tomb become hotter. “I think there’s a good reason why he never brought you down here.  It’s hotter than hell down here.”
Marik pulled on Seto’s arm and pulled him into a room with an altar and a stone slab. “This is the offering room,” Marik said.
Yugi looked at the murals on the walls depicting Yami offering food and riches to the Egyptian gods.  “This is where Malik said the Initiation took place when he was nine,” Yugi said.
Joey looked at the stone altar which would hold generations of Ishtars who would be mutilated to join the Tombkeepers. “That stone is going to see five thousand years of bloodshed.”’
Marik pulled Seto out of the room and into another room with another stone slab. Marik looked at Seto and raised his arms. “Put me up!”
Seto slowly reached down for the boy and sat him on the slab. Marik sat on the stone and stood up. “I can see alot from here!” Marik smiled at Joey. “I”m as tall as you! I can look you in the eye!” Marik wiggled his fingers at Joey. “Look into my eyes! I am controlling your mind! Wooooo!”
Joey shifted uncomfortably on his feet. ‘You did control my mind in Battle City and almost killed me and made my friend almost die.’
Joey put Marik on the ground. “Alright, little Marik. No controlling people’s minds.”
Yugi watched as sweating artists painted the murals on the walls and tired slaves smoothing the walls with plaster.  He asked the head painter if he had seen any people in cloaks enter the tomb.
“My Prince, nobody is permitted in this tomb without authorization. People work on your father’s tomb day and night. There is no rest from its construction.”
Seto took Marik’s hand again and lead the group further into the tomb. Marik stopped beside a room with shelves of scrolls. “It’s the literature room!” Marik said, releasing Seto’s hand.
The boy ran into the room with shelves of scrolls and bound papyrus. His eyes lit up at the books and other literary texts. “What a library!”
“Are we sure this is where the Tombkeepers are staying?” Joey asked. “There’s so many people here, someone would notice if some caped weirdos were lurking around here.”
“I don’t see any evidence of anyone other than workmen, Seto,” Yugi said.
Seto sighed as he wiped his sweaty brow. “I was hoping to find some trace of the Tombkeepers.”
Seto heard Marik scream in the literature room. Marik raced from the room and clutched onto Seto tightly. The boy wrapped his arms around Seto’s waist and cringed. “Cobra!”
Seto saw a snake slithering across the ground. “Yugi, Joey, it’s time to go.”
Seto lead the group out of the tomb. “Where else would the Tombkeepers live, Marik?”
Marik shrugged. “I don’t know.  I’m not old enough to know where they meet.”
“The desert is gigantic, Seto. How are we going to find them before they strike the city again?”
“Maybe they enter their lair in the oasis nearby. Nobody lives there, so nobody would notice them going underground.”
Joey wiped his forehead. “I could use a break from this heat anyway.”
Seto helped Marik onto the chariot. Joey grabbed the horse’s reigns on his chariot and followed Seto to the oasis.
The two chariots raced towards the oasis. When the two arrived at the edge of the oasis, the group dismounted from the chariots.
Seto held Marik’s hand as he lead the boy through the foliage. Yugi followed Joey through the lush bushes.  
They stepped into the clearing and saw Aten and Umi pointing daggers at them.
“Stop!” Aten and Umi called. Aten’s eyes widened as he and Umi dropped their weapons. “Uncle Seto? Uncle Puppy? Uncle Yugi?”
“Aten? Umi? You’re here, too?”
Aten looked down at the seven-year-old boy holding Seto’s hand. “Are you-?”
“Ankhenaten, meet Marik Jibade Ishtar,” Seto said.
“It’s my father,” Aten whispered.
Aria stepped through the brush. “Oh my god, Uncle Seto!” Aria ran to Seto and threw her arms around him. “I didn’t think you were brought here, too!”
Seto hugged Aria. “I’m so glad to know you are safe. How is---Kailani?”
“She’s safe. She’s taking a nap with mother.”
“Ryou is here?” Seto asked quickly.
Joey and Yugi continued through the brush, but Aria told them not to wake Ryou.  Aria lead Seto and Marik into the clearing where Ryou was sleeping beside Kailani. Joey and Yugi saw Robbie playing with Heaven.
Robbie raised his head and gasped. “Joey! Yugi! Seto! I’m glad to see you!”
Seto waved at Robbie and kneeled beside Ryou sleeping.  Seto reached for Ryou’s cheek and caressed it tenderly. “I was so worried about you, angel.”
Marik stepped towards Ryou. “That’s the man who hit my daddy when he hit me!”
Seto looked at Marik. “Ryou hit your father?”
Marik nodded. “My father shoved me and this man was defending me.”
Seto leaned down to Ryou and hovered inches above the hikari’s lips. Seto lightly pressed his lips against Ryou’s. Marik gasped and stared wide-eyed at the High Priest kissing the sleeping man. Seto’s hand drifted to Ryou’s stomach and lightly rubbed it.
Ryou whimpered in his sleep as Seto touched his belly.
“Uncle Seto, I wouldn’t do that,” Aria said. “Mom’s sensitive there.”
Seto’s hand drifted below Ryou’s belly, making a tear fall down Ryou’s stomach.
The sleeping man slowly opened his eyes when he saw Seto kissing him on the lips. Ryou gasped and wrapped his arms around Seto. Seto reluctantly pulled back from the kiss. “Ryou?”
“Seto? Is that really you?”
Seto kissed Ryou deeply. “I was so worried about you! I prayed that you weren’t dead.”
Ryou cupped Seto’s face in his hands. “I can’t believe you are here.”
Seto caressed Ryou’s stomach. Ryou took Seto’s hand and lifted it from his belly. “Please don’t do that, Seto. It hurts.”
“Is the baby still--?”
Ryou nodded. “He’s still here.  My skin’s sensitive there now.”
“You know for sure?”
Ryou blushed. “The Egyptians had their ways of telling.”
“Did Bakura find his way here, too?” Yugi asked.
“You wouldn’t believe who else we found,” Umi said, looking at little Marik.
Joey raised a curious eyebrow. “Who?”
“We found Little Bakura living on the streets,” Ryou said.
Seto looked around. “Where are the Bakuras?”
“Father’s little self wanted to play, so I left them alone,” Aria interjected.
“We didn’t see them when we approached.”
Aten and Aria exchanged glances. “Will they be alright?”
“Bakura needs some time with his younger self,” said Ryou.
Marik sat beside the lake and ran his fingers through the grass. “I hope the Tombkeepers don’t find them.”