victory_road | ANOMALY DETECTED

[Baura gives his head a dazed shake, before he snarls angrily. This was just about to become good! How dare that nuisance interfere?!]

This?

[He pulls a black pokeball with yellow markings out of his pockets and drops it carelessly. What springs forth is a Hisuian Zoroark, except its colors are a slate gray at the base that bleeds into an explosion of a wild white mane and eerie purple markings.

The creature shakes its head once in a way that's very much like its owner before it narrows its yellow eyes on their attacker and bares its fangs in what looks like a scoff.]

Zoroark-!

[That's... That's the evolved form of Ryou's starter, isn't it? Of course it is. This place certainly has a sense of humor with its choices.]

Have it attack! Chen's max level but I don't know why his attacks are barely doing anything to it...!

[Besides bad typing. That still shouldn't have his Yamask's power seem useless. But Chen doesn't know any damaging dark moves... He knew he shouldn't have left Usi at home.

Before he can shout another move, the Runerigus slaps Chenzira out of the way like a ragdoll and lunges for Bakura and the Zoroark. Marik, like the sentimental fool he is, leaps for his pokémon to catch him before he hits the ground, instead landing on it himself and having the wind knocked out of him. Chen clings to him terrified, trying to figure out what he should do.

What does Marik normally do when they're fighting wild pokémon? He usually avoids them but there's a few that he's captured.

... That's it! Once the tomb keeper groans in pain and shows that he's mostly okay, Chen goes to rummaging through his cargo pocket and pulls out a pokéball.

The Spirit will hear an audible "Bahhurahh!" in a raspy high pitched voice as the Yamask rolls an empty pokéball towards him to use. To further instruct him just in case he doesn't quite understand, Chen makes a throwing motion at the Runerigus.]

[Bakura raises an eyebrow at Marik's theatrics - was he trying to rescue the monster?? - before the thief switches his attention back towards their foe. Which seems to be another monster, go figure.]

Tch! Ridiculous!

[Both he and his Zoroark dodge in opposing directions at the last moment, leaving the Runerigus to rush past them with all its force. Something behind them crashes, but Bakura doesn't care to figure out what it was.

Instead, he gives the fox-like creature at his command a curt sign with a jerk of his head before he bows down to grab pokeball from Marik's beast.]

Nasty Plot!

[Bakura dodges again as the Runerigus attacks them once more. The Zoroark lets out a pained bark, but its quick to get up and grab on to the snake-mural spirit with an evil smirk. There is a wispy voice that sounds like Bakura's, but clearly isn't, as the pokemon uses its illusion ability to give itself another order to attack.]

Bitter Malice!!

[It takes him a bit before Marik gets his wits back in time to hear the doppelganger of Bakura's voice and he looks over to see the Zoroark fighting the Runerigus along with Bakura holding an empty pokéball.

Chenzira calls out Bakura's name again and does another throwing motion.

Is he... No. He'll have time to be impressed over his Yamask's new vocabulary later. The blonde slowly sits up, gritting his teeth as he hisses a command.]

Chen... use... D-Dark Pulse...! Hhk...

[As Chen jumps in to distract the Runerigus with his attack on top of Zoroark's to help in doubleteaming it, Marik manages to get enough air to shout at the thief.]

... Throw the pokéball at it, Bakura!

[Bakura was about to make his Zoroark use the same attack again, having seen Chen's attempts to show him what to do but preferring to fully beat his enemy down before he acts on it, but then Marik is yelling again and Bakura sighs.]

Ishtar, would it kill you to be a little less dramatic just for once?! Nobody is dying here - yet!

[Turning around as the noises of the battle surge up once more, he sighs and weighs the weight of the pokeball in his balm.]

HEY!!

[The moment the Runerigus turns toward him Bakura socks it right into its only visible eye with the pokeball.]

Happy?

[The tomb keeper snarls and stands up, rubbing the part of his back that he landed on.]

Tch... I'm not being dramatic! I got the damn wind knocked out of me!

[He watches as Bakura throws the pokéball and... stares in disbelief as it pegs the thing in the eye socket. That is not how a pokéball works. Why did it fail? Because it was his ball but someone else used it? Ugh. This world and its ridiculous rules.

But the Runerigus falls back on to its back with a monstrous thud, apparently knocked out by that one hit.

Marik blinks.]

... What...

[Even Chen seems at a loss. He looks to the two trainers and tilts his head.

Apparently the ball Bakura threw is useless now so Marik throws another empty pokéball at the unconscious Runerigus. It stops in midair and emits a light as the pokémon is pulled inside the device. The correct way its supposed to work. It struggles for a while, seeming like it's going to break out but eventually gives up and the pokéball locks.

The blonde walks over, staring down at it. He remains silent for a moment or two then bends down to pick up the ball.]

... Now.

[Marik stands back up and turns to face Bakura, that dark intense look in his eyes once more.]

As you were saying.

[Bakura has crossed his arms in a display of annoyance as everything went down, going from a smug preening to looking rather pissed again. Bakura's unnamed Zoroark, who'd been placing a hind paw on the defeated(??) Runerigus with sadistic pride, is shooting Marik a dirty look as well, claws twitching by its sides.]

You stole my kill.

[He merely sounds petulant, but there's something about his body language that betrays that Marik better had to offer a damn good reason for this very quick or he'll wish that it was him who got stuffed into that ball!]

Yeah?

[He tosses the pokeball to Bakura.]

Then take it.

[Chen floats up to rest on Marik's shoulder, tuckered out from the fight and the stress of this entire encounter.]

I didn't want you completely obliterating it as I've been meaning to study one of those. And now you've got two pokémon.

Consider it a gift for the information you're going to give me.

[Before Bakura can shoot back what exactly Marik can do with his demands the pokeball springs open and 'his' new pokemon -- whom he is totally going to name Bastard after this -- uses its powers of storing and sharing memories to give Marik more than he wants.]

Click for memory share scenes!

[Marik yells at being grabbed but is quickly silenced when the memories start pouring in, the Runerigus tightening his grip on him. All he can do is stare in horror as bits and pieces of Bakura's life play before his eyes. Chen's too tired to properly attack and can only watch helplessly as his beloved trainer is shown such intense visions.

Both good and bad memories. The screams, the fires, the death, the destruction. The look of innocence and wonderment in Bakura's eyes, turned scared and then numb by the events unfolding before him. The horrors of the acts committed in the name of the Pharaoh. The false sense of justice that's subjected on to the people, so many wronged. How they preach that it's for the good of the people and the next moment their very souls taken from their very body.

The stone tablets are Shadow Magic, absorbing a person's being. The Millennium Items were created from 99 sacrificed people. Melting them into the gold. Everyone in the village was slaughtered - and Bakura was the very last one. It's enough to make him want to vomit.

To call upon the power of a dark God in order to defeat an incoming army, only to then sacrifice their own people, and then think that they could just seal the evil away when they were done with it?

At least in his case, the atrocious acts he committed weren't disguised behind some sense of false justice. He never once said he wanted the God Cards or the Pharaoh's power to make the world a better place. He wanted them for himself. There was no delusion there besides what he himself was capable of doing.

That dark power though. The being itself. Zorc... Never has he seen such a terrifying entity. Even if he's not there in person, the residual energies from the memory are able to leak through. Despite the familiar, intoxicating sensation, Marik's body is seized by sheer terror.

Everything in his life has been a twisted lie. His duty as a tomb keeper, protecting the hint to unlocking the noble nameless Pharaoh's identity, guarding the Millennium Rod. The very item they used to pull people's souls and entrap them on to tablets they essentially used for practice. All of the pain and suffering he went through as a child. What his siblings went through.

Not knowing any of the truth... and rolling over on to his back like the obedient dog of a servant he is in the end.

Marik screams and the memories stop. If it hadn't of been for Atem banishing his other personality to the Shadow Realm, this would have brought him forth. Instead the tomb keeper can only go limp in the Runerigus's grasp, his mind overworked to the point of falling unconscious for a bit. Rage, sadness, betrayal, confusion, disgust. He can't focus his thoughts, his emotions.

The stone tablet pokémon gives out a laugh similar to Bakura's and lets the teen go, Marik falling to the ground stomach first. Chen scrambles to perch himself on his back so he isn't crushed. The blonde lies there for what feels like an eternity before twitching slightly and craning his neck to look up at the Ring Spirit but he says nothing, still unable to properly think straight, the light in his eyes completely gone now.

The Yamask weakly calls out to Bakura. He's not sure what that will accomplish but Marik needs help...!]

Edited 2022-12-06 15:21 (UTC)

[Bakura's eyes grow wide when Marik starts screaming. He moves closer with a hand raised almost on its own, until he hits the Runerigus' range and withdraws with a hiss as if burned. Something is going on, he can feel it even before the details on the drawing of monster start to shift and- ]

Is that Diabound?

[He's speechless at the sheer insult of what is going on. But then the pseudo-snake lets go of Marik and looks at him with those eyes and he feels the breath punched out of his gut a second time.]

This is- ....I'll deal with you later. Get back into your card!

[The tablet with the snake head jerks around in confusion, making Bakura roll his eyes.]

-your ball, or whatever! Just get back!

[Once it vanishes in a flash, Bakura runs a hand through his bangs and sighs. Great! Just great. Now he has to deal with another monster that 'chose him' the way it seems, or maybe that thing's just another ghost because it had definitely sometimes feels like it. A wicked energy, just like his. Hell knows why evil spirits were always drawn to him. It's been a constant he's already had since he was still alive. Ghosts just like him.

Shaking the thought off, he crouches down next to Marik.]

Guess that was a little more than what you expected, huh?

[He exchanges a look with Marik's runt of a monster and promptly ignores the flat look Chen gives him in response to his question. Behind him, Zoroark snickers under its breath. The ghost fox already knows when it's good to butt into things and when it's better to let its human just do whatever he wants, sit back and enjoy the show.

The noise prompts Bakura to scoff and toss his pokemon partner a look as if to tell it that Zoroark is welcome to handle Chenzira if its that bored.]

Hey! Marik!

[Still nothing. Muttering a curse under his breath, Bakura rolls Marik over and pins the blond down by his shoulders. Then he crushes their lips together. After a second Bakura also remembers that he's supposed to pinch the blond's nose while he's applying CPR.

He gives it ten long breaths before he leans back and tilts his head. That shock treatment better have worked, or he'll just beat Marik next.]

[Everything sounds and feels extremely distant. Like he's in a tunnel. He can... sort of hear Chen cry out something and then Bakura being snarky but he's not sure what.

Him being flipped over on to his back just makes his equilibrium get even more messed up and he feels very close to passing out but then-

There's the sensation of something against his lips. It's rough in action but somehow seems warm and soft? The plugging of his nose and air being forced into his lungs snaps him back to reality, even more so when his gaze focuses on Bakura in his face.

He gasps, trying to regulate his own breathing now before he hyperventilates, and unconsciously grabs Bakura by the shoulders. It takes a moment or two before he's able to find a voice but when he does, the Ring Spirit will notice he's still pale and a bit shaky. Chen latches himself on to Marik's side, happy to see his trainer responding again.]

Gghh... You...!

[His eyes dance over Bakura's face, unsure of what to say as the memories replay in his mind for a second or two. The things this man endured, the things he's seen. No wonder he's become so spiteful. So twisted in anger. Marik swallows audibly, his grip tightening for a second as if debating to pull him closer before he ultimately decides to let him go.]

... I s... saw it all, Bakura...

[Yes, him. Bakura preens momentarily on the effect he still has even on somebody who already knows not to fear him. Getting so close to Bakura clearly scared the sanity right back into the Marik again -- or as much sanity as the tomb keeper had to begin with, anyway. There's not much vouching for that.

At least the dramatics stopped.]

You ....saw what?

[Leaning back, Bakura perches on his knees as he regards Marik with an upquirked eyebrow and a slight twist of one corner of his lips and a twist of his head that might be eerily familiar to the the tomb keeper now. After all it's exactly the same gesture he's been making as a little kid and as a feared tomb robber as well.]

[His eyes widen when Bakura takes that pose, recognizing it vividly. He doesn't scramble away but it's obvious it spooks him a bit.]

I... D-Don't play dumb with me! You sicked that thing on me! Your... Diabound or whatever it's called!

[He glances around frantically for the Runerigus or the pokéball.]

I don't know how you did it but that pokémon is yours. I saw... your memories through it!

[Marik's reactions are weird. He's never looked that scared of Bakura before.]

Dia- How do you know that name?!

[One name. All it takes is that certain name and all of Bakura's self-control is switched off. His hand fists into Marik's shirt as he yanks him close, eyes blazing dangerously.]

How do you know that name, Ishtar?! That monster can't know it because I haven't told it to anybody in millenia!

[Chenzira holds on to Marik's shirt as he's yanked upwards, and the tomb keeper himself grabs Bakura's wrists, his own grip tight.]

I just told you...! I saw him! I saw everything! Your family, the village, the massacre, the way the Items were created...

[He's trembling slightly, less from fear and more from adrenaline though, and he hisses through his teeth as he speaks.]

How they prattled on to you about how their actions were just...! That you were... You were the last sacrifice...

[Zoroark might order some popcorn if this keeps continuing.

Bakura grows even more pale than he already is with every word that spills forth. All those things... They really happened. But Ishtar shouldn't be able to talk about those things like he was there to witness them.

When he mentions the sacrifice, Bakura's head jerks around and he forcefully pushes the other back onto the floor.]

I was no victim!!

[It's the most victim thing he has ever said.]

[Marik grunts when he's pushed back down but he doesn't back down, glaring intensely into Bakura's eyes. Chen continues to hold on for dear life.]

H-how weren't you a victim...?! You were tricked, robbed of everything you ever cared for...! In the end you were just another pawn in their schemes - just like me!

Yes, but I never stopped acting!

[It's the one big difference in his mind. Yeah, a damn lot of bad things happened to and around him in his life. But Bakura never rolled over and stopped struggling, not even once! Doing so would have meant to just die and let everything that was him and happened to his people turn to dust right alongside his mortal shell.

At some point it just became a form of habit.

Fate dealt him a bad hand, and Bakura did his best to spit into its face by defying the odds and making the best of it.

Standing back up, he straightens his clothes as he puffs out his chest.]

If you have really seen as much as you claim, then you know that I'm far from innocent. And that the battle hasn't ended yet.

[As long as the fight doesn't end, Bakura won't be defeated. He can still surpass both Atem and Zorc and win this war.]

[The blonde props himself up on his elbows once Bakura's let go of him.]

No but... if those things hadn't of happened, you'd...

[He wouldn't be here right now. Neither of them would. He'd have never gotten the chance to meet Bakura, his one ally in all of this.

Marik slowly gets up, dusting himself off, and shifting Chen to rest on his shoulder.]

... Why did they keep all of that from us tomb keepers? Why couldn't we know exactly what we were guarding?

...have lived a happy life, yeah, sure. Spare me the diatr- [He trails off, staring at Marik and wondering if that's a rhetoric question or if somebody could really be that dense.]

Are you seriously asking me that? We both know why.

[The tomb keepers were the pharaoh's men. They needed them to be loyal, to pass on the baton and not to ask any uncomfortable questions. Which idiot would feed them the truth under such circumstances?]

Or at least you wouldn't have been sacrificed to a dark God.

[He knows why, understands why as much as he hates it. Marik was just hoping for some snide remark on Bakura's part to make him feel a bit better about everything but instead he just gives him that response.

He also knows he shouldn't be betraying the Pharaoh yet again but it's so engraved into him at this point. Atem has been nothing but cordial with him. That shouldn't warrant a kneejerk reaction from him but Marik finds himself wanting to stir up drama. Bakura always gets his scheming gears going anyways and it's been far too long.

Chen frowns as he looks at his trainer, Marik's expression having darkened and his lips twisted into a smirk.]

... He's here, you know. The Pharaoh. He's back at Kaiba and my place, relaxing, completely unaware of what's going on.

[He steps closer to the Spirit.]

He knows his name but still hasn't gone to the Afterlife. His powers have probably been reactivated but so have yours. I can feel it again... That darkness.

[He shudders. No matter how much he heals, how much he tries to distance himself, that power is intoxicating and he finds himself wanting to crawl back for more.]

I could turn a blind eye, if you wanted. Conveniently leave the door unlocked. Make sure no one else is there.

His friends aren't here to save him either.

[Joey's here but... he's busy with other things. He's not even sure the other knows Atem is in the world with them.]

Consider it... payment for everything you've done for me, since I've failed in my mission.

[He merely shrugs his shoulders in response. That part had never been too important to him, ironically. One didn't become a tomb robber expecting to find a good end, in this life or the next. Especially not if one's as notorious and prolific as Bakura was.

Bakura stands still and watches Marik as something seems to shift in the tomb keeper, like an old flame awakening again. 'Ah. Seems like the welp still has some of his teeth after all.' His expression betrays nothing as he listens to Marik go on. The blond had already mentioned the Pharaoh being here, so that's no surprise. Neither are Marik's ....brutal tendencies.]

So you want me to go there - and do what? Kill him?

[The Yamask pulls back slightly at Bakura's words, understanding what the two are discussing. He mutters at Marik, pleading to him to stop but the teen just hisses a quiet and gentle "shhh" at him, not taking his eyes off of the thief.]

Entirely up to you, now isn't it? I'm just giving you information for you to use at your leisure.

And since I don't have the Rod anymore the next best thing I can give you is the Pharaoh himself, right?

Ha! HaHAHAHAhahahaaa!

[Straightening his back, Bakura keeps barking his nasty laughter for a little longer before he relaxes and gives Marik an amused look.]

Do you seriously think that if I'd wanted the Pharaoh merely dead, I couldn't have done that already several times before, Ishtar? You're trying to use me to do your dirty work, now that you've lost your Rod!

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