victory_road | ANOMALY DETECTED

[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!

[Marik immediately bristles and Chenzira slinks further back behind his trainer's shoulder.

Guilty as charged but he'll still try to play it to Bakura's interests.]

You could challenge him to a Shadow Game then! He has his deck and the Puzzle! Little Yugi isn't here to offer him advice or save his physical form if you were to win...!

And what would I do with that, pray tell?! I need all seven of the Items, not just two of them! Getting the Puzzle before I have the rest will just put a target on my back while I get the rest!

[Besides, he wants Atem to be the last one. He wants him to see what's going to happen once he's lost, be aware of just how bad he's failed, know who it is that's once again coming for him after he's torn through all of his precious allies before-! Vengeance is a dish best served cold, and Bakura is going to enjoy every last bit of it. It's something he owes as much to Atem as he does to his precious royal uncle and father.

Bakura's Zoroark is watching their exchange with renewed interest, although it's obvious that it considers its topic a lot less offensive than Chen does.]

[... He is getting rusty and desperate at this. Wanting to stay in Bakura's good graces. This strange sense of loyalty to him. Marik purses his lips and looks away.

He doesn't know how death works in the pokémon world. The blonde is just assuming it's like everywhere else. The items would still be with Yugi back in their world but if the Ring Spirit took care of Atem here, the Puzzle would be powerless, making Yugi just that much easier to take the items from, wouldn't it?]

It would just be you, Yugi, and Shadi with the items then. You already took care of the latter so what could he actually do to you? Little Yugi's weak without Atem's influence on him. Wouldn't that make things easier on you in the long run? Perhaps not as... grandiose as you'd like but it's a decent enough backup plan.

[A pause for dramatic effect because it's Marik.]

I suppose if you've already waited this long though, waiting a few more won't kill you.

[Bakura's eyes narrow at being called out like that.]

A backup, maybe! But it's not material for the main one!

[and oh, now he's angry

He crowds in on Marik, daring him to do or say anything more that Bakura doesn't like.]

You are right, a little more won't kill me. But I'll do something else, something that I should have done a long time ago already! I'll tell you something!

[The tomb keeper puffs up, hands on his hips, and looks down his nose at Bakura. Seems he's set off the thief. About time he took him a bit more seriously! (His curiosity and pride are getting the better of him though.)

Chen yelps and hides beneath Marik's hair.]

Oh? The "stage" is all yours. Please, enlighten me, Thief King.

Then listen well, Tomb Keeper~

[Pushing his hand against his hips, Bakura puffs up to the most imposing that Ryou's body is capable of.

He takes a deep breath, and- ]

Do your own dirty work, Marik Ishtar!!

...

[Marik stares absolutely stunned because the idiot was expecting a compliment or something. Surely his little scheme merits some praise!]

Edited 2022-12-07 23:43 (UTC)

[And then his right mind catches up to his deflating ego and posture, enough to make Chen peek out.

... THAT'S IT? THAT'S WHAT HE WANTED TO SAY?]

I... But you...

[And his face turns red from embarrassment because he's never been so called out before. Or not recently at least.]

I was j-just trying to help you! T-that's all! If you don't want my advice then fine! I'll...

[Hfff! Marik crosses his arms and looks off to the side.]

Edited 2022-12-07 23:55 (UTC)

I'll...

[He'll... what? He has no idea. But he can't just let Bakura get away with insulting him!]

... Nnhhggahhh! Just forget it! Don't say I didn't try though!

[The look on Marik's face is almost comical enough to make him laugh out loud. Bakura watches the blond struggle through what he's just heard, arms already crossed again challengingly and head held high.]

You'll what?! For somebody so adamant about it, you're ridiculously bad at being evil, Marik. Can you really get so little done without the Rod?!

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