Chapter 1

“This is insane!” Marik complained as he trudged through the desert sand after Bakura.  “Remind me again why I am even following you.” 

Bakura glanced back at him, a scowl on his pale face.  White smudges of sunscreen shone on the tip of his nose where he’d done a half-a*s job of reapplying five minutes ago.  A beige cloth was wrapped over his snow-white hair to protect his neck and ears from the cruel rays of the sun.  The teen had also donned a crimson cloak he’d stolen from a vendor in the last town.  But Marik could see that these protections were proving useless.  Soon, Bakura’s fair skin would be the same shade of red as his gaudy cloak. 

“You are following me because you hate the Pharaoh every bit as much as I do,” Bakura answered in his gruff voice, “and because I am the only one who has a probable chance of defeating him.” 

Marik scoffed.  “I don’t see how you to plan to defeat him by getting us lost in the middle of the Egyptian desert.  In one more day, we’ll be out of rations, and then we’ll starve to death out here.  If you wanted to commit suicide, Bakura, you should have told me about it before we set off on this ridiculous mission.” 

“Oh, shut it!” Bakura snapped, pausing in his tracks.  “We are not going to die, Marik.  I know exactly where we are going.” 

Marik rolled his eyes.  “Of course, you do,” he said sarcastically, but Bakura did not answer.  He was too busy gauging the direction his Millennium Ring was pointing him.  Holding the circular ring parallel with the ground, he watched as one of the five golden pointers lifted in a gravity defying feat to show the way.  Marik sighed as Bakura spun in that direction and trudged off through the sand, not waiting to see if Marik followed. 

“At least tell me what it is we are looking for,” Marik said. 

He was tired of the sweltering heat and exasperated at his friend for leading him on what seemed like an aimless journey.  It had been three days since Bakura had shown up on his doorstep in Cairo and proposed a “hunt to find the ultimate weapon,” and Marik could not believe he’d gone along with it.  After Battle City, he’d tried to put all this business about card games, magic items and evil Pharaohs behind him.  He’d gone back to Egypt to live with his sister, Ishizu, and even enrolled in a proper school.  By Ra, he had thought he was over his issues, but as soon as Bakura handed him his old item, he was right back where he’d started.  Revenge-driven and power-hungry, he’d greeted the Millennium Rod like a blessing instead of the curse that it was. 

“I told you,” Bakura said, “we’re searching for the ultimate weapon, and then we are going to take down the Pharaoh once and for all.” 

“And what is this ‘ultimate weapon?’” Marik asked with forced patience. 

“You’ll see,” Bakura said, evasively. 

“No, I want you to tell me now,” Marik said, stomping his foot in the sand angrily. 

“You’re acting like a spoiled child again,” Bakura said.  “Besides, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” 

“Try me,” Marik growled, not at all pleased with Bakura’s comment. 

Bakura paused and turned to squint at him appraisingly, and Marik knew the other boy could tell that he was at the end of his patience. 

“Okay,” Bakura said after a minute.  “I’ll tell you, but there’s no turning back then.  If you know, you’re coming along.” 

“Coming along where?”

“I can’t tell you unless you promise to come.” 

“That’s ridiculous!” Marik exclaimed.  “How can I tell if I want to come if I don’t know where it is we’re going?” 

“That’s the deal,” Bakura said firmly.  “So, do you want to know?” 

Marik sighed.  “Of course, I want to know.” 

“And you’ll come along?” 

Marik narrowed his lavender eyes at Bakura and scowled.  “You’re not giving me a choice, baka,” he said, using a Japanese word he’d picked up in Domino to insult Bakura’s intelligence. 

“Of course, I am.  I’m giving you a choice right now.” 

“You know I can’t stand you keeping secrets from me,” Marik said.  “You set this up to force my hand, didn’t you?” 

Bakura grinned.  “Set what up?” he inquired.  

“Don’t ask me that,” Marik said.  “You know exactly what I’m talking about.  You dragged me out into the middle of nowhere, and now, you’re forcing me to make a deal with the devil.” 

“The devil, you say?” Bakura said with a short laugh. 

“Yes, because that is exactly what you are.  You’ve got the angel hair and the red skin.  All you need is a pitchfork!” 

At this, Bakura burst out laughing.  “You forgot the horns and goat legs.” 

“Who is to say you aren’t hiding them beneath that robe and headscarf?” Marik shot back, embarrassed by his own outburst and the fact that he’d indirectly complimented Bakura’s hair. 

“That’s enough,” Bakura said, getting serious again.  “It doesn’t matter whether I set you up or not.  The fact of the matter is that you were too stupid to ask these questions before we left in the first place.  Now, will you join me or not?” 

Marik clenched his fists at the insult.  “Okay,” he ground out. 

“You swear?” 

“I swear.” 

“Then it is agreed.  We will find the sandglass together and go back in time to ancient Egypt to take out the Pharaoh before he knows we’re coming.” 

“What?  You said nothing about time travel!  Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to mess with time?  We could get stuck in the past or alter events so that we’re not born!” 

“So you actually believe it’s possible,” Bakura said.  “That’s a surprise.”    

“Of course, time travel itself is possible, but it’s impossible to alter the past to get the results you want without messing something else up in the process.  You could cause the end of the world as we know it!” 

“Oh, don’t be ridiculous.  How could the death of one evil pharaoh five thousand years ago cause the end of the world?” 

“Have you never heard of the butterfly effect?” 

“Are you talking about that bullshit theory that if a butterfly flaps its wings, it can cause a hurricane five hundred miles away?” 

Marik glowered.  “Fine,” he snapped, “if we all die, it’s your fault!” 

Bakura only chuckled and walked away.  “Come along,” he called, “the end of the world awaits!” 

“That’s not funny,” Marik mumbled, stumbling after him. 

Reviews

[Heather McKinlay]

This is good I am looking forward to reading the next chapters :)

[Sheik]

"Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!" - Pegasus

[Dennis]

This piece seems fairly well polished. The dialogue and the humor work together to make this chapter an entertaining read. You also did a good job providing a general characterization of Bakura and Marik as well as introducing the nature of the Bakura/Marik relationship without adding long back stories.

[Omegax45]

I like it so far. You've captured most of the character's personalities, and I've read a few fanfics of the series. Please continue.

[trueman]

pretty good writing, allison. my only comment would be to watch those 'ly' words, you usually don't need them if your verbs are strong. an example: 'stomping his foot in the sand angrily'. when someone 'stomps' it's presumed they must be angry so the modifier is redundant.
also: show, don't tell. an example 'marik glowered' and 'he snapped, is a 'tell' whereas his dialogue, 'if we all die, etc...' is a 'show'. re-read that line as 'fine. if we all die, it's your fault!' and you'll see that you don't even need the 'glowered' or the 'snapped.'

hope that helps a little.