{{OOC}} A Background

[corruptphoenix]

Setup
Convincing Pegasus to tell her where the God Cards were and collecting all three before her brother, Isis brought the cards to Domino along with the tablet, just as Yuugi recovered from the Black Crown fire.

Presenting them to the pharaoh just after revealing he was a pharaoh, the other Yuugi attempted to regain his memories from the tablet, but the portion of the Ring Spirit, sensing it happening before the Millennium World trap was set, disrupted things. Instead the power of the God Cards clashed with the Puzzle, harming the pharaoh and the unknowing Yuugi. Instantly, even though it stayed in one piece, the lines between the pieces became visible on the Puzzle.

Yuugi ended up in the hospital, and had to be told by Anzu and Isis what happened, what the later knew of his other self's past. He tried to speak to the pharaoh about it, even slipped inside the Puzzle to talk. But the pharaoh's soul room was locked, and a black smoke kept seeping out from the crack under the door. Yuugi was left in a near constant coma (prolonging his hospital stay) to keep watch outside it, waiting for some answer or a sign what was wrong with his partner.

Whilst Asleep
Discovering the pharaoh had the God cards made this Marik more cautious, and he observed his vessel's hospital room, home, relations. Eventually he knew near-all Yuugi did, that the pharaoh was "missing", and thus that he had little to fear in making Yuugi reveal the rest. (He also had a run-in with a curious, currently frustrated spirit of the Ring, but his taunts of needing more than the Items and having a plan to wake the pharaoh back up kept him out of his way.)

Waiting for his sister to leave looking for him, Marik pilfered the God Cards and moved to test them himself. But when the tablet did nothing at all this time, he moved on to the next step: The Ghouls kidnapped Yuugi's three closest friends, their leader used the Rod on them, and had them wait in tablet's display room as he brought in a bound Yuugi. Holding him before the trio, he demanded to know how to use the cards. When he couldn't wouldn't say, Marik had his three friends swallow poisoned capsules, slowly one after the other, only telling Yuugi what they were after the last - Jounouchi - took his. And how they'd be dead in half an hour if he didn't give them an antidote. Have fun~!

Yuugi could only watch in increased horror as the poison set in, trying to convince Marik he knew nothing, not to get his friends involved. But Marik had considered this possibility, and pleas fell on death ears. If the vessel knew nothing, the pharaoh certainly would. All he had to do was force the spirit out, and if he had to crack the vessel's mind like an egg to force him out, so be it. And it didn't take too long, given the first to fall- Anzu collapsed.

And Yuugi's cries finally broke through.

Explosion
While his partner waited for him to awaken, then fell victim, the pharaoh's spirit wandered his ever growing labyrinth, his memories and sanity coming and going. By the time Marik attacked his awareness of being more than an extension of the Puzzle itself came and went, and things like his host's emotions could collapse it again instantly.

So his distress was trigger enough. Coming awake to find his host's emotions in shambles and Anzu dead? That just made him strike out with his powers without consideration. Lucky for Marik, his brother blocked the attack, but being suddenly facing a vengeful pharaoh the stolen cards did nothing about and handicapped by a Rishid staggering under harassment from people certainly not there? He had to retreat. 

Especially since his control over Jounouchi was tenuous to begin with, and once distracted he broke out of his control, dragged the mindless Honda out of the museum, and set off the alarm in the process (both men survived, though the effects on Honda were permanent). But he justified it as for the best- The alarm would do nothing to him, as he could use his Rod to get passed any guards, get away and use his stolen cards to rise in the dueling world, and stall the pharaoh with Ghouls until he was ready to face him again.   

Aftermath
Trouble is, the pharaoh had no qualms about cutting down anything in his path now, and with that his own powers became all the more obvious. His hunt to stop the man who thwarted his attempts to move forward, killed his friend, and threatened his host was all that mattered.

Even Yuugi himself wouldn't stop it. He was torn on what he did to Rishid, but seeing his other self drive innocent guards to attack priceless museum pieces as would-be trespassers was too much. Unfortunately, the damaged, pushed pharaoh saw his compassion as nothing but a risk to them both, and Yuugi found himself locked inside his own soul room, his protests dismissed by the self-assurance that the spirit was doing this to protect him. He could have his body back when there were no Ghouls to hurt him.

Even if that meant hunting down and destroying every one of them.

Which has been nearly the case, as he followed the bread crumbs Marik left for him, facing each Ghoul in his path, demanding direction on where to go, then driving them to insanity. Or worse. In the end, Rishid, those guards, and the user of Exodia who slowed him at the museum exit were lucky to find their minds alone effected. When the magician Pandora deemed to stall him near the river along with steal his Dark Magician? The illusion of his lost love lured him into the water, and the disappointment of reality stole the will to save himself.

By the time Kaiba Seto caught up with him, he found a man ruthless- taking no enjoyment in his punishments but not batting an eye when he dished out failure on the masked pair that challenged them. Unfortunately, the other Yuugi incited a fight between the losing Ghouls that ended in the Mask of Light's death, and Kaiba couldn't recover fast enough to notice the pharaoh disappear again.

Hours later, he was walking into the pier outside Domino Marik left from, about to face The Doll. Instead he wandered into the Dressing Room.