AN: This chapter starts with the Ceremonial Duel arc and then goes post-series. Since the fic is now following the manga timeline, Marik hasn't seen Yugi-tachi between when he left for Egypt and the Ceremonial Duel.

So! This is the last chapter! The very end of this chapter is actually the very first thing I wrote for this fic, so I've had this ending planned out for a long time...so I hope you like it.

Marik was surprised when Yugi and his friends showed up in Egypt and found him. His shock grew as they explained to him what had happened- Bakura had come back and managed to raise the evil entity Zorc. And then Yugi and his companions had destroyed Zorc, finally defeating Bakura and collecting all of the Millennium items.

Marik tried to keep his features blank as he regarded Yugi and his idiot friends. Bakura had been...alive? And nobody had told him? Well, of course nobody had told him. He'd been here in Egypt, feeling sorry for himself. And it hadn't really been very long since Marik had gotten his body back and returned here. And it was quite obvious that during his time in Egypt, everyone had had more important things to worry about than contacting him and letting him know what was going on.

Marik realized that they were still talking to him, and he returned his attention to the conversation as Yugi and his friends told him about the battle. They told him that Bakura was finally gone for good and would never be a threat to anyone again. They said this as if he should have been happy about that fact. Bakura had been alive, and he hadn't even known...and now Bakura really was gone. He tried to shove down the pain he felt. He'd already been assuming that Bakura was gone forever...nothing was really different now, was it?

Yugi and his friends continued talking, and eventually they asked Marik to take them to the place where the Ceremonial Duel was to be held. Marik knew exactly what the Ceremonial Duel meant. They would have to seal away the Millennium items, as they had planned, and then the items could never be used again. And if the duel went as it was supposed to, the Pharaoh would finally die and move on to the afterlife.

The Pharaoh...dead. Marik felt a jolt of happiness. Eliminating the Pharaoh was what he and Bakura had both wanted for so long. For once, Marik felt no qualms about helping Yugi and his friends. He was glad to lead them to the place where Yugi and the Pharaoh would conduct the duel that would finally end the Pharaoh's long life.

When Zorc was destroyed, Bakura had felt a ripping pain, and then the feeling of being flung off somewhere. After several moments of confusion, he eventually came to his senses and realized what had happened. Upon the destruction of Zorc, his soul had been cast aside. Now that Zorc was gone, his soul was no longer connected to the fragment of Zorc's soul that had been in the Ring with him.

His spirit floated there for a few moments, and then he felt a pull, one that he remembered feeling once before. Of course. Now that his soul was free again, he'd be drawn back into the Ring, just as he had when Marik's dark personality had been defeated.

Darkness enveloped him, and he knew that he was back in his familiar prison. What would happen to him now? Was it possible that Ryou would find him again? Where were the rest of the Millennium items? Did Yugi and his friends have them all? If so, what would they do with them?

He had no answers. All he could do was wait, alone in the blackness. Again.

Marik bid goodbye to Yugi and his friends. Yugi had won the duel, and that meant that the Pharaoh was well and truly dead. Finally. The entire place had actually collapsed, burying the now-powerless Millennium items. The Pharaoh was gone, and nobody would ever use the Millennium items again.

Once he was alone, Marik spoke aloud. "Bakura...if your soul still exists out there somewhere...I hope this brings you some peace."

He knew it was stupid and sentimental, but he couldn't keep himself from crying a little.

Suddenly, there was another pull, and then there was light. Bakura's spirit was outside the Ring, and he could see the world around him. What had happened? Why had he been released?

But then he saw it- hundreds of souls all around him, rising up into the firmament. He knew them. They were his people- the people from his village that had been killed so very long ago.

"What happened?" he asked them.

Calls of "We're free!" echoed all around him.

"But how?" Bakura asked, as he watched them ascend away from him, moving on to the afterlife.

"The Pharaoh has finally perished, and the items made from our deaths are buried and powerless!" an ethereal voice called.

The items were inactive now. That explained why Bakura had been released from the Ring- it no longer had any power.

"The Pharaoh is dead!" other voices called joyfully, as they continued to rise towards the heavens.

"Both Pharaohs are dead, and the father has opened the way to the afterlife for us!" they chorused. "Our tormentors have paid and live no more!"

"Thank you for all you tried to do for us, Bakura," a voice said.

"There are some things you shouldn't have- but no matter. You only wanted to free us," another voice said.

Bakura stared around in wonder, unable to speak.

"The items no longer have any power!" some other voices called in unison.

"We can be used no longer!"

"Finally free!"

Bakura listened as his people called out, and happiness coursed through him. This was all he had wanted...maybe he hadn't been able to achieve it by himself, but without his actions, it probably never would have happened at all.

He waited, expecting to rise along with his people and move into the afterlife. But it didn't happen. They all lifted away from him, continuing to call happily down to him, until they disappeared beyond the clouds.

Then, darkness again. But it was brief. Bakura opened his eyes. Was this it? Was he in the afterlife? But this didn't look like any kind of afterlife...this looked like Egypt. He looked down at himself. A body. The same body he'd had when he was last alive.

He stood up and felt the ground underneath his feet. Did he really have a physical body again? But...why?

He heard a new voice, this one sounding as if it was speaking from very far away. He recognized that voice...it was someone important...he searched his memory trying to place it.

"I cannot stay long, for I am being pulled towards my final destiny," the voice said. It was very faint. "But I will explain what has happened, brother. You never died a natural death- your body has never died- so you cannot go to the afterlife yet. You are alive. So now you may live out your life. May it be filled with happiness until you depart from this world in the natural way. We'll be waiting for you..." The voice of his sister faded out and was gone.

Bakura stood in shock, his eyes wide.

Then, suddenly, he felt lighter than he could ever remember feeling in all his many years of existence. His vengeance quest was over- there was no more he needed to do. The Pharaoh was dead, the Millennium items were inactive, and the spirits of the people from his village were finally at rest. His soul was no longer merged with Zorc's. He was completely himself again, and he had his own body. He now felt free of his past, for justice had been done, even if it hadn't happened in the way he had expected it. All his bitterness and anger fell away from him, and was replaced by a sense of peace.

For a while, he simply stood, face turned to the sky, and enjoyed the feeling. And then he thought of Marik. And that made him realize that there was something he needed to do. Something he should have done a long time ago. And now, now that he was free of all his past burdens, he finally could.

Ryou had said that Marik was living in Egypt...hopefully he was still here. Ryou...he would want to find him eventually, as well. Ryou had been like a brother to him, he suddenly realized. He had a lot for which to thank Ryou. And he would. But first, he wanted to go to Marik.

And so he set off to find him.

Marik heard the door open. He jumped up from where he'd been sitting and turned to see who had entered- and came face to face with Bakura.

"Bakura...you're..."

Marik looked stunned for a moment, unable to believe his own eyes. He took a few steps forward as Bakura drew near.

"I told you I'd always find my way back to you," Bakura said with a lopsided smile.

Marik threw himself into Bakura's arms. Bakura returned the embrace, then pulled back a little to look Marik in the eyes.

"I needed to tell you..." started Bakura. He paused briefly, a soft look coming over his face as he prepared to finally say the words that he had never been able to say before. "I love you, Marik."

Marik's eyes were shining with tears as he pulled Bakura into a tight hug.

"Where have you been, partner?" Marik whispered. "Tell me the tales of your adventures."

AN: Obviously, they lived happily ever after.

Alright, so that's the end! Thanks to Individually Packaged for being my beta throughout this fic. Also thanks to Lady Blackwell, who did the beta on a few chapters. And thanks to SuperSteffy, who did a beta on this fic after it was posted!

And thanks to everyone who has read, favorited, or reviewed! Reading all your reviews has really made me happy. I hope you enjoyed the ending, and the fic overall. If you get a chance, please review and let me know your thoughts! And if you've made it this far, and you enjoyed the fic, please favorite!