Hello there! Thanks so much for showing interest in this little (okay, maybe not so little) fic we've got goin' on here. This is a Marik x OC romance fic, which is being co-authored by Ataahua and The Duelist's Heiress. The fic starts about a month before Battle City, while the sequel picks up around four years after Battle City ends.

Just a heads up, A'isha (the main OC in this fic) is also paired with Marik in Ataahua's alternate universe fic, Toying With My Emotions (the cheesy name is oh so regretted, trust me). In A Name: Act I has stemmed from The Duelist's Heiress posing the question: "How would A'isha and Marik work in the normal YGO universe?"

Without further ado, we hope you enjoy In A Name: Act I! :D

Prologue: A Freudian Slip

His eyes scanned the report on his desk, surprised at his own self-control considering something had not gone according to plan. He scanned the report for a name, vexed by the fact that whoever transcribed this needed to work on their penmanship.

He had already found his own name. That was the problem.

A smirk crossed his features as he found the one responsible for this Freudian Slip. He set the report aside to finger a golden object that lay on his lap. His hypnotic voice echoed softly with a lightly malicious rasp. "Bring Micheas to the Throne Room."

Beneath the darkness of a mauve hood, a cloaked figure glared down his nose at the trembling buffoon prostrated before him. Michaes crawled two feet closer. Three marble steps were all that separated him from the figure on the golden throne.

"It was a… a s-s-slip of the tongue!" Sweat beaded on his brow, his eyes darting anywhere but the lavender hue of the figure's. "I-I di-didn't intend for—"

"It doesn't matter." A cruel smirk curled across the figure's lips. "Someone who has avoided conviction as many times as you have should know that a mere slip of the tongue makes all the difference."

"P-Please, Master!" Michaes pressed his face to the marble floor, veins flaring in his eyes. "It-It won't happen again!"

An ominous chuckled echoed off empty walls. "You're right, fool." With narrowed eyes, the figure raised a golden sceptre, the unblinking eye engraved upon it glowing brighter by the second. "I'll make certain of that."

"No!" Michaes lurched upright, tears flying from his eyes. "M-Master! PLEASE—"

Agonised screams tore through the cavernous room, every corner and crevice engulfed by blinding light.

And when that light faded, Michaes slumped to the floor.

Still.

Soulless.

He was gone.

The figure traced a tan thumb across the golden eye on the sceptre. "One should know the cost of an infamous slip of the tongue," he murmured, his expression grave.

Seconds later, another cloaked figure stepped out from the shadows to bow before him. "Master Marik, should we send some Rare Hunters after the girl?"

A cunning smirk toyed with Marik's lips. "No, Odion." Glee danced in his lavender eyes. "I have something far more entertainingin mind…"