Author's Note: Alrighty. This was a product of an email that was done based off of Twitter roleplay. Half of it is mine, and I decided it might be worth giving a shot as a stand alone fanfic. Despite the fact that it is based on our roleplay character and how we have developed them, that fact should not distract anyone too much.

For slight explanation, Mr. Tweetums is Yami Marik's pet owl, and Khalid is a child that the Ishtar's took in and adopted. Also, there will be a slight mention of a mark of the Seal of Orichalcos on Yami Marik's hand. Our canon had an event that involved him being tortured and branded by the Orichalcos in order to be made a host. Yami Marik survived, but the event did traumatize him.

Oooother than that it shouldn't be very difficult to keep up. Hope you enjoy~


It was the first time he'd moved in almost twelve hours.

Twelve hours since the Yami found him. Since he'd sifted through the mass of branches and found his pet among the debris. It sounded so pitiful if he thought of it. He could certainly tell how he looked to his Hikari, his family. He could see the absolute and total sympathy in their faces. He hated that. He hated that he must have looked like the loneliest man in the world as he clung to the small creature at his breast. He'd poured all that he was capable of into the animal, and now it was gone.

He went to his room without a word, never breaking from the small owl. Not once.

He hadn't said a word since.

He had only reluctantly left his animal now to attempt to clean himself up. To shake himself from the sudden sorrow, the emotion that he allowed himself to feel. In truth, though, he'd had absolutely no choice in the matter. He'd been hurt. Deeply. This was the first loss he had ever had, where he found himself feeling as though something in himself was lost, as well.

He had taken a long shower, until all the hot water had drained, and even longer still, hoping the icy water would wake him up from his melancholy. He was just climbing out, looking in the fridge for something to fill his empty stomach with, reluctantly. He wasn't actually feeling any hunger.

Khalid, hearing Yami Marik out in the kitchen, smiled to himself. This was the first time the man had come out of his room in days and he didn't seem as if he were going back in there for at least a few minutes. It was the perfect time to put his plan into action.

Well, "plan" might be giving his idea a little too much credit. It was more of a vaguely-formed idea that the boy had come up with from his good intentions, though without too much actual thought-not for lack of effort. The mastermind behind this was a child, after all. Khalid had seen funerals on television before and, seeing Yami Marik's grief, thought he knew the best way to give some closure to the owl's death. He had a shoebox hidden under his bed that the young owl's body would fit just right in, and he was sure that digging a small hole and putting a few flowers on top of a makeshift grave would be easy enough. He hoped to surprise-and even please-the tall, foreboding man with the weird hair who was such a mystery to the child. Only now was he getting the chance to grab the body for the little funeral, though.

It wasn't until he had scrambled upstairs and was running back down with the dead bird in his hands that he realized that his idea might not have been the greatest. This happened to occur to him the very moment he bumped right into Yami Marik.

Marik hadn't seen him coming. No food had looked appealing to him, and he was adjusting the tie to his sweatpants as he moved down the hall. He knew he would have to get the body of his bird out soon, but the idea of moving Mr. Tweetums at all, it felt as though that would be his final insult. That would be him giving up on his bird. And he had never done that. Not while he was training him, not while the bird was lost to him, never. His mind, lost to the grief, dared to hope that so long as the bird remained with him, there was hope he would somehow it would wake up, and the nightmare would be over. Or Yami Marik would, himself.

But that was a silly notion. Yami Marik couldn't even dream, nightmares or any other. This was all too real for him.

But, before he could further push himself into the recess of self-pity and grief, he was jolted by the bump of the small child. Normally, when this happened, he wouldn't give the boy a second glance. But his lavender eyes chanced to look down, meeting the figure that Khalid held in his small and stubby fingers.

It took him a moment to react, just staring in shock, all of his few emotions he had access to flashing around in his mind as he double-took from the boy to the bird, over and over.

Khalid slowly raised his eyes to look at the imposingly tall man who was looking at him so strangely. A shaky smile made its way to his face as he held the bird just a bit higher as in offering. Oops. Caught in the act. His voice was even quieter than usual as he said a heart-sinkingly incriminating "...uh-I-surprise..?"

Something snapped in Yami Marik's brain. A need to release some sort of anger on something hit him, like a punch in the gut. His bird was dead, something he had never guessed would happen. Someone had let him out, into a storm, to crumple to his death unceremoniously and without any dignity. And he had no one to blame. No one to release his anger onto, anger that was boiling him from the inside out.

It was only a matter of time before it was released.

Yami Marik snatched the bird, sickeningly stiff to hold, clutching it as he shoved the boy back like he was on fire. "What," he growled, eyes ablaze, "do you think you're doing!"

Khalid gasped at the contact, his little body stumbling back easily until his back hit the wall. "N-nothing!" he stammered. "I was just-I thought-I'm sorry!" He didn't know what his crime was, but he had always tried to be polite in his new family's home, and apology was obviously the better option than to fight against this hulk of a man-or so he appeared to be to the elementary-schooler. "All I-" He shut his mouth quickly before it got him in even deeper trouble.

Yami Marik was gentle with the owl as he set him aside, snarling audibly, his teeth bared, anger practically emulating from him. He clenched his fists as he began to step closer to the small boy, fist pulled back, ready to beat the child until his fists turned bloody.

"No one is supposed to touch him!" he cried, his nails digging into his palms as he clenched his fists tightly, until his knuckles turned white.

Khalid ducked with a cry, his hands splayed protectively in front of him in preparation for what would apparently be a sudden beating. He cowered with his eyes clenched shut for several long seconds of silence before he finally allowed one eye to peek out from between his fingers. Then the other. He slowly lowered his hands, breathing fast and still spooked, but he burst into a relieved grin when he realized that the humongous form of Odion, seemingly out of nowhere, was standing protectively in front of him.

"Marik." Odion's deep voice seemed to Khalid as if it were booming from on high. "Don't you dare touch the child."

But the Yami's fist was already swinging in momentum, a sharp blow landing right into Odion's stomach.

Alright. Change of plans, but hey, who was he to judge the hands of fate? His eyes were bloodshot as his fist collided with the other's body. "I'll do what I damn well please," he said, softly enough to be uncharacteristic but loud enough to be heard.

Odion doubled over, catching himself before he fell right on Khalid. "Khalid," he muttered before grunting in pain. "Go."

The nervous boy didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled to his feet and dashed off to his own room. He felt guilty already about Odion getting hurt for something he'd done, but there was nothing he could do about it now but to obey.

Once the child was safely out of the room, Odion stood up, glaring at Yami Marik before grabbing his still-clenched fist. "Not to an Ishtar," he said flatly in delayed reply.

Yami Marik was quick to yank his hand away, but in the iron grip, he found himself suddenly stumbling back a few steps. His eyes narrowed into angry, blazing slits. "He's not an Ishtar. He's some kid we felt bad for. He's not a part of this family any more than I am. Than you are."

Odion could think of several retorts for that. "I was an Ishtar long before you were even a dream in my brother's head" came to mind. So did "He and I were brought into this family by choice," "I'm legally an Ishtar. You don't even legally exist," and the arguably more eloquent punch-in-the-jaw sort of answer. But real power restrained itself. Teeth clenched, Odion clamped his hands around Yami Marik's upper arms to pin them to his side. "That's irrelevant. He's under our protection now. Don't lay a hand on him."

Yami Marik jolted as he felt the hands suddenly lock him in place, his first instinct to thrash around wildly to try to break the hold. "Odion, I've got a lot of pent-up anger, so if you have an self-preservation, you'll let go of my arms right now, before I rip yours off."

"What are you going to do if I let go?" Odion asked, trying to sound calm. As bad as it would be for Yami Marik to continue to attack Odion himself, it would be worse to let him loose on Khalid again. He kept his grip on the teenager firm.

"I never pegged you as being that clueless." Marik's eyes were growing angrier by the moment. His limbs shook, desperate to let his increasing rage release itself onto something. To be destructive. To cause chaos.

Odion's gaze hardened, holding onto his arms tighter to still the shaking and nearly lifting him in the process. "Calm down."

"Let. Go." He was reaching his limit, threatening to boil over, the pot jumping up and down wildly in his stomach. The clock ticked on his time-bomb, his sight glossing over with red. "Let go right now," he said, his words coming out as more of a monstrous snarl than anything else.

Odion kept holding Yami Marik in place wordlessly. What else was there to do but to wait for him to calm?

But the latter had had enough. More than enough. With a snarl, he shoved his entire body toward Odion, tackling him down in an instant, eyes ablaze. "I told you to let go," he said with a monstrous growl. Angry, hurt, and looking for a window to vent through to, he slammed his fist against Odion's cheek, hearing a satisfying cracking sound.

Odion's head whipped back with the force of the punch as he grunted in pain. He struggled to regain his grip on the younger man, paying no mind to his injuries yet. All that mattered now was keeping Yami Marik in check. Waiting for his head to clear, he said in as neutral a voice as possible, "Why are you hitting me, Marik. What do you think it'll accomplish."

The assailant only snarled louder. All of his usual restraint gone, all of his animal instincts taking over. "Other than making me laugh like a maniac, not much." Marik grinned madly at his own reference, proud of himself for his quick-wit. "But it's enough."

He punched him again. And it felt good. All of his pent-up anger flowed through him in full force. All of his passive-aggressive distaste was suddenly landing behind the blows in all out hatred.

Whatever Odion was planning on replying was cut off with the first blow. Odion was the stronger, true, but he was having a hard time even seeing straight with Marik's repeated, crazed punches. He eventually just held his hands up in front of him as a barrier until spots stopped appearing before his eyes. He needed to think straight before acting rashly-he definitely didn't want to set Marik off even more. But it was so hard to come up with a plan of action when his brother's other self kept hitting him!

The darker half of Marik's blows were moving faster and faster, catching the sight of blood on one of his knuckles. His grin only widened. Oh, yeah. That looked good. He wanted more. More and more. His blows kept up, ignoring everything that he had been striving so hard to achieve: trust in his family, maturing from his old ways, becoming someone more than Marik's darkness. It didn't seem to matter. All that mattered right now, was more blood. More pain. More vengeance.

Odion had a fairly high pain threshold but eventually was succumbing to inky-black unconsciousness, or maybe worse. He struggled to sit up-to even move-anything to defend himself and keep Marik at bay-to protect Khalid-but... he was helpless. He groaned as he gave in to the pull of tiredness and pain and relinquished his hold on consciousness.

Yami Marik didn't stop there. He found that he couldn't stop there. He growled as he continued to pound his fists repeatedly against Odion's skull, hearing cracks and breaks and feeling more and more blood eek onto his fists. And with the more blood he saw, the angrier he became.


It was half an hour or so later that the hikari Marik arrived home. Emily was safe in her storage cell a block or two away-just in case his yami felt the urge to "borrow" her again-and it was a hot, sunny day out. Marik's favourite kind. He smiled to himself as he stepped in the door and pulled off the tie he wore from time to time to feel more adult. "Ishizu? Odion?" he called. "I'm back. Are you guys home?"

Yami Marik snapped his head up, his eyes suddenly wide and panicked. "Oh, crap."

It had taken him a long while to fully understood what he had done. Maybe twenty minutes of panting and glaring at Odion's dead and mutilated body, his face practically crushed in. Yami Marik had naturally been quite shocked. He was deprived of remorse, a consequence of his birth, but... shocked.

He stared at the body for a very long time. After a long time, he suddenly realized that, by all logic, he had done something very wrong. Not only had he broken his own newly established rule to stop his killing sprees, but he had also killed one of the most important people in his Hikari's life.

The same Hikari he was striving so hard to become close to. To have trust him.

Needless to say, he was absolutely screwed.

So, Yami Marik had gathered the body in his arms, putting it in the dead man's room, carefully placing a sheet over it. He was careful to hide it from Khalid, quietly telling the boy that everything was alright, but to remain in his room. He then made his way back to the living room, and was fruitlessly trying to clean up the blood. He had absolutely no idea what he was going to do, but the least he could now was clean up.

When he heard his Hikari enter the door, though, he stopped right in his tracks, frozen in place. Terrified.

Hearing no answer, Marik frowned for a minute but remembered that Odion's car had been absent from the driveway. So Ishizu or Odion or both might have been out. Shrugging to himself, he pulled off his jacket and put it on a coat hook, nice and neat, before making his way to his room. Hopefully his yami was out too, and not messing around with Khalid. He wasn't allowed to talk with the kid unsupervised, and he had been on such good behavior lately, but... Marik always worried. A healthy sort of worry. Passing Khalid's room, he knocked on the door.

"Hey, Khalid? Are you there?"

There was a pause before the kid's quiet voice replied, "Yes.."

Marik grinned. "All right, I wanted to make sure. Did everything go okay while I was gone? My yami wasn't here to bug you, right?"

"I-I..." Khalid sounded surprisingly shaken up. "He-yes, but your brother's here too. He helped and everything's fine now. Th-thanks."

"...What? What did he do? He didn't hurt you or anything, did he?"

Inside his room, Khalid bit his lip. He wasn't supposed to be making waves. If he got the scarier Marik in trouble... well, it didn't seem like a great idea. "No. Everything's okay, thank you."

Marik was frowning by now. "All right." Thinking for a minute, he spun around and abandoned his course to his room. He wanted to make sure that his yami hadn't done anything truce-breaking. To be honest, he didn't think he had-maybe that "trust" thing his yami was always yammering about lately actually had something to it-but better safe than sorry.

"Yami?" he started calling out once he got a bit further from Khalid's room. "Yami, are you here? I need to talk to you about something."

Yami Marik swallowed audibly. Holy Ra, he was so dead. Worse than dead. It was going to be terrible. He knew it was going to be terrible. But what else could he do? The deed had been done, there was no turning back. He couldn't even feel bad about it. He could only stand, and face his punishment. No doubt death would be an option.

"...I'm here, Marik."

Following his voice, Marik came into the living room, mouth open for a question and probably a long lecture about leaving Khalid alone. He never got that far.

"Yami-! What the hell happened here?"

Yami Marik pursed his lips, hanging his head. It wasn't out of shame, of course. It was more out of apology, the only sign of respect he could give. He frowned, looking back up and meeting Marik eye-to-eye.

"I did something bad."

"What KIND of something." Marik's eyes roamed around the room, taking in all the blood. "Geez, did you kill another neighbor? Yami," he groaned. "I thought you were done with that! Do you know how long this is going to take me to clean up?"

"Marik, I was upset. I got out of control. I didn't mean to..." he trailed off. This was bad. Very bad.

"Ugh. Go get some bleach. Did anyone see you? Who was it-did they have family in town or anything?" Marik hated when his yami did this. He was always so impulsive and thoughtless. Sure, he hadn't been caught by the law yet, but if they didn't cover his tracks right, it would only be a matter of time.

"...Odion's dead." That was it. That was all he could say. He clenched his fists beside him, trying to focus on this no doubt last moment of peace.

"...What," Marik said flatly, his eyes snapping up to look at his yami's. He'd heard him fine, but-no, no, he couldn't have. No. He was making another idiotic prank of his.

"I swear, Marik, I didn't plan to do it. I just... he got me so angry. He tried to calm me down, but it only made me angrier..."

Yami Marik watched his Hikari's actions, frowning, trying to understand what was happening in his mind. He didn't believe him. That would pass quickly enough.

Marik's breath started to go uneven and his eye twitched. "Yami." He swallowed and clenched and unclenched his fists. "You're joking. Tell me you're joking or I swear by everything sacred, I'm going to-"

He cut himself off, swallowing again. There was no point in going on with that sentence because obviously his yami was lying so he wouldn't need to follow through with anything. He took a deep breath, unaware that his eyes were dilating to pinpricks. There was an explanation for this. He wouldn't let his yami get to him. He wouldn't believe him. No chance. Odion was fine, everything was fine.

Yami Marik shook his head, watching Marik's reaction, time seeming to slow down.

"I'm not joking. I murdered Odion. He's dead. I've done something terrible, and I lost my temper and went out of control, and now he's gone."

"No. N-no. You can't-no." He just stared at his yami at first, frozen, before stumbling back and twisting his head around, clattering out of the living room and shouting. "Odion? Odion! Come here! Where are you?" He took a breath before snatching at the phone on the wall. He barely used this thing... "Yami? What's Odion's cellular phone number?" he yelled back to him, staring at the phone shaking in his hands. By now, he'd forgotten everything Khalid had said about Odion having been home-or maybe he was just choosing not to remember...

The darker half sighed, dropping the rags in his hand, trying to decide if he should humor the boy or not. "Marik..." he said softly, suddenly moving slowly to grasp his Hikari's shoulders, looking him square in the eye, biting his lip, sighing, all those different gestures one would make when they had to break some very, very bad news to someone.

"Go check in his room."

Marik's first instinct was to recoil, shove his yami away, and deliberately rebel. He indulged himself in the former two out of habit-truce or no, he didn't like his yami that close without his permission. But if his yami was telling him to check-maybe he was giving up his farce without a fight.

"Fine," he snapped at him. "But if he's not there, we're calling him right away."

Yami Marik swallowed, releasing his hold as he waited for Marik to discover the body. He slumped tiredly against the wall, stuffing his hands into his pockets. What else could he do but wait? Run, possibly. Go get Ishizu might have been another option. But he had no idea where she was, and running away would probably only make the situation worse. Besides, Yami Marik was no coward

Marik hurried to his brother's room, pausing outside of it to knock politely for no reason except habit. Hearing no answer, he opened the door a bit. "Odion? Are you in there?"

There was still no answer. Frowning, he pushed open the door mor...e and stepped through. "Odi-"

He saw the sheet. He saw the outline of the man's body under it. And he suddenly realized he wouldn't be able to pretend anymore. Hesitating, he braced himself for what he knew he had to do to satisfy curiosity. Maybe-maybe it wasn't really-him...

Of course, all doubt went out of his mind when he peeled back the sheet from his brother's corpse.

Odion's face was battered and crushed. It would have been barely recognizable to most anyone other than Marik-the hieroglyphs carved on his face completely illegible now-features twisted.

"O-Odion..." He took the body in his hands, wrapping his arms around the broad shoulders and squeezing dead man's head tilted away from his touch, already stiffening by now. "Wake... up..." Tears were springing from his eyes. "Brother..."

He knew what he ought to be doing, that he ought to be raging at his yami, screaming and hurting him and making sure he couldn't hurt an Ishtar again-kicking him out, or even killing him, it would make sense to, after all-but the only feeling he could muster up was complete grief.

Forget his yami.

He clutched the body tighter, sobbing into it now and saying his brother's name over and over.

He was going to stay right here beside Odion.

Yami Marik waited for what seemed like hours.

At this point, he just wanted his punishment already. He wanted to be hurt, or even killed. Even without the guilt, this meant something so much more than just a simple murder to him. This wasn't... just a killing. This was... death. Cold, stiff, death. And not just the death of an Ishtar, a family member, a constant in all their lives, but death of so many other things. The darker half would never have any inkling of a hope for Marik's trust now. His experiment had failed. Not simply that he couldn't just get it from Marik, but if he couldn't even instill it in him, he would never be able to in anything else successfully.

Without trust, there couldn't be true care. And without care, there couldn't be... love.

And that was what Yami Marik wanted most of all. He wanted to love something. He didn't even seek out romantic love, but if he could learn to love his Hikari, then he was able to find something to love in himself, as well.

But that dream was dead.

In essence, his only hope's life had faded the moment Odion's did.

Marik was a murderer.

First his father. Then his brother.

Yes, he'd killed others in his time as leader of the Rare Hunters, but those deaths didn't matter to him. None of those people were his friends, much less family. These deaths were betrayals. Murders.

"Father-killer..."

His father he had reason to kill. But Odion... How could he kill someone he loved so, so much?

Brother-killer...

He was a monster...

His yami. His yami was the monster. These murders were all his yami's fault-but... he had been the one to make his yami. He was responsible for him-Marik had always been the only one to blame in the end...

His arms were numb after being left in the same position for so long. Regretfully, he disentangled his arms from around Odion, staring at his eyes-where his eyes would be, if they were whole, anyway... His stomach churned at the sight. "I'm coming back, brother," he reassured him before pecking an uncharacteristic kiss on his brow and standing up shakily.

He was responsible for... everything his yami did.

He didn't know how to end it. But he knew he had to. For-for Odion. And for the rest of his family. To protect them from Marik.

He felt his eye twitch again as he slowly left Odion's room and walked back to where he had left his yami.

He didn't attack. Didn't scream. He knew all that was inside him somewhere, waiting to come out in furious, bloody, righteous veangeance. But all he could do was... stare.

For once, he had absolutely no idea what to do to his yami.

Yami Marik felt his own numb limbs suddenly stiffen, bracing himself for whatever was to come. But he found himself suddenly confused. His Hikari didn't seem to want to do anything to him. He was just standing there. This was... weird to say the least.

He gave Marik another chance, just staring straight back, not moving, letting his other half do as he pleased to him. It didn't matter anyway. Besides, he was morbidly curious as to what Marik would actually choose to do to him.

After a few moments of eye contact, Marik just put his hand to his face, closing his eyes tiredly. "Yami..." his voice broke, the threat of tears still behind them. "Tell me. What should I do.

"Should I try to kill you? We both know you deserve it. But if we fought, you'd probably win. And it's not like either of us can kill off part of ourselves and go on living like normal. But I can't-I can't not-" His throat was almost too tight to speak.

"Do you-do you even realize what this means, yami? Do you at least have enough humanity in you for that? To understand how damn wrong it was to even touch him? Not just 'bad'..." His voice was steadily rising in volume, even though he didn't realize it.

"Do you know just how much this matters, yami? How even if we were able to leave each other alone after this, we'd still have to pass by his empty room every day, go through his books to see which ones to throw away like yesterday's trash, explain to Khalid where he went, never have him pick either of us up in his car on a rainy day, never see him sitting in the corner reading as you watch television, never just take walks with each other to enjoy his presence, never know that no matter how much trouble I get into or how much help we need, he's always be there to pick me up-" He didn't want to cry in front of his yami. It was girly and... and, did it even matter anymore? He couldn't stop the tears anyway. "Can you even begin to comprehend how much I love my brother?"

"...No."

Yami Marik spoke truthfully. And the truth hurt him terribly. He felt a lump of his own form in his throat, his mouth going dry. No, he had absolutely no idea. He couldn't even try. He had failed in that department, right. Like a vault that had shut tight. No, he didn't know how much Marik had loved Odion.

He wished he did. He wished the raw emotional pain would rack onto his body, like he knew it was his Hikari's. That was what he was for. To take Marik's pain away. But he couldn't. They were separate now. No matter how much he tried, Marik would be left alone in his torment.

And Yami Marik would have no inkling of how much his Hikari loved their brother.

Marik wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to calm down.

"You're... you're an animal. A dumb animal. You don't understand why things are right or wrong, do you? If a rabid dog gets loose and bites someone, it's not the dog's fault, it's the owner's. All you've done is... what I made you to do..."

Yami Marik flinched visibly at that, his Seal of Orichalcos giving a sharp and painful throb. He clutched it with one hand, gritting his teeth. That had hurt. Orichalcos had called him a dog, as well. Did it hurt because of the memory, or because that was what he really was.

He didn't reply, only let Marik continue on in his tirade. It was the very least he deserved. And by least, he meant a papercut when he deserved to have his arm cut off. Maybe even more than that.

Marik ran the same hand through his hair. "I wasn't being rhetorical when I asked you what we should do. I don't know what to do with you, yami. I'm responsible for everything you do, but I've lost control of you..."

"I don't know, Marik." Yami Marik was always at few words when he was hurting. He spoke as little as possible. Maybe it was a trait he had picked up from Odion. Wouldn't that be amusing.

"...I won't fight if you try to kill me."

He looked up quickly at that, genuinely surprised. "Why-?" He shook his head. "I don't like you, yami. I completely hate you sometimes. But... even after this... I don't think I'd be able to kill you with my own hands." His laughter was accompanied with another eye twitch. "That truce of yours... ha ha." A grin slowly spread itself onto his face as he kept laughing, all his composure dissolving into giggles for a good minute before he sucked in breath and managed to talk again. "You've sure put me in a rough spot-getting me right to the point where I stop hating you-and now this-exactly when I stop expecting it, you go and pull this, ha ha ha..."

Swallowing hard, his expression no longer matching the laughter that still trickled out from him, he added, "Ishizu... Where's Ishizu."

Yami Marik watched the whole display, his eyes wide, actually taking a step back before he was up against the wall. He shook his head with an audible gulp. He hadn't planned it like this. Did Marik honestly think he was that good? Th...at he planned anything? He didn't understand what was going on, but something seemed very, very wrong here.

The question, and the whole new expression, caught him off-guard. "I-I don't know." Was hestammering? "She's not here. She's safe." He wasn't sure if he should dare to ask why he suddenly wanted to know her whereabouts.

He sucked in more air. "Good. I'll be the one to call her... I guess... She'll know what to do. And she gets just as much say as I do about-what to do with you. But..." He looked up at his yami again, suddenly needing help, abandoning revenge for the moment in hope of guidance. "Ra, Yami, how am I supposed to tell her that I just killed the only person she has left?"

Yami Marik's head snapped up, his eyes flashing once again. "I. Am. Not. You. So shut up! You didn't kill Odion, I did! I'm not your fucking imaginary friend anymore, I'm my own person! If you want to punish me, punish me, but... don't tell me you did this. I did this! I chose to do it, not you! We both are responsible for the murders of our father, that much is true. You planted the idea into your brain until it grew and grew and grew into me. But I chose to act on it! And I chose to act on this now! I'm not Harley! I'm not some dog you get to smack on the rear and say 'bad boy' to. I am a human-"

He cut himself off there, his shaking hands clenching into fists. "I'm..." He shook his head, sniffing loudly. It suddenly dawned on him, all of the words from his tirade crumpling into dust, fluttering away into the wind, pointless.

"...Tell her that you're sorry."

Marik stared at him during the entire rant, letting the words fly over his already emotion-laden head without too much care. At the end, he stood up, nodding slowly. "All right." He walked over to the phone again, picking it up and looking at it dully for a bit before holding it up to his darkness.

"...How do you call her again?"

Yami Marik's hands were still trembling slightly as he took the phone in his hands, whether from anger or sadness, he wasn't sure. He tried to dial, cursing softly as his hands slipped against the numbers. "Damn it," he growled in frustration, only to have his hand slip again, making him angrier. He clenched his fists against the phone, suddenly slamming it against the table, taking a moment to try to steady himself, knowing he'd more than likely broken off a button or two.

Luckily for the household appliance, the knob started to turn, and Ishizu, humming gently to herself, was starting to enter the house.

Marik, paying little attention to his yami's bit of rage (for all he knew, that's how you were supposed to fix phones), was the first to hear the door open. He scrambled away from his yami and towards the front door. "Ishizu-!" he cried. Suddenly he realized how much he needed her arms wrapped around him, like she used to do when they were younger and he needed comforting.

Ishizu blinked in surprise, sensing immediately her brother's distress, even if she didn't understand where it had come from. It didn't matter, anyway. Her first priority was to her brother. "Marik?" She was quick to pull him into her arms,... even though he was slightly taller and obviously stronger than her. Her arms wrapped around him tightly, enveloping her maternal warmth around him.

Yami Marik watched, sighing tiredly, wiping his face. His eyes trailed over to where Mr. Tweetums still sat, cold and lifeless. He couldn't help but envy the warmth that his other half was now receiving.

"I-Ishizu!" Marik said, at first clinging to her embrace but pulling away almost immediately out of guilt. If he put off telling her for a single second... That would be hiding it from her, and that would make him as bad as his yami. "O-Odion... Yami killed him!" He pinched his eyes shut and wrapped his own arms around himself nervously, frightened beyond thought at what her reaction would be.

Ishizu was very still, for a long, long moment. But she didn't doubt it. No, Marik wouldn't kid about things like that. And, really, this wouldn't be the first dreadful murder she had heard of from the Ya...mi. Not by a long shot. She could almost count herself blessed, in some horrible way. She hadn't had to watch this one happen.

"Odion... is dead?" she repeated the phrase, as though testing it on her lips. It sounded so wrong.

He nodded frantically, feeling those dratted tears stream down his face again. "Sister... I'm so, so sorry..."

Ishizu's first instinct was the same as always, to immediately protect Marik. She once again pulled the boy into her arms, hushing him softly, wiping away his tears, even as her own formed on her face. "It's okay, Marik..." she whispered. What in Ra's name could she tell him? What would make the fact that his brother was dead any less horrifically painful?

She didn't so much as glance at Yami Marik. The latter still unmoving, still waiting for some kind of punishment.

He held her tightly, conscience soothed when he was assured that she wasn't mad at him, even though she more than had every right to be. "What do we do, Ishizu? What are we supposed to do with him? He's not going to stop..." He didn't know if he was asking for permission or instruction. He just clutched his sister tight. Losing Odion, having to possibly kill his yami, worrying that if he didn't, it would happen again... He didn't want to admit it, but he was scared out of his mind.

Yami Marik growled softly. He'd had enough. He wanted someone to be angry at him, already. He couldn't ease Marik's pain, but he could help release some of it, couldn't he?

"Ishizu," he said softly. "...You can say goodbye to him in his room, if you so desire." Maybe if she saw it...

Marik's head jerked up at that. He had almost forgotten his yami was in the room, watching his emotional breakdown. "No! Sister-" He looked to her with wide eyes. "You don't want to-his face, he..." The thought came to him of how hypocritical he was being, having hugged the corpse himself for so long, but that didn't matter. If he couldn't protect his brother, maybe he could at least spare his sister a little grief.

Yami Marik wasn't backing down. "He's going to become stiff and in need of burial soon. You should see him one last time before he's put into the ground." His voice was monotone, not caring much for sensitivity at this point. His eyes were dull as he watched Ishizu's hold on his lighter half loosen.

"...It's okay, Marik," she said softly, starting toward the bedroom.

"N-no, Ishizu..." Torn between wanting to stay in the living room and wanting to keep near his sister, Marik eventually trailed behind her as she went to see their brother's body. He stopped when they got to the doorway, though. "Should I-come in with you?" He didn't know if she needed support or wanted to say goodbye to him alone. He wanted to help her, but... he dreaded the thought of seeing his strong sister break down in front of him. Marik didn't even check to see if his yami had followed them; his thoughts right now were with his family, not with the darker half of his soul responsible for tearing them apart.

Ishizu took a shaky breath at the door, looking over at Marik and shaking her head. "No, it's alright. I'm sure you've seen more than enough..."

She took another sharp breath, shutting her eyes a moment as she tried to calm herself, before she turned the knob and opened the bedroom door.

She didn't even make it in a step.

She wasn't unfamiliar with death. Not even with death firsthand. But there was something absolutely and horribly gruesome about this one. The corpse laid right where Marik had left it, blood matted all over the sheets, the face broken in and twisted to the point where recognition would have been impossible. Her face turned deathly white, her caramel hands moving to wrap around her mouth, a shriek of utter horror escaping her.

It finally hit her, and hit her hard.

This was Odion.

When she'd first stepped in, Marik positioned himself to wait, putting a hand to his head and trying to breath steadily to keep calm until she finished. But at hearing the shriek, he jumped, goosebumps spreading over his skin. "Ishizu!" He twisted around to put a hand through the doorway and on her shoulder to remind her she wasn't alone. "What-Are you-?" He knew what was wrong, and of course she wasn't all right. He finally was needed to comfort her like she'd comforted him so many times over, and he had no idea how. Nothing he could say could make anything better.

Ishizu couldn't look at it for more than just a moment. She whirled around, immediately grasping onto her brother and clinging to him like a child, a sob breaking from her lips, no coherent words other than the one obvious name that spilled from her mouth over and over and over.

Marik bent his head, holding her tightly in his arms, knowing exactly what she was feeling and hating it. It was so rare that she cried... This was so wrong. He kept his arms around her silently, his expression darkening. Suddenly he looked up. Where was his yami. He was the one doing this to her. After killing their brother, he still had the audacity to send Ishizu in to see the body? Sure, Marik had seen it, but this was too much for a girl like her to handle! How dare he...

Yami Marik hadn't moved an inch from his spot. He listened to Ishizu's cries of grief down the hall, his expression hardened. He knew that would set Marik off. It had to.

Marik needed to confront his yami again. He had to. But Ishizu still needed him... He pulled her gently out of the doorway and closed it behind her, giving her another squeeze of encouragement. "I'm sorry, Ishizu..." he said as he let go of her and left to the living room, his expression contorting immediately from one of concern to one of absolute rage.

"...YAMI!"

Yami Marik's eyes snapped up, his jaw setting as he heard himself being summoned. This was it, he knew. He was finally going to get his punishment. And he was sure it wouldn't just be for what had happened with Odion. It would be for every death, every injury, every headache, every mindless prank, every time he had made Marik ask himself what he was thinking when he had let his Yami into his home. He would finally be getting what was coming to him, right now.

Marik marched up to his yami until he was just inches away, his face red and a few veins popping out. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and gritted his teeth as his irises seemed to shrink. This wasn't irrational anger. This was more than deserved. He hadn't been this sure of himself in his rage since before he'd repented of his former life of revenge. Without a word, he punched his yami as hard as he could in the jaw.

Yami Marik had to admit, he hadn't expected his Hikari to be able to punch him out that hard. He stumbled back, a cry exiting his throat in his surprise, already tasting copper in his mouth. He spat it onto the ground, clenching his fist and standing back up straight.

"Bastard," Marik growled at him, lunging at him with the intent of knocking him down. "Why did you tell her to-you knew she couldn't handle seeing what you did to him!" He was snarling now, an expression he didn't know his own face could still make, only egged on by his yami's cry of pain.

Yami Marik grunted wordlessly as he fell backwards, flat onto his back. He said nothing, just looking up at his Hikari, almost as though their expressions had suddenly been reversed. Now it was Marik's veins that were bulging, his pupils that were dilated, his own face contorted in a snarl.

It was almost like he really was staring straight at himself.

Marik straightened but immediately began kicking his fallen yami. He didn't need to vocalize his yami's various crimes; they both knew them all. He had already confessed and been judged guilty. The only thing still unknown was how severe the sentence would be; anything less than death would be merciful. Marik, for once, had full control over his yami and had no reason not to exercise it. He revelled in this feeling even as he stomped on the body that looked just like his own and heard the satisfying thuds and groans of pain.

Still not ceasing, unsatisfied, he spat out, "I hate you."

Yami Marik could feel his ribs cracking under the assault, trying to curl into a ball for a brief moment of self-preservation, shutting his eyes as he felt blood rise to his throat, the blows coming as mercilessly as his had been to Odion. It was only fitting.

He spat out another mouthful of blood. "I-I..." he tried to grunt out. "...I know."

Marik scowled down at him. "You don't deserve to live," he said-redundant by this point-and gave his yami one last hard stomp, twisting his foot after it had come down and leaning all his weight onto it until he felt something give way. He shoved his yami away with his foot disgustedly and took a step back, finished. His chest was heaving and his forehead was thinly coated with sweat by now; he kept his fists at his side just in case his yami somehow got up. His eyes bored into his yami, watching and waiting, still seeing red and waiting for just one more trigger to begin the assault all over again.

Yami Marik coughed, over and over again, more and more blood pouring out. He wouldn't have been surprised if he just choked on that. He desperately tried to cough and spit it all out, clutching his stomach, groaning in pain, his eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay conscious. He couldn't move from his place for a long time.

"I know..." he tried to say, but it only came out as a barely audible rasp.

Yami Marik coughed, over and over again, more and more blood pouring out. He wouldn't have been surprised if he just choked on that. He desperately tried to cough and spit it all out, clutching his stomach, groaning in pain, his eyes fluttering as he struggled to stay conscious. He couldn't move from his place for a long time.

"I know..." he tried to say, but it only came out as a barely audible rasp.

Glaring for a long while, his hikari finally spun on his heel and began walking away.

"I'm done with you," he said, not looking back. "I'm going to go comfort my sister. If you so much as move an inch..." He let the threat hang as he left the room.

Ugh. So much more blood to clean up. His yami was disgusting. They were going to have to get new carpet at this rate.

So Yami Marik laid, on his side, wheezing painfully. He found himself chuckling softly. He wouldn't have thought this would be his end. It was his damn Hikari of all people. Through everything, he had always known how to outdo his other half. His weaker half.

And he did know he was going to die. It was obvious. Marik was just being smart about it. He would make it slow.


Ishizu, at the end of the hall, had composed herself some, wiping her puffy face repeatedly, leaning against the door to the bedroom that held her dead brother.

Marik was trembling now and he couldn't figure out why. Walking back to the doorway, he found his sister and took her into his arms again, not waiting to see if she were doing better or worse. He held her loosely, gently, as though he were suddenly more aware of how fragile she could be. "Ishizu?" he whispered hoarsely.

Ishizu shuddered in the touch. "Marik..." she whispered softly, her hands falling limp on her sides. "We'll... we'll keep going, like we always have. It'll be alright. At least, it will be bearable."

"Yeah... At least I still have you." He held her a little tighter. "And you have me... if you even want me after this. I've taken everyone else from you, sister... Mother. Father. Odion. I'm sorrier than words can say."

Ishizu was quick to hush him, shaking her head. "It's not your fault. Mother... Odion... You didn't do this. Don't blame yourself..." She took his face into her hands softly, placing a gentle kiss on his brow."It's going to be okay, Marik..."

He struggled at first, just a little squirming. He was eager to deny her and tell her the same things he'd told his yami-that they were one and the same, that he was fully responsible in the end for everything his yami did.

But she knew everything, and she was still standing by him. Maybe she needed him there just as much as he needed her. Or maybe she was in denial. How could she love a murderer like him?

He tried to clear his head as he kept her close, banishing all thoughts of his yami, his guilt, and even of Odion's d-death. He replaced them with his affection for Ishizu. It had dwindled, but his family was still intact. His reason for living was to help and protect them-her. That was what he was there for. Closing his eyes, he soaked up her love like a dry sponge soaks up water. She had spoken the truth; they were going to keep going. Things would be all right...

Ishizu strokes his platinum hair, eyes sad as she soothed him as best as she could, resting her chin on his shoulder and even taking the time to softly nuzzle him. Anything to comfort him. Anything to make him feel safe, if only for just a few moments in her arms.

"I love you," she whispered.

Marik kept his arms around her, feeling protective again. He was the man of the house; he was supposed to be the strong one...

"I love you too," he said quietly back.

Ishizu sighed, feeling Marik put on his usual airs. She supposed she could indulge that. With a frown, she kept on stroking his hair. "Where is he," she asked flatly. There was no reason to be specific.

Disturbed at the change of tone, he answered absently, "I left him in the living room." He didn't say so, but he enjoyed the stroking. It calmed him.

Ishizu nodded, keeping the touches gentle, stroking his bangs with a softness. "What are you going to do, Brother?"

He lolled his head back to look at her blankly. "I still have no idea, sister... I know what he deserves. I don't want to do it though."

Ishizu nodded slowly. "It's your choice," she whispered. She had no idea what should have been done, either.

"I... don't know. We'll see. We can't let him keep living with us and Khalid, anyway. We're not safe," he said. "But we can't just let him run loose even if he's able to walk. Where do we put him, if we keep him alive?" He sighed.

"I don't know, Marik. And I think he'd prefer death to that of being herded around like an animal..." Ishizu bit her lip. She knew she was being bold there. Marik didn't want to hear about preserving what little dignity his Yami had left. But it did need to be said.

"Then let him kill himself," Marik said tiredly. "It would save us the trouble." He didn't mean it seriously-there was no way a narcissist like he knew his yami was would ever even consider that, and Ishizu probably wouldn't like the idea anyway. But what was he supposed to say? His yami was for all intents and purposes an animal anyway. He'd practically admitted it himself. Not a human in anyone's eyes, not even the law's, and having given up whatever rights he would have had with his insistence on killing, killing, always killing, even when he seemed sincere and promised he wouldn't, it was to keep Marik from suspecting that he'd kill again with much deeper a blow than any but his first kill...

Marik groaned and closed his eyes.

Ishizu just sighed, nodding and kissing his cheek once again. She took a moment to gaze into his red eyes, the grief that came from them were enough to break her heart. "I love you with all of my heart," she repeated, taking his hand and squeezing it gently. "I will follow whatever choice you make."

Marik nodded too. "I just need... time, sister." His body twitched. He was exhausted. "We need to restrain him until we decide..."

Ishizu's stroking faltered for a moment. She had to admit, she was afraid of his Yami right now. Even further, she certainly did not want to face him. Not after seeing Odion's body. She frowned, keeping her hand moving up and down on his hair. "...I would like to keep away from him, Marik. If that's alright. I'd be happy to help you with anything else, but don't make me face-" She sighed when her voice cracked, swallowing.

Marik backtracked as soon as he heard his sister's distress. "No, no, no, no, no. Of course not. You can stay with Khalid when I take care of him. You won't even have to see him." He pinched his eyes shut to ward off an oncoming headache. "We have rope in the garage, right?"

Ishizu nodded, both at the reassurance and the question, her movements becoming a little more stiff. "Yes. Just promise me you'll be careful."

"I promise." He let go of his sister and stood up with a sigh before making his way to the garage to hunt down the rope.

It took a few minutes to find but he eventually grabbed a coil of it and tucked it over his shoulder. Marik sighed and tried to still his shaking limbs. Everything would be fine, his yami probably hadn't moved and was in no condition to fight back... The main problem was how he was going to move him from the living room to his own room so they could lock him out of the way for a while. The safest option was probably to restrain his yami first, then to drag him to the other room. Marik was a strong man, sure, but he didn't think he was that strong, especially not after a day that suddenly seemed much longer than it ought to have been.

Well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. He entered the living room, glaring down at his yami and already starting to uncoil the rope cautiously.

Yami Marik still hadn't moved, but he had at least recovered some, no longer choking on his own blood, at the very least. He was sure a few of his ribs were broken, but any further damage, he had no idea. He heard the sound of Marik's footsteps and shifted his battered body to look up at his Hikari, having to adjust his eyes for a moment before they widened at the sight of the rope.

"What are you doing with that."

"What do you think I'm doing with a rope, moron," he said flatly. He wasn't raging at his yami anymore, but he was still in no mood to deal with more bickering. Not after everything that had happened today. He kneeled beside Yami Marik, expression cold, and grabbed his yami's wrists, trying to twist them behind his back.

But Yami Marik was quick to yank them back. "I'll listen to whatever you say," he said quietly. "But no ropes."

Marik glared and put them right back again. "Do you think we have any other options right now? You're obviously not trustworthy enough to walk around free with Khalid and Ishizu in the house and we're not going to kill you yet. What the hell else are we supposed to do with you, yami?" He had already begun to say the name for his darkness like a curse. "Hold still." He looped the rope around his wrists again and pulled tight.

Yami Marik ignored the deep sting that seemed to plunge into his chest. "Not trustworthy." The phrasing of it was plenty to hurt, causing a wound. And the way he used his name only seemed to add salt to it. He was just Marik's darkness now. He had to accept that. There was no going back, and there was no other path to take. He was merely Yami Marik. No better than an animal. Just that imaginary friend that never went away, the Tin Man that never found his heart.

His hands slumped in their bonds.

Marik noticed the change in his yami's demeanor but, frankly, couldn't care less except for relief at not having to put up with a struggle. He tied his yami's wrists together as tight as possible-he had no regard for whether it would affect his blood flow or not; it wasn't important-and started to do the same to his ankles.

Yami Marik's boots made scraping sounds against the floor as he struggled slightly. Yami or no, he didn't want to be restrained. He grunted as he tried to move his hands, not so much to escape as to give it some sort of way for blood to travel. He hissed as he felt the rope burn his tanned skin.

"Stop moving." Marik grunted too, jabbing his elbow into his yami's ribs as a quick punishment that would hopefully double as a distraction long enough for him to finish up with the restraints. "And shut up."

Yami Marik cried out, seeming to curl his body closer together as pain throbbed on his already injured body. He shook his head, a small whimper escaping him as he tried to keep his cries down his throat. But he needed somewhere to let his pain out. He tried clenching and unclenching his fists repeatedly.

Marik was scowling as he tied the last knot as tightly as he could. Tired of hearing the pathetic noises escape his yami-he was supposed to be the strong one, for Ra's sake; was he trying to get him to feel bad for him after everything his yami had already done?-he shoved the curled-up body once and stood up. "Ugh. Now what do I do, carry you? Drag you?" He didn't want or expect a reply.

And Yami Marik wasn't planning on giving one. He couldn't very well stand up and hop over to his bedroom. He snarled softly at the thought, his entire body making a sharp jolt. He hated this. It was one thing to be killed, even tortured, but being bound like an animal, especially now, only seemed to make him angrier. He shut his eyes tightly, grunting as he tried to jerk free, fruitlessly.

"I said to stop that!" Marik kicked his yami again, his head this time. He didn't know whether a woozy yami would be easier or harder to move to another room, but at least he'd probably struggle less. He slowly leaned down to grab his yami's restrained wrists-his back already feeling like it was breaking at the thought of dragging him through half the house-and took a few steps back, trying to pull his yami along with him.

Yami Marik made another loud grunting sound, his arms jolting in pain, groaning as he was dragged, dizzy and struggling to reconfigure his position. His shirt slid up as he was pulled, the carpet creating unwanted friction against his stomach. Hngh. Just what he needed.

Marik took another step backwards. This hurt. He wasn't used to lifting things at all, much less a person his own weight-he usually just asked for help from Odi-

...

...

This was going to take forever. Maybe he could just roll his yami or something. Huffing, he dropped his yami and started pushing on his side.

He really ought to have planned this out better.

Yami Marik had had enough. He snarled, shifting his body over and shoving Marik back, he groaned, trying to at least stand. He collapsed at first, pain more than balance keeping him grounded. "I'll fucking hop," he snarled. Anything but this. He was tired, too. He thought he would be dead right now. Death seemed preferable at this point. He was wrangled like an animal, but he wouldn't allow himself to be treated like one. He didn't care how accurate it was to the truth.

Marik pressed his lips together into a thin line, ignoring the shove for the moment. "Do it then," he said. It was idiotic but if his yami wanted to do the work for him, he wasn't going to stop him. "If you even can."

He briefly considered just untying his legs but rejected that plan. No matter how much sense it made, he spend enough time and effort tying his yami up that he wasn't eager to do it all over again. And what if he decided to run?

Besides, he was grimly curious as to whether his yami would actually go along with it.

Yami Marik made more angry snarls, trying to use his weight to help him up. He shook his head. He needed some leverage. He looked up, crawling, knowing he looked rather pathetic, over to a wall, grunting and hissing in pain as he did so. He panted as he reached it, shifting his back to it, taking a moment to rest. That had really hurt. His lungs were burning, his theory that one might have collapsed still fresh in his mind and not comforting him in the slightest.

Marik just watched impatiently, crossing his arms. "If you're not up to it, I'll have to start rolling you again." His voice was mocking when he said the first bit. His yami was fine; he was just being melodramatic-trying to win his pity. It wouldn't work. He had always known what a monster his yami was on the inside, and this last k-kill confirmed that he hadn't changed.

And you don't feel sorry for monsters.

Not even if they're you.

Yami Marik gave a half-hearted glare, sliding up the wall slowly, clutching himself as best he could with his bound wrists. He managed to sit himself up straight, grunting as he found his footing.

His eyes trailed to the coffee table. Mr. Tweetums was still there. He wanted his bird. "Give me a minute." He sucked in his breath, starting to move his legs the best he could as they were bound tightly together. He must have looked ridiculous.

Marik followed his gaze to the coffee table. That damn bird. As soon as his yami was locked up, that pile of feathers was going to the dump. It was what had set his yami off in the first place. He wanted it gone.

"60. 59. 58. 57..." he began counting down the seconds, not realizing how childish he sounded.

Yami Marik snarled loudly, but was quick to pick the dead bird up, positioning it so his arms could hold it against his breast even as he was bound. He took a moment to nuzzle it's feathers, sighing deeply. Why did it ever have to go. If his bird were still alive, everything would have been fine. He would still be... as close to happy as he could be. Now he had nothing. He kept his face buried in his owl's feathers for a long time, a small, sobbing sound exiting from his throat uncharacteristically, more than happy that it was muffled.

This... this display wasn't just surprising or even frightening to Marik. It downright freaked him out. His yami-crying? In front of him? As he nuzzled, of all things, the dead bird? Yeah, Marik knew he liked the pet, but this was too much to believe. What kind of stupid game was his yami trying to play? He snatched the owl away, disgusted to even touch it.

"...What the crap, yami?"

Yami Marik's bloodshot eyes snapped up to look at his Hikari, mouth agape at having his bird taken from him. "...Give it back."

Marik took a second to weigh the pros and cons. On the one hand, he still planned to dispose of the bird as soon as possible. On the other...

He turned around and walked to his yami's room quickly, tossing the bird in and leaving the door wide open.

"Come and get it if you want it."

Yami Marik stared at him for a long time, before his eyes narrowed, sniffing, his wrists Mstarting to bleed from the friction. "I was going to go, anyway," he said quietly. "You didn't have to do that."

Marik watching him, not believing a word he said. His yami was still putting on this stupid act. He was tired of it.

"Then for the thousandth time. Go."

Yami Marik shook his head, his teeth bared as he tried to make his way back to his bedroom. It was endless. Halfway through, his lungs were burning, his sides like they were completely on fire. He whimpered again, trying to make his way through, desperate to just get away from all of this now.

Marik backtracked to follow his yami along every step. "Hurry up," he said. He wanted this absolutely over with. He needed to check in with his sister. She needed him as soon as possible...

Yami Marik's eyes rested on Odion's door for a long moment, sighing, finally making his way to the doorway, seeing his bird lying unceremoniously on the floor. He looked back at Marik momentarily, swallowing another lump in his throat.

Marik's eyes hardened as he shoved his yami inside the room and locked it from the outside without another word. He didn't wait to hear his yami's reaction. Testing the door a bit to make sure it was secure, he finally allowed himself to slump against the door, groaning under his breath and staring up at the ceiling. He slid down to the floor. He still needed to check on Ishizu and Khalid-but he was so, so drained, physically and emotionally. He realized that by punishing his yami, he was punishing himself-it was why he let himself be so brutal. His darkness didn't deserve mercy. He should never have been created in the first place...

Ugh. His yami may have been dealt with for the moment, but not Marik's own guilt.


Yami Marik fell onto the floor, grunting as he immediately crawled his way to Mr. Tweetums, using his chin to tuck the owl's small body close to him. He nuzzled it gently, like he had before, curling up into a ball. He chuckled. "I'll be like you soon, Mr. Tweetums," his voice was raspy, barely audible, even to himself. "Maybe Marik'll be nice enough to bury us together, huh? Or at least dump us both in the same hole."

He made yet another grunt of pain, trying to curl into himself even further. He hadn't realized how injured he was until now. His breathing wasn't slowing down, but rather growing more rapid, ragged, more laborious. He was sure it must have had something to do with that last attack Marik had made, and jostling him around like he had hadn't helped at all. He spat out even more blood, staring at the stain in the rug for a long time.

"Maybe it'll be sooner than I thought." He smiled slightly. "That's good, right, Mr. Tweetums? Gets me off of people's chest. Getting attached to a psychopath is never a good idea. So this is just like when Bruce Campbell cuts off his bad hand in Army of Darkness. It went bad. Sure it bleeds for a bit, it hurts to see it gone, but ultimately, it's better for everyone, and it gets replaced with an awesome chainsaw." He paused. "Not a perfect metaphor, I know, but."

He was silent for a long time, as though he somehow expected an answer. He whimpered again after a moment, tears welling in his eyes. "I never told anyone I loved them. I always wanted to, you know." He laughed softly, a little madly. "Even if I'll never mean it, never be able to feel it, it's no harm in saying it at least once, you know? At least feel those words on my lips just this one time..."

Marik's darkness slumped, hurt and exhausted and in pain. The tears freely flowed down his cheeks as he began to draw towards unconsciousness. Maybe more than unconsciousness.

"I'm a monster, Mr. Tweetums. I know I am. I always wanted to be something more, but I'm not. I failed. Maybe I could fight this if I wanted to, but maybe it's just time to give up. Time to let go. I've had a good run. At least I can bow out respectfully. Not try to fight it anymore. Give Marik some rest. He deserves it. He really, really does...

"The imaginary friend needs to go away eventually."

He pressed his lips against the small, stiff form, giving a last raspy sigh before he relaxed his limbs, blood trickling down his wrists, warm liquid against his against his back.

"...I love you," he said. To the bird, to Marik, to Odion, to Dartz, it didn't matter. He was just glad to have said it. To taste it.

...It tasted sweet. He smiled softly.

His eyes slowly lidded shut, a curtain falling on a stage.

They didn't open again.


It wasn't until several hours later-after more than one attempt at a fitful sleep that was plagued by dreams of Odion, both good and bad-that Marik finally got around to unlocking the door to his yami's room to make sure that he was still there and tied up soundly. By now there were dark circles under the hikari's eyes, which were clouded over, and his movements were stiff and sore. He really, really hoped his yami hadn't broken free somehow. He just couldn't deal with that today.

When he cautiously opened the door, a glass of water in one hand, his calls of "Yami?" got no reply. This was bad. He would have started panicking if he hadn't seen his yami lying prone on the floor immediately after he flipped on the lights. He sighed with relief. The idiot was still curled up around the stupid dead bird.

"Yami," he said flatly. At the lack of acknowledgement, his eye started twitching again. If his yami even wanted their gift of keeping him alive, he had better be attentive when Marik brought him water. He kicked the body at his feet-gently compared to how he had the night before, if only because he was even more exhausted by now. There was no reply. Marik gritted his teeth. So he was playing possum, was he? He kicked him again. "Do you want your water or not."

His yami still wasn't moving. Fed up, Marik expressionlessly dumped the water right on his yami's head.That would wake him up.

Except that it didn't. He expected spluttering, maybe fake whimpering, or just angry shouting at him, but all that happened was that his yami's messy hair got damp.

"Yami!" he said sharply. Still getting no response, he heaved a sigh and dropped down to shake him, tossing the cup aside.

His yami was... oddly cold.

Just like Odion had been...

"Yami!" he suddenly yelled, smacking his face. "Open your damn eyes!"

No reply.

Marik scowled and shoved his hand up to his yami's neck-partially coated with dry blood and saliva by now, ugh-to feel for a pulse.

He got nothing.

His vision started to go in and out of focus as he growled, putting both hands around his yami's head and shaking it. "Wake up, you damn bastard! Yami!"

His breathing was ragged as he kept shaking his yami, prying open his eyes and shouting in his face. The curled body was stiff. Marik sucked in air. "Oh, no, you can't-you can't leave me after this! Ruin my life and-and vanish-no!" He was snarling again. "I won't let you!" He didn't know what he was doing-hitting the body, kicking it in its broken ribs, stomping on the bird in his hands-it didn't matter. "Coward! You coward!" He sobbed. When did he start crying? "You didn't even let me get my revenge! You didn't even try to help! You can't just-I wouldn't kill you! I said I wouldn't kill you! I wasn't-" He didn't even know what he wanted. He had wanted his yami gone. But he couldn't leave, he was Marik, he was a part of Marik's soul and he couldn't die as long as Marik was alive, they were the same person, he couldn't die he looked just like Marik lying there with dried blood around him and crumpled body and Marik was dead Yami Marik was dead and he had killed him he didn't mean to he didn't mean to how could you kill someone without meaning to it didn't make any sense and

and

Marik clutched his own head in his hands tightly, a splitting headache piercing through his skull, and suddenly his thoughts quieted and his body went numb.

He stood slowly and, without another glance at his yami, walked out the door and locked it behind him again. He continued down the hall to his sister's room and knocked at it quietly.

"Ishizu," he said through the door tonelessly. "Yami died."

And that was that.