The demon skulked silently in the cool night air, his dark profile barely standing out from the cloudy sky.
No one had ever called him a demon, but from the stories he'd heard his host and the other humans tell, there really wasn't a better word to describe what he was. He didn't know very much about himself, really – he knew he was from the Shadow Realm, and he knew bits of ancient Egyptian lore, which indicated to him that he had been in existence for a long time. He didn't know who or what had created him, only that he was there. And he wasn't sure exactly how he had crossed over into the world of the living, only that it had to do with the precious Item at his side, glinting faintly despite the lack of light. The demon didn't even have a name. What good would a name do a creature like him? He was content, at least for now, to be known by the name of his host.
The demon gave a low, coarse laugh. "Host" was no longer an appropriate title for the teenage boy whose body now belonged to him. "Outcast" was a much more suitable label. Marik Ishtar was no more; he had been expelled from this body and as far as the demon knew, he no longer existed. Spirits couldn't live very long without a body to sustain them.
The demon narrowed his eyes. Of course, he knew it was perfectly possible for the expelled spirit of his former host to make a home in another human's body and mind. After all, wasn't that was he'd first done to Marik? Besides, he knew for a fact that two other bodies aboard the strange air-ship he was on had more than one spirit inside him.
Suddenly the demon stiffened. He'd sensed another presence, someone standing near the doorway that lead to the elevator. How dare anyone interrupt him during his nighttime excursion! He was accustomed to coming up here alone, if for no other reason than to enjoy the use of the mind he now had completely to himself. He liked to gaze into the darkness of the night and mull over his power and the power he hoped to someday gain.
Resisting the urge to raise the Millennium Rod and obliterate whoever had intruded – or simply banish them to the Shadow Realm – the demon turned to face his visitor. Oh, how he itched to raise his hand and kill, with nothing to hold him back. Wielding power over life and death was one of his greatest pleasures, second only to that of having complete control over his enemy's pain. But if he struck now, and destroyed a person aboard the blimp without even staging a Shadow Game, even the cold-hearted Seto Kaiba might be forced to land and interrupt the tournament, and then he'd have to wait even longer to gain what he sought – so he kept patience for now, telling himself that soon he'd torture and destroy every one of the bastards aboard the blimp. Instead, he simply raised the Millennium Rod and used it to illuminate the blimp-top stadium so he could see who had bothered him.
Much to his surprise, it wasn't the Pharaoh, or even that other irritating pest Bakura. It was a girl, a friend of the Pharaoh's host who wasn't even in the tournament. Just a cheerleader. How pathetic.
Even more surprising was that the girl, Téa, didn't even look scared. In fact, her eyes seemed strangely dull, and she wasn't doing anything – not making a move to attack him, or turning to go back down the elevator, or even reacting to his Rod's light, just staring at him. She stared intently, as though he had something she really wanted. Well…maybe he did. Something the demon had discovered since entering the world of the living was the delightful pleasure of the flesh. He'd had his way with more than one beautiful woman on his journey to find the Pharaoh. Téa wasn't quite to his ordinary taste, but if she wanted him, who was he to let her down? After all, she had a fine body, a scrumptiously round chest, smooth pale skin, big eyes – perhaps she wasn't so unappealing after all. The demon sneered, and took a step closer to his new plaything.
All of a sudden, she changed. Her body gave a quick jolt and her face seemed to snap into a sudden focus; with surprise the demon realized her eyes were no longer flat and blank, but alive and very aware. She let out a shriek and leapt into the elevator, jamming the down button and disappearing behind the sliding door. The demon cursed; he'd have to wait for the elevator to come back up in order to follow her, and by then she'd be able to lock herself in her room. Unfortunately, going after her under those conditions would cause too much of a ruckus to be worth the gain. He made a mental note to spare her when he gained enough power to destroy the rest of the pathetic humans on this blimp; he'd have some fun with her before banishing her away.
The demon stepped into the elevator as soon as it came back up to the top of the shaft, and thought about what to do next. He decided he'd better end his blimp-top excursion for the night; unfortunately, he was still in a high-maintenance human body and he needed to give this body sleep if he wanted to be at full strength for the next day's battles. He wasn't quite ready for that yet, though. His encounter with Téa had gotten him excited, and now he was quite unsatisfied. The demon snarled; damn Kaiba for activating the locks on the bedroom doors after his failed attempt to execute Odion.
Exiting the elevator, the demon turned immediately into the hallway lined with bedroom doors. The first, of course, was Kaiba's private chamber, with his brother across the hall. Mai Valentine and Bakura's host, Ryo, being currently in the medical ward hooked up to bizarre human-made machines, had empty chambers with unlocked doors; the demon ignored those as he strode down the hall towards his own room, which was at the very end. Something caught his eye, though, halfway down.
There were two more unlocked doors.
One was Téa's. How strange, that she should be so careless, right after he nearly apprehended her! Unable to resist, he pressed the button on the wall and the metal panel slid open – but her room was empty and dark; even her bathroom door was open with no sign of occupancy. Annoyed, the demon left and went to the other unlocked door, wondering whose room it was. He pressed the button again and entered.
This room was also dark, but it was occupied, with a small figure asleep on the bed. Additionally, the shower was running in the bathroom, and the door was shut with a thin line of bright light seeping out from underneath it. Marik supposed that might be Téa, come into this room to hide, or perhaps to draw comfort from her friend. He must have let her in, but he'd gone right back to sleep without thinking to lock the door. Deep sleeper, this one. The figure on the bed was unmistakably Yugi Moto, with his long fringe of strangely colored hair sprawled over his pillow and framing his peaceful face.
The demon grinned. He could accept a change of plans. If he tried to apprehend Téa while she was in the bathroom, not only would he have to force the door open, but she would make quite a fuss, he was sure. However, the demon was far too excited now to sleep, and now another victim had presented itself: little Yugi, asleep and unaware. If he really was such a deep sleeper to open the door and be completely zoned out within three minutes, then perhaps Marik could have a little fun with him and sneak out unnoticed. It was risky, but the demon wasn't in the mood to care. He crept as quietly as he could over to the bed and sat down next to the sleeping figure.
Over the months of travel inside Marik's body, the demon had developed a taste for all kinds of people – not just women, but men as well, especially young ones. Pretty boys were a particular favorite of his, and Yugi was nothing if not pretty. His striking hair set of vibrant violet eyes (when they were open, of course), and the soft, prepubescent face radiated innocence – innocence which the demon longed to steal away; what a pleasure that would be! – from its small, balanced features.
The demon felt his heart begin to pound from excitement, and he bent down to sniff the boy's face, burying his nose in his strange but beautiful hair. He knew he shouldn't dawdle too long, or Téa would come out and see him there – but she was still showering, and besides, the demon loved to draw out his pleasures and make them last. He inhaled deeply, the scent of the small boy's hair filling his nostrils and brain, and moaned softly as his excitement increased. His tanned hands stroked Yugi's bare arms, which rested atop his sheets; his face nuzzled his young neck and chest, absorbing every detail of his form. Oh, how the demon loved the flesh – everything about it.
Suddenly he felt instinct rushing up to take over; his eyes widened in a hungry craze and he began to drool. Carefully the demon regained control of himself, reining himself in, but allowed his instinct to remain, tightly controlled but still there. He leaned forward and jerked the white bedsheets down a few inches, exposing the pale skin of his chest. Grinning with delight, the demon bent over and ran his drooling tongue up Yugi's chest, under his neck, and onto his face, stopping only when he reached the hairline above his ear. Giddy with pleasure, he reached for the sheets again, ready to go even farther – when suddenly a familiar shriek cut the air.
The demon's head jerked up, rage flaring at first but subsiding to the sure knowledge that he had been discovered and would have to figure out what to do, how to escape back to his own room and avoid the consequences of his play. He'd taken a foolish risk, he realized, mentally berating himself. His dark blue eyes, narrowed into slits, focused on the form of Téa, wrapped in a bath towel, standing in the bathroom doorway and framed by the light from within. Her hair was dripping wet, and her face was a mask of horror. She was no longer appealing despite her state of undress; the demon had lost all of his desire in his moment of panic and fury.
Yugi's eyes popped open then, and the boy stirred. Immediately, the demon tried to straighten up and flee, but he was checked by a fist at his throat. Yugi had grasped the Millennium Puzzle, still on the chain around his neck but now in his hand rather than hanging off the side of the bed where it had been, and reached up to grab his lapel with surprising strength. One look into the boy's eyes, though, told the demon that it was no longer Yugi possessing the body he'd tried moments ago to defile.
It was the Pharaoh.
The demon reached for the Millennium Rod at his side, but he was too slow. The Pharaoh stretched out the hand that wasn't gripping the demon's shirt and grabbed his wrist; his pale body flared with a bright light, and the demon knew he was using the power of the Puzzle to physically hold him at bay. In fact, the demon couldn't move at all, and watched in horror as a bright, golden, stylized Egyptian eye appeared on the Pharaoh's forehead.
"Give me one good reason not to kill you right now," the Pharaoh growled, his words laced with fury. His hand tightened on the demon's shirt, and the demon knew that in this state the Pharaoh could strangle him with ease.
"You better let go of me now, Pharaoh!" the demon spat even though he wasn't in a position to make threats. The best he could do know was bluff.
"Don't count on it," the Pharaoh replied. "You laid hands on my partner's body!" He released the demon's now-paralyzed wrist and reached up to place both hands around his throat. "You tried to defile him!" the Pharaoh roared, violet eyes blazing, and suddenly the demon couldn't breathe, was struggling for air, spots danced across his eyes and –
"Stop!" came the panicked voice from somewhere to the left. The Pharaoh eased his grip at once and turned to see Téa, even more horror-stricken than before, clutching her towel like it was a life preserver. The demon thought he saw that strange, flat look creep back into her eyes.
The Pharaoh's face softened as he looked at her, and he loosed his grip further. "Why?" he asked in a hard voice.
"Because…because…you can't kill him. I mean, you can't destroy that body. He needs – Marik needs –" she cut off abruptly, shaking her head and looking confused. "I…what?"
"This isn't Marik," the Pharaoh said in a low voice. "Whoever this is has already taken over Marik's body, but it isn't Marik Ishtar, I can promise you that."
"I – I know," Téa said in a small voice. "But…you can't just kill him. That's unlike you, Pharaoh. It wouldn't be right."
The Pharaoh had by now calmed down significantly. He released his grip on the demon's shirt completely and he felt the effect of the magic-induced paralysis fade as well; he began backing towards the door. The Pharaoh's eyes still burned, though. He turned to the demon and grated out, "Téa has a point. If I were to kill you here, I would be sinking as low as the likes of you. But," and his face hardened even more, "If you so much as lay a hand on Yugi again, even once, I swear to you…"
Téa laid a hand on the Pharaoh's bare shoulder. "That's enough, Pharaoh. You and Yugi need your rest for tomorrow. We will deal with this louse, when we can." She shot him a hateful glare. "And next time you let me or anyone else into your room at night, be sure to lock it behind you."
By now the demon had reached the door, and he slipped into the hallway with relief. Once outside the room, though, that feeling disappeared and was replaced by rage and hate. How dare they threaten him like that? How dare those lowlifes, those pieces of scum, deny him his pleasure? He fumed. Revenge would have to wait until this farce of a card tournament was over. He'd have all the power he needed then – power to defeat anyone, even the Pharaoh.
He flopped down on his bed and fell asleep to glorious thoughts of how he would torture and kill the lot when the time came.