DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, Animorphs, or anything else that doesn't belong to me. I only own this story.
Chapter Nine: The Darkness Within

MARIK

After an awkward silence, it was Yugi who took charge. "I don't even want to know what Bakura was doing for Yami to get that angry at him."
"Quite frankly, n–n–n–neither d–do I." Ryo groaned, snapping out of a long, blank stare.
"That's besides the point." Duke snapped, stepping back from Yugi. "Let's face it, if we can't work together, then–"
"–We're stuffed."
Dead silence. No–one had wanted to hear that being said – I was always the one to say the things that shouldn't be said.
"What? Seriously, if we can't work together, we're screwed. And guess what, you can't put three of us in a room without someone walking out! Heck, I don't think you softies can even deal with half the things we've done! Tristan's already proved that, and we all know Ryo will probably run away at some stage!"

I expected Tristan to protect Ryo, but instead it was Duke who stepped in front of Ryo protectively, trying very hard to control his own temper. "Marik, try not to get angry."
"Ooh, worried I'll faint?" I taunted. "Look. You don't have to feel sorry for me. Unlike you, rich boy, I'm actually used to pain."
He frowned, and the others all looked at me like I'd just grown antlers. "Faint?"
I lost it about then. "Yeah, faint! I'm a friggin' softie! Go on! Feel sorry for me!" I nearly screamed.
Shadows were curling at the ends of my vision, which was slowly draining of colours. Joey put a hand on my shoulder. "Please, Marik! The last thing we need is–"
I swung at him in the monochrome, but he just ducked. "STUFF YOU!" I snarled, reaching for his neck–
And that was when my vision faded altogether, and I blacked out.

YAMI MARIK

"I must say, it's been a while", I grunted, as I gained control over my host, and found that I was standing on two legs for once.
"Again? Seriously, how come you're still around?" Yugi groaned, as I examined my host's body for any sign of dog. Lately, I'd been gaining control, and finding I was controlling a dog for some strange reason – presumably some dumb curse Yami had laid on me or something. At any rate, it felt good to be human again.

I eyed myself over. Hmmm. I seemed to be wearing the wrong clothes – I was in serious need of a cape right now – but oh well, I had my Rod – I could inflict some serious damage with that, and get my cape later...

A foot tapped impatiently, reminding me that there were actually other people aside from me and my ego. "If you're quite finished…"

I ignored it, exalting instead over my possession of the Rod. Time to see what it could do. "Sorry, but I need a cape." I muttered, and pointed it at Yugi, intending to–

"D–Don't!" Suddenly, there was another teenager standing in front of me, blocking my way – a white haired one, this time. With a start of irritation, I noted that there was another Millennium Item around his neck.
"Hmph." Over his shoulder, I gave Yugi my very best psycho grin, and even showed him a little bit of my tongue, just to keep the psycho impression up.
Sadly, he wasn't impressed. "Well? Answer the question. How come you're still around?"
"I'm a split personality that just got amplified by the Rod. As long as Marik's got some semblance of imagination, I'll be there. Now… Let me say hello to the Pharaoh personally, why don't you?"
He folded his arms. "Nope. Not happening."

"Lemme attim! Lemme attim! The bastard, I'll kill'im!" an idiotic blonde yelled, lashing out against his two buddies, who were currently trying to restrain him – I just laughed in his face, at his pathetic anger. This could only be Joey Wheeler, which would make his buddies Duke Devlin and Tristan Taylor – I'd never known anyone who had hated me quite so passionately as Joey. Of course, his anger was still nothing compared to the wrath of yours truly, but he did try harder than most.

…There was a big emphasis on try there. I mean, he was never going to come close to me in terms of hate – I was technically pure, undiluted hate itself.

At any rate, I easily shrugged off the blonde's little hissy fit. "Very funny, I'm sure. So, 'wazzup', as I'm sure you idiots like to say? I thought you'd be having a nice time in the afterlife by now–"
"HOW DARE YA!"
"My pleasure, puppy."
"Umm, ahh…. Erm, I wouldn't push it any, ah, further. J– Joey looks like he's… erm… about to b–blow a fuse." The shaky teen who was still blocking my way had now decided I should be warned. Having lost any respect for him by this point, I couldn't help but chuckle out loud at his obvious stupidity. Man, he was a wimp if he thought Joey was something to be worried about…
"I–It's not funny! He'll tear you apart!" The albino seemed a little offended by that. Good, because he should have been.
I pushed him a little further: "Ooh, look. An albino shrimp. What an interesting specimen… Hey, didn't I kill you, too?"

The teen stiffened, then… changed – his hair suddenly spiked upwards, his eyes narrowed and the temperature went down by several degrees in the room. Finally, I remembered his name – Bakura.
"You wish!" he snarled, as savagely as he could.

It was evident that he was getting defensive now – one more good push would do the trick. I did my best to look nonchalant. "Oh well. Nice to know I'm not the only one around here with an idiotic hairstyle." The teen glared at me – but, fortunately for him, said nothing.

Yugi, ever the logical one, sighed. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to plan with you here, and just tell Marik what we came up with after you've gone."
Duke shrugged. "What plan?"
"We'll think of something… uh…"
"Ah've got an' idea. Firs, we beat up Yami Marik 'til we get Marik back. An' ah'll do da beatin'!"
I snickered – I couldn't help it. "I think Marik will be quite hurt to think that you've been making your plans while he's… well, he says 'fainted'…"

Tristan was quicker to pick that one up than the others were. "Yami Marik, what exactly does Marik know about you?"
I laughed. "He's in denial at the moment. Thinks I'm a figment of his imagination, as it were. Thinks he faints with anger."
"Man, and I thought he knew all about yo–" Duke began, but I interrupted him.
"We can sort that misunderstanding out easily enough… but would one of you mind telling me why on the last three occasions I've taken him over, I've been a freaking dog?"
Silence.
"Come on, kiddies. Or is Uncle Marik going to have to resort to playing….a little game?" I toyed with the Rod, leering and grinning as evilly as I possibly could. Their expressions were priceless.

It took a few minutes of this sort of thing, but eventually one of them cracked. It was Duke who sighed, wrestling Joey backwards when the blonde tried to lunge at me yet again. "It's… hard to explain. You really know nothing?"
"That's right." I licked my chops. "Mmmm, pain. Man, it makes you feel so… so energized when you burn yourself! So great to hear someone else's screams! So amazing when – "
"Save the fighting talk for the duels!" Yugi growled. "That is just sick!"
"No, no! You should try it sometime. I could teach you how to do it right…" I unsheathed the blade of the Rod and pointed it at the boy. "Come on, show me the Pharaoh so I can show him what pain feels like! Just for a few seconds – it builds character, I think…"

Joey sprang from Duke and Tristan's grip, knocking Bakura aside so he could plant himself in front of me. "Ya'll ans'er ta me if ya so much as touch 'im!"
"Hey!" Bakura yelped, and immediately reverted to his softer, shaky personality. Like Yugi, he also seemed to have two. Kinda irritating, really.
"You want me to run you through as well, then? Trying to show me you've got guts?" Suddenly, the blonde was in a distinctly awkward position. I smirked, advancing on him. "And boy, have you got guts–"
"Marik, will you stop playing your stupid mind games and–" Yugi began, and I couldn't resist correcting him:
"That's Yami Marik to you!"

Tristan sighed. "Can we get back on track? Yami Marik – it's a long story, but here's the deal – you can become any animal you touch. Catch: you can only become that animal for two hours or you'll get trapped. You got trapped as a dog – you were lucky some sort of divine head honcho intervened and let you become human for two hours."
I blinked. "Well, I knew there had to be an explanation, but that sure wasn't it."
Duke shrugged. "Take it or leave it, there's also aliens invading Earth. We're fighting them by becoming animals, and–"
I laughed. "And you expect me to help you?"
Duke, as usual, was exceedingly blunt. "Yup. Marik did, so I'd say you're somewhat obliged to."
"Well, I'd have to say that you're wr– Wait. I'm going to have to become a dog after two hours, aren't I?"
"Actually, I think you'll find that's 'after one hour and forty minutes'."
"Whatever… Hey, do I get to kill things if I fight with you? No card games?"
"Yes. Lots and lots – the aliens are parasites who take over their hosts and–"
"They what?"
"Take over their hosts. See, one of them took you over and–"
I interrupted yet again. "The thing that had my host – was that one of them?"
"Yup."
"Hmph. Rudest housemate I've ever had to put up with." I grinned evilly for my ego's benefit, and licked my chops. "I'll fight… providing you can get me a nice battle morph. I want shredding power."
Yugi sighed. "I don't know how we'd pull it off. You'd have to be a dog, and Kaiba doesn't like dogs –"

"I have an idea." All eyes turned to Duke, who smiled cryptically.
"Well, go on, rich boy. What is it?"
"For this, we're actually going to have to work together…"
"Fat chance of that happening." The others glared at me. "What?"

MARIK
"Huh?" I got up off the bed. "Wha? Wait, how long was I out for? How'd I get here?" I ran to the clock in a panic. "Three in the afternoon? Damnit, I'm trapped again!"
"Don't be so certain."

"What the frig is that supposed to mean?" I whirled, to find Duke leaning against the doorway. He was holding what looked suspiciously like a suit and tie.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up," he yawned, adding slyly: "Also, Yami Marik says hi."
"Wha? Yami Marik? How? Why? He doesn't exist!" I yelled. "He can't!"
"He does. Try demorphing."
"Hellooooo? Two hour time limit, anyone?"
"It's fine. Yami Marik's been demorphing and remorphing all through today. You've got him to thank for not being trapped."
"Uh–uh. Not happening. He's some imaginary psycho friend, he's not real." But I still concentrated for a few seconds… just in case.
Duke smirked. "Keep telling yourself that, Marik. Now, look at your hand."
"What about it– Ah, frig!" I yelped, realizing with a jolt that there was far too familiar looking red–brown fur growing on the back of my left hand. "How is that even –Wait, are you pranking me or something? I bet I've only been out a few minutes."
"Eh, go check the time outside, if you must. Just remember – Duke Devlin never loses a bet. Ever."
"Yeah, righ–"
"Sorry to interrupt you, but Yami Marik was doing it to me not ten minutes ago, so I'd say I'm entitled. We've got a mission to go on tonight, so hurry – I got lumped with getting you to wear your little outfit, and you are going to wear it."

I hobbled to the window as I continued to change, peeking through the curtains. Yup, it was afternoon –
Bad move. My nose chose that precise moment to extend out of my face, and my brand new snout hit the metal frame with a loud thwack.
Duke winced as I dropped back from the window with a canine yelp of pain. "Ouch. That would have had to hurt."
–{Thanks for the sympathy}– I thought grumbled, attempting to get back on my weird mix of feet and paws, and failing miserably. My legs were bending and thinning awkwardly, and I fell flat on my belly several times before they would finally hold my weight.–{Care to tell me what we're actually doing?}–
"We're going to Kaiba's to get you a battle morph. Should be fun."
–{Great. So, what's with the suit?}– Needless to say, I had a very, very bad feeling about that suit.

Duke sighed. "Yugi's challenged Kaiba to a game, so he's been forced to invite all of us over to his place. It's a full–on dinner party, so I have to wear this." He held up the suit. "You've got something, too – No, don't morph."
Uh oh.–{So… What do I have to wear?}–
Duke smirked, pulling out a little waistcoat. "That's the fun part."
–{Oh no.}– I groaned.–{No, no, no. Please, no–}–
"Oh, boy. This is gonna be fun…" Duke groaned, as I backed away from him, cowering in a corner. "Please, just be good about it. Kaiba won't let you in if you don't wear it. It's for your own good, and–"
–{Never!}– I thought yelled, holding my head high in a gesture of general defiance. Duke promptly took advantage of that to try and get the waistcoat over my head…

And thus an epic struggle began. The battle raged back and forth across the bedroom, and ended in stalemate – with Duke on his hands and knees, puffing – while I hid cunningly under the bed. At last, the teen stood with a menacing look in his eyes.
"You definitely asked for it this time."
–{Forget it. You can't get me to wear it – call it a day.}–
"I may not be able to, but I know someone who can."
–{What, you'd call in the vet?}– I growled, but Duke grinned lopsidedly.
"Nah, it's much worse than that. Do you want me to call in Yami Marik?"
–{Wha? But… he doesn't exist-}– I began.
"Oh, but he does. I'm sure he wouldn't mind lending a hand." Already, my vision was darkening. My head hurt, and the world in general seemed to be becoming darker.
A voice that definitely was not mine came from inside my head.
–{Why, hello there – What the frig, I'm a dog again?!}–
–{Rah! Shut up!}– I yelled. Now I was hearing things, too? Really?

Duke looked down at me, as I came out from under the bed. "Ah, sorry, Yami. Marik had to check to make sure he wasn't trapped in morph."
Wait. I'd never told my body to come out from under the bed! What was going on?
–{Hmph. Why he'd like being a dog so much, I have no clue.}–
I was definitely losing control now.–{Look, you don't exist! Get out of my head!}–
–{That's not a very nice thing to say, Marik.}–
With a gasp of pain, I fell over, everything going black. "Tell you what. If you still don't believe me, I'll get some footage off the cameras. Might make things clearer…" Duke's voice faded into nothing…

I woke up, dressed neatly in tux and tie.–{Man, I feel like a train hit me in the back of the head.}– I groaned – then realized what I was wearing. I inspected myself. A little red bow–tie, a tuxedo, fur beautifully styled…–{What the– Actually, this looks kinda cool. James bond dog, sorta.}–
Duke got off the bed, dressed in his own suit. He carefully petted me, and I closed my eyes in pleasure."Yes. Yami Marik has a nice fashion sense, I have to say."
–{Look, I'm telling you – Yami Marik doesn't exist!}–
"He does." Duke said simply, then stood and opened the door. "Come on. The others are waiting."

–{BWAHAHA! Joey, you look ridiculous!}– I giggled, at the sheer sight of Joey in a suit. The blonde went bright red in embarrassment – it was true. Joey looked so uncomfortable and… just so awkward in a suit – in addition, I'd never seen him in one. The combination of his constant watchfulness and the static nature of the suit was a truly awkward one. We were all standing in Duke's driveway, preparing to leave in a sleek black limo.
Yugi put a comforting hand on Joey's shoulder with a wicked grin. "Don't worry, Joey. From the way Kaiba's been looking at you lately, I doubt he's going to care about what you're wearing–"

The blonde instantly backed away from Yugi as fast as he could, as we all cracked up laughing uncontrollably (with the exception of Ryo, who just looked confused)."Yug'! Not you too!" Joey wailed.
Ryo blinked, then slowly shook his head. "Do… I even want to know?"
"No!" Joey yelled, causing the nervous teen to back away, shaking his head furiously.
"No… uh… no, I don't, then…"
Tristan sighed. "It's a joke, Ryo. Kaiba's been following Joey around lately. Well, by that I mean he's been sending his hired thugs to follow him around – he does it to every duelist he meets."
"Which… uh… means?"
"Well, think about it. You could almost say Kaiba's been stalking him–"

Ryo's jaw dropped in shock, and I gave him a friendly nudge with my nose.–{I think he understands.}–
We all cracked up again, as Joey exploded once more. "Hey! He's spyin' on me! He's tryin' to find out what makes me Domino City's No. 2 duel–ist! Dere's a diff'rence!"
"Yeah, because he can learn so much about your strategy from watching you sleep–" Duke began, but Yugi cut him off by tapping on the limo.
"Can we get going?"
Duke nodded, and clicked a button. The doors slid open smoothly, electronically.
"Yes!" Joey practically dived inside to get away from us. Yugi grinned, jumping in after him.
–{Yugi, I didn't know you could be so evil!}– I growled playfully, hopping up beside him.
He just winked at me.
"Everyone knows what to do?"
We all nodded, as Duke pulled the car out of the driveway. We all had a part to play in this, and we definitely didn't want to screw it up.

The car pulled up outside the mansion. The electronic gates swung silently open. We shared a look.
"All right." Duke murmured, stepping out of the car. "It's showtime."

"Welcome to the humble Kaiba residence!" Mokuba elaborated, bowing stiffly as we entered a massive hall full of servants. "We hope you will enjoy our hospitality – the food will be served in half an hour. Until then, please feel free to enjoy a short game of pool in the games room, or recline in the-"
Duke raised an eyebrow. "Mokuba, I don't think we're total strangers. Show us your brother."
Mokuba tried unsuccessfully to act formal and hide a smile at the same time."Master Kaiba is in a foul mood, and will not be–"
"'Master Kaiba' is perfectly fine, thankyou very much!" Kaiba snarled at his little brother, coming down the stairs in a perfect white robe.
" Now, come along. Dinner will be served after the duel. It's not much, but I suppose it'll be acceptable to you– Wait. What's that?" That final statement was accompanied by a glare that could have curdled milk. "Ah, c'mon Seto. 'S jus' Tris's dog."Joey pleaded, but to no avail. Kaiba glared at me.
"I am NOT having that filthy mutt in my house. After all…" he glanced sideways at Joey here "…I already have one."
"Enough wi' da dog jokes, Kaiba!" Joey growled.
"Fine. Now, someone get that dog out of here."
Mokuba nearly melted when he clapped eyes on me. "Oh, but Kaiba! He's wearing a little tux and everything!"
"So?"
"Kaiba, he came prepared. By the laws of hospitality, we're forced to accept his presence in our househo–"
"I know the damn rules!" Kaiba growled, then finally nodded, gritting his teeth. "Fine. You may bring the dog in, but I ask that he be kept in one of our comfortable kennels during the duel, at least."
"Bingo." Duke whispered to me.
"Sounds fair – I'll take him up there." Ryo volunteered, and Kaiba relaxed a little – he was never comfortable with the constant threat of Bakura around. Yugi looked quietly to Duke. Immediately, the teen stepped forwards.
"Kaiba, I must ask to inspect your footage before I eat. I believe we discussed that over the phone?"
"Indeed… I doubt you'll find anything, but as you wish." Kaiba grunted. "Mokuba, lead him there." He snapped his fingers, and a servant snapped to attention. "Take Tristan and the dog outside. The rest of you, please follow me. I have already prepared the duel arena for you, Yugi."

Yugi nodded. "Let's go." He looked at each of us in turn, then smiled disarmingly at Kaiba, who shook his head in disgust and turned away.
"I don't even pretend to understand you people."
Joey looked right at me and Ryo. "Good luck, Yug'."
"He'll need it!" Kaiba sniffed, stalking away down the corridor.
Ryo darted away, motioning for me to follow.
–{Showtime!}–