Author's note: Gah! I forgot to thank people for reviewing! So…thanks to Walf'sBreath92, PikaKnight and DoceoPercepto for reviewing chapters eight and nine! There.

Okay, so here it is. I'm sorry it took so long…but anyway…

Please take the poll on my profile. :O

And iie means no in Japanese. When Marx says it in the context he does, I think it's considered rude. It's supposed to be, as this is Marx we're talking about! XD

Clannad, my fave anime! The opening song is where these lyrics are from.

10

I was having a transparent dream

"You're so weird. Stop bothering us!"

"I'm not! Why are you hurting me? I want you to go away!"

"No! It's all your fault anyway! If you would just stop annoying us we wouldn't have to hurt you, get it?"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I'll stop, I'll leave you alone! Marx will go away and never come back! I'm sorry!"

"Yeah! Screw off and never talk to us again! Go be a freak to someone else!"

"And stop talking in the third person, weirdo!"

I awoke and fell off the bed, though I couldn't remember falling asleep in it in the first place. A few hysteric shrieks escaped my throat when Dee clasped her paw over my mouth and pinned me to the floor. I gasped a few times and my body shuddered along with the short breaths. A waterfall of tears poured all over Dee's paw but she ignored it, concentrating on my face.

"Marx, calm down please," she whispered gently, "did you have a nightmare? Do you want to tell me about it? I'm always here you know."

I shook my head violently and the tear droplets flew a fair distance across the room. There was nothing Dee could do about this. I doubt she would even understand. No one could understand. "It wasn't that bad, just about my battle with Kirby and everything. I guess there isn't much we can do about that though, huh?" I lied, though it probably wasn't believable at all.

"I guess," Dee lifted me and set me gently on the bed. She then sat on the floor in front of me, staring into my eyes, "Marx, are you sure that you're okay?"

I nodded, disgusted that she wouldn't believe me. "Of course I am! Isn't that what I said? It would be nice to have someone actually listen to me for once!" I rolled myself into a ball and chewed on my lip frantically as nerves travelled through my body. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to tell her everything on one hand, but on the other I was scared to do that.

Dee's paw was placed on my body once again. "You aren't okay, are you?" she rubbed my back in such a comforting way that I couldn't help but feel content. I shut my eyes and smiled pleasantly, hoping she wouldn't question me anymore than she already had.

"No, I'm fine!" I insisted, suddenly serious. This mood swing surprised Dee, "I don't know why you care so much. It's not like it's the end of the world if I feel a bit depressed!" I jumped off the bed and sat on the floor, facing the wall.

Dee was silent but in the end she got back in bed with a sigh. She'd obviously labelled me unable to be helped. Was that what I wanted? Or did I want her to take care of me like she usually did? I shook the thought out of my head and tried to be comfortable on the floor to the best of my abilities. It was too cold to fall asleep on without developing a sickness of some sort. After some more time that was the least of my worries as the side I lying on was growing sore. I rolled over to ease some pain, but that ended up hurting as well. I was forced to give in and I climbed into the bed next to Dee, tightly curling myself into a ball again. Dee glanced at my tensed figure once, then went to sleep. I followed her lead.

The next morning was incredibly hectic and I barely had a chance to say 'goodbye' to Dee. She somehow managed to make me breakfast in five seconds nevertheless. That aspect of her amazed me, just like her ability to make plans almost instantly. I'd never really been good at housework or anything like that, so it was strange to meet someone who was so passionate about it. If it was up to me we would probably never eat and everything would be a mess. I could be so incompetent at times.

There was a sudden bang on the door, knocking the thoughts out of my mind. I glared at the source of the noise.

"Come into my secret lair!" I screamed, teasing whoever it was outside. The door fell open and Grill stumbled in, holding a bouquet of flowers. They were bright yellow and could easily be mistaken as sunflowers. However, I recognized them as coreopsis.

"Here, take these," she murmured, obviously embarrassed. A smile grew on my face and I took them, "uh, the shop keeper said they either mean 'always cheerful' or 'love at first sight' so I hope you like them. I mean, you better! Those were expensive!" she mocked rage and I giggled at her.

"Cute. Then again, it is you we're talking about, and you're always adorable," I complimented her with a hopefully attractive grin, after placing the bouquet on the floor.

She seemed shocked by my comment and blushed. "Thank you. Um, I," Grill took a few deep breaths before facing me with a grave expression, "Marx, would you like to go on a date with me today?"

I didn't respond at first. How could I reply to that? I had a girlfriend, though we'd never really been on a date before. Now that I think about it, it should've be wrong to label her my girlfriend. So if I went on a date with Grill, would that make us a better couple than Dee and I?

'This is your chance to hurt her,' it was that voice from the other day. It was pretty persistent for a figment of my imagination, 'take it, be the sadistic brat you know you are.'

"Hey! Don't call me a brat!"

"What? I didn't call you a brat," Grill said flatly with a blank expression, "Who are you talking to?"

I laughed nervously, realizing my mistake. "Oh, it's nothing! Hey so, where do you want to go Grill?"

Grill gasped. "You really want to..? Wow," she held her breath for a few seconds, then released it in one big exhale, "uh, where would you like to go? I'm not good at deciding these things."

"Oh really?" I let out a forced, obviously phoney, giggle, "That surprises me. You seem more stubborn than indecisive." Grill rushed over to the door and threw it open for me. I exited, nodding to her in thanks. She hurried after me as I didn't stop walking.

"Are you sure about this? Wouldn't Dee mind?" she asked. It almost seemed like she didn't even want to go anymore.

I sighed, trying to act frustrated. "Do you really think I'd care if Dee was mad at me? No. If you believe I would be, you clearly don't deserve me."

Grill was silent as she thought. We continued walking towards a non-existent goal, as we hadn't yet decided where to go. She stopped altogether. "But I thought you loved Dee. Then you wouldn't want to hurt her, would you?"

'Ooh, she asks many questions, doesn't she? This should take a few lies, shouldn't it, Marx? Then, you're good at that,' the voice purred. In my mind, I stuck my tongue out at it.

It's okay. You worry too much, voice, I thought, as if responding. I then turned to answer Grill. "What is love anyway? Does anyone really love anyone else? It doesn't seem like that to me, I'm sure even Dee hates me deep down inside. Therefore, I'm going to show my hate for her too." I explained.

Grill appeared to be puzzled for a moment, but nodded in the end. "Yeah, I think I get it. So, where are we going, anyway?"

"Good question," I nibbled on my lip in fake thought. To tell the truth, I knew exactly where I wanted to go from the beginning. Now it was just a matter of not sounding too excited about it. "Well, I haven't seen your house yet. I'm not sure if that counts as a date, but it's something to do, right?" I peeked over at her, though not showing my full face. Luckily, she found this quite attractive and blushed.

"Nope, that's fine! It sounds fun," Grill took the lead and we began to head in the direction of her house, wherever that may be. I babbled on about what it would look like, hoping to make her laugh at me. If I could have her full trust, it would be that much more enjoyable when I hurt her. This thought calmed my sadistic side; I had the power to cause someone pain, so much pain. It was such a joyful feeling.

"Marx, where are you going? We're here," Grill grasped me by my hat and turned me around to face her house. It was much like Dee's house and Kirby's as well, the only difference being it was square. It must've been one of the quaintest things I'd ever seen too. Ugh.

"It's nice," I lied, "so are we going inside? It would be weird to come all this way and not even show me around. Not to mention how rude that would make you seem."

She shrugged and entered the house without unlocking the door. This struck me as strange. Wouldn't she lock it for her own safety? When I was given a chance to study the one room house, it became clear. There was absolutely nothing inside except a few chairs and a sleeping bag. Personally I would still lock the door, even if I didn't have much in my possession.

"Do you like it? I still have to buy some furniture and ship some over from my old home," she sat on the sleeping bag and patted the space next to her.

I sneered. "No. I refuse to sit on something so close to the floor. If you're the one treating me to a date, you should at least get me a better seat."

Grill moved her mouth but said nothing. She simply took a wooden chair and held it out for me to take. I reluctantly sat on it with a sigh.

"Well it seems like a nice place to live anyway," I bit my lip, this time drawing a bit of blood. I licked it tenderly, hoping not to cause an infection.

"Yeah, it's a lot like Dee's, isn't it? Speaking of Dee," she stood (which seemed pretty pointless to me, as she just sat down five seconds ago) and pointed at me, "Marx! If I can make you happy today will you move out of her house and into mine?" she fell onto the bed again, gasping for air as if she'd been holding it for some time.

A wide smile spread across my face, probably making my appearance quite creepy. "Maybe, as long as you treat me the right way," I looked away from Grill and to the wall, "if you do, I'd be willing to be your boyfriend."

"Really?" she exclaimed. Her voice sounded so excited that I wanted to laugh at her already. I didn't, of course. That could wait until the end of our 'date.'

"Yeah, really," I giggled in that phoney way again, turning back to her, "but you have to impress me, 'kay?"

Grill nodded with a determined expression. "Of course! I'll do anything for you! No, that's wrong," she shook her head, "I want go to a romantic restaurant with you today! What places do they have like that in Dreamland?"

"Iie," I stuck out my tongue, "There's only one restaurant and I wouldn't say it's romantic at all. Dee works there anyway."

Grill muttered something I couldn't hear. "Fine, what do you like doing then, Marx?"

"Reading," was my simple response. I then added, "I like eating too. That and watching TV, though there isn't much on channel Dedede anymore."

"Oh, typical guy stuff," she laughed after saying this, "okay, I remember seeing a book store in town. There was something happening today, I read it on a sign. I guess we could go there."

I shrugged, or I tried to anyway. I didn't really succeed without arms. "Why not? I don't think there would be much else to do."

Grill rose excitedly and grabbed my hat to drag me along with her. We dashed out the door (which she didn't lock again) on our way to the book store. The evil grin from earlier occupied my face once more.

I have her, now I can harm her as much as I want.

It was disturbing that practically nothing was on my mind after we left. It really bothered me, to the point where my eye was twitching uncontrollably. I glared at Grill, who seemed to be thinking of something important. She saw me watching her and waved. I groaned.

"Okay, so is this it?" I asked, studying the small building. It was painfully boring in appearance with every little thing in place and no decorations anywhere. There was only a sign which told us there was something going on today, but if we didn't see that we probably wouldn't stay. I guess the owner didn't want any customers or he would advertise more than this.

"Free…brooks?" Grill read out loud, "no wait, books! Sorry, I'm not good at reading—"

"LIES!" I objected. Grill looked surprised so I added, "sorry, I wanted to frighten you."

She didn't reply and tiptoed over to the door, slowly turning the door knob. It was mostly dark on the inside, the only light coming from a lamp in the middle of the room. I took a step forward and sniffed it.

"What are you doing?" Grill hissed. She grabbed me and we both fell backwards onto the floor. I stared at the ceiling, then glanced down at Grill from the corner of my eye. She shoved me off herself and stood, as did I.

I walked around for a while, looking at the boxes scattered all over the floor. They had writing on them, but it was in another language. I wished I knew that language; it seemed ancient and useful. Maybe Dee and I could learn it so we could make fun of people without them ever discovering us. That sounded amusing.

There was a click of a light switch and the whole room was flooded with said light. A cappy was blocking the front door with his hand covering the switch. He pushed up his glasses and crossed his arms, as if angry.

"Now, what would you two be doing in here?" he inquired.

Grill and I were both silent before I blurted, "Give us all your cookies!"

The witch next to me did a face palm before she explained. "We saw the sign outside the shop and came inside. You're the owner, aren't you?" she smiled sweetly, being all cute and polite. Since when was Grill polite?

"Er, yes. My name is Biburi, but my friends also call me Bibli," Biburi strolled over to the counter and yawned, "how can I help you?"

"You're giving us free books! NOW!" I demanded, dashing up to the shop keeper and shoving my face into his, "and don't you dare forget the cookies."

Biburi was frightened for a moment, but regained a smile on his face. "I would give you books, but that sign is actually for yesterday. I'm very sorry to disappoint you."

Grill shrugged while taking me away from Biburi. "No, that's fine sir. We'll just have to find somewhere else to go. See you!" she dragged me along with her out the door. As soon as we were out she hit me over the head with her broom. I hadn't even noticed she was carrying it before this.

"Why does everyone always hurt me?" I mumbled. A few fake tears gathered in my eyes.

"Well, that would be because you're a completely insane, erratic, bizarre, sociopathic freak show who never shuts up and says stupid things," Grill stopped, probably wondering if she said every word correctly.

This statement caused me to finally remember my dream from the night before. It was when I was younger, when people used to say things like that and get away with it. It would hurt so much and I couldn't even fight back at them. I was so weak then. But now, I wouldn't let Grill go home today unscathed. I had to rip her heart to shreds and scatter them across the world. That was my goal, to share my pain with her.

"Yeah," I laughed, hiding my mood, "I guess I am like that sometimes! So Grill, where exactly are we going now?"

She paused for a moment to think about this. I tapped my foot impatiently until she turned to me with a devilish look on her face. "I'm going to kiss you now!" she announced at the top of her lungs, directing her index finger at me.

I stared at her blankly. "Well that's great and all, but you don't have to tell me. Just do it."

Grill growled a few times before heaving a sigh. She shook her hand in my face. "I can't do it. I just wanted to tell you because I knew it probably wouldn't happen, even if I intended to!" there was an awkward silence, as usual. Then Grill fell to the ground with a thud right underneath a tree. I watched her without a word as she stretched a few times and laid on her back. I soon joined her and we stayed there like that for some time.

After about fifteen minutes, something cold and wet hit where my nose would be. I shook my head and sneezed in surprise, looking at the sky. A sudden down pour occurred and I shoved my self into Grill's arms in a hasty manner. I felt her cheeks grow warm on my skin and smirked at her emotions for me. Just a bit longer, then it was time to destroy her completely.

Half an hour of sitting still wasn't good for my mind. It could've been for any number of reasons, but it really annoyed me. So of course I didn't stay with Grill throughout the whole rainstorm, as that would cause discomfort for me. Instead I took to splashing around childishly in the newly made puddles. After a while my feet were soaking wet and I could barely feel them anymore. My hat was the same, and I imagined it would take some time to dry. Dee didn't have a dryer either. Not that she needed one since she didn't really wear clothes anyway.

I was in the middle of cackling furiously at a puddle as I beat it with my foot when Grill called to me. I turned to her and she waved.

"Come out here!" I shouted to her. She shook her head, "Why not? Are you afraid of the rain?"

I could see her make the action of a sigh in the distance. She didn't say anything else so I went back to murdering the puddle in front of me. I first 'tested' it a few times with my right foot, then took a step back before diving into it. My whole body was covered in dirty water, but it was still refreshing to my skin.

"Marx, I should bring you home now," I jumped at the sound of Grill's voice, noticing her presence next to me.

"Okay," I agreed, "but I want to go for a walk first. Can we just go for a…oh." My vision suddenly flashed a bunch of psychedelic colours and I collapsed onto the wet ground. Grill slipped her hand under my body and took me in her arms. I struggled out of her grip and landed softly on the ground. I reassured her that I was alright and she seemed to believe me.

"So where are we walking?" she questioned. I took a few steps in one direction and gave her a look, signalling that she should follow. Grill nodded and took her place next to me.

We walked in silence for a couple of blocks, studying our surroundings. I'd never noticed just how nice Pupu Village was, especially in the rain. The buildings were all so adorable and quaint—no wonder everyone liked it here. Maybe I could even belong here someday with these normal people. Maybe they could learn to accept me…No, that wouldn't happen.

A few feet away from Chef Kawasaki's restaurant Grill halted me. I offered her a smile, knowing exactly what she wanted to say.

"M-Marx," she stuttered with a sneeze, "did you have a good time today..? Will you be my boyfriend like you promised?" her voice was barely a whisper and I realized quickly that I had full power here.

"Did I really say that?" I taunted her, which earned a glare, "I guess I did. Hm, I can't answer that question."

Grill looked disgusted. "Don't be like that! Tell me if you're in love with me!"

The grin I'd been waiting to reveal all day appeared on my face, accompanied by a sadistic, twisted giggle. "I was bored," I explained, "and you just happened to be my toy today. For you, that's very sad. But for me, it was actually quite fun. Yes, I had great fun today with you, Grill!"

"Wait, what are you saying?" she asked, a hint of cautiousness in her voice.

The smile grew until it caused slight pain for me, though I truly didn't mind at all. "I mean what I say; you, Grill, were my toy today. I used you because I had nothing else to do. It wasn't because I love you, or because I think you're a great friend. You just happened to be there. You're also infatuated with me, so I've been looking forward to this moment since this morning."

Grill's mouth fell open for a moment, then she began to cry. The tears made me feel so good; her pain was invigorating to me. "Marx…I don't hate you for this. I really just feel bad for you," she choked, "I mean, you must have some sort of problems to want to hurt other people. I don't know what those are, but I think you should deal with them."

"Oh really? That's nice of you, acting so selflessly. You care about me more than your broken heart. Touching," I wasn't sure how far I could take this without sounding like a total control freak, but I decided I was doing alright, "I hope you rot in hell." I added with a growl.

Grill was quiet and unmoving as she concentrated on my face. Her stern expression suddenly transformed into one of pity. "There really is something wrong with you, isn't there?" she mumbled, "I wish I knew how to help you, but I don't." her body began to shiver with the cold and she took a step away from me.

"You don't understand!" I exclaimed, fully exposing myself. I quickly fixed this by saying, "why can't you recognize when someone is trying to harm you? It's obvious that's what I'm trying to do, isn't it?"

She finally did what I'd been hoping she'd do from the beginning; she shrieked something that made no sense and began to sob. I grinned sadistically at the suffering witch in front of me. It looks like I won this time, and I would always win. There was no way she could succeed someone like me. Could anyone at this point?

"I…hate you," Grill coughed and stood up to face me, "I hate you! I hate everything about you!" she shoved me onto the ground but made no other attempt to hurt me physically. After a few moments passed she screamed and darted away from me like a frightened animal.

A wave of pride washed over my entire being and I let out a small giggle. The giggle gradually transformed into a shrill cackle and I lost control of myself. Laughter poured out of my mouth rapidly, though it didn't scare me like it did last time. Instead it felt amazing. It was exactly like the chaotic emotion I had when I succeeded in taking over Pop Star. I was so happy! Ecstatic!

Minutes passed and the cackles came to an end. My throat was still burning and I figured my voice would be raspy for a while. I decided that thought was irrelevant and looked at my surroundings. My eyes focused on Kawasaki's restaurant, the building to my right. I squinted at the figure with an umbrella, watching me. I gasped as I realized who it was.

It was Dee. She'd seen everything.

Author's note: …I'm not sure if I enjoyed writing this or not. Huh, well I wonder how Dee's going to react to this. Oh well, you'll have to wait until next chapter! ^^

And the voice isn't something in Marx's mind. It's real, it's just trying to destroy him. You have to wait to see who it is though…+.+

Okeii, please don't flame! And also, I remind you about the poll! Take it, please! :O