It's been a long time since the last chapter was posted, about five years now. For personal reasons I had to step back a bit from this fic, as I knew it was only going to get darker from where I last left it at. I hope the wait has been worth it, please enjoy and expect lots of gore and body horror this chapter.

Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters belong to Kazuki Takahashi

"The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned."

― Maya Angelou, All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes

Chapter 11: Fading Light

A scoop of wet, runny mac-and-cheese-like substance was dropped down onto his lunch tray like a globule of snot. Marik did his best not to gag as some of the cheese-colored water splashed onto his cheek before he took his food over to an empty table to attempt to eat. After several minutes of prodding at the orange lump with a fork, he decided it would be best to not consume it, opting for the somewhat mushy green beans and carrots on the left side of the tray. They were horribly bland and tasted as though they had been sitting in a fridge for weeks, but at least they were edible.

The sudden clank of another tray hitting the table next to him caused the boy to jump slightly. When he saw who it was, he glared at them.

"What do you want?" The boy asked.

"What's the matter? A guy can't sit down for lunch?" Pandora asked, feigning upset, "Why, I'm torn apart, really. Just destroyed-"

"You will be if you don't leave me alone in the next five seconds…" the boy growled.

Pandora tisked, waving a warning finger disapprovingly, "I'd be more careful around here if I were you, child. The doctors and the guards don't take threats to other patients or staff lightly. You keep talking like that, and you're bound to wind up in the Quiet Room for sure."

Marik rolled his eyes, "Big deal…Doctor Jonouchi already threatened put me in there once and didn't."

The older man gave an exaggerated shrug, "Suit yourself," he chuckled darkly, "I gave you my warning. If you get to spend a night in the padded room or worse, well, it's on you now, young master."

Frowning at his words, Marik could feel a lump forming in his stomach. That or it was those horrid vegetables he'd just consumed trying to come back up. He couldn't discern which. Either way, he could feel anxiety starting to wash over him in waves. He glanced around the cafeteria and noticed one of the guardsmen was watching him closely. He shivered under the piercing gaze and forced himself to look away.

"What do you mean 'or worse'?"

"Why don't you test it out sometime if you're so eager to find out?"

"I'd…rather not."

"He's smarter then he looks, ladies and gentlemen!"

Sighing Marik rubbed his temples, looking down at solidifying block of mac and cheese before shoving his tray away from himself. Pandora took note of his lack of appetite, and quickly snatched the tray up. Marik did nothing to stop him. He stared down at the table, his head a buzz with static as the images of his latest nightmare resurfaced. It had been a few hours by now, but still he felt like there was thin residue of…something clinging to his skin.

Not just clinging, but crawling. It was as if he could still feel that black, tar-like gunk slithering through every pore, ever vein. But he was awake, wasn't he? Oh, who was he kidding? Half the time he wasn't even sure anymore. For all he knew, he'd wake up in a moment and he'd be back in his room or something.

"Man, you really are nuts, aren't you? You even mumble to yourself!"

Marik jumped when Pandora addressed him, an annoyed heat building in his face. Had he really been talking out loud to himself just now? Growling, he turned to face the man to his right that was digging into the food on the tray he had pushed aside.

"What gives you the right to call me nuts? You're here too!"

"That is true, I am," he sneered, glancing at the boy from the corner of his eye, "But not for the same reasons, I'm sure."

Taken aback, Marik glanced back at the table, "Yeah, I guess so."

At the sudden drop in the boy's features, Pandora snorted, "Sheesh, lighten up though. I was just joking around."

The simmering anger flared back up, and Marik grabbed hold of the front of Pandora's shirt, pulling him close to his face, "You think this is funny?" The boy hissed, flecks of spit hitting Pandora on the cheek, "You think I like being stuck here, away from my family, you pretentious freak?!"

Pandora stared at him a moment before he broke into almost hysterical sounding laughter. Marik felt his lower eyelid twitch, and drew back his fist to throw a punch. It was caught by the strong hand of the guard who had been watching him from afar just a moment or two ago. Marik heard himself yelp in surprise.

"Is there an issue over here, boys?"

Breath catching in his throat, Marik felt his grip on Pandora's shirt slacken. He turned to look at the guard who was still holding his wrist tightly as the laughter died down.

"I-I…he started it!"

"Oh, I started it, hm? Let he who is without sin cast the first stone," Pandora scoffed.

"I don't care who started what," the man growled, looking over at Marik, "You were about to hit him. Now I might be willing to overlook this if you're willing to apologize."

"Apologize? No way, he's the one who-"

Without giving him a moment to finish, the guard hefted Marik out of his seat by the wrist he still held. Marik felt his shoulder tug painfully from the movement, and he cried out before swinging his free hand at the guard in retaliation. It caught the stronger man in the stomach, but he hardly flinched before slamming the small child onto the edge of the table. It stunned Marik long enough for the guard to secure both his hands.

"You just earned yourself a free night in the quiet room, kid," he growled.

Pandora said nothing to him, opting to smile and quietly wave at him as he was led away. The panic began to set in as he was made to walk, and he started to scream.

A short walk and a shot later, Marik found himself in that very room he'd been dreading all morning. He started screaming, and smacking against the door of the room, only for the muffled sounds to be swallowed up by the padding. After a moment he started to realize it was a fruitless venture, and he plopped himself down on the padded floor.

It didn't take long for the shot they'd given him to start taking effect; he was already forcing himself to blink to keep his eyes open. Whining with desperation, Marik pulled on his hair and pinched at his face in a vain attempt to fight the sedative. He was still very tired from his lack of sleep the night before, and the calming lull of the quiet room was starting to get to him.

"Maybe…if I just rest my eyes for a few minutes…" He muttered absently, gently laying his head down on the padded floor.

He breathed softly, staring absently at the far corner of the room from him. His eyes opened and shut every couple of seconds, some part of him still trying to stay in control. They shut again for what felt like several minutes, allowing him to slip into a dazed sleep, before the sound of haggard breathing made them snap open again.

Across the room in the corner he'd been staring at, laid a boy with white hair. He was gasping and making gargling noises as the blood poured freely from his mouth and the gash in his throat, pooling under him as he stared directly into the other's eyes. Marik felt his breath catch, and he would have sat up to try and get away, but much to his horror he realized he could not move at all. Even worse he realized, when he attempted to call out for help he could not speak either. It was as if his whole body was frozen and the only part he could move was his eyes.

So he closed his eyes, and mentally told the image to go away. He waited a few seconds and opened them again only to see Ryou was still there. Not only that, but he was moving towards him now. Crawling, dragging himself across the padded floor that caused a horrendous squelching noise; nails digging into the fabric and leaving little lines of blood as he pulled himself along.

Marik's eyes widened, screaming at his body to move as the apparition moved steadily closer. But no matter how loudly he shouted at himself, still he remained there on the floor. Ryou had made significant distance in that time. He was close enough now Marik could smell the pungent odor of blood and feel the hot air of his breath on his face.

No, no no, please…go away. Go away!

Ryou gurgled loudly; hand reaching out to grip Marik's throat tightly as he pull himself uncomfortably close to the other boy. He was hovering over him slightly, blood dripping from his open mouth onto Marik's tear-stained cheeks. The rasping of his breathing only got louder as he leaned in, face nearly touching his. Marik shut his eyes, not wanting to see what happened next.

"Wake up…," He choked out, "Marik wake up."

His eyes snapped open, and he gasped as if he'd been holding his breath and jumped back. It took him a second to realize that it was Doctor Jonouchi, and he slumped weakly against the wall in relief. Jonouchi sighed, relieved to see him awake as well. He turned to the guard that was behind him, "You mind telling me why he was sedated? There's a note specifically in his chart that says he's not to be given sedatives, lest it aggravates the nightmares he's been having."

"Standard procedure, Doctor; he was in an attempted altercation with another patient."

"Oh yeah? Well who was it?"

The other man flipped through a chart he was holding, "Pandora Kijutsushi, sir."

Jonouchi sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "That guy's always causing issues with the more temperamental patients. Next time, I want to be notified before any sedatives are given. Understood?"

The other man nodded and Jonouchi bent down to talk to Marik, "You might still be a little drowsy until it works through your system some more," he frowned, noting the other boy wasn't saying anything, "Everything alright?"

Marik shook his head, not wanting to talk about what he'd seen, "Nightmare…bad."

Doctor Jonouchi's expression softened and he helped the boy up with a sigh, "Well I'm sure this place didn't help. Come on, I'll get you back to your room so we can at least keep a better eye on you if it happens again."

He nodded, but said nothing else as he let himself be led back to his jail cell of a room.

The next few days weren't much better for sleep either. Between the constant check-ups from the staff, the meetings with Jonouchi to try and better assess his condition, and the nightmares starting up just about every time he did manage to fall out he was exhausted and feeling unclean. It was after one such meeting with the doctor that he found himself feeling especially grimy and he asked if it would be possible for him to take a shower since it had been a few days since his last one. The doctor agreed and had a nurse escort him down to the shower room. He was surprised and bothered to find just how different, and older looking, these showers were to the ones at the non-violent ward.

Marik shivered as he crossed the threshold into the massive shower room. Some of the faucets were currently running, creating a light fog of steam along the tiled floor. A few of the other patients were there, some idly shuffling in the water spray; other's quietly scrubbing at their skin. The showers themselves weren't very private. They were separated by waist high walls. Probably so they could still see what everyone was doing to make sure no one got hurt. Still, he didn't like it. He was really starting to miss the shower at the other building. At least that one had a curtain he could pull back. The nurse tapped him on the shoulder and handed him some towels and toiletries before gesturing him on his way.

Eyes towards the ground, Marik quietly made his way to the nearest available shower stall, setting his towel on the edge of the wall. Thankfully, he'd managed to find one that was far enough away from the few others in the room. He glanced up at the faucet head, a line of rust trailing down from where it met the wall. Sighing he turned the water on and waited for it to heat up. He carefully took off his clothes and set them on the edge next to his towels and started soaping up his face.

"…You can't keep doing this…"

Marik jumped slightly, looking around when he suddenly heard a voice. But there was no one. He debating asking what the voice had meant, but remembered that Dr. Jonouchi had told him to ignore any should he start hearing them again. He'd called them…delusions, or something. And that entertaining them could slowly make the nightmares worse. So instead he rinsed his face off and tried to quickly finish his shower; turning up the heat of the water just a little to mask the chill creeping over his skin.

"I know you can hear me. You really don't get it, do you?"

A hand suddenly gripped Marik around the neck and slammed him against the dividing wall. Horrifyingly, through the steam of the water, was the other Marik. He glared at him coldly, tightening his grip a little to make sure he had the other's attention.

"The longer you keep this up, the worse it's going to get."

"W-what are you talking about?!" He whispered harshly so as to not draw attention, "Keep what up?"

"Denying everything; who I am and what he is. When are you going to open the door?"

Marik shook his head, "You're not real. Doctor Jonouchi said-"

"Said I'm only in your head? Well…he's not wrong," the other boy grinned manically, "But just because something's in your head, doesn't mean it's not real. Maybe I need to remind you of that?"

Marik suddenly felt the other boy's fingernails dragging painfully down his throat. His screams echoed off the tiled walls, and a moment later a nurse came rushing to his stall to check on him. When she saw the blood her eyes widened.

"Oh my god…call Doctor Jonouchi and bring some first aid!" She called out to another of the staff that was present. She quickly shut off the water in Marik's shower and grabbed his towel off the ledge and wrapped him in it, "Scratched yourself real bad there…" she frowned, shaking her head a little.

Scratched…myself? Marik looked down at his hands and began to shake when he saw the blood coating his own fingers. He started crying, trying to scoot away as he pressed himself further against the wall, "I didn't do it…I didn't do it on purpose…"

He thought he was done not being able to control his hands, but it seemed he was wrong. Marik used the towel to cover his head with. He didn't want to be looked at, didn't want to be seen. The nurse made no effort to restrain him, so he simply hid there in the towel, crying. Several minutes passed until Doctor Jonouchi showed up.

"Marik? What happened?"

He didn't answer, just bundled himself up further. The nurse sighed and answered for him, "Scratched his throat real bad, not sure why. He was fine just a moment ago."

He nodded, "Hassan's notes said he has a self-harm issue. Marik?" He asked, bending down to his level, "Marik let me see how bad it is."

"No!"

Despite his verbal protest, he didn't fight when Jonouchi carefully pulled back the towel to look at his face and neck. He tipped Marik's chin up, and sighed, "It's not great but it could be worse. They're pretty shallow at least," he sighed, "Come on, I'll get you patched up."

Wrapping the towel as tightly around himself as he could, Marik stood back up. Though when he did he immediately wanted to hunch back down. The other occupants in the shower room were all staring at him. He whimpered and looked down, not wanting to meet anyone's eyes. Thankfully, the doctor noticed how uncomfortable he was.

"Alright, alright, show's over," He put a protective hand on Marik's shoulder, "Come on kid."

Marik quietly walked alongside him, glancing up briefly as they passed by one of the stalls. As soon as he did though, he regretted it almost instantly. There was that wide-eyed, bald man that Pandora had told him to watch out for. Despite the doctor's order, he was still staring at him. Pupils moving ever so slightly as they walked past like the ticking needles of a clock. It was the only sign of movement that the man gave to show that he was even a real person and not some life-sized doll.

The moment had passed as quickly as it happened as Marik was led away from the other patient. Though that didn't stop the persistent prickling sensation on Marik's neck that those eyes were still following him, even as he left the room…

After receiving some minor first aid, Doctor Jonouchi took him aside for an impromptu session. He was worried about how Marik was adjusting to the new surroundings and if it was possibly making his symptoms worse, so he wanted to check in with him.

"Alright now…tell me exactly what it was that happened. Did any of the other patients make you do that to yourself?"

"Huh? N-no, it…it was him. That…other me I told you about already. He grabbed me by the throat, and-"

Jonouchi frowned, cutting him off, "Marik, we talked about this just the other day. These are delusions you're having, possibly a result of guilt, remember?"

"He's not! You told me to ignore if I heard voices again, and I tried to! It didn't work! And he made me scratch myself! I didn't want to! I didn't…" He sobbed, "Why don't you believe me?"

The doctor's face softened a bit at the child's tears. He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Marik I do believe you. I believe these things are very much something you're seeing and experiencing. But they're not something that I can feel or see. So I'm trying to factor in the symptoms you have to try and figure out what's wrong.

He nodded weakly, rubbing at his eyes a bit, "What…do you think is wrong with me?"

"Well…" Jonouchi paused, going over Marik's file again, "From what I've observed and from what Hasan recorded in your file before your transfer, I have reason to suspect schizophrenia. The hallucinations, the paranoia, delusions, the violent hostility; they're all very textbook symptoms. It's not common to find in children so young, but it does happen."

Marik had heard of that before, but he had no idea of what it could mean other than he was for sure out of his mind. His face fell and he looked down at his lap, "So…I really am crazy then?"

"Hey…now don't go saying that. I don't know for sure yet that this is what's wrong. It's a theory, okay? Even if it is what you have, you're not 'crazy'. We're going to do a little more testing to make sure in the morning, but I'm going to start you on some medication that should at least help ease some of them. Alright? Most mental health issues are treatable. You'll be just fine."

He wasn't entirely convinced, but if the medicine he was going to give him helped to at least quiet some of what he was going through, it couldn't hurt, could it?

"Okay..." he nodded, looking back up at the doctor, "What…kind of medicine is it?"

"Fluphenazine; It's what's known as an antipsychotic," He paused noting the look on the boy's face, "Take it easy, that's just the term used because of how it affects the brain, alright? It's used for treating a lot of what you've been experiencing, so I think it could benefit you. So we'll start you on a low dose of that tonight before bed. It will take a few days to notice any changes, but we'll be keeping an eye on you for any."

Marik nodded and sighed, hoping this was going to work, "Okay…I'll try it, I guess."

As Marik settled into bed for the night, a nurse stopped by to give him the medication as promised. He made a face as he swallowed it, the pill having a bad after taste to it. He washed it down with the rest of the water he'd been brought before curling up under his blanket. A while after the nurse left, Marik found himself feeling a bit wired despite wanting to sleep. He wondered if it was the medication or if he was just anxious about it. The doctor had said it would take a few days before they noticed anything, so it was probably just nerves getting the better of him.

He tossed and turned around for a bit, got up to use the bathroom and refill his cup with some water at his small sink before climbing back into bed again. It was a rough start to sleep but he eventually managed to get himself comfortable enough where he felt his consciousness sliding to the back of his mind…

A rancid stench wafting around his nose made him stir again. It was like someone had mixed the roadkill he had his brother had walked by one time with cat pee or something else just as gross. He nearly gagged as he sat up from the smell. What was it? He glanced around, having trouble seeing in the dark where he was. So he felt out with his hands. Marik grimaced as he felt the floor. It was warm, and wet. He didn't want to know what it was, but he wished he had a light so the curiosity would stop bothering him.

As if on cue, a small round object rolled towards him. As soon as Marik picked it up, it glowed with a soft yellow light, illuminating the space around him. He paled, realizing the walls and floor were covered in some sort of fleshy substance. Nearly throwing up, he rubbed the side of his face that had been touching the floor to make sure there was no residue on his cheek. Once he'd composed himself, he stood, holding the ball out in his hand to light more of the room.

That's when he noticed it wasn't so much a room as it was a corridor. That meant it had to lead somewhere; hopefully to some place that smelled less foul. He pulled his shirt up over his nose to help filter out the worse of it before he carried on. As he walked, Marik shone the light against the walls, trying to see if he recognized where he was. In between the tendrils of flesh, Marik thought he could make out stone walls. Occasionally, he spotted some symbols too. It wasn't until he found a more exposed section of wall that he realized he recognized the symbols: Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Skin crawling, he continued on, hoping that he wasn't lurking somewhere nearby. If he was…Marik wasn't sure what to do anymore. He was getting tired; wore out from the strain of having to fight that demon of a man almost every night. And he was starting to run out of ideas on how to fight him. The vein-like tendrils suddenly pulsed loudly, causing Marik to jump and nearly dropping the ball. Were these things attached to something? He didn't want to stick around to find out. The boy took off at a sprint, hoping the corridor would finally lead out of this hellscape. As he rounded a corner, however, he found exactly what he'd been hoping to avoid.

The hallway opened up into a large, cavernous room. The veins here were numerous and much larger than the ones in the hallway. At the other end of the room, was a large, heavy looking door; one that he had seen before. A very grimy, faded sign hung lopsided on the door that read 'Patient's Belongings'. It was the door the other Marik had shown him before. Only now it was sealed shut from the tendrils of flesh coursing around the room. But it wasn't the door that made his hands and feet go cold with fear. It was the large, pulsating thing that hung just above the door.

It took the boy a moment to even realize what he was looking at in the dim light. It was cocoon-like; if cocoons were made of red, raw flesh and mucus. It pulsed rhythmically, like an exposed heart, sounding as if it were beating faster the longer he stared at it. Having seen enough of whatever it was Marik turned to go…and found he could not move his feet. He glanced down and screamed when he saw the fleshy floor had encroached on his legs. The boy bent down to claw at the binds but found them too thick for his fingers to do any damage.

"Shit…shit, fuck, help!"

Marik looked around trying desperately to see if there was anything in reach to help him when something shot out from the floor and wrapped around his wrist. He screamed again, and in his panic dropped the ball. It rolled a short distance away; its glow dimming slightly as if Marik holding onto it was the only thing that had been keeping it lit. He tried to reach for it, only for the tendril wrap tighter around his arm.

"Let go! Get off!" He screamed, grabbing at it with his free hand.

A second one shot out from the floor and grabbed his free hand, pulling it back to his side. Marik struggled, pulling against the restraints to no avail. He screamed again; a sound that quickly died when he heard a low chuckle echoing through the room.

"Yes, do scream more. I so love the sounds your voice makes when you're filled with such wonderful fear."

No, no, no, not now…

Marik glanced up in the direction where the large cocoon was above the door. There was another low chuckle, causing it to pulse in response. That's when Marik realized Atem was inside the fleshy shell. It started emitting a faint, red glow, revealing the man inside. Marik could just make out his face splitting into a wide, twisted grin of sharp teeth from where he stood tethered to the floor. A loud, sickening crack erupted from the casing surrounding the other man as it split open around him.

He stepped out from it, rivulets of mucus trailing off his limbs. A pair of wings unfurled out from his back, moth-like in appearance as he stretched them outwards. He seemed to almost walk in the air before slowly descending to the ground below; wings fluttering slightly as he landed. As he stepped closer to the boy, he paused a moment to pick up the ball that Marik had previously dropped. He turned it over in his hand, examining it. The faint glow still left in it had gone almost completely out. Atem smirked at this before popping the item into his mouth, swallowing it whole. The room plunged into darkness...

Marik breathed heavily in the darkness, trying not to start crying. He couldn't even make out the faintest of shadows. He had no idea where Atem could be and what he was going to do to him, but he could feel those fleshy tendrils sliding further up his limbs and pulling them out away from his body.

"Delicious," Atem purred, his voice seeming to be right in the boy's ear, "Tell me, Marik? You're not hiding anymore…are you?"

"H-Hiding anymore what? What do you want from me?!"

Something like the flutter of wings or the strange softness of a bug brushed past his cheek, nearly sending Marik into hysterics at being unable to brush it away. He started squirming against his bindings, desperation spilling out of his throat in panicked squeals. Atem, wherever he was lurking, chuckled darkly in the blackness. As afraid as he was, he tried to recall what he and Doctor Jonouchi had discussed about the nightmares.

"Mm…shut up!" Marik growled out, snapping his eyes shut, "You're…you're just a dream, you're not real." He muttered aloud, "You're just a dream…just a bad, bad dream. You can't hurt me…can't hurt me…"

Marik's eyes shot open and he gasped for air like he'd been holding his breath. Shaking, he held his head with both hands. There was a thin layer of sweat adorning his scalp and chest, making his shirt stick to his skin a bit. As he glanced the room trying to calm himself, Marik suddenly realized something about where he'd woken up. It was his bed…his bed at home.

Home…am I…really home?

The tears he'd been holding back suddenly came spilling out as he called out for help, "I-Ishizu?! Ishizu!"

There was a moment of silence filled with nothing but his sobs, when he finally heard a set of quiet footsteps coming up to his bedroom door. The knob twisted, slowly, deliberately, and his sister carefully stepped into the room with a flashlight. The beam under lit her face in an almost menacing way, but he was too relieved to see her to be afraid.

"Marik, what's wrong? Why are you screaming at this hour? You're going to wake f-oh," She paused when she saw the boy's face a mess and carefully went over to his bedside, "Are you alright?" She asked.

He did his best to try and quell his sobbing before hugging his sister tightly, "I had…a horrible nightmare…there was…I was in a hospital and…"

She sighed, gently patting his back to shush him, "I told Rishid he shouldn't have let you see that movie so close to bedtime."

He nodded a little, hardly even remembering the movie he's supposedly watched before bed, "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," he sniffled, "Just…there was…this man. I…" Marik hesitated even saying his name, worried it would summon him from the dark depths, "Like the one Father's been teaching me about…one of the New Kingdom Pharaohs."

Ishizu pat him on the head, petting his hair gently, "Hey, it was just a bad dream, right? It's best not to dwell on it."

"I guess, but…what if I go back to sleep and have another one?" He asked, rubbing his cheeks dry.

She sighed, sounding a bit tired, "Do you want me to stay up with you for a bit?"

Marik nodded, bundling himself in his blanket for comfort, "Could…could you read to me? Like you used to when I was little?"

The corner of her mouth twitched, as if slightly annoyed, "I suppose, hold on." She said, getting up and going over to Marik's book shelf. The boy blinked when he thought he saw something fluttering in the flashlight beam, but figured it was just his eyes playing tricks on him. His sister returned, book in hand and climbed onto the bed with him. Marik scooted closer to listen and rested his head on her shoulder. He hardly paid attention to the words she was speaking, just happy to be home again.

Something fluttered in the beam of the flashlight again. It smacked against it a few times before coming to rest on Ishizu's hand. Marik blinked, not sure if he was still seeing things or not. Resting upon Ishizu's hand was a moth, a rather large one with a strange white spot on its back. It flailed its front legs, making a high-pitched screeching sound that seemed to be getting louder by the minute. Marik winced, covering his ears.

"Ishizu, there's a-" Marik paused as he glanced up at her, feeling his stomach drop. The sound wasn't just coming from the moth. It was coming from Ishizu's mouth; unnaturally agape and stretched wide if a human could open their mouth like a snake. Pouring forth from it were tens, no, hundreds of the same large moth that had landed on her hand. They swarmed, pelting against his face with their soft, fluttery bodies.

Marik's own screams joined the screeching echoing from his sister's mouth. He swung wildly at the moths, his hands catching a few but not enough to rid him of the swarm. They were climbing and getting stuck in his hair. He was sure a few had somehow ended up in his shirt, as he could feel their strange little hooked feet gripping the skin of his back. In a desperate attempt to get away, Marik ran to his door and threw it open and threw himself into the hallway…only to realize he was no longer in his house.

The stifling darkness he thought he'd escaped before was back, as were the fleshy binds holding his limbs. A familiar face was looking up at him, illuminated by a faint golden glow: Atem. Marik could see veins and vessels pulsing as if Atem's skin were made of tracing paper as he loomed closer. Marik whined, a new fear seeping into him as he realized the moths he thought he'd escaped were still there. The insects were gnawing very large holes in his clothes to the point he was practically naked. A cold chill ran across his skin, goose flesh popping up like boils on his arms and legs.

"You know you could've made this so much easier on yourself if you'd just stayed in your happy little dream," He purred, hooking at finger under Marik's chin, "Now you'll just have to face what comes next like a big boy."

"W-what are you going to do to me?!"

Atem shushed him, digging his claw-like finger nail harder into Marik's chin, "Just relax Marik, enjoy yourself…let all those pesky little worries and all that delicious hope of yours just, melt away."

Without any warning, the claw stabbed into him just above the collarbone. Sliding down his chest, nicking bone as it went. Marik shrieked; he'd never felt pain as horrible as being spliced open like a classroom frog on the dissection board. Atem finally stopped just below his naval, giving Marik a moment to draw a shaking, sputtering breath through his tears. But the reprieve lasted only a moment, as the skin of his chest was flayed open, exposing his insides. Marik could say nothing, his mind a whirr of pain and confusion through his loud sobbing.

Atem hovered above him, chuckling, "There it is…"

Marik wasn't sure what he was talking about, and he hazarded a glance down at himself. From inside his opened chest and stomach, there were tiny little balls of light. So faint he might not have seen them if it hadn't been pitch black in the room. He whined, wriggling a bit as he realized that was what Atem was after. Hope…he'd said something about hope? Why did he want that?

A sudden loud noise above him startled Marik from his questions. Atem was making a horrid retching sound as if he were about to be sick. The man's throat swelled, as if something large was trying to come up, before Marik received his horrifying answer. Hundreds of little white grub-like creatures came spilling out of his mouth and into his open chest cavity. They wriggled and writhed, crawling deep into his flesh and between his organs. Gnawing…feeding. They made their way to the little balls of light and swarmed them; chewing loud enough to heard in the quiet dark. Marik began heaving, wanting to be sick but nothing would come up. He wailed loudly as Atem reached a hand up to gently pet his cheek in comfort.

"There, there, my child, it will be over soon…"

"Make it stop…make it stop, please! It hurts!"

"It won't for much longer. You're doing so well," He crooned, wiping a stray tear from his cheek before placing a hand over his mouth to silence his sobs, "But perhaps next time you'll sleep a little longer, won't you?"

Marik looked at him through tear stained eyes and nodded a little, just wanting it to end now. Atem smiled and kissed his forehead, "Good boy."

Gently, Atem took his hand off Marik's mouth as he began closing the boy up. He folded the flayed skin back down as carefully as if he were handling a newborn. The tendrils of flesh that had been covering Marik's arms and legs slowly began creeping down onto his chest and stomach. They slithered into the long cut and sewed him back up as if he were a nothing more than a stuffed doll. He winced as he felt his skin pulling back together with each one. Some of those grubby worms spilled out as the stitches pulled tighter, yet he could still feel them lurking beneath his skin. Still gnawing; still eating him alive.

"A-Atem?" He asked fearfully, body shaking from the trauma.

He was shushed again, chin getting tipped upwards, "A little piece of me to keep with you…forever," the king grinned before disappearing back into the darkness.

Marik whined, curling up slightly now that his arms and legs were free form their binds. Those worms were still inside him crawling around. Out…he had to get them out. He clutched at his stomach and pressed into it as hard as he could; trying to get himself to throw up. Nothing was coming up still.

A sudden painful burning sensation erupted through his chest, causing Marik to double over. Something bad was happening. He just didn't know what. It was like something was clawing to get out, and not in the trapped way. There was a sickening crack, and Marik felt his chest bust wide open. As he fell back, feeling like he was dying, Marik finally saw what had erupted from his chest: a swarm of moths. Black and fluttering bodies took off into the dark as Marik's screams echoed after them.

He was still screaming when he awoke, clawing at his shirt and chest. Still convinced the moth worms were still inside him. Someone entered the room, trying to calm him down. All he could do was cry. He couldn't see them through his tears, and barely heard what they were saying over his sobs. He wasn't sure how long they were there for, but when he finally calmed down all he felt was numbness. Someone helped him to his feet, and he stood. But that was all he could get himself to do, despite someone pushing on his back to get him to move. A moment passed, he was unsure of how long, before someone sat him down again.

He felt himself moving, though it was not because of his legs. Did he even have legs? Someone moved him from sitting to standing again, then back to sitting. Things were quiet, people were talking. Someone lifted his head and a face came into view. He couldn't be sure if he knew them or not. He felt like his head was just…gone. Only the shell of his body remained now.

"Marik?"

The boy blinked, continuing to stare absently in Doctor Jonouchi's direction. Most of the light had left his eyes, replaced by a hollow, mild-wide stare. Jonouchi sighed and gently tapped his face a little. Marik didn't even seem to notice. He simply continued to gently sway where he sat.

"Marik, say something. Can you hear me?"

Still there was no response. Jonouchi gently lifted Marik's arm, tapping it lightly to see if that roused the boy. Nothing. When he let go, Marik held his arm there as if it were frozen. Doctor Jonouchi did the same with his fingers, folding them down towards the palm. Again they stayed. Without a word, he walked over to his desk to retrieve his recorder.

"The patient has entered an acute state of catatonia. He is displaying waxy flexibility and, despite efforts to, I can't seem to reach through to him at this time. Perhaps he had a negative reaction to the Fluphenazine? I'm going to start him on a round of Benzodiazepine to try and bring him out of-"

A loud, blaring alarm suddenly cut him off midsentence, causing Jonouchi to jump. At the same time, he heard his office phone start to ring, and he quickly grabbed for it.

"Yes, what is it?" he paused, heart starting to race, "A riot? Alright, I'm here in my office with a patient. I'll wait for you to come retrieve us."

Hanging up the phone, he headed for the door and opened it to take a quick peek outside.

When the alarm began to sound, Marik felt himself return, if only slightly. His eyes shifted up to Doctor Jonouchi before the older man walked past him. He thought he heard the door hinges creek open. Someone shouted briefly before falling silent among the wails of the siren. A moment later, he could hear footsteps approaching him from behind, but made no effort to look back.

A hand tightly gripped his shoulder, the nails digging into his flesh through his sleeve. He blinked once and slowly drew his head upwards. Standing above him, he saw a pale, expressionless face on a bald head; a pair of dark eyes locked onto his. Marik shut his eyes once more, and heard the alarm start to fade into the background until all grew silent.