Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Gi Oh
Author's notes: Nothing new to report here. Just that Marik will be back very soon and don't forget this will continue past battle city. I don't know how many chapters there will be, around 40 plus I think. Im not sure right now, just keep it in mind.
I know some of you want Yami Marik to stay, but he is the baddie. He has to go bye bye. If you feel the need, say your goodbyes now. Last chance people! Btw, does anyone else seem to have trouble with the separators? I have to resort to numbers now!
Also, the first card Yami Marik draws, I wasn't sure what it was called in the English version so I stuck with the Japanese name. vampiric leech. Just so you know. And I pinched a lot of speech from the Japanese version too. Especially where Marik and Odion are concerned.
Anyhoo, I won't keep you waiting any longer.
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Unrequited Love
Chapter 28: The Final Duel
Anuket strode through the hallway right after Yami's duel with Kaiba. Despite her seemingly cheery attitude towards her 'friends' she was feeling very low. There was only one duel left to play. This would decide, not only her future, but everyone else's too. Tristan had tried to make nice conversation with her while they were in the elevator but Anuket didn't feel like talking, especially to him.
She walked further down the hall to the room Odion was currently resting in. she was about to open it when she felt a hand carefully wrap around her wrist. Turning quickly, she expected to see Malik smirking down at her as he had many times before. She let out a shaky sigh of relief when she saw it was only Joey.
"I should have known. Malik wouldn't have been so gentle" thought Anuket, laughing quietly to herself.
"Hey Anu, you ok? Ya look a little down" Joey asked in concern.
"I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all. You wanted to talk to me?" she replied smiling, remembering what Joey had said earlier.
Joeys face turned red and he ran his hand nervously through his hair. He looked over his shoulder to see if they were alone or not. They were. He took a hold of Anuket's hand and led her away to the main hall where the lottery machine and tables still stood.
Once there, he turned to face her. Joey still held her small hand in his and was slowly tracing circles with his thumb. He looked very apprehensive. Anuket didn't like the way this was headed. She wasn't completely naïve.
"Listen Anu…" he began. "Ever since we first met… I've kinda had a crush on you… I didn't want ta say anythin at first but things have changed since then…"
"Oh no…" she thought.
"I heard that you saved me" continued Joey softly.
Anuket looked up at him with an astonished look on her face. How did he find out? She didn't tell anyone about her abilities.
"I wanted ta thank you" he smiled "and I also wanted ta ask ya somethin…"
Joey leaned closer to Anuket and looked deeply into her bright green eyes. Subconsciously he began to bring his head towards hers. He was staring at her lips. It was obvious what Joey had in mind. She had to stop this.
"Joey, I can't…" she said softly trying to pull her hand out of his.
He looked taken aback by this.
"Why not? You're not with anyone and neither am I. we get along great together. What's da problem? Has Kaiba said anythin bout me? Its all lies I tell ya!"
"No Joey, its not you. I can't be with you for many reasons…"
"What reasons?" he pressed. If she wasn't interested, he wanted to know why. Maybe he could fix the problems keeping them apart.
Anuket sighed deeply "look, I do love you Joey, but not like that. You're more like a brother to me then a boyfriend"
"Well, maybe we can work past that… I'm sure once we start dating each other you'll feel completely different"
"Dating? Joey Im sorry, this can't even go that far"
"Why not! I thought ya liked me! Ya cried when ya thought I was dead! Ya keep sendin me mixed signals! Why can't we give it a try" Joey was becoming more and more frustrated.
"Joey, there's someone else…"
"What…?"
There was silence as Joey stared at Anuket. He was having a hard time taking in this new information. He couldn't understand it. She was definitely 'not' seeing anyone before she boarded the airship. He overheard her talking about it to Tea as girls do. Who else could there possibly be? It's not like she had openly shown any affection towards the men on this ship.
Joey felt his insides lurch with disappointment. Of all the things that had happened to him recently, this had to be the worst. This was even more painful the when Ra had almost killed him. He almost wished that the dragon had succeeded. Anuket was looking up at him, an apologetic look gracing her features. She tried to think of something that would make him feel better, but nothing came.
"Who is it?" he asked suddenly with a low monotone voice.
"Ummm… I don't want to say… you'll be angry…" she replied, her voice just a little higher then a whisper.
"Tell me!" Joey yelled. "Is it Tristan? Duke? Kaiba? Tell me it aint Kaiba, I'll kill him!"
Anuket shook her head rapidly. Her face began to pale slightly and she felt sick. Once again she felt guilty for something that wasn't her fault. Joey was deep in thought. He was running through all the potential boyfriends in his head. None came to mind, until…
"Marik?" he asked looking at her again.
Joey only suggested Marik as a way of ruling him out. He expected to see Anuket shake her head in disgust at the very idea, but when she just looked at him, he knew better. She didn't even try to deny it, her face said it all.
"Marik..." he repeated slowly. Anuket hated the tone he used. "Of all the people in this world, you chose Marik? Have you forgotten what he's done to you! He made your life a misery and he tried to kill us! How can you have forgiven him!"
"Im sorry, I can't help it…" said Anuket. Tears were once again threatening to stream down her face.
"Do ya love him?" asked Joey suddenly.
Anuket hung her head so that her hair was covering her face. She gave Joey a meek nod. He simply stood there, watching her as teardrops began to fall onto the floor. Joey sighed heavily and held his arms out, taking her in for a big hug. Anuket wasn't sure why his attitude changed suddenly. Joey just held her tightly until she stopped crying. He didn't want her to be upset despite the strong feeling of anger he felt towards her choice.
"He's the enemy ya know…" whispered Joey.
"No, Malik is the enemy. Marik has changed. He knows the truth now about his past. He wants to make amends for everything he's done" Anuket tried to explain.
Joey gave her a sceptical look.
"Ok, I believe you… I just hope that when this is all over, he treats ya right. If I find out he's hurt you in any way I'll make sure he pays for it" Joey demonstrated this by throwing a punch into air.
"Thankyou Joey" she laughed. "Can I ask you a favour?"
Joey nodded "sure"
"Could you maybe not tell anyone about this? I don't want anyone to know about me and Marik right now…"
Joey thought for a second and agreed "Ok then. I promise"
"Let get back. The last duel will be starting soon" said Anuket wiping her eyes. Joey reached out to one of the tables and grabbed a napkin. She took it thanking him and finished drying her eyes. She felt like a baby. Crying whenever she had an argument with someone. This seemed to happen a lot lately.
"I must be getting my period or something" she thought.
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"What's this for Kaiba?" asked Yami looking at the card Kaiba gave him.
"You'll need it if you want to defeat Ra" replied Kaiba with his arms crossed as usual.
"What do you mean?" Yami was confused by this act. Kaiba had been furious about being beaten earlier. Why the change in attitude?
"You're going to have to figure that out for yourself" he smirked "This is the only way of defeating Ra, but even if you do somehow figure out how to use it, your chances of winning are slim to non-existent"
"Why are you giving this to me Kaiba?" asked Yami.
"You said your friends' strength brings you victory. But in a duel, others' strengths are just a burden. This card will show you that" he replied, avoiding his question
"Get rid of it! It's a trick!" said Joey, glaring at the ceo.
"Throw it away if you wish" said Kaiba coolly. "It's up to you"
Yami studied the card for a moment then added it to his deck. He and Kaiba didn't always get along, but he knew him well enough to know that Kaiba would never sabotage his chances. Kaiba wanted to see him play a good duel.
"If that's what he wants, then that's what he'll get" thought Yami adding the card to his deck and shuffling it. Kaiba looked on with an unreadable look on his face.
Malik approached the pharaoh and they exchanged decks. They stared at each other whilst doing this.
"You'd better shuffle well and pray that Ra is at the bottom" smirked Malik.
Yami and Malik handed each other their decks, slotting them into their respective duel disks. They both took their places on the dueling platform. Anuket had arrived and stood next to Joey. Malik was too busy focusing on the pharaoh to notice her, thankfully. Roland stepped up to the side and raised his hand in the air to commence the duel.
Malik laughed malevolently. "Let the fun begin"
He raised the millennium rod and licked it. Suddenly the familiar dark fog engulfed the duel tower blocking out the warm rays of the sun. Anuket shuddered slightly, wondering if this is how the world would end up if Malik won the duel.
"This shadow game will be different then last time. I've thrown in a few surprises especially for you. This will be the ultimate dark game…" said Malik.
He raised the millennium rod and to everyone's surprise, an hourglass imprisoning Mai floated overhead. She was almost completely buried in the sand.
"Once this duel is over, she will be gone. But she isn't the only one in danger"
Suddenly Yugi appeared next to Yami. His wrists and ankles were bound with dark rings Yami looked up at him in shock before facing Malik again.
"You leave Yugi out of this!" he shouted in fury
"To make things fairer, my weaker half will be involved as well" continued Malik.
Marik appeared next to Malik. His hands and arms also bound by the darkness. Anuket looked on in shock as she saw Marik hanging there. His eyes were closed and he looked weak. She almost moved to climb onto the platform but Joey put his arm on her shoulder to stop her.
"Let Yami take care of things" he whispered. "He'll be ok"
Malik let out an evil chuckle and drew his first card. Vampiric leech, He slammed the card onto his duel disk summoning the creature. Using its special effect, he ordered it to attack Yami's life points directly. As it did, Yugi screamed in pain. Part of his body disappeared in the process.
"Yugi!" cried Yami in alarm. He had a feeling something like this would happen. Malik began to fill Yami in.
"When you lose life points, Yugi will lose a piece of himself to the darkness. When your life points reach zero, Yugi will be gone forever! The same rule applies for my own former self"
"I refuse to duel you like this Malik!" he yelled.
Malik grinned. "You don't have a choice in the matter pharaoh. You're playing by my rules now. I can banish little Yugi to the shadow realm at any time, so you may as well try to beat me"
It looked like there was a war going on inside Yami's head. Truth be told, he had no idea how he was going to defeat Malik without hurting his good side. He had promised Ishizu that he would save her brother from the darkness, but he had to save the world as well. Whichever way he looked at it he couldn't do both…
Eventually after some serious thought, he decided to just go for it and figure out a plan as he went. He was sure that there was something he could do to save his friends.
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Odion lay silently in a coma. Marik's faded spirit sat on the stool next to him. He watched silently over his brother for several minutes, contemplating his actions over the past few years. He felt himself growing weaker by the second as his darker half battled the pharaoh on the tower. He knew that he would not survive this encounter whatever the result. Malik had made sure of that. He needed to say his goodbyes to his loved ones now. He looked down sorrowfully at his brother.
"My dark side grows stronger as I slip into the shadows. Before I disappear forever, I want to apologize to you. You have done nothing but protect me since the day I was born and I have repaid you with nothing but anger and disrespect. I'd like to take it all back, but it's too late. The evil within me is about to prevail, the evil that I created out of my own hatred threatens to destroy me. You were there the day my dark side was born, the day I received my tombkeepers initiation. You scarred your own face in order to prove your loyalty to me. You were always loyal, even when I betrayed the tombkeepers and used the ancient scriptures for my own selfish purposes"
Marik's spirit began to fade away.
"Now I understand why you stood by me, even when you knew what I was doing was wrong. You were the only one that could control my dark side. But when you were hurt, he took over. Now I am drifting away as his power increases. Even though it was my dark side that killed my father, it was my own twisted heart that created that evil. I don't know where your soul is wandering, but you don't have to take my pain any longer. Thankyou…"
Marik disappeared completely from Odion's side, leaving him alone in the room.
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"This duel is getting out of hand. I haven't got a clue who will win this" said Anuket worriedly.
She looked at Marik, or what was left of him. She could only see a part of him left and it frightened her. She stood there, mentally begging for him to take over his body again. Malik was taunting Yami again and she was sick of it. He was playing with him, trying to prolong his apparent inevitable defeat. Suddenly behind her tea began to speak. It didn't sound like something she would say, it sounded more like Marik…
"Yami! You have to defeat my dark side at all costs. Do not worry about protecting me"
Joey was confused and tried shaking Tea by the shoulders to snap her out of it.
"Quickly, there is no time. Destroy my dark half and let the shadows take him!"
Malik began to chuckle. "You don't know when to give up do you? Don't worry; you'll soon be out of the way for good"
Marik continued. "I know the truth now! My family and I were charged with protecting the pharaoh's tomb, and I always resented this task"
Joey was practically jumping in front of Tea now. She reached up to his face and with some unknown strength pushed him out the way. She now pointed at Malik directly.
"You were created out of my anger and now you must be destroyed! I will gladly go with you!"
Malik burst into a fit of hysterical laughter. "You spent your whole life despising the pharaoh and now you beg for forgiveness? It's too late for that. You are a mere shadow of your former self and you can never stop me"
It was only then that Joey, along with the rest of the group, realised that Tea was under Marik's control. Ishizu dashed over with lightning speed begging her brother not to surrender his life. Marik shook his head, apologizing.
"I'm sorry sister, there is no other way" he spoke. He looked up at Yami. "If destroying Malik means destroying me, then so be it!"
Malik huffed at this request and looked at the pharaoh licking his lips. "You're wasting your time…"
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Odion's eyes shot open in alarm. He sat up straight in the bed he was laying in and looked at his surroundings. He staggered to his feet and made his way to the window. He looked up at the tower to see a purple fog surround it. He cursed under his breath, disgusted that he had been unconscious for so long. He made his way out of the door and into the hallway.
"I'm coming master Marik…" he said weakly.
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Marik was about to give up all hope. The pharaoh wouldn't attack him! Why? After all he had done, why wouldn't he take the step that assured his victory? Anuket was silently praying to Ra for a miracle. She hid behind Joey so that Marik couldn't see her crying. Joey was trying to shield her from everyone else's view as well. He promised he wouldn't tell anyone about her feelings for Marik and wanted to make sure that she didn't have to tell either unless she chose to.
Joey hadn't quite believed her when she said that Marik had changed. But then he took control of Tea's body and begged for the pharaoh to destroy him along with Malik. Joey could see that this wasn't the same man that had controlled him before. He was someone that wanted to protect people.
The pharaoh was having a hard time deciding whether or not he should do as Marik requested and finish Malik off, but when he tilted his head and saw Anuket crying behind Joey he had made up his mind. He had a feeling that Anuket wasn't being completely honest before when she had told them she was just using Marik. This was another reason to save Marik. Together, the reasons for saving him far outweighed the reasons for destroying him.
The sound of the elevator door opening distracted Yami from his thoughts. He looked behind him to see Odion step through and onto the tower. He looked a mess.
"Well well, look who it is!" jeered Malik.
Marik opened his eyes slightly. He was barely hanging onto existence. "Odion…?" he whispered.
Odion stumbled. Joey was about to help him up but Ishizu stopped him. Malik glared at the figure of the man who had sealed him away all those years ago.
"It's useless! The spirit of my other self is like a candle in the wind, without the strength to come out or even to live" said Malik.
Odion shuffled closer "the sad fate of the tombkeepers has caused many tragedies for the Ishtar's. Resentment and hatred have occupied Marik's heart and let evil stay"
Malik flew into a sudden rage. He raised the millennium rod and blasted Odion into the wall. Everyone gasped and almost ran out to help him but knew this was their only chance of saving Marik. Odion slowly pushed himself off of the floor.
"Marik! You are trying to seal yourself in hopeless darkness" continued Odion.
Malik blasted him backwards again. This time Ishizu couldn't stay back. She ran over to help Odion but he raised his hand preventing her from coming any closer. He struggled to his feet once more. He looked directly at Marik.
"Even if you linger in the darkness, you must live. It's not only the tombkeepers fate, but a human's fate"
Marik suddenly disappeared. Anuket panicked. She took in a sharp breath believing that he had given up. The tears rolled freely down her cheeks and she barely choked back a sob. Suddenly just as Malik was about to blast Odion for the third time, he stopped and grabbed his face, letting the millennium rod fall with a loud clatter to the floor. Anuket looked up in shock. Malik was clutching his face and screaming out.
"People do not live because they are chasing hope. People have hope because they live!" shouted Odion so he could be heard above Malik's screams of protest. He wasn't about to give up his control over Marik's body.
The two spirits fought against each other. Marik managed to gain enough control to speak through his own mouth.
"Attack me quickly!" he ordered
"Shut up!" shouted Malik
"He's serious" said Yugi to Yami. "I think he has a plan"
Yami could feel Marik's determination to live now whereas he couldn't before. Yami studied the current layout of the duel. A plan formed in his mind and he decided to act upon it. Using the effect of dusk of all cards by removing all the monsters in his hand, deck and graveyard, he could destroy all the monsters on his opponent's field, even if it is a god monster. Yami took this chance and activated the cards effect.
All of his monsters rose onto the field. They circled Malik and Ra, surrounding them so they were blocked off from view. Slifer emerged and began to wrap itself around Ra whilst Obelisk grabbed it around the neck with its powerful fists.
Malik was frantic now. "Let me go!" he shouted.
The monster then lifted ra into the air. Dark magician and dark magician girl crossed their staffs and a symbol appeared in the sky. The monsters carried Ra up into it and destroyed it. The two magicians returned to the field, smoke filled the space making it hard for people to see.
"Has Yami won?" asked Tea.
"Don't think so…" replied Joey unsurely. He had his arm around Anuket who was trying to see through the smoke.
"Malik still has one life point remaining" said Kaiba.
The smoke cleared to reveal Marik. He was breathing heavily and looked extremely tired. Anuket smiled and breathed a laugh. Relief flooded though her whole body making her feel weak. She looked to Marik's right to see his darker half where Marik used to be.
Marik caught his breath and reached up to toss his cloak aside. "This duel is not over" he remarked.
Malik's eye hung in the air. "We can still take revenge. If we work together we can win this duel" he cried in a last ditch attempt to save himself from the shadows. Malik cursed himself for prolonging the pharaoh's demise. He should have destroyed him when he had the chance.
"I will bury you with my own hands!" he said. "The crime I have committed will never be cleaned. But I want to live with it and look for hope in the dark. I want to thank you pharaoh for saving me. I hope that this is some reparation for the damage I have caused"
Marik slowly raised his hand over his duel disk. Malik's eye widened considerably as he saw what Marik was about to do.
"This will be my first step towards the future" said Marik as he placed his hand on his deck, surrendering the duel to the pharaoh.
Malik yelled out as his eye disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Marik's life point was reduced to zero and the shadow game faded, the sun once again shining upon the tower. Yugi was freed from the cloudy shackles that held him prisoner.
"Thankyou pharaoh!" cried Ishizu almost tearfully. She was so grateful to Yami she could almost kiss him. But that would be most unprofessional of her as a tombkeeper.
Yami looked at Marik and smiled. Roland stepped between the two duelists
"The winner of the battle city tournament is Yugi Motou!"
Yami smiled broadly as his friends all clambered onto the platform to offer their congratulations. He looked at his deck and silently thanked his monsters for helping him through this tough time.
Marik rejoined his sister and brother, giving them a hug. Ishizu turned to him.
"Marik, it's your mission to end the fate of the tombkeepers. The Ishtar's were entrusted with guarding the pharaoh's memory, its time to pass this message along to the pharaoh" she said.
"Will we be able to live normally after this?" asked Marik with a gleam of hope in his eyes.
Ishizu nodded and smiled. "Yes, we three are not only members of the same clan, we're family too"
This statement touched Odion more then anything else could. For as long as he could remember, he had wanted to be part of their family and now they saw him as one.
Kaiba stepped onto the platform interrupting both groups.
"Yugi, you have won the title of Battle city duel king. As the host of this tournament I praise you for this proud honour"
Mokuba stepped up beside his brother to remind everyone of the ante rule. "Don't forget Yugi! You can now take possession of Marik's rarest card"
Marik nodded and walked up to the pharaoh. He flicked through his deck and took out his Egyptian god card.
"Your friends who were lost in the shadow games will wake up soon" he assured them.
Marik handed Ra over to him feeling a strong sense of relief as he took it. He then lowered his hands to his shirt and lifted it over his head. He turned to show Yami the carvings on his back. Whilst Ishizu explained the meaning of this inscription to the pharaoh, Marik had turned his head to the left to look over his shoulder. He glanced around for a glimpse of the one girl he had wanted to see for ages now, but she was nowhere to be seen….
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Anuket stepped out of the elevator and headed towards the airship. She had removed the millennium necklace and hung it over the rails on the tower so the pharaoh would see it the moment he turned to leave.
She had left everyone to congratulate Yami for his success. She didn't feel like she was a part of that group anymore. Too much had happened between them splitting them apart, and she didn't feel like she was close enough to join the Ishtar's family group either. She felt lonely.
Anuket stepped onto the airship and entered her room. She closed the door behind her and slumped on the bed. She had never felt so left out before in her life. No one had even looked at her, let alone invite her to join in the celebrations. Not even Marik. She felt herself welling up once again. Anuket thought that once this was all over she would be happy. Malik was gone and the pharaoh had won. So why did she feel this way?
Anuket turned onto her side and studied her arm. The bruise was still there but the swelling had gone down some. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying unsuccessfully to make herself fall asleep.
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So what do you think? I spent ages writing this chapter for you people. I had to watch my Japanese dvds and refer to episode guides (which didn't actually help a lot) to put this together. Have you ever tried to translate the subtitles from the original episodes and put them into understandable words? It's not easy I can tell you!
I decided to include Odion's speech cus lets face it, that part is pretty damn cool. In fact, I used a lot of speech from the anime but it's all good. I could never write it as good as it was in the cartoon (or manga)
Please be kind when reviewing. Especially since I went to the trouble of updating sooner then scheduled. It took me all day (im not joking, 9am to 9pm) to finish this off. That includes toilet breaks and meal times. Im tired now….
888888888888 reviews!
LoveLiesBleeding2: I know! Id love to be able to that to a guy! I completely made it up though. I figured it was plausible for there to be pressure points there somewhere.
Loves A Bleeding Lie: Tristan sure is mean! Bit it was all part of the plan to make Anuket feel unwanted at this point. I didn't do it just cus I was bored and decided to add some drama. I had this planned out months ago. Sorry babe, Malik's gone bye bye now.
Kyte: don't panic! You're here now. I'm happy you reviewed at all. Yeah, I enjoyed writing the bit where she played with him. I needed to brush up on writing that sort of scene. Im a bit rusty now cus its been sooo long! Isn't it funny? Battle city is an event that only took a few days but it took me months to get to this point! Good stuff will happen now.
Ryu-No-Kyoki: yup. She tricked malik good. Hope you liked this chapter too. It took ages to write!
soccerchic91588: yeah, computers can be evil! Just like malik. Glad you liked the last few chapters.
BakurasKitty: yes let's torture him some more…oh bugger… He's gone now… oh well. I'm sure he's suffering wherever he is.
Kuramas Girl Angel: here it is. I updated a day earlier then planned. Aren't you proud of me?
Rhea Hiryuu: no, she hasn't got a Yami. It was just her female cleverness kicking in. Malik's a sucker when it comes to his future queen…oh wait, he lost. Never mind that last statement.
Inu-Leeli: Hello. You're new aren't you? Welcome. I'm glad you like my story so far. Keep in mind that there's loads more to come still.
LoneGothic: he might get humiliated. You never know. He allowed Anu to have her way so he could get some attention on his ear. In his opinion, some attention is better then none. Plus, I wanted to write it in for a laugh.
K.B Aleo: things are progressing nicely now. But wait, Kaiba gonna blow the place up soon. Damn! They have to get out of there!
Daydreamer: do you really? Same with me. There's loads more to come so don't move a muscle!
DaRkNeSsApPrOaChEs: what comment are you talking about? I figured that you were referring to Tristan when you called him needle point. I like that name for him. It's so fitting. I wish serenity would just grow up and move back with her mother. I hate that cow…
Lanse: Hya! What are you doing here? Well it's nice to have you. I'm glad you're enjoying reading this fic so far. Keep in mind this will continue past battle city. And yeah, some men are easy to please. Malik wanted attention from her that's why he allowed her to play with him like that. He didn't realise that he would fall so deeply under her spell. Moron.
kirei31: no need to apologize. I understand that you were busy. Aww thanks. You saying it keeps getting better makes me happy.
Darkside Girl: glad the last chapter made you laugh. Here is the chapter a day earlier and it a nice long one too. You have to look on the bright side. At least Marik is coming back. Do you really think they make the cutest couple? Thanks a lot. Reviewers like you cheer me up no end.
Scarlet Saint: glad you thought it was funny. I enjoyed writing that part. Thanks a lot!