Alley Cat: (listening to Memories of Sylvarant)
Seto: (pokes her)
Alley Cat: (singing along) Dididididiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiididididiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii
Seto: O.o Whatever...
Dark Conscience: Hi!
Alley Cat: Hello! Did you know where my reviewers went? I mean, they all disappeared!
Dark Coscience: No... So have you decided on the whole "Mokuba Fiasco" yet?
Alley Cat: "Mokuba Fiasco"? Um... Oh, right...
-flashback-
Alley Cat: Mokuba's eyes are purple right?
Black-Lightniing: (laughs) No...they're brown...
Alley Cat: O.o I thought they were purple!
Black-Lightniing: Well, they're brown!
Dark Conscience: (sighs and goes to look at Mokuba's picture) (laughs really, really hard)
Alley Cat and Black-Lightniing: O.o So...what color are they?
Dark Conscience: You're both wrong! They're blue!
Alley Cat: Purple!
Black-Lightniing: Brown!
Dark Conscience: Blue!
-end flashback-
Alley Cat: (shakes head and sighes) Well...I decided that Dark Conscience is right...
Dark Conscience: n.n They really are blue! It's just a really, really dark blue... From a distance, it looks like it's purple or brown though...
Alley Cat: Well...Seto does have blue eyes...so it makes sense...I think...
Dark Conscience: n.n
Alley Cat: Well, I just had to include Mokuba in this chapter because Black-Lightniing wouldn't quit bugging me about putting him in... By the way...to my reviewers... Do you want Mokuba to have a bigger role? As in...include him in my chapters more often? Just a question... Well...all my reviewers went away...except for Black-Lightniing and Oswarier... What's with that?!
Seto: See? I told you! You suck!
Alley Cat: Oh do shut up.
Dark Conscience: ?! Alley Cat...you're an idiot!
Alley Cat: ...Not a bad thing right? Anyway, this chapter mainly focuses on Marik...so have some fun! I really don't think I'm good at writing sadistic stuff, but I hope you enjoy his part! He'll probably be the main person in the next few chapters...just to warn you... Tell me if you want me to tone down or tone up the sadisticness... n.n
Dark Conscience: You sure are unsure of yourself...
Alley Cat: Oh! And just to warn you...I was listening to "Memories of Sylvarant" soundtrack when I was writing this...and the music often skips from happy to sad to suspenseful to hysteria...and apparently, it affected the mood of my story as I continued to write... If you notice the change...fine. If you don't...fine.
Seto: Make sure to laugh at Alley Cat's writing really, really hard if you do notice!
Alley Cat: -.- Shut up! Well...enjoy!
Seto: Alley Cat doesn't own Yu-gi-oh...or potatoes for that matter...
Anippe opened her eyes slowly. She looked around, but could see nothing but darkness. She moaned quietly and moved her arm to try and get up, but a rush of pain ran up her arm and she fell back down with a yelp.
"Well, well," Marik purred from out of the darkness. "Look who woke up..."
"Marik," Anippe said softly. "Wha—what are you doing here? Where am I?" she asked nervously.
Marik laughed a little. "For one, I am your master now...and that should be all you need to know. In fact, I should always have been your master, but now I'm your official master."
"I only have one master," Anippe said defiantly. "And that is the Pharaoh."
Marik cackled. "Well, let's just say, your master gave you to me...as a present."
Anippe was shocked without words. How could the Pharaoh just give her to a person as bad as Marik? The Pharaoh she knew would never do such a thing! What happened? "Tha—that can't be possible!" she cried out in disbelief. "You—you're lying!" she stammered as she backed up a bit.
Marik slapped her, leaving a red mark on the side of her cheek. "That's master to you!" he hissed in her ear, taking her by the arm. "And from now on, you will show some more respect for your master." And, with that, he slammed her against the wall.
Anippe whimpered a little as her body hit the hard, cold wall behind her. Her wound had not healed fully, and the wall hit it at full force. Anippe fell to the floor, hardly able to move because of all the pain coursing through her body.
Marik laughed again. He kneeled down and stroked her hair. "What's wrong my little slave?" he purred again.
Why has the Pharaoh done such a thing to me? Why would he just give me away to this jerk! Tears were welling up in her eyes. I thought he cared about me. Had I really misbehaved that much? Does he really hate me that much? Why? All the questions went coursing through her head as all the pain took over her body, numbing it. Soon, she couldn't move at all, so she just lay there, silently crying, while Marik stroked her hair. It seemed that Marik was out for her blood. Perhaps because she had made a fool of him; perhaps because he just liked tormenting people, perhaps both. Maybe, if she gave in to his requests, he wouldn't treat her so cruelly. "M—master," she managed to get out weakly, "I—I'm s—sorry."
Marik noticed how weak she was and smiled. "It's all right my little pet." He moved in and gave her a kiss on the cheek, also noticing how hot her face was. His finger traced her face.
Anippe was just about gasping for breath, not knowing how much more of this she could take. His finger was cool to the touch though and felt very comforting against her hot face. The pain was getting to the point where it felt like she was going to die. The impact hadn't had much effect on her in the beginning, but all the pain was coming now. She couldn't feel anything, but pain now. Not just pain in her stomach, but everywhere. All her muscles ached, and it seemed that the wound in her stomach had opened up again. Her vision began to blur, so she decided to close her eyes. The pain, it was so painful. She felt light-headed and dizzy. The pain surging through her body was less now, probably because of the blood loss, or because her body had taken more pain than was physically possible for her. Whichever way, the last thing she remembered before she pasted out was the cruel grin on Marik's face.
Yami sat in his chambers, thinking. He had ordered the guards in front of his door not to interrupt him, unless it was an emergency. He did not feel like having visitors today.
He was worried, but was helpless. What cruel fate had been bestowed upon Anippe? He had no idea, nor would he ever know... He slammed his hand against the wall. He was the "all-powerful Pharaoh", damn it! Why couldn't he even keep his own slave? He was the one chosen to save the world from evil, and yet he couldn't even save his own slave! What would the villagers think of this?
Yami closed his eyes. He couldn't do anything now, nothing at all. "What will be, will be," he murmured, reminding himself of his father's words. He opened his eyes, trying to think of other things, anything to get his mind off Anippe. But no matter what subject he thought about, they all strayed back to Anippe. He groaned. If the entire five days were going to be like this, he didn't know how he was going to survive...
Layla had sat by the High Priest's side throughout all of the night and into today. Layla was getting seriously worried now. What if he never woke up? No, that's not possible, she reasoned with herself. She sat there contemplating what could be the cause of this when, all of a sudden, a kid with black hair ran into the room.
"Big brother!" he cried as he raced to the bed, completely ignoring Layla's presence.
"He's alright," she said diffidently. "O—or at least, I think he's alright."
The boy looked at her with big, round eyes. "I hope he's alright," he said worriedly.
Layla nodded and headed out the door, giving the boy some private time with the High Priest.
She leaned against the wall worriedly and sighed. There was nothing she could do about the situation, but she couldn't help but worry...
"Give my sympathies to the High Priest," Marik said smoothly, interrupting Layla's thoughts.
She gasped slightly. "It—it's you!" she cried out surprised and backed up against the wall. "Wha—what are you doing here?"
Marik chuckled, satisfied with Layla's fear towards him. "I told you," he said slickly. "I'm here to give my sympathies to the High Priest." He walked even closer to her.
Layla's face heated up. "Hi—his brother is in there right now. Maybe you can come see him later."
Marik smiled. "You mean Mokuba? Yes...such a sweet kid isn't he? Well..." He leaned in on Layla as he had done before. Now, he was so close, Layla could feel his breath. "I guess I can wait..." he said sadistically as he ran a finger down her arm.
Layla tried to escape his grip, but found it impossible when Marik blocked her with his arms, one on each side of her. "Maybe I should go—" she started, but was unable to finish when Marik kissed her neck.
"Or..." he whispered, "Maybe I could go back...and take you with me." He went up to her cheek and nuzzled it against his own.
"But...I must stay here to protect my master," she countered.
Marik smiled, his cheek on her neck. "He has enough slaves to tend to his needs as it is." He grabbed her by the wrist, intending on taking her back with him.
Layla tried to yell for help, but Marik clamped a hand over her mouth, making her yell barely audible.
Marik smiled and dragged Layla toward his chambers.
Mokuba stared at his brother with those big, blue, worried eyes he had. "Big brother?" he whispered.
Nothing.
"Big brother?" he whispered again, but louder. "Please wake up." And with that, Mokuba climbed onto his bed.
Big brother? Big brother! Wake up! Seto opened his eyes slowly, confused to be hearing his brother's voice. The first thing that came to his vision was Mokuba, just about on top of him, his eyes full of worry and fear. "Mokuba?" he asked dazedly.
"Big brother!" Mokuba cried relieved. He hugged him, letting all the anxiety flow out of him. "I'm so glad you're okay!" He shot Seto his irresistible smile, and buried his head back into Seto's chest.
Seto laid on his bed, confused at his brother's behavior, but accepted the hug nevertheless. "What are you doing here?" Seto asked after a moment. "Why am I here? What happened?"
Mokuba was confused at first, but soon caught on to what Seto meant. "You...you fainted...in the main chambers... A girl...I don't know who she was...I never saw her before... But she brought you here and hasn't left your side...until I came in that is," Mokuba replied with a sense of pride.
"A girl..." Seto echoed, closing his eyes to ponder who it was. Seto smiled a little while he whispered her name. "Layla."
"What?" Mokuba asked. He could have sworn hearing his brother say something.
Seto opened his eyes. For a moment, he had forgotten Mokuba was in the room. "Layla," he explained, "she was the girl who watched over me."
"That was Layla?" Mokuba inquired. "Wow. Such a pretty name... She was so pretty too... So...are you two close or anything? If she was your slave, I doubt she'd be so worried about you. So, explain more about her, like where she came from and stuff!" Mokuba said, getting more excited by the minute.
Seto found himself, once again, speechless. He didn't know a thing about Layla at all. He sighed. It was odd how concerned Layla was about him. "She...I don't know," Seto admitted. "She's my slave...I only got her a couple weeks ago."
"She's...your slave?" Mokuba asked blushingly, embarrassed that he had made such a mistake. "Hmm... Well, she must be very obedient to stay by you the entire time..." Mokuba predicted again.
"Well..." Seto was about to correct Mokuba but decided against it. "Yeah...I guess so... Tell me, Mokuba... Where is she now?"
"Well, I'm not sure exactly, but I think she's somewhere close by. She left the room to give us a little time together." Silence passed between them. "I'm so glad you're okay, big brother. I was so worried..."
Seto smiled. "I know, Mokuba... I know..."
Mokuba smiled again and gave his brother a tight hug.
Suddenly, a yelp came from outside. Not a loud one...but it seemed like a cry for help. Both Seto and Mokuba looked toward the door of the room; worry flashing in both of their eyes.
"Could that be..." Mokuba began but was interrupted by Seto's anxious voice.
"Layla!" he cried, trying to get out of bed. However, he was still exhausted and managed to fall off his bed.
"Seto!" Mokuba cried, trying to help his brother get up. "Be careful! You haven't recovered yet!"
"But..." Seto tried to interject, but Mokuba interrupted.
"No buts! I'm sure Layla just had an accident or something. She'll be fine! I need you to rest. Please!" Mokuba said through pleading eyes.
What's this? Was Mokuba scorning him? That's impossible! Perhaps his attitude had rubbed off on Mokuba more than he expected. Seto sighed. It was very logical that something trivial happened and Layla was just surprised... But what if... No. Not a chance. Not with him so close by...there was no way that... He shook his head. Don't trouble with these things now. He looked back at Mokuba. "Alright," he replied, getting back into bed.
"Seto. Please rest. Worry about these things when you get better. Even if something were wrong now, you wouldn't be able to change it anyway. You're too weak right now."
Seto laughed in scorn, in scorn of his own self. Had Mokuba just called him weak? How dare he? But...he's right. Seto realized. I am weak... He closed his eyes. How could he have gotten to this state? Being called weak wasn't something he was used to. "All right, Mokuba," Seto repeated again. "I'll listen to you." He was pretty exhausted. In fact, he was more than exhausted. He fell asleep almost instantly once he put his mind at ease.
Mokuba stared at his brother for a little longer, then left the room. He'd come back to check up on him later.
Seto: ...wow...
Dark Conscience: Oh my...
Alley Cat: What?! I didn't do that bad did I?
Dark Conscience: (shakes head disapprovingly) I really shouldn't have given you that soundtrack...
Alley Cat: But after I listened to the soundtrack, I went back and edited it the best I could!
Seto: Well, obviously, it didn't work...
Alley Cat: (whimpers) (listens to "Colette It is Sad")
Dark Conscience: Aw...this is a sad song...
Alley Cat: ...yeah...but I like it...a lot...
Seto: O.o Fine. I'll tell them. R&R!!!!!!!!! And flame!!!!!!!!! Flame!!! Flame!!!! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!
Dark Conscience: O.o Weirdness...
Alley Cat: (swooning over Lord Yuan and Lord Kratos's pictures)
Dark Conscience: (shakes head) I don't think she's ever going to get through this obsession...