Alley Cat: Note that I am updating against my will. Dark Conscience is forcing me to.

Dark Conscience: Uh-huh.

Alley Cat: ...You suck! (goes to sulk in corner)

Seto: O.o So...why don't you want to update? I thought you loved reviews...

Alley Cat: Only nice ones. I think this is probably my crappiest chapter ever. Therefore, most likely, I will get flamed.

Seto: ...Update! Now! n.n

Alley Cat: (whines) ...But I don't want to!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dark Conscience: (holds up a carrot) Don't make me use this...

Alley Cat: Eep!! Alright, alright! I'll update. Sheesh...

FlamingIceCrystals - n.n I like long reviews. Besides, your reviews aren't that long... Black-lightniing's reviews are longer...but she tends to flame... Don't end up like her...please. I'm happy you liked the ending of the last chapter. I wanted to end it ina different style than I normally do. Anyway, you're not slow! I'm probably just a bad writer. I guessed I rushed that part. Sorry.

lost in reality - Thanx so much for reviewing. Yes...I know my ending was a little over the top...with Anippe consuming that much alcohol and all...but I never said she drank them all; I just they were empty! n.n (Dark Conscience: That means she drank them...) Not necessarily. She has a window. She could have just poured them all out... (Dark Conscience: (slaps forehead) And why would she want to do that?) ...(shrugs) I dunno... (Dark Conscience: (cannonballs a wad of paper at Alley Cat using a rubber band) Don't listen to her...) x.x

Black-Lightniing - Geez...you need to learn how to chill... Obviously, you don't have common sense. :P Heh. Well, do whatever you want... Just...nevermind.

emotional-writer - Uh...hmm... I never said she DRANK it all. (Dark Conscience: Oh no... Not this again...) Um...heh. Well...R&R?

pharohs-slave - Yes... Very sad...just how I wanted it... Well, hope you like this chapter too. n.n

Alley Cat: Alright. Just to warn all you readers... At the beginning of this chapter...I had a strong urge to write something sadistic.

Dark Conscience: You introduce Marik at the beginning of this chapter?!?!

Alley Cat: (sweatdrop)...Yes?

Seto: More flames!!!!!!!! Alley Cat doesn't own Yu-gi-oh.

Anippe woke up groggily. She didn't feel so good… She opened her eyes to notice that…she was on the Pharaoh's chest…his bare chest. She gasped and pushed away from him, causing her to fall off the bed and crash to the floor.

"Anippe," Yami said urgently, "Calm down."

Anippe looked at the Pharaoh. "I—I'm sorry," she whispered.

Yami got off the bed painfully and helped her back on.

"Yami," Anippe pleaded, "I did something bad…punish me."

Yami gave her a bewildered look as he slid back into bed with her. "Anippe. You did nothing wrong," he assured.

Anippe shook her head. "Yes I did," she argued back. "I deserve to be punished. Hurt me." She didn't even wait for the Pharaoh's reply. She grabbed his hand and put his fingers on her stomach wound.

Yami tried to draw his hand back, but Anippe's grip was strong. He had no choice… He softly applied some force to it, and Anippe moaned quietly.

"Harder," she whispered, her hand still tightly wrapped around the Pharaoh's hand.

Yami bit his lip. He couldn't do this…

"You don't know how to hurt people, do you Pharaoh?" Marik said from the doorway.

Yami glared at Marik. "What are you doing here?" he snarled.

Marik shrugged. "Just to see how you were doing, my Pharaoh. I heard you had an accident while I was absent." He smiled viciously. "Would you like me to give it a try?" he asked, gesturing toward Anippe.

"Yes," Anippe answered for the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh was too kindhearted… She needed cold, hard pain…

Marik walked over to Anippe.

Yami had no choice… He backed away from Anippe and watched, in horror, as Marik lean over her.

Marik pressed onto the wound, and Anippe winced. He, then, applied less pressure and noticed Anippe become less tense. Then, he pressed down hard on the wound.

Anippe's whole body convulsed. Her breathing became shallow, and her face was flushed. "Again," she gasped.

"No," Yami cried out. "Anippe…don't do this to yourself."

Marik ignored the Pharaoh and repeated it.

This time, Anippe's body convulsed even worse than the first time.

Marik took his hand off her wound to find that it was bloody. He smiled at the Pharaoh and enjoyed the pained look on his face. "How do you feel about candle wax?" he asked Anippe.

"Marik!" Yami boomed. "That's enough."

"Try it," Anippe whispered.

Marik nodded. "I'll be right back then."

Yami stared at Anippe. "Please," he begged her. "Don't do this to yourself."

Anippe looked back at the Pharaoh. "I deserve it," she said shakily.

They didn't get time to talk anymore because Marik had returned with a burning candle about the shape of his fist. He walked over to Anippe and wrapped his legs around her waist. "My Pharaoh," Marik said, "I'm going to need you to hold down her arms. She's going to struggle."

Anippe looked at the Pharaoh. "Listen to him," she begged. "Please. I need this."

Yami reluctantly went over and firmly held down her wrists to the bed.

Marik used one hand to slowly roll up Anippe's shirt and un-bandaged her, now open, wound. He then slowly poured the hot, liquid wax onto the wound.

Anippe squealed, and her whole body tried to break free of her bonds. She squirmed furiously.

Marik had not finished. He wanted the wax to seal off her entire wound. Blood met wax and hardened together. Finally, he tilted the candle back upward when it ran out of liquid wax.

Anippe was panting feverishly. She looked up at the Pharaoh. "Thank you," she whispered.

Yami stared at Anippe, horrified by his own actions. This…wasn't right!

Marik put the candle down and slowly felt the wax. His fingers went to one side of it and pried at it slowly, trying to separate wax from flesh.

Anippe whimpered and her body trembled.

Yami tightened his grip on Anippe's wrists. He couldn't stand watching this!

Marik was halfway through her wound when he applied a lot of force to the middle of the wound with his finger.

Anippe yelped in pain and closed her eyes.

Marik smiled and peeled the rest of the wax off.

Anippe shook tremendously.

"That's enough, Marik," Yami demanded, letting go of Anippe's wrists. He realized that he had held onto her so hard that his hands left red marks.

Anippe nodded. "Alright."

Marik pouted. He was just starting to have fun…he had a lot of other ideas of torture… Marik looked at his hands…tainted by Anippe's blood. He smiled. She'd be the perfect sacrifice…

"Go Marik," Yami commanded. "You have no other reason to be here."

Marik glared at the Pharaoh and left the room.

"Anippe," Yami said sternly. "Don't give Marik permission to torture you."

Anippe shook her head. "I needed to be punished," she said. It was her only excuse.

Yami sighed and went to get some bandages for Anippe's wound. Actually…this would probably be the perfect time to ask Seto to cast a healing spell over it… "I'll go get the High Priest," he said and left the room as well.

Anippe sighed. The pain was so inviting… Maybe she should go to Marik later in the day and ask for more…

Seto was furiously pacing his room. Thousands of questions were going through his head. Where was Layla? Was she in danger? Was she hurt? He sighed irritably. Why did he even care? She was a slave for Ra's sake! The only conclusion he could come up with…was that…he was…in love… He growled. But he wasn't! No way! Before he could think anymore, there was an urgent knock on the door. He swiveled around and opened it.

"Can you cast a healing spell on Anippe?" Yami asked urgently.

"Yes," Seto said, not really in the mood for this. "Why?"

"I just need you to," Yami said plainly and walked away quickly.

Seto sighed and followed. When he arrived in Anippe's room, he found that there were bandages piled up on the bed. Anippe was on the bed as well, but her stomach wound was bleeding profusely. He walked briskly over to Anippe and muttered a common healing spell over it. Seto took the bandages and wrapped them tightly around the wound.

Anippe whimpered and moaned through the entire process. She closed her eyes to invite the pain.

Seto looked worriedly at Yami. "Why is it so delicate?" he asked suspiciously. "She's had this wound for a while."

Yami fidgeted for a moment. "Marik," he finally got out.

Seto got up from the bed. "Marik? How could Marik cause so much damage if you were here?"

Yami looked away. "Anippe wanted pain," he said simply.

"You invited Marik?" Seto asked incredulously. "Why couldn't I torture her?"

Yami shook his head. "I didn't invite him. Anippe did."

Seto looked back at Anippe. He took her by the shoulders and shook her. "Where's Layla?" he asked forcefully.

Tears sprung to Anippe's eyes once again. "I cannot say," she whispered.

Seto took out his staff. "You want pain?" he asked vehemently. "I'll give you pain." The blue jewel at the top of the staff started glowing.

"Seto, no!" Yami yelled, taking a tight grip on the staff. "You can't."

Seto shouldered Yami aside and released the spell from his staff.

Anippe cried out in pain as her mind was given a sudden electrical jolt. "I—I cannot…tell," she said shakily.

Seto glared at Anippe, seething.

Yami tackled Seto onto his back. "Back. Off," Yami said, enraged as well.

Seto glared at Yami, pushed him aside, and stood up in a more calm composure. "Fine," he muttered.

Yami stood up next to him. "I don't ever want to see you hurting her again," he threatened.

Anippe gasped at this. The Pharaoh wouldn't care…shouldn't care about her… Then…he truly meant it… He…loved her… And…as much as she hated to admit it…she loved him…

It was later in the day when Anippe started to feel better. She went to the garden and played her flute. "I'm sorry," she said when she saw the Pharaoh walk out from behind the bushes. "I wasn't thinking straight this morning." She bowed her head. "Please forgive me."

Yami felt relief as he heard these words. He hugged her. "Oh, Anippe," he whispered. "Of course I forgive you."

Anippe smiled. Now that she knew they had a mutual feelings toward each other…there had to be some way to work it out, right? She hugged back and, for once, took comfort in the Pharaoh's grip. After a few moments, Anippe pushed away. She gave the Pharaoh a playful smile and ran off, further into the maze.

Yami grinned and chased her.

Anippe was looking behind her to see if the Pharaoh had followed when she suddenly collided into something…or someone.

"Watch where you're going!" Marik snarled. Upon seeing Anippe, he smiled. "Want more pain?" he asked charmingly.

Anippe gave him a disgusted look and backed up against the wall.

Luckily, Yami came from behind the bushes. "Marik," he said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

Marik shrugged. "Just walking around. Aren't I allowed in here?" he asked innocently.

Anippe backed into the Pharaoh's arms. "Let's get out of here," she whispered in his ear.

Yami nodded. "Well, then," he said casually. "We better get going."

"Wait!" Marik cried. "I need to talk with Anippe for a moment."

Yami's eyes narrowed. "Why?" he asked suspiciously.

Marik gave Yami an innocent look. "I need her to go out into the marketplace with me. None of my other slaves are as reliable as she is."

Anippe stiffened slightly.

Yami sighed. Was there no other choice? "Fine," he muttered. He kissed Anippe softly. "Don't worry," Yami whispered in her ear. "If he does anything to hurt you, I swear he'll pay." He left.

Marik smiled at Anippe. "Shall we go then?" he asked.

Anippe nodded and followed Marik out of the palace grounds and into the marketplace. After a while, Marik stopped, grabbed Anippe by the wrist, and pulled her into a dark alley. "Stay quiet," he hissed. There, he met Bakura.

"What took you so long?" Bakura barked.

Marik shrugged. "Pharaoh wouldn't get off my back," he said apologetically.

Bakura eyed Anippe. "She should be strong enough." Then, he pulled out Layla, who was currently unconscious. "Found this one running away yesterday morning."

Marik glanced at Layla curiously. "The High Priest's slave… So…they'll do, right?"

Anippe gasped at the sight of Layla. "What are you doing?!" she exclaimed.

Marik grabbed onto Anippe and whispered a spell in her ear.

Anippe fell limp, no longer conscious.

Bakura glanced at Marik. "And the potion?" he asked.

Marik tossed a bottle, containing blue liquid, to Bakura.

Bakura smiled. "Good. Then, everything's set for tonight."

Seto was in his room, too worried about Layla to do anything but worry. He was worrying so much about her… He growled. She was a slave! He'd never felt this way toward anyone…but…this wasn't supposed to happen!

He tried to calm himself down and think of a way to help her. There was no use just hoping that she was okay…he had to do something… Of course! He could scry for her… It might work… Or…he could, perhaps, scry for her in the future? Was it possible? Instead of scrying for her now, he should concentrate on what happens to Layla in the future, right?

He went over to a bowl of water. He muttered a spell that drained a surprising amount of his energy, but he ignored it. Instead, he concentrated on the picture that lay ahead of him. It was…a ritual… Seven torches formed a circle around Layla and Anippe. Golden lines crisscrossed one another, their points meeting at the torches' base. Behind them was a huge temple…or building of some kind. Two statues protruded from the building. Wait…he knew where it was! It was around the outskirts of the city. It was the Temple of Osiris… But why would they be there?

Seto didn't have enough energy to hold the picture anymore… He slumped to the ground as the water became clear again. He sat there, a thousand new questions coursing through his head…

Yami was getting anxious. The sun was setting, and Marik hadn't returned to the palace…meaning Anippe wasn't either. He growled and walked to Marik's chambers. There had to be some reason why Marik would go the marketplace himself instead of just Anippe.

Yami opened the chambers to reveal complete darkness and isolation. It seemed normal enough…but there had to be a clue…or something about what Marik was up to… A shudder ran through Yami's body. Something wasn't right… Suddenly, his Millennium Puzzle glowed brightly. Yami shielded his eyes until the glow receded. When it did recede, Yami gasped at the scene that lay in front of him. Anippe and Layla were the sacrifices in a ritual at the Temple of Osiris. Yami looked at the moon to see that it was full. That meant the ritual was happening…tonight. Yami fell to his knees as he was projected back to the present.

After he had regained his breath, he ran off to Seto's chambers.

"Seto!" Yami gasped as he ran into Seto's chambers. "We don't have much time! We have to go to the Temple of Osiris! Marik is planning to sacrifice Anippe and Layla!"

A look of bewilderment ran across Seto's face. "What?! When?"

"Tonight!" Yami exclaimed urgently. "We must hurry and stop them!"

Seto nodded. So that's what his scrying was trying to tell him. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked and started walking out.

Alley Cat: ...I really have to finish Eragon. Anyway, the ritual's my next chapter...

Dark Conscience: Yay.

Alley Cat: Shut up! Like I said, this chapter is...very, very bad. I apologize for that.

Seto: Flame! Flame!!! FLAME!!!!!!!!!!! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA--

Alley Cat: (chucks the computer at him) That should teach you!

Dark Conscience: ...I doubt it...

Alley Cat: Shut up! (pouts)

Dark Conscience: (sighs) Well, R&R!