Authoress Notes: YES! More reviews! Words cannot describe how I feel because of your awesome reviews! Thank you all so much! Oh, and since most of you feel happy to see Malik finally appearing in the story, here (showers everyone with Malik plushies that just came in the mail)!

Disclaimer: Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! Never have, never will. If I did, Atem would act darker like this one, and wouldn't leave!

Pairings: AtemxAnzu, SethxShizuka, JounouchixMai, and others.

Warnings: OOC-ness, strong language, mature themes, sexual themes… Get my drift?

Genre: Action/adventure, romance, angst and… I dunno.

Plot:

((AU Dark fic)) In a world where vampires are gods, humans are low, and slaves are treated as dirt, Anzu is a pleasure slave, serving years in bed. Atem is a high-ranked vampire, in need of… entertainment. Could love between a lowly pleasure slave that lost the ability to love and an arrogant, cold vampire exist in such a world where status is everything, and your image determines how you're treated? Now with the mention of Bakura, necromancers, sorcerers, and the three God Orbs, could things become more complicated?

Dark Desires

By: xKuroSeraphimx

Chapter 7: Voice

Anzu stood in a barren area, the sky dark with lightening flashing here and there, a cold, hungry wind billowing past her. She whirled her head around, where was she? Where was this place? Not to mention for her lack of clothes, only wearing nothing but a simple white top, and pants. She took a slow and cautious step forward, and that's was when she saw it, lightening flashing brightly.

Two… No, three silhouette stood apart from each other, forming a triangle between them. One had a cloak on him, blending him easily into the darkness, another was a child, a little girl in fact, her bangs hiding her eyes, and the other one was…

'Hikaru!' Anzu thought, bringing her hands up to her mouth, seeing him with his sword out, a deadly expression on his face, his albino hair billowing along with the wind. 'What's going on?'

It was then the cloaked person lifted his head (at least Anzu thought so, considering she couldn't see well in the darkness) and in the shadows of the hood, gleaming sapphire eyes stared out.

"So," he said, a smirk forming under the hood, his voice deep and sounded strangely familiar to her. "Come to take her back, Hikaru? As you can see, I've succeeded in awakening her… untapped powers…" a black, malevolent aura surrounding him. "Why do this, Hikaru? Why choose this kind of path? Join me, join us! We could accomplish so much together and fulfill the destinies we were created to fulfill!"

Hikaru snorted, placing the sword on his shoulder, his expression unchanging. "Sorry, but I will not allow her to be used as a tool anymore," he replied, glancing at the little girl. The small girl looked up before a wide grin spread across her face, her teeth grinded together, inch-long fangs gleaming through the darkness. "Especially if she is working with a psycho path like you. I do have a promise anyway, her safety is my first priority."

Soon after he said that, a massive indigo-colored aura emanated from him. The cloaked figure's shoulders shook, a low rumble erupting from his throat, clearly displaying he was laughing.

"Oh really? It is sad to hear that, Hikaru. It's too bad we couldn't see eye to eye." Then his aura began forming into something, massive, something that covered miles of the sky, making it darker than usual.

A giggle from the little girl made Anzu stare at her before an aura that felt untamed, raw, and dangerous emanated from her, sending chills down her spine. It was then she heard two earth-shaking roars, making Anzu's eardrums beat really erratic. Then all of a sudden…

Water had gone up her nose, causing to Anzu jerk up from the water that was submerging her. She looked around, only to find she was in the same bathroom. Breathing deeply, she tried to collect her thoughts and breath. Grabbing a towel from the hamper nearby, she stood up and stepping out of the tub, unclogging the item preventing the water from being swallowed by the drain. Dabbing herself dry, she made her way to the clothes on the sink counter and began dressing up.

Minutes later, she walked out, wearing a white uniform jacket, a red tube top underneath, her neck still outfitted with the thick, black, waterproof collar. She wore a pale white skirt with a red lining running across it, her feet adorned with brown boots that reached her knees. She looked normal.

Anzu raised an eyebrow as she examined herself, twirling around a bit. Another fashion sense she was not used to. She shrugged her shoulders before stretching outward, standing on her tiptoes to stretch out her muscles. That soon ended when the door was opened and in stepped Atem who looked surprise to see her, his crimson eyes running up and down her lithe body, a faint smile forming on his lips.

"Well, glad that you're finally out of the bathroom, little angel." He said, his eyes never leaving her form.

The brunette blushed slightly, crossing her arms over her chest, her mouth forming into a thin line. He simply cocked an eyebrow up at her gesture before shaking his head and stepping aside to allow Hikaru, Mai, Jounouchi, and an unknown tanned male inside. She stared quizzically at the tanned Egyptian, her eyes quickly scanning him.

He took a step toward her, a soft smile on his face. "Hello, Anzu. I'm Malik Ishtar, pleased to meet you." He greeted politely, bowing down.

Anzu tilted her head in confusion before she caught Hikaru's glare, reminding her of her manners. She quickly bowed too, saying, "O-Oh! Well, um… Pleased to meet you too, err… Mr. Malik…"

He waved his hand around. "Please, no need to be so formal. Just Malik would do. Anyway, if you wouldn't mind, Anzu, I would like to try out something with you." He said.

The chestnut-haired woman looked up, straightening herself. "Huh? Well… what exactly will you do with me?" she asked curiously.

The blonde-haired Egyptian let out a small laugh. He spoke, "Oh, don't worry! It won't involve you in getting hurt in anyway," he quickly glanced at Hikaru and Atem through the corner of his eyes, noticing they focused their gaze from the brunette to him. He turned his attention back to her, gulping quietly. "I just need to check on something. If you must know, I'm a Healer, so, you need not worry about anything."

"Oh…" she immediately calmed down. Slightly. "Well… okay… But, only if they get out." She pointed to Jounouchi, Mai, Hikaru, and Atem. The two blonde vampires just looked at each other, shrugging, while the ivory-haired vampire and tri-colored-haired vampire looked ready to protest on that before Malik cut in, "Certainly. You must know something of the Healers and how they work even though you're a slave." Both Hikaru and Atem snorted at the same time he said that. "Other presences would kind of get in the way." He turned to everyone. "Well, if you guys wouldn't mind…"

Jounouchi merely shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets and walking out, Mai shot a worried glance at Anzu who looked apologetic back before joining the other vampire. Hikaru stared at Malik for a moment, as if not really trusting the Egyptian Healer; he shook his head and walked out. Atem stood there for a moment, staring at Anzu longingly, then turned his gaze toward Malik, shooting a threatening glance at him before slowly walking out the door, closing it behind him.

Once they were finally alone, Malik slowly turned to Anzu, a small, gentle smile on his face. Somehow, Anzu began wishing the others hadn't left, especially Atem and Hikaru. But she couldn't go back on her request.

"Well then, let's get this on with." He said, walking forward to her.

Seto sent a kick to the cloaked strangers stomach, sending him to the wall, denting the wall, a loud thud erupting through the area. The CEO breathed deeply, clutching to a wound on his side that was made earlier and was quickly healing itself, but not healing quickly enough for him to react to his attacker's assaults.

'Something's wrong… Definitely wrong with this man… He doesn't even look like he's trying!' that thought sent a new wave of anger through the vampire, his body shaking with rage. 'NO! I won't lose to this damn bastard… Whoever he is!'

Suddenly, the man began chuckling as he slowly got up from his position of sitting on the floor, taking several steps towards the chestnut-colored-haired vampire. Licking the blood on the dagger, a satisfied smirk spreading across his face.

"Well, now Seto, is that all you have to give? I must say, I'm very disappointed. I expected something a little better than this." He mocked, making Seto's growing anger rise to a new degree.

With a roar, Seto charged at him through inhuman speed, but at a faster pace, surprising the cloaked stranger. Seto now kneeled behind his enemy, the stranger slowly turned to face him, a mocking smile on his face.

"What, was that supposed to damage me? Honestly, you'd think that the great Kaiba Seto would be---"

He stopped in mid-sentence when numerous scars started to appear on his body, tearing the clothes and cloak, blood spraying out of the wounds. A cold, brutal, and murderous smile curved up Seto's lips as the cloaked stranger kneeled in front of him, clutching his body, his teeth grinded together to hinder any sound of pain.

"So, what were you saying?" he asked, his voice filled with cold ice, and mockery. "Now, who said I wasn't holding back?" Seto cocked the gun at the kneeling stranger with a murderous smile on his face.

His ears picked up the sound of chuckling. He narrowed his eyes at the cloaked figure, a low growl rumbling in his throat, raising the gun as the stranger slowly stood up, his shoulders jerking from time to time in fits of chuckles.

"What's so funny?" Seto growled, his finger twitching on the trigger.

"Hehehe… That hurt, Kaiba Seto, I see why you are feared, hated even, because of all the power you hold…" the stranger said, ignoring the vampire's question. He slowly turned to face Seto, a wide grin on his face. "It has been a while since I had any fun in a battle, let us see how each of us fares, hmm?"

With that, he charged at blinding speed, faster than what Seto had anticipated but he dodged just in time to avoid a dagger digging itself into his belly. In retaliation, he pulled the trigger of the gun, which hit dead on target in the strangers thigh. Letting out a groan, the stranger grabbed his knee, struggling to stand up and did but had a hard time of moving out of the way the bullets were coming to him.

'Faster than I thought he is…' Seto thought as he continued to pull the trigger, time after time, missing his target but hitting the after-image. His anger was growing each time he missed, but didn't allowed himself to get desperate; he needed to be calm in order to think rationally if the situation changed.

It did when the gun ran out of bullets. It was then, a fist connected with his jaw, sending him to the end of the hall with a loud thud. After a while, Seto shook his head, trying to clear itself of the growing headache that was coming on. He looked up, his cobalt blue eyes seeing a knife hurling toward him at the speed of a bullet. He moved his head out of the way, the knife nicking his ear. Growling, he stood up, seeing the stranger charge at him, dagger at the ready.

'Hear he comes!' Seto braced himself, unsheathing a kodachi strapped to his right leg and standing in a defense position.

It was at the time the stranger held up the dagger, a familiar, raspy and deep voice rang through the area.

"You forget your objective here, my friend. You cannot kill him or else we won't be able to obtain 'it.'"

Seto's eyes widen as he recognized that voice. 'It can't be…!'

The cloaked stranger snorted, stopping in his tracks. He spoke, his voice filled with annoyance and anger, "Friend? Who said anything about being friends, Bakura? And you're interrupting a good fight."

In an instant he said that name, Bakura materialized out of nowhere, next to the cloaked stranger, a dark smirk across his tanned face. Seto took a step back in surprise, seeing the albino-haired doppelganger alive.

'What in the seven hells…? He should be dead by now!' he thought.

Bakura chuckled, "Well, excuse me, but orders are orders. Change of plans, something's going on. You have to come back."

The cloaked stranger growled, the grip on the hilt of the dagger he was holding tightened so hard it nearly broke under his fingers.

"Again? I thought I told him the necessary things he needed to do. What else do I have to tell him? And it's just when I was about to…"

The doppelganger shrugged nonchalantly. "Just come on, you know it's bad enough for him to bitch about everything that goes wrong. Come on, you can do this another time. Let's just go now."

Another growl erupted from the cloaked stranger before he suddenly disappeared into thin air. Seto growled, "Wait! Who the hell--?"

"Surprised to see me again, Kaiba Seto? Or rather Seth?" Bakura asked smugly. Seto sent him a nasty look but didn't let his guard down. If the supposedly dead doppelganger was standing in front of him like he is now, then something definitely was going on, something really bad.

"You," the vampire growled. "You should be dead years ago. How are you still here?"

The doppelganger merely laughed, making the anger in Seto rise even more than usual. He replied, "That, my dear vampire, is none of your damn concern. What you really need to worry about is what will happen later on."

A pause happened in Seto's mind. What was he talking about? He cocked an eyebrow up at Bakura who still had that smirk on his face.

"But you should be lucky that I came in here just in time, or else you would've been a pile of dust by now… Hmph, not that I wouldn't mind anyway." He mused.

The brunette vampire bit back a few swearing words that was building in his voice. He swallowed hard to prevent himself from doing so. Again, he needed to be calm to think clearly on what was happening now.

"That… That man… If you won't tell how the bloody hell you're still walking on this world, who was he?" he asked.

The smile on Bakura's face widened even more if possible. "Him? Oh, I'm sorry, I can't tell you that, you'll just have to figure that on your own. But if you want, I'll leave you this hint to figure out what he and I have planned for you all: He shall target four of you for items that you hold. Happy? I'll leave you that to figure out. It was nice to have a chat with you, Kaiba…"

Knowing that he was escaping, Seto ran towards him, but not fast enough to catch up with him before he disappeared from the spot he was standing on. After finally recollecting his thoughts, his fast-paced mind began musing over the events that had previously took place right in front of his eyes.

All he came up with was that he needed to contact Atem and the others. And fast…

Anzu calmly sat on a chair across from Malik who had a small smile on his face. Then he spoke,

"All right Anzu, all I need you to do is clear your mind of things. I won't be able to find what I am searching for if I am blocked by all this unnecessary thoughts, okay? It won't hurt a bit, I assure you."

The brunette fidgeted slightly in her seat. "Umm… I was wondering, what are you going to look for in my mind? … Just asking really…"

"Oh, well, I have had a chat with the others and I'm curious as to what this strange presence is about you." He replied.

"What kind of presence?" In the back of her mind, she already knew the answer. She just didn't want to face it. "Is… Is something wrong with me?"

"Nothing's wrong with you. I'm just going to check if all is well with your mind and body, really. A healer always takes care of people, physically and mentally." Then he felt something probe the inside of his mind, then heard a hiss of annoyance. He inwardly smiled, looks like the others (mostly Atem) are getting impatient. "Well, Anzu, I am just going to check your mind, okay? Tap into your conscious and feelings to see if anything is out of order."

Anzu paused to answer but nodded her head. In truth, she didn't like the possibility of a person looking at her thoughts and feelings, she just sort of felt… violated in a way. Sure, she had vampires look into her mind, but her feelings and subconscious? Somehow, she wished Atem were still in the room, watching for anything that might happen to her, keep her safe.

Wait a second, since when did she begin to need Atem anyway?

Her thoughts were cut short when she felt Malik's fingertips on her forehead. A sudden sensation washed over her and she found herself closing her eyes.

Malik looked around. This must be the girl's conscious and subconscious. But all he was seeing was black ahead and around him. He pondered why this was so. Then he realized she was blocking her thoughts from him, keeping them hidden from his violet eyes. A small smile curved up his lips. He couldn't blame her though; it was only natural to close up your inner feelings and thoughts when someone was looking through your mind, even though the person would tell them it was okay.

But then again, he was curious to find out what Jounouchi had meant when he said he felt a strange presence emanating from an encounter with Bakura and why it relates to this girl. He couldn't force her to show him her feelings and thoughts, it was forbidden in his race to ever rip through a person's mind when looking through them, it could cause the person to become mentally disabled, brain damage, insane, anything that could cause harm mentally, then to the body. In short words, it would be considered mental rape if you must call it that. No one could save a person's mind if it was already broken.

The Egyptian healer began to walk in the vast blackness of her mind. She was still closed up or afraid to show him what was stored inside her. But she looked willingly to show him, why wasn't she? If a person decided to willingly show their inner thoughts, it would be an open book to a healer. Why wasn't she…?

"Who said you could enter?" asked a cold, dark voice from the void around him. The voice startled Malik as he began looking around to find where the voice had come from. It seemed to have come from… everywhere.

"Who… are you? Anzu?" he asked cautiously, raising the defenses in his own mind. If a healer went into another person's mind, the healer's could also be read like a book but it was a good thing that the one being checked didn't know.

A dark laugh erupted from the darkness. Malik whirled around in his spot, trying desperately to find where the voice was coming from. A sudden fear was welling up inside his chest. What was going on in this girl's mind?

"Ahahaha… Why do you want to know? Have you come here to look for me?" the voice asked tauntingly. "You're an intruder in this mind… GET OUT!" it roared, causing a loud ringing in Malik's ears.

"I am not an intruder! I just came here to help!" Malik shouted, standing up straight despite the growing fear that was rapidly building in his body. In a strange way, it felt like the fear was coming from something else within Malik, as if afraid of the voice, the presence of the voice that was speaking to him.

He heard an amused grunt in response, as if amused by the bold fake courage. It spoke, "Humph, not an intruder you say? Well, state your business before I rip your mind apart!"

Malik gulped, trying hard to gather up the courage he used to have… at least what was left of it.

"A friend of mine… Has said he felt a presence, a strange one at that, said it felt like you—I mean, Anzu's. I just came here to find out what it really is." He replied hesitatingly.

"Bah! That's it! All just to find out what a certain presence felt like? And what makes you think that I would tell you? So that you could destroy whatever it is?"

"That depends on what it is…" Malik said, grinding his teeth together to prevent himself from shouting. But what type of shout was he restraining? One of annoyance or fear?

"Heh, amusing! Very amusing. Well, healer, no can do, you're just going to have to find out yourself."

"But--!"

"SILENCE!" The voice roared, causing Malik to cringe. "Now then, if you were a different person-a certain vampire-then I would let off what it is. But you're not, so, I demand of you is to get out! You're not welcome!"

"Wait! Why are you inside this girl's mind? Anzu's mind?" he asked desperately.

There was a pause of silence before the voice said, "None. Of. Your. Goddamn. Business."

"…alik…"

He groaned, turning his face over to rid the voice.

"… Malik… Malik…"

What happened? What's going on? What about…?

"Wake up, Malik!" Hikaru's voice cut through his thoughts like a sharp dagger.

"Huh?" Malik mumbled. He sat up from his position, only to find that everyone was in the room. He looked to the bed to see Atem over Anzu on his bed with Mai, inspecting her to see is something went wrong. Hikaru and Jounouchi were at his side, each with confused and concerned faces. Well… Hikaru looked more than concerned, more like… alarmed.

"What… happened…?" Malik asked slowly, grabbing his head and letting his own power heal his head, feeling a sudden headache coming on.

Jounouchi spoke, "Well, we heard a thud from the room and rushed inside, only to find you on the floor lookin' pale while Anzu was grabbing her head before she passed out in Atem's arms. Actually, we felt a sort of disturbance in the room and got really worried before we heard the sound. Thankfully, you were unconscious. If not, Atem would've ripped you to shreds." He whispered the last part.

Malik perked as he heard Anzu's name. Getting up with the help of Hikaru and Jounouchi, he looked at Anzu's face, seeing a sort of pained but content look.

Atem turned to face him, his crimson eyes narrowed into slits. He spoke, "What… happened?" his voice sound strained with the effort of not shouting then and there. Jounouchi was right, Atem looked ready to kill.

Malik put a finger under his chin in thought. "Well… It was weird… I met up… Wait, scratch that, instead, more like, heard the voice of someone that sounded like Anzu… But it didn't sound like her."

"Huh? I don't get you, what did you say?" Jounouchi asked. Hikaru rolled his eyes in annoyance, biting back an insult that would've made the vampire go into a fit. Now was not the time for another fight.

The sound of Mai's cell phone ringing broke the silence that went by after Jounouchi asked that, but the other's ignored it while the female blonde vampire muttered a few curses while taking out her cell phone.

Malik rubbed his temple, growling in frustration. "Ugh… I don't know how to put this… All I can say is that there's something in her mind, her being, and I don't like the sound of it. No pun intended really, but it just… the whole feel of it doesn't feel right. It was too cryptic, too distorted; I'm surprised that whatever it was, it left my mind intact. I'm sorry you guys, it's just too blurry right now…" he said.

Jounouchi and Atem let out an exasperated sigh while Hikaru merely narrowed his eyes. Then Atem asked, "But… you didn't do anything wrong that might've hurt her, did you?"

Malik sent him a nasty look. "Atem, how dare you ask me that? You know the rules of the healers, I should never hurt a person's mind in anyway!" he exclaimed.

Atem sent his own glare. "Well, excuse me for being worried about what I care about, Malik. I'm just concerned."

The Egyptian healer let out another sigh, putting his face in one of his hands. "No, no, it's alright. Forgive me for snapping at you like that. It's just that… I have never come across anything like that. It'll take some time for me to recuperate. In any case," he inclined his head to Anzu who lay motionless on the bed. "Is she okay?"

Atem nodded. "Yeah… No damage… I checked for anything, and found only fatigue. You didn't do… anything wrong." He replied.

"Okay… Well, that's good." Malik admitted.

"Uh… guys? Something's up…" said Mai.

Jounouchi cocked an eyebrow up. "Huh? What's up, Mai? What is it about?"

Mai chewed on her lower lip before saying, "Well, Kaiba just called me. He said he was attacked by a cloaked figure and Bakura."

Ehehehe…. Well, that's chapter seven for ya! Anyway, thank you for reading and press that button down there to get the next one! Sorry for the delay on this chap! Tell me what you think in the review! Bye bye!

Trivia! TRIVIA! Guess what age I am! Get it right and the next chapter will be dedicated to you! As for Little Atemu, I'm sorry, you can't answer this since you already know thanks to the "chats" we have, but here (hands AxA plushie)! Hope that'll compensate for it! It wouldn't be fair, no? And besides, the next chapter will be dedicated to you also!