"Are you sure that you haven't heard anything?" Kelda asked Amber for what seemed like the fifth time that day.
"I already told you, Rika said that he hasn't been to school for a week now. And trust me, she would notice if Domino High's best-looking guy was still there or not! She keeps tabs on the ones with the goods!" Amber insisted.
It was Sunday afternoon, and Kelda had invited Amber to the store in the hopes of finding out via her Domino High School friends whether Marik was even still attending classes or not. Throughout the whole week, Marik had simply stopped returning Kelda's phone calls and text messages. In fact, his number was not even in service anymore. Kelda felt both sad and worried. Why would Marik suddenly decide to just drop out of existence without a single word of warning to her? Had his family decided to move, or was it something else? The rational part of Kelda that seemed to be in charge nearly all of the time believed that Marik really had just moved and nothing more. But after all of her conversations with him, her strange suspicions about his past, and even her grandmother's bizarre reaction to him, Kelda also couldn't help wondering if there was something more unusual going on here.
"Hey, I totally get why you're all bummed out about this. I mean, if I was the girlfriend of the world's hottest guy like you (hopefully) still are, and he just did a vanishing act, I'd be on my third carton of comfort ice cream last week!" Amber said.
"While all of that sounds very sympathetic coming from you, I don't remember ever saying that Marik was my boyfriend." Kelda said.
"Oh, come on! You've been spending what little free time you have on him for weeks now! You can't tell me that absolutely nothing has been going on between the two of you! What about the dates and rides into the sunset with him on his motorcycle? Where is the romance!?" Amber pressed excitedly.
"It's not like that at all. Marik is just a friend that hangs out with me sometimes so that we can study and talk about dueling. And even if I wanted it to be more than that, it would never happen. I can't even get him to talk about himself for over five minutes! He's just too...mysterious!" Kelda explained in frustration.
Amber nodded sympathetically. "I see. So it's that kind of deal. I hope that Marik comes back, though. Until then, I guess I'll just have to settle for looking at these luscious pics of him that Rika managed to take and share with me before he decided to split." She said while idly scrolling her finger down the screen of her cellphone.
Kelda immediately snatched Amber's phone out of her hands. "Just what are you doing with these!?" She demanded while furiously going through the photo gallery only to find various candid shots of Marik in his school uniform; unable to prevent herself from pausing briefly to admire his striking good looks in each photo.
Amber laughed. "Look at Ms. "We're just friends!" now! I knew that you liked him!" She teased Kelda triumphantly.
"That's not the issue here! You and Rika shouldn't even have these! I mean, it's not like you had Marik's permission to do this!" Kelda argued.
Amber casually took her phone out of Kelda's hands. "Oh, come on! It's all good. He's decent in all of these, anyway. Check out the one I'm using for my home screen now!" Amber said as she switched to her phone's home screen to reveal it's background of a photo of Marik casually leafing through a book in what was probably the school library at Domino High.
"But it's...wrong." Kelda protested weakly.
Amber shrugged. "Only if Marik finds out and complains about it himself. Now, want to help me decide which one I should use for my lock screen!?" She asked excitedly.
Kelda sighed helplessly. "I give up." She said in defeat.
xxx
A couple of hours after Amber had left, Kelda was still sitting at the kitchen table; trying to concentrate on her homework. She angrily wadded up a third sheet of paper and shoved it towards the other side of the table.
"Are you still having problems with your homework? At least give erasers a fighting chance before you resort to a mass waste of resources!" Marissa said as she walked into the kitchen.
"Sorry. I just can't seem to figure out the formula here." Kelda said sheepishly.
"I think we both know that that isn't the real problem here." Marissa said gently.
When Kelda didn't reply, Marissa continued to speak. "You have been miserable ever since Marik left, and I know how hard it is for you. But you have to understand that this was inevitable. That boy is possessed by a dark and dangerous presence, and he probably had to leave just to ensure the safety of others, including you." She explained.
Kelda groaned impatiently. She was sick and tired of hearing her grandmother's evil spirit possession theory.
"So what are you saying? That Marik is out pillaging villages or something else equally ridiculous? Be serious! There is absolutely nothing wrong with him!" Kelda argued.
"You may not believe me, but Marik has confessed to me himself about his other half. He would know better than anyone else." Marissa said.
Kelda's heart sank. So Marik is crazy. Just great! You sure know how to pick 'em, Kelda! She thought to herself sarcastically. Kelda couldn't come up with any other possible explanation as to why Marik would willingly choose to believe in her grandmother's mystical mumbo-jumbo. But despite her scepticism, Kelda couldn't help remembering how Marik had looked and acted in those awful YouTube videos from the Battle City tournament. What if there really was something going on with Marik that was out of the ordinary?
No! I can't let myself start thinking like that! Kelda thought to herself firmly.
"Well, either way, it doesn't look like he's planning on coming back anytime soon. So we might as well just forget about this. I'm going for a walk." Kelda said abruptly. She was hoping that some fresh air would help her to re-focus on what was really important right now.
Marissa sighed sadly to herself. "Alright. Be back soon, though." She said.
xxx
As Kelda walked through the now-quiet city streets, she reflected back on the recent events in her life. While it was true that Marik's unexplained absence still weighed heavily on her mind, there was also another problem that had come to Kelda's attention just last week. It had been a normal workday at the shop, until Kelda had made the mistake of picking up the phone at the same time as Marissa. Since every house-phone in their home shared the same line, it was something that happened every once in awhile. However, Kelda had not been prepared for the conversation that she had decided to eavesdrop on.
Begin flashback:
"Hello, Oracle's Mirror! Where we see all! Well, uh, except for the identities of any potential customers who call us, since we can't read auras over the phone! But still! How can I help you?" Marissa answered cheerfully.
There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. "Marissa, it's me." Answered a deep, male voice. Kelda couldn't pinpoint the type of emotion it had, but she was too intrigued to stop listening now.
"Well? Aren't you happy to hear from me after all of these years?" The man persisted somewhat impatiently.
"Forgive me, but the fact that it has taken you this long to call here has me more than a little suspicious. I'm guessing that you still haven't taken my advice seriously, have you?" Marissa asked coldly.
"You know why I can't do that! I didn't have a choice back then, and I still don't now, either!" The man answered with an edge of frustration in his voice.
"You and I both know that that is just a poor excuse you are using due to your need to hide from reality. But nevermind that. Why are you calling?" Marissa asked bluntly.
"I want you to return Kelda to us. Despite our differences, we're still family. And it's not fair that you have kept her to yourself for all of these years." The man said.
"Absolutely not!" Marissa said furiously.
"Come on, Marissa. Don't be difficult. I haven't seen Kelda in years. I know that our way of life might be considered a bit...different. But Kelda deserves to know about the rest of her family!" The man said with conviction.
"Different!? The life that you live is barely even human! I would never subject Kelda to something like that! She is happy with the life that she has now, and that is all that matters! And need I remind you that the law is on my side here!?" Marissa argued.
"I should have known that you would be unreasonable about this. But don't think that I'm giving up yet, Marissa." The man warned ominously before hanging up.
Kelda couldn't believe what she had just heard. After all this time of hearing absolutely nothing, could it be possible that her father had suddenly decided to come back into her life!? Kelda didn't feel happy, though. The man on the phone did not sound like the most friendly person in the world. He sounded more like he just believed that Kelda was simply a lost possession to be claimed. And if that was her father, then what about her mother? Was she with him, too? Kelda had so many questions that her head hurt. One thing that she felt certain about was that she would never agree to live with her father.
He thinks that he can just walk back into my life as if nothing ever happened!? No! He and mom left me, and I won't go back with them no matter what! Kelda thought to herself furiously.
End flashback
Kelda was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that there was a person running in her direction at full-speed until they crashed into her; knocking her onto the pavement.
"Oww! Why don't you watch where you're-" Kelda started to say angrily until she noticed who she had bumped into.
"Marik!?" Kelda asked in shock.
"Kelda!? What are you doing here!?" Marik asked in surprise. His eyes were wild and somewhat bloodshot, and his hair was disheveled. It looked as if Marik hadn't slept properly in days.
"Um, I kind of live here, Marik. Remember? Nevermind that, though. What happened to you!? You look awful. And why did you just move away without even telling me!?" Kelda asked.
"No time to explain! We have to hide! They're coming!" Marik said fearfully. He hastily pulled Kelda into a narrow side alley.
Before she could ask Marik anything else about this bizarre turn of events, Kelda spotted three men wearing long, sinister-looking black cloaks with hoods run across the street from the direction that Marik had came from. Thankfully, they did not spot the alley that she and Marik were hiding in, and instead continued on down the street.
Marik breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank Ra that they didn't find us!" He said.
"Why were those men after you, Marik!? Just what is going on!?" Kelda asked anxiously.
"That is a very long story, and I'm afraid that I don't have the time to tell you everything right now. I have to go before they catch up with me again. I'm sorry about all of this, Kelda. But I can't stay here any longer." Marik said.
"Wait! I don't know what kind of trouble you're in, but I can't just leave you alone like this. Come back to my house, Marik. You'll be safe there, and then you can explain everything to me. Please, let me help you!" Kelda begged. She knew that something dangerous was going on here and that she had to help Marik. But it wasn't just that. Kelda had missed Marik more than she had thought was possible. To be able to see him again like this was more than she had hoped for, and she didn't want to say goodbye just yet.
Marik hesitated before answering. "Okay. Thank you. But I can't promise that we will be safe there. They always find me." He warned.
xxx
An hour later, Kelda and Marissa were sitting at the kitchen table in their house while Marik paced nervously back and forth in front of them. He had just finished explaining everything, and Kelda was still having a hard time trying to wrap her head around all of it. An unknown gang of men who were stealing people's souls and leaving them in comas? It made no sense. Even though Kelda knew that something had happened to the people that Marik had mentioned, there had to be a logical explanation for their conditions. Plus, Kelda had the feeling that Marik was leaving something out.
"Marik, I believe that these men are very dangerous and that they are responsible for what happened to those poor people. But you don't need to worry about them finding you now. You are safe here, and we are going to get to the bottom of this mystery! I'm going to call the police. With all of the information you can give them, I'm sure that they will be able to take care of this." Kelda said reassuringly.
Marik let out a humorless laugh. "The police!? There's nothing that they can do about this! They'll just end up the same way or worse! This is beyond what any normal human can deal with! No, those days are over for me now! I shouldn't even be here! It's not safe for you to be around me! No, I'm not safe!" Marik ranted frantically.
Kelda couldn't figure out what Marik had meant in his last sentence. It sounded like he was referring to something else. But what?
Marissa spoke up. "Marik is right. Involving the police will do us no good. I have been following these incidents myself, and I can tell that we are dealing with powers that are beyond our control. I have felt it for awhile now. I don't want to believe it, but it looks like this could be..." Marissa started to say. She then changed her mind; letting her last sentence linger.
"I must consult with the spirits about this. They should be able to provide us with some leads. After all, things are changing on their side as well. Ones that should not be here have returned..." Marissa said worriedly.
For a moment, Marik looked like he wanted to ask Marissa more about her cryptic statement. It was as if her words held some sort of significance to him. But at the last minute, he seemed changed his mind and decided to let his questions go.
"I think that that would be a wise course of action to follow. We need all of the information that we can get." Marik said seriously; acting as if trying to communicate with a bunch of dead people was a completely normal thing to do.
Oh, no! Just great! They're both crazy! Kelda thought to herself miserably.
"I know that it is terrible of me to ask this of you right now, especially since it would probably place you both in danger. But would it be possible for me to stay here tonight? I promise that I will leave tomorrow. I just feel like this might be easier while we are still trying to find out what we can. Would that be alright with you, Mrs. Hale?" Marik requested politely.
"Of course, dear. I won't let any friend of Kelda's face something like this alone. You're welcome to stay for as long as you need to." Marissa answered gently.
"Thank you for your hospitality. I'll try my best not to inconvenience you both." Marik said as he bowed respectfully to Marissa.
"Since I'm going to be doing a lot of work tonight, you can use my room upstairs, Marik. I usually end up sleeping in the basement anyway. Just ask Kelda to help you find anything that you might need. I'll see you both in the morning. Hopefully with good news." Marissa said.
xxx
About half an hour later, Marik and Kelda were looking around Marissa's bedroom, both at a loss for words. The room was even more cluttered than the basement, if that was even possible. But the real problem was the window. No matter how hard they pulled on it, it just wouldn't close all of the way.
"Jeez. I didn't know that it was THIS bad. If I had to guess, I would say that grandma hasn't set foot in this room for at least a year! This isn't going to work. Since those people have already climbed up buildings just to get to you, then this would make things a little too easy for them!" Kelda said.
"It's okay. I could always just stay in the hallway or something." Marik suggested.
"Don't be ridiculous. I know a better place. Just follow me." Kelda said.
After a short walk down the hallway, Kelda stopped and opened another door.
"Wait a minute. Is this your room!? I can't stay here!' Marik said awkwardly.
"Look, I know it seems a bit...weird. But I think that you would be safer here if anything did happen. I could at least try to help fend those guys off or stall for time. And if they don't come in through here, then we can use this window to escape ourselves. There is some sort of ladder-thing built into the side here." Kelda explained hurriedly; her face bright red.
Ishizu is going to kill me if she ever finds out about this. Marik thought to himself wryly.
"Okay, I'll stay. I do feel kind of better not staying alone right now." Marik admitted.
"Okay. Just let me some spare blankets and pillows for you. Even with the rug, the floor is not the most comfortable place to be." Kelda said as she started to leave the room.
"Oh, and whatever you do, don't touch anything in here! Because believe me, I'll know if you do, and you won't like what would happen after that!" Kelda warned Marik. He had to stifle a laugh at the expression on her face. If Kelda was trying to appear threatening, she was failing miserably, because Marik just found her to be cute more than anything else right now.
"Don't worry! I won't touch anything. I am here for self-preservation after all." Marik said with a smile.
xxx
A few hours later, Marik tossed around restlessly on the floor; the blankets a tangled mess. Even after talking to Kelda for awhile, he still couldn't make himself fall asleep. He was too afraid of what could happen if he was not completely ready to flee at a moment's notice.
"Still can't sleep?" Kelda asked quietly from the other end of the room.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to keep you up." Marik apologized.
"It doesn't matter. I can't sleep, either." Kelda admitted ruefully. She switched on her nightstand lamp and sat up in bed.
"I just feel like I won't ever find any real peace in my life. I have tried so hard to set things right again. And right when it seemed to be working, it all fell apart again... I shouldn't be putting you in danger like this. Not when I can't even protect myself." Marik said.
Kelda walked over to Marik and sat down next to him on the floor.
"Look, Marik. I don't know what has happened to you in the past. But I really don't think that it helps to dwell on what went wrong before. From what I understand so far, this is a completely separate issue. We will find a way to solve this, I promise. No one even knows that you would choose to come here, so I don't think that we have to worry about those cult weirdos breaking in. But no matter what, I'm going to help you, because that is what friends do." Kelda said firmly. She took Marik's hands in her own and looked directly at him.
For a moment, Marik did not know what to say. He just stared down at their linked hands; not sure of just what he was feeling right now.
"Thanks. I think I feel a little better now. You're probably right. I should be safe here for now. I've gotten out of worse situations than this, so I'm going to try to believe that I can do the same thing here once we have a real plan. I'll try to go back to sleep now. Goodnight, Kelda." Marik said.
Kelda reluctantly let go of Marik's hands and went back to the other side of the room.
"Okay. I'll see you in the morning, Marik." She said.
Marik let himself relax as he settled back down into his nest of blankets on the floor. It was hard to believe that anything bad could happen in this comfortable little house, where the only sounds that could be heard were a few cars passing by on the street below and a light rain against the window. Surely, nothing could go wrong here...
xxx
A few hours later, Marik awoke with a jolt to the sound of loud, insistent pounding that seemed to be coming from the front door downstairs. It sounded as if someone was trying to knock the door off of it's hinges with a gigantic sledgehammer.
Oh, no! I knew this was a bad idea! They've found me again! Marik thought to himself in terror.
Kelda was already awake and scrambling to get out of bed. Marik wasn't surprised. After all, the noise coming from downstairs was loud enough to wake the dead.
"We have to get out of here! Now!" Marik said urgently as he pried open the window.
"But grandma is still down there! I can't just leave her!" Kelda argued frantically.
"You can't go down there right now, Kelda! They might decide to take you as a hostage just to get to me! Going by that idea, they probably won't do anything to hurt Marissa, and we can come back to check on things. But right now, we need to escape while we still can!" Marik urged Kelda.
Before Kelda could argue any further, Marik grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her towards the window.
"Marik, I'm not leaving without grandma! She's the only family I have! I'm going back!" Kelda insisted. Her words were followed by an earsplitting crash as the front door was finally broken down.
"No, you will not. Now do as I say and go!" Marik commanded fiercely. In that moment, he sounded unusually dangerous to Kelda. It was almost as if Marik himself hadn't been doing the talking.
Without any further protests, Kelda started to hastily climb out of the window, with Marik close behind her. Once they reached the ground, they took off running and didn't look back.
xxx
The next day, Kelda and Marik were sitting in a cramped storage room of a department store while they went over everything that had happened since yesterday. Kelda had made a brief trip back to her house alone about an hour earlier to see if Marissa was there. Not only had the entire house appear as if it had been ransacked, but there was also no sign of Marissa anywhere. Either she had fled, or she had gotten kidnapped during the break-in.
"It just doesn't make any sense! They had no way of knowing that we are friends, and if they did, then why didn't they just wait at the house to begin with!?" Marik asked himself frustratedly.
Kelda had been wondering about the same thing herself. Those men were certainly capable of breaking into any place, day or night. So why wait for hours to do it? Suddenly, a horrible idea came to her.
"Oh, no! Why didn't I see this coming earlier!? They weren't trying to get you, Marik!" Kelda said.
"What are you talking about!? Of course they were!" Marik said.
"No, you don't understand! That was dad!" Kelda blurted out.
"Dad? I thought that you said that lost contact with your parents years ago!" Marik said in confusion.
"I know, but last week, I listened in on grandma's phone conversation by accident, and there was this weird guy. He kept going on about wanting to take me back to live with him and meet mom and the rest of my family. Grandma got really mad and told him no. And then he said that she hadn't heard the last of him yet. I bet that he broke in last night and kidnapped her so that he can use her to get to me!" Kelda explained fearfully.
Marik looked thoughtful for a moment. "I suppose that we can't rule that out as a possibility... But either way, it is still dangerous for us now." He said.
"What am I going to do now!? I can't go back home, and I don't have anywhere else to go. I don't want to get turned over to the authorities for not having a legal guardian!" Kelda said in despair.
"Then you're just like me... Kelda, I can't even begin to apologize for the mess I have gotten you and your grandmother into. But if you really want to, you can stay with me while I try to find a way out of it. But it is going to be dangerous. The first thing we have to do is find just who these people are and why they are doing this. It will be hard, but I believe that we can do it if we work together. There are still a lot of things that I haven't told you yet. Things that you probably won't believe. But if you want to stay with me, then you have to understand that there is no "normal" anymore. In fact, it's been like that for pretty much all of my life now." Marik explained.
To Marik's surprise, Kelda a small smile formed on Kelda's face. "Please. You are talking about normal to the person who gives fake fortunes to people for a living and has a grandmother who talks to ghosts in a basement everyday! Normal is not exactly how I would describe my life, either!" She said.
"Okay, then. Let's try to do what we can!" Marik said in what he hoped was a confident voice. He and Kelda shook hands and smiled at each other.
Despite their newfound commitment, Marik was still worried. He shouldn't be placing Kelda in danger like this. It wasn't just his pursuers that he was afraid of. He was even more worried about what could happen if Yami Marik took control of him again if they were caught. He didn't want anyone else to die, and he knew that he shouldn't risk exposing Kelda to his other half. But Marik's loneliness was clouding his judgement. He was being selfish, and he knew it. But at that moment, while he held Kelda's hand in his while they both smiled at each other, Marik didn't care about anything else.
Author's note: Sorry for the long absence between updates here. For some reason, this chapter was really hard for me to write. I'd like to say thank you to all of the new people who have favorited, followed, reviewed, and read this while I was still working on this chapter! And to everyone before that, of course. XD You guys are the best!