Summonshipping (Yami no Marik x Rishid x Marik)

The first days after father's death were the worst.

The funeral service had been short, as the other tribe members had been too afraid to stay in the same room as the rest of the Ishtar family for too long. It was supposed to be a secret, what had happened. But there were no such thing as secrets in the catacombs.

Ishizu never stopped crying. She rarely left her chamber – she couldn't. Watching her father die had been too much for her to bear; her mental stability hovered ever the brink.

So it was Rishid that had to deal with Marik's trauma.

"Rishid...Rishid!"

The soft, labored voice roused Rishid instantly from sleep. He shot straight up from his cot on the floor, ignoring the pain in his back. Marik was not in his bed; it took Rishid a moment to find the small, huddled shape in the corner.

The young Egyptian boy hugged his knes, violet eyes wide with terror.

"Rishid," he said again – it seemed to be the only word he could say.

Rishid crawled over to Marik. He touched his shoulder gently, but Marik jerked away. He wouldn't let anyone touch him – he hadn't for the past three days.

"What's wrong?" Rishid asked, feeling hurt but trying not to show it. "What happened?"

"I can hear him," Marik whispered. "The voice – the voice in my head. It's telling me that I killed father. It's telling me I should kill you. Rishid – I – I can't – s"

"You did not kill father," Rishid said firmly. "It wasn't your fault."

"I know," Marik said. "But it won't stop...whispering..."

He let out a strangled sob and buried his face in his knees.

"It's all his fault," Marik whispered. "It's the pharaoh's fault. If we weren't down here, that wouldn't have happened."

Rishid just wanted to come closer, be able to hold and comfort his younger brother. But Marik would not let him close. The pain in his back could not compare to the pain in his heart.

Marik looked up with teary eyes.

"Rishid, it's the pharaoh, right? The pharaoh is the one that's whispering to me. I can just tell."

"Marik..."

"No, it is! It has to be! He killed father and wants me to think I did it!"

He voice rose to a half-scream, rough with tears and terror.

"But he can't make me kill anyone! He can't make me! I won't let him! He doesn't control me! I – I'll kill him, I'll –"

For a moment, his eyes went cold and blank, and a terrible smile crossed his face. Rishid half stood.

"Get back," he said through gritted teeth. "Get away from Marik. I know you're in there. You can't control him. Do you hear me? Stay away from him!"

The blank eyes sneered at him, but as he came closer, the expression faded. Only the trembling, ten-year-old Marik remained. This time, Rishid would not let Marik push him away. He stepped forward and scooped the shivering boy into his arms. Marik struggled for a moment, sobbing protests and half-hearted order to be put down. Rishid paid no heed to him, until he finally quieted. For a moment, he sobbed into Rishid's shoulder.

"Rishid?" he said finally. "He...he stopped. He stopped talking to me. You...you can put me down now."

Rishid did not comply at first. He felt Marik's tiny, quick heartbeat against his own slow, purposeful heartbeat. He didn't want to put him down. He wanted to hold him forever, protect him forever against the evils in the world. He didn't want to leave his brother again. But Marik repeated his request again, this time as an order, and Rishid set the young boy down to his own feet.

"Marik. What now?" Rishid said. "What will we do?"

Marik stared at the floor. His fists were clenched and shaking.

"Rishid," he said. "If I left here, forever, would you...come with me?"

Rishid knelt down to one knee so that he was eye-level with Marik. He lifted the boy's chin so that their gazes met.

"And where will you go?" he asked softly.

For only the briefest moment, those blank, cold eyes flashed across Marik's.

"I'm going to find the pharaoh," Marik said. "And I'm going to kill him. Will you help me?"

Behind Marik's eyes, Rishid could see the dark Marik grinning maliciously. Marik would leave anyway. Even if Rishid didn't join him, he would go.

Rishid couldn't leave him to face his darkness on his own.

"I will follow you," he said.

And I will not let you be controlled ever again.

A/N: Yami no Marik didn't really show up in this oneshot, except as glimpses, but I think it worked best that way. I love Marik...I feel so bad for him, considering he's the only one of the three Yami/Hikari pairs that is literally suffering from dissociative personality disorder. The other two are just possession cases, but Marik actually created a separate personality. Poor Marik. :( Next is Stubbornshipping (Honda x Seto). Gross...