Alright, this chapter comes with a warning: blood and death. Read at your own risk.
Usual reminders:
Italics are thoughts or word emphasis. Bold is Malekos' speech.
I do not claim to own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters. I only own Jessica and Malekos.
The alarm clock was what woke Jessica the next morning and she groaned. She groggily propped herself up on her elbows and reached over to slap her hand down on the 'off' button. Then she plopped her face back down on the pillow, not ready to get up just yet. A quiet groan and a shift in the bed beside her made her turn her head, staring at the drowsy face of Yugi as he started to wake up slowly. They had talked all night together with Yami in Yugi's room about what had transpired so far in the tournament and must have dozed off without realizing it.
"Damn, I fell asleep in here again…" She yawned and rubbed her eyes.
"G'morning, Jess," Yugi yawned as he sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he glanced at her.
She blushed a bit and mumbled a "good morning" before excusing herself to go get ready for the day. She made a quick breakfast for the both of them and then they were off to the plaza to meet up with Joey and another duelist Yugi wanted her to meet.
It was a woman named Mai Valentine, who had long, wavy blonde hair. She had quite the strong-willed attitude that Jessica found herself admiring silently. They stood in the plaza and waited for Joey to show up.
"That slacker should have been here ten minutes ago. I've got duels to win," Mai huffed impatiently.
"Well, here he comes," Jessica said as she spotted Joey running towards them. He and Mai exchanged a high-five as he greeted them.
"Still in the tournament, Wheeler?"
"You bet! I'm already the proud owner of two locator cards."
"Then I guess I'm twice as good." Mai lifted her hand to show off her four clear cards with a little puzzle chip in each one. Jessica whistled at her accomplishment and watched as the three of them showed off how many locator cards they owned. Yugi had three of them.
"Man, I got da least! How am I ever gonna get to da finals?" Joey exclaimed dramatically.
"Aw, don't beat yourself down, Joey!" Jessica smiled from underneath her hood. "You've been doing great so far. I bet you'll win the rest of those cards in no time!"
"Jess is right. We need six locator cards and there's plenty of time for us to get the rest of them," Yugi told him with a smile. Mai and Joey split to go find duels, leaving him and Jessica by themselves. "I know one of Marik's Rare Hunters is after me, and I'm ready for them." He said as he touched his deck.
"Don't forget about me!" Jessica smirked as she bumped his shoulder playfully with her own.
He laughed and nodded, "Right! The three of us." She gave a satisfied smile and they started walking through the streets. "What do you suppose Marik wants with you?" He suddenly asked, glancing at her. He had tried to persuade her to stay at home while the tournament was going on so she wouldn't be put in danger, but she refused and stubbornly chose to stay by his side.
She clicked her tongue in contempt, "I don't know but he's in for a rude awakening. Malekos doesn't like to follow anybody's rules."
"By the way, that reminds me. You two seem to be getting along better than when we first met."
She nodded in agreement. "He has become more chatty since then. Honestly, I can't have a single thought to myself without him butting in," she sighed in exasperation, to which she received a quiet growl in response in her mind. She couldn't help but giggle at that. "You're a big influence, Yugi."
"Aw, I don't know about that." He rubbed the back of his head as he blushed sheepishly, looking away.
She smiled at him, "I mean it. Thank you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, making them both flush red. She hoped her hood was hiding hers as she stared forward while they walked. It was silent between them and she almost wondered if Yugi was still there when she felt his hand hesitantly grab hers. She responded by tightening their grip, lightly squeezing his hand. And they walked on in silence around the city.
It wasn't until they came across a large screen across a busy street that they stopped and looked up at it. It showed the results of a duel between Joey and someone named 'Weevil Underwood'. "Looks like he won another duel," she commented, smiling up at the screen.
"Yeah! He's nearly on his way to the Battle City Finals," Yugi agreed. He fished out a card with his free hand and stared at it, and she noticed that it was the card Joey had given him. He must be hyping himself up, she guessed.
She felt a familiar tingle in her gut and she sighed. "I'm gonna go find a bathroom," she said as she reluctantly slid her hand out of his. She pointed at him as she gave him a stern look. "Don't go anywhere."
He chuckled as he held up his hands in mock surrender. "I won't, I promise. I'll wait for you."
"Good." With a satisfied smile, she jogged over to find a restaurant nearby to relieve herself. It didn't take her long and she was back out on the street in no time. She crossed a street and spotted Yugi several feet ahead of her, thankfully where she had left him. He was facing away from her. She smiled and started to call out to him. "Yu-"
Watch out! Malekos' snarl cut her off and she was on instant alert.
But she didn't act quick enough. Hands grabbed her on each side and even covered her mouth so she couldn't scream. Their grip was too strong and she watched helplessly as she was dragged away from Yugi and into an alleyway. They never stopped and it wasn't until the bustling of the city grew quieter that her kidnappers paused. Her hood was pulled down from her head and she could look around better now. Two men in dark cloaks were holding her still, while two others stood in front of her with wicked grins.
Rare Hunters! Malekos growled in her mind and she found herself growing tense in response.
"Our master has plans for you, girl!" One of the cloaked men smirked and made a hand gesture, and the hand that covered her mouth removed itself. She gasped for breath, having had a difficult time breathing with her face covered.
"I warned Marik to leave me alone or else he'd get burned!" She growled, eyes flashing red briefly.
"How scary!" They were mocking her. "Our master doesn't care for your silly little threats. He always gets what he wants."
"Well, maybe he should care! I'm not someone you can just manhandle and get away with," she shouted, baring her teeth in an animalistic snarl. Her eyes flashed red again but this time kept flickering in and out, like a lightbulb that needed to be changed. A familiar throb found its way into her mind and she could hear the growl of Malekos at the forefront of her mind. He was growing angry, she could feel it.
"We'll see about that once we bring you to him."
Her eyes widened as she felt their tight grips on her arms start to shove her forward to get her to start moving, and she could already feel the bruises forming. No... This can't be happening! Yugi, Yami, help! She squeezed her eyes shut as she dug her heels into the pavement, trying to resist them as much as possible. She didn't want to go with them. She wanted to be with Yugi. Help me… Malekos!
And that was all it took. Her feet planted on the ground, making the men halt in their tracks in shock. A black aura started to surround her as her head throbbed and hung low.
"What's going on? Get her moving!" One of the men in front shouted as he threw his hand to the side, annoyed that they were having so much trouble. But he froze in shock at what he saw.
Something long and thin shot out from behind Jessica and waved about wildly, a pointy object at the end of it. It glided through the air and sliced across the knees of both of the men that held her arms, spraying blood easily. The men cried out in pain and let go of her to fall onto their backs and hold their legs. She stood hunched over now as the black aura pulsed around her. She suddenly lurched forward and, quicker than any of them could anticipate, grabbed the third man's throat in her hand and dug her nails in with her grip. The man screamed in fright and was abruptly cut short as she twisted her hand and a sickening snap echoed through the alley as his head fell limp. She let go and his body fell like a sack of potatoes to the ground.
"S-Stay back!" The fourth man panicked and whipped around to run away, but she was quicker. She plunged her hand into his back and straight through his chest, earning a gurgled cry to escape his throat. She wrenched her hand back out of him and his body fell just like the one before him, blood pooling quickly around him. The two survivors whimpered pathetically and ran away, and this time she let them.
They passed Yami as he was running into the alley in search of Jessica. He saw the two running away with obvious horror written on their faces and he looked to see Jessica with her back to him. He didn't even notice something was different about her as he approached her, too worried about her well-being. "Jessica!"
When she turned her head to glance over her shoulder at him, he froze in his tracks as he looked at her with shock. Her eyes were red while the whites of her eyes were now black. They stared at him with such a powerful intensity that he knew it couldn't have been Jessica staring back at him. Her hands were claw-like and the skin of her arms were a faded red, fading into her natural skin color at just above her elbows. Blood dripped from her right hand and he could see two lifeless bodies lying in the alley, one directly in front of her in a pool of his own blood. A long, thin red tail swayed behind her from somewhere underneath her hoodie with a pointed blade-like tip that also had blood staining it.
"You're late, pharaoh!" She turned to point at Yami with an accusing claw and a disapproving snarl. The deeper voice that escaped her throat was the indicator that it was indeed not Jessica anymore. It was Malekos who had taken control of her body. "I had to take matters into my own hands."
"You're Malekos?" Yami stared at him with wide eyes, making the demon scoff in response.
"Who else would I be?" He then stalked over to Yami who took a cautious step back, unsure of what was going to happen. Malekos held up a clawed hand towards Yami's neck and growled, narrowing his eyes. "I'd snap your neck right now if you weren't her friend."
Yami gulped at the threat and then met Malekos' red gaze with his own crimson one. "I'm glad that you won't." He then let a knowing smirk play on his face. "Both Yugi and Jessica would be upset with you."
Malekos scoffed as he dropped his hand to his side. "Don't remind me! She's lucky I even care."
Yami chuckled a bit and then turned serious. "How long do you plan on staying in control?"
"It depends on whether you want to carry her now or later." The demon swayed his tail behind him.
Yami thought about it for a moment. "We'd prefer now."
Malekos shrugged nonchalantly. "Suit yourself." He closed his eyes and a black aura pulsed around him again before disappearing, along with the tail and red skin.
Then Jessica's body began to fall limp and Yami lurched forward, catching her in his arms just in time. She was still breathing so that meant she was just unconscious. He sighed in relief and looked around at the aftermath of Malekos' wrath. They couldn't stay in the alley any longer for risk of getting caught by authorities. He shifted her in his arms and managed to put her on his back, carrying her 'piggy back' style while his hands supported her legs and her head rested on his back. Once he was sure he had a secure hold on her and that she wouldn't fall, he jogged out of the alley and disappeared around the corner.
This is technically the first time Yugi/Yami have seen Malekos take control of Jessica's body. Quite an interesting turn of events... But at least Marik's plans for her as been thwarted...for now...
Leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter!