Hey guys! I know that I took slightly longer than usual to post this, which shouldn't be a big deal, but since I left you with such a cliffy I felt mega bad. D: I'm not using university as an excuse, but I wanted to say (for future reference) that it does take a lot of my time, so please don't expect me to post as much as I did over the summer. Sorry!

Also, this is just a reminder that at the beginning of this chapter Ellie and Hermione are still completely oblivious to both Malik's departure and capture. The scene is just basically what they are doing in the library when Harry and Ron are having their little chat with Ryou.

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy to think of anything creative to say here, so I'll just stick with the usual 'I own nothing' and bore you to tears. So, I own nothing.

Enjoy!

Chapter 26

"Well, Harry said that he was really horrid. That his father was about to go after him with a whip. Malik's other half was just defending himself," Hermione said reasonably, making a show of scratching out a sentence on Ellie's essay. "Is it really all that-"

"Hermione!" Ellie snapped, looking up from her book. They had both shown up at the library the minute it opened, needing to distract themselves with homework. "Don't try to justify what he did!"

"I'm just saying that we don't know the whole-"

"I hardly think we need to!"

"Well I think that we do!" Hermione huffed, slamming Ellie's essay down. They were free to talk about anything, as the library was completely empty, save for Madame Pince who was on the other side of the room. "It's really no wonder they didn't tell us, with the way you reacted-"

"You're bloody terrified of them too, Hermione!" Ellie shot back. "You're blaming this whole mess on me just because I had the nerve to say something!"

"I'm not blaming it on you, Ellie!" Hermione squeaked, seemingly offended. "If you could just listen to me for five seconds without interrupting!"

Ellie lowered her gaze, flushing. "Sorry."

Hermione took a deep breath. "That's quite alright." Ellie remained silent and allowed Hermione to gather her thoughts. "What I was trying to say is that we know that it wasn't Malik who did it. It was his yami."

Ellie nodded, and signaled for Hermione to go on.

"And it's actually quite selfish of us to be upset over this."

Ellie opened her mouth to protest, but the look that Hermione shot her kept her silent.

"The boys were under no obligation to tell us, El." She folded her hands, and straightened up. "And like I said before, it's no wonder they didn't. They knew we would be upset and react that way. And we did."

"But Hermione, all of that aside, he killed his father! Merlin knows what else they're capable of." Ellie shuddered. "I don't like the idea of being around them if that's the case."

"You don't know that it is the case, though, El." Hermione said patiently. "Remember when Bakura pushed you?" Ellie nodded. "Ryou had no recollection of that the next day."

Ellie was finally beginning to see reason, and she found herself feeling guilty for the things that she had said to the boys.

"What if Marik had completely pushed Malik aside, and he didn't have a single ounce of control over what happened?" Hermione continued. "I was up all night thinking about it, and I just feel absolutely awful now."

"But . . ." Ellie was grasping for straws now that she realized that she was very wrong the night before. She wanted some way to defend herself, but she couldn't find anything.

"Malik said it himself: Marik was locked away." Hermione pointed her quill at Ellie. "But you and I both knew that he's getting stronger. We knew that we had to be careful around him. It isn't as if they completely threw us to the wolves."

Ellie's mind wandered to the times when the three boys had protected both her and Hermione. She groaned, and remembered how she was beginning to trust them before this whole mess. "I feel wretched now."

Hermione nodded, pleased. "You should."

"An apology won't be nearly enough," Ellie said, frowning. She wondered if she could get away with sneaking over to Honeydukes to buy the boys apology gifts.

She wondered if they would still even want to be friends.

"Poor Malik." Hermione whispered.

Ellie nodded, and allowed her head to fall onto her arms. She was sure that what Harry had seen was more than a touchy subject for Malik. She couldn't even fathom the guilt that he must have felt over it, regardless of whether or not it was his yami that had actually committed the act. Last night Ellie had ripped open a fresh wound, and had cruelly hurt him more than she had ever thought possible.

But, going even further than that, Ellie had directly called out Yugi and Ryou as well. She had instantly believed them to be equally as evil as Marik, for the sole reason that they were associated with him.

Poor Ryou. He was already going through so much with Bakura, and Ellie had certainly made it worse.

She was absolutely disgusted with herself. She wished that she had listened to Hermione when she told her to stop talking the night before.

"You shouldn't feel guilty, Hermione," Ellie muttered into her arms bitterly. "You didn't say anything to them. It was all me."

Hermione shook her head. "I agreed, though. I believed every word that you said."

They both fell silent, and even though Ellie couldn't see, she heard the sounds of the library around her filling up. She figured that breakfast was over, and didn't even think about the fact that she hadn't eaten anything that morning.

Ellie finally sat up straight. "I'm afraid to apologize."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "You can't honestly believe that they're going to hurt-"

"No, no!" Ellie shook her head fervently. "It's not that. I'm just . . . ashamed."

And even though neither of them said it, they were both worried that the boys would want nothing to do with them anymore. Ellie bitterly thought that it would serve her right if they didn't, especially since they had decided that they didn't want to be friends with them last night.

"We should go and do it, though. Before it's too late," Hermione said, picking up her things.

Ellie nodded in agreement, and hoped that she didn't notice her gulp. "Okay," she said beginning to pack her things as well. The two quickly darted out of the library to begin their search for the boys.

XXX

"Professor!" Harry panted, barging right on into Professor Dumbledore's office. Ryou was quite shocked at his bold intrusion, but at the moment they had much more pressing concerns.

"Mr. Potter!" Professor McGonagall exclaimed, flattening a hand over her heart. "I trust that you have good reason to intrude on the headmaster's office in such a manner!"

Professors McGonagall and Snape were both in the room, looking as though they were having an important meeting with Professor Dumbledore.

"Potter's disregard for any authority is reason enough for his intrusion," Snape said coldly, and Harry gave him a nasty look but didn't challenge him.

"Professor," Harry repeated, pushing past Snape and leaning on Dumbledore's desk. "I think I know where Malik is."

"It's true, Professor," Yugi cut in. "It's important. Could we have some privacy?"

Dumbledore nodded, and looked at the two teachers. "Minerva, if you could occupy Dolores? I'm afraid that she is beginning to get suspicious." McGonagall nodded, and hurried out the door. "And Severus," Dumbledore gave Snape a meaningful look, to which Snape nodded curtly at and followed McGonagall.

"Now," Dumbledore stood up and waved his wand, conjuring up more chairs. "Please sit, boys."

They all hurriedly took their seats, and Dumbledore followed suit. The headmaster kept his gaze on his folded hands while Harry began to talk.

"Professor," He said impatiently. "I . . . I saw Voldemort again yesterday."

Ryou was too focused on what was happening to fully realize the implications of what Harry was saying, and in that moment neither he nor Bakura found it odd that Harry 'saw' Voldemort.

"He said that he wants Malik for his dark side, Professor," Harry continued. "I think that he wants to give him a body."

The reaction in Professor Dumbledore was instantaneous. He was up and on the other side of the room before Ryou even knew what had happened, and he shot another silvery phoenix out of his wand.

"Harry," he said, turning around and facing the boys. Ryou noticed that he, strangely, was not meeting Harry's eyes even though he was addressing him directly. "Are you absolutely certain that this is the case?"

"Yes! Professor, why aren't you looking at-"

"Then I am sure you boys understand the critical nature of the situation! I must ask you four to leave while I alert the Order. We must leave immediately."

Ryou was dumbfounded that Dumbledore was kicking them out, and was a little bit shocked that he hadn't requested Yugi and his own help.

"But, Professor," Ron argued. "How do you know where to go?"

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, you must forgive an old man for having his secrets," Dumbledore said without the hint of a smile.

"Please, sir," Yugi argued. "Take us with you."

Ryou nodded fervently, and Yami phased out. "We can be of great assistance, I assure you." He said.

Harry and Ron only did a slight double take when he phased out, Ryou noticed. They had never seen Yami before.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Muto," Dumbledore said, shaking his head gravely. "I must ask all of you boys to remain here while we retrieve your friend."

"But-" Ryou tried to argue.

"I trust that you can all find your way back to the Gryffindor Tower?" Dumbledore said, and before any of them could stop him, he turned and walked out of the room. Ryou immediately chased after him to try and argue some more, but, amazingly, the staircase was empty.

"Bloody hell, where'd he go?" Ron exclaimed. "There's no way he got out of there so fast."

"Dunno," Harry replied. "You can't disapparate inside of Hogwarts."

"Merlin," Ron shook his head exasperatedly, and if Ryou wasn't so worried about Malik he would have laughed. "Where's Hermione when you need her?"

"Where do you reckon Snape went?" Harry asked, ignoring Ron. "You don't suppose that that's how Dumbledore knows where to find Malik and Voldemort?"

"What do you mean?" Ryou asked.

Harry and Ron exchanged a look, and then Harry laughed bitterly. "Snape used to be a Death Eater."

Ryou gasped.

"He's a double spy," he continued.

"Everyone thinks that Dumbledore is absolutely nutters for trusting him." Ron said, shrugging. "Me, I don't know whose side he's on. But I know one thing, though: he's a total git."

Ryou had to agree with that.

XXX

"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"

Malik couldn't get over the pain of the boiling cauldron that he was immobilized in. With the splash of whatever Bellatrix had just added, the sparkling surface of it turned to a poisonous looking blue, spitting out sparks that seared his face. The bubbling liquid continued to burn his skin, and he was screaming every profanity he could think of.

Malik's body still ached from the hours of torture that Voldemort had inflicted on him. The Cruciatus Curse left no physical marks on him, but Malik felt as though he had just run a marathon.

Marik knew what was happening to him though, Malik could tell. He had no idea how he knew, but he could feel an absolutely euphoric joy seeping over from his yami. He was so happy that Malik felt his personality begin to separate from his own even further, almost as though their souls were ripping apart. He knew that anything that made Marik that happy could not be good.

On top of all that, Malik could feel a sick intrusion in his head. It was similar to when Voldemort had tried to get into his mind, but it was different, somehow. Deeper. Almost as though Voldemort was already inside of his head, and was trying to get out.

Malik didn't know if he should resist that feeling, or give in to it.

He compromised by screaming some more in an effort to channel some of the pain he was feeling.

"Flesh of the servant, willingly given, you will renew your master!" Bellatrix's voice carried on, followed by a scream that sounded like it was half pain, half ecstasy.

There was another splash in the cauldron behind Malik.

The potion went from the poisonous blue to a bright red that blinded Malik at such a close range. But he refused to close his eyes. Malik wanted to see what was happening to him.

He was glad that he kept his eyes open a few seconds later when Bellatrix walked into his view. Her face was alight with pure euphoria, but it was also pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. Her robes were colored with blood. She pulled a blade out of her pocket, and smiled wickedly at Malik.

"Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."

Malik saw the blade coming for his face in slow motion, and when it made contact with his cheek he barely even felt the pain, because it was nothing compared to the burning of the cauldron that he was engulfed in. All he felt was the knife pressing into his skin and carving a slice from his cheekbone all the way down to his neck.

Blood gushed out of the wound, and it dripped down into the potion, which instantly turned to a pure and brilliant white.

Malik felt Marik's joy peak even further, and with it his body went numb. The aching, searing and burning that he'd been feeling instantly disappeared, and the white light coming from the potion blinded him. The sounds of his own screams, the bubbling of the potion, and the laughing of Bellatrix were drowned out by a ringing in his ears, and Malik felt as though he were dead, or at the very least dying.

The total cutoff of his senses should have scared him more, but he couldn't bring himself to focus on that because there was suddenly a splitting pain in his head, like someone had driven a chisel straight through his skull.

Malik felt his mouth open, and the rush of air leave his lips in a scream that could rival all the others that he had let out that day, but he still couldn't hear it.

The agony in his head was a million times worse than the pain that he had felt from the Cruciatus Curse, being tossed into a boiling cauldron, and Marik's joy all put together. He willed himself to die, if only to stop the pain.

Even through all of that, Malik's brain was barely able to process the fact that there was a pressure that was beginning to press against his skull. It, once again, felt as though there was something in his head that was trying to get out.

And the pressure grew and grew and grew until it was so tight that he felt his head was going to explode. It kept growing until Malik knew he couldn't take it anymore, and as it reached it's peak he finally dropped his mental defenses, and allowed the pressure to be released.

The weird numbness stopped.

Malik's vision returned along with his hearing and the feeling in his body. The potion was no longer searing his skin and amazingly, he noticed that there wasn't a single burn on his body.

He still ached from the hours of torture, and the gash on his cheek stung powerfully, making him think that it was deeper than he had originally thought. But that was okay. Anything was better than what he had just gone through.

With the feeling back in his body, Malik realized that he could finally move again. He hadn't noticed a death eater removing the spell on him. He felt something move in the cauldron next to him, and he turned around to look at what it was.

He once again wished that he had died a moment before.

He gasped, and backed to the edge of the cauldron, where he scrabbled over the edge and backed straight into the outstretched wands of a few masked death eaters.

"N-no, no, it can't be . . ." Malik stuttered, staring at his newly created yami with terrified eyes. "It's impossible."

Sickeningly, Marik's new body was completely unflawed. He did not bear the scars on his back from the inscriptions Malik's father had forced upon him, nor did he have the marks from the countless times that his father's whip had bit into his flesh. Marik's body resembled what Malik would look like had he not been forced to bear the responsibilities of the Tomb Keepers.

Malik's evil half was now a whole, and was about to be unleashed upon the world.

Wormtail rushed forwards to pull some robes over Marik's form. Marik accepted his help, and climbed out of the cauldron. A few death eaters fell to their knees and trembled before him.

Marik finally fixed his attention on Malik. He smiled in the manic way that completely distorted his features, and Malik felt dizzy in fear.

"Hello, hikari." He said. "You will pay for what you did to me."

"Now, now," Voldemort said, stepping forwards. Malik was almost glad: he had forgotten about Voldemort, but would take him over Marik any day. "You may have your revenge, Ishtar. But first I want you to accept me as your master."

Marik regarded Voldemort for a moment, as though contemplating his offer. "No." He finally said. "I answer to no one."

Voldemort smiled cruelly again. "Ah, but Mr. Ishtar. I have a proposition that you simply cannot refuse. Bellatrix?"

Bellatrix stepped forward. She was still matted in blood, but she was no longer pale. Malik wondered what had caused the change briefly, but he was more concerned with his bag in her hand.

She reached into his bag, and Malik noticed that her hand was now white. He didn't dwell on that, though, as she then proceeded to pull out both the Millennium Eye and Necklace.

Malik gasped, and instantly the memory of Marik taking over quickly to grab the items flooded his mind. He couldn't believe that he had been weak enough to allow that to happen!

Malik felt his headache returning again, and he fell to his knees.

This couldn't be happening.

It was his worst fears magnified tenfold, and Malik had been too stupid to see it coming.

The ringing in Malik's ears was back. But this time, he didn't think it was from the potion. He wished it was loud enough to drown out his yami's next words.

"I accept your offer."

The ringing got louder and louder, and Malik saw that bursts of color were blooming in front of his eyes, making it impossible to see.

He heard cracks, screams and explosions through the ringing in his ears, and didn't understand what was happening. Was his yami killing him?

"Malik?" A voice broke through the haze.

Malik realized that he was now laying on his back with his eyes closed, and he was wet with something warm and sticky.

"Malik!"

Malik summoned up the last of his energy to open his eyes, and what he saw made him want to cry in relief.

"Malik, it's alright. I'm here to take you back to Hogwarts." Professor Dumbledore said, and Malik passed out.

XXX

"Ron! Harry! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" Hermione called as she and Ellie entered the common room. They had been searching for any of the boys for hours, and had had no luck.

Harry and Ron were sitting in front of the Gryffindor fire, doing nothing in particular, by the looks of it.

"Have you guys seen the transfers?" Ellie asked when they got closer. "We wanted to talk to them." She bit her lip nervously, wondering how they would react. Ellie knew how Harry and Ron still felt about them.

Harry and Ron looked at each other uncomfortably, and Ellie knew what was coming.

"Oh, come off it you two!" She argued miserably, plopping down into an armchair. "They're not going to hurt us. I know that now, and feel absolutely wretched for what I said to Malik last-"

"No!" Ron said. "No, it's not that." Ellie noticed that he was pale, and wondered what was wrong. "Hermione, you should sit down."

"Ronald," Hermione said slowly, listening to him and taking a seat. "Is everything alright?"

Ron broke her gaze, and looked at the floor. Ellie instantly knew that something was wrong. Very wrong.

"Harry?" Hermione asked, turning to him when Ron wouldn't answer.

He just shook his head.

"Oh, no!" Hermione gasped, jumping up. "It's the transfers, isn't it? Where are they?"

Ellie gasped too, and slapped a hand over her mouth.

"Yugi and Ryou are upstairs in the boys dormitory," Harry said quickly. Ellie felt a small shred of relief, but then realized that Malik wasn't included in that statement.

"Where's Malik?" She demanded, sliding to the edge of her seat and gripping the armrests.

Harry and Ron once again looked at each other, as though sizing each other up for who should deliver the bad news. Ellie wanted to scream in frustration at having to wait for an answer.

"He left." Harry finally said, quietly, and the guilt washed over Ellie like a tidal wave. "And Voldemort got him. We think that he wants to create a body for his yami."

Hermione let out another strangled gasp that sounded as though she couldn't breathe, and Ellie didn't move. The guilt was too much, because she instantly knew that it was her fault.

"Wh-when?" Hermione managed to ask.

Ron blew out a long breath. "Ryou reckons that he left sometime in the middle of the night. And Dumbledore himself left on a rescue party about an hour ago."

"D-do you think . . ." Ellie began to ask, but couldn't finish her sentence. Her head dropped, and she felt the tears begin to well in her eyes. "This is all our fault." She whispered quietly.

"Can we talk to them?" Hermione asked fiercely, and Ellie looked up.

"If you must," Ron said, waving at the staircase. "There's no one else up there."

Harry looked as though he was going to try and stop them, but then he sighed. "We'll wait down here."

Hermione didn't wait for Ellie, and shot off for the boys dorms. Ellie wiped her eyes and nervously hurried behind her.

Ellie didn't catch up with Hermione until they actually got to the dorm, and she ran into her back. Hermione was standing in the open doorway, observing Yugi and Ryou, who were both oblivious to her presence.

Yugi was standing in front of the window, looking down at the grounds. Ryou was sitting on his bed with his head in hands. They both looked over when Ellie entered though, because there was a brief scuffle when she slammed into Hermione.

"Hi," Hermione whispered nervously when they both righted themselves, and stepped inside the dormitory. Ellie came in behind her, shutting the door as she went.

Bakura immediately phased out and stared them down. "Foolish girls. You must be here to beg for my hikari's forgiveness."

Trust Bakura to break the tension, Ellie thought as she flushed and nodded meekly.

"Bakura . . ." Ryou scolded half-heartedly. Ellie noticed that they seemed to be on speaking terms again, but didn't dare say anything about it in case she made Bakura mad.

"I trust that you have heard the news?" Yami asked coldly, phasing out. He stood with his arms crossed and regarded the girls with an unreadable expression. Though he wasn't much taller than Ellie herself, he looked quite intimidating.

Ellie and Hermione both nodded again.

"Please," Ellie said, finally finding her voice and feeling her chin tremble. "I'm sorry. I take back everything I said. I was wrong."

Hermione nodded fervently beside her. "Me too."

None of the boys answered. Ellie sighed. "I know that it's way too late, and you probably hate me now, but-"

"We don't hate you," Ryou interrupted, shocking Ellie. "At least," He forced a laugh. "At least I don't."

Ellie felt her traitorous chin wobble again, and the next thing she knew she had burst into tears. "I'm so sorry!" She wailed, rushing forwards and burying her face into a very shocked Ryou's chest. "It's all my fault!" She felt him tentatively wrap his arms around her and pat her back soothingly as she sobbed into his shirtfront.

"It's okay," He said uncomfortably, squeezing her very tightly. "We forgive you." Ellie figured that he didn't have hysterical girls throwing themselves at him all the often. But regardless of the situation, she was glad he was back to normal.

"It is not your fault," Yami said from across the room.

"He was going to run away regardless," Yugi added, and this peaked Ellie's attention enough to cause her to look up.

"He was?" She asked, sniffling.

"Of course he was!" Bakura laughed from behind her, and Ellie turned as much as she could in Ryou's iron clad grip to look at him. "Marik was on the verge of busting free anyways. If it hadn't have been you, Elizabeth, it would have been someone else immediately after."

Ellie hiccupped, and wiped her eyes. "What did you call me?" She asked incredulously. He had never called her anything but 'Blondie'.

Bakura scowled and didn't answer her question.

"Look," Ryou said, and Ellie quickly forgot about Bakura and swiveled back around to face him. "Malik will be okay. Dumbledore himself went after him." He smiled reassuringly at her, and tentatively wiped the last of the tears from her face with the back of his hand. Ryou then must have just realized that he was still holding her tightly, because he blushed and let her go. Ellie reluctantly took a few steps back, taking off her glasses and rubbing the tears off of them. She was slightly embarrassed at her meltdown.

"But what about Marik?" Hermione asked. "If his father is dead then they have all the materials necessary to give him a body."

"What do you mean? How does the spell work?" Yugi asked.

Ellie shuddered. "It's very, very dark magic." She and Hermione had researched it when Harry had finally opened up about how Voldemort had been resurrected.

"You need a piece of whoever you need to resurrect," Hermione began. "We're not really sure how that works, but Malik himself would probably suffice."

Ellie saw Yugi pale at the implications of that.

"The potion itself is really complicated," Hermione continued. "Ellie understands it better than I do."

"You need flesh, bone, and blood to create a body." Ellie explained quietly, taking a seat on the nearest bed and avoiding everyone's eyes. "When Voldemort was resurrected, Wormtail cut off his own hand as a sacrifice, he dug up Voldemort's father's grave to get his bones, and he took Harry's blood."

"What will happen to Malik?" Yami asked her.

Ellie sucked in a breath and then blew it out while she thought. "I'm not positive, but I think that he should be okay. There were two people in his body, so Marik's consciousness should just be transferred to the new body while Malik stays in his own."

"What would happen if the spell was performed on someone who didn't have a second being sharing their body?" Yugi asked.

Ellie shrugged. "Their soul would be ripped in half, I guess. I don't know how that works, but they would probably die."

Yugi shuddered, and Yami moved closer to his hikari to provide him some comfort.

Hermione sat down next to her, and Ellie leaned on her friend's shoulder. "We really are sorry, you know," Ellie said sadly.

"And not just because of Malik," Hermione added hastily. "We wanted to apologize before we found out."

Yugi smiled at them. "I know. We forgive you."

There was a comfortable silence for a bit. Ellie's mind wandered to Malik. She wondered if Voldemort would succeed in extracting Marik and giving him a body. She shuddered at the thought, remembering what Harry had seen in the memory.

"What did you do to change Harry and Ron's minds?" Hermione's voice broke through the silence, surprising Ellie. She didn't think much of it during their conversation: but Hermione was right. Harry and Ron, who were usually so protective over their friends, allowed them to come upstairs. Something must have happened between them all to spark that change.

"Change their minds about what?" Yugi asked.

"About you guys," Hermione said, shifting uncomfortably. "They were even more . . . erm, afraid of you then we were."

"I told them about our yamis," Ryou said, leaning back against his nightstand and, Ellie noticed, avoiding all of their eyes. "They understood."

Ellie considered that. Possession was certainly a soft spot for both of them, as Ron had seen what Ginny was capable of in second year, and Harry was beginning to believe that Voldemort had a small level of control over him. It would certainly make sense that they would understand, but she didn't say so out loud. Ellie figured that Harry and Ron would share these things with the transfers on their own.

"Oh," Hermione said, rather thoughtfully. Her gaze met Ellie's, and they quickly looked away. She knew that Hermione was thinking the same thing as her.

But before the conversation could go any further, a very agitated Ron burst through the door, with an equally flustered Harry hot on his heels.

Ellie jumped up. "What's wrong?" She demanded.

"Dumbledore just sent word," Harry panted. "They got Malik back."

XXX

I know that this chapter didn't explain things very well, but I'm saving it for the next chap. We'll have the big talk with the WHOLE gang. No more secrets! So tune in (hopefully) next week for that.

Technically, Malik is Marik's numero uno enemy, so naturally Bellatrix took his own blood for the whole 'blood of the foe' bit. Since it was Malik's POV, and he was understandably distracted, it didn't really make sense to put in a big spiel of that in the middle of the spell. (I think I might go into that in the big talk next chap, but if not I'll just tell you now xD )

Since Marik is becoming an even bigger character now, I wanted to ask you guys if you were cool with the whole Malik/Marik naming scheme. Is it too confusing? Because I know when I reread it, I don't always catch who is who and I have to go back to look. Especially when I go off about both of them in the same paragraph. And I'm the one who wrote it! Anyways, let me know. I'll look into calling Marik 'Mariku' or something from now on if it's a problem.

Thanks for reading, and remember that I always love to see your reviews!