AN: Chapter 14 is finished and finally up! Believe me, it wasn't easy to write because I wanted to give it a deeper meaning. I think I did a quite good job :P

I already told you in the ANs of chapter 13 that I thought about „how" dirty and evil I want to make / write the interactions between Yami Marik and Jesara. Since I messed her dreams up completely in the last chapter I decided to make it as nasty as possible. This wasn't easy to write for me, because it's hard to find the correct phrases and vocabularies when it comes to details. But I guess it turned out quite well.

I'm sorry that I probably won't update until next week (as you know, I'm quite fast in updating this story), but there's a big event at the end of the week I've been waiting for two years now! I'm so excited! It's some kind of an award gala and the project of me & my friends is nominated in 7 categories. And since I passed out completely last time at the after party I think that I won't be sober until Tuesday hahaha. Enough private stuff, I just wanted to say that I won't have much time until next week. :-)

Guest Review Response to YGO-FAN: Thank you so much for reviewing almost every chapter! Especially your latest review on chapter 12 made me so happy! That was exactly what I wanted you all to feel by reading this chapter. Thank you!

Alright :-) And now enjoy Chapter 14!

Chapter XIV

Fear For Breakfast

"I will explain everything to you later, Tea." Jesara said softly and helped Tea to get back on her feet. Being possessed by someone else could be quite exhausting. "But you should get some sleep now. It's about 5.30 in the morning and it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

Tea blinked at her friend in confusion. "O-Okay…" Actually Tea wanted to know right away if she was sleepwalking or god-knows-why she woke up on the floor in Jesara's room. But she agreed with it.

Jesara walked Tea back to Joey's room down the corridor. Walking was still hard for her, but she tried her best not to look too awkward. "Try to get some more sleep, Tea. We'll talk about that right away when Kaiba serves breakfast. Good night." She smiled at her friend and waved goodbye to her when Tea opened and walked into Joey's room. Since there were only enough rooms for each of the finalists her friends decided to share one with Joey.

'Damn… I don't think that I can get back to sleep after that nightmare and what Marik said earlier…' Jesara said to herself mentally. She was afraid of another awful dream with Marik's alter ego in it - one was enough for now. And since Marik said that he can't protect her from the millennium rod anymore she was also afraid that Yami Marik does something evil to her while she was asleep. Expecting the worst case these days got more and more plausible for her. So she decided to search for the kitchen and get herself some coffee or something else refreshing.

Luckily she found it right next to the entrance of the hall, but she struggled a bit to figure out how Kaiba's super fancy coffee machine worked. It took her five minutes to find out, but finally she managed to get a cup of perfect cappuccino from it. Of course that machine had the shape of a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and each head prepared something else. One for milk, one for coffee and the third was for hot water. Jesara rolled her eyes. 'Of course Mr. Rich & Famous needs his own blue eyes coffee machine when he has enough money to blow. Men, typical. They really never grow up, but their toys get more expensive when they get older.'

Back in her room she decided to ease her nerves with a hot shower. She felt filthy from sweating so much during her fucked up nightmare earlier. Much to her dismay she needed to accept that there was just nothing she could do to help Marik out of this misery now. Although she wanted to help him so badly all she could do now was hoping that the pharaoh will be able to defeat his darker side. Feeling helpless was an unbearable feeling for her and not knowing about her own feelings right now didn't feel good either.

Marik had confessed his love to her again and again, but all she was able to say in return was „okay". ‚You can fix something that is broke, but you will always see the scars.' She said to herself mentally as she undressed herself in the bathroom and looked at the scars on her back in the mirror. Mentally she asked herself what her life would be like if that day never happened. What would it be like if Marik never lost control that day? Would they still be together? Would she be here in Domino with him and fight against the pharaoh to claim his power? Would she love him if he never hurt her that badly? Maybe, but she would probably never know.

Under the shower she had time to recall on this nights events while the hot water ran down her bare tanned skin. She had hematomas all over her arms and upper body but she tried ignore that she looked like a rape victim. Thank god that these were just temporary.

Her nightmare also haunted her when she was wide awake. 'It's your fault that I got stronger and stronger…' she recalled Yami Marik's words mentally while she massaged the shampoo into her light grey hair. 'Maybe he's right… Because of me he felt much more anger that nourished his darker side… How could Ishizu say that I may be the only one to get him back to mind when I'm obviously the reason for this mess…?'

Although Marik had told her the opposite earlier she was beset with feelings of guilt. His darker side knew how to mess her up completely and maybe he wanted to play both ends against the middle for fun. Who knew? And on the other hand she was now an easy prey for the predator. Only the thought of having to face him again during the finals sent a fearful shiver down her spine.

'I love you… and I really mean that.' Marik's words from earlier echoed through her mind… the way he looked at her told nothing but honesty. She missed him and only Ra knew why she did after everything that happened between them. Jesara's hands stroked over her lower back when she massaged her skin with the delicious smelling body wash that Kaiba provided in every room's bathroom.

She remembered when Marik had forced himself into her room before the duel between Bakura and Yugi and how he kissed her… the way he tasted… the way he touched her… the way his lips felt on hers. Let alone how his body felt against hers gave her goosebumps of desire. His smell, his body warmth... Since two years she wanted to cut him out of her life, but craved for him now that he's gone…maybe forever. Jesara choked back a tear at those thoughts while the hot water ran down her naked body.

She wrapped herself into a super fluffy towel after she got out of the shower. After she towel-dried her hair she applied some eyeliner and mascara and put on her black skinny jeans and tank top. It took her a while to slip into her pants since her body still felt sore with every move she made. By now it was about 6.15 in the morning and she thought about getting herself another cup of coffee. Maybe it would do her good to enjoy it on the stratos deck and get some fresh air to get her mind straight after this awful night.

Her heart skipped a beat as she opened the bathroom door and was met by blank lavender eyes. Again her body froze in horror. Yami Marik had somehow managed to get into her room while she was busy with showering. But how? Jesara had double checked that her room's door was locked from the inside. He had made himself comfortable in the lounge chair with elegantly crossed legs and smirked at her in amusement, his long tanned fingers stroked the top of the millennium rod playfully.

"Good morning, my dear. Ready to continue where we've stopped yesterday?" His dark voice taunted. His evil grin scared the crap out of her while she tightened her grip on the door handle like her life depended on it.

"H-how did you get in here!?" Jesara questioned hysterically. "Get out!"

"Oh I borrowed a master key from Kaiba's kind doctor. Oh come on, don't be so harshly to your husband, sweetheart." Yami Marik leant forward in the lounge chair and smirked in his typical, dark manner that Jesara remembered from her nightmare lately. His every movements were just as well perfectly calculated and elegantly like the real Marik, but ten times more evil. His dark side was just how she always imagined how Jack The Ripper would have acted or spoken. He was exactly how she imagined a perfect serial killer.

'A master key!? B-But when he can come in here with it… then… Oh no. Odion!' She put the pieces together mentally and started to shiver. Could it be that Odion was already dead? She tried to hold back a whimper by covering her mouth with her palm.

"Hahahaha. I know what you think, my dear. But unfortunately I just found an empty bed in this poor fool's room. I guess my sweet sister has something to do with his disappearing." Yami Marik sighed but was still chuckling at her.

Jesara exhaled in relief at his words… at least Odion seemed to be safe and sound. Maybe Marik had warned Ishizu about his darker side's intentions with Odion. But it gave her goosebumps when she thought back to Marik's warning to stay away from him. Him being in her room meant nothing good. How could she get out of this now? Why did he come for her?

"What do you want…?" Jesara asked in faked confidence and glared daggers at the demonic version of Marik.

"You know… This foolish spirit of the ring and your precious Marik challenged me for a duel last night. For some reason he really wants to get back to you, my dear. However, long story short: They lost and now he can't hinder me from using the millennium rod on you anymore and the both of us still have a few things undone." He explained in an evilly amused tone as he lifted himself up from the chair and made a few calculated steps towards her.

Jesara gasped in horror as he came closer and closer to her. She grabbed for a vase made from real venetian glass from the high board beside her and threw it at him in panic to keep him away from her. But he eschewed the flying object easily and before Jesara was able to react Yami Marik grabbed her by her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. Now her back was faced to him as he pinned her to the wall; her face rudely pressed against it. She let out a whimper when her face met the wall and his grip on her arm made her almost unable to move because of the pain her twisted arm caused her.

"I love your temperament, my dear." He whispered into her ear from behind her. Jesara's heart bumped a hundred miles a minute when she felt his body leaning against her back. His warm breath on her neck made her shiver from fear and his hips pressing against hers without mercy didn't made the situation any better for her. She was helpless now.

"Let go of me…" Jesara muttered under her breath and tried to squirm out of his grip, but the pressure on her bruised ribs caused a sharp pain that short through her body and she immediately stopped. His nose encircled her ear softly when he grinned because of her hopeless attempt to get out of his grip.

"The scent of your fear is unbelievable seductive, my dear." Yami Marik smirked into her neck. She cringed when his other hand touched her waist while the other one twisted her arm behind her back a bit more. A painful moan left her lips and her whole body trembled as she felt the tip of his tongue on her ear.

"Stop touching me, you disgusting pig…" Jesara whimpered in aversion. The tighter his grip on her became the more her bruises from yesterday started to hurt again. But fighting against him was useless; he was way too strong and it would probably cause her more pain than it already did.

"Don't be so shy, little Miss Runaway. I promised your precious Marik to take good care of you while he's away for…" He taunted and stroked his nose tip over the spot behind her ear. "…let's say forever."

A tear ran down her cheek at his venomous words. His touch on her skin disgusted her so much she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, but panic didn't let her. It was like her lungs weren't working because of the fear that overwhelmed her whole body. "Are you going to rape me now..?" Jesara cried with a weak voice.

His hand that was placed on her waist drifted down to her lower abdomen slowly and underneath her tank top. Her breath got faster and heavier by every centimetre of her body he touched. "Oh dear, calm down a bit. It's not like this hands hadn't touched you like that before." She could feel him smirking beside her ear and neck.

"You're not him…" Jesara whined and tried to prepare herself mentally for what may happen to her - but to no avail. Right now she prayed for a miracle or that Joey would come back to wake her up or ask her about a date - anything. As long as it gets her out of this frightening situation. Mentally she said a prayer, knowing it won't save her at all. A tear slowly ran down her cheek and her body tensed up as she felt his hand opening the button and zip of her black pants. She pressed her eyes shut, thinking about a way to get through whatever he wanted to do with her without ending up as a mental mess. "Please, stop that." Her voice was nothing more than a painful whisper.

His smirk grew wider, she could sense it without even looking at him behind her. "What should I stop with?" He sung evilly into her ear, sending a shock through her whole body when his hand slipped into her now open pants and underneath her underwear without any effort. "Oh dear, what's wrong about having a little make-out session?" By now she sobbed heavily between her fast, deep breaths. Feeling his bare hand between her legs, covering her womanhood made her scream mentally, but panic didn't let her scream for help. Knowing that this was obviously just the beginning of something much worse.

Panicking she tried again to squirm free from his grip in pain. But his hold on her was way too strong for her. Jesara sensed a tingling all over her body that suddenly froze her body like stone, making every move or try to break free impossible. A bright golden light that enhanced the room was the evidence for something she feared the most: the power of the millennium rod, keeping her every movement at bay and leaving her hopelessly to his mercy.

Suddenly he turned her around so that she was looking right into his threatening blank lavender eyes. Now he didn't need to use his hands on her wrists to subject her to his will. He pressed his body against hers with almost all his weight. Not even a piece of paper would fit between both of them and it was almost impossible for her to take just one deep breath. His face was now unsustainable close to hers while she still felt his right hand on her most intimate spot between her legs.

"Tell me, little Jesara." He whispered in a dangerously evil tone, full of frightening delight. His bright smirk played mischievously on his lips. "How does it feel to be so full of fear?" With one abrupt movement he forced two of his piano thin fingers into her. A sharp painful moan escaped her throat, followed by heavy jobs while her arms were pinned to the wall above her head by the ancient power of the millennium rod.

Jesara pressed her eyes shut with all her might and turned her face as far away as possible from his. Salty tears ran down her burning cheeks while she had to endure his movements inside of her. It disgusted her so much she felt how her stomach prepared to vomit. But he instantly packed her roughly by her jaw with his other hand and turned it back to him. His grip on her jawline was so hard she was sure to get another bruise from it - if she survived this encounter.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked shakily between sobs. "Why don't you just send me to the shadows and end this…? Please."

Yami Marik chuckled demonically at her. "Oh no. It's far more exciting to enjoy you and your fright in the here and now. And believe it or not, I'm not really into necrophilia. So I decided it would be more amusing for me to bring the shadows to you instead."

Her glassy eyes widened in shock at his words - she heard him say that before in her dreams. '…bring the shadows to you instead.' Did he really invade her dreams if it wasn't just a nightmare? Or was this just the worst case of irony ever? "You are insane…" Jesara whimpered in disgust. Then she let out another sharp cry when his two fingers penetrated her deeper, suddenly hitting her most sensible point without mercy.

"And you are too beautiful when you're scared to the bone and squirming under my hands, fighting the inevitable. If you only knew how perfectly we will get along with each other once I claimed the pharaoh's power. Especially at night." He chuckled and leant his face closer and closer to hers until his lips were just an inch away from hers. She pressed her eyes shut so that at least didn't have to see what he was about to do.

"Good morning, duelists! We'll arrive at Kaiba Corp Island in about an hour! Breakfast is served from now on until landing! Mr. Kaiba awaits your attendance for further information! Thank you!" Roland said through the intercom.

„Seems like we have to come back to this later, my dear." He whispered into her ear as he suddenly let go of her and made a step back. „And obviously this was enough fear for breakfast for now." Yami Marik laughed creepily as he turned on heel and approached the exit door with calculated steps. He paused for a moment and glanced back at her over his shoulder. "We will continue this little session soon. Promise, my sweet little Jesara." He taunted and licked his fingers that have been inside of her just a few seconds ago. It shot another shiver through her bones. And then he was gone, leaving her to the embarrassment and results of that encounter.

When the door slid shut behind him Jesara inhaled deeply like she hasn't breathed for the last five minutes and slid down the wall to her knees. She couldn't take in what had just happened. Marik's evil side played with her and it seemed like her fear was some kind of nourishment for him - she felt used in the worst way imaginable. He enjoyed sensing her fright and agony. Was this a fucked up version of playing catch & go?

Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she wrapped her arms around her upper body. Marik had warned her about his intentions, but at least she was certain that she would be save in her room. Now she got proven wrong - awfully wrong. The threatening visage of the stewardess in her dream last night came back to her mind. ‚I'm afraid that nobody can help you now.' she said to her. Little did Jesara know that she was right. He'd always find a way.

It took about five more minutes before she calmed herself enough to get back to her feet and close the zip of her pant again. She grabbed her leather jacket and put it on before she pressed the door button to open it. Before Jesara stepped outside she blinked left and right down the corridor to see if the predator was still around, but he was nowhere in sight. She sighed in relief and rushed down the hallway with caution. Her knees were still trembling and it was hard to keep her balance as she made her way to the hall. Hopefully she would be at least a little bit saver when she was around her friends.

„Good morning, Je-!" Joey greeted happily as Jesara entered the hall. Her friends were already there to get breakfast. But Joey's happy tone immediately turned to concernment as he saw her fear-ridden, pale face. „Jess? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

The blonde rushed to her side when Yugi and the others looked at her in confusion. „M-Marik… He tried to… He almost..." Jesara stuttered with a weak voice, but she didn't dare to say it out loud. Then also Ishizu rushed to her from where she was sitting with a cup of black tea.

„What happened, Jesara?" Ishizu asked in a worried tone. „You're trembling like an espen leaf…"

Jesara cringed as she saw Yami Marik entering the hall behind her, she could sense his diabolical smirk and eyes on her back. „Marik… this demon. He broke into my room and forced himself on me and tried to do Ra-knows-what with me…" She burst out crying and threw herself into Ishizu's arms for a comforting hug, sobbing heavily. At this Yugi and the others also joined them to get a clue about what happened with her.

„Oh sweetheart, I thought our little make-out earlier would be our dirty little secret. Hahaha. We didn't even get started yet." Yami Marik chuckled in sadistic amusement as he walked by. His deep purple cloak wafted elegantly behind him.

With that Joey lost it. He rushed over to him and packed him roughly by the collar. „How dare you to touch her with your filthy fingers, you creep! I should kick you off this airship right now!" Joey snarled angrily as he pulled himself closer to him. Still Yami Marik was quite unimpressed by Joey's death threat and smirked arrogantly at the blonde.

„I'd love to see you try, little Joey." Yami Marik teased as he looked down to the furious Joey who still held a tight grip on his collar. Joey formed a fist with his hand - ready to punch him right into his smirking visage. But he stopped when Kaiba's voice yelled at him from behind.

„STOP IT, YOU FOOL! Calm down or I will make sure to disqualify and kick YOU off this airship!" Kaiba hissed angrily. Everyone - except Joey and Yami Marik - stared at him in indignation.

„But he almost raped her! He's the one who needs to be disqualified!" Joey spat back at the young CEO, glaring daggers at him.

„The keyword is ‚almost', Wheeler. Don't make a mountain out of a molehill! It's not your business what kinds of sexual intercourse they practice behind closed doors since they're a married couple, you idiot! And I have to admit that I don't really want to know either! Stop it now and let go of him!" Kaiba barked angrily. Mokuba who stood by his big brothers side cringed at his insensitive words.

„Kaiba, youuuuuuuuuu…." Joey was close to losing it completely. Yami Marik enjoyed it to be defended by the CEO for no reason. Maybe he just did it to provoke Joey.

„Don't you dare to say what you're about to say, Wheeler." Kaiba growled with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

„Joey, do how he says and let go of him, although he deserves to get the stick! But you can tell him a lesson in a duel, Joey. Save your strength for that!" Yugi said and hoped to get Joey back to mind again.

The blonde glared back to Yami Marik's smirking visage before he finally let go of him. „You'll regret this sooner or later. Pray for not being my next opponent in this tournament, you jerk." He growled and went back to Jesara, Ishizu and the others. Jesara still buried her face into Ishizu's neck trembling from the latest events of the morning.

„Promise you, Jess. I won't let him come close to you once more time." Joey said still a bit angry.

„Thank you, Joey…" She said shakily.

„Dear duelists! As soon as we've landed on Kaiba Corp Island the tournament will continue immediately. Please be prepared to get off the airship then. After touchdown Mr. Kaiba and I will provide you with further instructions." Roland said professionally, bowed and turned to leave for the cockpit of the ship.

/ AFTER LANDING - KAIBA CORP ISLAND

Jesara made sure to stay as close as possible to Yugi and the others and to never be at her own at any time. Marik's alter ego probably won't harass her again while she was in their company. At least she hoped that he won't.

The blimp had landed on a small island that looked like somebody dropped a bomb on it. In the middle of the island stood an enormous tower made from steel, it was a bit similar to the one she had seen before in Lord of the Rings. For Jesara Kaiba always was more a kind of ‚Lord of the annoying Rich Kids', but she had to admit that this tower was quite impressive.

Yugi, the gang, Yami Marik and Jesara followed close behind Roland and Kaiba as they entered the main floor of the tower. Ishizu decided to stay with Odion to watch over him since Marik's darker side wanted to kill him.

There were only four doors in there and it didn't really have several floors; it was possible to see right to the top of the tower. Jesara doubted about the actual sense of this kind of tower as she looked up.

"Alright!" Roland spoke up and turned to face them. "The four remaining duelists of the Battle City finals are Yugi Mutou, Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler and Marik Ishtar. To determine the pairings for the first two duels we'll go for a foursome duel. All of you will duel against everyone in the exact same two. The first two duelists whose life points drop to zero will be the first pairing. The other two duelists will be the second etcetera. So please choose a door."

Joey and Yugi raised an eyebrow at that fancy idea of Kaiba for the tournament. Kaiba and Yugi just took the door that was closest to them. Joey instead had a hard time in choosing which one would probably be best or if there was any difference between them. The gang, except Serenity for sure, rolled their eyes and facepalmed at their friends difficulty in making easy decisions. When Joey finally decided for one of the two remaining doors Yami Marik decided to take exactly that one to annoy him. Again his head turned into the colour of a beetroot.

"Just take that door, Joey!" Tristan commanded from behind him before Joey was able to throw all kinds of insults at Marik's alter ego. He just growled at the egyptian before he walked through the last remaining door.

Jesara and the gang still didn't get a clue about how this could work. Then four platforms appeared about three meters above them, each large enough for one duelist to stand on.

"The rules are easy. You always make your turns in the same chronology. During each of your turns you can decide who you want to attack and on whom you want to use spell or trap cards. Any questions?" Roland explained and declared the beginning of the duel after he made sure that everyone understood how the whole thing will work.

"I hope that Joey doesn't make any dumb decision…" Jesara sighed and looked up as the four finalists made their first turn.

"What do you mean?" Tea asked curiously and raised a brow at her female friend, so did Tristan and Duke.

"All of them are able to influence who is going against who in the next round. And I hope that he's wise enough not to plan on challenging Marik's dark side…" She explained and looked over to her friends with concerned amber-olive eyes.

"Oh, yeah…" Tristan rubbed his chin as he recalled Jesara's words mentally. "But I guess that blondie isn't wise enough. Especially after what happened between you and this creep earlier."

"I'm afraid that's right…" Tea sighed at Tristan's words. "Joey is a good duelist, but Marik is probably playing in another league…"

"If I would believe in god I would say that he's the personalised satan. Marik's dark side enjoys to see and…" Jesara paused and swallowed hard before continuing the sentence. "…feel his victims fear."

"Uhm Jess?" Tea cut in. "Can we have a short talk in private? Maybe outside?" Her friend drew a bot closer to her and whispered. "You know… about my black out?"

Jesara blinked at her words. Tea was right, she still owed her an explanation for her passing out last night. And maybe a little girls-talk would do her good after her last encounter with Marik's dark side. She told Tristan and Duke to tell them if something special happens in the duel and went outside with Tea.

xx

"How do you feel now, Jess? Physically and mentally?" Tea asked out of the blue when they sat down on a big block of concrete outside the tower.

"I feel better, but still a bit sore… I've had better days - that's for sure." Jesara answered and laid her hand softy onto her contused ribs area. "Mentally I would like to crawl up and die right away."

"I'm so sorry… If you want to talk about what happened please feel free to come to me any day- or nighttime." Tea said and smiled at her sympathetically.

"Thank you… I really appreciate that. But now let's talk about what happened to you last night. But please promise me that you won't freak out, okay?" Jesara tried to prepare her female friend for the truth about her black-out.

Tea's expression turned into a graze of utter concernment. Jesara's warning in beforehand meant nothing good at all. „Okayyy - now I'm worried."

„You remember when Marik… I mean the normal one… controlled you and Joey to challenge Yami for a duel, right?" Jesara asked to start off slow and Tea nodded curiously. „Let's make it quick and easy: He took control over your body and came to walk to me last night. He was able to do that because a little piece of his soul still rests in you since the incidence on Domino harbor."

At this Tea's face turned pale like a piece of paper. „WHAT!? You're kidding me, Jess!"

„I'm afraid I'm not kidding you, but that's not bad at all. Marik is sorry for everything he did to us and he regrets his actions deeply. He's on our side and aims for the same like us now. But he needs you to reach out to us." Jesara explained to calm her down a bit.

„Oh my…" Tea sighed and rubbed her temples. „And what did I… uhm, he say?"

„Marik said that Yugi and the pharaoh are the only ones that can stop his evil side. And since Bakura and he lost a shadow duel against his alter ego he's weaker than ever." She recalled his words from last night, but decided to cut on the ‚I love you'-part of the conversation they've had.

„Oh, yes… Yami told us about that duel. He saw how Marik's alter ego defeated Bakura, but I didn't know that the good Marik was involved in it. I hope Bakura is good, we didn't see him since then…" Tea muttered in concernment about their friend.

„Oh…" Jesara didn't know that Bakura was actually gone completely. But the ghost of the millennium ring did always find a way back. Tea crossed her arms in front of her chest and she looked at her sheepishly before she spoke up again.

„How do you feel about that…? I mean… Marik put you through a lot of cruel stuff, Jess. Why did he come to you? Do you think about forgiving him?" Tea asked with a curiously raised brow.

„I don't really know what's going on between us. Let's say it's complicated. He still wants me back or something and wants me to forgive him, but I'm not sure if I can." Jesara said shyly. „Please don't tell the others about that, but when Marik controlled Joey and forced him to duel against Yugi… well. How do I say that? Marik lost his grip on Joey's mind because I kissed him out of the blue to distract him, because fighting him was impossible. I tried so hard to hate him, but my feelings are riding on a rollercoaster since then."

Tea held her breath for a second at Jesara's confession about their kiss and didn't really know what to reply. But then a phrase came to her mind. „Well… Sometimes you only know what you feel for someone when he's gone."

Jesara sighed in despair at her friends words. „Maybe you're right…" Little did she know by now how right Tea was. For a moment they stood in silence.

"Shall we go back in and see how the duel is going?" Tea asked and smiled at her kindly.

"Oh" Jesara almost forgot about the foursome duel that was going on inside of Kaiba's willy enhancement tower. "Go inside and cheer Joey and Yugi on for me. I want to look after Odion first."

"Okay. I give you a call if there are any news." Tea agreed and turned to head back to the entrance of the tower. Jesara instead lifted herself up and made her way back to Kaiba Craft 3.

/ ISHIZU'S ROOM

"Hey Ishizu." Jesara greeted when she entered room number 8. "Anything new?"

Her sister-in-law shook her head at her question and shot her a somber glance. "No, he's still unconscious. Why aren't you with the others?"

"They're fighting a foursome duel at the moment to choose the final two pairings. I wanted to check on Odion and I also don't want to be in the same room as Marik's dark side if it's not utterly necessary after today's incidence…" Jesara answered as she sat down beside Ishizu and looked at the bulky egyptian who was still knocked out from the thunderstruck.

Ishizu just nodded at her in understanding. "I'm so sorry that I wasn't able to protect or warn you, but I gave my millennium necklace to the pharaoh after we left your room yesterday night. So I had no idea that he's after you."

"Don't worry… I'm fine." Jesara lied - this was probably the joke of the decade. She wasn't fine at all but tried to look like she was to avoid their friends commiseration.

"We all know that you're a terrible liar, Jesara. And the fact that I gave the necklace away doesn't mean that I don't know that you are everything but fine." Ishizu said wisely. Jesara always wished to have such a good sense of human nature like her sister-in-law.

"He used me like an energy drink…" Jesara sighed in misery. "Marik must have suffered so much to create something so evil. I can't believe that I didn't know about this demon that has slumbered so long inside of him."

"Sorry that I didn't tell you." Ishizu apologised again.

"Don't apologise. Maybe it was better that I didn't know." She gave Ishizu a reassuring glance and smiled at her. "I'm sorry that I failed in saving him as you begged me to do. I feel awful…"

Ishizu looked at her with confused piercing blue eyes. „It's not too late yet. The future will guide us and especially you. Whatever you do, don't give up on hoping."

„How could you be so certain about that? I actually don't see a way to help him anymore. Marik also told me to keep calm and stay away from his alter ego as far as possible." Jesara raised a questioning brow at her. With the appearance of his darker side everything got worse than it already was before. How could she even do just a tiny thing?

„Because you care about his fate. Or don't you miss him? I can tell from the look in your eyes that you want him to come back. I told you that it's impossible to replace love with hate. You could easily just walk out of his life and don't care about him at all. And to be honest you have thousands of reasons to just don't care, but you do. You give Marik a reason to fight." Ishizu declared with wisdom in her soft voice. „It's all about forgiveness and it's nothing that you can actively influence. Our heart works different from the brain, Jesara. And forgiveness is a decision of your heart."

Jesara said nothing at her words, she needed a moment to let that sink in. „Sometimes I really wish you wouldn't speak in riddles, Ishizu."

Suddenly a vibrating noise interrupted them and Jesara searched in her pockets for her phone. It was Tea calling her. Probably the foursome duel was over now and she swiped right in her phone screen to answer the call.

„Hey Tea, are they finished now? Any news?" Jesara asked curiously and walked in circles in the room. She always needed to keep moving while talking on the phone. For some reason it always made her restless.

„WHAT?" She bursted out after Tea answered her question about the outcome of the foursome duel. „Is he insane!? I can't believe this! He's such a peabrain!"

If Ishizu would have had more than two eyebrows she would probably raise seven of them right now. She looked at the light grey haired egyptian girl in utter confusion at her reaction to the phone call.

„Alright, I'll be there in 5 minutes." Jesara groaned in bewilderment and ended the call; she then stuffed her phone back into her skinny jeans back pocket.

„What's wrong?" Ishizu asked. It was strange to see her asking about what happened, but without her millennium necklace Ishizu wasn't able to see the future anymore.

„It's Joey… He managed to challenge Marik's dark side in the next round. He's such a reckless idiot! Didn't he see how he roasted me within just a few turns? I just had the luck that Marik saved me from the power of the rod!" She railed against her friends risky decision.

„Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. Joey seems to be a very caring guy, but also a bit quick-tempered. Go and cheer him on, I'll stay here with Odion." Ishizu smiled at her and forced a smile to her lips.

Jesara nodded at her turned for the room's exit. „I hope he's not risking his life…" She sighed in consternation. „I'll come back as soon as possible." With that she left room number 8 and sprinted back to the duel tower.

As she reached the elevator to get to the top she was quite out of breath. The doors slid close after she pressed the button to go upwards. On her way to the top there were only seven words that reapeted again and again in her mind.

„Our heart works different from the brain."

AN: Pretty messed her up, right? *hrhrhr* I'm evil, I know. Thanks to my obsession with horror movies and especially American Horror Story hahahaha.

To explain Yami Marik's and Jesara's encounter a bit more: In the anime Yami Marik enjoys the pain and fear of others. I wanted to add the detail that other's fear is some kind of nourishment for him. That's also the meaning behind the phrase „bring the shadows to you instead" and „used me like an energy drink." And that's the reason for this chapters title :P „Fear For Breakfast".

MUSIC RECOMMENDATIONS

The whole story & plot is mostly inspired by various tracks I listen to while writing. I already put two songs into the story :-) The scene between Ishizu and Jesara was mostly inspired by „Breaking Me Down" by Escape the Fate. (I love them and their lyrics!) You should also listen to „Gorgeous Nightmare" from the same band :-) The track fits perfectly for Marik & my OC's relationship until now.

I hope you enjoyed this (quite dark) chapter! Please leave a review, I'd love to have your thoughts!