Hello all. I know I don't have a valid excuse for being gone so long, but I'm still here. This is a short chapter, but I am already working on the next one. It won't be a long wait at all. :) Thank you for your patience and messages. They help me more than you know!

-Mystie

Chapter 18:

Joey didn't know what was worse-being imprisoned within his own mind or having a maniac running around Domin with his face and his body doing God-knows-what. He desperately continued to try to break out of the small room made up of the inner workings of his soul, yanking on the doorknob with all of his strength and tellout out every obscenity he could muster up. Now he sat miserably against the locked door that led to the hallway that separated his mind from the invasive mind of Marik, his knees bent and elbows resting on them as he clawed his fingers through his blonde hair. He had never felt more helpless, and he really didn't care for the feeling. He was always one to take action and never depend on anyone but himself. As much as he hated to admit it, however, he was in deep, deep shit, and he needed help. He was way over his head here. God, what was he thinking? He was just a highschool kid, barely passing classes as it was. He'd always managed to use force to get over on people, but muscle wasn't enough to deal with Marik. He wasn't smart enough to figure this out on his own. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Now Yugi was probably going to pay for his stupidity. Joey's heart sank unexpectedly at that thought. He wasn't sure when he haf started to vare so much for Yugi...and he wasn't sure why. When Marik had taunted him for falling in love with him, he had felt no sudden need to correct him. Was he indeed falling for the kid? Joey growled to himself. He'd never thought of himself as gay. He had enough dirty, breast-filled magazines hidden under his mattress that would lead him to believe otherwise. He has never looked at another guy in the way that he had looked at a girl; he had certainly never gotten that tingly feeling in his groin looking at the guys in the locker room in gym class like he did seeing some of the cheerleader in their tight, barely-there uniforms. Yet, for some reason, he liked Yugi...liked the thought of being with him.

Joey shook his head furiously. It didn't matter. Yugi had made it more than clear that he only had eyes for his boyfriend Yami, and honestly, what could Joey even do about his unrequited affection when he was literally trapped like mouse in a trap? Nothing. There was nothing he could do. The fact alone infuriated him to no end, that he was truly powerless.

"Marik, you coward," he hissed angrily. "You lock me in here and don't even gimme a chance to fight back! You just use your voodoo magic shit and take over my body!" His voice rising, he stood and kicked the door with impossible strength. Still, it did not budge. Suddenly, Jory felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand in alarm, and he turned around quickly to find that he was no longer alone.

"You call me a coward, the boy who has relied his entire life on using brawn over his tiny, little brain? Surely you jest, you fool," Marik taunted, arms crossed and eyebrows raised in amusement. Joey balled his hands into fists, but for once couldn't think of a witty response. Marik smirked as he continued. "That's right. I have had more than enough time to probe the inner workings of your mind, however miniscule it may be. Consider me unimpressed." He looked around the scant room in mock digest. I mean just look at your soul room, the very representation of your being. Simple room for a simple mind."

Joey snarled. "A real man would fight me, not just lock me away so I can't do anything about it!"

"Is that what is always comes down to for you, Joseph? Fighting? How childish." Marik pretended to tiredly examine his nails and then recrossed his arms. "And quite frankly a waste of time on my part."

"What are you plannin', Marik? Why have you done this!"

"You have no one but your juvenile hormones to blame for your situation. You defaulted on our agreement. Had you made a proper move on Yugi-"

"If you touch him-!"

"You'll what?" Marik laughed, fully amused by Joey's reddened face at just the mention of Yami's little pet. "You are trapped here until I say so. By not holding up your end of the deal, you have surrendered your body to me." He shrugged, locking eyes with Joey's. "You actually just saved me time. Whether you had followed through with the plan or not, you were always doomed to this fate."

Joey's face fell. "You were never gonna leave, were you? You were just usin' me to do your dirty work!" He clenched his eyes and turned away from his tormentor. "And I was stupid enough to let you…"

"There, there, Joseph," Marik strode closer and clapped a large hand on Joey's shoulder. "You never had a choice in the matter."

"I was just a pawn in all of this," Joey whispered. Marik circled around to face him, using his finger to raise Joey's chin so that their eyes were level.

"Forgive me if I ever led you to believe you were anything more," he whispered back cruelly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a plan to execute." He tapped Joey on the face as if he was an old dog and headed towards the exit.

The fight had fully left Joey, knowing he was outdone and unable to physically or mentally outmaneuver his opponent. He turned to face Marik just as he was opening the door and gave him the most serious look he could muster up.

"Marik," he said evenly, causing Marik to pause in his tracks and peer over his shoulder. "If you touch him, I don't care what I have to do to get out of here. I will. And I will kill you." Marik held his gaze for a moment, a frown etched on his face before slamming the door closed.

Joey crumbled to his knees. He was alone once more.