A/N: I'm back with yet another new chapter! Riddled with many Phantom of the Opera references. I hope you enjoy!

Beta: The Duelist's Heiress

Warnings: My obsession with the Phantom is clearly showing through.

"Down once more to the dungeons of my black despair."
-The Phantom in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera

The attraction Téa felt frightened her. It wasn't like other times when she simply liked guys and infatuated over them. Though both were based on a physical draw, the one she felt towards Marik was different, somehow stronger. Like there was a magnetic pull on her body towards the foreign teenager. She didn't like this, she wasn't supposed to like Marik or have any type of feelings for him other than loathing. He was her captor; he didn't really care for her, didn't like her. If anything, he just led her on simply for his own sadistic pleasure. Because that was what he was: sadistic.

And yet, despite these careful boundaries she tried to exhibit, the pull of Téa's body didn't relinquish its potency. And being so physically close to him didn't help her better judgment one bit. She wormed her arms between her and his chest and tried pushing him away from her. Though, he was male. And males were generally stronger than their female counterparts and, as such, he wouldn't allow for any such escape. With her small, pathetic attempt, she felt him frown against her neck.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked, displeased. "You can't honestly think you have anywhere to go." She felt his grip tighten- as if territorially- on her in response. And she grit her teeth, really wishing he would stop this. Marik lowered his head down even further, ducking his face until she felt his lips lightly come into contact with her skin. And that was where she built her resolve.

With a large and powerful thrust she didn't know she was capable of,Téa managed shove Marik away from her. She figured that the force she held behind her resistance was what held her favor; otherwise, Marik would not have let go. And, as he blinked at her in surprise, she took advantage of the moment and widened the distance between them by taking a few steps back, forcing a stern glare onto her face. But, Marik recovered quickly and matched her glare with one of his own. And, Téa had to admit, his was much more intimidating.

"What's this?!" he exclaimed furiously. "You… you reject me?" The assumption seemed to hold some hidden pain for him. Pain that he wasn't going to display blatantly but rather mask it as rage. Still, Téa saw the hurt and couldn't help but feel guilty. Despite what he had just done to her and done earlier to Yugi. So, her forceful glare was somewhat a difficult task to maintain.

"Reject you?" she countered. "How can I reject you when you didn't even ask for anything? You just assumed and went for it!" Her face instinctively flushed, as it is what females do when their pride is stung or, like Téa was, angry. Marik took a few steps toward her. And Téa took that many steps away, keeping the space between them. Marik froze, examining the floor between them and then transferring his gaze back to Téa. He contemplated her silently but then smirked.

"And you really think you're in any position to negotiate with me? Not only am I physically able to overpower you with ease but I've also got another trick up my sleeve. Have you so easily forgotten?" Téa eyes widened; she didn't forget about his Millennium item, it had just easily escaped the train of her current thoughts. But, all the same, Marik felt it necessary to reach behind his back and pull out the Millennium Rod from his belt loop, as proof that could demonstrate any mere whim he so desired. Téa tried swallowing her fear as she held her head up with what small amount of pride and dignity remained.

"Do you know what you are?" she asked, continuing to widen the gap between them. "You're just… just a pig! That's what you are. A pig! A spoiled brat who always has to get his way!" Marik stopped his advance, platinum blond eyebrows sharpening down into a frown. He lifted his Millennium artifact threateningly towards Téa.

"You throw around derogatory names as if there would be no consequence. Go ahead and call me a pig all you want. I don't have to prove otherwise to you-"

"Then why does it bother you so much?" she snapped. "You can't handle it if someone mocks you or offends you! You've always got to resort to your funny magic ways to show your superiority when in reality, it only proves that you're a coward." Téa knew she was testing her limits. And, she saw Marik's biceps visibly tense in anger, the slight corner of his frown twitching into a snarl.

"You try my patience, girl," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Why do you persist in throwing around careless insults?"

"I'm not going to succumb to you!" she said stubbornly. Marik froze in his tracks, as if Téa's rejecting finally hit home for him. But his temper didn't relinquish its hold. He continued to glare at her. His lavender eyes turned hard and cold and a small flare seemed to ignite within them.

"You will succumb to me, Téa!" he growled. His grasp on the Rod tightened as he held it up to her. The eye within it glowed and Téa felt her mind being shaken, her reality being controlled. And from within the depths of her consciousness, she heard a sweet, tempting voice that lulled her into a hypnotic state.

"Come to me, Téa. Listen to the sound of my voice. Obey my every command. Come to me, my blue-eyed angel."

And, against her will, Téa felt her leg lift and take a step toward the direction she shied away from. She closed her eyes, trying to resist, and felt her sharp fingernails clawing into the palm of her hand as she tried fighting back against the puppeteer's voice.

"You resist? Yet the soul will obey my command. It will satisfy what it truly wants, what you truly want. Why bother hurting yourself?"

It's not what I want, Téa argued with the voice inside her head. However, its magnetic pull only increased with intensity and Téa found it even more difficult to defy Marik's command. She bit down on her lower lip as her other leg continued to move. Her teeth were biting down with so much force that she soon experienced the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

Surprisingly enough, the action seemed to stall Marik's hypnotic voice as he took into account at what she just done. The moment gave her enough time to summon up her own will to form a sort of mental barrier around her mind. Though, weak as she could tell it was, it seemed to stump him as his next words were vocal.

"COME TO ME!" he bellowed angrily.

"No!" she shrieked, feeling her exhausted knees give way underneath her as she fell to the ground, onto her bottom. And suddenly, she heard his voice above her, remarkably soft and somewhat broken. Though, with her sudden fatigue from the mental attack, she couldn't tell whether or not if it was his vocal or mental voice.

"Why Téa? Why do you resist me so?"

"I… I… I can't…" she wasn't exactly sure of what she was trying to say. I can't speak. I can't move. I can't feel anything. She just knew she was incapable of doing anything as a result of his mental attack. He seemed to understand this though because soon thereafter, she felt herself being lifted from the ground, her legs swinging through midair as someone cradled her. And it took a moment for her to realize that that someone was Marik. She tried opening her eyes to look at him but couldn't find the strength to do so.

"Wha…what…?" she tried to ask, her voice just a small mumbling. He only shushed her with a soft noise and spoke to her mentally.

"Don't speak," said his voice. "I'm sorry Téa, it is my fault that you're in this state. Now I can understand why you reject me so. I'm just a monster behind this human mask."

"You're not-" Téa began to protest. He stopped her, however.

"Do not speak," he repeated. There was silence for a few moments before, "Maybe you'll learn to find the man behind the monster."

"But I-"

"Sleep," commanded the voice. And sleep she did, obeying him voluntarily for the first time.

-o-o-o-

Téa blinked, finding herself within the belly of an extremely dark room. She looked around, unable to feel her body. But rather, she only felt her limbs through the haze of fuzziness. And she realized she was dreaming. Looking ahead, she saw Marik's figure standing a ways before her. And she realized that the room wasn't entirely dark. At least, not like it was moments before when she had first blinked. There seemed to be a yellowish light behind Marik's form, causing her to only glimpse his silhouette. From this angle, she could only see that he had his back turned toward her.

"I'm sorry for being nothing but a pitiful creature of darkness," came his voice.

"You're not a pitiful creature of darkness."

"Yes I am!" he hissed. "I was lonely and I forced you to face the dungeons of my black despair because of it. It is why you refuse, is it not?"

"Not quite," she said sheepishly.

"Then what?!" he bellowed. Suddenly she found his face before hers, simply inches away and a new light illuminating where they were for she could see every detail of his face. His self-pitying face.

"What is it you want from me?" she asked helplessly, feeling tears sting her eyes. "You create a false identity for us to believe. Kidnap me and Joey to use as collateral against our friend who you plan to trap in the shadow realm after you take over the world, plunging all society into chaos. And now it's as if you want me to sleep with you!" Marik gazed upon her face silently, contemplatively.

"No, I don't want to sleep with you," he noted after a while. "What is it that I want? What is it that anyone wants? Acceptance. And I simply prefer it from you. Perhaps it's because I love you." His tone was soft, soothing. And darkly persuasive.

"You don't love me. If anything you just lust after me. If you want my acceptance you're going to have to earn it. Not expect me to pity you."

"But you pity me already." Téa grimaced with those words because she knew they were true.

"Pity doesn't earn acceptance. Respect does. And if you want me to respect you, you have to give me a reason to do so." He continued to stare at her, surprisingly without anger.

"Perhaps I might do that," he noted quietly, more to himself than for her own benefit. It was silent for a few minutes before Téa voiced a question.

"Where are we? It feels as though I'm dreaming."

"You're not dreaming, not exactly. Your physical body took quite a blow when you resisted the powers of my Millennium Rod and so now you are physically resting. I took your subconscious mind here to speak with you."

"And where is here, exactly?"

"Isn't it obvious? My own mind. Can't you tell from the darkness and how it's so lonely?"

I hope you enjoyed! Please, review as always!

-Nuit Songeur