Chapter 4- Sinking In

The first thing Marik noticed was that he felt chilled to the bone. The next thing he realized was that his body felt weightless; it was like he was floating.

This bothered him.

If he remembered correctly he should be on the floor of his bedroom; a hard surface. That reason alone was enough to make him afraid to open his eyes.

/That suits me just fine…/

On impulse, Marik snapped his eyes open—only to be met with complete and utter darkness.

"W-what the hell?"

A dark chuckle seemed to echo around him and reverberate around his entire being. /Are you surprised? It took longer than I thought to get you in here./

Marik gritted his teeth as his body trembled. Trying to pinpoint the source of the voice, Marik shouted out angrily, "Damnit, where the hell am I?"

/You don't remember this place?/'

Slowly, Marik raised himself up to his knees, still squinting in the dark. Of course, it was futile and Marik soon gave up. He closed his eyes before responding back to the voice. "No, I don't remember this place." Marik sighed wearily. "Just tell me where we are."

/…We're in the deepest part of your mind. Think of this place as a room if you will./

"If it's a room then why is it so dark?"

He could feel the voice give an unkind smile at him.

/Well…that's because it's mine. You confine me here, after all…/

Marik couldn't help but flinch at the voice's tone. It was like it was accusing him of doing something inhumane. Something he had no memory of doing.

/This place…is where you kept your darkest emotions and thoughts.../ the voice continued. /Hatred…wrath…pain. I am the embodiment of these things. This place is where we first met, where you made me./

"Why did you bring me here?" Marik dared to whisper out.

/Didn't I already tell you?/ It almost sounded absentminded. /I'm here to protect you from them. Once again…/

"I'm fine," Marik said. "I don't need you or anyone to protect me."

I just need my meds, he thought.

/No./

Marik jumped nearly a foot in the air. "W-what?"

/No, you don't need your medication,/ the voice said callously. /It'll only hinder us; make it easier for them to lock you up again./

"Stop. You're lying. It's helping me."

/You sound so positive of yourself,/ it said, mockingly. /You didn't give much of a good argument earlier./

"Just—" Marik felt something brush his cheek and the words he was about to say died in his throat.

/This isn't a discussion./ the voice said coldly.

Abruptly, the darkness began to brighten and Marik was gradually able to make out a body in the fading shadows. Soon a form clad in a sleeveless black shirt and khaki cargo pants stood before him. This person…Marik could tell it was a male body. The darkness had subsided enough for Marik to see that this person was wearing gold earrings, armbands, and bracelets up to his wrists. Horror consumed him though when the Egyptian male gazed at the person's face.

He looked nearly identical to himself if it weren't for a couple of slight differences: unlike Marik's own platinum blond hair, the other had his hair partially spiked. And his eyes. Marik felt as if he was looking into the eyes of the insane, only hollow mauve eyes stared back at him.

"M—" Marik found it hard to make his vocal cords work again. "Malik?"

The voice—no, Malik laughed, confirming what Marik feared. /You pay attention after all,/ he said, his words to Marik felt as if they were seeped with poison.

This was all too much to take in. He wanted to get out of this place. He needed his medicine. He needed this person to go away. He—

Without warning Marik was snapped out of his crazed thoughts as he felt a frigid hand wrap around his throat. Reflectively gasping for breath, his hands shot out to futilely pulled on Malik's merciless grip.

"What are you doing?" Marik managed to choke out.

/Do you think I'm just going to stand here and give you the chance to lock me away again?/ replied Malik, his gaze emotionless as his hand tighten more around Marik's throat. /After all the trouble I went through to get you here the last thing that's going to happen is that. Remember you need me now. That's why this has to happen and why you should heed me when I say that your medicine will do you no good now. Do you understand me?/

With difficulty, Marik nodded and relief overwhelmed him when Malik released his throat. Gasping and coughing for breath, fear racked his mind. He nearly died here. His sister, his new friends, his new life, all of it was nearly taken from him from the voice. This person. He wasn't sure what he should do anymore.

Once again, tears began to form in Marik's eyes. He rubbed his throat while trying his best not to cry in front of his assailant and kidnapper.

How could he trust in Malik's words after he nearly tried to kill him? If he was really in danger, he definitely had evidence that he should be keeping his distance from the look-alike in front of him but…

Marik thought back to what Malik had made him recall earlier, his sister…Bakura and Ryou…they wouldn't want him gone, would they? To blindly believe they wouldn't seem senseless yet the same could be said for thinking they would too. Marik shook his head. That was a direction he didn't want to go down. Glancing from underneath his fringe, Marik could see Malik walking back and forth, his arms folded as he watched the teen.

What do I do? Marik thought desperately. What if Malik was lying to him? If he didn't fight to keep those he wanted would Malik do his best to take them away from him? Or worse…kill him?

He looked when Malik's eyes met his. His heart began to pound like a jack rabbit. If he didn't do anything he was going to lose everything. If he did something, darkness would be the only thing he'll know for a long time. Not only that, but Marik had no idea how to get himself out of here.

/I'm tired of waiting,/ Malik said, stopping in front of Marik. /As entertaining as it is to watch you mentally run yourself down, there isn't the time for it. Do I need to decide for you, Hikari?/

"N-no, but—"

The expression on Malik's face turned from impatience to harsh annoyance causing Marik to cease talking.

/How annoying./ Malik moved to kneel in front of Marik, causing the teen to immediately start backing away. However, Marik didn't even move much before he felt Malik's hands on his shoulders and was being pulled even closer towards his other self. /What more than you need to think on? I have already shown you your enemies. How do you think you've lost what you had back then, when they first made us go to that place?/

The memory of sterile white walls, paper blue gown, and bed sheets filled Marik's mind without any prompting. He shuddered, even now, thinking about that place caused fear. That place was nothing but a living hell for him. Not only was he forced to live there for months on end, Ishizu was the one to send him there, stripping him of his normal life and replacing it with white.

/Yes…/ said Malik. There was something in his tone that worried Marik but he didn't think any more on it as Malik said next, /How do you think it will go when she finds out you stopped taking your medication in the first place? Just restarting your meds again won't change anything./ Malik's hand gripped tighten as he smiled at Marik. Something about the smile looked off as well to the Egyptian teen but Malik continued to talk, /Just let me take care of things. You don't want to go back there, do you? You don't want to give your so-called friends a reason to lock you up in there, right? Then, trust me. You need me now…only me. I am the only one you can trust now. I am you after all…/

He's right, Marik thought. Who can I trust if I can't even trust myself?

"That's right…" said Malik, approvingly. "Now…do you know what to do?"

Marik suddenly felt weak and his vision was becoming blurry. He looked up into Malik's eyes…they seemed faded. The longer he looked at those hollow eyes the weaker he felt…the more he felt like he was sinking in them….

How do you expect me to know? Marik thought. His vision seemed to be getting darker. I only know what you tell me…

"Then…don't worry about it….I will take over…"

Alright.

The sun was nearly disappearing from the horizon as dark, gloomy clouds obscured most of the evening sky. It was going to rain soon but that wouldn't matter much. He had never felt rain before anyway.

Malik stood in front of the door and took in a deep breath. Air. It was a definitely a novel concept to him as was the senses of touch and sound. This was something he could easily get used to. It felt so good to have a body of his own. No longer was he confined to the dark depths of his weak Hikari's mind. He was going to take advantage of his new existence in any way he saw fit.

Fingering a butcher knife in his front pocket, Malik set out onto the streets of this new world of light and people.

There was bound to be somebody that would tickle his fancy.

He had lost tracked of time since the rain began to pour from the heavens. It seemed like hours had passed since he had spotted a little game store, called Kame Game Shop, and began watching the two individuals from across the street.

The two teenagers he was so interested in were near mirror images of the other. Both were lacking in the height department, though one was slightly taller, and had nearly the same spiky, tricolored hair. It looked like they were finally ushering their customers (or were they friends?) out the door and preparing to close the shop for the evening.

Blank violet eyes followed the two other teens as they left the game shop, one sandy-haired and incredibly loud while the other had a punk version of a crew cut and was just as rambunctious as his companion. After a few minutes of deciding whether he should go after them, he decided it wasn't worth it. He was much more interested in the taller teen inside the shop.

Boom!

The sky lit up for a few seconds before darkening once more, the sound of the thunder once again resounding.

Malik looked up at the black sky just as the rain picked up again, its heavy icy droplets crashing down against his vacant face.

It was hard to concentrate. He still wasn't used to this many thoughts that were consuming his head. Repeatedly, he thought about his drenched attire, his purple cloak clung to his arms as did the rest of his clothing; his once wild hair had been tamed and flowed over his cloak and shoulders. However, the one thought that was loudest was the need to hear screams, to see fear reflected in the eyes of the one he sought, to feel the pleasure of his hands closed over the sounds of another as they are painted red. This thought invoked something inside him; practically made his insides giddy.

In the back of his mind, he could feel his hikari stirring. He frowned. He had had wasted precious time. Before his hikari could rob him of his new found freedom, he was going to enjoy a bit of fun.

Malik couldn't help but smile, a smile so wide it spread across his face. He lifted the hood of his cloak and covered his head, his crazed smile still visible as he began each step that brought him closer to the game shop as well as a new toy to play with.

A/N: Not much for me to say on this one ^^U I do hope that this is at least invoking some fear in ya'll :3 and that there's a lot of monologue in this xDD But don't worry, the action starts in the next chapter ;D

As always, please be so kind to R&R! ^.^ /