Time to find out a little bit of what was happening with everyone else during the last chapter.

Marik returned to his own consciousness just in time to see his girlfriend sitting up quickly while gasping for breath. He waited until she'd gathered her bearings before attempting to speak to her.

"How are you feeling?"

Kat looked around her room while rubbing her temple, obviously trying to connect the dots between where she'd been and where she was now.

"Like someone took a hatchet to my skull," she said while wincing as she rubbed the spot between her temple and brow.

Marik subtly averted his gaze while holding up the Rod as an explanation. "Sorry. You have a very thick mind. It wasn't easy to get in."

Kat clenched her jaw while eyeballing the relic.

Marik opened and closed his mouth a few times, trying to figure out the best way to explain what made him decide to invade her mind in the first place. He couldn't straight up tell her that Apep had panicked about whatever was going on inside, stating 'the key is at risk of being destroyed'.

"I told him to do it," Imhotep said as he walked into the room. "It was obvious that something was wrong. I couldn't get in to help you…but he could. If you have to be upset with someone, be upset with me."

Marik blinked in shock. Imhotep was the last person he'd expected to come to his rescue.

Kat took in a calming breath, closing her eyes as she released it. "You both have my thanks," she said calmly. She then reopened her eyes, turning her gaze over to her son. "How's your nose?"

"It healed instantly. No big," Imhotep replied while shrugging off the earlier forehead to his face. "Like you keep telling me: If I'm stupid enough to bring my face in that close, expect to get it busted open."

Kat looked away again. "This wasn't a training exercise. It shouldn't have happened."

"What happened today was only one of many scenarios you have been trying to prepare me for," Imhotep argued. "And I ignored the basics."

Kat remained silent, as if trying to figure out what to say next.

Imhotep released an exasperated sigh. "There's someone that wants to speak with you…" He nudged the Tomb Keeper's shoulder. "...alone," he quickly added.

Marik nodded and followed the other teen out of the room just as Yugi walked in. Imhotep motioned for the Tomb Keeper to follow, leading him out back behind the house. The teen looked around as if assessing that it was just the two of them, then snapped his fingers.

The world suddenly changed. Marik stumbled and fell backwards as he instinctively tried to escape, not knowing how to handle the overwhelmingly dark replica of the world he'd been standing in mere moments before. Somehow his fear of the dark hadn't surfaced while he was in Kat's mind, and right now he wished it would have stayed that way.

"Welcome to my world," Imhotep said as he looked around at the colorless, dark negative that the area around them had become.

"Is this-...is this the Shadow Realm?" Marik asked nervously.

"Yes, but just a small pocket within it," Imhotep replied.

Marik stood slowly, his senses on high alert for anything that might reach out for him from the darkness. "Why did you bring me here?"

Imhotep sat down on the dark replica of the porch swing, hanging his head while he picked the skin on one of his fingers. "I wanted to do this somewhere I felt more comfortable."

"Um…and that would be what, exactly?" Marik asked in confusion.

Imhotep hesitated before answering. "I wanted to say I'm sorry for how I've behaved about you and Shae being together."

"You dragged me to the Shadow Realm just to apologize?"

Imhotep raised his head and glared at the Tomb Keeper. "I'm not very good at this sort of thing, okay? I'm practically swallowing my pride just to admit that I was wrong about you."

Marik folded his arms while waiting for the other teen to continue.

Imhotep closed his eyes while turning away. "When Shae dropped earlier, I wasn't worried. That sort of thing happens…but then she started struggling for air and I knew something was wrong." His hands tightened into fists. "You were at her side before anyone else. No one seemed to know what was happening, not even Mkhai. Yet while all of this was happening…" His jaw quivered. "...he took the opportunity to leave," Imhotep choked, failing to hide how he felt.

Marik slowly relaxed his posture and brought himself to sit on the swing beside Imhotep, keeping his focus on the black ground beneath their feet. Even he couldn't believe that Atem had decided to leave with Kaiba when Kat had begun clawing at her neck in a desperate attempt for air. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the whir of the helicopter above them, no one would have noticed his impromptu departure.

Imhotep covered his face, trying to hide the small stream that had begun to trail down his cheeks. "I was scared for Shae. I've never had a reason to be scared for her before…and he just left. I've seen his memories, heard some of his thoughts…but I never imagined-...I can't believe I wanted Shae to go back to that."

Marik raised a hand to place on the other teen's shoulder, but pulled his hand back in hesitation. They weren't close by any measure, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say or do in this instance. Imhotep obviously viewed Atem in a certain light, but with a single heartless act Atem had shattered that view.

"I'm sorry. Honestly, I thought he was better than that, too." It was all Marik could think to say.

Imhotep took in a hiccuped breath while wiping tears from his eyes. "I was already starting to see why Shae moved on, but this…I didn't think he-...I just don't understand? I thought he still at least cared?"

Marik dropped his hand into his lap, his head falling dejectedly forward. Atem had made him promise to be there when Kat fell, which surely meant that Atem did care…right?

"I wish I could say for sure that he did…but I don't know anymore."

Imhotep breathed unsteadily as he attempted to calm his current emotion. "You risked getting trapped inside Shae's mind. You managed to pull her back out. She causes nothing but trouble for you, yet you stay by her side." His head hung just as low as the Tomb Keeper's. "Even if he had taken the same risk, I don't think he could have brought her back…and I know he wouldn't have stuck around. He would have left just the same."

They sat in awkward silence, neither knowing what to say next.

Marik hadn't even thought before he'd plunged himself into Kat's mind using the Rod. All he knew was Bakura said that whatever was happening to her wasn't an attack of the body, but of the mind, and that there was nothing he could do to help in that area. It was at that moment Apep had reminded him that he still had the Rod, and Marik didn't even hesitate to grab the relic and do what he felt needed to be done.

"I'm not anything special," Marik stated, breaking the silence. "After Battle City, I felt lost. I had fostered so much anger and hatred for such a large portion of my life, I had no idea how to even proceed after the tournament. I followed the only lead I had, which was to continue on with my original purpose in life. Then I met Kat. For the first time I felt something that wasn't some form of bitterness or guilt. I felt alive in the same way as when I first came to the surface, but without all the 'I'm going to destroy the Pharaoh and rule over the world'. My life over the past week has been, without-a-doubt, crazy…but I kinda like it that way. I stay because I want to. I did what I did, because I couldn't sit by and do nothing. My sister likes to say that I have a bad habit of diving head-first without checking for sharp objects. She's right, of course…but you'll never hear me say it to her face."

This prompted a small smile and laugh from Imhotep. "I hear that. There's a rule we have with Shae: Never admit that she's right about something unless you want to hear about it repeatedly for all eternity."

Marik lifted his head while chuckling in amusement. "I think that's a rule in general with all girls." His face quickly fell into one of nervous panic. "Please don't tell Kat I said that."

Imhotep laughed while wiping away the last remnants of his tears. "Don't worry. I'm not stupid." He smiled earnestly. "Just like you don't have to worry about me exposing the fact that you made a bargain with a certain snake deity."

"Yeah, about that," Marik began, looking appreciatively at the other teen. "Thanks for stepping in when you did. I swear it gets harder and harder to keep quiet about Apep."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Imhotep stated casually. "I know how tough it can be…and I know how perceptive Shae is. Hiding something from her is near impossible without some form of alibi."

"Is that why you lied for me?"

Imhotep shook his head. "Not entirely. I noticed a change in Apep after the eclipse." He glanced knowingly at the Tomb Keeper. "Somehow it's gotten the idea in its head that when it gets free, it can walk around pretending to be a human. Now, I wonder who might have brought up that idea? Because I know it wasn't me…"

"What?" Marik asked in a defensive manner. "Is there some reason it shouldn't? If you ask me, Apep strutting about and enjoying a sunny day is a better 'fuck you' to Ra than just eating the whole world."

Imhotep laughed heartily. "I love the way you think! If it weren't for the fact that you're fucking my mom, I think I'd dare trying to be your friend."

Marik pretended to wipe sweat from his brow. "Whew! Looks like I dodged that bullet!"

Imhotep smiled lightly while casually standing and stretching. "You know, I thought this whole apology thing was gonna be a lot harder. Sure, it was tough at first…and I'm kinda embarrassed that I cried…but I actually feel a lot better now."

"Yeah, swallowing your pride is usually the hardest part, but you did pretty good. You should consider yourself lucky. You didn't have to apologize for using people as your own personal playthings to be discarded when they no longer served a purpose."

Imhotep pursed his lips in a thinking manner. "I contemplated feeding you to the Shadows the night Mkhai had me steal your spark plugs," he said in admittance.

Marik began counting on his fingers while trying to mentally list all the people that wanted him dead. "Huh…I think Yugi is the only one that hasn't actively wanted to kill me in some form or another."

"Give me enough time, I can fix that," Imhotep stated while flashing a fanged smile and snapping his fingers, returning them to the regular world.

"Awesome!" Marik said sarcastically. "I can't wait for the entirety of what's left of the Pharaonic line wanting to kill me! Only one more to add to my collection!"

"Two," Imhotep corrected. "You forgot Mkhai…though he won't be hard to sway. He'll make an 'official' proclamation of wanting you dead/maimed/et cetera, then leave it at that."

"I can hardly wait," Marik stated with an eye roll as they both walked back inside the house.

Imhotep has a bit of a growth moment and is moving past his initial dislike of Marik based solely off the fact that Marik and Kat are dating. Also sets up a bit of a reboot in his view of Atem, and learning to see things more from his own perspective for a change. This moment also helps with the whole 'Hey, we both got a snake in our head'.