Change of mind – I'm merging the last chapters together, so this is the last chapter of Sleeping With the Enemy :( It was going to be an action packed ending, but that didn't really suit it – this may not satisfy your idea of this story, but it makes sense to my original intentions. I'm really going to miss this story – it was a lot of fun to write. Anyway, enjoy!

1wildrose1 .. x

Rating: NC-17
Pairing (s): You're just going to have to read, now aren't you?
Spoilers: Marik's plan in Battle City I guess...
Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh or any of the characters...sadface...I don't own Sleeping With the Enemy either but it's an AMAZING film. I really do suggest it.
Summary: What if Marik didn't lose that final duel with Yugi? Marik has succeeded with his plan to become the Ultimate ruler: Pharaoh of the world! With everyone aboard the blimp under his control and every world leader brainwashed by the combined power of the three Egyptian God cards, the seven Millennium Items and the ancient power of the Pharaoh, will Marik ever be stopped?

Warnings: Shounen-ai (Male/male relationships), Yaoi (Male/male sexual relationships – though there will be forewarning of the chapters that contain the explicit stuff), Language, Torture, Gore and possible Male/Female and Female/Female Sexual Relationships. Plus if you see it as a warning, OOC-ness.

Yami Marik = Marik, Marik = Malik, Yami Bakura = Bakura, Bakura = Ryou.

WARNING! Hint of sexual activity – not even enough to be described as a lime, but I thought I'd put up a warning anyway.

Chapter Nine

Such extremes waged war inside me – I hated him for what he had done, what he continued to do, and at the same time...I loved him; I loved him so much that I could burst. How fucking twisted am I? I knew that he was a murderer in every meaning of the word and that he would never stop – and that I could stop him...by just not loving him. But that would involve separating our souls completely...and I just couldn't let him go. I couldn't do nothing – but what could I do?

"...don't go, Malik. Please." I could feel his shaky breath on my face, only half aware that mine was not any better. I didn't even realise that he was crying until I felt a drip on my cheek.

"I..." I unclenched my grip on the front of his shirt and brought my hands to his neck, slowly caressing his skin with my fingertips, travelling upwards progressively until the soothing touches traced the wet tracks backwards before brushing the tears away completely. "Marik." He continued to whimper his pleading mantra. "Marik, listen to me." I looked him directly in the eyes and spoke without pause or hesitation – complete conviction. "I will not leave you, Marik – not ever." I love you too fucking much.

His grip around my waist tightened as he buried his face in my neck, breathing in deeply, trying to relax – trying to believe me. I soon found one of his hands on the back of my neck, the other remaining on the small of my back, as he pulled me even closer. I could feel his heart beat through my shirt. Somehow, we were now on the sofa – despite me not having realised that we had moved – with me straddling his lap. "But...I heard what she said to you...well, showed you." He started to lean back from my neck, but seemed to change his mind and pressed his face back where it came from. "You saw what I've done."

He knew it was wrong..."Yeah...I did." I'm doing this all because you wanted it. It's, like, programmed into me. You wanted this power so much, to spite the Pharaoh that caused you to be locked up, that I was born. It's in my nature and I'm not going to be able to stop, so please don't ask me. It's...programmed into my being. Asking me not to go after this power, to not be cruel, would be like asking me not to breathe, not to eat. I don't know. I just am certain that I can't stop. That conversation we had all those days ago was making more and more sense with every second that I was close to him. I...just wanted you to know...it's not me. I don't want this. But I have to do it. He'd said it himself – he didn't want this. I laced my fingers behind his neck and pulled him into a kiss, soft and submissive – filled with promise: I would never leave him.

That was the first time I would have described the act as making love – because that was exactly what it was. It wasn't a race to a climax, nor a frenzy full of lust – just intimacy in its purest form. He moved in me, slow and deep, as we kissed, just to feel that I was really there. His hands touched every place they could, worshipping every part of me as I rocked above him, lost in the passion. Emotions filtered through my thoughts about everything that surrounded us – what it would mean to truly be together like this; what it would mean for us to be happy.

I made up my mind.

XxXxXxXxXxX

The room was dark when I entered it, lit only by the twinkle of a hundred red standby lights spanning the void of a wall in front of me. My hand scrambled blindly along the wall, finding the switch after only a few seconds. Light flooded the space, illuminating many blank televisions and the control panel in the centre of the room, which I approached silently.

My eyes scanned the buttons, finding the one to Marik and I's bedroom and pressing it. One of the screens lit up, but it was white and fuzzy and a red symbol down the bottom indicated that the audio was out. That was comforting – Marik respected my privacy enough to disable the camera. I nodded to myself and found all of the other buttons I needed – the cameras in the throne room, hallways, elevators and the others' cell.

I manually made each one loop what they were currently showing – all but the ones to the cell. Those had already been disabled by Seto...except one. "What?" I frowned and looked closely at the screen – it showed a birds-eye view of the room and the symbol at the bottom informed me that audio was available if I wanted to listen in. That was weird...there was never a camera there whenever I had been in that room...The screen that it linked to was separate from the others, marring the symmetrical set up of the others. Marik must have installed it himself – that would explain why Seto didn't know anything about it. Either way, there was too much activity of people walking past it to loop it, as I had the others, without making it obvious.

Sighing, I grabbed one of the portable screens that lay flat in the palm of my hand and linked up the transmission with Screen #101 before sliding it into my pocket. I memorised the route I had made between the cell and the bedroom and turned the screens back off, flipped the light switch and left the room.

The trek from the camera room and the other's cell was not a long one, but my heart hammered in my ears all the way and guilt swirled in my stomach. Still, I had to do this.

"Malik!" Ryou smiled in relief and ran forward to hug me. "You're okay! I thought it would happen again! What did he do to you?"

I pressed a finger to my lips and pulled the hand-held device out of my pocket, watching the view of the screen as I walked slowly around the room. "Nothing happened, Ryou. He just wanted to talk to me." I wasn't in view of the camera when I stood in the place I thought it would be. Frowning, I carried on padding around.

I had gotten the attention of everyone in the room by this point, all of them staring at me like I had lost my mind. "Malik, what are you...?"

My finger flew up to my lips, giving Ryou a serious look, pleading him to just go along with it. "Trust me, Ry – I'm fine." Aha! Joey was in the screen! I looked around and found the blond about a meter away, to my left. I motioned him to move away, to which he complied without complaint, albeit with confusion.

Approaching the space slowly, I stuck my foot out in front of me, waiting until my toe appeared in the screen. I nodded to myself again and pulled out a playing card – one of the ones Marik had been playing with a few days ago, but I tried not to think about that – and threw it gently. It appeared slightly to the left of the screen. I pulled out another and threw it a little right of the other. This time it appeared dead centre.

Pocketing the device, I looked up and the silver panel directly above the second card. It didn't look particularly different from the others, but the longer I looked the more I saw. The room was silent as I walked into the space, faking a yawn and stretching my arms over my head. Quickly, I jabbed my hand upwards and grabbed the minuscule spot of black, pulling it downwards and ripping the wires that protruded from the back of it. I twisted it off completely and glanced at the screen again – it had turned white and showed that there was no audio available.

I grinned and held it up towards Seto. "You missed one."

He gaped at the tiny camera in my hand and shook his head disbelievingly. "But...I know the plans of the blimp..."

"Yeah, this is one of his." I shrugged my shoulders and threw it aside, dropping down into one of the chairs in the room. "I don't know how long it's been there because I only noticed it a few minutes ago when I was in the camera room. I doubt it's been there long, otherwise he would have reacted to your plans to escape by now."

Bakura crossed his arms and frowned. Oh, what's your problem now? "If that's true then how did he get it in here without us seeing him?"

I raised my eyebrow at him and saw that everyone else seemed to be wondering the same thing. "Do you really underestimate his powers that much?"

Bakura smirked and shrugged with one shoulder. "I guess I do."

I sigh and think back to last night, remembering how none of the hotel employees even looked Marik and I's way as we walked through the lobby. "He can get past people without them noticing whenever he wants."

Yami's eyes grew wide and he glanced around the room quickly. "What? So he could be here now?"

I rolled my shoulders. "He could be, but he's not. He goes off the blimp during the day."

"How?" Seto's question was less Spanish-Inquisition than the others were, but there was definitely a pressing need for an answer in his voice. "We never land."

I nod. "Yeah, he doesn't need to land to leave – I only know that because he took me with him yesterday to see my sister. The outside world...it's..." The images of what I saw flashed through my mind – though they weren't particularly traumatic at face value, I knew what that man had become. What so many people had become. I bit my lip and stared at my lap. "They...everyone..." I look back up. "We need to stop him." I knew I was crying. I let them assume it was from the horror of what the world had become...but it was because I knew there was no backing out. I was going to betray him.

Even Bakura looked taken aback. "What?" He leaned in a little closer. "What's going on out there?"

I shook my head. I knew they wouldn't be able to fully grasp it without seeing it. After all, all I really saw was a man repeatedly walk down an ally – but the implications of that was so much more horrific. I took a deep breath and met his eyes. "We need to stop him."

His eyes widened a little – he understood how hard it was for me to do this to the other half of my soul. He nodded and clenched his knuckles until the skin stretched across the bone thin enough to turn white. "What do you want us to do?"

XxXxXxXxXxX

Bakura, Yami, Seto and Joey followed behind me as I carefully lead the way down the route I'd cleared earlier. We progressed slowly – with me going first around corners, just in case Marik appeared all of a sudden.

We made it all the way to the first set of elevators without incident and just stood around the edges of the space in tense silence, relaying the plan in our heads. Okay...phase 1, complete – we got past the first leg of the journey...just to get across the next stretch of hallways, up the second set of elevators and then...into the sanctum.

Of course, our good luck didn't last long. Just as I turned the last corner – the metallic shine on the last elevator in sight – I stopped in my tracks, heart hammering hard in my chest. "M-Marik." The others froze for a second in shock before retreating a few steps away from sight. Marik looked up from his position of leaning against a nearby wall, my voice obviously breaking through his reverie. Now...how could I approach this? I had to act as I naturally would with him...but the others could hear every word. "What are you doing back so early?"

He frowned and wilted a bit – maybe that came out a little harsher than I intended it to be. I was nervous, damn it! "Is it a crime to want to see you?"

I could practically hear the bewildered looks I was getting from the others. Ignoring them, I smiled apologetically and made my slow, casual way towards him. "Of course not – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh. You surprised me, is all."

He nodded and kneaded his fist into his palm, looking away again. "I saw you was out of the room...I thought it would be best to wait here rather than go get you." Somewhere along the line, our conversation had slipped into Arabic. Good – the others won't understand what we say.

I stood in front of him awkwardly, well aware that we had company – I had to distract him well enough for them to get past...they would have to go it alone from there. "Hey." I lean into him and use my hands to pull his face up to meet mine. "It's okay – you don't have to tiptoe around me."

He offers me a small smile and pushes up from the wall. "Try something with me." I frowned and walked backwards into the centre of the space, stealing a quick glance towards where the others were to make sure they were still out of sight. He soon had one hand on my hip and the other holding one of my own.

I laughed at the idea, hoping it didn't sound too forced. "You want to dance?" I glanced around mockingly. "There's no music."

He smiled again, small and sweet, and just shook his head as he lead me into a slow sway on the spot. "Just close your eyes."

"You first." As soon as he did I pressed closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder and met the gaze of Seto, who was looking at us with raised eyebrows. I ignored his curiosity and darted my eyes to the elevator and back, indicating that they should take this chance.

All four of them stared intently at us as they passed, silent as they could, while I tried to guide our dance in a slow circle, rotating Marik to face away from them as we moved. A song reverberated around us, encasing our revolving circle with a tune from my childhood...from our childhood, I should say. Was he humming it? I didn't know. Maybe he drew from the power of the Pharaoh to play it.

I held my breath as our circle got to the point where he was facing directly where they would be, but his eyes remained shut, savouring this moment. That thought made my chest hurt. A lot. There he was, enjoying my company and silently opening up to me and I...I was taking him down. I pulled him closer and turned my head, pressing my lips to the side of his neck. "I love you." I tensed as he spoke, only relaxing again once I remembered that the others couldn't understand Arabic.

I sighed against his skin and closed my eyes. "I love you, too." When I opened my eyes, I found myself looking over his shoulder at a frantically waving Joey. He pointed at the elevator and then to Marik, then to his own ears. I tilted my head in acknowledgement and racked my brains for an idea of how to distract Marik from the noise. Well...racked my brains for something other than the obvious...damn. I leaned back from his embrace and bit my lower lip, eyes half lidded...attempting seduction, I guess. "Marik..."

He just laughed and rolled his eyes. "What are you up to?"

I shook my head. "Is it a crime to want you?" I winked, lightly joking about his earlier question.

His face lit up with such joy before he kissed me that I nearly burst out into tears – I was tricking him...and all he knew was that I genuinely wanted to be with him – which wasn't a lie, but it was all so much more complicated than that. My back met a wall as I brought my hands up to his hair, panting and moaning into his mouth as loud as I could without making him suspicious. I didn't risk looking to see if they'd left for the upper levels – this was a private moment between us, despite the circumstances, and if it was the only grace I could grant him, I would let him have me now without my split attention.

He didn't try to take it further than that passionate kiss, just held me tighter and tighter. It started to hurt. "Marik...?" He ignored me and crushed his lips to mine again, growling slightly...but...they weren't like any kind of sound he'd made before. His nails dug into my skin, making me cry out and whip my head back, eyes clenched shut. "Marik, stop – it hurts!"

His growls grew into groans of pain. My eyes snapped open to see his face scrunched in agony while he gripped me for support. "...thank...you..." I just stood there in shock...what was going on?

"W-what?"

He forced one eye open and smiled through whatever he was suffering. "...thank...you...for...stopping...me."

Suddenly, the whole room shook violently and the sound of screeching metal assaulted my eardrums. I screamed as he fell forward, limp and lifeless, landing heavily against me and pinning my body to the wall. "Marik?" A hot, wet sensation trickled down my front as I called to him frantically. "Marik! Wake up!"

A sudden jolt sent us tumbling to the floor and I landed on his chest, reeling from the suddenness of events – was we crashing? That wasn't possible, though – Marik's powers kept us in the air without a pilot. Unless...I gasped as I realised what must have happened – the others had done it. To be honest, I expected it not to work – I mean, you have to win the cards and items to gain ownership...it was only a hunch of mine that it would be considered a win to sneak past his defences with success. That and the fact that between them, Yami, Bakura and Seto were the owners to all seven items before Marik won them.

I shook those thoughts out of my head and choked back a sob when I saw Marik's unconscious face...drenched in blood? In a hurry, I checked he was still breathing and sat him up – fighting against the violent tremors of the blimp – holding him there and speaking to him desperately. "Come on, Marik – you have to wake up. We're crashing, Marik. Wake up so we can get under cover. Please, Marik." My voice shook uncontrollably.

Screams resounded from the lower levels, but I heard none of them – I could only focus on him. A huge boom roared in my ears before the room shook quicker than before, throwing us around like rag dolls. I was screaming, I think – I don't really remember. My head slammed into a wall with the force of both mine and Marik's full body weight behind it.

And the world turned black...

XxXxXxXxXxX

It was still and silent, apart from the occasional crackle of what I assumed was broken electrical cables. My head pounded and agony lashed through my body when I tried to move. So, this was it...the end of Marik's domain. A crash-landed blimp and a slow, painful death to those on board. A complete wipe-out of any evidence that it happened. After all, the only people that were truly aware of anything were those of us on board, Ishizu, Odeon and those few suspicious people who were made quick work of. He would be wiped from history...

I didn't notice when I began to cry out loud, but I wouldn't have cared – no one was around to hear me. Everything hurt so much physically, but emotionally...I was numb, in spite of my tears. My mind couldn't process the idea that they were dead; Ryou, Seto, Bakura, Joey, Yami...Marik...so many others...Marik...Marik.

"Malik!" A voice called from far away. That word seemed familiar...oh, right – that was my name! I tried to make a noise back, but my sobs stopped me from doing so. So, not everyone was dead. "I think I heard something over there!" Metallic scrapes grew closer and closer before a heavy weight was lifted off my chest and someone gasped. "Oh, God! Malik! Wake up!"

Wake up? I already was...oh wait. I peeled my eyes open to see a blurry angel standing above me, his wings folded backwards, shining the brightest white, and the light of his halo casting his face into shadow. "You're okay! Oh, Malik!" When angel dropped to his knees, the light surrounding him dimmed instantly. Oh, wait...I blinked slowly and let the world come into focus. The angel turned out to be Ryou – his folded back wings being his hair and his halo had appeared when he stood in front of the setting sun, which could now be seen clearly through a gaping hole in the thick metal wall.

I frowned and started to sit up, being stopped by...Seto? He was here too? "No, Malik – you're really hurt." No I wasn't – I was just a bit sore.

"Where's Marik?" I was surprised by the strength behind my voice and stared as hard as I could into Seto's eyes.

Seto furrowed his eyebrows. "It's over, Malik – we did it. After we gained ownership over the cards and items, the blimp suddenly started to crash. It was lucky we weren't flying anywhere near civilisation, but we hit a mountain range." He bit his lip, looking away briefly. "Everyone that were on the lowest level are dead. It was lucky that everyone from the cell survived."

I shook my head, ignoring the pain it caused. "Where is he?"

Seto's eyes filled with some kind of emotion that I couldn't understand in the state I was in. "He used the last of his power to..." He looked confused, annoyed, thankful? I didn't know – it was too complicated. "He saved us with whatever he had left. He allowed the blimp to land the best he could and then went to the duelling arena...to die."

...die? "What?" That wasn't right...no...no..."No!" I pulled myself up again, this time ignoring Seto's protests and Ryou tears. "No!"

I didn't hear them call after me...I don't even think they followed me. I'm sure I should have been hurting – that it should have been hard to walk – but all I could focus on was Marik. Was he still alive?

The blimp's structure had been twisted in such a way that the elevator shaft lay almost horizontal, peeled open enough for me to crawl into. I picked my way past sizzling cables and piles of debris, fighting to get to him...on time, hopefully.

Time passed like sand in an hourglass – it was running out and it was I could do to force my abused body towards that stunning light at the end of the tunnel. I reached the outside world and stared around in panic – where was he?

I cried in relief when I saw him sitting against the duel arena wall, awake and watching me approach – a look of peace glazed his features. "Malik."

I stumbled to him, falling before I could get there as my injuries caught up with me. He reached his hands as far as he could towards me, brushing my outstretched fingers. I crawled painfully nearer, close enough for him to catch hold of me and pull me forward. I lay in his lap, catching my breath, for well over ten minutes – he just sat there, allowing me some time. I choked around the air I was breathing, guilt beating against me – I'd betrayed him and he still accepted me! "I couldn't let you do it, Marik...I couldn't." My voice was thick with emotion, shaking from tears.

His hand caressed my hair gently as he spoke softly. "I know."

"Marik...Marik..." I clawed against his body, trying to turn and look him in the eyes. "Don't die...please don't die."

He just smiled. "I have to."

My chest tightened, my breath wouldn't come. "N-no! No!" I knew I was hysterical, but that small, accepting smile told me that he wasn't fighting against his fate. "Marik, please."

"You can go...you're free." A small flicker of reluctance flashed across his features when he said that. It only lasted a moment, but I latched on to it desperately.

I shook my head and gripped handfuls of his tattered, bloody shirt, begging him. "No! Let me stay! Please..." I leaned up and kissed his unresponsive lips. "I told you I wouldn't leave you."

That brought him to life a little. "But...you can go."

I shook my head, holding him tighter. "I don't want to – I love you!" I looked him directly in his beautiful violet eyes. "I said I won't leave you – that means that you can't leave me, too!"

His lips parted in surprise as silent tears ran down his face – I felt it too; I felt lighter, better than ever before. Like everything had suddenly righted itself. Nothing in the world could contend with this feeling and we had achieved it after so long. "I won't...ever."

Nothing would ever take me away from him again. We were complete.

If you didn't pick up on the metaphor, I'll mention it again – Malik talks about going 'towards that stunning light at the end of the tunnel.' I couldn't help but give you a clue that he was about to get through it all and make it to his happy ending.

Thank you everyone who stuck by this story to the end, whether you reviewed or not – I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it .. x