Author's Note:

Well, here it is everyone! After God knows how long the wait has been, I finally have From Dream to Nightmare's long awaited sequel! Why did it take so long you all may be asking? Well, in a nutshell, life happened and I wanted to make sure I had a good long break before write another extremely long fanfic. But now that I am back, I'm very eager to continue Roxanne's story, and this time finish it for good!

Although if you haven't by chance read the original fanfic, I highly recommend reading that one first before you look at this one. I will have the link to the first story at the end of this author's note, so it will be easy access to you.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and please review!

Link to first story: www. fanfiction . net s/ 8035256/1/From-Dream-to-Nightmare

"In a promptly five minutes, Alcatraz Island will self destruct!"

Everyone froze in the middle of our celebration as Roland came running onto the blimp. Jonouchi's face paled dramatically.

"What?!" he exclaimed, shocked. "What do you mean the island is going to explode?!"

"Mr. Kaiba had set this island to explode the moment Battle City was over," Roland explained, sounding surprisingly calm. "Is everyone aboard the blimp so that we may take off?"

Everyone gave multiple silent responses, Jonouchi looking like he was going to strangle Roland while Yugi, Ryo, Honda, Anzu, Ryuji, and Shizuka stared at him wide-eyed, their faces paling. Mai blinked a couple of times while Marik, Rishid, and Ishizu didn't show much of a reaction.

As for myself, I couldn't help but smile a bit. I had to admit, the reactions were priceless. When no one made a verbal response, Roland said, "Alright, I assume then we are all ready to take off."

"But wait, what about the Kaiba brothers?" Yugi questioned. "We need to wait for them!"

"No need to worry," Roland answered as he walked right passed us, not even bothering to make eye contact. "He and Mokuba have their own private jet, they will get off safely."

And with that, he disappeared into the elevator. There was a short silence, everyone still in shock by the moment.

"...So, would it make things better if I said that Kaiba was escaping from a Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet?" I finally said with a sheepish smile. "You know, to add more to his dragon fetish..."

Jonouchi face palmed.

"Not really helping, Roxanne."

I gave a nervous laugh.

"Well, I tried. But hey, look on the bright side, Battle City is over and all the danger is gone."

Anzu nodded.

"Yeah. With Melvin gone, we have nothing else to worry about."

She turned her gentle blue gaze to Marik.

"I'm glad you are alright, Marik. We were all very worry about you."

Marik gave a small smile.

"I appreciate it. Though I know what I did was..."

"It's alright, dude," Honda replied before Marik could finish. "We've all been through tough times and it is in the past. We just need to learn from it and keep moving forward."

Everyone else nodded in agreement, and though Marik smiled, I could still see some uncertainty in his violet eyes.

"Though, if this island is going to explode," Ryuji said. "It would definitely be an experience I wouldn't want to miss. I mean, how many times do you get see a manmade island blow up?"

"You have a point," Jonouchi added. "Though, I'm still going to kill Kaiba for this. I mean, is he that crazy?!"

"I think we already have the answer to that," Mai replied with a small smile.

Everyone laughed, the majority of the gang going up to the elevator to watch. The only ones who did not go up was myself and the Ishtar family.

I was curious to see what the Ishtars were now going to do, since Melvin was out of the picture and Marik was finally free. Were they going to go back to Egypt or hang out a for a little while? A part of me hoped they would stay, for I wanted to spend more time with Marik. And also to...define where our relationship was at now, since Bakura was in the picture. I felt my heart cringed as I thought back to all that tension the three of us had, the big fights we had as I was the one who played with their emotions. Trying to put that thought in the back of my mind, I approached the Ishtar siblings.

"So, what do you three plan on doing now that you are reunited?" I asked.

"We are not exactly sure," Marik answered. "I guess we are most likely going to go back to Egypt and be a family again, a normal one for once."

He looked up at Ishizu and Rishid, who gave simple nods.

"However, if the Pharaoh wishes us to remain by his side to fulfill his destiny, then we will stay in Domino City for a while longer," Ishizu said. "But of course, he has you, so he may not need us."

I gave a shaky smile.

"I...will do my best, but it wouldn't hurt to have you guys around."

"Yes," Marik replied. "And I...hope that we get to spend more time together, Roxanne."

He gently ran his tanned fingers through my long brown hair.

"After all, I have to make up to you for what I have done."

I felt my face grow hot and gave a small nod. I noticed a dark look flash in Ishizu's eyes. But before she could speak, Rishid said, "Though either way, we will be staying in Domino City for a time, at least until we can get a plane ride back home."

"...That's good," I said. "Maybe you guys can have a bit of a family vacation or something."

Rishid smiled in reply, clearly liking that idea.

With that said, I left the Ishtars so they could spend some close family quality time with each other. It was really great to see them all back together, since they really have been through a lot. A chance for them to have a normal life would be great.

However...the danger is far from over.

I remembered back to when I accoutered Dartz in the Shadow Realm, when he said that there was more to the Seal of Orichalcos than what I had already knew from the anime. Yami Marik was ten times worse than what he was from the show and manga, which made me fear for what worse I could expect from Dartz. And then there was Valon, Alister, and Rafael to worry about as well.

I sighed heavily as I went up to my room I shared with Mai and Anzu. I expected it to be empty, so I could rest and have a moment to myself and could think things through. But to my surprise, I saw that Shadi was there waiting for me.

I gasped as Shadi's cold gray eyes met my hazel ones, it taking all of my self-control not the cry out. But unlike my other encounters with the creepy Egyptian, I got a hold of my emotions pretty quickly. Silently, I stepped into the room and closed the door behind me, staring deeply into Shadi's eyes. I felt my throat get clogged up, tears threatening to form in my eyes.

"Shadi...I..."

I didn't know what to say, I didn't know how I was going to apologize for ignoring all of his warnings. But luckily I didn't have to, for Shadi seemed to understand everything perfectly.

"I can see from the look in your eyes that you have truly realized what you have done," Shadi said, sounding as emotionless as ever. "And for that, I am glad to see."

I avoided eye contact, my guilt piling up further.

"...I'm sorry, Shadi," I said softly. "I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you. That I was too blinded by my fangirl selfishness to see what kind of harm I would potentially make. I'm sorry for...blaming you for all that had happened."

There was a short silence. I didn't bother to look up to see what Shadi's reaction was. I was too afraid to find out. But when I did not hear him say anything, I faintly said, "But now it is too late for me to just simply turn my back and leave my friends in the mess I created for them. I have to stay long enough to stop Dartz."

"And indeed you must."

I glanced up at Shadi, blinking a couple of times.

Did I...hear him right?

"Even if you were to go back, you have already made yourself too well known in this world," Shadi explained, his dark face extremely grim. "If I were to send you back now, you would just be brought back by Dartz so that he can continue to mess up fate through you. It is not like back when you first told me about you, where you had made less of an impact on the world and could have been easily taken out."

His eyes darkened.

"Though now I have to believe that even if I had brought you back then, you would have still been forced to come back, since Dartz had been watching over you for so long."

I stared at Shadi.

"Wait...so did you know about Dartz all along?" I questioned, slightly puzzled.

Shadi shook his head.

"No, only after did he started to interfere in Battle City did I become aware of him. He had kept his presence well hidden, so well that I doubt any of us would have noticed him until he made the first move."

He paused.

"...And now that he has revealed himself, it can only mean that he had a special plan, and through you, Roxanne, can he only accomplish it."

"...Yeah, I figured," I said softly, a bad feeling forming in my stomach. "So, if you don't want me to go back home, what should I do to make sure I stop him?"

"As much as I hate to do it," Shadi answered, "your best option is to stay close to Yugi and the Pharaoh and let the Walking with Dragons arc of your anime play out. Unfortunately, it will already have vast changes within it, so you must be on your guard. Try to interfere as less as you can, even at the most crucial of moments, for one more change from you could give Dartz another advantage."

"But what if not interfering is what he wants?" I questioned. "A lot of horrible things are going to happen in this arc...I cannot just sit by and allow them all to happen!"

"And unless you want to repeat the same mistakes you made in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City, I suggest you get use to the idea," Shadi countered coldly.

I narrowed my eyes. I wanted to come up with a reply, but I forced myself to keep silent. Images of Pegasus's suicide and the chaos Melvin caused played back in my mind. I clutched my fists tightly, for I couldn't afford another thing to go wrong because of me.

For what could happen if I did the wrong thing in Dartz's mission to collect souls?

While I was deep in thought, I did not notice Shadi coming closer to me. I flinched back when I finally noticed him right in front of me, me looking up to meet his gaze. And, to my shock, I found a tiny fragment of sympathy in them.

"Learn from your mistakes, but do not let them weigh you down," Shadi advised. "Be strong and learn when it is the time to step in and the time to step down."

Not even waiting for my reply, Shadi walked right passed me and opened the door, leaving the room as it shut behind him.

For a long moment, I stood in the middle of the quiet bedroom, deep within my own thoughts. Though I was scared of messing up, of causing events to become worse, I vowed to myself that I would not let Dartz win. I would not give up and run away from it all, nor would I give in and blind myself from the truth. I will stay and guide from afar, and no matter what, I will find a way to beat him at his own game!