Well, since you ask, yes I do own this stuff, as surely as my name is Florence. I'd also like to sell you the Daedalus Bridge, and should you wish to contact Kazuki Takahashi and his colleagues on this matter, I've recorded his email address on the very tip of your elbow.

Okay, enough of that. This is actually the first fanfic I wrote - "What Lies Within" didn't even get planned until months later, and "Finding the Road" came much further after that. At first, I figured this was too cringe-worthy to post, but you never know. I'm actually learning a fair bit about writing from stuff I hadn't thought was worth sharing. So here it is, thrown to the wolves in all its unvarnished quasi-glory. Buon' appetito!

It was well past midnight, so even in a city of this size, it would be understandable for activity to be at a minimum. But the streets and sidewalks were entirely dark, save for a few street lamps, and barren of all human life. Despite the abundance of skyscrapers and parked cars, "ghost town" would have been a highly suitable phrase to come to the mind of anyone wandering the streets, and one could almost hear the silence.

But gradually, a new sound echoed from the main street - a motorcycle bearing a single rider, traveling very quickly, despite the fact that she wore no helmet. The wind whipped her long blond hair back and blew across the skin revealed by her low-cut black top, sleeveless purple vest and matching shorts, yet she did not seem aware of the chill. The intense gaze of her long-lashed, violet eyes and her skillful maneuvering of her vehicle indicated that anyone obstructing her path tonight would sorely regret it.

Rounding a corner, the young woman's destination came into view: a building at least fifteen stories tall, larger and wider than any of its neighbors. She calmly stopped the bike at the curb, approached the main entrance and gazed up at a floor very near the top of the building, as if she was willing her target to appear at a window. Breaking her gaze away, she strode inside, her high heels echoing upon the lobby tiles. Here as before, there were no sounds, few lights and certainly no people to accompany her. She had expected this, and in fact she welcomed it, as it meant there would be nothing to interrupt her search.

As the solemnly-lit elevator carried her upwards, her thoughts turned to the dark bluish-green device clamped onto her left wrist; she was so accustomed to it that often she did not notice its presence unless she had a use for it. The device had a round shape with a semicircular extension on one side and a ring of strange letters engraved around the perimeter. Just above her hand, a deck of cards was clamped inside the device, and she withdrew this deck, searching within it until she found a particular card, which she removed and held as one would hold a beloved photo. Gazing at it, her eyes became gentler, and tears threatened to form until she blinked them away. Her expression set again, she replaced the card with its companions, shuffled the deck with practiced ease, and replaced the deck in the device.

The elevator bell announced her arrival, and glancing about as she exited, she made her way purposefully along the darkened hallway, her footsteps echoing gently. No one seemed to be around but, as the hall branched to the right, she could hear the heavier footsteps of someone taking no trouble to approach quietly or swiftly. She could make out the shape of a tall, cloaked man... but she was taken aback when she realized this was not the man she sought. This man stood a head taller than her, and his heavy, muscular body and dark clothing indicated he was not someone to provoke idly. Tight around his neck was a pendant featuring a green crystal that dimly reflected the hall's few lights, and his left arm bore a disk identical to the woman's. But she already knew these features; her eyes were focused on his, so steadily answering her glare. It seemed her arrival had been expected, and her true opponent had sent a receptionist. It was annoying but it was only a temporary obstacle.

"You are... well, I should have guessed Dartz would never come out to meet me. It doesn't matter. Stand aside, Raphael. I'll find him myself."

"I can't do that, Mai," the man replied. "Your anger has no place here, and you have no place confronting Dartz."

"No," she said, taking a step forward. "Doma has gone too far - I can't forgive you or Dartz for the things you've done. I'm here to get Jonouchi and Valon back, and you won't stop me."

For a moment, Raphael did not speak, but turned around and walked back the way he had come. "Dartz is not to be disturbed. He is attending to the Leviathan, ensuring that all the arriving souls are accepted." Opening a set of double doors, he looked back and added, "Of course, that includes Mr. Katsuya Jonouchi, though I suppose you already know the circumstances of his defeat. Dartz claims the capture of his soul is a great benefit to the Leviathan - but I have to admit I never saw anything especially strong about Jonouchi."

Mai's stunned anger lasted only briefly before she followed Raphael into the brightly-lit and expensively-decorated boardroom beyond the doors. "Listen, you lousy bastard - Jonouchi was twice the man you or Dartz could ever be. Not only that, how can you be so calm when Valon's soul is gone? You two might not have been friends but at least you could show some sympathy."

Raphael eyes were closed as if in resignation as he reached the opposite end of the boardroom's long table and replied. "I have no sympathy for those that cannot accept what Fate has in store for them. It was Valon's fate to fall, just as it was Amelda's fate."

"What? You mean Amelda's soul has been taken also?"

"Yes. He was sacrificed for losing his battle of revenge against Seto Kaiba - much as Valon was sacrificed for his grudge against your friend."

"First of all, Valon is also my friend. And second, it's disgusting how you don't even care about the people that are suffering at Doma's hands. At least Valon and Jonouchi understood each other. You're so blinded by Doma that you can't feel the pain they feel. You hid the truth from me. I... I didn't want to hurt Jonouchi. But I'm done with believing in your lies. I've found myself again, and I'll tear all of Doma apart if that's what it takes to get my friends back."

"Really... And how do you intend to challenge Dartz's power? His knowledge of Fate and the Orichalcos are beyond you. Do you think he's intimidated by your friendship? Or do your feelings run deeper than that?"

"It's none of your business, Raphael. Dartz is there. I no longer need Doma's strength or the Orichalcos' strength." She raised her fist and declared, "I want to defeat Dartz with my own strength and then rescue Jonouchi and Valon."

"Forget it, Mai. After all, you're just an item of sacrifice."

"What?"

"You're too glaring. You're of no more use. Be good and disappear." He extended his left arm forward, the disk on his arm humming to life. The wing on the side swung outwards and forwards, and a scimitar-shaped plate with five panels on top extended out from within it, glowing brightly. A window at the disk's center displayed the number 4000. Mai flexed her arm, activating her disk in a likewise fashion. Both players then drew five cards from the decks in their disks and stood facing each other as would opponents in a competition of martial arts.

"Duel!"