Marik Ishtar was a fool who wasted the power of the Millennium Rod, possibly the most powerful of the Millennium Items, on finding rare Duel Monsters cards in an attempt to get revenge on an ancient Pharaoh, who died five thousand years ago and was now locked away in a puzzle. He had some nascent aspirations for world domination, but even those were childish and overwrought. Light Yagami was the only one who understood the Millennium Rod's true potential and had the will to use it. With it, he could punish criminals far beyond Tokyo with a mere thought, and it would be impossible to trace it back to him until he revealed himself as the god of the new world. In the meantime, Light didn't even have to be in possession of the Rod himself. Marik Ishtar could be manipulated easily enough.

Light could feel the Millennium Rod approaching. Even though he wasn't touching the puzzle, he could tell that it was getting close. It was about time. According to the latest report, easily acquired from his father's computer - Light wasn't the only one tracking the leader of the "Rare Hunters" - Ishtar's ship arrived in the harbor about an hour ago. Then, it was just a matter of waiting for him to arrive. Light had no doubt he would come to the tournament.

"Hey Light!" It was one of Yugi Muto's imbecilic friends.

Their timing was impeccable.

Light put on his most benign smile as Tea Gardner, Joey Wheeler, and Tristan Taylor came running to meet him, again accompanied by Muto's grandfather.

"What's up, man?" Taylor asked. "Here to check out some duels?"

"He's got a duel disk, he must be participating in the tournament," Gardner cut in.

"Really?" Wheeler exclaimed. "That's awesome! We should duel!"

As much as Light would have enjoyed beating Joey Wheeler into the dust, it would have to wait. He could feel the Millennium Rod getting closer.

"I'm taking a bit of a break," Light said, "But I'd be happy to duel later."

"I know what'cha mean! See ya in the finals!" Wheeler's overconfidence was overwhelming. The only way he would get into the finals was his improbable dumb luck.

"Aren't you getting ahead of yourself?" It was a considerable understatement, but Taylor managed to approach reason.

"Well, I do need to crush a couple more duelists first, but I already have four locator cards!" Wheeler bragged as though he had accomplished anything more than defeating a few third rate children. "How many do you have?"

Before Light could provide a tactful answer, Gardner, who had wandered over to the other side of the street, called back to them, mercifully drawing the others' attention, "Hey, look at this!"

It seemed another one of their idiotic friends was putting on a show at the aquarium. They ran off to annoy him instead without another word to Light, finally leaving him in peace to wait for Marik Ishtar and his Millennium Rod.

It was not much longer before the Rod arrived. He heard the roar of the motorcycle just before it entered into view. Light took his time, walking down the middle of the street towards the garishly dressed motorcyclist, as he raced towards Light on a bright red bike. It swerved only at the last minute, but Light did not flinch.

A boy dismounted and took off his helmet to reveal wild blond hair that was sharply spiked on top. His outfit was even more absurd up close. His pale pink sleeveless vest was cut to show off his midriff, and his pants were tight. His forearms and neck were covered in golden bands, with an extra pair on his upper arms just in case that wasn't sufficiently ostentatious. He had even taken the time to bring out his eyes with black eyeliner.

He would be even easier to manipulate than Ryo Bakura.

"You're in my way!" Ishtar sounded like a spoiled child with a high nasally voice.

Light gave the boy his most charming smile. "Marik, is it? It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I'm Light Yagami."

"You!" Ishtar said as though it was an accusation. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a tournament to lose?"

"That's not very nice," Light said. "You don't have to worry about the tournament, I've already qualified for the finals. I'm here because I think we could benefit more from working together than being at odds. What do you say?" He held out his hand and smiled again.

"Why should I work with you?" the boy retorted. He clearly didn't have the intelligence to accept the offer and attempt to subtly manipulate Light, not that he would have had any chance at succeeding if he tried. "Unless you're here to give me your Millennium Puzzle, that is."

"Maybe," Light said with an innocent little laugh. "I'd like to work with you, and I was wondering if you would be interested in an exchange; your Millennium Rod for my Millennium Puzzle."

"Why?" Ishtar demanded again. "You are the Pharaoh's vessel, are you not? Why do you want to give me the Millennium Puzzle? What trick do you have up your sleeve?"

"No tricks," Light said, holding out his arms to show the boy that he wasn't hiding anything, not up his sleeves, at least. "After hearing your story back there, I couldn't help but wonder who this Pharaoh I've been working with really is. I didn't choose to become his vessel, you know. And if you and your family really have slaved for centuries to serve the Pharaoh, then you deserve his power much more than I do."

"Prove it," Ishtar challenged. "Prove to me that you are not merely trying to infiltrate my ranks under the Pharaoh's orders!"

The easiest route would have been to merely give the boy the puzzle. It was a convenient scapegoat, but Light didn't really need it anymore if he could manipulate Ishtar to use the Millennium Rod on his behalf. But even when he was not touching the puzzle, he could feel the spirit inside rejecting his decision. It didn't have the power to stop him from speaking at a distance, but if he touched it, it would take over and ruin everything.

Instead Light declared with an air of earnest indignation, "I'll do anything to make up for the wrong that's been done to you."

The boy considered for a moment, but he was too foolish to see Light's true trap. Finally, he decided on a test, "Help me capture Yugi Muto's friends and make them my servants so that I may use them against him. If you do that, then I will accept your loyalty."

"Of course, my lord," Light said, with a shallow bow for good measure. As foolish as they were, Muto and his friends were no criminals, but their sacrifice was necessary for the advent of Light's new world.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the boy grinning at the gesture. It would be too easy.

"What is your plan?" Light asked with a touch of eagerness, "Would you like me to introduce you to them?"

"Yes, perfect!" Ishtar crowed. "Just take me to them and I will do the rest, but if anything goes wrong, I will duel you on the spot, take your Millennium Item, and send your soul to the shadow realm!"

"Don't worry, Marik, I'll make sure it all goes to plan. You'll make a great Pharaoh. I would be honored to serve under you," Light laid it on thick, each word of disgusting flattery another push closer to his perfect world. He kept his smile sweet, though underneath he only felt the thrill of victory.

He saw the boy blush. When he finally regained his voice, Ishtar stammered, "Don't get ahead of yourself. You're not even my servant yet, first you have to help me capture Yugi's friends!"

The boy was right, Light wasn't his servant - he was the master and it was Ishtar who was the servant, but the boy didn't need to know that.

Ishtar's incompetent band of thieves was at the very least able to confirm that Muto's insufferable friends were still near the aquarium. Light was pleasantly surprised to find that they were correct. Joey Wheeler, Tea Gardner, and Yugi Muto's grandfather, Solomon Muto, were loitering just outside the entrance. Light took the lead as they walked into view, not that they would have been able to detect any kind of deception even if it was right in front of their face.

He called out to them, "Joey! Tea! I thought I'd find you here!"

"Is something wrong?" Gardner asked.

"I've got all my locator cards!" Wheeler shouted. "Are you coming to the finals or not?"

It seemed Wheeler's dumb luck had saved him once again, but it wouldn't last for long.

"I'd like to introduce you to my friend Namu," Light explained, gesturing toward Marik Ishtar so even these idiots would understand.

Ishtar stepped forward. "It's nice to meet you. Light told me so much about you."

"Did he tell you about how great a duelist I am?" Wheeler asked, delusional as always.

"Of course," Ishtar said. He was a good enough liar to easily convince Muto's friends, but that wasn't saying much. "That's why I wanted to meet you. I'm a duelist too, you see, but I'm not a very good one. I was wondering if you could give me a few tips. I'd like to at least win one duel in Battle City."

"Sure!" Wheeler took the bait all too easily.

As he started rattling off "tips," Ishtar's Rare Hunters, conspicuously dressed in dark cloaks, surrounded them. They grabbed Ishtar first, and then Light, and pretended to restrain them. They were not so gentle with Muto's friends or his grandfather. Wheeler put up a token fight, but they were all subdued and taken away without much difficulty.

Only then did the Rare Hunters release Ishtar, who ordered them to release Light as well, after a moment of basking in his superficial authority of course. The boy made no attempt to hide his insecurity, manipulating him would be all too easy.

"That went well," Light said with a smile, as he pretended to regain his bearings. "At this rate, your throne will soon be yours to claim."

Ishtar held his head up a little higher. He snapped, but his voice had lost its edge, "Don't get ahead of yourself! We haven't won yet, and if Yugi's friends escape, it'll be on your head!"

"Of course," Light said. It seemed that at the very least, Ishtar was smart enough to realize that Light could have easily been pretending to work with him so that he could rescue Muto's friends at the last minute, but as tempting as spending more time with those fools was, Light had bigger plans.

As they made their way to Ishtar's hideout on the pier, Light began to needle a little deeper. He remarked with all the sympathy he could muster, "I can't imagine how terrible it was living like that, waiting for a heartless Pharaoh, who would never come."

Light saw the emotion cross Ishtar's face as his words no doubt conjured terrible memories, but it was not quite enough. Ishtar remained silent in an attempt to preserve his weak facade of stoicism.

Light pressed a little harder, "And to have no one to keep you company."

That hit the mark. Ishtar answered bitterly, "I had company, for all the good it did me. All father ever cared about was serving a dead king and Ishizu was hardly any better. At least Odion is a good servant."

"That's terrible," Light exclaimed in exaggerated shock "To have no one who cares for you! How could your sister betray you like that? And Odion did nothing to save you from that horrible fate?"

Light took the boy's hand and looked him firmly in the eyes. His tone turned from shock to something more somber as he said, "Marik, your sister may not think I am worthy of the Millennium Puzzle, but I think it was a sort of destiny, having the puzzle so that I could help you claim your rightful place as Pharaoh. I see that you understand the terrors of this world, the terrible things people can do, and that as Pharaoh you will wreak vengeance on all those lesser Pharaohs who demand loyalty and torment their people, but give them nothing in return. There are so many cruel men who claim to be kings in this world, it needs a new Pharaoh to set it all right, and I see that Pharaoh Marik will be the one."

Light's performance was overwrought, but the boy was all too easy to read. As Light spoke, he could see tears welling up in Ishtar's eyes. He was truly starved for attention, mere sympathy and flattery were enough to pass what little defenses he had. It was almost too easy to shape the boy to his will.

When Light finished speaking, he held Ishtar's gaze for a moment longer. He could feel Ishtar's heart racing in his hand. At last, Light let go and Ishtar hastily turned away in an attempt to hide his face as he wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to reassume his overconfident facade. Light's work was done for the time being. Ishtar took on a fragile air of stoic confidence, staring ahead with his back ridgid. The boy likely didn't trust himself to speak, and didn't know what to say even if his voice would hold.

Neither spoke again until they arrived at the warehouse that served as Ishtar's base. Only then did Ishtar resume barking out orders to his Rare Hunters as though nothing had occured. He gained an entourage as soon as they stepped through the door. First to Ishtar's side was a tall man with a hieroglyphic carving that covered half his face. He must have been Odion. Though the other Rare Hunters came and went, he remained planted by Ishtar's side.

Light positioned himself between Ishtar and Odion, just a step behind, so he remained visible out of the corner of Ishtar's eye, and frequently out of Odion's range of vision entirely. Ishtar occasionally glanced back at Light, but hesitated to meet his gaze and did not acknowledge him directly. Odion frequently turned around to eye Light with suspicion. A few times, Marik even snapped at him to pay attention.

The prisoners were escorted to separate rooms in the warehouse. Another group of Rare Hunters soon returned with Mokuba Kaiba, who was thrown into the same room as Tea Gardner and Solomon Muto. Joey Wheeler was the only one restrained, but Ishtar did not ask for advice, so Light did not provide any. He had grander goals than ensuring Ishtar's foolish plans succeeded. He was not concerned about taking the blame no matter what happened. Marik Ishtar was already under his control.

All of Ishtar's Rare Hunter were soon occupied with their tasks, leaving Ishtar, Odion, and Light alone. Then, Odion spoke up, "What is he doing here? Why is he not restrained?"

It was too easy. The fool, Odion, was doing Light's work for him. Couldn't he see he was too late?

"Don't speak until you're spoken to," Ishtar snapped. "If you must know, Light has rejected the Pharaoh and volunteered to serve me instead!"

"Are you sure he's trustworthy?" Odion could not help but dig himself even deeper.

Ishtar's features warped in anger. "Are you questioning my judgement?" His anger vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving behind petty disdain. "He has proven his worth by bringing Yugi's friends to us, that is more than you have done."

"I'm sorry, Marik," Odion said, bowing low, "I did not mean to suggest-"

Ishtar interrupted with the order, "Go. Prepare to take control of the prisoners, Joey Wheeler first."

When they were alone Light said, injecting his voice with a hint of awe for effect, "You will make a truly powerful Pharaoh; you demand unquestioning loyalty. I would be honored to serve you." Light bowed for emphasis.

Ishtar's smug smile turned into a wild grin and he declared, "With the power of the Millennium Puzzle and the three Egyptian God Cards, we will be unstoppable!"


L stared down at the golden ring. Everything else in the cell was still, but it shimmered under the interrogation light. L had long since lost track of how much time he had spent locked away, trying to pry out the secrets of the entity that dwelled within. He had not accomplished nothing. An early victory had earned him a story about an ancient Pharaoh who supposedly created the Millennium Items from the souls of 99 thieves, and a child who, having survived the massacre, swore revenge. But it could have all been a lie. And even if it was true, if he was interrogating the trapped spirit of that thief and that Pharaoh's son now dwelled in the Millennium Puzzle, where did that get him?

L had made little more progress. He did not know the extent of the Ring's powers, even as he could feel it prodding at his mind. The Ring had said there were seven Millennium Items, but he knew little more about them than he had when he began. He had already known they were dangerous. He was no closer to uncovering who was responsible for putting just under fifty criminals in comas months ago - it had quickly become obvious that the Ring was not the culprit.

L could almost see a closed door in front of him. It appeared to be made of rough wood that did not quite fit in the frame of a clay shanty house. It should have been easy to push the door aside and see what secrets lay within the hut, but it did not budge. It was not the sort of house that should have held anything of value, let alone precious secrets, but they were there.

In his dreams L wandered through the ruins of a whole town of shanty houses, drawn inexorably to this same door. Sometimes the door remained infuriatingly shut, as it did when he was awake, but sometimes it would open and soldiers in white linen skirts would escort lines of rough prisoners down, into a bubbling cauldron. Their screams of agony still echoed in his mind. But now, as always when he was awake, the door remained shut despite all the force he thought to apply to it.

Sometimes, the spirit of the Ring would appear outside the door as a young man with wild white hair. The door never opened to let him out, though L was sure that was where he came from.

"Still trying to get in?" the spirit of the Ring taunted.

L stared at him, as though he could pry out the spirit's secrets with his mere gaze.

The spirit laughed because he knew L couldn't.

"Who are you?" L asked at last. "What are you? What are your goals? Why do you want the Millennium Items? What are they capable of?" The words echoed around the stone corridor between the shanty's wooden door and the heavy metal door to the walk in safe that housed L's own soul.

The words faded to silence.

L tried to open the door again. It did not budge.

"Do you want to play a game?" the spirit asked.

L had come to the door and tried to open it with force and questions countless times before all to no avail, but this was new. L cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

The spirit grinned. "A maze." The wooden door opened a crack, but L could not see inside. "If you want my secrets, you'll have to find them. And if you win, you'll have all the answers you could possibly want!" It let out a wild cackle.

It was a trap. L could feel it. This was how the spirit of the Ring intended to escape. L could feel it pushing at the walls of the cell like a wild animal.

L did not know exactly what its plan was, but it would not succeed despite its confidence. It could take control of his body, but the only way out of the cell was if Watari unlocked the door, and Watari knew better than to be fooled by the spirit of the Ring. Even if it threatened his life, Watari knew L could be replaced.

And this was his chance. L could feel the secrets beyond that door, something dark and powerful, but he was not afraid of the dark. The answers to his questions lay beyond that door, and he would find them. He would not lose.

"I accept."


"The Ring has escaped," Touta Matsuda thought he heard Watari say into his ear piece.

"What was that?" Matsuda asked, certain he had misunderstood.

"L has escaped with the Ring," Watari repeated.

"What? How?" Matsuda demanded, loud enough that people turned to stare at him. He dropped his voice, "What happened?"

"The door swung open of its own accord," Watari said as though it wasn't completely crazy.

"What?" Matsuda demanded again.

"The Millennium Ring began to glow and then the door opened," Watari explained, eminently reasonable. "I attempted to leave the observation room, but the door was locked and did not open again until L was outside with the Ring."

It didn't make any sense, but however it happened, Matsuda needed to find L as soon as possible. Who knew what the Ring was doing with him. Maybe it was searching for that poor kid, Ryo Bakura.

"I'm on it!" Matsuda said, "Do you know where he's headed?"

"I suspect he is coming to Domino City. I have tracked him to the station and saw him board a train bound in that direction," Watari said.

So Matsuda leaped to his feet and ran to the station as fast as his legs could carry him in the hope that he would not be too late. He did not know what he would do when he found L and the Millennium Ring - he didn't know what he could do - but he had to do something. He couldn't let the Ring succeed.

Matsuda's heart pounded and his muscles ached and he could hardly breathe from the exertion, but he was almost there when he rounded a corner and nearly ran into Tristan Taylor running the opposite direction. Somehow they brushed past each other and Tristan raced off without even acknowledging him. Matsuda spun around after him and realized that Tristan was carrying a girl on his back - it was a good thing they hadn't actually run into each other.

"What's going on?" Matsuda called after them as two men in dark cloaks dodged past him, close on Tristan's tail.

Matsuda needed to find L and make sure he was okay, but Tristan and that girl were clearly in danger. Matsuda knew enough to know that those men were Rare Hunters, and they were ruthless. L would have to wait just a little longer.

So Matsuda forced himself back into motion and ran after the Rare Hunters just before they vanished around the corner. He shouted at them, "Stop! Police!"

They ignored him. He turned another corner and Matsuda saw the cloaked figures stopped under an overpass up ahead. He had a sinking feeling - he doubted they'd stopped because Tristan had managed to give them the slip.

Matsuda tried again, "Stop right there! You're under arrest!"

One man turned to look at him this time, but he didn't seem threatened, exactly. He shouted at Matsuda, "There's nothing to see here, if you know what's good for you!"

Matsuda walked closer, readying himself for a fight. "Step away from the kids," he ordered.

"Hey guys, we got company," the Rare Hunter told the others, and they all turned to face Matsuda. Now that he was closer, he could see that there were three of them surrounding Tristan and the girl; two on his side and one on the other.

The odds were against him, but maybe between Matsuda and Tristan, they could manage. But the girl probably couldn't fight, she couldn't even run. They had to make sure she didn't get hurt.

Matsuda was just about to ask Watari for backup, in case things went south, which seemed pretty likely, when the Rare Hunters all stumbled and fell, one after the other. Matsuda pushed past them and caught up with Tristan, the girl, and another boy on the other side of the underpass. It was then that he noticed that the girl's eyes were covered with bandages.

"What's going on?" Matsuda asked at the same time as the other boy.

"Run now, talk later," Tristan said.

He was right, the Rare Hunters were starting to get back up. Tristan helped the girl back up onto his back and they all started off at a run down the street. Matsuda's legs burned, but he couldn't stop.

Matsuda whispered into his wire as he ran, "Pursued by Rare Hunters, need backup."

"Are you with L?" Watari asked.

"No," Matsuda said between gasps for air, "Was intercepted. With Yugi's friends."

"In here!" the other boy exclaimed as they rounded a corner, and leapt into the bed of a truck beside the road.

Between the two boys, they helped the girl up, and then Tristan and Matsuda clambered into the truck and laid down just as he heard the Rare Hunters running past. It felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest, but somehow they didn't hear it, and the sound of their footsteps was soon overcome by the noise of traffic.

Matsuda's breathing and heart rate gradually slowed as they all waited, still and silent, until the other boy said, "The coast's clear."

Finally, they could all sit back up. The girl sat in a corner, her arms around her knees, while the boys caught up. Apparently they hadn't seen each other in a while.

Matsuda breathed into his wire, "Cancel backup, all clear."

"Speaking of which," the boy remarked, eyeing Matsuda and the girl, "Who're they?"

"Touta Matsuda," he said, "Nice to meet you. I met Tristan and the others at another Duel Monsters tournament. Who're you?"

"Duke Devlin," the boy said, and they shook hands, "Do you play Duel Monsters or are you just a spectator?"

"Just a spectator," Matsuda said with a little laugh.

"And who's she?" Devlin asked, with a glance at the girl.

"Off limits," Tristan said sharply. "Remember Joey Wheeler? She's his sister."

"Is she alright?" Matsuda cut in.

It seemed to take Tristan a moment to realize what he was referring to. "Oh yeah. She's fine, she just had eye surgery, but she's recovered. She's supposed to take off her bandages today, but the first thing she wants to see is Joey when she does, and he's at the tournament, so that's where I'm taking her."

"Do you know why the Rare Hunters were chasing you?" Matsuda asked.

"The whats?" Tristan said.

"Do you know why those guys were chasing you?" Matsuda tried again.

"No idea," Tristan said. "What's a 'Rare Hunter?'"

"Hey guys," the girl piped up, "If those jerks are after us, does that mean…" she trailed off.

"Mean what?" Devlin asked, just as Matsuda opened his mouth to ask the same.

"That they're after the others too," Tristan said. "Joey, Tea, and Yugi may be in even more trouble than we are now."

"Can you call them?" Matsuda asked.

"Good idea," Tristan said. He pulled out his phone and dialed each number in turn, but to no avail. "It doesn't mean anything necessarily, they're probably busy dueling," he said, mostly to the girl, Serenity.

"They could be in a lot of trouble though," Devlin put in.

Tristan shot him a glare. He turned to Serenity. "Let's go find them. That way we'll know for sure they're alright, and you'll get to take off your bandage."

They all climbed out of the truck. There weren't any Rare Hunters in sight. It was time Matsuda got back to searching for L.

"If you run into any trouble, just call me," Matsuda said. "I should go back to looking for my friend."

They all wished him luck, and went their separate ways. Matsuda could only hope that L hadn't gotten off the train yet. He had just started off back toward the station and was about to ask Watari if he had any more information when Matsuda heard a shout coming from a few blocks behind him. It was Tristan.

"I need backup! Repeat, I need backup!" Matsuda whispered into his wire as he ran to the source of the sound as quickly as he could.

He was almost at the source of the shout, hoping he wasn't too late, when Mai Valentine drove by with Devlin and Serenity in the back. Tristan was nowhere to be found. Matsuda shouted after them. The car screeched to a halt, and Matsuda ran to catch up with them.

"What happened?" Matsuda tried to ask.

"Get in or don't, apparently Tristan needs rescuing," Mai cut him off.

So Matsuda hopped in the car, and they sped off to find Tristan. He was a tougher kid than Matsuda had given him credit for - he had already dealt with the Rare Hunters by the time they arrived, and gotten some information to boot.

While Tristan climbed into the car and explained that Yugi and Joey were in danger on the pier, Watari reported that L had arrived in Domino City. Matsuda didn't want to leave the children to deal with whatever the Rare Hunters had done now, but he had to find L and the Millennium Ring. He explained his situation as vaguely as he could, as they zoomed across Domino City.

"I'm already in the finals," Mai said, "If you want, I can drive you around a bit and see if we can find your friend after we drop these guys off at the pier. That'd be faster than doing it on foot. I just have to leave when the finals start."

"That'd be great!" Matsuda exclaimed, that way he could find L and make sure everything was alright with Yugi and Joey.

It wasn't.

They all arrived at the pier to find Yugi and Joey engaged in a death trap of a duel. As Mokuba Kaiba explained it, the duelists were both chained to an anchor, which was suspended over the arena. When the duel ended, or after thirty minutes if it wasn't over by then, the anchor would drop into the ocean, dragging the duelists with it. The only way out was to win the duel, which would open up a little chest at the winner's feet, containing a key that would unlock their shackles.

To make a bad situation even worse, Joey was being controlled by the Millennium Rod, and Tea and an old man who was clearly Yugi's grandfather were being held hostage to ensure that the game was not interrupted. If anyone tried to interfere, a Rare Hunter would press a button to drop a crate, currently suspended above the hostages by a crane.

Matsuda was staring at the set up, trying to figure out how to free the hostages, when Mai remarked, "You know, if you're looking for someone, I bet Kaiba could help you find them." She pointed him toward the older Kaiba brother who was watching the whole affair with an irritated frown.

Matsuda hesitated. "I do need to find him, but this is more urgent. If we could just distract the Rare Hunter for a little while, I should be able to sneak over and get that remote out of his hands."

"That's pretty risky! What if he sees you?" Tristan demanded.

"I know," Matsuda said, "But if we don't do anything both Yugi and Joey could die. And we don't know what they'll do after the duel is over; they could kill the hostages out of spite if things don't go their way. We just need a good distraction."

"You morons should just stay out of my way," Seto Kaiba sneered from a little ways away, "While the rest of you were busy gawking, I have a distraction on its way."

"Great!" Matsuda exclaimed, pointedly ignoring Kaiba's tone. "What is it?"

"Stay out of my way. I don't need anyone's help," Kaiba said.

"Well," Matsuda dropped his voice to speak to the others in the hope that he wouldn't draw any more of Kaiba's ire, "That sounds like a large distraction, so if you could put together a smaller distraction, I could get closer to the hostages and grab the remote when Kaiba's big distraction comes. Could you maybe direct his vision over there" - he pointed in the opposite direction from the hostages - "so he won't see me as I approach?"

"If you're sure," Mai said, "But this better work. If those kids get squashed, that's on your head."

Matsuda began to edge around the pier so he was on the other side of the hostages, as Tristan, Mai, Devlin, and Serenity got into position. So far, so good.

"What are you doing over there?" he heard the Rare Hunter shout.

Matsuda froze. He turned to face the Rare Hunter, desperately hoping he wasn't the target. His whole body relaxed in relief when he saw that the Rare Hunter was looking at the others instead. It was working.

Matsuda crept around the crates, out of the Rare Hunter's sight. He was careful not to make a sound as he approached the pier where the hostages were. Then he heard the others begin to shout. They called out to Yugi and Joey. He could see them just on the edge of too close to the duel. The Rare Hunter began to shout back at them, waving the remote wildly.

Matsuda made a break for it. He moved as fast as he could without making too much noise, toward the body of the crane at the end of the pier. Once he was there, he could hide behind it and be safe until Kaiba's distraction came. Almost there! Almost! It was so close!

"Stop right there or they get it."

Matsuda froze. His heart rate jumped. He could see the Rare Hunter staring at him before he even looked up.

"Now, turn around and go back the way you came," the Rare Hunter ordered, brandishing the button. He walked toward Matsuda for emphasis.

Just a few more steps closer and he would be in range.

Matsuda didn't move. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure if he could.

"Go or you know what happens - splat!" the Rare Hunter threatened.

"Wait a second!" Matsuda nearly shouted, his mouth moving faster than he had possibly ever spoken before. He hardly knew what he was going to say before the words left his mouth. "You don't want to do that!"

"I will if you don't move, now!"

Against all reason, Matsuda held his ground, "Your boss wouldn't like that. You have those hostages to stop anyone from interfering with the duel, right? If you wasted them on me, then anyone could do whatever they wanted to stop the duel and there would be nothing you could do about it. I'm not going anywhere, see? Not interfering with anyone."

He hoped Kaiba's big distraction came soon…

The Rare Hunter did actually pause to consider it, but all too soon he said, "The boss said to drop it if anyone tries any funny business, and this looks like funny business to me."

Matsuda held up his hands in surrender, but still he didn't move. Insead he rambled on, "I swear, I'm not interfering with anything! If you had separated out the two hostages, sure you could kill one to stop me and then I'd probably go running back before you killed the other, but you've got one button that does in both of them at once, so you only really have one shot. Are you sure you want to waste it? Your boss would probably kill you if someone stopped the duel and you had already wasted the hostages on me."

Finally! He could not have hoped for a clearer signal. He heard the loud thumping of a helicopter before it entered into view. As soon as the Rare Hunter glanced away to search for the source of the noise, Matsuda lunged, grabbing the button out of the Rare Hunter's hand and then tackling the man to the ground.

Matsuda heard the helicopter getting closer as he restrained the Rare Hunter. It rammed into the crane with crash and knocked it into the water, bringing the crate with it. As obnoxious as Seto Kaiba was, he sure knew how to do a rescue! The crate exploded in the water with a boom and the spray from the explosion fell over them like rain. When the dust had cleared, all the others ran over to the hostages and helped unlock them.

It worked! It actually worked! He could hardly believe it. That may have been the most stressful few minutes of his life, but it wasn't all over yet!

"Now that the hostages are free, we've got to rescue Joey and Yugi!" Matsuda shouted.

As soon as Tea and Yugi's grandfather were free, they all ran to the other end of the pier where Yugi and Joey were dueling.

"If any of you know how to pick locks, now's the time!" Matsuda called out to the others.

No one volunteered, but they hurried over to the makeshift arena all the same.

As they were running, they all heard a loud buzz. The duel had ended. There were only 30 seconds left until the anchor plummeted into the sea. If only the crane was still up, they could have used used that to keep the anchor in place while the locks were broken, but it would have taken too long to lift it.

Matsuda had another idea. "Just try to pry them open!" he shouted to the others. Then, he turned to Kaiba, "Seto Kaiba! Your helicopter! Could you steer it under the anchor so it doesn't fall?"

It was risky, it could get tangled in the chains, but it could also cut them, and if it came to it, that was better than nothing. They didn't have much time!

"I think it's totaled," Mokuba Kaiba said, "Running into the crane did too much damage."

"Damn it!" Matsuda cursed, though he probably shouldn't have in front of the child.

"The boxes are open!" Tea called out from the arena. "Joey did it!"

Somehow he had made it a draw. They had both lost all their life points, opening both of the little chests with keys inside. Tea helped Yugi out of his chains, while Serenity greeted her older brother, her bandages finally removed.

"Yes!" Matsuda hollered into the sky, "They're safe!"

"A little quieter, please," Watari said in his earpiece.

"Sorry," Matsuda whispered.

Now he just needed to find L, who had gone who knows where under the power of the Millennium Ring. That was why he was there, after all.

While the others happily reunited with their friends, Matsuda turned to Seto Kaiba, "Excuse me, I was told you could help me find someone."

"No," Kaiba cut him off. "I'm not chasing after any more geeks. I paid my debt to Tea for saving Mokuba, I'm done here."

Matsuda was about to protest when Mokuba Kaiba came running up to him. Matsuda wasn't sure whether it was to save Matsuda from his brother or to save Seto Kaiba from him.

"Mai said you were looking for someone," Mokuba said, "If they've got a Duel Disk, we can find them."

Matsuda's heart fell. "He's not participating in the tournament. Unless he stole one."

"I'll see what I can do," Mokuba said. Then he spoke into his collar, "I'm looking for a stolen Duel Disk."

"Understood," a man replied over a miniature speaker. Matsuda heard some clicking on the other end, and then the man gave them a series of times and coordinates.

"Thank you," Mokuba said. He turned to Matsuda, "Apparently there are a couple near the docks, and there's one that was just reported stolen that's at the cemetery."

It was starting to get dark. Going to a cemetery didn't sound like a good idea, but he had a feeling that was where he would find L and the Millennium Ring.

"Great! Thanks!" Matsuda exclaimed. He waved to the others. "I've got to go! Good luck in the finals! Call me if anything like this happens again!"

Then, he ran off.

It was a long jog to the cemetery, especially on out of shape legs. He just had to find L. So long as he found L, everything would be fine. He should have just met him at the station, but what would have happened to those kids then? There was no use in second guessing now. He just had to make up for his lost time.

His feet pounded against the pavement.

What would he do when he found L? The Ring was pretty powerful, wasn't it? He wondered if he could play that same trick as he did with Tristan and just grab it again, and then do what? Just stuff it in his bag again? All he knew was that it needed to be put in a safe where no one could ever get it again, or better yet, destroy it if that was even possible.

As he neared the cemetery, a fog set in. The sun had set by the time he reached a dark, wrought iron archway that gave way to a field of gravestones. In the evening light, the dark grey fog almost seemed purple. There was a chill in the air that somehow reminded him of the duel between Yugi and Pegasus at the end of the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Maybe he was just nervous about being in a cemetery at night, but he was looking for a dangerous Millennium Item. He couldn't help but wonder if he had stepped into a shadow game.

"L!" Matsuda called out into the night.

It felt wrong to use even the detective's alias out loud in public, but it was too late for that. Keeping L safe and alive was more important than preserving his anonymity.

He took a deep breath and stepped through the gate, into the cemetery.

He could almost hear people crying out, groaning in agony, but it was probably only the wind. The haze really did seem purple, but maybe he was just seeing things.

"L!" he called out again, "Are you here? Millennium Ring?"

He could see a glint of gold through the fog, and then a dim figure around it. It sent a chill down Matsuda's spine, but he ran toward it in the hope that it was L. First he could make out a white shirt that nearly glowed in the darkness, then dark pants and wild black hair. It looked like L, but he was standing up straight, his hair was even more wild than the detective's had ever been, and his eyes were sharply narrowed. Around his neck he wore the glowing gold Millennium Ring. In front of him were three teenage boys, cowering in fear.

"There you are!" Matsuda exclaimed, but he knew enough to be weary.

"Get out of my way or you'll be joining them in the Shadow Realm," L said in a deep, commanding, harsh voice that was not his.

Matsuda stepped between the boys and L, his arms out as though that could shield them. "I won't let you hurt them. What did they do to you?"

"We dueled and they lost," L said. It was not petulant, but disdainful and cruel.

There was a time to refuse to bargain with criminals, but now was not that time, not with so much at stake. "I'll stay out of your way so long as you leave them alone and let us all walk out of here."

It took a long time for L to reply. The wind howled and moaned. Maybe the real L was in there somewhere, doing something. Matsuda hoped he was.

Finally, L - actually the Ring using L's voice - said, "Fine. I don't have time for this. Go, but if you get in my way again, I will not be so merciful."

The purple fog faded to grey and the boys ran out of the graveyard as fast as they could. Matsuda followed L out onto the street.

"If you get in my way, I'll send you to the Shadow Realm without a second thought. Your weak friend will not be able to stop me," the Ring said.

"I won't do anything, I promise," Matsuda said, holding up his hands in surrender. "I just want to keep an eye on him."

The Ring scoffed, but said nothing more. He did not acknowledge Matsuda again as they wound through the darkened streets of Domino City. The Ring seemed to know where he was going, and Matsuda knew better than to question him. Now was the time to lay low.

A bright light flared in the distance, creating a halo around the half-complete stadium. It looked like that was where they were headed. They wound through the streets until they were white with its light and the walls loomed in front of them. L strode through one of the entry tunnels and Matsuda hurried after him. Even compared to the streets around it, the light inside the stadium was blinding. His eyes stung as he blinked everything back into focus.

"Matsuda!" Yugi and his friends called out, and ran over to him.

Yugi, Joey, Mai, Tea, Tristan, Duke Devlin, and Serenity had all made it, though it looked like only Yugi, Joey and Mai were dueling. Ryo Bakura had also joined them since Matsuda ran off to find L. He was eyeing L nervously, not that Matsuda blamed him. Now he also had to try to keep those two apart.

"Who's this guy," Joey jerked his thumb in L's direction, "And what's he doing with Bakura's Millenium Ring?"

"It's a long story," Matsuda hedged. "I'm here to keep an eye on him."

"You're all over the place, huh?" Mai said.

Matsuda was spared from further questioning by the arrival of another contestant. He was dressed like a Rare Hunter, in dark robes with an Egyptian eye on the hood. He was tall, and beneath his hood, Matsuda could make out a tattoo that covered half his face in hieroglyphics. This was Marik Ishtar, the leader of the Rare Hunters.

As the others talked among themselves, Matsuda finally got a look at who else was there. Light Yagami was standing on the outskirts of Yugi's large group of friends, next to another darker-skinned boy who Matsuda didn't know. There was L, of course, watching everyone from a little ways away with narrow eyes. And Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were overseeing the tournament - the older one was also participating.

Eventually, one of Kaiba's subordinates called them all to attention. "All eight of you are here. Now it's time to announce that although your locator cards led you here, this is not the site of the Battle City finals."

There was a broad cry of confusion, but everyone fell silent as the stadium lights turned toward the sky to illuminate Seto Kaiba's blimp, from which he had announced the beginning of the tournament. It was a terrible idea. They were going to all be stuck on a blimp for however long it took to complete the tournament with several magical objects of varying degrees of maliciousness, not to mention the leader of a criminal organization. It would take forever for the authorities to reach them if something went wrong, which it inevitably would.

"Wait a second!" Matsuda tried to stop it, but the only response he received was a pointed glare from L as the blimp landed in the center of the stadium and all the contestants and friends crowded clambered on board with varying degrees of enthusiasm and trepidation.

So, Matsuda followed L up the stairs and into the blimp.