By the time I woke up again, having no idea how long I've slept, we had arrived at Atlantis. Both Valon and Alister came in and gave Mai and I blindfolds so that we may leave the plane. I did what they said without question, though Mai was being a bit defiant. She refused to cooperate, having Alister almost to the point of punching her in the face. Valon tried to smooth talk his way into convincing her, which she did eventually cooperated. Though it was hard to tell if it was because Valon was charismatic enough or the fact she wanted him to shut up.

When I had the blindfold cover my vision again, I felt someone take a hold of one of my wrist. I assumed it was Alister. Silently, we then left the room, my heart starting to beat faster.

It wouldn't be long before I had to face Dartz, where I would be completely at his mercy. Physically, it would be the first time we would meet, and even though seeing him the Shadow Realm was terrifying, the thought of being face to face with him where he had the advantage was even worse.

"Stay calm, Roxanne. You must not show any weakness."

I heard Bakura's ghostly voice whisper in my ear, trying to give me some comfort. Suddenly, I felt a drastic change in the air temperature around us, the air becoming dramatically cold. We had left the plane, and now in the dark, closed in walls of a Atlantis's fallen palace. I could sense a great evil, a dark force that has been in these walls for centuries. A wicked force I was about to face.

After a long moment of walking, I noticed that the sounds of our footsteps has changed. Instead of hearing four pairs of footsteps hitting the ground, it changed to where I could only pick up to two pairs.

"They have seemed to have separated you and Mai," Bakura said, a dark tone in his voice. "The one you called Valon went down this hallway while Alister is taking you towards this room."

I felt my legs become weak for a second, causing me to stop walking.

"Is there something wrong?" Alister asked.

"...W-where are you taking me?" I demanded, my voice shaking. "I know you separated me from Mai!"

It took awhile for Alister to reply.

"...Master Dartz wanted to see you as soon as you arrived. Valon has taken Mai to her room. She will be safe."

Instinctively, I took a hold of Alister's hand and squeezed it tightly, my breathing quickening as I couldn't control my fear.

"...I do not know what Master Dartz wants with you," Alister said, sounding slightly sympathetic, "but you don't need to be afraid."

He squeezed my hand back.

"I promise you nothing bad will happen."

How can you be that confident?

It was not a question I dare ask out loud. When I didn't say anything else, we started moving again.

"If anything goes wrong, I will be here to protect you," Bakura said. "There is nothing you need to fear."

Yeah, right...

Soon enough, I heard a large door open.

"Master Dartz," Alister called out. "I have brought you Roxanne Thorndyke."

My heart skipped a beat.

"Her, this is her?!" Yako's voice echoed among the room. "This is the girl who caused Master Pegasus's death!?"

"Keep your voice down," Rafael's voice came in. "You must not speak unless Master Dartz allows you to."

"My master's killer is in this room!" Yako shouted, his voice full of rage and grief. "You don't expect me to just-"

"Silence, Yako. Be patient. Your revenge will come shortly."

Dartz's cool voice made me my skin crawl with fear. I could picture him sitting on a large throne, me standing before him like a criminal would a king. I half expected to be force to bow for him, as it would be very fitting for the moment.

"You can take off her blindfold, Alister," Dartz said, his voice filled with glee. "Miss Thorndyke is our guest, there is no reason to blind her."

"Yes, sir."

I felt Alister undo the blindfold. Taking it away, my vision became clear.

I was indeed in the ruins of Atlantis, as the throne room appeared just like it did in the anime where Dartz and his minions discussed their evil plans. Dartz, just like I imagined, was sitting on a old stone throne, a small smile on his face as his mismatched eyes stared down at me. Glancing over, I saw Rafael and Yako, their eyes on me. Meeting Yako's eyes, I could see intense hatred flowing through them, hatred so intense that I could practically feel it stabbing into me. I quickly looked away from him, keeping my focus only on Dartz.

"So, now you finally have me in your control," I said, my voice surprisingly steady for the amount of fear I felt. "I assume I am going to be turned into a puppet for you to use, or perhaps have my soul sacrificed to bring back the Great Leviathan?"

Dartz smirked.

"I will admit, your soul would make a great addition to the Great Leviathan's revival," he replied, "but that would not be using you to your fullest potential of a bigger plan."

He got up from his throne and approached me.

"I must remind you once again that my goals are not as straightforward as they were in your anime. After all, if my plans were just to rise the Great Leviathan..."

He turned his gaze towards Yako.

"...he would not be standing in the same room as you and I."

Yako narrowed his eyes, clutching his fists tightly as he desperately wanted to speak up. Dartz chuckled softly, and I could tell he was greatly enjoying the moment. I narrowed my eyes.

We glared at each other for a long moment, our wills slightly in battle. At this rate, I was not going to get anywhere, as from the look in his eyes, Dartz was predicting my every move. He would expect me to put up a fight, resist everything he offered and find a way to control me from my lack of cooperation. So, in order to throw him off...

"...Grr, enough with these games, Dartz!"

With the silencing irritating him, Yako approached us, his whole body shaking with rage.

"You promised me that once she was brought to you, you will let me have my revenge!" he exclaimed. "I demand that you give in your end of the bargain!"

Dartz gave a soft sigh.

"Hush, Yako. This is far bigger than you could ever image. You will have your revenge, but you must allow fate to take its course and play up to your part."

Yako's eyes widened.

"'Play my part?!' You never said anything about playing some part! All you said was-"

"Then perhaps you should have listened more carefully to my words," Dartz replied coldly. "Now, stand down."

Yako glared at him. I could feel the intense emotion coming off of him, and if it wasn't for Dartz and everyone else in the room, who knows what Yako would be trying to do to me. Unlike Yu-Gi-Oh R, he didn't seem to be as scheming and collective, but more unstable and revenge-crazed. Though Dartz was the true villain here, I feared more of my safety from Yako then from him. At least with Dartz there was some negotiation involved, but Yako...

"Alister, take Miss Thorndyke to her room," Dartz finally said, his eyes remaining on Yako. "Allow her to get settle in before we get into the more complex matters."

"I don't think that will be necessary."

Everyone turned their attention onto me, as I did my best to keep my face calm and in control.

Dartz smiled. "And why won't it be necessary? Do you believe I should allow my guest to be involved with personal matters that do not concern them?"

"Unless that guest wished to become something more than a guest. One who wants to become involved."

I met his gaze.

"I wish to join you, Dartz."