Kisara had to admit she was worried. She had never seen Kyo this far behind in a duel before. Sure, Sirius had a habit of filling his side of the field with dragons, but even then, Kyo had always had a Winged Kuriboh or a Mirror Force – something to take him down. But Kyo hadn't used her facedown card, which she surely would have if it had been a way to start one of those chains and turn this duel around.

Plus, these were her father's cards. Dark Magician, and Dark Magician Girl – they were stronger than Kyo's Kuriboh. If even they had been defeated, then how would Kyo win? If she lost, she'd lose one of her most powerful cards.

So why was Kyo looking so relaxed?

She's always so composed. Kisara thought in awe. As if she knows she's going to win. I can't think how, but…

That's never stopped her before, has it?

"I'm afraid your magician isn't as powerful as you think, Dwayne." Kyo said, lifting the card she'd drawn. "I've got something better."

He twitched.

"In order to summon it, I need to banish one light monster, and one dark monster." She smirked. "And I banish Winged Kuriboh… and my Dark Magician."

"Decided he's useless after all?" Dwayne muttered, but he didn't sound quite so cocky.

He knew what was coming.

"On the contrary, Dwayne," Kyo said fiercely, "I'm going to use him to destroy you. But first, I summon Black Luster Soldier, Envoy of the Beginning!" She threw the card down.

A rift formed in the air over the field, and out of it emerged the chaos soldier, clad in night-blue armor and wielding a wicked scimitar.

"Of course, I can't attack," She said, "But that won't stop a creature of chaos." She spread her arms. "Black Luster Soldier, banish his Master Magician! Send him to the dark dimension!"

The soldier's lip curled, and he lifted his scimitar. He leapt into the air, slicing through the sky overhead. Another rift appeared, and started sucking in the world around it.

Endymion resisted for a few seconds, but even the Master Magician was no match.

Kyo grinned at Dwayne's scowl. "And that's not all." She shot back, flipping over one of her facedown cards. "Escape from the Dark Dimension, which lets me bring back one of my banished dark monsters." She spread her hands. "Dark Magician, return!"

Out of the still-open rift came a shadow, which shot down to land beside the chaos soldier. It straightened, reforming as the Dark Magician.

A flicker of relief passed through her, and she turned. "Your move, Dwayne."

He looked sour.

"I set one monster facedown and switch my two Valkyria to defense mode." He said irritably.

"My move." Kyo drew. "Black Luster Soldier, banish one of his Valkyria!"

The soldier opened up the rift, and she was sucked up out of sight. Dwayne braced himself, grimacing.

"And without your second Valkyria," She thrust out her hand. "Your barrier is broken! Now, I can attack. Dark Magician, attack his other Valkyria!"

He flew up into the air, spinning his staff, and brandished it with a shout. A purple orb of power shot down, and the Valkyria was destroyed.

Kyo's eyes narrowed. "Your move."

Dwayne drew, but his expression was still stony. "I set one card facedown and end my turn."

Kyo smirked. "My move." She drew. Hmm. That might be a good backup if he finds a way to come back. She looked up at the field. Plus, I don't know what his facedown monster is. I could attack now, but I don't want to blow it. "Black Luster Soldier, banish his facedown monster!"

It turned out to be another Magical Undertaker. But because it was banished, Dwayne couldn't use its effect.

"Dark Magician, destroy his Royal Magical Library!" She shouted.

The library went up in flames.

"Lastly, I'll set one monster and one card facedown on the field." She said. "Your move, Dwayne."

He drew. "I place one monster facedown and end my turn." He said sourly.

This is it. She thought, drawing. And isn't that appropriate. She smirked, then looked down at Kisara.

There was an entire crowd watching. Kyo was momentarily disoriented; she had been so caught up in the duel that she hadn't noticed the attention she'd been getting.

She was profoundly glad she was winning.

She sought out Kisara, and as their eyes met, she winked. Kisara blinked, then grinned back.

"All right, Dwayne." Kyo turned back to the field. "This is the end. Black Luster Soldier, banish his facedown monster!"

An Apprentice Magician was sucked up into the sky.

Her fists clenched. This is it. "Dark Magician!" She called, and he looked back at her. Their eyes met, and he nodded silently. She felt a flicker of relief, and raised her hand. "Attack him directly!" She commanded. "Wipe out the rest of his life points with Dark Magic Attack!"

The magician leapt into the air, raising his staff, and Kyo caught herself admiring him. Even Endymion and his fancy castle didn't really compare. Not right here, not in this very moment.

He spun, brandishing his staff, and a blast of purple energy shot down to Dwayne's side of the field. The scoreboard ringed as his life points dropped to zero, and there was a bell as the winner was declared.

The monsters started to fade, and Dark Magician looked back, meeting her gaze one last time.

Thank you. She said fervently, and he nodded as he vanished.

I'm going to be a lot more careful going forward. She added as she picked up her cards.

"That was amazing!"

"That was so cool how you came from behind like that!"

"Can I see your Black Luster Soldier?"

"Do you want to duel?"

She forced her way through the crowd and found Kisara, who gave her a quick hug.

"Nice job, Kyo." She said quietly.

"Thanks." Kyo smiled back, then turned to seek out Dwayne. He was still coming down from his stand. "Hey," She came over and held out her hand. "Good duel."

"Hmph." Dwayne grunted, looking away and not taking her hand.

Kyo blinked. "You dueled well. It was a tough fight." She said bracingly.

"You're just lucky you drew Black Luster Soldier." He snapped, slapping the two Magician's Valkyria into her hand. "If you hadn't, I would've won."

She frowned as he shunted her out of the way, but she let him go; a few minutes ago, she thought it would have been her handing over something just as precious, so she wasn't about to fault him for his lack of sportsmanship.

"Can I see?" Kisara asked, peering over her shoulder. "What are they?"

"Magician's Valkyria." Kyo said, lifting them. "If you have one on the field, then your opponent can't attack any other spellcasters. But if you have two on the field, well then,"

"They can't attack any at all." Kisara smiled. "Those are pretty powerful, huh?"

"Yeah." Kyo looked back at them. "While they don't protect my Kuriboh, I still think they'll be invaluable in my deck." She looked around. "I think I'm going to try the store and get a couple of booster packs. I'm still transitioning between Kuriboh and Dark Magician, and I almost lost this duel because of that. I need more cards to support him."

"Your Dark Magician?" Kisara asked.

"Yeah." Kyo nodded. She could see that Kisara looked nervous; she was probably expecting Kyo to mention the fact that she needed to duel, too. "Do you mind if we do that real quick?" She asked. If she gave Kisara a little time to work up to it, she might be more ready to duel.

"Sure!" Kisara said, relieved. "I think the stores are over this way," She pointed.

"Excellent." Kyo started off, and Kisara followed quickly.

"What did you think of the duel?" Kyo asked as she scanned the shelves.

Kisara was looking around at the other duelists in the shop, but turned as she spoke. "I thought you were amazing." She said instantly. "Especially the way you brought Dark Magician back by banishing him first."

Kyo snorted. "I was terrible. I didn't have anywhere near enough support cards to protect Dark Magician, and his Endymion would have taken me out if I didn't have Black Luster Soldier." She shook her head. "No, I need a better strategy."

"What are you thinking?" Kisara asked curiously.

"Well, first off, I should have done this first." Kyo grabbed a spellcaster booster pack. "And I think I'll need some more general cards. Right now all I have is Kuriboh with a dash of spellcaster, and that really doesn't work anywhere near as well as I'd like." She took the two card packs up to the counter. "These, please." She said.

"Have you checked out our specials?" The lady asked, patting a case of single cards. "Endymion, the Master Magician. One day only, while supplies last! You can get Endymion for ten, or you can get the entire deck for fifty – a bargain price for an unbeatable spellcaster deck! Mythical Beast Cerberus, Royal Magical Library, and Magician's Valkyria are all included."

Kyo blinked, then smiled wryly. Guess that's where Dwayne got his deck… She shook her head. "Thank you, but no thanks." She paused. "Do you have anything for Dark Magician?"

"Dark Magician?" The lady queried thoughtfully. "That's one of the older cards, isn't it?" She went to her computer, missing Kyo's grumpy expression.

"Kyo?" Kisara asked cautiously.

"It's nothing." She said. For some reason, every time she heard someone say that –that Dark Magician was an old card or wasn't as powerful as it used to be– made her want to feature it in her deck even more. She knew there were ways to make any card work if you really wanted to, but the thought that even the world had moved on from this card was intolerable.

If Dad hadn't abandoned him, I bet it wouldn't have. She thought bitterly. I bet, if that had been Dad's favorite card, and he always used it, that there would be all kinds of support for it.

"Oh, that's right." The lady said suddenly. "I have a retro pack in the back. It's got things like a Thousand Knives and Dark Magic Curtain. Will that do?"

"Yes, please." Kyo said quickly.

The woman smiled. "It'll be nice to finally have it out. No one asks for Dark Magician cards anymore." She hustled into the back, and Kyo bristled.

"Kyo?" Kisara asked again.

"I don't care what it takes." Kyo said in a fierce undertone. "My deck's going to be the strongest deck out there, and Dark Magician's going to be my star."

Kisara blinked. "Are you sure?" She asked. "I mean, if it doesn't have a lot of support cards, wouldn't it be better if you picked something else?"

"No way. No way." Kyo said firmly.

The woman came back out. "And you know what, since you're the first person who's asked for them in so long, I'll give them to you for free." She set the pack on the counter next to the other two. "How's that?"

"That's fine." Kyo said quickly.

"All right, your total is twelve-fifty."

She passed the money over and swept the card packs up off the counter. "Thanks."

The lady smiled again. "Have fun dueling!"

Kyo was steaming as she tore through the card packs. Hmph. 'One of the older cards'. 'Retro'. 'No one ever asks for them'. She flipped through the card packs. These are decent cards! Why doesn't anyone use them?

I will. She promised. I will, and I'll be a great duelist, too. I'll show them all.

She paused and looked over at the card. There was a flicker, and she looked up to see him standing invisibly beside them.

"I am honored, but you need not compromise for me." He said quietly. "I will protect you in whatever way I can… even if it means allowing myself to be sent to the graveyard to ensure your victory."

Kyo gazed back. Why? She asked. Why are you so loyal to me? We've never even met before.

He gave her a sad smile. "All my life, it has been my duty to look after you, regardless of what form that takes."

The pharaoh, right? Kyo asked. How am I a pharaoh…?

"Kyo? You okay?" Kisara asked.

She twitched and looked around at her. "Yeah." She mumbled vaguely, then looked back at him. How could I be some kind of pharaoh?

"You are not, not anymore." The Dark Magician said. "You chose to be reincarnated. Your soul was reborn."

Kyo bit her lip. But wouldn't that free you from your duty to protect me? If I'm a completely new person… how do you know that's what you want to do?

She could feel his amusement like a warmth in her soul. "Because you never change, Master." He said gently.

She thought about that.

"Aw shucks!"

They both looked up as a gust of wind hit them. Kyo had a strong grip on her cards, but the one who'd spoken hadn't been so lucky; his cards were flying across the ground.

They both got up instantly and ran forward to help him. Kyo tucked her cards into her pocket and pounced on a set of four, and Kisara grabbed another two.

"Thanks," The boy, looking very embarrassed, ran up. "Can't believe I let that 'appen." He said in a thick southern accent.

"Here you go." Kyo picked them up carefully and held them out.

"They're so beautiful," Kisara said with a smile as she studied one. "Crystal Beast Ruby Carbuncle?"

"Yup," He grinned. "I know it's kinda cheap t' use a recipe deck, but I've 'ad these cards f'r ages, and they've always been there when I need 'em most. Silly, right?"

"That's not silly at all." Kyo smiled warmly. He seems nice enough. She thought. And Kisara took a liking to him. "Say, are you a duelist?" She asked.

"I shore am. You?" He returned.

"Yes, but I'm in the middle of restructuring my deck." Kyo said ruefully. "I'd love to see your monsters in action, though. I've heard of the Crystal Beasts." She hadn't, but she'd noticed a Crystal Beast Sapphire Pegasus and Crystal Beast Cobalt Eagle. All three of them were low-level monsters.

"Yeah? Dang." He rubbed the back of his head. "You mus' really know your cards. It's not a very well-known deck. I'm Jesse, by the way." He held out his hand.

"Jesse. My name's Kyo, and this is Kisara, my friend." Kyo introduced. She looked over at Kisara. "What do you think, Kis? Want to duel him?"

She blushed shyly. "Um," She mumbled.

"Hey, I'm up for a duel anytime." Jesse grinned. "O' course, we'd 'ave to use a dueling arena. I don't 'ave a dueldisk."

"We don't either, so that works out." Kyo said. She didn't think Kisara was ready to step up, even to someone this polite, so she didn't ask; she'd gotten enough of Kisara's permission from her failure to retract it.

"Awright. I know a place. Not a lotta people go there, so there's always a ring open." Jesse said, waving. "It's a bit of a hike, but the crowds're a lot smaller. It's nice when you're tryin' t' concentrate."

Perfect. "That sounds good. We'll follow you." Kyo grinned.