Bakura: Where's the author?

Aziza: Sulking.

Bakura: Why?

Aziza: She's a little upset. She sees numbers on her traffic chart, but that's it. No reviews for the last couple of chapters.

Bakura: Ouch. I guess I'm stuck doing this then. Anything recognizable is not owned by Ashley.

Aziza/Ginny

*Ryo/Bakura*

Yami/Yugi

"Pharaoh. Yugi."

Yugi blinked sleepily. He was floating in the air, hovering over a giant castle…

Wait, what? Yugi's shock woke him completely. Yes, he was hovering over a castle he had never seen before with Yami next to him.

"How did we get here? Are we dreaming?"

"I don't know, Yugi." Yami looked around for whoever brought them here. Something roared. Chills ran up Yugi's spine, and he turned around. Dread filled him at the sight of a giant eye with a slit pupil in the air not far off. Tiny figures were being sucked toward it.

"Giant eyes are never a good thing," Yugi gulped.

A shining pink sphere appeared in front of them. When the light faded, Yugi found himself face to face with Dark Magician Girl.

"Pharaoh! Yugi," she exclaimed with a relieved grin. "I'm so glad to see you. We need your help."

"We?" Yami asked, glancing at the eye every once in a while.

Dark Magician Girl nodded. "The others and myself. The Great Leviathan is taking them prisoner." She looked down sadly.

"How can we help?" Yugi asked immediately, hating to see anyone upset. Dark Magician Girl smiled widely at him, tears still visible in her eyes.

"What is the Leviathan?" Yami added.

The beast growled again. Dark Magician Girl grabbed both Yugi's and Yami's wrists, teleporting them into the castle. Behind her were three enormous ice sculptures in the shape of dragons.

"As long as humankind has existed, the Dominion of the Beasts has coexisted alongside it. Certain humans have been able to summon these creatures, either to help the world or destroy it. Ten thousand years ago, the Great Leviathan was summoned and attempted to destroy the world." She waved at the dragon sculptures. "These three dragons fought against it and locked it away, but at a price. Now only the three Chosen Duelists can release them, so they can defend this world- and the human world- once more."

Yugi and Yami glanced at each other. "What if you're wrong?" Yami asked.

Dark Magician Girl shook her head. "I'm not wrong. You prevented the Shadows from taking control of your world five thousand years ago. You can release this dragon." She flew above the dragon with a sword in its eye.

Yugi moved until he was in arm's reach of the sword, with Yami right behind him. The both reached for the hilt and pulled. The sword loosened and broke free. The ice cracked, revealing a green dragon even bigger than Kaiba's Blue Eyes.

"You've done it!" Dark Magician Girl cried. A wave of energy pulsed over Yugi's skin, warm like the sun. He smiled slightly, reaching out with Yami to touch its snout. The scales were cool beneath his hand. A name popped into his mind.

"Timaeus," he and Yami called out together. The dragon looked them in the eye and roared.

Aziza knocked on Yugi's door. "Yugi, wake up."

Nobody answered, so Aziza knocked louder. She heard Ron groan, "Go 'way." She rolled her eyes and opened the door. Ron and Harry took up most of the space on Yugi's floor, so she had to climb over their splayed limbs carefully to avoid stepping on them while trying to reach Yugi. Hedwig opened one eye, hooted softly, and went back to sleep. She sat down on the bed and shook his shoulder. "Yugi, get up. You have school."

Yugi sat up immediately, eyes flying open. Aziza laughed softly. "You still have time. Your grandpa says Téa doesn't get here for another fifteen minutes."

He sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Thanks, Aziza."

She nodded and left the room, purposefully stepping on Ron as she passed him. Ron yelped and jumped up, cursing. He tripped over Harry, who sat up and reached for his glasses. Harry blinked at Aziza's smirking face. "Morning."

"Hi, Harry. You two need to clear out so Yugi can get ready for school."

She closed the door behind her, but she could clearly hear Ron say, "You still have school? That sucks."

Ginny laughed through the mind link. Nice one!

It was an accident, Aziza replied innocently.

Even if I wasn't able to read your mind, I would know that was a lie.

"Well, that was easy," Hermione commented when she reached the kitchen.

"What was?"

"Getting Ron up. What did you do, anyway?"

Aziza shrugged. "I'm sure he'll tell you himself."

Sure enough, a few minutes later Ron and Harry came into the kitchen. Ron leveled a death glare at Aziza. "Did you have to step on me?"

"Did you have to take up half the floor?" she retorted.

"It's not my fault that room is so small!"

Harry coughed. "Where are Sirius and Mr. Muto?"

"Opening the shop," Hermione told him. "There's cereal in the cupboard."

Still scowling, Ron turned to raid the cupboard. Harry fetched a couple of bowls and spoons. Ron poured his bowl to nearly overflowing and shoved it toward Harry.

Great, Ginny groaned. He's going to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day.

Aziza sighed silently. Sorry.

It's not your fault, Ginny replied immediately. He's just being an ass.

Yugi came into the kitchen. Harry handed him the box of cereal and another bowl.

"Thanks," Yugi told him. He looked at Hermione and waved the box. "Do you want some?"

She shook her head. "I ate earlier." Yugi glanced at Aziza. She shook her head. He shrugged and put the box back.

Aziza retreated to her Soul Room, letting Ginny have control of her body. She lay back on her canopied bed. A painting of her brother, Mana, Kyra, Mahad, and herself hung on the wall across from her. A bookshelf stretched to the ceiling on either side of the painting, each one holding books. Some were thick tomes; others were the size of children's paperbacks. On the wall at the foot of her bed, there was a wardrobe made of cedar wood. Inside were several dresses she remembered wearing, along with some more modern clothes. A table sat underneath her portrait that contained a senet board, her duel deck, a box containing spare cards, a jewelry box, modern pictures, and clay figurines.

She sighed. Something was wrong with Kyra. She said the Shadows were acting weird. Asking Kyra was out of the question; she didn't look too well when she was summoned the night before. She could see if her brother would let her borrow Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. Perhaps Mana or Mahad would have some answers. Yes, she decided, once Yugi came home she would ask to borrow the cards.

Hey, Aziza, we have visitors. Ginny sounded like she was suppressing laughter. Aziza tapped into the link, curious but wary. Through Ginny's eyes, she saw two people she had never seen before. One of them had gray hair and a mustache. He wore a beige suit and a red bowtie. The second one was a blonde, about Yugi's height, and wore a short skirt, glasses, and a white shirt and tie under a pink jacket. She was clutching Yugi like he was a teddy bear. Yugi's eyes were wide, and he was subtly trying to tug himself from the girl's grip. Aziza's eyes widened.

Who are they? She asked, materializing beside Ginny's chair.

Ron and Harry were hiding in a corner, trying to keep silent. Hermione rolled her eyes at their antics.

Professor Hawkins and his granddaughter, Rebecca.

Ginny finally managed to get a hold of herself as somebody knocked on the door. "I'll get it." She opened the door and found Téa on the other side. "Oh, hey Téa." She turned around. "Yugi, time to go."

Aziza never knew somebody so small could move so fast. Ginny wasn't even finished with her sentence before Yugi was out the door. Téa raised her eyebrows. He shook his head, taking off. Téa followed him. Aziza felt mischief coming from Ginny and grinned.

You've been spending too much time with the twins.

I don't see you stopping me.

"I'll be back!" Ginny called into the house before closing the door and catching up to the two. "Wait up!"

Yugi turned in surprise. "Ginny, you don't need to follow us everywhere."

Ginny smiled politely. "You make me sound like a puppy. I've just never seen a Muggle school, and I'm curious." Téa looked confused. "Non-magical people," she told her. Téa nodded.

"Well, come on! We can't be late."

The two of them talked about the kinds of classes Domino High had and how their schedules worked. The explanations fascinated Ginny, who had been homeschooled before going to Hogwarts. Soon, they reached the school. Joey and Tristan were waiting for them.

"Wow," Ginny said, looking at the building. "Well, I'd better be going." She grinned innocently at Yugi. "I'll tell your girlfriend you'll see her later, shall I?"

Yugi's face went redder than Ginny's hair. Joey, Tristan and Téa gaped at him.

"Girlfriend?!" they all asked. Aziza thought she detected a hint of jealousy in Téa's tone. Yami appeared behind Yugi, shaking his head at them but trying to hide a smile. Aziza grinned at him.

Ginny waved goodbye as the Japanese students disappeared inside. Aziza sensed a pulse of energy she associated with the Items coming from nearby. She rolled her eyes, having a good idea who it was. Ginny turned around and came face to face with Ryo. Hovering over his shoulder, a malicious smirk on his face, was Bakura.

"So, the runt has a girlfriend, and it's not his cheerleader."

Ryo sighed. Ginny smiled at him in support. "Maybe if we just ignore him, he'll go away."

Ryo shook his head. Bakura glared at her. Aziza tensed. If he made a move toward her, he would not be pleased with the consequences.

"She was just teasing Yugi. Someone showed up at the Game Shop and embarrassed him, so Ginny decided his friends should have a chance."Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Maybe if you're good, you'll be able to eavesdrop."

"If you have time, come by the shop. I want to talk to you about the duel last night," Ginny told Ryo.

"Oh? What about it?" he asked.

"What we can expect if we have to go up against it," Ginny said.

Ryo nodded. "I'll try."A bell rang. "I have to go."

"Bye, Ryo!"

Bakura took over Ryo's body when they reached the classroom. The Friendship Freaks were huddled around Yugi's desk. Joey and Tristan were grinning stupidly. Téa did not look pleased.

*Please don't get into an argument this early. School hasn't even started,* Ryo begged.

*Which makes it that much easier.*

"Hey, guys," he said in Ryo's soft voice.

They all looked up. "Hey, Ryo," they chorused.

Bakura frowned. "When did you start calling me Ryo?"

Joey counted on his fingers. "Yesterday, a couple of days ago, something like that. See, I thought it'd be easier to tell you apart from your evil half by calling you by your first name instead of your last name; you know, since you share a name and all." He shrugged. "I guess the others felt the same way."

Yugi frowned. "That's okay, isn't it?"

Bakura sensed Ryo's grin and smiled. It didn't reach his eyes. "Yes, that's fine with me. So, what are you all arguing about?"

Tristan scoffed. "We're not arguing. Yugi just has a girlfriend that he's been keeping secret from us."

Yugi was blushing. "She's not my girlfriend! Ginny was just messing with me."

Bakura grinned. "I didn't know you were dating Ginny. Moving a bit fast, are we?"

If possible, Yugi's face got even redder and he grimaced. "No! That's wrong on so many levels."

"Really?" Joey asked. "Then who's the lucky girl?"

Yugi's Puzzle glowed. "Rebecca Hawkins is under the impression that she and Yugi are dating," the Pharaoh said. The red faded from his cheeks.

"Rebecca Hawkins? The snot nosed brat who dueled you for Gramps' Blue Eyes card?" Joey's mouth gaped.

The Pharaoh nodded. "She and Professor Hawkins stopped by the Game Shop before we left. Unfortunately, Ginny was there and decided to have a little fun."

Bakura laughed. Maybe this hikari wasn't so bad after all.

The teacher came in, breaking them all up. Bakura handed the body back over to Ryo and went to his Soul Room. It was actually a good thing Rebecca decided to crush on the pipsqueak, instead of the Pharaoh. Otherwise, Bakura knew two people who would rip her to tiny pieces and a third who would attempt to turn her into a toad. She probably wouldn't have succeeded, but she would have tried her damndest.

During break time, Bakura was disturbed by a malevolent energy coming from outside the Ring. It was similar to the power he felt last night during his duel, only this energy was much more powerful. Bakura instantly took control and joined the crowd of students at the window. The sky had blackened and filled with an aurora. A collection of giant stalactites hung at the center of the aurora. They broke apart and fell to the earth, revealing a slit pupil inside a giant yellow eye. Bakura's eyes widened at the power that creature held. The eye seemed to be glaring directly at him. He raised his eyebrows, silently daring the beast to do something. He ignored the panicked chattering of the other people in the room. An announcement came over the intercom- probably stay inside and away from the windows- but he remained where he was, silently facing off against the eye. The world around him faded, until it was just the two of them.

The eye's attention shifted. Sound returned. Joey was shouting something. The teacher snapped at him.

"-not going out there!"

"I'm not gonna leave my best friend out there!"

Bakura followed the eye's gaze. Of course. The Pharaoh and his hikari were outside, facing the monster that would harm their friends. The eye conjured a tornado and aimed it at the hikari. It struck.

"Yugi!" Tristan and Téa shouted fearfully. The tornado faded; he was still standing. Bakura knew from experience it would take a lot more than a little wind to keep those two down.

Yugi reached into his pocket and withdrew a card. He held it up in the air, summoning a Monster unlike any Bakura had ever seen. It was a dragon with smooth green scales, probably bigger than Kaiba's Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon. It flew toward the eye, retaliating with a fire blast. The eye blasted more wind at the dragon. The dragon merely opened its maw wider, blasting through the whirlwind and striking the beast. It disappeared and the sun came out again. Everyone in the classroom cheered. Téa clutched Tristan's arm in relief. "He did it!"

"Of course he did!" Joey came over. "Was there ever any doubt?"

Bakura was still watching Yugi. He looked at the card in his hand. Dark Magician Girl materialized next to him, holding her staff in front of her. The Pharaoh appeared beside Yugi as they talked to her. Dark Magician Girl brought her staff up and waved it in a diagonal motion across her body so the top of it was pointing at him.

"Help them," her voice whispered in his head.

He scoffed. "Not a chance," he replied softly.

"Then help her."

"Why should I?"

"Because you've done it before."

Bakura couldn't find a suitable reply.

Yugi came back into the classroom. After a lecture from the teacher and countless apologies on Yugi's part, class resumed. Not even a monster in the sky shut down school, it seemed.

Bakura allowed Ryo to finish out the school day in peace. He smirked at Ryo's unease, since peace for Ryo generally meant plotting on Bakura's end. *Worried, landlord?*

*Yes,* Ryo immediately replied. *What are you thinking about?*

*Nothing that you need to worry about.* Ryo was still skeptic, but he let it drop. They both knew that an annoyed Bakura was never pleasant…and that was putting it nicely. *Our presence has been requested at the Game Shop, if I recall.*

Ryo let other students rush out of the classroom ahead of him, waiting for the Pharaoh and his friends. "Yugi, would it be alright if I came over to your place?"

Yugi blinked. Ryo almost never accompanied them anywhere, and for good reason. The Thief King and the Pharaoh mixed like oil and water when they faced each other without Ryo as a 'buffer'; in other words, when Bakura didn't imitate his hikari. "Sure," he said after a moment.

Joey and Tristan walked at the back of the group, whispering. Bakura came out of the Ring to eavesdrop.

"We just need to keep an eye on him," Joey was saying. "That way he won't be able to spring a trap on us."

"Look, Aziza's going to be there. She and the Pharaoh will deal with him if he gets out of hand."

"I'll deal with him. I'll give him a present he'll never forget."

Bakura rolled his eyes at their bravado. He had been dealt much worse before he was ten. He could take both of them on his worst day.

*But could you take Aziza?* Ryo asked. It wasn't mocking, just genuine curiosity. Bakura glared daggers into the back of his head anyway.

Yugi pushed open the door when they reached the shop. "I'm home!"

Hermione was at the counter, reading. The Millennium Necklace glinted in the light. She looked up. "Hey, guys. Your grandpa and Professor Hawkins are in the living room. He said he wants to talk to you, Yugi."

Yugi looked confused. "He's been here all day?"

Hermione shook her head. "They went to the museum and hung out around town. They just got back a little over an hour ago." Yugi was halfway to the door when Hermione added, "Rebecca's in there, too. I just thought I'd give you a heads up."

Yugi took off his backpack and set it down on the counter. "I think I'll take over for you now, Hermione."

Joey and Tristan each grabbed an arm. "Oh, no you don't."

"You don't want to keep little Becky waiting!"

Téa whacked both of them on the heads. "Let him go, you morons."

Hermione frowned. "Sorry, Yugi, but I have to agree with them. It sounded like what Professor Hawkins has to say is pretty important."

Yugi sighed, visibly steeling himself before opening the door and going in. Bakura stood right next to him, so he got to see Yugi's eyes widen as a pink and blue blur launched itself at him. He toppled backward under the weight. Joey caught them before they hit the floor.

"Hey, Yugi!" a girl cooed. She didn't look older than thirteen. Bakura grimaced at the sweetness oozing off her. "I missed you. How was your day?"

"Uh, fine, Rebecca. How was yours?"

"Boring. But it's better now that you're here."

Bakura couldn't take it any longer. He pushed Ryo's stunned mind aside and moved into the living room, purposefully knocking into Rebecca. Ginny, Scarecrow, their guardian and Harry were in various places around the room but they all faced the couch, where Yugi's grandfather sat next to an old man. Bakura presumed this was Professor Hawkins.

"Hey, watch it!" the girl cried.

"Now, Rebecca," the professor chided gently.

She hung her head, abashed. "Sorry, Gramps." She let go of Yugi and went to sit by her grandfather. Yugi sighed in relief.

"Hi, Professor Hawkins," the four of them greeted him.

Professor Hawkins nodded in return. "Well, Yugi, it seems like you've had an interesting day."

Yugi nodded. Bakura ignored them and moved toward Crookshanks, who was curled up in Sirius's lap. Crookshanks looked at him, judging. Bakura held his fingers in front of him but didn't try to approach the cat, waiting for him to make the first move. Crookshanks finally came over, sniffing his fingers delicately.

"There seems to be a world of creatures that exists alongside our world. Throughout the centuries, certain people have been able to control these creatures. Some have tried to protect the world, while others have tried to destroy it."

"Bakura," Aziza coughed.

Crookshanks nudged Bakura's fingers, allowing him to pet him. Bakura genuinely smiled. It was small, but it was there.

"But these monsters didn't originate in Egypt; my research indicates they existed ten thousand years ago, in the legendary city of Atlantis."

"Wait, what?" several voices exclaimed. Bakura tuned fully into the conversation. Professor Hawkins handed Yugi some pictures.

"That's the eye we saw earlier!" He passed the pictures around. When they reached Bakura, he looked intently at the pictures. One picture had the eye in the center. Around it was a shadowy figure. Bakura could make out arms and legs and what might be a tail. He subtly pocketed the picture and handed them back.

*We have to fix this, fast.*

Gramps took Professor Hawkins and Yugi's wanna-be girlfriend to the airport. Joey collapsed on the floor, sprawling out. This whole thing was utterly confusing. A giant eye in the sky sucking up monsters? Two worlds side by side? Why did the weird stuff always happen to them?

"How does Kyra fit into this?" Hermione asked. The shop was closed for the night, and they had filled her in on everything. She had been very disappointed when she found out that she didn't get the chance to talk to the guy who discovered Atlantis. Yugi also told them about Dark Magician Girl and the dragon he used to scare off the monster.

"Who?"

"Magician's Valkyria. She was human once, now she's a card in Ginny's deck." Ron shook his head. "Don't ask me how that happened."

"The Orichalcos overrides Shadow Magic," Bakura told them absentmindedly. Joey opened an eye to watch him. Bakura still gave him chills.

"You said the Ring didn't work in the Seal," Ginny remembered.

"Wait, when did this happen? What's an Ori-whatsis?" Tristan asked.

"The Seal of Orichalcos is a dangerous card. The player who uses it is at a very strong advantage, and if you win, you get to keep your soul."

Joey shivered. "It's Duelist Kingdom all over again, isn't it?"

"Worse," Yugi sighed. "The Leviathan is more powerful than Pegasus."

The phone rang. Yugi got up to answer it. "Hello? Hey, Marik!" Everyone's ears perked. "Okay, let me put you on speaker. Yugi clicked a button.

"Hey, guys. We found something on the monsters. Ishizu was right; about ten thousand years ago, humans and monsters coexisted in the legendary city of Atlantis."

"Yeah, Professor Hawkins told us about it. He actually found the place," Hermione said excitedly.

"Wow! Pictures or it didn't happen. Anyway, eventually some of the monsters decided to stop playing nice. One of those, the Great Leviathan, was one of the most powerful monsters to have ever existed. It took three dragons to lock it away. Not kill, mind you." Marik sighed. "I don't even know if that's possible."

Bakura moved closer to the phone so Marik could hear him. "Did the Leviathan work alone?"

"Dunno. There's a vague reference that something controlled it, but there's not a lot here. Sorry."

"If you have to duel anyone who plays the Seal of Orichalcos, play to win." Bakura backed away.

"Well, that wasn't ominous," Marik said. "We'll be careful. If we find anything else, we'll let you know. Ron, Ginny, your brother says hi."

Ginny grinned. "Tell Bill hi for us."

"Will do." He hung up. Yugi sighed and put the phone back.

"This day just gets better and better," Joey groaned.

"Bakura, we need to know everything you do about the Orichalcos," Harry stated.

Bakura looked at the air next to Ginny and sighed. "Fine," he grumbled.

"First off, the Orichalcos boosts its owner's monsters by five hundred attack points each." Joey whistled. Bakura ignored him. "It gets worse. It's a field card that cannot be destroyed by magic, trap or monster cards. The user gets to use their Magic/Trap zones as Monster zones. And you can't attack the back row without first wiping out the front row."

"So how did you stop them?" Téa breathed.

Bakura smirked. Ginny thought for a second. "Did you use Dark Hole?"

He nodded. "And then, of course, there's the whole losing your soul bit if you lose."

The cons definitely outweigh the pros, Aziza thought sadly.

But it's not hopeless. "What if we could return the card to our opponent's hand or Deck?"

"It might save you for a little bit, but even if it does work they would just play it again their next turn." Yugi frowned. "But there might be a way. If we can send the card back to the player's hand, and played Card Destruction, that would automatically send it to the Graveyard."

"If we know they have it in their hand, we could also use Mind Crush," Ginny mused. "So, if we just make sure we have those cards in our decks, we might have a slight advantage."

You're forgetting something: first we'd have to get the card off the field in the first place.

Ginny huffed angrily. You're right.

"Our best option is to defeat them before the card is activated. If they do, defeat them as fast as possible. No tricks. No taunting or torturing your opponent." Yugi's eyes were on Bakura when he said that last bit.

"When do you guys go on holiday?" Hermione asked.

"Wednesday's our last day before break," Téa told her.

"We just need to make it to Wednesday," Ginny said. "After that, we'll be able to focus everything on solving this problem."

Joey and Tristan both groaned dramatically. "Can't we ditch or something?"

Ron, Harry and Sirius looked at them sympathetically. "Sorry," Sirius said, "but we can't let you guys skip. It would look suspicious."

While they're busy, I want to see if Kyra's okay. Bring Yugi.

Ginny went up to Yugi and leaned in from behind him. "Aziza wants to talk to you."

Yugi nodded and the two of them went upstairs to Yugi's room. Hedwig hooted a greeting. Yami and Aziza phased out of the Items.

"I want you to meet someone, officially," Aziza said as soon as she saw them. Ginny reached into her pocket and pulled out her Magician's Valkyria card. "You didn't have time to talk last night."

The Bracelet glowed, drawing out Magician's Valkyria. She twirled in the air, spinning her staff, causing Hedwig to ruffle her feathers, before landing between them. She grinned happily at the air beside Yugi. "My Pharaoh!"

The Puzzle glowed, and Yami was standing in front of her. "You know me?"

Kyra nodded until her hat was in danger of falling off. "Yep. A long time ago, in Khemet, I was one of your best friends. One thing led to another, and I decided to protect Princess Aziza for as long as she needed me. My sister and my master decided to do the same for you. In fact, they are both in your deck."

Yugi and Yami both looked confused for a second, then Yugi's eyes widened. "Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl!"

Kyra grinned.

"Kyra, what happened last night?" Aziza asked.

She sighed. "You know the Orichalcos? It's not just a card; it's also a stone. Whenever pieces of it are near, it tries to push me out of this realm."

"But the school was too far from us when I called you."

Somebody was spying on us, Ginny thought. Their enemies were hiding in plain sight. They didn't even know how many of them there were, or who they were.

We'll figure it out, Aziza reassured her.

"Dark Magician Girl didn't act like she knew me," Yami said. "And the Leviathan didn't seem to affect her."

Ginny blinked. "When did you meet Dark Magician Girl?"

Yugi quickly filled her in on Timaeus and what had happened at school earlier.

"That's because she wasn't my sister. When people summon us, the Monsters have to go through the Shadow Realm. It's sort of a bridge between worlds. My sister, master and I used Shadow Magic to fuse ourselves with our creatures. So, when you use Shadow Magic, we appear. If something forces us out, the Monster from the other world appears in our place."

"You share a body with Magician's Valkyria, like Yami shares a body with me?"

Kyra nodded with a grimace. "I'm only telling you how Master Mahad explained it to me."

Yugi sighed. "My head hurts."

Kyra laughed. "Imagine if my master were explaining it. That's as far as I got before I said, 'forget it'."

Aziza smirked. "And how far did Mana get?"

"She was gone before the second sentence came out of his mouth. I had to sum it up for her."

"Well, this is touching," a familiar voice drawled from the doorway. Kyra faced the intruder, staff pointed and energy sparking at the end of it. Bakura raised his eyebrows, the smirk never leaving his face. The Ring began to glow. Hedwig shrieked and glared at both of them. "It may have escaped your notice, girl, but we don't have time to be playing catch-up."

Kyra glowered. "You're right. I should be spending that time hurting you."

"That's enough!" At Yami's authoritative tone, Kyra dissolved the energy and lowered her staff. Yami moved between the two of them. "We also don't have time to pick fights with each other, Bakura!"

Bakura kept his eyes on Kyra over Yami's shoulder, but the glow of the Ring faded. "Scarecrow wants his sister downstairs."

Ginny took two steps forward anxiously. "What happened?"

"Nothing. He just doesn't want his little sister in a room with pipsqueak unsupervised." Ginny's worry morphed into anger. He was so overprotective! She could take care of herself just fine, and besides, she had Aziza with her. Bakura glanced over at her. "Although I'd be more worried about the Princess and the Pharaoh, if you catch my drift."

"Bakura!" six voices cried at once, filled with either disgust, anger, or both.

He raised his hands, his smirk turning nasty. "Royalty had a history of doing that sort of thing. I'm not into it, myself, but whatever works for you." Ginny had her wand in her hand and pointed at him before her brain caught up with what her hands were doing. Bakura cackled and turned his body, causing Ginny to miss. He stepped out of her line of sight before she could fire off any more spells. She made to follow, but he disappeared before she reached the door.

Ginny cursed mentally, calling Bakura several choice names. She sensed Aziza release Kyra as she stormed downstairs. "Ronald Weasley!" she bellowed.

Bakura was nowhere to be seen, but her second (or original) target paled. Harry subtly scooted away from his friend. Joey, Téa and Tristan immediately remembered they had somewhere else they needed to be and took off without saying goodbye.

Ginny, calm down. Bakura's being an ass, and you're taking it out on your brother.

No. This isn't about Bakura. Okay, maybe some of her anger was at Bakura, but right now her anger at Ron was the focus here. He doesn't trust me!

Ginny was stopped by the Belt's shield. That was fine; it wasn't soundproof. "I'm sick of you trying to control me! In case you don't remember, I have a boyfriend already. Why can't you get it through your head that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself?"

"You-Know-Who has a target around your neck, remember? That's why we're here," Ron snapped, ears red. "You can't take care of yourself against him."

Ginny scoffed. "Against regular people I can! And I am not in the least bit interested in Yugi like that. Why do I need a babysitter?"

"You're my little sister!"

Ginny let out a noise that sounded like a growl and a screech combined. "You're impossible!" She turned her back on him and stomped toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Anywhere, as long as it's away from him!" She yanked it open, stepped outside, and slammed it shut.

Somebody watched from the sky as Ginny Weasley stormed out of the Turtle Game Shop. The figure grinned, fingering the glowing green stone around his neck. He had just found his next minion. His master would be pleased.

Uh...not what I was expecting. I don't even know how this happened. But I can work with this.

*sings I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin*

Bakura: *glares pointedly at the giant box below*

Me: *swats his arm* I swore I wouldn't beg.

CREDIT to Mei1105 for pointing out that whole loophole with the Orichalcos. At least I think it was her. Still waiting to hear back from her on that.