And I'm back, with another chapter! Sorry it's a little late, with my opponent and I back at uni, it cuts into our free time. Posts will be slower for a while, but I hope you bear with me!

Disclaimer: Still don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Joe flipped the switch, watching the lights in the arena go out. He sighed. It had been a long day. He thought back to a few hours prior, to his duel with Claire in this very room. He turned and walked back towards reception, remembering the looks on the siblings' faces as he told them his past, and the look in Claire's eyes after she spoke with Timmy. She had looked so lost, so confused.

As he turned from reception towards the stairs leading to the guest rooms, he wondered if it had been a good idea to let the siblings go as they were. He couldn't have stopped them, but if the expression on Claire's face was any indication, they probably wouldn't be thinking straight. I hope they're alright.

Joe was jolted out of his thoughts by a rapid rapping sound. He turned, looking at the door. Who'd show up here this time of night? Another deck thief already? He stepped closer to the door, looked through the glass, and froze. Isn't that...?

He unlocked the door and opened it. Claire was standing before him, Lee and Hope behind her. Her red hair still ran down her back, and she was still dressed the same as when they met a few hours earlier.

But something was different. When they had met, her gaze had been strong, her eyes unwavering, as if she was looking into your very soul. That was gone, replaced by eyes filled with tears, her face pale. She stared at him, and Joe wondered if she was the same iron-willed duelist he'd faced earlier. He'd never seen someone so shaken, so helpless.

So broken.

And that was when he noticed the body in her arms.

"Please," Claire spoke, her voice shaky, no louder than a whisper. "Help us."

"So, what happened?"

After letting the siblings inside, Joe had woken up the others and helped put Stan in a guest room. Lee had immediately dragged the chair from beside the desk to sit beside his twin, and hadn't moved since. The others stood around the room.

It was Claire who answered Joe's question. "We went to meet Maurice. I just... I just needed to know for sure," she looked at Joe, who nodded in understanding. "He was there... And so was Nox."

Joe tensed. Nox was here? In London?

Claire continued. "Stan got angry and challenged Nox to a duel, but Maurice took the challenge instead. Stan lost, and now he's..." She put her head in her hands, and her shoulders began to shake. "It's all my fault."

"Hey, hey," Joe said soothingly, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."

When Claire raised her head, he continued. "None of this is your fault. The only one at blame here is Nox. Okay?" She nodded.

"Hold on," Luke spoke up. "If Maurice was the one who dueled, how did Stan get weak enough for Nox to take his soul in the first place?"

Joe froze. "That's... A good question, actually. Where was Nox?" He asked Claire.

"Standing behind and to the side of Maurice, why?"

"So he wasn't possessing him," Luke mused. "Which means he must've found a way to pass that power onto Maurice somehow."

Joe sighed. Every answer just led to more questions. "We can worry about that later. For now we should plan our next move. Did either of them say anything?"

Claire shook her head. "I don't know. After Stan..." she hesitated, "...collapsed, all I could think about was getting him help. You're the only one who knows anything about this, so..."

"Egypt."

Everyone turned to look at Lee. Eyes not leaving his brother, he elaborated. "As they were leaving, Nox said something about checking in with their operative in Egypt."

Joe turned to Luke. "How soon can we leave?"

"The plane'll be be ready by the time we get there."

"Good." He turned to Jack and Tom. "We leave as soon as we're ready."

As the four duelists left Stan's room to prepare, one thought was on Joe's mind: What on earth could Nox want in Egypt?

Amr stood facing the large stone door, in the exact same spot he'd stood every day since he took his post fifty years ago. The grey robe he wore covered all but his feet, and a hood covered his head, leaving only his long, grey beard in sight. Lit hearths stood in each corner of the room, their flames casting flickering shadows over the stone walls, floor, and pillars. Amr thought it was rather cozy.

He turned towards the sound of footsteps, coming from the doorway on the other side of the room, getting louder with each passing second. A figure entered, dressed in a purple cloak, a duel disk strapped to his arm.

Amr cleared his throat. "Can I help you?"

The hooded figure pointed to the door. "Good mornin' to ya," the hooded figure said, his voice soft, with an Irish accent. "The name's Austen, and I've just come by to open that door, so if you'd be so kind..."

Amr stood up straighter. "None may enter past this room."

"I'm sure you can make an exception. Y'see, me boss wants in, so I'm gonna have to ask ya to open that door."

Amr began to descend the steps that led to the battlefield. "It is my duty to ensure that none pass through that door. If you want it to open, you must defeat me first."

Austen grinned as he followed suit. "I was hopin' you'd say that."

"Duel!" (LP: 8000)

"I will lead," said Amr. "I activate Terraforming, adding the Field spell Canyon from my deck to my hand, which I activate." The ground began to shake, and it rose, lifting the two duelists until they faced each other on either side of a large chasm. "I'll set a monster to end my turn."

"Alright," said Austen, drawing. "Not a bad start at all. I summon BOXer (1800/1000)!" A humanoid figure made of cardboard boxes, with red ones for boxing gloves, appeared and raised its fists, taking the traditional boxing stance. "Next I'm activatin' a field spell of me own, Gaia Power!" Once again the ground shook, and a large tree grew out of the chasm, towering over the battlefield. "Don't ya just love the smell a nature? Well Earth monsters do, 'cause they get 500 attack at the cost a four hundred defence!"

(BOXer: 2300/600)

"Alright BOXer, time ta show 'em what ya got! Attack!" BOXer ran over and jabbed at the facedown monster, which revealed itself to be A Cat of Ill Omen. The punch sent the cat flying.

"I use A Cat of Ill Omen's effect to put the trap Light of Intervention on top of my deck."

"And now for BOXer's effect! Since he destroyed a monster and sent it to the graveyard, he gets a counter." The number one appeared above BOXer's head.

Amr drew. The pieces are almost in place. "I set a monster and two cards."

"Are ya always this borin', old man? Fine. I summon Gamma The Magnet Warrior (1500 - 2000/1800 -1400)!" A pink monster with a magnet around its neck, a blue S on its chest and pink metallic wings appeared. "Alright BOXer, time to net your second knockout!" BOXer threw another jab, and the facedown monster flipped up, showing a large blue humanoid monster. BOXer's fist connected with a resounding clang, but nothing happened.

"That's my Superheavy Samurai Blue Brawler (0 - 500/2000 - 1600), which cannot be destroyed by battle." Amr smiled.

For the first time, Austen's smile wavered. "Your move, old man."

"Very well. I activate Pot of Greed to draw two cards. Next, I activate the Continuous trap Light of Intervention, preventing either of us from setting monsters or flipping them facedown. This means I can summon Tin Goldfish in defence position (800/2000)." A metallic goldfish appeared on the field. "Since Tin Goldfish was normal summoned, I can special summon a level four or lower monster from my hand. Come to my aid, Destiny HERO - Defender in defence position (100/2700)!" The face of Tin Goldfish opened, releasing the hero, before closing. "I'll set two cards to end my turn."

"Is defence all ya got?" Austen grinned. "Well this won't be too tough. I get an extra draw during me standby phase 'cause your Defender is in defence. Now BOXer, attack Tin Goldfish!"

"I activate the Continuous trap Quantum Cat! This summons itself as a monster to my field with an attribute and type of my choice. I choose Fire and Rock and summon it in defence position (0/2200)!" A light green mist spread from the card, forming into a black cat with green eyes.

"You think that'll stop me? Keep goin' BOXer!"

"On its own, maybe not. But combined with my other monsters, it will be unstoppable! I activate the Quick-play spell Unity! This changes the defence of one of my monsters to the combined original defence of all face-up monsters on my field!" As one, the monsters on Amr's field stood next to Tin Goldfish, protecting it.

(Tin Goldfish: 8900 def)

"What?!" Austen cried out, watching as BOXer's punch bounced harmlessly of its target.

"And that's not all! I activate the trap Cross Counter! Since my monster's defence was higher than your attacking monster's attack, the damage you take is doubled! If numbers aren't your strong suit, that's 13,200 damage!" All of Amr's monsters struck BOXer, sending it flying into Austen.

(Austen: 0 LP)

Austen struggled to his feet, and began to stumble up the stairs to the exit. "You won't get away with this, ya hear me!?" He shouted, all politeness gone. "You'll pay for this, old man!"

Old man I may be, Amr thought, watching his opponent scramble out of the room, but while I stand guard, none shall enter the tomb of the great pharaoh Atem.

Ah, I love it when there's a cameo appearance, don't you?

Yes, I know that duel was short. That was the idea behind Amr's deck: fill your field with high def monsters, wait for the opponent to attack, then wipe them out with Unity. I thought that would be appropriate for Atem's guard, considering what Unity represents.

Next chapter, the gang heads to Egypt! Don't forget to read and review, and if you have any deck or character ideas, let me know!