Sorry for the delay everyone! Hurricane Alex pretty much washed out the kickball fields in Brownsville, which pushed everything back an extra week, meaning more practices and other kickball related activities. On a happier note, WE GOT SECOND! Whoo! I hope this chapter is a good enough bribe for you to accept my apology for making you wait so long. Enjoy chapter 14!

Chapter Fourteen

YPOV

Mai Valentine…she was my first opponent in the Duelist Kingdom finals. I was as excited as I was scared. I barely slept at all…Both Grandpa and Dria told me to trust the spirit inside my Puzzle, but after what he almost did to Kaiba… I shook my head. I didn't have time to worry about that duel. I had to go and win the tournament in order to save Dria…and Grandpa, Mokuba, and Kaiba of course. If I could keep the spirit on an extremely tight leash, and not give him any extra breathing room, maybe everyone would get out alive…maybe…

"Hey Yugi. Aren't you ready yet? You're going to be late."

"They'll disqualify you right out of the tournament if you're late."

Joey was right. It was time to go. If I was going to save anyone, I would need to keep the spirit under control so I would both win the duel and no one would get hurt. Only Joey and I could go on the arena floor, so the others had to wait on the balcony.

"Kick some butt!"

The other two duelists were already there, waiting for us. Bandit Keith started taunting Joey the moment they made eye contact. I hope Joey manages to keep his cool…I didn't like the look Keith was giving him at all. He knew something we didn't.

"All finalists will now enter the arena."

The doors before us opened and we walked out into the arena. Pegasus walked out about the same time we did, after an introduction of course. I found myself watching the doors behind him, waiting for Dria to come through them as well. I quickly turned my eyes towards Pegasus, trying to focus on my task at hand. Dria wasn't coming; she was in the Shadow Realm, acting like the hero my friends needed. I felt a sudden presence behind me, but when I glanced around, no one was there. The presence wasn't frightening…in fact, it was soothing…then it faded.

"...the title, and not the money, is the real prize. Isn't that so?"

I refocused my attention on Pegasus, my anger slowly rising as he practically dangled the souls of my friends and family right in front of me. As I calmed down a bit, I smirked. He knew nothing of Dria's insane plan…maybe it would work after all. Croquet announced the start of my duel with Mai and my nerves began to tremble. What if I couldn't keep the spirit in check? Pegasus could steal souls with his Millennium Item…who knows what the spirit could do with one of my friends' souls…or even my own soul.

Suddenly, that soothing presence appeared once more. It felt like a pair of soft arms wrapped around my neck and I felt a kiss pressed to my cheek. The scent was familiar but I couldn't place it. A soft voice came through my mind.

"You'll never be in real danger while I'm around."

I quickly turned around, hoping that Dria really was standing right behind me. I felt a little foolish when I realized that I was jumping at nothing and she wasn't really behind me…or was she?

"Duel!"

DPOV

I continued on my journey through the shadows, my pendant guiding me through the darkness. So far, there was no sign of Seto anywhere, not that I really expected to find him so quickly. Pegasus didn't know how to completely control his Eye. If he could, he would have created a prison of some kind where all of his souls would end up. But, as far as he knew, the Shadow Realm itself was one dimension. The realm had at least 4 different dimensions in itself, probably more. Seto could be in an area I had never been to before.

The little shadows had stopped coming out of the darkness to join me. That meant that either a human soul was nearby…or something bad was about to happen. I prepared my bow, just in case something bad was about to happen. 5 minutes turned into 10, which turned into 20….and still nothing. A shout of terror finally broke the silence. I whipped my head around to see two figures coming my way. One was a fierce beast, a lower level lord of the realm. Those types of shadows were only second to last in the shadows hierarchy. This one was probably new, seeing as those lower positions switched every shadow year (= about 1000 human years. That's why being trapped there seems like such torture…Time literally moves slower here).

The other was much smaller, much less powerful…and much more familiar. I couldn't believe my eyes. It was Grandpa! My fortune was simply too great, but I didn't have time to question it. I ran towards Grandpa, my trusty bow fully prepared. I jumped over him, pulling back and releasing my arrow in mid-air. Yes, I am quite skilled with a bow and arrow. The shadow screeched in pain, dropping to his knees to clutch at his now punctured bicep. He began to violently pull at it, which only caused it to further imbed itself in his arm, causing him more pain.

"Leave this man to me and return from whence you came. I will not pursue you. Accept my terms and I will remove the arrow." My voice rang out through the shadows, the commanding tone I once mastered slowly coming back. He narrowed his eyes at first, but then he widened them and dropped to the ground, bowing to me. He had recognized me. Oh great…

I quickly and painlessly removed the arrow. The shadow immediately bowed once more before running back in the opposite direction, hopefully never to be seen again. After carefully watching to make sure reinforcements didn't come, I returned to Grandpa's side, feeling like it was safe enough to let down my guard. The poor man had passed out in exhaustion…who knows how long he had been running from this shadow? I gently picked him up, resting all his weight against my body. I needed to find a safe place where he could rest and where I could start my search for Seto again.

I wondered how the Pharaoh and Yugi were fairing in the final rounds of the tournament. I feared that Father would try to take both Yugi's soul and his Puzzle if he were to lose to anyone…I could truly lose the Pharaoh forever if that were to happen. I didn't know what would happen should Yugi's soul leave their body and should the Puzzle be removed from their body…would the Pharaoh simply take over as the owner of the body…or would he vanish as well? I couldn't take that chance. Him trapped in the Puzzle…it was now the greatest gift the gods could have given me. I wished it were me who was trapped in the Puzzle…but then again, I wouldn't wish this eternal life on anyone. Immortality is so last millennia.

All these thoughts had distracted me from my task. A quiet groan brought me back out of my thoughts, reminding me that I was no longer alone. "Mr. Moto? Are you alright?" He coughed a couple of times before lightly tapping me on the head.

"I told you to call me Grandpa."

I happily laughed as I picked him up and danced around. I hadn't failed…well, I hadn't failed Yugi. "Woah! Haha it's nice to see you too Miss Dria." I stopped twirling, a little confused. I knew I had introduced myself as Dria back when we first met and any duelist would know who I was…but did he make the connection?

"Yes I knew who you were the moment I met you. I watched you grow up. How could I not recognize you?" I smiled. He would be old enough to have seen all the pictures my Father used put out in all the magazines each year. As the youngest person to bring back and improve what was now a multi-million dollar game, Father felt it necessary to make sure everyone, mostly all eligible males, could see how I had grown each year. It was so embarrassing. He stopped after I turned 14, seeing as I already began receiving hundreds of proposals a year.

I rubbed the back of my head, a little ashamed. "Thank you for not saying anything. I should have known I couldn't hide my identity from someone like you." He brushed off my praise, claiming any person his age would be able to figure it out. Ah, if only I could tell him why it was so easy for him to recognize me…

I giggled as I raced through the halls, fleeing from my new guardian. "Miss Alexandria! Please come back! You are not supposed to leave my sight!" I laughed even harder as the man tried to catch up to me. My adventures with the Pharaoh at the Nile had led me here…to the Pharaoh's palace. The Pharaoh immediately told everyone in the palace that I was his special guest and that they should treat me as they treated him.

I tried to tell all those present that they could treat me as they saw fit. If I acted like a child, they had every right to treat me like one. The priests were especially surprised at my manner of speech; they probably expected me to speak in gibberish and start crying or something. One was especially impressed…it led him to request to be my guardian and my teacher of sorts. I smiled widely as the Pharaoh agreed to his request. This man thought he could teach me something…just you wait old man.

So, here we were, running through the palace halls. I had planned on running all the way to the walls, but my tiny body couldn't carry me that far. Instead, I tripped on air and went crashing into another body. A small cry of shock rang out, echoing in the halls. I quickly sat up, moaning at the sudden pain in my head. My toes twisted themselves together as I clutched at my head. A chuckle reminded me that I was not alone. A small boy was sitting across from me, chuckling at me. My eyes widened. It was the Prince!

Oh great…my second day here and I'm already almost killing the heir. I dropped my head, trying to stutter out an apology. I couldn't believe what I had just done. Here I was thinking that I knew more about respecting the ruling class…and I run over one of them. "I...I…I am so…so-so-sorry Prince. Please forgive me..." I closed my eyes tightly and lowered my head, expecting a slap or something of that sort. Two small, yet extremely warm and soft hands cradled my face, gently coaxing me to open my eyes. Tender sunset eyes filled with happiness and forgiveness smiled down at me. "You are pretty."

I blushed wildly at his compliment. This was the boy, soon to be man, I had been dreaming of. I was only 3, but I already knew that I was in love with him. He gently ran his fingers over my face, tracing my nose and mouth. "My Lady! My Prince! Are you well?" Shimon had finally caught up with me. He bent over, resting his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. The Prince and I froze, my face still held by his hands. When Shimon caught his breath, he started laughing when he saw the two of us.

"Getting to know the Prince, miss?" I ripped my face out of the Prince's grasp and took off once again down the halls. I could not allow anyone to know about my already growing affections for the Prince. He would come to see me as his servant and probably nothing more. I did not want to embarrass him with my affections. "Wait! Come back!" I ignored the Prince's pleas as I ran into my room and pulled the curtains down to block my door. A few hours went by before anything happened. "Miss? May I come in?" I slowly walked towards the curtains, pulling one back just enough to see who was at my door. It was Shimon. I nodded and walked back to my bed.

He watched me very carefully, trying to find a fault in my steps. "You act as if I come as a spy meant to begin a war. I intend no harm to the people of this kingdom." He chuckled at my statement. "I trust you mean no harm. That is not why I have come. Tell me...what do you think of the Prince?" I sent him a weak glare. He burst into a fit of chuckles. Of course he knew…he always knew. "He asked me about you, you know. Wanted to know your name and how long you would be here." I snapped my gaze back to his. He continued to laugh, "I did not reveal your name, but I did tell him which room you were in and that you would be here for a while." I stuck my tongue out at him, though I was trying to hide my excitement at the possibility of seeing the Prince again.

Shimon knew it too.

Shimon had watched me grow up too. I soon learned that I could tell him almost anything and not only would he accept and love me regardless, but he never told anyone my secrets unless the situation demanded it. He even knew that I was already 5000 years old and why I was always able to control my emotions. The only other person who ever knew that was the Pharaoh himself. Of course he didn't remember right now…but hopefully he would someday.

I told Grandpa nearly everything that happened while he was away. I told him of how Yugi was fighting to save him from this realm, how Joey was slowly becoming a better and more confident duelist…of how my own Father betrayed me. We sat together in the shadows as I told him of Yugi's struggles with the power of the Millennium Puzzle and what could happen if he did not manage to join forces with his other self. Grandpa did not really understand what I meant when I told him of Yugi's alter ego. Then again, I didn't go into much detail. It wasn't time for that explanation yet.

"Go check on Yugi. I can wait." I cocked my head at his command. He raised his eyebrow, smirking slightly, "You keep looking off in one direction whenever you mention my grandson's name. I know you have the ability to go and make sure he is doing well. Please." I covered my mouth with my hand as I held back my giggles. "And I was trying so hard to keep you from noticing."

I thanked him profusely, kissing his cheek multiple times. He lightly shoved me away, "Go. We can gossip like old women later." I closed my eyes and tried to find my Father's arena in the other realm. I decided not to go there physically; in spirit would be enough. I could always return to my body if Yugi were in some kind of trouble.

I reopened my eyes to see the familiar halls of Pegasus' castle. Now to find the dueling arena…if I'm lucky, I'll catch most of Yugi's duel. I floated through the halls I used to run through as a child. Every hall held some kind of memory for me; as much as I wanted to relive many of them, I simply didn't have time.

When I finally reached the dueling arena, Pegasus hadn't even announced the start of the first duel. I squealed in excitement. Maybe I could stay and watch the whole duel! I wanted to be able to cheer for Yugi/ the Pharaoh, have him look up at me with those eyes….I shook my head, pushing back all those thoughts. I slipped down onto the lowest level, where the arena was. I glided past Joey, Mai, and Keith, heading straight for the Pharaoh.

He was incredibly tense, and had good reason to be. I found it a little surprising that Joey didn't say anything to him to try to calm him down at least a little. Maybe only I knew the Pharaoh well enough to see the signs. His shoulders were slightly further back than normal, the muscles in his back tightened in response, and his hands were shaking, yet it was so slight most people probably wouldn't even notice it. I floated up to him, noting how he seemed to both relax and tense up even more with my approach.

His mind was running a mile a minute. Yugi was afraid that the Pharaoh would try to take over his body, like Ryou's spirit usually does, and would accidentally harm Mai in his attempts to win the duel. The Pharaoh was afraid his host would never forgive him; he didn't want to cause Yugi any pain or grief…he just wanted to help his host and his hosts' loved ones. I smiled sadly, wishing that I could take away both of their fears…this was one time I could not assist either of them. They had to fight out this battle together.

My arms wrapped themselves around his neck and I placed a loving kiss on his cheek. They would figure it out. They were both so compassionate, so forgiving, yet they were both fighters…they would become great partners. Even I didn't need to try to look to see if that was going to come true. Maybe Yugi would feel better if I reminded him of my promise…I leaned down towards his ear, whispering my promise to him once more.

"You'll never be in real danger while I'm around."

He smiled slightly at my words, before suddenly turning around, searching for something. He looked sad when he didn't find anything, but his body relaxed tenfold. I went to follow him out into the arena, but my Pendant started glowing like crazy. Seto was in trouble. I quickly pushed my spirit back into the other realm, where Grandpa was waiting.

When I reached it, my chest constricted in pain and I let out a groan. "Dria? What's wrong?" I shook my head frantically, trying to ignore the pain. It wasn't wise to switch between the realms so quickly; this I learned the hard way. But I had to get back to find and save Seto. Any pain that would accompany that mission would be well worth it once I was done. "Come on! We have to go now!"

I grabbed Grandpa's hand and pulled him along through the shadows. My Pendant began to lead the way once more, one beam of light shining through the darkness. Grandpa was astounded by this, multiple questions bubbling at his lips; yet he seemed to know that this was not the time to ask anything. We didn't have to go very far, thank goodness. But, when I saw what was about to happen to Seto, I wished we could have gotten there sooner.

A much smaller, yet much more dangerous shadow was standing over Seto's unconscious form. I saw a small bruise forming on his temple and a small bit of blood drying on the corner of his mouth. I released Grandpa's hand and pulled out my bow and arrows once more. Thankfully, he knew it was safer to stay at least somewhat hidden behind me and to stay completely silent. I knocked three arrows once again and fired as soon as I could.

The shadow hissed and screeched in pain as my arrows hit its shoulder. It turned on me and snarled fiercely. I crouched down and prepared myself for its coming attack. That is how shadows fight. It starts off with all noise and talk, and then it evolves into a series of body slams and a final dance of death. The shadow launched itself at me, letting out an ear-piercing howl as it did. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Grandpa throw his hands over his ears. I would have done the same had the other figure not come crashing into me.

We wrestled around in the murky shadows for quite a while; I hadn't fought with a shadow in a long time and I was really rusty. It snapped at my throat multiple times, saliva dripping down onto my face.

"Is there any way I can help Dria?" I grunted a bit as I threw all my weight towards the shadow, flipping us over once more. "No thank you. Please don't move." Grandpa halted his movements and stood still once more. The shadow flipped us back over, scratching my cheek in the process.

"Are you sure I can't do anything? I really don't like standing here feeling useless." I huffed in annoyance and threw the shadow into the air. I rolled out of the way as it came back down, claws bared like knives.

"Yes, I'm sure. Please don't move."

"What if I use one of your arrows?"

"Grandpa!"

He stayed quiet after that. Luckily, he didn't have to wait much longer. With one final burst of strength, I threw the shadow off of me, far into the darkness. A cry of defeat was heard and I saw the shadow scurry off. I sat up and sighed in relief. My cheek was bleeding pretty badly, plus I had a bunch of scrapes and bruises. Even after 10,000 years, the fact that this cloud-like ground can give such nasty bruises was unexpected. I swayed a little as I stood.

"Am I allowed to move now?" I smiled weakly at him.

"Yes. Thank you for listening."

"What was that?" I sighed regretfully. That would have been me had the Pharaoh not saved me. The most dangerous shadows feed off the anger and grief inside humans, monsters, and other shadows themselves. I was already sick of my immortal status, and my anger and grief was starting to take its toll on my mind. Had I not met the Pharaoh when I did…I shivered a little. Let's make it simple…it would have not been very pretty at all. My friend would have been thrilled though. There was an slim shot that I would actually listen to what he requested of me.

A very slim shot.

"The reason why most normal people fear this realm. They've become more demon than shadow…" I shook my head, "Yes there is a difference, but don't worry about it. It's gone now and it won't be coming back anytime soon." I walked over to where Seto, who was still out cold, was laying. I gently stroked his cheek, trying to wake him up. It took a few moments, but he finally started to stir when I reminded him of who I was. His ocean blue eyes shot open and quickly focused on me.

I was so overcome by my relief that I couldn't control my actions. As he sat up, I threw my arms around him and began to weep uncontrollably. He rubbed a soothing pattern on my back and spoke very softly to me. My best friend was finally safe. I shuddered a little to think of what would have happened had I not shown up when I did. There's no telling what that shadow would have done to my Seto. As I calmed down, I remembered that Seto wasn't the only person still in trouble. I still had to find Mokuba…and then I had to keep all three of them safe. All kinds of shadows could be after them. All three of them were filled with so much goodness…so much light…

Please hurry Yugi...You better keep him safe Pharaoh.

Thank you for reading! I know that writing reviews can get tedious and I get lazy when I read other stories, but I would like at least one review! If at least one person tells me they're still interested in this story, then I will keep writing. Thank you so much for reading!