Holy Crap it's been a long time since I've updated! Srry!

Marik stared at the hole the princess had blown in the wall, rage contorting his features into a scowl. His fists were clenched so hard they were shaking and his teeth ground together in frustration. He'd lost her! She was in his grasp, just feet away and he'd blown his chance! Marik growled deep in his throat and kicked the chair Crystal had been bound to across the room. He continued to underestimate her, to think she was trapped when she was only planning an escape. This could not continue. Had he learned nothing from the scriptures? All those hopeless situations and last minute escapes... Marik couldn't afford to think she was out of options again.

But, he'd thought the Shadow Realm had weakened her more. It had been so easy to catch her... His mind wandered back to when he'd possessed his Rare Hunter's body and spoken to her as the tranquilizer dart started to take hold. Marik had seen the shock in her eyes, the flicker of fear in their blue-gold depths before she masked it with contempt. He licked his lips, a cruel smile replacing his scowl. He wanted to see that look again. Marik could easily paint a picture in his mind's eye of the impertinent royal's time of reckoning. The princess, knocked back by the blow of his Winged Dragon of Ra, defeated and trembling as she awaited his final judgment. The realization that she was at his complete mercy showing on her paling face, no matter how she tried to hide it. Would she feel so brave then? Would those lovely eyes still sparkle with reckless defiance?

Even better would be the look on the Pharaoh's face. Shock, anger, fear. He'd make that pompous royal watch his sister writhe in agony as she lived out the deepest fears creeping in her darkest dreams. Then, Marik would make Crystal watch as he defeated her brother and took his power for himself. He would watch the unwavering faith she had in the Pharaoh wither and die. The corrupted tomb keeper couldn't stop a dark chuckle from escaping his lips. Then the real fun would begin. Marik would turn their love for each other against them, twist it into the ultimate torment. Yes, they would watch the other suffer endlessly, with nothing one could do to help the other.

When he became bored with that, he would delight in slowly killing the Pharaoh, watching the light in those hideous amethyst eyes gradually dim and die. By then, Crystal would no longer be the strong, proud royal who had glided through the grand halls of her palace. She would be insane, a gibbering mess that trembled pitifully every time he touched her, to terrified to even scream. Marik would keep her alive as a reminder to all who opposed him what happened when...

"Master Marik," came a deep voice behind him, interrupting his thoughts.

Marik pulled himself from his musings and glared impatiently at Odion, who was kneeling in the door's threshold. "What is it?" the Egyptian snapped.

"Several Rare Hunters have gone after the princess, but they've lost track of her," his servant reported.

Marik's eyes narrowed before his face lifted into a cruel smirk, "I didn't expect you to catch her again. My plans for her can wait. Besides, we know where she'll soon be."

"The Battle City finals?" Odion guessed.

"Precisely," the holder of the Millenium Rod grinned, "Right now I have more pressing matters to attend to. I'm still a few Locator Cards short to enter the finals..."

Odion stood, "I'll gather some duelists for you, master."

"When you find them, bring them to the where my boat is docked. I'll be utilizing my new mind slaves there."

"Yes Master Marik," the older man said, bowing before he left the room. Marik fingered the head of his Millenium Item and smirked. It was time to let the Pharaoh know exactly who he was dealing with. He didn't expect the royal to lose, but the loss of his best friend, Joey, would take some of the cockiness out of him. His grin widened as he recalled his earlier thoughts. Marik had better things in store for the Pharaoh than the peaceful demise of drowning...

Crystal snarled and knocked the only attacker still standing across the head, sending the Rare Hunter spiraling into unconsciousness. "These guys don't give up do they?" she muttered crossly.

They have much to lose if they fail, Wingweaver said, startling her, To Marik, all these men are disposable.

"You've been quiet lately," Crystal noted, ignoring her friend's statement. She didn't want to feel pity for these men.

Wingweaver's answer was brief. I had nothing to say.

"Hmm..." Crystal made her way around the prone bodies on the ground and stepped out into the warm, red light of the setting sun. She knew Wingweaver had been preoccupied with her thoughts lately, but her friend had given no sign as to what they were about. Well, almost no sign. Crystal had felt the emotions slipping through Wingweaver's soul room door. They were a whirlwind of feeling, but there were four emotions that stood out plainly. Worry, anger, fear, and love. All those emotions, weaving together, some rising stronger than others, than falling back again.

Crystal sighed and ran a hand through her hair. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Wingweaver was thinking about; the same worries weren't far from her own thoughts either. She glanced down at her Duel Disk, which covered the shadowy bruise on her arm. Out of sight, out of mind did not apply in this case. There was a constant, dull ache in her arm, which throbbed with each beat of her heart. Her whole body felt heavier, including her eyelids, which drooped dangerously. Quite frankly, she was exhausted. Luckily, she had all the Locator Cards she needed to enter the finals. No more running from Rare Hunters.

Maybe you should drop out of the tournament, Crystal, Wingweaver said in her soft voice.

"What?" she cried out loud, "Are you crazy? No!"

But you're getting so weak, her friend protested, What chance would you stand against Marik, hmm? Would you be able to take part in a Shadow Game with those damn shadows sucking the life out of you?

"You swore..." Crystal murmured, trying to ignore Wingweaver's accurate statement. Why did Wingweaver always have to be right?

Well, what chance do you think you would have against Marik and his Millenium Item, hmm? Wingweaver demanded, her ethereal form materializing in front of her, arms folded crossly.

"But... Yami and his friends... I need to keep them safe..." she whispered.

The spirit gave an exasperated sigh, but her expression softened. Do you really think you can protect them, Crissy? she asked gently.

"You think you can protect him? You can't even protect yourself!"

Crystal's eyes narrowed as she recalled the cruel, derisive words spoken to her a lifetime ago by a man she no longer remembered. "I have to try," Crystal replied, steel creeping into her tone.

Said steel quickly evaporated when a tranquilizer dart flew by her ear, making her squeak like a little girl. "Holy!" she cried out, ducking and looking over her shoulder at where the projectile had been shot from. Two Rare Hunters were standing several feet behind her, one of which held a tranquilizer gun in a shaky grip.

Crystal's eyes narrowed as wisps of darkness curled out from under the dark spirit's door and wove around her soul room. She could feel the anger in her rising as the wisps clouded her mind. Her tiredness was forgotten, and for the first time in many weeks, she could focus on something other than the alien presence within herself.

Destroying the men who were threatening her family.

Something was off about that though... it didn't make sense. Her family wasn't anywhere around here... But as the anger rose, that ceased to be important.

There must have been something dangerous in her expression, because the two puppets started to back up slowly, before whirling around and running down the alley.

Crystal! Wingweaver cried out in surprise and worry, but Crystal ignored her and ran after the two Rare Hunters, dimly hearing the insistent whisper of the dark spirit resonating through her mind. "Just give in to the rage. It's wonderful, isn't it Crissy? Doesn't it feel so good?"

And, to be honest, it did.

Crystal followed the black robed men for as long as she could, her weakened body finally stopping her furious chase. She turned a corner before lurching to a stop, glaring at the Rare Hunters' backs as they ran farther and farther away. "Yeah, you better run!" she yelled, not caring that they were too far away to hear her.

Crystal, you need to control your temper! Wingweaver admonished.

"Shut up," she hissed, pointedly ignoring the hurt feelings coming from Wingweaver's soul room. Crystal continued to rant loudly, only now she was speaking in Ancient Egyptian. She finished by making a few rude gestures in the direction the Rare Hunters had disappeared before giving an exasperated sigh.

"Woah, didn' see that one comin'," said a familiar voice. Joey?

She turned around and saw that Yugi, his friends, Seto, Mokuba, and a few others she hadn't met before were all standing a couple yards behind her. As Crystal realized that they had witnessed her entire emotional outburst, the embarrassment wiped away the last traces of anger from her mind. "Oh... I, um..." she stammered, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. Crystal gave a small wave and a sheepish smile. "Hey guys..."

"You know her?" a girl Crystal didn't recognize asked Joey with a scared expression on her face.

"Yeah, she's Pegasus' kid," Joey said, grinning over at her, "So, what are you picking fights for, Crystal?"

"They started it!" Crystal complained, then she realized how childish that sounded and blushed even harder, "They shot darts at me for Ra's sake! And don't even get me started on the 'tied to a chair' episode and the hair fetish guy!"

Everyone was silent for a long moment before Mokuba cracked up. "Hair fetish guy?" he cackled, holding his stomach as tears rolled down his face. Joey and Tristan were quick to follow Mokuba's example.

"But... he..." Crystal looked from the three laughing boys to Seto, who was trying to keep a smirk off his face. "They kidnapped me for Ra's sake!" she shouted, pouting childishly.

"They what?" Yugi exclaimed, his eyes widening.

The three boy's stopped laughing and Seto's face became solemn. "Yeah," Crystal said, running a hand through her hair, "It was kinda embarrassing."

"Don't worry about it," Tristan said, "Joey, Tea, and Mokuba were kidnapped too."

"Well, Mokuba's a given," Crystal grinned, winking at the boy.

"Hey!" Mokuba protested, as Tristan and Joey burst into laughter.

Crystal chuckled with them, then looked closer at Yugi and frowned. "Why are you all wet Yugi? Did you fall in?" she asked.

Joey scowled, and looking at him closer, Crystal realized he was wet too. "That jerk Marik made me duel Yugi usin' his Millenium Rod. For the duel, our legs were chained to these anchors, and the loser would be dragged underwater," Joey explained.

"Sick bastard," she muttered.

"We just barely made it out alive," Yugi said.

Joey looked around quick and gave her a puzzled look. "Hey, where's that guy who follows you around?"

"Oh, yeah!" Tristan said, realizing the large bodyguard wasn't hovering over her shoulder, "Did Marik get Jamie, too?"

"Johnny," Crystal corrected, then she blushed guiltily, "And no... I kinda ditched him."

"He's worried about you, you know," Seto said, an accusatory tone in his voice. His blue eyes were dark and serious as he stared into her own. If Crystal hadn't known him better, she would've thought Seto had been worried too.

But, that was preposterous.

Crystal bit her lip and looked down, guilt written all over her face. "Where is he?" she asked.

"He's somewhere on the docks, we split up to look for you. He wants you to call him," Seto replied.

"Oh," she thought about what he said for a few seconds, then her eyes widened in surprise. "You were looking for me?" she questioned, looking up at him.

"Mokuba was kidnapped too," he muttered in a dismissive tone.

Mokuba's brow crinkled in confusion. "But Seto, we went looking before I was-"

Seto gripped Mokuba's shoulder and gave him a warning look. Before anyone could figure out what the millionaire was upset about, Seto reached into his pocket and pulled out Crystal's necklace. "Here's your necklace back," he snapped harshly, flinging it at her.

Crystal quickly reached up and caught it. "Thanks," she said, too surprised to scowl at his rudeness.

"Come on, Mokuba, we're leaving," Seto ordered, stalking away.

"Wait up!" Mokuba cried, scurrying after him. The two were soon out of sight.

"Jeez, what's eating him?" a boy with pretty green eyes muttered.

"He's always like that," Joey shrugged. He paused and thought about something for a moment before his eyes widened. "Oh, hey Crystal, meet my sister Serenity," the blonde said, having just remembered that they had never met before. The girl he was gesturing at was still looking at Crystal with an uncertain expression.

Maybe screaming Ancient Egyptian curses at people who were no longer within hearing distance wasn't the best first impression...

"It's nice to meet you Serenity," Crystal smiled, trying to send off friendly and sane waves. Serenity seemed to relax, but she still looked a little nervous.

"I'm Duke Devlin," the boy with pretty eyes said, since Joey had spaced off and probably wasn't going to introduce them.

"Crystal Pegasus," she replied, nodding to him and then turning back to the group as a whole, "I'm sorry, but I need to take off. I'm heading to the Finals."

Yugi grinned, "We're going there too, you could join us."

Crystal shook her head, smiling a little. "I'm nothing but trouble, Yugi. Really. Marik might still be after me and I'd hate to get you involved with that. It'd probably be best if I went alone." Marik probably wouldn't try to go after Yugi again, now that the Finals were so close to starting, but he might go through the trouble of catching her again and controlling her mind. She didn't want anyone caught in the crossfire if that happened. Besides, she wouldn't be able to use her magic around the others.

"But-" Yugi protested, looking surprised.

"No, it's fine. I'll see you at the Finals," she said, whirling around and walking away before anyone could call her back. She couldn't risk putting Yugi and his friends in even more danger.

After a few minutes, Crystal remembered the heart shaped pendent she still held in her hands. True to his word, Seto had had the chain fixed. Crystal gripped the ends of the necklace and reached behind her to fasten it around her neck, wondering why Seto had acted like such a douchebag. "Probably just male PMS," she muttered under her breath, then she giggled at the thought.

Thinking of male PMS reminded her of Johnny, so she paused and got out her cell phone. Her inbox was full of texts from him, and so was her voicemail. The earlier ones were angry and filled with tons of exclamation marks, but the messages grew more pleading and desperate the more recent they became. Crystal felt a twang of guilt again and sighed. She really didn't deserve the love Johnny gave her. Crystal texted him a short message. Am safe. Dont worry. That should ease his worries for a little while at least.

"Hey, Seto?" Mokuba said.

"What," the CEO asked, glancing over at his younger brother.

"Why'd you get all mean when you were talking to Crystal?"

Seto sighed and closed his eyes. "I didn't want her to get the wrong idea about why I went searching for her," he explained.

"Oh," Mokuba said, "Why did you look for her then?"

"... It doesn't matter." He wasn't even sure himself why he'd gone after her. Something about imagining Crystal's bright, cheerful face gagged and tear-stained angered him deeply. Seeing her safe (though she did look exhausted) made those thoughts seem unfounded and far too emotionally involved for his liking, so he'd automatically pushed her away. Maybe his actions on the pier were the result of some leftover defense mechanism from his troubled youth, an attempt to protect himself from the pain of losing someone close. Being orphaned left him with some serious psychological damage...

... but maybe he'd been to harsh with Crystal back at the pier...

Mokuba was grinning up at him with an evil glint in his eyes. "What is it Mokuba?" Seto asked warily.

"Seto and Crystal, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S"

"No," Seto interrupted the boy's sing-song voice as he realized what Mokuba was implying, "Honestly Mokuba, must you act so childish?"

"I am a child!" Mokuba protested.

Oh, yeah...

"Still, some maturity would be nice."

Mokuba wrinkled his nose and crossed his arms moodily. "Fine!" he muttered.

The two were quiet for a moment, then Mokuba raised one of his arms and coughed into the crease of his elbow. "*cough cough* I-N-G *cough cough*"

"What was that Mokuba?"

"Oh, nothing bro, I just had a tickle in my throat."

Just so you know, I'm going to put this story on hiatus for a while. I'll probably go back to the beginning and touch it up a bit, since in hindsight it does kind of suck. I'm writing another multi-chapter fic too, but not nearly as long as this one. I'll probably post the first chapter or two in a couple days. And hey, guess what! Last friday was the one year anniversary of me starting this fic! :) Hooray!