"...Rox...anne... Roxanne...wake up... Roxanne, please wake up!"

A distance voice rang in my ears. A soft, worried voice. A voice that I should recognize, but my mind had a complete blank.

I felt numb, even having trouble remembering who I was. I forced myself to open my eyes to see someone with long snowy white hair and big brown eyes staring down at me. I looked at him for a long moment, studying his face, trying to remember who he was.

"Roxanne, can you hear me?" the guy with the white hair asked, his voice become clearer. "Do you know who I am?"

I blinked in reply.

Slowly, my brain started to recognize his face, his voice, and his innocent eyes.

"...Ryo?"

Ryo gave a huge sigh of relief.

"I was afraid that you took more mental damage then I thought," he said. "I was beginning to think that Melvin really did...kill you, sent you completely to the Shadow Realm."

My eyes widened when I heard the words 'Melvin' and 'Shadow Realm.'

I quickly sat up; as I now noticed that I was laying on a bed, Ryo sitting right beside me. I looked around the room, noticing that I was in some kind of bedroom, the whole place cluttered with RPGs and occult stuff. I turned back to Ryo, a confused look on my face.

"Ryo...where are we?" I asked.

"We are in my soul room," Ryo explained. "When you put that tiny bit of your soul into the Millennium Ring, I kept you here. Your conscious traveled here when you lost your duel with Melvin. ...At least it seemed like it did, since you were screaming in your sleep."

"Wait...you know about my duel with Melvin?"

Ryo nodded.

"I saw the whole thing, for even though I'm not in control, I still know what is going on around me. I know everything that has happened in Battle City, including what...happened with you, Marik, and the spirit."

There was a sad look in his eyes, but it quickly left as he said, "But how are you feeling, Roxanne? He didn't hurt you too badly, I hope."

I sighed heavily, avoiding eye contact with Ryo.

"...It was horrible. Ryo, I can't begin to explain what horrors I witnessed! It was like being part of a horror movie, only ten times more terrifying then any Hollywood film maker can make."

Small tears started to form in my eyes, but I tried to push them back.

"I can't believe I let myself lose to him. I should have been stronger, for I could have beaten him! If only I was..."

The words got caught in my throat, as I was trying to make myself not break down. Ryo gave me a sympathetic look, and I could tell he wasn't sure how to comfort me.

"...If you want my honest opinion, Roxanne, I don't think you could have beaten him."

I stared at Ryo, almost shocked to hear him say that.

"He isn't like any ordinary duelist," Ryo explained, seemingly careful in his word choice. "I think...he somehow knew how to defeat you, even with your knowledge of the Yu-Gi-Oh world, of him."

My eyes widened for a second, but I made myself relax again.

"...So, you know my secret too?"

Ryo slowly nodded in reply.

There was a long silence, as I thought back to my duel with Melvin.

"...Tell me, Ryo," I finally said, "what is happening outside right now? How long have I been out?"

"Only for a few minutes, not very long at all. And as to what's going on outside..."

He paused.

"...I think it is better that you just rest. You've only just now recovered, after all."

I studied Ryo's expression. I knew, just by the way he looked that something bad was happening.

Something really bad.

I then moved to the edge of the bed. Ryo's eyes widened and he tried to get me to lie down again.

"Roxanne, what are you doing?" he asked, alarmed.

"I'm going to see what's going on," I replied, gently pushing Ryo away. "I need to see what is happening."

"But Roxanne..."

I glared at him. Our eyes met, as I silently told him that I couldn't just sit here and do nothing. Ryo looked like he wanted to argue, to have me just rest and be safe. He didn't want me to suffer anymore than I already had. And for that, I found it a bit comforting. But I needed to know what was happening.

Eventually, Ryo let out a heavy sigh, and looked down at the ground.

"...Alright. But you can't make yourself known. At least...not until Melvin isn't around." He sat up from his chair. "Follow me."

Ryo then walked to the door to his soul room and opened the door. He stepped outside, and I followed close to his side. Like in Yugi's mind, Ryo's mind had a long dark hallway, one side having the door to his soul room and the other leading to Bakura's, which looked exactly like the door to Atem's soul room. I forced myself not to look at it for long, as Ryo took me down the long hallway. Slowly, light started to shine through and soon I found myself outside on the duel arena.

Only, I wasn't really there. Me, along with Ryo, were looking through Bakura's eyes, reading his thoughts and feeling his emotions.

Bakura was on his knees, crying as he held something close to him.

And that something...was my body.

Marik stood beside him, completely frozen as tears ran down his cheeks. Melvin kept his eyes on Bakura, slowly making his way to him.

"You really should get a hold of yourself, Thief King," Melvin said, his voice surprisingly filled with irritation. "You are making a fool of yourself."

Bakura glared up at Melvin, a feeling of intense hatred and grief flowing through him.

"You are going to dearly pay for what you have done!" he spat. "I will destroy you from the core!"

"Do you really think that getting rid of me will solve your love life issues?" Melvin questioned. "That blaming all the horrible things on me will solve your problems?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"I can't imagine why the dark one would want to merge with someone like you! You are too weak and your emotions are unstable. For just one girl, one human life, has affected you so greatly. In fact..."

He paused for a long moment.

"...It makes me wonder why Zorc is letting you have so much control, having the spirit of the Thief King be dominate over the dark god's."

Bakura continued to glare at Melvin, confusion running through his mind. He couldn't fully understand what he was talking about. For his memory hadn't been fully restored yet.

A large twisted smile appeared on Melvin's face.

"But...once Battle City is over, perhaps Zorc will realize who the better servant is. The one who truly deserves his power! But, until I kill the Pharaoh, you are not my top priority."

Melvin started to walk away, until he made eye contact with Marik. He didn't say anything, but the dark look in his eyes told everything. Marik glared back, letting the tears fall. Melvin gave a small smile and then left the duel arena, heading down the elevator.

I didn't know what I felt more of. Angry that he was messing with Bakura and Marik's minds or the fact that I was more deathly afraid of him than ever before.

But I didn't have time to think, as overwhelming grief and sorrow flowed over me. It was Bakura's emotions, as he cradled my body in his arms. Through his eyes, I could see that my face was incredibly pale; it having the expression that it was such a relief to be dead.

It was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my entire life.

"...Bakura..."

Marik tried to approach him, me, but Bakura shot him a death glare, making Marik flinched back.

"This is all your fault!" Bakura shouted at the top of his lungs. "Because of you, and your sick split personality, Roxanne was sent to the Shadow Realm! You caused her to…to…"

He couldn't finish his sentence.

Marik looked down in at the ground, his eyes clouded with grief and even self hatred. It was too much, for he started to sob without any self control. He fell to his knees, crying as he muttered my, Ishizu, Rishid, and his father's name.

I felt tears form in my own eyes, as I forced myself to get out of Bakura's mind. This scene...I couldn't take it.

Ryo gave me a sympathetic look as he too left.

"Do you want them to know that you are safe or would it be better if they didn't know?" he asked gently.

I looked up at him, wiping my tears away from my eyes.

"O-of course I want them to know I'm safe. I couldn't let them not know that a part of me is still here."

Ryo nodded in reply.

"...I'll let them know that you are okay first before you see them in case Bakura...overreacts, along with Marik. Just...wait in my soul room until everything is settled, okay?"

There was large emphasis on the word 'overreact,' along with a tad of edginess to his voice, like he was afraid of something. Normally, I would have resented the idea of going to the other room, but with the way Ryo looked and sounded, I just nodded and slowly made my way to his soul room.

When I closed the door, I could faintly hear what was going on in the outside world, what was going on between Ryo, Bakura, and Marik. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but I knew something big was happening. All in all, I felt powerless as I listened to the tone of their voices.

Is this how Ryo felt? Just sitting here in his soul room knowing something terrible is happening but is unable to do anything?

I sat next to the door, leaning my head against the wall and closing my eyes. Slowly, my duel with Melvin replayed in my mind. I mainly thought of the last monster he summoned, Shadow's Serpent. That monster...how come I've never heard of it before? I knew everything about Yu-Gi-Oh! I should have known about this monster, I shouldn't have been as surprised as I was! I've should have seen it in the manga or the anime!

"Yes, Roxanne, there is more to the Yu-Gi-Oh universe then from your precious anime and manga. Hidden secrets...hidden truths and twists." Melvin's voice rang in my ears. "I'm just the beginning of the true enemy of many twists in fate. Or perhaps not...maybe you already encountered some 'plot twists.' For you are changing fate as well, just with your own presences!"

Am I really making that big of a difference in the Yu-Gi-Oh world? Yes, I have made some changes on purpose...but does a few small turns cause a huge ripple of changes that rewrites everything?

"Head my words, Roxanne Thorndyke, that you must go and leave this dimension as soon as possible. You do not belong in this world. You, and everyone you know, will suffer the consequences the longer you are here."

"Your obsession with our world has blinded you. But that may be why you are here, to let go of your obsession. Cruel way to do it."

"What happened in Duelist Kingdom will be nothing compared to what lies ahead if you continue to be here. For Battle City will end much worse."

Shadi...

Tears started to run down my cheeks, for I wanted nothing more than to tell him I'm sorry that I caused all this. And not just Shadi, but Bakura, Marik, Ryo, Ishizu, Pegasus, Atem, Yugi...all of them. I wanted to say...that even though I tried so hard to make things better, I ultimately made everything worse.

And all because I was an obsessive fangirl!

"Bakura, you can't do this!" Ryo's voice broke me out of my thoughts as I heard loud footsteps get closer to the door. "Bakura, come back!"

"Don't you dare try to stop me, Ryo!" Bakura's voice yelled. "If she's in your soul room, I need to see her right away!"

"I know but I just don't think…"

Ryo's voice trailed off.

There was a moment of silence as I could picture Ryo and Bakura's faces.

"…Does she not want to see us?" Marik's voice softly asked. "I can understand if she doesn't…but can you at least give her a message for me?"

"Oh no," Bakura shouted. "You have no right to see her, if anyone! I should kill you right where you stand for what you have done!"

"Bakura, calm down…"

"Stay out of this!"

I could imagine Ryo stepping back as Bakura glared at Marik. Or was planning to do something worse to him.

Not wanting to hear anymore arguing, I stood back up and swiftly opened the door. Just like I had imagined, Bakura was about to punch Marik while Ryo stood in the back, too intimidated to do anything. Marik looked passed Bakura and his eyes widened when he saw me. Not sure what he was looking at, Bakura and Ryo turned around, Bakura looking like his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets. I looked at each one of them in the eyes.

"…Please stop fighting," I begged, my voice cracking. "Please stop…I've seen enough fighting for a lifetime"

I slowly approached them.

"If we start fighting among ourselves, then Melvin has already one. Divided, we can never hope to defeat him."

I took a deep breath of air as I tried to hold back from crying.

"...Even though I fell, the Pharaoh should be able to defeat Melvin. Though with great difficulty. I left him a note, before I went to duel, that told him how to defeat him. The only thing we can do now is wait, letting fate make its way into reality."

There was a long pause; a long tense moment between the four of us.

"…Then we should let the pharaoh know what has happened," Ryo finally said. "I'll be the one to tell him, since you three are exhausted."

He turned to me and Marik.

"Roxanne, you can stay in my soul room for now until we can get the rest of your soul out of the Shadow Realm. Marik…you told me you can go back to your soul room because of the Millennium Rod's power, right? I think it would be best if you did go back. At least for now, it would be for the best."

Marik and I nodded in reply.

Ryo stared at Bakura, their eyes meeting for a long moment, before he finally disappeared to take control of his body.

"…We should be getting some rest," I finally said when Ryo disappeared. "We need to keep our strength up if we are going to defeat Melvin."

"Roxanne, I…"

I gave Marik a gentle smile.

"It's okay, Marik," I said. "I don't blame you for what happened. Like I said before the duel, even in death, or in my case partly in the Shadow Realm, I will fight back."

I went back inside Ryo's soul room and closed the door before he could make a reply, as an exhausted look washed upon my face.

All I wanted to do right now was be alone, and think over how I could help Atem defeat this madman. Finding a place to lay down so when Ryo came back he could have his bed, I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. Or at least the best I could.