The quarterfinals have finished. Now... it's just a matter of time before the Semi-Finals begin. But what's lurking in the Shadows?

Disclaimer: RDF1 doesn't own anything in this fic, technically not even the original content.

One more thing: For those that do not know, my general writing style is rewriting canon, changing dialogue to fit my ideas of a story. So if I'm skipping a bunch of dialogue, it's because of who I'm focusing on and how much I want to rattle through the duels themselves, since Dialogue is actually 60 percent of these episodes. I write under the assumption you have seen the show before, so if you haven't, why are you reading this beforehand?

(Chapter Begin)

(Recap)

"Who are you, Seto, to let things such as fate dictate your actions. You changed your fate before, and you can do so again," finished Serenity, as the glow and echo faded alongside her hair return settling. She gave him a long look, "Seto, you know what you must do to win."

Yami and his friends were stunned by this revelation. Yami also figured out there was only one Monster who would reach out to Seto Kaiba in a situation like this. When the Millennium Rod shone, he had a vision of the tablet for a moment before it disappeared. If he was going to duel Kaiba, then Kaiba would win this duel. It seemed like fate was contradicting itself and needed correction.

Seto, for his part, took another look at his hand and the God Card he summoned. He had a clarity he couldn't remember having since the tournament began. Yes, Obelisk was an Egyptian God and incredibly powerful, but his heart wasn't with Obelisk. His heart belonged elsewhere and if he was going to duel Yugi, he couldn't ignore his heart any longer.

"Ishizu, it's time fate learned not to defy itself," said Seto, pointing a finger right at Ishizu's Millennium Necklace, "This duel has just taken a turn you couldn't predict!"

Ishizu was shocked. Fate showed her how the duel was going to end. But this... this was fate being changed, being defied. Her one answer to Obelisk was about to be sidestepped.

"I play Silent Doom to revive Gadget Soldier," declared Seto, before selecting the next card in his hand, the monster than never left it this entire duel, "Now I sacrifice Obelisk the Tormentor and Gadget Soldier to Summon The One, The Only, BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!"

As Obelisk and Gadget Soldier faded, Blue Eyes White Dragon appeared and took her side next to Seto, proud of him for summoning her. Seto then had Blue Eyes win the duel with White Lightning, reducing Ishizu's Life Points to Zero.

Ishizu: 1400-0

Kaiba: 1350

"The Duel is over. Seto Kaiba is the winner!" declared the announcer as the platform started to lower once more.

Maria walked over to follow behind Seto and Mokuba as they made their way back down into the ship, but stopped for moment next to Ishizu, "A thought just occurred to me. You told Kaiba he was to duel the Pharaoh in this Tournament. But... You also predicted Kaiba would lose to you. How did the Millennium Necklace not see that as a contradiction?"

Ishizu just smiled, as she did after accepting Blue Eyes changing Seto's fate, "Because was I blinded by hubris, relying too much on my item and not on my own decisions. I could have won that duel in multiple ways, but blinded by what the Necklace showed me, I couldn't see how Kaiba winning would mean his rematch with the Pharaoh."

Maria smiled back and gave a nod of acceptance, before continuing with the Kaiba brothers down below, where the translation program was still finishing up.

(Recap End)

"Serenity, what was all that?" asked Joey, as Maria and the Kaiba Brothers left.

"I heard a voice asking me for help," explained Serenity, not looking directly at Joey, "It was the same voice I asked for help when diving into the ocean to save you. She gave me the strength I needed to help you."

"Who's she?" asked Yugi.

"Someone who cares about Seto very much. So much so she couldn't let him lose that duel due to relying on Obelisk," answered Serenity, as the group decided to head back down themselves to visit Mai.

"But why you?" asked Tristan.

"Because she is connected to that spirit," came a familiar voice.

Everyone turned to see Ishizu walking behind them.

"Would you mind one more accompanying you?" asked Ishizu.

No one had a problem with it, so the now group of six continued their way to Mai's room.

"Serenity is a very unique individual," said Ishizu, "She isn't necessary a reincarnation, unlike Yugi, but she is still connected to someone from five thousand years ago. Someone who's connected to Seto Kaiba's previous incarnation."

"What!? Close to Kaiba!?" spoke up Joey, "But he's a jerk!"

"Joey!" admonished Serenity, "He helped us get you back from Marik's control. Plus, he loves his brother. Not to mention he's been nothing but polite around me."

"But Sis..." stuttered Joey, "He... he's not always such a nice guy."

"I've seen enough. Enough to help him when he needs it," countered Serenity.

"Speaking of Help, I have a favor to ask of you, Yugi," interjected Ishizu.

From there, Ishizu began explaining her wish to save her brother from his eviler self, going to far as to explain where his darker half came from.

(AN1)

Meanwhile, Maria and the Kaiba brothers entered the computer room Mokuba was in before.

"Mokuba, have you finished the translation on the text for the Winged Dragon of Ra yet?" asked Seto.

"Mostly," replied Mokuba, "The Computer was still having trouble with the last line of text. But, now that you and Maria are here, maybe you can help with the translation?"

Maria smiled, glad that Mokuba remembered that detail. Seto rolled his eyes a bit, before looking up at the image of the Winged Dragon of Ra on the screen. His eyes widened, but not out of surprise that he could read it. He had been warned he could by Maria. No, what was surprising was that what he was reading was more than the text on the card image.

"No wonder the last line of text couldn't be translated," said Seto, as he took the seat Mokuba had once occupied, before inputing the translation himself, "There was only so much room for the text, but everything had to still be able to fit anyways. I'm reading more descriptions and effects here than Marik described. The Computer's translator can't keep up because there's too many words overlapping in that last line. Once we finish here, we should get some rest before we make it to the island tomorrow. I'm going to need to be at my best to defeat Yugi and Marik."

"What about Joey?" smirked Maria.

"He won't be a challenge," said Seto, "Because he's got the most duels on record, I've got the best idea about his deck and ultimately, his chances of winning with his current deck is less than 25 percent."

"Fair enough," shrugged Maria, as Kaiba kept working.

Even with Kaiba being able to read the text, it still took over an hour for him to input everything. By the time he was done, an announcement rang through the speaker system about the next destination, allowing them to return to their rooms for the night.

(AN2)

Seto sat on his bed, his deck beside him as he held up the three Blue Eyes before him.

"I can't remember your name, but I know my past life loved you deeply," apologized Seto Kaiba, "I'm sorry for being blinded by the power of Obelisk. My duel with the Pharaoh will be here before we know it, and even if I plan on using Obelisk, I know in my heart I will need you by the end. I will never forget you like that again. Please, forgive me."

Silence reigned for a few moments, and Seto closed his eyes, feeling like it wasn't enough... before hearing the voice that echoed with Serenity's from before.

"You are forgiven, my Seto. Don't forget that while Powerful Creatures view you as worthy, I will always be with you. You are the only one truly worthy of wielding me to my full potential," said the voice, "And just so you don't forget it again, My name is Kisara."

Seto smiled while shedding a tear. He was forgiven, and that was all that mattered. His heart lighter than it felt most of the day, he returned his Blue Eyes to his deck and settled in for a good sleep.

(AN3)

Maria was just about ready to settle into bed when a thought occurred to her. Marik! He was still after Odion's life. He failed once, but he wasn't going to stop until he did kill him. Maria, fully awake once more, headed towards Odion's room. Opening the door, she let out a breath of relief as Odion was still there, unconscious as he was when Ra struck him into unconsciousness. It was then she felt another presence. The Millennium Ring! It was calling out to her. Running over to Bakura's room, she noticed Téa heading to Yugi's room. Her eyes narrowed, did Marik have a hand in this?

Opening the door to Bakura's room revealed an empty bed, confirming her suspicions. Marik still had a piece of his mind in Téa's body since he was never forced out from the incident at the pier. She moved on to Ishizu's room, waking her up.

"What is it, Maria?" asked Ishizu, rubbing her tired eyes.

"We need to move Odion before it's too late," informed Maria, her look giving no room for humor, "Marik's darker half is currently occupied and we can't let him kill Odion. He's the only one who can give Marik strength to suppress his darker half."

Ishizu's eyes blinked open, sleep a distance thought as the two of them headed to Odion's room and proceeded to move him into Ishizu's room, for better protection.

"What will you do now?" asked Ishizu, as Maria turned to leave.

"With any luck, getting my Millennium Necklace back. I've been without it for far too long," came the response as Maria left the room and headed up the stairs.

(AN4)

When she arrived, she saw that Yami and Téa were already there and a cloud of dark mist, a clear indicator of the Shadow Realm, covering the duel field. She heard the Ring call out to her loud and clear. The Dark Spirit that took over Bakura was fading into the Shadow Realm, leaving the Millennium Ring free to claim. Stepping into the dark mist with Yami, she noticed the Ring in Marik's hand. Holding out her own, the Ring glowed and flew out of Marik's hand and into hers.

"I won that fair and square," remarked Marik.

"I wouldn't have been able to claim it then," countered Maria, pulling the necklace over her head as it set into place around her neck, "If the Ring was wagered, I wouldn't have been able to claim it. So while you won, you don't have the right to the Millennium Ring."

(AN5)

"What have you done to Bakura, Marik?" demanded Yami.

"I don't know who this Bakura is," responded Marik, "But if you mean the Dark Spirit of the Millennium Ring? Where else do people go when losing a Shadow Game?"

"Then Bakura's gone too," sighed Maria, looking away from Yami.

"You will pay for this, Marik!" declared Yami.

"Save it," countered Maria, "There has been enough dueling for one day. Save your strength for the next round."

"Indeed," said Marik, "You will need all your strength to stand a chance against me!"

With that, Marik walked off, laughing his evil laugh.

"Maria!" said Téa, since the dark mist of the Shadow Realm vanished, "Why do you have the Ring?"

"Because it belonged to my previous incarnation. Bakura gained it by chance. And unfortunately, he's in the Shadow Realm right now," explained Maria, "But, now I'll be able to do more to help out, so long as the Ring answers to me."

"Then couldn't you bring Bakura and Mai back?" asked Téa.

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that," said Maria, before turning to Yami, "The Millennium Items are always in a power struggle with one another. A duel like this helped determine which item was able to overrule the uses of another. Since Marik won against Bakura, the Ring isn't allowed to interfere with the Millennium Rod for some time. Now, it's late, and we all need sleep. Especially now that we lost yet another to the Shadow Realm."

"She's right Téa," said Yami, walking over to Téa, "It's over for now. We need to get some sleep."

"Also, that Evil Marik has been after Odion's life as well, so as a precaution, I have had him moved to a different room for safe keeping."

"That's good," sighed Téa, as the Marik within her was grateful for Maria's quick intervention, "We've lost more than enough people already."

The three of them returned downstairs to where the rooms were, and when Maria finally got back to her bed, she collapsed onto her back, strangely content with the day's events. Sure, Bakura shouldn't have been dragged into his dark spirit's affairs and thus the Shadow Realm, but hopefully with a full night's sleep and the Magic of the Millennium Ring at her command, she would be able to do more in the coming days.

(Chapter End)

Alright, on to Author Notes...

AN1: Such a strange thing. Joey and Serenity love each other very much, but can't help but disagree when it comes to Kaiba, simply because of their interactions with the guy. Joey having nothing but negative interactions, while Serenity having only ever seen the more reserved and polite side of him. A somewhat nicer side that only his brother usually sees. Plus, with Kisara asking her to help the two of them, she feels a bit obligated to help Seto out herself.

AN2: Kaiba ended up taking a good long while to transcribe everything Ra's texts had to say.

AN3: Seto has a solo scene? Yes he does, and because he's alone, he can let down his guard. His most faithful companion and Spirit Monster came to his rescue, and he would truly unworthy of Blue Eyes if he didn't understand what that meant. Because he's already taking Maria's words in stride, he knows lying to himself would be the epitome of self destruction.

AN4: Good Marik got lucky that Evil Marik loved to enjoy his victory far longer than normal. I'm not counting on that luck. And if people are asking why? She was there right before Marik dueled Mai, so she knows he's after Odion's life. As a logical and responsible person, she wasn't going to leave things up to chance after being saved by the Dark Spirit of the Ring, and thus took away Evil Marik's target for everyone's sake.

AN5: I rewatched this three-parter specifically to see if this was the case. At the end of the first part, just prior to the duel beginning, it was the Rod that was wagered. The Ring was never mentioned. Add to that fact that Evil Marik, and Good Marik for that matter, didn't care about the Millennium Items outside of obtaining the Egyptian God Cards and Millennium Puzzle, this left a small window of opportunity for Maria to claim the Necklace at long last.

Maria finally has the Millennium Ring! Something I've been building up this entire fanfic. Now that she has it... well let's just say there's a few things later on that are affected by this change. Anything immediate? Maybe... I haven't decided yet.

Also, I believe I did say I was going to include the Virtual World Arc. That comes next, so I am curious if you want Maria to duel one of the Big Five or not. She's not going to duel Noah or Gozaburo Kaiba for obvious reasons, but if nobody suggests she duels any of the Big Five, then I have something else I can do for her instead.

Just let me know!

So, until then...

Later,

RDF1