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Me again: Man! You guys read these chapters as fast as I try to put them out. I'm so proud…no flames!! Hey Fairysphinx…do you sit there waiting for these? It seems as soon as one is done you review it. Not that I'm complaining. Is everyone happy with this fic so far? Hope so…



Yami watched the quick gray creature sprinting ahead of him. They were going deeper into the forest, twisting and turning and generally confusing the poor young man. Silver Fang, on the other hand seemed to be really enjoying himself. He leapt any obstacle and raced across the grass, dodging tress and vines.

"You certainly are enjoying yourself." He yelled into the wolf's ear. Silver Fang just barked in response and jumped a fallen tree. Dark Gray was slowing down, causing the snow wolf to do the same. They stopped in front of a cliff side.

Yami got off Silver Fang and looked up. It would be extremely hard to climb. Silver Fang seemed to read his thoughts.

:I can't help you here. Looks like you'll have to do it yourself:

:He will have to do it himself, he can't use any other cards. Celiian is at the top and if you truly want to reach him, you will do this:

Yami nodded, he had expected something like this. He was just glad he was wearing gloves. Those rocks did not look like they would be friendly to flesh. He turned to Silver Fang and nodded. The Wolf nodded in return in went back into the deck. Yami then turned to the Dark Gray who had remained there.

:I am impressed with your methods and with the loyalty and friendship you are showing the cards. I have been looking for a dueler that respects the smaller cards and I think you are the one I have been looking for. I chose you as my dueler:

So saying the Dark Gray shifted and morphed until he was a card and Yami carefully picked him up and inserted him into his deck.

//If you think I care wait until you meet my light//

He turned to the cliff. The hardest part, he had always found, with anything was starting. So he had made a point of not thinking about that part a long time ago. He placed his hand in the highest grip he could reach and started climbing. It was hard and even with the leather covering his body, he still got bruised and his face got scraped. He was panting hard and he was only half way up.

//Light, I wish I had your strength.//

He continued to climb, the sun beating down on him and his muscles screaming at him. Now he really appreciated the stairs in his pyramids and palaces. He didn't stop, he couldn't stop. The Celtic Guardian was up there and he had no choice but to go to him. His hand finally touched the top and he pulled himself up and lay there panting.

A shadow feel across him and he hoped it was friendly. He was just too sore to fight right now.

"My Lord? I knew you would come! I just knew it." Two arms helped him up and he was embraced tightly. He had made it. Celiian lifted him up easily and set him down in some shade, leaving only for a moment to bring him water. Yami drank it gratefully and just lay there as Celiian sat beside him, a smile on the elf's face.

"What are you doing up her?" Yami asked after a while. He looked at the Elf and saw his features looked sad. He gazed away from Yami.

"The Duelers came and told me to give up trying to be a card. They said I was disrupting the balance and that I had to either stop," he grew quiet for a moment, "or be destroyed." He looked back at Yami and the trust and compassion he had for Yami left him reeling.

//No wonder the other elf thought he loved me//

"Will you give up?" he asked gently. The elf shook his head fiercely and Yami smiled. "Do you still have the sword I gave you?" Celiian nodded. Yami looked at him carefully. "Did you know that that sword was a magic equip card that can only be used on Warriors?" He watched as the elf shook his head and then saw when it dawned on him what Yami had just said.

"Then you mean that I'm a Warrior-Type Card?" Yami nodded. "But I can't be activated." Yami cocked his head to the side and raised one eyebrow in question. "Someone tried. The card Gyakutenno Megami is a powerful Fairy- Type and she just recently became a dueler. Before I hid up here, she tried to activate me as a card, but it didn't work."

"What did she call you?" He looked startled at the question.

"My name."

"And why do you want to be a card so bad? Why do you strive to gain power when everyone around you have told you that you can't." Celiian looked angry.

"I don't want power, I want the ability to guard and protect the people I care for! I want to prove my loyalty to someone worthy! I want that someone to be you." His voice had dropped to a whisper. Yami leaned close to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"I know why you weren't activated. She said the wrong name and I'll prove it."

"You will do nothing of the sorts." Both whipped there heads around and saw the Lord of Dragons. Celiian shrank down beside him but Yami got up.

"I'm tired of your games. This time I am the one who will Duel you." The Lord looked at him and grinned.

"Fine. One monster card against one monster card." He pulled out the first card on his deck. "I call out the Curse of Dragon!"

Yami smirked. "Is that the end of your turn." The Lord nodded. "Good it means you can't play any magic cards."

"I don't need to."

"But I find they can be quite useful. First I call upon the field card Sogen, which increases a warrior type by 200 each. Next I call upon the Legendary sword, which increases the same warrior by 300 each. And last I call out Invigoration which allows Earth-type monsters to gain 400 attack points, but lose 200 defense points."

"So play this warrior already, it still can't defeat my Dragon and be controlled by you here." Yami smiled.

"Yes it can." He called over to Celiian. "Take your position on the field." Celiian looked scared for a moment and then determined. He walked to the space in front of Yami. "I'll take the first card out of my deck." He reached down to his deck and touched the top card…



Yugi did the same. He knew what was coming. He blocked everyone and everything else out. His hand touched the card and his puzzle was complete he felt himself both in Kaiba's mansion and in the Shadow Realm.

//About time you showed up.//

/You can't get rid of me/

//Never wanted to//

Two voices called out as one as the card was activated.

"The Celtic Guardian!"

They watched as Celiian transformed. His hair became short, he gained the armor and sword and the war paint of his people. He grew taller, more muscular and with the magic cards that Yami had placed down, plus the field advantage he was more powerful than Curse of Dragon, with an Attack of 2200!

"Celtic Guardian, attack!" The Elf rushed into battle and destroyed the Dragon, leaving the Lord, yet again, defeated.

"This isn't possible! He can't be a Card, he wasn't strong enough!"

"No. It was not him, it was never him. It was the Dueler. They didn't see the Heart he possessed. They didn't see his soul. But I did, with the help of my light." It was then that the Lord noticed Yugi standing beside Yami, the Millenium Puzzle glowing contently around his neck. He growled and stalked off.

Yugi cheered and hugged Yami, the two happy to be reunited at last. They were finally whole. They looked over at the Celtic guardian who was looking at himself in amazement. So it seemed was their deck whole as well. Yami stood up and brought Yugi over to the Elf.

"Well, how does it feel to be a Card?" Celiian didn't answer, he just turned and hugged Yami and Yugi together.

"Thank-you. I knew it was you, both of you." He stepped back from them. "Never forget what you have learned. It takes both strong and weak, both light and dark, to make a whole." He smiled and changed into a card. Yami knelt down and picked him up.

//We won't my friend, we won't//

Yugi tugged his arm. "Can we go back now? The others have been worried about you, even Kaiba." Yami looked surprised.

"Kaiba?" Yugi nodded.

"Yep! He was the one who created the system that allowed us to-" Yami let his light tell him all about what had happened at there end and he used the puzzle to take him back, where he got the full account and then filled in his part.

All the while he smiled and felt at ease.

But in the Shadow realm, the Lord of Dragons knelt down at the last place of his duel with that Pharaoh. He smiled at what he found. It was a card.

"Yu-Gi-Oh!-The King of Games!" And on it was a picture of Yami as he had last been seen. Dressed in black and ready to fight.

"I told you I would have your card." He turned and left and the forest below shuddered. It wasn't over.

***End of this part. Consider these chapters one part. The next part, Shadowed Borders, will only come out if enough people are interested. It's been fun being with all of you. Your reviews will decide whether or not I stay a while longer. Bye!***