AN: This is a free standing chapter, as always, but it does take place minutes after 'One Last Chip'.

I press my hand against the wall and rest my forehead against the cold stone.

I…...... I almost died. I mentally shiver. I was never bluffing. Not even for a moment. I honestly would have done it. I would have fallen, pushed myself over the edge. I would have killed myself.

I close my eyes and wait a second before opening them again.

I almost died. And I would have, if that girl hadn't stopped him. That girl. What's her name again? Tama? Tara? Tea? Yea, that's it. Tea. She saved my life. If she hadn't called to Yugi, gotten him to stop that attack, I would have jumped. But then…...... I doubt she did it for me. I doubt she meant to save my life.

'Tell me! What do you have at the end of the day?!' I recall her shouting at me, her eyes burning with rage. I'm just scum to her. To her I was not worth saving. She most likely saved me to save Yugi. If I had jumped, he would have seen himself as a murderer. But I won. And now he sees himself as a failure. He sees himself as a boy who cannot save his grandfather, just as I saw myself as the boy who could not save his brother.

I feel for Yugi. I would be lying to say that I do not. I understand how he must hate himself. I hated myself for being helpless to save Mokuba, which is why I forced his hand as I did. I had hit rock bottom. For if I lost what would I have to live for?

Yes, I pity Yugi for having to chose. I pity him for having to decide who was more important. I pity him for having to decide whose life was more important; the old man's, or mine? But, most of all, I pity him for choosing wrong. If I had been Yugi, I would have killed myself in a heartbeat. You opponent is your opponent, no matter what, no matter the stakes. If your opponent chooses to risk more than you do, that is his business. You must still win!

I saw those thoughts, the same ones that were on my mind, in Yugi's eyes as he started his attack. He knew that I must die. He knew it had been my gamble to make. I could have given up without a fight. I could have kept my life and lost the duel. It was Mokuba or my life, a hard decision for most but I knew which was the most important.

I feel a little dishonest, to tell the truth. When we began our duel, we agreed to the stakes. The winner enters the castle and the loser…...... loses all hope. But when I knew I would lose, when I knew I had fallen short, I raised the stakes without his consent. I cheated…...... almost.

I let out a sigh and stand up straight, squaring my shoulders.

But Yugi understands. It was his choice, his gamble, his life. Just as it was mine.

I continue walking and a servant opens a large door for me. I walk through the doorway and onto a thin metal walkway, hundreds of feet in the air. I grip by briefcase tighter.

And now I will fight Pegasus for Mokuba. One more gambler, one more card game, one more bet.