A/N: To everyone who submitted their characters - thank you! And we're sorry that we couldn't fit them all - so don't take it personally if yours wasn't included.

Chapter 27

"Enter the Pyramid"

As they neared the pyramid, they could see a few others already there, all dressed in cloaks of various pale colors. "Huh," Yugi said, "I guess more people than just us collected all seven items."

"Yes," Bakura said, fingering his Ring nervously, "And I'll bet not one of them has a clue about what they're getting themselves into."

"Don't tell me we're gonna have to fill them in too?" Joey moaned.

"I doubt they'd believe us even if we did tell them," Mai said.

"It seems cruel to send them in there not knowing anything," Tea said.

Yugi nodded and then glanced over at Tsuki, who had been quieter than usual this morning. "Hey…are you okay?" he asked her softly.

"Huh? Oh, I guess so…" she said, "Just a little scared."

The boy smiled. Those were his feelings exactly, but it wouldn't do for her to know that, "It'll be alright. Just let Dedi handle the dueling when you get inside and everything will be fine, you'll see."

Meanwhile, Joey and Mai were eying the rest of their competition. The blonde-haired teen had his arms folded across his chest, the Duel Disk gleaming in the sunlight, "Boy, these guys don't look like they'll be much of a challenge…"

"Yeah," Mai said. She checked her watch, "We've got almost twenty minute before they'll let us in. Wanna go mingle?"

"Sure, why not?" Joey shrugged, as he and Mai approached the group of strangers. But perhaps group was a poor choice of words, because each duelist seemed lost in his or her own little world. There were only two that seemed to know each other. A short, teenage girl with brown hair and bi-eyes was talking animatedly to a tall teenage boy with white & black hair and dark sunglasses. As Mai and Joey approached, the girl spotted them and waved.

"Hi there!" she said cheerfully, "We were wondering how many more of us there would be for this thing."

"We…?" Mai said.

"Yeah," the girl said, gesturing to the tall boy, "Konton and me. I'm Alyssa, by the way, but everyone calls me Gee."

"Huh?" Joey said, "Where do you get a nickname–?"

But before he could get the whole question out, the girl had taken him by the arm, grinning up at him, "And what's your name, cutie?"

"Uh…er…Joey Wheeler…" he said, blushing and tugging at the collar of his cloak. Beside him, he could feel Mai glaring at him.

"Oh!" Gee said, letting go of him and clapping a hand over her mouth, "That must mean – is Yugi Moto here??"

"Uh, yeah…" Joey said.

"But I don't think he's in the mood to sign autographs right now," Mai said shortly, taking Joey's hand firmly in hers, as if afraid he might wander off, "So I suppose you're all feeling pretty good about the competition today, hmm?"

"Of course," said the boy, Konton, "Why shouldn't we be? This is gonna be fun."

Mai and Joey shot each other a look.

"Hey…" Gee said, "What's the matter with you two? You look like somebody's died!"

"Look…" Joey began, "This whole thing is rigged. The guy running it is a real whack-job and it's gonna be dangerous in there."

Gee and Konton looked at each other and then laughed. To Joey's dismay, their laughter caught the attention of the other unknown duelists and they gathered around quickly.

"What's so funny?" demanded a tall, muscular boy with glasses.

"These two!" Gee said, still giggling.

"They say there's some madman in control of this tournament!" Konton added.

"Madman?!" squeaked a smaller boy with black hair and freckles, "As in, like, ax-wielding??"

"Naw," said Konton, "More like a sorcerer with evil magic powers!"

The black hair boy gave a small yelp and bit his fingernails nervously.

Joey was now twitching with absolute rage. All we ever do is try ta help people and this is what we get!?!? Why I oughtta- As he went to step forward, the young adult felt a hand on his shoulder and craned his neck around for a look.

Tristan was standing just behind him, shaking his head, "They aren't worth it. Just give up; you know they won't believe you no matter what you do or say." The tall, brown-haired boy turned and began to walk off, "It's almost time, you should be focused on yourself and the tournament, like Yugi is. Or Bakura."

Yugi seemed to be talking to the wall of the pyramid, but it was easy to guess that Yami was there, invisible but always present. Bakura was looking through his deck and kept glancing nervously at his digital watch on his wrist, as if willing time to speed up by staring at the device.

"He's right," Mai said, "This is a waste of time. Come on." She led him back over to their group.

As they left, Gee wiped a tear out of her eye, "Hoo boy…you don't get a good laugh like that very often, do you?"

* * *

Deep within the Pyramid, Vitani was entering her Master's inner sanctum. He had summoned her, most likely to brief her before the Finals began. As she stepped into the room, she could see him fastening his personalized DD2 to the armor on his right arm. He glanced up as she approached and she bowed swiftly.

"Punctual as always, Vitani," he said.

"Thank you, sir," she said. Jetsu looked her over. She was dressed for battle, in a white tank-top, leather pants, high-heeled boots, and temporary Egyptian tattoos on her face and shoulders. Her short blonde hair was pushed behind her ears and attached to the belt around her hips was a sword in a gold sheath. "What part shall I play in today's events, sir?"

"Eager, I see," Jetsu said, "Good. Your task is simple, Vitani. You will eliminate the weak ones first. Then move on to the more troublesome ones."

"Please sir," Vitani said softly, "May I take the Greek?"

"Very well," Jetsu said, "Yes, perhaps that is best. I don't want to get my armor dirty today. Yes, you may handle her."

"Thank you sir," Vitani said, bowing again, "Shall I bring them in?"

Jetsu said nothing, only nodded. Vitani turned and quickly left the room. As the door shut behind her, Jetsu stood and began to walk towards the hidden exit on the other side of the room. His cold voice filled the now empty room, "It is time."

* * *

Outside, the front entrance of the pyramid slid open with a menacing grinding sound of stone against sand and everyone turned. Out of the dark doorway stepped Vitani and everyone registered a small bit of recognition, as they had seen her on their first night in Al Karnak. The only one acting strangely was Tristan, who had recognized her at once as the woman who had "escorted" him out of the pyramid after he had heard Ambrosius' demise. His eyes met with hers for a split second and he felt himself go cold all over. Then the flash was gone and she had turned to address the crowd.

"Congratulations, duelists!" she said, in her warmest voice, with her fake smile plastered across her face, "My Master is honored to welcome you to his Pyramid for the final round of his Tournament. However, for those of you who have competed before this, the rules are much different than any tournament you have thus far competed in."

Yugi gave Yami a significant look and Vitani continued, "To put it simply, in this round, anything goes. There will be no organized duels of any kind. You are to explore the depths of the pyramid, slowly eliminating one another until there is only one left standing. Is everyone clear on that??"

Everyone nodded, though many looked confused or worried.

"Good," Vitani said, her eyes flashing, "You are free to enter. The Finals have begun." She stepped aside and the duelists began filing in through the large stone doorway. As they did, she sidled calmly to where Tristan stood, eyeing her anxiously. "Well…I certainly didn't expect to see you here. I'm surprised you let your friends compete after what you know."

"You…" Tristan said, clenching his fists, "You'd better not hurt them…"

"Oh, you shouldn't concern yourself with me," Vitani said, "It's my Master who you should worry about. Or rather, who your friends should worry about. I hope you said your goodbyes, because you're certainly not going to see them again." And as Tristan stood there, frozen to the spot, speechless with horror and rage, she left him, bringing up the end of the line of duelists. As soon as she vanished into the darkness, the stone door slid shut, sealing them all inside.

* * *

Almost instantly, the contestants took off, tearing down the different hallways that led deep into the complex pyramid. Soon the only ones beside Vitani left in the main lobby were Kaiba, Joey, Mai, Yugi, and Tsuki. With a flash of light from his Puzzle, Yugi was no more and Yami appeared. With a hard, confident stare at his friends, the pharaoh from the past spoke calmly to them, "Don't worry. We'll get through this. Just watch your backs." With that he too chose a path and disappeared into the darkness.

Kaiba said nothing, and began to saunter down the hallway opposite of Yami's, glowering to himself.

There was another flash of light and Dedi took control of Tsuki. "Good luck to both of you," she said and then went off on her own.

"All right…" Joey said, swallowing hard, "Here we go."

"Be careful, Joey," Mai said and kissed him quickly, before taking yet another path that branched off of the lobby.

Joey nodded, blushing slightly. Suddenly, he noticed something peculiar: Vitani was gone…

Scratching his head, the Japanese teen began to traverse his own deserted, poorly lit corridor, wondering to himself: Now where did she get off to?

* * *

Alyssa Gee, 17-year-old daughter of Captain Gee in the 147th division of the American Infantry Corps rechecked that her Duel Disk 2 was functioning properly. It had never quite been dependable, seeing as she had to share it with her eight siblings usually. At least, until last year when they had finally managed to buy each one of them their own machine.

The native Californian sighed. That, of course, had meant that as the oldest she was stuck with the older, used one. Ah well, at least it provided her with a bit of light as she navigated the dark passageways. Light by torch? What was this, the Stone Age? After the blazing brightness of the desert and the beaches of her home state, the brash girl with two eye colors was ill-prepared to find her way around in this darkness, which could put her at an unnecessary disadvantage. Every footstep she took seemed to echo around her, causing her mind to jump slightly, thinking that it was originating from somewhere other than her own soles.

Suddenly, there was a flicker behind her, and Gee froze. Was it one of the torches, or a duelist preparing an ambush? She went to close her eyes but stopped herself. What had her father taught her about reconnaissance that she could use now? It was a small hallway, and the burning lights were separated each by 15 yards of space. An abrupt chill went down her spine as she came to a realization: the flames would have had to surge much higher than normal to produce that shadow that was slowly growing larger… and larger… behind her…

Alyssa whipped around, doing a complete 180 degree turn, expecting it to be one of those mentally disturbed Japanese losers from outside or maybe Konton trying to scare her, but got an even bigger surprise when she saw the tournament coordinator standing merely feet away from her. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Ohh… it's just you… Where are you going? Up to security to watch us?" she asked jokingly, but then realized that this woman also had a glowing Duel Disk on her arm.

"I am certainly no security force member," Vitani said, "And as to where I am going…nowhere. I've found what I've been looking for: my first opponent. As Master Jetsu's Official Eliminator, I challenge you. Are you brave enough to accept?"

Gee felt her anger flare up and she activated her Duel Disk, "You keep calling him your master. So what are you, his slave? For a slave you sure have a lot of guts challenging the number one duelist in California, and soon the world!"

Vitani said nothing and activated her Duel Disk.

* * *

Joey had been wandering for several minutes listening for any sign of movement, or any whisper of noise. To his surprise, he stepped out of the walkway and into a large, circular chamber, which appeared to be empty except for the many different doorways and the blazing torches that were spread around the room.

More trying to comfort himself from the unnatural silence than anything, the blonde boy spoke aloud, "I guess I could just wait here for someone to challenge me. Dunno who would, but…"

"Aww…Wheeler, are you scared of the dark…?" came a cold voice and Seto Kaiba emerged from one of the dark doorways, smirking cruelly.

Joey scowled, "Well, if it isn't Kai-bitch. I knew I smelled somethin'."

"Who're you to be calling me a bitch? You're the dog," Kaiba spat, "And I'll make you bow to your master. Just like at Duelist Kingdom."

Clank… Clank… Clank… Clank…

The Japanese boy faced his senior, hearing the familiar beeps and clicks of the Duel Disk as it started up its duel program, "The hell I'll ever bow to you!"

Clank… Clank… Clank… Clank…

Kaiba's right eyebrow twitched, "Let's see you back up your big mouth this time, Wheeler! I've waited a long time for this…"

"And so, it would appear, you shall have to wait longer still." A commanding voice rang across the chamber, capturing the attention of both young men. The clanking of metal that both of them had ignored had ceased and before them, shrouded almost completely in the darkness, was a black knight.

Seto glanced over at the new arrival, quite apparently annoyed, "Get lost, whoever you are, we're busy…"

Joey, however, stared long and hard at the oddly dressed man, and drew a conclusion that he wished he hadn't. Holy SHIT!! It's Jetsu!! Now, for some reason, Joey could not find any part of himself that might offer some rebuttal to the man. The one bit of him that really stuck out (the large golden shield) seemed to be glowing ominously on his left arm.

Jetsu laughed, "Mr. Kaiba, such rudeness! Is that anyway to speak to the benefactor of the tournament in which you are competing? You should learn to hold your tongue in the presence of a superior."

Kaiba seemed not to have heard, or if he had, he was pretending not to have. Instead, he turned to Joey. "So this is the nut-case you were talking about? You didn't mention he was fashion-challenged."

Joey didn't get a chance to reply. All he could do was spazz frantically at Kaiba to be quiet before Jetsu cried out, "I said hold your tongue, whelp!!" In an instant, a blast of light shot from the shield and hit Kaiba square in the chest, sending him flying into the far wall. He slid to the floor, caught himself just before falling completely and pushed himself up from the wall.

"Kaiba!" Joey said, noticing that the boy-billionaire's brown hair was beginning to mat with blood.

"Forget it, Wheeler," Kaiba said quickly, a smile hiding his grimace of pain, "I don't know who this freak is, but he's going down. And after that, I'll deal with you."

The evil overlord shook a finger at the leader of Kaiba Corporation, "Still as cocky as ever I see." He chuckled softly, "Come now, boy, a one-on-one with you would be nothing but a waste of my time! This is why I propose that you and Wheeler try your luck together."

"WHAT?!?! Work with HIM?!?" cried both boys at once, pointing at each other.

"I don't need his help," Kaiba said stubbornly.

"And I don't wanna have anyt'ing ta do with him," Joey protested.

"Of course," Jetsu spoke up, "I could just seal both of your souls away right now without a fight…"

"What's he talking about now?" Kaiba muttered.

Joey had gone pale. "Hey, Kaiba…" he said weakly, "How 'bout a truce, huh? Just this once…? He ain't kiddin'. He'll put us outta commission fer good unless we do what he says!"

Kaiba glared back at Joey, "Why should I believe you?"

Joey sighed, exasperated, and cast another nervous glance at the portentous Shield, "You have to! You just have to! Or else… or else… you'll never get ta see Mokuba again!"

Kaiba's eyes widened for a second, then he frowned. "Fine," he said quickly, "But you'd better be right about this one, Wheeler…"

The impetuous teen breathed a sigh of relief, "Trust me, I am Kaiba." Then he turned to face the malevolent knight, "Alrighty then! We'll accept your challenge!"

All three fired up their Duel Disks in preparation and called out in unison, "Let's Duel!"

* * *

Vitani smiled as she stood over the soulless and bleeding body of Alyssa Gee, which was now crumpled up on one side of the hallway. The tournament coordinator began to walk off, using the Millennium Sword that Lord Jetsu had allowed her to borrow to find her way towards her next opponent. One down…