Everyone stared at horror at the evil vampyress's actions.

"Duke!!!" Serenity screamed.

Duke, completely trapped under the metal shelf, didn't move or reply. Serenity went pale, fearing the worst.

Franceska smirked. "Well, it seems that Dice-Boy has been taken care of—permanently! Now to be rid of the rest of you!!"

"You creep!" Joey yelled. "Duke never even did anything to you!!"

"He was being a pain," Franceska retorted, examining her long fingernails. "But the rest of you won't have such quick, easy deaths. I want to see you all suffer!"

"Duke isn't dead!!!" Serenity burst out, trying to run over and lift the metal shelf. Before she could, a horrible werewolf was pinning her to the floor.

"SERENITY!!!!!!" Joey and Tristan both cried in alarm, running to help her.

Yami Yugi glared at Franceska. "Why are werewolves working with you?!" he demanded. "They are supposed to be vampyres' mortal enemies!"

"Not these select few," Franceska smiled. "They have . . . seen the light, shall we say. They know just how much it will profit them to work with us. Of course a bit of brainwashing didn't hurt."

Meanwhile, Rishid had grabbed one of the vampyres attacking Marik and raised it up over his head. "Leave my family alone!" he growled, throwing it back against an oncoming werewolf.

"Such strength," Franceska complimented, "and even after everything my young nephew did to weaken you!"

"Rishid is still weakened," Ishizu replied quietly, "but he still has his fighting spirit. It comes from a desire to protect those he loves and right the wrongs being committed."

"Oh, well, isn't that touching," Franceska smirked.

No one had a chance to talk further, as they were suddenly all overpowered by the horrific creatures.

"Once you're all dead," Franceska laughed, "I will take the Items from those of you who have them! This whole plot has gone just as I predicted!"

Yami Bakura smirked. "Was this in your plans?" he asked, unleashing the Morphing Jar and scooping up a good portion of the werewolves and vampyres.

"And what about this!"

The familiar voice came from behind them. Madame Fiona, a vampyre working against Franceska, appeared silhouetted in the doorway of Duke's shop. With her were all those who were her allies.

Franceska's features twisted in anger. "You again, cousin!"

"Yes!" Fiona cried.

"Man, I never thought I'd be so happy to see a vampyre," Joey smiled in relief, shoving the one back that was trying to attack him and Serenity.

With the new reinforcements, Yugi and the others were finally able to get the upper hand against Franceska's army. Seto smashed his briefcase across one while Marik used the Millennium Rod as a stake. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and since poor Marik had been about to be either killed or turned into a vampyre himself, he felt the measures were desperate enough. It was an act of self-defense on the boy's part, and not something that would be considered a crime.

Even Mokuba was able to get into the act. Furiously he dropped down on a vampyre from behind, kicking it in the head. "That's for hurting my brother!" he yelled, referring to several slashes Seto had received on his left shoulder.

When there was finally a bit of a lull in the action, Serenity and Tristan ran over to lift the metal shelf from off Duke's poor body. The raven-haired boy didn't even make a sound.

"Duke!!" Serenity cried out, going pale. This was just like Boston all over again! she thought to herself. And what was more, she knew that every single one of the mysteries must be just like these.

She couldn't help remembering how Joey had led her to believe that nothing bad had ever really happened to him. Somehow she had the feeling that it wasn't true.

Tristan was checking Duke for broken bones. Upon not finding any, he shook the other teenager on the shoulder. "Duke! Hey, buddy! Come on, answer me!!" he pleaded, to no avail.

"Tristan . . . is he . . ." Serenity looked up at him with frantic hazel eyes.

The brown-haired boy didn't know what to say. The truth was, he wasn't sure how Duke was doing. And if he was . . . dead, how on earth would Tristan ever manage to tell Serenity?! He knew this case had been hard for her already.

Bruce was purple with rage. "But someone in the station must have started all this!" he declared, clenching his fists. "The whole record pirating . . . letting the vicious dog loose . . . and starting the alliance with these . . . these . . . fictitious creatures that, for some reason, have suddenly come to life!!"

Franceska got a hearty laugh out of that. "Oh, I can assure you that we've always existed," she purred.

"There *was* someone working on the inside," Yami Yugi spoke up, looking around to see if the others were alright.

"And it was me!"

Slowly a vaguely familiar woman stepped out from the shadows, twirling a catnip mouse around in her hand.

Oreo perked up and let out a hiss.

"Delya?!" Bakura gasped.

Marik, who was kneeling on the floor and clutching a wound in his arm, looked up at the new arrival and tried to figure out if he'd seen her around before. "Who are you?" he asked finally.

Delya smiled. "Bakura and his 'brother' met me," she said. "And I know who you really are," she added to Yami Bakura. "One of the ones I've been looking for!"

"Okay, so you want the Millennium Items," Téa spoke up from where she was insisting on treating Seto's wounds, "but then why did you start the record pirating?!"

"Good way to make some easy money," Delya told her. "Besides, I knew that eventually you kids would get around to investigating things. Then I could start putting the real plan into action!

"Since Franceska—an old college roommate of mine—has such a grudge against all of you, she instantly agreed that we should team up when she found out that I was after the Millennium Items. And she has so many friends in low places that she used to attack all of you!" Delya looked pleased with herself.

"What about stabbing me?!" Bruce said indignantly. "Who did that?!"

"Another friend," Franceska said, tossing her hair. "Delya thought that should be done because she figured sooner or later you'd manage to uncover the truth. And we couldn't have that now, could we?"

"We tried to have you hypnotized, but it didn't work," Delya said in irritation.

"And I suppose you gassed all of us as a warning." Tristan narrowed his eyes, still not having any luck reviving Duke.

"Of course. It's unfortunate that we weren't able to eliminate Bakura before, but oh well. All of you will perish now!" Franceska didn't seem intimidated in the least by the rival vampyre army. This was because she had a secret weapon to use—the rest of her expansive allies.

Ishizu stood to face her. "No," she said solemnly. "We will not."

The battle resumed then, in full force. Every now and then someone would fall on either side, screaming in agony as it happened. The vampyres would dissolve into dust and fade away, but the others' bodies would remain—laying on the floor and making it difficult to fight.

Tristan grabbed Serenity and pulled her and Duke back behind the counter. "Man, I wonder what he'll do with the mess that'll be here when he wakes up," Tristan muttered, even though he admittedly didn't know if Duke was even alive. He struggled again to find out, without much luck.

"He's dead, isn't he," Serenity said quietly.

"Of course not!" Tristan exclaimed with false confidence. "Do you really think Duke would die just from a shelf falling on him?"

"But it was so heavy," Serenity sobbed. She could hardly stand it as screams echoed all around them. At any time, another of her own dear friends—or even Joey—could meet their end!

At that moment Duke gave a weak moan and reached up to rub the back of his head.

"Duke!!" Serenity cried, her expression brightening. "You're okay!!!" Tristan tried not to feel too jealous as the girl leaned down and hugged the injured boy.

Duke looked confused for a brief moment and then smirked shakily as he returned the hug. "Of course," he said smoothly, struggling to sit up straight. "Now . . . what's going on in my shop??!"

Before anyone could reply, a werewolf flew over the desk and lay still on the floor. It soon became obvious that it was dead.

"Does that answer your question?" Tristan asked.

Duke stared at the creature in disbelief and then narrowed his eyes. "Alright, then," he said dangerously. "No one turns my shop into a fighting arena!" He pulled himself up and pressed a switch, activating the overhead lights.

Any remaining evil vampyres shrieked at the light and tried to get away from it, but not in time. Then only Franceska was left, having fallen off the balcony. She lay on the hard floor below, breathing heavily, her neck apparently broken.

Bakura stood over her, no longer looking terrified, but instead only saddened. "Your hatred brought you to this," he said quietly, knowing there was nothing he could do for her.

"I will kill you," she hissed in reply as she faded away into nothing.

Now Bakura let out a shaky breath of his own, feeling weak in his knees. He could hardly stand to face that evil woman again after what she had done to him before. Tears started to slip from his eyes.

A hand was laid on his shoulder and he looked up to find that it belonged to his Yami. The thief gazed at him gruffly but then squeezed his shoulder just slightly. "She's gone, fool," he said quietly. "She can't bother you anymore."

Bakura could only nod numbly.

Ishizu and Mokuba, meanwhile, had pinned Delya to the floor and were tying her up. "Tell me about what happened to my brother," Ishizu demanded. "And who sabotaged the engine of that aircraft?"

"You know why we took him," Delya shrugged. "As for who did the sabotaging, I wouldn't know. We were puzzled with that ourselves." She looked at Seto. "Oh yeah, it was that doctor guy who stole the hologram machine from you. All that stuff in the canyons was set up by him to try to scare all of you away. He was only in on the record pirating, and not the deeper stuff."

Seto grunted. He'd already determined that.

Bruce glared daggers at Delya. "I have just one thing to say to you!" he fumed. "YOU'RE FIRED!!!" he screamed, nearly causing the building to shake with the force of his yell.

A wail of agony interrupted any further conversations. Immediately everyone ran to find out what had happened—only to find Marik kneeling down beside Rishid's lifeless body and looking overwhelmed.

"He fell off the balcony with Franceska," Marik whispered. "They went in different directions. . . . And Rishid was already so weak from everything else. . . ." Tenderly he began cleaning a gash on his older brother's right temple.

"But . . . he's okay, right?" Téa exclaimed.

Marik didn't answer.

"There were bound to be many casualties in a battle such as this," Yami Yugi said quietly as he came over. "We can't expect to come out of things safely every time."

Dead silence came over everyone as they thought of Shadi and how he had died—so they thought—back at the Black Diamond Ranch.

"Why not?!" Serenity wailed suddenly. "Why can't we?!" Tears started to fall from her eyes as she watched Marik's quiet resignation of Rishid's death and Ishizu's attempts to comfort him. "That's the way it should be!!!"

Joey held her close. "I know, sis," he said softly. "I know."

Slowly Marik pulled Rishid into his arms as best he could, not bothering to pretend that he wasn't crying. "He was so courageous," he whispered. "Dear Rishid. . . ." His tears splashed against his brother's closed eyes.

Abruptly Rishid blinked, moving just slightly in Marik's embrace. He looked up at the teen and at Ishizu as well, a soft kindness in his eyes.

"Well," Bakura smiled as the Ishtar siblings embraced joyously, "it seems that we all will come out of this one safely."

Oreo leaped into his arms and purred happily.

"Now," Duke called, "what do I do with all of these werewolves and weird creatures?!"

Yami Bakura grunted and used a Morphing Jar to send the beasts to the Shadow Realm. "They were in my way, anyway."