Koujo didn't see anything that looked familiar and besides the fact it was rapidly getting dark, that had to be what scared her the most. She had lost her sandals as she was running from Titan's palace, so her feet were scalded from the hot sand. Granted, the sand was slowly cooling down, but that wouldn't solve the problem tomorrow. And she was getting cold- it had been freezing in her tower prison, but this was worse.

Suddenly, she spotted it- an oasis no more than twenty yards ahead of her. She began running towards it as fast as her legs could carry her, praying it was real. Her father had told her about mirages- seeing what you wanted to see in a moment of desperation.

"Please let this be real," she whispered, still running towards it. Seconds later, she was there and it was real. A ring of palm trees surrounding a small lake that glowed in what little sunlight remained. Koujo gave a happy cry as she stuck her feet into the cool water. It felt wonderful, but it made her that much colder. She bit her lip, wondering what to do. Then it came to her- a lesson she and Seto had done before she'd been taken away.

"All right, Koujo," Seto said as patiently as he could manage. "Let's try this one more time." One more time was probably one more than he could actually survive. He was trying to teach the princess a simple summoning spell so she could summon her father's Shadow Monsters if she truly needed them. So far, she'd managed to summon an exploded vase, a charred chair and a fried curtain- the spell had nothing to do with fire, but she kept making it. "Just take a deep breath," he continued. "Focus on the monster you want to summon, then point your staff, say the words and they will be here." Koujo nodded.

"All right, Onshi," she replied nervously. She closed her eyes and began to think. Her father's most trusted monster was the Dark Magician- she would try to summon him. She pointed her staff in front of her and took a deep breath.

"Okibi!"

"No, Koujo, not that!" Koujo opened her eyes just in time to see Seto dodge a fire ball that shot from her staff. The ball collided with Seto's bed, causing it to burst into flames. Her eyes widened as Seto pointed his staff at the bed.

"Kori!" Ice shot from his staff and onto the flames, killing them instantly. He then looked at Koujo, who instantly began to apologize.

"I'm sorry, Onshi, I really am! I thought that was the right word and..." Seto put up his hand and shook his head.

"That is all for today, Koujo," he said calmly. "You may go." Koujo nodded and made for the door. "Koujo?" She stopped and turned around.

"Yes, Onshi?"

"Okibi means "fire," Koujo. Use it when you're cold, not when summoning Shadow Monsters." She nodded and ran off. Once she was out of the room, Seto shook his head. "How she confused "Okibi" with "Convoke," I'll never know..."

Koujo remembered the word now, but would she be able to make fire without her staff? Further more, what would she cast the spell on? She didn't want to set a whole tree on fire... at least not a huge one. That's when she spotted a small palm tree- it wasn't as big as the rest and it was secluded from them. She closed her eyes and lifted her hand towards the tree, as she would if her staff had been in it. She took a deep breath.

"Okibi!" She opened her eyes and watched the blast shoot from her hand and onto the tree. It burst into flames, causing Koujo to let out a happy squeal and run over to it.

Koujo got close enough to the fire to warm herself and that was it. She had no food, nor had Onshi taught her a food preparing spell. She wasn't all that hungry anyway... but she was lonely. She bit her lip again. If she could just remember the other word. She bit her lip, then turned from the fire. She closed her eyes and raised her hand in the air once more. Another deep breath.

"Convoke!" she cried. "Kuriboh!" She didn't open her eyes- she was afraid of what she had done this time.

"Kuriee?" Koujo's eyes shot open and she saw the small fuzz ball standing in front of her, a confused look on his face.

"Kuriboh!" Koujo scooped him up into her arms and held him tight. "I did it, Onshi," she whispered. "I really did it!"

Not to far away, Naria sensed the presence of the Shadow Power and began to laugh.

"Big mistake, little princess," she said. "You're leading me right to you."

Meanwhile, Yami and Seto were on their way to Sudan. It had taken a while to convince Jou not to come along, but once Seto said he'd spill about the whole dog thing, Jou backed down. They were almost entering Sudatian boarders when Seto also sensed the Shadow presence and couldn't believe it. Koujo had screwed that up so many times, it was amazing that she finally gotten it right. Then again, he'd had his share of screw ups. Turning his mother's cat into a frog came to mind. Things changed though- if he became this good, so could Koujo. He instantly told Yami what he felt. The Pharaoh smiled for the first time since Koujo had been taken. He didn't say a word. Just smiled.