Joy: Okay peoples, this is the final chapter of 'Stolen Light'. That's right. It's the end. There is a sequel in the works that will come out VERY soon. I will explain more on that at the end of the story. I have a big A/N at the end and so I will leave my explanation there. This is not a long conclusion, because many questions are going to be left unanswered for the sequel to be richer. So it will be a cliffhanger ending! …Sort of… Reader Responses!

Dark mage of the sea 13: Sorry I missed your review for chapter 28. I had just posted chapter 29 before your review came through. I got to you on this chapter, though. Heh, yeah that part was fun to write. You're welcome. Yep, sequel is in the works.

Sapphire: Yep. It was a weird cool!

Silver Moon Phoenix: Well, yeah. Bakura wants to find Ryou, but he also has another motive for helping Joy out, but I'm not revealing it just yet.

Dark Kuriboh Empire: (grins) Yeah. It was fun to picture Bakura as a girl. As for the wrap up, there will be some loose ends tied up, but others will not be. You will see for yourself.

Chapter 30 for your reading enjoyment!

Preparations

Wake up!

Joy's eyes snapped open. "Huh? What?"

Wake up! The door just opened. Go check it out and don't forget the Ring.

Joy, slightly dazed, looked over at her clock. It showed the time to be seven o'clock at night. She then remembered all that had happened. She grabbed the Ring and put it on, then crept out of her room, looking up and down the hall.

I don't see –

"Joy, there you are, sweetheart!" came an elderly voice.

"Obaasan!"

Grandmother?

Yes, it's my grandmother.

"Obaasan! You're back! How was your day?" Joy asked as she gave her grandmother a light hug.

"Oh, it was fine, dear. But what's this?" the woman asked, glancing down at the Ring.

"Someone sent this to me at home, obaasan," Joy explained quickly.

"Oh, it's absolutely beautiful, granddaughter. You will do well to thank the person when you see them."

"I will…if I see them. You see, I'm not really sure who sent it to me. Daddy just said someone sent it and forwarded it here," Joy responded.

"Well, perhaps you can call your father and ask him."

"I guess, but I don't want to bother him if he's busy." Joy looked down at her feet.

Hey, if it gets us some answers, I say bother him.

Daddy is a busy guy and there is a time difference between us and America. But I guess spirits don't recognize time zones and such.

I am not a baka like that pharaoh. I know all about that from Ryou, but I still say call him. He may have answers to all this mess. At least ask him who sent the Ring to you.

"All right," Joy submitted, replying to both Bakura and her grandmother. The woman nodded and said she was going to order something to eat for both of them. Joy agreed, then went to the TV room to call her father. She called his cell phone number, not knowing if he was in his office. After a few rings, he answered.

"Hello?"

"Daddy? It's me."

"Oh, hello, Joy. What is it? Did something happen?" He seemed rather worried all of the sudden. Joy blinked.

"No…well…I have a question about that package."

"The – Oh! You got it, I assume. Have you opened it already?"

"Yeah. Daddy, it looks very expensive and rare. I would like to thank whoever it is that sent it to me, but I don't –"

"There's no need for that, Joy," Joy's father interrupted. His voice sounded rushed.

Joy looked confused. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Um, it's just that I have already thanked the person for you. Now, I want you to listen carefully, Joy."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"It's about the Item in the package. It's very important that you don't tell anyone you have it."

He knows more than he's telling, Houyoku. Ask him who gave it to you.

"You know who gave me the Millennium Ring, don't you, daddy?" Joy said, taking a chance. There was a long pause.

"Yes, but you mustn't tell anyone you have it."

"Daddy, who gave it to me? I have to know that if I'm going to protect it. This is a big risk for me. There may already be people who are after it as we speak, and remember, obaasan is in this house, too."

Another pause. "I met someone a few years ago while I was in Japan. Her name was Ishizu Ishtar, and she told me that you were special and why. She told me about Katilli."

"You mean you've known about my other half for years?!" Joy gasped. "How did this woman know about me and Katilli?"

"Yes, but I respected your privacy and said nothing, as long as she did nothing to harm you. Miss Ishtar sais that she had the special ability to see into different time periods. She said it was similar to ESP. She even proved it to me. She also told me that there would be a boy named Ryou Bakura who would come to my doorstep with a very precious Item that should be given to you immediately. To be honest, I had forgotten her words until the boy showed up."

Ryou showed up at his house?

"He gave me the Millennium Ring and made me promise to keep it safe, no matter what. I did so and said that you would be protecting it. He agreed and disappeared. That was when I called you and said I would send you a package."

"There was no mention of where Ryou was going and why he had to turn over his Item to me for safe keeping?"

"None whatsoever. Ishizu did say something about a tournament where a dark force was going to make itself known."

"Mmm…well, there is a tournament coming up in a few days. That must be what she meant. I have already entered it, daddy."

"Joy, you must be very careful. I know Katilli is there, but Ryou mentioned another spirit as he handed me the Ring. He said this spirit would not be happy with the exchange."

And he isn't, Bakura's voice retorted in her head.

Joy stifled a laugh. "Don't worry, daddy. I have everything under control. The Ring is safe with me, and I already know about the spirit."

Her father gave a sigh of relief. "Gomen nasai, my daughter. I should have been more open with you, but I was worried and didn't know what to say."

"Don't worry. I understand. This is a delicate issue. I thank you for telling me everything, daddy. I will talk with you later, ne?"

"Of course. Thank you for doing this, Joy. It is a big responsibility, but I know you are up for it. I have the utmost confidence in you."

"Arigatou, otousan. I will talk with you later. Sayonara."

"Sayonara."

After she got off the phone, Joy joined her grandmother in the dining room. They talked and ate. Joy described her trip, leaving out the time travel adventure, then she talked a little more about her friends and the tournament that was coming up. Obaasan gave Joy her blessings on the tournament as she knew how important it was for her and she wanted her granddaughter to be happy during her visit.

By that time is was quite late, and so Joy and her grandmother turned in for the night. Joy, however, found that she wasn't tired at all – mostly from her recent nap. So she got out her deck and began going through it. Bakura came out of the Ring and watched her from a nearby chair.

"So…this tournament will be held in Tokyo."

"Yep. At least, that's what the notice said. And everyone is going to be there, including Yami and Yugi."

"What are you doing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Refining my deck just a bit. I don't need to make many changes, but it's always good to go through your deck before a major tournament like this…"

Bakura snorted. "I have been in tournaments before."

"Well, how was I supposed to know? Anyway, the tournament starts in two days, and I won't have time to go through it later. Obaasan has plans for us over the next few days, so I'll be busy."

"I certainly hope you intend to wear the Ring."

"Of course. I'll keep it until we find Ryou, then I can give it back. Now, I don't know when Katilli is going to return. Do you think you two will be able to get along during this whole situation?"

"Oh, I don't think that will be a problem," Bakura said with a slight smirk. "She and I go way back. We could always do to catch up on old times."

"Speaking of Katilli…" Joy closed her eyes and concentrated on her dark side.

Katilli? Please hear me.

Joy? Katilli's voice sounded so soft, as if it were far away, but at least they could communicate again. Joy sighed in relief and smiled.

Katilli! Thank the Gods you answered! What happened? It felt as if someone was blocking us."

It was, and I fear it will again. Listen to me, Joy. Vargon has sent Smith after you. You must hide."

No need for that. Smith is now a happy resident of the Shadow Realm.

Joy heard Katilli sigh in relief. Good. Thank Ra.

Wait, Katilli. How did you know?

Vargon has been doing a lot of bragging about being able to get you, Yugi, and Kaiba any time he wants. I don't think he knows about Sorcerer yet.

You mean he's taken you captive!

Only temporarily, aibou. I am already planning on escaping, but I need to regain some of my energy first. That will take some time. Until then, lay low. Stick close to Yami and Sorcerer during the tournament, hikari. You are the one without a spirit to protect you of the three.

Joy fought hard from laughing. She could tell Katilli about Bakura, but she didn't want to burden her with anymore worry, which she would surely do with the news. Don't worry about me, Katilli. I will be fine. Just work on getting out of there as soon as possible. If you want, we could –

No, Joy. I will not put anyone in danger. Vargon wants you to come. I will not give him that wish. Stay out of danger and on your mortal plane. I will feel much better if you are safe. There was a pause. I must go. Take care.

Goodbye, Katilli. Be safe.

…Meanwhile…

Seto looked over at his cards on the table. A tournament. And I intend to win. I just need the perfect strategy to beat Yami and end his winning streak once and for all. This isn't going to be another failure for me. There must be a way to beat him, and I'm going to find it.

Good luck, Kaiba. I wish there was a way for me to help, but I'm more familiar with the ancient way of playing, where souls were at stake and such. It was not played with cards during my time, Sorcerer Seto explained. I am not sure what do expect during this tournament.

Expect me to win, Sorcerer, Seto said with a smirk.

…Meanwhile…

Yugi looked over his deck once more before putting it back into it's holder.

"We're as ready as we can be," Yami said assuredly.

"We have some tough opponents, Yami, but I'm sure we'll do just fine. I just hope everything is going to be okay. I don't want anything to happen to anyone…not like Battle City. That was terrible."

"True, but we were victorious in the end, aibou. And we will be again. No matter what we face in our future, we will face it together."

Yugi nodded in agreement as Yami faded back into the Puzzle. What about the Item you felt? Is it any closer?

No. But I have a feeling we will find out what it is. And we still have a big task ahead of us with collecting the Items together to get rid of Vargon.

I just hope we get to them before he does…

Joy: YAYAYA! Story done! Wow! What a cliffy ending! So many unanswered questions, yes? We know Katilli is a captive of Vargon, and Smith is gone and Joy's dad got the Ring from Ryou so Joy could keep it safe, and that her dad knew about Katilli for a long time. I did answer some questions, but the bigger questions like – what happened to Ryou and how will Katilli escape – I left unanswered. Well, you will have to wait to find out until my next story comes out.

BTW: 'Otousan' means 'father' and 'ne' when used at the end of a sentence means 'right' – as in 'I'm going to the carnival with you, right?' would be 'I'm going to the carnival with you, ne?"

Now… some news on the next story:

1. It will be called… dramatic drum roll please… 'Total Eclipse'. (clapping and cheering) =D

2. Ryou will be in it, just not in the beginning. There may be some other Item holders in this story, too, though I'm not sure which ones to add. Ideas are always welcome.

3. There will be some dueling, as it does center around a tournament.

4. The first chapter is almost done, so that should be posted when I get reviews for this last chapter. And this next story may be even longer than this one! (collective gasp).

One more thing, I am willing to add some newer characters for the tournament, meaning duelists and such for Yami, Seto, and Joy to duel. I mean, Yami and the others can only kick Weevil and Rex's ass so many times before it gets tired, so this is what I am going to do…

If any of my reviewers would like to make up an OC or have an OC from their own stories that they would like to appear as a duelist in the tournament, I would be willing to put them in my story. If any of you are willing to do that, please let me know by e-mail or review. Granted now, I will need some details about the OC and his or her dueling skills for this to work, so keep that in mind. An only one OC per reviewer. That way I can keep track of them all better and be able to give credit to their creators.

Well, I guess this is Lady Joy signing off. I really hope you enjoyed 'Stolen Light', even though the ending didn't close the story completely, and I hope that you will all review my next story in this saga. I really appreciate all that reviewed this story. The reviews from this chapter will be answered in my next story's first chapter. You are all amazing people and I wish I could high five all of you. I will see you in my next story. Review and Ja ne!

P.S. This story is over 53000 words long, and has 90 reviews! ARIGATOU!!!