Author's Note: Wow...can you believe I finally updated??? I must be sick or something...lol!!! Thanks to all of you who are still reading this...I really appreciate it!!!

The Heart of Eternity by Shelly

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Shari looked up at Bakura with pleading eyes, wondering what it was he wanted from her and what it had to do with Seto. The monster stood nearby, eagerly awaiting a command from its master on what to do next. "Please...what do you want from me?" she pleaded as she looked down at Seto's slack features, his face growing cold from the snow as it melted upon his face and clothes.

Bakura stepped closer towards her. "You already know what it is I want from you, little Shari," he stated. "It's why I have followed you, haunted your every step...I mean to get what I want and I will do whatever's necessary to do it."

As she knelt there shaking in fear, she felt the truth of his words crawl through her soul and freeze her heart. He was the reason why death was her constant companion, had always been ever since she could remember. Her fear melted away on a rising wave of anger, and she felt Makare's power come over her, surrendered herself completely as the spirit took over from here.

"I told you once that you cannot have it, and I still mean it as much as I did then," Makare spoke to Bakura.

Bakura smiled. "And as I said before, I will take it by force if I must," he said, his Millennium Ring flaring to life.

Makare didn't know what was going on as she felt the Ring's power reaching out to envelop her, and all of a sudden her surroundings vanished to reveal a murky gray landscape of shifting clouds...and directly in front of her was Bakura himself. He was sitting in front of a dueling mat...and so was she. Shari lay nearby, looking lost and frightened for all the world.

"Bakura, please, do not do this...she knows nothing about Shadow Duels," Makare pleaded.

Bakura laughed cruelly. "You will duel against me...and if I win then her Millennium Item belongs to me."

Which, Makare realized with a sinking heart, he would easily be able to do since Makare remembered very little about playing the game of Duel Monsters in the first place.

Seto slowly came around to find he had a nasty bump on the back of his head as well as an aching back from his fall to the ground. He didn't remember what happened, only that his head felt like it was going to split apart. But as soon as his gaze fell upon Shari, all thoughts fled as he saw her limp body lying next to his...and he had to wonder if she was even alive. But after checking her breathing, he was relieved to hear her heart beating steadily, although he still wondered why she wasn't responding to his touch when there was no visible evidence of any damage.

One thing did catch his eye, and it was the pendant around her neck, which glowed with an inner light of its own. And looking over at Ryou's limp body upon the ground, he saw around his neck a similar necklace glowing the same way. Obviously this was beyond his ability to figure out, but he knew of one person that would know...and that was Yugi. As much as he hated to admit it to himself, the only person that could help Shari right now was Yugi, and he rose groggily to his feet to stagger over to the limo. The driver inside was slumped over in his seat, but Seto immediately grabbed the phone and dialed Yugi's number, hoping that by some chance that he might be home.

Yugi was in fact home and doing his homework when the phone rang, and when Seto had finished was filled with a fear of his own when he recalled the first shadow duel he had with the mysterious Bakura. He could only hope that Shari could hold out until Yami could get there. He suddenly felt Yami's spirit materialize beside him. "You heard?" Yugi asked somberly, more a statement than a question.

"Yes, and we have no time to lose," Yami said. "If Bakura has Shari trapped in a shadow duel, then Makare is there as well, and the lives of both are at stake. I will not lose her, Yugi," he added vehemently.

"Then let's go," Yugi replied, hoping that they weren't too late already.

Makare was exhausted, barely even holding her own in the duel since Bakura had proved himself a ruthless player. What was worse, she was using Seto's deck, and she had no idea of how to use them. Her only strength came from knowing that if she lost then she would lose Shari...and Yami as well, her beloved husband.

Now it was her turn, and she could only hope that she drew a strong enough card that would help her defeat Bakura and save the lives of the ones she loved. Closing her eyes, she slowly slipped a card from the top of the deck and risked a glance at it.

Her luck had held...not only a good card but the strongest in the deck.

She placed it face up on the mat. "Here is your defeat, Bakura," she spoke. "I play the Blue Eyes White Dragon in attack mode." Before her, the mighty Dragon appeared, sending forth a blinding blast that completely wiped out his defense...and knocked a nice chunk of points from him.

Then he did something that took her completely by surprise...he started laughing. "Oh, how fortunate that this should happen," he crowed. "For I will be handing you your defeat, my dear Makare. I play the magic card...Change of Heart!"

Makare's eyes widened as she knew now that there was nothing she could do to stop it from attacking. He had taken control of her only means of winning this duel...and with it he would crush her completely.

Seto never even imagined that one day he would be glad to see Yugi Motou's face, but now was definitely one of them as he had stayed by Shari's side the whole time and had seen no kind of a response whatsoever from her. "I don't know what's happened to her," Seto told him as he knelt down beside Shari.

"There's a lot you don't know, Kaiba, but right now her soul is trapped in another dimension," Yugi explained, knowing that Kaiba would have absolutely no idea of what he was talking about.

"You're right, Yugi, I don't know," Seto replied. "But whatever you can do for her...just please bring her back."

Yugi looked up into Kaiba's eyes and was surprised at what he saw there. Apparently he had come to care for Shari very much, and he wondered if she felt the same way about him. "I'll do what I can Kaiba," he finally said.

Looks like Makare has her work cut out for her...she's up against the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon...what could she possibly play against that???

Thanks for reading!!!