Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh or Konami. Nor do I own the characters in this story.

Author's Notes:

Okay, so I found a way to get a new chapter up. Daniel, my good friend from school, has a computer that I am using. There's only one problem. I have to type with only one hand because the other one has my friend Daniel in a headlock. He keeps squirming, and that makes things even more difficult.

I don't know why he didn't want me to use it. He was just playing his new copy of Harry Potter 3.

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Chapter 20: Too Many Secrets

The two of us appeared inside the puzzle. Ishizu looked startled for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

"Where have you brought me?" she asked.

"We are within my puzzle," I replied. "I thought it would be the best place to meet."

She looked nervously behind me at the window. "What is that?"

"That's how Maximus keeps an eye on me," I replied. "I take it he just pays you frequent visits."

She looked at me in shock. "How did you know about that?"

"I could sense his taint within your necklace," I replied. "To be honest, I'm a bit relieved that you seem to know the truth. The last two people I've dealt with that possessed a Millennium Item thought they really were the characters from the TV show."

"You're breaking out of character," said a voice from the window. I calmly blasted the window to pieces. It seemed to be getting easier for me to do.

Ishizu looked at me with even greater shock. "Will he let you get away with that?"

I shrugged. "The window will reform its self within a few minutes. Besides, I assume you'll be telling him everything we talk about."

Ishizu regained her composure. "He may have brought me back from the Shadow Realm, but I owe him no allegiance. I will do as I see fit."

I noticed how careful she was not to answer the question. I wondered if I should press the matter further, but I decided against it. It would be hard enough to get Ishizu to talk without putting her on the defensive.

"So he got you out of the Shadow Realm, too." I stated calmly. "Do you remember much of your life before you were there?"

"I was an aid to the Pharaoh's wife," she said with a masked look. "I displeased her, so the Pharaoh banished me to the Shadow Realm."

"Well, that's more then I have," I said flatly. "I only have vague flashes of my life before. In fact, I don't even know how long I spent there."

She shuddered visibly. "Time has no meaning there. The Shadow Realm eats away at your soul, but it never finishes consuming you."

"How is it that you managed to retain any knowledge about yourself?" I asked.

She gave me a curious look. "I knew how to fight it," was all she said.

I shrugged and let it go. "Alright. So Maximus found you and figured you would play the part of Ishizu well, and he sealed you inside the Millennium Necklace. What part are you to play in his game?"

She stiffened. "I am to assist the one he has chosen to be the Pharaoh Yami. My knowledge of the past and the future will aid the Pharaoh as he fights off the forces of darkness."

I looked into her soul. "Are the images you show us really from the past, or are they visions that Maximus has invented."

She looked flustered, and I waved the question away. "Forget it. I already know the truth." I paused for a moment in thought. Then I made my decision.

"I don't like this situation any more then you," I said firmly, "but anything is better then the Shadow Realm. I'm going to play along in this strange game, but I'll play it my way."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that I'm not going to bounce around from host to host every time Maximus doesn't like something I do. I'm going to use all my power to help Tiffany, and we're going to see this thing through to the end. It also means that I'm going to duel Maximus for my freedom some day, and I intend to win that duel."

"You're overconfident to the point of madness," Ishizu said. Then she smiled. "I can see why he chose you to be the Pharaoh."

She turned to leave, but I had one more thing to discuss. "Ishizu, do you know who I really am?"

There was a long pause as she hesitated. Then she turned back to look at me.

"There are true answers to that question in your future," she said with a voice of mysticism. "Follow the path you have chosen, and you will find the answers you seek."

With that, she was gone. I wondered for a moment why she had acted so strange. Then I noticed the window had already reformed its self.

One of these days, Maximus, I thought grudgingly, you're going to discover the truth behind the powers you are playing with.

With that, I opened the door of the puzzle and peeked into Tiffany's mind. She and Rachel were talking about which boy bands had the cutest singers. I smiled inside before I interrupted.

"We're finished with our discussion," I said calmly.

"How did it go?" Tiffany asked anxiously. "Did you learn anything about your past?"

"Not really," I replied with real disappointment. "All I know is that we have to win this tournament if I want to learn who I really am."

"The fate of the world isn't at stake or anything, is it?" she asked nervously.

"Nothing so drastic," I reassured her. "We're just competing in this tournament just like the ones back home."

"What about the girl?" Tiffany asked. "Rachel has never seen her before. Should we try to go and talk to her?"

I was about to answer when I felt the train start to slow down. We were arriving at Venice.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," I sighed.

We exited the train with a large group of duelists, including Rachel. Some men in suits directed us to a group of taxi boats that would take us to our destination.

"First by air, then by land, and now by sea," I said in Tiffany's mind.

The dueling arena was actually built on an island just off the coast of Venice. It was surprisingly big considering the small size of the island.

(Author's note: I have actually been to Venice. Yes, there really are islands off the coast big enough to hold a large building. No, there isn't a dueling arena on one of them.)

We left the boats and crowded into the main lobby. Sure enough, Maximus was there with a smile on his face. His long hair covered half of his face, hiding the Millennium Eye from sight.

"Welcome duelists to the first ever international Duelist Kingdom Tournament," he said with flair. "I'm sure you're all anxious to get started, so let me go over the rules."

A large screen behind him turned on, showing a model of the arena. "This building will be your home for the duration of this tournament," he continued. "All the rooms on the bottom floor are built like hotel rooms. You will all be assigned a room to stay in. The top floor is where the dueling rooms are located. They are state-of-the-art holographic arenas, so your games should be very exciting indeed."

Someone thrust a box into Tiffany's hands. She stared at it for a moment, wondering what it could be. I noticed the other duelists were being handed one each as well.

"The boxes being passed out to you contain everything you'll need for the tournament," Maximus said with a knowing smile. "They have a key to your room, an official rule book for this tournament, a schedule for your first round in the tournament, some paperwork for you to fill out, and this."

Maximus held up what appeared to be a black wristwatch. Tiffany found the one in her box and put it on.

"These watches are set by the official clock for this tournament, so don't bother trying to change the time," the mad man said with a gleam in his eyes. "Keeping track of time will be vital for this tournament because if you are late for your match, you will be disqualified. They are also programmed to alert you of when and where your duels will be held, so don't lose them. Check the back of your rule book for more information on them."

"Because there are so many of you, I'm afraid that the tournament will be single elimination only," Maximus went on. "Once you lose, you are welcome to stay and watch the rest of the tournament, but you will no longer be able to participate. The prize for each round, however, is a card from a new set I had Konami print off especially for this tournament. Some of these rare cards cannot be found anywhere else in the world, so even if you just win one round you'll come out ahead. Also, every duel in the arenas will be videotaped for public viewing, so don't do anything you don't want your parents to know."

Many of the group chuckled at Maximus's statement. He looked on the crowd with pride. This was something he had dreamed about for a long time. "The first duels will start very soon. I suggest you hurry and get settled in. Good luck to all of you."

The rooms were very big, much to my surprise. Tiffany was delighted to find that her roommate was Rachel. The two girls wasted no time in getting their things settled in.

"When is your first duel?" Tiffany asked Rachel as she finished putting away her cloths.

Rachel checked her schedule. "In about half an hour," she replied. "These watches they gave us beep ten minutes before the duel starts. I won't know which room I'm dueling in until then."

"That should be plenty of time to find the right room," Tiffany said encouragingly. "If you're nervous, why don't you go upstairs and wait."

"You've still got some time before your first round," Rachel noticed as she read her schedule. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go look for that girl I told you about earlier," Tiffany said. "See you tonight."

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I can't believe I managed to finish a whole chapter like this, even if it is kind of short. I want to write another one while I still have a computer, but I don't think I can do it with Daniel here watching me. My arm is pretty sore and bleeding from a dozen bites. Am I going to need another Rabies shot Daniel?

For the next chapter, we'll see the first duel of the tournament. Tiffany and Yami warm up on a newbie. Nothing more about the mystery girl from Yami's past, but the duel its self will hold a couple of surprises. Maybe by the time you finish reading this chapter, I'll have the next one up, too!

Please R&R!