Destiny and the Dragon

Author's note: Finally, FINALLY, I'm back on track with updates. My internet's back, schoolwork is lax, and the old writing spark is at full burn. This marks the 12th chapter in our little saga, and that means we're only two chapters away from the end of D&tD. I hope you enjoy our latest entry. Furthermore, as it is rather important, these are the characters' ages, if only for this story:

Seto: 18

Mokuba: 14

Yugi and the gang: 16

Ishizu: 16

Malik: 18

Rashid(yes, he'll appear eventually): 20

Seeing as how the three events I've been listing as having occurred in our story have served their purpose, I've taken them out of the A/N. Just letting you know.

Copyright info: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! If I did, though , you can bet we'd see a lot more Seto Kaiba(and, considering he already appears a lot, they'd probably have to rename the show "The Seto Kaiba saga", or some other, less crappy, title.).

Continuity info: First, I'm using all Japanese names, as well as personalities (in short, Jounouchi isn't going to have that heavy New York accent, and Bakura won't be British). Thus, Joey is Jounouchi, the Millennium items are sennen items, and so on. Finally, the actual continuity is kind of a mixture of the manga and anime. This takes place after Battle City, but the Noa saga did not occur. However, in the manga, Yugi immediately uses the God cards to open up the doors to Yami's memory world. In this, like in the anime, he must wait until the appropriate time. Also, this is going to act as an alternative to the Memories arc in the manga so I can add my own little spin on the ancient past. Enjoy.

I want to run away,

I want to know the truth

I want to know the answers,

I want to shut the door and open up my mind.

-"Runaway Reanimation", Linkin' Park

Chapter 12: Revelations

By Blue Eyes Shining Dragon

"Akunadin…", Seto hissed.

Where once had stood Seto's cruel step-father now stood the decrepit, skeletal figure of Akunadin, the priest Seto had seen in one of his visions of Ancient Egypt. "I am glad you recognize me, my son…" Akunadin said, his voice an eerie rasp.

Seto cringed at the sound of it. His suspicions about Gozaburo were correct: It was now apparent that he was Akunadin's reincarnation, just as Yugi was to the pharaoh, and Seto was to Seth. He did not know how Gozaburo had transformed into Akunadin, but he didn't care: Regardless of what form his enemy took, he would destroy him. "Please, finish your turn…", Akunadin practically wheezed.

Seto nodded. Playing two cards face down, he ended his turn. Akunadin went then, drawing a card. "I have waited for thousands of years for this day…", he said, gripping the card he had drawn tightly, "…when I may finally claim what is rightfully mine!"

Seto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How does my Blue Eyes 'rightfully' belong to you…?" he asked.

Akunadin set two cards face down, and answered. "Because it should have been ME who completed the trinity of the White Dragons…I deserved the power you and your little brother possessed…I was your father, after all…", he growled.

Seto noted Akunadin was referring to him as the high priest Seth, rather than differentiating between the two incarnations. Though it did not seem important, it struck Seto as something to keep aware of. "That worthless girl…the girl you chose to rescue…she didn't deserve such a glorious power! It should have been mine, MINE!" Akunadin said, his rotting flesh trembling with each word he squeezed out of his decaying body.

"Even when you had the opportunity to give that power to me, you chose not to…you chose to protect her…rather than give the power of her Kaa to ME, your own father!" he continued to rant.

At these words, Yami took over Yugi's body. "Wait…Akunadin, it was YOU who murdered Kisara and Mokuba, wasn't it?" the ancient pharaoh barked.

It was a statement, not a question. The anxiety Yami had felt when he had dueled Seto-or, more accurately, Seth-about his role in the murder of Seth's family was turning into a boiling rage. He now knew the true culprit, and wished with all his soul to kill on the spot the man who had torn his friendship with Seth asunder. "Of COURSE it was him." A new, familiar voice broke in.

Turning to the voice, Yami-Yugi spotted the source sitting on a swing set in the nearby playground. "Bakura…" he hissed.

"Oh, come on," Bakura laughed, "you didn't really think it was YOU, did you?"

Yami-Yugi growled bitterly. "See, Akunadin over there wasn't all that happy back in Ancient Egypt over the fact that he didn't get the third White Dragon Kaa. As for me, I was a tomb robber in the employ of…someone…for whom the collapse of the Pharaoh's kingdom was quite beneficial. He came to me seeking help in getting the third White Dragon Kaa for himself, seeing as how the person it really belonged to had been found, but was under the protection of his own son. That's when I got this great idea. You see, my employer had a special little object that could make people change their appearance. I gave it to Akunadin, and he used it to trick that idiotic priest into thinking the pharaoh had betrayed him…" Bakura explained in between laughs.

Seto joined Yami-Yugi in glaring daggers at the white-haired thief. However, he was forced back into facing off with Akunadin as the reanimated corpse continued for his ally. "Our plan…succeeded. Your battle…with the pharaoh…gave us the opportunity to…steal the seven sennen items…to unleash…an unstoppable darkness. However…the items…were reclaimed…and…to stop the darkness…the pharaoh…sealed it away with his own soul…inside of the sennen puzzle."

Seto remembered the vision he had on his way to the orphanage. "However, hoping to finally get his vengeance, the high priest sealed HIS soul in the sennen rod so that, when the pharaoh's puzzle was reassembled, the rod would be there ." He finished for the reanimated corpse.

Akunadin nodded. "Bakura…and I…did so…as well. However, to ensure that our plan continued…I transferred…a portion of my soul…into a new body…thousands of years later. That body was Gozaburo Kaiba. When you killed him…everything Bakura and I planned…went wrong…I was unable to retrieve the Sennen eye…and restore my power…and it instead fell into the hands of that fool…Pegasus. Bakura…had to retrieve…the Sennen eye from him…before our plans could continue…and then…we were again sidetracked…by your Battle City Tournament. Now…however…our plans may finally bear fruit. I end…my turn."

Seto began his turn. Even as he drew his card, Yami-Yugi had already made his way to the swing set where Bakura was waiting, lightly swinging back and forth. He could barely contain his anger. What Bakura had done was unforgivable, and with all his soul, Yami wanted to make the tomb robber suffer to the fullest extent. "Bakura…" he said, barely above a whisper.

The tomb-robber looked at him, and grinned. "Well, well, I seem to have struck a nerve. Sorry, but you and I can't fight just yet. I just wanted to drop by and let you know: Once the high priest is out of the way, your Sennen puzzle will be mine!"

With that, Bakura disappeared into shadows, leaving only the echoes of his laugh and an angry pharaoh. "That monster…", Yami growled.

"Keep calm, Yami. We can deal with him some other time. Right now, Seto needs our help, don't you think?" Yugi comforted.

Begrudgingly, Yami returned to the duel at hand. However, his mind still wandered to the many feelings that stirred within. Some were happy to discover his innocence. Others were angry at what Bakura had done. Finally, there was curiosity. Who was it Bakura was working for? Yami suspected he would find out soon enough, but for now, the question gnawed at his mind. As for Seto, he had just begun his turn, and pondered over his next move. "I may as well attack, but just to be on the safe side…"

"I'll set one card face-down, and attack with Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Seto declared. Again, the silver beast gathered energy in its mouth, unleashing it in a rumbling blast.

"Predicatable...I activate…the trap card…Wall of Revealing Light!" Akunadin rasped.

Jounouchi blinked in confusion. "WALL of Revealing Light? I knew about the swords, but what does a wall do?" he asked.

Yami-Yugi answered for him. "Akunadin can pay any multiple of 1000 life-points, and once he does, depending on the amount of points he chooses to sacrifice, he is protected from all attacks with a strength equal to or less than the sacrificed life-points." He said, knowing that Akunadin's Life-Absorbing Machine trap was still in play, meaning Akunadin could pay a hefty amount of life-points without fear.

Seto already knew the effect, and even as Akunadin's life-points dropped by 4000, than rose by 2000, a crystalling-wall formed around the exposed duelist, blocking his Blue Eyes' intense blast.

Akunadin: 5800

Akunadin laughed in delight, a truly horrible noise given his condition. Seto cringed at the sound of it, but in spite of it, managed to smile. "Now, I activate my face-down magic card, Charm of Lamentation!" he announced proudly.

"This card lets me draw a card every time I attack and fail so thanks to you, I can keep drawing cards." Seto said confidently.

Drawing his card, Seto ended his turn. He didn't look at it, but he could feel what it was, and it was not what he needed. "He's stalling again," Seto observed, "waiting for something…but what? I've got to find a way to attack before he gets something good in his hand." He noted to himself.

Akunadin went, and drew a card. "Now…I play the magic card…Fissure!" Akunadin said.

As he played the card, a crack began to form on the ground. "Fissure…destroys the weakest face-up monster…you have on the field," Akunadin explained, "but since the White Dragon…is your only monster…even its 3000 attack points…are too low…to avoid it!"

Suddenly, the crack in the ground opened into a full-blown chasm, and extended itself beneath the Blue Eyes. "Kaiba's dragon…!" Jounouchi exclaimed.

"Without it, Kaiba won't stand a chance!" Yugi finished worriedly.

Just as the Blue Eyes began to fall, however, it disappeared in a flash of light. Before the shock of that event could sink in, the silver dragon appeared again in all its glory, hovering safely over the chasm. Having failed to claim its victim, the chasm closed. "What? How?" Akunadin stuttered, confused.

Seto grinned. Pointing to his left, he drew everyone's attention to a titanic, strange-looking cannon. Yugi recognized it instantly. "It's Kaiba's Interdimensional Transport Device! So that's what saved his Blue Eyes!" he said, amused.

Akunadin snarled. "I still have…my Wall of Revealing Light…so you can't touch me." He said, ending his turn.

Seto would have laughed at the irony of what had just happened if he didn't need to stay so focused. Akunadin, while still disguised as Gozaburo, had already known that the Interdimensional Transport Device was face-down in wait, but Seto's turning the tables on him had made him forget, and he had gotten sloppy. This was a positive sign to Seto that he was slowly but surely turning the duel around. If he could get his remaining two White Dragons, he could clinch the match. However, Gozabruo's Wall was a problem. Seto would need an intensely powerful monster to get through it, and he had only one. "Let's hope I can summon it in time…" he thought.

"My move now," Seto said, drawing, "and I summon the Kaiser Seahorse in defense mode!" he declared.

Kaiser Seahorse

Atk: 1700

Def: 1650

"Now, I'll attack with both of my monsters!" he said.

In unison, the two creatures unleashed their signature attacks. The Blue Eyes blasted its White Lightning from its mouth, while Kaiser Seahorse struck with its two-sided lance. Neither attack penetrated the crystal barrier Akunadin had surrounded himself with, but as the attacks ended, the magic card Seto had played before glowed, indicating its effect was activated. "Thanks to Charm of Lamentation, I can now draw two cards, one for each failed attack." Seto said.

He drew the two cards, and though he did not look at them, he sensed their presence, and knew exactly what to do with them. "Now I set two cards face-down and end my turn." He said.

Akunadin drew and pondered his next move. "Damn him! My Sennen eye is useless now! I don't know how, but somehow, he's able to sense the cards he's using without looking at them, meaning that I can't read his mind to find out what he has!"

He looked at his current hand. It was nothing impressive, and he knew it was only a matter of time before Seto found a way to penetrate his Wall of Revealing Light. "There is a card that can save me, but I'll have to search through my deck to get it. This should help…" he thought.

"I activate…the magic card…Reasoning. This card…lets you select a level of One to Twelve. I then…draw cards…until I get a monster. If its level…is equal to the one you chose…I destroy it automatically…but if it isn't…I can special summon it to the field." Akunadin said.

As the magic card activated, a man dressed in a green robe and a white turban on his head appeared next to Akunadin. He pointed his right index at Akunadin's deck, the point of the finger beginning to glow. "Choose." Akunadin growled sharply.

Seto contemplated what number to choose. If he went too low, Akunadin could summon a powerful monster. If he went too high, Akunadin could create a new barrier to his attacks. Either way, he knew the Reasoning card could help Akunadin immensely. "I choose…", he hesitated a moment, than chose to go for the middle ground, "…level six!" he finished.

Akunadin began drawing, and for a few moments, Seto could only watch anxiously as Akunadin filled his hand. Just before he reached the max number of cards he could hold, Akunadin stopped. Grinning wickedly, Akunadin lifted the last drawn card and thrust it onto his duel disk field. "I now summon… Tyrant Dragon… to the field… in attack mode!" he cried triumphantly.

Tyrant Dragon

Atk: 2900

Def: 2500

"And I trigger my trap card, Ring of Destruction!" Seto responded.

As he flipped his face-down card over, a metal collar emerged with a ring of grenades attached to it. Latching itself onto Tyrant Dragon, the collar began to glow. "Once it detonates, my Ring will destroy your Tyrant Dragon and take 2900 life-points from both of us." Seto explained, though he did not mention that his face-down Ring of Defense card would protect him from losing life-points.

However, just as it looked like the Ring would detonate, it stopped glowing. The necklace broke, and the grenades fell uselessly to the ground. "What…?" Seto gasped, confused.

"Tyrant Dragon…can negate any effect…that targets it." Akunadin boasted.

Seto silently cursed. Now Akunadin had an incredible monster on the field, protected by the Wall of Revealing Light, and with his Kaiser Seahorse exposed. "Tyrant Dragon…attack Kaiser Seahorse…now!" Akunadin commanded.

With that, the red-scaled dragon lunged itself forward, grasping Kaiser Seahorse in its firm jaws and biting it in half.

Seto: 5500

Akunadin grinned. He had finally gotten a card that evened things out: Seto couldn't attack Tyrant Dragon, and effects couldn't destroy it either. At last, he had regained control. Keeping it, however, would be difficult. "My move!" Seto said, drawing.

He set a card face-down, and ended his turn. "Hang on, Kisara…Mokuba…I'm almost there…" he thought.

Kisara opened her eyes slowly, but surely. When she did, she saw she was in a strange place. Everything around her was dark. Blotches of purple and red floated around her. "Where…where am I? The last thin I remember was Mokuba showing me the office Seto's step-father used to work in…" she mumbled, still groggy.

Her voice echoed all around the empty darkness. Everything was cold here, and she did not like it one bit. Getting up, Kisara realized how disorienting it felt to stand when there was no apparent ground. Walking around, she cried, "HELLO? IS ANYONE THERE?"

Kisara was beginning to realize this was probably the Shadow Realm Yugi had told her about before. "So this is where all the power of their cards comes from…", she thought, eager to get her mind off of the fact that she was alone in a seemingly infinite mass of darkness and cold all alone.

Of course, that wasn't possible, as everywhere she turned she was reminded of it. Wandering around aimlessly, she was quickly becoming more and more afraid. However, she also reminded herself constantly of what was going on: She was part of a centuries-spanning cycle, and to help end it, she had to be strong. "For Seto…" she reassured herself.

That thought only lead to even more thinking. Where did she stand with the stoic young CEO? Mokuba was desperate to see she and Seto got together, but Kisara had always believed that love, real love, could not be forced like that. Still, Kisara could easily see Mokuba's point. Though not blatant about it, both had a rather obvious attraction to each other. "I saw right through Seto's façade. He wants everyone to think he's heartless, but I could tell…I could tell there was someone else deep inside…" she mused.

Unfortunately, Seto was not willing to admit he had feelings at all, let alone for her. She could understand why. From what Mokuba had told her about Gozaburo, he had been ruthless to Seto. He had taught Seto never to trust anyone, to never openly show his feelings. To do otherwise would be weak, and to survive Gozaburo, Seto had to become strong. It made Kisara sad to think of the Seto she could have known if not for Gozaburo's interference. Mokuba's description of the younger Seto at the orphanage painted a far kinder portrait than the one she knew now. Indeed, that was the Seto she could see beneath the emotional barriers he had set for himself. However, the Seto she knew now was kind, in his own way. He was fiercely protective, loyal, and determined. Those traits were not bad to have, particularly with psychotics like Bakura running around. "Well, there you have it,", she thought sarcastically, "Strong, determined, caring…I'm in love with Seto Kaiba."

She sighed heavily. Admitting it to herself was one thing. Admitting it to him was another matter entirely. Worse, she wondered if he would feel the same, or if he would accept that someone could care for him in such a way. "Great…Now I've gotten myself nervous again!" she grumbled mentally.

As she continued to wander the shadow realm, she realized she was no longer alone. She could hear breathing, light but loud enough to echo across the empty darkness, and she knew it was not her own. The echoing made it impossible to find the source of the breathing, so she just went the direct route. "HELLO?" she shouted, the word reverberating all across the blackness.

"KISARA?" a familiar voice answered back.

"Mokuba!" Kisara realized.

"Mokuba?" she asked, no longer yelling.

"Over here!" the young boy responded.

Kisara ran towards where, as best as she could tell, Mokuba was calling from. At last, she was greeted by the rather pleasant sight of Mokuba, who was ecstatic to see her. "KISARA! You're OK!" he cried happily.

He rushed over to her and hugged her, to Kisar's surprise. She chalked it up to the boy's nervousness. "I'm glad to see you're safe, Mokuba." She said.

Mokuba stepped back a bit, and let Kisara speak. "Do you know how we got here?" she asked.

To her surprise, Mokuba nodded. "Our souls were taken by the Sennen eye, and placed in blank Duel Monsters cards."
Kisara blinked for a few moments in surprise. She had known Yugi and his friends had been involved with the Shadow Realm before, but she did not know that Mokuba and Seto had seen it as well. "How did you…?" she started, but Mokuba cut her off.

"It happened to me once. Let's leave it at that." He said sharply.

She decided to heed the young boy's advice. She guessed, however, that it had something to do with the previous bearer of the Sennen eye that Yugi had told her about, Pegasus J. Crawford.

"Still…" Mokuba began.

Kisara returned her attention to him. "What?" she asked.

"Well…the last time this happened, I was all alone…even though there were…other souls…that were captured at the time, so why are you and I here together at the same time?" he finished.

Kisara pondered over this. "Good question…" she responded.

Mokuba clasped his hands together, trembling angrily. Kisara realized the situation was probably starting to sink in for the younger Kaiba, and she feared the results. "Someone…someone's using us to get to Seto…AGAIN!!! IT'S NOT FAIR!" Mokuba shouted at last.

Kisara attempted to calm him, but Mokuba was completely engulfed in his anger. "ALL SETO EVER DID WAS TRY TO PROTECT ME…GIVE ME A GOOD LIFE…IT'S NOT FAIR!!!" he roared.

"Mokuba…" Kisara started, attempting again to soothe the enraged youth as best she could.

However, as it often does, anger turned to sadness for Mokuba, and his cries of rage quickly turned into a whimper of sorrow. "He just wanted…to give me a good future…" he sniffled, tears flowing down his face.

"Now…every other day, people try to hurt him because of his position in Kaiba Corp…" he continued.

Kisara put her hand on Mokuba's shoulder, but the young boy was inconsolable. "All this time…all this sadness…he took it all to protect me…" he finished, collapsing into Kisara's arms.

He hugged her like an older sister, his grip tight. Kisara could feel his tears run down her shoulder. "It's my fault…and I wanted…I just wanted to make things better…"

Kisara guessed he was referring to his plan to put her together with Seto. "Instead…I just made things worse…" Mokuba cried softly.

The silver-haired girl did not know what to say. She had no idea how to console this boy. Yet something, a familiar warmth inside of her, told her exactly what to say. "Mokuba…if Seto didn't have you to fight for, he never would have survived this long. You are his inspiration, and he wouldn't be whole without you." She finally spoke.

Mokuba sniffled, calmed slightly by her words. The young boy hadn't thought of things from that angle before. All he could focus on was the anger, the sadness, and the pain that had pervaded so much of his life and Seto's. He knew how strongly he and Seto felt for each other, but somehow, it helped that Kisara was there to reinforce the message. Mokuba realized this was because she understood. Few people, even Yugi, could grasp just how deep the Kaiba brothers' bond ran, but Kisara could. Her kindness, her understanding, was almost natural. Mokuba grinned, the sadness all gone. Now he remembered just why he wanted to see Kisara and Seto together in the first place. "Th…thanks." He said, sniffing shakily.

Kisara smiled warmly. "You're welcome."

Suddenly, a tremendous roar was heard. The whole world seemed to shake with its echo. The noise was so loud Kisara and Mokuba had to shield their ears. Looking around, Mokuba noticed a shape in the distance. "What in the…?" he began, even as the roar's echo faded.

Kisara noticed the figure too, and she also noticed it was coming towards them. As it got closer, she could clearly make out its shape: A dragon! "Mokuba, get behind me…" she warned, though she was unsure how she would protect the younger Kaiba if the beast attacked. However, even as Mokuba followed Kisara's instructions, he recognized the beast. "The Tyrant Dragon card?" he asked, confused.

Kisara looked to him for an explanation. "It's a really powerful creature in Duel Monsters, but I don't understand how it came alive or what it's doing here…" Mokuba replied nervously.

Suddenly, Kisara felt a strange presence speaking to her. "You are in danger…"

"Wha…", she gasped.

For a brief moment, she saw the Egyptian version of herself flash before her eyes. In that moment, she felt an entire lifetime pass before her. She saw a white light, flying into the sky and dispersing, falling down to Earth in the shape of cards. After the vision passed, Kisara snapped back to reality, contemplating what it was she had just seen. Her contemplation was cut short, however, when she realized she still had the Tyrant Dragon to worry about. She noticed that the dragon was no longer moving at all, however. "What happened to it?" she asked.

Mokuba shrugged nervously. "You've got me…" he said quietly.

Even though the dragon no longer seemed to pose a threat, the words she had heard still resonated within her. "You are in danger…"

Seto growled in frustration as he drew yet another card that could not help him. All his Charm of Lamentation was doing for him was filling his hand up with useless cards. Worse, with Tyrant Dragon on the field, playing other monsters was just a worthless risk. "Think, Seto, THINK!" he demanded, nervous and yet excited.

Akunadin was a worthy challenger, and for Seto, there was no greater feeling than to face a duelist of equal caliber. Still, he could not forget the stakes here, or his burning hatred for his opponent. "I'll set this card face-down, and end my turn." Seto said.

Akunadin went. "I'll end…my turn…" he said.

Seto wanted to scream in rage. Akunadin was toying with him, knowing he was stuck, and he couldn't do anything about it! Drawing in frustration, Seto's mood shifted quickly as he sensed what he had drawn. "I now activate the magic card Remove Trap!"

Seto shouted.

Akunadin's face, though rotted and hard to read, still wore a clear expression of fear. As Seto's card appeared on the field, it released a giant Bear Trap, which launched itself towards Akunadin. The Bear trap shattered the Crystal Wall surrounding Akunadin, and vanished. The terrified Priest looked around himself in anxiety, aware that he was perfectly exposed to attack. "Now it's time to show the Tyrant who the REAL King of Dragons is!" Seto laughed.

Without another word, the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon that stood by Seto's side opened its mouth and released its trademark White Lightning attack, vaporizing Akunadin's Tyrant Dragon in mere seconds.

Akunadin: 5700

Seto grinned. He had an advantage now, and he intended to push it to the end. "Next, I activate the magic card White Dragon Ritual, sacrificing my Dark Gremlin to summon Paladin of the White Dragon in attack mode!" he declared.

With that, two torches appeared on the field. In the middle of the torches, a pentagram shaped itself, creating a blue flame. From the flame, a serpentine dragon emerged, mounted by a green skinned knight with twin lances. "Next, I activate his special ability, sending it to the graveyard to summon a second Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Seto continued.

As quickly as the paladin appeared, it vanished, transformed into an orb of white light. The orb flew up into the sky, and vanished. Suddenly, a familiar form appeared where the orb had disappeared, and soon, the second Blue Eyes White Dragon tore through the clouds above and landed on the ground next to its kin. "A Blue Eyes summoned by Paladin of the White Dragon can't attack on the same turn it was played, so I'll set one card face down and end my turn." Seto said, confidence returning.

Akunadin went next. "Very well…I will summon…this…face-down in defense mode…" he said.

Seto grinned. Akunadin was cornered. All Seto needed to do was summon a monster and he could end the duel and free Kisara and Mokuba. "OK, I attack your face-down monster with my Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he said, punching his fist towards Akunadin as a signal for his dragon to attack.

It did, and Akunadin's card was flipped up in the blast. However, what was revealed was not good. Briefly after the card was flipped, Seto had seen a group of armored dragons, small and on hind legs. He knew it was the Troop Dragon card, and that it could special summon another Troop Dragon card when destroyed. On cue, a new army of dragons appeared in the place of the destroyed one. Seto attacked with his second Blue Eyes, but the result was the same. His chance to end the duel was gone. "Only for now," he reminded himself, "and since there are only 3 copies of a card allowed per deck, this is Akunadin's last Troop Dragon card, so I just have to be patient."

Akunadin's bony face broke into a hideous grin, exposing his rotting teeth. "Heh…Now…I will show your dragon true power…" he said.

"First…I activate…the magic card…Cost Down…reducing the level of one monster in my hand by two…meaning I only need to sacrifice one monster…to summon…this!" Akunadin said.

The Troop Dragon unit disappeared in a ball of smoke and flame, leaving Seto to wonder what monster Akunadin was summoned. The enormous broad sword he saw glinting in the smoke answered his question. "Buster Blader…", he whispered angrily.

It was a monster Seto was quite familiar with. It had been instrumental to his defeat at the hands of Yugi in the Battle City tournament, thanks to its ability to gain 500 attack points for every dragon on the field. Seto did not doubt Akunadin had put the dragon slayer in his deck to counteract Seto's Blue Eyes cards. Normally, Buster Blader's attack strength was 2600, but with two Blue Eyes on the field, it gained 1000 attack points.

Buster Blader

Atk: 3600

Def: 2300

"Now…attack!" Akunadin commanded.

Buster Blader, now fully revealed in its purple-and-gold armor, followed Akunadin's orders and charged towards Seto's first Blue Eyes, its sword raised. However, even as the enormous blade fell towards its target, it was knocked away by an unseen force. "Sorry, Akunadin, but my Negate Attack trap card ends your battle phase automatically, stopping your Buster Blader from attacking me." Seto explained.

Seto went, drawing his card. Looking at it, he mentally prepared himself. "Time to take a risk…", he thought.

"I'll begin my turn by activating the Deck-master ability of Lord of Dragons!" Seto announced.

From its place by Seto's side, the skeleton-clad spell caster walked forward, arms folded confidently, red cpae flowing behind it. "My Lord of Dragons can allow me to draw three cards by paying half of my life-points. If I draw any dragon cards, they are special summoned to the field. All other cards are destroyed." He continued.

Seto: 2750

Jounouchi slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, yeah, I'd forgotten all about their deck-masters!" he said, laughing slightly.

Yugi, however, was not as light-hearted. "What is Kaiba doing? Even if he DOES draw a dragon, all he'll do is power-up Akunadin's monster!" he worried.

"Kaiba's up to something…" Yami mentally commented, both as an observation and as a way to calm Yugi down.

Indeed, the Spirit of the Pharaoh was quite interested to see what Kaiba's plan was, as another dragon on the field would only serve to make things worse for him, and even then, the chances of summoning a dragon were slim. Still, he knew from dueling Seto that he always played to win, and this move had a purpose. "But what purpose is that…?" he pondered.

Seto drew once. No dragon. "Foolish boy…you can not win…" Akunadin jeered.

Seto ignored him and drew again. Still no dragon. "Give up…and I will make your death short..." Akunadin continued.

Seto ignored him again. "Come on…" he silently begged as he drew the last card. Sensing the power within it, he grinned widely. "Bingo." Seto said.

"Now, I special summon the third and final Blue Eyes White Dragon!" Seto cried triumphantly.

Even as the pillar of light that had done so before signaled the arrival of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, Akunadin laughed as 500 more attack points were added to Buster Blader, making it even stronger. "Fool…you have failed…" he laughed, sounding like gravel scraped against metal.

Seto grinned. "I think not; I activate the magic card Delta Attacker!" Seto said, confidence etched in his features. "This powerful magic card only works when there are three of the same monsters on the field, and its effect allows me to attack you directly with each one!" he finished explaining.

Within the confines of the Sennen puzzle, Yami couldn't help but grin. As always, Seto had taken a gamble of faith, and as always, it had paid off. Akunadin, meanwhile, was stewing. Moving his bony right arm to shield his eyes from the radiant light that was slowly emerging from the mouths of the Blue Eyes White Dragons, he just barely had time to activate his trap card. As he did, the Blue Eyes trio lurched forward in unison, releasing three waves of pulsating electricity that stormed towards the ancient Priest. However, just as they were about to violently collide with Akunadin, Buster Blader appeared directly in front of its master, and was destroyed in his place. "I activated…my Soul Harvest…trap card. It negates attacks…by sacrificing one monster on the field…and taking 500 lifepoints from me." Akunadin said.

Seto smiled. "Fine. Just remember, I still have three Blue Eyes on the field, and you just sacrificed your best chance at beating them."

Akunadin did not wish to admit it, but Seto was right. There was only one card he could use to win now. Drawing from his deck, Akunadin could only grin and thank the Dark God that had given him new life at his good fortune. "I do believe…I've grown tired of this…game…" he said, spitting the last word out as if to mock his opponent, "so…it's time I play…my secret weapon! Come forth!" he barked.

Seto braced himself as a radiant light appeared in front of Akunadin. He didn't know what could be so powerful to defeat three Blue Eyes without sacrifice, but he knew Akunadin wouldn't make such a big deal out of it if the card he played couldn't do what the re-animated corpse of a man said it could. As the light settled, however, and he saw just what Akunadin had played, he quickly lost whatever composure he had.

Standing before Akunadin, her arms crossed in defensive position, eyes blank and cold, was Kisara.

To be Continued…