"No, I won't do that!" Souta said defiantly. "I'll do anything but that, I still have some will power after all, and aren't you forgetting something? By cosmic law, we can't kill a living soul by our own hands."
"This is true." Ra admitted. "A mere technicality though a troublesome one. We can however set events into motion and I know just what I can and can't do to make sure that the Avatar meets her demise."
"But how can he do that from up here when everyone else is down there?" Bast aske,d pointing to the earth.
"Have you never heard of a ssssssssspy you half wit?" Apothus said. Bast growled and smaked the snake several times on his scaly head.
"Silence," Ra commanded. "I admit I have some short comings when it comes to the short comings of this era. That is why I have decided to use our new 'friend' as my personal eyes and ears. I shall watch your life and world through you, just humans with their television. And once I have the knowledge I seek, I will invade your world, Loki, and take over everything."
"No…" Souta gulped.
"And juts so you don't try anything cute, I am stripping you of some of your powers, and your memory."
"My memories?" Souta asked.
"Only a few. You will have limited memories of our duel and our arrangement. You will essentially remember what I want you to remember. And what I want you to remember is that you are mine." With that, Ra placed two fingers on Souta's head, and they glowed as they burned the memories away. Then, Souta blinked, and fainted to the floor.
Transition
"Hurry!" Kagome cried as they flew throught he air, up to the stratosphere.
"Kirara is going as fast as she can," Sango said,
"She'd be faster if she weren't weighed down," Inu-yasha complained.
"You would insult my wife while she's with child?" Miroku said angrily.
"I'm just saying it's a little dangerous for Sango to be with us in her condition," Inu-yasha said.
"Look!" Kagome said, pointing up. Above them, Bast hovered as she carried the unconscious Souta over her shoulder like a sack of flour.
"Let go of my little brother, you fur-ball hacking witch!" Kagome yelled.
"I don't cough up fur-balls! That's a myth," Bast replied. "And here, you can take him. Less work for me anyway," and she threw him down.
As Kagome screamed, Inu-yasha leaned and nearly fell off Kirara's back as he caught Souta in his arms.
"And tell the Pharaoh that he can hide the Avatar and the Items for as long as he wants. Our Master will still find them all. Toodles!" she said waving, then turned into a ball of light and flitted away to the sky.
Transition
The next day at dueling school, Mokuba, Shippo, and Rebecca sat silently in the dueling yard as Rin and Souta snacked quietly beside them. An awkward air seemed to hang around them.
"If you are afraid to talk to us, we understand," Rin suddenly said out of the blue. "But could you at pretend that everything is normal?"
"Uh, sorry," Shippo said, "I admit, I've seen my share weird stuff, but eating Twinkies with two 'gods' is something I can't get used to."
"This from the fox demon who helped slay monsters in Feudal Japan," Rebecca remarked.
"It doesn't matter who they are," Mokuba said. "Or were, I mean. Souta's still Souta, and Rin- even if she is a little too polite- is as normal as any of us. And they're our friends."
"Oh Moki, you're so right," Rebecca said. "We need to make a promise like Yugi and his friends did. Let's promise to always be friends, and stick together, no matter what."
"You bet," Shippo said, putting his hand out. "To be friends and protect Rin and Souta from Ra."
"And to duel with all our hearts," Mokuba said, clapping his hand over his best friend's.
"Yeah!" Rebecca cheered, her hand covering Mokuba's. "You two with us?"
"Yes!" Rin giggled, "Friends for all time!"
Souta hesitated, but silently, he put his hand on top of his friends'. While in the back of his mind, he heard Ra laughing.
This Is Just The Beginning