A/N Yu-Gi-Oh doesn't belong to me... but this plot and Safiya do.

To my reviewers: Thanks for reviewing. As always, I look forward to hearing from you.


In response to Seth's threat, Atemu and Safiya simultaneously raised their right arms to call forth their guardians. But before they followed through, Seth interrupted their thoughts with evil laughter. They both lowered their arms slightly, curious as to what the former priest found humorous. "I figured you would try to call up your guardians," he began. "And I knew that I would never be able to counter the power of the three god monsters and the green eyes gray dragon combined. So, instead of pouting, I set my mind to finding a way to sidestep your guardians entirely. And finally, it came to me." He paused dramatically. "I believe it was you, Atemu, who told me of the method by which I am going to defeat you. Let's see if you remember it." Laughing to himself, Seth cupped his hands together and a small dark orb formed in his palms.

Having heard enough, Atemu opened his dia diank and released all three god monsters in a flash. He was unsure of what Seth was referring to, but he did not wanting to leave anything to chance. Safiya followed suit and just as quickly released her green eyes gray dragon.

Seth's laughter grew louder as the orb rapidly increased in size, to the point where it had become as large as the now present guardians. When the orb had stopped growing, Seth stopped laughing and began to chant something in a dialect that Safiya and Atemu both recognized in a heartbeat.

Although she did not understand the words, Safiya recognized the language as that spoken by Mahado when she had received her guardian. After the ceremony with Mahado, when Atemu had led her to the underground arena to release her green eyes gray dragon, he had explained to her that the language was the key to unlocking great power from within the Shadow Realm, power which could be used for good or evil. Safiya knew that Seth's use of the language would bring nothing but malevolence, so she prepared herself for what looked to be a ferocious battle. While she steeled her nerves, she stole a glance at Atemu. She knew that he understood Seth's words, and his reaction frightened her. Her husband, the Pharaoh, was trembling.

"Atemu," she whispered with a tremor in her voice. "What is he saying?"

"H-he is performing a d-dark ritual that will effectively r-remove our only defense." He paused and tried to gather himself, but was unsuccessful. "He's s-sending our guardians to the Sh-Shadow Realm." His eyes grew wide as realization hit him. "When I was y-young, I m-must have told him of the r-ritual so that w-we could be prepared f-for it."

She kneeled beside her husband, beginning to panic. "Can't you stop him? There has to be something we can do!"

Atemu tore his eyes from Seth to look into Safiya's face. He had calmed his voice somewhat, but he was still trembling. "Once the ritual has been started, there is no way to interrupt it. Even if I were to kill him, the dark magic would revive him, allowing him to finish the ritual he began."

Safiya looked up to her dragon, and the great beast looked down at her, awaiting her command. Not willing to accept the fact that she could do nothing to prevent the loss of her guardian, she called out for her dragon to attack. "Asim, attack him with bloodlust rage!" Without a moment's hesitation, the dragon stepped forward to attack, but it was not fast enough.

By the time Safiya had called out for an attack, Seth had completed his chant, and the large black orb that he had created let out wave of dark energy as it swallowed up the four guardians.

The green eyes gray dragon had no chance to react, and it released its powerful blast in Seth's direction. But the interior of the orb reflected the attack back at the dragon, causing damage to both the guardian and to Safiya. Safiya fell to the ground, clutching her chest, as pain coursed through her body, and the dragon let out an ear-piercing roar as it realized what had happened. Unable to attack the offender, the green eyes gray dragon and the three god monsters tried in vain to pierce the walls created by Seth's shadow magic. But it wasn't long before the green eyes gray dragon finally realized that it would not be permitted to escape.

Safiya watched as her guardian relaxed and ceased its onslaught on the shadow magic enclosure. The dragon then slowly lowered its massive head to where she lay on the ground, trembling. Safiya scrambled to her knees and approached the orb as a single tear formed in the dragon's large emerald eye. In her mind, she heard a tortured voice whispering, "I am sorry Safiya."

She called out her guardian's name, her voice unsteady. "Asim?"

In response to her call, the dragon closed its eyes and bowed, one final time.

"I've never before seen anyone so close to his guardian," Seth said quietly. But any awe in his voice was quickly replaced by mocking sarcasm. "It's a shame I'm to be the one separating you." With another shout in the unfamiliar dialect, Seth caused the orb to vanish, taking the guardians with it. "Ah, that's better. I don't care for unfair fights." He paused then added, "Unless I'm the one with the advantage."

"Seth! What have you done with Asim?" Any fear that was left within Safiya's mind had been consumed by hatred and sheer determination.

Seth turned to look at her, his piercing gaze tearing open old emotional wounds. "Safiya, Safiya, Safiya. Your guardian is fine, although, it is doomed to wander in the shadows forever. And from what I've heard, the Shadow Realm is not a fun place. But that's enough of… What did you call it? Asim? Well, that's enough of Asim. Let's talk about you. How have you been? I haven't seen you in a year, and a lot has changed since then. And by the way, how's your eye?" An evil smirk tugged at the corner of his lips as he mocked his former servant.

Safiya clenched her fists and prepared to attack Seth herself, but Atemu grabbed her wrist and held her back. "Safiya, now is not the time," he whispered. "I do not need you to bring about your own death. We must wait until an opportunity presents itself. Until then, we can only survive."

Safiya angrily threw off Atemu's grasp, and looked him in the eyes. "We have been waiting too long already. We can't—"

"I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" Seth's icy voice caused Safiya to stop, mid-sentence. When both Safiya and Atemu had turned to look at him, Seth clapped his hands together. "Now that I have your full attention, shall we continue?"


A/N Sorry about the evil cliffie guys... 0:)