—I return! Yay! And this Chapter is a real "holy shit!" I swear at least at some point, somebody out there will go: "Holy shit!" Also…Fin was left out of this Chapter simply because…he was takin' a crap when I wrote this. –laughs– Seriously, I'll give the real reason for leaving him out in the next Chapter. Anyways, Diana confronts Rosenburg, Yugi is reunited with his woman, and there's a real smashing duel too…Diana faces her toughest opponent…

Chapter 6 – Duel Yourself, Diana!

Daelin's dungeon was the sort of dungeon that Diana had seen in medieval movies back in her time. Cold stone floors and walls with not much light and metal doors opening into what looked like caves. Buster Blader stopped and motioned down the darkened corridor of dungeon cells.

"It's the sixth one down. It's hard to not find it considering Rosenburg is the only chimera in our dungeon." Buster Blader said to her.

"Thank you, Blader." Diana said and continued down the corridor on her own. As she walked passed the fourth cell she noticed someone inside. Her eyes had focused on a white patch in the darkness. She jumped when a pair of silver eyes stared straight at her.

"What you staring at?" snapped a harsh feminine voice.

"N-Nothing."

"You're human, aren't you?"

Diana nodded. "I'm Diana Sapphire the Rose Duelist."

"You're an archimage…" said the voice. "My name is Bell Lutz. That's all you need to know."

Grouch, Diana thought.

"I heard that human! I can read your mind." the person snapped. Diana jumped when a pale girl appeared at the cell door.

Diana jumped back. "Uh…sorry, I—"

"Oh shut up." Bell growled and went back to where she'd been sitting.

Diana hurried to the cell where Rosenburg was kept. He was lying down against the cell door with his back to Diana. She sighed and knew that she had to be brave about this. "Wake up, doggie." she snapped.

Rosenburg sat up and looked at her. He immediately began rattling the door and clawing at the bars trying to escape. "Diana! Diana, let me out!"

"Like hell I will." Diana snapped harshly. Rosenburg stopped and was quiet. She continued, "I want to know what's going on, Rosenburg. Why is Bakura trying to take over both this world and our world?"

"Why the hell would you think I'd know anything about it?"

"Because you're one of Bakura's pawns, Rosenburg. He turned the tables on you because of what you did to him."

Rosenburg snorted. "Is that what you think? You thought that once Bakura was free of my control and reunited with his love that he would become a good subject. Face it Diana…Bakura's just as big a snake as I am. He had the power to destroy me, but did he? No…he was planning this from the beginning. He knew you would be soft enough to want to reunite him and Ryou together. He knew you would challenge me to a duel and I would loose. My prison of stone may not have been paradise, but at least I felt safe from Bakura's wrath."

"And he freed you, didn't he?"

The chimera turned around and sat on the ground. "Yes. He released me for my stone prison and told me that if I didn't want to see the Rose Duelist dead, then I had to hand over one of my Blue Eyes White Dragon cards. When I did, he had a wolf brought out and then merged me, the wolf and the Blue Eyes together. It fell like every fiber of my being was being ripped to shreds. I just wanted to die!"

Diana couldn't help, but feel a pinch of sympathy towards what Rosenburg experienced. But the pinch wasn't very big. "Did you escape or did Bakura let you go?"

"Bakura let me go so that I could find you." Rosenburg stood again and reached through the metal bars towards her. Diana backed away. "Diana, I must have you. I must break you."

"Dammit Rosenburg. No one's gonna break me."

"I want to be the first to touch you."

Diana stuck her tongue out at him. "Yugi and I are already in love and have made love too."

When Rosenburg heard that, he roared and slammed against the cell door. Snarling and baring his teeth, the chimera tried to break free and grab her. Diana ran out of the dungeon and into Daelin's throne room. Val spotted Diana and went to greet to her duelist. Diana clung worriedly to her favorite card.

Daelin stood and looked at them. "Diana, what happened?"

"Rosenburg was definitely created by Bakura." Diana told them about her short conversation with the chimera. "And then," she finished, "he got really angry when I said I was in love with King Henry."

"Not surprised." Daelin said. "He's obsessed with you after all. I'm sure you noticed the other prisoner down there, right?"

"That Bell Lutz? Yeah. What's she in there for?"

"Just a brief punishment. She tried to steal Mystical Knight of Jackal from me. I know Fin told you about that. I've never liked a Blue Eyes White Dragon since." Daelin said, fiddling with his blindfold.

"I hate to be a pest, but…why do you wear that blindfold? You don't have to answer, I was just curious." Diana said.

"Well, if you think I'm blind, then you're wrong. I can see perfectly. With my blindfold, my other senses have heightened and I can sense any form of magic far better. It's a bit of a long story, but I'll shorten as best I can for you. When I was younger, I lost my sister because I depended too much on my eyesight."

"I'm sorry. How did she die?"

Daelin said nothing at first, but then he answered, "I'd rather not recall it."

"I understand what that's like. I lost my parents too. I lost their love anyway."

"Is that why you stayed?" Daelin asked. "So you would never see them again?"

"I was closer to my father than my mother. But my father went to prison and…well, my life became like the Trap Hole magic card. When I came to Henry's time period, I found everything I'd been missing in my life."

Daelin nodded. "I see."

"Can you? See, I mean. Without the blindfold…" Diana asked, boldly.

He simply looked in her direction. "You won't shut up until I take my blindfold off."

Diana smiled. "Nope."

"This is why I don't have or want a girlfriend." Daelin muttered. He stood and took his blindfold off. Diana nearly fainted at the sight of his eyes. They were the purest color of ocean blue she had ever seen. Daelin hastily put his blindfold back on. "Happy now?"

"Yeah okay." Diana said.

The doors suddenly burst open. A pretty young lady with long silvery hair and black and red highlights strolled in as if it were her castle and said, "Honey, I'm home!" (Rizu: That part cracks me up every time I read over it.)

Daelin fell in his throne. "Jhada Silverfox, what the hell do you want?"

"Ouch Lord Daelin. That was cruel." said the lady.

Diamond Dust ran over to Diana. "Diana!"

"Diamond Dust!" Diana scooped the pooka into her arms.

Daelin straightened. "King Henry…"

Yugi walked into the throne room. "Are you the ruler of this world?"

"Henry…" Diana said, putting Diamond Dust down. Yugi spotted her and ran to embrace her. He picked her up and kissed her.

Jhada folded her arms across her chest. "That must be the Rose Duelist."

"Yes. Lady Diana Sapphire the Rose Duelist. Magician's Valkyria is her deck leader." Daelin replied. "Are you're repaying your debt to Ryou?"

Jhada nodded. "He asked me to do this. I am supposed to be the King's bodyguard."

Yugi put Diana on her feet and said, "Are you all right, Angel?"

"I am now. What are you doing here, Henry?"

"We defeated the Immortal Thieves that came into our world. I left Alex in charge while I came to help you." Yugi replied.

"How did you know they were called the Immortal Thieves?" Diana asked.

"Ryou's pooka, Nuri, came and told us. Bakura wants to create a utopia for Ryou. He also made Rosenburg into a—"

"Chimera, I know. Daelin won a duel against him. Rosenburg's in the dungeon right now." She explained everything Seto had told her.

"So Bakura manipulated everybody just so he could get this far…" Yugi said. He looked at Daelin. "You must be Daelin?"

"Yes. Daelin Gryphonia, the champion of this world." He stood and walked over to them. "You are lucky, sire. The Rose Duelist is very beautiful and very powerful."

"Powerful, eh?" said Jhada. "Has she demonstrated this power?"

Everyone looked over at her. Daelin said, "Well, no. Not yet, but—"

"Demonstrate it now, Rose Duelist. I want to see what sort of power you have."

Diana was shocked. Didn't this girl believe she had great power? "I brought Henry back to life. So I don't have to prove anything."

"You brought a person back to life!" Jhada blinked in surprise at her. "That is an accomplishment. But I've heard plenty of people claim their pretty strong. I always ask them to prove it. So let's go, Rose Duelist. I've heard you're supposed to be a fantastic duelist as well. Want to prove both to me?"

Diana frowned. "Fine then. I will."

Jhada smiled. "You'll regret that." She clapped her hands together and started to chant something. Suddenly a green ball of light appeared in front of her. It swirled and morphed into an exact image of Diana. Only this Diana had a darker aura and a more sinister look to her facial features.

Jhada took a couple steps back. "Duel yourself, Diana!"

"What! That's not me!" Diana snapped.

"Are you afraid?" said Evil Diana.

Diana frowned hard. Yugi touched his love's shoulder. "She doesn't have to duel that creature." he said to Jhada

"I say she does. If she truly is an archimage—which is the only person can resurrect the dead—then she needs to get her ass over her and prove it." Jhada retorted. "If Diana can defeat and strip her evil clone of its power, then she'll have proven herself."

Daelin turned to Diana. "Are you accepting her challenge?"

"Yes I will accept it." Diana snapped.

"Good." said Evil Diana. "I was being to think you'd chicken out."

Val stood next to her duelist and Evil Diana summoned her own deck leader. It was Magician's Valkyria only her outfit was black instead turquoise. Diana frowned. "I summon Kuriboh in defense mode and play one card face-down."

Evil Diana drew and said, "I summon Beaver Warrior and equip him with Horn of the Unicorn which increases his attack and defense by 700." Beaver Warrior appeared beside Evil Val with an attack of 1900. "Beaver Warrior, attack her Kuriboh!" The little rodent in armor launched itself at Kuriboh.

"Not so fast, I activate my face-down card, Mirror Force. Your attack is blocked and sent back at you." Beaver Warrior's sword hit a rainbow wall and the sword bounced off and hit Beaver Warrior in the face. It was destroyed and Evil Diana lost 1900 life points. She didn't seem too beaten up about it, though.

"I activate the magic card, D. D. Designator! Now if I correctly guess one card in your hand, that card gets sent to the Graveyard." Evil Diana smiled. "And I know your deck and mind just as well as you do. I think you're holding Monster Reborn!"

Diana's eyes widened. Her evil clone was right. "Good guess." Diana muttered, putting Monster Reborn in the Graveyard.

"Of course." said Evil Diana.

"How is that possible?" Yugi wondered out loud.

"The creature Jhada created is simply the physical form of the darkness in Diana's heart." Daelin replied. "Everyone has darkness in their hearts. Even the purest souls in the world have a little bit of evil deep inside. That is what Diana's opponent represents."

"So Diana really is dueling herself?"

Daelin nodded. "If Diana wins, then she'll prove that she is the most powerful mage in the history of both our worlds."

Evil Diana smiled wickedly. "Now I summon a monster face-down in defense mode and that's all for me."

"Val, what do I do? She knows all my cards and strategies! She's a part of me." Diana said.

"Then you must think outside of—"

"Val?"

No answer.

"Valkyria?" Diana was shocked when Val didn't respond. The magician turned and shook her head with an upset look on her face.

Evil Diana laughed. "I blocked your connection with your deck leader. Try dueling on your own instead of relying on her to do all the thinking for you!"

"I don't rely on Val to think for me! I think for myself, dammit!" Diana snapped. "I play Harpy Lady Number 3 in attack mode." A woman with green wings attached to her arms and spiky blue hair appeared on the field in front of Val. Her clawed feet and hands glistened and she screeched like a hawk.

"And now I activate The Forceful Sentury magic card. You have to show me your hand and I choose a card to go back to your deck. Then you have to shuffle your deck!" Diana said.

Evil Diana shrugged. "Fine." The girls approached each other and Evil Diana showed the real Diana her hand. It was almost identical to Diana's current hand, except Monster Reborn was included. "Now you get rid of Monster Reborn."

"I figured you'd do that." Evil Diana said. She discarded Monster Reborn and shuffled her deck. The girls returned to their spots and Evil Diana asked, "Happy now?"

Not until I defeat you, Diana thought.

Evil Diana smiled. It was her turn now. "I activate the magic card Graceful Charity." Evil Diana drew three cards and discarded two. "I play Watapon in defense mode." A little cream puff looking monster appeared next to the face-down monster. "You know Watapon's special ability, right, Diana? Because I used a magic card to draw it that means I can automatically summon it to the field."

"Whatever." Diana grouched. "Harpy Lady, destroy her face-down monster!"

Harpy Lady swooped in and the monster flipped up just as Harpy Lady attacked and destroyed it. The monster had been Hane-Hane. Diana cringed at her mistake. Now her evil self could select a monster and return that monster to her hand.

"Put your stupid Kuriboh back in your hand." Evil Diana said.

Kuriboh immediately disappeared from the field and went back to Diana's hand. Evil Diana smiled. "Now I activate Card Destruction! We both have to throw out our current hands and draw brand new ones."

Diana did so and smiled. Not only had she drawn her precious Dragon, but she also drew Dark Magician Girl and Blue Eyes Guardian Ritual. She could summon her Blue Eyes Guardian Mage and destroy her evil self without a sweat. Wait, she thought, my evil clone knows everything about me. She might retaliate. I have to summon my monster as soon as I can.

Her dark side had to finish her turn first. Evil Diana smiled. "I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" A Blue Eyes with a dark aura around its body appeared and roared menacingly.

Daelin's eyes widened. "Diana has a Blue Eyes White Dragon!"

"Yes she does." Yugi said, keeping his eyes focused on the duel. I know Diana will defeat her evil side, he thought. I believe in her power.

"Oh no." Diana groaned.

"Oh yes! Blue Eyes, attack her Harpy Lady!" Evil Diana said. Evil Blue Eyes shot a column of blue-white light at Harpy Lady. Diana's life points went down to 2300, just 200 points above her evil clone's count.

Diana gulped. "You drew Dark Magician Girl and Blue Eyes Guardian Ritual, didn't you?"

Evil Diana smirked. "Wow, you actually knew that. I'm impressed. Now hurry up and take your turn."

Oh great, Diana thought. I wish I could communicate with Val. She could at least give me some words of encouragement. Well, whatever…I have to call forth my ultimate mage before she does. "I play my own Dragon in attack mode to destroy Watapon." Diana's Blue Eyes appeared and destroyed the little cream puff easily. "Too bad it was in defense mode. I'll place a card face-down and end my turn."

Evil Diana laughed. "You're planning to summon Blue Eyes Guardian Mage! Well, it won't work." She laughed again. "I summon Dark Magician Girl and activate the card, Blue Eyes Guardian Ritual!"

Diana watched in terror as Dark Magician Girl and Blue Eyes White Dragon fused together to form the evil part of Blue Eyes Guardian Mage. Evil Diana smiled. "I happen to have Luster Dragon and Solar Flare Dragon in my Graveyard. That gives my mage 600 extra attack points, making her 5100 points strong."

Diana was in a panic and terror as Blue Eyes Guardian Mage destroyed her Blue Eyes White Dragon. Now Guardian Mage's attack power rose to 5700 and Diana's life points were at a mere 200. One more attack was all it would take.

She fell to her knees. Jhada shook her head as she perched on Daelin's throne. "I thought you were strong, Rose Duelist. I guess it was all a big joke. You have no true power. You never did."

"Exactly." Evil Diana said. "It's sad. You had great power once, but I guess you wasted it all by bringing the guy you love back to life. Face it, weakling. You're nothing."

She's right, Diana thought. They're both right. I haven't been in tune with my power since that day. It's like I've completely forgotten everything about it. Maybe I did use up all my power. Maybe I really don't deserve to be the Rose Duelist or even an archimage.

"Diana, get up now!" shouted Yugi. "You have power, I know you do. Now get up and face yourself! I know you can. I know you have the power. Now use it!"

"I don't…I can't…" Diana said softly, hanging her head. "I'm weak…"

"Should I take that as a forfeit?" Jhada asked.

I may as well, thought Diana. She looked up and was about to forfeit the duel when Val knelt in front of her duelist. Her eyes shone with tears and Diana wished she could hear what Val had to say. "I'm sorry, Val. I failed…sorry…"

"D-Don't…" Val spoke! She didn't speak through the mind!

Diana's eyes widened. "Val!"

"D-Don't give up, D-Diana. We can h-help." Val stammered.

Daelin's jaw dropped in shock. "Impossible. Those of the Fourth Race can only speak mind-to-mind with their duelists. How is it possible that Valkyria can speak aloud?"

"Val…what do I do?"

"Trust y-your deck, Diana. Th-there is a card that c-can strengthen your G-Guardian Mage." Val replied. "F-Find it."

—Whoa…now this is getting good. About time Diana started fighting! I wonder what card she has that can help her defeat her own Guardian Mage – which happens to be the most powerful card in forever! O.o I mean, dude, it has 5700 attack points. How's Diana gonna defeat that! Guess you'll find out…now time for Review Responses…

Jaded – heh…I just might use her for other fanfics. Maybe or maybe not Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics…she sounds like a character that is in pretty much any fanfic for any anime. Especially those kick-ass, sword swinging type anime like Ruroni Kenshin or Inuyasha or something.

Swift – not much of a chat between Diana and Rosenburg…just wait until Yugi has his chance to "chat" with him – oh fun…

mariks1andonly – what? That's it? O.O damn you…lol…I'm just kidding! Heh…glad you liked it…

SG – still not sure about Seto's fate…xD Nuri's sort of like the embodiment of Ryou's silly side…he's also Diamond Dust's love, which kinda weird considering Diana and Ryou are just acquaintances…–smacks you– you aren't boring…stop saying that xP

DarkShadow – you noticed I had Daelin take his blindfold off for a brief second…I had to quell Diana's curiosity. It also helped to explain the reason of the blindfold. I gave him green eyes too, I hope that's okay. He's a great character…if I write a sequel to Sapphire Rose, damn I wanna put him in it…also I decided not to use the villain you suggested simply because it would be too much for me to work with. Don't get me, wrong! I think Reaver is a real bad-ass and awesome villain, but I think Daelin's grudge against Seto and the Blue Eyes White Dragon is fine.

Sara and groupies – xD Sorry about the "groupies" thing – lol…I don't wanna insult your friend Lauren by making Weevil her father…so I think Lauren will be just like a fairy or something. Hope she's okay with that…Bell's gonna play a semi-important role in the events to come, so keep watch – x)