With the loss of Jounouchi, the once strong of seven (or six) group became a trio. They alone were the only ones that could take him down, they knew, and that only put more pressure on them to succeed. They were depended on to win, but that made them feel good only to a certain extent. The thought of possible failure and tragic let down was always on their minds. It was unbearable to think about, because they didn't want to lose these games. They couldn't lose, or everything they and everyone else had done would be lost.

Following the trail, on this night they would approach a small, empty town. The town contained a few stores and restaurants, but also a motel. Seeing how nobody was available to check them into a room, the three of them made themselves at home in one of the rooms, using the pullout bed in the couch of the room as the third bed. In their room, more food and beverages were served to them, and they would again get the night for rest.

While eating, the group discussed of Anubis' twisted games. They were trying to create some kind of strategy or expectation for the next day. With so few of them left, it seemed necessary.

"Each of these games is specifically designed for a specific person," Yugi told them. "It's as if he knows already who he is going to face. Even the setting of these games seems preplanned."

"I agree," said Seto. "If that be the case though, what is the point of making a plan?"

"Well first, let's pick who is going to face him first in the morning," Anzu suggested. "I'm volunteering."

Seto and Yugi gave her a strange look.

"You?" Seto questioned her volunteering. "Sorry to admit this, but of the remaining three of us, you're the weakest."

"I know that," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean my chances are any worse than either of you. It's like Yugi said: these games are designated for a specific person, which are intended for a person to automatically have a losing fate anyway. Whatever the challenge may be, I'm willing to take it and do my best. "

Yugi and Seto were silent.

"Plus, then we can save the strongest two for last," Anzu said, pretty much complimenting them. "If I fail, then I know that there are two more chances left, chances that are definitely worth taking."

Seto would not argue with her anymore.

"Alright then, Anzu. Tomorrow morning is your fight," he said to her. "I wish you the best of luck."

There was no sarcasm in his tone.

"You have to be careful, Anzu. Try to think of what he might use against you, and find ways to overcome it," Yugi gave her the best advice he could, and Anzu took it.

During the night, sleep for everyone was minimal. Yugi did not even toss and turn, just lied on his back and gazed at the ceiling, thinking about how this would all turn out, and worrying for Anzu. Seto lied on his side, staring at the wall. He worried about his brother, and how he was doing in the other world. He could also not help but have concern for the situation he was in. He believed that this guy could be beaten, but the only possibility was to beat him at one of his games. Anzu was the only one to get any bit of sleep that night, trying to be readied up for her challenge the next day.

The night was long, but morning finally came. Breakfast was given to them outside. They ate quickly and headed off to their next destination. The trail did not lead them far from the motel. It led them to the center of the town, which contained a small theatre, specifically a dance theatre. Knowing that Anzu was the only one interested in dance, they knew that Anubis knew that she would be the next one to fight. They were not bothered by his knowledge and continued into the theatre.

While being a reasonably small theatre, it was quite fancy. The chairs for those in the audience were wide and soft, making it comfortable. The theatre seemed so much larger on the inside, especially while looking at the stage. The stage was huge, being quite long and wide for its performers. On the stage was just the person they were looking for. Seto and Yugi looked at Anzu, who seemed prepared for whatever she may have to do. She walked up onto the stage alone, and Yugi and Seto took a seat in the crowd.

"Welcome, my fair lady," he said to her. Anzu did not take his comment as a compliment. "It is such a shame that a female must take the fall."

Anzu stayed away from him, not wanting to imagine what he might do to her.

"You killed my friends," she murmured. "I do feel bad for what you had to go through, but for what you did to everyone else I can't forgive you."

Anubis turned away.

"Whatever you say, darling," he giggled. "Shall we begin?"

Anzu nodded.

Rising from the stage's floor were two narrow paths of burning coal and ash. On the far end of both of these paths was a small stoned stand. On this stand was a key suited to fit the hole in the wall on the opposite end of the stand, the wall which they would start at. Anzu could not help but be a bit frightened by the path of heat.

"It is a short, simple task," he began to explain. "We start at the end we are on now, bear foot. We must walk across the path of fire and retrieve the key. On this path, we will encounter several, randomly, unpicked obstacles which will distract us from reaching the other end. Once the key has been gotten, we must run back to the other end, fighting more obstacles, some the same and some different, and place the key in the hole, which will activate a final weapon that comes out of the wall to kill our opponent. Now I understand the concept of men athletes being superior to women simply because of genetics, in which my course will have twice as many obstacles as yours."

The challenge was not difficult to understand. Anzu was hoping to find a way to avoid the path altogether.

"There is no escape from the path once you begin. You are trapped inside. There will be no interference from anyone else here or against one another," he told her. Anzu walked up to the trail from the side and felt more invisible walls blocking her way. She cursed under her breath.

Seto and Yugi sat at the edge of their seats. Besides dancing, Anzu was not the most physically coordinated person. While it required hardly any strength, it did require enough to give Anzu a hard time. This made the two of them nervous, unsure if Anzu could handle it.

It was about to begin. Anzu removed her shoes and her and Anubis stepped onto the trail of heat. On the balls of their feet, they could feel the heat boil the skin away. Anzu made her pain obvious, her facial expressions being those of physical hurt. She tried to use this as motivation to get through the maze faster, though that was not too reassuring.

"Wait for the bell," he told her.

Anzu tried not look like her feet were on burning. She looked straight ahead to the other end of the stage, where the key laid on the stone stand. She knew that was her only way save everyone, including herself, from harm. Remembering what was at stake, her level of focus became higher.

The bell rang, and the two immediately headed off. Anzu looked to her left, even though she knew it would slow her down. Obstacles were beginning to attack Anubis already, while she was still running on the flaming ground without anything in her way. Continuing on, she encountered her first obstacle not much longer later. A stone wall rose from the ground quickly, and Anzu ran right into it. She wobbled back a little bit, losing her footing and stopping her running, but she did not fall. She waited for the wall to go back under the stage before proceeding forward. That collision had slowed her a bit, and Anubis had already made himself even with her.

Yugi and Kaiba, watching from afar, knew that this was only the beginning of a difficult travel for her.

A few steps later, Anzu encountered another one. Some needles were sticking out of the ground. Noticing them, Anzu decided to jump over them. Unfortunately, her jump was high and rather slow. The needles from the ground shot up, and Anzu did not jump across in time for them to miss. A few ended up getting stuck in her foot, and one in her left hand. She landed on her heels to not push in further the needles into her foot. Thinking she would not be able to run far without pulling them out, Anzu stopped and painfully removed the needles from her already heated feet. Again, this killed a little too much time, and Anubis started getting further ahead.

"Pull your head out of your ass, girl," Kaiba mumbled to himself. Yugi couldn't help but agree. Anzu was not doing this smartly.

After falling again for the next obstacle, Anzu began to realize how far behind she was becoming. Anubis was mere feet away from getting the key, and she was barely halfway across the stage. She knew that she had to do better than what she was. She lifted herself up and made an incredible run. She succeeded everything that she came across, including more needles, a moving ground, and whips coming up out of the stage below. Anzu had finally begun to gain confidence and move smoothly and think quickly as she made her way down the narrow passage.

Eventually, she reached her key, and she grabbed it and began to run back. Anubis, who was a bit ahead, had been tied up on some whips that had lashed out from the ground at him. It was her chance to take back the lead. Anzu took the next few obstacles ahead of her just as she had taken the previous few: smart and smoothly. Her feet, with the skin on the bottom now boiling, hardly bothered her as she moved. Somehow, she found herself with a small lead. Breathing heavily, she looked back to see Anubis holding himself up on the invisible walls. She could not help but smile, knowing that she was beating him and perhaps on her way to saving her friends.

She was too caught up with her opponent's struggle that she forgot to focus on what was up coming. Another stone wall had risen, and Anzu had not seen it because she was not paying attention. She ran head first into the wall, and ended up falling back onto the blazing ground. The ash and coal burnt through her clothing and right onto the skin of her back. Feeling this, Anzu quickly got back on her feet. Her arms and back now felt the same burns of her feet, only less severe, and her head had the worst ache she had ever had, to the point where it was a distraction. Anzu's respectable lead was lost now. Anubis had made it through a couple obstacles without harm, and now he had caught her. The two of them continued to fight through obstacles, but Anzu had slowed down drastically. After that devastating hit into the wall, her headache bothered her so. Adding that to every other pain she had, she could no longer keep a fast pace. Luckily, having a bigger body, Anubis had a harder time dodging and getting through his many more obstacles, giving Anzu a slight edge.

It came down to the final small stretch across the stage. Anzu was so exhausted and hurt that she wasn't even running anymore. In the final stretch, Anubis encountered his final obstacle, thick sticks coming straight up and hard from the ground. As he stepped over them, one of the sticks hit him right between the legs, and as any normal male would probably do, he stopped and howled in pain. Anzu heard this, and she made one last attempt to run and put her key in the hole, despite the pain in her feet and body. She again had forgotten about her final obstacle, which was a simple rising of a small portion of the ground. Not paying attention, she ended up tripping on the edge of the risen ground, falling forward back onto the coal and ash. This again burnt her, and slowly she rose to relieve herself of the burn. Since her fall, Anubis had stopped howling about his crotch and finished the passage, putting his key in the hole. The wall of the stage that Anzu was facing began to open, revealing several, sharp spears behind it, pointing in her direction.

"You are nowhere without the support of others," Anubis told her, catching his breath. "You use them to hold yourself together; to hold yourself up. When they are not there to help you, you are doomed, for you cannot support yourself for long. A wall with no support is bound to easily fall when attacked. And now, I will watch you crumble."

The spears in the wall shot out. Anzu knew there was no running and no way to escape. Several spears entered her as she stood and took the attacks, knowing that she had lost and now faced the only consequence: death.

"Anzu!" Yugi yelled. He tried to run on stage, but another invisible wall blocked the entrance. He pounded on it, but couldn't break through.

Even if he had gotten on stage, it wouldn't have mattered. Much of Anzu had been pumped full of spears, one which had gone through her head between the eyes. She was already dead.

Kaiba had to pull Yugi out of the theatre. It was not that he felt no remorse, more so he knew what needed to be done. He would not slow himself down by mourning. He had to concentrate, for he felt that he would have to be next. Still, a bit of fear ran through his mind.

After Seto and Yugi had left the theatre, Anubis left the narrow passage, his mission complete. He did not know he had made it so hard for himself. The fact that he could have lost this one did not bother him though. Five of them were already dead, two remained. On the stage in front of an empty crowd, he laughed in superiority, in confidence, in victory.