Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! However, I DO own Marissa, Keline, Symari, and Joseph. Don't take them, please!

Thanks for the reviews. In this chapter, I used a lot of quotes from the actual show (thankfully I had this episode taped), so if something sounds familiar than it might be a real quote. Don't own. As a result, I also tried to make this chapter longer than usual – might have failed at that though. :sweatdrop: Hopefully I can write the rest of this story quickly, although there's probably going to be a lot more to come. The problem is I have the end of it all set – it's the part from now until then that I have no idea what to write for.

Chapter 13------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Joey walked along the metal floor of Kaiba Craft 3 holding a plate topped with food. 'I can't believe Kaiba served up fancy chow like this and made it all-you-can-eat! He's gonna be sorry by the time I'm through,' he thought, grinning. Just then, he noticed Odion leaning against the wall a few yards away. 'Huh? It's Marik - I can't stand that guy! That mind-controlling menace is gonna get what's coming to him.'

However, his anger was useless for little did he know that the cloaked men glaring at him was not, indeed, the true Marik. The real one was standing amongst the group of teenage friends in the main area of the blimp, plotting a method of defeating the Pharaoh. Little did they know of his true identity.

"Heh, what's the hold up?" Joey asked, facing the infamous Seto Kaiba. "When are we gonna find out who we duel, Kaiba?" In turn, the CEO glared at the so-called hack of a duelist.

"Hmph," he laughed, "You're in quite a rush just to lose, Wheeler." Nevertheless, he took Joey's suggested and clicked the KC transmitter on his trench coat. "Let's begin this now."

"Sorry, Mr. Kaiba, but only seven finalists are present," the Kaiba Corp. employee called back over the loudspeaker. "Shall I bring out the eighth one?"

"Yes, now." Kaiba snapped his fingers, signaling Roland to begin dictating the instructions. "Let's go."

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Meanwhile, the brown-haired man clothed in a KC suit approached the metal door marked with the number eight and pressed the intercom.

"Enter." A woman's voice came from within. The door slide open.

"I beg your pardon, ma'am," apologized the man in a raucous voice. Now, with the door open, he could see the outline of a woman cloaked in off-white. The dark clouded all but her general appearance, in addition to the fact that she was facing the window.

"What is it?" she demanded.

"Mr. Kaiba has requested your presence at once." From somewhere in the dark, he heard a snort, but could discern from where it originated.

"In order to watch the finalists being paired off for the first duel. Isn't that right?"

"That's correct."

"Then my presence is not required. Some things cannot be explained but I can assure you with certainty that I will not be chosen for the first duel."

"Huh?" The Kaiba Corp. employee raised an eyebrow in surprise. 'What on Earth was this woman talking about?'

"But I know who will…and the fate of the entire world depends upon his victory!" But now, he was thoroughly confused and weired-out. For fear of receiving another strange answer, he abstained from continuing with any questions. Instead, he simply closed the door behind him and left to bring Kaiba the news. He guessed that Kaiba had already began the ceremonies, anyway.

Within the room, Ishizu continued to gaze out the window, pondering over her brother's fate. What would happen to him in the end? Would the Pharaoh be able to save his good side? And, if he failed (Ra forbid), what would happen to Keline as a consequence?

"Stop being so dramatic, Aunt Izu," ordered the exasperated voice of the aforementioned young man. A passing airplane shined a light trough the port-hole-shaped window, revealing tussled brown hair as he turned to Ishizu. "Anyway, the fate of the world isn't at stake – it's the fate of my father."

She sighed, deeply. "At times I swear you know too much," she half-complained, half-admonished. Keline snorted again. Gradually, a disturbed peace came over the room.

"Ishizu?" Marissa suddenly called from near the door. For a moment, Keline and Ishizu wondered why they had not heard the door open, but were answered when they glanced over and saw that she had not even opened the door. She had merely passed right through it. "Is Keline – or there you are." Marissa smiled, her unasked question being answered when she saw her boyfriend on the chair next to Ishizu's.

"What?" he asked, although he already had half an idea about what she was about to tell him.

"The first duel is between Yugi – er, Yami most likely – and Bakura," she stated. Then, her smile faded into a frown. "I have a funny feeling about this one. You want to come watch with me?" Keline nodded, standing up. He slowly walked over to where she stood and grasped her hand.

"Be careful," warned Ishizu, as the two teens faded to a ghostly appearance, even blind from her eyes, then unknowingly slipped through the closed door. They walked in the elevator just as Joey, Tristan, and the others were clamoring in, yet they were not aware of their presence. Instead, the elevator simply continued on its way to the Stratos dueling arena as if nothing were amuck. Once it arrive and the doors silently slid open, all the passengers stepped out into the cold, night air.

"Whoa, dueling up here's insane!" commented Joey above the gushing wind. His sister wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"And freezing," she added, shivering. Then, Kaiba stepped forth from whence he came in his usual lofting manner.

"Oh, look, here comes the master of ceremonies now," Mai complained cynically as he opened his mouth to begin – most likely – an over-dramatic dueling speech.

"All right, I'll make the speech quick so we cane begin this duel," he started. She was right. "Kaiba Craft 3 is now cruising at an altitude of 4,000 feet. The strong winds and cold air will test your strength and stamina. If you can't take it, you don't belong here."

"Does Kaiba test these things out before he publishes them, or are we the guinea pigs?" Téa wondered allowed. Duke, standing beside her, shrugged.

"I don't know," he replied. "But I have to admit, he does know how to throw a tournament." By now, it was time for the duel to begin, so all angled their heads towards the dueling platform.

"Are you prepared to lose it all?" came Ryou's voice, strangely sinister.

"I won't lose!" Yami stated loudly, outwardly confident of his victory – for now. "Before we begin this duel, why don't you tell me who you really are, and stop this charade?" From this, the gang acquired confused and surprised appearances. This was furthered when Ryou – or was it Ryou? – smirked, a low cackle coming from his side of the field. "All right, have it your way then. But I think I know who you are!"

Suddenly, a golden pendant appeared around Ryou's neck, as if oozing out from underneath his shirt. Marissa nearly fell over backward, off her perch on the railing. She sighed, relieved, when she did not fall, for that would have resulted in a tumble off the side of Kaiba Craft 3. However, her shock at what had just occurred stayed strong. 'The Millennium Ring!' she thought laconically.

"It is you! The Spirit of the Millennium Ring!" continued Yami, clarifying a little about what Ryou had just experienced. A change in souls.

"Hey, look at Bakura!" exclaimed Téa, as if they were not doing so already.

"Ah, man, he's wearing that Millennium Ring again," Joey said, as if this event had happened before.

"That can't be…" denied Tristan, wrinkling his forehead in confusion. "I got rid of it at Duelist Kingdom! I tossed that thing into the deepest part of the woods, miles from anywhere. I don't know how Bakura got it back, but I know it's not a good thing." Suddenly, from out of nowhere, came a familiar and exasperated voice.

"Honestly, don't you know anything about the Millennium Items? One can't simply get rid of an Item and think it'll stay gone forever – they can only be won." The entirety of the passengers turned their heads to see the form of Marissa, sitting on the edge of the platform, slowly fade into view.

"Marissa?" Yami and Joey shouted in surprise. She stopped rolling her eyes to see several pairs of them staring at her. She blinked in confusion, and opened her mouth to ask a question, but was interrupted a large, equally exasperated sigh.

"Marissa, you really need to work on your cloaking skills." Slowly and surely, Keline's figure also became visible. He slapped himself on the forehead in annoyance at their being exposed.

Meanwhile, she grinned at her careless mistake. "Hmm, I guess I do," she admitted. "Sorry, but it's not like I can just stand by and watch others be ignorant about the Millennium Items." She shrugged, while the others gave her strange looks. 'Cloaking?' they thought. Then, suddenly, another voice came into the scene from atop the dueling field.

"And how do you know so much about them?" asked Bakura, narrowing his eyes in interest. "And what is this cloaking you speak of?"

"For once, I agree," enforced Yami, also staring down at the mysterious girl. "From where did you get your information?" This time, now that he was sure Marissa was on the blimp, he would not let this opportunity slip past.

"That," she answered, winking, "is a secret." Her confidence was blatant, even against the sinister eye of Bakura. That one parted his lips to demand a true answer, but was interrupted by the impatient Kaiba.

"Frankly, I myself don't really care from where all this balderdash originated," he shouted. "Get on with the duel already so I may claim my rightful victory!"

"Hold on," stopped a very confused Mai. "What is going on here?" Her impatience begged for an explanation. Apparently, Marik stole this opportunity to emphasize the fake truth in his alias.

"Yes, why all the fuss?" he asked in the fake voice he had previously arranged, pretending to be equally as confused as Mai. "What's around Bakura's neck?" Hidden in the background, practically forgotten, sat a morose Keline, who almost threw up in his mouth in disgust at who his father was pretending to be. No, it was more about the fact that his father was pretending to be someone he wasn't. Keline lifted his head slightly so that brown bangs fell away from his eyes, with which he stared at Marik, pathetic with hope.

"Namu…It's kind of hard to explain, but that's not really Bakura…" answered Téa. While they "explained" the situation to "Namu," Keline managed to stop Marissa from interjecting with any more information than needed. After all, he was not fond of the others knowing about them any more than they already did. According to him, they would not understand anyway.

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