4. The Shadow Duelists

Yugi sat between Téa and Rebecca eating without enthusiasm the contents of a foil package that claimed to contain "beefsteak with mushroom gravy," but looked like brown paste and didn't taste much better. As they ate, Goradon made the rounds again, trying to drum up enthusiasm for continuing the tournament the next day. "Fate has kept all of the final sixteen competitors together," he insisted. Though Yugi couldn't think of anything inherently wrong with spending the time dueling once their more immediate needs were met, and he even agreed that the holograms from the duel disks could be useful as signaling devices, it still troubled him that Goradon would place the tournament as such a high priority.

Pegasus, interestingly, gave no opinion whatsoever, but Yugi got the feeling he approved of continuing the tournament. In the meantime, he'd indicated to Yugi that they should eat quickly and before going off on the tasks the ship's crew had assigned them, he and his friends should meet him in the woods on the south end of the beach, away from the rest of the group. He disappeared not long after that, and as they finished their own lunches, the band of ten—Yugi, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Duke, Serenity, Rebecca, Mai, Kaiba, and Mokuba—gradually made their way into the woods to join him. Yugi and Kaiba were both particularly anxious to hear the rest of the details about what Pegasus knew and why he felt the Shadow Realm was in danger of being reopened. Croquet, Pegasus's assistant, had been placed as a lookout to keep them from being interrupted.

Yugi folded his arms, waiting for Pegasus to begin. Kaiba, however, was not so patient. "No more stalling, Pegasus. Tell us what's going on here."

"About a year ago," Pegasus began without preamble, "it came to my attention that there was someone who was taking a very big interest in the history of the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games."

"Exactly how did this 'come to your attention?'" Kaiba asked.

"Kaiba-boy," Pegasus clucked, "surely you don't expect me to give away my business secrets. Suffice it to say that I keep tabs on all things in which I have a vested interest, and for obvious reasons I have a vested interest in the Millennium Items and the Shadow Games."

"Even now that the Millennium Items are gone and the Shadow Realm closed?" Yugi asked.

"Especially now," Pegasus replied silkily. "You see, Yugi-boy, all of us here who have either played a Shadow Game or been sent to the Shadow Realm, we have been changed. Marked, if you will, in a way that can never be erased, not even by the loss of the Millennium Items. If the Shadow Realm were to be re-opened, it would have a profound effect on all of us."

"Reopened?" Joey gasped. "What do you mean reopened? I thought the only way to create a Shadow Game was though one of the Millennium Items." Yugi saw him glance at Mai and knew he was more afraid for her than for the others. Out of any of them, her experience with the Shadow Realm had been the most damaging.

"Do you really believe there's ever only one way to do anything? Has Duel Monsters taught you nothing?" Pegasus chided him. "If your Red-Eyes Black Dragon is destroyed, do you surrender or do you find another strategy?"

"Eventually someone's Life Points get to zero," Joey countered. "Zero Millennium Items, game over."

A smile curled on Pegasus's thin lips. "Very good, Joseph. But there's always the opportunity for a new game."

"Enough of the metaphors," Kaiba cut in impatiently, "and enough with the 'Shadow Games' ghost stories. Why are we here?"

"Kaiba-boy, all this time and you still don't believe in ghosts and monsters?"

Kaiba eyed Pegasus evenly. "While I concede the existence of the Shadow Realm, I'm not willing to jump every time you say 'boo.'"

"I want to hear what he has to say," Mokuba interjected. "I don't trust him any more than you do, Seto," he continued when Kaiba gave him a withering look, "but this Shadow Game stuff is real and I'd like to make sure they don't come back."

"I'm more worried about who blew up the ship and who tried to knock you and Téa off a cliff."

"That landslide was probably just an accident," Mokuba argued, "but if it wasn't, don't you think it's probably connected with what Pegasus is talking about?"

"Who wants to re-open the Shadow Realm and how are they going to do it?" Joey asked, cutting to the point.

"I don't know. Yet. But as I told Yugi-boy and Kaiba-boy last night, it is someone with a lot of power and reach," Pegasus answered. "When was the last time you spoke with any of the Ishtars, Yugi-boy?"

Yugi exchanged glances with Rebecca, who was sitting beside him. "We saw Marik Ishtar six months ago at the beginning of our expedition in the desert. Why? Do they have something to do with this?"

Pegasus ignored his question. "You haven't spoken with him or Ishizu since then?"

"No."

"Well, I have."

Yugi gave him a surprised look. "I didn't know you and Ishizu knew each other."

"I told you, I make it my business to keep tabs on things that concern me. But to get back to the point: strange things have been happening in Egypt the last several months. Ishizu is very concerned."

Yugi saw Rebecca cross her arms uncomfortably and he reached over and squeezed her shoulder. "What kind of things?" he asked Pegasus.

Pegasus's single eye bored into him. "It started with several thefts from the Egyptian Bureau of Archaeology over the past year."

"What kinds of thefts?" Téa asked.

"Artifacts. Oh, nothing as powerful as the Millennium Items," he said in response to the look of apprehension on Téa's face. "Scrolls and historical documents mostly. I don't believe Ishizu attached any great importance to the thefts beyond the historical value of the artifacts, at least not at first."

"Yes, I remember, that was happening before we left Cairo. Ishizu, Professor Hawkins, and I had several discussions about them, but nothing that concerned the Shadow Realm."

"But after you left Cairo, the thefts escalated. Relics from the tombs of Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses the Great, and Ramesses III."

Yugi's eyes widened in astonishment. "Those are the major pharaohs of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties! That is huge! Why didn't Ishizu tell us?"

"You were out of contact during the last six months, were you not? I will even go so far as to say I believe that the person responsible for the thefts played a hand in or is even directly responsible for the fact that you went on the expedition at all. Had you returned to Cairo when you'd originally planned, you would have found a whole stack of messages waiting for you and the professor. As it was, you were rather rushed trying to get to the United States, no?"

"Yes, we were, especially because of losing our passports," Yugi said. "We were only in Cairo for one day and we spent pretty much all of it at our consulates trying to get new ones. I never had time to check e-mail or even send word to my friends explaining why I was late and when I would get to San Francisco."

"Yes, and as I mentioned last night, it was no accident that your passports disappeared."

"I knew they were stolen!" Rebecca cried, and then she caught on. "You got us our new passports, didn't you?"

"Yes on both counts. I have no doubt the same person responsible for the thefts was also responsible for that and most of your travel delays."

"Even a sandstorm?" Rebecca asked incredulously.

"Well, no, that was just good fortune for him and bad fortune for you. But for most of the other delays, I am reasonably certain he was responsible, yes. And they served two purposes: to try and prevent you from making the tournament and to keep you from learning about the thefts. I daresay your grandfather has been a very busy man since your flight left Cairo, Miss Hawkins."

"Pegasus, you are still wasting my time," Kaiba complained. "What do stolen Egyptian artifacts have to do with you hosting a Duel Monsters tournament and our ship sinking?"

"Yeah, for once I'm with Rich Boy," Tristan put in. "Can we cut to the chase?"

"There just isn't any appreciation for a good story anymore," Pegasus sighed dramatically. "The chase, as Corporal Taylor so eloquently put it, is this: Thousands of years ago, the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Atem sealed himself and an evil spirit into the Millennium Puzzle, one of seven Millennium Items, thereby closing the Shadow Realm. His successor, Seto, created a Memory Stone as a key. These two pharaohs were the last to play the Shadow Games until thousands of years later when the Millennium Items were discovered and the Shadow Games returned."

"Is there anything else on besides summer reruns?" Kaiba asked rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes, Kaiba-boy, I know you're familiar with this bit of history. But did you ever wonder about the pharaohs who came after?" Pegasus asked them. "Surely those who came later would resent having lost such power and would try to get it back?"

Yugi nodded. "There is evidence of pharaohs in the later New Kingdom era calling for revivals of the 'magic of the gods.' It's very vague, but Professor Hawkins and I have speculated they may have been trying to revive the Shadow Games. There is no evidence that any succeeded, though. As far as we can tell, the game completely died until you re-invented it as a card game, Pegasus."

"Indeed," Pegasus agreed, "but after the thefts began, even before you left Cairo, Yugi-boy, Ishizu did some research and came upon a rather startling discovery. Several of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom may have come close. These pharaohs, not coincidentally, were Ramesses I, Seti I, Ramesses the Great, and Ramesses III."

"The same pharaohs whose tomb artifacts were stolen," Yugi said.

"Exactly. Now, although the Millennium Items were not discovered during the reigns of these pharaohs, they did find a tool with which to access a dark force."

"What dark force?" Yugi asked. "Something to do with the Shadow Games?"

"Not the Shadow Games, no, but something close. We don't know what exactly this 'dark force' is or how it works. However, apparently without the power that was locked away in the Millennium Items, this dark force needed a path. The Shadow Games themselves provide such a path. As I said, anyone who has been a participant in a Shadow Game is indelibly marked. The catch twenty-two, however, was that the last people who had played Shadow Games were long gone. Therefore, these pharaohs were, Ishizu believes, unsuccessful in re-opening the Shadow Realm.

"Now fast forward another three thousand years. The Millennium Items have been discovered and the Shadow Realm re-opened. For three years in particular, from the time the Millennium Puzzle was solved until the time when Yugi-boy surrendered all seven Millennium Items to the Millennium Stone, the Shadow Realm was quite active, but I hardly need tell anyone here that. We are all 'Shadow Duelists,' if you will, even those among us who don't consider themselves duelists. Every one of us has been a participant in a Shadow Game, if you include your little "virtual" detour during the Battle City finals."

"What?" several of them cried out at once.

"Yes, the virtual world you visited was connected to the Shadow Realm. I'm afraid that's my fault, actually. Kaiba-boy, it was your 'Big Five' who played a part, no? You do remember who originally partnered with them to take control of Kaiba Corp?"

"You snake!" Kaiba cried out. "You had something to do with that whole virtual nightmare with my stepfather and stepbrother?"

"Not directly, no, but let's just say the 'Big Five' knew something of the Shadow Realm and Marik Ishtar was also present with the Millennium Rod, which helped your stepfather more than he realized. As for my involvement, I will remind you that we have put behind us the… unpleasantness from Duelist Kingdom when I was being, shall we say, misled by the Millennium Eye?"

"Speak for yourself! I don't forgive and forget that easily, Pegasus!"

"Well, we all have our flaws, don't we, Kaiba-boy? Anyway, those of you who dueled in that virtual world were, in fact, participating in Shadow Games. That means every one of you standing here now has been 'marked' by the Shadow Realm, if you will."

"That's not true," Rebecca interrupted. "I've never played a Shadow Game. I've never even seen one. I hadn't even heard of them until my grandfather brought me to Egypt and Yugi came to live with us and told me all the stories."

Pegasus narrowed his eye and looked intently at Rebecca. "You're quite sure? I believe you have played a Shadow Game. Perhaps Yugi-boy would care to elaborate?"

Yugi jerked his head in surprise. "Me? I don't know of any time Rebecca played a Shadow Game."

"Of course you do, Yugi-boy. She played it against you."

"Against me?" Yugi asked, dumbfounded. "I never played a Shadow Game with Rebecca! I would never—"

"Not intentionally, perhaps, but I assure you that you did, in fact, play a Shadow Game with Miss Hawkins the very first time you met."

"The first time…?" He remembered the first time he met Rebecca. He had just returned from Duelist Kingdom when this eight-year-old American girl appeared out of nowhere and claimed his grandfather had stolen her grandfather's Blue-Eyes White Dragon card. She'd challenged him to a duel to win back the card, which his grandfather hadn't stolen and had been torn up anyhow. As the duel progressed, he'd learned the story of how her grandfather and his had become friends on an archeological dig in Egypt several years before Yugi solved the Millennium Puzzle. They had been trapped in a cave-in and had played Duel Monsters to while away the time and also to win the last of their water. His grandpa, knowing that Professor Hawkins needed the water more than he did, had surrendered the duel even though he could have won. The duel in which Rebecca and Yugi were engaging in years later was an exact replay, card for card, of their grandfathers' duel…

"Oh!" he cried, and Pegasus nodded at him.

"What?" Rebecca asked. "What is he talking about, Yugi?"

"Our first duel, Rebecca. It was an exact replay of our grandfathers' duel. Card for card. How is that possible? Even if you and I were taught by them and our strategies were identical to theirs because of it, how could we draw exactly the same cards and play them in exactly the same order, right up to my surrender?"

Rebecca looked at him, alarmed. "That was a Shadow Game? You played a Shadow Game on me?"

"Not intentionally," Pegasus assured her. "Remember what I just said about the Shadow Realm leaving a mark? Yugi had already played several Shadow Games by this point. I believe the power of his Puzzle, which he'd not yet fully understood or mastered, followed this path and created the Shadow Game without his knowledge."

"How do you know this?" Téa asked. "You were off licking your wounds after Duelist Kingdom when that duel happened, and it was a private game, not part of a tournament or anything."

"A private game held at Kaiba's arcade using my dueling arena technology," Pegasus reminded them.

"You keep track of private games?" Joey asked. "That's just a little bit creepy."

"I told you, I keep tabs on all things in which I have a vested interest." Pegasus steepled his fingers under his chin. "The point is, Yugi-boy, that this duel illustrates exactly the danger we face right now. Your grandfathers dueled while Solomon Mutou was in possession of the Millennium Puzzle—and yes, I know about that, too; don't bother asking how," he said when Joey looked like he was about to object. "Whether or not that duel itself was a Shadow Game, I cannot say. But when our Yugi-boy, fresh from his victory at Duelist Kingdom—a victory which I'm sure I need not remind anyone was very much a Shadow Game—when he dueled Miss Hawkins, the connection between the Millennium Puzzle and the earlier duel and any paths that might have been made in Yugi-boy's subconscious created its own Shadow Game, an exact repeat of the game where Solomon Mutou sacrificed himself for his friend."

"But that duel had a positive outcome," Yugi said. "Rebecca was changed for the better because of it. Well, it's true!" he said when she gave him a disgruntled look.

"Ah, Yugi-boy, I wouldn't have expected you to be taken in by the common misperception that so plagues our modern culture. We think 'shadow' and 'darkness' are always synonymous with evil. Surely someone whose favorite Duel Monsters card is called Dark Magician would realize that this is not always the case. And your Pharaoh, did you not think of him as your "dark" half? The Shadow Realm is not inherently evil. What it is is inherently powerful and power is seductive, so often it is used for evil. But your Shadow Game with Rebecca was not evil. Neither was your very first duel with Kaiba, the one that won you all this acclaim in the first place. Don't pretend you don't know that was a Shadow Game and that its purpose and final result were also beneficial. Though Kaiba-boy is sadly as dull and dreary as ever, he is changed for the better since that game, no?"

"What a load of garbage! That game was a fluke and meant nothing other than there was someone else in this game worth dueling!" Kaiba protested.

Neither Yugi nor Pegasus bothered correcting him, though both knew differently.

"So yes, Rebecca, you have participated in a Shadow Game, and however positive the outcome, it still has left a path in your subconscious, one that can be used against you. And the point of this whole tale is that there is now no shortage of people who have played Shadow Games. Because of this, because of all of us here, our adversary believes he can succeed where the ancient pharaohs failed. Building upon the work of those pharaohs, he believes he can and will re-open the Shadow Realm. And make no mistake, he does not intend to use the power there for anything so benign as teaching little girls lessons in respect and friendship."

"So who is this guy?" Tristan asked.

"As I said, I don't know. Neither Ishizu nor I have been able to find anything to lead us back to the thief himself. All we do know is that he is very well connected in the business world and is knowledgeable of the history of ancient Egypt, both the accepted scholarship and the more unconventional aspects relating to the Shadow Games and magic."

Duke spoke up for the first time. "If this grave robber is so hot to use us and these 'pathways' we have from playing Shadow Games to re-open the Shadow Realm, why try and kill us?"

"This is where I admit I was taken off guard. As I'd kept my part in this tournament a secret and Ishizu has not been involved at all, I believed that he had not figured out what I was up to here. However, when he went out of his way to prevent both Yugi-boy and Kaiba-boy from coming, I realized I'd made a serious miscalculation. Even then, I had no idea to what lengths he'd go to to stop the tournament."

"Why?" Yugi asked. "What is so important about this tournament? Why have you called us all here, Pegasus?"

"Because we Shadow Duelists are the ones most at risk if the Shadow Games return and we're the only ones who can stop him. But as with most magic, it isn't as simple as fighting. This is a new war, Yugi-boy. The old one ended when the Millennium Items were lost. A new war needs new soldiers. New Knights of the Roundtable, if you will."

"You've got to be kidding me," Kaiba scoffed.

"I'm quite serious, Kaiba-boy. It was Ishizu's idea, actually. In order to play in the ancient Shadow Games, the pharaohs and sorcerers had to prove their worth. They were often playing with monsters created from their own Kas after all. When the Millennium Items were created, and then later when they were found in our own century, they in and of themselves were a test of worth for those of us who were able to possess them. Now that they're gone, a new test is needed. This is more than just a gaming tournament. The winners will have proven their worth and will be able to fight against opening the Shadow Realm. Or failing that, will be able to take the fight to the Shadow Realm if necessary."

Suddenly Yugi understood. "Your job offer to the top four duelists!"

"Exactly."

"Wait a second," Yugi frowned. "We all got our invitations six months ago, before Rebecca and I left Cairo, which means it was before the thefts had escalated, so this tournament had to have been in the works for a while before all that."

"Very perceptive, Yugi-boy."

"But why, if Ishizu didn't attach any significance to the earlier thefts?"

"I said she didn't at first," Pegasus corrected. "But when she researched it and found those pharaohs that had tried to reopen the Shadow Realm, she reconsidered."

"But if that was all before we left, why didn't she say anything to me?" Yugi asked, irritated.

"Because we didn't know enough yet and we didn't want to tip off whoever the thief was that we were understanding the significance of what might be happening by talking it over with a lot of people. We planned the tournament just in case, and then when the thefts escalated after you left, we knew we had been right. So now here we are, with this tournament serving as an entryway for those who qualify to fight in the Shadow Realm."

"What if your top four duelists aren't any of us so-called 'Shadow Duelists?' What then?" Joey asked. "Or is this some kind of setup? Is this tournament fixed?"

"Joseph, I'm wounded," Pegasus replied loftily. "I would never fix a tournament."

"Yeah, 'cause there was nothing shady going on at Duelist Kingdom," Joey sneered.

"Again, I thought that bit of unpleasantness was behind us. I assure you, this tournament is completely above board. It's being run through the International Duel Monsters Tournament Commission and Mr. Goradon is seeing to all the particulars. Those of you who are competing are here not just because of your involvement with the Shadow Realm, but because of your skills as duelists. I would point out, however, that it is no coincidence that the best duelists are those who have played Shadow Games. You could not of survived if you weren't the strongest."

"Some of us didn't survive," Mai said softly. Yugi and Joey both jerked their heads toward her and Yugi saw Joey bite his lip.

"Oh, you survived. You're here, aren't you? You may not have won your Shadow Game with Marik Ishtar, but you survived. And I believe you were more than up to the task of defeating me a year later, n'est ce pas, Mai Sweet Valentine? But then, that is another bit of unpleasantness we've put behind us, isn't it?" he oozed.

Mai said nothing but Joey looked like he might strangle Pegasus for alluding to her involvement with the Orichalcos. Yugi shot his friend a warning look and Joey merely chewed on his lip more furiously and said nothing.

"Regardless, out of the seven of you who were invited to duel, six of you have made it to the semi-finals of your division, and yes, I will confess to this one bit of tinkering on my part: you were all put into separate divisions for a reason, although that is a perfectly legitimate tournament planning tactic. In any elimination-style tournament, players are seeded by ability so that the best players don't compete against each other until the finals.

"Also, I would like to point out that there are eight divisions, not four. All eight division winners will have passed the test of worth, even if only the top four are invited to work for me. Provided that the tournament is fully completed over the course of the next two weeks. Otherwise, the test will be nullified."

Yugi groaned. "It was you! You put Goradon up to all this nonsense about continuing the tournament!"

Pegasus laughed. "Oh Yugi-boy, don't be ridiculous. Mr. Goradon is a businessman, and like all businessmen, his business interests come first. I dare say once his own backside was safely seated on a lifeboat, the whole ship sinking fiasco thrilled him. He couldn't have dreamed up a better promotion if he'd tried. Imagine the papers reporting about the sunken cruise ship hosting a card game tournament. Suddenly Duel Monsters is in the mainstream media. So much the better if when we're rescued he can tell the tale of how dedicated duelists made it through this ordeal by continuing to duel." Pegasus shuddered pleasantly. "It's a delicious story, no?"

"You're wacked!" Tristan said.

"I said that was Mr. Goradon's point of view, not mine," Pegasus pointed out.

"But you agree we should continue with the tournament," Yugi stated.

"It's crucial that we do or our grave robber will have an advantage that may be insurmountable."

"Doesn't he have to prove he's worthy, too?" Mokuba asked.

"I expect he's found his own way of that. Most likely through the artifacts he stole. This is why we must finish this tournament." He eyed each one of them. "I see most of you have your duel disks. We duelists are a peculiar lot, aren't we? Faced with a ship about to sink, we all reached first for our decks, didn't we?"

"I didn't," Duke admitted, showing his empty left arm.

"Ah, but your heart isn't in the cards, is it Duke? I'm curious, though; do you have your dice?"

Duke raised an eyebrow and stuck his hand into his coat pocket and retrieved a canvas bag. He held it up for Pegasus to see.

"I thought so. For most of the competitors here, their first thought on waking up to the ship's alarm was to grab their deck."

Yugi knew Pegasus was right. He had made the same observation himself when they were trying to get to the lifeboats. Besides, the sixteen division semifinalists had already indicated they all had their disks and decks.

"I don't appreciate being brought here under false pretenses, Pegasus. I didn't ask to be one of your little soldiers or knights or Shadow Duelists or whatever you want to call them. Don't expect me to play along with your little game."

Pegasus only laughed. "Seto Kaiba forfeit a World Championship Tournament and his claim to the title? Oh Kaiba-boy, who knew you could be such a comedian?"

"It isn't funny, Pegasus!" Téa shouted. "What right do you have to mess with people's lives? Kaiba's right, you brought everyone here under false pretenses and put lives in danger. We should have been told up front what this was about."

"Surely you can appreciate the need for the utmost secrecy. Even with the precautions we took, look where we wound up. And rest assured, no one will be forced to do anything. You all have the right of refusal, even after the tournament."

"I notice you're not entered in the tournament," Kaiba observed. "Dueling skills not up to snuff these days or are you just happier sending others where you're not willing to go?"

"I have my own role to play, Kaiba-boy."

Yugi folded his arms, weighing Pegasus' words. "Pegasus, how do we know any of this is true? All we have is your word."

Pegasus gave him another look of mock hurt. "And my word isn't enough?" Then he smiled. "Yugi-boy, does it really matter? If what I say is true, you'll see evidence of the Shadow Realm being reopened soon enough. If it isn't true, what have you lost? All I'm asking of you at the moment is to continue the tournament and be vigilant."

Yugi nodded, conceding the point, but he still mulled it over. How much of it was truth and how much of it did Pegasus twist or withhold to make his own version of the truth? Was Ishizu really involved? She certainly wasn't above working behind the scenes to bring together the people she felt needed to be brought together; Battle City happened because of her manipulation of Kaiba. What of the other Ishtars? And then another thought occurred to him.

"Pegasus, if this is as crucial as you say to everyone who has played a Shadow Game or been trapped in the Shadow Realm, then it seems to me you've missed quite a few people. All three Ishtars and Ryou Bakura were key players in various Shadow Games and Marik, Ishizu and Bakura all had Millennium Items as well. Even my grandfather went to the Shadow Realm thanks to you. Why invite us and not them?"

"Ah, Yugi-boy, very observant. Your grandfather simply is past his prime. I see no reason he should have been included. As for the others you named, they all have something that distinguishes them from those of you who are here."

"Uh, they all were once evil nut jobs?" Joey suggested.

"Ishizu wasn't," Yugi pointed out.

"And if we're excluding evil nut jobs, explain why you're here, Pegasus," Kaiba observed.

Pegasus chuckled. "Charming as always, Kaiba-boy, but Joseph is exactly right. Ryou Bakura, Marik Ishtar, and Odion Ishtar have all used the Shadow Games for, shall we say, less than noble purposes. I believe they will all have a role to play eventually, but for the time being, I'd prefer we stick to those who are a little more trustworthy. I'm not sure what we're up against and what effects there might be for those who have had past…issues."

"Which still doesn't explain you being here," Kaiba repeated.

Pegasus chuckled again. "Why Kaiba-boy, of course I trust myself."

"Odion wasn't really evil. He was under duress," Yugi said, "and there's still Ishizu."

"Odion is still something of a concern and Ishizu has other work she needs to be doing at the moment. Believe me, Yugi-boy, they will all be involved eventually. Do not think for a moment that even if we prevail here that this will be the end of it. We mustn't underestimate our grave robber or his resources. If one key will not work, he will find another.

"So," he finished, leaning forward, "that's why you're here. What you do next is up to you."