Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh! characters and references belong to their respective owners. The song Face Up, Face Down belongs to the artist and the company that recorded it and was used in this story with the best of intentions. Story elements © Hideki LaShae. No money was gained in the writing of this story.

WARNING: This story contains sensitive cultural practices and references that might offend some readers. The views and opinions of the cultures which condone these practices are not shared by this author, but they are included in this story for awareness purposes only.

Time to Duel, Mariko!

By

Hideki LaShae

Chapter Thirteen

The Game Ain't Over 'Til It's Over

Everybody walks into the Kaiba mansion, and they head into the living room where they hear voices.

Tristan sits on the couch staring at the wide-screen TV where he sees Noah and Gozaburo relaxing together in a comfortable looking recliner. He says a last word to them before turning his attention to the people who just entered the room.

Welcome all my honored guests…

"It's about time you showed up!" exclaims Tristan with his gruff voice, "We've been waiting forever!"

"I'm afraid however that even though you have come this far, you cannot leave," says Noah standing up on the screen.

"Face it, Noah, you've lost!" exclaims Joey.

"Not yet!" exclaims Gozaburo from the TV, "We still have you all trapped here!"

I wish this day hadn't come so fast
You see I truly wanted your pain to last…

"Not for long!" exclaims Téa placing her hands on her hips.

"What? Do you intend to fight us, little girl?" asks Noah.

"Watch who you're calling 'little'!" exclaims Téa, "And if it comes to that, then yes, I will fight you! I've gotten into my share of fights with Marie at my side before!"

"Téa? Fighting?" asks the monkey, "What have I missed?"

"Then we will settle this with a fight if you can find us, little girl!" exclaims Noah, "The girls against us both! Three on two, you should have the advantage!"

"I've never fought before!" exclaims Serenity.

"You won't need to," says Téa, "I can handle them both on my own, I think. Camaro can back me up if it looks like I need it!"

"You will need it," says Seto glaring at his adopted father.

"Fighting will not be necessary. You'll never find us in time anyway," says Gozaburo turning his attention to Tristan, "If you cannot defeat them now, then you are useless to me! I have lost to that wretch of a stepson twice already. I will not make it three! Noah, one day you will learn your limitations."

Tristan lifts the TV remote and turns the volume up before he changes the channel.

"Big brother! Marie! Help me!" screams Mokuba as he appears on the screen.

Marie and Seto turn wide eyes to the TV and see Mokuba's face on the screen.

"Mokie!" exclaims Marie running and falling to her knees in front of the TV.

"Marie! You've got to get me out of here!" exclaims Mokuba pounding on the inside of the screen.

"She'll never be able to get him out of there!" exclaims Tristan, "She is a formidable hacker, but she's not nearly good enough!"

"I may not be able to get him out!" exclaims Marie hanging her head. She turns to look at Tristan, and the Millennium eye appears of her forehead as Nefertiri takes control. She smirks evilly. "I am simply Nefertiri, an Egyptian Princess from a time long ago, bride of the Pharaoh Yami! I'm a healer! I can't do strong magic! But I think I know someone who can! And I think it's time to release him! Mariko, can you do it for me?"

'I don't know if that is the wisest decision, Nefertiri,' says Mariko, 'I know that you loved the High Priest, but do you really believe that he can do everything you say he can? Are you sure your love for him hasn't tainted your vision? The High Priest was ruthless! Marie would not love him the way that she does this Seto! She would not want me to do this, Nefertiri! She would try every other way possible before she sacrificed her only love for her little brother's soul!'

"I want you to do it, Mariko! If you can, awaken him!" exclaims Nefertiri.

'Marie? Nefertiri?' asks Mariko.

'Mariko… I don't know who the High Priest was, but if he is within Seto like Nefertiri is within me, then maybe you should awaken him,' thinks Marie, 'What if it is his destiny to help in the troubled times that are coinciding with the Battle City Tournament?'

'The High Priest is within Seto, only a part of him though. Part of the High Priest was trapped within a Millennium Item, and part of him was reborn into the one you love,' says Nefertiri, 'The part of the High Priest that I loved the most has been reincarnated into that boy's body, only it has not been awakened, so he is not the person I loved. That is why I separated myself from you when you fell in love with him. You fell in love with someone that I didn't love. You fell for the new him while I loved the old him, and I didn't want to love the new Seto, your Seto… but if Mariko were to awaken him… then you and I wouldn't need to be separate beings anymore.' She flutters her long eyelashes at Marie and gives her the most innocent gaze like that of a young child who was wrongly accused of a mischievous act. 'You and I could return to being the way we were. Then you wouldn't need to tell me to shut up all the time, because I would be a part of you again. We would merge together just the way you do with Mariko, only we would never separate like you two do. You would be whole once again, Marie. That feeling of dispossession that you have would be gone, Marie. You would feel whole, complete.'

'If you command it, Marie, I will obey,' says Mariko with a sigh as he watches Marie fall victim to the sugar-laced words, 'I will try to awaken him if you want.'

Stay on guard…

'Is there any way to rid myself of you, Nefertiri? Any way that Seto could rid himself of the High Priest?' thinks Marie.

'Yami will be capable of banishing us both. I would willingly be banished alongside him,' says Nefertiri with a small smile, 'Then we could spend the rest of eternity together. I believe that he would also accept the same fate. But there would be no need for it to come to that. I could join with you and my Priest could join with Seto.'

'But young Mokuba might not love you both the way he loves Seto and Marie if you both were to change like that!' exclaims Mariko.

'I command it, Mariko,' thinks Marie ignoring the malignant spirit's words and listening only to the melodious tongue of the Princess, 'Awaken the High Priest!'

"Does anyone else think it's confusing how often Marie changes into Nefertiri and Mariko?" whispers Téa.

Face up, face down…

"Yeah… when she becomes Mariko, it's a lot easier to see. She actually changes," says Serenity, "but Nefertiri doesn't have any physical differences between Marie. Just that creepy eye."

The eye on the Millennium Scale flares a bright light.

"Yu-Gi-Oh!" exclaims Yugi suddenly gripped by a feeling of terror, and he transforms into his alter ego, Yami. He doesn't know quite why he says his next words, but they somehow seem to ring true to his ears, "Mariko! Don't do this!"

Seto grips his hand over his heart, and his eyes widen in shock and pain.

"Ma-Ri-Ko!" exclaims Marie holding up her left hand, but her fingers don't close around the base of the Millennium Scale like they would have had she held up her right hand. Yet, she still transforms into Mariko.

Seto falls to his knees, gasping in pain at being so close to the two ancient spirits.

"Mariko! Don't!" exclaims Yami noticing Seto's pain, "What are you doing? You're going to kill him!"

"I'm reviving the High Priest!" exclaims Mariko glaring at Yami. She holds out her hand towards Seto and turns her eyes to the Millennium Scale at his hip. Her deep voice starts to chant in a language that hasn't been spoken for many eons except by the archaeologists who study the tablets and depictions.

"Seto!" exclaims Mokuba from within the TV as he sees a pulsating light surround his big brother.

"I'm sorry, Pharaoh," says Mariko as a few tears slide down her cheeks.

The light withdraws into Seto, and he pushes himself to his feet. He runs his hand through his now unruly brown hair and looks at the TV with disinterested, pale blue eyes unlike the sapphire orbs that normally adorn his handsome visage. "What a foolish little brother you are. You are always getting yourself into some trouble like this! I suppose now I will have to rescue you yet again."

"Kaiba?" asks Joey with wide, honey-brown eyes.

"My name is High Priest Seth," says the elder Kaiba brother turning his eyes to rest on Joey, "not that it matters who I am…"

"High Priest Seth," says Mariko falling to her knees in a bow traditional for the time period from which the ancient spirit had last been seen in, "Shouldn't you return your brother's mind to his body? Nefertiri would greatly wish to have her little brother back."

"Nefertiri? Princess Nefertiri?" asks Priest Seth raising a single eyebrow at Mariko.

Mariko nods before discreetly wiping her wet eyes on the sleeve of her purple jacket.

"Then she shall have her wish!" exclaims Priest Seth extending his left hand towards the TV and his right hand towards Mokuba's body in Duke's arms. "Hootash naraba oos veesloo. Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei. Efday shokran Ahmenophus!"

Mokuba disappears from the TV screen as Priest Seth's left hand begins to glow.

The glow passes along Priest Seth's arm and chest and moves down to his right hand before snuffing out.

Mokuba gasps and opens his eyes. He looks at Priest Seth and smiles. "Big brother! You saved me!"

"Can you do the same thing for me now?" asks the monkey hopefully.

"This is my body! I won it!" exclaims Tristan.

"Unfairly I presume!" exclaims Priest Seth holding out his right hand towards the monkey in Serenity's arms and moving his left to face Tristan. Both his hands begin to glow as both bodies fall slack. The trails of light move down his arms and cross over his chest before moving up the other arm and disappearing after reaching his hands.

"Drop the monkey, Serenity!" screams Tristan opening his eyes wide.

"Ha, ha, ha!" exclaims the monkey grabbing tightly onto Serenity's wrist.

Serenity screams from surprise and pain.

"Get away from my sister!" exclaims Joey prying the monkey loose just as Tristan reaches them.

Tristan grabs the monkey away from Joey and flings it across the room to crash into the wall where its body shatters.

"Now that we're all back together, how do we get out of here?" asks Duke setting Mokuba down on the floor.

Mokuba rushes to embrace Mariko, and the girl transforms in the middle of their embrace to grip him firmly in loving arms.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that," says Téa with a gentle sigh as she takes a moment to look around.

"Now we just need to find the way out," says Yami.

"I know where it is," says Priest Seth.

"High Priest?" asks Marie.

"Yes…?"

"Could you tell my Seto where the doorway out is and then give him back to me?" asks Marie.

Priest Seth glares at Marie. "I would rather you give me Nefertiri!"

Marie hangs her head as she moves away from Mokuba. "So to save Mokie, I had to lose Seto…"

"Indeed," says Priest Seth with a brisk nod of his head.

This battle's to the end…

Marie sighs and closes her eyes. The Millennium eye appears on her forehead as she becomes Nefertiri. Her eyes flutter open, and she throws her arms around Priest Seth's neck. "Seth! It has been so long since I have held you in my arms! I am so glad that at long last you have been returned to me, my love! I have missed you so! Your old friend, Mariko, has become nothing but trouble! We must rid ourselves of the Millennium Scale!"

"The Millennium Scale?" asks Priest Seth reaching his hand down to gently caress the item at his hip, "I am not in possession of most of my abilities, Nefertiri. What has happened?"

"We are in a virtual world now, my love," says Nefertiri, "but you were trapped within a different Millennium item. I was unable to acquire it for you, I'm afraid. Its owner is quite the persistent fool. That is why I lent you the Scale… or more the fool, Marie, lent it. The item you seek is in the real world, so we must leave here to get it!"

"Where exactly is this item I seek?"

"On your blimp to be precise. It is the Millennium Rod that contains the rest of your spirit, and part of mine," says Nefertiri pulling Priest Seth into a kiss, "Much, much of my heart lies within the Rod!"

Priest Seth wraps his arms tightly around Nefertiri and glares at Yami as he kisses her. He pulls out of the kiss. "So… now you know, Pharaoh."

"He's known for a little while in this time," says Nefertiri, "He was resurrected into the body of my body's twin brother! Can you imagine? Me? The twin sister of our worst enemy? It's laughable!"

"Indeed it is. I know what you do to family, Nefertiri!" exclaims Priest Seth laughing.

"She was only my sister! And I only killed her once!" exclaims Nefertiri, "That fool girl Marie… she was the owner of this body… she actually believed all the lies and trickery!" Her voice turns to sheer mockery as she paraphrases the things she said within her mind to Marie, "Oh, we can be one if you have Mariko return my priest to me! And if your Seto didn't want the priest's power, then Yami could banish us both together!"

Priest Seth laughs even louder than before. "Yami?"

Nefertiri laughs. "Yami has never and will never have that power!"

All your cunning strategies
All the tricks you try
Look like merely child's play…

Priest Seth rubs his temple as his laughter fades. "That damned fool of a boy is giving me a headache! Won't he ever shut up? He is actually trying to fight against me and regain control of this body!"

"Now that headache I can heal," says Nefertiri, "We will need to banish young Seto and Marie eventually, but for now I can keep them both locked away." She touches Priest Seth's temple and her fingertips glow with a soft pink light.

Priest Seth smiles.

"Mariko!" exclaims Yami, "Fool! You've set free a monster!"

Nefertiri screams as she falls away from Priest Seth and tumbles to the floor, and the Millennium eye vanishes from her forehead.

"Marie?" asks Joey kneeling beside her.

Nefertiri transforms into Mariko and pushes herself to her knees. "Sorry, Joey, but I can't free Marie. I can keep Nefertiri at bay for a time, but not if the High Priest gets his hands on the Millennium Rod. And you called me evil, Yami! I should have never…"

"Camaro?" asks Téa.

"Damn you, Priest! Give the boy back to the girl!" exclaims Mariko as tears fall from her eyes, "I beg you… Give him back to Marie! Then maybe I'll be able to give Marie back to the ones who love her!"

"Why should I, Mariko?" asks Priest Seth looking at her with wide eyes, "This is my body now and I see no reason to give it up! You used to be my servant! My ally as it was! What has so changed within you, Mariko? Why would you try to betray me now? And for what? To assist the Pharaoh whom we both despised?"

"Because I love Marie more than life itself! I love her the way we both used to love Nefertiri! You remember the fights we had over her, yet we were still best friends until the Pharaoh chose her as his wife! We fought together against Yami, but we couldn't win then!" exclaims Mariko fiercely as the tears pour from her eyes more freely, "And now, that fool girl Marie has sworn her allegiance and mine as well to Yami… no… not to Yami, but to Yugi, the boy who shares a soul with Yami, so I will aide him in any way that I can! I don't want to fight against you and I certainly do not wish to harm Marie, but if the only way to rid this world of you is to kill you, then I swear on my love for Marie that I will kill you and the body you lie in!"

"Not before I kill you, Mariko!" screams Priest Seth.

At my invitation you've come to compete
For the honor of suffering the final defeat…

"Then you kill Nefertiri!" exclaims Mariko.

"I am the High Priest! I can resurrect Nefertiri!" exclaims Priest Seth.

"Not if you're dead!" exclaims Téa, "And if you harm Camaro, then we'll all make sure you die! I will kill you myself if you harm her! Camaro is my friend!"

"Return the boy to Marie! I want you to do this!" exclaims Mariko, "Nefertiri cannot hold me at bay like I can her! She can trap Marie, but not me. Show your obedience to your old friend… show your loyalty to your lover and not yourself!"

"Fine!" scoffs Priest Seth before collapsing to the floor.

"I hope you can awaken Marie, Seto," says Mariko. She rushes to Seto's side. "Which one are you?"

Seto rolls onto his back on the plush carpet. "Mariko? What the hell just happened and why did you do that to me?"

"I'm sorry, Seto," says Mariko, "but… well, it's actually a very long story! Would you mind if I told you back on the blimp after we escape this virtual world?"

Seto sits up. "Very well, then. Let's go."

Mariko smiles and helps Seto to his feet.

"Is it true that you cannot free Marie from the prison Nefertiri placed her in?" asks Serenity.

Seto leads everyone into the kitchen and out through the servant's entrance into a hangar where the blimp resides.

"I cannot free her. I do not have that power," says Mariko, "If Yami knew his full potential, he could probably do it, but he doesn't know how, and I can't teach him. I don't know the way."

"Are we in the real world now?" asks Duke.

"Yes," says Seto.

"Can we get something to eat now?" asks Joey rubbing his stomach as it growls loudly.

Everyone heads back into the blimp and heads into the dining room to have a quick meal.

Mariko sits near the head of the table, in between Yami and Seto with Mokuba sitting directly opposite of her.

"Mariko? You know about what happened in Ancient Egypt, don't you?" asks Seto stirring his food around his plate idly.

Mariko nods. "Unlike Yami, I remember most of what happened. My memory has gaps, but it seems they are only near the end of the battle… near the time when we were all trapped within the Millennium Items."

What's wrong now, you look so sad…

"Then tell us, Mariko… Tell us what happened," says Yami.

Mariko takes a deep breath. "Long ago in ancient Egypt when I was a young boy, I was nothing more than a slave in the palace of the Pharaoh, but I was very smart for a slave. I could wield powers that would put many of the priests to shame. My best friend, and sometimes my worst rival, was Seth, named after Set, one of the Egyptian Gods. He was the son of the High Priest, and he spent all his time training to become a priest. He had remarkable power, and he could wield strong magic even at a young age. He had just become a lesser priest when a girl from a fishing village along the Nile came to live in the palace. I was her servant. Her name was Nefertiri, and I quickly fell in love with her."

For a few moments, the only sounds come from Tristan and Joey cramming their mouths full of food.

"Seth met her shortly after I did. His father was also training Nefertiri. Nefertiri learned to heal with herbs and magic." Mariko takes a bite of the steamed vegetables on her plate and cringes her nose at them. She takes a drink of her water. "Seth also fell in love with her, but we never spoke of our feelings for her until one day after the High Priest had called me to him. Seth had mentioned to his father that I could summon up a spring drizzle to water the palace garden. Having had no formal training in magic, that was actually quite remarkable. The High Priest wanted to see for himself what magic I could do, and after I showed him what I was capable of, he begged the Pharaoh to grant me my freedom so that I could learn to control the vast magic that I could wield. The Pharaoh agreed. Not long after, I mentioned to Seth that I was in love with Nefertiri, and being free now, I had intended to make her my bride. Seth became alarmed and swore that he intended to make Nefertiri his bride. We fought many times after that, always about Nefertiri and who would be able to claim her as his bride. We never had conclusive endings to our fights. All the while, we were both continuing to learn how to use magic."

Yami passes a basket of bread to Mariko, and she takes a slice with a grateful nod.

Mariko eats the bread quickly, plain like she would have done so many hundreds of years ago.

"Please, go on, Mariko," says Yami, "What else happened back then?"

"Then the Pharaoh and the High Priest died together in a tragic accident while trying to help some of our people. The old Pharaoh had been so kind, maybe just a bit too kind, and then his son took the throne of Egypt. We all hailed the rule of Pharaoh Yami! Even Seth and I were pleased with the new ruler. Shortly after he became the Pharaoh, Yami declared Seth would be the new High Priest," says Mariko, "No surprise really. Seth had been trained his entire life to take over the position when his father died. Then Seth went to Nefertiri and he asked her to marry him. I watched them in the garden. She was happy, and I hated Seth for making her so happy! How I hated him!" She slammed her fist hard into the table and shoved her plate away from her. She continues as the tears start to fill her eyes. "But Seth never got the chance to marry Nefertiri. Yami had to select a wife. His first of many… all the women were gathered from the nearby area. One look at Nefertiri and Yami fell hopelessly in love with her. She had no choice but to agree to be his wife. Only death awaited her should she refuse."

"Would I really have killed Nefertiri if she wouldn't marry me?" asks Yami.

"Not you, no… You were… painfully kind in everything you did. I really hated you," says Mariko, "but the guards would have killed Nefertiri for dishonoring you."

"So… the woman that Priest Seth had wanted to marry was forced to marry Pharaoh Yami?" asks Seto.

Mariko nods and grabs another slice of bread, devouring it quickly.

"So… Mariko… what you're saying is that you, Priest Seth, and Yami all loved the same woman, Nefertiri?" asks Mokuba.

"Yes."

"And she loved?" asks Téa.

"She only ever admitted to loving Seth," says Mariko, "Even now she swears she only loved him. She married Yami, and she let him have her, but when he was through with her, she would go to Seth. On occasion, I would catch her leaving her chambers late at night heading to Seth's bedchambers so that he could have her as well. I contemplated telling Pharaoh Yami, but I hated him more than Seth because he had actually married her. Then Seth and I decided that we would destroy Pharaoh Yami and take over control of Egypt. I would then be the High Priest, and Seth would be Pharaoh since Yami had no descendents. Other than that, I only remember pieces. The final battle was a rough time, and many lives were lost. Seven mages, including myself, Seth, and Yami were imprisoned within the Millennium items, later to be reborn in new bodies with parts of our old souls stuck within them."

"So… Priest Seth was reborn in Seto Kaiba," says Téa, "Nefertiri was reborn in Marie. Yami was reborn in Yugi. Who were you reborn in, Mariko?"

"I have not met anyone who looks now the way I looked then," says Mariko, "so maybe I was not reborn at all, or maybe part of my spirit was reborn without the body being reincarnated. If so… then I would believe that I was reincarnated into the body that would have given me the relationship with Seto that I had long ago with Seth. We had been like brothers in that time. We hated each other, but we were never far apart."

"Keep your friends close and your enemies closer," says Seto finally eating some of the food on his plate.

Mariko nods.

I've taken their souls to lay on the line…

"So how do we get Marie back from the prison Nefertiri placed her in?" asks Serenity.

"I'm not sure that we can," says Mariko, "The key to open her prison might be something simple… a hug from Mokuba… a duel with Yugi… dancing with Téa… making love with Seto…" Her eyes widen as she says those last words and points an accusing finger at Seto before she adds, "Which we are not trying, by the way!"

"Of course not!" exclaims Seto disgusted at the thought, "I would only do that with Marie, not you, Mariko!"

Mariko nods thankfully. She crosses her arms on the table and rests her head on them.

"Big brother? What do we do?" asks Mokuba looking to his older brother hopefully, his large blue eyes pleading for his brother to have some answer.

Seto only stares at Mariko as he drinks his water. "What would Marie have us do, Mokuba?"

"She would…" Mokuba sighs. "She would want us to continue the Battle City Tournament and forget about her problem for the moment."

Mariko falls from her chair to the floor.

"Mariko!" exclaims Serenity standing up to see the fallen woman.

Seto moves quickly from his seat and pulls Mariko into his arms. He feels her pulse, finding it quite weak.

"How is she?" asks Yugi as he regains control from Yami. His purple eyes look worried as he stands.

"Weak…" says Seto letting his eyes trail down her body. He sees the blood clotted to her pants. He lifts Mariko up into his arms as he stands. "Mokuba… have the medical team meet me in my room."

"Yes, Seto!" exclaims Mokuba standing.

"Is there anything we can do?" asks Téa standing and watching Mokuba run from the room.

Seto glances over his shoulder at Téa. "You can sit with her while the tournament continues, Téa. Mokuba's right. Marie wouldn't want the tournament to end because of her for any reason."

"Do you want to continue to duel?" asks Téa walking up and setting her hand on Seto's shoulder comfortingly.

"Not without her watching, but I will," says Seto stepping away from the hand and walking to the door. He stops and glances back at Téa. "You coming, T-bird?"

"Right behind you!" exclaims Téa hurrying to follow Seto from the room.

"The tournament will continue in the morning, everyone," says Seto before leading Téa out of the dining room.

Let's play the game
I'm sure you all know how…