Part Two- Forest II

Danielle threw herself to the floor, rolling in the pine needles, heart and head pounding. To her good fortune, they were near to where the long sticks they'd used practised with lay abandoned and forlorn, and she grabbed one now, managing to flip onto her back and raise it just in time to block Jozan's second swing. The impact sent waves down her arms, and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before both staffs slammed down on her. Trying not to think too much, she bent her legs and kicked Jozan in the stomach as hard as she could.

Jozan stumbled away, winded, and Danielle scrambled to her feet. Cautiously, she looked around, preparing for another attack.

None came. In fact, it looked as if Jozan had run away, disappeared into the darkness. She relaxed slightly, resting one end of the metre and a half long staff on the ground, sighing. Jozan leapt from a tree behind her, ready to bring the heavy staff down on her, but Danielle had not been as unprepared as she had looked. As Jozan jumped, she swung her own staff sharply upwards, catching Jozan with it and tossing her to the floor, where she lay, sprawled.

"Ow…" Jozan groaned, sitting up, now sporting a split lip. She attempted to wipe the blood from her chin, but to no avail. "Ouch. Okay. Okay, that hurt. Now, then…" She stood up, grabbing her dropped staff. "Now I'm angry!"

She charged at Danielle with such ferocity that she landed two blows; one to Danielle's head, sending her staggering sideways, and another to her arm, knocking her over. Danielle's staff rolled away, leaving her defenceless. She looked up fearfully at Jozan, lips silently moving, silently begging, silently questioning.

Jozan lifted the staff high above her head, and brought it rushing down towards Danielle.

It almost made contact.

Before she was hit, Danielle spat out the activating word of the shield spell she'd been silently forming. Jozan's staff hit with a harsh cracking sound, and she was thrown back with such force that she didn't stop until she crashed painfully into a tree.

The two lay where they were, panting from the exertion. Assuming her opponent was unconscious, Danielle did not get up, too in shock to even contemplate what had just happened. Then, a dagger was hovering over her face, wielded by Jozan, who was a frightening sight with her lip swollen and bruised and bleeding. To Danielle's immense surprise, the dagger embedded itself not in her face, but in the ground as Jozan tossed it carelessly aside. She grinned and held out a hand to help her up. Danielle ignored it, but did get to her feet, and backed hastily away.

"You are good!" Jozan said, approvingly. "People would think you'd been training for years! And it was good acting to- Twice you made me think you were helpless…" She trailed off, gingerly feeling her lip.

Danielle was thoroughly confused. "…What?"

Jozan shrugged. "I thought you could use some extra practise. Apparently not. Ow. We might even be able to leave tomorrow!"

"That was 'training'!" Danielle screeched. "You could have killed me! Are you crazy!"

Jozan pondered this as she went to remove the dagger from the ground. "Quite possibly." She said cheerfully, unfazed. "It would explain a lot. But not this." She stared into Danielle's eyes, suddenly all traces of humour gone; just as it had the other times. "Rescuing the Princess is very, very important to me. I won't let you screw it up, Danniru." She stared a moment longer, and then dropped the eye contact and began climbing back up her tree. "That was a really good match, by the way. No-one's touched me before. Except Seto, of course, but you did far more damage than he did." All this was said in a light, friendly, almost proud tone, but was said without looking at her.

"I don't understand you!" Danielle blurted suddenly. Jozan stopped climbing, but still didn't turn around. "First, you act offended because I don't remember you! Then I did, and you snub me! Then you turn friendly, but insist we aren't friends! Then you're all smiles, then you refuse to tell us what's going on, and yet you introduced me to Az as 'my fellow Ghost'! And then you try to kill me before complimenting me on the fight! You are crazy! Are we friends or aren't we!"

Silence fell.

"No, Danniru." Jozan said, devoid of emotion. "We are not friends."

Soundlessly, they climbed back up and settled down to sleep. Danielle's mind was numb. Just before she fell into a deep and silent sleep, she registered the thought that, yet again, Jozan had evaded answering any questions she may have asked.

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"Wake up!" Jozan said, irritated now. In fairness to Danielle, the Mage probably hadn't slept properly for days, and they had been up late the night before; but no-one should be this phenomenally hard to wake up! It wasn't natural. She'd called her several times, even shook her, and was now prepared for a more violent approach. "Oiy!" She yelled, stamping on the sleeper's stomach. "Wake up!"

Amazingly, Danielle only stirred slightly, rolling over and mumbling something incomprehensible. Jozan blinked in disbelief. Was this girl under a spell or something! Finally, she grabbed hold of her and tossed her across the room.

That did the trick.

Danielle, disorientated, looked around in confusion. "Huh! What! What's happening!"

"You are impossible to wake up…" Jozan grumbled. "It's too early in the morning for violence…"

"Oh. Um… sorry." Danielle shrugged. At the Palace, she was always up at dawn without fail, ready for work; the same on the road. Her internal clock was good like that. But here, it had figured she didn't need to get up and so… Jozan had a funny look on her face. "What's the matter?"

"I…" Then Jozan shook her head. "Just a touch of… whatjamacallit. Oh, déja vu. Weird. Anyways, let's go- it's going to be a busy day! Especially when 'Nis isn't here to help…"

"Isn't she back yet?"

Jozan sniffed. "Nah, it's a day and a half's journey to the nearest edge of the Scar; and that's if it's all quiet. We'll probably meet up with her somewhere on our way out."

"Are we leaving today?" Danielle questioned hopefully.

"Maybe. That all depends on you and your friends, doesn't it?" Jozan answered shortly, scrambling down the tree trunk in just the same way as she had for years. She wasn't lying when she said it was going to be a busy day.

After the chaos, confusion and commotion known by the locals as 'breakfast', it was time to start the day's work. However, as that hadn't actually been decided upon yet, they found themselves once again grouped at the foot of Jozan's tree. Once again, Seto was absent.

(Original A/N scribbled in the notebook at this point following a bout of writer's block- I AM LOSING THE WILL TO LIVE WITH THIS FIC! ARRGGH! Ahem)

"Well, I guess we all know what our disguise is…" Danielle tried. "Jozan, you and Amnis are the younger sisters of Seto, and it's your family circus."

Jozan pulled a face. "Yippee." She quipped. "But yeah. Tomasu, Risu, and Chiharu Zondervan. Our mother died several years ago from illness that came on after having Chiharu." This was a common story. Childbirth certainly was a dangerous occupation. "Our father died three years ago. He left his only possession, the circus, to his oldest child and only son- Seto. Uh, Tomasu, that is; who is twenty-one. So we all have to pretend he's older then us." She grimaced. "And I have to pretend he's my brother. Oh, I'm the story-teller!" She smiled at the thought of all the melodrama that would allow her.

"Yup." Danielle nodded. "And I'm Yumi Haiaku, from Denwa. I'm in the circus to earn money for my widowed mother. I do conjuring tricks with my cousin… Ryou?"

"Kahei Haiaku." Ryou began to recite, dutifully. "Her father was mine's younger brother. As he had just one daughter, my father instructed me, his youngest son, to go to his brother's family to help however I could- and I've ended up here."

"Great." Jozan teased. "But what was his name? What did he do? How did he die?"

"Hatoshi Haiaku." Danielle answered immediately. "He was a fisherman with 'Kahei' helping him."

"We were caught up in a storm one night." Ryou continued. "I was still a child so he secured me to the side but didn't have time to do it for himself. He drowned, and although I survived, I couldn't carry on fishing as fishermen are very superstitious and the boat was burnt to prevent it becoming a vessel for his spirit. We couldn't afford a new boat, so Yumi and I decided to join the circus using tricks we'd learnt as children."

"We've been in the circus five years, the longest of anyone, and first joined when your father- Shigemori Zondervan." Danielle concluded. "Jou! Your turn!"

"I've already done mine." Jozan frowned.

"No, no- Jou! Jonouchi!"

"Oh, I see…"

Jonouchi scratched his ear, trying to remember. "Oh…um… right. Isamu Kudo, I balance…stuff… and um… sometimes I throw it and… stuff. Yeah."

Danielle glared at him. "And? What are you doing with the circus?"

Jonouchi sighed in relief. He knew this one. "My family are carpenters in Hearn. I didn't want to go into carpentry so I left two years ago when your circus passed through my town, and came to seek my fortune."

"And then there's me, Tenzo Ayako." Yugi offered instantly. "I came just after Isamu, as a juggler. I'd grown up in a different circus but had left because my father, it's head, wanted me to marry one of the girls, who had tried to marry one of the other performers but my father hadn't allowed it. I decided the only way to solve the problem was to leave."

"See? We're all fine on back stories." Danielle said, proudly. Perhaps if she could convince everyone they were ready to go, they could get started. "I guess that's one less thing to worry about, right…?" She was all too aware of how much time had elapsed. Every moment had to be used wisely. She was anxious to get going.

"Wait a minute!" Jonouchi put in. "What are Seto and Amnis doing? What's their role- all we know right now is their names."

"Amnis is our musician." Jozan explained. "Seto…"

"What does he do?" Jonouchi demanded, wearily.

"Whatever the heck he wants to, I should imagine." Jozan snorted. "In fact, I'm going to go and find him. And beat him with a stick." She smiled at the thought.

"What about us?" Danielle asked. Jozan shrugged.

"Well, I could use more practise…" Yugi admitted. "And so could Jonouchi. We keep dropping the stuff on our heads!"

"We probably need some extra practise to." Ryou said to Danielle.

"I've had plenty…" Danielle muttered darkly, but then she nodded. "We need to work out a routine. And it's still obvious it's real magic and not just good sleight of hand! We don't want to cause a commotion…"

"Now that that's decided…" Jozan said, picking a large stick up from the ground. "Let's jump to!"

And so, they did.

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The sun was beginning to set, and although the other inhabitants of the forest were starting to wind down for the day, Danielle and the rest of Anzu's rag-tag rescue party were still engaged in their work. The time for training and practise had now passed, had been stretched to capacity and exhausted. Now was the time of preparation, making ready for the journey.

They had split into two groups, uneven as Seto, despite Jozan's efforts, hadn't been seen all day. Jonouchi and Ryou were at the encampment in the forest, inspecting somewhat sceptically a small cart. It was the only one the Ghosts owned, and as a result, the inside contained a million odours of a million different items, each indistinguishable from the next. The space was tight, and they may have all just squeezed in, if it were not for the fact their equipment and props had to go in to. Ryou and Jonouchi had set about loading it up with a single change of clothes each and food and water sufficient enough to get them through the forest. After that, they were depending on Noxell's hospitality- and Ryou wasn't sure he trusted that. He tried to push the thoughts away. Every person he'd met from Noxell had been nothing but pleasant. Despite the fact the war had supposedly ended some twenty years previously, tension was still rife between the two countries. He ignored the doubts. He couldn't help them being there, perhaps, but he didn't have to attend them. He wasn't in the Palace anymore. As Jozan kept reminding them, he wasn't in Nrefder anymore either. Things were different here. He wasn't entirely comfortable with this way of life, this uncertainty, but he had to do it. He had to save Anzu. For the sake of Nrefder. For Noxell, even. For the Scar. And, not that he'd admit it, maybe for himself to. He didn't think he could stand the Palace without her. He certainly had no joy in his work. He hated his job. By now, he probably would have run away, if it hadn't been for her. His…friend. His best friend, who he had all but given to the kidnappers. He had to help rescue her.

…But what if they did save her? What then? She would be the Queen of Nrefder, loved by thousands. And, in time, once they had reached a palindromic age, as was tradition- in this case, twenty-two- she and Yugi would-

"Ryou!" Jonouchi yelled into the cart. "Get out here already!"

Ryou shook the thoughts away and hopped, tripping over his robes in the process, down from the cart, joining Jonouchi at the side, beneath where 'ZONDERVAN FAMILY CIRCUS- Stop us now!' was painted in big black letters. "What's up?"

"They finally brought our weapons back!" He said, happily, picking up his sword. "Man, it's good to have you back, Aussen!"

"Interesting name." Ryou remarked, picking up his own staff and feeling it's comforting weight. "What does it mean?"

"True Honour." Jonouchi said, proudly. "What about that staff of yours, eh? What's it's name?"

"…Patricia."

Jonouchi blinked. Could Ryou be making a joke! He'd never noticed the Mage having a sense of humour. "Seriously?"

"Of course." Ryou smiled sincerely, patting 'Patricia'.

Jonouchi couldn't quite work out if he was joking or not, and, as they concealed all the weapons beneath the supplies of food, clothing and props for the show, he wished Yugi or Danielle were here to explain it to him.

But they were with Jozan. He'd been too loud, and Ryou too clumsy for their job.

They were trying to catch a horse, as it happened.

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"You know…" Yugi said, conversationally, trying to pull a branch out of his line of sight. "This would be a lot easier if you kept the horses in a pen!"

"I guess…" Jozan considered. "But then we'd have to find room for one. And it wouldn't be as nice for the horses- or nearly as much fun for us!"

"I don't find this 'fun'…" Danielle grumbled quietly.

"No, neither do I." Jozan admitted, looking at the trap in despair. "Come on…where are you…?"

"Why can't we just use one of the horses we brought with us?" Yugi asked. "And save all this bother?"

"Well, about that…" Jozan began, sheepishly. "You know how we don't keep horses in pens…?"

"They're running around inside the biggest forest in the world, aren't they?"

"Yeah."

"Great."

Some bizarre moral code inside the endless trees dictated that horses should be allowed to roam free around the Scar, meaning that when they were needed, they had to be caught. Which, as well as making many a fun-filled afternoon, was the highly logical explanation as to why they were spending the evening concealed in a tree, staring down at a 'bait' of grasses and flowers. Danielle hadn't liked horses to begin with, one of the few things she and Jozan agreed on. This was not her idea of a good time.

"I don't understand," She began. "How horses got into the forest to begin with! As far as I'm aware, it's hardly their natural habitat!"

"They came with us when Li'anon burnt." Jozan shrugged. "Guess they've bred and multiplied since then…"

"…Jozan…" Danielle hesitated. This seemed as good a time as any.

"Didn't I tell you to call me Jo?"

"Jo, I want to know exactly-"

"Ssh!" Yugi interrupted, in a harsh whisper. "Look!" He pointed downward to where a dappled pony was happily munching away on his free meal.

"Finally…" Jozan breathed, unhooking a bridle from the branch beside her and slinging it over her shoulder. "Okay…" She muttered. "Here goes…" She began to climb slowly, cautiously, silently, to the ground. Yugi and Danielle slipped down to, hiding to each side in case it tried to run. The horse had seen Jozan now, but, reasonably tame, did nothing beyond tense up slightly.

"Hey, it's okay…" Jozan said, soothingly, slowly approaching. She reached out a hand and gently rubbed his nose. He snorted appreciatively. "Oh, you like that, don't you…? Now, just hold still, there's a good boy…" Jozan paused. "Oh, I beg your pardon- you're a girl, aren't you? Yes, I remember- April, you pulled the cart for us last time, didn't you…? Well, just hold on one second…" She began to remove the bridle from her shoulder.

April didn't like that very much. At all. Snorting in indignation, she pawed the ground in annoyance and backed away.

"Oh, hold still!" Jozan demanded, abandoning all pretence of friendliness now and advancing on the horse.

April was smarter then that, and easily evaded as Jozan leapt for her, leaving her would-be captor sprawling in the dirt before pounding away into the forest- in the one direction they didn't have covered. Jozan pounded the ground in anger. "Seto!" She screamed in frustration, but couldn't help but laugh at herself.

"I hardly think you came blame this on him…" Yugi tried, helping her up.

"Yes, I can. He should be doing this!"

Danielle blinked. "Does he…like horses?"

"Nope." Jozan snorted. "But they like him! Where is he when you need him, eh? Nowhere to be found, as usual!"

The answer, as it happened, was half way up another tree.

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"The sun's starting to set." Az commented, unwillingly breaking the silence, unwilling to put an end to their time together. "You ought to go and find Jozan- before she finds you."

Seto just snorted.

"She's really not that bad, you know…"

"Not that bad!" Seto echoed disbelievingly. "She keeps…laughing! At the slightest thing! And smiling! All the time, whatever happens, she's…happy! It's so infuriating! And I'm sure she's deranged…"

He sighed, but Az was laughing at him, not at Jozan. "Seto, you're so grumpy. Lighten up!" Suddenly, she grew serious. "People need joy in their lives, Seto. Don't take that away. Although, she's been in a bit of a bad mood recently… I thought she'd be happy once we finally found Danniru, but… Any ideas what's up?"

Seto raised an eyebrow, wondering why she thought he should know. Or care. Or why they were even discussing it.

"Okay, okay…" Az said, defensively. "I'm just a little worried, that's all…"

"Why don't you worry about yourself for a change?" Seto demanded harshly, looking away from the forest and at her. "Az-"

"What's the point?" She asked, softly. "Seto… It's beyond the point where worrying is going to do any good. For me, at least."

"So you're just going to accept it! You're going to give up! I don't believe this…!"
"How can you say that!" She demanded, eyes full of hurt. "How can you say that! I've fought to the end, Seto, I have, but there is a time to accept things, and the time to accept things is now! Silent Wind or not, there is nothing you or I or anyone else can do, as much as we might want to! I don't care how many times you've seen death! You don't seem to understand it comes to us all! Let it go! Let me go! Get on with the task at hand, and, for heavens sake…let me go… with dignity! Don't make this harder!" She sobbed bitterly, letting the tears flow unabated. "Don't make this harder…!"

"Az…" He murmured, ashamed.

"I'll come with you." She said, suddenly.

"What?" Seto was taken aback.

"I can take you to where they left the forest. I can do that much." Az stated, monotonously. "At least then you'll start in the right place, and I'll have… Let's go."

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Danielle, Yugi and Jozan returned, empty handed and exhausted. Only two other horses had fallen for the trap, and both had escaped in much the same manner as the first, although they had all had a turn at coaxing them to be still long enough to put the bridle on. Patience wearing thin, they had given chase to the third, but, short of Jozan's offer to 'Put an arrow in the flipping thing' they'd had no way of catching it and had been forced to surrender.

So, their reactions to finding Seto standing impatiently with Ryou and Jonouchi, holding easily onto April, their arch nemesis, was a mixture of surprise, embarrassment and annoyance.

"You…" Jozan spluttered, although no-one was entirely sure if she was directing the comment at Seto or the horse. "You…" She didn't get any further, however, as April had decided it was time to chow down. And the food of choice? Seto's hair.

Needless to say, Seto didn't find it as funny as the others did when April pulled him sideways and slobbered happily over the top of his head; in complete disregard to his feelings on the circumstances and his attempts to get away.

"I see what she meant about horses liking him…" Danielle laughed as Seto finally yanked himself away, glaring evilly at April while finally getting her reigned in to pull the cart; all the while evading her attempts to get some dessert.

"Be quiet." Seto hissed at his supposed comrades in such a dangerous tone they immediately did as they were commanded. Except for one, and the others jumped when they heard her, for they hadn't noticed Az was there, hidden as she was in the lower branches of a nearby tree; the accustomed place to be in the Scar. Seto glared at her.

"I'm sorry…" She laughed, probably more then it actually deserved. But, as she had said, people needed joy in their lives. For her, she needed it now more then ever. "But you just looked so funny…it was so cute!" Az turned to Jozan, and everyone watched, amazed at the girl who had the guts to call Seto 'cute'; but Danielle's gaze remained on Seto, gauging his reaction. He was glaring all the harder, but… somehow, it seemed his heart wasn't in it. He seemed almost…sad. And was it just her, or were there tinges of red lurking around his neck and ears…? No-one else seemed to notice, watching instead as Az and Jozan conversed.

"Jozan!" Az was reprimanding. "That was a golden opportunity to tease Seto! I can't believe you missed it! I'm actually quite disappointed…"

"I know…" Jozan mourned. "But I just couldn't think of anything! And now the moment's gone…"

"Just be ready next time!"

"Well, I wasn't expecting the horse to try and eat him! Hey…Imagine if she'd got his hair! Can you imagine him bald!"
"Can we just get on with this?" Seto demanded steely.

"You want to leave?" Yugi asked in surprise, looking around at how the sun was making it's last feeble attempts of lighting the forest. In the shadow of the trees, it would very quickly become totally dark. "Now?"
"No time like the present." Az shrugged, launching down from the branch and alighting to the ground. "I'll take you to the edge of the forest, to the point where they left with Anzu."

"But…now?" Jonouchi faltered. "It'll be dark soon…"

"Scared?" Seto asked, with a vampire grin.

"No! Just aware of the time!"

"I'm not sure there is any time here." Danielle commented. "It's always dark beneath all these trees. Time is running out for Anzu- we don't know who has her or what they'll do. We should get moving."

"That's what I like to hear." Az said, approvingly.

"Well then." Jozan grinned. "People, it's time to mosey!"

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Nrefder's palace was unsettled, and Aonhal, the Regent, knew it. It had been days now since his niece had been kidnapped. Days since the Prince of Noxell and the rest had gone to look for her- and without the Mage- Ryou? Ryan?- around, the wards defending the castle were weak; and other things just weren't getting done. It was strange, he considered, drumming his fingers impatiently on the arm of his chair, how you don't notice things till they've gone. Then, the door to the room opened, and Ryuko came striding in, full of the self assurance that came with his status as Captain of the Royal Guard, a personal friend of the Royal Family, and as Anzu's Godfather. He was getting old now, his once raven hair white with the last few streaks of grey. Unlike most of the Guard, he remembered the war; and more then that to- he had fought in it, advised in it, and kept Nrefder hanging in there right until to the end. He was so respected and famous now that some said he had more say in the running of the country then the Monarchy themselves. But not today.

"Sir?" He questioned, coming and sitting down opposite the Prince Regent.

"Any news?" Aonhal questioned without hope.

"Well and the rest of the Elite should reach the Scar by the end of the day. That's it."

"Nothing from Seto?"

Ryuko snorted. "That idiot? Of course not. He's never filled a report in his life, and I sincerely doubt he will now. We won't hear from him again until he next bails us out of a disaster."

Aonhal smiled grimly. "I thought he was an idiot?"

"He'd talented." Ryuko admitted, nodding. "But he's a fool. Complex people are impossible to trust, because you can't understand their motives. Intelligent complex people hide their personalities. Foolish complex people have egos so large they become arrogant, and they believe they don't need anyone to trust them because they don't need anyone."

"You seem to have a good grasp of his character, considering you claim not to understand him. How does that work?" Aonhal teased.

"The man's a paradox in his own right." Ryuko dismissed. "Now, tell me, Aon- what did you really summon me to discuss? Without that Mage around, we're more open to attack then ever, and with the best quarter of the Guard gone…"

"…I'm tired, Ryu." Aonhal sighed after a moment's hesitation. "I'm ready to hand over to Anzu. I think she's ready for it. I was never supposed to be in charge. My brother was the solider, the king… I was a mage, happy to tinker away with magic until it died away…" He shook his head. "I'm no king. I just want to give Anzu her rightful position back. I know she'll do well at it."

"I think that's what all of Nrefder wants." Ryuko said quietly. "This attack came from Noxell. That's why you might have one more decision to make. Once the public get hold of this, they'll demand action. And if Seto and the others don't succeed, our hand will be forced. It will come to war."

"What!" Aonhal demanded. "But… we don't even know what the hostage takers want! Perhaps if we meet their demands-"

"No. You kidnap the children of dignitaries to get money. You kidnap Princesses to make a political statement. Someone wants war, wants to settle what was started twenty years ago- no, centuries ago, after the Divide- and so do many others. So does almost everyone. This may be the flame to the fuse.

"But… It's so mindless!"

"I know. Perhaps better than anyone, I know." Ryuko nodded. "It's mindless, but I don't know how much choice we'll have. Noxell's government would never help us- they won't admit the kidnapping had anything to do with their country at all. They have to protect their own, I suppose. They want to continue the War- the Wars, all of them. And so does, I'm afraid, most of Nrefder. Everyone's so frightened they'll be attacked that they'd rather attack first- or have a peaceful agreement. And if Noxell has the Princess… it is a hostile act. The situation is slipping out of our control."

Aonhal buried his head in his hands. "Let's hope that 'idiot' finds her."

"Yes." Ryuko said grimly. "Or there will be hell. We must get Anzu back!"

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They'd been walking for somewhere between half an hour and a full one, but it was hard to tell when the light and scenery remained constant all the time. They remained almost silent, except when helping to get the cart through the gaps between trees far too small for it. Az directed them without hesitation, seeming to know every inch of the forest instinctively; although the rest of the Ghosts only knew five distinct routes- to each point of the compass, and to Li'anon to the South-West from the village. Finally, Az stopped.

"What's up?" Jozan asked her, as Seto was once again attacked by April in the background. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Az assured her, although she seemed tired. "But I figured this would be a good place to wait for Amnis."

"Where is she?" Jozan asked, looking around.

Az shrugged. "I'm not sure exactly… Wait, I'll ask."

Ryou, who had been listening, watched in confusion. Who was there to ask…? To his surprise, Az closed her eyes, and pressed her hand to the trunk of the tree she was perched in. The stench of magic overwhelmed him for a moment, different and unusual.

Then it stopped, and she opened her eyes.

"She's right over there, as I thought." Az pointed in a random direction. It didn't make much difference when everything looked the same, all sense of direction swallowed by the ocean of trees. "And coming this way. She should pop up right about…now."

Amnis appeared in the branches of the tree Az was pointed at. "There you all are!" She pouted. "I looked all over the East road for you, but you weren't there! Luckily, Millierie came and had pity on me… Why didn't you tell me Az was taking you?"

No-one paid any attention to her.

"You love being right, don't you?" Jozan was saying wryly.

"Yup!" Az smiled.

"Well… it is cool…"

"You talk to the trees!" Ryou blurted out, looking at Az with a mixture of wonder and suspicion. "They tell you what they see! That's… unnatural!"

Az looked at him, annoyed. "Unnatural? Why is it anymore unnatural then what you do? Your magic comes from water. Mine comes from wood. What's the difference? Why is my magic unnatural!"

"Hel-llo…!" Amnis tried, feeling very unappreciated.

"…You're right." Ryou confessed. "Yes. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me- I was just surprised by it. I've never seen nor heard of magic coming from anywhere but water before…" He looked as though he was suddenly struck by a realisation, and gasped. "It was you! You're the reason I could never find Seto! You've been masking the Forest from scrying, haven't you?"

"Well… Not on my own…" Az tried. "But… yeah. It was us!"

Ryou turned to Jozan and laughed in astonishment. "And all this time I thought it was you!"

"Me?" Jozan laughed. "I have all the magic of a sesame seed! No, I'm a one-trick pony. When there are ripples near by, I hear every sound for miles around, massively amplified. I can hear the valves in your heart snapping open and shut, I can hear the tread of a ladybird on a leaf… If I want to or not. I'm confined to my actual surroundings- since that first time, I've never heard the future or another world. And I can't influence what I hear like you can. That's it! I don't even have enough magic to do a basic spell…"

Ryou was still marvelling at the discovery of a new type of magic. He shook his head. "This world is full of surprises." He kept saying, again and again.

"I am back, you know." Amnis tried. "Anyone?"

"Oh, 'Nis!" Jozan grinned. "Hi!"

"Hallelujah!"

"Guess what!"

"What?"

Jozan smirked and pointed at the cart. Amnis' face fell.

"Oh, no…"

"Oh, yes. It's circus time!" Jozan giggled manically.

"In that case…" Amnis sighed, feeling into the pocket of her tunic. She pulled out some red, rather faded fingerless gloves and wriggled her hands into them, flexing them around and getting them in a comfortable position. "I'd better wear these. Can't go on an adventure without these…"

They set off again, Ryou getting quite excited about this unusual magic and asking many questions. Danielle only half-listened, watching Jozan and her sister interact. She didn't catch what had been said, but the two were laughing heartily. Az was laughing to, at Ryou getting so excited. Yugi and Jonouchi were deep in conversation, and Seto made some sort of comment to Az, which, while said completely seriously, made her and Ryou crack up again.

And then Danielle knew what they were trying to save. And it wasn't just the Princess.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

"Stop! Don't move!" Az screamed suddenly, and, surprised, everyone jumped at least a foot back before they could comply. Apart from Seto, who merely stopped and joined everyone else in looking at her to see what on Earth could be the matter. They had been walking for some time now without any problems, or, indeed, any sound. "Nobody move." She repeated again. "Um… Except you, Ryou. I want you to back away, very, very slowly."

"Why…?" Ryou asked, fearfully, looking around. All heads swivelled towards him. He had been taking his turn at leading the cart, and so was bringing up the rear of the group; but no-one could spot any danger. It was just Ryou and April, and, in front of them, a tiny, slate-grey frog. Was Az an animal lover?

"Oh, no…" Jozan muttered. "Ryou. Do. Not. Step. On. That. Frog. Please, just…don't." She whispered.

"Why, what's it going to do? It's tiny!" Jonouchi said, wondering what all this fuss was about.

"You don't want to find out, trust me." Az said, grimly, from her vantage point in the tree, relieved she'd happened to look back in time. "Ryou, just… back away."

Ryou nodded, a little bewildered. Unfortunately, he tripped over the hem of his robes, and though he tried to direct his fall to the side, he really tried, he fell on top of the poor, helpless, frog.

No-one moved.

"Uh-oh…" Jozan breathed.

"Huh…?" Ryou muttered. The poor thing should have been squished, but he could feel it moving beneath him. He quickly rolled off it. The frog was twice the size it had been and was swelling still. "What on earth…?"

"Okay!" Jozan cried, sounding a little worried. " It's fine. Everyone take deep, calming, breathes and RUN!"

They did.

Behind them, the frog grew larger and larger, and more rotund, rolling along in pursuit of them. It's legs hadn't grown, however, and stuck out like tiny twigs at the sides of the massive boulder. It rolled faster and faster, getting larger and larger, bowling down trees in it's wake; huge, bulbous eyes glaring down at them. Az and Amnis had taken to the trees, screaming as the tree they'd last occupied fell behind them. The others were faring no better on the ground, dodging the falling wood, Ryou still trying to pull a panicked horse along.

"This is why you weren't supposed to tread on it!" Jozan yelled at Ryou, running for her life.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…!" Ryou chanted. Then, his robes struck again. He tripped and fell, staring up as the frog, the boulder, bared down on him. A moment ago he had been on top of it. Now the roles would be reversed.

"Crud!" Jozan screamed at the top of her voice, skidding to a halt. She pulled an arrow from the quiver at her back. Amnis detected the movement and hopped back a tree, feeling in the pouch at her waist for her shuriken.

"I'm with you Jo!" She yelled. "Fire!"

The arrow caught the frog in the left side, and the stars peppered holes all over the place. The frog's skin had been so stretched and was now so thin that it punctured easily; and, to everyone's surprise, it flew up into the air, bleeding, raining pus, and expelling gas, and blew away on it's own steam somewhere over the trees.

"Well…" Jozan said, grimacing as she wiped frog goo off her face and spitting it out of her mouth. She, Amnis and Ryou had got the worst of it. She squinted up at the sky and could just make out the tiny dot of the ever shrinking frog on the horizon. "…I have to confess, I wasn't expecting that."

"I am never doing that again." Ryou vowed, shaken, climbing to his feet. "Ever."

"…What the hell was that thing!" Jonouchi had finally got his voice back.

"That was a Rock Toad." Az informed him. "So called because when it's under attack, it swells up to two hundred times it's original size and becomes an unstoppable boulder. I'd appreciate it if no-one else trod on one." She looked around at the fallen trees, and the sight brought tears to her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry…" Yugi tried. "It's alright. Everyone's alright. Isn't that the main thing?"

Az was talking to the tree again, and she finished before she answered, nodding slightly. "Yeah, it is." She shot a meaningful glance at Seto. "It's okay- Everyone's alright."

Seto nodded, as tears continued to flow unabated down her face.

"Please… Don't cry." Yugi repeated, feeling useless. Az's reply confused him very much.

"I'm not. It's the forest."

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

The flight from the Rock Toad had taken them far off course, and now, even Az was struggling to get them back on route safely. They weren't helped by the fact that it was getting darker by the second. They had paused for a moment, so she could consult, almost trance-like, with the trees around them. Jozan and Amnis set about clearing their weapons of frog innards, while Seto tried to calm April, who was still panicked even now; while trying to avoid having his head eaten. The others were watching Az, fascinated by what the three had seen a million times before.

"Hey, when did our lives become the subject of a bad joke?" Jozan remarked to her sister. "I mean, seriously. Two knights, two Mages, and a Prince lost in the woods. And that's even before you put us into the scenario…"

Suddenly, Az jumped from the branch, and landed lightly on the ground. "Got it." She said, not looking too happy about it. "We're way out. No wonder I barely recognise it… I've only been here once."

"Where are we?" Seto asked.

"We are in the Triangle." Az said grimly. "The safest place in the Scar."

Jozan and Amnis paled.

"Well, that sounds… good." Danielle ventured.

"It's not." Amnis said. "It's really not. I didn't think this place was actually real…"

"I'd hoped we'd be somewhere where we could stop for the night." Az sighed. "But we need to get out of here- fast."

"But… surely, if it's the safest…?" Ryou started.

Az shook her head. "Oh, it's safe, all right. This would be the perfect place to put prisoners. You see, over there is Mah Bird territory. We must have run right through it. Lucky the toad scared them off…" She turned to face the opposite direction. "Over there is rock toad territory. Your friend must have got a little bit lost. But out there, you can't move for them." She pointed in a third direction. "And, over there is where the Snapping Turtles live. This is a triangle of land, contested between the three of them, and surrounded on all sides. There could be an invasion at any moment."

"Snapping Turtles?" Jonouchi echoed. "Hey, we have those at home! That doesn't sound so bad…"

"Really?" Jozan blinked. "Dude, you have guts! I know I'm not going anywhere near them! Not when they explode like that!"

"…Explode?" Jonouchi said, confused. "But… They don't 'explode'. They just bite. That's why they're called snapping turtles!"

"No, no, no!" Jozan argued. "When two walk into each other, they explode! It makes a little snapping sound and blows your limbs off! Hence the name!"

Jonouchi looked put off. "On second thought… How about we go for the Mah birds?"

"Are you kidding?" Amnis demanded. "They fire poisonous needles at anything that moves!"

"I think we should go for the Rock Toads." Az said, quietly.

"No!" Ryou protested weakly. "Please… no more toads…"

"It's alright." Az reassured him. "They can't climb trees. So as long as we don't touch the ground…"

"We'll be okay!" Jonouchi grinned.

"Eh, I see a flaw." Jozan sighed. "Horses can't climb trees. And neither can carts."

They all paused and looked at where April had abandoned Seto for the moment and was grazing happily on the grass that grew here. It was a rarity in the Scar, grass.

"Someone would have to take it separately." Amnis stated. "So… Any volunteers?"

"If we go through the Snapping Turtles instead," Seto said, perfectly calm as always. "You can still stick to the trees. Then I can ride on the cart and get us through the turtles. They don't move all that fast, so if I go and speed, I can get through without any going off."

As if to disprove his point, they heard a faint 'snap' sound echoing from one side.

"Well…" Az considered. "It would be quicker to get back on route… And their territory is a long, thin line- it would be easy to get through… There's a couple of mud fish on the other side, of course, but nothing to worry about."

"Mud fish?" Ryou echoed.

"Nothing to worry about!" She repeated. "But… Seto, are you sure about this?"

Jonouchi snorted. "Let him go. It's about time he did something useful! Nice to see you have a spine in that stiff body of yours!"

Seto shot him a dirty look, climbing up onto the thin plank that formed the driving seat up at the front of the cart. "Then perhaps you'd care to join me?" He snarled, patting the bench next to him.

"I…uh… no, thank you."

"I thought not." Seto flicked the reigns, and April started to trot towards the fringe of trees that marked the edge of the triangle. Then he paused. "I'll let you get a head start." He decided, and the others climbed up into the trees, and moved from branch to branch, from tree to tree- some with more ease then others. It was awfully slow progress, but, eventually, they disappeared from view.

Seto settled down to wait, as did April, snorting and flicking her ears into the breeze.

"I hope you're ready to run…" He muttered to her.

Amazingly, they all made it through Snapping Turtle territory without major disaster. The turtles were everywhere, along the bank of the river that ran down near the village and eventually down to the sea. The two Mages and Jozan had to ignore the running water's effects- they weren't yet quite close enough for it to be more then a whisper in their minds, or for Jozan to get more then slightly heightened hearing. None of the Turtles had 'snapped' yet, and Danielle was gaining confidence at climbing from tree to tree, and was now keeping pace with Jozan.

They were fanned out in a little row. Az was at the front, easily finding a route through the closely knotted branches, ignoring the turtles fanned out at the bottoms of the trees. Yugi and Jonouchi were right behind her, and Amnis behind them. Jozan was next, with Danielle following; and Ryou was bringing up the rear, making his way slowly and cautiously along. "Don't fall, don't fall…" He was whispering to himself again. He'd had more then enough of nature already.

Danielle looked ahead. Az was taking them straight towards the river- it looked like they would have to cross. The closer they got, the more visions pressed against the edge of her mind, and tried to seep in. If that happened, she'd be out of it, and it would be straight down into turtle land.

"We'll have to hurry…" She muttered, blinking her eyes against the white that was invading them. "I'm not sure how long I can fight the Ripples…"

"We're almost there." Jozan assured her. "We're about to cross. And Seto's on his here."

Jozan hadn't turned round to look, but as Danielle dared to look back, she saw the girl was correct, picking his way silently through the turtles. He'd changed tack- they'd come at a bad time. The turtles were in the middle of a nap; every single one had crawled out of the river. There were too many to run through, he was forced to guide the horse slowly, painstakingly through, a foot at a time. He was trying not to wake the turtles up and send them wandering around. But it might have been too late. Some were beginning to wake up completely of their own accord.

"Give me a second." Jozan instructed, and Danielle realised they were at the final tree. A thin, winding bough stretched out over the river, and from there you could jump and clear the water. Jozan ran down it without a second thought, launched over the water easily, and landed on the other side with the others. Danielle noted with a laugh that Yugi and Jonouchi had not fared so well, each splashed up his legs.

The laugh distracted her, and for a moment, the ripples clouded her senses. Amazingly fast, she pushed it away. But she couldn't keep this up. She had to get over, now.

"Danniru, hurry…" Jozan prompted, sounding tense. Danielle looked down and saw two turtles wandering down towards the river beneath the branch- and towards each other. Another problem, fantastic. She swallowed, and began to crawl down the branch, not trusting herself to walk down it without falling.

She wasn't quick enough. The turtles collided.

She shut her eyes tight, and opened her mouth to scream, but, somehow, found herself gabbling out the words for the shield spell at high speed, each one merging into it's neighbours. Magic was the same as anything else- something that could be described. All you had to do was describe and direct, give it instructions of what to do, in the language it spoke. What Danielle said, roughly translated, was something akin to: 'Guard, protect, reflect, absorb, strength, me, tree, SHIELD!', in the fragment of a second it took for the turtles to 'snap'.

Considering the two turtles were so tiny, and the sound so small, the explosion certainly wasn't. The two now-empty shells shot up into the air, surrounded by smoke and fire, and then came crashing down, having gained enough force to leave a large crater in the ground. More poor turtles fell into it, crashing into each other and…

It was all Danielle could do to cling on, eyes screwed shut, feeling the heat on her face and skin, and pray her hastily complied list would work. She heard the thud of dozens of smoking shells falling to the ground, and then, a second later, let the shield dissipate. She dared to open her eyes.

But she had forgotten about the ripples. The vision rushed into her mind, and she neither saw nor felt as she tumbled from the branch, still intact only thanks to the last minute inclusion in the shield, and splashed into the river beneath her.

Danielle found herself looking in at the strangest place. She was standing on some sort of suspended walkway. Before her were two large creatures, glowing. A dragon, she thought, and some sort of humanoid. On the ground was an even larger, black mass, another creature. She shivered and turned away, and reeled back in shock. Before her was a group of people. But it looked so much like…

"This is it!" Amy muttered as the light became unbearable, consuming the two creatures completely. Suddenly, the light expanded outwards in a huge explosion of whiteness, and, after a second of being blinded by the brightness, the spectators were brought back to their senses by a triumphant cry, and their vision cleared to reveal a silvery dragon, hanging magnificently in the sky.

"No!" Anubis denied. "This cannot be!" He continued to fire his attack at the creature, the shots bigger and more powerful then ever, but to no avail. Every time one came close, a glow would overcome the Dragon, absorbing the attacks.

"Oh, but it is." Yami disagreed. "We created a new monster, a monster born of our hope and determination! Behold your end Anubis! The Dragon of Fate!"

"I will not be defeated!" Anubis screamed blindly. "I am of infinite strength! I cannot be defeated!"

Danielle looked down. She had noticed the group up here with her, who two of so much resembled Jozan and Amnis, but she hadn't seen the two below. It was too high to see properly, but she thought the man who had spoken looked a little like Yugi. And next to him… She recognised the voice. She recognised it.

"Then prepare to be proved wrong." Danielle smirked. "Go, our Dragon, do what you were born to do!"

The sound was fading, the vision slipping away; Danielle tried to grab hold of it, to see what happened, but it was too late. She opened her eyes, and found herself lying uncomfortably on a tree root, a few metres from where the river flowed. She sat up, realising, to her dismay, that she was soaked through. So was Jozan, who sat not far away, looking back towards the river.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asked, concerned, suddenly coming into her line of sight.

"Yeah…" Danielle replied, getting to her feet. "But I got distracted by the turtles, and I couldn't hold the visions back. It was a really weird one, to… It must have been another world, but I was there, and you were there, Yugi, and you, Amnis, and so was…" She pointed at Jozan's back. "We seemed to be summoning a dragon."

"Oh? Pity you can't do that in this world." Jozan commented, her teeth chattering slightly from her cold clothes. "A dragon could be useful…"

"Wait a minute." Danielle said, looking her up and down. "I thought you cleared the river!"

Jozan remained silent.

"Yeah, but she had to go back in and pull you out, didn't she? So we could bring you away from the water." Jonouchi informed her, proudly. He liked seeing people complete honourable acts. And it had saved him from having to explain that he couldn't swim.

"She did?" Danielle blinked, astonished. But Jozan didn't like her! "Oh… Thanks…"

Jozan shrugged. "You helped us. It was a lot easier for Seto and Ryou to get past once you'd blown half the turtles up."

Danielle felt vaguely guilty at killing the poor, innocent, explosive turtles. It must have shown on her face, because Az started to explain that it was nature's way of keeping the numbers down, when she was interrupted by Amnis.

"Hey, speaking of Ryou, where is he?"

Jonouchi half-shrugged. "He went off over there somewhere- He only just managed to stay out of range, you know. I think he wanted to compose himself after Danielle nearly blew him up."

"It wasn't my fault…" Danielle tried, weakly, but the four forest-dwellers weren't listening. They were exchanging a mixture of worried and amused looks.

"Oh, dear." Az said, smirking in a way very similar to Seto. "Well, he'll have fun."

"Why?" Danielle asked, wondering if she really wanted to know. "What's over there?"

"Mud." Jozan replied, shortly. "Lots and lots of mud."

Ryou, when he returned a few moments later, was a living testament to her words. He was covered from head to toe in sticky, smelly, squelching mud that oozed around his shoulders and began that slow, slow, journey down his body. He'd just met a Mud Fish. Harmless, as Az had said, but rather unpleasant. They liked to inhabit the shallow mud along the edge of river banks, and happily wallow their lives away, sleeping up to 22 hours a day, unless they were disturbed by, say, a Mage treading on it. In an instant, one would let out a high squeal, beyond any hearing but Jozan's and those like her that heard through water, instantly waking the others. Then the entire group would rush for the river, spraying up mud and dirty water in their wake. Ryou had just experienced this for himself.

The rest of the group regarded him in horror.

"What happened?" Danielle asked.

"…I've had an unearthly experience." Ryou answered, quietly, still somewhat in shock at the ground suddenly becoming hundreds of amphibious fish-like creatures beneath his feet. "I don't think this is my day." He commented, looking down at himself.

"…I think we better stay here tonight." Az said, trying not to laugh.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Ryou, now cleaned up, was sleeping near what remained of the fire they had lit, the last embers glowing now, casting the tiniest orange glow onto his white hair. Jonouchi was snoring loudly beside where the cart stood, April tethered to the tree behind him. Jozan and Amnis were asleep to, huddled around each other like children in the gap where a tree spread into two main boughs. A smile tugged at Danielle's lips as she observed them and thought about how disastrous it would be if one of them rolled over in their sleep. Then she pulled her gaze back to the embers, just thinking.

"We should really try and get some sleep." Yugi said, reluctantly. As always, he sat beside her; and although they hadn't spoken much for risk of waking the others, it had been nice.

"Mmm…"

"Especially as you're not a morning person." He teased gently. She glared at him- hers were almost as deadly as Seto's- but he was immunised to them now, and just laughed quietly. A moment later, she joined in.

"I guess that's true…" She smiled. "Yugi…?"

"Yes?"

"You know that vision I had?"

"The one in the river?"

Danielle nodded slowly. "Well… We were there. Together."

Yugi blinked. "So were Amnis and Jozan, right?"

"They were there…" Danielle began, unsure of how to explain. "I was standing on some sort of platform up in the air. Jozan and Amnis were there with some other people, and there were all these monsters; but down on the floor… There was me. I think. It was too far to see, really. But I think it was you and me. Together."

"I'm sorry." Yugi whispered, after a long pause. "I don't understand what you're trying to say…"

"It doesn't matter." Danielle looked away, down at the ground, but he touched her shoulder, turning her back to face him.

"Yes, it does." He said, smiling a little. "Look, I don't really understand about ripples, about what you saw. But it doesn't matter what's going on in another world. We're here, aren't we? And with the rest of the team, we're off to rescue Anzu!"

"Yeah." Danielle replied with a trace of bitterness. "Yeah, we are. I'm going to sleep. Goodnight…" She wandered to the foot of the tree the sisters were inhabiting, and stretched out, using one of the protruding roots as a pillow; leaving Yugi wondering exactly what he had done.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Some way away, far enough to have some privacy, Seto and Az were also talking. Not about anything important. Not about the one thing they were so desperately trying to avoid thinking about. But it couldn't be put off anymore.

"Az… How are you holding up?" Seto asked, hesitantly.

"I'm alright." Az shuddered a little. "But… I didn't know where we were today, didn't sense that rock toad till the last minute, didn't notice Ryou had gone… And my body, to, it's…" She trailed off, raising her hands to look at them. You wouldn't notice from a distance, but the skin tone was beginning to change and fade. "Seto…"

"Are you scared?" He asked, bluntly.

"…Yes." She confessed.

Seto said nothing. He did nothing. There was nothing that could be done, except for him to sit there and wait for her to finish crying; and wish that he could offer some comfort.

-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-

Thanks to the episode with the Rock Toad, their journey was taking slightly longer than it was originally thought, and so it wasn't until early evening the next day that the trees began to grow further apart, that it was easier to get the cart through, that the pine needles began to more and more frequently give way to grass and shrubs. They had almost reached the edge of the Scar. Az called for them to stop.

"I think it's time for you guys to get changed."

A few moments later, they were regrouped, assembled in the slightly worn clothes that were the only possessions besides the cart and the props of Tomasu, Risu, and Chiharu Zondervan; Yumi and Kahei Haiaku; Isamu Kudo; and Tenzo Ayako.

Danielle was unused to these clothes, a simple, plain fawn coloured dress, with long, tight sleeves, a high neck, and a long skirt that had red triangular patches on either side, running up to her waistline and connecting the material that made up the front and back. She didn't like it very much. Neither did Jozan and Amnis, who, although not dressed in exactly the same way, had been forced into skirts. In the forest, they just weren't practical- but outside, all women wore them; only men wore the sort of trousers and tunics they were accustomed.

The change didn't make an awful lot of difference to the men. Yugi and Jonouchi certainly weren't dressed as well as normal, but the basic components were the same. Indeed, Seto hadn't bothered changing at all. For Ryou, however, without his robes, he felt almost stripped of his identity as a Mage- the robes were what singled them out. But, on the other hand, he quite liked these clothes. They actually fit him; they weren't too long, which meant he wouldn't fall over them. It was a happy day indeed.

"The trees are going to get thinner and thinner from now on." Az said, when they were all ready. She had come to the ground, the gaps between the trees too large to cover, but remained close to the trunks, in the shadows. She seemed to be more at ease there. "But that doesn't mean it's any less dangerous. You're not out yet."

Of course, they didn't know what she could mean until it was too late.

They were deep in conversation, about whatever came to mind, but letting those from Nrefder and the Scar have a final dress rehearsal of Noxell accents. Amazingly, it was Seto, of all people, who got it the most easily. He had remained silent, leading Jonouchi to tease him about how he 'couldn't do it'. Then, he had opened his mouth, and said in a voice entirely different to his own and entirely convincing:

"Don't speak too soon."

"Man, I wish I could do that." Jozan commented, almost there, but with the last traces of the Scar, and Nrefder- where she had learnt to talk, after all- lingering around the vowels.

Ryou turned out to be a natural just as Seto was, and so to did the others manage. It would have to do. They were almost at the edge. They could see where the last tree stood. Without meaning to, they quickened their pace, until they couldn't walk anymore.

Vines were snaking up their legs, but now they had been spotted, tightened their grip around their ankles. The group screamed as one as the pain caused some of their number to fall to their knees, finding their legs quickly wrapped up in vines, finding themselves unable to move. Only Az had remained free, and she looked on in horror.

"Forget-me-nots!" Jozan yelled.

"What!" Danielle asked her; worried now, because this was one plant even she hadn't heard of.

But Jozan didn't need to explain. They then found out for themselves, as buds squirmed their way out of the vine, and then opened into large blue flowers.

The plant was a carnivore, and the larger it got, the more prey it needed. One this size didn't just want flies, or small rodents. Az, with a sickening twist to her stomach, suddenly realised why they'd had so much trouble finding a horse. The Forget-Me-Not lay waiting, concealing itself in scrubby grass, waiting for it's victim to stumble into it's net. Then, it would truss it up in it's vines, and drag it back towards it's greedy mouth, somewhere down at the roots…

But that wasn't what gave the vine it's name. The blue flowers had a strange aroma, and, for those too close to it- such as in the vines itself- it had a strange effect. They would suddenly be returned to their best memory; and no-one, man or beast, wanted to leave that. They would stop struggling, and would go peacefully.

Az hadn't seen the vines coming. Hadn't know it was there. And now it was too late. She couldn't do anything as she watched the vines smother the others. Already, Amnis had disappeared, and she could only see one of Yugi's hands. No-one was moving, no-one was fighting, resisting. She couldn't even hope they would die quickly, by suffocation- the plant liked them live.

"Az!" Seto yelled, urgently. She whipped around, staring at him. He was still on his feet, but his entire lower body was covered in the fragrant vines, slowly crawling upward. He had his arms held above his head- out of reach, for now. Why hadn't the flowers taken him in to? Why was he still…? "Get my sword!" He shouted. "Hurry!"

Az looked towards the cart. April had panicked, had backed away, but she could see the vines stretching out towards it.

"My sword, Az! Get my sword!"

"But…" She faltered. "I can't! You know I can't!"

He looked at her. "Yes you can."

She ran to the cart, jumped into the back, and put her hand through the pile of discarded robes and props. She knew what she was looking for. A sword, with a swept back golden hilt, a small green gem set in a long, sharp, thin blade. Imasque; the 'Dragon Soul'- the blood-brought sword of the Silent Wind. She found it, but, for a moment, couldn't pick it up.

"Please…" She whispered to it. "I need it to save Seto."

The sword came into her hand this time, and sobbing from fear or relief, she came out and hacked away at the vines that had snuck up over the cart's wheels. It slithered back, writhing in pain. She ran towards the mound that seemed to hold the others. Seto had gone. She could do nothing but continue slicing random vines. But it took too long, and she felt Imasque begin to slide through her grasp. She dropped it, crying out, but then, another hand caught it.

Seto didn't intend to be beaten by any plant. Az had inadvertedly managed to break some of the vines that had dragged him to the ground. He had pulled himself, with difficulty, to his knees, and began methodically cutting away the vines around them.

"Thank you." He said to Az, as he worked. The plant was in pain in a dozen different places, disorientated and confused thanks to Az's work. He made short work of it, and it wasn't long until he managed to free everyone, and they sat on the ground, dazed.

"I was remembering Li'anon." Danielle said, sounding shaken. "I finally remembered my family. My parents… my brother…"

"Swimming in the ocean…" Ryou muttered.

"My sister…" Jonouchi said, slowly.

"Playing hide and seek with Jou and Danielle…" Yugi smiled slightly, but still felt thoroughly spooked that the memory had almost killed him.

"Pretending to be a knight, killing a dragon, saving a princess…" Jozan said, looking upwards in bewilderment.

"Pretending to be a dragon, fighting a knight, kidnapping a princess…" Amnis added, having the same memory as her sister but from a different perspective.

They continued blathering in this train for some time, and there wasn't much Seto could do except store Imasque, ignore his fresh bruises and wait for the after-effects to wear off them.

Az said nothing. Seto didn't push her to.

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Shaken, bruised, but otherwise okay, their minds reasserted themselves, and, more cautiously, they continued to travel the last tiny bit of the Scar. Finally, they came to the very last, spaced out line of trees. Az stopped beneath one.

"Well… This is goodbye." She said, but her smile didn't reach her eyes.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Yugi asked, in surprise.

"No…" Az said, sounding rather sad about the fact.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that…"

"I'll see you soon Az." Jozan said, warmly. "You watch! Next time you see me, I'll be back a butt-kicking, baddie-beating, dragon-slaying, Princess-rescuing hero!"

"Oh, I'm sure." Az laughed, but, again, she seemed sad.

"Thank you…" Danielle said, slowly. "For all your help. I think we would have died without you."

Az turned away. "I didn't do much good. I didn't see the vines coming. I didn't stop the Rock Toad, or the Turtles- not even the Mud Fish! I wanted to go out a hero, and I failed. Please, don't thank me."

"That's not true!" Danielle protested, but Az just shrugged.

"I guess we'll just have to disagree." She smiled, and gave a little wave. "It's been… interesting. Goodbye everyone."

She turned, and, for a moment, the back of her body was exposed to the sunlight. Immediately, it became semi-solid, translucent, as though it was only half there. And from that back… Danielle gasped and exclaimed in surprise.

There were wings before her, shining in the sun. They were layered and feathered, brilliant white.

Danielle knew those wings. However, before she could say or do anything, before she could even stop being stunned enough to react, Az had run off, already back into the thickness of the trees in the Scar. After only a moment's hesitation, Seto jumped down from where he had been steering the cart, he jumped down and went after her.

He couldn't end it like this. Not like this.

Not without… saying goodbye.

Amnis caught hold of his arm. "Let her go. We'll be back in a few days, you can talk to her then. We have work to do."

Seto stared down at her. She didn't know. None of them did. None of them had realised Az wouldn't be here! Not one of them!

He pulled away, and ran after Az, ignoring the other's protests.

"Didn't I say he'd do whatever the heck he wanted?" Jozan complained. Suddenly, every eye was on her. "Oh… I guess you'll be wanting to know why Az suddenly went ghostly and had wings, right? That's… a bit of a story."

"You are posing as a storyteller." Danielle pointed out, sounding just a little threatening. "This is good practise. You can start- and no more slipping out of answering."

"No." Jozan agreed, closing her eyes. "No more avoiding the point. But to tell Az's story, I must tell that of the Scar, and Seto's, and… mine. It's all one. And it all begins with Li'anon, on the day it was attacked… "

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"No-one saw the attack coming. Sure, we hadn't kept Danniru's skills secret, but it was such a peaceful place… perhaps a little naive to. We didn't know how much some men would do for Magic, how desperate people were…"

Seto ran, oblivious to the story being told behind him. Az, part of the forest, had already disappeared into it. He searched left and right, looking for her.

"They came with no provocation, with no explanation… they just came, we didn't even know where from, and started setting fire to the buildings, killing anyone who questioned them, and anyone who didn't. They slaughtered, massacred, butchered their way through… And once they had what they wanted, they didn't want to leave any evidence. Two took Danniru away- although no-one noticed in the confusion, and the rest stayed back to kill those of us left…"

Slight snuffling sounds were what eventually alerted him to her presence. He looked up, and there she was, almost invisible against the tree. He climbed up to join her on the branch.

"The only thing we could do was run into the Scar. We knew the stories of ghosts and spirits, but the forest had been good to us. It gave us food and shelter, supplies and business… We hoped the rumours would scare them, that they wouldn't follow us… It didn't work."

"Seto!" She said in surprise, trying to hide the tears. "You… You shouldn't be here!"

He snorted. "What do you mean? Of course I should."

"But…"

"They followed us even then, like wolves on the scent of blood. Our inhabitants scattered. They killed us, the plants, the trees… But the forest was good to us yet again. I was running and running, holding onto Amnis as best I could, but my arms were too small, too young… I remember, I tripped over… and then, there was a woman there. She told me to follow her, and she'd keep me safe. I did. That was the day I met Millierie… And her daughter, Az."

"What about Anzu?"

"She can wait another few minutes."

They fell silent.

"You can't save me, you know. Please… don't try."

"More and more people arrived. Maybe… 17 of us. Mostly children, of varying age. We hid in these little tin huts, overgrown with bracken and brambles- the barracks- and the strange people disappeared. I was crying, and that was when Az came over to me. 'It's alright…' she said, 'My mom's angry now. They'll be in big trouble…'"

"Az…"

"Seto…? Thank you."

"What for?"

"For…" She shrugged. "For all the good times."

Seto nodded. They had been good times.

"We spent the whole day and night in those barracks. In the morning, someone came and showed us back to Li'anon, but… It had gone. There was nothing remaining but an empty shell. It was decided that we would go to the barracks, make a fresh start there, in secret, where no-one could reach us… The forest itself promised us protection. You see, Az isn't a Ghost. She, and those like her, were in the Scar long before we are. They are in the Scar… They are of the Scar. They are the Spirits of the Trees themselves."

"You saved us from those Forget-Me-Nots, you know."

"No I didn't."

"Yes, you did." Seto fixed her with a firm look. "Az, listen. The plants didn't trap me because I don't have any good memories except the ones with you. And why would I want memories when you were right there?"

She gawped at him.

"That's why we worry so much about the woodcutters. That's why Az started bleeding so suddenly. That's how she speaks to the trees. She is… one of them. One of the trees. And as soon as the axe came to the tree she's connected to, she felt it's pain… She bled for it, she cried for it's fellows felled by the toad… Not all the trees have spirits, of course, but those that do… Well, that's beside the point. You see, I grew up from then on in the Scar, Az was one of my best friends. For the last twelve years, I've… lived there. Worked there. Sometimes we guided people through. The Tree Spirits help us, we help scare woodcutters away, help keep the forest safe. Occasionally, a person passing through the Scar would settle down with us, join our secret village… And Seto… Well, he was one of them."

"Seto…" She said, uncertainly. He smirked, the closest he could come to a smile.

"It's true. Don't you get it? Why else would Imasque obey you?"

"I didn't think I'd be able to even touch him…"

"I still remember the day he came to us… It must have been… Oh, five years ago now. We were all twelve. He just wandered into the forest, and walked around aimlessly. Az and I found him, told him we could guide him. His reply made me shiver. He just looked at us with blank, empty eyes… 'Why would I want a guide?'… I felt so embarrassed. I told him 'So you can get where you're trying to go'. He said… He looked away, and he said 'I have nowhere to go. There is nothing for me to go to'."

"I knew you'd be able to."

"Of course you did." She laughed mockingly. "Because you know everything, right?"

"No. If I knew everything, I would have been able to save you…"

"Seto…"

"He scared us really badly, but… for some reason, we couldn't tell any of the few people older then us in the village. We didn't mention him. I think the Trees knew, but they never interfere… His words really got to me. I kept thinking that I could relate to that… He kept the routine up for three days. For three days, Az and I followed him around the Scar. He never ate, he never drank… We weren't even sure he slept. One day, we found him collapsed. We revived him, probably saved his life, but… I yelled at him. 'Are you trying to kill yourself!' and he just looked at me with those creepy eyes: 'No, but I'm not trying to live, either'…"

"You saved me once, do you remember? When I first came to the Scar…"

"Yes." Az couldn't help but smile. "Me and Jozan. Yeah, I remember… You were so creepy."

Seto chuckled. "I was a lost little boy with no place to go and not a person to love in the world…"

"What changed?"

"…I did."

"We doubled our watching of him after that. In fact, we followed him, blatantly this time. We made him eat and drink and sleep. We almost became… friends, I guess, but he seemed to hate us. Yet, even in those days, I think it was obvious that…"

"That what?" Danielle prompted as Jozan trailed off.

"That he would fall in love with her." Jozan smiled, pushing the thoughts of what Seto would do to her if he found out aside. "No need to gasp, Jonouchi; he may be cold, and a little hard to understand, but he can love just as much as anyone else… I think she's the only one who really knows why he came into the Scar that day. I think she's the only one who understands him, who he trusts, who he loves… Unfortunately, it hasn't worked out too well."

Az swung her legs over the edge of the branch, thinking back, remembering. "That's certainly true…"

"I wanted to thank you for that. For helping me change… For the good times."

"Is that all?"

"I…"

"You see, the thing is… being of the forest as she is, she interacts only with the forest. Did you not notice that she's never once touched anything but a tree? Beneath the shadow of the forest, you might not be able to see her wings, she may appear solid, but she's not. She's a spirit, just like you saw her in direct sunlight. A spirit that cannot touch anything… anyone… that isn't made of the same stuff she is. She goes straight through it. Through…him."

"It's okay. I'm sorry. Forget it. It's just… sometimes… it's so hard…"

"I know." He replied, shortly. He placed his hand over hers, willing it to stay like it had for Imasque, willing it to feel the warmth of her body, but it was no good. He only felt the wood of the tree beneath them. And although he could look down and see her arm flowing into his, he couldn't feel it.

"I can't even feel it…" She said, looking down. "I wouldn't even know it was there. I wouldn't even know you were here…"

"But I am. I'm here."

"Seto is a wanderer. Always has been. And he would wander in and out of the Scar, doing… I still don't know what he gets up to! On one occasion, he came back a knight! But he always came back. He always comes back to the Scar. I guess… Well, I guess he finally found something worth coming back for."

"Thank you." She said again, pulling her arm out of his. "Thank you. But… Seto, you have to go now. Go and rescue the Princess. Stop all this stupid fighting. Stop them from cutting down the trees. And… Remember me, okay?"

"How could I forget?"

It was time to go. Reluctantly, he began to climb back down the tree.

"…Goodbye, Az."

"Goodbye, Seto. Good luck."

He walked from the tree, from the forest, from Az. He rejoined the group, climbed up onto the front of the cart, and together, they headed out of the darkness of the trees and into the bright light of Noxell.

He did not look back. But he remembered.

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