Marik walks up the museum stairs alongside his sister Ishizu after enjoying a nice hour long lunch. He has been helping her out a lot more nowadays, taking a liking toward giving tours of the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.

"You have really adjusted to helping me out in the museum, brother," she compliments proudly. "You sure you don't want to be my permanent assistant?"

Marik chuckles a little. "No thanks. I'd rather not be tied down to a single role."

Ishizu smiles. "You haven't changed a bit. Just as carefree as ever."

As they are about to reach the top of the stairs, a small girl stands in front of the glass entrance doors with her arms crossed over her chest.

Marik blinks and tilts his head slightly, studying the person in front of them. "Oh, hello Cairo," he greets. "What are you doing here?"

The girl stays silent, her spiky bangs partially covering her eyes.

"We were all worried about you when you ran away. I hope you're in better spirits," Marik continues. A grin appears on her face, giving Marik an uneasy feeling. She lifts her head, revealing her dull, purple eyes. Her hand lifts slowly and a ball of energy begins to grow at her palm to their horror.

"Cairo!" Ishizu says with surprise as Marik stands protectively in front of her. "What are you doing?"

"I'd like to know that as well," another voice says. When they all turn their heads, they are shocked to see Yami Marik approaching. And what floors Marik and Ishizu even more, is that Yami Marik is standing in front of them as if he is trying to protect them both. "What are you doing Mimic?"

Marik looks at his evil counterpart questionably. What did he just call her? And why is he even here?

Mimic snickers. "So the big boss has finally come out of hiding," he says, taking a step forward. "This is your final warning…summon Arcana here at once so I can get rid of these dark powers."

"What is she talking about?" Marik asks his evil side. But Yami Marik stays silent. He doesn't want to delve into what happened to Cairo in order to not raise his suspicions. Marik then turns to who he believes to be Cairo. "Look, I don't know what you're trying to do and I know you've struggled with the darkness living inside you from our brief interaction, but this isn't the way."

Yami Marik looks at him from over his shoulder. "You fool. That isn't the child you know."

Ishizu gasps. "What? What do you mean?"

"FIRE!" Mimic yells, launching the blast after growing impatient. Yami Marik quickly forms a shield in front of them, gritting his teeth as he tries to push the attack back.

"You're…saving us?" Marik asks with his eyes widened with shock.

'Curse Mimic…' Yami Marik thinks to himself angrily. Mimic suddenly sets his sights on directly on him, aiming a magical attack. Yami Marik grunts loudly after being blasted several feet away, leaving the good Marik and Ishizu wide open. He goes to stand on his feet, only to collapse on his knees. Will his plan fail here? If there is no Marik, how will he possibly be able to contain the dark magic on his own?

"Run you fools!" Yami Marik yells out in a last attempt to keep them from harm.

Mimic goes to prepare for another attack, until he is hit by a sharp pain from within, causing him to double over in pain and drop down to one knee. To think his return to the world of the living would come with so much physical pain. Every passing moment brings him so much wave of discomfort. At times, it's minor enough for him to not notice, allowing him to use the abilities given to him in a controlled manner. Other times, the pain is excruciating to the point where he can't think or see straight.

Curse that low down Yami Marik for doing this to him. The maniac knew exactly what he was doing by giving him Cairo's power first. And as close as he is to ending his the good Marik's life, he doesn't have it in him to do so. He is nearing his limit and must find a way to rid himself of the darkness.

He gets the strength to stand up before zooming off into the air while Yami Marik watches with narrowed eyes, grimacing and holding onto his side.

"What is going on?" Marik asks, cautiously going up to his evil counterpart.

Yami Marik simply stands up, dusting off his clothes and slowly limping away. 'Mimic will soon be meeting his end. And I need to be wherever he is when it happens.' He glances at Marik from the corner of his eye before continuing forward with a grin. 'I'll be back for you later…'

Meanwhile, Mimic lands in the middle of a fair nearby, briskly walking into a dark attraction to regain his strength.

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Cairo breathes a long sigh of relief.

Sitting next to her father on a park bench, she had relayed all of her feelings and emotions that she kept suppressed for centuries. Her father sat in his normal posture, arms crossed with one leg over the other, his eyes closed as he listened to her speak. Occasionally he opened them to encourage her to get everything off her chest or offer her some assurance when she expressed her fears. But no matter how long winded or scattered her dialogue was, he sat patiently until she was finished.

And after all was said and done, her tense shoulders that were previously hunched up, dropped gradually as she felt the weight of the world off her shoulders.

A single tear fell down her cheek, but it wasn't long until her father reached over with one hand, to gently wipe it away. She apologized with a small smile and sniffle. It felt a little embarrassing to be getting worked up. Her father merely shook his head as he simultaneously wrapped his mind around everything she said. He always had a hunch she had these feelings of pain, resentment and even loneliness, though it was different hearing it come directly from her in such an unfiltered manner.

But it was time to heal.

And time to regain her dark abilities from Mimic.

She presently stands up on the bench, shaking her arms and legs, moving her neck from side to side as if shaking off any wavering feelings of being emotional and she puts on a smile. Without her knowing, her father studies her for a moment. Has she seemingly accepted what has to come next? They had touched briefly on how she feels being in her current state and she admitted that she loved being this way—expressive and full of energy. But while she feels that way, she understands her responsibility of getting her dark powers out of the wrong hands.

He silently breathes out. She certainly is brave and selfless. Closing his eyes, he smirks to himself. 'I wonder where she gets that from?' he asks himself sarcastically.

Hearing footsteps walking along the grass, both of them look over to see Yugi hesitantly approaching them with a concerned expression. He and the others had given the pharaoh and his daughter time alone to talk, but that didn't keep Yugi from worrying that everything went smoothly.

"I hope I didn't come at a bad time," Yugi says.

Atem shakes his head. "It's fine."

Yugi nods before looking to Cairo. "You really had everyone worried."

She rubs the back of her head. "I'm sorry for everything…"

Yugi smiles. "We're all just glad you're okay. Even Bakura was very understanding."

"Really?" she asks, her eyes widening.

"Cairo had a run in with a particular someone I believe you might know," Atem tells Yugi.

Yugi blinks with confusion. "Hm? Who, exactly?"

"He wears a red suit with a striped mask. Any guesses?"

Yugi gasps. "No way...Arcana? Are you sure?"

"Telling by Cairo's description, I have no doubt it was him," Atem answers. "Cairo bumped into him when she ran away and he was the one who cast the spell and gave her powers to Mimic."

Yugi frowns. "That's unfortunate…I hate that he's back to his old ways."

Atem looks at him questionably. "Hm?"

"It just seemed like the only reason he agreed to the Shadow Duel back at Battle City, was because he wanted to be reunited with the love of his life." He remembers when he tried to save Arcana from the Shadows. He was initially successful in doing so, but ultimately, Marik had his way with him and banished him forever. It always seemed unfair to Yugi that is what became of Arcana.

"I really am having a strong sense of deja vu here," Atem replies.

"What do you mean?" Cairo asks, looking from left and right between Yugi and her father.

"What if, just like last time, Arcana did what he did because he was being promised something meaningful to him…like before?"

"You're saying the evil Marik might ultimately be behind this?" Yugi asks, causing Cairo's eyes to grow big with shock.

"I wouldn't put it past him. He was reckless enough to release the souls from the Shadow Realm on purpose. It wouldn't surprise me if he manipulated Arcana again, as well as the other souls, in order to get what he wants."

"I think that's the case," Cairo cuts in, remembering her conversation with the older magician. "He said he only took my dark power because he was following orders. And even though he didn't tell me whose orders he was following, he was warning me to be careful…"

"Let's just say Yami Marik is the cause…" Yugi starts off, trying to piece everything together. "If that were the case, why does Mimic currently have Cairo's power?"

"I admit, even that has me confused. But Yami Marik has always been very unpredictable. And the fact we haven't seen him in some time makes me believe he is preparing to make his move at any moment."

"Hey you guys!"

Cairo, Atem and Yugi simultaneously turn their heads, seeing Rebecca walk toward them while Téa tries to hold her back. The girl had grown impatient, wanting to spend more time with her beloved Yugi as opposed to Téa showing more empathy and understanding to Cairo and Atem's situation.

"Rebecca, it's rude to interrupt!" Téa says, trying to pull Rebecca back by the arm, but the blonde girl's will alone is enough for her to continue forward.

"You get to spend all the time in the world with Yugi and I don't! It's not fair!" Rebecca whines, finally reaching the trio. Joey and Tristan stand in the background, munching on food as usual without a care in the world at the moment. She breaks out of Téa's grasp, latching onto Yugi's arm like a magnet while he blushes with embarrassment and Téa growls inwardly.

"Sorry Yugi, I tried to hold her back," Téa apologizes, cutting her eyes at her, only for Rebecca to stick her tongue out in response. Téa growls, shaking her fist.

"What's going on here…?" Cairo mutters over to her father who stands beside her, averting his gaze.

"It's best to stay out of it," he mutters back.

"There's a fair with a circus nearby and it would be so lovely if you were to take me!" Rebecca exclaims as Yugi finally frees himself. "Please Yugi!"

Téa rolls her eyes, knowing Yugi doesn't have the heart to say no. "W-Well I…" Yugi stammers, scratching the back of his head and glancing back at Atem. "If it's okay with you guys."

"Of course it is!" Joey yells, wrapping an arm around Yugi's neck.

"He wasn't asking you," Téa dims her eyes. "And where did you suddenly come from?"

"More food for us! Right Tristan?"

Tristan pops out a nowhere as well. "Oh yeah!" he exclaims, causing Téa to jump and clutch her beating chest.

"Come on Cairo!" Rebecca calls out to her. "One last break won't hurt will it?"

Cairo ponders over it for a bit. She really doesn't have time to be fooling around when someone else is in possession of her dark powers. Then again, in the past, everything always seems to occur around Yugi and the others. She looks up to her father who nods his head.

"Just remain on guard. With our 'luck,' there's always a possibility evil could be lurking nearby," he tells her.

"Okay," she responds. "Let's go."

"Alright!" Rebecca cheers with one jump in the air, leading the way.

Atem is the last to follow. He is only able to take a few steps before a jolt of pain shoots through his abdomen. Stopping abruptly, he grimaces, placing an arm on his stomach. At first it seems no one has noticed. To keep himself standing, he places his hand on a nearby tree, inhaling and exhaling. The nurse at the hospital did tell him to take it easy after the fall he took. His mid section is still wrapped up with bandages and his body still feels stiff. It doesn't help that he's been doing a lot of walking in such a short period of time today.

As the others continue forward, Cairo stops when she realizes her father is trailing behind and she turns around, seeing him leaning against a tree. "Dad?" She quickly goes over to him as he still tries to regain his normal pattern of breathing. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he breathes out, pushing through so that he can stand up straight.

"You look hurt," she says with a worried frown.

"I'll be alright. I promise," he assures her with a weak smirk. She suddenly takes him by the hand to his surprise and his eyes go wide as she continues to look at him worriedly. "Cairo…"

"I may not know how to heal, but I can still help somehow," she tells him as they begin to walk.

With her eyes forward, he raises an eyebrow at her last statement. 'She can't heal…?'

Hasn't she always been able to?

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

Later, Cairo walks through the dark maze, with only the endless mirrors being illuminated by a soft white light. They had visited many of the attractions at the fair, including watching performers display their unique talents in front of a large audience. The crowd didn't bother Cairo as much as it typically would, at least in her shadow form. And she enjoyed watching the others play for prizes at the various games on display. Her father had even won her another stuffed animal with ease, much to her excitement.

As she goes deeper into the maze, she smiles. Times like this she wishes would never end.

Rebecca briskly proceeds forward, quickly determining where the open spaces are in order to get to the end. She and Cairo were the only ones who were interested in completing the maze while the others wait outside.

"Try and keep up!" Rebecca's voice echoes in the room.

But Cairo is way too entranced by the mirror, wanting to observe them further rather than engage in the race Rebecca has initiated. Some mirrors show her regular reflection, while others distort her appearance. She chuckles at a mirror that makes her appear taller, stopping to make a silly face. Then she turns slightly to face another mirror that makes her appear wider. She grins, placing her hands on her hips and swaying goofily.

"Wonder what other sorts of mirrors there are," she thinks aloud. Turning completely around, the next reflection makes her freeze up. In this version, her hair is shorter, her eyes are narrowed, but her expression is overall stoic.

"What's this…?" she asks, raising an eyebrow. It's even more confusing that her reflection doesn't mirror her movements. Waving her hand in front of the reflection, she suddenly gets grabbed by the wrist, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

"What the—?!"

"You!" the imposter exclaims.

"Who are you? Why do you look like me? And let me…go!" she yells, managing to free herself. She rubs her wrist while looking the imposter up and down with a startled and scrunched up face. The conversation she had with her father suddenly makes her realize who it is. "Mimic…"

"What are the odds of me running into you here? Looks like Arcana ended up sparing you after all," he says. "I don't suppose you know where he is."

"Seriously though, did you really have to steal my look?" she replies, rubbing the back of her head with a confused frown. "That's…weird."

Mimic lets out an annoyed growl. "Silence you brat! Copying is my thing! Thus the name Mimic!" he snaps before his eyes roll to the back of his head and he collapses, dropping to one knee. He coughs several times, trying to catching his breath and he wipes the sweat forming on his forehead. "Damn it…I really don't have time for this."

Cairo crouches down, resting her arms on top of her knees as she looks at him with a slight hint of concern. "So you're the one who's currently in possession of my dark abilities," she says, sensing the power within Mimic growing and his own energy fading. He continues to cough and hack until blood splatters out of his mouth.

Mimic glances up, noticing a frown on Cairo's lips and he growls inwardly. "What are you looking at?!"

"You'll die if this continues," she tells him. "Which means you'll cease to exist."

"Tell me something I don't know!"

"Who exactly are you working for?"

"Hm? And why do you assume I'm working with someone?"

"You and Arcana teamed up to steal my power. But I'm hearing it was an order you were following. So who is it?"

"It's none of your concern. But I'll never let him deceive me like this again."

"You're protecting the identity of someone who wronged you?" she asks, tilting her head.

"Shut up!" he yells before coughing again. Droplets of blood spill out of his mouth and he hunches forward to his hands and knees. "I—I can't take this much longer…" His head shoots up, his eyes glaring at her. "I don't care if he intends on using it later. Take this power of yours, back!"

"But who are you talking about?"

"You ask way too many questions!"

She stands up straight, turning her head and folding her arms. "You don't have to be so rude and you certainly asked for it when you took something that didn't belong to you," she tells him, trying to keep a tough exterior and giving the impression that she doesn't care what happens to him. But the more he gasps for air and coughs up his lungs, the more concerned she gets. She just can't find it in herself to be cold and heartless when someone needs help, no matter how hard she tries.

"It's…one thing to be in the Shadow Realm…but ceasing to exist forever is extreme," Mimic says weakly. "You gotta help me!"

Cairo sighs, beginning to feel sorry for him. She can practically see the color of his skin turning into a dark purple and a black liquid beginning to pour out of his eyes. Quickly dropping to her knees, she places her hands on his shoulders, closing her eyes to go into deep concentration.

How did her mother do the spell again? That day was such a blur she hardly remembers the hand movements and gestures that led up to the spell. And the harder she thinks about it, the more her brain hurts. She can feel herself clenching her eyelids as tight as they can go, searching deep within herself for something, anything, that would release the dark energy.

But nothing happens.

She drops her hands and bows her head with defeat. "It's no use."

That sends Mimic over the edge. "What do you mean?! Try harder!"

Cairo lowers her eyes. "I'm sorry…but I can't…"

This time, Mimic grabs her by the shoulders, shaking her as he boils with rage. "You're pulling my leg! You enjoy seeing me suffer!" he snaps, a dark aura appearing around him.

"No! That's not it at all, I swear!" she exclaims as the room around them begins to shake. She stands to her feet and backs away from him. The darkness literally appears to be devouring him as a dark matter seeps out of his pores.

"THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!" he yells at the top of his lungs. There is a strong gust of wind that cracks every single mirror in the room as he lets out a loud cry.

Cairo screams as she shields her face, trying to stand her ground against the harsh winds. "Y-You…have to calm down!" she shouts. "You're just gonna make it worse for yourself!"

But Cairo's words go unheard as he continues to scream. She wishes she can do more to help, but in her current state, she just doesn't know how. She can't even do something as simple as flying, so how will she be able to perform such a spell?

His screams of agony are deafening and becoming unbearable for her to hear. Dropping down to her knees, she shuts her eyes and covers her ears, trying to block it all out. She has never witnessed someone being devoured by the darkness in this manner before. It literally looks like the dark matter is melting his entire body. And the fact that he looks and sounds like her is even more haunting.

At last, she can take it no longer and she screams from the top of her lungs. "SOMEONE HELP!" her voice echoes over the harsh winds.

Rebecca trots out of the maze, meeting up with the others who stand outside of the exit. "Looks like I win!" she declares, turning around to face the exit, anticipating that Cairo will be coming out right after. But when she doesn't, she tilts her head with her hands on her hips. "Uh…Cairo?"

As she looks down the dark doorway, a tremble from the ground puts them all on guard. A strong blast of wind heads straight for Rebecca and she gasps, covering up her face and screaming as it blows her back.

"Rebecca!" Yugi yells, running up and holding his arms out to catch her. She collides into him instead and they both fall to the ground.

"What's happening?" Téa asks, turning her face away from the wind.

"Did anyone get a hurricane warning, cuz I sure didn't!" Joey says, squinting his eyes.

"This is crazy!" Tristan exclaims.

Atem uses one arm to shield his face, gritting his teeth. "Something's wrong."

They suddenly hear a girl screaming, followed by a cry for help on the inside and Atem immediately dashes inside, despite Yugi and the others calling him back in fear that something terrible is happening.

"We need to take cover somewhere!" Tristan says to the others. "This could get ugly!"

Cairo grunts, feeling the shards of glass scraping her skin. No matter how much she tries to avoid them, it is impossible in a place like that. Beams of purple light emit from different parts of Mimic's body and the ground beneath her rumbles even more. It is then she realizes there is truly nothing she can do. Even if she were to suddenly figure out how to take the power away, it will be too late for him.

Mimic slowly walks in her direction, moving slow and stiff like a zombie. He is hunched over and his eyes are hollow with his mouth partially open. His body has become nearly unrecognizable, melting in front of her very eyes. "You…gotta help me…" he pleads, his voice reverting back to its original sound. "Take it away…please…"

Cairo begins to tremble as she backs up as much as she can possibly go until her back rests against a wall. Regardless of him being an evil soul, she hates he has to suffer like this.

"Cairo!" Atem yells, rushing toward her. As he gets closer, he lets out a gasp when he sees who is standing in front of her. "Is that…?"

Upon hearing Atem's voice, Mimic whips around and shoots out a blast to which Atem quickly dodges. But in doing so, he strains his already injured body. Gasping, falls to his hands and knees, using one hand to hold onto his side.

"Dad!" Cairo screams, aiming her own hands to make a counter move. Her hands flicker briefly, but ultimately nothing happens. "Darn it, I forgot…"

Witnessing this, Atem looks at her confused. "Cairo…?" She appears to be struggling with something that would usually come easily for her.

Despite this, she is determined to protect her father. Whipping out her wand, she points it at Mimic and sits a large force to push him back. Then she runs to her father as he tries to get up, but fails in doing so.

"You're hurt!"

"I'm more worried about you," he says. "Your powers…"

She sighs. "It's complicated…"

The ground rumbles once again and they look toward Mimic who looks like he's going to explode any minute now.

"We have to get out of here," Atem tells her, standing with her help.

"But you can barely stand, let alone walk!"

Atem grits his teeth. She's right. There's no possible way they can make it to the exit. "Cairo, you have to go now."

She looks at him with disbelief. "What? And leave you here?"

"There's not much time!"

"You may have promised mom you'd bring me back in once piece…but…the same goes for you!"

Turning toward Mimic, Cairo grips her wand tightly and shuts her eyes, praying this next spell will work. 'Come on…' she pleads in her head.

Outside of the fair's gates, Yugi and the others wait anxiously for Atem and Cairo to emerge. But the more time that goes by, the more impatient Joey gets.

"I'm going in!" he exclaims.

"Don't be an idiot! You'll get yourself killed!" Tristan points out.

"So we're just supposed to sit here and—"

A loud boom rings out, followed by a cloud of smoke that shoots up into the air.. "Atem! Cairo!" Yugi yells out before coughing due to the smoke.

"No! I hope they're alright!" Téa exclaims with worry.

Rebecca squints her eyes. At first, she can only seem remnants of the building that housed the maze attraction. But as the smoke clears even more, she sees three figures. Two lie on the ground, while the other with pointy hair towers over them.

"Look you guys!" Rebecca points out.

"Who is that?" Tristan asks.

Yugi looks closely and his heart drops. "Oh no…"

Atem grimaces as he tries to lift his head up. He is surrounded by nothing but debris, glass and smoke. At first he feels discombobulated. His ears ring from the explosion and his eyesight is blurry as he attempts to focus. Turning his head to the side, he sees Cairo laying face down on the ground as the wind gently blows her hair and clothing.

"No…Cairo…!" He grunts, rolling to his stomach and slowly begins to drag himself over to her. In doing so, he catches sight of something else. A dark glowing sphere only inches away from him. With Mimic nowhere in sight, he can only conclude it is the dark energy that was once inside of Mimic.

This is it.

All he has to do is give it to Cairo and she'll have it back, preventing it from getting back into the wrong hands. He shakily raises his hand to reach for it, practically feeling it brush his finger tips. But when he hears a certain laugh, he freezes. His eyes are wide as his head slowly looks up, seeing none other than Yami Marik, sporting that signature grin of his.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" Yami Marik says, reaching down and grabbing onto the sphere with ease.

"Marik…" Atem growls.

"You look quite pathetic, pharaoh." He then turns his sights to Cairo. "And I wasn't expecting to see your beloved daughter here. But at least now…I can finish you both."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

AN: Is this really the end? You'll have to wait and find out! Thank you for reading and leave a review! See you next time!