L stared down at the golden ring. The cell was silent and still. Even L remained unmoving. The only thing that seemed to be alive was the metal ring, the interrogation light shimmering across its surface. L had long since lost track of how much time he had spent locked away, trying to pry out the secrets of the entity that dwelled within. He had not accomplished nothing, but he found he had more questions now than when he had begun.

L could almost see a closed door in front of him. It appeared to be made of rough wood that did not quite fit in the frame of a clay shanty house. It should have been easy to push the door aside and see what secrets lay within the hut, but it did not budge. It was not the sort of house that should have held anything of value, let alone precious secrets, but he knew they were there.

When he slept, L dreamed of wandering through the ruins of a whole town of shanty houses, drawn inexorably to this same door. Sometimes the door remained infuriatingly shut, as it did when he was awake, and sometimes it would open to soldiers in white linen skirts escorting lines of rough prisoners down a dark passageway, into a bubbling cauldron. Their screams of agony still echoed in his mind.

But now, as always when he was awake, the door remained shut despite every effort he could think to make.

"Still trying to get in?" the spirit of the Ring taunted, suddenly standing just outside the shanty's door in the form of a young man with wild white hair. The door never opened to let him out, but L was sure that was where he came from.

L stared at him, as though he could pry out the spirit's secrets with his mere gaze.

The spirit laughed because he knew L couldn't.

"Who are you?" L asked at last. "What are you? What are your goals? Why do you want the Millennium Items? What are they capable of?" The words echoed around the stone corridor between the shanty's wooden door and the heavy metal door to the walk-in safe that housed L's own soul.

The words faded to silence.

L tried to open the door again. It did not budge.

"Do you want to play a game?" the spirit asked.

L had come to the door and tried to open it with force and questions countless times before, all to no avail, and frequently the spirit of the Ring had come to taunt him, but this was new. L cocked his head to the side in curiosity.

The spirit grinned. "A maze." The wooden door opened a crack, but L could not see inside. "If you want my secrets, you'll have to find them. And if you win, you'll have all the answers you could possibly want!" It let out a wild cackle.

It was a trap. L could feel it. This was how the spirit of the Ring intended to escape. L could feel it pushing at the walls of the cell like a wild animal.

L did not know exactly what its plan was, but it would not succeed despite its confidence. It could take control of his body, but the only way out of the cell was if Watari unlocked the door, and Watari knew better than to be fooled by the spirit of the Ring. Even if it threatened his life, Watari knew L could be replaced.

And this was his chance. L could feel the secrets lurking beyond that door, something dark and powerful, but he was not afraid of the dark. The answers to his questions lay beyond that door, and he would find them. He would not lose.

"I accept."


Marik Ishtar was a fool who wasted the power of the Millennium Rod, possibly the most powerful of the Millennium Items, on finding rare Duel Monsters cards in an attempt to get revenge on an ancient Pharaoh, who had died five thousand years ago and was now locked away in a puzzle. He had some nascent aspirations for world domination, but they were childish and overwrought. But in the hands of Light Yagami, the power of the Millennium Rod alone could make him the god of a new world.

Light could feel the Millennium Item approaching, every moment it drew nearer.

He heard the roar of the motorcycle just before it came into view; a gaudy streak of bright red racing loudly down the alleyway, as though to announce its rider's presence to everyone who dared stray within a block of its location. Light stepped out in front of it before it had the chance to race past.

It rushed toward him, on a collision course, and swerved only at the last minute, but Light did not flinch. He only turned again to face it as the motorcycle skidded to a stop.

A boy who looked even less subtle in person than he had seemed when possessing Arkana, dismounted and took off his helmet. He looked even more absurd up close, with heavy golden bands around his arms and neck. His pale pink sleeveless vest was cut to show off his midriff, and his pants were tight. His hair was shaggy and wild, but he had taken the time to bring out his eyes with black eyeliner.

"You're in my way!" Ishtar sounded like a spoiled child with a high nasally voice.

Light gave the boy his most charming smile. "Marik, is it? It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person. I'm Light Yagami."

"You!" Ishtar said as though it was an accusation. "What are you doing here? Don't you have a tournament to lose?"

"That's not very nice," Light said, "but you don't have to worry about the tournament; I've already qualified for the finals. I'm here because I think we could benefit more from working together than being at odds. What do you say?" He held out his hand and smiled again.

"Why should I work with you?" the boy retorted, too foolish to realize the opportunity Light had presented to him. "Unless you're here to give me your Millennium Puzzle, that is."

"Maybe," Light said with an innocent little laugh. "I'd like to work with you, and I was actually wondering if you would be interested in an exchange; your Millennium Rod for my Millennium Puzzle."

"Why?" Ishtar demanded again. "You are the Pharaoh's vessel, are you not? Why do you want to give me the Millennium Puzzle? What trick do you have up your sleeve?"

"No tricks," Light said, holding out his arms to show the boy that he wasn't hiding anything - not up his sleeves, at least. "After hearing your story back there, I couldn't help but wonder who this Pharaoh I've been working with really is. I didn't choose to become his vessel, you know. And if you and your family really have slaved for centuries to serve the Pharaoh, then you deserve his power much more than I do."

"Prove it," Ishtar challenged. "Prove to me that you are not merely trying to infiltrate my ranks under the Pharaoh's orders!"

Light would have handed Ishtar the puzzle, but even though he wasn't touching it, he could feel that the spirit wasn't happy. At this stage, it would only get in the way.

Instead Light declared with an air of earnest indignation, "I'll do anything to make up for the wrong that's been done to you."

The boy considered for a moment, but he was too foolish to see Light's true trap. Finally, he decided on a test, "Help me capture Yugi Muto's friends and make them my servants so that I may use them against him. If you do that, then I will accept your loyalty."

"Of course, Pharaoh Marik," Light said, with a shallow bow for good measure. As foolish as they were, Muto and his friends were no criminals, but their sacrifice was necessary for the advent of Light's new world.

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the boy grinning at the gesture. This would be too easy.

"What's your plan?" Light asked with a touch of eagerness. "Would you like me to introduce you to them?"

"Yes, perfect!" Ishtar crowed - clearly he hadn't even had a plan of his own, but that just made things easier for Light. "Take me to them and I will do the rest, but if anything goes wrong, I will duel you on the spot, take your Millennium Item, and send your soul to the Shadow Realm!"

"Don't worry, Marik, I'll make sure it all goes to plan. I'm honored to serve such a great Pharaoh," Light laid it on thick, each word of meaningless flattery another push closer to his perfect world. He kept his smile sweet, though underneath he only felt the thrill of victory.

He saw the boy flush. When he finally regained his voice, Ishtar stammered, "Don't get ahead of yourself. You're not even my servant yet, first you have to help me capture Yugi's friends!"

The boy was right, Light wasn't his servant - he was the master and it was Ishtar who would do his bidding, but the boy didn't need to know that.

Ishtar's incompetent band of card thieves was at the very least able to confirm that Muto's insufferable friends were near the Domino City aquarium and Light was pleasantly surprised to find that they were correct. Joey Wheeler, Tea Gardner, and Yugi Muto's grandfather, Solomon Muto, were all loitering just outside the entrance to the aquarium.

Light took the lead as he and Ishtar approached, not that those fools would have been able to detect any kind of deception even if it was right in front of their faces.

Light called out to them, "Joey! Tea! I thought I'd find you here!"

"Is something wrong?" Gardner asked.

Wheeler, however, appeared to be occupied with more important matters. "I've got all my locator cards! Are you coming to the finals or not?"

It seemed Wheeler's dumb luck had saved him once again, but it wouldn't last for long.

"I'd like to introduce you to my friend Namu," Light said.

Ishtar stepped forward. "It's nice to meet you. Light told me so much about you."

"Did he tell you about how great a duelist I am?" Wheeler asked, delusional as always.

"Of course." Ishtar was a good enough liar to easily convince Muto's friends, but that wasn't saying much. "That's why I wanted to meet you. I'm a duelist too, you see, but I'm not a very good one. I was wondering if you could give me a few tips. I'd like to at least win one duel in Battle City."

"Sure!" Wheeler took the bait all too easily.

As he started rattling off "tips," Ishtar's Rare Hunters, conspicuously dressed in dark cloaks, closed in around them. They grabbed Ishtar first, and then Light, and pretended to restrain them. They were not so gentle with Muto's friends or his grandfather. Wheeler put up a token fight, but he was more bark than bite and they were all easily subdued and taken away.

Finally, the Rare Hunters released Ishtar, who, after a moment, ordered them to release Light as well.

"That went well," Light said with a smile, as he pretended to regain his bearings. "At this rate, you will soon be able to claim your throne."

Ishtar held his head up a little higher. He snapped, but his voice had lost its edge, "Don't get ahead of yourself! We haven't won yet, and if Yugi's friends escape, it'll be on your head!"

"Of course," Light said. It seemed that at the very least, Ishtar was smart enough to realize that Light could have easily been pretending to work with him so that he could rescue Muto's friends when he inevitably took them hostage, but as tempting as spending more time with those fools was, Light had bigger plans.

As they made their way to Ishtar's hideout on the pier, Light began to needle a little deeper. He remarked with as much sympathy as he could muster, "I can't imagine how terrible it was living like that, waiting for a heartless Pharaoh, who would never come."

Light saw the emotion cross Ishtar's face as his words no doubt conjured terrible memories, but it was not quite enough. Ishtar remained silent in an attempt to preserve his weak facade of stoicism.

Light pressed a little harder. "To toil away alone for years on end."

That hit the mark. Ishtar answered bitterly, "I was not alone, for all the good it did me. All father ever cared about was serving a dead king and Ishizu was hardly any better. At least Odion is a good servant."

"That's terrible," Light exclaimed in exaggerated shock "To have no one who cares for you! How could your family betray you like that? And your servant, Odion, did nothing to save you from that horrible fate?" Light took the boy's hand and looked him firmly in the eyes. His tone turned from shock to something more somber as he said, "Marik, Ishizu may not think I am worthy of the Millennium Puzzle, but I think it was a sort of destiny, having the puzzle so that I could help you claim your rightful place as Pharaoh. I see that you understand the terrors of this world, the terrible things people can do, and that as Pharaoh you will wreak vengeance on all those lesser Pharaohs who demand loyalty and torment their people, but give them nothing in return. There are so many cruel men who claim to be kings in this world, it needs a new Pharaoh to set it all right, and I see that Pharaoh Marik will be the one."

Light's performance was overwrought, but the boy was all too easy to read. As Light spoke, he could see tears welling up in Ishtar's eyes. He was truly starved for attention, mere sympathy and flattery were enough to pass what little defenses he had. It was almost too easy to shape the boy to his will.

When Light finished speaking, he held Ishtar's gaze for a moment longer. He could feel Ishtar's heart racing in his hand. At last, Light let go and Ishtar hastily turned away in an attempt to hide his face as he wiped the tears from his eyes and tried to reassume his overconfident facade. Light's work was done for the time being. Ishtar took on a fragile air of stoic confidence, staring ahead with his back ridgid.

Neither spoke again until they arrived at the warehouse that served as Ishtar's base. Only then did Ishtar resume barking out orders to his Rare Hunters as though nothing had occurred. He gained an entourage as soon as they stepped through the door. First to Ishtar's side was a tall man with a hieroglyphic carving that covered half his face. He must have been the servant, Odion. Though the other Rare Hunters came and went, he remained planted by Ishtar's side.

Light positioned himself between Ishtar and Odion, just a step behind, so he was always visible out of the corner of Ishtar's eye, but frequently out of Odion's range of vision entirely. Light occasionally saw Ishtar glance back at him, but Ishtar hesitated to acknowledge him and didn't even seem to be ready to meet Light's gaze, but Light didn't mind waiting.

Odion turned around to eye Light with suspicion.

"Pay attention!" Marik snapped and he hastily faced forward again, but it wasn't the last time.

Another group of Rare Hunters soon returned with Mokuba Kaiba, who was thrown into one of the many abandoned rooms of the warehouse. Joey Wheeler was the only one restrained, but Ishtar did not ask for advice, so Light did not provide any. He had grander goals than ensuring Ishtar's foolish plans succeeded. He was not concerned about taking the blame no matter what happened; Marik Ishtar was already under his control.

Once all of Ishtar's Rare Hunter were occupied with their tasks, leaving Ishtar, Odion, and Light alone, Odion at last spoke up, "What is he doing here? Why is he not restrained?"

It was too easy. The fool, Odion, was doing Light's work for him. Couldn't he see he was too late?

"Don't speak until you're spoken to," Ishtar snapped. "If you must know, Light has rejected the Pharaoh and volunteered to serve me instead!"

"Are you sure he's trustworthy?" Odion could not help but dig himself even deeper.

Ishtar's features warped in anger. "Are you questioning my judgement?" His anger vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving behind petty disdain. "He has proven his worth by bringing Yugi's friends to us, that is more than you have done."

"I'm sorry, Marik," Odion said, bowing low, "I did not mean to suggest-"

Ishtar interrupted, ordering, "Go. Prepare to take control of the prisoners, Joey Wheeler first."

When Odion had left them, Light said, injecting his voice with a hint of awe for effect, "You will make a truly powerful Pharaoh; you demand unquestioning loyalty. I am honored to serve at your side."

Ishtar's smug smile turned into a wild grin and he declared, "With the power of the Millennium Puzzle and the three Egyptian God Cards, we will be unstoppable!"

The Millennium Rod was as good as Light's.


"The Ring has escaped," Touta Matsuda thought he heard Watari say into his ear piece.

"What was that?" Matsuda asked, certain he had misunderstood.

"L has escaped with the Ring."

"What? How?" Matsuda demanded, loud enough that bystanders turned to stare at him. He dropped his voice. "What happened?"

"The door swung open of its own accord," Watari said as though it wasn't completely crazy.

"What?"

"The Millennium Ring began to glow and then the door opened," Watari explained, eminently reasonable. "I attempted to leave the observation room, but the door was locked and did not open again until L was outside with the Ring."

It didn't make any sense, but however it had happened, Matsuda knew that he needed to find L, and fast. Who knew what the Ring was doing with him. Maybe it was searching for that poor kid, Ryou Bakura, so that it might have two people under its control.

"I'm on it!" Matsuda said. "Do you know where he's headed?"

"I suspect he is coming to Domino City. I have tracked him to the station and saw him board a train bound in that direction."

"I'm on my way!"

Matsuda pushed himself to his feet and ran to the station as fast as his legs could carry him in the hope that he would not be too late. He didn't know what he would do when he found L and the Millennium Ring - he didn't know what he could do - but he had to do something.

Matsuda's heart pounded and his muscles ached and he could hardly breathe from the exertion, but he was almost at the station when he rounded another corner and nearly ran straight into Tristan Taylor running the opposite direction. Tristan dodged around him without a word and didn't look back.

"What's going on?" Matsuda called after him just as two men in dark cloaks hurried past, close on Tristan's tail.

Matsuda needed to find L, but he didn't even know where L was, and meanwhile Tristan was in immediate danger, pursued by ruthless Rare Hunters. L would have to wait just a little longer.

Matsuda ran after the Rare Hunters. "Stop! Police!"

They ignored him.

He turned the corner after them, and followed them down into a park. Then, abruptly, they came to a stop, still a ways ahead. He had a sinking feeling - he doubted they'd stopped because Tristan had managed to give them the slip.

Matsuda tried again, "Stop right there! You're under arrest!"

One man turned to look at him this time, but he didn't seem threatened, exactly. "There's nothing to see here, if you know what's good for you!" the Rare Hunter shouted back.

Suddenly, the man staggered backward; Tristan had punched him across the face while he had been looking the other way. The other Rare Hunters were stunned for a moment in surprise, but Tristan didn't wait for them to gang up on him and Matsuda couldn't afford to wait either. Matsuda braced himself and ran into the fray, unwilling to let Tristan fight them all alone, though he already had another down by the time Matsuda charged in.

"You think you're so tough, punk?" one of the Rare Hunters taunted as he swung at Tristan - thankfully the boy ducked out of the way in time.

"Your friends did too - until Marik changed their minds!" another jeered.

Matsuda quickly knocked him off his feet before he had a chance to go for Tristan too.

"What did you say?" Tristan demanded.

"Wonder which'll win, the Duel Monsters champ or Joey Wheeler."

Tristan lunged for the last Rare Hunter standing - just a weedy young man - and grabbed him by the collar. "What did you do to Yugi and Joey?"

"Tristan, wait!" Matsuda jumped in to interfere before things got out of hand.

Tristan dropped the man and he fell to the ground. "Where are my friends, you freak?" he demanded, looming over the Rare Hunter.

"Domino Pier," the man stammered out.

"Come on," Matsuda said, "forget about him, it sounds like we have more important things to worry about."

Tristan nodded and stepped away from the Rare Hunter.

Matsuda was just debating whether to stay with Tristan or continue looking for L when a car pulled up. It was a bright blue convertible, and Mai Valentine was driving.

"Hey, need a lift?"

"Hey Mai, how did you all end up together?" Tristan asked - Valentine wasn't alone; next to her in the front seat was a girl whose eyes were covered with bandages, and in the backseat was a boy with spiky hair and dice earrings.

"I told her we were pals with you and Joey and she said hop in," the boy said. "You didn't think I'd just turn tail and run, did you? But it looks like you already had reinforcements."

Matsuda gave an awkward laugh. "I just happened to be running in the right direction. I'm Touta Matsuda, I met Tristan and the others at another Duel Monsters tournament."

"I'm Serenity, Joey is my brother," the girl in the front said. "I'm sorry, I can't see you, I just had surgery on my eyes, and I want Joey to be the first thing I see when I take off my bandages."

"And I'm Duke Devlin," the boy said. "Do you play Duel Monsters, or are you just a spectator?"

"Just a spectator."

"Well, are you coming or what?" Valentine interrupted. "I don't have all day."

Matsuda hesitated just a moment longer before joining Tristan in the back. L was probably still on the train, while Yugi and Joey were probably in danger right now.

"Do you know why the Rare Hunters were chasing you?" Matsuda asked as they sped off through the streets of Domino City.

"The whats?"

"Do you know why those guys in cloaks were chasing you?" Matsuda tried again.

"No idea. What's a 'Rare Hunter?'"

"I've heard about them," Valentine said. "They're underground duelists that lie, cheat, and steal. Their goal is collecting rare cards."

"Well according to them, some guy named 'Marik' is holding Yugi and Joey at Domino Pier, and I couldn't get ahold of Tea either."

"I'm on it!" She floored it.

"Don't worry Serenity, you'll see your brother. He's probably kicking their buts at Duel Monsters right now."

"What about you?" Valentine asked Matsuda. "Are you investigating the Rare Hunters or is that Bakura kid giving you the slip?"

Matsuda hesitated. "No, now I'm looking for a friend of mine. I was going to meet him at the station, but right now this is more important."

"You sure have a hard time keeping track of people. Well, I'm already in the finals, so if you want I can take you there after we drop these guys off at the pier."

"That'd be great! Thank you!"

.

They pulled up at the pier to find Yugi and Joey engaged in a death trap of a duel. Suspended between them on an elaborate rig was an anchor, dangling perilously above the water, and as they drew closer, it became apparent that each of the boys had a cuff around their ankle, chaining them to the anchor. Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were already there, unable to intervene even though it was technically their tournament.

As Mokuba explained it, when the duel ended, or after thirty minutes if it wasn't over by then, the anchor would drop into the ocean, dragging the duelists with it. The only way out was to win the duel, which would open up a little chest at the winner's feet, containing a key that would unlock their shackles.

To make a bad situation even worse, Joey was being controlled by the Millennium Rod, and Tea and an old man who was clearly Yugi's grandfather were being held hostage at the end of the next pier over to ensure that the game was not interrupted. If anyone tried to interfere, a Rare Hunter would press a button to drop a crate that was currently dangling from a crane just above the hostages.

Matsuda stared at the set up, trying to figure out how to free the hostages. "If we could just distract the Rare Hunter for a little while, I should be able to sneak over and get that remote out of his hands."

"That's pretty risky! What if he sees you?" Tristan demanded.

"I know," Matsuda said, "But if we don't do anything both Yugi and Joey could die. And we don't know what they'll do after the duel is over; they could kill the hostages out of spite if things don't go their way. We just need a good distraction."

"You morons should just stay out of my way," Seto Kaiba sneered, standing at a little bit of a distance from the rest, watching the duel with intent interest. "While the rest of you were busy gawking, I have a distraction on its way."

"Great!" Matsuda exclaimed, pointedly ignoring Kaiba's tone. "What is it?"

"Stay out of my way. I don't need anyone's help."

It seemed like he wasn't going to get any help from Kaiba, so Matsuda dropped his voice to talk to the others, "Well, that sounds like it'll be a large distraction. If you could all put together a smaller distraction, I could get closer to the hostages so that I can grab the remote when Kaiba's big distraction comes. Could you maybe direct his vision over there" - he pointed in the opposite direction from the hostages - "so he won't see me as I approach?"

"If you're sure," Mai said, "But this had better work. If those kids get squashed, that's on your head."

Matsuda nodded. "We at least have to try."

He slowly edged around so he was on the other side of the pier that had the hostages on it, as Tristan, Mai, Devlin, and Serenity got into position directly opposite him. So far, so good.

Slowly, he began to creep down the pier, toward the hostages.

Suddenly, he heard the Rare Hunter shout, "What are you doing over there?"

Matsuda froze. He turned to face the Rare Hunter, desperately hoping he wasn't the target. He let out a breath of relief as he saw that the Rare Hunter was looking at the others instead. The distraction was working.

Matsuda crept around the crates that conveniently cluttered the pier, staying out of the Rare Hunter's sight as much as he could. He was careful not to make a sound as he approached the hostages. He heard the others shouting in the distance, calling out to Yugi and Joey. He could see them just far enough from the duel to not quite be interfering. The Rare Hunter shouted back at them, waving the remote wildly.

Matsuda made a break for it. He moved as fast as he could without making too much noise, toward the body of the crane at the end of the pier. Once he was there, he could hide behind it and be safe until Kaiba's distraction came. Almost there! Almost! It was so close!

"Stop right there or they get it."

Matsuda froze. His heart rate jumped. He could see the Rare Hunter staring at him before he even looked up.

"Now, turn around and go back the way you came," the Rare Hunter ordered, brandishing the button. He stepped toward Matsuda for emphasis.

Just a few more steps closer and he would be in range.

Matsuda didn't move. Even if he wanted to, he wasn't sure if he could.

"Go or you know what happens - splat!" the Rare Hunter threatened.

"Wait a second!" Matsuda nearly shouted, his mouth moving much faster than his thoughts. "You don't want to do that!"

"I will if you don't move, now!"

Against all reason, Matsuda held his ground. "Your boss wouldn't like that. You have those hostages to stop anyone from interfering with the duel, right? If you wasted them on me, then anyone could do whatever they wanted to stop the duel and there would be nothing you could do about it. I'm not going anywhere, see? Not interfering with anyone."

He hoped Kaiba's big distraction came soon…

The Rare Hunter did actually pause to consider it, but all too soon he said, "The boss said to drop it if anyone tries any funny business, and this looks like funny business to me."

Matsuda held up his hands in surrender, but still he didn't move. Insead he rambled on, "I swear, I'm not interfering with anything! If you had separated out the two hostages, sure you could kill one to stop me and then I'd probably go running back before you killed the other, but you've got one button that does in both of them at once, so you only really have one shot. Are you sure you want to waste it? Your boss would probably kill you if someone stopped the duel and you had already wasted the hostages on me."

Finally! He could not have hoped for a clearer signal. He heard the loud thumping of a helicopter before it entered into view. As soon as the Rare Hunter glanced away to search for the source of the noise, Matsuda lunged, grabbing the button out of the Rare Hunter's hand and then tackling the man to the ground.

Matsuda could hear the helicopter getting closer, the thumping got louder and louder as the Rare Hunter struggled in his grasp, until with a sudden crash it rammed into the crane and knocked it into the water, bringing the looming crate with it with a tremendous splash. As obnoxious as Seto Kaiba was, he sure knew how to do a rescue! The crate exploded in the water with a boom and the spray from the explosion fell over them like rain.

It worked! It actually worked! He could hardly believe it.

When the dust had cleared, everyone except for Seto Kaiba and the still imprisoned duelists rushed over to the hostages to help unlock them.

However, it wasn't all over yet. "Now that the hostages are free, we've got to rescue Joey and Yugi!" Matsuda shouted.

They all ran to the other end of the pier where Yugi and Joey were dueling.

As they were running, they all heard a loud buzz.

The duel was over. In 30 seconds the anchor would plummet into the sea, dragging the losing duelist with it - or both of they weren't fast enough.

If only the crane was still up, they could have used that to keep the anchor in place while the locks were broken, but it would have taken too long to lift it.

"If anyone knows how to pick a lock, now's the time. Otherwise, just try to pry them open!" Matsuda shouted to the others as ran along the pier toward Yugi and Joey. He turned to Kaiba. "Seto Kaiba! Your helicopter! Could you steer it under the anchor so it doesn't fall?"

It was risky, it could get tangled in the chains, but it could also cut them, and if it came to it, that was better than nothing. They didn't have much time!

"I think it's totaled," Mokuba Kaiba said, "running into the crane did too much damage."

"Damn it!" Matsuda cursed, though he probably shouldn't have in front of the child.

"The boxes are open!" Tea called out from the arena. "Joey did it!"

Somehow he had made it a draw. They had both lost all their life points, opening both of the little chests with keys inside. Tea helped Yugi out of his chains, while Serenity greeted her older brother, her bandages finally removed.

"Thank goodness," Matsuda shouted, "they're safe!"

"A little quieter, please," Watari said in his earpiece.

"Sorry," Matsuda whispered.

Now he just needed to go back and find L. That was why Matsuda was there, after all.

"Where's L now?" he asked under his breath.

"He got off the train in Domino City. I have been unable to track him since."

That wasn't good. "Thanks Watari. I'll find him."

"Hey, you still want a ride back to the station to meet your friend?" Valentine asked, having extricated herself from the others' emotional reunion.

Matsuda shook his head. "It looks like I missed him. I don't know where he could be now."

"Well, I bet if anyone could help you find him, Kaiba can." She motioned toward the older of the Kaiba brothers, who remained watching everything with a disinterested frown.

Matsuda wasn't too keen on the idea of incurring his ire - or at least constant irritation - again, but if that was what it took to find L, then so be it. He walked over to Seto Kaiba. "Excuse me, I was told you could help me find someone."

"No," Kaiba cut him off. "I'm not chasing after any more geeks. I paid my debt to Tea for saving Mokuba, I'm done here."

Matsuda was about to protest when Mokuba Kaiba came running up to him. Matsuda wasn't sure whether it was to save Matsuda from his brother or to save Seto Kaiba from Matsuda, but he was grateful either way.

"You're looking for someone?" Mokuba said. "If they've got a Duel Disk, we can find them."

Matsuda's heart fell. "He's not participating in the tournament. Unless he took one from someone."

"I'll see what I can do." Into his collar, Mokuba said, "I'm looking for a lost or stolen Duel Disk."

"Understood," a man replied over a miniature speaker. Matsuda heard some clicking on the other end, and then the man gave them a series of times and coordinates.

"Thank you." He turned to Matsuda. "Apparently there are a couple reports of stolen Duel Disks near the docks, and there's one that was just reported at the cemetery."

It was starting to get dark. A cemetery sounded like the last place Matsuda wanted to go under the circumstances, but he had a feeling that was where he would find L and the Millennium Ring. Not that he knew what he could do about the Ring when he got there.

As he neared the cemetery, a fog set in. The sun had set by the time he reached a dark, wrought iron archway that gave way to a field of gravestones. In the evening light, the dark grey fog seemed almost purple. There was a chill in the air that strangely reminded him of the duel between Yugi and Pegasus at the end of the Duelist Kingdom tournament. Maybe he was just nervous, wandering around a cemetery at night, but he couldn't help but wonder if he had somehow stepped into a Shadow Game.

"L!" Matsuda called out into the night.

It felt wrong to use even the detective's alias out loud in public, but it was too late for that. Keeping L safe and alive was more important than preserving his anonymity.

There was no reply.

So, Matsuda took a deep breath and stepped through the gate, into the cemetery.

He could almost hear a distant voice crying out, an anguished groan, but it was probably just the wind. The haze really did seem purple, but maybe he was just seeing things.

"L!" he called out again. "Are you here? Millennium Ring?"

He saw a glint of gold through the fog, and as he approached a dim figure seemed to take form around it. It sent a chill down Matsuda's spine, but he ran toward it, desperately hoping that it was L and that he wasn't too late. It looked like L, with a white shirt nearly glowed in the darkness, dark pants and wild black hair, but he was standing up straight, his hair was even more wild than the detective's had ever been, and his eyes were sharply narrowed. Around his neck he wore the glowing gold Millennium Ring. In front of him were three teenage boys, cowering in fear.

"There you are!" Matsuda exclaimed, but he knew enough to be weary.

"Get out of my way or you'll be joining them in the Shadow Realm," L said in a deep, commanding, harsh voice that was not his.

Matsuda stepped between the boys and L, his arms out as though that could shield them. "I won't let you hurt them. What did they do to you?"

"We dueled and they lost," L said. It was not petulant, but disdainful and cruel.

There was a time to refuse to bargain with criminals, but now was not that time, not with so much at stake. "I'll stay out of your way so long as you leave them alone and let us all walk out of here."

It took a long time for L to reply. The wind howled and moaned. Maybe the real L was in there somewhere, fighting back. Matsuda hoped he was.

Finally, L - the Ring using L's voice - said, "Fine. I don't have time for this. Go, but if you get in my way again, I will not be so merciful."

The purple fog faded to grey and the boys ran out of the graveyard as fast as they could.

Matsuda remained with L.

"If you get in my way, I'll send you to the Shadow Realm without a second thought. Your weak friend will not be able to stop me."

Matsuda held up his hands in surrender. "I won't do anything, I promise, I just want to keep an eye on him."

The spirit of the Ring scoffed, but said nothing more. He did not acknowledge Matsuda again as they returned through the graveyard, onto the darkened streets of Domino City. The Ring seemed to know where he was going, and Matsuda knew better than to question him. He just had to lay low and hope that an opportunity would present itself.

They approached a bright light which seemed to grow on the horizon, like the sun rising just after it had set. However, rather than illuminating the sky, it formed a halo around the half-complete stadium. They wound through the streets until they were irradiated by the white light, and at last they reached the towering wall of the stadium.

L strode through one of the entry tunnels and Matsuda hurried after him. Even compared to the streets around it, the light inside the stadium was blinding. His eyes stung as he blinked everything back into focus.

"Matsuda!" Yugi and his friends called out, and ran over to meet him, as L retreated into the shadows.

They had all made it, even Joey's sister, Serenity, though it looked like only Yugi, Joey and Valentine were dueling. They had since been joined by Light Yagami, who was standing on the outskirts of Yugi's large group of friends next to another boy who Matsuda didn't know, as well as Ryou Bakura, who was eyeing L nervously, not that Matsuda blamed him. Matsuda just had to be careful to keep the two of them apart - on top of everything else.

"Who's this guy?" Joey jerked his thumb in L's direction. "And what's he doing with Bakura's Millenium Ring?"

"It's a long story," Matsuda hedged. "I'm here to keep an eye on him."

"Not the friend you were looking for?" Valentine asked.

Matsuda was thankfully spared from further questioning by the arrival of another contestant. He was dressed like a Rare Hunter, in dark robes with the same eye that was on all of the Millennium Items on the hood. He was tall, and beneath his hood, Matsuda could make out a tattoo that covered half his face in hieroglyphics.

As he stepped forward, an uncomfortable silence fell over Yugi's friends.

"That's Marik Ishtar," Yugi explained, eyeing the man warily.

"The creep!" Joey said.

"Is the leader of the Rare Hunters, the one who made you and Joey duel like that?" Matsuda asked.

Yugi nodded. "He has the Millennium Rod, with the power to control peoples' minds."

Matsuda could see L eyeing the man hungrily. He could only imagine what the spirit of the Ring might do with that kind of power.

Finally, one of Kaiba's subordinates called them all to attention. "Now that all eight finalists are here" - he glanced at Yugi, Joey, Light and his friend, L, Mai Valentine, Marik Ishtar, and finally Seto Kaiba - "we can announce that although your locator cards led you here, this is not the site of the Battle City finals."

There was a broad cry of confusion. However, everyone fell silent as the stadium lights turned toward the sky, illuminating a giant Kaiba Corp blimp, which had been hovering, invisible against the night sky, in the air above the stadium.

It was a terrible idea. They were going to all be stuck on a blimp for however long it took to complete the tournament with several magical objects of varying degrees of maliciousness, not to mention the leader of a criminal organization. It would take forever for the authorities to reach them if something went wrong, which it inevitably would.

"Wait a second!" Matsuda tried to stop it, but the only response he received was a pointed glare from L as the blimp descended into the center of the stadium.

So, Matsuda followed L and the rest of the finalists onto the blimp.