In an office building, Kaiba stares out of a large window, observing the guests in his park with his arms behind his back. Behind him are workers that wear headsets, typing away at their computers. He has been keeping a close eye on everything that has been going on. He cannot afford to have another incident like his banquet. The media tore him apart and questioned what he was doing to keep park goers safe from any harm and whether or not he knew he was behind the attack.

He certainly has his suspicions. Ziegfried's sudden reappearance has definitely got him more cautious. As he gazes out of the window, one of his workers pans over to the Kaiba Dome where a battles ensues between Atem's Dark Magician and a maiden warrior by the name of Valkyrie Brunnhilde. They squint their eyes and zoom into the playing field that is currently turned off. "Strange…if the playing field is turned off then…"

"What is it?" he asks, walking over to the computer.

"There appears to be a battle going on in the Kaiba Dome," she informs him and he looks over her shoulder. "That Dark Magician doesn't appear to be a hologram."

He observes closely and the camera goes back on Atem who orders another attack. "Nothing to see here. My cousin has the ability to summon duel monsters," he says beginning to walk away. But a thought crosses his mind and he stops and forces himself to look at the screen once more.

'Why would he be summoning Dark Magician to begin with?' he asks himself. Atem isn't the type of person to bring a lot of unnecessary attention to himself.

"Hold on. Whose monster is that?" Kaiba asks, pointing at the maiden.

"I'm not sure sir. Should we call in security?"

Kaiba thinks for a moment, observing the spectators cheering Atem on as he faces off against the maiden. They don't seem to realize that they are in any real danger. "No."

His worker looks at him in surprise. "Sir?"

"I'm not going to cause any unnecessary panic. Atem has it under control," he says with a confident smirk. "Continue to monitor all other areas for any suspicious activity."

"Yes sir."

Letting out a loud cry, Valkyrie Brunnhilde attempts to swipe down on Dark Magician, only to be intercepted by Yugi's Celtic Guardian who is also equipped with a sword. Atem looks over to Yugi and nods in appreciation of his brother's quick thinking. The small group of spectators continue to cheer with excitement on seeing two duelists they look up to in action.

"Man this is so awesome!" a teenaged boy exclaims.

"Yeah, there's a reason why they're known as the best there is!" chimes in another fan, raising his fist into the air.

Dark Magician continues to fire at the maiden's shield until it begins to crack. Yugi then orders his guardian to swipe down on the decaying shield and it finally shatters like glass. Just as they are about to land a finishing blow, the maiden begins to glow and in a flash of light, it zooms away, heading down a dark corridor.

Atem and Yugi both exchange looks before they try to follow the beam of light, thinking it will lead them to the source as to who its master is. Their monsters follow close behind as they turn a corner, only to come to a dead end and completely empty handed.

"That's weird. She totally vanished!" Yugi exclaims with his eyes wide.

"Looks like we're not going to find out who was behind that attack any time soon," Atem says. He looks over to Mahad and places a hand over his chest and bows, disappearing back into his card. Yugi's Celtic Guardian does the same.

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"Sooo that wasn't weird at all," Téa says sarcastically as they all walk outside. Following some autograph signings from Atem and Yugi and getting things back to normal in the Kaiba Dome, they decide to head elsewhere in the park.

"Very," Kisara agrees, putting her phone into her purse. She walks alongside Téa and Mana as Yugi and Atem walk further behind them. "Seto is aware and he's monitoring everything closely."

"And you managed not to be reckless at all," Téa compliments Mana who side eyes her with a pout. "Proud of you."

"Proud of you," Mana says in a mocking tone, rolling her eyes. But she has to admit, she is quite surprised at herself for not leaping into battle. It was hard for her not to. She crosses her arms and looks down in deep thought. What exactly would be the difference between her leaping into action and Atem seemingly doing the same thing, she says to herself internally. She still doesn't quite understand. But nevertheless, she is determined to prove that she has some sort self control.

"Who do you think it could be?" Yugi asks Atem who walks with his hands in his pockets.

"I have my suspicions as to who it could be. But I don't like jumping to conclusions," Atem replies.

"I think I know who you're referring to." Téa's stomach grumbles and she quickly turns around to the two men with her hands behind her back and a smile. Yugi blinks and looks at her questionably. Telling by that smile and her posture, he can tell that she is about to ask him to do something.

"Do you guys mind grabbing us all a bite to eat and we'll wait here?" she asks innocently.

"Hm? Why aren't you walking to the concessions area with us?" Yugi asks.

Mana perks up at the sound of hearing the word 'concessions' and she whips around with clenched fists. "Are we getting food?!"

Téa places the back of her arm on her forehead and groans. "It's too hot for us all to walk there," she whines.

"Feel free to use my card for a discount," Kisara says, handing it over to Yugi who drops his head and takes it reluctantly.

"So you're basically forcing us to go," Yugi says and Téa kisses him on the cheek.

"Thanks a bunch! Love you!"

"Uh huh." He and Atem walk away as the three women walk over to a nearby bench under a tree to avoid the sun.

"I have to pee," Mana announces as the other two women sit down.

"T.M.I Mana," Téa tells her with a scrunched up face in disgust.

"How? Everyone does it!"

Kisara chuckles and points to the nearest restroom which is near the White Lightning. "Over there."

Mana groans loudly and wipes the sweat trickling down her temple. "Hopefully I don't die from this heat before I get there." She sluggishly makes her way over to the restrooms and lets out another loud groan when she sees that a line has formed at the women's restroom. "Just great…" As she stands at the end of the line, she looks over to the nearby men's restroom, seeing the guys walk in and out. "How come the guys never have a long line?"

After minutes of waiting, she finally walks out of the stall with a sigh of relief and goes over to wash her hands. She takes a brief moment to dry her hands under the hot dryer before rushing out and flinging her hands of any remaining water, growing impatient. The screams coming for the White Lightning coaster catches her attention and she walks up to the gate, looking up as a train goes down the hill.

"What a ride," she comments. She doesn't remember much about it, but she does remember it being quite intense. She follows the trail of the train as it reaches the bottom. But something catches her eye and she narrows her eyes. There appears to be a person behind the gates, tinkering with something underneath the roller coaster. They have their back turned, making it hard for her to see exactly what they are doing, but they certainly can't be up to any good if they've climbed over the protective gate.

"So you've spotted them too," comes a stern familiar voice, causing Mana to flinch a little and she turns her head to the source of the voice.

She gasps with surprise. "Seto?" Of all people, she definitely isn't expecting to see him there, especially since he's always extremely busy.

"My team alerted me to someone under the tracks," he says, ignoring her surprised reaction. "I came here myself to handle the situation. I refuse to let anyone ruin my reputation."

"So what are you gonna—hey!" She watches as Kaiba calmly walks over to a secluded area and hops over the gate. She slaps her forehead and growls in frustration. "Great…now what do I do? He can handle himself, but this could still be dangerous." She looks around somewhat frantically trying to weigh out her options. Does she go after him or does she go get help? Whoever that individual is could be putting people's lives in danger. There may not be enough time to go get help.

"Ugh…forgive me Atem."

Atem and Yugi return with paper bags full of food in one hand and a drink tray with multiple beverages in the other. They set it down on a nearby ledge and Téa sighs happily, getting a whiff of the food. "Thanks you two. I'm starving."

"Time to recharge," Kisara says, rubbing her hands together. She briefly looks over in the direction of the restrooms and raises an eyebrow. "Hm…the line must have been really long to the ladies room."

"I assume that's where Mana is," Atem says and she nods.

"Hopefully she won't be too much longer," Yugi says. "The food is gonna get cold."

Kaiba and Mana finally reach the intruder by the rollercoaster, stopping just behind him. "You there! Stop what you're doing!" Kaiba demands and the person wearing a black hoodie, blue jeans and sunglasses turns around with a grin.

"Just what are you up to?" Mana asks, folding her arms.

"Look, Mana." Kaiba points over to a metal box that has a blinking light on top and red numbers.

Her eyes widen in horror. "Is that what I think it is?" Telling by the beeping noise that the metal box makes as the number counts down, her suspicions seem to be correct.

"It's the perfect way to commemorate the opening day of Kaiba's amusement park!" the man exclaims with a grin.

"Who do you work for?" Kaiba asks, stepping forward, and Mana makes her wand materialize in her hand as a precaution. "If you think I'm gonna let you cause harm to anyone in this park, you're sadly mistaken. I'll beat you to a pulp before you can make another move."

"Resorting to violence, eh? Come, now. It'll be a real blast!"

"Says the one that's trying to blow up the—wait, was that a bomb pun?" She dims her eyes at him, slouching over slightly and cringing at the cheesy remark.

"I'm gonna start things off with a bang!"

"Cut it out! Punch lines aren't your thing!" Mana yells, clenching her hair.

Seeing that he is distracted, Kaiba sneaks up behind the intruder and lands a hard chop to the back of his neck, knocking him out cold. He then crouches down to the bomb and Mana joins his side.

"I need to disarm this thing immediately," he says. He looks over to a pink rose logo on the box and he narrows his eyes suspiciously. "I knew it…"

"I assume since you're a genius and all that you know how to disarm bombs as well?" She looks down to the clock and grits her teeth. "Only thirty seconds? Are you getting me?!"

He takes a small tool out of his pocket and unscrews the lid to the box. It it filled with multiple colored wires from red, blue and yellow. He calmly looks it over as Mana nibbles on her finger nails in the background, looking on with panic filled eyes. He looks over the different colored wires, his pocket knife hovering near the blue one.

"Careful…" Mana advises, holding her breath as he rubs the sharp edge of the knife on the blue wire. She gasps when it finally snaps, shutting her eyes and preparing for a huge explosion. After a few moments of silence, she hesitantly reopens her eyes to see the timer on the clock has stopped. She holds onto her chest and breathes a sigh of relief. "Phew…thank goodness."

"Not quite," says Kaiba, causing her heart to drop.

"What now?" she asks, but he doesn't need to answer. The light on top of the box continues to blink and there is a beeping noise. Mana grabs her face and her jaw drops. "Aw man! That only stopped the clock, not the actual bomb?!"

Kaiba whips his head around to her, his face showing much urgency which is very unlike him. But given the situation, it's very understandable. "How far up can you fly?"

Mana blinks and looks up to the sky, then back down at him. "Um…pretty far up. Why? Wait, how do you know I can do that?"

He lifts up the bomb and shoves it into her arms and she squeaks. "There's no telling how much more time we got. Go up as far as you can and toss it."

"What?! But I—"

"Quickly, now."

"But, but, but—!" She shuts her eyes and clenches her teeth. She told herself that she would stay out of her trouble. Why does trouble always have to find her no matter how hard she tries? She truly wanted to have a stress free day and give Atem a peace of mind. "Man, I hope he doesn't see me," she mutters before zooming up into the air.

Narrowing her eyes, she flies up as fast as she can. The wind whooshes through her hair and the further up she goes, the colder she becomes. But at least now, she is at a safe distance from everyone at the park. She glances down at the bomb, hearing the beeping noise go faster and faster.

"Crap!" Using all of her arm strength, she spins around a few times before flinging the box into the air, watching it go a decent amount of distance. She sighs in relief and drops her head. "That was close."

Beep. Beep. BOOM.

Mana gasps and she shields herself by crossing her arms over her face as she feels herself being blown back by the huge amount of force and the intense heat.

There is a large ball of fire followed by smoke that can be seen from the ground, causing all of the park goers to look up. Atem and the others look to the sky as well. Cheers fill the air as they mistake it for being fireworks, not knowing the danger they were just in.

"Were there fireworks scheduled?" Téa asks, putting her hand up to her forehead to gaze up at the bright sky.

"I don't think those were fireworks, Téa," Yugi says. "It almost looks like it was…"

"An explosion," Kisara finishes. She squints her eyes, zooming in on a small silhouette that is hurdling toward the ground. "Please don't let that be who I think it is," she mutters.

"It is," Atem says, overhearing her. He reaches into his pocket to grab his faithful card and pulls it out halfway. He observes the distance between Mana and a nearby lake within the park and he sucks his teeth. By the time he summons Dark Magician to catch her, it'll be too late. "Wake up," he says under his breath, sliding the card back into his pocket.

Feeling the wind blow violently at her face, Mana's eyes flutter open. She gasps in realization as her hair blows upwards and her body is in a free fall. She screams loudly, flailing her arms. The pond below her gets closer and closer and she tries to calm her mind to chant a spell. The blast has discombobulated her so much that she can barely focus on stopping herself from falling. She shuts her eyes and whips out her wand, shooting a magical blast toward the water below to briefly break her fall. Then she finally falls into the water with a small splash.

"Oh geez, is she gonna be okay?" Kisara asks running alongside Atem to the pond.

"It looks like she was able to partially stop her fall. So she should be able to heal herself if she is hurt," Atem replies as they near the pond. As they get closer, they notice someone else standing there.

"Seto?" Kisara says, noticing his tall frame.

Mana slowly drags herself out of the water, coughing and gasping for air. She has cuts from the fragments of the bomb that hit her and she hisses when she plops down to the ground. She rolls to her back and lets out a small cry, panting heavily.

"That could have been so much worse," she pants. Hearing footsteps approaching, her eyes look up to see Atem and Kisara standing above her along with Kaiba. She looks over to Atem and cringes. "Perhaps I would've been better off dead."

"Are you alright?" Atem asks, kneeling down and sitting her up in his arms.

"I'm fine."

"What exactly happened? Thought you were only going to the bathroom and next thing I know, you're falling from the sky," Kisara says placing her hands on her hips. Mana's body glows momentarily and she closes her eyes, beginning to heal herself and she sighs when she feels her body going back to one hundred percent.

"We caught some thug trying to blow up the park," Kaiba tells them. "I've already had him apprehended and he will be going in for further questioning. If it weren't for my quick thinking and having Mana confiscate the bomb by throwing it in the air, the damages would have been costly."

Atem turns his sights on Seto upon hearing that and he stands up. "You did what?"

"Don't start with me, Atem," Kaiba threatens, side eyeing him. He can feel the rage building within his cousin. He's well aware of the issues between him and Mana from his conversations with Kisara, though he couldn't care less. The important thing is that he avoided a huge disaster and the people in his park were not harmed. "It was the only way."

"Next time, think of another plan that doesn't involve putting my wife in danger," Atem says, glaring at him.

Kaiba smirks. "It seems like you don't think she's capable of handling such tasks."

"That's not the reason and you know it."

"Do I?"

They begin to have a tense stare off and Kisara chuckles nervously, standing in between them and rubbing the back of her head. "You guys, this really is no time for fighting."

"You're right Kisara. I have more important things to do than to have a face off with you," he agrees, staring directly into Atem's eyes.

Kisara sighs heavily. "Don't say it like that." He can be so cold and harsh sometimes.

"Nice work," he says as he walks past Mana, not giving her any eye contact which enrages Atem even more.

"She risked her life for you and your park and that's all you have to say?" he snaps, beginning to storm up to his cousin, but Mana quickly scrambles to get on her feet and runs in front of him, wrapping her arms around his waist in an attempt to get him to calm down. But that doesn't keep him from going off. "You truly are a selfish, arrogant—"

"Atem, don't do this," Mana intervenes, looking up at him with pleading eyes and giving his body a tight squeeze.

Kisara walks by them, giving Atem a quick apologetic look before joining Kaiba at his side. "That wasn't cool Seto," she says with a frown.

"He'll be alright. I need to get to the bottom of this. And after today, I'm very certain who it is."

Atem pulls away from Mana and turns his back. He is normally able to keep his composure, but Kaiba has a hidden talent of getting under his skin from time to time. This was supposed to be a day to have fun and relaxation, but it turned out to be the opposite in the end.

He feels his old life creeping up on him. Occurrences like this used to happen all of the time. They would be engaged in constant battles, before school, in between classes, late at night and so on. But now, very much into adulthood, he is tired. And though he will never admit it, he is scarred. He gets constant flashbacks of Mana's lifeless body lying on the ground. The woman that he planned to spend the rest of his life with was lying on the cold ground with her life slowly slipping away. He promised himself after that incident that he would take it easier and focus more on their future together. But Mana still actively took risks, even when she didn't need to sometimes.

The drive home is long and silent, even though the park isn't that far away from where they live. Yugi and Téa decided to stay behind for the grand finale of fireworks, thus leaving Atem and Mana alone in the limo. They closely sit side by side with their heads turned in opposite directions, looking out the window. Mana's hands rest on her lap and she bites her lower lip. She feels responsible for this. She tried so hard to make this day go smoothly.

"Are you…mad at me?"

"No. What you did saved countless lives," he answers. "But was that truly the only way?"

"Seto tried to disarm the bomb, but was unsuccessful in doing so. We didn't know how much time we had left."

"What if that bomb had blown up in your hands, Mana?"

"Why is that you can leap into action to save others, but when I do, it's a problem?" Mana asks, growing agitated.

"Because when I take action, I think things through. It's all calculated. When you do, you take unnecessary risks," he replies, turning his head to her, meeting her angry gaze.

"What else was I supposed to do?!"

"It's crazy that I have to remind you of everything you're capable of."

"Huh?"

"You've mastered nearly every trick in the book. You could've formed a magical shield over the bomb to keep the explosion contained. Used a magic portal and sent it elsewhere. Levitated it with your wand instead of flying up there yourself. The list goes on."

"Well I was under a lot of pressure, okay?! It was a dire situation!" Mana yells, folding her arms and looking away.

"Hence my earlier point. You need to stop and think things through Mana. Otherwise you'll continue to put your life at risk and possibly the lives of others."

The limo stops and Mana storms out, walking up the steps to their house and placing her hand on the doorknob to open it. She turns and jiggles it a few times before stomping her feet. She digs into her pockets, only to come up empty handed on the key she is looking for and she groans loudly, clenching her fists. She rests her forehead on the door, cursing under her breath. How could she forget to bring her keys? Hearing a jingle sound of different keys clashing together, she lifts her head and her eyes follow Atem as he calmly walks up to the door and places the key inside. He turns it and swings the door open before stepping to the side and motioning for her to go in first.

He watches her walk inside with a pout and follows her inside. "You're welcome."

"I could've gotten in myself," she shoots back, pushing her bottom lip more forward in a bigger pout with her fists clenched at her sides.

"Hard for me to take you seriously when you pout like that," Atem says, slightly amused by her facial expression.

"Oh hush." She spins around and stomps up the stairs as he shakes his head.

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I'll end this chapter on a somewhat light note. It'll set things up for my next few chapters *grins* Please review!