Thank you for these characters and their stories, Kazuki Takahashi. Requiescat in pace.

Chapter Two

Dria

"Dria? Are you ready, sweetheart?" I shook my head, clearing off the water I had splashed onto my face. Today, we were preparing to kick off our Duelist Kingdom Tournament pre-tournament plans. I had always wanted to throw a tournament, or at least help run one, and Pegasus finally gave me the opportunity. I couldn't wait to watch some of the best duelists in the world compete. I was leaving for Domino City today to spend a few days of vacation there before returning to oversee my own tournament. Father had wanted me to present myself as tournament head, but I personally loved seeing the true side of others when they didn't know who I was. So, I would be posing as a duelist. Whether or not I'd duel was another question.

Being famous across the country really didn't help that personal passion at all. I brushed out my long, now blonde hair. Pegasus thought I was a nut for wanting to change my hair color because he loved my dark brown, nearly black hair, but he didn't protest too much. I slipped on my outfit and opened the door.

"Now I'm ready, Papa." Pegasus gathered me in his arms and chuckled. "You could have taken longer, dear." I stuck my tongue out at him, causing him to laugh harder. "You know, for someone with your maturity, you'd think sticking out your tongue would have already been forgotten." I smiled and lightly swatted at his arm. He continued to laugh as he shoved me towards the door.

"You're going to miss your flight. Now get going!" He joked. I ran out the door, "It's a private jet! It won't leave without me!" I shouted. I jogged over to the awaiting limo and slid into the seat. I waved back towards Papa standing on the balcony outside my room. As the limo drove towards the airport and my home faded from view, I couldn't help but feel like something was about to go wrong.

Hours later, I arrived at Domino Airport, ready to take a short vacation. I might have only been 16, but Papa made sure I had the best tutors and teachers in the world (plus, having 10,000 years of knowledge behind me didn't hurt either). So, I've already graduated college with a PHD in something. I hadn't used it yet, so the diploma was just sitting somewhere in my room. I mostly helped Papa with Industrial Illusions and, on some occasions, Seto with Kaiba Corp.

I aimlessly wandered around the city, lightly window shopping, looking for something to do. I saw some cute shops along the road, selling nearly anything and everything you could think of. As I wandered deeper into the city, I noticed that the stores had begun to shift from clothing and jewelry stores to game shops. Now I knew I was in heaven! I had to smile a bit when I saw a little shop, KAME game shop, with a picture of myself alongside the Dark Magician and Blue Eyes. I had to go inside and see what it was like.

The bell lightly rang when I opened the door. I smiled as I saw some of my Duel Monsters cards framed and hung along the walls, each one properly cared for and stored correctly. I hadn't seen anyone care for the cards like this in a long time. I raised my hand to carefully touch one of the cards currently preserved behind a frame on the wall.

"Oh hello there! Is there anything I can help you with, ma'am?"

I quickly lowered my hand and turned towards the voice. Before me stood an old man, dressed in overalls and a bandana. I gave him my best smile.

"I haven't seen anyone care for these cards the way you have in such a long time. It's comforting to know that there are still people who understand," I paused for a moment, then chuckled, "I apologize for rambling. I think I'm alright for the moment, thank you."

He smiled and nodded, turning back to whatever it was he was doing. I looked back to the framed cards a little more, gently caressing each one. The owner of these cards clearly understood their value beyond simply being powerful pieces in a game. Suddenly, I heard a crash, and I looked around the corner.

The old man had dropped a box onto his foot and had crashed to the floor in surprise. "Sir! Are you alright?" I gently helped the man back to his feet. He shook his head a little then rubbed his lower back. "My back's just not what it used to be." I smiled and lifted the box, having already set down the bags I was carrying.

"Where was this going?"

I spent the next couple of hours helping the man, who said his name was Solomon Mutou, but implored me to call him Grandpa, organize his shop. The clock had just struck 4pm when I heard the bells on the front door signaling an arrival.

"Grandpa! I'm home!"

"Ah, you've brought some company I see." I smiled as I finished dusting the last shelf. So, Grandpa did have a family. This thought flooded me with relief. I had enjoyed his company so much. He reminded me of…I shook my head; No, don't think of that.

I tried to block those times out from my thoughts as often as possible. It made every day hurt just a little less. I had sworn to myself that I would wait for the Pharaoh to return, forever if necessary, and I still would now. Even so, I had to block out as many memories as I could before any depressing emotions could take hold.

"Rare card? How can I refuse?"

I set the cleaning supplies down and stepped out from behind the shelf. Grandpa was holding a Blue Eyes White Dragon. I felt my lips slide into a grin. It had been a long time since I had seen one of my Blue Eyes out in public. I knew Seto had 3 of the 4, but when we dueled, I made sure he never had the opportunity to summon all 3. The most he had ever gotten off me was 2.

It annoyed and angered him to no end. He constantly claimed those duels were off record in an attempt to preserve his 'world champion' status. I let him have his way, mostly since titles meant nothing to me.

"It's a beautiful card, sir. I'm glad it ended up in such capable hands." I picked up the few bags I had with me, most of which were things I had recently bought. I looked up and saw 4 teenagers standing in front of the counter. Though set into a much smaller body, I saw familiar hair color and style, and purple orbs, and my heart nearly screamed out in joy.

It must have been his physical reincarnation. A huge smile spread out over my face. I was one step closer to finding him. Then, I saw his necklace. The Millennium Puzzle had been solved. His spirit was free once more. The day had finally come!

I squealed in joy, dropping the bags once more, and snatched the boy up in a hug, kissing his cheek in the process. His face turned bright red immediately, but I was too ecstatic to care. Only after spinning him around for a couple of moments did I really consider how incredibly strange the situation had become.

I quickly set him down and backed away. "I apologize for that, my friend. I've heard stories about your puzzle and I was so excited to see that someone took the time to solve it. My name is Alexandria. But everyone calls me Dria." I stuck out my hand to shake his, hoping he would forget the earlier episode.

A blonde haired boy stepped in front, a coy grin covering his face. "The name's Joey Wheeler and it's a pleasure to meet you." He took my hand and kissed the back. I began to laugh. "The pleasure's all mine, Joey Wheeler."

The rest of the group took their turn introducing themselves. There was Tea, Tristian, and Yugi. Yugi laughed off our earlier encounter, claiming it just took him by surprise to see such a young and pretty girl alone in his grandpa's shop. The others put on a confused look at his comment and its possible meaning, but I merely chuckled, not at all offended.

"Well, he ran into some trouble and I happened to be in the right place at the right time."

After introductions, we all went back to Blue Eyes. Grandpa pulled it out of the silk cloth he had wrapped it in. Tristian took it from him, obviously confused in regards to the card's worth. Grandpa straightened out that issue faster than I'd ever seen anyone, even Papa.

Suddenly, the bell on the door rang again. It was Seto. But what was he doing here?

"I came to see the card."

I should have known. Thankfully, Grandpa put him in his place. Seto, of course, pulled out nearly every trick in the book. He was willing to give up some extremely good cards and or pay nearly any price to collect the final Blue Eyes card. Even though I had only known him for a few hours, I knew Grandpa wouldn't give that card up for anything. Sadly, Seto let his temper get the best of him once again.

"Fine, I've heard enough, senile old fool." He turned around and met my gaze. A slight hint of recognition flashed through his eyes, but instead of saying anything, he quickly strode out of the room. But, not before I caught his eyes one last time. Heart of the cards? Ridiculous, they said, that card will be mine.

I rolled my eyes; power hungry idiot. I made a mental note to announce the outcome of our next duel to every major news publisher.

The group and I spent the rest of the night getting to know one another. I learned that Joey had an innate fear of monkeys, Tea was all about the power of friendship, Grandpa had nearly been killed in his first adventure as an archaeologist, and Tristian just liked to annoy Joey.

"So Ale-" I interrupted Yugi. "Please it's Dria."

He nodded, blushing a bit. "Dria. Where did that come from? It's an unusual nickname."

I thought about it, my mind traveling back over 10,000 years to my first memory. It was probably also wise to leave out the 'adopted daughter of Maximillian Pegasus' portion of my story, at least for now.

"I was an only child and my mother had died during my birth. I was everything to my father. He shortened the name when he wrote me a lullaby."

I could see my father as I spoke these words, his gentle and calm voice lulling me off to another word and his calloused yet soft hands rocking me back and forth. I hummed a few bars for the others.

"The nickname Dria stuck after that. It was easier for me to say than Alexandria, plus I responded to it more often. So now it's what everyone calls me."

The clock rang out once more, signaling the night had reached 10:00pm. The others had left for home and I was on my way to find somewhere to stay. I didn't feel like going to the house Papa owned, mostly because I was going to be spending a lot of time in the houses and rooms he owned in the coming future.

"So Dria, where are you staying for the night?" I had told Yugi I had just arrived in town and was only staying for a few days. I laughed, "I didn't plan that far in advance when I planned this little vacation. I'll probably go find a hotel or something to stay in."

Yugi's smile grew. "We have an extra room you can use then! That is, if you want." I smiled at his excitement as I thought about his offer. It couldn't hurt. In fact, it would make it easier. I could then hang around the shop for as long as I wanted, at least until I had to leave. I agreed, thanking him profusely.

Yugi smiled happily in response. "I know it may be a little sudden. I mean, we did just meet you and all, but it feels right." After that, the three of us retreated to our respective rooms for the night. I pulled out my phone and sent Papa a message, letting him know I was safe and I had made some friends. He always worried that I spent too much time with my Duel Monsters and feared I would never be able to make friends. I opened the window and sat on the ledge. The moon was full and the clouds had cleared away.

"Dria?" I heard a voice outside my door. I quickly slid into bed and faked sleep. The door opened seconds after my eyes shut and I struggled to keep my body calm. I heard the person's footsteps as he neared my bed.

"You seem so familiar. I feel like I've met you before." That voice! It was my Pharaoh's voice! I went to open my eyes when a memory flashed across my vision.

Pharaoh and I had just defeated Zorc and sealed him inside the Millennium Ring. Unfortunately, the magic Pharaoh used to seal Zorc away was also pulling his own spirit into the Puzzle, leaving his body behind as an empty shell. I clutched at his arms, desperately trying to keep him with me.

"Don't weep, my love. It's not forever. I promise I will return and when I do, I will find you. My mind will falsely lead me to believe I don't know you, but my heart will always remember. I love you my Queen. I love you."

I began to cry as the vision faded. I felt his hand stroke my cheek, wiping away the tears that had escaped. I was extremely tempted to open my eyes and jump into his arms, like I had so long ago. But I kept still and my eyes remained shut. His hand stayed on my cheek for a few moments, then he stepped back and quietly left my room. I turned over and opened my eyes once more. As I stared at the spot he had been standing, I restrained from bursting into sobs. I turned over once more and quickly fell asleep.

I awoke early the next morning, expecting to be able to sneak out after leaving behind a note and some money as my thanks. That plan, of course, was immediately stopped when I saw Yugi downstairs, already dressed for school. He smiled when he saw me.

"Morning, Dria. Ready for school?" I stared at him for a moment. Go back to high school? Well, it would give me something to do. It was probably a bad idea, but most of my ideas were.

The principal believed me when I told him I was a family friend of Yugi's who was just visiting for a few days while my school back in America was being rebuilt. It was about the worst lie I could have told him, but he believed me immediately. He allowed me to tag along with Yugi and sit in on the classes, as long as I did whatever the other students had to do (i.e. take quizzes and tests). I laughed when Joey challenged Tea to a duel during a break period. I laughed harder when she beat him 5 times in a row. I noticed that Joey had no magic and trap cards; hopefully someone would tell him he needed to balance his deck if he ever wanted to improve.

After lunch, I told Yugi I'd meet him back at the game shop later. I decided to go by Seto's and visit. When I finally reached his house, no one was there. I shrugged and asked his butler to tell him Dria had come by and asked him to call. As I began the walk back to the game shop, I saw one of his limos go by, coming from the direction the game shop was in.

Seto, you fool.

The car flew past me and skidded to a screeching halt. After that, all I knew was darkness.

I awoke what felt like hours later. I looked around to try and figure out where I was. There was a huge dueling arena in front of me. I went to get up when I noticed I was tied down to a chair. I took a deep breath and calmed myself down before I could panic too much. Something was wrong with Seto. He'd never acted this way before. Maybe it was because I had practically grown up with him and he acted differently around people he didn't know or trust as well. I heard voices outside the arena.

"We had a duel, each of us putting up our most valuable card as the prize." Seto, what have you done? I heard some kind of ripping sound and my heart lurched. Please let it not be what I thought. "My Blue Eyes White Dragon, my treasure." Tears built up in my eyes. How could Seto be so cruel? I could remember a time when he respected the cards almost as much as I did. Then, he gained his 'world champion' title, and everything changed.

The door opened and Seto walked back inside, with Yugi right behind him. "Alexandria! Kaiba, what have you done?" Seto's guards blocked Yugi's path to me. He struggled against their hands, trying to get to me. Wanting to encourage him, I smiled and winked.

"Kick his butt, Yugi."

The duel between these two was just as I thought. Pharaoh dueled as creatively and cunningly as I remembered. I might not have been a manipulator of fate anymore (I had long since locked away most of my ability to see and change what the future would be), but their duel carried out just as I thought. Seto had summoned all his Blue Eyes and had the Pharaoh against the wall. Come on, Pharaoh, you can do it.

"It does contain the unstoppable Exodia."

I cheered and yelled in excitement. Joey was standing down in front of me and was shocked when he saw me; he must not have noticed me earlier since he arrived after Yugi.

"Hang on Dria! I'll get you out."

He climbed up the wall and began climbing over the chairs. I looked back up at the field and saw the Eye of Horus on Pharaoh's forehead. I felt the shock from his magical attack on Seto's mind, removing the evil that had taken root, and slumped over from the force. I exhaled and shook my head as Joey untied the ropes around my body. He lifted me into his arms and carried me out of the arena, with Pharaoh following behind.

The last thing I saw was the two halves of the fourth and final Blue Eyes, slowly moving across the floor from the breeze of the air conditioner.