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

Chapter Twenty-Five

Dria

She spat on the dirt before her, removing the blood from behind her teeth. Her hands were chained above her and her feet were tied below. A thief had kidnapped her from her personal room the night before and had brought her here. He must have been paid handsomely for pulling this off, but there was no indication of the person who had asked him to commit the crime.

"You could easily end your suffering if you would just tell me, princess. How do you stop those Items?"

She chuckled and spat more of the blood into the man's face. It was covered by a black mask with openings for his eyes, nose, and mouth. Unfortunately for him, not many people had red eyes, ones that she could easily pick out in a crowd. It also didn't help that he smelled something awful. The stench alone would give him away. His eyes bubbled with anger as her silence continued. He raised his knife once again. The wounds in her legs and arms marked her recent arrival, since few had dried and clotted.

The tip of the blade touched her temple and stroked the side of her face lightly enough to indicate what could happen, but not forceful enough to leave a mark yet. When the fear he expected to see didn't arise, he roughly grabbed her chin, slightly bruising her jaw.

"Listen here, little wench, either you tell me, or I will make you wish for death."

She smiled in response, "What if I already do?"

She would never tell him anything, not even if it were something simple like what her favorite color was. The blade cut the smooth skin on her face, leaving a bloody mark from temple to jaw. He threw the knife off into the darkness and sulked away. She slowly released the breath she had been holding. She would live to die another day. But, she could only hope that the wounds clotted quickly because she could not heal them without her hands. She slowed her breaths as much as possible, trying to lower her heart rate, therefore lowering blood flow. Though she didn't fear for her own life, she was terrified for those who would be looking for her at that very moment.

A quiet squeak caught her attention. There, hiding in the corner, was little Kuriboh. His giant eyes were glazed over with tears as he took in her current situation. He floated up to her and carefully licked the wound on her face. It burned greatly as his tiny tongue swept up and down the opening, but she held back any sign of pain. He was only trying to help and she appreciated him for that.

A sudden scream and crash sounded in the room next to her. There was another girl in that room. She had been brought here the same day the princess had arrived. Neither of them had a clue as to what was going on, but the second was far more terrified than the princess was. She said that she had to get back to her lover to protect him from her father. She screamed his name as another man dragged her into the next room. The princess felt lucky since her lover's father approved of their relationship.

Two sets of moans were heard before silence fell. Footsteps approached the door joining the rooms.

"Go!" She hissed to Kuriboh. He quickly shook his head and softly rubbed her injured cheek. She gently nudged him away and winked, "Go."

One tear fell down his cheek before he hurried back into the darkness. He would tell her brother. The door flew open and the girl was thrown inside. The princess' insides nearly hurled at what she had become. The poor girl's garments were stripped so badly they hardly covered anything. Her once tan skin was almost pale due to the blood loss she must have experienced. Cuts of all kinds covered her skin, and what did not have a cut most likely had a bruise. It took little thought for the other to understand what had happened in the other room. The knife reappeared under her chin. "Now, unless you tell me, you will end up like her. Do you want that?"

She stared forward stoically, "Nothing you could say or do would ever intimidate me."

He growled in irritation. The knife slid down her neck and slashed at her tunic. Luckily, the fabric the servants had used to make this tunic was stronger against knives than normal linen. She had no idea what it was, but every day from here forward, she would thank the servants for it. The man stumbled back a bit when he realized her clothes would not shred as easily as the other woman's. He snarled in irritation and raised the knife again. He must have thought that the fun was over and she was about to die. Feeling a sudden shift in the air pressure, the girl whistled loudly and piercing roar tore through the air. The man stopped as the red smoke encased her body, ripping the chains from the walls. She gave him one last look, daring him to come after her. He smiled evilly in response.

"For Ra's sake, I don't know where she is!"

She walked into the throne room rubbing her wrists, her monster right behind. The manacles, one now left behind in the sand, had left irksome marks on her wrists.

"Aziza!" The Prince ran towards her, arms wide open, his eyes revealing the depth of his worry.

The monster snarled in anger and opened his second mouth, preparing to defend against anyone. When the girl showed no fear of the newcomer, he closed his mouth and settled high above the columns, flicking his tail back and forth as he watched the man closely, refusing to leave behind his injured host. The man folded her into his chest. He sank them both to the floor as his tears flowed freely, not noticing how her blood was ruining his clothes. She wrapped my arms around his neck, quietly telling him everything was alright and that she was safe again.

One of her servants was bubbling with worry. He was supposed to be watching her the night she vanished, which had apparently been three days ago, yet had fallen asleep halfway through the night. His replacement had been found dead early that morning. She requested that the man receive a proper burial. He died because he had wanted to protect her.

The Prince was adamant about finding her kidnappers and giving them the same treatment she had received. Though it took some time, she managed to calm him down by showing him the wounds were nothing that couldn't be healed instantly, even with the limitations on such magic. With one swipe of her hand over the wound, the skin returned to its normal tan self, with only a faint line left behind. She assured him that the kidnapper and his followers would arrive soon. The man had accepted her challenge, and he would pay dearly for that.

I stopped my story and grinned as Father leaned even closer, "Oh come on! Dria! You can't just leave it there! What happens? What does the princess do to the man? Who was he? And for god's sake, do the princess and prince live happily ever after?" He grabbed my shoulders and lightly shook me. I giggled at his intensity.

Father loved listening to my stories, though he was still completely unaware of how true they were. He loved how I used our little monsters in the story, mostly because if I used something he understood, the story made more sense to him. He always wanted me to make up stories using the 'bold and devilishly handsome Prince' and the 'brilliant and feisty princess.' It made it extremely easy on me to soothe him to sleep during his random insomnia-attack nights. They didn't happen that often anymore, especially not since he had lost the Millennium Eye, but he still liked a good story before bed. I pushed him back into his bed and pulled the covers over him. It may have been morning, but he wouldn't get out of bed for at least another hour, seeing as he hadn't returned home until well after midnight the previous night according to Croquet. He huffed like a petulant child and crossed his arms over his chest. I smiled and kissed his forehead, "When the tournament is over, I will tell you the rest."

He playfully narrowed his eyes as I floated out the door of our Domino home. I was heading to the city square for the start of the tournament. Seto had told me that he would announce his 'special surprise' for all the duelists at 9AM and I needed to be in the center of the city. Something told me I wasn't going to enjoy his surprise because it was one of the few times he had absolutely refused to say a word, no matter how I pressed him.

Duelists from all over had flooded into the city. Seto knew exactly who would come and who wouldn't. Since it was Seto Kaiba's tournament, the second group was miniscule, and I could count the number on one hand. I made my way in between the duelists, stopping occasionally to sign one autograph and pose for one picture. As I had already noticed, most people left me alone, still preferring to watch and point from a distance.

Fireworks were going off as I finally reached the center. Many duelists had already gathered there, a few of which I wasn't happy to see. I sat on the edge of the garden wall near the middle of the square. Some excited duelists came up to shake my hand and tell me how much they loved me and my game. I smiled and waved them on their way, reminding them that Battle City was about to begin and wishing them luck in their endeavors. I had to chuckle as I watched the overexcited children bound away. They wouldn't last five minutes in a tournament like this.

I heard some shouting coming from my left. I laughed when I realized who it was: Yugi and Mai were watching in chagrin as Weevil, Rex, and Mako argued with one another over which of them would win the tournament. As they continued to argue, I resumed my slow sweep of the area. Everything seemed normal until I came upon a dark figure hiding in the shadows. I felt my necklace quiver against my skin and faintly smelled oranges again. That man had been touched by the Rod; I was almost sure of it.

As I shifted my gaze away from him, Yugi had turned my direction and smiled when he saw me sitting nearby. I had left early this morning to tend to Father, seeing as he couldn't make cereal without someone nearby. I had left a note telling Yugi where to find me, promising to find him if he got too busy with a duel. I saw the Pharaoh floating nearby and coyly winked at him. He winked in return and gave me that handsome smile.

I hopped down from my spot and met Yugi halfway. He wrapped his arms around me and sighed in relief. I returned his hug, though slightly confused. When the hug ended, he laughed at my confused face.

"I'm just happy to see you. When I woke up and you were gone, I overreacted and nearly destroyed my room looking for you."

I raised an eyebrow and looked towards Yami. He smiled and shrugged, clearly having enjoyed his partner's moments of panic before discovering my note. I rolled my eyes at them both and placed my hand on his arm. "Where to?"

Seto wouldn't notice if I wasn't in the square. We walked all around the area, ending up at the top of another building to look down at the other duelists below.

"I hope Joey shows up before this starts." Yugi was still concerned about Joey because he had lost his Red Eyes Black Dragon.

I moved my hand to his opposite shoulder and gave him that normally awkward side hug. He smiled lightly at the gesture and entwined his fingers with mine.

"Greetings duelists."

It was Seto. But, where was he? A giant shadow passed over us. Yugi released my hand and ran over to the fence at the edge. I sighed in exasperation at Seto's opening tactics but then had to chuckle a little at the ludicrous situation. Even that giant screen on the blimp failed to measure up to the boy's ego. I walked over to the fence and joined Yugi.

"Battle City's gonna be an all-out war."

I growled at his arrogance as horrific memories of wars I had participated in threatened to surface. He had never experienced true war, and I hoped he would never have to. Though I would never hesitate to fight to protect someone I loved, I had also learned to seek out every possible avenue to avoid war.

Pushing those memories back and focusing on the present, I listened as Seto quickly went over his new rules, making sure the rare card rule was well known by all. He also made sure people knew that while he could be challenged, he wouldn't lose to anyone, not even to Yugi. He finished by talking about the finals and locator cards. I crossed my arms above my head and ignored him for this portion, thinking of other matters entirely. Once again, I wasn't competing. Seto had seriously considered making me duel because he felt I was the only real competition he had. But this time, I declined the offer and chose to be a spectator. I needed to be an ally for Yugi and the Pharaoh, not a rival, in this tournament.

"One last thing, the Battle City champion will not only receive the title of number one duelist in the world, but he or she will also receive the opportunity to spend a day with none other than Alexandria Pegasus."

I froze at this comment. That was the final secret Seto kept from me? Suddenly, I understood why he had refused to tell me about this aspect of his tournament. If he had asked nicely, I might have agreed to his idea, rather than hiding it from me and surprising even me with the statement. Now, I wanted nothing more than to find him and strangle him for it.

"You've got to be kidding me," My body was on the verge of shaking in pure anger.

"Let the tournament begin!"

I stomped down the stairs, madder than a bull with a bee sting. Yugi followed me silently lest he say anything to add fuel to the fire. Only when we reached the bottom did I say anything more.

"I am not a prize to be won. Kaiba had no right to do that. I won't forgive him so easily for this." After so many years of sometimes being used by others for their own gain, I felt right in my anger towards Seto. Yugi gave me a small smile and grabbed my hand, pulling me alongside him.

"You know it will only make the duels more competitive. So many people want to say they know you and have spent time with you."

I humorlessly chuckled, "Yes, I'm quite the catch."

"Yami and I think so."

His simple statement shocked me in silence. He smiled again, wider this time, and continued to lead me back to the town square. He must have seen Joey while I was distracted. When we reached the edge, I quietly gasped. It was the same dark figure, the one I had detected earlier, now standing across from Joey. Yugi released my hand and ran towards his friend.

"Joey! What are you yelling about?"

This was the man whose voice I had heard the other night in my vision. Yugi gasped as well when he caught sight of the man. The cape was the same one Bandit Keith had been wearing in the warehouse a few weeks ago. Had it really been a few weeks? I shook my head, trying to remember what day it was. Time moved along on regardless of what happened in life.

"It would be a pleasure to hunt the Duelist Kingdom Champion."

"Fine. I accept your challenge."

The Pharaoh took over, beginning the duel by making a bet. He would never admit it, but he had always tended to have a gambling problem, even now. I smiled when I remembered how he had to work as my personal servant once after he lost a bet to me.

"If you lose, you must return Joey's Red Eyes Black Dragon. And if you win this duel-"

"Your little girlfriend over there has to come with me."

I narrowed my eyes, glaring at him with a look that could kill. The man wavered a little bit, averting his eyes away from me. I shifted my eyes over to the Pharaoh, who was staring at me with a calculating look on his face. My eyes widened in disbelief. Was he really about to? He then raised his hands in surrender.

"That is her decision to make. She is not something I will ever gamble away."

The man grunted in irritation, but rose and activated his Duel Disk anyway. I gently touched Pharaoh's shoulder, in thanks and for good luck, before bounding away to join Joey on the sidelines. He smiled and hugged me in greeting, before returning his full attention to the duel. I moved to stand beside him and he rested his arm around my shoulders. If it gave him comfort to know that someone was there, I would do my best to help. It also kept the other members of the crowd off my back about autographs, photos, and interview opportunities. As the duel began, Joey stepped forward for a moment to try and warn the Pharaoh of something.

"Silence Wheeler! Or say goodbye to your Red Eyes."

Pharaoh summoned Beta to start off. The silly creature immediately caught sight of me and waved his arms. I giggled and waved back. He then turned and puffed out his chest, making himself seen scarier. He was adorable, though I doubted he would have appreciated that comment.

All the Rare Hunter wanted to do was draw cards and play defense. How on earth did he plan to win if he never attacked? I thought back to the small vision I had seen of Joey's duel with him. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but he must have done something unusual to win. Joey tended to be extremely aggressive, meaning that this man must have drawn something that Joey, who was usually a master of wiggling out of tough fights, had been unable to defeat.

Chimera came next on Yugi's side. He nodded his head towards me and roared in excitement.

"It's almost like each monsters knows you personally, Dria."

There was a question in Joey's statement. Instead of answering truthfully, I just shrugged, gave him a blinding smile, and made him pay attention to the duel. The Rare Hunter kept things interesting; he kept drawing cards and playing defense. What could he possibly be planning? He was waiting for something powerful to come up in his deck, that much had to be certain. My eyes widened. There was only one monster I could think of that required that much time, yet so little preparation: Exodia. It also explained why Joey had been unable to win.

"The hunter will strike his prey when the time is right."

I was right. He was trying to collect the five pieces of Exodia, using his other monsters as shields until he had all the cards. Yugi and the Pharaoh needed figure that out soon. A couple more turns passed by with nothing extremely exciting happening. Joey started shaking more and more as the duel continued. He wouldn't be able to hold back the truth much longer. I tried to hold him back by grabbing his arm, but he couldn't stand waiting any longer.

He finally jumped forward and shouted, "I can't stand by and watch this."

The Pharaoh silenced him immediately. He was fighting for Joey not because he needed to win some locator card, but because his friend was in need. If Joey revealed the truth, the reason for the duel would be destroyed. Besides, Yugi and Joey would likely need that card in the duels to come. Joey must have said something that opened Yugi's eyes to the truth.

"You're planning to summon Exodia, the Forbidden One!"

I breathed a sigh of relief. Now he knew, but now he had to stop the unstoppable creature. I knew of only two people who ever defeated Exodia in the 10,000 years I had lived. I wasn't one of them, and neither was the Pharaoh. This would be a tough challenge, but I looked forward to seeing how he would rise to the occasion. The Pharaoh looked towards me, a tiny amount of doubt present in his eyes. I smiled and gave him the thumbs up. He could do it; he just needed to believe he could.

"I'm afraid it's too little too late."

That must have meant he already had three, possibly four of the cards necessary. He couldn't have had five because the duel would have been over by now. Regardless, Pharaoh didn't have much time left. Hopefully, he had something up his sleeve because otherwise, this duel would be over in possibly the next turn. The Rare Hunter went to draw.

"Not so fast!"

Time Seal would give Yugi and Pharaoh a little extra time to weave their way out of this. It wouldn't last more than one turn, but I knew they could come up with something even in that brief amount of time.

Pharaoh drew his next card. I cheered when I saw the card, Lightforce Sword, but I couldn't help how tense I was. This was a gamble. He couldn't control what the sword hit, and if it wasn't the right card, it was over. I covered my eyes when Yugi activated the sword. Naturally, I peeked through my fingers.

"No! You pierced Exodia's right arm!"

Not only had Pharaoh done that, but he had also wiped out the Rare Hunter's last defense. Pharaoh had figured out Exodia's weakness. As a whole, Exodia was unbeatable; that was just how the game worked. But individually, the pieces couldn't stand up against much. The man started laughing like a maniac as he drew again.

Joey turned towards me, "That guy is as nutty as a fruitcake."

I sent Joey an incredulous look; was he really thinking of food at a time like this? When I looked back, Pharaoh had been stopped by the Swords of Revealing Light. Though I despised how he had stopped Pharaoh's attacks with the swords, I knew that monsters were not the only way to destroy an opponent. I was a bit biased, since I was a magician myself, but I favored magic cards.

Back to the duel, nothing happened in the next couples of turns. All both duelists did was draw cards mostly, along with playing the occasional monster and face down card. For the most part, the two of them just let their mouths run off at each other. The Rare Hunter was a little flustered by the Pharaoh's smirk, and he grew even more anxious when he looked closely at the field in front of him.

The Hunter was wide open for a direct attack. The Pharaoh had a plan, and by the look in his eyes, the Hunter was walking right into his trap. After some very smart words on the Pharaoh's side, the Rare Hunter second guessed himself. He summoned one of the pieces of Exodia.

"Now it's time to destroy Exodia. Chain destruction!"

My whole body relaxed. The Rare Hunter's Exodia head, including the extras, had been destroyed, which stopped all chances of summoning the all-powerful monster. After removing the irritation known as the Swords, Pharaoh finished off his opponent with a final direct attack. I started off the cheers by shouting in excitement. Joey and I joined him to grab Joey's Red Eyes from the Hunter. As we got closer, the citrus scent got stronger. The Rod's power was about to surface, I could feel it. I moved closer to the man as Pharaoh destroyed his cards, which had all been marked with some kind of invisible ink. Though it hurt to see my cards destroyed, I was a little occupied to care too much.

"Forgive me, Master! Please don't be angry!"

The scent overpowered me and I had to take a few steps back. The Pharaoh reached for my hand and pulled me into his protective arms. The three of us stared at the man in alarm and confusion. The man screamed in agony as the Rod's power infiltrated his mind. The Eye of Horus appeared on his forehead. The man was lost to the Shadows now, and a new master was in control of his body.

"We meet again, Pharaoh."

I turned my head away and hid my face behind my hair. If my hunch was correct and this was indeed Ishizu's brother, then he would recognize me immediately. If he did, there's no telling what he might try to do.

"Finally after all this time, I will destroy you!"

I narrowed my eyes but resisted the urge to step in between the two as the conversation escalated. The voice went on to explain how his Millennium Rod controlled all his minions, this man in particular.

"Remember my name: Marik."

I began having trouble restraining myself when he swore to take the Pharaoh's power because he said he deserved it. My body began to tremble as Marik talked about the Egyptian gods and their current situation. It was about so much more than the Items. If he succeeded, the world would be cast into darkness and chaos. Visions of the burning city I had once held dear flashed across my eyes. I would not allow the same fate to befall this place as well.

"The end is near, Pharaoh."

My fist went flying before my mind told it to, but I would not stand for any more threats against the Pharaoh. The body flew backwards, shouting in surprise. I stood in front of the Pharaoh, my fist clenched at my side. The man got up and rubbed his mouth, cleaning up the blood that had dribbled from his now split lip. He glared at me at first, probably expecting to see another male. His eyes widened and a creepy grin covered his face when he saw who it was.

"Why, if it isn't the Lady herself? I've read all about you."

He grabbed my hand and moved to kiss the back. I slapped him away and stepped back between my friends.

He laughed evilly, "It's too bad that I can't claim you as the prize after I defeat the Pharaoh. You would be a much more valuable addition than the gods or his power."

I narrowed my eyes at his words, yet allowed a confident smile to cover my face, "Even if that were true, there is nothing you could say or do to make me help you."

He laughed evilly, "Both of your days are numbered because your reign is coming to an end!"

I threw my right hand forward, pushing Marik out of the poor man's mind. I was a little sad that the Rare Hunter was basically lost forever, but at the same time, I felt he deserved it. As the two boys discussed something about friendship, I looked up to the sky. Seto had been right; Battle City would be an all-out war. The past would fight against the present. I felt bad for the poor souls who would get involved in the weeks to come, but it was the way it had to be. I would do as much as I could to keep the injuries and casualties to a minimum.

Joey requested that Yugi keep Red Eyes to help him when he needed it. I held back my laughter. It seemed like Joey was the one predicting the future and I was the cheerleader on the sidelines.

The two parted ways and I waved farewell to Joey as I followed Yugi. We'd catch up with him later. Hopefully, he didn't get himself into too much trouble again. The Pharaoh offered me his arm once more and we headed off into the city. The silence between us was comfortable, as it always had been. Neither of us felt the need to fill the silence with words; simple gestures were enough. I'd stroke his upper arm with my thumb, and he'd return it by kissing my hand or forehead.

"What was Marik talking about when he addressed you?"

I hesitated when I heard these words. My legs came to a stop, and I sat on the nearest bench. Was I ready to tell him? Did I really want him to know the truth about our relationship yet? Or, more importantly, was it the right time to tell him? I sighed and rested my head in my hand, indecision eating away at me. His gentle hands lifted my face back up and I found myself swimming in his beautiful eyes.

"If it is something that I have to discover, I don't want you to tell me. Even if it's not, you don't have to tell me now. Tell me when you're most comfortable."

I jumped up and wrapped my arms and legs around him. He lightly chuckled and held me tight. I kissed his lips softly after coming to a decision.

"Make it to the finals, and I will tell you."

He nodded and quickly returned my kiss. He then set me down and interlaced our fingers. He kissed mine one last time before we headed down the street towards his next duel.