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

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Pyrrhus whined angrily when I came running in. The Prince was probably coming after me with the priests right behind him, trying to understand what was happening. I broke down the wooden fence containing him. He jumped over what was left and stomped on the ground. The stables were just outside the palace walls. The desert was waiting for me, and my companion was eager to go.

I heard my name being called and people begging me to come back. I started running towards the open desert, Pyrrhus right behind me. He soon caught up to me and threw his head towards his back. In mid stride, I jumped onto his back and rode him out into the desert, taking myself away from the people I loved before I could cause more harm to anyone. I buried my face into Pyrrhus' flaming mane and cried as my home disappeared behind me.

I was so fortunate that Pyrrhus was built for running through the hot sands. No matter how hot it was, Pyrrhus kept going. His heart was bigger than any normal horse, both physically and metaphorically, even though he was now nearly ten years old. I tried to lead him towards another town, but he ignored my wishes. My red dragon occasionally provided us with some shade, but he mostly stayed high above us, ready to alert us of danger.

Pyrrhus ran deep into the desert. He slowed down as night fell, falling into a gentle rhythm. I eventually leaned down and rested my head against his neck. I heard his huge heart beating against my ear, and it reminded me of the Prince's heart, which caused tears to gather in my eyes as I was reminded of what I had given up. Even so, the familiar beat lulled me to sleep. I awoke when I felt Pyrrhus stop at some point. Something must have pulled me off his back because I felt the sand beneath me. I remember shivering as soon as the warm hands left me because the desert was freezing at nights. A soft nose pushed on my shoulder, placing me against a warm body. Something else, something warm and scaly, wrapped around the rest of me, covering me like a warm blanket.

I woke up late the next morning. My head was against Pyrrhus' side, his body slightly curled around me. My brother had curled himself around the both of us, protecting us from the wind, sand, and steadily rising Ra. I sat up and stretched my arms out. Slifer uncurled himself and flew off. Pyrrhus huffed in what seemed like annoyance before rising as well. He had taken me to an isolated oasis just far enough from the palace. He neighed a couple of times and started walking towards the trees. I didn't want to follow him at first, but he had gotten me this far safely, and he was still my closest friend. He had never failed me in the ten years I had been with him, and I didn't expect him to fail me now.

I followed him through the tiny forest, gently pushing away the low hanging leaves and branches. Before me lay a clear, cool, fresh pool of water. I ran forward and cupped the water in my hands, drinking deeply. The cool water rushed down my throat, clearing away the dryness and the sand that had begun to gather. I quickly stripped my coverings and jumped into the pool. The water soothed my aching body, especially after a long, hard ride. I swam around the pool, cleaning off the sand and sweat that had collected. Pyrrhus stood nearby, occasionally drinking from the spring as he listened for any approaching parties.

Suddenly, a shout of excitement was heard. Pyrrhus' ears lay flat against his head and he bared his teeth. I swam back to his position and waited for the growing voices. I quickly changed my eyes to brown and made my skin darker to hide my identity in case it was a search group from the palace. I could only pray the Prince wasn't within that group because he would recognize me instantly, regardless of the disguise.

Fifteen men stepped into the tiny area, and I breathed a sigh of relief; it wasn't a group from the Pharaoh. These were either traveling merchants or nomadic hunters. Their eyes widened when they saw me, as did their unnerving smiles, all except for one. He simply stared at me in silence. I slightly bowed my head at him since he seemed to be the leader, and he respectfully nodded in return. One of his henchmen must have taken a step too close because Pyrrhus reared and nearly struck the man. Another brandished his sword in retaliation.

"Idiots! Stop at once!"

The silent man spoke up and his followers immediately listened. When he looked at me again, I could see a hint of reverence in his eyes. He bowed to me again.

"Surely one so beautiful is a goddess of our lands."

I scoffed, "A goddess? Hardly. I am merely a nomad."

He shrugged, not believing me, "If you can help me, you will be a goddess."

I raised my eyebrow. What kind of help was he asking for?

"I am looking for my daughter, a traveling dancer named Layla."

I opened my eyes to a finger nudging my shoulder. I smiled at Yugi, who was sitting on the bench with me, poking my shoulder. He smiled back and outstretched his hand. The two of them had promised to show me around more of the city unless Marik's "quiet one" appeared. They had assured me that they didn't want to duel today, which I found incredibly hard to believe. I waited for him on the bench outside the Gameshop. He spent at least 15 minutes trying to decide what to wear, and another 10 changing and mixing outfits. I had nearly fallen asleep, but my necklace decided to throw me back into another memory, as it typically did.

I let my gaze wander over his outfit. He was wearing the same clothes he had worn to the museum: the black tank top, the blue belts, the black boots, and my favorite, leather pants. I smiled widely at his outfit. How lucky could one girl get? Yugi blushed quite a bit, but the Pharaoh simply chuckled. The two must have switched because the next thing I knew, I was nearly horizontal with a pair of strong arms around me. I felt his lips at my ear, whispering flirtatiously, "Does my appearance please you?"

I took a deep breath to keep from swooning, and it almost didn't work. He laughed knowingly as he lifted me back up. Annoyed, I tapped him on the forehead and forced the two to switch again. Yugi shook his head in confusion, "How did you do -?"

I grabbed his hand and pulled him behind me, cutting off his question. I should have smacked myself on the head for being so reckless. He still had no idea about my secrets, yet here I was doing thoughtless things like that. I also had to be careful because too much magic would lead Marik right to me, assuming he knew the secret of the Items. However, he seemed to use his Item's magic carelessly, so it was possible that he didn't know. The more an Item was used, the stronger the scent grew until even normal mortals could tell.

Thankfully, Yugi seemed to have forgotten about my stupidity and took the lead when I slowed down. He showed me where the best restaurants were, where the best shopping was, but I honestly couldn't tell you where it was on my own. I mostly watched him and how his eyes glittered like jewels when he told old stories about the trouble Joey had gotten into at a certain store, or the time when Grandpa had caused a ruckus trying to get a senior discount. We turned the corner and headed down another road. Yugi had stopped talking and was just holding my hand tightly. I slowly looked around, trying to find something to do. Excitement filled me when I saw an ice-skating rink. I quickly pulled him in the correct direction.

"Dria, where are we going?"

They had switched again. I could pick out this voice in a crowd of screaming people. I tilted my head back and winked at him. "Ice skating." I heard him gulp a little behind me. This would be amusing.

When we entered the rink, the ice was empty and skaters were just sitting around. I turned toward the man behind the counter by the door, "Why is no one skating?" The Zamboni machine wasn't out, and I didn't think skaters took breaks like swimmers did.

"No one comes here to skate anymore. They're just not interested in the sport anymore. I'm not sure how much longer this rink will survive because the owner doesn't charge entrance fees. The only fees are for the skates, which is where my salary comes from," the man stated sadly.

I felt a tiny frown on my lips. That was the poorest business strategy I'd heard in a while. Perhaps I'd have a talk with Father about becoming the new owner of a skating rink in Domino. This man seemed to enjoy his job, but no one could be expected to continue in this situation. Setting that plan aside in my head, I rented two pairs of skates for us before heading down to the ice. Yami hesitated slightly as we sat on the benches to change shoes.

"Dria, I can't do this. I've never been on ice," I scoffed.

"Since when are you uncertain?" I smiled mischievously.

He hated that, as I knew he would. He narrowed his eyes slightly at me before putting on the skates. I suspected Yugi coached him through some of it because he paused and stared at the shadowy figure floating next to him before nodding his head and following what I assumed were Yugi's instructions. I held out my hand to Yami once he was done, and surprisingly he took it without a comment. We walked out onto the ice, where I dropped his hand as I began skating backwards. His eyes widened slightly when he lost his support, and he grabbed the wall to steady himself. I giggled before taking off. I skated around him a few times, throwing in an occasional jump. I couldn't do extremely complicated tricks, but enough to get some attention.

Soon, other people started renting skates and coming out onto the ice. I stopped and looked for Yami, only to find him still clinging to the wall, looking at the ground in uncertainty. I skated over to him and took his hands. He wobbled a little, grabbing onto me to keep himself upright. I laughed, placing his hands on my waist and my hands on his shoulders. I slowly began moving backwards, pulling him with me along the ice. He swayed a little in the beginning from his lack of balance, but he quickly got the hang of it. Soon, he was leading me around the rink, laughing like a child again. I smiled at his delighted face; he had always been capable of learning new skills at an incredible pace.

Something suddenly tripped me, causing me to fall backwards. Instead of paying attention to the fact I was falling, I turned my head towards the cause of my fall. A man in a purple robe was standing there, smiling wickedly. My back hit the ice, and Yami fell on top of me, surprised at my fall. He seemed to have noticed the man as well because he quickly flipped us and, using his strong legs, pushed us back further.

The man scowled when he realized we were out of his reach, and vanished before we could stop him. Yami declared our skating adventure over and lead me off the rink. I heard some people sigh in sadness at our departure, but no one else came off the rink. I pulled off the skates and ran my fingers through my hair. I stood, still extremely irritated, and faced Yami. His shoulders were bright red and scraped in some places, but he hadn't noticed yet. I placed my hands on his shoulders, trying to heal them without anyone, including Yami, noticing. He grabbed my forearms and wrapped them around his neck, kissing me softly. He looked at his arm, slightly narrowing his eyes. I stayed still and tried to keep a calm expression. He glanced up at me for a moment, and then took my hand to lead the way out.

Since that idea had been ruined by some yahoo in a cape, we decided to have lunch at the park. I found a nice spot beneath a giant sakura tree. Sadly, the flowers had already bloomed and were fading in color, but they were still lovely. Yugi stayed in control for nearly all of lunch, telling me stories about whatever came to his mind. As he talked, I found myself wishing Yami and Yugi could be two different bodies. I loved spending time with both of them, but I really wanted the three of us to hang out together.

Yugi soon felt sleepy, so while he slept on my lap, I hummed an old lullaby. Everything was peaceful for a little while and I loved every second of it. I used to hum the tune to the Pharaoh when he was young because it helped him sleep. I had planned to hum it to our child, should we have ever received one. The Pharaoh opened his eyes after I reached the end of the song and gazed at me, "I believe I have heard that before." I smiled.

"I did hum a little of it when Yugi and I first met." He shook his head, a calculating look in his eyes.

"I recognized it then too."

My entire body tensed. How could he have remembered it? All his memories now rested around my neck. It wasn't impossible, I supposed, for him to have remembered something like this, but I would have thought he would have remembered something more significant or important if that were the case. He sat up and slightly shook my shoulder, "Dria, are you alright?"

I shakily nodded my head. This conversation had to end now. I couldn't afford to look and see if this was the right time to tell him, but something told me to wait a little longer. With a few hopefully unintelligible movements of my fingers, I started a tiny storm by gathering the clouds. This would distract him long enough to make him forget about the tune. I heard him angrily mutter something before he picked me up. Despite my protests, he speedily walked back to the Gameshop with me in his arms. Nearly every time I tried to move, he said he didn't want me to get sick again. As nice as that thought was, his eyes were too focused for his answer. I just swayed in his arms silently, trying to come up with a way to work my way out of this mess. I leaned back against his shoulder and closed my eyes.

My body froze. Great Ra, the gods had to be joking. I snapped my gaze up in the direction of the sun, where I glared angrily at my annoying bird-brained brother. His other master must have hated me for some reason.

"Please, have you seen her? She has dark black hair and sand colored eyes. She is a dancer."

I softened my gaze when I looked at the man. Yes, I had seen her. I had also killed her. I sighed before whistling Pyrrhus to bring my clothes over to me. He did so obediently and stood between the men and me. I climbed out of the water and donned on my tunic, Pyrrhus covering me the entire time. I rubbed his soft nose, giving him a small kiss, and walked towards the leader.

"I did see her. I was visiting the palace when she arrived. I am saddened to say that I left before her ceremony. But, she is in the Pharaoh's palace. She is completely safe."

I was becoming far too talented at lying. Hiding a secret like mine, lying was the only way to survive sometimes. I thought about Shimon. He had known the truth for nearly 5 years now. I had accidentally let it slip when I was 10, after he infuriated me about my pessimism regarding my faith in other people one day. After that breakdown, life had changed. The Prince started looking at me differently, and the Pharaoh gave me a position amongst his high advisors. 3 summers after that, the Prince began courting me. Now, we were betrothed, and I ran from him.

The men departed shortly after that, leaving me with my self-berating thoughts. I sat down on the sand, looking out onto the vast desert before me. I wanted to ride across the sand and leave behind everything. The Prince would move on; he had to. He would be depressed for a little while, since we had been companions since we were young, but he would find a new princess to call his own in time. Life would go on, he would age and die, and I would wait for a death that would never come.

An ominous vision suddenly flashed across my eyes. I heard screams, weapons clashing, and blood spilling. A set of sunset eyes fought off swords and daggers in vain. I jumped onto Pyrrhus' back before the vision was over. How could I have been so foolish? I had left the palace completely unprotected, and if I didn't make it back in time, I would lose the one person I had left to protect.

I reopened my eyes, a little irritated. That memory was not helpful at all. "Thanks a lot, you useless piece of jewelry."

"I beg your pardon?"

I snapped my gaze up to the Pharaoh, who was looking at me curiously. I felt like banging my head against a wall; how careless could I possibly be today? I stretched my neck forward, as if something was hurting.

"The clip on the back of my necklace was pulling on my hair, and it was painful."

Worst excuse ever. He must have thought the same thing because all he did was raise an eyebrow, completely unconvinced. I swore violently in my head. This was going downhill way too fast, but I was running out of options. It was either tell him as much of the truth as he could handle or simply disappear. I couldn't bring myself to even plan on doing the latter; I needed the Pharaoh too much. I still hadn't thought up a good plan when he crossed the threshold of the Gameshop. He placed me on one end of the couch and sat himself down on the other. He leaned back, crossing his arms and legs. We sat in silence for a few moments, which caused him to sigh in irritation. He opened his mouth to speak. Thank the gods above for Grandpa.

"Yugi! Dria! Are you guys back? That storm is blowing something fierce outside!"

He came into the living room bearing quite a few grocery bags. I leapt up to help him and avoid the conversation Yami wanted to have. I heard him sigh again as he switched back with Yugi. I was being an absolute coward, and I knew it. But I didn't want to harm the unusual relationship I held with the two boys, and I certainly didn't want them to fear me. Shimon had first been terrified of me when I told him the real story. He refused to meet me for lessons for over a week. Thankfully, he came back, apologizing for being such a coward, but I didn't blame him. I was afraid of myself when I was first told of what I had the capability of doing. I had grown so afraid at one point that I tried to end myself. Someone had prevented me from following through on that plan though.

Dinner was not that awkward, surprisingly. Yugi was much more willing to let me open up in my own time, a trait that I was positive Yami was arguing with him about. Grandpa put in a movie he had rented and then left, claiming he was tired and wanted to head to bed early. Since I was already having such a lucky day, the movie made everything better. It was about a magician and how he was trying to right all the wrong he had done over his century's long life.

Yugi fell asleep about halfway into the movie. I chuckled a little as he curled up against me. I decided to keep watching the movie, genuinely curious to see how the director ended this tale. Yami must have kept himself inside the Puzzle because he didn't trade places with Yugi or even float around as a shade.

"Don't fear, my love. You will never be alone. I am alwa-"

I couldn't take it anymore. This movie was beyond unhelpful, not to mention horribly dull. No wonder Yugi had fallen asleep. I scoffed at the magician's dying words. Only in the fantastic world does that statement ring true. I had been alone for nearly 10,000 years. I had only about 40 solid years where I wasn't alone in all that time, even though I'd always had people around me. I was becoming melodramatic, meaning it was time for bed. I lazily waved my hand, lifting Yugi off the couch gently so as not to wake him. I could have just carried him up the stairs, but I could feel my hands itching to use magic once more. I slowly walked up the stairs. It was good the neighbors weren't all that close because they would be perplexed if they saw a boy literally floating in the house. I sleepily rubbed my eyes and trudged to Yugi's room.

Luck really wasn't on my side today because as soon as I shut the door, Yugi woke up. He gasped at his situation and tried to reach for something obeying the laws of gravity, or if you're an Einsteinian, curved spacetime. I sighed and pushed him towards the bed. Placing one finger on his chest, I softly pushed him down until gravity/curved spacetime took over again. He fingered the sheets for a few moments, before looking up at me in awe. "How did you do that?"

I fell across the other side of the bed, curling into the pillow, "Sleep now, questions later."

If I was going to answer without giving too much away, I needed to be more than conscious, and I wanted to draw out the moments I had left with Yugi and the Pharaoh. This could have been my final night beside them because tomorrow I would have to answer, and it was likely that they would then push me away in fear.

The men were at least a half day's ride ahead of Pyrrhus. While he was a monster of an animal, not even he could cover that much ground that fast. I could have called my red brother back to help, but that would mean leaving Pyrrhus alone for a bandit to steal or, more likely, kill. Pyrrhus wouldn't go without a fight, but even he had his limits. So, I just buried my head into his flaming mane and prayed that I reached the palace in time.

My head shot up when a dangerous idea struck me. I could funnel some of my energy to Pyrrhus for a burst of speed, but it was dangerous for both of us. Not only did his heart have to be strong enough to receive the energy, but mine had to be strong enough to give and maintain the current. I had only done it one other time, many hundreds of years ago, and it had nearly killed both parties. I bit my lip as indecision threatened me. I couldn't risk my horse's life like that, but if I didn't, I might not make it in time to make a difference. As if reading my mind, Pyrrhus nodded his head up and down as he ran. I wrapped my arms around his neck.

Please let both of us survive.

My hands glowed faintly as my energy became his. Suddenly, his legs began pumping faster and faster, like he had just woken up from a day's worth of rest. His muscles felt stronger as he ran almost on top of the ocean of sand. My head dropped back against his neck, and I fell into darkness as he carried me home. I awoke a while later to the first few sounds of the city. Pyrrhus had stopped at the edge of the city and waited for me to awaken. I hugged his neck once more, thankful that he had survived the magical energy surge. I then gently prodded his sides, urging him forward. This part of the city was empty. I glanced around, trying to find someone who could help me. I caught sight of myself in a silver plate hanging outside. My eyes and skin tone were still the darker colors I had changed them to in the oasis.

Finally, people started appearing as I got closer to the palace. They had all gathered at the entrance to the palace, clambering over one another to get closer. Someone must have stepped on Pyrrhus' foot because he snarled angrily at the man next to us. The crowd parted after that, whispering that the gods had sent a warrior to defend the Pharaoh. I rolled my eyes at the crowd. They had all seen Pyrrhus before and knew only Alexandria could ride him. Pyrrhus pranced through the long hall leading to the throne room. He was such a show off sometimes. I heard some shouting going on inside, so I tapped his flanks again to urge him on.

"You lie! I know my daughter is here! Many witnessed her entering the palace and no one has seen her leave. Now, return her to me at once!"

"Sir, I swear to you, if your daughter was here, I would give her to you instantly. But she is not. She departed from here a few days ago."

The Pharaoh's soothing voice was only angering the leader further. He took a couple of angry steps towards the Pharaoh, but halted when Pyrrhus jumped over him and stopped his progress.

"It's the young goddess!"

I sighed as my appearance faded back to normal with gasps echoing throughout the room.

"I told you, I am no goddess. I am merely a servant of the Pharaoh."

He stared at me, completely bewildered. He quickly shook his head and stomped his foot on the ground, "It matters not. Where is my daughter? You told me she was here and safe."

Some servants came forward to stop him from throwing a tantrum. The Prince appeared beside me, a small smile on his face as he extended his hand toward me. I slid off Pyrrhus into his waiting arms. "We will talk later." He nodded and brushed his lips against my forehead, grateful that I had returned to him.

"Where is my daughter?" I released the Prince and turned on the man to deliver the awful truth.

"She is dead!"

The hall fell as silent as the grave. The leader stared at me in disbelief. I felt the Prince try to pull me out of the room, but I refused to move. If I was going to pay for my crime, now would be my only opportunity. Finally, the man exploded. He pointed towards the Pharaoh.

"You killed her! I always knew you had a dark side. Things have just gone downhill ever since that da-"

I punched him hard across the mouth, glaring dangerously. He stumbled back in surprise, clutching his bleeding nose.

"How dare you. You come, uninvited, and make false accusations against our Pharaoh, my father. For your knowledge, I killed your daughter. I killed her because I despised her."

His eyes widened. I could see his body tensing up, ready to spring should I say anything more incendiary. I took a few steps sideways, away from the Prince and Pharaoh, before turning back to him.

"She received what she deserved for trying to seduce my future husband with her dance."

With a great yell, he tackled me to the ground. Pyrrhus screeched in pure fury and stormed forward, only to be stopped by the other men. I shook my head at him, letting him know that there was nothing he could do. His head drooped and he stared at me with sad eyes. The man placed a dagger over my neck, his eyes blazing with fire. He seemed to be waiting for me to struggle and fight back. Instead, I just closed my eyes and waited for my fate.

"You would gain nothing in taking revenge on Lady Alexandria."

Priest Seto stepped forward. The Prince nodded towards Seto, who pulled out a scroll. Pyrrhus nudged the Prince's back and allowed his hand to rest on his nose. The man growled his response.

"She killed my daughter, I kill her. Let me have my justice."

"What if the Lady actually saved multiple people by killing her?"

Both of us looked at Seto in confusion. Technically, I saved the Prince from potential death and the girl from my jealously and anger, but even I didn't know the true reason why she had the knife that night. When my vision had showed the Prince's blood, I could focus on nothing other than preventing any harm from coming to him. I hadn't stopped to consider the reasons why she had attempted such a plot.

"Your Layla had become trapped in a plot to murder His Highness and if she did not follow through on the attack, Layla would have been tortured and killed herself, along with your entire family. If she had, the result would have been the same. There was no possibility of your daughter exiting the palace alive. You should be thanking Lady Alexandria for making her death quick and protecting the rest of your family."

Layla's father focused on me once more, his eyes wet with tears about to be shed. "Why did you not tell me this? Why put yourself on the edge between life and death?"

In truth, I had no knowledge of the plot to assassinate the Prince, though I wasn't surprised by it, and it had been my inability to control my temper that caused her death; she would have been far more useful to us alive than dead. I had permitted him to take his vengeance because regardless of the target or the reason for the crime, I hadn't wanted the final memory of his daughter to have been anything other than the beautiful dancer. I could never voice something as sentimental as this, not to the Prince and certainly not to a stranger, so I made no reply to his question.

"She wanted the last image you held of your daughter to be of the girl you raised, not of a murderer," the Prince answered.

The man remained motionless above me, staring at my face with an emotion I couldn't place. Tears fell down his face as he began to cry relentlessly. He leaned down and rested his head on my neck. I felt his tears dripping onto my skin, but more importantly, I heard the words coming from his mouth.

"Thank you."

When I woke up, Yami and Yugi were already awake, sitting on the chair at Yugi's desk. Both were gazing at me, one with boundless curiosity and the other with tempered irritation. I sighed in defeat; time to let out a little truth. I sat up in bed and pulled the blankets up to my chest before gazing back at them and indicating for them to begin. There were probably hundreds of questions bubbling at their lips.

"How did you make me float last night?"

I smiled and waved my finger up. Yugi's body lifted out of the chair and merely hovered for a few moments. He stared at the ground below him in childlike amazement, smiling widely at this talent of mine. I slowly waved my hand back down to set him back on the chair.

"I'm a magician."

Simple, to the point, and 100% true. I performed multiple tricks for him: making other objects float, making fire appear on my thumb, and controlling a ball of energy in my hand.

"Do you have a wand?"

I stared at Yugi in amusement. It had been a long time since anyone asked me that. I tapped my lips a few times with my finger, a mischievous smile on my face. I jumped off the bed and headed for Yugi's closet. After pretending to dig around for a bit, I pulled out my "wand." I had not seen him in a long time and was pleasantly surprised when he responded to my call immediately.

"It's not exactly a wand. It's a staff. Same idea applies though."

It was a relatively simple staff. Well, simple by Atlantean terms. It was made of a special metal alloy, whose name no longer exists. The jewels inside were gifts from a friend. I tried to explain how the staff worked, but explaining it was a little difficult without experiencing it. The jewels were specially designed to feed off the energy in the magician's soul, but they could also feed off the energy around the magician. The metal worked as a conductor, increasing the power of every spell.

Each magician had to create his or her own staff. The creativity and thoughts of the magician were shown in the staff. While mine was not the most creative one in the city, the jewels were what made mine special. Once the creation was complete, training began. Each staff tended to have a mind of its own at first, as did each mage in training. When the two connected, then a magician's training was complete. When the staff and magician could operate separately from one another, yet still achieve the desired task, one was said to be a master magician. Both Yugi and Yami listened closely, taking in every word I said and each example I provided.

"So how is it that you are a magician?"

I turned my gaze out the window. How much was too much? I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to see what answering the question would do. I shook my head, "I will tell you more when you get to the finals." Before he could argue, my cell-phone rang. It was Seto.

"Just calling to tell you that your friend Wheeler beat Underwood."

That was the conversation. I cocked my head at the phone. Seto was distracted, but by what? I relayed the message and my question to Yugi.

"He must be trying to find the Egyptian God Cards too. We have to stop both Kaiba and Marik before they get the God cards. There's no telling what danger lies ahead."

He turned back to me, one final question on his lips, "Are you with me?"

I smiled widely, "For as long as I live."