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

Chapter Thirty-One

Dria

I could kill Marik right now. First, he kidnapped me. Second, he tied me up and left me in an empty room. Third, and worst of all, he forced me through a make-over. Not just any make-over too; this was a traditional Egyptian one. For those who don't know to what I'm referring, just know it meant lots of perfumes, oils, soaps, and pain, lots of pain.

The first part was the best part. The only task required of me was to strip down. After that, I could relax in comfortably hot water. I wasn't covered in dirt or anything, but this cleaned off any trace of dirt or dust. Odion was sitting on the stone above me, meditating again.

"Hey, Odion?"

He slightly nodded his head, indicating he had heard me, "If you're going to put me through this torture, I'm going to need some help."

His eyes opened wide and gazed at me in utter confusion.

I shrugged, "I will begin to struggle as this goes on. I hated bathing in the palace more than anything. If you don't want me to harm myself, you're going to have to bring me something." He started to move to follow my request. I stared directly into his eyes, "I'm going to need some more wine."

I could hear his laughter echoing through the building as he left to carry out my request. He thought it was funny. I, on the other hand, didn't find it so humorous. Odion clearly had no idea how much I hated palace bathing. Normally, I would have gone swimming in the Nile and used very little soap to cleanse my hair. But, not in the palace where those blasted servants worked. I respected them as people and for doing their jobs, but they had once tried to cut my hair and I never forgot it, only returning to the baths when necessary.

"But, young Lady, it is unsanitary to keep such long hair!"

I squirmed relentlessly in the maid's arms. How dare she suggest I cut my hair? Was it an Egyptian custom to shave all hair? Yes, but of all the things I was, I was not Egyptian.

"I will not cut my hair and that will be the end of it!"

I tore myself out of the maid's arms and dashed through the bathing chamber. The harem girls gasped as I pushed my way between them. Those girls infuriated me. I could not hate them for their occupation, but I could hate them for their personality. It was not unusual to hear of one of them trying to sneak into the Prince or the Pharaoh's bedchambers after hours. I personally enjoyed being the one to question the reasons for their presence there when I had the opportunity.

I grabbed my covering and ran out of the chambers. I didn't get very far until I tripped and ran into someone. His arms wrapped tightly around me, grazing my bare lower back as he stopped my fall.

"Slow down, Dria! Where's the fire?"

Only one voice in this palace would ever hold that much amusement in a situation like this. I gazed up into the deep crimson eyes of the Prince. We stood like that, me in his arms, until Seto came up behind him moments later. His blue eyes widened, his face flushed, and he immediately turned his head.

"Lady Dria? Could you please cover yourself?"

I had not noticed until that moment that I was still unclothed. I held my cover in front of me, but it was not exactly on. I felt the Prince's hands stiffen against my skin when he realized the truth as well. His face turned bright red as he nearly stumbled backwards. He and Seto turned their backs to me as I covered myself with the robe I had grabbed on my way out.

All I could do was laugh.

After my relaxing dip in the water, all hell broke loose. I, at this exact moment, do hereby reserve the right to complain about this delightful experience.

It started with the shaving. Ra, Allah, God, whomever, please spare me. Marik decided to stick by ancient traditions when it came to my bath. That meant oils and lotions galore, but it also meant sharp razors and pointy tweezers.

The women working here dragged me out of the water and forced me onto a table. This was so far from comfortable it was hardly funny. They plucked, pulled, and scraped away at my skin, removing any trace of hair from my calves, shins, thighs, and…let's not go there please.

Round one of torture didn't end there. They moved up onto my stomach and arms, clearing away the hair that had gotten 5,000 years to grow, though it wasn't that much to begin with. Egyptian hygiene became a habit for me when it came to hair, excluding the hair on my head. One woman dared to touch the hair on my head, but luckily for her, a friend immediately stopped her. They must have been warned about how much I loved my long hair.

The next part was still horrid. As fun and relaxing as a mud bath sounded, I had to shudder just thinking about it. The mud was too hot and too sticky. It got caught underneath my fingernails and refused to come out. My skin felt like it was melting off.

"Queen Dria, your request."

Even though I had lost the taste for wine, it was delicious in my otherwise uncomfortable situation. It fogged my mind just enough to better ignore what was going on around me. I felt some kind of paste being placed all over my face as I sat in the mud. Odion returned to his place up against the wall, resuming his meditations. The fog was unfortunately clearing when they rinsed off the mud and paste. According to the leader, I had been in the mud bath for nearly an hour, but there was still more to come.

The end of my make-over wasn't the worst. After being drenched in oils and salves, many of them smelling like spices, I was allowed to place my feet into the ocean water and simply sit for a few moments. The leader wanted to shove me into some traditional dress and jewelry as quickly as possible, but an unwanted guest had appeared. Luckily, I had just tightly wrapped a towel around myself.

"Well, well, looks like our princess didn't struggle too much."

I didn't want to turn around because I knew exactly who it was, but something about his voice was off. I turned, expecting to see Marik himself there, but I couldn't believe who I saw standing there. It was Joey and Tea.

"Joey? Tea?"

"They're my mind slaves now."

I gasped, raising my hand to cover my mouth. I couldn't really say that I was surprised. Marik wanted to get to Yugi, and his friends were the best way. Marik was much smarter than I thought. He raised his hand to touch my face, but I slapped it down. He tried again and received the same result. He chuckled.

"I seem to remember actually touching your chin last time, though you did try to bite me. Now, why won't you even let your friend's hand touch you? Surely you don't hate him that much?"

I turned away from him. I would never hurt Joey, not even if it were something simple like pushing him. He was my friend and I didn't want to cause him pain. There was no telling when Marik might decide to release Joey's mind. What if I tried to hurt him and he was Joey? I wouldn't forgive myself for allowing him to be hurt, especially not by my own hand. I couldn't even hurt Tea, even though we weren't exactly on great terms. Joey's hand roughly grabbed my face and forced me to look at his face. I saw nothing reflected in his normally happy eyes. I wasn't sure if I even saw my own reflection there.

"What if I were the girl? Would you strike back then? Come now, beautiful, where's your usual fire?"

"I won't make the mistake of harming anyone I care about ever again."

He threw Joey's head back in laughter. He released the grip on my face, allowing me to pull away as fast as possible. I hurried back over to my previous seat near the sea and tried to block him out. Unfortunately, he made it difficult by sitting behind me, wrapping his arms just below my breasts. I squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp, trying to find a way to escape.

In one quick motion, he pushed me to the ground and hovered over me. The towel, thank Ra, was still in place around my body. His finger drifted down my throat to the top of the towel.

"Master Marik, we've spotted Seto Kaiba's helicopter. It's coming this way, and fast."

Joey's body didn't move at first. He just stared at me blankly. I thought about forcing Marik out of his mind, but I couldn't do it. It wouldn't help anyone, especially Joey, in the long run, and I didn't want anyone to rely on me too much, not after what I had done all those years ago.

"Your mistake is the reason I'm like this. Since you failed in your duty, I can get the power I rightfully deserve." He smirked at me, "So thank you, Your Majesty, my future wife." He leaned Joey's face dangerously close to mine, but thankfully stopped just before his lips touched mine.

"It's bad enough another has touched your lips. It's worse that it was the Pharaoh. Now, your lips are mine; not even my mind slaves will touch you."

He pulled himself off me and stalked back down the warehouse. I continued to lay there, frozen by his comments as tear slid down my face. It was true. It was my fault that everyone was suffering. If I hadn't been so stupid and egotistical 5,000 years ago, none of this would have happened. I had been unable to fulfill my duty; being forced to watch a madman endanger my friends was punishment.

"My Lady, are you alright?"

Odion gently pulled me up into a sitting position and stayed by my side. I didn't reply, but only looked at the ground. Why did he care? He had no reason to be this respectful towards me, especially not if he has actually read the remaining documents in the tomb keepers' lair. When I finally found my voice, I questioned him about it.

"Why do you respect me so much? Because of my mistake, I've turned your master into a raving lunatic. I cost my own husband his life. If I had only done as I was told, he and I could have had 50 or more years together, perhaps finally with children of our own. We wouldn't have been separated for 5,000 years, and instead, we would be living in the Underworld together right now."

He said nothing for a few moments, only staring at me kindly. "What would have happened to your friend Yugi if you hadn't, as you say, made an error? Would he still be friends with the others? Or would he still be introverted and shy, all alone in this world? He wouldn't even have the Pharaoh with him."

I thought about his point for a moment. If I remembered correctly, Joey and Tristan used to torment Yugi, mostly for being such a taciturn and gentle boy. When Yugi began working on the Puzzle, Joey used it as an excuse to "make Yugi a man." But, when Yugi showed his true colors and defended the two bullies from another, much larger bully, the result was the beginning of their friendship. Joey returned the stolen Puzzle piece and the rest was history. I could only shrug in response.

I couldn't look into the past and change a certain event, not even in my mind. That kind of power existed for whoever the ultimate creator was, and he was welcome to keep that power. I had enough on my hands with just living in the present with a few moments in the past and future.

"What about Seto Kaiba? Rumor has it that you're the only one he's ever truly smiled for, not his younger brother. What would he be like if you were not a part of his life? Wouldn't he be even more anguished and distrusting of others?"

I couldn't argue with his logic. Seto had trouble trusting other people, most of that thanks to his stepfather. I was lucky enough to sneak a place in Seto's heart before his stepfather could try to crush him. There were times when Mokuba would call me and beg me to come take care of Seto. The old man would work him so hard, sometimes for no reason at all. Seto slowly stopped smiling around other people, and he stopped trying to enjoy life. Everything became a business deal, and every deal had ways he could manipulate it. Life was no longer a gift, but a job.

"What about me, Majesty? I was abandoned at the entrance to the Tomb Keepers' home when I was very young. Master Marik's mother took me in and raised me as her own. I don't know anything about my birth mother, like why she gave me up or if she truly even wanted me. My mother, Master Marik's mother, saved me in many ways. But, if you had not failed, the Ishtar family wouldn't have been there, guarding the tomb. I wouldn't have survived the desert's unforgiving weather. You saved my life 5,000 years before it began."

Tears began to well up in my eyes again as he told his story. I knew things would have turned out differently had I listened, but saving the life of the man right before my eyes? I couldn't believe it.

"I don't believe your action was a mistake. I believe it was the right thing to do, not only for your world at the time, but for the world to come. I know you didn't get to spend the life you wanted with your King, but you wouldn't have met the people you know today either. There is no guarantee that we would be the same, if we were to exist at all. Please believe me when I say all of our lives would be much darker without you. You bring so much light into the world, and it's hard to call any error you have made a mistake."

Those words were what I needed to hear in this moment. It was no wonder that Marik's darker side was kept in check with Odion around. The tattoo on his face probably described his personality perfectly. I was rubbing away the tears looming at my eyes when his hand softly touched my head. I looked up into his kind eyes, and saw nothing but gratitude. Some tears began to fall, causing him to pull me to his broad chest and stroke my head. It was a few moments before the truth about our situation struck me. I pulled away as my blush rose to my face.

"Thank you, Odion, but I think both of us would appreciate it more if I were actually wearing clothes, don't you think?"

His eyes widened as he registered my current appearance. He blushed widely and quickly turned away. He silently began to move to leave the warehouse. An old question finally returned to me.

"Wait!" He stopped his walk, but didn't turn around to respond, "I need to acquire my and my master's locator cards."

"But this is important!" He waited.

"How exactly did Marik manage to put a personal spa in this warehouse?" The girls dragged me away again as he laughed.

Pharaoh

I stared out the helicopter's window in silence. Kaiba had nothing more he wanted to say to me since we had reached an impasse about Ancient Egypt. He was so stubborn that I doubted even Dria could convince him of the truth.

I nearly smacked myself in anger at the thought of her name. She had been taken from under me once again. Why did she have to be such a popular target? I mean, she was the daughter of Maximillian Pegasus, but that reason only went so far sometimes. Marik wouldn't care who her father was. He knew something and I needed to find out what.

"The first task on my agenda is to track down the third Egyptian god card."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. A piece of thick paper was more important than the human beings known as our friends? Kaiba was unlikely to admit to it, but my friends were his friends as well. Did he really think people were that expendable? He surely didn't think that about Dria. I had seen the way he looked at her. I was sure it was the same way I looked at her sometimes. Kaiba loved her as well.

"Why don't we split up and fend for ourselves?"

"That's foolish," I paused for a moment, giving him a few seconds to respond.

"Haven't you realized that teamw-"

"So, you'll just leave Dria, the woman we both care for greatly, in danger and instead go after a card?"

He didn't say anything in response, but I clearly struck a chord. We finally landed on one end of the harbor.

As I stepped out of the helicopter, I couldn't believe my eyes. Standing on the deck was Joey, and he was safe and sound. But, something about him was different. A trap was opening up before me.

"Joey is not present."

Marik had taken control of Joey's mind. I had to find a way to set him free, find Dria and Tea, and get them all away from Marik. The madman had the gall to not only challenge me to a duel, but to challenge me to a duel by controlling my friend. I would make him pay for this. I might not have been as close to Joey as my partner was, but he was still someone I held dear.

"Refuse, and your friends are mine forever."

I clenched my fists in anger. I didn't have any choice, not if I wanted to save those I cared about. Joey and Yugi were best friends. He could hardly tell the difference between us sometimes, but that didn't matter. The bond between us was still strong, too strong for someone like Marik to control.

I couldn't move as Joey walked away. I would only be leading myself into a deeper trap, but if I didn't, how could I rescue everyone? As this thought crossed my mind, I heard another voice behind me. Tea was under Marik's control too. As she walked down the stairs of the boat, there was a sound of a slight scuffle happening on the boat.

"Let me go, you big brutes!"

My heart jumped at the familiar voice. It had to be Dria. She was safe. Marik couldn't control her. Though, when the figure owning the voice was pulled out of the boat, I hardly recognized her. It looked like Dria, but her hair was partially covering her face.

"You're at my mercy."

The beautiful woman stopped struggling and turned her gaze onto Tea. Burning emerald eyes bore holes through Tea's head. I sighed in relief. It really was Dria, and she was fine. "Come over here and say that why don't you?"

An angry scowl covered Tea's face as Dria resumed her struggles with the other Rare Hunters. Marik was unhappy about something. Maybe that Dria was clearly impossible to control? As usual, my gaze was trapped on Dria.

She was a goddess. Her nearly black hair cascaded down her back in flowing ripples and it shone brighter than the sun itself. I felt my hand moving towards it, as if to feel if her hair was actually as soft as it looked. She turned her eyes back towards me. Purple eye shadow with dark eyeliner danced around her fiery emerald eyes, and bits of glitter upon her nose and cheeks shimmered in the sunlight. Her skin was lightly tanned with a soft blush dusting her cheeks.

As I looked down from her face, I gulped. Her outfit was bright blue with purple and gold lining, and she looked amazing in it. It was risqué even for her, but if she was going to wear it for a madman, surely, she'd wear it for me too. I shook my head. Dria was in danger. This was not the time to be admiring how long her legs were.

The outfit consisted of a halter top that ended below her breasts, with two strips that crossed to the middle of her torso. Her shoulders and abdomen were slender, but pure muscle was evident beneath her soft skin. My eyes continued to wander down. It seemed like time was standing still, and only Dria and I existed. A floor length skirt adorned her legs, with a golden band wrapping around her waist and each ankle. I heard a polite cough and raised my eyes back to her face. A silly smirk danced on her lips, "As much as I love the look on your face right now, you have a more pressing matter to attend to, Pharaoh."

I chuckled a little before turning around quickly. I didn't want her to see how embarrassed I was for staring. Even if it was completely her fault, I should have been a little more respectful. A soft kiss was planted on my cheek. I quickly looked up to see her being taken past me, an amused smile on her face. I followed after them. I groaned when I looked at her legs again. The skirt was slit all the way up to the belt, and with every step she took, the fabric swayed around her hips. I swallowed again; I was in trouble.

Dria

Marik had just moved to the top of my hit list. When the girls said traditional, I thought they meant a regular, modest white dress with unbearably heavy jewelry. No, instead they meant traditional as in harem traditional, which meant Marik had some unnerving fantasies in his head. I only had my necklace and one snake bracelet as jewelry.

The only two things I liked about the outfit were that it was extremely light and the way it made the Pharaoh react to me. I hadn't seen that look in a long time. I lightly shook my head, refocusing my mind. One of the Hunters had put some chains around my wrists, so as he led me forward, I could walk beside Yami.

"Dria, are you alright?"

I slid my gaze over to him and winked. His shoulders sagged a little in relief. I wasn't under Marik's control at all. He must have thought it was a trick.

"I'm fine. Marik isn't strong enough to break my necklace's barrier."

My necklace had been lightly glowing and tingling ever since Marik kidnapped me. Yami looked at my necklace and opened his mouth to say more, but Marik interrupted us.

"Leave my woman alone, Pharaoh!"

The Rare Hunter yanked me forward, away from Yami. I had to break away. Yami and Yugi had enough people to worry about, and I didn't need to be in the mix. He would be able to focus a little better with me out of the way, and I could ensure that our friends not currently present were safe. The Hunter lightened up on my chains again, and I managed to fall back into step with Yami. I couldn't afford to look at him, no matter how much I wanted to.

"I will escape. There are enough people in danger now and you don't need me in the way. I know Tristan went to pick up Serenity. I'll go find them before coming back."

He didn't say anything, but he nodded. Running sounded like a coward's plan, but this was something Yugi and Yami needed to handle alone. All I could do would be to interfere in any way I could with those whose presence was unwanted. I finally looked at him.

"Just don't lose. Otherwise, you'll never have your questions about me answered."

I snapped the chains down, pulling them from the Hunter's hands. Before he could say anything, I threw my fists into his stomach, causing him to drop to the ground. The next Hunter was too far away to catch me. I took off down the street, using my magic to melt away the chains.

I heard Seto yelling my name, but I also heard the Hunters' footsteps as they tried to catch up. With a short whistle, one of my dragons came down and picked me up. She knew exactly where I wanted to go, so with one quick tap, she flew off towards my destination. She dropped me off just behind the station and flew off as fast as she came. I dashed towards the front of the train station and began looking for Tristan and Serenity. Their train should have already arrived, and I doubted Tristan had any idea as to where to go. Suddenly, the scent of oranges assaulted my nose. Three Hunters were walking away from me, towards the center of the city.

Using a little magic, I lifted myself up onto the roof of the building and followed them from above. Only a few moments passed before I saw Tristan and Serenity. The three Hunters had surrounded them. Before I could do anything, Serenity was on Tristan's back and they were fleeing down the alley. I tried to ignore the moments when my heart lurched, when I knew Yami and Yugi were in trouble. I had to believe that they would be fine. Both were extremely strong, though Yugi didn't always give himself the credit he deserved. I jumped down from the rooftops, and carefully ran along the top of the fence line as they reached an overpass. Two Hunters were closely running behind Tristan, and I guessed the third was on the other side of the overpass, just waiting for the prey. As they ran underneath, I silently slid down the fence and landed lightly on the ground behind the third.

"Don't say we didn't warn you."

The third Hunter took a step forward, and I slammed my foot into his back, sending him directly towards his partners. I then threw my hands forward, throwing the other two Hunters backwards with a simple spell. From the other direction, a die came flying at an impressive speeding, knocking the third Hunter, who had recovered from my surprise attack, on the forehead. He fell back, joining his fallen comrades again.

Tristan knew who the man was, so I trusted him as well as we ran from the stunned Hunters. I heard all three get up again, but I didn't have time to look and see how close they were. We ran through the city like the devil himself was chasing us. I stopped from time to time and made sure we were still safe. When we reached a busier area of town, the stranger led us towards a truck with boxes to hide behind.

I sat beside Serenity and leaned my head against the truck's back window. Surprisingly enough, this stupid skirt hadn't ripped yet, nor had it gotten in my way while I was running. As much as I hated it, I had to admit: this outfit wasn't actually half bad.

"The last time I saw you, Duke, is when you were showing off that Dungeon Dice Monsters game you created."

I picked my head back up, curious about the other man. He looked very familiar, especially with that die hanging from his ear. Someone had come to visit Father just before Duelist Kingdom about a new game, Dungeon Dice Monsters, as Tristan had said. This was the man who spoke with Father? I had already left for Domino, but Father told me about it after the tournament. It sounded like it had promise.

"Speaking of which, who are they?" Both sets of eyes turned on Serenity and me. Tristan shook his head when he first saw me, "Dria? What in the world are you wearing?"

I waved my hand, not wanting to remember my hellish day at the bath. "That Marik creep kidnapped me and forced me into it for his own pleasure. He's next on my list."

The second man looked at me closely. I politely nodded my head towards him, "Alexandria Pegasus, at your service."

His eyes widened and a big smile crossed his face. I felt a bead of sweat run down my neck, hoping he wasn't another playboy. Thankfully, he just nodded in return, "Duke Devlin, pleasure to meet you."

I listened quietly as the two men talked. They figured out that the others were in danger as well. Serenity was taking all this surprisingly well, and she was very easy to protect because she obeyed without question. After waiting for some time, we jumped out of the truck bed and began to walk as far from there as we could without attracting any eyes. I wasn't paying any attention to where we were going, but it seemed like we were going the right way. Tristan said something about the finals, and requested that I stay with Serenity while he and Duke asked around.

Something inside me began to sting the skin beneath my necklace. It felt like piece of me had been taken out. I leaned up against a nearby wall, trying to steady my swirling head. Something had happened to the Puzzle. I looked at my shaking hands, watching in confusion as the color seemed to drain from them. Then, the feeling was gone and I felt normal again. Serenity must have noticed my attack because she gripped my arm tightly.

The boys came back and we started off again. Tristan pulled Serenity ahead with him, allowing me a few moments to speak with Duke. I chuckled a little at his expression, and he looked at me puzzled. "What did you do? Tristan seemed upset."

"Nothing, I swear! I was just holding Serenity's hand! Excuse me for trying to help!"

I laughed at his defense. He was trustworthy, that much I could already tell. I would have said he was good looking, but I had eyes for only one man. We followed Tristan and Serenity, lightly chatting. Suddenly, the three Hunters appeared. Tristan left Serenity with Duke and ran back to buy some time. I decided to stay with him; Ra only knew what kind of trouble he would get into.

He didn't let me help much, unfortunately. The Hunters also remembered that I was the one who beat them soundly last time, so they tried to avoid me. So, while Tristan sucked all the fun, I waited for him to finish. I heard a car horn coming from behind me. Lo and behold, Mai Valentine drove up.

"Go Tristan."

He tried to argue with me. I glared at him, and lifted him into the air and into the car with my finger. His eyes widened at the spell. He looked back at me.

"I will meet you there."

My dragon flew down once more, picking me up in her claw. The car followed behind me, keeping up with my dragon's rapid pace. Even with such high speed, we were on the opposite side of the city. It would take some time to reach the pier. Hold on, Yugi. Wait for me, Pharaoh.

Seto

This duel was getting out of hand. Not even I, the instigator of this tournament, could stop this from happening. If there were any upsides to this madness, it would be that Dria had escaped, and maybe the fact that Wheeler seemed to have updated his deck.

Even so, this duel was horrible. Regardless of whether Joey was dueling of his own will or not, I couldn't believe how anyone could be this cruel. Though it was somewhat amusing to watch at first, it had reached and crossed the line long ago. The rest of the geek squad appeared and started making too much noise. Before I could quiet them down, a huge gust of wind swept through. I heard a familiar dragon's roar from above me, and a figure appeared beside me.

"You came back."

"Why wouldn't I?"

She ran, but being the stupid fool she was, she came back. She smiled and threw me a wink before returning to her poker face. I chuckled lowly as my attention returned to the duel as well. There wasn't much time left on the clock, and Yugi was down to his last handful of Life Points. When the geek squad found out what had happened, an unfamiliar girl began pulling at the bandages around her eyes. Tea leaned forward to say something, but over the waves of the ocean, she couldn't be heard.

"Serenity," the delicate voice beside me spoke. The girl turned her head towards the voice and waited. Dria's fierce eyes never left the duel, but she spoke gently, as if one word could shatter the girl in body and soul.

"Don't take them off yet." The girl, Serenity, gasped at the softness in Dria's voice. "Please, trust me."

She nodded, though she somewhat reluctantly put her hands down. The blonde girl placed her arm around Serenity for comfort. Wheeler must have drawn a powerful card because he started claiming that he would rule the world. Normally, it would have been pure insanity for Wheeler to say that. Now, I wasn't so sure. Something was controlling him, though I would never admit to thinking that. He was such a devoted dog that I couldn't ever see Wheeler willingly betraying Yugi.

Freeing Tea was the key to stopping this duel. If I could pull that off, then the duel would be simple to stop. I'd probably smack Wheeler a few times for putting Dria and Mokuba in danger, and then for letting Dria wear that outfit. It was as if this Marik knew how I felt about her and deliberately dangled her in front of me. I tried to ignore the outfit as best I could, but I was only human. I was sure Yugi had the same thoughts I did when we had first seen her. Regardless, I'd smack Wheeler just to make myself feel better.

I saw Dria begin to move her fingers in some kind of pattern. Her eyes had shifted their gaze onto the Hunter by Tea, and he was starting to look tired. I contacted Roland and told him my plan. When he had his orders, I tapped Dria's elbow. She would understand. Something even stranger then started happening to Wheeler. He kept grabbing his head like he was trying to contain his mind. He yelled in agony and fell to his knees, "No! I won't destroy Yugi!"

He had broken through whatever was controlling him. Now the question was if he could completely escape this trap. Yugi called Marik out and pointed out that Marik couldn't actually win the duel, even if he was somehow controlling Joey. With Joey back to normal, Marik was no longer a part of the duel. But, Yugi was wasting precious time. They were down to the last minute.

A glowing eye appeared on Wheeler's forehead, and he played Meteor of Destruction. If Joey didn't wake up now, Yugi was done for. I felt someone's hand grip mine. I looked down at Dria, who had the same eye on her forehead; her eyes had turned blazing red. She raised her other hand and began moving more than just her fingers. I tightly held to the one in my hand as I watched, enchanted by the graceful movements.

By the time I turned back, Wheeler seemed to be normal again. Yugi had Mystical Raft Panel on the field, which had stopped the meteor. There was barely any time left on the clock. If either of them was going to escape…My eyes widened. Knowing Yugi, he would redirect the attack towards himself in order to save that third rate duelist. My plan had to begin soon. Otherwise it would be too late.

Thirty seconds remained. I wasn't sure if I could pull this off in that little of time. Just then, my helicopter appeared. As it flew towards the crate over Tea's head, Dria left my side and flew towards the Rare Hunter. I reached out for her, trying to catch her arm, "Dria!"

The helicopter removed the trap as she tackled the Hunter with all her weight, throwing the both of them towards the end of the pier. In the collision, the Hunter had dropped the remote control. I ran towards the brawl to pull Dria away and release Tea. Thankfully, Dria knew how to hold her own in a fight. She kicked, punched, and bit at anything she could reach while the Hunter tried to just hold her off. Unfortunately, he eventually realized she weighed far less than he did, so he managed to flip them and held her beneath him. He tried to contain her fighting limbs, but he couldn't control her at all. She managed to punch his stomach and nose even while being pinned down. Before I could reach them, he grabbed her head and slammed it down onto the pavement. Her eyes widened upon impact, but quickly closed as she fell limp.

Rage burned through me. How dare he harm her in any way. I kicked him once in the chest, causing him to fall back. Normally, that wouldn't keep him down for long, but something Dria had done to him not only made it possible for her to fight him despite the size difference, but to keep him down once he fell.

I cradled Dria's head in my arms, desperately searching for a sign of life. There was only a small trace of blood, but that wasn't necessarily a good sign. The ground beneath her bore a definite impact mark where her head had collided with the concrete. I felt panic rise, thinking that her skull could have been badly damaged, and I had no way of knowing. I heard Wheeler making some strange yelling noise and looked to see him swinging on the chain like a vine. There was a sudden explosion, and the anchor began to fall. I groaned in annoyance. Why couldn't those geeks solve their own problems? Yugi and Joey were pulled into the water by the anchor.

I swung Dria up into my arms and briskly walked back towards Mokuba. We needed to get her somewhere safe quickly so a doctor could examine her. Tea followed behind us, but quickly ran past to see the rest of her friends. As I hastened back to Mokuba, who was already on the phone with Roland, Dria stirred in my arms and slowly opened her eyes. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her green eyes staring at me once more. She blinked a few times, still dazed from the injury, but at least she was showing signs of life.

"Yugi!"

His name seemed to wake Dria up because her pupils instantly focused and she turned her eyes towards the dueling sight. Yugi was being pulled back to land by the others. Wheeler must have taken Yugi's key before the anchor dropped. Dria craned her neck around my shoulder, trying to get a satisfying glimpse of Yugi.

"He's fine, you dork. He's just a little wet after an unexpected swim," Her whole body relaxed at my words. She looked back at me with a gorgeous genuine smile, "Thank you."

I kissed her forehead. All I cared about was right here in my arms, where I knew she was safe. I slowly let her down, making sure she could stand on her own. She wobbled a little, but quickly regained her footing and sprinted towards her boyfriend. I sighed as she went towards him. I couldn't really be upset. I knew part of her heart belonged to me, and I would make sure it always would. All I had to do was win more than Yugi did.

Dria

"Yugi!"

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I felt horrible that Seto had to be here, but Yugi was the one I had chosen. He needed to accept it, but he also needed to accept that I would always be his closest friend. Yugi gently touched the side of my head, where a horrible bump was growing. I winced a little as his fingers brushed it. He cocked his head, but I just waved off his worries. I had gotten a little angry and took it out on someone slightly bigger than me. It would have worked if I'd had a couple more minutes to weave my spell through the Hunter's limbs.

Joey began blubbering the moment I released Yugi. He was embarrassed by the fact he had been controlled and fought against his best friend. Yugi was such a kind and compassionate person that he could never hold a grudge against anyone, let alone Joey. Yugi thanked Joey for saving his life, but Joey just couldn't let it go. Mai slapped some sense into him, literally.

I walked towards the end of the pier, facing the setting sun. Marik would pay for the things he had done. If he didn't change his ways, I would deal with him personally. He couldn't continue to endanger my loved ones like this. I felt someone's arms wrap around me tightly.

"Please, what will it take for you to never scare me like that again?"

Something wet dropped onto my neck. I touched his arm in apology. His response was to grip me tighter.

"I saw the Hunter hurt you. I was more frightened than I've ever been before. You just stopped moving. I thought he had killed you and there was nothing I could do about it."

I stroked Yami's arm as he calmed down. When he finally relaxed his grip, I spun around and captured his lips. His hands danced across my waist, inviting me to deepen his kiss. I pulled myself up, wrapping my legs around him, and trapped his head between my hands. After several moments, we pulled away to breathe, but I touched my forehead to his. He held my waist tightly, not willing to let me down just yet. We stared into each other's eyes for a few more moments before he let me down. Even then, Yami stroked my cheek, as if trying to convince himself that I was still with him. I leaned into his touch, reveling in every moment before I had to leave.

"I should go with Seto. I want to get out of this get-up, most of all. Seto will also need help preparing the final arena."

He nodded, kissing me once more, and led me towards Seto. He released me when we reached our friends, and sadly stared after me. I touched his face and smiled, "I'll see you soon. I have some stories to tell you."

That seemed to cheer him up because he smiled and nodded. I turned to leave, "Dria." I looked back at him. "You look so beautiful." I smiled widely, feeling my cheeks grow warm at his genuine compliment.

I ran after Seto, who was already halfway down the harbor. Upon reaching him, I jumped onto his back. Without even missing a stride, he caught my legs as my arms wrapped around his neck and turned his head towards me. I leaned my head against him. I could see the frustration and jealousy in his eyes, though he desperately tried to conceal it.

"I'm sorry Seto." I felt his laughs rumble in his chest.

"You have nothing to apologize for. You've only made my challenge more interesting. I can hardly wait to see Yugi's face when I finally win you away from him. You look stunning in that dress by the way."

I laughed alongside Mokuba. I had to be glad with Seto's attitude because he could have gone the opposite direction. He could have never wanted to see me again. I wanted to stop him from setting himself up to fail, but I couldn't help but laugh at him. I hugged his neck affectionately.

The three of us talked while we rode in Seto's helicopter. Mokuba kept telling stupid jokes, but Seto refused to fall for any of them. I tried to entertain Mokuba, but I think I entertained Seto more as I tried to stroke Mokuba's wounded pride each time I successfully answered a question.

Finally, we came to an empty arena. We exited the helicopter and joined Roland in the center of the arena. It was finally time for the Battle City Finals.