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

Chapter Thirty-Six

Dria

The duel between Odion and Joey continued, though Odion managed to stay ahead. I hadn't decided if that was fortunate or unfortunate yet. I wanted Joey to win, but Odion was playing a very important role and I needed to figure it out before it was too late. The faster the duel was over, the faster I could interrogate Odion.

"So Dria, what gave you the idea of a trap monster?"

I turned to face the others and I was surprised to find every one of them staring at me. It wasn't surprising that Mai had asked the question, but the fact that even Tea showed some interest.

I laughed a little before explaining, "Actually, the idea came from an Ancient Egyptian myth about a treasure thief. A man built a great pyramid for the Pharaoh in order to store and conceal the Pharaoh's great treasure. But, he added a secret entrance, which he accessed at night in order to steal away some of the treasure. It was so well hidden that even though the Pharaoh knew his treasure was being stolen, the guards could never find the thief. Well, the man grew old and before he died, he passed the secret along to his two sons, who also used the entrance to steal the treasure. One brother died because he got caught in a trap, but the guards couldn't figure out who he was because his brother ran off with his head, at the second brother's request. Anyway, the surviving brother continued to steal treasure, the Pharaoh later pardoned him because the secret was so fantastic and the execution of it was so perfect, and he married the princess and lived happily ever after."

Tea scoffed, "What exactly does that have to do with duel monsters?"

I shrugged, "The answer isn't always obvious. Trap monsters are very confusing cards that require very specific and special circumstances. Even so, they have a weakness. All you have to do is find their secret."

There was always a secret passageway when it came to defeating any of these duel monsters. Even the gods themselves were not impenetrable, as proven by Slifer's defeat at Yami's hands. But the way was always hidden, and a duelist had to be willing to change direction at a moment's notice if necessary. I could only hope that Joey was clever enough to find the secret of the trap monsters.

Unfortunately, Joey's first attempt at stopping Odion's monsters was easily rendered useless, causing his life points to fall to 200. Perhaps he just wasn't ready for this level of dueling yet. He had done incredibly well during the tournament, but not even a duelist like Mako would have lasted long against one like Odion. What was even worse was that Joey seemed to think that too. He looked defeated, and the duel hadn't even truly begun. Serenity mirrored her brother's concern.

"Tristan, Joey can still win right?"

"Sure he can."

Mai scoffed at Tristan's response, "Well, if you say so."

True, the odds were completely against Joey, as usual. If he had given up, then he stood absolutely no chance of winning. But, I could still see a slight hint of fire in his eyes. Sometimes, all you needed was a small flame to start the blaze.

"Dria, what do you think?"

It was sweet to see how concerned Serenity was for her brother. I smiled at her, "Where there's a will, there's a way. If he still believes he can win and remembers that we will support him until the end, I have no doubt that he'll figure out how to win."

Thankfully, Joey managed to regain his senses after hearing his sister's continuous support. Odion seemed far away, lost in a distant memory, wearing the same expression I probably did when my memories took over. Both duelists soon focused back on the duel, with Joey more fired up than he had been before the duel even began.

"Save the world."

I turned my gaze to Yami, who had suddenly appeared to give his small words of encouragement as well. I smiled at his words, wishing it were that simple. The real maniac was behind us and Joey was only facing his most loyal subject. But, if Joey believed that he could beat Odion, I had no doubt that he could give the real Marik a challenge he didn't see coming.

Joey's next move was probably one of the smartest moves I had ever seen him make. Not only did he summon a powerful monster, but he also found the secret to the trap monsters. Ginzo's special ability destroyed the monsters, leaving Odion completely open to Joey's attacks. The duel quickly went from 4000 – 200 Odion, to 400 – 200 Odion. I smiled widely and nodded my head.

"That, my friends, was the secret to trap monsters."

"That wasn't that difficult of a secret," Tea said somewhat spitefully. I turned to her and raised my eyebrow.

"If you knew, why didn't you say something earlier?"

She fell quiet after my question. No, it wasn't all that complicated of a secret, but most duelists focused on the monster side of the card and forgot about the weaknesses of a trap card. While most duelists probably didn't have Ginzo in their decks, there were other ways to exploit those weaknesses.

"I still have my Temple of the Kings, a card with ancient powers so strong it can't be stopped."

I sighed as I looked at the temple. I had designed it after the Pharaoh's temple, a shrine where only he could offer sacrifices or prayers to the gods above. Even I had only been in there once, and it wasn't even my Pharaoh who took me. It was his father.

I lightly shook my head to ward off an oncoming memory. I needed to pay attention to this duel. Joey couldn't do much because of Odion's Swords of Revealing Light, but he did summon his more powerful monsters to the field. He was in good position to win the duel. Then, Odion drew his next card.

A jolt went through my chest, causing me to clutch at my heart and stumble back a few steps. I felt my heart pounding erratically as my breaths came in short spurts. Yami looked at me worriedly and placed his hand at the small of my back in concern. I looked up at Odion, my eyes wide with confusion. What had he done?

"Dria? Dria? Are you alright?" I couldn't look away from the card to answer the question. Something was terribly wrong, and I feared that it was only going to get worse.

Yami

Something was clearly wrong. First Dria and now Marik. What on earth had happened? If it had just been one of them, it wouldn't have seemed like a big issue. But both seemed afraid, and I didn't think Dria feared many things. Beneath my hand on her back, I felt her body trembling as she struggled to catch her breath.

Yugi thought that maybe it had to do with the temple, which would make sense. Dria was far more sensitive to the moves in this game than anyone else in the world, but I hadn't figured out why yet. It had to be more than simply she created the game; there was a deeper connection between her and this game. If only I could figure it out.

"By sealing this card of the gods, I have also sealed your fate."

Oh no, card of the gods? Could it be the Winged Dragon of Ra? Was that why Dria had reacted so strongly? But why? She gasped beside me and looked towards me, her eyes wild with anger and fear.

"Dria, what's wrong?"

She only shook her head and turned back to the duel. She seemed to be mumbling something so I leaned a little closer to hear her.

"What has that idiot done? He's put us all in danger."

I didn't understand what she was saying, but I drew her closer to me. I would protect her and everyone else from whatever evil Marik had just introduced however I could. I knew she was more than capable of defending herself, but I didn't want her to feel as if she were alone in this fight. Though she had yet to mention anything, I sensed she had become far too familiar with loneliness.

Joey managed to summon every rare monster from his Battle City victories: Ginzo, the Insect Queen, and the Legendary Fisherman. Even since the beginning of this tournament, Joey had grown as a duelist and his deck had gotten much stronger. Marik, unfortunately, had an even stronger creature waiting for Joey.

"Mystical Beast of Serket, I summon thee!"

An enormous scorpion-like monster appeared. Joey was in trouble and unfortunately, he knew it too. Marik also revealed that it was indeed the Winged Dragon of Ra that hid inside the temple's box, only worsening the situation for Joey.

"My brother can still win this, right?"

I tried my best to reassure Serenity that Joey could still defeat Marik, even with the odds so stacked against him. He had found a way to defeat those tricky trap monsters, so he could surely find a way to defeat this creature. As much as he should worry about the scorpion, Joey couldn't forget about Marik's god card. It was far more dangerous than any other monster known in this game because of its power. Beside me, Dria growled in anger, her arms crossed over her chest. I nudged her a little bit, but she only shook her head at me. She was furious, and now was definitely not the time to ask questions.

Marik's beast destroyed Joey's defense of rare monsters, stealing some of their attack power as well. His creature was growing unbelievably strong, to the point that it seemed unbeatable.

"My brother! It's just too much." Serenity turned to leave; she couldn't bear to watch her brother struggle like this.

Joey begged her to stay, "You're my biggest inspiration Serenity."

She paused for a moment, letting Joey's honest words sink it. Dria turned towards her, "You can't leave. If you do, Joey has no chance at winning."

Though we were all slightly startled by her blunt comment, we knew that she was right. Serenity was Joey's biggest fan, and there was no way he would lose while she was watching. He wanted to make her proud, and he would do whatever it took to make that happen. When she agreed to remain, Joey seemed to gain a little life back.

As I turned my eyes back to Marik, I couldn't help but wonder how and why he had become like this. Even if he'd wanted this power of the Pharaoh, surely he hadn't become so power hungry that he was willing to hurt, destroy, and possibly kill for it. As furious as I was with him, whether it was for kidnapping Dria or Joey and Tea, I didn't want to hate him. I wanted to understand what had happened to him, and I wanted to figure out if it was possible to save him from this darkness.

Joey had done nothing the past few turns except watch as Marik destroyed his monsters. Maybe his luck had run out. As much as I hated to think that, there didn't seem to be any way out at the moment. But then, I caught sight of something incredible.

His eyes. They were burning with such passion and strength. I had only seen that powerful of a resolve in another set of eyes one other time, but my mind couldn't remember where that had been. If only I could remember my past right now. This strength came from his determination to defeat Marik, determination that no amount of intimidation could ever erase.

Marik destroyed Joey's last line of defense, but Joey did nothing to stop him. Perhaps the duel was finally over. Maybe it was better this way because Joey would be out of harm's way.

"I've had this weird feeling. You don't seem like the same guy that controlled my mind. I've got a voice that tells me that you're not Marik. You won't win."

Joey's point struck me. He was right. This man wasn't the mad man who was trying to steal my Puzzle. He didn't have the same evil aura around him, which meant he wasn't Marik. That evil aura was here, but where? I turned back to Namu. Was it possible that he was actually Marik?

"Attack his Life Points directly and end this duel immediately!"

The mystery man's monster leapt forward, claws at the ready. This duel was over. Suddenly, the monster froze, stopping his attack. Marik had changed his mind because instead of continuing the attack, he turned back towards the temple. That could only mean one thing: he intended to play the Winged Dragon of Ra.

I turned towards Dria, who was gripping the sides of her head tightly. What was going on?

Dria

I gripped my head as memories flashed across my eyes. Something was wrong, but I couldn't tell what it was. Normally, the gods showed no regard for the quarrels of humans. But, this time, their rage burned with a white-hot intensity. The air crackled with electricity and the winds began to blow. My head felt like it was about to split into two pieces. All I could see were times where the gods destroyed those who had disrespected them. Scenes with the Pharaoh, his father, Seto, and even Atlantis continued to flash through my mind. We were all in grave danger. What did Marik bring upon us?

"Prepare to experience and ancient power you've never seen before, and will never see again."

My eyes snapped up towards Odion, hoping to catch his gaze before it was too late. Please don't do it, Odion, I begged in my mind. This would be a huge mistake, and I still hadn't determined what the problem even was.

"I am Marik."

He sacrificed his mystical beast in order to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra and half his Life Points. The card revealed itself from the box in the temple. The sky turned green as the tension and anger in the air increased dramatically. My vision started to fade as the creature's shadow appeared. The last thing I remember seeing was the two angry eyes of the most powerful of the three gods. After that, my world went black.

"Dria? What's wrong? Dria!"