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

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Dria

I felt a small bead of sweat run down my neck at Joey's pointed comment and my anxiety grew. These next few moments would decide if I would be able to remain by my Pharaoh's side or if I would have to look on from afar.

I turned my back to the mirror, but kept my gaze on my reflection. There was already a visible dark bruise on my shoulder from where it hit the iron railing, and perhaps the best way to make them believe was to show them. I could only hope that it didn't frighten them too much.

"Ask me anything within reason and I'll answer."

Tea spoke first, "Prove to us that you can really use magic. It can't be anything with cards or the sleight of hand."

I sighed again at the lack of creativity but nodded in agreement and snapped my fingers. Before their eyes, my clothes changed from blue jean shorts and a long sleeved shirt to a sports bra and running tights. Tea scoffed.

"That doesn't prove anything. You could have been wearing those clothes underneath."

While her argument would have made sense for the bra, it didn't make any sense for the tights. There was no way I could hide those under a pair of shorts. It also didn't explain what happened to the shirt and shorts, but I let her think she was victorious. I pointed towards the evident welt on my shoulder. It was obvious against my pale skin, a dark red and purple bruise, and I showed both of my hands, proving I didn't have anything on my person before performing my next spell.

Turning around so they could see the process, I felt my fingertips glow white with warmth. Reaching over my shoulder, I gently touched just above the bruise. The white glow slowly moved down my shoulder until it surrounded the bruise, which slowly dissipated and vanished without a trace. Stretching my shoulder out once more, the pain faded and I could let my shoulder relax as it normally would. I then changed my clothes back to shorts, tennis shoes, and a long-sleeved button down.

"Alright, I'm convinced."

I gave Joey a small smile in thanks. The Pharaoh and Yugi nodded at me, showing they were convinced as well. Serenity, Duke, and Tristan looked confused, but none of them seemed to fear me. Tea hardly liked me when I was normal, so it was easy to determine how much she distrusted me now.

Joey asked the next question, "Can just anyone do magic or only people like you?"

I laughed; he would ask the most complicated question that crossed every magician's mind at some point.

"That I don't know. I know that magic was more prevalent between 5,000 and 10,000 years ago, but I've never known if someone is born with magic or if anyone can use it. I do know that some people are more sensitive to it, making them more talented in using it. In this modern day however, magic is weak. While it may never be gone completely, people will soon be unable to sense it at all. One day, I really will be obsolete."

Serenity continued Joey's question, "What do you mean magic is weak? What is magic?"

I pondered her question for a few moments, "I was taught that magic is a living sensation, like an electric current, that's constantly present, almost like the wind. Like I said, I don't know if every person is capable of being a magician, but every person is capable of feeling magic at some point. You all know when someone has used magic to bring the Shadow Realm to a duel. All of you sense when a friend is in trouble. It may not seem like magic, but there is a fantastic connection between friends. Love is magical in a sense, not to be cliché. Magic is not only flashy or mystifying spells that can change the weather, control a person, or cause evil. That connotation was added when the ancients confused the words for dead and for black, thus creating the 'black arts' or the 'dark arts' title implied when you hear the word magic."

I couldn't tell if my answers were convincing them to believe me, but I knew they likely wouldn't trust me. Trust would be something I had to earn over time. But if I could get them to believe me, I would find a way to earn their trust as well. I could tell they still had questions for me, but the final duel was about to start and I knew they wanted to see it. I could feel their eyes on me as I started talking again.

"I don't expect you all to trust me immediately. I kept this secret from you because I was afraid of what you would say. But, with everything that has happened during these finals, and with what will likely happen as they continue, I knew I couldn't hide this from you anymore. If there's one thing I want you to do, it's to believe me when I say that I'm not here to hurt any of you and I'm not on Marik's side. I'm on your side, and I will defend each of you even at the cost of my life."

They had to believe I wasn't on Marik's side. I wouldn't purposefully do anything to harm any of them. As I said, I would defend them with my life, even if the price was the immortality I had been cursed with. I quickly turned around and walked out of the room, leaving them to decide amongst themselves what to do next. I could only hope they would decide in my favor.

Seto was still on the upper deck when I returned. He simply stared at the dueling platform, probably planning out his every move before his duel. I rested my forehead against his upper arm, staying quiet so he could focus. After a few moments, he lifted his arm and pulled me into his side. Rubbing my arm gently, he looked down at me. I gave him a small smile before wrapping my arms around him.

It constantly amazed me that no matter what I did or how far away I went, Seto was always waiting for me to return. While I did care for him dearly, I just couldn't bring myself to love him as he loved me. It was incredibly selfish of me because I knew I would be happy with him, but I didn't want to be just happy. I had tasted pure bliss and I was addicted to it. The least I could do was let Seto in on my secret.

"Are you alright? Marik will pay for how he treated you."

I nodded, "Yes, I'm fine, not even a bruise." I paused for a moment, "Seto, there's something I sho-"

"Whatever you're about to say, forget it." I looked up at him in confusion. Normally he wanted to know everything on my mind, usually to use against me later.

"I've told you before, I don't care about the secrets you keep from me. Whatever it is, it made you who you are. Now, if you're going to tell me you're from another planet or something similar, don't worry," he winked at me, "I already know that. You're my best friend and I love you, even if you're insane and in love with Yugi. You will always be my Dria."

He kissed my forehead before releasing me to stare at the platform once more. As I stepped backwards, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my waist and a voice in my ear, "I'm not losing you to Kaiba, am I?"

I turned my head slightly to look at him and smiled, "No, not at all. While it would make more sense for me to love him, there's only one man I've ever loved and probably ever will truly love."

He didn't say anything in reply. His gentle eyes said that he understood. He released me but remained by my side. The others quickly joined him. I was shocked. After the huge secret I had told them, they didn't stand as far away from me as possible. They all stood right by me, even if it was only because the Pharaoh was here. Joey soon threw his arm around me, poked my cheek, and said, "You left before I could ask another question, Dria!"

I simply stared at him, completely confused. "Don't you all hate me? Aren't you afraid? You shouldn't trust me so soon after I lied to you all."

He turned me towards him, looking me directly in the eyes, "Do you want us to hate and leave you?"

I felt tears rising in my eyes at his words, "No, you all are the closest friends I've had in many years. I'll do whatever I can to convince you to trust me again. What is your question?"

He smiled widely, a wicked gleam entering his eyes, "Can you show us some of your tricks?"

I laughed freely. It was the first time in many, many years that someone knew about my magic and wasn't afraid of it. I could finally be my real self around people, magic and all. Even Seto, who said he didn't care, could finally see what I had been hiding from him all these years.

"What would you like me to do?" Joey paused for a moment before responding, "Back up a second. How do you use magic? I mean, do you have to use your magical thing, or do you say something, or do you just stick your hand out and I don't know, fire appears?"

I smiled widely and lifted my hand, palm up and fire appeared. Joey's eyes grew to the size of small dinner plates as the flames danced on my hand. I raised my hand up higher so the others could see as well. I fluctuated the temperature of the flames, changing them from orange to red to blue. Duke stuck one finger out, testing to see if the flames were real. I knew he felt the intense heat coming off it when he quickly retracted his finger. Closing my fingers over the flames, I extinguished them.

"There isn't one way to use magic. When I was learning, my master made me speak the words necessary in order to better learn control. As I got older, I improved to the point where I could merely think the word, and the magical current around me would respond. But I knew many fine mages who spoke magic spells their entire lives, simply because it was what they learned and it was more reliable. To answer your question about my staff, I can perform more powerful spells with him nearby or in my hand, but for simpler spells, he doesn't bother to help me. I'm not sure where he even is right now."

The Pharaoh raised his eyebrow at me, "You speak of your staff as if it were a real person."

I shrugged, "With that much magical energy confined to one space, he thinks he is and has a mind of his own. I carved him myself and after infusing him with magic, he soon started using magic on his own."

A few of the others laughed at the short story, but I couldn't tell if they believed me or not. Tea narrowed her eyes at me again and asked another question.

"You just said someone taught you magic, but earlier you said magic was more powerful 5,000 and more years ago. How could you have possibly learned magic?"

I smiled again, "So, your question is 'how old are you,' correct?"

She nodded, seeming almost excited about having caught me in some sort of trap. I scratched my head for a moment, trying to remember how old I actually was. I sighed in defeat a few moments later.

"Let's put it this way. I met the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, Yami, when he was a toddler."

His eyes widened as the rest of the group froze at my revelation. Joey started counting on his fingers, trying to do the math in his head, "So you're 5,000 years old?"

I shrugged, "Something like that."

"Well, I can definitely say that you look good for your age."

I smiled at Joey in thanks. I knew all of this was hard to take in at once, but I would be forever grateful at how kind and understanding this group of mortals was being right now. They fell quiet after that. I heard the nasty voice in my head tell me I had gone too far because they didn't have to know my real age. I could have tricked them into thinking I was only 17. I shook these thoughts away, firmly believing that it would be better in the long run if they knew I wasn't from this millennium. I could only hope that there would never be a reason why they would discover I was much older than I said.

As we waited for the 8th duelist to arrive, Joey asked me to perform various tricks for his amusement. He asked me to make him float, to hold lightning on my fingertips, and to make things disappear and reappear, all of which I did to his great delight. After all that, he asked me to teach him a simple spell, but I had to admit defeat at last.

"Joey, I'm not much of a teacher. I was the Pharaoh's Vizier and his head mage, not a magic instructor."

He pouted a little for a few moments, before demanding that I do something amazing to make up for my defeat. I lifted my hand and opened it for them to see. I had caused a small seed to appear in my palm and as they watched, the seed grew into a beautiful pink lotus flower.

Pharaoh

Dria smiled softly as she raised the flower towards her nose to inhale the sweet fragrance of the flower. I still couldn't help but hold such strong feelings towards her, even after her revelation. My rational mind told me I shouldn't trust her. While she might not have been working for Marik, there could be another she was working for, an evil that was much greater than the one before us here. She might not have wanted to hurt us now, but what if that changed after the tournament? I would not put my hikari or my friends at risk like that.

But deep down, my heart knew it could trust her no matter what secrets she revealed, and it yearned to know more about her. She said she had known me before, so perhaps we had been friends or maybe more. I cursed my amnesia-afflicted brain, wishing desperately to remember who she was and what she had meant to me. Yugi believed that we could trust her. He thought maybe she had gotten so used to hiding her secrets that it became second nature. He believed that she had not intended to trick us. In fact, she deserved our complete trust that much more because she had told us the truth. His reasoning gave me enough faith to ignore the worries my mind created, and to believe in my heart.

Just keep the cute side-glances and the passionate kisses to a minimum. I don't feel like puking rainbows every time I see you two together. His ghostly self winked at me after a slight blush appeared on my cheeks at his comment. Don't you hog all the time with her again either! She's my friend too. I laughed, agreeing to his demands.

Kaiba stood on the platform alone for quite some time. At first, I thought that the 8th duelist might not appear, but Dria smiled when Joey voiced the same thought and said, "She'll be here. She'll arrive perfectly on time."

She? How did Dria know it was a woman? Just as she said that, the 8th duelist finally arrived. Dria was right about the duelist being female as well. Maybe it was part of her magic; that would be difficult to get used to if that was the case.

The woman paused when she reached Dria and myself, bowing slightly with her left foot forward, before continuing up the platform; Dria returned the sentiment by slightly bowing her head, so I followed her example. Kaiba began his intimidation tactics against her immediately, but the duelist was unbothered.

"You may call me Ishizu. Ishizu Ishtar."

It was the woman we had met at the Egyptian exhibit in the museum. She had revealed my ancient past to me, including the fact that I was once Pharaoh of Egypt. Why had she come here? Surely there was a reason other than simply to duel in a tournament.

"I have come here to save my brother."

"Oh boy, one Ishtar was bad enough."

Dria laughed lightly at Joey's comment, agreeing with him completely. As Kaiba and Ishizu spoke with one another, I turned back to Dria and opened my mouth to ask my question. "How did I know Ishizu was the 8th duelist?" Her eyes met mine and she smiled softly.

I froze for a moment, surprised that she had read my mind almost word for word. She giggled at my shocked expression, causing a small smile to spread across my lips.

"Sorry, old habits die hard. You probably didn't notice this, but every Millennium Item gives off a certain aroma. I have no idea why they do or why they chose those scents. I knew it was her because of her necklace."

I raised my eyebrow at her. She had said quite a few unusual things today. Being a magician didn't surprise me since she had already told me that. But not only being my age, but also having known me in ancient Egypt? Now the Millennium Items have specific scents? Maybe my mind hadn't been wrong in being suspicious earlier.

"Look I know it's crazy and seems like it's out of a bad movie. Much of what I've told you is hard to believe. But, it's all true. I would gain nothing by lying to you about anything. If you concentrate, you might be able to smell thyme, oranges, cinnamon, and probable some spice from my pendant."

I closed my eyes and tried to find these scents she spoke of. When I realized she was right, I didn't know how to respond. How did she know all this information? How had I not noticed this before?

Dria

"What do you mean your necklace?"

I had forgotten that Yugi and the Pharaoh were the only ones who were aware of my necklace's origins. I pulled it out and lifted up so the others could see it.

"It's called the Millennium Pendant. It was created after the original Items by the Pharaoh himself and he gave it to me for safekeeping."

Tea narrowed her eyes at me, "Safekeeping what?"

I turned back to her, feeling my green eyes burning, "I can't say anything more than that right now."

She opened her mouth to retort, but I turned away and did not turn back. Seto and Ishizu were still arguing and had yet to start the duel.

"Have you forgotten that it was my idea for you to organize the Battle City Tournament? To lure duelists like Marik?"

Her comment caught me by surprise. She had used the tournament to lure her brother out of the shadows, and it had worked perfectly. That was the power of the Millennium Necklace. I looked back towards the Pharaoh, who had reopened his eyes and met my gaze before looking back to the platform. He didn't say anything, but merely focused on the upcoming duel. I suppressed the tears in my eyes. Was I losing him in saying too much too soon? Maybe this wasn't the right time to say anything?

"I'm surrounded by superstitious nitwits."

I was sorely tempted to throw something at Seto, but I settled with sticking out my tongue at him for now. Perhaps we were superstitious, but in this case, it was better than being caught unawares. Finally, they began the duel. Ishizu consulted her Necklace multiple times, and used the information to toy with Seto, though not to harm him like Marik had toyed with Mai.

"So she knows everything that's going to happen before it happens!"

"This sounds just like that trick Espa Roba played on me."

The Pharaoh nodded, "But I can assure you this is not a trick. Just like Dria, Ishizu's power is very much real."

He looked towards me as he spoke, and I felt a smile cross my face at his words. I mouthed 'thank you' because I knew it wasn't easy to believe me, and he merely winked in return.

As much as I wanted to pay attention to the duel, I was distracted. Part of me was relieved to have finally told the others most of the truth, and it didn't care whether or not they chose to trust me or even like me anymore. Now that they knew, I at last had people I could trust. They wouldn't tell anyone else, that much I knew.

But the other part of me was dejected. I desperately wanted them to like me. I had missed having real friends. Pegasus had been wonderful and kind, and he had given me the family I had wanted so badly, but I was selfish, and I wanted more. I wanted to be a semi-normal girl with a semi-normal life. I felt a ghostly tap on my shoulder. It was Yugi.

He smiled at me, Are you alright? You seem distracted. I nodded and motioned towards his counterpart. He shook his head, No, he's watching Ishizu very closely, so he won't notice us for the next few minutes.

I smiled as I responded, I suppose I'm alright. I'm just worried that I've told you all too much, too soon. And there's still quite a bit I haven't told you yet. I don't want to scare you all away or make you hate me because you are the best friends I've had in years.

Don't be worried. Yes, it's a lot to take in and attempt to understand, but the Pharaoh and I will stand by you because we trust you, even if there are things you haven't said yet. You haven't been able to share these things with anyone else in a long time, right? Give yourself and us some time to adjust.

He smiled one more time, gently touching my shoulder once more, before vanishing back into the Puzzle. The Pharaoh looked down at the Puzzle, probably sensing Yugi's movements, and then looked at me. I smiled a little, and then tried not to swoon when he sent me back his gentle smile. I blushed and quickly looked away before I could faint.

"Virus Cannon, wipe out 10 magic cards in her deck!"

Normally, I wouldn't have thought anything of a move like that, but something was bothering me. Why was Ishizu letting Seto destroy so many of her cards? Seto himself caught me up on the duel as he boasted that his Shrink and Crush combination destroyed many of Ishizu's powerful monsters, and now her magic cards too. Ishizu's calm demeanor could only mean one thing. Her Necklace had showed her how to reverse everything Seto had done, and she would turn the tables on him.

"Exchange of the Spirit!"

Just as I had thought. Ishizu reclaimed all her powerful monsters and magic cards, and Seto was forced to give up all his remaining cards for the 6 in his graveyard. That was something he was unprepared for, and it showed on his face. Ishizu's move rattled Seto's concentration. Instead of focusing on how he could use his cards to help him, he was focused on all the powerful cards he had just lost. His hands shook as he drew his card. Ishizu was getting to Seto. He was making moves without even thinking about her face down cards. He was playing right into her hands and he didn't even realize it. Pharaoh must have been correct when he guess the reason why Seto wasn't attacking Ishizu's monsters. It was the only idea that made sense, taking Seto's dueling strategies into account.

Mokuba cheered on his brother, even though it seemed like Seto was about to lose. Seto looked at me, trying to hide any emotion in his eyes. But I could tell he was worried. The slight creases that formed around his mouth and the angle of his brows as he seemed to glare at me were tell-tale signs of his stress. I smiled back, teasing him gently, "Surely you're not about to be defeated by all this hocus pocus nonsense, are you Seto?"

He returned his focus to the duel and placed one card face down. It could be his last move if Ishizu decided to attack him directly again. But instead, she only summoned one monster. Perhaps she had an even bigger plan for Seto. She knew that she could have won by attacking directly, and yet she wanted it to happen a specific way to guarantee the outcome. Using her monsters, Seto summoned the last Egyptian god, Obelisk. I looked back towards Ishizu's side of the field. Her face down card had disappeared. There were only a handful of cards I could think of that would vanish after the kind of move Seto made. Was she planning to destroy Obelisk with a magic or trap card? It was a little poetic considering the fact she had given it to him with the intention of it being returned.

Suddenly, my necklace started to glow, as did the Puzzle and the Rod. We all gazed at our Items in confusion. I didn't know what would cause all three to activate at once. Seto's former self had been the master of the Rod, but why would it come to his defense now? Seto no longer believed in the magic. He didn't even believe that it was possible to have a past life. He stood on the platform frozen for a few moments. The Millennium Rod was showing him something that would help him win the duel.

"Someone else is controlling my Millennium Rod. What did you do, little princess?"

Marik stepped towards me menacingly, blaming me for the sudden events. I glared in response, daring him to continue moving closer. He stopped in his tracks but didn't take his eyes off me. Clearly, he didn't know or understand even half of what he claimed to know. Suddenly, Seto made an unexpected move.

He sacrificed Obelisk the Tormentor in order to summon his Blue Eyes.

The duel was over. But, Ishizu seemed happy about her loss. "You've taught me a valuable lesson. You've given me hope."

She realized that destiny was not always set in stone. Things could change if someone was strong enough, and willing enough, to make change.

"Here comes Johnny Sunshine."

Seto left after a few parting words to the Pharaoh. Ishizu looked towards me and bowed slightly. I lowered my head in return and smiled. Marik would be saved. I would make sure of it.