YuGiOh!, Past Repeating: Book 2

by xyugiohluvrx

Battle City is coming up and there's a new evil around the corner. Sarah's bond with the Pharaoh will need to be strong for the upcoming battle they have to compete in. Will they succeed in defeating this new enemy? Read to find out. Hunters are everywhere... you've been warned... [PharaohxOC]

41. Ambivalence

Written: 14/02/19

Author's Note: Welcome to another chapter! This one is going to be interesting because I'm sure it was quite unexpected. :3 Long chapter ahead! =D

~*Sarah has to duel Zafar. She is both troubled and nervous for the match, the former more so. Finally, a fair fight where she can truly put Zafar in place. Finally, a chance at revenge for his hand against her face. Finally… a chance to blow a hole straight through Marik's plan.*~

Disclaimer!: Fanfiction, and I do NOT get any money out of it either. Thanks. ^^

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Battle City - New Evil Emerges, Old Friends Reunite - Chapter 41

When I looked up from my deck, I caught the Pharaoh's eyes.

His gaze was intense: crimson eyes burned into my scarlet ones. I blinked and suddenly he wasn't looking at me anymore.

He was worried. As was I. We had good reason to be because Zafar was my opponent in this upcoming match.

Zafar did not like to play by the rules. He went against Marik's plans twice now. I was curious to know why he was still kept as a subordinate, despite his unpredictable nature. He was a liability to Marik. Going against his plans could result in poor outputs, but for some reason he was allowed to stay.

As I was going up the elevator with Roland and Zafar, the latter being unable to remove his eccentric eyes off me in a threatening manner, I realized that it might have been because of his unpredictability that Marik hasn't banished him. Perhaps he enjoyed the random nature that Zafar harboured. Perhaps it was amusing to him. Perhaps it was actually helpful. I wouldn't know. Zafar was out of my understanding.

And the way he was constantly looking at me, trying to stare me down, was unsettling. I could only glare back at him so as not to let him win.

When his eyes started moving down, and the small smirk on his face began to show more, I started to get nervous but continued to put up a strong front so he wouldn't break me down.

He wanted to scare me.

However, being hit a couple of times wasn't enough to steer me away. I wanted to stop him with my anger directed towards him pushing me forward.

He broke the silence with a question.

"How long do you think it takes scars to heal?"

I didn't want to answer, mainly because I didn't want to give him the satisfaction, but I wanted to know where his mind was going.

When I didn't answer, he upped whatever game he was playing.

"How long do you think it would take your scars to heal?"

My eyes narrowed even more.

"Hey." Roland's stern voice broke the stressed atmosphere. I couldn't see what his eyes were showing behind his dark glasses but his fist was clenched. He didn't like Zafar's presence either.

"I won't allow threats aboard this aircraft. As per Battle City rules, if you do this again, you will be removed from the tournament."

Zafar snickered, but didn't say anything. He kept quiet for the rest of the elevator ride.

Again, he ran his mouth off and said whatever was on his mind, and he did whatever he wanted too. He couldn't be read. He couldn't be predicted.

This quality of his… prevented anyone from guessing his next move.

If this was how he was outside of a duel, I could only imagine what he would be like in a duel.

And I was the pawn he was waiting for to move around on the chessboard.

The elevator stopped ascending and the doors opened. The familiar cold wind rushed at us, but we soon grew accustomed to it, and much faster than before. Roland showed us where we would be standing on the dueling platform itself, which was raised higher than the observation deck.

When the others joined us, it was the Pharaoh's eyes that I met first. Instantly, I felt a little better after the unsettling elevator ride.

"Glad you could make it, Great King!" said Zafar. His smirk rivalled Bakura's and I was surprised about this discovery. "You wouldn't want to miss the defeat of your precious little Guardian, now would you?"

"It seems that you have mistaken something," said the Pharaoh. "I'm not here to see my Guardian's defeat. I'm here to see your defeat at the hands of my perfectly capable Guardian.

"Don't challenge her so lightly."

"Oh, I wouldn't even dream of it." Here, Zafar stole a glance at Roland, recalling what he was told in the elevator. His suddenly cocky attitude must have been the result of finally being able to duel. After the uneventful conclusion to our fight in the warehouse, he was ready to go again to get what he wanted.

Roland didn't indicate that he acknowledged Zafar's glance, but I was sure that he saw, and would hopefully begin to understand just how dangerous he was going to be.

Kaiba took his place next to Mokuba on the observation deck on one side, while the others claimed the other side. Marik stood the farthest away from everyone, his olive-green eyes fixed on me.

I was used to having so many eyes on me. As a young female taking the role of Pharaoh's Guardian in Ancient Egypt, I was met with many skeptic and often hostile glares. However, I rose up against them and defended my honour to the end. This wasn't going to be any different.

"Alright, let's get things started," said Kaiba. Roland nodded and raised his arm.

"Duelists! Please shuffle your opponent's deck!"

This was the only time that I was willing to walk up to Zafar, on the account that duelists weren't able to shuffle their own decks. Otherwise, I had no desire to breathe the same air as him.

We exchanged our decks and started to shuffle the cards, all the while never once looking away from one another. I didn't know what he would do in the moment when I wasn't being careful.

"You're too tense," Zafar said suddenly. I was shuffling his deck rather calmly so I didn't know what he was getting at.

"And you're too brash," I countered. "Try anything terrible and I'll be forced to defend myself."

I was very careful not to make any threats. Not only did I want to remain in the tournament, but I also didn't want to stoop down to his level.

Zafar's confident smile never wavered. Then he stepped closer and whispered in my ear:

"I'll tear your defences down."

I quickly stepped away while touching the side of my face. My stomach turned, but I forced myself not to be bothered. He laughed at my reaction.

"Hey! What did you say to her?!" Joey's angry voice rang across the platform.

"It's fine, Joey." My calm demeanor surprised him. Even though I might not have been lashing out like Joey was, how I would have done so before, inside I was roiling. I didn't want Zafar to win by default if I unleashed my anger. I had to be strong and contain it.

His cocky behaviour made sense to me now.

I returned Zafar's deck and took back my own. Then without another word, I walked back to my side of the platform.

"You've got the right idea, Sarah!" said Tristan. "Don't let him get to you!"

"This duel will be tough for her," I heard Téa say.

She was right. This duel was going to be different then the others, because not only was I about to face someone who looked a lot like my older brother, but this man also knew my weaknesses. He seemed to have studied me very well, or perhaps I was just too easy to read. He knew that my anger could get the best of me, and was trying to use it to his advantage. If I fell for his antics, and did something as a result of my anger, it may throw me out of the tournament, and by default, Zafar would advance to the later rounds. This would give him and Marik another chance of getting closer to the Pharaoh. With me being out of the tournament, our confidence would waver, because it would be the result of my anger winning over logic. My own self-esteem would plummet, and my lack of confidence in my ability to address a crisis would diminish. This would cripple whatever relationship I finally established with the Pharaoh.

I would lose his trust in me.

I couldn't let that happen, so I needed to overcome my anger towards the man masquerading around as my "brother".

"It will be tough," I said. Then I activated the Duel Disk on my arm and slid my deck into its slot, beginning the Life Point Counter.

"But I'm not losing here. I can't and I won't. Now that we're finally on a level playing field with nowhere for you to run, we will end our feud once and for all, right here in this duel."

"Someone's fired up," said Zafar, who also activated his Duel Disk. Then he pulled off his robe and tossed it to the side. The red bandana he had worn before to cover his face at the warehouse was now tied around his neck and hanging off his shoulder. His clothes were normal, consisting of a dark sleeveless hoodie over top of some cargo pants. It was strange to see a person look so normal but belong to an evil organization.

I noted some tattoos on his bare arms which looked like hieroglyphs, but I wasn't sure. I couldn't read them from here. No doubt they were similar to the ones Marik had on his face, spouting about loyalty to his cause.

"Hey, you got this, Sarah!" cheered Duke.

"Remember why you're here!" encouraged Téa. She was right again. I needed to be completely focused and never forget what my role was.

I stole one more glance from the Pharaoh.

He gave me an encouraging nod.

I took a deep breath.

Roland's voice boomed over the rushing wind.

"The second duel for the Battle City Finals will now begin!"

LP: Sarah: 4000/Zafar: 4000

A terrifying laugh came from Zafar before we even began. A part of me wondered why in Ra's name I was stuck with such an adversary, but another part of me wanted to pound him into the ground at the same time. I wouldn't have hesitated to cut him down had this duel been one of swords instead of cards. Instead of rushing towards one another with everything we had, we must now patiently wait for each of our turns as per courtesy. I was sure that despite all his talk of grandeur, he had some fighting techniques that perhaps would even match my own.

Alas, I didn't have the privilege of eluding his insanity.

"It's strange how things turned out this way," said Zafar, a cocky smile plastered on his face. "Duelists are chosen at random, right?"

"Of course, it's to keep the matches fair," I said, and as soon as I did, I felt like something was wrong. He wouldn't have brought this up if the numbers hadn't been chosen at random. Was he suggesting that the numbers could be rigged?

"Is it fair to have them at random?" asked Zafar. "What if I believed my abilities to be worthy enough to match a duelist stronger than the one who ends up being my opponent?"

He was trying to rile me up. Zafar didn't speak nonsense no matter how much I despised his voice. There was always a reason behind his words.

"Then you would need to show that with your cards," I said. "Let them do the talking instead. Prove to everyone watching that you deserve better."

"According to life, I don't deserve anything!" he said suddenly. I felt his hatred from so far away. "But what I will show to life itself, and to your friends, is that nothing will stand between me and getting what I want!"

The wind suddenly got so cold that it pricked my skin, numbing it. Zafar stood with his arms outstretched and from within his hands emerged tendrils of black and silver smoke.

I took a step back, alarmed. "What the…" My eyes widened as the strange substance edged closer towards me. "What in Ra's name are you doing…!"

The air around Zafar began to move fast and his dark eyes glowed brightly for a moment.

"Taking matters… into my own hands."

The coils of shadow that suddenly appeared shot towards me, grasping my legs and arms and pulling me forward. I fell into Zafar's arms, who was abruptly before me. Against the unknown, I struggled to pull free from his tight grasp. His body was frighteningly cold, and a familiar feeling of helplessness clutched my heart, terrifying me into fighting against him even harder. The shadows drew closer and closer, spiralling out of control around us.

Overwhelming feelings of resistance clouded my brain. Suddenly, I was in a dark place where I couldn't feel anything, then the darkness cleared and I remembered where I was.

I saw the dock, with Téa chained under her looming doom to my far left, and Yugi's duel against Joey right before me. An ever growing pain that I felt before consumed me, and my entire body was engulfed in it. I opened my mouth to scream, but even my lungs ached, and nothing came out. I couldn't escape, and my dying veins exploded. What were once dark lines all over my body were now billowing black shadows.

Sounds brought me back. From within all the darkness, familiar voices broke through and pulled me out of my reliving nightmare. Suddenly, I was back on the blimp, on my knees gasping for air, with my hand clinging to my shirt, trying to claw out my trembling heart.

"Sarah!" It was Téa who I heard first. My blurry gaze met with ocean blue eyes, and when I blinked again, her worried expression came into view. Everyone's did. Like a broken camera, I scoped the Pharaoh out from the crowd. He was in front, leaning over the railing with wide crimson eyes. Seeing him brought me some reassurance, as though his presence told me that I was back from where I didn't want to be, and that it was going to be okay.

Something had happened, and Zafar's dark chuckle brought it into the open.

I realized what it was that I felt when he pulled me towards him.

"You…" My voice was shaking. I couldn't believe it - I sounded terrified. Me of all people: terrified at what Zafar had shown me. The one person I didn't wish to show my weak side just showed me what he was capable of and what he had done before.

"You were the one behind the Dark Magic…"

"Call it what you will," said Zafar. "I myself prefer to call it Shadow Magic Version 2.0."

"'Shadow Magic'?" I asked incredulously. I clenched my fists to keep myself from shaking anymore than I already had.

I thought I was the only one who could use magic.

"It isn't like any Shadow Magic you may be used to," continued Zafar, of which I had already concluded from my experience of it. "Like the Shadow Magic that the wielders of the Millennium Items can use, because it's different from the Millennium Items altogether, although it is derived from them.

"You're not the only normal one who can do the impossible now."

Slowly, I rose to my feet. The heaviness was still on my chest, but at least now I was back to my senses.

"You think you can do the impossible now…"

"But of course," said Zafar. "I made you relive what I did to you back at the docks, didn't I?"

My glare towards him just made him laugh.

"Zafar, two. Sarah, zero. I think it's time you kicked it up a notch if you would like any hopes of outsmarting me."

"So, you're the one who poisoned me with Dark Magic back at the docks…" I said.

"You won't believe the things I can do, and for this match, I have a special condition in place. It might even look familiar!"

As I took a closer look at the environment, I noticed dark shadows surrounding both the observation deck and the dueling platform. It was indeed like something I had seen before, and yet it was different. Shadow Games had the same setting: dark shadows encompassing both players and inflicting some form of punishment on the loser of the match. What made these shadows different was the shining silver spaced throughout, like an old film. Sparks ran through shadowy veins at random, as though it was having difficulty stabilizing itself, and yet it stood.

Seeing this made sense to a question that was on my mind.

"You don't have a Millennium Item," I said. "You're using this magic as a substitute to inflict the same kind of damage that a Shadow Game would."

"It's an amazing feat!" said Zafar. "To come up with this beautiful array of magic that could potentially revolutionize the Shadows!"

I had it all wrong. It wasn't Zafar's unpredictable nature that intrigued Marik at all. It had to have been his invention of Dark Magic. Pulled from the very essence of the Shadow Magic the Pharaoh and I knew all too well, and twisted into something completely unnatural. It was strong enough to make me believe I was still being attacked as before, and who knew what kind of detrimental effect this magic had when used in a duel?

"This magic works differently from your typical Shadow Magic," continued Zafar. "Damage inflicted in this match aren't permanent, but they might as well feel as such."

"Why are you doing this!" I shouted. I had had enough of him talking so easily. I wasn't here for a conversation, but to put a dent in Marik's arsenal.

"I'll tell you as the duel progresses," he said while drawing a card, prolonging my state of frustration.

"You creep!" came Joey's shout. His honey-coloured eyes were burning with anger. "Why don't you just leave her alone already!"

"Stop the duel!" cried Tristan. "This magic can't possibly be legal!"

Mokuba, sympathetic with the situation, looked expectantly up at his brother, but Kaiba didn't say what everyone was hoping:

"Sarah, can you fight?"

I counted the last of the five cards I needed for my hand and held on to them tightly, in case another rush of magic changed the course of the wind again. Thoughts were running through my mind without any leash, some crashing into one another in doubt, and new ones forming out of fear.

How did Zafar manage to produce a new kind of magic? Or was it something ancient and he only dug it up to use now?

What was the purpose of this magic? Was there an end game?

The unpredictable nature Zafar displayed was again confusing me, forcing me to think more and more about my situation.

He must have been trying to shatter my confidence. It might not have been his overall goal, but he needed me to waver so that he could take advantage of it.

I couldn't let him tie me down. Not again. After realizing that he was the one behind the magic at the docks, I had more reason to continue fighting.

Therefore, my answer to Kaiba's question could only be given with courage.

"Yes, I can."

"Do you want to fight as a duelist in a mere tournament or as a fighter who can take action against anything thrown at her?" continued Kaiba. Mokuba didn't like where this was going, and neither did Joey or Tristan.

"Hey, man! What kind of question is that?" asked Joey harshly.

"Duels aren't just about cards anymore," said Kaiba. "If they're about heart, then duelists need to fight on their own two feet against their opponent, no matter how crazy they seem or what they try to pull.

"I held this tournament for the sole purpose of luring in Rare Hunters, and now Sarah is dueling against one. She has the choice of running away or going through with the duel under whatever terms they set forth. She can let them win, or she can fight to win. Do you really want to deprive her of a choice that a duelist needs to make?"

Joey clenched his teeth. "She shouldn't have to deal with the same thing twice," he said. "She's been through enough already!"

The trips to the hospital, all the pain… I wasn't the only one thinking about those things at all. My new friends also had my safety in mind.

All the more reason to fight.

"I can't let him continue with what he's doing," I said. "If I don't fight against him now, then he will only get stronger.

"I can't let him get to you guys too."

"And here I was thinking that I was the overconfident one!" laughed Zafar. "Do you really think you can stop me? I have your life in my hands!"

"We'll just see about that!" I said. "And Kaiba, I'll do the latter, because that's all I know how to do."

"Good answer. Roland! Let the duel continue. Don't stop any duel for the sake of Shadow Magic. It's a part of the tournament now."

"Y-Yes, sir." Roland, being the tournament's referee, was concerned for the ethics of the duels, of course, but given the 'okay' by his boss, he let us proceed, albeit not looking too thrilled about it.

He had a front row seat to whatever horror show Zafar had in mind.

"Sarah!" I looked back at the crowd to see Eric next to the Pharaoh. It was a stupid detail to notice at the time, but they were both the same height; taller than me and each holding their own aura of determination. The Pharaoh looked more confident, putting more faith in my ability as a Guardian, but Eric faltered in this belief, because he didn't know. He didn't know who I really was.

I suppose my nerves were making me notice pointless things.

Suddenly faced with a dangerous opponent, I felt like I should have told him. He was clearly worried about me, perhaps to make up for what happened at Duelist Kingdom, or because he was genuinely concerned.

Again, I decided to believe in the latter.

When I met his eyes, my heart swelled.

"Fight with all you have," said Eric.

I nodded, but then decided once and for all what I was going to do.

"If I make it through this duel… I'll tell you everything," I said. I hoped to the Gods above that what I was promising was okay.

In the end, he had a right to know. Marik and his Rare Hunters had targeted him as well, and now he was a part of this as much as Joey and the others were.

It hurt me to know our friends were pulled into this terrible game, but we couldn't change what had happened. The Pharaoh and I needed to continue fighting for the safety of our friends.

Eric was now also a friend.

I guess, unknowingly, he passed the same 'test of friendship' that I gave back in Duelist Kingdom… It always amazed me how some things came back full circle.

Eric gave me a small smile, but it hurt to look at. The Pharaoh looked between the both of us before finally resting his crimson gaze on me.

"Be careful, Sarah," he said.

The others suddenly looked so far away, even though they were right there. I held his words close and nodded.

"Alright, Zafar," I said. "Do your worst."

Zafar smirked. "You know that I intend to," he said. He looked at the card that he drew and played it right away. "And I'll start with this."

He summoned a fiend monster harbouring a jetpack on his back in Defense Mode. He was small, and he was summoned with no attack or defence points. This didn't bode well, because he was most certainly an Effect Monster.

"What are you scheming…"

Zafar clicked his tongue and shook his head. "You should know that a magician would never reveal his tricks."

He didn't deserve that title. He was a coward before he was a magician.

"Don't underestimate Absolute King Back Jack," said Zafar. "He will be your downfall in a few turns."

"I highly doubt that," I said, drawing my first card. It was obvious that he wanted me to attack, so if it was a fight that he wanted, then it was a fight that he was going to get.

"I summon Different Dimension Survivor in Attack Mode!"

A man hidden in rags materialized onto the field, towering over Zafar's monster. Defiant as he was, King Back Jack matched the challenging glare of my Survivor. He didn't want to go down without a fight either.

"Then I play the magic card Dimensional Fissure!"

To my right, a fissure in space opened up, and like a black hole, it began to suck in air. Wind speeds were already high at the top of the blimp, and with this continuous spell card now in play, things were going to pick up even more. My hair was already flying all over the place. In an effort to control it, I tied it up.

"Getting serious already?" asked Zafar mockingly. "You've already played your most powerful magic card and it's only the first round."

"I know why you summoned an Effect Monster," I said, interrupting his grandeur. He gave me an irritated glare. "You expect me to attack and deal with the consequences of its effect when it's sent to the Graveyard just to get it over with.

"But I've got news for you, Zafar. Thanks to my Different Dimension cards, I can force your monsters to bypass the Graveyard altogether, rendering their effects useless."

Zafar simply clenched his fist and didn't say anything. I took that as him being upset at me for figuring out a way to escape his monster's effect.

"Survivor, destroy Zafar's Absolute King and banish him from the game!"

With Dimensional Fissure in place, monsters that would usually be sent to the Graveyard were removed from the game instead. This play would prevent any of Zafar's Effect Monsters from activating their effects, because most Effect Monsters required being sent to the Graveyard for their effects to become active.

With this strategy, I didn't have to deal with the repercussions at all.

From under his ragged cloak, Survivor revealed his mechanical arm that was fitted with a mechanism in his palm. He charge up for an attack and shot a beam of light at King Back Jack. He disintegrated into nothing in moments, and his remnants spiralled into the darkness of my Dimensional Fissure.

Zafar was quiet. Shadows clung to his eyes.

"Go Sarah!" cheered Téa.

"I can't believe she thought about that," said Eric. "She was one step ahead of Zafar."

"During my duel, when I believed I had no choice but to face Bakura's Effect Monsters, I allowed them to activate and hoped that I could pull through whatever mess they created," said the Pharaoh. "However, Sarah didn't even give Zafar's monsters a chance, and bypassed their Effects altogether.

"It's genius."

"Only if it worked."

Zafar's words cut through cheerful air, and when he looked back up, the shadows disappeared from his eyes to reveal a crazed expression. After all that thought about his unpredictability, I still couldn't see through him?

After knowing that he would most likely pull something crazy during this duel, I still couldn't predict his moves?

"Sure, for any normal Effect Monster, that move would be devastating. However, you should be aware of the fact that I know your deck, Sarah.

"After all, I did study you very carefully."

I tried not to let his words get to me, but the way he said them made me quite uncomfortable.

"Which is why the monster you destroyed has two effects: one that does activate when it is destroyed and sent to the Graveyard, but another that activates when it is banished from play. Thanks to your Dimensional Fissure, I get to activate the second effect."

Damn it! I cursed, gritting my teeth together. Now he is one step ahead!

Eric sighed. "Well, that was short-lived," he said. "Zafar ended up being ahead of the game after all."

"The second effect states that when King Back Jack is removed from play, I get to see one card from the top of my deck," said Zafar. "And if it's a Trap Card, I get to set it into play. But if it isn't, then I send that card to the Graveyard."

"Why take the risk?" I asked as he drew a card. "You did all this for the possibility of drawing a specific Trap Card rather than hurt me?"

"Patience is a virtue," said Zafar. Without much consideration for what he drew, Zafar slipped the card into his Graveyard. It was obvious by the indifferent look on his face that he didn't care for that card at all. He just wanted to find the card that he was searching for.

"I'll just have to wait until your next turn."

I tried not to show my irritation. The fact that Zafar knew my deck made me uncomfortable too. If he knew my cards, then he would know what strategies I could play, and have a way to counter each of them.

I had to think outside the box.

"For now, I end my turn."

"Just because my field is currently empty, don't think that you have nothing to worry about," said Zafar as he drew his next card. "You might find that I can summon anything out of nothing."

"Just try it."

"If you insist. Mist Archfiend! To the field!"

A twisted and dark version of Summoned Skull materialized onto the arena with mist clouds in its wake. Its golden claws shone brighter than its magma red body. It was a large monster with 2400 Attack Points - and 5 Stars.

He summoned the beast without a tribute.

"How is that legal?!" cried Joey.

"This card's effect allows me to summon it without a tribute," said Zafar. "And since you insisted on meeting one of my monsters, have a taste of what it can do.

"Mist Archfiend! Attack Survivor!"

With a deafening roar, Mist Archfiend amped himself up for his powerful attack. In one swift breath, he neutralized my Survivor, reducing him to dust. The worst part about it was the fact that my Survivor was now removed from play thanks to my own Spell Card.

LP: Sarah: 3400/Zafar: 4000

How distasteful… I thought as I removed Survivor from my arsenal. He was a powerful monster, and I hated to see him go. It disturbed me even more that, because of my own Spell Card, Survivor was further beyond my reach than I would have liked. He could have come in handy in a tight spot.

"Already a dent in her Life Points…" said the Pharaoh.

"Are we not going to address how he summoned a high level monster without sacrificing anymore?" asked Joey.

I was just thinking about possible card effects that could bring back monsters that were removed from the game when a fierce pain suddenly convulsed through my right leg. It was so acute, and so sudden, that I let out a cry before falling onto my other knee.

There was so much pressure in it that my leg felt like it was going to explode.

"Sarah!" came the Pharaoh's voice.

"Zafar!" I yelled. "What have you done to me?!"

The boy chuckled maniacally across from me, so much so that he had to grab hold of his stomach. I was getting even more irritated than before, and my head started to hurt because of it.

"You have to follow the condition for the duel, of course!" he said. "We're battling in the Shadows, and we must both pay the price for using its premises.

"For example, in this duel, with the death of every monster in battle, their respective card holders will receive a shock of pain equivalent to what you experienced back at the docks. However, instead of bearing it all at once, the pain will creep up our bodies until it finally invades our minds and drives us to brink of insanity!"

"You crazy bastard!" shouted Tristan. "That's going too far!"

"She's going to have to go through all that again?" asked Téa, looking terrified. "No… no, she can't…"

While the others were worrying on my behalf, I forced myself to pull it together. With a determined slam of my fist against the blimp surface, I coped with the pain as I rose to my feet. Standing on the affected leg made it much worse, so I stayed off it and leaned more onto my good leg. But what was I going to do if my other leg ended up being the same way in future turns?

I had to think of ways to save my monsters.

"This is just one more cowardly thing that he has to do," I stated. "To prove just how much he is lacking."

"Speaking of lacking," said Eric thoughtfully. "Sarah destroyed one of his monsters first, so why isn't he writhing in pain?"

Zafar smirked. "Oh, I feel pain," he said. Then he pulled up his pants leg to reveal his leg. It had turned shadowy and dark from the Shadow Magic entering his body.

My eyes widened. How could he still be standing so confidently? He didn't once give away that something had changed in the duel when I destroyed King Back Jack.

"It's in you and you still don't-"

"I feel pain, Sarah!" said Zafar suddenly. His voice became louder, as if he didn't want to sit back anymore. "I feel it too, just like you! But the difference between you and me is that I got used to it while you haven't! You've got a lot to learn if you want to stop us!"

I looked down at my leg, and sure enough, it was slowly beginning to change colour too. I almost felt sick seeing it change. It reminded me even more of what happened at the docks. The blurry vision, the lack of energy, the pulsating agony ripping my body apart.

I didn't want to go through that again.

My body started to shake just from thinking about it, and I had to dig my nails into my palms to stop myself.

I needed to snap out of it.

"You're not proving anything to me here," I said, biting back against the pain as best as I could while trying not to think about what happened before. It was proving to be quite difficult as it was clearly still in my mind. "All I see is someone who enjoys hurting others for their own selfish goals."

"You think my goal is selfish?" asked Zafar. "You know Marik's goal, but you don't know mine. So how could you possibly say that?"

"What… your boss is standing right there!"

"He knows everything." Zafar suddenly appeared very serious. His mood swings were just as unpredictable as his actions were. I gave up on trying to read him.

"He knows you're the one I'm after."

"What have I done to you, Zafar?"

He was quiet for a moment, probably trying to read the expression on my face, but I didn't give anything for him to go on.

I asked with a level voice, making sure I wasn't shouting back at him. One reason was because I needed to work on my anger management, and the second reason was because he would fight back, which wouldn't have solved anything. It was best if I got answers without much resistance.

If I could just… reason with him…

"Since I summoned Mist Archfiend without a sacrifice, he has to go this turn," said Zafar callously. At the same time, Mist Archfiend shattered into a million pixelated pieces before being sucked into my Dimensional Fissure.

"The price to pay for a summon like this? 1000 Life Points."

LP: Sarah: 3400/Zafar: 3000

"What?!" cried Joey, dumfounded. "He did all that just to lose his own Life Points?"

"And we're not just talking about a few hundred either," noted Tristan. "He sacrificed a thousand..."

"No…" said Eric. "Making Sarah lose Life Points wasn't his intention…"

"He did this with another purpose," said the Pharaoh. His brows were furrowed, and his crimson eyes blazed with anger. "Zafar wanted Sarah to feel loss - and its consequences. That's why he attacked her with a monster that wouldn't last long."

"It must have been the only thing he could play," said Duke. "And he thought that playing it and making Sarah suffer was worth more to him than losing Life Points."

"That's so sick…" said Téa. I caught her blue eyes flickering with worry and tried not to hear anything more.

"Poor Sarah…" said Serenity. "This isn't right…"

"Let's not pity the Guardian," said Zafar. "It's her job to take all the hits, right?"

"She doesn't deserve your hatred, Zafar," said the Pharaoh, standing up for me. "She has done nothing to wrong you. She has only ever-"

"Served you? Exactly."

"Enough!" My voice rang high above the whistling wind, stopping Zafar from saying anything more. I glared at him, directing all the anger that had surfaced through my eyes, resisting the urge to strike him.

"I thought we were dueling."

"You're right. Let's just settle this with the duel." Zafar played two cards from his hand, but they weren't monsters. I couldn't tell if they were Spell or Trap Cards. "I play these two face-down and end my turn. Finally, right? Now you can play."

"How kind of you." I drew my next card and focused on what I could do to bring down his Life Points. Talking just prolonged my exposure to this magic, and the longer the magic remained in my system, the harder it was to ignore. The pain was growing in magnitudes.

He's got two monsters that are removed from play, and I've got one… It was too soon to place Different Dimension Dynamite on the field. It wouldn't take enough of his Life Points to even make a dent.

I could feel everyone's eyes on me as I tried to keep it cool. Yes, I was scared. Yes, I didn't want to endure the Dark Magic again. Yes, I wanted this duel to be over, but I couldn't lose by forfeit. I couldn't be scared. There was no room for me to be scared. I was the Guardian of the Pharaoh and it was my duty to get in our enemies' way.

The self pep talk actually kind of helped.

Since I decided that playing D. D. Dynamite was too early, I thought of other strategies that I could play. It was clear that Zafar's intentions were to destroy my monsters more so than to deplete my Life Points, just so he could have an excuse to inflict some harm. Was he a sadist? If so, then he must have gone through something awful to turn out this way.

But what?

I need to summon a strong monster… one that Zafar won't be able to defeat as easily…

Since Zafar played an Effect Monster in the beginning, and one that could still activate despite my deck's ability, it was safe to say that he had more Effect Monsters waiting on the bench. To be safe, I first placed my newly drawn card face down.

"I place one card face-down," I started. "Then I summon Dimensional Alchemist!"

The armoured fairy monster flew onto the field. I was wary of Zafar's face-down cards, but I couldn't let the chance of possibly draining him of Life Points slip by. He was wide open for a direct attack.

"I'm going to strengthen my Dimensional Alchemist with a Spell Card called Big Bang Shot. This raises his Attack Power by 400 points, giving him a total of 1700! Now, my powered up beast, attack Zafar directly!"

Intense power brewed between the palms of my Fairy monster, and the mechanics within his arms began to stir. With the added effect of my Magic Card, the increased power transferred from the fairy's legs to his shoulders, before finally igniting the ball of energy at his fingertips. He charged up the attack and fired straight at Zafar.

I wished for the attack to hit its mark, to decrease Zafar's points well below the halfway point, but of course it wasn't going to be that easy.

"I play Negate Attack!"

A black hole emerged in front of Zafar, shielding him from my attack. Its immense gravity sucked in the magic attack, reducing it to nothing.

"Come now, Sarah," chided Zafar. "You didn't expect me to leave myself exposed, did you?"

"I could only hope," I muttered beneath my breath. "My turn is done."

"And so mine begins." Zafar drew his next card, smirked at the sight of it, then flashed his silvery eyes back at me.

"You wouldn't believe what I just drew."

I glared at him suspiciously, reminding myself to stay on guard. Zafar could have just as easily been trying to throw me off.

"I play the spell Hand Destruction! We must both discard two cards from our hands to the Graveyard, and then draw two more."

"What are you looking for?" I asked as I chose two cards to discard. It was tough, but I ended up removing another monster. Hopefully, I wouldn't need Exiled Force anytime soon.

"A present," he replied. As soon as he drew his second card, the crazed look on his face intensified. His malicious eyes widened and a crooked smile appeared on his lips.

"This was exactly what I needed. I summon Ahrima, The Wicked Warden in Attack mode!"

A beautifully dark hound materialized onto the field, and on his head was a creepy looking headpiece with three eyes and horns decorating it. The hound's eyes were empty, void of any feeling. I could see Zafar in his monsters, and it wasn't comforting. As if the sharp teeth weren't enough, he was also heavily armoured.

"Now I have a monster strong enough to match your Dimensional Alchemist," he said. "Ahrima, attack!"

"Both monsters have the same number of Attack Points," noted Joey, as we watched Ahrima gear up for an attack. "He's going to destroy Sarah's monster as well as his own."

"It's a stalemate," said Tristan.

"He still hardly cares about his own Life Points." Eric gripped the railing tightly. "Again, he's only going after her monster!"

Ahrima charged towards my monster, who was getting ready to defend himself with a magical attack. As the hound pounced, Dimensional Alchemist shot a beam. I braced myself for the effect I was about to play.

"I remove the top card of my deck from play to give Dimensional Alchemist a 500 point boost!"

The Alchemist's light attack strengthened two-fold, which easily blasted Ahrima away into nothing. I was quite thankful for that special effect. If my monster didn't have the boost, I would have been in trouble.

LP: Sarah: 3400/Zafar: 2500

"Ah, it tingles." Zafar inspected his raised arm and watched a couple of his fingers twitch after his monster was destroyed. I couldn't believe it. That same pain that destroyed my body was being treated as nothing by him. It made me sick to think about what his pain threshold was.

"You don't feel… anything from your monster's death?" I asked.

"Ahrima's death does nothing for me, so neither should the pain that I feel," came Zafar's curt reply. I had to force myself not to make a face at his words.

"At least Sarah didn't have to feel it that time…" offered Tristan quietly.

"That's where you're wrong," said Zafar. "She will feel pain alright, but in another way. When he is destroyed in battle, I get to move a spell card from my deck to my hand."

"Great, a spell of his choice now in his arsenal?" scoffed Joey.

"We play to our monsters strengths, do we not?" asked Zafar as he chose a spell card. "Or… to the weaknesses of our opponent's monsters."

The sly smirk on his face forced me to come to terms with a terrifying realization. "You let Dimensional Alchemist attack your monster," I said slowly. "You let him gain some power. You let him take your Life Points."

"That's right. It was the only way I could ensure that this specific card would make it into my hand at some point in the duel, hopefully near the beginning, so I could bring you down more easily."

I swallowed, suddenly feeling very tense.

"What is that card…"

"Have I scared you?"

I refused to show my fear. I couldn't let him see it. He played his cards well, and predicted what his outcomes could be if I played certain combinations of cards. It didn't help that my deck was centred around a main strategy, one that could easily be foiled if someone had just the right card.

He must have drawn something to take down that one strategy.

"I play one more card face-down and end my turn. Don't feel too scared, Sarah."

Glad that it was finally my turn again, I quickly drew my next card. I needed to protect myself before Zafar could do any real damage - such as making it impossible for me to win the duel with any Life Points to my name. I decided to focus on summoning a strong monster that could face off against any threat that Zafar may play against me.

I can't summon my old monsters. I thought. I need to come up with new strategies, ones that Zafar won't be able to predict.

However, it was hard to come up with new strategies so suddenly. For now, I had to try and stay on my feet.

"I summon Different Dimension Warrior Lady in Attack Mode!"

The elegant warrior clad in tight leather merged onto the field spinning a machete around in her hand, ready to hack a monster into pieces. To some degree, I wished that she could get rid of Zafar instead. He was standing so proudly before his empty field, with his last monster destroyed for a measly effect, and it bothered me.

All he had going for him was the single face-down card.

"Two strong monsters…" mocked Zafar. "Which one will challenge my trap card?"

"So the second face-down on his field is a trap…" murmured Eric.

"Will Sarah be able to counter it?" asked Tristan.

"We'll see…"

It was a harsh gamble, but I chose Warrior Lady to tackle the trap card, because then I could boost Dimensional Alchemist's attack power during his turn and wipe out some of Zafar's Life Points.

If he even allowed such a thing to happen. Since he claimed to know my cards so well, I had to be ready in case he could counter my second attack.

"Warrior Lady, attack Zafar directly!"

The warrior charged forward, swinging the machete effortlessly around before finally bringing it down on Zafar. Before she could cut down his Life Points, Zafar activated his trap card.

"You knew this would happen," he said.

I braced myself, ready to face whatever he was about to throw at me.

Instead of a flashy effect, or my monster's destruction, three shadowy shapes formed before Warrior Lady. Warrior Lady didn't cut through Zafar's chest like I hoped, she slashed one of the shadows instead, which dissipated under her blade.

"What are those?" asked Joey.

"Tripartite Shadow Tokens," answered Zafar. "They're monsters that take the form of trap cards."

"Those tokens are very rare…" I said with a glare. "No doubt ripped from the hands of a poor duelist."

"These were won."

"From an illegitimate game."

"You have no right to judge my methods, Guardian."

"But you have all the right in the world to judge me?"

"Call your next attack," challenged Zafar. "See what you have left to deal with when one of my tokens is left."

"Damn it…" I didn't have enough monsters to attack all of them, and he couldn't be bluffing, because there was only one thing that a duelist could do with a token: use it to Tribute Summon a more powerful beast.

"Dimensional Alchemist! Attack the second Token!" As my fairy monster shot a beam of blinding light to disintegrate another Shadow Token, I thought at least it was better to deal with one Token instead of two. And without two tokens to sacrifice, Zafar wouldn't be able to summon a high level monster.

"I end my turn…"

"I bet you do, sweetheart." Zafar drew his next card, but his attention was diverted towards his Shadow Token. "Now you'll meet your match.

"I sacrifice the third Shadow Token to summon Lich Lord, King of the Underworld!"

A whirlwind of shadows spun into form on Zafar's field. The remaining Shadow Token was sucked into its vortex and melded with the rest. As it dissipated, we could see the new monster taking shape. A horrid shape. From within the dense gloom appeared a skeleton donned with a tattered red robe and a broken crown. Enormous black-feathered wings graced his back and the king held an orb staff, which emitted an eerie green glow. Shadow dusted by his feet, forming small tendrils at random, at the ready for the king's command to attack.

I gawked at the might of this beast, with its overgrown wings that added to its startling height. It was right to bear 2400 Attack Points.

Zafar smirked at my helplessness. He had played many comebacks very well. To my strategy of triggering his trap card with my weaker monster, he just showed me that none of my monsters would be able to touch him. Both were stopped dead in their tracks, and now they were going to face the wrath of the King of the Underworld.

"My Tokens aren't affected by your Dimensional Fissure," Zafar added. His words were like salt to a wound. Already I had the displeasure of dealing with this new monster, but now I couldn't benefit from his destroyed "monsters", because they were part of a trap card. They didn't count, so they weren't removed from play.

"So don't think that you have something to gain from their sacrifice after all."

"That beast could eat both of Sarah's monsters for breakfast!" commented Tristan.

"I'm sure she's got some powerful monsters in her arsenal as well," said Duke. "She just needs to figure out a chance where she can play them without interruption."

"Not only does she need a strong monster to defeat my King of the Underworld," started Zafar. "She's also going to have to find another way to remove monsters from the game.

"I play the magic card Mystical Space Typhoon!"

A miniature hurricane materialized onto the field, hurtling water and wind in every which-way direction. There was only one Spell Card on the field, and it was the only one from my deck that could play my strategy of using my opponent's removed-from-play cards against them. Now I was going to see it go.

Along with my sole strategy.

"You know as well as anyone which card is going. Dimensional Fissure! Be gone!"

The hurricane swallowed up the fissure. Lightning crackled and flashed at its destruction. Soon, nothing remained, and the rift between the world beyond and the current field was gone. Now cards wouldn't be removed from play. Monsters were going to rest in the Graveyard as before.

I only had a few of his cards removed… I thought with remorse. The sight of the empty space beside me where the Dimensional Fissure once was bothered me quite a bit. With it on the field, I believed one strategy to be still in play, and a major one that played along with the cards in my deck.

But it was gone now. Disappeared without a trace in an instant.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Zafar felt like he would make one more move.

"I think it's time to finally play my trump card…"

Zafar activated a magic card, no doubt the one he picked up thanks to Ahrima's effect after being destroyed. The magic card showed its face on the duel field. As I read the inscription, my heart began to drop.

The mother of all trump cards was staring me straight in the face. With this, the duel was completely in Zafar's favour.

"I activate Lair of Darkness!"

Delicate shadows poured out of the card's illustration and pooled at its base. The others couldn't read the card's conditions at their distance, and Zafar revelled in the fact that he needed to explain my demise.

"This card does something magnificent," he started. "It turns all of my opponent's monsters into DARK monsters."

"No…" The flowing shadows began to slither towards my Dimensional Alchemist and Warrior Lady. It climbed up their bodies, straight into their minds. They cringed and cried out as their transformation begun. The beautiful white wings of my FAIRY-based monster Dimensional Alchemist turned dark and crumbling. Warrior Lady's shining blonde hair and armour turned black as a void, turning her LIGHT into something horrible. Both of my monsters were now DARK monsters, a class of monsters that - like any other - played to the strengths of its attribute.

My pure monsters were now tainted with darkness.

Zafar cackled at the sight of my horrified expression. His turn seemed to have lasted for a long time, because all he did was push me down further, until I was trapped in a corner. I felt very troubled by his continuing advances against me.

"Not only has the shadows taken hold of you," began Zafar, with that wicked smirk still on his face, laughing cruelly at my downfall. "Eating you from the inside-out, invading every vessel in your body, and hurting you like never before… but your monsters have now also been infected with darkness! This continuous spell card will make sure that all of your present and future monsters will meet the DARK attribute's requirements!

"Now then, Lich Lord! Begin the assault by attacking Sarah's Warrior Lady!"

The zombie king commanded the dancing shadows at his feet to move rapidly across the field towards my warrior monster. They covered her from head to toe, stifling any screams she tried to yell out, until there was nothing left of her. Her machete lay alone on the floor before finally disappearing as well.

I watched in horror as my monster perished into thin air and my Life Points dropped. Suddenly, the feeling of being kicked in the stomach overtook me, and I doubled over, grunting and gasping for air.

LP: Sarah: 2500/Zafar: 2500

"Stay strong, Sarah!" called the Pharaoh.

"F-Fine… I'm fine…" I forced. I tried to regain my normal breath, but it was hard with the pain ripping through my torso. First my leg and now my gut. I wasn't even sure if I would be able to stand up right.

"I have never had such an easy duel!" boasted Zafar. "Are you helpless without the Pharaoh fighting with you? Do you need his help? Is he supposed to act as your Guardian?"

"Stop!" I shouted without thinking. I shouldn't have played into his trap, but it was too late to call back my words. I couldn't help it… I didn't want Zafar to soil the Pharaoh's good name.

"You can slap me across the mouth to shut me up…" I started slowly, while trying to straighten myself out. "You can mock me for being on the bottom of the totem pole in the hierarchy. You can attack me with all the shadows in the world, but you will not disrespect the Pharaoh in front of me…"

"Huh. Even now you still stand by his side. What has he ever done for you? What do you get for protecting someone who doesn't even remember you?"

"Everything," I said, feeling my heart lighten from the burdens of this duel by just a bit. Simply remembering what I was fighting for seemed to make me feel just the slightest bit better. Although the pain in my stomach was still unbearable, I wasn't as panicked as before.

"Everything?" asked Zafar, intrigued. "He has done everything for you?"

"He has given me everything," I answered again, just as confidently as before. "He's given me a job to make a living. He's given me a place to stay. He's given me friendship I thought I lost. He's given me his side to call home…"

As I recounted all of the good memories of us that I kept within my heart, my hope began to restore itself. I wanted to walk with him again. I wanted to talk to him again. I wanted to battle with him again.

I wanted to see his hidden smiles again.

"He's given me a purpose," I said finally. "I will do anything to get him to the place where he needs to be, and if that means paving the way for him using my own body… then I will gladly do so."

"Sarah…!"

I held up a hand to the Pharaoh from saying anything further, and just as quickly as I had put it up, I brought it back down.

"That's just how it is…"

"So you are willing to die for this man?" asked Zafar. He seemed quite entertained with my dedication, and I could only think of it as an opportunity for him to make comments about it.

Maybe that isn't entirely a bad thing at all… He would love to say something snarky about what I claimed, and this might be my only chance to find out why he was so against us. Marik had his reasons: he wished to be Pharaoh. Zafar had the same drive but his motivation couldn't be the same, otherwise, there would have been a power struggle behind their lines.

I could find out why he didn't need to be mind controlled.

"Why is that a bad thing?" I asked. "It's my job."

"That's just too bad, Sarah… You're so blinded by this man's position to notice what it's done to you."

"What has it done to me Zafar? Enlighten me."

"He's consumed your life."

I stopped for a second to catch my breath. "What do you mean?" I asked. "He's given me nothing but the best chances in what little life I had left…"

"Your Guardianship to the Pharaoh has forced you to eat, sleep, and breathe nothing but worry for his protection," said Zafar. "A man in his position - a position of the highest power - forced you, someone who felt like she had nothing else going for her, into being a Guardian for him."

"He didn't force me to do anything," I said. "I chose this of my own accord."

"Who can say no to the Pharaoh of Egypt?"

"That may be true… but it was the only way for me to make my life mean something after…"

"After you lost everyone?"

"..."

"Sarah… why can't you see? He's using you."

"That's enough."

"What about your plans for becoming a scribe?"

Zafar's words took a moment for my brain to register, but once they did, my eyes widened in realization.

"How… did you…"

"You were spotted in a scribe class, working on an assignment. They called you intelligent for your age. You must have made quite the impression."

This era of my life was so short-lived that I never thought back to it after I became Guardian. It was so long ago that I had to flip through the pages of my life in my mind to find the right chapter.

I recall being keen to learn the alphabet, something very few had the chance to understand thanks to the aristocracy. Most common folk didn't know how to read and write, so when I saw the possibility for me to understand the mysterious scribbles on parchment, I took it. For a birthday wish, I had asked Isis if it was alright to join a class, and she saw no problem with it, because I was now a part of that aristocracy that she was a part of - to some degree. Blood was still prided over anything. I had become an exception thanks to her, and when I joined the class, I was so excited.

I could finally read.

Writing my own name down for the first time was so exhilarating. I learned that with some hard work, I could do anything when I set my mind to it. Thoughts of joining the elite scribes was tempting, but what I had really wished to do was explore the world. I wanted to see what else was out there, outside of our small kingdom.

When a child who had lost everything was given the tools to understand that there was still so much more to the world than what little life they were trapped in, it opened doors that they never thought were there.

"It was a fleeting thought…" I murmured quietly, thinking back on that small child's dream. I had only thought of it once, and how amazing it would have been to explore the outside world with other researchers.

However, it was transient. I had only taken a few classes before Isis brought me before the Pharaoh and talked to me about being a Guardian for his son. I hadn't told her what I thought I wanted to do just a while before.

Instead, the idea of helping the Pharaoh overwhelmed all other underdeveloped thoughts in my mind. The newly born idea of exploring was pushed aside and replaced with the feeling of being useful to my home country instead. If I could help someone make the kingdom a safer place to live, then that trumped everything else.

I never thought of becoming a scribe again. I solely focused on my magic lessons and everything else that I needed to learn in order to become a Guardian to the Pharaoh.

That dream remained a dream. I never told anyone about it. Not even Isis, let alone the Pharaoh. So how did Zafar come to learn of it?

"Can you read minds now too, Zafar?" I asked.

"I have my ways of finding things out," he said.

"And yet, you couldn't find any information about the Millennium Locket…"

Zafar's confident smile faltered just the tiniest bit. "Some information seems to be protected even by the Gods themselves…" he said. "However, I managed to find out about this important part of your past and thought I should share.

"See, it is because of leaders like him that people like you and me cannot live up to our true potential. We don't need them butting into our lives and using us for their own benefit. Just as General Rou was banished from the country he loved and protected thanks to his ruler's ego… you gave up your hopes and dreams for a Pharaoh who's forgotten you."

I was quiet for a moment. Why did he use that specific example? Why General Rou? Who was he?

General Rou… I felt like I've heard the name before. Etched into my memory was a battle plan the Pharaoh and I had drawn up to fight against an army coming in from the South during the month of harvest one year. I remember waiting days for them to come by the part of the river where we were camping. Our plan was to surprise them when they stopped to refill their water supplies. Then the time finally came when we could strike.

"The Battle of the Nile…" As the words escaped my lips, a terrifying movie played again in my mind. It was of someone pulling back an arrow on their bow and then letting it go. That same arrow flew gracefully, in slow motion through the air, aimed straight for the Pharaoh's back.

And I jumped in the way to stop it from hitting its mark.

"That's right, Sarah," said Zafar. "You risked your life for the Pharaoh. He was spared from the fear of possible death and the agony of recovery while you were left to suffer the pain of that arrow piercing through your chest."

My dream… It came to me as a dream before the tournament… I recalled sitting up in bed with a sweat, and then remembering the card that Ishizu gave me to give to the Pharaoh.

"And General Rou… he was left to walk home in defeat, by the fact that the Pharaoh's female Guardian got in his way. And what did he get for his bravery, his courage, his time and effort? Banishment to the far reaches of the desert. The monarch betrayed him! Just as the monarch betrayed you!"

"It isn't that simple, Zafar…!" I wasn't sure why I was talking to Zafar more than dueling. I did want to find the reason for his hatred towards me, but this was just too much. He was accusing someone I was protecting, someone I cared about, and he was taking these events into a whole different direction.

It was as though he saw something poisonous and was trying to show me just how bad it was...

"General Rou was my idol and ancestor," Zafar stated suddenly. "And I am here to stop monarchy once and for all. I've had it with the shame they bring on to others!"

"And yet you're on Marik's side," I countered. "Someone who wishes to be the Pharaoh himself."

"Marik… will be the last King. My goal now is to bring both you and your Pharaoh down. The Kings of Old have tread upon their subjects for far too long!"

"So you're going to stop me in the hopes of stopping the Pharaoh?"

"You're in my way."

"Then why care so much for the Locket?"

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten what I'm after. Remember what we… talked about in the warehouse?"

My hand instinctively went up to my neck and grasped the Locket. Of course, I remembered… It wasn't a memory that I was very fond of. We did anything but talk.

"After I defeat you in this duel, I'll take it from you."

"You would have to kill me first…"

"Which fits into my plan quite nicely. First, I get inside your head and make you think I know you more than you know yourself. Second, I destroy the trust between you and that person you call Pharaoh. Third, I defeat you in a duel!

"You're trapped, Sarah. You have my magic tearing your body apart, my words messing with your mind, and my monsters to fight against!"

I had everything going against me in this duel. I needed to step back again to see the bigger picture. Zafar knew my secrets. He knew my deck. He knew my weakness. I had every chance of losing. He even brought an idea out in the open that I never wanted to think about.

Being controlled by the monarch solely for their protection.

It terrified me to know that he was in my head. I could feel his words reaching every corner, triggering all kinds of emotions. Fear. Disappointment. Anger. Pain. The more I thought about it, the more his twisted words made sense. His monster before me was a towering beast with lots of Attack Points, and all I had left was my Dimensional Alchemist and a face-down card which wasn't going to help me right now.

I needed to get a grip.

This was just too much all at once.

"I can't believe that…" The Pharaoh's wide eyes wavered. His grip on the rail softened as he was thinking hard about what Zafar had said.

"I couldn't have… had that intention…"

Eric looked confused for a moment. Then he blinked as he realized something and pointed his finger at the man next to him.

"Pharaoh…?"

Yami's crimson eyes shifted slightly as Eric's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. His lack of response was response enough.

"You're… the ancient spirit of a Pharaoh… living inside the Millennium Puzzle..."

My mind started to race. It took a while for Eric to put the pieces together without any guidance to help him, but he managed to do it. He was a smart guy, and I shouldn't have doubted his intellect. I should have known that he would put things together on his own at some point.

I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. On one hand, I had Zafar becoming more menacing by the minute, and on the other, I had Eric forming conclusions about our positions in this life.

And in one more hand, the third wall that was boxing me in, was the Pharaoh. It was his back that I had sworn to protect with my life, he stood tall against evil as I supported him, and his was the soul I would trade my own for. Now his loss of memories were going to pose a problem if he listened to Zafar. He was going to doubt himself.

I needed to be strong. My life wasn't the only one at stake anymore. The Pharaoh was unsure of himself in many regards, and it was my job to protect him.

I had to protect his future as well as his person.

"Looks like… you've figured it out, Eric," I said, biting through the increasing pain gnawing at my body. "This wasn't how I wanted you to find out, but it looks like this is what it's come down to."

"So before… when you said you wanted to speak to me about something…"

"Yes… it was about this. The spirit of an ancient Pharaoh from the Millennium Puzzle shares Yugi's body. And I am his protector."

"But that… would make you…"

"Two 5,000-year-old spirits in the modern world? Yes, it does."

Eric's brows furrowed forward. "But back in the States," he started. "You gave no indication that-"

"I wasn't thrown up against a wall and forced into talking about myself," I said harshly. "I wanted to do it more naturally, and on my own terms."

"This isn't something you bring up in casual conversation."

"It wasn't going to be a casual conversation."

Unable to think of anything else to say, Eric became quiet. I could tell that he was more upset than he tried to show, because he was expecting me to be more open with him after we agreed to be friends. I wasn't fair to him. I knew that Eric wished for us to be close, but I wasn't giving him a chance.

I didn't give him a chance.

Zafar smirked with amusement at the scene unfolding before him from the confusion that he caused. I looked at Eric and the Pharaoh. There was new uncertainty in their eyes. Joey and the others didn't know what to think of this development.

"I think that's too far-fetched," said Téa, the first to speak.

"Think what you wish, but the fact of the matter is that Sarah is going to lose today," said Zafar suddenly. "I will get rid of her so the Pharaoh will be left defenceless."

At the words of his threat, I quickly drew my next card. "I'm still standing, Zafar!" I shouted. "If you want revenge, you still have me to go through!"

I was angry that Zafar gave everything away to Eric, and I was also angry that he tried to make the Pharaoh doubt himself. His intrusion on our lives was uncalled for, and I had enough. I wanted it to stop. I wanted this duel to end.

However, it would only stop once I defeated Zafar, and it was exhausting to keep fighting against both him and the pain. It didn't help that a lot of things happened during one turn. He played an incredibly strong monster, destroyed one of my own, played a disappearing act on one of my most powerful spell cards, and even changed my monsters over to the darkness.

And if that wasn't enough, Zafar piped up with more things to say.

"There are a couple of other things about Lair of Darkness that you should know before we continue," he said. "Thanks to one of its effects, at any time that I require a monster to sacrifice, I am able to sacrifice your monsters instead of my own. Of course, they would have to be DARK monsters, but that's not problem as long as Lair of Darkness remains on the field."

"What…!" exclaimed Joey. "Isn't that crossing a boundary that shouldn't be crossed?"

"When the effect of a card states that an opponent's monsters can be sacrificed, then they can be," answered Mokuba. He was holding on to Kaiba's coat quite tightly. He was clearly upset from the way this duel was progressing. "The card's effect is programmed into the system."

"That would mean that Sarah needs to think twice about how her monsters could be used, and when they might disappear before her eyes," said Duke. "If Zafar wanted to summon a monster or play an effect, he could sacrifice any one of Sarah's cards at any time. This opens up a lot of potential problems."

"What's the other effect?" I asked harshly, not wanting to dwell on the first one for too much longer. A vein was throbbing on the side of my head. Things was just spiralling downhill during this one turn, and I was trying my best not to feel discouraged. Everything was going against me.

I needed to keep my heart clear and continue to remind myself that there was a way out.

There always was.

"The other effect isn't too bad. I get to summon Torment Tokens for every monster that's been Tributed during the turns while Lair of Darkness has been face-up. So far, I don't get to summon any, because it was only activated this turn, and the Token I used to summon Lich Lord was part of a trap card."

"What a horrible thing to happen," I snapped. Keep calm, Sarah. You need to keep a level head. He's doing this on purpose.

"You should rejoice, Sarah! It's your turn now!" laughed Zafar.

I took a deep breath to try and calm myself down, as well as swallow the pain that began to grow in my abdomen. I looked to the Pharaoh for guidance, but his crimson eyes had darkened.

"Sarah…"

"Remember what I told you… back in Duelist Kingdom?"

The Pharaoh's gaze fell distant for a moment as he thought back. He seemed to realize what I was getting at because when he blinked, his eyes became clearer.

"You told me many times, without ever saying my name or calling me forward, that I needed to trust my instincts."

"That's right," I nodded, smiling thoughtfully at him. "I told you to trust your instincts, because they're good. They know what you need, and right now, I need you to trust them again."

I stared at the new card that I just drew while feeling my heart race. "Your father wanted to protect you, yes," I started. "But I did not walk into this position without knowing what I was getting myself into. I knew it was dangerous, and that I had to put my life on the line for you at some point.

"These things are thought through very carefully, and if someone we haven't met before, who doesn't know us for who we are, decides to put words in the mouths of everyone involved, then they need to reevaluate themselves and take a step back, because they really have no idea what they're talking about."

Here, I glared at Zafar, who showed no indication of any further arguing, but he had already planted a seed. I just didn't want that seed to start growing.

Yami took a step back and crossed his arms as he thought about something. "I've trusted you all this time," said the Pharaoh. "Since the beginning, I have trusted you. You haven't led me astray so far… so I have no reason to start doubting you now."

His confident smile was reinvigorating. I didn't feel worried after that. A rush of adrenaline suddenly overpowered the agony I felt from Zafar's dark magic. I managed to stand up a little straighter.

I watched Zafar's confidence waver the slightest bit at the sight of us being resolute. The proud smile on his face turned into a look of ridicule.

"And the team continues to hold."

"I think you have more things to worry about than our relationship," I said suddenly. "Because I have a strategy to bring down your Lich Lord!

"I play the Spell Card Enemy Controller!"

A large gaming controller materialized next to Dimensional Alchemist. This made Zafar burst out laughing.

"Are you left with just being able to control my monsters?" he asked.

"I can do more than just control your monster," I replied back harshly. "I'm going to use the second effect on this card to switch your monster into Defence Mode."

As I said the effect name, Lich Lord suddenly became stiff, and against his will, was forced to get down on his knees. He may have had 2400 Attack Points, but he only had 1200 Defence Points.

Zafar saw what I was trying to do - or at least part of it.

"What, you're going to destroy my all-powerful monster using your Dimensional Alchemist? You won't get any of my Life Points this way!"

"That's where you're wrong, Zafar! You're not the only one with cards that have tricky effects. It's true that Big Bang Shot gives my Dimensional Alchemist 400 additional Attack Points on top of his original 1300, but it also allows me to inflict battle damage to my opponent even when their monster is in Defence Mode."

Zafar looked shocked. It was a refreshing change. He didn't pay enough attention to when I equipped Dimensional Alchemist with Big Bang Shot earlier in the game, and dismissed it as just another powerup. It was nice to see him surprised after so long of seeing him be so confident. It was like we caught him naked in the shower and he couldn't process what had just happened.

Looks like he didn't study my cards as well as he claimed.

I reminded myself again that the pain I was feeling was nothing. I was able to push Zafar back this turn, and that meant that I could do the same throughout the rest of the match. I couldn't give up now, not after all this.

"As if that wasn't bad enough, Zafar. I can activate his special ability which allows me to increase his Attack Points by another 500 if I just discard the top card of my deck!"

The card I drew was a Macros Spell Card. I took a second to look at it and wondered why it was still in my deck. I hadn't used it before, and I just upgraded to different Monarchs. Without much thought, I discarded the card and my monster powered up to 2200.

Zafar's eyes widened.

"Dimensional Alchemist, attack Lich Lord! Rid the field of his essence!"

In the palms of his hands, Dimensional Alchemist summoned dark energy instead of the intense light that I was so used to. Even though he was now a DARK attribute monster, I was still glad that he still had all his original powers. With a thrust of power, the energy swerved straight towards Lich Lord's chest, destroying him instantaneously.

LP: Sarah: 2500/Zafar: 1500

I took a deep breath as Zafar reached for his stomach and doubled over. Thanks to his Shadow Magic, he was now suffering the full extent of its consequences. He was beginning to weaken. At first, he was almost immune to the pain, now he was beginning to feel it.

My wish for wanting a level playing field was just fully granted.

"That's for trying to bridge us apart."

Zafar wiped his mouth and tried to stand up straight as best he could. He did stagger, but managed to hold himself together when he regained footing.

"You'll regret doing that…" he said. "You're only prolonging your demise, and it's not going to help you in the end. I play Card of Sanctity!"

From his hand, Zafar played something that allowed both players to draw cards until they each had six in their hand. It was actually something that I sorely needed, because I didn't have any cards left in my hand. So, I did what the card told me to do, but I had a bad feeling about why he played it. After seeing the cards in my hand, I suddenly didn't want anything to happen to them.

"It's important that you realize the power I have thanks to Lair of Darkness," said Zafar. "I'm going to use your monster as tribute to activate the effect of my second trap card!"

"No!" I watched with stunned horror as my powerful Dimensional Alchemist stacked down and reassembled on Zafar's side of the field as if it was the most natural thing to do. I wasn't sure if it hurt more to feel Shadow Magic in my veins or to see my monster controlled by my opponent.

Zafar smirked at seeing the expression on my face. I should have been more composed, but it was so hard to be with many things happening at once.

"You'll love this trap card, Sarah," he said as Dimensional Alchemist withered away into little dots of light and his trap card flipped into activation. At the same time, a terrible jolt of Shadow Magic tore through my arm, nearly causing me to drop my cards. Spikey balls with wide smiles on their faces sprung out of the card that Zafar played and bounced straight towards me.

"Grinning Grave Virus required the sacrifice of a DARK monster with 3000 or less Attack Points for it to play its effect," explained Zafar as the virus particles absorbed into my cards. My hand began to shake from the pulsating agony of losing my monster. Even though it was Zafar who sacrificed him, Dimensional Alchemist was still my monster, and since he was destroyed, it meant that I needed to feel the consequences.

"This card then forces my opponent to destroy one card - of their choice, of course - in their hand for every 500 Attack Points the tributed monster had," continued Zafar. "Since Dimensional Alchemist was sacrificed with an Attack Power of 1700, you need to discard three cards from your hand."

"What…" I just drew six cards thanks to Zafar's Spell Card, but now I had to throw half of them away already and it wasn't even my turn yet. I wanted to keep all of the cards in my hand, because a strategy had started to take hold at the sight of them. Now it was going to be very difficult choosing which cards to send to the Graveyard, and my strategy was ruined.

"Tick tock, tick tock," taunted Zafar. "You need to follow the rules, Sarah."

I did my best to not show the disappointment on my face as I struggled to choose which cards to discard. In the end, I reluctantly parted from half my hand, but I knew it was going to be tough to rebound. Especially since it was now Zafar's turn and I had no monsters on my side of the field.

I hadn't felt so exposed before.

"Sarah, you look nervous." Zafar continued to degrade the situation into a nightmare.

"Shut up and play your next monster."

"If you insist. I summon Archfiend Cavalry in Attack Mode!"

An armoured blue horse carrying an equally armoured fiend monster with spikes on his helmet and a lance in his hand trotted onto the field from a sudden haze of smoke. The horse's eyes were glowing a bright blue, just as his rider's. They were terrifying to look at.

"Start praying to the Gods, Sarah," said Zafar. "I'm going to throw you off the blimp! Attack!"

With his lance at the ready, the skeleton rider and his horse charged towards me. I watched as the hurtling tip of the lance drew closer and closer. I could practically feel it piercing my chest.

"No… Sarah's only going to have a handful of Life Points left!" cried Tristan.

"I Special Summon Battle Fader in Defence Mode!"

A small fiend with metal arms swinging a bell from his neck suddenly appeared on the field. It had zero Attack and Defence Points, but it was enough to take the hit from Zafar's monster. I didn't lose Life Points, but I lost a helpful monster.

A familiar pain shot through my other leg, causing my knees to buckle, but I somehow managed to continue standing. It wasn't as bad as the other times, but perhaps it was because I had gotten used to it which frightened me.

"Looks like your Life Points are safe for now," said Zafar.

"But your monster will not be," I said. "Reveal, face down card!"

A familiar grey beast with stone-like scales covering its body stomped onto the field in a cloud of red smoke. With one fell swoop, the large beast took down Zafar's fiend monster easily. Oh, how I wished he was a real monster with real Attack Points that could cause some damage to my opponent's Life Points.

"Ah… predictable," sighed Zafar in a taunting manner, but pain must have jolted through his upper body because his hand flew up to his shoulder as he winced.

"Sakuretsu Armour destroys the attacking monster," I said to clarify for the others. "It doesn't negate an attack, though I wish it did…"

"Hmm… I have to admit that I wasn't expecting that Battle Fader," said Zafar. "I don't think that was in your deck before."

"It wasn't," I stated simply.

Zafar narrowed his eyes. "I place one card on the field and end my turn."

LP: Sarah: 2500/Zafar: 1500

I drew my next card and as I looked through my hand, desperately trying to think of a way to bring Zafar down, I discovered something that could drastically change the direction of this duel.

But it required a small sacrifice on my part.

"I… play one card face-down," I said quietly, trying to look like that was all I could play. I heard my friends' quiet voices begin to worry.

"That's all…"

Zafar burst into a fit of laughter. "My, how the mighty have fallen," he said distastefully. "From a big-shot Guardian to a measly shell with no fight left in her. My shadows will eat you alive!"

I glared harshly at Zafar. Even though I was annoyed by his comments, I needed him to remain overconfident. His underestimation of me was going to be his downfall.

LP: Sarah: 2500/Zafar: 1500

"No monsters summoned, even though it was your turn," said Zafar. "Now I can't even summon any Tokens because there were no monsters tributed. However, I can still take some of your Life Points using this monster: I summon Plague Wolf!"

A growling zombie wolf hobbled onto the field baring sharp teeth and glaring with grey eyes. Zafar's new monster only had 1000 Attack Points, but I had a bad feeling by the way Zafar was smirking.

"Plague Wolf's effect allows me to change its Attack Points to double of what it is originally once per turn," he said. "So now it has 2000 Attack Points."

I dreaded where this was going, and I knew I couldn't defend myself just yet. Not even with the face-down card that I had. My plan was to take the next hit… but 2000 points was a lot to lose.

I didn't look over towards the others because I was scared to see their expressions. They had a feeling of what was coming to me, but hoped that the face-down card on my field would save me from any direct attacks. However, I was the only one aside from the Gods who knew that I didn't have anything to save my Life Points.

That face-down card was actually something that was going to be used later.

"Plague Wolf! Attack her Life Points directly!"

I braced myself as the wolf sprinted towards in close range, he pounced and chomped down on my arm, doubling the flaming pain.

"Rrgh!"

"That attack went through?!" cried Duke as he stared wide-eyed. "Sarah just lost 2000 Life Points, guys!"

"Has she… given up?" asked Téa, horrified. "Did she lose her will to fight…?"

"She couldn't have," said Eric. Even though he was bothered from before, there was still concern in his eyes.

"The pain must be gettin' to her…" mumbled Joey quietly. "She was finally recovering from what happened back at the docks, and now she's going through this all again."

"This is also a Shadow Game," said the Pharaoh. His crimson eyes had gotten very dark as he looked on. "So not only will Sarah feel the conditions of the duel, but she will also feel the consequences of being attacked directly."

The arm that Plague Wolf bit into was now throbbing. Pressing it tight against my chest didn't help, and I was beginning to grow more conscious of the rest of my body screaming for release. It was becoming harder to breathe due to the pressure and the idea of just lying down on the blimp was fairly inviting. I wasn't expecting a powerful Direct Attack, but that was the consequence I had to deal with for leaving my field wide open. I shouldn't have, but I had no choice. I didn't have a monster in my hand to defend myself with.

LP: Sarah: 0500/Zafar: 1500

"She only has 500 Life Points left…" said Tristan, disbelievingly.

"Sarah…" Zafar crossed his arms in amusement at the sight of my broken form. I didn't feel well, from the way he was looking at me and from feeling my body begin to grown numb as I tried to fight against the pain. Zafar's condescending tone was like someone playing with my brain. My mind as well as my body couldn't take his mocking anymore.

I wasn't sure if I could even continue standing.

"Have you really given up?"

It was a lot. To have someone who shared such a strong resemblance to my brother cast spells and judge me with their Dark Magic was exhausting. To actually feel it course through my blood vessels and torture me from inside was depleting me of all the energy that I had. To constantly be berated, put down, and accused… it was tiresome. I just wanted to lie down and pass out.

Shadows crept towards me from behind. They reached for the heel of my shoes and began to climb my legs like flickering flames on a wooden beam. My mind began to grow fuzzy, and I started to realize just how expensive this last play was.

Someone's voice was calling out to me from beyond the blur. Did I really want to give up? The shadows were taking some of the pain away, or was it just all melting away together? Either way, I was feeling a sense of darkness take hold of my body, and the shadows were "telling" me that if I just surrendered the duel, all the pain would go away.

I'd be free. All I had to do was give up.

I hadn't even lost the duel and already I was losing my mind to the Shadows.

"She's considering it, everyone," said Zafar. "Sarah Wind is considering throwing the duel!"

"Zafar, that's enough!" shouted the Pharaoh. "You're poisoning Sarah's mind! How is that level ground?"

"The moment she began doubting herself, the Shadows began taking over," he said. "This has nothing to do with me. It's her own state of mind that's controlling those Shadows! She's accepting the very thing you don't want her to!"

"No, Sarah! You can't give up!" cried Téa.

"You need to win this duel!" said Tristan. "You need to prove Zafar wrong!"

Eric slammed his hand so hard against the railing that the ring on his finger made an amazingly loud shing noise, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Sarah!" he roared. Nobody had seen him get so angry before. His maroon eyes were more furious than upset now. "You owe me an explanation, so you can't give up! You're not allowed to!"

At this point, the Shadows were slowly trying to creep up my hips. The sound of Eric's voice brought me back for a split second, but it was enough for me to grasp what was going on. In a mad rush to escape, I snapped out of my thoughts about giving up. I forced the intruding Shadows back, far into the recesses of my mind, and I physically stepped away from the tendrils of shadow too for good measure. They broke off my legs and shrunk back to the edges of the field. I gasped for air I didn't know I was losing.

There was a loud sigh. "Well, that was disappointing," said Zafar.

"That was… Battle Damage..." I said suddenly, confusing the others. One moment, I was thinking about giving up, but the next, I started talking about the duel. Even Zafar rose a brow at my question.

"Yes, of course," he scoffed. "Did that attack rattle your brain cells?"

"Then… if I just recieved Battle Damage… I can Special Summon this: Tragoedia!" I chose a card from my hand and played it immediately. The sluggishness I received from the darkness began to recede and I could see my strategy beginning to take shape. A grey fiend with the shape of a giant spider materialized onto the field. It only had six legs, but it had six additional appendages near its horns.

"This monster gains 600 Attack Points for every card in my hand. Since I only have two right now, it has 1200 Attack Points."

"You've summoned a monster now?" asked Zafar. "You took all that damage to summon this?"

It was finally my turn to smile a little assuredly. Zafar's overconfidence really did help me put everything together. When I drew my next card, Tragoedia's attack power increased to 1800, but I knew neither its boost in attack power nor all the cards in my hand were going to last very long in this turn.

"I now activate Tragoedia's Effect! Once per turn, I am allowed to sacrifice a monster from my hand to the Graveyard. This allows me to target a monster on my opponent's side of the field - and of course - I choose Plague Wolf!"

"Wait, what are you doing?" Zafar's eyes widened as his wolf began to glow.

"Taking control of your monster."

"But that's twice now! You've used my monsters against me twice in this one match!"

"You should have realized the pattern, Zafar. It's your own brashness that will lead to your downfall. Did you think I would keep my deck the same as it was from Duelist Kingdom? Duelists change their decks all the time. We're always improving our strategies with new cards with the aim of reaching the top. I'm no different."

"But you never used any of these weird cards in your previous matches during the tournament."

"Well then, aren't you lucky?"

Zafar growled under his breath. He thought this was going to be an easy win after he got into my head. He was trying to play his own mind tricks just as Marik did with his Millennium Rod, but I wasn't going to let him.

Plague Wolf was now on my side of the field. It was my turn to play some mind tricks of my own.

"Tell me, Zafar, what does a duelist do when they have two monsters on the field?"

"You couldn't possibly be..."

"That's right. I'm going to sacrifice both these monsters to summon my all powerful Ehther, The Heavenly Monarch!"

The two monsters disappeared into beams of light and what replaced them was a magnificent queen heavily clad in armour of silver and gold. She held a tall staff with a golden bird sitting at the top that painted gorgeous displays of colour from the light it emitted. That light shone beautifully all around her, until darkness swooped in and turned her into a DARK monster thanks to Zafar's Lair of Darkness. I needed to keep in mind the fact that he could use my monster as a sacrifice at any time.

"Even though the attribute of one of my strongest monsters has been changed, she still has 2800 Attack Points. Now that you don't have any monsters on your field, it's your turn to experience a Direct Attack."

Zafar was massaging the base of his neck as he winced in pain. Since I destroyed his Plague Wolf by destroying it, he was feeling the repercussions. His dark eyes were glaring daggers at me. He was obviously annoyed by the fact that I was still in the duel, and still in a state of mind where I could process my dueling strategies. I could also still feel the Dark Magic moving within my body, but knowing that I had such a strong monster in my corner reassured me.

I still had a fighting chance.

"Ehther, bring him down!"

The Heavenly Monarch clashed her staff against the floor, igniting a bean of shadow at her feet that shot straight towards Zafar. His eyes were wide, and for a moment, he seemed panicked, but the face down card he placed earlier came in handy for him.

"I activate Trap of Darkness!" he said. "I can only activate this trap when I have 3000 or less Life Points. It allows me to target a trap card in my Graveyard, and at the expense of 1000 Life Points, this card will take on the targeted trap's effects. And I choose the effect of Negate Attack!"

Zafar's Life Points decreased substantially, and his trap card glowed brightly before a huge swirling vortex appeared once more and swallowed up Ehther's attack. Nothing hit Zafar. He was able to save some of his Life Points, because if the attack had gone through, he would have lost the duel.

LP: Sarah: 0500/Zafar: 0500

We were back to being on level ground.

"That was so close…" said Joey quietly.

"Would you look at that... looks like Sarah didn't quite give up just yet," said Namu, moving into the conversation. "I can hardly follow what's going on, but this seems very intense."

"If this is what happens during the duel, what's going to happen to the loser of the duel, Joey?" asked Serenity. She had been quiet throughout the entire match and finally spoke her mind as she saw us with our last few Life Points.

Joey shook his head quietly, not wanting to answer his sister's hard question. "We can't think about that right now," he said, saving himself from having to explain to his already terrified little sister about the horrifying details of what could happen. "All we need to focus on is giving Sarah our support. She needs to win this."

We each had 500 Life Points left. At this point, with the end of the duel potentially being near, our drained expressions were becoming more apparent. Even Zafar had begun to break a sweat. Seemed like the pain was finally getting to him too.

"I'm safe, Sarah," he said, panting. "I'm safe for another little while. That's just too bad, isn't it!"

"No, you're not safe," I said suddenly. Zafar froze. I made sure not to waver, because I needed to be strong for just a few seconds longer.

I wanted to lie down…

"I still have a card to play."

"You only have one card left," said Zafar. "What could it possibly be that-"

He suddenly stopped speaking as horror entered his eyes. I watched as his gaze slowly moved over to the face-down card that I had placed during my last turn, when I left my field open for his Direct Attack. His confidence had all but disappeared in an instant, because all he had was a chunk of Life Points, and there was nothing on his field that could save him from any surprises.

Zafar realized that he had lost even before his Life Points hit zero.

"Yes, I have one card in my hand, and playing it would bring me great joy, but I can finish this duel right here and now thanks to my trap card. You may have seen it before, Zafar, if you've studied me as carefully as you claimed. This was my trump card in Duelist Kingdom, and I still used it during Battle City.

"I activate the trap card Different Dimension Dynamite!"

A case of dynamite exploded in the middle of the field, and from within the smoke appeared Absolute King Back Jack, Mist Archfiend, and Ahrima in spirit form: three of Zafar's monsters that were removed from play thanks to Dimensional Fissure near the beginning of the duel. They stared back at Zafar with empty eyes as the duelist himself began to back away from the sight of them. He knew what was coming, and yet, he didn't wish to face his demise.

"No… this can't be happening…"

"This trap card inflicts 300 points in damage for every one of your removed from play cards. Since you have three, you'll lose 900 Life Points.

"You've lost, Zafar."

"No!"

His monsters stood against him, and as they powered up their attacks, Zafar could only watch. When the attack finally hit him square in the chest, he was thrown back, and his Life Points finally hit zero.

I had won.

LP: Sarah: 0500/Zafar: 0000

"Now then… suffer the consequences of playing with Dark Magic," I said harshly as the shadows began to close around him.

Zafar made no move to fight against the dark powers that were about to take hold. In fact, he seemed soulless by the time the shadows crept onto him.

"You haven't seen the last of me…" he threatened as he struggles to get up. "I will have your Locket and my revenge on you… one way or another."

I stared, unmoving, until the moment his mind began to disappear. He cried out as he lost to the shadows he himself created. The magic that he was so proud of developing was taking away his own sanity. This Shadow Game had finally ended, with Zafar in a whole different dimension.

His body fell limp on the floor, his dark eyes were still wide open. I could still see the fear in them as he felt his soul disappear. Zafar was probably wandering the Shadow Realm at this point.

As I soon felt the Dark Magic in my own limbs begin to fade, I slowly walked over to my opponent's empty shell of a body. Seeing his eyes bothered me. Instinctively, I bent down and closed them. His body was ice cold.

"Marik."

All eyes turned to the bald man hiding in a dark corner of the observation deck opposite to the others. He stood there with no emotion on his face, as if losing a pawn on his chess board wasn't that important after all. He used Zafar to try to get me out of his way.

I clenched my fist, expecting any sort of reaction from him, but his cold green eyes kept watching me with no emotion in them at all.

My anger seethed. He used Zafar's anger towards me to his advantage, thinking that his thirst for revenge would be enough to fuel his drive to bring me down. He wasn't expecting me to continue fighting with the Dark Magic hindering me after I passed out during my first exposure to it. He thought it would eat me alive and I would be wandering the Shadow Realm right now instead of his subordinate.

"You want the Pharaoh's power that badly?" I asked him. "Then you've got a lot more work to do."

"With that, Sarah has won the duel!" announced Roland, hoping to stop any further complications from arising outside of the duel arena. He then proceeded to call for medical help on his phone for Zafar.

"Sarah won!" cheered Téa. Relief flooded her eyes as she cried with joy. "She really won!"

"I was terrified for her," said Mai with disbelief. "It looked like she was going to pass out any moment. What kind of duel…?"

"This is the kind of stuff she has to deal with on a regular basis," said Joey, his honey-coloured eyes were watching me carefully as I backed away from Zafar's body. He then looked over at the Pharaoh who was deep in thought as he did the same.

"You do too."

"This was too close," said the Pharaoh. "And I do not understand some of the things… most of the things that Zafar talked about. I need to discuss this with Sarah."

"You'll get your chance to talk after my meeting with her," said Eric. "After what happened in our duel, I deserve to know the entire truth."

"What happened during your match?" asked Tristan.

"Long story."

"Ah, Sarah!"

I was listening so intently to the conversation without having the energy to join in that I didn't notice myself staggering at the small set of stairs that led down from the raised dueling platform. Next thing I noticed was someone's arms grabbing hold of me as I fell forward with a blurry vision.

Overwhelmed from the fight against the Dark Magic for a second time, my body had grown numb when it finally disappeared. I didn't even have the energy to stand anymore, let alone talk with anyone.

"Guys, I need help!" It was Duke's voice, which meant that it was Duke whose arms I fell into. The last thing I saw was Téa's hand reaching for my own with a worried expression on her face.

---

Author's Note: And there you have it! Sarah's duel against Zafar. Now that Zafar's been taken care of, what do you think this does to Marik's plans? Will Sarah recover from the Dark Magic entering her bloodstream? Find out in the next chapter! Thank you very much for waiting all this time for a new chapter. I hoped that you enjoyed reading it!

Side note: I may know what some of you are thinking. You waited all this time for a new chapter for Book 2 and I bring you this. I know the duel is short, but I tried to make it interesting. It is so hard for me to put a duel of my own together as well as find the motivation to write it all out step by step. There are so many things to take into consideration when writing out duels like this, because it's impossible to play it out myself - unless I take even more time to prepare. However, I did my best to have the outcome that I wanted as well as keep suspense throughout the match. I may have overdone it a bit. I might revisit this chapter just to fix the duel, but the overall mood that I was going for was alright, I think.

Let me know what you think!

~xyugiohluvrx