DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

The Mysterious Duellist Part II

I've got to figure out a way to take control of this duel, and win back my Millennium Puzzle.

Sharee walked over and stopped right behind him. Yugi knew she was looking at the Millennium Puzzle. What he wasn't expecting was for her to speak up. 'Yugi, we won't be able to depend on Yami and Shamee forever. Someday, they'll have to return to the home they came from.'

'Huh?' Yugi looked back at her. 'What do you mean?'

'They're from Ancient Egypt, Yugi,' Sharee said. 'In a perfect world, we never would have met. Look, I'm not saying I regret Shamee sharing my body. She's one of the best friends I ever had and she's made my teenage years infinitely easier. But she and Yami are here for a reason. Once their purpose is served, they will move on. If there is an Egyptian Afterlife, that's where they'll go and they'll leave us here in the living world, where we belong.' She smiled. 'So we may as well start learning to stand on our own two feet.'

Yugi nodded and turned back to his duel. She's right. Though the idea that he may one day lose Yami like that saddened him, he saw what Sharee was saying. They were never going to be able to handle everything for them in the first place. That was why Sharee preferred to handle most problems on her own: knocking down Keith's boys, telling people like Duke and Rebecca off. In fact, Yugi hadn't seen her let Shamee handle her modern-day problems once.

The one controlling Keith laughed through him. 'Inspiring speech, Sharee, but so stupid. The Millennium Puzzle will soon be mine.'

'Hm?' Sharee's eyes narrowed. 'Hey, you sound like…' She gritted her teeth. 'Marik Ishtar, that is a gross misuse of the Millennium Rod!'

'The Millennium Rod?' Yugi looked at Keith again. 'So you know him?'

'I've met him a couple of times,' Sharee said. 'Truth is, he should know better. But I suppose he is a rather pitiful little boy.'

'Pitiful?' Marik demanded through Keith. 'Let's not forget who holds all the cards here, Sharee.'

'And let's not forget,' Sharee tapped her forehead, 'my friend in here spent five thousand years stopping black hearts.' She folded her arms across her chest and looked up at Yugi. 'Let's get on with this.'

From the look on her face, she was thinking of something.

'Let's,' Marik said. 'You're just prolonging his defeat. It's quite pathetic, actually.' He addressed Yugi again. 'Stare at your deck all you want. There's not a card in there that can take on my all-powerful Zera the Met. This duel is over!'

'Don't listen, Yugi,' Sharee said. 'I mean, come on!' She scoffed. 'How many times have we heard that?'

That was right. Nearly everyone they took on gloated that there was nothing in his deck, or Joey's deck, that could take out their ultimate monster. And there always turned out to be something. Yugi just had to figure out what that was. In the meantime, he had to protect his life points. He drew.

The Komori Dragon. Oh, he's right. It's not strong enough to attack Zera. He laid it face-down. 'I play my monster in defence mode! It's your move.'

Keith…Marik drew and laid the card down. 'First I place Zaaru in attack mode.' The monster appeared on the field and roared. 'And for my next manoeuvre…'

Sharee interrupted him, pointing. 'I saw that!'

Keith froze.

'Saw what?' Yugi asked.

'He switched one of the cards in his hand for one up his sleeve,' Sharee said. 'Nice try, Marik. Now I can terminate this duel on the grounds that you're cheating.'

'Just on your word?' Marik chuckled. 'Sharee, you have no proof. If the duel is terminated, I am the victor.'

'Oh, no, Marik, no.' Sharee smirked. 'You spent the first fourteen years of your life underground so I don't expect you to know much about this stuff. Rule one: when you spend most of your time on archaeological sites, surrounded by ancient treasures, you get an eye for certain things. Nobody sneaks around, pickpockets or uses slight of hands without me knowing about it.'

Oh, right. Yugi had seen her do this before. It was when Keith, in full control of his faculties, had tried the same thing on Joey. But then she'd kept quiet. She'd stated her reasons as being to see if Pegasus would call him out on it at any time. Sharee always had the intention to call it if he didn't.

Sharee's smirk widened. 'So because I saw you do it, the duel is Yugi's. And, if you continue to resist, I'll show you the problem with controlling something that has a mind of its own.'

'You dare question the power of the Millennium Rod?' Marik demanded. 'With my Millennium Item, I control anyone I please. The power belongs to me!'

Sharee's smirk turned into a scowl. 'Yeah, the last guy had the same thoughts about his Millennium Item too. Now, allow me to show you the problem.'

The eye of Sharee's Millennium Bandanna glowed bright. Yugi set down his cards and watched. He had a feeling he knew what was going to happen. Keith suddenly yelled out, as if he'd received a sharp shock across the brain. Sharee had…Yugi glanced down at her. No, now the expression was disciplined and stoic. Her body no longer shifted all the time.

Shamee was in control.

Keith panted for breath. 'Where in…?' And he was angry.

Yugi looked down as Shamee shifted. She grabbed the Puzzle and gave it a hard yank. It came out of the duelling platform with a thunking sound. Yugi wondered how she'd pulled it out. It looked like it was budged in so tight that you'd need a lot more strength than any one person could have. But she'd pulled it out so easily.

'Ancient,' Shamee said by way of explanation. 'We were a fair bit stronger than people these days.'

It was then that Keith seemed to notice then. He lifted his head. 'Moto? What are you doing here?'

'The kingdom of dumb questions.' And Sharee was back in control.

In the next instant, though, Keith was screaming again as Marik began retaking control of his mind. Before he was taken over again, though, Keith jumped off his duelling platform and ran only a little way. As he ran, he screamed out for someone to get out of his head. Then he mindlessly changed course and he was charging at Sharee. The Egyptologist's daughter had a reputation for thinking fast and this was no exception.

Sharee threw the Millennium Puzzle up and into Yugi's hands. She leapt up as he came within striking range and drove her knee up. Yugi watched Keith's eyes bug and listened to him choke on his own breath. For a second that seemed to stretch forever, they seemed frozen like that. Then Keith fell back and off the duelling platform. Sharee landed on her feet.

'Take your obtuse brain and scatter. We're finished here.'

Yugi watched Keith roll over, evidentially back in control of himself. He scurried out of the warehouse, leaving them alone. Yugi hooked the Millennium Puzzle back around his neck, sighing in relief when he felt Yami's mind reconnect with his.

Sharee chuckled. 'Shamee wasn't even sure Keith had a heart for her to affect.'

Yugi went to respond but there was suddenly a yell from the other end of the warehouse and then an explosion. Flames roared to life and began making their way towards them. Sharee scowled.

'Black heart, weak will.' That said, she grabbed Yugi by the collar and hauled him out of the now-burning building.

They flew out the door and landed on the ground with a thud. Sharee was on her feet first. 'Well, if our friends couldn't find us before they certainly will now.'

'Huh?' Yugi asked.

'Bakura's somewhere around here,' Sharee said, scowling. 'And he's still possessed by the Evil Spirit of the Ring.'

YGO

Everything was all right now. They'd found Yugi. He and Sharee had gotten the Millennium Puzzle back. Now they all sat in the living room of the Kame Game Shop, talking about what happened.

'So a new bad guy who can control minds?' Joey asked. 'How annoying. But it was kinda funny how he went after Bandit Keith first.' He grinned.

Everyone around, except Téa had a good giggle.

'How do you know about this guy anyway?' Tristan asked when he recovered.

Sharee smiled. 'Let's just say that his sister is a heck of a lot nicer.'

This time they all laughed. Téa couldn't find it in her to even fake a laugh, though. She was more worried over anything else. Yugi was the first to notice.

'You okay, Téa? You seem kinda quiet.'

Téa quickly put on a brave face. 'Yeah, I'm fine, guys. It's been a long day.' There it was, her excuse to go so she could think on her own. She loved her friends, really but…As she was walking home, Téa thought about it.

I'm glad those four are back to normal, but I'm not. I mean, someone's after Yugi's Millennium Puzzle and, because of that, I almost lost him today. Ever since Yugi first put that Puzzle together and bonded with the spirit inside everyone's been trying to get their hands on it. But something tells me that, this time, we're in more danger than ever. And I know we haven't seen the last of whoever it is that's after Yugi!