Not One of Us

When the royals and their friends returned to the palace, they found that their remaining sacred guardians were already home. Shada and Isis left the village of Kul Elna shortly after everyone went to rescue Seto. They were relieved to see that Seto was all right, but sad to hear that his father had been condemned to the Shadow Realm. It even hurt the queen to hear that Karim had also lost his spirit to the shadows, but she and her husband promised that when this was all over, everyone would return and be back to normal.

With that being settled, everyone attended to their own matters. Exhausted from today's battles, Atem and Seto went to their chambers to get some rest. Shada and Isis felt the same way and needed to pull themselves together after all that happened. Mystery decided to give the princess a bath. She hoped that this parent and child bonding would make her feel a little at peace. Besides, the queen felt like she could use one too and relax her nerves. Joseph went to the kitchen to prepare himself a snack. He always thought he would feel a little better if he had something to eat. At the same time, he thought maybe his friends would feel better if he prepared their favorite dishes. But he decided to wait for them to say so.

Mana came walking in with Jirachi on her head. "I'm hungry," she said as she saw her friend eating.

Joseph figured she would be since he hadn't seen her eat anything today. He got up from his chair and decided, "I'll fix you up some berries and milk."

Mana smiled. She always like that dish. The berries were sweet and the milk would make her strong. Plus, it did wonders for her complexion. She didn't even mind a few bits of bread. Mana didn't want to make Joseph feel upset about the matter he just got over, but she had to ask, "What happened to Kisara and Freya back there?"

Joseph didn't want to talk about it, but he felt like Mana deserved to have her question answered. "We were attacked by one of Cobalt's minions. The girls surrendered their powers to save my life and Seto's."

That was what Mana was afraid of. She knew the Great Shadow Negas would attack Kisara and Freya, but she couldn't believe that they would give up their powers. Then again, she knew how much the girls loved Seto and Joseph and how they would risk their lives to help them.

As Joseph continued to explain what happened, Mana had a hard time taking in most of it, but still embraced the situation. Joseph smiles and tells her. "But they'll come back," he assured her. "We just have to believe."

Mana didn't want to doubt that faith, but she had to ask, "How do you know?"

He sighs and answers, "I don't know. I just believe. But if they don't come back, well, let's just try to think of it as though they had gone to the paradise beyond where Ra and the Gods are." After chopping up the berries and breaking up the bread, Jospeh poured some cold milk and placed the bowl on the table. "Here you go. Eat up."

Mana sat down and stirred it up to see the color of the berries mix with the milk. After taking a bite, she let Jirachi have some. Still curious, Mana continues to ask questions. "How far is the paradise?"

Joseph takes his plate to wash it and replies, "I wouldn't know. I've never been there and back."

"Do you think it could be as far off as where Luna lives?"

"Mm, maybe," Joseph shrugged.

Mana takes a sip of her milk and asks one last question. "Where is Luna anyway?"

Finally, he looks back at her and reminds her, "Kul Elna." That was what he always assumed since Luna was friends with Max and Bakura and knew so much about them. Looking back and realizing what's going on, Joseph tells her, "Mana, quit eating with that nasty little beast!"

"Well, he's hungry too!" she protests.

"Hungry too," Jirachi echoes, "hungry too!"

Joseph takes Jirachi and sets him off the table. Though the little monster was a prince, that didn't mean it was all right for him to eat from the same plate with a friend. Suddenly, he hears one of the royal servants cry out, "Help us! We're under attack!"

Recognizing that cry, Mana gasps, "That's Shinku! What's going on?"

Not wanting to risk the safety of his friends, Joseph demands, "You stay right here, Mana. Do you hear me?" After getting his bow and quiver, Joseph makes a dash out of the room and heads for the palace courtyard. Once he makes it outside, he sees Max and Bakura's monsters attacking the orphans. The royal beasts try to fend them off, but end up being put to sleep by Darkrai's Dark Void. Joseph takes an arrow from his quiver and draws his bow to steady himself, but it's hard to aim with the dogs running around. He shoots and tries to hit Mightyena, but the arrow instead strikes Zoroark. Outraged, the beast races to attack Joseph, but the young man shoots another arrow to stop him. Wounded, Zoroark transforms into a bird and withdraws from the fight.

Shinku and her sisters try to escape by climbing trees, but Houndoom and Arcanine keep them on the ground with their Flamethrower attacks. Their guardian beasts try to protect them, but not even they can withstand the dogs' attacks. Hollier the Roselia and Berrybell the Cherrim try to lull the beasts to sleep in their own way with their Grasswhistle, but the dogs' firepower is too much for them.

Defenseless and outmatched, Joseph leads the girls inside the palace. They all try to follow, but little Hinaichigo trips and falls. Before she can get up, Mightyena leaps on her. She tries to push him off, but is too weak. She also tries to protect herself, but Mightyena starts gnawing on her arm.

Filled with a terrible rage, Joseph tosses his bow and lunges himself towards the dog to force him off of his apprentice. Mightyena whines and gets back up. Houndoom barks thrice to warn his comrades to be careful, but runs off once he sees Joseph coming. Arcanine comes out of a trance from Hollier's aroma and follows his friends as they escape from the courtyard. Joseph keeps chasing after the dogs, but stops once they leave his sight. Once they're gone, he refocuses his attention on the injured Hinaichigo.

"Hina," Joseph cried as he approached her. "Hina, are you all right?"

The girl faced him with her green eyes filled with tears. "It hurts, Master," she whined. Looking closely at her, Joseph saw that her arm had been torn open and was covered in blood. She repeated the same thing as she continued crying.

"Shh, shh," Joseph told her, trying to fight back the tears filing his eyes. "It's over, baby. The dogs have gone far away." Joseph had taken Hinaichigo as his personal servant and apprentice. She would help him with his work and he would help her with her schooling and training. He even considered wanting to adopt Hinaichigo after he and Freya would get married because he had come to care for her like she was his own. "Just hold on. I'll get you to the hospital wing and we'll have your arm healed. You'll be all right," he promised. Trying to fight her pain and keep conscious, Hinaichigo took deep breaths.

Finally, Mystery, Seto and Atem came outside to help. They told the girls to go back inside the palace. Before Shinku starts walking, she spots a familiar figure in the sky. She can't help but assume that it's Mei-Mei, so she follows the figure, wanting to know what's going on. At the same time, they hear Mana's voice.

"Don't let Mana come outside and see this," said Seto. Atem nods and heads back inside to find Mana. Seto turns his attention to Joseph and asks, "What happened?"

Joseph rubs his eyes and says, "It was so sudden, I don't know. I heard the girls crying out for help and came here to see what was going on. Max and Bakura's beasts came and ambushed the children. And then - and then-" just thinking about what happened next made Joseph start crying again. Understanding the ordeal, Seto nods and decides to awaken the monsters from their nightmares.

Mystery places her hand on Hinaichigo's arm and starts rubbing it. Her hand also glows into a light blue color as she starts performing a healing spell. As the queen rubs, the wounds on Hinaichigo's arm begin to heal. The wounds would be closed up and healed, but she wouldn't recover the blood she lost. At the same time, Hinaichigo's arm would still be a little sore from the attack.

One of the royal handmaids came and took Hinaichigo to the hospital wing to rest. Joseph knew Hinaichigo was going to be all right, but he couldn't say the same for himself. It was one thing to lose his fiancé to this madness, but for a child he cared about to be attacked? He sat in the ground with his hands and knees in the dirt as he continued shuddering.

The queen tried to reassure him. "Joseph,"

"Don't touch me!" he growled, feeling her hand on his shoulder. He clenched his fists and started hissing. "Bakura is pure evil. How long does he intend to keep hurting us? How lower does he intend to bring us?"

After all that's been going in one day, Seto knew that Joseph was right to feel this way. He even felt the same pain. "You're right," he told his friend. "Bakura takes great pleasure in hurting us and crushing our spirits."

Joseph finally lifts his head and gives off a look of anger and frustration. "You were right, Seto. You were right about everything; including Luna. If she was our friend, she would be helping us fight Bakura instead of helping him attack us. She's not our friend. She was never even one of us in the beginning. Raised to be one of us, but still choosing the path of darkness."

Mystery looked down at her Crystal Ring. She wanted to debate, but kept quiet because it would only upset her friends even more. But part of her was telling her to agree with Seto and Joseph. If Luna was their friend, why would she want to hurt them? Even if this was the path Luna chose, surely she must have been under some influence. The queen stood by the matter that Bakura had been taking advantage of Luna just as he had always used his minions. "In the end, Bakura is to blame," she finally said. "Bakura does not care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants; not even his allies and minions. He uses them and betrays them and when he is through, he sells them out."

"That's actually true," Joseph said, sounding a little more relaxed. "He's a thief, a murderer, and a liar. He deceives his subjects the same way he deceives us. But still, whether Luna does it under influence or choice, she's hurt us the same way. And even if she changes her ways and decides she wants to make things right, how can we forgive her? Still, I guess in the end, Bakura is to blame."

Mystery had never heard Joseph speak so negatively about his own personal quality. Friendship was his strength and he would always use it to his advantage. But now, Joseph was becoming weak. Was it because he was being put down?

Softly tapping his foot, Joseph starts humming. Finally, he speaks up and sings, Deception, disgrace, evil as plain as the scar on his face. As he repeats the phrase, Seto and the queen join in with a few statements of their own.

Finally, Seto kicks up the song with a new tune. Born in grief, raised in hate, helpless to defy his fate

Joseph dries his eyes and adds, Let him run, let him live, but do not forget what we cannot forgive. He had to say that because despite whatever bitterness and anger he felt towards Bakura for all the pain he was caused, Joseph was still a follower of Millennia. It was against the Great Goddess' wishes to kill another human being even if it was a follower of Cobalt. Still, Bakura's crimes and sins were beyond forgiveness and the pain he caused was not easy to heal from.

Seto raises his voice and sings, And he is not one of us. He has never been one of us

Joseph takes his turn and adds, He is not part of us. Not our kind

Together, the men sing, Someone once lied to us. Now we're not so blind

For we knew he would do what he's done

And we know that he'll never be one of us

Mystery raises her voice and sings, He is not one of us. Although her part sounded slow with a tone of sorrow in it. She knew it would be so and it wasn't like she really wanted Bakura to be part of her kind. Really, she just didn't want to fight at all. The real truth was that the queen felt sorry for Bakura because he was bringing just as much pain upon himself and would never know all that she did as long as his heart was small and dark. But what was really sad to her was that the fact also applied to Luna; especially that last statement. Luna did lie to the royals and now they weren't going to allow themselves to be fooled again. They also knew they would be attacked by Bakura, but they didn't know it would be in this way.

Deception, Joseph sang softly.

Disgrace, Seto finished. They repeated their words once more and returned inside the palace. Joseph went to check up on Hinaichigo and Seto went to his study. Mystery was about to head to the throne room until Mana came before her with a letter. The queen read the contents and was shocked. Now she knew why Mana cried out earlier.

"This is," she was saying, "This is from Bakura. He wants me to meet him in the ruins of Kul Elna this evening."

"I'm guessing this is why he sent his monsters here," said Atem. But he knew that their presence wasn't just about delivering that letter. Surely they had every intention of attacking the servants.

"He wants me to come alone," continued Mystery. "He also claims he just wants to talk."

"Don't go," Mana begged, "for all we know, it's a trap."

"Besides, a lot of us just got back from Kul Elna," Jirachi reminded.

The queen knew her friends were right, but she felt compelled to go. She had enough of this pain and devastation and wanted to end this fight once and for all. It was her battle to begin with in the first place and she had taken no part of it. Enough of her friends and loved ones had fought for her and fallen. Mystery also knew that none of her friends wanted to lose her, but how else would she be able to end the fighting?

Mystery reasoned with her friends and husband. "If I do not go, he will come back to attack us anyway. And if I walk away now, everyone who risked their lives and sacrificed themselves in this fight will have done it for nothing. It is my destiny to confront Bakura."

Hearing that, Atem found that he had no choice but to agree. The Battle of the Gods was in effect and Mystery and Bakura were destined to face each other. And like his wife, he never wanted to fight either. But he didn't want Mystery to go alone. Things would be different this time, however. If Mystery would be going to the ruins alone, he would have to stay behind and protect their daughter the same way his wife had been when he was facing Bakura. Besides, the queen still possessed all the powers of the Millennium Star, so she would be safe.

The queen spoke up. "Atem, Mana, do you understand why I can no longer stand by?"

"We do, but-"

"But nothing, Mana," Mystery interrupted. "I have to live up to my promises now. When I claimed my destiny as heiress of Millennia, I vowed to carry out her will and fulfill her wishes. I must fight on her behalf just as Bakura is fighting on Cobalt's. I cannot avoid my responsibilities and go back on my word. And whatever trap Bakura has laid out for me, I will take my chances."

"And if this does turn out to be a fight, what then?" Atem asked.

"I will not hold back or go by my usually peaceful ways," the queen answered. She knew there would be no point in trying to reason with Bakura or open his heart. Besides, there were a lot of things Mystery kept hidden about herself that many of her friends didn't know. She was a lover, but she was also a fighter. And though she fought not to hurt her opponents, she knew that would have to change if she was going to face the heir of Cobalt.

Tears filled Jirachi's eyes. He moves closer to Mystery and hugs her face. He had known Mystery for a long time and understood her reasons for getting herself involved, but he still loved her and didn't want her to go through with it. "I understand," he sobbed. "But I can't think about losing you either."

Mystery places her hand over her best friend to hug him. "You will not. I promise," she says and kisses him. Mana hugs Mystery as well and tells her to be careful.

Atem takes Mystery's hands in his and looks into her eyes. They were no longer the same height. In fact, Mystery had grown a few inches taller than her husband, so she had to slightly tilt her head down. "Promise me you'll come back," he whispers.

The queen nods. "Of course I will," she tells him. "In the meantime, protect the others and watch over the baby." Then they both hug and kiss 'goodbye'. Atem couldn't help but feel that her promise was just a bunch of empty words, but he still trusted his wife. Slowly, he felt her hands slip free from his. Without saying anything else, Mystery returns to the palace courtyard, unfolds her wings, and starts flying to the outskirts.