Author's Note: Dark Yugi: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you liked Cecelia's duel. It was so fun to write! I hope you love this chapter!

"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." -Lionel Messi

Although they all started out together, Kaiba and Mokuba broke off from the group after a while when some of the monsters went after them. The Pharaoh ended up running ahead of them toward Paradeus headquarters. With Tristan Carrying Joey, and Croquet carrying Pegasus, they were easily slowed down. That left Tèa and Cecelia as the only ones who could catch up to him. So Tèa ran after him while Cecelia stayed with the rest of the group. It took them a good fifteen minutes to follow Tèa's trail, and they did run into the Kaiba brothers again on the way, But they still got lost after following her as far as they could see. Fortunately for them, they were only lost for a short time. Unfortunately for them, they were deterred by a pack of rats attacking them. However, it did take them straight to Paradeus. When they eventually got there, the dark black building loomed over them. But each of them swallowed their fears and entered the building.

When they entered the lobby, the marble tile floors and empty room created an eerie echo. There was an elevator that was on the roof, so they all piled in and went up there. When they arrived, the seal of Orichalcos had just been played. Everyone filed out to the roof, murmuring to one another about the duel. But Cecelia was uninterested in that. She already knew that the Pharaoh would win. If her husband had chosen him to protect her, he was guaranteed to achieve victory. She felt the dark hole inside of her heart that was made by her husband's absence beginning to ache inside her. So she moved over to where Croquet was and held Pegasus' hand in her own.

Mokuba, who's attention had been on the duel, noticed her movement from out of the corner of his eye, turned to look at her. He saw the way Cecelia looked at her husband- there was such tenderness and love in her gaze, it truly surprised him. He couldn't believe Pegasus was married- and especially to someone so nice. Considering his own experiences with Pegasus, he didn't think that madman was capable of love. But it was made brilliantly clear by the look on her face that she loved him dearly. If he married someone like that, maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

But that still didn't make him any less creepy.

But all of them stared at the duel taking place before them.

"This duel is far from over, Rafael!" Said Yami. "I know firsthand what the Orichalcos does to a person's heart. And I can help you! Think... When Eatos was destroyed... You unleashed your anger on your other monsters. You let the Orichalcos feed on your rage... Like I did."

"So? What's your point?"

"That this isn't who you really are! The darkness within you has taken control; and now you must face that darkness head-on! It's the only way for you to save yourself."

"Heh, you need to be saved!"

"If you don't believe my words, then maybe this will convince you." He said, holding up a card.

"What're you holding?"

"A card that forces you to take a closer look at yourself- "Underworld Circle"!"

"What on earth does that do?"

"Behold! It's time for you to take some responsibility for what you've done, Rafael! "Underworld Circle"! Activate!"

They all watched as Dark Magician Girl evaporated, then Guardian Dreadscythe did the same. Rafael took a step back, horrified.

"My monster's gone!"

"Yes, and so is mine. Now- witness your true darkness!"

The bubble around them became a shade of dark indigo.

"I don't like the looks of that." Said Tristan.

"Ditto." Murmured Tèa.

"We can't even see what's going on now." Mokuba completed.

"Let's just hope when the smoke clears, it's the Pharaoh that's standing!" Said Tèa.

For a long time, nothing happened, when suddenly Tristan called out: "Check it out! The smoke cleared."

"Is the Pharaoh all right?" Asked Tèa.

And he was.

The battle continued until Rafael was left with almost nothing left.

"Now do you understand what you've done?" Asked Yami. "You turned your back on your monsters. At one time, they meant the world to you. But then Dartz convinced you to abandon everything that was important to you; he fed you lies about your family, and fueled your rage. And in a moment of weakness you allowed your heart to become consumed by the dark magic of the Orichalcos. But I could tell the real you was still in there fighting to break free, and I knew what I had to do- force you to face the darkness."

"There's only one problem with your plan, Pharaoh. The Seal of Orichalcos still needs to capture one of our souls. So whaddaya say we finish this off, and see who goes?"

"No- wait!"

"Too late! My move! I'll use the power of Underworld Circle to bring back my Guardian Grarl!"

"What're you planning to do?"

"Ugh. Next I'll activate my "Soul Charge" magic card... allowing me to summon even more monsters from my graveyard!"

"Whoa, that's four monsters!" Said Tristan.

"Look; any monster that's summoned by using Soul Charge can't attack for one turn, so he's safe." Snapped Kaiba.

"Then why do it? What's his plan?" Asked Mokuba.

"Well, that's it; my graveyard is completely empty. My Guardians are free." Said Rafael.

"That's true... now what?" Asked Yami.

"I think you know, Pharaoh; each monster I brought back from the grave cost me five hundred points." The last of Rafael's lifepoints depleted, leaving him with zero. "Game over."

The Seal of Orichalcos closed in around him. Yami started running toward him. "Rafael!"

Yami stopped suddenly, looking up; above them, the dark night sky brightened with celestial mystery. Guardian Eatos, attended by shining stars, descended from the clouds; her eyes downcast with sympathy.

"It's Eatos..." Said Yami.

Rafael, his head bowed, noticed the bright light and looked up. Eatos settled down between Backup Gardna and Guardian Elma with a benign smile, taking her place among the monsters of His deck, the green light of the Orichalcos at their back. The seal slowly vanished from the faces of Rafael's monsters as they smiled at him, the red glare fading from their eyes.

"You've made the correct choice, Rafael. The darkness has lifted."

Rafael smiled at him. "You're right- thank you."

Normally, the seal would have taken him away, but instead it left him be. Suddenly the ground began to shake.

"What's going on?!" Cried Tèa.

"Oh, no!" Cried Kaiba.

"Oh, yes." Said Yami sadly.

"What?! I-is it an earthquake?" Asked Tristan.

"I'm afraid it's much worse than that!" Said Yami.