The Assassin Bride Chapter 6: To The Grave, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

A/N: I would like to thank Dova lord for his prompt review of 5 that allowed this chapter to be released from the embargo. I would also like to thank my friend Matt for his assistance in some parts.

This chapter is a bit darker, and Seto and Anastasia have their first BIG fight, and a character REALLY gets under his skin, but it's not who you think. There is also some healing.

TWs: Death, Miscarriage/Infant Death, Boundary Crossing

As always, please leave a constructive review of this chapter to release 7 from the embargo. Things are getting intense and darker, and you won't want to miss it.

Enjoy.

Meanwhile…

Dabria was contently sleeping in Santiago's and her bed, and she was cradling her belly where their son Julian was growing. She had woken up and saw that Santiago wasn't there in bed with her, but she could hear his voice, as well as those of Bakura and Marik. They were plotting another mission in Santiago's office. She wanted to hear what they were saying, but Julian was putting extra pressure on her bladder, so she had to get up and hurry to the bathroom. She was relieved after she used the restroom and went to get a drink from the fridge. She contently drank the sweet juice she had grabbed and then started feeling dizzy and sick. She ran to the sink and was throwing up violently, shaking, and feeling tears streaming from her eyes. Her vision was blurring, and Julian started kicking wildly and was in obvious distress. She collapsed on the floor and curled in a fetal position in agony. She tried to scream, but nothing came out, save for a mousy squeak. She tried to kick the cupboard to get Santiago, Marik, and Bakura's attention but was too weak. She felt heavy, and her body was desperately trying to push Julian out. She felt warmth between her legs, and it smelled metallic. Shit, she was bleeding. Santiago, Marik, and Bakura finally came out and took their sweet time coming to her, stood over her a minute, and then knelt down to her.

"Looks like the 'Angel of Death' is dead," Santiago said to her with venom in his voice. He was too happy this day was here. Now he wouldn't be in her shadow anymore, and he could be with his new, rich fiancée. He couldn't wait to show proof to his new fiancée's father; he was going to offer a fortune for proof of the "Angel of Death's" death.

"We should take a picture with us, her, and her mask, for proof," Marik suggested.

"Good idea!" Bakura agreed and got her skull mask she wore as the "Angel of Death" and the camera. He positioned her so that the mask was beside her, set the timer so they could all be in the picture, and they posed with her. Once they were satisfied with their pictures, they left her to die on the floor. She found the strength to push a distress button on her necklace to call for help from the support team. Each second ticked slowly as she waited. She pressed fervently, desperately hoping they were getting her distress calls. She vaguely saw a handsome, muscular man dressed in a form-fitting black suit, with long, black hair that fell to the middle of his back. She couldn't stay awake any longer, and her eyes felt heavy and she started to slowly succumb to the darkness. She vaguely felt the man squeezing her hand with an ice-cold grip, almost tugging her closer. It was tempting, but then he let go and she felt her body being moved higher onto a bed, and could just faintly hear the chatter around her, and that she was being worked on before completely blacking out.

Anastasia woke up with a start and was inspecting her naked body to make sure everything was okay and that she was alive. She looked over and saw her naked husband sleeping next to her. Stella raised her head alert and was twitching her ears listening. Anastasia was panting with relief and couldn't help but choke back a sob. She got dressed and Stella pushed against her whining and trying to offer comfort.

"Good girl, Stella. Thank you," Anastasia whispered as she hugged her loyal fur baby close. Anastasia then grabbed a blanket and put on her robe and slippers. She needed fresh air and it was a little chilly out. She led Stella to the garden and sat on the bench huddled in the blanket, holding Stella tightly as she broke down sobbing from the PTSD memory of her almost death. Why did these bastards have to show up and remind her what they did?! She was finally living her life happily with Seto and Mokuba, and they had to come! And she knew Santiago was coming and was going to ruin everything, and possibly harm or kill Seto and Mokuba, and then try to finish the job killing her after them. Seto wanted to know everything about him, but she didn't want him to know too much, even though she wanted to tell him and Mokuba. She had witnessed members of her squad be executed for giving too many details, along with everyone they told. She couldn't bear the thought of Seto and Mokuba and the staff being executed because of her loose lips. She wasn't entirely convinced of Seto's declarations that everything would be okay. He and Mokuba may have gone through a lot of hell, but this was still pretty serious.

"They deserve to know…" her inner self tried to convince her.

"I know, but I don't want them to be killed because of me," Anastasia told her.

"I think you should give them more credit," Anastasia's inner self goaded. Anastasia was quiet as she contemplated, ignoring the shivering, and hugged Stella tighter. Stella was only too happy to offer comfort to her human mama.

Meanwhile, Seto felt the empty space in the bed next to him. He reached his arm out to see if he could feel Anastasia, but he only felt the lukewarm sheet and the wrinkles where she used to be. He opened his sapphire eyes wide.

"Anastasia?" He asked the dark, empty room. "Anastasia? Where are you?" He also noticed that Stella was not in her bed either. "Stella?" he called out. He got worried and dressed in a hurry, and made sure to grab a blanket just in case he found her and she was cold. He put his robe and slippers on and wore the blanket like a cape and he went looking for her in her usual spots in the mansion, and couldn't find her. He glanced at the clock and saw it was 2:30 a.m. Where could she be? He opened the door to the garden, hoping he'd find her there.

Stella's ears perked up as she heard the door open.

"Anastasia? Stella?" Seto called for them. Stella immediately barked in response. Seto sighed in relief as he heard Stella barking, and he hurried as he followed the sound and found Anastasia huddled in a blanket, shivering and clinging onto Stella, her face stained with trails of tears, and she looked like she was lost in her thoughts. Stella jumped down immediately and sat beside Anastasia. Anastasia absently pet her head. Seto immediately picked up Anastasia in her blanket and draped his blanket cloak around the both of them and carried her inside while Stella followed. Anastasia clung to him tight and buried her tear-stained face into his shoulder.

"I got you, my dragon queen," Seto whispered as he carried her to their bed. Stella plopped down on her bed on the floor and watched him. Seto gingerly put Anastasia on the bed, removed her robe and slippers, as well as his, lay down, and pulled their comforter around them, after moving the extra blankets away. He held her tight and caressed her back gingerly. "I'm here," he whispered, trying to reassure her. She latched onto him like a koala and buried her face in his chest. "It's alright. You scared me. I was so worried when I didn't feel you in bed. So, what happened?" Anastasia clenched onto him tighter. "Did you have a nightmare?" Seto probed. Anastasia nodded into his chest. "Talk to me, sweetheart."

"It was my near murder…" Anastasia mumbled.

"Oh Anastasia," Seto said softly and held her quietly. "What brought this on?"

"Marik and Bakura," Anastasia mumbled again.

"Damn them to hell!" Seto cursed. He wanted to kill them for bringing this on to her, and to him too. She merely held on tight. "What's on your mind, Cara Mia?" he asked, hoping to cheer her up.

"I want to protect you, Mokuba, and the staff from Santiago, Bakura, and Marik… I don't want any of you to die…" Anastasia replied and clung tighter.

"What makes you think we're going to die? I told you, Cara Mia, you don't need to worry about that. We'll be okay. Santiago doesn't know what the fuck he's doing, and I don't think Bakura or Marik will do anything right now. We're stronger and tougher than you think. I wish you'd give us more credit," Seto whispered.

"Dragon, they almost killed me, a pregnant woman, without a second thought," Anastasia protested.

"Almost. ALMOST. Which means they FAILED. I have been in the Shadow Realm, and so has Mokuba, and a score of others, including Marik's brother, Odion, Mai and Joey Wheeler, Yugi's grandpa, etc. That was hell on its own. They don't scare me. They won't succeed," Seto promised and continued holding her and stroking her hair and back. Anastasia was slightly placated. "Come on, talk to me. There's still something on your mind," Seto goaded gently.

"I want to tell you more about them and my past, but I can't…" Anastasia insisted.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Seto probed.

"You and Mokuba would be executed, and then so would I, after being forced to watch. I've witnessed members of my squad be executed for spilling too many details, right after they witnessed everyone they told, up until the last person who knew the information. I don't want that to happen to you. I love you both too much. And if you don't know any information, if you're ever captured and tortured, they won't get anything, and you'll more likely be let go more easily," Anastasia explained.

"I love you too. I appreciate you trying to protect us. However, you can trust me and Mokuba. We won't tell anyone. We can keep secrets. And with all due respect, I think you would have been considered a liability with your trauma and PTSD. At any time, you could have had an episode and let it slip, and jeopardized yourself and anyone in the vicinity," Seto gently pointed out.

"Except I hadn't; I was adamant about that," Anastasia retorted slightly offended at the implication.

"Are you certain about that?" Seto asked gently.

"Absolutely," Anastasia insisted.

"What about when you were in therapy for your trauma?" Anastasia shook her head.

"I only said what was necessary, and my support team vetted the therapist thoroughly to ensure that they could be trusted," Anastasia insisted. Seto sighed.

"If you say so," Seto conceded.

"I do," Anastasia replied.

"He does have a point," her inner self conceded.

"Why does she have to be so damn stubborn?!" Seto thought.

"She has been dealing with her trauma and surviving on her own for so long, it's probably difficult for her to let go. Not to mention she cares so much about you and Mokuba and the staff, she wants to keep you safe by any means necessary. She's doing the same thing you did. Didn't you tell Mokuba 'I may not have been proud of all my decisions, but I made them for us'?"

"Yes…" Seto admitted.

"Then don't stand in her way and stop trying to push her. All she's going to do is resist," his inner self warned.

"What can I do then?" Seto asked exasperated.

"Let her make the decisions regarding this then, and be ready to help when she needs you to," his inner self advised. Seto sighed. He hated this, but he had no choice.

"How involved is your support team currently?" Seto inquired.

"They check in every so often, and are ready in case I need them," Anastasia answered.

"How often do they check in? How does it work?" Seto interrogated. He had to know.

"Once a month, and they usually visit me at my work posing as a client, or at some inconspicuous location, as if we were friends hanging out and catching up," Anastasia explained.

"What happens at these meetings?" Seto probed.

"We catch up on what's been going on for the last month. I tell them about any security issues that come up, and we make decisions based on that," Anastasia replied.

"When are you due to see them again?" Seto queried.

"Sometime next week," Anastasia answered. Seto nodded. "I plan to tell them about Bakura and Marik showing up. They're likely going to get prepared in case they need to assist."

"I see, though I'm not sure we'll need them," Seto retorted confidently.

"I'd rather have their assistance ready and not need it than need it and not have it," Anastasia retorted.

"Alright," Seto agreed and they both yawned. "We should get some sleep and pick this up later. We have to be up in a couple of hours," he reminded her. "Sweet dreams, my dragon queen," Seto bade and kissed her head and her lips.

"Sweet dreams, my dragon," Anastasia bade with a kiss on his lips and held onto him and soon they both fell asleep and had more pleasant dreams until their alarm woke them up at 5:00 a.m. They groaned tiredly.

"Can we please sleep in a little longer instead of working out this morning?" Seto mumbled groggily. His body really wanted to sleep in, especially after waking up in the middle of the night.

"Alright," Anastasia mumbled and set an alarm for 6:00 a.m. instead and cuddled back into bed with him. Seto wrapped his arms around her tight.

"Thank you, Cara Mia," Seto mumbled and kissed her and they fell asleep for another hour.

They then showered and got ready together. Today, Anastasia wore a black off-the-shoulder dress with colorful skull papel picado lace on the shoulders and tiers on the skirt, black embroidered espadrille shoes, her scarlet hair in a messy bun, a headband with a silver spiky halo, skull beads, silk marigolds, and a colorful array of silk flowers. She also donned her skull bead jewelry and a sugar skull mask. She would have done her makeup, but she didn't have the energy this morning.

"That's quite a getup," Seto remarked as he eyed her from head to toe.

"Yes, it's day 1 of Día de Los Muertos. It's what I normally wear," Anastasia retorted.

"I see," Seto nodded and held her arm as they went downstairs. Anastasia let Stella out one more time and fed her and gave Stella her medicine before joining Seto and Mokuba at the table for another delicious breakfast from Rosa.

"Wow, that's an interesting look!" Rosa and Mokuba remarked as they saw her outfit.

"You really do go all out for Día de Los Muertos," Mokuba remarked.

"Yep," Anastasia confirmed with a smile. "Just wait until tonight, and tomorrow," Anastasia added with an eye-crinkling grin.

"It sounds like it will be cool, right Seto?" Mokuba asked.

"Yeah, sounds like it," Seto confirmed. They finished breakfast, and Anastasia left a few recipes with pictures for pan de muerto, conchas, other pan dulces, and tortillas.

"I would appreciate your help making these," Anastasia requested.

"No problem! They sound like a fun challenge!" Rosa replied, her brown eyes alight with eagerness.

"I would also appreciate it if you or another staff member can get the meat rubbed with spices, pour some marinade on it, put some of the mesquite wood in the grill, light it, and separate the meat on either side of the grill bars, shut the grill lid with the meat inside, open the vent, flip it once around noon, and just leave it be until I get home. It's best if you do that first. Here's the recipe," Anastasia instructed.

"Sure!" Rosa consented as she took the recipe from her.

"Thanks Rosa," Anastasia replied happily.

Soon, they piled into the limo and were dropped off with their respective crews at their works. For Seto and Mokuba, it felt like a normal day of resuming their dueldisk upgrades and testing. During their downtime breaks, they did a bit more research of Día de Los Muertos to understand it for Anastasia's sake. When Anastasia came into her work, she was greeted with ¡feliz Día de Los Muertos! by everyone, as they were quite familiar with her customs since she started working there. She smiled and greeted everyone and went into her office and settled in and started doing her reading and editing. It was so nice not having her scary meetings with clients and to be able to just read and edit. It was pretty relaxing.

Later, after arriving home, Anastasia immediately changed her shoes and flitted to the kitchen and put an apron on.

"How do these look?" Rosa asked hopefully as she showed Anastasia the conchas, pan de muerto, pan dulces, and tortillas she worked on today.

"They look great!" Anastasia praised her. Rosa's brown eyes crinkled and lit up with joy. Anastasia tasted one of each and was pleased. "They taste great too! Good job!"

"Thanks Anastasia! I am so happy they came out great! And the meat is still outside smoking. I turned it over around noon. What are we working on next?" Rosa asked eagerly.

"Tacos, and Mexican rice and beans," Anastasia answered.

"What would you like me to work on?" Rosa queried eagerly.

"I would appreciate if you worked on the Mexican rice and beans, dice some onions and tomatoes, put them in a bowl, and then put shredded cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream in bowls. I'll cut the meat for the tacos," Anastasia requested as she handed her the recipe and picture of the Mexican rice and beans.

"On it!" Rosa declared and got started. Meanwhile, Anastasia grabbed knives, pans, cutting boards, plates, a metal grill fork, metal tongs, a meat thermometer, and a grill brush and went to the grill. She turned on some Mexican music and happily jammed out to it while she was checking the chicken and brisket and moving them to separate cutting boards, and then carving them up with separate knives and putting them in pans. She extinguished the flames, brought the meats inside, and put them in pans in the oven at a low temperature to stay warm. She went back outside, gathered everything except the grill brush, brought them inside, and was cleaning the grill with the grill brush. She then felt arms wrap around her waist.

"There you are, my sexy dragon queen," Seto whisper-growled in her ear. "I missed you greeting us when we got home."

"Is that so?" Anastasia teased. "What are you going to do about it, huh?"

"This," Seto replied and gave her a passionate kiss.

"Ooh, someone really missed me," Anastasia observed.

"Yeah," Seto whispered in her ear.

"Good. I hope you're hungry," she told him with a boop on his nose with her finger.

"Starving," Seto growled.

"Good," Anastasia replied with a smirk and led him inside.

"Hey Anastasia!" Mokuba greeted her excitedly.

"Hey Mokuba!" Anastasia greeted with a hug.

"The food smells so good!" Mokuba exclaimed.

"It sure does! Rosa and I were working hard on making dinner and pan dulce," Anastasia crowed proudly.

"What are we having for dinner?" Seto and Mokuba asked.

"Tacos, Mexican rice and beans, and pan dulce," Anastasia answered breezily as she set the table and poured the drinks, and flitted to the oven to get the meat out and got the tongs. She also set up the pot of Mexican rice and beans on the stove with the meats and then set the tortillas and pan dulce down with them. The Lazy Susan on the table had bowls of shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, diced onions, guacamole, and salsa with separate spoons ready to go to stuff their tacos.

"Ready! Eat up!" Anastasia encouraged Seto, Mokuba, and Rosa to get some. They watched her grab a couple of plates and a couple of tortillas for each, and then put a mix of brisket and chicken on each tortilla, spoon some Mexican rice and beans on the sides of the plates, then come to the table and stuff the tacos with the cheese, salsa, diced tomatoes, diced onions, guacamole, and sour cream. She then covered one of the plates with plastic wrap and carried it with one of the drinks to the ofrenda, say a brief prayer, and leave it there.

"What are you doing?" Mokuba asked puzzled as they served themselves and sat down at their spots.

"Leaving my offerings for the dead," Anastasia replied as if it were obvious. "It's day one of Día de Los Muertos, remember? And you always serve your guests before yourself."

"I see. Will we actually see them?" Seto asked skeptically.

"Perhaps. It's usually more symbolic, but they have been known to visit my dreams, and sometimes you can actually feel their presence, so in a way it's possible," Anastasia explained and joined them at the table.

"This is so good and so new!" Mokuba exclaimed. "I want this more often!"

"It's delicious. Good job, Rosa and Anastasia," Seto praised them.

"Thanks, Dragon," Anastasia beamed.

"Thank you, Mr. Kaiba," Rosa also beamed. After dinner and pan dulce, Seto and Mokuba went to relax on the couch while Anastasia and Rosa put the food away and cleaned up. While Seto and Mokuba waited, they got out their album with pictures of their parents and waited for Anastasia to finish helping Rosa. As soon as Anastasia had finished, she joined them on the couch and rested.

"Anastasia, look! Here's one of our albums with pictures of us when we were little, and our parents!" Mokuba eagerly showed her. Anastasia smiled.

"I'm eager to see and hear about your memories," Anastasia told them as they put the album in her lap and opened it. Seto and Mokuba both showed her pictures of happier times when their parents were alive and recalled memories. Then, they got solemn and closed the album. After the point where they lost both parents and were sent to the orphanage, they chose not to share anymore.

"What's wrong?" Anastasia asked concerned.

"There's nothing more important enough to remember from here. Plus, it would also remember our stepfather, and he's not worth remembering. I thought Dia de Los Muertos was to honor and remember the dead you wanted to remember," Seto explained.

"That's fair. When you want to share more, I'll be waiting," Anastasia replied gingerly and squeezed his hand.

"And maybe you'll tell me more about your past," Seto countered slightly pointedly.

"Funny you should say that," Anastasia began. Mokuba and Seto were surprised.

"Is she really going to tell us more about her past, including her military service?" Seto thought taken aback.

"Maybe not military service, but other bits," his inner self replied, reining him in.

"That's true," Seto conceded. Anastasia got up and got some of her albums and sat back down with them and shared some of her early memories from before her service. Seto and Mokuba hung on her every word as she told them about her memories up until her internship before her service days.

"How did your family die?" Seto asked curiously. Anastasia got quiet and distant. "I understand if you don't want to talk about them."

"Some died at other times, but most of them died all at once when I was away. They were at a birthday party for one of my little cousins in a public park. Two rival gangs showed up, angry at each other about the death of some of their members, and it was also a territorial dispute. They opened fire, and my family, immediate and extended, as well as the entire family of my cousin's significant other, who was my little cousin's mother, and other random people were gunned down, ironically on the 2nd day of Día de Los Muertos," Anastasia explained and shut her albums. Seto and Mokuba stared at her wide-eyed and shocked. Anastasia got up and put her albums away.

"What…the…fuck?!" Seto's inner self exclaimed horrifed.

"Tell me about it," Seto agreed.

"That was intense, right Seto?" Mokuba asked Seto.

"It was," Seto confirmed as he was still trying to process what she told him.

"Poor Anastasia," Mokuba remarked sadly. "To have your ENTIRE family, including little children die in such a horrible way, and on Día de Los Muertos too. I get why she celebrates it. It honors her family, and in a way, they get to be together again."

"That makes sense," Seto agreed. Anastasia returned to the couch after putting her albums away. Seto and Mokuba wrapped their arms around her in an embrace.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Seto and Mokuba expressed their condolences as they held her.

"Thank you. Same to you both," Anastasia expressed and leaned into their embrace. "Let's watch the movies," Anastasia suggested.

"Good idea," Seto and Mokuba agreed. Anastasia then put on Book of Life, and then Coco and enjoyed watching the movies with her guys. After the movies, they bade goodnight and went to their respective rooms. Seto and Anastasia showered and readied for bed together, and curled under the covers, holding each other tight.

"Thank you for telling me more about your past," Seto thanked her.

"Same, my dragon," Anastasia agreed and caressed his face, and kissed him. "Good night, my dragon. I love you," Anastasia bade.

"Good night, my dragon queen. I love you too," Seto bade. Soon, they fell asleep.

The next day, after sleeping in a little bit, they came downstairs, and enjoyed breakfast together, and thanked Rosa as usual. Then, they got dressed in some relaxed clothes, and Anastasia immediately donned an apron and went to make some food for the party tonight, with Rosa's help, while Seto and Mokuba did some work in their office. The first thing Anastasia did to get started was to get started rubbing and marinating the meat, lighting the wood, and let them smoke on the grill like yesterday. While Anastasia and Rosa were making food, the film crew and staff put their pictures of their deceased loved ones and offerings on the ofrenda and then resumed filming.

Once Anastasia and Rosa were finished and the food was put in the oven to stay warm, Anastasia went to Seto and Mokuba's office and knocked this time from the doorway based on how they snapped at her last time without realizing it was her. They reluctantly tore their eyes away from their work and looked up and smiled.

"Hey Anastasia," they greeted cheerily. Seto came to the doorway and pulled her close for a kiss.

"What's up?" Seto asked her.

"It's time to start getting ready for the party," Anastasia announced.

"Oh yeah!" Mokuba exclaimed excitedly as he remembered.

"That's right," Seto recalled too. They shut their work down and went to Seto and Anastasia's bathroom with Stella following. Seto and Mokuba immediately sat down in the chairs and cleansed and moisturized their faces. Anastasia got their makeup kits and pictures and got to work on putting Mokuba's bald cap on and putting their sugar skull makeup on. Once she finished putting their sugar skull makeup on and sealed it, she released them to get changed into their costumes. As soon as she released them, she heard the doorbell ring. As she was heading to the front door, one of the servants answered the door.

"Hi, I'm Jessica, I'm Anastasia's friend, and this is my cousin Hector. We're here for the party. Anastasia hired us to be DJs," Jessica introduced herself to the staff member. She and Hector were wearing their costumes and sugar skull makeup.

"Hey Jess," Anastasia greeted as she came downstairs.

"Hey Anastasia!" Jessica greeted. "This is my cousin Hector."

"Hey, how's it going? Thanks for hiring us." Hector greeted.

"Of course! Anything for a friend!" Anastasia replied and showed them inside and to where the party is going to be, and the ofrenda where they can leave their pictures and offerings to their deceased loved ones.

"I'll let you two get set up. I'm going to do my makeup and get dressed. By the way, nice costumes and makeup," Anastasia told them.

"Thanks! See you soon!" Jessica replied as she and Hector were getting the DJ booth set up. Anastasia went upstairs and then started doing her sugar skull makeup, got her black contacts in, put her black wig on, her black shoes, and her Morticia dress. Pretty soon, her friends and their significant others were starting to trickle in, in costume and sugar skull makeup. She could also hear the music thumping loudly downstairs. Seto and Mokuba came back to her wearing their costumes.

"You look beautiful, as usual, Cara Mia," Seto whispered in her ear.

"And you look as handsome as ever, Mon Cher," Anastasia replied. Seto gave a playful growl and kissed her hand. "And you look great too, Mokuba," Anastasia told Mokuba.

"Thanks Anastasia! You look pretty! I'm so excited for the party!" Mokuba replied, barely able to contain his enthusiasm.

"Go ahead, go on, go mingle, eat, have fun," Anastasia encouraged.

"Will do!" Mokuba agreed chipperly and went downstairs.

"Shall we?" Seto asked as he offered his arm.

"We shall, Mon Cher," Anastasia replied as she hooked her arm in his and they made their way downstairs and she called Mokuba over and introduced Seto and Mokuba to her friends and significant others.

"You better take good care of our dear Anastasia," her friends jibed half-playfully and half-seriously.

"Oh, we are! In fact, she's also taking good care of us, right Seto?" Mokuba replied.

"Indeed," Seto confirmed.

"Good!" her friends were satisfied with that answer. Jasmine had thought about asking them if they had considered Anastasia's suggestion about volunteering at the zoo, but thought better of it; she would let Anastasia handle it.

"So, how is married life treating you, Mr. Kaiba?" Sally asked.

"Yes! We're all DYING to know how things are going!" Evelyn piped up eagerly.

"It's great. She really does keep things interesting. It's been quite an adventure so far," he answered and glanced back at her with a side-eye and a small smile.

"It certainly has been fun! I love her being with us! I hope she stays with us! She makes us happy!" Mokuba chimed in. Her friends grinned pleased.

"We're so glad to hear things are going well," Evie remarked.

"Oh, yeah, did she tell you that I invited you all and Stella for dinner sometime?" Sally asked.

"She did mention it last week," Seto confirmed. "We might come by in a few weeks, once production has wrapped up. It's just so busy right now."

"Of course, of course," her friends nodded in assent.

"I appreciate your patience," Seto told them.

"You're welcome," her friends replied.

"Oh, yeah, Evie, Anastasia also showed us your shop on Etsy. You have some cool dragon stuff there," Mokuba complimented her.

"Thank you!" Evie beamed proudly. After a little bit more conversation, Seto decided to dance with Anastasia a bit.

The doorbell rang and the servant at the door answered. Mokuba was curious to see who had come. He hoped it was Yugi and the gang.

"Hey, we're here for da party," Joey greeted.

"Name?" the servant replied and looked at the list.

"I'm Joey Wheeler, this is my wife, Mai, my sista, Serenity, and my buds Yugi Mutuo, Tea Gardner, Tristan Taylor, Duke Devlin, Ryou Bakura, and Marik Ishtar," Joey introduced.

"Hey guys! Welcome to the party! I'm so glad you could make it!" Mokuba greeted.

"Thanks for having us, Mokuba," Bakura and Marik piped up.

"I'm sorry, Bakura and Marik aren't on the list. Sir, do you want to let them in?" Mokuba looked at the list scrawled in Anastasia's handwriting, and he remembered how she reacted to them on Thursday night after the festival. Stella appeared at the door with Mokuba, and she grew tense seeing Bakura and Marik and started growling and the hair on her back stood up.

"Easy, Stella! It's ok!" Mokuba tried to calm her.

"Sorry, Bakura and Marik. Anastasia and Seto don't want you here," Mokuba told them. Stella continued to growl and started barking angrily. She could sense these two were evil and she didn't want them here, and she was sure her human mama and daddy didn't want these two here either.

"Stella?" Anastasia asked as she heard the commotion by the door and tensed up when she saw Bakura and Marik. Stella started going crazier now that her human mama was here and tensed up seeing them. Anastasia tried to rein Stella in.

"You two!" Anastasia exclaimed.

"Hello Anastasia," Marik and Bakura greeted with their friendly facades.

"I need you two to leave, now!" Anastasia demanded.

"Aw, c'mon, how come they can't stay?" Joey asked.

"Because I, THE HOSTESS, said no! They make us seriously uncomfortable!" Anastasia shot back. Marik sized her up. It wouldn't be hard to just force their way in, but the dog would make things difficult, and so would Dabria/Anastasia. And since Seto and Mokuba cared about her, they would present an obstacle, and things were bound to get messy. He and Bakura decided it wasn't worth pressing.

"She does have a point Joey," Tea and Yugi agreed.

"Still sucks," Joey protested.

"I don't care if it sucks, the answer is no!" Anastasia snapped as she still tried to rein in Stella.

"It's fine, guys. We'll do something else. Come along, Bakura," Marik said as he pulled Bakura away. Once they had left, Stella calmed down.

Down the street, Marik and Bakura dropped their innocent facades.

"Well damn, that sucks," Bakura and Marik bemoaned.

"Yeah. We were so close," Bakura agreed.

"Well, at least we're so close now to our goal. We just need 4 more," Marik pointed out.

"Still, it would've been nice if we had access and could recon," Bakura complained.

"Oh well, we'll make it work," Marik replied.

"What do you want to do?" Bakura asked.

"Bar?" Marik suggested.

"Bar," Bakura concurred and they headed to their favorite bar.

Back at the mansion,

"Can ya put dat dog up?" Joey asked.

"No, this is her home. She's just protective. Leave her alone," Anastasia snapped back.

"Touchy," Joey retorted.

"You better believe it, bub! As long as you remain RESPECTFUL, everything is cool," Anastasia shot back, making sure to be pointed about the respectful part considering the last couple of times, he was disrespectful. "Now if you'll excuse us, we have hostess duties to attend to. Enjoy the party. The ofrenda is there if you want to put your pictures of deceased loved ones there, as well as your offerings to your loved ones," Anastasia directed and excused herself and Stella followed.

Seto had heard the commotion and grimaced as he saw Yugi and the Loser Squad in their costumes with Mokuba, and when Anastasia and Stella came by, he grabbed Anastasia's arm and pulled her close. Stella was alert when someone grabbed her human mama's arm but relaxed when she saw it was only her human daddy.

"Cara Mia, what was that about?" Seto whispered to Anastasia.

"Some unwelcome guests set Stella off," Anastasia answered and held onto him.

"Did she really make that commotion for the Loser Squad?" Seto asked, semi-hopefully. He wasn't thrilled they were there, but Mokuba wanted them there.

"I see the hope in your eyes," Anastasia whispered. "And no, it was only for Marik and Bakura."

"Well, that's fair," Seto agreed and was a little disappointed.

"Yeah," Anastasia agreed and told him what transpired after Marik and Bakura left. Seto sighed.

"Wheeler doesn't know when to shut up, does he?" Seto remarked exasperated.

"You would know," Anastasia retorted sassily. Seto nodded wide-eyed as if to say "I DO know." Anastasia chuckled a little, and Seto mirrored her chuckle and kissed her cheek and the back of her hand.

"Mon Cher, you're such a charmer, and so in character," Anastasia whispered in his ear.

"I know," Seto whispered back with a smirk and Anastasia giggled and then took him and Stella to chat with her friends and significant others again. Stella barked happily and wagged her fluffy tail as they approached her friends and their significant others. They pet her as they chatted with Seto and Anastasia for a bit before they excused themselves to dance a bit more. Anastasia encouraged everyone to join them, which everyone was eager to do.

"Dis is so much fun!" Joey exclaimed obnoxiously as he and the rest of the Loser Squad danced.

"It really is!" Yugi agreed.

"The DJs are doing a really good job," Duke remarked. Jessica heard that and beamed happily, and Hector smiled as he felt appreciated. Tea was definitely getting down with some of the new dance moves she had learned when she studied dance.

The crew and staff were also having fun dancing to the music. It was rare everyone was allowed to dance to music at a party; usually in Japan, DJs played music, but it wasn't often people were on a dance floor; however, here, Anastasia encouraged everyone to dance, and they enjoyed it.

When it came time for Jessica and Hector to play some cumbias and Mexican music, Anastasia was showing them all how to dance to it. They all struggled for a little bit, but soon everyone got the hang of it.

"There you go!" Anastasia praised everyone as she saw everyone having fun dancing to the cumbias and Mexican music. They continued dancing and Anastasia excused herself to make sure that the food was replenished and everything was ok. She also took Stella outside to do her business and take a breather in the cool night air. After a few minutes when Stella was finished, they came back inside. Anastasia and Stella continued to flit about the party, attending to hostess duties. She overheard the staff, crew, Loser Squad and her friends commenting about how much they were enjoying the authentic Mexican-style food. She beamed with pride, and she saw Rosa beam with pride too. Anastasia got some food for herself and joined Seto and Mokuba while they ate.

"Everything ok?" Seto asked her.

"Todos esta bien," Anastasia told them in Spanish. They looked blankly at her. "Everything is fine," she translated.

"Why didn't you just say that?" Seto retorted.

"It's the spirit of the party, duh," Anastasia quipped back as if it were obvious.

"If you say so," Seto shrugged.

"I do," Anastasia retorted with an impish grin and enjoyed some pan de muerto. After they ate, they tossed their trash and resumed having fun. For a moment, Anastasia stepped back with Stella to survey and scan the party with her soulless void black contacted eyes, wondering if they needed to do anything else for now.

"Hey Anastasia," Yugi and Tea greeted her. Anastasia tensed up briefly and Stella was alert as she watched, and growled briefly as a warning not to upset her. Yugi and Tea got nervous, and Stella growled a bit more, sensing their fear.

"Stella, it's ok," Anastasia assured her. "Put your hands out towards her so she can smell your hands," she commanded. "Don't be nervous, she'll pick up on that." Yugi and Tea obediently put their hands in front of them so Stella could sniff them. Stella smelled their hands and relaxed when she was sure they weren't a threat and sat by Anastasia's feet. Yugi and Tea sighed in relief.

"That's some guard dog," Yugi remarked.

"She's beautiful," Tea complimented her. Anastasia nodded.

"Can we pet her?" Yugi asked. Anastasia assessed Stella's receptiveness. Stella was panting contently and thumping her fluffy tail against the floor.

"She seems receptive. I suppose it's okay," Anastasia consented. Yugi and Tea slowly approached her and petted Stella on her head and back. Stella was enjoying the attention.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Anastasia queried them, assuming her hostess mode.

"Actually, there is," Tea answered.

"Yes? What is it? What do you need?" Anastasia peppered waving her hand in a circular motion, waiting for her to get to the point. Tea and Yugi took a deep breath.

"Well, we would like to invite you to be part of our friendship circle," Tea invited.

"…Friendship circle?" Anastasia cocked an eyebrow confused; her soulless void black contact eyes widened curiously.

"Yeah, we made this pact years ago, that no matter what, we would always be friends, and the power of friendship would carry us through hard times," Tea explained.

"It started with Tea, Joey, Tristan, and me, but it's certainly expanded quite a bit to include Duke, Serenity, Mai, and even Bakura and Marik," Yugi added.

"I see…" Anastasia replied, still confused. "My friends over there have carried me through some pretty hard times," she told them.

"But what we're saying is we'd like to invite you to be part of our friendship circle too," Tea invited.

"I'm not sure…" Anastasia replied uncertainly.

"What are you unsure about?" Yugi probed.

"The last few times we've met, you all have been disrespectful to us," Anastasia pointed out bluntly. "Why should I accept that invitation considering the disrespect we've been shown?" she eyed them warily. "It doesn't inspire much confidence that you all won't be disrespectful of us if we do join."

"I can see your point, and we would like to make amends. We were just caught off guard when we found out KAIBA had gotten married, considering his attitude we're so familiar with," Yugi explained.

"I gathered…" Anastasia responded awkwardly. "I don't know. Joey kinda put me off. How do I know he won't continue his mouthy disrespect?"

"We'll make sure that he stops. And just a FYI, Kaiba has been extremely disrespectful of Joey and us. We tried extending our friendship to him, but he insisted he didn't need friends. All he needed was Mokuba, his company, and Duel Monsters," Yugi informed her and told her all the ways Seto had been disrespectful to them, and she blinked in surprise and cringed more and more with each example. She cupped her hand and hovered it above her mouth in stunned silence. She had no idea how disrespectful he was to them.

"What's goin' on ova here, Yug, Tea, Demon Lady?" Anastasia glared at him, her soulless black contacts trying to bore into his soul, and looked to Yugi and Tea as if to say, "Well? You going to make good on your word or do I have to say something?"

"Joey! Stop! Her name is Anastasia! You will use her name properly and show her, her dog Stella, Kaiba, and Mokuba respect!" Yugi commanded him. Joey blinked in surprise. He was not expecting Yugi to snap at him like that.

"We're trying to make amends with her and be her friend!" Tea interjected.

"You want her to be in our gang? And Kaiba and Mokuba? Mokuba, I get, but her and Kaiba? Do ya not see what da last few times have been like we met dem?" Joey remarked gobsmacked.

"She's been polite and a great hostess until you decided to disrespect her off the bat and insult both of them without knowing her!" Tea shot back.

"We also have been telling her examples of how Kaiba's been disrespectful to us, and she's been stunned too! " Yugi added.

"Oh really?" Joey replied and smirked. Now was his chance to tell Anastasia ALL about her husband's treatment of them over the years. Pretty soon, Mai, Serenity, Tristan, and Duke came over too to see what was going on. All of them chimed in with examples of Seto's disrespect.

"Enough. Please. I get it," Anastasia begged them with her hand up as if to say "STOP." Seto had been doing rounds around the party, seeing where his wife had gone when he and Mokuba had met up.

"What's up Seto?" Mokuba asked, noticing his brother looking around.

"Have you seen Anastasia anywhere?" Seto replied.

"No, I was just mingling and met up with you here," Mokuba responded with a slight shrug. "Do you need something from her?"

"Just wondering where she went off to. I haven't seen her for a bit," Seto answered. He also wanted to relax and socialize with her. They looked around and found her near the kitchen with the Loser Squad and wondered why they were with her. No matter. They traipsed to the group and Seto wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Hello, Cara Mia," Seto whispered in her ear. The Loser Squad was surprised he showed up and expressed affection with Anastasia so easily.

"Hello, Mon Cher," Anastasia responded.

"Hey guys! Hey Anastasia!" Mokuba greeted cheerily. He was glad to see that at least Anastasia was socializing with them. She didn't seem too pleased they were here earlier, but they were the closest people they had to friends, even if Seto didn't consider them friends.

"Yugi," Seto acknowledged Yugi, but ignored everyone else.

"Hey Mokuba," Anastasia greeted Mokuba with a warm smile, but then saw the look on the Loser Squad's faces as if to say, "You see what we mean?"

"What are you losers talking about over here with my wife?" Seto nonchalantly queried. The gang gave her another pointed look. "What?" Seto demanded obnoxiously.

"Seto, they kindly offered me to join their friendship circle," Anastasia replied, her tone getting cooler and not as affectionate.

"You're not thinking of joining the Loser Squad, are you?" Seto complained.

"And what if I am?" Anastasia retorted sharply. Seto was shocked.

"Why? They're third-rate duelists with fourth-rate decks, and ever-present and annoying, and always talking about "destiny this, destiny that, the heart of the cards, friendship, blah, blah, blah. If I had a dollar for every time they talked about that, I'd be even richer. We don't need them. We're better, and we make our own destiny. You know that," Seto tried to remind her, getting suddenly irritated.

"Why is she siding with the Loser Squad?!" Seto exclaimed in his head.

"She's allowed to make her own decisions," his inner self reminded him.

"I don't want her to be friends with them, because then I have to be nice to them! I hate their stupid speeches!" Seto complained. His inner self shrugged.

"Looks like it," his inner self replied deadpan.

"Traitors!" Seto snarled at his inner self and mentally at Anastasia.

"You don't seem to change much either, Kaiba," Yugi shot back.

"You think we say the same things over and over, wake up, dude! You just quoted all your classic Kaiba lines you've been saying for years!" Tristan pointed out.

"Yeah, it does get pretty old on our end too," Duke concurred.

"They have a point," Seto's inner self agreed with them. Seto growled at him.

"So, we're third-rate duelists with fourth-rate decks? Joey and I did extremely well in your tournaments, and they wouldn't be third-rate tournaments, would they? And not to mention the fact that you've tried to keep Joey out of your tournaments and your security has failed to keep him out. Seems like your security is awful if it can't stop a third-rate duelist. You put so much money and dedication into beating Yugi and never beat him fairly. How embarrassing for you!" Mai shot back. Seto was taken aback and flustered.

"Ooooh!" The Loser Squad, Mokuba, and Anastasia exclaimed.

"Burn!" Duke exclaimed.

"Yeah! And Joey might be a third-rate duelist, but his heart is LEAGUES above yours Kaiba, and that's what really matters!" Serenity boldly chimed in.

"You tell him Serenity!" Tea and Mai cheered.

"Aww, thanks sis, honey," Joey blushed as they defended him.

"Enough! That's it! Things are going to change now! We're going to be friends and start anew!" Anastasia decreed.

"Yeah!" Mokuba piped up in agreement. Seto glared irritably at both of them.

"Et Tu, Anastasia and Mokuba?" Seto retorted, quoting one of Julius Caesar's last words, as he felt stabbed in the back.

"Seto shut up. It isn't betrayal," Anastasia retorted irritably.

"It is to me! I don't need their friendship!" Seto insisted. Anastasia gently grabbed his face and looked him square in the eye with her soulless black void contacts. Seto glared back, but the dead stare she gave back made him uneasy.

"Yes you do," Anastasia insisted with a deadly calm voice. "They told me they were the ones that got you and Mokuba out of the Shadow Realm in Duelist Kingdom, and they helped you escape the virtual realm, and get your soul back from the Leviathan, and countless other times. If it weren't for them, you both would have been lost forever. You may not realize this, and insist you don't need them because you and Mokuba were alone and had to do things on your own for so long, but you need them as much as they need you. I don't know where I'd be without my friends. They're always here to help you, despite how you treat them, and they're actually STILL willing to be your friends after all that. You may not like that, but oh well. Now, things are going to change, and we're going to officially be friends, as soon as you all apologize," She declared calmly and had him look her square in the eye again to show him how serious she was. He looked away again. Anastasia looked at Yugi and the gang.

"After you," she invited. Yugi and the gang were stunned silently by the deadly calmness in her voice. At that moment, she was the epitome of Morticia Addams.

"…we're sorry… for disrespecting Anastasia and you," they reluctantly apologized and grimaced. The apology was bitter.

"Your turn, Mon Cher," Anastasia told Seto. Seto gave her a hmph in refusal.

"I won't apologize!" Seto insisted petulantly.

"Yes you will," Anastasia declared calmly.

"You dare to presume to tell me what I will and will not do?!" Seto snarled impetuously.

"They apologized for their disrespect, it's your turn," Anastasia prodded. The gang sighed heavily.

"Good luck trying to get him to apologize," Duke remarked. Anastasia looked back at Duke.

"I have my ways," she assured him and turned back to Seto and whispered in his ear, "Dragon, if you don't apologize, I will go to my own room indefinitely, and refuse to make love to you," she threatened with a deadly calm voice and gave him a sweet kiss. "Savor that kiss. It may be a while before I decide to give you another if you continue to act like a petulant child," she added in another whisper. Seto stared at her as if to say "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY THREATENING THAT?!" She nodded as if she could read his mind in his expression. Seto grimaced. He HATED being apart from her when she was irritated with him, and the no lovemaking was also a formidable threat, but he also HATED the Loser Squad also. He sighed heavily. She had checkmated him.

"Fine… I'm…Sorry…" Seto mumbled under his breath.

"No mumbling," Anastasia admonished him. Seto glared at her. "If you're going to act like a petulant child, I will treat you like one." Seto glared harder, trying to break her with his signature icy stare with his sapphire eyes, and she unflinchingly stared back.

"You know that never works with her, right?" his inner self reminded him.

"Oooh," Yugi and his gang ooohed. This was better than TV to them. It was entertaining to witness him squirming and her being able to go toe-to-toe with him fearlessly and with such deadly calmness, and he would definitely listen to her. Seto glared at them too, but they kept watching, and he cleared his throat and gulped.

"Hang on, I wanna get this on video!" Joey remarked as he got his phone to record. Anastasia calmly grabbed his phone and exited the camera app and glared at him.

"No," she commanded with her deadly calmness and handed the phone back. She silently dared him and anyone else to try that again.

"Thanks, Anastasia," Seto told her, gratefully. She nodded in response. He knew the crew would be filming it anyway, but he didn't want the Loser Squad filming it. He took a deep breath. Ugh! This was horrible!

"I'm…S-s-sorry…" Seto forced out and took a deep breath and stuck his tongue out in disgust as he said it.

"For?" Tristan urged him to continue. Anastasia glared at him.

"You know what he apologized for. Was sorry not enough for you?" Anastasia shot back, defending Seto's apology. "Be satisfied he gave you that," she hissed.

"She's right… it took a LOT for him to say that," Mokuba defended them.

"We'll take it!" Tea accepted.

"Good," Anastasia agreed with a nod, and Seto and Mokuba nodded too. Tea then grabbed her black permanent marker from her purse.

"Please put your hands out," Tea requested. Anastasia was confused about what she was going to do with the marker, but she and Mokuba extended their hands, and Seto was reluctant.

"Seto," Anastasia said his name and gave him a cold stare as if to say, "Now you. We're doing this together." Seto sighed and extended his hand with Anastasia's and Mokuba's. Anastasia hooked her thumb around his pinky finger as if to offer comfort, which he appreciated. Everyone else in the gang extended their hands to join theirs, and Tea added her hand and drew a ^_^ in a circle on their hands.

"May us be forever bound in friendship, no matter what," Tea ritually declared.

"Agreed!" the gang agreed.

"Agreed!" Anastasia and Mokuba chimed in, and Anastasia nudged Seto.

"Agreed…" Seto reluctantly agreed. There was a brief glimmer on their hands after they all agreed to be friends. They all noticed, but shrugged it off as the light caught it weirdly. They all removed their hands from the circle.

"Well, we better make our rounds and mingle. Excuse us," Anastasia excused herself, Stella, Seto, and Mokuba.

"Are you serious?!" Seto hissed at her under his breath, upset that he got wrangled into this friendship circle.

"Deadly," Anastasia affirmed.

"That was dirty pool," Seto complained.

"It worked," Anastasia retorted nonchalantly. "I had to use something that you'd miss, and to show you how serious I was." Seto hmphed. They mingled a bit more, and soon, the party wound down. Their guests took their pictures back and said their goodbyes to Anastasia, Seto, Mokuba, and Stella, and headed home. They would clean everything up tomorrow; it was late and they were tired now. Seto and Anastasia bade goodnight to Mokuba, while they went to their own room with Stella, showered together, cleaned up, and got ready for bed. They cuddled close and soon drifted off to sleep.

They awoke with Mokuba, the Loser Squad, Marik, and Bakura in a bright, vividly-colored realm with equally bright and vivid and multi-patterned animals flying, walking, and jumping around, and an array of skeletons with brightly-colored sugar skull markings and clothes.

"Where…are we?" Tea asked as she stirred. Seto and Mokuba got up and helped Anastasia up while the Loser Squad and Marik and Bakura helped each other out. They were relieved they still had their flesh.

"It's so pretty!" Serenity gushed with stars in her eyes as she looked around.

"But it's kinda weird. Look at all da skeletons and da weird animals," Joey pointed out.

"It's the Land of the Dead," Anastasia explained.

"The Land of the Dead?" Everyone echoed.

"Interesting!" Marik and Bakura explained gleefully. Anastasia froze as she realized they were there.

"Anastasia? Are you okay?" Mokuba asked concerned.

"Cara Mia?" Seto nudged her gently.

"Yes, it IS the Land of the Dead! Welcome!" a handsome, muscular, pale man with long black hair, black eyes, and a stylish black, fitted suit with stylish black wingtip shoes, and a skull pendant dangling from his neck greeted them.

"Who are you?" Tristan asked.

"Death!" the man greeted chipperly.

"You're Death?!" Marik and Bakura exclaimed surprised.

"Yep! Welcome to the Land of the Dead!" Death greeted.

"You're…rather chipper…" Tea observed.

"It's Día De Los Muertos!" Death exclaimed as if it were obvious. "And, my sweet Dabria has come back to visit me!" Death chirped and instantly pulled her close and kissed her hand and up to her elbow.

"DABRIA?!" The Loser Squad exclaimed confused as Death was kissing all over hand and arm.

"HEY! STOP! THAT'S MY WIFE, ASSHOLE!" Seto snarled livid and his face flushed beet red with rage. Death stopped and looked at Anastasia.

"Ahhh, here were have the man who will always play second fiddle as a duelist and in his marriage. Take a seat, the adults are talking," Death taunted.

"WHAT?!" Seto roared with fury. "HOW DARE YOU?!"

Joey, Tristan, and Duke erupted with laughter.

"I like dis guy!" Joey exclaimed while laughing.

"I can't believe you seriously married THIS guy…" Death sighed dramatically to Anastasia. "My love, you downgraded…" Death shook his head disappointed, his raven-black hair swishing like a wavy, satiny curtain. Serenity, Tea, and Mai had to steel themselves. They had to admit he was pretty handsome, but they weren't interested. Duke, Tristan, and Joey had noticed the subtle attraction they felt towards Death, and they clenched their jaws slightly jealously.

"We all thought the same thing!" Mai agreed. The Loser Squad, Marik, and Bakura nodded in agreement.

"STOP CALLING HER MY LOVE!" Seto snarled and pulled her closer to him.

"Yeah! Anything you had is in the past! She's with Seto now!" Mokuba stepped in to support Seto.

"You have some anger management issues, don't you Seto?" Death sighed. "Again, Dabria, you downgraded. And to you Seto, I guess I may have been a bit hasty in saying you were second fiddle. As a duelist, you aren't even second fiddle. Watch closely, the same is about to happen in your marriage," Death provoked Seto and winked with a smirk.

"BURN!" Joey exclaimed and chortled with laughter with Tristan and Duke.

"Considering the last guy I was with and his associates murdered my son and tried to murder me, I'd say I upgraded," Anastasia shot back and glared at Bakura and Marik.

"WHAT?!" The Loser Squad gasped shocked as they heard that.

"YOUR EX AND HIS ASSOCIATES KILLED YOUR SON AND TRIED TO MURDER YOU TOO?!" they yelled in horror. Anastasia sighed and nodded.

"That's…horrible…" Tea, Serenity, and Mai told her sadly.

"…How old was your son?" Mai asked.

"I was 6 months pregnant, and they poisoned me. My son died, I almost didn't make it," Anastasia replied deadpan.

"Oh no…" Serenity said sadly.

"Yes," Anastasia confirmed.

"It's true," Seto and Mokuba chimed in. The Loser Squad felt bad for her.

"I'm sorry to hear that…" they apologized sheepishly.

"Thanks," Anastasia accepted awkwardly.

"Well, come along, my sweet! Come visit my castle! It's not every day I host the living in the Land of the Dead!" Death interrupted cheerfully and pulled her close to him again and wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close to him. Seto's temple veins throbbed in his head and he was beet red with fury.

"No, if anyone's going to wrap their arms around my waist, it's going to be my husband," Anastasia refused and had Seto wrap his arms around her waist. Seto tightened his grip possessively around her waist and glared at Death with such malice and hate. Death sighed.

"If you insist, my love," Death replied. Seto fumed again. Death smirked impishly. He knew he was getting under Seto's skin, and it was delightfully delicious.

"WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?" Seto snarled at him.

"I can refer to her what I want," Death retorted with a wide grin, walking backwards towards the castle while they followed.

"And if you care for me, I am telling you to stop," Anastasia hissed.

"Oh my dear Dabria, you seem to have forgotten ALL about our trysts and visits, and all the gifts you've sent me over the years, until that last fateful time you visited, when you lost your son," Death bemoaned. Seto seethed more as he heard that.

"I'm not Dabria anymore! Stop calling me that!" Anastasia shot back.

"Fine, Anastasia," Death reluctantly acquiesced.

"What trysts? What visits? What gifts?" Seto demanded.

"Oh, she hasn't told you?" Death inquired with wide eyes and a naughty smirk.

"All he needs to know is that it was part of my work," Anastasia dismissed, trying to get off the subject. Seto was suspicious, and his sapphire eyes narrowed.

"I think I deserve some answers!" Seto demanded.

"He's right. He's going to get some answers today!" Death declared.

"For once, I agree with you," Seto told Death.

"Oh good!" Death grinned. "Do you want to know all the salacious details?" Death asked gleefully, his black eyes glimmering. Anastasia glared at Death. Mokuba picked up her glare.

"Seto, it's her past. It doesn't matter," Mokuba tried to stop him. "It's only going to upset you and Anastasia!" Mokuba warned.

"He's right! My love, please don't…" Anastasia warned Seto.

"Tell me!" Seto ordered. Anastasia and Mokuba facepalmed.

"I'm curious too," Yugi piped up, as did the rest of the Loser Squad.

"Did you really have a thing with Death, Anastasia?" Duke asked.

"Something like that…" Anastasia confirmed with a sour look.

"Creepy…" Joey remarked. Anastasia narrowed her eyes at them.

"Death, stop," Anastasia tried to stop him.

"You're outvoted, my sweet," Death told her with a shrug.

"They're OUR stories, and I don't feel comfortable with them being shared. I don't consent to that," Anastasia declared and glared at everyone.

"I want to know!" Seto insisted.

"It's actually why I summoned you here, today. To bring up the past, to heal," Death explained. Seto and Anastasia weren't expecting that.

"And why are we here?" Joey asked.

"Us being here doesn't make sense," Tristan agreed.

"It's incredibly weird," Duke piped up.

"But it is pretty cool and pretty to be here," Serenity chimed in.

"Thank you, Serenity, I do my best to keep it looking nice," Death beamed proudly. "As for you all being here, the Land of the Dead is run on memories and emotions. You all caused a strong emotional connection to her over the last day, and I do love an audience. Plus, didn't you all do a friendship circle and chant you all would be there for each other no matter what? You can be there for her and Seto right now," Death explained.

"What about my other friends? How come they didn't come?"

"My love, were you not listening? I said STRONG emotional connection over the last day. These people caused STRONG emotional reactions. Your friends, while good to you, didn't have the emotional impact they did," Death explained. Seto growled under his breath, and Death smirked at him again. "Plus, while you're here, you can see your dearly departed friends and family, and you, Bakura and Marik, I have some souls here DYING to see you two," Death cackled at his pun.

"Oh yeah? Whom?" Marik demanded.

"You'll see!" Death chirped in a sing-song voice.

Seto then returned his attention to Anastasia. "Tell me!" He demanded.

"I can't…" Anastasia refused. Seto's anger boiled over. If they were here to relive the past, dammit, he was going to know about hers! "You know Anastasia, for someone SO intent on communication and being open and honest, and communicating with each other, you sure are a hypocrite," Seto fired at her.

"Ooooh!" The Loser Squad, Marik, Bakura, and Mokuba exclaimed.

"Government top-secret clearance secrets are an exception," Anastasia deflected. "I also don't ask your business secrets."

"Do you think I really give a shit about the government? Look at the situation we're currently in! The government is useless! I could tidy half the government's problems before they can figure out how to wipe their asses!" Seto snarled.

"Ok, go for it. What's stopping you?" Anastasia challenged.

"I said I could, not that I wanted to," Seto retorted.

"Ok, then why the fuck do you care so much about my past if you don't care about the government?" Anastasia demanded.

"Because it has to do with you!" Seto insisted.

"I recall telling you that it was for yours, Mokuba's, and the staff's safety. The less you know the better. I told you I watched people get executed for loose lips. Why do you want me to risk that?" Anastasia reminded him.

"Safety my ass! I could bring the government to its knees. I know war! It's what the company was originally founded on!" Seto shot back. Anastasia sighed heavily in exasperation.

"WELL EXCUSE ME FOR CARING ABOUT YOU, MOKUBA, AND OTHER PEOPLE'S LIVES!" Anastasia snarled, her crystal blue eyes narrowing at him.

"I thought YOU of all people would realize that information keeps people safe, not secrets!" Seto countered.

"Even if that information is dangerous?" Anastasia responded.

"Especially if that information is dangerous!" Seto insisted.

"I just can't take that risk..." Anastasia reluctantly replied.

"I once threatened Yugi with suicide if he attacked me! Don't question my resolve! Don't expect this to be over!" Seto imposed.

"I respected your no… Why can't you respect mine?" Anastasia inquired, reminding him of the fact that she may have teased him with temptation, but she never forced him to do anything he didn't consent to, unlike him.

"If I kept similar types of secrets, you'd consider it a security risk. Plus, the way you say it, it sounds less that it's dangerous but more personal," Seto badgered.

"Maybe it's both," Anastasia retorted.

"I knew it. Well, if that's how you feel, may I never hear you utter the words 'you need to open up'!" Seto snarled.

"When have I ever said that to you or pushed you?! I let you tell me of your own accord. YOU are the one that pushes ME when I shut down with PTSD and Depression! You're pushing me right now!" Anastasia recalled angrily.

"You're always the one who assumes that we need to be protected!" Seto accused.

"BECAUSE I CARE ABOUT YOU DAMMIT! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU OR MOKUBA, DAMMIT!" Anastasia shot back lividly.

"No, it's because you're afraid! You never lost your slave collar to the government!" Seto accused.

"Yes! I'm afraid of losing you and Mokuba like I lost everyone else! Happy?!" Anastasia repeated. "For fucks sake! For the first time in YEARS, I FINALLY have a family! And I didn't want my past muddying that up for me! But it seems like that was unavoidable anyway…" Anastasia lamented.

"Your past defines you. Either you tell me, or I ask the government nicely and I get the information served on a silver platter!" Seto demanded in an ultimatum.

"YOUR ARGUMENT IS BORING!" Death interrupted with a bellow.

"Nobody asked you to listen…" Anastasia retorted irritably.

"Oh no, excuse me, I just happened to overhear all the shouting," Death responded. "As did everyone else," he pointed out with an impish smirk. Anastasia and Seto noticed that everyone was super uncomfortable and felt incredibly awkward.

"Um… is this really the place to have this argument?" Tristan asked awkwardly.

"Why not?" Death shrugged casually.

"Because… it seems, ya know, kinda… personal. And we're not really involved in… whatever dis is…" Joey answered awkwardly.

"You are now!" Death chuckled and magically pulled up a projector screen and casually started revealing Anastasia's, or rather Dabria's, first secret to them all.

"Dammit Death! Stop!" Anastasia demanded angrily.

"Well, they felt left out. We couldn't have that! Now they're all involved!" Death retorted gleefully. Anastasia wanted to strangle him but knew it would be no use.

"Isn't this exciting? Oooh boy! I'm part of your group! Once we're finished, I'd love to be in your friendship circle!" Death requested to Tea.

"Um…I guess…" Tea replied awkwardly. They all watched her secret Death was showing them.

Tea gasped in horror; Yugi shrugged.

"This is nothing…" Duke said with a shrug.

"Oooh, interesting," Mai smirked, fascinated.

"Um, should we know this?" Joey and Tristan asked.

"Oh dear… is this really okay?" Serenity asked horrified, her hands covering her mouth and her brown eyes quivering and welling with tears.

"I've been in worse situations…" Mokuba said. The Loser Squad stared at him awkwardly as if to say "Why are you saying that? That's not something to brag about…"

"Indeed. What part of this is supposed to be dangerous?" Seto demanded unimpressed. They were watching her first mission as Dabria, the Angel of Death, when she was by herself. They watched as she found out it was a businesswoman whom she was tasked to assassinate to prevent a major revenue loss for the country's economy because this woman was a major capitalistic competitor to the country's trade and production. They watched as Dabria disconnected from her mind and thoughts and killed the woman swiftly, stealthily, and escaped without a single trace of evidence. They watched as the government directly prospered from the woman's death and was implicated, but nothing could be proven, so it was dropped.

"…Is that it?" Seto demanded irritably. THIS is what she couldn't talk about? So what if she killed a woman?

"Oh, no, no, no, Seto! There's a LOT more where this came from!" Death told him with an impish grin.

"So tell me, or show me!" Seto commanded. Death chuckled.

"Only the first one is free. The rest needs to come from her," Death told him. "And that woman was my first gift from her. It was so special," Death recalled with a dreamy sigh. Seto's eye twitched at the romantic tone. He may be irritated with Anastasia, but the way Death kept provoking him with her being his paramour really burned him up.

On the way to the castle, a number of familiar souls and skeletons approached them happily, and others, angrily. There were emotional reunions with their departed friends and family. Anastasia's friends and family were happy to see her, and she emotionally and happily introduced Seto and Mokuba, and the Loser Squad to them. When Seto's and Mokuba's parents greeted them, Seto and Mokuba were openly emotional. It took a bit for Seto, but even he couldn't help being emotional. It was as if all the locks on the floodgates they had kept all these years since they were children had been shattered, and the flood of emotions surged through. Their parents apologized profusely for what happened and all they had experienced since their deaths. They told Seto and Mokuba how proud they were of them and how much they loved them, and they had missed them so much. Seto and Mokuba told them how much they missed them, and then introduced Anastasia to them. Their parents immediately wrapped their daughter-in-law in a hug, happy to have met her. They were so pleased he had found a good wife who truly loved him. He had been lonely and so unhappy and so damaged by Gozaburo Kaiba. Anastasia also introduced them to her family and invited them to get to know each other while they took care of business here, and invited them to visit, especially on Día de Los Muertos. Seto and Mokuba's parents happily went to chat with her family and they were busy getting to know each other. There was a small sense of peace in Seto's and Mokuba's eyes now. They felt a lot better seeing their parents and getting to talk to them again, but there was still more they needed to do.

Marik and Bakura were then pulled back by a couple of familiar souls, their good selves.

"Where do you think you're going?" Bakura's and Marik's good selves demanded and then started fighting them.

"Catch up to us later, at the castle," Death called out to them as they kept going to his castle.

A little boy skeleton with raven black hair rushed to Anastasia and held her tight, started crying, and nuzzled into her bosom. Anastasia froze, caught off guard for a moment, and wrapped her arms tight around him once she realized who he was.

"Julian!" Anastasia exclaimed and cried with him. It was her son!

"Here buddy," Death said and touched Julian's jaw so he could say all the things he wanted to say, in a way they could understand.

"Thanku Death!" Julian replied gleefully.

"Mommy! I can't believe it's you! I finally got to meet you! I'm so happy!" Julian babbled jubilantly.

"Me…too…" Anastasia replied, choked up as she held him tight.

"Mommy? Why are you sad?" Julian asked innocently.

"I'm…just…so happy… my baby! I finally get to hold you and meet you!" Anastasia managed to get out in between emotional sobs. She didn't want to let go, so she held onto him as she walked towards the castle.

"Daddy is a bad man!" Julian exclaimed as angrily as his little boy self could muster and burrowed closer into her bosom and was soothed by her heartbeat.

"I know baby…I know…" Anastasia concurred as she rubbed his spine and his raven black hair.

"Mommy, who are they?" Julian asked curiously as he pointed to Seto, Mokuba, and the Loser Squad.

"Julian, this is Seto and Mokuba Kaiba. Seto is my husband, and Mokuba is my brother-in-law," Anastasia introduced him.

"Hello, Julian," Seto greeted coolly. He tried to smile a little and shook his little bony hand, but without trying to, he looked scary. Julian held Anastasia tighter and tried to burrow into her bosom again, peeking at Seto shyly. Seto was kind of stung that Julian reacted that way to him.

"Hi Julian! It's great to meet you!" Mokuba greeted with a smile.

"…hi," Julian greeted back shyly. "Mommy, Mr. Kaiba looks scary and mean…" Julian told Anastasia. Seto felt another sting.

"Your son's right, he is scary looking, especially when Kaiba is trying to be Mr. Important Tough Guy," Joey agreed.

"Baby, he might look scary and mean, but he's actually really nice. We can't judge people by their outsides," Anastasia assured him and nudged Seto as if to say "Show him." Seto froze as he was put on the spot.

"Uhh, Blue Eyes White Dragon is cool," Seto stammered, saying the first thing he could think of. There was a brief, awkward silence. Julian lifted his head from his mommy's bosom and tilted his head confused at Seto's statement. Tristan and Joey started guffawing like hyenas.

"Nice going…" Seto's inner self facepalmed, embarrassed.

"…what is a…blue…eyes…white…dragon, Mr. Kaiba?" Julian inquired curiously. He had never heard of one before. Joey and Tristan guffawed even louder.

"Oh…God…I can't breathe! This is too hysterical!" Joey wheezed out and tears were streaming from their eyes and their faces were beet red, and they doubled over with their sides hurting from laughing so hard. Seto glared at them irritably.

"Well, A Blue Eyes White Dragon is a powerful duel monster card. It's a beautiful, intimidating, shiny white dragon with blue eyes," Tea started to explain to Julian, trying to be friendly and appeal to Anastasia to get on her good side. Seto clenched his jaw and growled under his breath as he heard her explain a Blue Eyes White Dragon to Julian. Julian looked at her still confused.

"…what is a duel…monster? Are they scary?" Julian asked nervously.

"Well, some are, some are cute, some are beautiful. And there is a game where they battle, and the stronger monsters win. The Blue Eyes White Dragon is a super-strong monster," Tea tried to explain. It was hard to explain this to a really little kid who had obviously never heard of it before. Seto gained his composure.

"Tea, stop! You're not doing my Blue Eyes White Dragon any justice! And you're just making him more confused!" Seto snapped at her. Julian was a bit more nervous at Seto's outburst.

"Seto, you're scaring him," Mokuba pointed out. Seto took a breath and calmed down and pulled out his 3 Blue Eyes White Dragon cards, and looked at Death as if to ask "Can I summon them here?" Death nodded. Seto summoned his Blue Eyes White Dragons to the air above them, and all three of them let out a screeching roar upon being summoned. Julian gasped in awe and fear and burrowed into Anastasia's bosom again and looked up nervously at them.

"It's okay baby, they're not going to hurt you," Anastasia assured him. Julian slowly pulled away from her bosom and was confident she had him and was going to keep him safe, and then started to look up at them in awe.

"Wow!" Julian exclaimed fascinated.

"Come on boys, come and say hi!" Seto called to his Blue Eyes White Dragons excitedly. Each of the Blue Eyes White Dragons gingerly came down one at a time and let Julian touch them on the neck, and they gave a little gentle screech.

"They are so cool!" Julian exclaimed excitedly. Seto and Mokuba grinned. Seto then started gushing about his Blue Eyes White Dragons, with all sorts of neat facts about them, with occasional commentary from Mokuba. He then gave a demonstration of what they could do to other duel monsters, and Julian watched starry-eyed and fascinated. He even clapped his little bony hands during the demonstration. Anastasia put him on the ground and he toddled after Seto and Mokuba fascinated. Seto beamed happily that he was so excited about them. Anastasia watched happily as her guys were bonding. It was so precious and meaningful that they were connecting.

"Leave it to Kaiba to put on a good show with the Blue Eyes," Yugi remarked as he and the rest of the gang watched Seto bonding with Julian.

"It's actually sweet how excited he is showing Julian his Blue Eyes White Dragons, and how Julian is so fascinated," Serenity chimed in.

"Okay buddy, Death has some grown-up business with mommy, Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba, and their friends," Death told him gently.

"Okay…" Julian sighed and gave one more big squeeze to Anastasia and gave her a kiss. Anastasia gave him one more big squeeze back. "Bye mommy! I love you! I'll miss you! I'll visit you!"

"I love you too, Julian. I'll miss you too. I look forward to your visits," Anastasia replied, as tears started to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Bye Mr. Kaiba, Mokuba!" Julian bade and then went to give a hug to Seto and Mokuba. "Thanku for telling me all about the Blue…Eyes…White…Dragon! It was good to meet you and Mokuba!"

"Aww!" Tea, Serenity, and Mai exclaimed at the hug. Julian then waved enthusiastically at the Loser Squad.

"Bye everyone! It was nice to meet you!" Julian bade and then went to join his and Anastasia's family. Anastasia felt her heart flutter away as she watched them go.

Seto and Mokuba instantly pulled her to them and wrapped their arms around her waist.

"Are you going to be okay?" Seto whispered in her ear. Anastasia nodded and leaned against him and heaved a heavy, relieved sigh. Seto kissed her head and whispered "I'm glad I got to meet and connect with him."

"Me too," Mokuba concurred. Anastasia smiled.

"Wow, that was quite an experience, meeting your son," Mai told her.

"Yes, it was. He's a sweet kid," Yugi complimented.

"Yes, he is. Thank you," Anastasia accepted.

"I'm so happy you got to meet him," Tea chimed in.

"Me too," Anastasia concurred and smiled. She felt a part of her soul feel at peace now.

"Now that we have the mushy, emotional reunions out of the way, come inside!" Death invited as he lead them inside the matte black, stone castle.

"You sure do like black," Duke pointed out.

"Yup," Death replied nonchalantly and led them inside. "Come in! Take a load off! Enjoy some snacks from the offerings," Death invited. Tristan and Joey's eyes widened the size of dinner plates as they saw the mountain of offering food he invited them to partake in. They immediately rushed to the mountain and grabbed armloads of food and started throwing it in the air to make it rain and gobbled up as much as they could fit in their mouth as quickly as they could.

"Some things never change," Tea and Mai said aloud exasperated with slightly annoyed looks. Pretty soon, Duke, Yugi, Tea, Serenity, and Mai joined them because the food looked too good. Mokuba wanted to join in too.

"Go ahead Mokuba," Death invited. Mokuba cheered and joined them and enjoyed the offerings. Death focused his attention on Anastasia and Seto. "You two, come with me," he commanded and led them to a chamber.

Seto and Anastasia followed warily. Seto squeezed her hand.

"Why are we here?" Seto inquired warily.

"You said you wanted answers, right?" Death reminded him.

"Yes?" Seto replied tentatively.

"Well, now you're going to get your wish, BOTH of you!" Death announced and had them come inside. "You can now literally say you've taken your secrets to the grave. This room is secure and insulated so your secrets are safe. Nobody will know what you reveal in this room once I lock you two in. Let it ALL out. I know you two have been wanting to share with each other but have held back. Now's your chance. It will release all that weight on your shoulders you've been carrying for so long, and you will develop a deeper trust and respect for each other. I will be back for you in about an hour, so make good use of the time sharing!" Death instructed and locked the door and set a timer to come back in an hour. He went to walk around the grounds and saw Bakura and Marik walking up battered and bruised.

"Have a nice confrontation with your good selves?" Death asked nonchalantly.

"They were pretty angry, but we got the best of them," Marik replied.

"Barely, for now," Death corrected. Bakura and Marik growled at him. "What are you growling at me for? I'm only stating the truth, and they were the ones who had bones to pick with you," Death retorted and led them inside to partake in the mountain of food and drink offerings with the others.

"Thank you," they grumbled but enjoyed the food.

"What happened to you guys?" Joey asked as he noticed them.

"Don't worry about it, fools!" Bakura snarled.

"Geez, chill," Joey retorted defensively and resumed eating.

PMeanwhile,

Anastasia and Seto took a seat on the plush, black chairs near the lit fireplace in the locked room, the firelight dancing across their features as they sat across from each other.

"So, tell me about your past as Dabria, please," Seto told her calmly, and saw a decanter of whiskey, glasses, and an ice bucket on the bar in the room.

"Can I trust you to keep these secrets safe?" Anastasia asked.

"I'm stung you don't trust me…" Seto retorted wounded. "Have I given you reason not to trust me? We're married, we shouldn't have secrets like this," Seto retorted.

"Answer my question," Anastasia demanded.

"Yes, I promise to keep your secrets safe," Seto vowed exasperated. Anastasia took another deep breath.

"Go ahead and pour yourself a glass. It's going to be a doozy," Anastasia suggested. Seto obliged, got some ice in a glass, and poured himself some of the whiskey and sat down and sipped the whiskey.

"Here goes…" Anastasia began and told him EVERYTHING from the death of her innocent self, Lydia Reina Coronado, when her family was murdered, her rebirth of Dabria Calaveras, "The Angel of Death", her career as an assassin until she almost died and lost Julian, and her 2nd rebirth and new life as Anastasia Phoenix until they were married. Seto sat for a few minutes processing what she told him. It all made sense; the way she fought, her weapons, her paranoia, her depression and PTSD, her burns and scars, why she couldn't tell, etc. Anastasia waited anxiously for him to say something.

"Well, I hope you're on my side. The others have been a mild nuisance," Seto quipped as he finished off his glass of whiskey and left it on the table in front of them.

"What?" Anastasia asked, surprised. She remembered him mentioning the other attempts on his and Mokuba's lives. Seto then told her about his and Mokuba's life from the orphanage, their stepfather Gozaburo Kaiba, Pegasus, Marik, his bodyguards, his brother he never knew about, Dartz and his goons, Zigfried Von Schroeder, and everyone else. Seto sighed heavily. "I'm not sure if changing Kaiba Corp to a card gaming company has made anything safer. I'm not sure how it's possible, but if anything, it's been more dangerous than when it was weapons company. Guns, missiles, bombs, you can understand; they're simple, but with the card game, there's always some sort of bullshit voodoo magic involved," Seto bemoaned.

"That is puzzling," Anastasia concurred before adding "And yes, I AM on your side. If I wanted you dead, I would've done it already," she half-joked, and chuckled. Seto started laughing with her.

"You could try if you want, but I won't go down easy," Seto told her.

"Promise?" Anastasia teased with a playful wink and a cheeky laugh.

"Yeah," Seto winked and gave her a finger gun and chuckled with her. "Besides, I have stopped people armed with guns with my deck."

"I remember you mentioned that. Who said I would use guns though?" Anastasia jibed playfully.

"I never said you would. I said how easily I can win, even in a supposedly, one-sided battle," Seto retorted, matching her playfulness.

"Well, that's good at least. I'm glad you can hold your own," Anastasia replied and sat on his lap and cuddled close. Seto wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. "But seriously, as I've already told you multiple times, and to your chagrin, I would do all I can to protect you. I could never kill you, nor Mokuba and the staff. I love you all too much. It's part of the reason I couldn't tell you before, and why I was so insistent on drills. Does that make sense?"

"It does. I appreciate it. I'm glad we have you on our side. Perhaps I can have you train our security force at home," Seto acknowledged and suggested.

"It's an idea," Anastasia replied and gave him a kiss, ignoring the whiskey breath, and just snuggled up with him, enjoying the quiet intimacy of just being in his arms.

"Thank you for telling me about your past as an assassin," Seto whispered in her ear.

"Thank you for telling me about your past too," Anastasia whispered back and gave him another sweet kiss. There was a sense of peace and release in their souls. The door unlocked and there was a knock, and Death poked his head in, his raven-black hair swishing like a satiny curtain.

"We all good here?" Death inquired.

"Yes, we're good," Seto replied. Anastasia got out of his lap, took Seto's hand, which he squeezed in return.

"Good! Now, Seto, remember that surprise I mentioned earlier?" Death reminded them with a devilish grin. Seto immediately grew wary.

"Yes?" Seto retorted, with narrowed eyes. "Let's get it over with," he grumbled.

"You're no fun," Death pouted. Seto hmphed in response as they followed Death down to an ornate arena with intricate carvings on the wall, and a grey marble floor. The gang, Mokuba, Marik, and Bakura were on the side watching.

"What's this surprise, Death?" Seto demanded.

"Are you always this impatient?" Death shot back.

"You don't know the half of it!" Tristan chimed in. Seto glared at him. "What? It's true!" With a flash and a heavy poof of smoke, 2 figures appeared and made Seto's sapphire eyes widen.

"YOU?!" Seto exclaimed in shock as he saw Gozaburo and his dark self that had been banished to the Shadow Realm after his first duel with Yugi. Gozaburo cackled evilly.

"Hello, Seto!" Gozaburo greeted with a sneer.

"THIS IS THE SURPRISE YOU HAD FOR ME DEATH?!" Seto snarled.

"Yup!" Death confirmed.

"Why?!" Seto hissed.

"Release," Death replied with a shrug.

"I don't follow," Seto replied irritably.

"Your previous self still wanders here looking for release, and Gozaburo still has a hold on you. If you defeat him, your previous self's creator, your previous self will disappear. This deck measuring contest, or duel if you will, is to purify your soul, test love, let go, realize your humanity, and that it's okay to rely on others. It will be a LOT more challenging than previous duels with Gozaburo. That being said, you are allowed assistance at ANY time, including teammates." Death explained.

"How is it a test of love?" Anastasia inquired puzzled.

"You'll see my sweet," Death replied and kissed her hand, making Seto fume.

Gozaburo guffawed at seeing Seto fume. Seto tried to stay calm.

"Wait, what did you say before about the duel? A 'deck measuring contest?'" Anastasia pointed out.

"That's right, my love," Death replied with a smirk. Anastasia was struggling not to laugh but snickered under her breath.

"She's lost it…" Joey observed. Duke, Tristan, Mai, and Mokuba were also struggling not to laugh.

"What is so funny about 'deck measuring contest'? It sounds weird!" Seto demanded irritably. Anastasia, Duke, Tristan, Mai, and Mokuba couldn't help but snicker more. Anastasia approached Seto and whispered in his ear "think about how it sounds." Seto thought about it and gave her an annoyed expression, and then turned to Gozaburo and Death.

"Let's get this over with. I won't need help from ANYONE!" Seto declared confidently.

"Seto, I can help you," Anastasia offered.

"Thanks, but if I know my step-father, his strategies will be the same as before," Seto insisted. Gozaburo chuckled darkly.

"That's my boy! I've taught you well! You don't need help from anyone, especially that low-class tramp! Though, I am disappointed in your taste in women. I thought I taught you to value quality, fine people and things over that ugly trash!" Gozaburo taunted as he stabbed a finger in Anastasia's direction. Seto growled angrily.

"Excuse me?! I'M the ugly trash? Better take a look in the mirror! I heard ALL about your cruelty to Seto and Mokuba, so that makes YOU the ugly, low-class trash, you heartless asshole!" Anastasia snarled.

"All you're doing is reinforcing the fact you're ugly, low-class trash with that foul mouth!" Anastasia smirked darkly.

"What's the matter, are you afraid of words? Come at me, BITCH! I will destroy you!" Anastasia taunted and there a was a moment of quiet. "Well? We're waiting! Come on BITCH! Walk the walk Come at me!"

"I'm sorry, why would I make the effort for someone worthless? I have people to do that for me," Gozaburo retorted snobbishly.

"Figures. You're nothing but a cowardly piece of shit!" Anastasia shot back.

"A general orders, and ahhh, what was that word you used, bitch, right? A bitch barks," Gozaburo retorted.

"A TRUE, respected general actually sees action and FIGHTS. Take it from someone who HAS seen action, unlike you, you cowardly shit!" Anastasia shot back.

"I know exactly who you are, and we do not share the same sentiments. You are merely a pawn in a chess game you don't understand, a knight at best. Seto, you're a queen. You always have such power, yet you're never the one who truly matters," Gozaburo replied as he shifted a glance to Yugi and Mokuba, and was trying to appeal to Seto.

"You don't know jack shit about me! Bitch, I'M the queen, and a queen always protects her king! Seto, you truly do matter! Are you going to take that from this cowardly piece of shit who ruined and abused you, and separated you from Mokuba?"

"Of course not, but I'm having fun watching you eviscerate him," Seto told her.

"Me too," Death, Mokuba, Marik, Bakura, and the gang chimed in. Death summoned a servant to bring them popcorn as they watched.

"Are you finished, trash?" Gozaburo grumbled.

"Hardly. You were beaten and outsmarted by a CHILD for fuck's sake! And more than once! You got your ass kicked in a chess game and then 1) you couldn't be fucking bothered to hold 51% of your own damn company 2) you tried to use his brother as a final pawn in your plan, which could OBVIOUSLY never backfire and 3) you treated EVERYONE like trash, which could OBVIOUSLY NEVER backfire. Given that Seto beat you as a CHILD, do you REALLY have a chance with the ADULT version? Not only that, but he kicked your ass more than once as an adult too! You can have ALL the rematches you want; losing to you would be like losing a boxing match to a baby! Challenging you is a CHORE! It's not hard, it's just exhausting and irritating and nobody wants to deal with it!" Anastasia fired back trying to drive the point home.

"Oooh! Those are some SICK burns!" Duke remarked. This was too entertaining. Gozaburo growled in embarrassment and seethed in anger. His face went beet red and his temple throbbed. Seto and Mokuba smirked in amusement.

"I'll show you, you filthy garbage bitch!" Gozaburo snarled. "Come on Seto! Let's duel!"

"Yeah, let's get this over with," Seto replied deadpan and uninterested and yawned bored.

"Let's make the stakes interesting," Bakura suggested. That caught Seto's, Gozaburo's, and Death's attention.

"Oh? How so?" Seto, Death, and Gozaburo asked, their curiosity piqued.

"How about if Seto loses, he forfeits all rights to Kaiba Corp to me," Bakura suggested.

"WHAT?!" Seto, Mokuba, and Anastasia screeched in shock, their eyes widening as wide as dinner plates. The gang also gasped in shock and their eyes were wide as dinner plates.

"Hmm, I like that!" Gozaburo replied eagerly with a smirk. At least if he couldn't have Kaiba Corp being dead and all, it would no longer belong to Seto and Mokuba, and they would eventually fall into depression and die not having the company, and the same fate would befall them that he endured.

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Seto and Mokuba snarled, their faces beet red with unbridled anger.

"And if Gozaburo loses?" Anastasia demanded.

"He vanishes FOREVER, with the forgotten souls," Death declared.

"That works for me!" Seto agreed and they started the duel. As Death promised, it was MUCH more challenging than Seto anticipated.

"What's the matter, Seto? Having trouble? I thought you said it wouldn't be a challenge to beat me!" Gozaburo taunted. Seto glared at him and was trying to figure out a strategy, but was stuck. Death's words kept echoing in his head: "That being said, you are allowed assistance at ANY time, including teammates." He looked at Death, and Death smirked and nodded, his long, black, satin, curtain of hair swishing in turn, and his deep, void-black eyes glimmering eagerly. He also remembered Anastasia begging to help, but it made him nervous. She had only dueled him. Maybe he could have Yugi help?

"Why not both?" His inner self suggested. "Death didn't put a limit on how many teammates you can have, and he DID say it was a test of love, so Anastasia dueling WOULD make sense," he rationalized.

"I guess," Seto agreed. He REALLY didn't want to ask for help, but he was stuck, and come hell or high water, he wasn't going to lose his company to Bakura! He had no choice…

"Anastasia, Yugi, come… I…need your help…" Seto called humbly. The words tasted so disgustingly bitter.

"What's the matter, Seto? Do I have you in check?" Gozaburo taunted, using the chess reference from their first challenge together. He chuckled smugly.

"You better wipe that smug smirk off your face! A pawn just turned into a queen and is now defending her king!" Anastasia exclaimed and readied her deck and imagined a dueldisk appearing on her arm, and her dueldisk that appeared had a pattern similar to the designs on sugar skulls, and the normally blue playing field was orange, while the arrows and the central "brain" glowed bright yellow instead of red.

"Wow! Her dueldisk is so pretty!" Serenity gushed with stars in her eyes.

"It is! I'm jealous!" Tea and Mai agreed.

"Gush later! Duel in progress!" Anastasia snapped and readied her deck.

"And a pawn has also just turned into a bishop and is ready to defend the king!" Yugi exclaimed, going off the chess terms they were using. Death snickered. He was well aware of the role reversal of their past lives. Yugi imagined his dueldisk and readied.

"Very well. I guess I will take both of you out WITH Seto, at his own game," Gozaburo replied unfazed.

"Don't bet on it!" Anastasia declared defiantly.

"Wait, let's up the stakes here!" Marik interrupted.

"What now?!" Anastasia and Seto demanded angrily.

"If you all lose, I duel Anastasia, one on one, and if she loses that, she pledges herself to Death as his bride, and remains here! Seto will have to announce that Joey Wheeler is the greatest duelist of all time on top of handing the company to Bakura! And Yugi has to give up the millennium puzzle!" Marik challenged. Joey snickered in delight. He enjoyed these new stakes. Seto, Anastasia, and Yugi stared at him like he had grown 3 heads.

"…Are you serious?" Anastasia asked.

"Deadly," Marik retorted. Death chuckled at the pun.

"…Fine," they agreed and they dueled together. Gozaburo, Yugi, Bakura, Marik, and the rest of the gang except Mokuba were surprised by her skill.

"Why are you surprised by her skill? Seto taught her and duels her all the time to practice," Mokuba told them as if it were obvious. There was a brief struggle where Seto was stubborn about help and was trying to spread himself too thin trying to keep himself and Anastasia safe. Anastasia demanded he trust them and let them help or they would lose. Seto reluctantly agreed to work with them and trust them, and then the duel started going in their favor, and soon, they blasted Gozaburo away, and he yelled in anger and frustration as he lost, yet again. Seto's dark yami self gave him an approving smirk and disappeared in a flutter of marigold petals. Gozaburo screamed and yelled as he started disappearing like sand in the wind.

"We did it!" Anastasia exclaimed happily and threw her arms around Seto in an embrace.

"We did. I'm glad I had you on my side," Seto agreed with a smile and caressed her face gently. They were about to kiss when Death decided to be a troll and switch Seto and Yugi's minds in each other's bodies.

"Anastasia! Stop! I'm not Kaiba! I'm Yugi, in his body!" Yugi, in Seto's body, exclaimed.

"What?!" Anastasia exclaimed shocked.

"I don't know how, but I'm in Kaiba's body…" Yugi explained awkwardly.

"DAMMIT DEATH! WHAT THE FUCK?! SWITCH THEM BACK!" Anastasia demanded with a death glare.

"You have a sick sense of humor, Death!" Joey admonished him.

"Tell me about it…" Yugi agreed.

"Sorry my love, I couldn't resist. You have to make your own fun here," Death replied snickering as he switched them back to their rightful bodies. "They're back to their own bodies."

"It's true, Cara Mia," Seto assured her and kissed her happily. Anastasia hugged him tight.

"How's it feel to win your freedom against your past, Kaiba?" Yugi asked.

"…It feels great," Seto answered. "…Thank you…for your help…" Seto reluctantly thanked him.

"Anytime, Kaiba," Yugi replied with a smile and a thumbs up. Anastasia let go of Seto for a moment and went to Yugi and hugged him. Everyone looked at her in surprise, except for Death.

"Thank you, Yugi, for your help, I really appreciate it," Anastasia told him.

"…You're welcome!" Yugi replied with a smile as he realized that she genuinely thanked him. They were really friends. Seto wasn't exactly thrilled with her hugging him, but he couldn't stop her. Once she let go, Death sent everyone back to their beds in the Land of the Living so this would all seem like nothing but a dream they wouldn't forget easily.

A/N: Death was a boundary-crossing trickster, but his tricks facilitated some serious soul healing and a fresh albeit reluctant friendship.

But aside from this fresh, reluctant friendship, there will be some intense storms in paradise coming, and some bloodshed.

And I will reveal Anastasia's bloody, dark past in gory detail in a few chapters.

Once again, please leave a constructive review in order to release ch. 7 from the embargo to see the intense action coming up.