Skin

by Usagi Squared

Jonouchi Katsuya will always look out for his friends, no matter how weird things get. That means he will keep on fighting, whether facing maniacs with freaky powers, monsters from a childrens game, or the fact Kaiba's a girl. Wait, what? Warnings inside

82. Chapter 81

Revelations

---

'Ra' was, as expected, a powerhouse of a monster. It was a monster designed solely for killing the opponents before it with as much speed as possible, with the ability to gain as much power as needed provided the proper sacrifices were made. It's power could be nil or infinite, and in addition to that it held more abilities yet unknown to all those witnessing it from the sidelines.

Having to chant in dead languages to activate the card however, would be troublesome. Particularly if she couldn't read it after she won it from the psychopath who was currently in possession of the card. There had been a lot that went on during the latest match it seemed, not counting her own temporary 'high' during Ra's arrival. First, and most obviously, there had been the darkness, creating pressuring mantle that had lined her lungs and scratched at her throat. The pain and rasping breathes coming out had her throat so inflamed that it had come to the point she momentarily wondered if she would still be able to create her 'cover-voice', the woman holding silent for almost the entirety of the match as a result.

Shortly after the darkness' arrival however, were the screams. It was jarring, almost terrifying even, to watch as Kujaku Mai screamed at what were mere holograms and words from the opponent. To watch as the woman stared at her hands like foreign and alien objects, with all the fear that one would have in the face of a firearm. To watch as a woman who she had considered at least a partially worthy opponent in terms of strength crumble into pieces right before her eyes. Briefly, she had attempted to convince herself that it was due to Malik's presence, and that alone; after all she had reminded herself, the young man was clearly a sociopath, a person with no emotions save rage and hatred both.

But disproving this, there were moments of clarity throughout the battle. Moments where Mai had no troubles dueling... Moments when, with all the determination and drive of a true duelist, the woman chugged on forward through the fight. And by all accounts, she should have won that battle... If not for that little problem with the hieratic language. True, the woman had brought it to the field... But that was all. And with Ra's summoning had come a rush of power that made it impossible not to grin at the sight. It was a feeling that drowned out all others, a feeling that only increased as the great dragon took its true form.

And it was only then, when Ra was summoned to the field, when Ra's light illuminated it completely, that she found herself really looking at the events taking place before her. 'Mokuba,' she could remember whispering through the haze of power in the air, contacting her brother through the radio on her neck. The boy was currently deep inside the 'hidden' room of the ship, the computer room which attached only to her own bedroom by thick steel doors. It would be safe in there after all, safer than any other room on the ship... And as Mokuba told her that he had scanned as much data and imagery as possible from the card using Mai's disk, Seto had given her brother a single request. '...See if you can translate the text on that card,' she had asked, her brother pausing momentarily. The text needed to be translated if there was any hope of using it after all; without it, it would never truly be 'hers'.

Mokuba had likely nodded on the other end as he received the request, and his answer had come just moments after. 'Okay nee-sama,' he'd said plainly, likely grinning as he started off on his work. 'I'll try.' 'Try' was the most he could do really- The fact was, there wasn't much known about the dead language of the Ancient Egyptians. Particularly not 'hieratic', the jot-notes and sub-script of the scribes. It was fragmented at best, and the modern world's knowledge on the matter were slim. But there was still a small bit of hope to gaining the translation... A small scrap of hope, and with that hanging in reach even by a hair thin thread she would keep herself from feeling too stressed about the situation as a whole.

After all; the pattern of 'losers into comas' was all too suspicious to ignore, and adding the presence of a known killer only made things worse. Once Ra had vanished, the events of the duel had come crashing into mind all to quickly, and her temporary cheer had quite swiftly and violently been torn into grating stress and confusion. The victims were one thing, given that Kuzushi and Syn had effectively worked more in one night than they had in the past year. Malik's words during the match however, did not help in any way. 'Only those in the game should see this,' he'd told Jonouchi, the blond visibly reacting as a result. As to what he saw no one could really guess, a majority of the crowd just as confused as herself. And then there was the warning that Jonouchi had given Mai, the warning that seemingly had no purpose...

'Don' summon Ra! Whatever you do,' he'd cried desperately, 'Don' summon it!' It almost seemed to be a suicidal warning...

Yet it was also a warning that Malik had acknowledged, and used against Mai. A warning that Malik had gone so far as to prove in entirety, with Ra's ability showing quite bluntly that Jonouchi's suspicions had been right on the dot. But where had those suspicions originated she asked herself, the lift she stood alone in moving toward the 'second floor' of the air ship. How had Jonouchi known to warn Mai about a card he should have only just heard of, and why had he reacted to the duel as he did? He was the only one unaffected by the 'darkness' save for Yugi and Malik, but also the only one staring off about the field or holding his head. He had even jumped onto the arena before duel end, ignoring warnings of disqualification even in attempt to 'protect' Mai from the final attack. Of course, Ra's power was great, she would admit that. It would be foolish not to do so after all, given its 'rule' over both Obelisk and Osiris.

But it was still a hologram. A three-dimensional form of condensed light, affecting little more than the air around it. And besides that, a hologram did not cause 'real' injuries the last time she checked the testing. Yet while glancing at the blond at the side of the field during that duel, narrowing her eyes as Jonouchi held his head, she could have sworn there was something dark on his shirt. Something wet enough to stain and spread through his clothing, the splotches standing out in stark contrast to the white fabric. And in the light created by Ra, that 'something' that was revealed...

Seto shook her head as she walked through the hall from the lift, pushing the thoughts from mind and instead swiping the key card to her room. This was no time to ponder the hows and whys of warnings she told herself, entering the code on the number-pad in order to enter. No time to question the sanity of a member of her staff, of a friend to hersel- ...To her brother, she corrected, blaming the rush from the arena. It mattered little what the 'relationship' was... Whatever bizarre behaviour Jonouchi was showing was tied to the duels and only the duels, and she could care less about his successes in that field. That was what she told herself now, and that would be what she told herself later. So long as he didn't start increasing the idiocy outside the matches, everything would be fine... Not that she cared, of course.

It would just be too troublesome to deal with if that sort of thing happened really.

The woman moved over to the small bar fridge at the side as her door shut behind her, grabbing a pair of drinks from inside before she moving toward the computer room door. There were more important things at hand really, things that far surpassed her curiosity for the current situation. Kuzushi for one had contacted her just moments before with Mai's condition; unlike the others, who were merely unconscious, Mai was completely comatose. Barely able to breathe on her own, non-responsive in all manners of action... Even pain did nothing, and it was all they could do to hook her up to machines that had been carried along in her paranoia. Three victims... And while she was more than confident that she would win her next match, just what sort of duelist would that eighth one be? A madman like Malik, or Bakura? Or a pawn, like the Egyptian that now lay in the bottom of the airship. Or even someone normal for once, it would be nice to see that...

The door to the computer room slid open after the proper codes were entered in, Seto stepping into the darkness and holding one of the drinks by her brother. "Mokuba," she said calmly, the boy jumping somewhat as he pulled headphones from his ears. Mokuba stared at the drink, slowly taking it as the music continued to blare from the headphones he'd held. So loud... "You shouldn't be listening to music loud enough for me to hear from the door," she growled, crossing her arms as she held her own drink. "You'll go deaf, or at least make someone else lose their ears."

"Ah-" Mokuba laughed nervously, turning off the mp3 player at his side. "Well, you see," he muttered with a cough, "I was just trying to focus and... Ah..." The boy swallowed as his sister continued to stare, instead opening the drink he'd been given and smiling. "...Thanks for the drink, nee-sama..."

Hah... She'd have to talk about this later... Back to the point. "Have you had any luck with translations," she asked, glancing at the numerous screens to the side. Lines of code scrolled down the side of each of the screens in the room, various windows open as multiple programs attempted to make sense of the card. 'Ra', the card in question sitting on the center window, looked every bit the 'griffin' she had seen above the field. The monster's image reared on its hind legs, golden wings spread in front of what looked to be a tablet as the monster held its beak open in a roar. As for the text...

Scribbles. Nothing but complete scribbles. Her brother sighed, shaking his head as he took another sip from his fanta drink. "Nothing yet," he admitted, collapsing back in his chair. "But I've only started really... I'm trying a lot of internet searches while I work," the boy continued, cracking his neck, "With luck, I'll have something after your match!"

After her match hn... Well, the finals wouldn't occur until the next morning at the very least, so even after the duel would be good enough for her. If anything, it proved that Mokuba should be skipping a grade, though there were always his science marks to tell her otherwise...

Just as long as the Tenma brothers didn't contact her about breaches in online security. She wasn't in the mood to deal with those two right now. Speaking of the brothers...

She wondered, would they know anything about this card? If Pegasus had been as tight-lipped as Ishizu said... Seto narrowed her eyes at the screen in the center of the room with those thoughts, the image of the card appearing to flash through her mind as she stared. Strange... It was probably the program but... The hieratic kept flashing, burning itself into her mind as though... The woman shook it off mentally, instead glancing at the clock on the bottom corner of the screen. Duel start in ten minutes... There would be no need for a draw for the final match. She needed to prepare. "I'll be in my room," she told Mokuba, the boy nodding in response as his sister walked toward the door. "Don't over-work yourself."

"Ah- I could say the same for you nee-sama," he shouted back after his sister, leaning over the chair with a somewhat worried look. "Make sure you take a break after this match!" At this the woman glanced back briefly, before snorting.

"Hn! I'll take a break when I don't have things like 'Malik' to worry about," she muttered, walking out of the room.

And only then she told herself, hanging her coat off the back of her chair before taking a seat. Only then...

With her luck, that would happen after hell froze over.

---

Rapid coughing was probably typical of a confrontation really. At least, typical of the one being confronted. The one doing the questioning more or less tended to hold a considerable air of confidence about them, and given the fact that this was the other Yugi's 'default' emotion half the time, the fact that the air hadn't changed was to be expected. Even so; as he stood on the arena and stared at his friend in silence, it took a few moments and coughs for his brain to 're-boot' so to speak. Hell... He'd known he'd been speaking in a foreign language, but Egyptian? He'd been speaking EGYPTIAN?

Seriously, what was with that country? "Gh... Ah... I..." Katsuya swallowed, attempting to piece together something at least partially intelligent to say. "Ah... Yugi, what're you... I mean..." Damn it, this was going no where.

The boy before him sighed as his friend sputtered, arms crossed as a steady evening breeze blew past. The arena was clear now, with the sky almost just as. Few clouds hung over the air, and in the light of the moon the shadows were actually fairly discernible across the ground. Those shadows were also very distracting; Red-Eyes was out again, and he apparently liked flying... A lot...

Uh... "I wasn't going to say anything initially," Yugi admitted, the blond beside him paling considerably as he pulled himself back to what most would consider reality. "If anything," his friend continued, Katsuya merely wondering how long the 'unsaid' things were held back, "I was hoping you would just talk to me about it on your own. But after the last match..." The boy again sighed, shaking his head and looking down to the side. "With what I saw, and with what you said... I don't think that not asking would be the right thing to do." Y-Yugi...

Katsuya again swallowed, bowing his head somewhat. With what Yugi 'saw'... During the duel, he'd definitely asked about the blood so... "...You saw... ...Th' blood righ'," he asked, glancing over his now 'clean' white t-shirt. The stains were thankfully gone... They'd have been difficult to explain let alone wash out really, though as to what else his friend had seen... He'd really rather not say anything before he knew what that was quite honestly. "Fr'm th' field... Th' blood from the field," Katsuya muttered, Yugi nodding slowly in response.

"I only saw blood on you," his friend answered, looking up at the blond with worry. "Around the same moment Mai began screaming. I could see the duel progressing under darkness," Yugi continued on with an almost expository tone, "And from Mai's reactions I knew it was a shadow game... But things like blood, or any form of physical damage really, those are all supposed to be illusions. To see real blood land on you," the boy went on, paling somewhat as he turned away. "To see that, despite not even being able to see what illusions Mai was being subjected to... I couldn't even tell where the blood had come from, and for a moment wondered if something had-" If something had-

Oh! Eh... If something had happened... Well, as for that something... "His head w's cut off." Yugi jumped at the bluntness of the line, Katsuya taking a seat at the edge of the arena. There wasn't really much to say to the origin of the blood stains to tell the truth... Arteries spurted, and when Malik's had been opened up and set on 'bottomless' with the lifepoints, well... He blinked, glancing at the clearly confused expression on his friend's face before coughing. "Er... Malik's head I mean... In th' first move, Mai's monster cut off Makyura's head," he explained somewhat hesitantly, "An'... When tha' happened," the blond continued, "Th' same thing happened t' Malik's, an'... Well..." The blond fell silent, his friend staring in confusion as he registered the words Katsuya was awkwardly spouting in defense and explaination.

"You saw his hea-" Yugi blinked, staring at the blond a few more moments before speaking. "...How can that even be possible," he muttered, shaking his head as he narrowed his eyes. "Even those with Millennium Items can't see the inner working of a shadow game when they aren't a part of it," the boy explained, arms hanging at his side as he took a seat beside his friend. "I mean... We can see a little 'clearer', picking out the signs that the game is more than just 'child's play'," he continued, "But we aren't able to see the illusions cast on the field..." Yugi appeared to again stare off at that, frowning as he looked up at the skies. "Hnn... ...Maybe... ...Jonouchi," he asked seriously, narrowing his eyes and turning back to his friend. "Was there anything other than the ring or puzzle, anything you came in contact with," he asked, "Anything that you kept that was golden, or perhaps simply ancient in origin that-"

Wait- Golden... The Millennium Items! "Wha-" Katsuya choked, turning to his friend with wide eyes. "Somethin' gold, wh- No," he shouted with a start. "Hell no," he added, shaking his head and laughing nervously. "You... Are you kiddin'," he asked nervously, "I mean... I'd drop anything like tha' quicker than m' dad's cooking..." Not to mention hot coals... He again shook his head, falling back onto the arena deck with a slight wince and staring at the clouds and stars above. Far out from the city, the sky was much clearer... It made his head feel a little better too, now that he thought about it. Staring at all those stars...

"No Millennium items then," Yugi was muttering, crossing his arms as he continued to sit. Katsuya looked back down from the stars, staring while the boy continued to speak. "I just don't see how this is possible," he said incredulously, shaking his head. "I was already curious about how you could see me, let alone Bakura," the boy continued as Katsuya again paled, "But to be privy to any and all shadow games occurring around you... And the Egyptian," he added, looking back to the blond with a frown. "That in itself is... Completely..." Inexplicable? Bizarre?

The blond nodded, a slight frown on his own face as he again looked at the stars. "Heh... Yea. Tha'... Tha' one w's new," he said with a swallow, scratching the back of his head as he coughed. "Tha' one didn' happen 'till t'day so..." Well, he was pretty sure it hadn't anyways...

Yugi stared at his friend, face twisting with worry and curiosity both. "...Could you tell me about what has then," his friend asked, the blond looking back with a just as hesitant stare.

Tell him about all this... Hell... There was so much to tell he didn't even know where to begin. How to begin even! The duel monsters, the dreams, the visions... After all, it was one thing to explain what Yugi had found out, but everything else? Maybe, he told himself, maybe he could still keep the duel monsters a secret. Maybe their duel could still progress as planned, with no worried interruptions, no fears of un-wanted injuries. Hell, Yugi didn't say anything about random and inexplicable injuries right?

...Riiiiiight?

Katsuya continued to mentally reassure himself of this as his friend looked away at the stars, nodding somewhat as a smile briefly appeared on his face. Yea. That would be fine. So then, if he just let off a little bit of steam, maybe it would make that part a little... Easier.

A little easier to deal with and hold back just until this was over. Yea... "...Hey... ...Yugi," he asked after a moment, turning to the boy as his friend also looked back. "...Can I tell y' somethin'," he began, voice somewhat hoarse under the whisper he used.

The boy smirked, nodding his head. "Hn! I thought you'd never ask... Go on," he said with a smile, holding his gaze. Right...

Right well... ...He wasn't going to mention any pre-cognition, that felt a little like saying 'if I cheat, it's not my fault!'... (Though he never did get any 'helpful' flashes during a match, and no one seemed to notice him not looking at his cards...)

Still, that wasn't the point. "I get weird dreams," he said plainly, looking back to the sky as the words began to come out. "Crazy dreams, dreams tha' 'm pretty sure mos' don' deal with... They don' make any sense at all," he continued with a swallow, "But in a way..." The blond sighed, shaking his head as he looked back to his friend. "It's hard t' explain... F'r th' most part I'd just be floatin' in th' dark," the blond muttered with a glance at the sky, "Hearin' bits 'f conversations tha' don' make sense... Hell one time I heard me," he added, the frown deepening for a moment. That particular 'conversation' had been the demon-snake-ghost dream too... And he was sure as hell glad he didn't get repeats. Of course... "An' then there w's las' night... When I got knocked out by th' ghouls, an' Red-Eyes w's taken," he explained, "Th' dreams changed..."

"Changed," Yugi asked, expression showing clear confusion at the sudden admittance.

Katsuya nodded despite the hidden, yet fairly obvious dis-belief before continuing on. "Yea... 'Changed'," he repeated, before continuing on. "I w's sittin' in th' desert with all these goats... Talkin' t' this kid abou' some kinda village, I dunno..." Something about a village of outcasts... "Heck," he laughed, a small grin appearing on his face only to die into a small frown. "If he didn' tell me t' wake up I'd 've missed the tournament..." And when that came to mind again... He had to wonder; would he wake up from the next one? After all... "...On th' arena, after Ra attacked," Katsuya began, sitting up to stare at the ground in silence. "I didn' say anythin' 'f course, but that was kinda how my dream went while I w's out cold. I w's in th' desert again, some desert village, talking with a bunch 'f kids... I didn' even realize it wasn' real," he said with a fear filled swallow, turning wide eyes back to his friend. "I didn' realize it until I said somethin' tha' wouldn' exist there, 'till I mentioned th' word 'duel'... An' righ' after that all I could see were these ghosts," the blond continued in a panic, "Nothin' but ghosts, all 'f 'm shoutin, an cryin' at me... Some usin' m' friend's voices, others using Shizuka's, an other's jus' using voices I can't ev'n r'member! An' I couldn' wake up," he continued, eyes narrowing as he thought back to the dream. It felt more like he was describing a child's nightmare at the moment really, like he was just some small kid again. Yet when he thought about it... "...Kept shoutin' at 'm t' jus' let me go," he muttered almost blankly, turning away again, "But all they did w's scream abou' a promise..." When he thought about it...

What was up with that? What on earth did it mean..? Yugi seemed to be just as confused as his frriend was, the boy staring in silence for a few moments before finally speaking. "A... A promise," he asked, tilting his head somewhat in confusion.

"Yea... Weird huh," he muttered, shrugging as he stared at the ground. "I don' ev'n know what they were talking about... Heck," Katsuya added with a frown, "If it wasn' f'r that other ghost pullin' me outta there..."

This seemed to just get Yugi even more confused really, the presence of an extra, benevolent spirit resulting in a continued narrow stare. "Ah... There was another ghost?"

The blond nodded, still staring at the ground. "Yea," he said with a sigh. "I don' get it either..."

"...I... I see..." There was a short span of awkward silence the two staring at each other for a few moments. Maybe it was because of how bizarre everything was... Or just because there were friends. But Yugi more or less seemed to believe him for the moment, even if he likely knew something was being held back. "Jonouchi," Yugi said after a few moments, still staring as his friend looked back. "Forgive me for saying this," he admitted in the usual, unintended blunt tone he held, "But you have very strange dreams."

Katsuya couldn't help but mentally laugh at that, the blond finding himself merely raising his eyebrows a moment and turning away awkwardly. "Hah! Yeaaaa... Tha's..."

"The dreams are strange," Yugi continued, "But I imagine that it took a fair amount of courage to share that, along with trust. I might not know what this means myself," he added, a slight smile on his face as he stared at his friend. "I'm glad you told me. So-"

Damn it, he couldn't keep secrets from this guy. Maybe about the duel monsters, but the freaking dragon was glaring at him.

And so was kuriboh. "I saw th' Black Clown fire b'fore it happened," he blurted, Yugi jumping in response.

"W- You... You saw..."

Well... Here it went. "B'fore th' fire, jus' a little after we left... There w's a flash, a burnin' buildin' in my vision. It w's jus' a few seconds," he continued, "But when it act'lly happened... I... Th' dreams I have," Katsuya went on, holding his head in his hands, "Th' dreams I have... They don' always happen when I sleep. I get these flashes, these li'l moments where I'll jus' see somethin', hear somethin'... When I draw a card, I know what it'll be, and half th' time, when I turn th' corner, I know who I'll see on th' other side... I... I can' even blame it on th' tablet tha' Seto-chan saw in th' museum," he laughed forcefully, looking up at the sky as he shook. "I can' do anything like tha'... B'cause ev'n b'fore that, at the Duelist Kingdom, I wound up dreaming abou' th' path I would take in m' bare feet on my run in th' castle... I saw it righ' down to th' las' flower," Katsuya went on, turning to his friend with wide eyes. "These... These dreams, I mean... I didn' want t' say anythin', since for all I know this'll start happenin' on th' field and I'll never duel again, but I... I..."

"J-Jonouchi..." Yugi continued to stare with wide eyes, watching as the blond beside him gripped his head in his hands. "All this time... ...So... Those times you were spacing out..."

He nodded, swallowing as he continued to stare at the ground. "Yea," he rasped, voice sounding almost broken. "...I... I'm sorry... 'M sorry I didn' come out abou' this," Katsuya said quietly, shaking his head. "I thought... Tha' if I waited 'till after th' tournamen', after our duel, I wouldn' have t' make y' worry. I mean... I don' even know why all this is happenin'," he 'laughed,' shaking his head. "I can't figure out when it really started, or why... I jus' wanna know why," the blond shouted, "Why all th's 's happenin', why it has t' happen an'... An' I..." Katsuya turned to his friend, expression morose and considerably more depressed than the usual grin. "I... I wanted t' be able t' tell y' tha'... But when y' say tha' I'm speakin' in dead languages, an tha' blood's showin' up on my shirt... I guess I can' do tha'."

There was more silence as the two stared, Yugi eventually nodding as a smile returned to his face. "...It's alright," he said calmly, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "All of this... I can't even begin to think of the 'why's myself, but really... I'm just glad you're alright," the boy told him, Yugi staring. "Besides... This explains more than enough for me to be able to stop worrying; why... I was almost ready to ask if you were still up to our duel," he added in a joking tone, a grin forcing its way onto Katsuya's face.

"Gh-! Oiii, don' ev'n joke abou' tha," he laughed, shaking his head. "Me, give up on tha'? You've still got Red-Eyes!"

The boy continued to smirk, nodding. "Of course! ...Jonouchi," he continued, turning away slightly. "Again... I want to thank you for telling me all of this. Suddenly all those moments where you finished our sentences makes sense," he chuckled, before paling. "And the warnings... ...Jonouchi, did you foresee-"

"...We should go check on Mai," the blond said rather abruptly, scratching the back of his head as his friend slowly nodded in understanding. The two boys hopped down from the arena, Yugi stowing his hands in his pockets as he followed behind the blond.

"Right," he muttered, heading for the lift and pushing the 'down' button before waiting. "I understand... Ah... ...Jonouchi," he asked, turning back to the blond. "If it's alright with you-"

"You c'n tell Yugi... 'Light' Yugi... Er..." Damn it, needed better names... "Th' other one," he said with a slight smirk, shaking himself as the boy nodded. The doors to the lift opened wide for the two, and as they walked in the blond continued. "I'm alrigh' wi' that... You two aren' really th' type t' keep secrets from each other," he said with a just slightly humored tone, before growing somewhat pale. "Er... If you could do me a favor though... An' not tell anyone else abou' this, that would be really... I mean, i's pretty awkward an'..."

Yugi again nodded, lift doors shutting tightly behind them as they were left to stand under the bright fluorescent light. "Your secret is safe with me," he responded, pushing the 'down' button as the lift began to move. A few moments passed as his eyes dulled over, the boy soon looking back to Katsuya with a slight frown. "...You're sure you have no idea as to what might be causing this," he asked again, his friend shrugging.

"Er... Pretty much," the blond answered, staring at the floor with a frown. "I mean, I c'n trace th' firs' big dream t' th' duelist kingdom, but any time before that..." Well... In all honesty the furthest back he could get in terms of weird 'ghost' things was the Monster World game, with that near-death experience he'd had in what he was pretty sure was Seto's soul. But wait... No, he told himself with a frown, crossing his arms as the lift slowed to a stop. There was that one other time...

'How,' she had shouted, despite her body being locked in a 'coma' and her lips being unable to move. 'How can you hear me when my own brother cannot!' He'd heard Seto while she was completely out cold, locked in a vegetative state, while her soul was... Well, wherever souls went in a penalty game. But why?

Why did all of this happen? The lift doors opened before them, the boys moving toward Mai's door with considerable caution. The room was directly beside Yugi's really, but the real issue was in the one that was beside and across from it. Namely door number '4'. The boy's both steeled themselves, passing by Malik's own room in complete silence before lightly rapping on the 'number 5' door with a swallow. "Er... Hey. Guys," Katsuya 'shouted', looking nervously behind him as he forced the shout to a lower volume. Another knock pealed through the metal, the blond rubbing his head. "...Guys? Woah-!"

"Hey, pipe down will you!" The door abruptly opened, Ryuzaki stepping back from the button with a slight frown as he let the two in. As the pair looked back he shrugged, shaking his head and sighing. "Sorry about how long that took," he said with a swallow, peering out into the hall before shutting the door behind them. "But we need to keep quiet. The doors are being automatically locked for the safety of everyone inside- At least, that's what the guy on the PA said," he continued with a shrug, before looking over to the bed. "What with Malik being on-board, and what happened here... Well... We had to be let in by Dr. Kuzushi," he said quietly, wincing somewhat as he stared at the woman. "To put it in perspective... Man... This tournament... It's really gotten out of hand," the boy muttered, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

"Well it certainly doesn't help that we have a wanted sociopath with a cursed object under his control one door down from us," Otogi muttered, the others pulling faces at the unneeded reminder. "I mean, in all the research my Dad made me do on those items the most I found out about the 'Rod' was that it held 'unnecessary ties' to darkness; that thing is considered the black sheep among even the other items! To know that it's in control of someone like Malik... Ghk..." The teen gave a shudder, a few of the others turning at that.

"Yea... About that," Honda said from the side. "Jonouchi, wasn't Kaiba supposed to run checks on people before they came in," he asked as he frowned, the blond mirroring the expression rather blankly in response.

"Y' know," he said sarcastically, "Somethin' tells me, dunno what it is, but I'm pretty damn sure S- ...Kaiba," the blond corrected swiftly, "Didn' let 'm on with this in mind..."

"Nope... Just 'Ra'," Ryuzaki muttered, the others turning with raised eyebrows as he shrugged. "What," he shouted in protest, ducking under the looks he was receiving. "I can't be the only one who saw the look on his face when Ra was summoned! I mean, that thing mind as well have been some kind of concentrated caffeine rush with the way he was-" The boy was quickly silenced by a glare from Shizuka, ducking down again before looking past the girl and at the bed.

Machines pretty much surrounded that corner of the room where they all stood. Heart monitor, a monitor for breathing... They'd even had to force a tube of sorts through the woman's throat, allowing her to breath without her own tongue blocking the air way. Her eyes in the meantime were closed over, eyelids pulled down for the sake of both the patient and any who saw her. Mai... Katsuya slowly walked over, formerly sarcastic expression falling flat in lieu of intense worry as he stared at the woman. "...Mai... Is she..."

"She's not waking up," Anzu responded quietly, shaking her head from the side. "As it is," the woman added in worry, "The doctor said she's not sure if she ever will..." Never... Never wake- "There's a lot of unexplained internal damage apparently," she continued, staring worriedly at the woman's motionless form."And while they've done what they could, she needs to get to a hospital if she stands any chance... They figure that if she doesn't, they'll only have her in the 'recovery' zone for twenty four hours..." Twenty... Twenty four...

Oh god... Shizuka's face twisted at what was likely a grim reminder, the girl bowing her head as she bit her lip. There was so much wrong here, with the tournament, and with the competitors... And yet there was so little they could do...

-Attention Duelists,- a voice called through the PA at that moment, only a few in the room turning in response. -The Fourth Semi-Final match is about to begin; competitors Kaiba Seto and 'entry eight'-, Isono continued, the final competitor having obviously requested anonymity, -Are required to be present at the arena within the next five minutes. All those wishing to witness this event are encouraged to leave for the arena now,- the man went on, -As lift doors will automatically lock with the Duel start.- A loud click came through the air following the announcement, the crowd staring at the PA briefly before sighing

"Even the elevator's got automatic locks," Ryuzaki muttered, staring at the PA and shaking his head. "Man... This is all just so screwed..." Yea... Yea it was...

"I'm watchin'," Katsuya said quickly, turning to leave the room with Yugi at his heels. The blond tapped the button to the side, door hissing open as he looked back. "You guys comin'," he asked, watching as the others began to move toward them with nods.

"I know I'll be coming along," Anzu said with a slight smile, eyes again appearing slightly glazed. Briefly Katsuya frowned, the small flame of the Millennium Rod curling up on Anzu's shoulder as it ducked under the blond's stared. Weird... Why would she need persuasion to go and watch the match...

The blond's thoughts were cut short, Honda and Otogi moving past with nods and momentarily brushing by the teen's shoulders due to the space. "We'll come too," they decided, the taller opening the door as he spoke. "This unknown 'eighth duelist' deal is bugging the crap out of me... I didn't even know you could enter something like this anonymously..."

"I'm pretty sure you can't," Otogi muttered, the pair heading for the lift.

Shizuka in the meantime simply nodded, her friend pulling one of the chairs over and collapsing into it before the girl spoke. "Keichi and I are staying here," she said with a slightly worried smile, bowing her head somewhat. "Before I came here," the girl explained, "Mai-san encouraged me to remove my bandages, and helped me work up the courage to do so. But right now," she continued, "Mai-san is fighting alone, and she can't defend herself from whatever might happen... I want to make sure she gets through this," Shizuka stated seriously, Ryuzaki nodding in agreement from the side. "No matter what... I want to do something..."

"We technically shouldn't be here anyways," Ryuzaki added with yet another shrug, shaking his head. It was fairly obvious that in the current situation there was no hidden intention here after all, so there was no visible unease in what he said. "Besides, it's not like we're really connected to anyone in this next fight," he went on, crossing his arms. "We'll be more useful here." That...

Right. Katsuya nodded, turning to leave the room as the two continued to sit. "Got it," he said quickly, leaving the room with the others as the door closed over. "...Let's go!"

---

There was a TV in the room they sat in. Technically, there was a TV in all of the rooms actually, each one equipped with numerous basic channels and film options. In addition to this the duelist's rooms had a bed and bathroom, along with a bar-fridge, a coffee table, two chairs... The essentials of a hotel room really. Though the similarities between this room and the one he'd had in Tokyo were all a little disturbing to say the least.

Still, despite all of this not a single thing was touched save the two chairs, neither person in the room seeing any point in picking up the remote. If anything, the action would be beyond disrespectful, an action that was largely unforgivable. Keiichi leaned back on his chair as the time slowly ticked away for the next duel to start, staring at the motionless body before them. It was currently taking a fair amount of will power to not think about the fact that Mai was naked under those blankets really, given how tightly the blankets had been wrapped around her... An especially large amount actually, though since Shizuka was in the same room it was probably a little easier.

Pissing Shizuka off would not do him any good after all, particularly in this situation. Which reminded him... "Ah... ...Shizka," he said after a few moments, the girl turning toward him with blank and somewhat red eyes. "I... I know this isn't the best time," he started rather nervously, "But... I really need a place to sleep, and..."

"A place to slee-" The girl frowned, straightening herself as she looked at the boy. "Keichi, I thought you asked Yugi about that..."

Errr... Not... Really... "Ah... I was going to," he coughed, "But then I realized that it's... Well, Yugi," the boy protested, "Which kinda makes it awkward and..."

"...Awkward," the girl asked flatly, raising her eyebrows as Keiichi turned.

"Well... Yea! I mean, he's kinda the number one duelist in Japan now," Keiichi continued, shaking his head, "And combining that with the fact that he's got the same card I gave your brother, it's just a little..."

The boy froze, his friend slowly scowling as she clenched her fists. "Ooooohhhhhh..." A smack came through the air, Keiichi wincing as his head was subject to the expected 'pound'. "Keichi," the girl shouted, crossing her arms. "You can be such a kid sometimes!" What? A kid!

"O-Owww..!" The boy rubbed his head, wincing as he looked back to his friend. "Geeze, Shizka..! What the hell was-"

-click-

What the hell was that. The two abruptly froze as the sound hit the air, turning as the door slowly clicked open from behind them to hiss open. That... That wasn't possible, the doctor wasn't...

"I thought the doctor had the only key," Keiichi muttered with a swallow, standing up from his chair with wide eyes. The person on the other end of the door was quite obviously not Kuzushi after all, and there was no time to take chances.

Shizuka nodded as the boy stood, also standing up as a woman walked in from the hall. "Sh-She does," Shizuka said nervously, "So how..."

"Don't be afraid," a calm, accented voice stated, a woman in white coming into the room as she clicked a veil from her face. The woman's headdress was decorated with gold, bracelets around her wrists and shoulders and a thin, simple torque of sorts around the woman's neck. With tanned skin and dark hair however, it was more than clear of her relation to the other Egyptians in the tournament... Yet despite that, the woman's warnings were preventing the two from jumping for the phone to call for help, both young teens simply swallowing in unease. "Do not fear," the woman repeated as the door shut behind her, veil gripped lightly in her hands. "My name is Ishtar Ishizu... Secretary General of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities," she stated plainly, "And eighth competitor in the tournament..."

Ishtar? As in... Malik Ishtar? ...Waaaait... Besides that, did she just say- "You're the eighth duelist," Keiichi asked, shaking his head as he stared. "But... The announcement..." The one that came four minutes ago...

"Shouldn't you be on the stage," his friend muttered, stepping back as Ishizu came close.

The woman merely shook her head, expression more or less blank. "I'll make it in time," she said calmly, moving toward the bedside before freezing as Keiichi stepped in her path. Ishizu appeared to stare for a few moments as the boy stood, expression unchanged. "...You..."

"Hey... I don't know who you are," he said flatly, growling somewhat under his breath, "And just because you say you're alright doesn't mean you can just come over and-"

"I wanted to see if there was any way to repair my brother's damage," Ishizu stated, the others freezing at the confirmation of relationship. "...I... ...You see," the woman began, hands rubbing the torque around her neck, "Like my brother I wield an ancient object known as a 'Millennium Item'... The 'Tauk'," she continued, turning to step past the boy and look over Mai's body. "It grants me precognition," the woman explained calmly, "And it was by its powers that I unlocked your door."

Okay... What. "...You unlocked the door with a-" Keiichi shook himself, instead turning to a more important matter as he narrowed his eyes. "Hang on... You're that maniac's sister," he asked, jabbing his thumb toward the door as Ishizu nodded in silence. "...Shit... I sure as hell don't envy you," he muttered, before ducking back under a glare from Shizuka.

Shizuka held the glare a few moments more, before turning back to the woman before them. "Ishizu-san," she asked somewhat nervously, "If you have one of these items... Does that mean... Can you really..."

The woman shook her head, sighing as she held a hand above the woman's body. "Sadly no," she admitted, eyes closing over slightly before she moved back. "This is my first experience with the powers of the Shadow Game... The tauk you see, is benevolent, and considered the 'lightest' of objects. It grants the wielder powers concerning fate itself, at the cost of continued neutrality. So no," the woman continued, shaking her head. "The only thing that will break Malik's hold on this woman is either his death, or his loss in another game." Well... The last one was sounding good to him... "As it is," Ishizu continued somewhat sadly, "The rest of my knowledge of the tauk is little," she admitted, stroking the necklace around her neck. "And compared to my brother's power..." Ishizu abruptly cut off with those words, turning to the two as they stared. "I must leave," she said plainly, Keiichi glancing at the clock to the side to mentally agree. "I have a duel to attend to... And there is nothing more I can do here," Ishizu continued, shaking her head. "But first... ...'Ryuzaki Keiichi'," the woman asked, Keiichi jumping in response.

"Ryu- H-Hey," he asked nervously, "When did I give you my na-" The boy was lightly elbowed by his friend, as Shizuka frowned, the boy quieting so that Ishizu could continue.

"You are in need of a room," she said rather plainly, "And though my brother will avoid this room due to its uselessness in his eyes, the others will soon be quite full. From what the tauk has shown me, those in this room will end up taking guard shifts... Yugi's room will soon hold the sleeping arrangements for either your friend or the one named 'Mazaki Anzu'," she continued, pulling a card from between the folds of the sash on her waist. "Here," Ishizu said, handing the boy a card. Keiichi looked it over with fairly wide eyes, staring as the woman continued. "Move your things into my room," she told him, the boy blinking in response. "You will be safe there if you stay the evening."

"A-Ah... Your room," he repeated somewhat blankly. "You mean I can stay in-" H-Hey, his silent prayers had actually been answered..!

Ishizu turned and left without another word at that however, Shizuka staring at the card with somewhat surprised eyes before eventually speaking. "She... She gave you her room key," she said with a swallow, blinking slowly as her friend nodded. Yea... Yea she did... Which meant...

He was staying in her room! He was staying in a girl's room instead of having to share with three other guys! "Hah... Hahaha... YES," he shouted, pumping his fists. "This is AWESOME!"

"Keichi," Shizuka said somewhat quietly, "Keep your voice down..."

"I didn't even have to ask Yugi," he continued with a grin, "This is great!"

"Keichi," his friend muttered, "Really, you-"

"I gotta move my bag," the boy decided 'abruptly', hopping over the chair to grab it from the floor, "Get settled..."

"O-Oi," the girl shouted, watching as her friend turned back. "Keichi! Are you blushing!"

"Er... No," he answered nervously, shouldering the bag with a nervous laugh.

Perhaps Ishizu had foreseen that awkward argument on her way there, as she actually had two minutes left before duel start by the time she arrived on deck.

---

The wind had seemed to get colder as the duels passed, far colder than the standard 'early-evening, late night' shift. She wasn't really sure why she was bothering to notice these things of course, but as she stood at the far end of the arena with crossed arms she noticed it nonetheless. Her deck had been locked into place, and her disk was now at the ready however, cold be damned. And as she stared across the field with narrowed eyes, Isono's words echoed about the field, her opponent still not present.

"We will now hold the fourth match," the man announced clearly, the rest of the crowd standing at opposite ends of the field. To her left was the 'peanut gallery', the two tag-alongs remaining below deck. To the right, Malik, a vicious grin on his face as he waited for the match to start. If it would, that was. "As the eighth duelist has not yet arrived," Isono was saying in the meantime, "We will begin a five minute countdown- should they not be present within that time, disqualification will occur, and Kaiba Seto will win by default!" Hnnn...

Seto narrowed her eyes, growling under her breath. Disqualification... Such a pathetic way to win! This eighth duelist's antics were beginning to really tick her off with all of this anonymity. Even so, until this person arrived... "...Yugi," she said clearly, eyes shifting to where the boy stood at the sides. The boy in question blinked, still holding onto the persona of the 'other' while in the partial presence of Malik. "Watch," Seto stated, "This is my tournament; the god cards and the title 'King of Games' are both on the line... In order to face you for these rights," the woman continued, arms crossed as the wind blew about the field, "I will win this battle... Remember that." Yugi appeared to narrow his eyes at the statement, Jonouchi as well frowning slightly as the woman stared across the field. He was probably wondering how much of that message was for Yugi really... The title threat obviously was, but she'd rather not have to deal with the blond doing something stupid during this match.

Such as distracting her with 'cheers'. Moron.

As for her opponent...

The woman continued to wait in aggravation, before Isono's voice again pealed over the air. "We have just received permission from the eighth duelist to refer to her by name," the announcer cried, raising his hand and gesturing toward the lift. The arena's height blocked the lift from view, but as the competitor walked forward she could still see her white clad form. "Allow me to announce the official start of this match," Isono continued clearly, the woman now taking her place on the stage before turning toward her opponent. Hang on... That face was- "For the final battle of the evening and semi-finals, Kaiba Seto, versus Ishtar Ishizu!" Ish-

ISHIZU!? Even Malik, who stood at the side of the field seemed to freeze as the woman walked up to the arena floor, duel-disk clacking into position as she stared her opponent down. Ishtar... That was right, Malik's last name was 'Ishtar'. Which meant that those two were likely... "We meet again," Ishizu announced with a slight and polite bow, smiling toward the very person she had entrusted Obelisk to. "'Seto'... It would appear our meeting is exactly as predicted," she said mysteriously, the woman across from her tensing in response. Predict-

Tch! "Ishizu... Why are you here," she growled dangerously, the Egyptian showing no real change in reaction as she answered.

"Fate led me here," she said plainly, opponent narrowing her eyes in response. "By the powers of the tauk around my neck," the woman continued, "I have come... I have forseen all there is to see about this match," she went on, her opponent growing more and more tense with each mention of 'fate', "And I will defeat you..." Defeat her..? HAH!

Don't make her laugh she thought with a snarl, gritting her teeth even as slight unease crept into her mind. There were shouts coming from below, the 'peanut gallery' converging on itself with questions and confusion at Ishizu's presence... Evidently Yugi and Anzu both knew the woman somehow, and were explaining to their friends just who she was. Yet while that happened below, she couldn't help but notice that Jonouchi...

Was still watching... And was paying no attention to the conversations at all. "...Seto," the woman called out, a few of the boys at the side again muttering off about 'first-name-basis'. "I will say again... Fate is unavoidable, uncontrollable... This tauk around my neck is what allows me to properly discern the future of others," she explained with a shout, "Allowing me to form my predictions... You will lose this battle," the woman announced clearly. "And I say that not only as a duelist," she continued, "But as one who has peered into the future itself!" The fut...

"H...Hhnhnhn..." Laughter slowly came into the air, the conversation seeming all to ridiculous to truly care about. "'Fate'," she 'repeated', a grin slowly appearing on her face as she laughed. "It's one thing to make claims, but don't even joke about that! You gave me your God card," she roared, the laughter cutting short. "You were even the one to request that I put together a tournament to lure out the ghouls," Seto snarled, "For which reason I've been dealing with said scum all day- And you tell me that 'fate' decrees it all end here?" As if it would be so pathetic! "Hn! You're quite bold," she said with a sneer, Isono allowing the conversation to continue for the moment. "Your first impressions aren't too bad either," Seto added, idly looking over the outfit that her opponent had chosen. "But sorry to say, these superstitions of yours don't scare me; I could care less about these 'Millennium Items' and occult paraphernalia. As far as I'm concerned," she continued loudly, "You can toss them like the trash they are!" A smirk again made its way across her face, the fierce wind around them appearing to pick up speed. "Hn... It would appear that this battle will be truly ironic by the end," Seto stated with a chuckle, eyes narrowing in mirth as her opponent showed no reaction. "Using the power of the very Obelisk you gave me," the woman continued, "I'm going to toss your 'predictions' to the ground from whence it came! Now..!" She turned, giving Isono a look as the man abruptly nodded from the stage behind her.

"Right- DUEL START," he announced, bringing his hand down in the familiar 'begin' signal. The women on the field immediately drew their hands with those words, faces tight with determination as both took their 'positions'.

"Let's go," Seto roared, coat furling around her as the wind stung against her body. She'd show this woman 'fate'... What the 'future' really was... What created her future was undefined after all, a thing that could not be foreseen by some golden object of the past. It was a thing that none could see completely, something that could only be estimated and travelled toward. So, with that in mind... "It's my turn," she shouted, her opponent's eyes closed over as the cards were set on the field. The holographic panels shimmered into existence, the first swinging upward to reveal her first monster. "First I summon the Blood Vorse," Seto announced, holographic demon holding his blade forward with a snarl as he appeared in a flicker of light. "And next," she continued, "A face-down card... End turn!"

Ishizu opened her eyes, nodding slightly as she drew her first card. "Hn... My turn then," she stated, setting two cards on the field as well. The holographic panels did almost the same as her opponent's had, the first swinging upward before appearing on its side. "First, I summon Keldo in defense mode," the woman announced, the metal being appearing to shield its master with large wing-like arms. "And next," she called out, the second card swinging upward to 'pulse' almost angrily, "I activate the spell Dragged Down to the Grave!"

Dragged to the-! Seto tensed, grinding her teeth as she ran over the card's information. A hand cleaning card and an embarrasment! Damn her damn her damn her da-

"Go on Seto," the woman said plainly, cutting her opponent's mental rant short. "Show me your hand..."

Damn it! She wasn't going to forget this! "Ngggh..." The hand was held out in silence, cards revealed to the entire field as Ishizu appeared to close her eyes and nod. Tch- if she wasn't even going to look-

"Thank-you..." The woman opened her eyes, gripping her cards tightly as she spoke. "Discard Polymerization and 'Kaiser Glider' if you will," she continued, Seto doing as requested with a slight growl. One high powered monster, one spell...

Tch... Well. She supposed it could have been worse really; those cards wouldn't have done too much early on in the duel, given the Glider's negative second effect. But now it was her turn to pick the cards, even if Ishizu's hand wasn't to be revealed. "Alright then Ishizu," she said with a frown, pointing toward the woman's hand. "Starting from my right, discard your second and fourth cards!" She might not have been able to see Ishizu's hand... But mark her words she would make the blow just as fierce!

"Understood..." Ishizu pulled the cards from her hand, holding them forward for a moment. "The cards you picked were Monster Reborn and Revival Magic," she announced, sending the two to the grave before slipping the rest of her hand into her deck. Across from her Seto did the same, before drawing a new hand as the spell on the field vanished from sight. "And with the renewed hand of cards," the woman continued almost blankly, "My turn is over." Hn...

So it was... But what was she planning, shuffling out their hands she wondered, drawing her next card and adding it to her hand. Briefly she noted, Ishizu's eyes seemed to drift to the side, staring at where Malik stood. At where the blond now leered upward in return, a nasty and sadistic grin across his face. In response a glare appeared across Ishizu's face with an intensity that she had yet to see in any form of emotion the woman had shown, and yet despite that her eyes clouded beneath the light. Even so... Just as Ishizu's expression shifted to shock she made her move, pointing her monster forward with narrowed eyes as the hologram charged. "It's my turn," Seto announced, the demon raising its axe high. "Blood Vorse, attack! Cut the opponent in half," she roared, the monster doing just that as Keldo fell to both sides in a shower of pixels. Ishizu ducked against the backlash from the holograms strike and the wind both, Seto chuckling in response. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Before trying to look into the future, try looking at the enemy standing in front of you," she chuckled, opponent narrowing her eyes. Really... Spacing out in the middle of a match! She'd teach her a lesson; that was for sure. All it would take were a few cards after all, and her virus strategy would come into play! And with those same cards in her hand... "Ishizu," she called out, arms crossed as the two cards were set on the disk. "Your so called 'visions' of the future don't even phase me!" Ishizu continued to stare across the field with narrowed eyes at that, watching as the two holographic panels appeared face down on the field. "The 'future' is what I make of it! And until you can prove otherwise, you shouldn't even bother making these claims! HahaHAHAHA! Now," she announced, nodding curtly as she stared across the field. "I'll play two cards face down and end my turn!"

And now to see what her opponent did in response... Ishizu narrowed her eyes at the comment against her tauk, nonetheless closing them over as it came to her turn. The next card was drawn and set upon the field without the slightest glance, a holographic counterpart arising to the field in a flash. "...I summon Mudora," she announced, the Egyptian looking warrior appearing in a golden mask above the field. "And in addition to that," she continued, another card appearing in view as a pair of 'wind and fire' wheels appeared in its hands, "I equip him with the cestus of Dalga, increasing his power by five hundred points! Now... Attack the Blood Vorse," the Egyptian ordered, Seto smirking in response. Hah!

Just as planned! "Hn! I activate the two face down cards," Seto countered with a shout both cards revealing themselves to the field as they swung upward. "You've walked right into my trap! First," she began, the card vanishing as her monster's hologram halved in size, "Shrink cuts the Blood Vorse's power in half... And then," she continued, holographic mist filling the air as the monster was destroyed by the attacking monster, "As a carrier of the crush card virus, the poison infects your cards! Not only are your monsters on the field destroyed," she laughed, her own monster vanishing into a shower of light as her lifepoints plummeted, "But so are the ones in your deck! Now send them all to the grave," the woman continued, smirk widening as her opponent stared. "They won't be doing you any good..."

She'd have expected more of a reaction from that kind of loss really... But as Ishizu nodded she merely closed her eyes over, moving any monsters from her hand and field into the grave. "As you wish," she said plainly, the smirk on Seto's face nonetheless remaining in place. Well... It didn't really matter she supposed, the reaction that was. She'd won this match after all... So why bother with it? Mudora may have landed a strong hit of course, but with all of Ishizu's strongest monsters dead and her strategy as of yet unfinished and in progress it was well worth it. One more card... One more card and the devastation would be truly apparent! "I play one card face down," Ishizu said calmly, the single holographic panel hovering above the field as Seto's thoughts were cut short. "I end my turn."

And with those very words a rumble came through her deck, a beating that transferred to her hand as she drew her card. A rush of energy bolted through her every being, eyes drawn to her deck as she slowly pulled the card from the holder. She could hear it... Feel it, the very pulse of the being in the card... "In that case," she roared, grin widening as the card was placed in her hand, "It's my turn!" God... God's power now sat in her hand she thought with a mental cackle, the card in question appearing to gleam viciously under the moonlight. Three turns, three monsters, three sacrifices... In that amount of time she would win, no matter what! "I summon Des Feral Imp in attack mode," Seto announced, the holographic demon appearing before its hovering card. Seto pointed the monster forward, her grin almost appearing to be mirrored by the beast as it moved. "Of course," the woman laughed, containing her elation somewhat as her expression faded, "Now that your field is clear, the Imp attacks directly! Hear this," she continued, watching as her opponent stumbled under the strike from the solidified light, "The future is limitless... The past is merely a string of footprints- And the past is nothing to me," she shouted with a laugh, grin refusing to die completely as her monster returned to her side of the field. "The fact that you gave me Obelisk... That doesn't matter either; I didn't choose God," the woman shouted clearly, her opponent continuing to stare in stubborn silence, "God chose ME! And using this power," Seto roared, the woman across simply looking at her hand as it came to her turn. "I'll end this in just a few turns!" Using a strategy that was going so smoothly it was almost unbelievable..! "And now," the woman announced, setting another card on the field as its panel appeared in response, "For the next part of my strategy... I play the spell 'Virus Canon'- sending the first ten magic cards of your deck into the grave!" Which meant nothing but perhaps a few traps and spells with cannon fodder, the duel's result practically decided already. Perfect... This was working perfectly, better than she could have possibly hoped! "Your deck is good as destroyed," she laughed, Ishizu merely staring across the field.

And yet from the side, the wince on Jonouchi's face appeared to say otherwise. "No," Ishizu stated calmly, tapping the duel disk on her arm. "As I told you before, I have foreseen all of this. You'll have to forgive me Seto," she continued, blood slowly draining from the woman's face as the card on the field swung upward, "But the one who fell for the trap was you. Watch... This is the tomb-guardian's trap! I activate my card," she announced with a frown, the card's text burning into her opponent's skull. "Exchange of the spirit!" Ex... Exchange... The card that switched...

. . .

. . . . .

Nooooo... No no no- AAAAAAUGH! Augh! "Hnhnhnhnhn... Our decks are now switched with our graves," Ishizu announced, her opponent staring across the field in shock. "So... How is that for your 'proof'," she asked somewhat smugly, eyebrows raised as her opponent continued to freeze. Nothing... It didn't prove anything damn it, it... It...

The woman's mind drew blank for a moment, facts flying through her head as she attempted to think. There were six cards in her graveyard. Six, the two cards that had been discarded and the spells she'd used for her virus strategy. A 'deck out' loss wasn't announced until it was impossible to draw on the next turn however, which left her with seven turns total.

Seven turns! Ishizu on the other hand, who had dumped almost her entire deck into the graveyard as a result of the virus play... Had quite clearly planned this from the start. The woman stared at her duel disk as Ishizu smiled, her graveyard spitting the cards out for the requested switch. Seto shakily and reluctantly switched the deck with the tiny pile in silence as her opponent did the opposite, eyes still wide and unblinking as she slowly looked back to the field. This... This was not good she told herself with a shudder, this was... "My turn," Ishizu announced, placing a card on the duel disk before grabbing another. "I'll set one card face down and summon Kelbek in attack mode," she stated, the holographic panels hovering in place as the mechanized spider shimmered into existence. "End turn." This...

The 'future'... So Ishizu thought it was a future where she lost did she? Well not so! She would turn this around soon enough, mark her words! "My turn," Seto spat bitterly, drawing the next card and looking it over with narrowed eyes. The same card she had sent to the grave moments before, the Virus canon... If she played-

"Activate trap, 'Negate'," Ishizu shouted, her opponent narrowing her eyes as the card flipped upward and vanished from sight. "Discard the card just drawn!" Gh...

Damn it... There went that one. Ishizu knew almost exactly what was in her 'deck' thanks to her strategy, given the number of cards discarded. And with what she had in her hand, her only monster aside from Obelisk being too powerful for the field... "...Des Feral Imp enters defense mode," she growled, a thick scowl in place as she crossed her arms. "I pass the remainder of the turn." This was ridiculous, completely pathetic..! She couldn't summon more monsters, she didn't have enough low-level ones left to use...

But thanks to Ishizu's first spell she decided with narrowed eyes, she still had enough cards to turn this around. Soul Exchange was in her hand after all, which would allow her to summon Obelisk without worry. And once Ishizu had three monsters on the field... "I summon Zolga in attack mode," the woman before her announced, a second monster appearing above the field. The thickly robed being hovered in place before his card, Seto narrowing her eyes. Almost there she told herself, hand almost twitching in impatience. Just one more, one more, this was all she had and-

"KAIBA," Yugi shouted from the side, the woman turning to look at where both he and Jonouchi were staring up with near identical expressions. What- What the hell were they shouting about? "Just ahead of us is the location of our battle," the boy called out, his 'rival' narrowing her eyes to stare in slight confusion. "The future for us both is just within reach! Understand?" The future...

Seto continued to stare, watching as Jonouchi as well cupped his hands to shout. "Hey! S- Kaiba," he called out, barely catching himself on the name as always. "I plan on gettin' a shot at fightin' y' too," the blond announced with a laugh, "So don' even think 'f losin' sight 'f what's there, got it!" He-

"Hn!" The woman turned back to the field, eyes narrowed as Ishizu announced her attack. "I won't; And you would be wise to wait for me," she growled, unphased by the holographic backlash of her destroyed feral imp. Zolga had attacked the monster while she was 'talking', which really figured. That was the first monster however, and now...

"Kelbek attacks directly," Ishizu shouted, the spider charging across the field with a synthesized screech. The monster's claws slashed at her form, sending a wave of wind past her as a result. The woman's coat flew out behind her as she shielded her face, leering over her arms as the monster returned to its side of the field.

"Tch-!" And just how realistic had she made the monsters again..? That felt like a little more than a bruise, and if anything she would even say there were scratches on her bracers...

Even so the turn was not yet over, a face down card appearing to the field and pulling Seto's attentions back to what 'mattered'. One face down card... "End turn," Ishizu stated after finishing the attack and move both, before nodding across the field. "Your draw."

Hn! Tell her something she didn't know... But that card... Seto narrowed her eyes as the wind appeared to die back to its regular rhythm, drawing her next card to take her turn. There was the slightest possibility of it being another 'negate' she told herself, and if she drew the wrong card at that moment...

"Activate trap," Ishizu shouted as her opponent glanced over the card, mentally snorting as 'Blood Vorse' was sent back to the grave. "Negate!" Hn!

Interesting luck she had there, drawing two of the same card so quickly! Even so... With this card the woman told herself, she would win. No matter what... "I place one card on the field," Seto announced, the holographic panel appearing before them. A small smirk made its way onto her face, the woman crossing her arms and holding a finger close to the 'activate' button. "End turn!" And now...

For the final turn of the duel. "My move then," her opponent stated calmly, drawing her next card to immediately set it on the field. "First," she announced, a card shimmering into existence at her knees, "I set a card face down." A fourth card quickly appeared on the field, image staring out to the arena as a third monster appeared. "In addition," Ishizu called out, "I summon this; Agido!" Yes...

Yes! HahahaHAHA! As the egg-shaped, eye-decorated monster appeared to the field Seto tapped the dueldisk, her card swinging upward as she laughed. Yes! Not a single ounce of suspicion! "HahaHAHAHA! Thank you for bringing up the necessary sacrifices," she announced smugly, the spell card vanishing from the field in an instant. The monsters across on Ishizu's side of the field burst into pillars of sand and shadow both as the spell took effect, Seto still laughing as the sky appeared to cloud and darken. "I activate the card Soul Exchange," the woman roared, thunder pealing in the distance to herald the summoning as she set her next card, "Bringing out the God of the desert, the warrior of the night, OBELISK!"

A shattering roar came through the sky, seemingly shadowed lightning striking the air about them. "ROOOOOOOOOOOOO!" And here it came... The pillars of sand seemed to spin toward her side of the field, converging behind her as the winds picked up to a vicious tempo. Dirt scratched the sides of her cheeks but the sting was ignored and not even noticed as the remains of the monsters swirled into the large and now standing body of the God she had summoned. Dust and shadows developed into blue and necrotising armor, into rotted features and clawed hands that curled into fists, and at his immense size it was more than clear that Obelisk was just barely able to stand within the limits of the arena. Despite this however the monster still saw fit to come to one knee, preferring to see the field at a closer level than from the clouds far above. And with this monster... With this power that radiated from the air and filled the arena...

HnhnhaHAHAHAHAAA! "Ishizu... Prepare yourself," she roared, the grin on her face refusing to die as the storm worsened. "This is the last turn! You could surrender... Or you could be destroyed by the God before you... Take your pick!"

Ishizu however merely stood there, wind blowing her shawl back somewhat Seto stared. "I end my turn," she said plainly, eyes appearing almost blank. "It's your move." Nothing... She would fight until the end, and she would lose in the same manner.

Hnhnhnhnhn... Very well then she told herself, a grin forming on her face. This was... The end.

And yet as she moved to speak she found herself frozen in place, Obelisk kneeling in silence behind her as all sensations began to dull. She found her eyes drifting to the card in her hand, the one that now sat on the top, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon that she had held there from almost the start of the match. There was a feeling in the air, a feeling that seemed to radiate from this card... A cold, chilling feeling, depression, death...

And as she brought her eyes back up to the field, she thought she could hear... Singing. It was not human in nature however, despite the beauty it conveyed. Despite the sadness it carried, and the mourning it represented. There were no words even, merely shifting notes that rang through the clouds and through her ears. This wasn't the time to lose herself in some sort of 'daydream'... She didn't even have daydreams, that was Jonouchi's field! "Attack," she muttered, before raising her voice as she forced the song from mind, "ATTACK!" But instead...

"... I think NOT, my PRIESTESS." Wh... What... Seto's eyes widened with shock, unable to even turn as Obelisk lowered his head and continued to speak. It had to be Obelisk, her mind told her, despite the other half pushing the argument of impossibility. It was a hologram! There was no way it could speak! But holograms did not carry this sort of power either, they didn't simply 'break' the limits of the disk system... Yet as her mind continued to fight against itself Obelisk continued to speak, the woman still standing in shocked, possibly terrified silence. "There is a TIME for GODS and a TIME for OTHERS," the monster announced wisely, eye-less sockets appearing to glow and reflect off the steel of the arena floor. "And though the CHOICE is YOURS," he continued,"Your KNOWLEDGE is yet INCOMPLETE. There are THINGS that you must KNOW," Obelisk announced, "There are SIGHTS that you must SEE..." Th... Things? What was this thing even talking about? 'Priestess'? 'Choices'? What was this, a dream? A nightmare even? It couldn't be real, it couldn't and yet- "Close your eyes PRIESTESS," the God demanded, his hands closing over the woman as she stood frozen. Seto's vision was blocked completely by thick and mummified fingers, armor brushing against what bare skin there was as she swallowed. Impossible... IMPOSSIBLE- "Close your EYES and WITNESS the MEMORY so tightly LOCKED within your HEART! THIS IS YOUR TRIAL," he announced, thunder clapping from above as rain began to fall around but not upon the arena in torrents. "FACE IT, with all the HONOR of your PREDECESSORS!" Tri... Trial..?

Predecessors! And as she closed her eyes with the intent of blinking she found them locked in place, a rush of sights and sensations flooding her mind. She could see the tablet in the museum, and she could see the tablet as it was carved. She could see the desert, coated with sands, and a group of soldiers and horses charging toward some unseen enemy. She could see sands blowing across a ruined village and hear the mourning cries of some unseen beast, hear the roars of still other monsters of great power. She could see a man with the Millennium Rod in his hands, a man whose face seemed familiar too her, and not seconds later she could see that same man with the rod's blade embedded deep into his chest. And lastly, as the fleeting image of a woman's pale and smiling face met her gaze, snow white hair blowing in a slight breeze...

A tablet stood before her, and her head pounded as images flashed intermittently with the vision. Through the darkness and clouds above pierced the light of the sun, illuminating the carved image of none other than a dragon, a dragon whose form and image seemed so familiar... So important... So terribly important...

And though in reality they were still held in the same dueling position they always had, there was something in her arms her mind told her. A body. A woman, eyes closed as she lay on her lap. And as she lightly brushed white hair away from the face of a woman who could be sleeping for all that she knew... She knew... That just as the carving added detail to its stone before her, the woman in her arms slipped further into death. And she could hear a voice...

"...Kisara..."

"Gnnh!" Gasping breaths pulled her from the vision, tears dotting her eyes despite her confusion. Obelisk's hand had come back from around her, fingers moved to allow her motion as she regained her thought. This feeling... This horrible, horrible feeling in her chest, pressing tightly against her...

And that light... That white light...

The gasping died down, calming into regulated breaths as she continued to think of the light. Of the dragon she had seen, carved upon the stone... "Memories... Nn..?" As God stood back behind her, pulling himself back to his feet the woman pulled the Blue-Eyes card from her hand. Beneath the waning light of the moon, among the thunder and falling rain, the image appeared to almost radiate with light in her fingers, filling her with a sense of familiarity and calm both. These memories... These thoughts...

She wanted to trust them, she found herself thinking, still staring at the card in silence. She wanted to trust this light, with all she had... And as she grabbed another card from her hand, setting it on the dueldisk, she found herself staring across the field with wide and determined eyes. This duel... She wouldn't win it with God.

She would win using the very begin that so attracted her to the game in the first place! With the monster that she had worked so hard to gain! And as the hologram appeared to the field her opponent shook, eyes widening with disbelief. "But... This can't be," Ishizu was muttering, watching as the spell was placed and activated. "There was no other option," she protested, "This isn't what happened!"

"Hn! Too bad," Seto growled, raising her voice as a card was ejected from her disk to be placed on the field. "I'm not attacking with Obelisk! I activate the spell silent rebirth," she continued, hologram responding as it was replaced with a crouching being made of gears, "bringing the Gadget Soldier from the graveyard!"

And still Ishizu stared, eyes wide as the move continued. "Wh-What-?"

"As a powerful card, an eight-star monster requires two sacrifices to be summoned from my hand," Seto 'explained', narrowing her eyes as the storms winds whipped past. "I have one here at my side... And another behind me," she she continued, "Making such a summon more than possible! I sacrifice not only the soldier," the woman roared to her opponent, "But GOD as well! Watch carefully Ishizu! I'll let you see the light of the monster who stands by my side," Seto announced. "The monster that carries my very pride and SOUL! I sacrifice these two monsters," she shouted as the cards were moved, "And I summon this... THE BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON!"

"Well DONE! You have SUCCEEDED in your TEST," Obelisk roared, sand clattering to the ground as his body fell to pieces. The Gadget Soldier was quickly engulfed in the downpour as his card vanished, Blue-Eyes' own appearing in its place as dust melted into the ground. "Allow me to OPEN your EYES," the monster continued in his dying moments, "That you may REAP what seeds you have SOWN!" What..?

As the last bits of sand vanished into the ground, taking the storm and rain with it, the woman found herself stiff with shock as a tablet formed behind her. Lines etched into the stone, smoke pouring through its form as light seemed to emanate from the very confines of the tablet, its reflection clearly viewed from the arena floor. The tablet continued to glow, continued to carve... Until at last with a mighty roar the beast was released, white wings carrying it through the air as it sang. Blue-Eyes was not confined to a mere 'playing field' in its arrival however; the dragon soared through the night sky with endless 'singing' cries, dipping around the airship itself before landing with both feet at either side of its summoner. And as the beast lowered itself further to the ground, smoke furling from its nostrils, Seto stared forward, eyes narrowed. The dragon was real. She couldn't argue that.

But for the moment, she could no longer see fit to care about that. "Tell me Ishizu," she called across the field, her Blue-Eyes standing loyally at her side as its tail curled about her in protection. "In this future that you saw, did you see Blue-Eyes," she 'asked', watching as the woman continued to stare. "Did you see a blinding light, brought from the sacrifice of a God?" Ishizu's face told her all she needed to know in the resulting silence, and with a slight smirk the woman went on. "No... No you didn't," she sneered, Blue-Eyes appearing to give a rumbling chuckle at the words. "Because this is MY future," Seto spat, pointing the beast forward. "This is MY way of battling, and MY decision to make! NOW," she announced, Blue-Eyes taking to the skies with a growl, "Attack the so-called fate that stands before us Blue-Eyes! BURST STREAM OF DESTRUCTION!"

"GRAAAAAAAOOOOOO!" In blinding light and heat both the attack struck, the dragon rearing its head as she blasted through the motionless and somehow calm opponent before them. The fires seared across the field and swiftly evaporated with no surface to burn for fuel, Blue-Eyes landing once more as it came to all fours. "Gaoooooo..." They did it...

They won. "I win," she said plainly, the dragon lowering its head beside her as she glanced back at the beast. They...

"Grnnnnn..." Seto frowned somewhat, staring at Blue-Eyes as it began to fade. How was it real... How was any of this real? 'Well done,' Ishizu was saying from across the field, her head bowed as Seto more or less ignored her. 'Your strength has altered the very fabric of time itself... From this point,' she continued in the 'distance', 'You are 'truly' the owner of that God card...' But of course... Of course she was... But how was it that... The dragon beside her snorted, steam blowing into her face as the dragon brushed against her face. How... How..? "Gnnnnn..." Blue-Eyes faded completely from existence with that, the woman removing the card to set it back into her deck in shocked and confused silence. How... Why?

Why was it, that looking at Blue-Eyes just now she felt... "...Ishizu," she found herself saying, glancing to the side. Malik had taken his leave already, leaving the 'peanut gallery', Isono, and the two women on the field. Ishizu herself had been about to step down from the arena, the woman turning back as her former opponent continued. "In people's hearts," she explained, "There are always things we would place before God, things that would surpass its power despite what all others think... That fact," the woman continued, "That is why you lost."

Ishizu stared for a few moments with those worse, blinking slowly before finally responding. "...I see," she muttered, turning away briefly. Well... If that was all she would say... Seto moved to leave the arena herself, before her former opponent pulled her attention again. "...Seto," the woman called out, the CEO in question turning from where she now stood at the steps. "Through this battle... ...I ...I have to thank you," she said calmly, hand on her tauk as she stared toward her. "The future my tauk saw... The future I saw," she continued, eyes filled with worry. "It was one of darkness, and despair, a future that I felt entirely confined to... But through this battle," the woman went on, "You changed that. And when I look now, all I can see is blinding light... To think," she chuckled slightly, a small smile on her face as she brought her hand back down. "If people can change the future..."

"Hmp!" Anyone could do it; it wasn't anything 'special'. "If you can only follow 'visions' then you have no light to create," she said plainly, stepping down from the arena as Isono announced the match end. "That's all." To the bedrooms then she told herself, pondering her brother's progress with Ra's translation as a few members of the crowd took their leave. To the rooms, to rest for the next morning... And shower. A shower would be nice... But first to deal with everything else. "...Yugi," she said, passing by the boy to send him a determined stare as she pushed the thoughts of a shower back from mind. "Our battle is coming just around the corner," she continued, narrowing her eyes in challenge as the look was returned in full. "I'll see you there."

"Right," the boy stated with a nod, watching as the woman continued ahead.

"Oi... Don' f'rget abou' me," Jonouchi said with a grin, walking behind his friend as the woman stopped to give the blond a smirk.

"Hn! With all your yapping how could I, mutt?"

"Nyh!"

"Breakfast is at ten," she said clearly, stepping into the lift as it returned from carrying most of Yugi's friends below deck. Yugi and Jonouchi both stared at that, staring as the doors slowly closed over. "Anyone late can go hungry." And until then, before she slept...

How was that translation going?

---

To say the duel went well was to go without saying. Things had progressed normally for the most part, or about as normal as duels went around him. Yugi, of course, was fairly sensitive to whatever bizarre precognitive abilities he had this time around, and as he formed a slight 'barrier' between the blond and the others, any mutterings made it no further than Anzu's ears. To say that after the duel he was screwed however... Well, that went without saying as well really. It probably had to do with his mouth... But he was pretty sure that everything else didn't help either. Actually, it seemed every secret was coming to an end, given the tilted heads in the crowd when the wind blew Seto's coat back from her waist.

Right. In front. Of everyone. "Is it just me," Otogi had muttered at the sight, narrowing his eyes in confusion as he stared toward the woman, "Or does Kaiba have hips?"

"It is DEFINITELY just you," Honda responded at an oddly loud tone, giving his friend a look before turning to Katsuya. "Definitely just- ...Dude," he muttered, the blond jumping as Honda addressed him from around the others. "Are you blushing?"

The response, though paper-thin in cover, was fairly expected. "DEFINITELY NOT!"

So yea, all together the moment had passed rather awkwardly. Of course, there was everything else to think of for that matter. When Ishizu had arrived for one, he'd already known she would be the mysterious 'eighth duelist'. 'Ishizu,' he had muttered as the flash hit, Yugi turning at the sound. The blond had gained a somewhat shocked look, muttering the words as they came to mind before even realizing it. 'Th' eighth duelist, it's...'

There had been obvious confusion, not to mention hesitation with that comment after Yugi heard that of course. After all; it was one thing to be told about the 'precognition' and 'flashes' but to actually believe it... Well, after Ishizu actually walked out onto the arena, the boy had found himself blinking a few times before turning back to Katsuya. "...Did I mention that this is all very, very strange," he had asked, Katsuya laughing nervously in response. Those words had quickly been followed by Honda and Otogi shouting 'IT'S HER!' when the pair spotted Ishizu however, so he didn't have time to respond to Yugi...

Really, he was too busy watching the two flinch under Anzu's fairly cold 'you WERE stalking us!' stare, a stare that had also dropped rather quickly when a 'new' bit of information came up. "Wait," Otogi said, shaking his head and scowling. "This was supposed to bring out the gang?"

"I knew it was planned," Honda hissed, before flinching under the look that Katsuya sent in response.

"Oiii... What'd I say abou' tha'," he growled, before Otogi interrupted to change the subject.

"So who do you think should lose more? Ishtar, or Kaiba," he asked, Katsuya continuing to scowl as the two talked.

"Well," Honda had responded with a shrug, "Hopefully Ishtar... Jonouchi wants to fight Kaiba right? Besides, it'll be worse for him if Kaiba loses, seeing how Yugi's pretty much the only one who can make that happen..."

Wait wha- "HEY!"

"Well then there's no problems right," Otogi said with a smirk. "Kaiba won't lose easily then!"

"Especially if it's against Jonouchi," Anzu added with a grin, the blond continuing to grow red in response.

"OIII!" That conversation ended up proceeding back and forth like that, at least until things on the field caught his attention once more. Honda and Otogi thankfully, were 'out of range', unable to hear what mutterings passed through his lips in shock. Anzu and Yugi however were not, and while Yugi himself had a small explanation, he really wasn't enjoying the looks Anzu was giving him.

Particularly since her eyes were still golden. Which was never good.

As the first of matters beyond 'reality', while the monsters had opted to ignore him during the match for whatever reason, he thought he had heard someone speaking when Ishizu came on deck. Not Ishizu herself however... If anything he'd noted, the woman he'd heard was completely different, and almost panicked in tone to contrast Ishizu's calm demeanour. 'Run,' the voice whispered, a rush of fear flooding him for reasons unknown. 'They will not rest until all of you sleep in the pits of Ammit's bowels..! Run! I will stall them...' That was all he heard... As to what that meant...

He had no clue. But following that he'd managed to narrowly avoid question after question. Seto after all had typically pulled out her 'Virus Deck' strategy, including the 'crush card virus'. He had yet to ask his monsters why those kinds of cards affected him really, but as he hurriedly threw his head over the side to lose yet another meal he really wished he had. Maybe they had something for it...

And so, a number of 'are you alright's later, he was again watching the duel, narrowing his eyes before smacking his head. "Awwwww hell..."

"...Jonouchi," Yugi had asked from the side, Anzu as well appearing to glance at them from the side.

"Y'll get it in five seconds," he'd muttered in response as he paled, counting down shortly after. "An' three... Two... One..."

"One," the boy questioned, before he was cut off by a shout.

"EXCHANGE OF THE SPIRIT," Ishizu had cried at that moment, a long mental 'FUUUUUUU-' running through his head as he groaned. And as Yugi had stared the blond merely sighed, arms crossed.

"I hate bein' righ'," he growled, Yugi merely staring in silence. Hate, hate, hated...

It didn't take much really to realize that there had been a lot going on during that final match really; it didn't need much more reason as to why after all, and the fact was that as he stood in the lift with Yugi and Ishizu both, there were other things on his mind. First, the tauk... The spirit had remained largely active through the battle, hands constantly prying through Seto's mind as it worked in silence. At the end of the battle however he had heard its voice, the being chuckling lightly as Blue-Eyes floated into existence from its glowing white tablet. "Exactly as planned," it whispered, form unseen at the moment. "Forgive me my guardian... You have proven a worthy host. But the time has come for me to rest," it said almost sadly, "And stand at the King's side once more." Again with the kings... And the 'Gods' too, Obelisk had sure as hell done something to Seto.

But more importantly... "Blue-Eyes," he'd said at the beginning of the match, Yugi looking at him oddly as Seto started the duel. Of all the things that had happened during the fight, that was the point that stood out the most. "S.. He's gonna win usin' Blue-Eyes inst'd 'f Obelisk," he muttered, shaking his head.

Yugi had continued to stare at that, blinking a few times as the blond frowned. "...What?" Oh... Uh... He hadn't realized he'd said it out loud... Whoops. Then again, it was probably more or less better than what happened later on, regardless of present knowledge. If anything, maybe not knowing would have made it easier to pass off the mutterings...

To pass off the look on his face as he wondered why Obelisk would be sacrificed, a fact that actually had his friend turn back with a look that rather plainly said '...You were RIGHT!'

Of course, when the God itself appeared he'd wound up with a headache again... With blind-spots dancing across his vision, words passing through his lips and Yugi listening and watching with a worried frown in place. 'Great God of the Desert and Storm,' he'd whispered, 'He who wields the darkness alongside the light, whose form is unlike any on earth, whose battle with Osiris is unending and whose victory over Apep is celebrated, whose name is SUTEKH,' he continued, the boy beside him growing paler and paler as he spoke, 'I stand before you and ask for your power, I ask that you grant me your strength, I ask,'

"...But I instead REFUSE..." At his Katsuya had jumped, eyes wide as he turned on the monster above. God... God refused to fight, instead kneeling and speaking to his summoner outside the blond's audible range. It held back his attack, instead announcing a trial of sorts. It was strange, so strange that this would happen and yet...

"Jonouchi," Yugi whispered, pulling his friend back into the present as the elevator began to move down. Ishizu stood behind them for the moment, holding her tongue as the boys conversed. As it was, he didn't think she could hear them so... "...During the duel," the boy continued, trailing off as his friend winced.

"Yea... I did it again, I know," he muttered, scratching his head as he turned to the boy. "It's... Pretty weird an'-"

"Actually," the boy responded, "I wanted to ask about that. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to of course," he continued, despite his expression giving away the fact that he would very much prefer it, "But while it's one thing to predict what happens, to predict what happened on the field when the tauk could not is just beyond-"

"You..." The boys turned, Ishizu frowning somewhat as the pair paled. Oh come on, she'd heard that? The woman continued to stare, narrowing her eyes. "You foresaw the events on the field," she questioned, Katsuya mentally groaning in response. The two boys shared an awkward look, both wincing as the lift opened for them to step out. Ohhhh great, this was just what he needed...

Eh... "...It's... A long story..."

"If you like Ishizu," the boy beside him added, "We can explain in Jonouchi's room." Wait what? Explain? But how was he supposed to- And hang on, didn't he get a say in this? "If that's alright with him of course," Yugi hurriedly added, eyes having briefly clouded as his lighter half berated him.

Again the woman stared, before glancing at the door labeled '2' at the side. "...That would be fine," she decided, bowing her head. "After you..."

Katsuya nodded, biting his lip somewhat before moving to open the door. It was a bit of a relief, being this close to the lift really; sure, Malik's room was right beside his, but at least the stairs were right there. The door slid open as the card was accepted, the trio stepping in as it shut behind them. Okay! So... "Er..." He rubbed his head, looking back at Ishizu as the woman stood in silence. "...I don' really know what I'm s'pposed t' tell y'..."

"You could start with the precognition... You claim that you foresaw the final result of the match," she asked, Katsuya nodding somewhat hesitantly. Yea... Yea he had...

Damn it, why hadn't he just asked to talk about this in his room rather than blabbing in front of Ishizu? Katsuya shook himself, taking a seat on a chair as he winced. "Well... I did see it... Kinda. Jus' a flash," he explained with a cough, "I get 'm a lot... Er..."

"We actually don't know too much about this," Yugi admitted, crossing his arms. "In fact, had it been anyone else I likely wouldn't have brought this up further than where we got in the elevator. However," he continued, bowing his head, "It occurred to me that your tauk, as something with a similar power, might hold some information on this..." Er... Given what the tauk itself had told him, he didn't think so. Though he supposed it didn't hurt.

"...I see," the woman muttered in response, frowning somewhat. "Flashes... Your visions manifest as 'flashes'," Ishizu repeated in question, the blond across from her nodding as the woman's eyes widened. "How is that even possible," she whispered, shaking her head. "Flashes... That is how the tauk's ability manifests, first as flashes, then through dreams and visions, but that cannot happen until after the item is received..!"

And therein lay the other point of confusion. "We've already concluded that the items, while involved," Yugi explained with a slight frown, "Are not the trigger. But... As to what is," he continued, looking from Katsuya to Ishizu as he trailed off. "...Well..." He wanted to know if the tauk could figure that out...

That would be a 'no'. Silence settled over the air at that 'request', Ishizu frowning as she picked up on the unasked question. "...Even the tauk cannot discern that," she stated, bowing her head. "In fact, it has been a fair amount of confusion since the evening at the museum, my inability to discern your past and future. Of course," the woman added with a short nod, "I realize now that this 'ability' is likely what interfered in my readings, though that does not change the fact that the tauk's view of you is blinded..."

"Yea... I know," Katsuya sighed, shaking his head as the two frowned. "Got one hell 'f a dream where it explained tha' an'- ... ...Eh..." Crap, shouldn't have gone that far.

The others blinked, Yugi narrowing his eyes in confusion. "The tauk itself... Told you these things," Ishizu repeated almost blankly, eyes wide with incredulity as Katsuya stared back nervously. "The tauk has a spirit?"

"Er... N-Not really," he admitted with a cough, shaking his head. "I mean, I don' get it either but..." Ahhh... How to explain... Oh! "Hey, Yugi," he asked abruptly, his friend blinking in response. "Does th' normal Yugi r'member back in Pegasus' castle," he continued, "Back when we were guardin' yer head fr'm it?" There was another nod, the blond moving on. "Did 'e tell y' abou' what we fought off?"

Yugi blinked, before nodding yet again after a short moment. "He mentioned an enormous gold eye with shadows attacking from the sides," he said plainly, "But what does-"

"Tha' was th' Eye," Katsuya said seriously, the two in the room blinking as he went on. "An th' flames y' saw earlier, tha' toothy prick controllin' my body at th' pier... Tha' was the Rod," he continued, Yugi's eyes widening. "I don' know what they are 'xactly, but 'pparently they ain't s'pposed t' be seen by most people... An'... Well, they ain't exactly normal, bein' items an all..."

The two continued to stare, Yugi looking down at his own item in question as he swallowed. "Then, the puzzle-" The puzz- OH!

"Er... No, tha's all you," he quickly shouted with a slight laugh, shaking his head. "Y' don' need t' worry abou' that... Trus' me, you'd 've known if I w's seein' anythin' like tha'!" The boy appeared to sigh with relief at this, Ishizu turning to frown.

"So the Tauk... It also has a form then..."

Katsuya nodded, scratching his head again as he spoke. "...Yea... A lot nicer though, tha's f'r sure... 'Parently it'll show up in people's dreams when it's getting their futures for y', showin' up as somethin' they're more familiar with... ...I didn' get t' have tha'," he added somewhat dryly, attempting to laugh the fact off as the others continued to stare. "Yea..." This conversation... It was so awkward...

"Such a strange ability," Ishizu muttered after a few moments, arms crossed as she looked back to the blond. "And you have... No clues as to what this is," she asked, "None at all?"

"Nothin' more than dreamin' abou' goats an' piles 'f angry dead guys," he muttered, the others frowning in response before the PA at the side crackled and interrupted their thoughts.

-ATTENTION,- Kyouko's voice called over the system, Katsuya staring at the device as she went on. -All lights outside that of personal rooms will be shut off in five minutes exactly, with doors locking to all those outside. Please return to your rooms immediately,- the woman continued, -And for your own safety and the safety of others, remain within the rooms until morning. Thank you.-

The device clicked off with those words, Katsuya still staring as a frown came over his face. "Eh... A curfew," he muttered, pulling a face.

Ishizu nodded somewhat in response to the announcement, before leaving for the door. "So it seems," she said plainly, tapping the button on the side. "My door is currently open to the halls, so I should be fine until I return to it of course... But I believe I have overstayed my welcome. ... ...Jonouchi was it," she asked after a brief silence, the blond nodding in response. The woman smiled somewhat, bowing her head as she stepped into the hall. "...I will see if anything my family has recorded over the generations can explain this ability of yours," she offered, before turning to Yugi as the boy made to leave as well. "Until then... If I could speak to you in private, my Pharaoh?"

Yugi stared, the title catching him somewhat off guard. Nonetheless however the boy nodded, deciding not to miss whatever important information the woman planned to pass on. "Of course," he responded, before turning back to his friend. "...Jonouchi," he said with his usual 'smirk', bowing his head somewhat. "I'll see you in the morning, alright?"

"Heh! 'F course," he answered, watching as the pair left into the hall. "'F course..." As the door shut, leaving him alone in the ship room the blond found himself leaving for the washroom, shutting the door behind him and starting up a shower with a somewhat depressed expression in place. After all that... All that... Why couldn't he say anything more on what was going on? Why couldn't he just spit it all out, about the monsters on the field and outside it, instead of holding everything back? He'd come clean about the dreams after all, about all the dreams and the 'flashes' both... But why?

Katsuya pulled his shirt off as the shower water heated up, looking into the mirror before falling back with a choke. As he looked closely at what he saw, looking down at his chest, he was reminded of that reason after all; for across his chest, where Ra's lightning had pierced him, was a thick, ragged looking scar.

Something that, despite the nature of the wound, managed to rather frighteningly resemble the monster's clawed hand.

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The computer room was just as dark as she had expected really, given all of the monitors remaining power in absence of the 'private lighting'. All 'unnecessary' lights had been shut off after all, leaving bedrooms and anything connected to the emergency power remaining. In other words, medical equipment and the devices sitting before her now. Seto looked to where Mokuba sat in front of the desk and screens, the boy typing away at something before turning to his sister with a jolt. "Ah- Nee-sama," the boy exclaimed, before a grin came over his face. "Congratulations on your match," he said with a laugh, pushing the chair from the desk as he continued. "I had it recording on one of the spare monitors... It was so cool! Bringing out Blue-Eyes right at the end, beating Ishizu's trap like that..." Ishizu had a trap? ...Hn. Well...

If her brother thought it was 'cool'... Seto smiled somewhat, walking over as she shook her head. "Hn! Did you expect anything less," she 'asked', the boy merely smirking in response as his sister peered over his shoulder at the screens. Alright, besides the fact that he'd been typing away at a video game that was currently minimized... "How is the translation going?"

"Almost done," the boy announced proudly, sitting up in his seat. "I've got a program working on it that will finish within two hours," he continued, the woman raising her eyebrows in slight surprise. Two hours...

Not bad... "Hn... Too late for you then," she said plainly, the clock showing that it was well beyond the boy's usual bed-time. "How about you go sleep alright," she continued, jerking her head toward the door. "Get some rest..."

The boy nodded, hopping off the chair without a bit of argument. "Got it! Make sure you save my game though," he added as he headed for the door, Seto raising her eyebrows and looking at the screen as she opened up the window in question.

Pokemon. On an emulator. Hahaha... It really figured actually... The sound of the door closing came from behind, the woman shaking her head and doing as her brother had requested with a slight sigh. "Nothing changes," she muttered, watching the game 'save' and close before taking a seat in the chair. Nothing at all... She still hoped that he would get into duel monsters of course, but really, with all signs pointing to 'no'...

The image of Ra flashed back on the screen as she opened the 'main window', the program decoding it appearing at its side. Looking at the loading bar near the bottom however, she had to wince, a scowl coming over her face. Two hours... Just became three. It was going to be a long night she thought with a growl, a long and shower-less night filled with- "Nnnh!" Seto jumped out from the chair as the screen flashed, hands gripping the desk as she stood and stared at the card. Impossible... This... 'Great God of all he travels, who creates all he sees,' the text read, 'Whose eye is the warrior Sehkmet, whose knowledge is unsurpassed, who sails on the evening barge of a million years-' "N...Nhnnn..."

Seto fell back against the chair, hand on her head as she struggled to calm herself. The words... The woman continued to back away from the screen, fingers digging into her head as the words seemed to echo and embed themselves in her mind. She understood the words, she could read all of them... 'For the first rise I grant the power of control,' it stated beneath the chant. 'For the second, with the offerings of life I shall rise during the evening and smite all those whom oppose thee. And with the third power,' it had continued, 'At the sun's highest point, the true form of God will be revealed, and with proper tribute eradicate all those before them. Such is the decree...'

Of Ra. All of it... She read all of it..! And as she crumpled to the floor on her knees, eyes wide and unblinking the woman shook, not even able to hear as a small warning flashed on the far screen. What was going on... What was...

"What's happening to me..?"

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AN: And so you see, Jonouchi isn't the only one dealing with weird crap, though it's only a matter of time before he's found out. Of course, his ability doesn't transfer too well into a computer game, so you can bet that this won't happen until after the Noa arc...

Speaking of which, did you enjoy your super chapter? I just couldn't split this up you see...

The next chapter is kicking off the Virtual World, with any and all events leading up to it and then some! (This includes Bakura VS Malik, from Seto's POV; Kaiba was watching from the compy. Of course, since it's on the computer, it passes much quicker...) Anyways.

Expect lots of design work to come flying in, but until then, enjoy your spoiler image below.

Not to mention the hype that comes with this fact; more questions will be raised in this ark as a few are answered. Many, many more...

In other news, thanks to Kakamashi7 (who is sadly still catching up, and last reviewed on chapter 35), we now have a voice for Fem-Kaiba! It's the voice of 'Nana Osaki' from 'Nana'; and it's very important that you realize it's Osaki's voice, the voice of the one with short black hair in other words, as there are two characters named 'Nana' in that show; and they sound really different.

Anonymous Review Responses

Lots of reviews this time around! Concerning the first, Taffy, use e-mail, we have it for a reason; this isn't the place to have private chatter silly~. As for the others...

Don't worry Kakamashi7, she gets it back! (Review is on chapter 35 if you forget by this point.) As for the songs, wow is that ever creepy.

Not to mention timed so depressingly… Don't give up on reading by the way; you're doing a great job at catching up, and I'm sure you'll make it!

Also, on the voice… 'Nana Osaki'... ...OH MY- I think you got it! This voice works perfectly! Thank you very much for your suggestion Kakamashi, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the fanfic!

Oh Jonouchi's in very big trouble Iona! Though not as much as Mai. Not yet any ways…

As for how he squirrelled out, just look up. He made it, but then he got caught again… And when the truth all comes up, it'll probably be just as nasty as Mai's situation.

And yes, it's probably for the best that we didn't get Kaiba's 'is it just me or did something else happen' face. If you know what I mean… (And what Ryuzaki means, ehehehe. …This gets so much worse with the gender barrier.)

In any case, on we go!

Hey, not a problem Randomprojects! Reviews are appreciated regardless of timing; I'll always answer, and quite frankly, I can sympathize with when school interfered with my own free time as well.

And yes! Yes he did notice! Not so much a 'finally noticed' as a 'finally cornered him on it' though… It really is going to get worse, but as to how, I cannot say…

Hehehehe… I just love getting guesses! And you're quite right, he's older than the main cast; in fact, if you look waaaaayyy back at a large doodle-sheet I put in the fan art section, there's an age guide; when Mahaad was 9, Jonouchi's past self would have been around 18-ish. That's about all you get from me though.

And hehehehehe… I'll just sit here and laugh at the rest; you're right to say that something feels off, but I'm not telling you why! The most I'll tell you is that those ghosts aren't cards…

Though their ties to the cards are very, VERY strong, so you were still very close with your assumptions. Don't worry about the hooks Random; all will be revealed in time..~

Hey there CynicalGamer, nice to hear from you again! And hahaha, yea, after a while you just know when it'll happen…

And yesssss, I'm good at the chilling reveals aren't I. Ironically however, a lot of this is still passed off by the group; and the ones who heard things like the chanting are Yami and Malik-Possessing-Anzu, so there's no more reveals for the rest of the crowd! And yessss… I was actually wondering if anyone would catch that before I made it a relevant point; whenever a card is activated, I have the character's tap the disk. Jonouchi stops this about half-way through, and simply waves his hand.

On to the next chapter review… Yea. Wow. You really have to feel for Mai; what she's going through is both less and more jarring than in the anime, where it was memories being lost. Sure, Mai remembers everything here, but she also gets the trauma of all that on-field gore and pain… Worse, by the time she realizes what Jou was getting at… Well, yea. That dream confusion certainly didn't help.

And hahahahha! Yep! I had fun drawing that… In any case, I always wondered what was going through Kaiba's head at that time… Because as focused as Kaiba is, Malik could have very well killed everyone on that airship if he wanted. So… Yea.

Of course, the conversation was moved, and the reason behind it differed completely…

And yep! Finangle. Now you know! And knowing is half the- -shotshotshot-

In other news, you have the answer to your question right there! He didn't avoid it. But he didn't get everything in the end. Which is going to kick Jou right in the rear…

Speaking of Jou and his past life, I can't actually say; as I said, anything concerning Bakura is filled with spoiler, and not just with Jonouchi.

Dying is never fun! Think of it like pokemon though; constant fainting is a pain, but the occasional faint combined with many wins makes for a strong bond. Which has never really made sense to me, but whatever.

Yea, you can get used to the creepy-sweetness of the Insect Queen… And on another note, expect those nightmares in the next chapter, and enjoy the above!

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Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that should put Jonouchi in a corner. Now.

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The chapter title 'Revelations' refers not to the bible, but to a number of its definitions. The first is simply the act of revealing or disclosing something, which happens a lot as you can see.

In theology however, it's specifically God's disclosure... And seeing how Obelisk/Sutekh (I call him this to keep him separate from Priest(ess) Set, who was likely named after said god) has a few choice words for Kaiba...

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It's time for a note on psychopaths! Psychopaths are people without empathy, unable to feel for anyone but themselves. They tend to 'care' about things simply for their own gain, and often end up as CEO's and other powerful people. In fact, most psychopath's that aren't sociopaths aren't murderers... Killing someone would get them absolutely nothing in return, and simply cause problems.

Now sociopaths on the other hand are a special little branch of psychos. They don't truly feel anything, save for rage and anything directly tied to said rage. As a result, their only release of endorphins and fun things like that (which cause... Happy... Things...) is... Well... Acting on that rage. These are the guys who kill animals as kids and move on to people later on.

As mentioned before, 'Yami-Malik' is the very embodiment of sociopathy. He is not the embodiment of psychopathy however, for this reason:

Remember kids! All sociopaths are psychopaths, but not all psychopaths are sociopaths!

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This section was both easy and hard to right. It's a scene I've had playing in my head a lot, hence the ease... But it was more of 'how much is revealed' that I was stuck on. In the end, we came to a bizarre half-way point. Initially, Jonouchi reveals his weird Egypt dreams. And to Yami this makes a fair amount of sense; shadow games and Egypt all tie together after all. And then the precognition comes in, and with all of the weirdness and such, it's no longer blind faith by that point; it's more that no one can disprove what Jonouchi is saying, it's too weird for him to lie about, and, well... No one knows what the heck to say.

And of course near the end, the precognition is discovered by Ishizu as well, in yet another 'just TRY and avoid talking' situation... Though by that point it's one of those 'we mind as well bring you in on it' situations.

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Originally, Kaiba's obviously far more curt about the translation deal… But besides Kaiba bringing logic into play for timing (It's been like… 3 minutes since Mokuba was asked to do this, seriously), the manga made it seem as though Mokuba was having others translating it. In this case however, its legitimately a solo-effort, so Kaiba's not going to run in and say 'HURRY UP' to her little brother just yet.

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Magic unlocking powers? What? This was partially to make up for/explain all of the Rod's powers…

Because seriously, Malik deflects bullets and destroys sentry guns with that thing later on. WHAT.

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And as a matter of fact, yes, it really looks like flirting from the sides when you think of the 'first name basis' rule. It gets better later on too. On a more serious note, Ishizu was actually not supposed to use the tauk to duel. At all. She actually says it herself in a mental monologue that she's 'not allowed' to use the tauk to see her opponent's moves, but 'for her brother's sake', she would do it nonetheless.

This is quite likely why it backfired on her.

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Bit of irony here, but Kaiser Glider shares a bit of resemblance with Ra. Hnnnnn...

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Did you catch the Death Note reference? Both of them? …Shameless, I know.

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Lots of cards in the manga and anime act differently, but Virus Canon in particular stands out; it's a spell in the anime and manga, and removes ten magic cards instead of just one!

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Sometimes Yugi's cheers feel so damn random... Though it's a little interesting to note that Kaiba did in fact respond to the cheer in the Japanese with as close to a positive response as you can get with Kaiba; and 'wait for me' tends to be a very friendship related thing in anime last I checked...

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Hey! Time for some information on Set/Sutekh! Due to the relation between Set and Osiris, and the fact that an Obelisk… Isn't… A god… I made that God 'Set'.

This actually works out; Obelisk is specifically the 'God Soldier of the Obelisk'… Obelisks themselves represent the Sun's rays, in other words, bits of Ra. So as an offshoot, Obelisk's card name technically means 'God Soldier of Ra'…

And guess what, Set could be considered as such, for reasons I've covered already.

As for the 'chant', Set was originally considered the god of desert and storms both. As time passed, and his battle with Osiris and Horus entered the lore, he became the god of Darkness as well, though not in the malevolent nature that Apep was; in fact, Set became known as a guardian against Apep during the night, his domain, protecting Ra during his journey at this time.

And of course, this means he always beat Apep in the end.

As for the 'whose form is unlike any on earth' line, that's because Set's head, and the animal he occasionally appears as, doesn't actually have a real counter part. There have been theories; a fennec fox is as close as they got to something with a forked tail and big boxy ears, but really, do you see a God with a fennec head?

Still, the 'Set-Beast' is freaking AWESOME.

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Again, more 'big-sister-ness' rather than 'angry-Kaiba-ness' here, due to everything being run by Mokuba this time around. Also, the tournament technically started off around 9-ish, so given the time it normally takes for each match...

It's late. Mokuba should be in bed. So... Yea.

Also Kaiba's getting a little softer, it's just that Mokuba tends to be the only one that highlights this. (Save rare moments with Jonouchi... Very... Rare...)

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Not many notes today, other than the fact that I obviously added to the vision (fun stuff!). This is what happens with manga chapters!

And in other news...

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FanArt and My Art Section

Also known as shameless self-advertisement. Hehehehe.

Just take out the spaces and you'll have your link! We have spoilers here, but as spoiler-y as it is, it's still in the name of good fun concept!

SpoilerConcept: The Court and Apprentices(WIP) – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ PriestsWIP-1. jpg - Because hey! The pharaoh, Atem's dad rather, had his own court of priests (plus one girl)! As to what happened to them... Follow after me along the top row! Killed by criminal, murdered, retired, died, still present (His apprentice isn't though), murdered annnnnnd... Murdered!

Hang on here, that's three dead bodies with no explanation... HMMMM. All will be revealed! ...Eventually! Until then, enjoy the fact that I based the guys with the rod and tauk off Siegfried and Mai of all people... For no reason other than design fun. (The rest of the priests are based on their images; Karim's predecessor looked identical to him, and Mahaad's I just didn't bother changing. Both of those two have a father-son relationship though.)

And if you haven't guessed, Akhnaden's apprentice is not only an OC, but kinda missing by the time the Millennium World happens. In fact, he's missing a fair while before those events!

And no, the clothes weren't coloured. I didn't want to post the chapter without this... So ignoring the failed attempt at a majority of the 'original court' (and on poor Karim...)... Enjoy!

And until then, I'll be working on this next chapter!