Epiphanic Purgatory

For a few moments in the stormy, rainless sky of the virtual world Seto seemed to simply stand where she had been for the last number of minutes, clenching her fists and shaking with rage. Most of the others were taking shelter in the mouth of the cave, staring at the woman's bowed head. Watching as rain slowly began to fall from the again clouding sky, first as a light rain and soon as a torrent of constant water to continue to soak the already skin-tight clothing and cause it to stick to her form. But rather than moving, be it to get out of the cold or even just to make some effort to hide now clearly visible scars across her back, she simply stood there. Waiting in silence as the others attempted to speak with Noa and leave the girl to her silent rage.

Noa hadn't said anything since Gozaburo's disappearance either after all. But despite the fact that they would ordinarily have never cared, he was likely their only way out. Their only hope, their only escape from Gozaburo's haunting and evidently still existent eye... And it was curled in on himself in silence, with tears running down his face. "...Noa," Anzu asked hesitantly, a few of the others keeping an eye on Seto as she continued to stand out in the rain. "Noa," the woman repeated, reaching out with a hand only for the boy to flinch away in apparent fear. Anzu bit her lip, tilting her head somewhat before speaking once more. "...Are you alright..?"

Probably not, to put it frankly. "This is so wrong-aru," Honda muttered from the side, watching as the woman tried and failed to get the boy to speak. The dog had 'shrunk down' for the sake of space, now resembling the strange miniature black dog despite it 'standing' on his haunches. "How is this the same guy we were fighting before-aru? He's... Completely..." Silent. Terrified.

Hell, 'broken' was probably the right one. Otogi shrugged from where he sat beside the small dog, shaking his head. "I don't know... I mean, I know he was 'crazy' during that fight but..." The teen fell silent, looking off to the side where Katsuya was rubbing his head. The blond had been doing this the entire time. Out of guilt, out of worry, out of just about any emotion that he again had running through his body and- "...Jonouchi," the teen asked with a frown, snapping his friend from his thoughts. "You alright?"

The others more or less turned to silently repeat the question with their eyes, the 'Other Yugi' as well staring from the body he still held control over. Everyone was staring... Mokuba, Shizuka... Even Ren. "...'M fine," he eventually said, staring at the ground as he turned away awkwardly. "I jus'... ...When he had my body, I wasn' even in it any more... ...'S a scary feelin'," he muttered, crossing his arms. If it could have been called a feeling... Katsuya shook his head, only just able to turn back to the others as he continued to speak. "Horrible feelin'... Couldn' feel anythin', couldn' think prop'rly... An' I..." The blond's eyes drifted over Noa, and as he stared the others followed the awkward gaze in an almost fearful curiosity. "...All I could think 'f was gettin' my body back," he muttered, eyes dimming as he leaned back against the cavern stone. "...An' abou' th' quickest way t' do it..."

"Then... You think you did this," Yugi asked almost bluntly, looking to his friend with what looked to be concern.

The teen's response was the continued stare toward Noa, not even bothering to look away when Seto finally started to move back inside. She, it seemed, had gotten over whatever thoughts she had needed to clear up. And after all, this wasn't the time to sit around. They had limited time, for themselves and those outside, even without considering the 'shadow games' involved. They had to move... And as Katsuya told himself this he began to walk toward Noa, those near the boy tensing as the blond held his almost dead stare.

"Ah- Nihan," Shizuka warned, frowning somewhat as she reached out to grab at her brother's arm. "Nihan... You aren't going to do anything ri-"

"I won'," he said quickly, stooping down to the boy's level and watching as Noa cringed and pulled back. "...'Do anythin',' I mean..."

The others seemed to take this answer as enough of a defense, going back to their silent staring as they watched Seto continue toward the cave. "He won't say anything," Anzu told him worriedly, gaze growing more and more depressed as she looked from her friend to the boy. "I've tried everything but all he does is curl up tighter... I know something's wrong," she continued, the serpent on her arm seeming to lay on her arm in a similar mood, "But to fix it..."

"You won't be able to fix something like this," Ren said somewhat quietly. The two turned as the snake stared, an almost distant look in his eyes. "Something like this... I don't know what you did," he added to the blond at the side, his own eyes almost narrowed in anger if anything, "But whatever it was, it's serious..."

Katsuya grimaced at that, turning away somewhat while the others moved to 'greet', or at least be glared at, by a returning and drenched Seto. The woman looked far less than pleased to say the least and... "...I know," he told the snake, looking back to Noa as he opted to momentarily ignore the woman behind him. "But... I gotta try an' snap 'm outta this too righ'," he continued with a swallow. "Even if it's jus' t' get outta here..." Even if just to leave the kid behind for history to repeat itself... ...Damn it, even without being a computer he was a prick..!

In that moment, Shizuka seemed to tense, as though having suddenly realized something important. She came over, frowning somewhat and looking toward the boy before her while she stood behind her brother. "...Nihan," she whispered, the others following her with their eyes as Noa looked up and stared almost curiously despite still obvious fear. "...Nihan, when you were... ...Doing what you did," she asked awkwardly, shaking her head. "What did you..." The girl trailed off, swallowing as her brother bowed his head. Memories. He saw memories, but he didn't want to share that with them, not these ones. Getting run over by a taxi was a particularly strong one that had been used, and...

And each time the details changed he thought to himself, rubbing his head with a grimace. The driver became clear. The screaming passengers became clear, the horrified faces as they realized what had happened... The two passersby on the sidewalk, who had remained for little more than a split second as the sirens entered the air became clear and- Katsuya shook himself as the details continued to rush into his mind, before tensing as he looked at the hands he'd been holding his head in. Noa was still staring. Looking over each of them, his eyes drifting to and from each person in some strange and twisted curiosity as his fear increased. That wasn't the problem right now though. These hands... "What th' hell," Katsuya muttered hoarsely, voice slowly raising in pitch as he stood to his feet and stumbled back against his sister. "What is-"

"Not real," the boy before them whispered, pulling back with wide eyes as he began to laugh. Um... What..! "Which means... He's not dead," he continued, a crazed smile coming on his face as he stood up and laughed. "Dad... He's not dead... Mom's not dead... I'm not... I'm not dead," he cried, the others continuing to tense and shudder as they looked over their own altering forms. "I'm not dead," Noa continued to laugh, "I'm not, I'm NOT," he cried, those around him momentarily staring at the crazed child in fear. "I'm... Not... I'm... Hehehe... Hnhn... I'm..."

"Oh my god," Shizuka whispered, now childish hands covering her mouth as those around had their own varied reactions to what was happening. She was in that skirt again, with the t-shirt and ribbon, her hair almost the same style as it was almost ten years from the fact and- "I was there," she cried, hurriedly holding her arms close as she stumbled back. "I was there," she repeated in horror, "We were both..!"

On the side walk. Almost nine years ago, on the sidewalk as they walked to the beach Katsuya realized coldly as the boy before them continued to laugh. But they were just kids, just...

Kids. Exactly like... "What is this," Anzu shouted with a slight tinge of fear, looking over the sun-dress and years younger form she was in, her hair seeming to lengthen slightly as it was pulled up into pigtails against her will. "What-!" Yugi's hair looked almost normal at the shortened length it was... Honda's dog-form had shrunk down to some brown puppy with an almost simplistic design, Mokuba was almost infantile...

"Now... Now we match," Noa was laughing, tears running down his wide eyed and grinning face as the others looked over the forms they'd held nine years ago. If the boy had even seemed slightly sane beforehand then the facade had long since broken by this point, and as his clothes shifted to the very outfit he had died in he continued to wail hysterically. "Now we can... We can all be friends," he was crying, the grin resembling a broken cheshire cat's smile. "I finally have friends..! We can stay here forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and-"

"HHHHAAAAAHH!" A high-pitched and enraged scream tore the air, the three children standing by Noa forced to the side as a young girl in capris tore past to slam her hand on the boy's throat. Her hair was shoulder length, with a band of sorts behind her ears to hold it out of her eyes... The shirt was just a spaghetti strapped tank-top, typical for the summer wear, easily matching the sandals on her feet. The eyes on the other hand... Revealed everything. "Change us back NOW," Seto snarled, pinning the boy to the wall and bringing back another fist to prepare an enraged punch. "Change us BACK," the girl continued, all others staring almost incredulously as the boy continued to laugh.

"N-Nee-sama," a much younger voice protested, the now toddler-sized form of Seto's brother stumbling forward in oversized shorts as he attempted to grab the girl's arm. "Nee-sama, don't! Leave him alo-"

"Wait, that's KAIBA," Honda protested with a short bark, still in the form of the puppy he'd been since his body vanished. The dog continued to stare, mouth hanging partially open in shock. "But how- I mean, I've seen you before, I... I..!"

Seto continued to hold her 'brother' against the wall, eyes wide with rage as the nearly unrecognizable girl snarled. Yet there was no response... No response at all... "Hahaha... Hahahahaha..." Laughing. He was still laughing, laughing, endlessly and manically as he stared off. "I don't need to follow my daddy to the real world," the boy rambled through his tears, "I don't need to at all, we can all stay here, stay here and be friends and live forever and play forever..." Let's... Not... Please... "It's not that bad," Noa shouted with crazed cheer, the boy dropped to the ground like a scum covered rag as Seto stepped back in disgust and shock both. "It's not bad at all... You get used to it after a while," he continued, moving jerkily and puppet like toward his 'friends' as the others stepped back. "And I won't be bad, just please don't leave," the boy begged, tripping forward in his desperation, "Please don't leave, don't leave, don't leave," he wailed, "I promise I won't tell him you're alive just don't leave me, don't leave don't leave dontleavedontleavedont-" Noa's words continued to blur as he reached out with a hand, shaking and wavering before the crowd as they stared in horror. What did they do... What did they do, nothing they said was-

-crack!-

The rambling cut off the moment Seto's fist connected with the boy's face, the now 'tallest' member of the group staring at the girl in shock as the others choked. "Cut the CRAP," she snarled, Noa holding a hand to his face in shock from where he'd fallen back to the ground. "So you're DEAD," the girl sneered callously, "Well LIVE with it! You aren't going to damn us all just because you're too weak to accept the facts and move on! Even if I have to kill you again to get that message across," she went on, cracking her knuckles, and stepping forward with another growl, "I will do so with ease..."

"N-Nee-sama..!" The girl turned with narrowed eyes, her brother grabbing her arm from behind and below with a frown. "Nee-sama," he continued to protest, almost dangling from the limb as he pouted, "Don't... Don't hurt him, he's just a kid..!"

"Believe me," Seto quickly responded, looking back in rage, "THIS is no CHILD-"

"It hurts..." The crowd froze, looking to where Noa was now simply staring at the cavern ceiling, laying on his back as he cried. "...It hurts..." ...Hurts... Katsuya swallowed, stepping back somewhat with narrowed eyes. Now what was he talking about this- "Why did he leave me," Noa whispered, Honda tentatively walking over in a far more puppy-like form than before while a now 'hieroglyph-less' Ren did the same. "Why did he leave me again..?" The boy rolled over somewhat to curl in on himself, Ren appearing to tilt his head as he frowned while the dog beside him 'poked' the boy's side. "...Am I useless now," he cried, wringing his hands as tears continued to fall. "Does... Does he not love me anymore..? Does he..."

"...Noa," Mokuba whispered, walking over despite his sister's protests and the slight 'stumble' his feet kept forcing on him. "Noa... Gozaburo isn't the man you knew... He isn't even the one I knew," he pressed, giving a slight shudder as he looked down at the boy to explain a fact he had thought impossible. "But you need to stop thinking like this... He was using you," he pressed, standing over the boy's side with a wide-eyed frown. "And he wasn't doing anything else..! Gozaburo isn't someone you should be trying to impress, you'll just get hurt and-"

"It already hurts," Noa said through his tears with an almost haunting tone, slowly sitting up as Mokuba jumped back and swallowed. Briefly... His hair had almost gone brown, for just a second but... "Gnnngh... Gh..."

The boy wiped his eyes as the others stared, loud sniffles coming over the air. The question of the day was effectively 'now what' but... "Tch... I've had it," Seto growled, clenching her fists despite not moving from her spot. "You might have them fooled," the girl spat in the incredibly contrasting tone to her 'regular' voice, "But don't think you can do that to me! Either you turn us back and let us out now," she warned, "Or-"

"Oi- Calm down," Katsuya said somewhat plainly from the side, the others blinking. Seto appeared momentarily frozen in incredulity of course... He supposed his tone had to do with that, given that he sounded 'mature-ish' for once in his life, but nonetheless. "He ain' tryin' anythin' this time," he continued honestly, almost reaching out to hold the girl back before deciding against it. Katsuya looked from Noa back to Seto again, swallowing as he went on. "This kinda thing... Whaddya think he'd get from actin' like this?"

"And exactly how would you know that 'trying' didn't involve something negative anyways," Seto pressed, narrowing her eyes as the others nodded in agreement.

"That's right," Shizuka said with a swallow, shaking her head nervously. "How do you..."

The blond bit his lip, looking back to Noa before taking in a deep breath. "I jus'... He's been through a lot more than y' think, alrigh'," he said, a number of those before them looking quite unwilling to take the words as they were. "I-" How did he explain this... All of this..? Ren of all people seemed to be the only one not staring with narrowed eyes, not to say he was particularly pleased about anything but...

"What was it like," another voice cut in, the others watching as Yugi, for once a number of inches taller than Mokuba, stepped forward in a hooded t-shirt of sorts. "When you and Noa switched places," he continued seriously, "What happened..?" What happened..?

All eyes were turned on him right now, leaving Katsuya to shift rather uncomfortably under all the attention. He didn't even know what to say, but they were still turned on him... And... "...We need t' keep movin'," he finally said, moving past the others as cheap brown sandals scraped across the stones. "There's gotta be someway out righ'..?" Some way that didn't involve all of this...

"Well... I... I guess so," Mokuba muttered in agreement, starting off after the boy with a swallow. "But Katsuya-nii," he continued, "You haven't answered our questions and- oof!" The boy again tripped, quickly helped up by his sister before the girl pulled him on her back. "A-Ah, nee-sama-"

"We need to hurry," she said plainly, moving far ahead of the group as the others shrugged at what had almost been an expected reaction. "And Jonouchi..." The blond blinked, watching as she looked back to him. "While there's really 'no need', I would very much prefer it if you explained what the hell was going on," the girl growled, her friend tensing in response.

"G-Gn..."

"What she said," came another voice, the others briefly raising their eyebrows as Otogi ran up in an oversized hooded sweater, his hair more or less cut short. Now that was an interesting sight... Otogi shorter than his sister, with short hair, dressed in winter clothing... (Wait, wasn't this all 'summer' time stuff-) "If there's anything that could happen because of this Jonouchi, you need to tell us now."

Damn that sounded weird with a kid's voice. Either way! "Ah- Nothin's gonna happen," he protested, gritting his teeth as he went red.

"Well then prove it," Anzu said with a slight frown, she and Shizuka both making sure Noa didn't wander off or break into another fit as they moved to pick him up from the side and help him forward to walk on. "How bad could it have possibly been?" How bad..?

Katsuya stopped walking, as did all those others while Seto looked back from ahead. They'd only just started moving but... H-Heh... A question like that... "...When yer in tha' situation... Without a body," he clarified, not looking up from the ground as he swallowed. "...I couldn' feel anythin'," he whispered under his breath. "Even though i's jus' f'r a moment... Yer emotions 'r jus 'gone'," he continued, "There ain' nothin' t' control what y' do... Not ev'n y'rself." Not a single thing to control him other than a pre written 'program'... And a bare minimum of instinct remaining from his thoughts. And that... That... "W' tha' in mind... After all tha', an' after what I did... I might not be able t' f'rgive 'm," Katsuya said with a swallow, turning away to take shuddering breaths. "But I sure as hell can't blame 'm either... Not if he was like tha' f'r this long..."

"...Jonouchi," Yugi said from behind, before the blond cut him off.

"He really did see it y' know," he said quietly, those around frowning somewhat in response. "Gozaburo's death. W's usin' th' security camera's in th' buildin'... Saw his mom die to," the boy continued, Anzu and Yugi both tensing at the mention of the suicidal woman, "An' th' fact is, even if he reacted normally... Knowing th' emotions yer feelin' ain't yours 's jus'... Not..."

"I'm sorry."

The others blinked, slowly looking back as Noa held himself close and looked to the ground from between his 'aides'. "Wh... What was that," Anzu asked carefully, as though expecting another crazed ramble from the broken child that she was attempting to hold upward. "You said-"

"I'm sorry," Noa repeated, dull eyes staring at the ground before he began to walk forward. "...I'll help you find the exit now," he continued, the others blinking in response. An ex-

He was going to help them find a... "So then there's another way out," Otogi asked quickly, turning from the side with an almost incredulous laugh.

The others stared in almost wide-eyed agreement, Honda giving a hopeful bark from the ground as he wagged his tail. "Ah... So then I won't be stuck like this forever-aru! Hahaha!"

Noa seemed to stare at the dog in confusion, frowning as it froze in response. The look he was giving it... "...Sunny..." Sun-

Ohhhhh right... "E... Erf!" Before he could give another sound Noa reached over, pulling the dog close as he squirmed. "H-HEY! WHAT THE HELL-ARU!"

Whatever complaints Honda had were completely ignored as Noa continued to hold the dog, staring forward with somewhat dead eyes. "...Daddy closed all the exits," the boy was saying, Honda giving a pitiful whine as Ren laughed in silence while climbing back up his partner's robes. "No one can escape here..." Wh-

WHAT! "W... Hang on..! If that's the case, then don't just say that you have an idea," Ren protested, tensing from his position on Anzu's shoulder while the others stared with almost broken expressions. "Honestly! Don't lead us on!"

The others appeared to be prepared to voice their own responses just as quickly, but before this could happen the boy continued. "Daddy closed all the exits," Noa continued blankly, "But not my 'door'." A door...

Wait, 'his' door? He didn't remember anything about... "What're you talkin' abou'," Katsuya muttered, shaking his head as he stared at the boy. "What door..?"

The boy looked to the side nervously, as though expecting all those around him to attack with no warning. "There's a door," Noa 'explained', blinking multiple times before continuing on. "I..." His grip on Honda abruptly tightened, and as the dog gasped for air he ran forward and past the silent and either scowling or simply staring 'friends' at the sides. "I have an idea," Noa shouted, eyes wide with apparent 'sanity' and 'clear thought'. "Follow me," he continued, "We have to hurry!"

And with little other choice they did just that.

While hells of all shapes and variant forms were occurring in the minds of the eight, technically ten people, trapped in the Virtual World, there was a more minor form of hell occurring on the air ship that had been left behind. Following the lock down of the ship and disappearance of most passengers, Keiichi had found himself standing against the wall and door of the room he was currently sharing with Ishizu, hand on his head as he bit his lip. On the one hand, Shizuka and everyone else were in the hands of whoever 'Noa' was, given the dull demands that he could hear from within the room. On the other, it was just as dangerous to remain behind; Malik, after all, was still on board, along with any other staff that remained alive. And while they could successfully lock themselves in a room, thereby avoiding his attack temporarily...

There were just things that he wasn't sure about. Things involving the millennium rod, and whatever powers it held. "Alright... I need to ask something," he'd said after a number of moments in silence, Ishizu looking up from where she was tending to Rishid's unmoving form. "You said you used... The 'tauk' to open our door last time right," the boy asked almost hesitantly, face screwed up somewhat in suspicion.

The woman blinked as she turned back to her guest, before nodding somewhat slowly. "That is correct; though my item is not much in regards to the offensive," the woman admitted almost quietly, "It provides... Provided rather, a more than treasured protection to my being, acting on either any vision I saw or in neutrality," she explained. Alright...

"So basically... Yours is the only one that isn't evil," Keiichi 'asked' as he waved his hands in gesture, Ishizu seeming to pull a slight face at the statement.

"Well... I suppose so, but-" But that wasn't the point; moving on.

"Alright," Keiichi shouted quickly, sitting back up on his seat. "It opens doors... So what about the Millennium Rod then? Or the ring," he added, a scowl of sorts on his face as Ishizu stared. Seeing how the ring was in this creep's hand as well... There was no answer, and he went on. "Does it do the same thing then," the boy pressed, walking over from the chair with a scowl. "Is there something I should maybe know now," he continued, "Seeing how they're both in the hands of a killer?"

Ishizu froze at that, and the boy crossed his arms. Ah yes... That. Something he wasn't supposed to know before. He hadn't known about the body earlier of course, given that it was in a completely different room... Hell, all he'd known was that Malik was scary as hell and possibly a killer. But there had been blood on Ishizu's shoes... Along with Rishid's body, and it hadn't been theirs.

So Ishizu had confessed, and needless to say, it had scared the ever loving crap out of him. "...We will be safe in here," the woman insisted once again after holding a blank and determined stare, Keiichi shaking his head as he scowled.

"No... No," he protested, emphasizing the response with yet another wide gesture. "I'm not taking that. I want to know what's out there," Keiichi shouted, pointing toward the door. "I want to know just what kind of thing I'm dealing with here, before I, or anyone else, ends up KILLED!" There was again no answer, and the boy threw his hands up in aggravation as he walked over to the wall and the entrance. "Shit..." Shit... All of this... He didn't sign up for this crap! "I... I mean, come on," the boy protested, turning back with an almost pleading look of continued incredulity. "There's a DEAD GUY in the next room, and you're acting like it's nothing!"

Ishizu again held a blank expression, turning away as her eyes closed over somewhat. "...I am merely keeping a cool head in the face of adversity," she stated, her guest taking a few steps and staring with wide eyes. No way... No fucking way...

"Bullshit," Keiichi countered, before looking out the window. "Complete and utter-" The boy froze, narrowing his eyes to squint out of the glass as he frowned. Hang on... "...What the hell..?"

Ishizu turned, frowning somewhat as the boy backed away somewhat from the window with wide eyes. "...What is it," she asked, only for Keiichi to run from the window to leave the room without another word. "AH- Ryuzaki-san," the woman shouted out, jumping from her own chair. "Ryuzaki-san, what did you see?"

The woman received no answer as the boy ran, half stumbling into whatever was in his way as he tripped over his own over-excited feet. "Not good not good not good not good," he was muttering, running down the hall to hurry to a stop just inside the stairwell outside. "Not g- Gh..."

As the woman came up behind him both of the two fell silent, staring at the doorway with pale faces and horrified eyes. Malik was standing in the entrance of the building's hall, chuckling as he muttered boasts and insults under his breath. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Trying to take my fun..." H... Hah... FUN! "Only I can kill those people," he chuckled, stepping forward as sentry guns began to fire with all they had toward the intruder. He should have died... He should have died on the spot but Malik's mad laughter merely continued while he walked toward the guns, Keiichi slowly and nervously moving to stand at the door and behind the wall as both he and Ishizu watched in horror. "Hnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHAHA!" Bullets were flying off nothing as he cackled where he stood. All he'd done was wave the rod in his hands and the weapons that had trapped them in the ship had exploded into shrapnel, crushed against the sides of the walls with the bullets and bullet casings falling harmlessly to the ground in its wake. "HAHAHAHAHAAAAAA! Is this ALL you have," the blond sneered, twirling the rod in his hands as he looked toward the wreckage. "You'll have to do better than that... Heheheheheh..." Holy shit... The turrets were... Destroyed...

Completely destroyed... "How the fuck is he doing that," he hissed with wide eyes, pulling back from the door as Malik disappeared into the hallway before them and continued to cackle. "How the FUCK did he just do that..!"

"I thought it was obvious," Ishizu answered almost immediately, looking to the boy as he frowned and turned back with incredulous eyes. "With the Millennium Rod... He's channelling its powers to force the devices before him back against themselves," she 'explained', the boy staring almost blankly with wide eyes. He... He was using...

"The Rod," the boy repeated. "...The Millennium Rod is doing all of this." The woman nodded, and Keiichi grabbed at his head, groaning before looking back up to shout. "He's using a GOLDEN STICK... Which somehow allows him to control MINDS... To deflect bullets," the boy roared incredulously. "I mean... I don't know if this is some weird 'Egyptian' thing that no one knows about," he growled, "But THAT," he continued in rage, "Is not NORMAL!" Ishizu seemed to stare at the boy for a few more moments, before watching as he threw his hands in the air and headed up the stairs in the continued rage. "FUCK IT," he shouted after a moment, face red and hair on end. "I don't even know why I'm bothering!"

"Most who encounter the Millennium Items don't survive the encounter," Ishizu muttered calmly. "I doubt most are familiar with them... It's only natural to be confused about them," she went on, the boy behind her not even turning to the words.

"Hn! Doesn't solve our problem," he called back, Ishizu following behind him as he headed to their room.

"Which problem," the woman asked calmly, as though to imply there was more than one.

"The one where there's a mad-man with crazy psychic-mind control powers in there," Keiichi retorted, running into the room to grab his backpack from the side and swing it onto his shoulders. "You know; the place where everyone else went," he continued with a snarl. "Including Shizka, and Yugi?"

Again the woman appeared to stare, frowning somewhat as the boy fiddled with the straps of the bag. "...You... You can't possibly think to go after him," she muttered, watching the boy adjust his backpack with a grunt.

"It's that or them," he said rather bluntly, cracking his knuckles as he made to move past the final (conscious) competitor on board.

"You... You can't," Ishizu protested, walking after him as Keiichi re-entered the hallway. "He has the millennium rod and ring both, his power will be dou-"

"I don't care," the boy pressed, stowing back his fear even as it continued to scream in horror at the back of his mind. "I don't know what happened to the others... And for all I know that 'Noa' guy did something to them already... But personally," he continued with a frown as he stared directly into his 'host's eyes, "I don't know why you aren't doing anything... That's your brother isn't it," Keiichi asked, narrowing his eyes as he pushed on. "So that's your family, killing people out there..! And you're telling me you don't want to do something?"

The woman narrowed her eyes, fists clenching in a well hidden rage as she herself met the boy's stare. "You... You dare to think I want this to happen," she hissed, Keiichi continuing on with ground teeth.

"That's not what I think at all," he countered, pointing an accusing finger forward. "I'm just saying you don't want to stop it."

Ishizu's eyes continued to narrow in anger, the woman's hair seeming to bristle just slightly as she went on. "And you think there is anything you can do," she hissed, eyes widening abruptly in an almost 'Malik-like' fashion. "All you are going to do is kill yourself; we have only the Pharaoh and his Priest to trust..!"

"The 'Pharaoh'," he repeated with slight shock, shaking his head. As in Yugi? Come ON! "He's probably the one in trouble," Keiichi growled, continuing back through the hall. "...God! You're such a..." Auggh, it wasn't even worth it at this point! He shook his head, moving to leave. "You're just scared, that's probably it..!"

"And you are not," the woman countered plainly, Keiichi freezing momentarily on the stairs off the ship.

Scared..? He stood there, looking toward the hallway with a swallow before steeling his resolve once again. "...Of course I am," he responded flatly, turning back with his own glare. "But even so, I'm not afraid to admit it and chase after this bastard any ways..." Again he was answered with silence, Keiichi turning to leave with a shuddering breath as he forced himself to move. "Don't try and talk me out of this," the boy told her, taking a step forward. "No matter what," he continued, "I'm going to make sure that Shizka is safe and-"

"Wait for a moment," Ishizu abruptly said, the boy turning somewhat as the woman looked to the side. ...Wait? And why would he- "...I might not have the power to stop Malik... And neither do you," she continued with a frown, Keiichi's attention momentarily caught as the woman went on, "But that does not mean I am heartless. ...I am... Certain that the pharaoh would allow at least this much," she continued with a swallow, turning to enter the airship again as Keiichi hesitantly stepped back in after her. Allow..?

"Allow what," he called out into the hall, following after the woman as she disappeared to the end of the dark path. Most of the doorways were still open to the darkened rooms for the passengers, having been left as such in the crash. They were hanging either completely to the side or partially opened as Yugi's was, leaving dark shadows in their wake. As the woman disappeared inside Yugi's own room however the boy had to frown, the expression remaining in place as Ishizu returned with something tightly clenched in her hands. "...Ishizu..?"

The woman dropped something over his head, the boy blinking somewhat incredulously as he looked down at what it was. Mostly there was just string, a shoelace probably, tied rather crudely to what would ordinarily make for a latch but... This... Was...

Keiichi choked, stepping back somewhat as the tauk hung loosely on the string, gleaming despite the lack of light in the area. "E-EH! You're giving me the-"

"No," she said quickly, shaking her head before the boy could finish speaking. "I am not 'giving' this to you... I am trusting you with it for until the Pharaoh returns," she explained almost calmly, before continuing on. "Hide this beneath your shirt," she told him, gesturing somewhat at the tauk as she continued on. "If I were to have you wear the tauk completely it would more than likely reject you as an owner... In this way its powers will only act on its own protection," the woman explained, "While protecting you as a side effect. You won't have any ability to use it yourself... But this will at least prevent the Millennium Rod from affecting you," Ishizu told him calmly. It would...

So this was a shield then... This was a shield against... The boy frowned somewhat, slowly picking up the tauk and swallowing at the cold feeling he received from the gold. Ice... An instant freeze that spread across his fingers and seemed to turn them into ice despite them remaining mobile... It felt as though, by simply holding it, he would doom himself... Nonetheless he slipped it beneath his shirt, giving a slight shudder as it pressed against his skin and transferred the deathly cold feeling to his chest and stomach. "H-Hihh... Gn..." Keiichi hurriedly got over himself, looking up to the woman before him and swallowing. "I... Ishizu..."

"Go," she whispered, gesturing to the end of the hall with a calm smile. "I'm counting on you now... Don't let him destroy you," the woman continued quietly, "And be sure that the pharaoh and his friends survive, understand?" He...

He would. "I will," Keiichi assured her, turning away somewhat before looking up again and pressing through the cold numbness against his body. "But first... ...Thank you," he said honestly, bowing somewhat awkwardly despite the honesty of his words. "Really... I mean it."

"Of course," the woman responded. "Now go..."

And with another nod, he vanished from the hall, leaving the Egyptian to wonder if she had just damned him or not.

The cave they were walking through was far darker and longer than it seemed, though inexplicably 'becoming' seven likely had a fair amount to do with the sudden realization of how large and 'dark' everything was. Of course, 'seven' was pushing it... She was more than close to eight when she looked like this given that it had been July when she wore these clothes... And how she remembered that was the last thing she wanted to know, but regardless...

Well, even without taking into consideration this bizarre and inexplicable 'reset' from Noa's pathetic, broken mind, she absolutely detested the form she held right now and was not above anyone knowing that fact by means of scowling and pushing forward while ignoring as many of the others that were ahead of her as possible. Honda recognized her. He had indeed been the boy from the cemetery, and the fact that he now recognized her was only further sending her into a rage, given the fact that she had been certain none from 'that time' had followed her into her current life. To add to that, her clothes were bright and 'cheery', her hair was only out of her eyes because of a yellow headband, and the fact was, she was short. The only people she was taller than were Otogi, Shizuka, Yugi, and her brother, and the fact was that the last three mind as well have not counted at all given age. True, Anzu was only an inch taller...

But being shorter than the mutt was pissing her off. Bad enough she looked like her younger self but... The mutt was TALLER! "Tch..." The woman narrowed her eyes, clenching her fists as Mokuba ran up alongside the others after dropping from her back. She hated this form, she thought to herself, grinding her teeth with a swallow. She hated it. She was small, weak, and worst of all...

It brought back too many memories. Far too many. This was what she wore before it all happened, her mind kept telling her. Before Christmas, before the car accident... Before anything...

The girl's toes stubbed against a pebble as she continued to scowl, the 'Other' Yugi walking beside her curiously as Seto briefly stopped to kick the stone away. It was strange, the one beside her she noted; his eyes had inexplicably turned 'green', something that she'd opted not to comment on as she walked forward. The fact of the matter was that there were many conversations centered on 'past selves' echoing around the caves, many things that she was finding out about these people that she could have just as easily continued through life without knowing.

Exactly 'when' they were was the first to come up among the crowd ahead, along with 'where'. Most had turned to Otogi with raised eyebrows; apart from him, all those who were human and effected were wearing some form of summer wear, or at least the sorts of clothing appropriate for the season. Anzu had her sundress, Shizuka her skirt, most of the boys had shorts... Otogi however had a thick hooded sweater with splashpants and snowboots... And it was shortly after that, for this very reason, that they were able to pin the 'date'. True, everyone else had been in their neighbourhoods in early August of 2003 for a fair amount of time... But Otogi's father had moved constantly through his childhood. And Otogi had been located in Northern Canada of all places at the time he'd worn all of the winter-wear. Which according to him meant 'lots of sun thanks to the 'white nights', and I didn't get any sleep... I was only there for a week though, so it wasn't too bad.'

Supposedly his father needed to meet someone and discuss something about some other thing... Quite frankly she didn't care less about what was going on, all she knew was that it seemed to have been an important week for a fair number of people. 'That's around when Mom and Dad left each other,' Jonouchi's sister was telling the blond, her brother merely staring at the ground with a frown. 'And we passed a car accident that day to... You... You don't think...'

'I met Yugi that day..! At the park,' Anzu was saying, as her voice drowned out the more hushed tones of Shizuka. 'That was the first day we met..!' The first day hn... Lots of 'important' things had happened it seemed then...

But just what was it that kept Noa from turning them back now..? That would be nice to know... "...Kaiba," the boy beside her abruptly said, Seto turning to look at the boy that was now just an inch or so shorter than herself.

"...Hn..?"

The boy held a somewhat serious gaze, speaking with hushed tones despite the almost cherubic appearance of his eight-year old face. "I need to ask... About Noa," he continued, looking toward where the boy was running off with a still very much uncomfortable Honda gripped tightly under his arms. "...Exactly how many of his words do you find 'believable'?" Noa's honesty? Was that all this was about then?

Seto snorted, crossing her arms as she continued to walk through the darkness. "Hn! And here I thought it was something serious, with the way you were looking at me," she muttered, momentarily regretting just how not serious she herself looked in the meantime.

Her 'friend' merely rolled his eyes, looking back to the front again as he stowed his hands in his pockets. "Something isn't right here," he added on with a mutter, shaking his head. "There's something more..."

"Please... You don't think I noticed that," she growled in response. No... That was plenty obvious... But what choice did she have when her brother and 'mutt' were moving along with it? "Hn... I'm not stupid... Now," she continued, the boy at her side pausing a moment as he frowned, "Something tells me we're almost at our 'destination'..."

Or at least, the light at the end of the tunnel did. The 'light' however did not reveal much of anything. In fact, as she ran forward, the 'light' Yugi following a few moments after with again violet eyes, it seemed more as though the cave had been dissolving around them for the room to appear, for the walls to collapse and for the ceiling and floors to merge into it... Most of the others were looking around in confusion, stumbling to a stop with wide eyes... Jonouchi however seemed to be narrowing his eyes in suspicion, and within seconds a pair of children in white appeared from the sides to stand before their creator.

These two... ...Kisara and... Who again? "Noa-sama," the two programs chorused, Noa in question looking to them with a somewhat stiffened gaze despite earlier shows of childishness. "As requested," they both muttered, "The Fire Wall has been erected." Fire wall..!

"What fire wall," Mokuba asked with a frown, voicing his sister's confusion and that of the other's as well as he looked toward the boy ahead of them. "You didn't even say anything, how did you-..!"

Noa merely smirked, the first real show of 'honest' emotion since the break down. "I don't need to," he said plainly, seeming to momentarily hover in the air as he held his hands out in an open gesture. "I 'am' this world, remember?" Hn! Again Seto snorted in response, shaking her head with a scowl. Honestly... Did they really need a reminder..? A door appeared before them with those words, huge and carved from stone to resemble a dragon of sorts, standing on its hind legs with a clawed limb raised forward. A pair of knights flanked each side, with a young man on the left and a woman on the right. One with a blade coated in flames, the other a blade covered in what looked almost like 'water'... And there were symbols all over the stone; symbols of strange an unknown origin that she couldn't ever hope to decipher, no matter how long she had. As the others walked closer to the structure however Otogi appeared to freeze, before running to the first statue to 'read' over the carvings in shock.

"T-This..." He choked, looking back to Noa as Ren also came over to stare and choke. "This is in 'Enochian'," he called out incredulously. "What are you doing with Enochian in your program..!"

"Ah... So that's what it's called then," the snake muttered, Seto raising a dull eyebrow as the others looked back to the door with wide eyes. "Point still stands I mean," he continued with a cough, "But..."

"This door is formed from a collective of your memories," Noa explained almost nonchalantly, stepping to the sides to allow the others to gather in the door way before them. "This," he continued, "Combined with the firewall, will prevent my father from locating us, as well as discovering our intentions..." Oh really now... So was that how it worked? Seto narrowed her eyes, listening as the boy continued. "Beyond this door is the 'city' that I lived in during my first days in this world," he said somewhat quietly, a few of the others seeming to look to the boy in some form of pity as Seto held her glare. "I never deleted the program... And within it is an 'exit' that was created to bring in new and more complex material. It's connected to the pods," the boy went on with a swallow. "All of them... So if I use this program," he continued, "I can return each of you to your original bodies."

Hnn... And wasn't that convenient... "So we just need to go through here," Anzu was asking, adjusting the sun-hat on her head as Seto continued to narrow her eyes.

The boy nodded, revealing no signs of betrayal in his voice. "We go through here," he told them, "And I'll guide you to the exit." Of course he would guide them... Please...

They couldn't possibly be falling for- "Alright," Otogi was saying slowly. "Then... We can escape..." Tch- as though it were that easy..!

And yet before she could argue the door had opened, a blinding light filling the air... And in an instant, all she saw was black.

The moment the light from the door cleared, Mokuba could see the front steps of his Middle School in Domino. Noa knew this, and knew just how familiar the location was to the boy; he was, after all, a computer, ever present in the minds of those he bothered to keep track of. And no one would ever escape this place he told himself confidently, a childish and crazed grin coming over his face as he chuckled to himself. No one... They would remain here, trapped in the world of their own memory until he was long gone...

Until he and his brother were long gone, leaving behind that woman to burn in her own hell with all her friends for company. But he was getting ahead of himself, Noa thought to himself as he looked 'down' upon his brother. Mokuba... He was confused of course, given that he was standing at school in his uniform with no one around him. '...Katsuya-nii,' the boy was calling out, frowning somewhat as he stepped forward in the school's entrance. '...Nee-sama..? Anyone..?'

So lost, wasn't he, the boy thought with a sigh. So very lost... But not for long he told himself with a somewhat crazed smile, chuckling yet again. He had his eyes on a body, and with just the right move he'd have his brother by his side as well... Just a simple block, a 'lock' on synapses, hypnotism if he would...

He didn't have to know that they wouldn't follow behind them after all. He didn't have to know that they would never wake up, and that he would kill them all while they 'slept' in this endless world... All he needed to know was that even though his dear 'Katsuya-nii' was Noa now, everything was alright... Perfectly fine and never better... But for now...

To plant the seeds that would take them there he told himself, landing to the 'ground'. "Mokuba," the boy shouted, running forward from down the street after allowing himself to appear within the boy's 'world' of memory. "Mokuba," he continued in a seeming panic, "There you are..!"

The boy jumped, turning to the side to blink as the boy approached him. "Ah... Noa..." He watched as his 'brother' approached, frowning somewhat as he peered behind the computerized child. "...Where is everyone," he asked, shaking his head. "I can't see..."

Noa just held the wide and honest smile, hiding his reasons behind it as he took the boy by the shoulder. "They've already taken the exit," the boy told his 'brother', still smiling as he pulled him forward. "We'd thought you were right behind us, and it does go quite quickly... I suppose I should have made sure everyone was in close quarters," the boy continued as an excuse, guiding his brother down the street as the city seemed to close in on itself and shorten the roads to increase the speed of movement. "Come on," he went on, smirking somewhat. "You don't want to be late right?"

"Ah- Of course not," Mokuba protested, coughing nervously as he picked up his speed. "I mean, if everyone's out already..!"

His 'brother' nodded, continuing to smile as they moved. "I thought not," he said rather plainly. "Now... The door was placed in the arcade; there was enough of a convergence in memory to place it there," the boy explained somewhat absently, "So I found it the best place to hide the program for now..."

The boy beside him nodded in apparent understanding, walking along side his 'friend' in silence for the next few moments. Street after street was crossed in eerily empty blocks, with not a single sound traded between them. Signs seemed to blur before eventually clearing... Objects in the windows gained detail... Eventually however he turned, frowning somewhat. "...Hey... Noa," he asked, the light-haired boy turning in response as the boy continued hesitantly. "...Like you said... After we all escape," Mokuba muttered, "You'll have to stay behind, right..? Since we're all going back... There's no 'body' for you, is there," he 'asked' almost sadly, looking to the boy with misty eyes.

Noa nodded, smile fading somewhat despite his inner feelings of mirth and excitement growing. Oh... Don't worry... They would be getting out, but everyone else...

Hnhnhnhnhn... Don't worry... He would make sure that the both of them were the only ones to live... "You're right," he ended up saying in place of his thoughts however, leading the way toward the arcade as the sign for the building appeared in the distance. "Once you're out," he continued, "There will be nothing left..."

"...Really?" Noa paused momentarily as they entered the arcade, the boy at his side turning with an almost awkward shrug. "I mean... I don't know about 'now' of course," he admitted somewhat nervously, "But... If you promise... And I mean promise, not to try anything strange or dangerous... Maybe we could... Make you a body," Mokuba said quietly, a small smile on his face.

Make... Make him a... "You would... How," he muttered, narrowing his eyes as the thought to investigate the matter himself failed to come to his mind. "How would you-"

The boy smirked, shaking his head and shrugging once more. "Hey... Technology has changed in the last near decade..! It might not be flesh and blood... But the cybernetics behind things like artificial limbs and even eyes is incredibly advanced now," Mokuba explained, crossing his arms as he continued to explain proudly. "And you know we don't have much standing in the way for funding... So maybe... With time, we could have a body for you again. And... Well... It's definitely not some 'dog' or anything," he laughed, Noa pulling a slight smile at the reference to the form Honda was holding at the moment in the world of memories. Ah...

So this was what he meant... "I see..." Poor boy...

He'd done his work too well... But that would all be for the best, wouldn't it, he told himself. "Hehehe... We're brother's right," Mokuba was saying with a slight smile, unaware of the thoughts of the boy before him. "Even if you did all those things... Well... My sister did a lot of things she regrets too," he admitted, shaking his head. "So I want to get to know you a little more as well, alright..?" Ah... This...

To think of him so highly... Noa smiled, nodding as he pointed across the room. Time to get this over with... Time to move..! "Over there," he said calmly. "The exit is on the DDR stage..."

"The DDR stage," the boy repeated, receiving a nod in response. "Right... I can't wait to get out," he shouted with a grin, running over as he laughed and ducked under the guard rail. Of course he couldn't... And when they got out, he'd never be sad again. They'd be brothers... Just like they should have been, even if the genetics wouldn't match... Exactly like... "So... How do I do this," he asked in the meantime, a nasty and crazed grin coming over the face of the boy behind him as Mokuba looked over the game's controls for an 'exit button'. "I mean... We aren't too late, right," he added nervously, looking to the ground in fear. "Right..?"

"Of course not," Noa said reassuringly, stepping up from behind the unknowing boy as he pulled his hand back and grinned. "We're right on time..."

And in that instant, it really did go black for Mokuba... Or at least...

Part of him.

As two sets of pods opened in the real world, brown eyes slowly opened to stare at a cold grey ceiling. Dog tags dangled from around a body's neck, and as he stepped out from the pod another, silent boy stepped from his own. Mokuba stood up straight with ease as he hopped from the pod, eyes appearing somewhat dim despite the smile across his face. But on Jonouchi's face...

There was shock for a moment. Awe, and disbelief as the teen looked over his hands as though they were gifts from God himself, treasures that had been hidden away from the face of the earth completely. Fingers twitched. Flexed. Curled into fists before opening flat, once, twice, three times, as many times as it took to realize that yes, they could move... "Hah... Hahaha..." A grin appeared over the blond's face, and the hands he'd 'tested' quickly patted down the rest of his torso, as if to see that everything was there before he began to laugh again. "HAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAAAA!" A body.

He had a real body. He had a heart rate. He had a breath. Flesh, blood, hair, skin... Nerves to feel with, eyes to see with, feet to walk with... And it was real, he thought with a continued and tear-filled laugh, Mokuba apparently oblivious to the actions save the fact that his 'brother' was beyond happy. It was real, it was all REAL! It was REAL!

"Neh, Noa-niichan," Mokuba said from the blond's side, Noa straightening himself as he looked down at his 'brother' through his real eyes to smile. "...Are we leaving..?"

The now teen nodded, turning to the side at where the door labelled 'Computer' was. "Yes," he said calmly, a silent cheer entering his mind with each somewhat stumbling step he took toward the key pad at the side. "Yes, we are," he half chuckled, ignoring the difficulty he had in regaining his ability to walk after so many years without a body. "There's just something I need to do, alright," he continued with a smirk.

"What is it?"

"Oh... Nothing much... I just don't want this place to ever have the chance of coming back, you understand right," he 'asked', despite already knowing the answer.

Mokuba immediately nodded, frowning slightly as his brother entered the code to the door to the stairs before him. "Of course! I don't want anything more to do with this place..!"

A small smirk came on Noa's face, before the code finished and he was allowed into the 'hall' and stairs downward. The boys walked forward into what was not a hall however, but more a... 'Foyer'. They traveled down the stairs to a room containing what looked to be an enormous control center, filled with devices and wires of all sorts, screens surrounding the room and computers rising all the way to the ceiling... Quick fingers came across the keys of the center keyboard as he stepped before it, Mokuba looking around in idle curiosity as his 'brother' typed away and stared at the screens before him. First, he thought, easily recalling the information his mind had 'downloaded' from within the machine, access the world's systems... Then the satellites he had in his control... Then the one closest to the current location...

'Program M2A5 altered,' a computerized voice stated, Noa hitting one last key with a vicious smirk. 'Missiles set to fire within Thirty Minutes.'

"Hn... Thirty minutes," Mokuba repeated almost dully, watching as Noa cracked his neck to head for a second door across the room. "That's not much time niichan..."

"Don't worry," the blond chuckled darkly. "We'll be fine..." Perfectly fine... And while they escaped...

He would send her and everyone else to hell...

"Let's go Mokuba," he said quickly, taking the boy's hand as the side door to the outside opened before them. "We have a long way to go now."

And with a happy nod the boy followed his 'brother' down into the hall, completely oblivious to the damage they were about to leave behind...

After the brief 'darkness' had settled in, Otogi and Honda weren't quite sure what they'd been doing the moments before the current one. They weren't sure how they arrived at their location, how they'd managed to start the current conversation...

All they knew to start off was that there were sakura petals falling outside. It was extremely late for that sort of thing of course- already the Golden Week of May- but it was nonetheless a beautiful sight, and an extremely welcome one given the stressful situation going on at the moment. There were very few sakura trees in the area to admire granted, but the fact was that even the single one outside this apartment building was quite fine.

Particularly since this apartment had such a good view of it, Otogi thought to himself with a slight smirk. "And in here you'll find the washroom," the landlord was telling them, showing them around the small 'One K' apartment, that they were planning to rent. "It's a standard shower/bath combo," he explained somewhat blandly, "I can show you how the tap works if you like..."

"That's fine," his friend told him almost too quickly, Otogi looking around the remaining apartment in the meantime and stepping outside to inspect the balcony. Spring was soon going to become summer it looked like... Despite the delay on the 'Petal Rain', the heat was slowly rising more and more, and if it hadn't been for the air conditioning in the apartment he'd be sweating profusely by now. Most questions they were asking involved said air conditioning, along with the water, the other utilities... "How much is the rent again," Honda asked the landlord, receiving a fairly swift response for his efforts.

"Sixty one thousand," the man responded, Honda turning to give his friend a slightly apprehensive look as the teen looked out the window. Honda, for the moment, still resembled a dog, albeit a large snake-covered one that was crouching and taking up most of the apartment. The snakes around his neck in particular were displeased with their current location, and exactly how he was getting out would have been a good question... If, of course, anyone had seen him as anything but human for the moment. "There is of course, the 'reikin'," the land lord was continuing with a cough as the dog before him whined somewhat. "That will be an extra month's pay for down payment..."

At that Otogi looked back to frown, Honda seeming to shift somewhat with anxiety over the matter as the serpents around his neck hissed. "...You... Can't lower the reikin," he asked as his friend walked over, the taller of the two scratching his ears somewhat idly before shaking himself.

"...No," the landlord said somewhat plainly, the dog biting his lip.

"...Will the apartment still be here in two months then," Otogi asked, Honda raising an eyebrow at the request. "Is there anyone waiting for a vacancy..?"

The dog growled from beside him, narrowing his eyes. "Still here- Otogi," he hissed, his mane mirroring the action, "Ane wants us out in one!"

"Well then she'll have to live with it," the teen responded almost darkly, "Because this is the only apartment we can even afford!"

Honda appeared to bite his lip further with that, the landlord looking from the two before nodding slowly to cut the argument short. "I can hold the apartment for two months; however," he added with a frown, still holding his papers, "I expect an extra fifteen hundred in reikin to make up for any lost sales if someone else asks for it during that time." Ah- An extra-

The teen beside him appeared to be about to say something, before Otogi snapped and held Honda's jaws shut and nodded. "We'll take it," he said quickly, bowing his head politely. "Thank you!"

"Not a problem... Do you need any more time to inspect the apartment," the man added, gesturing around him.

The two looked at each other, before shaking their heads. "No," Honda said after moving the hand from his mouth with a slight growl. "No, we're good..."

About five minutes later, and they were walking back home, having somehow left the building without breaking through a door and come onto the sidewalk without stopping traffic. "...It's good that your brother-in-law agreed to pay half the reikin," Otogi said after a while, the two continuing to walk along the streets in silence. "We wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise..."

"We'd have been able to move in today if he'd agreed to pay all of it," the hound muttered bitterly.

"Yea," Otogi responded, "But Reikin is a rip off anyways."

"It's gotten cheaper."

"I still don't believe that." At all- though he supposed what they'd gotten away with wasn't bad... The two waited at the cross walk for a few moments, cars speeding by while they stared off almost dully into the distance. "...Why did he offer to pay anyways," Otogi pressed, turning to his friend with a frown.

Honda snorted, shaking his head. "Hn! Probably so he can do more with Ane once I'm gone..."

"...Do what-"

"Don't ask," Honda responded swiftly. Er...

"Right," the teen said with a cough, shaking his head and flushing somewhat. Of course... Of course... ...Ah... "...Have we had this conversation," he asked after a moment of awkward silence, walking across the street as Honda followed behind.

"What? About apartments," the dog questioned with a frown. No... Not really...

"Just... This conversation in general," he clarified, shaking his head. "It feels like we've done this before..."

Honda appeared to pause at that as they reached the end of the street, shaking his head, "Hn... I don't think so," he muttered, the snakes around his neck 'shrugging'. A red car passed them by at that moment. A porsche, with a blond woman speeding forward through the intersection as a second blond leaned on the door of the passenger seat. Those people... The two blinked, shaking themselves momentarily. Huh... Strange, Otogi thought to himself, he could have sworn that was...

...No never mind, he thought as he shook his head, following back after his friend as the dog moved on. It was nothing, he told himself. It was nothing...

Just a trick of the light.

For some reason as they moved, he felt numb. As though to get there he'd somehow lost a piece of himself. And yet the more he thought about it the more something corrected his thoughts, corrected his- "Where are we," he found himself muttering suspiciously, watching as clouds and buildings blurred past the sides of the vehicle.

'You're in a car,' a voice reassured him.

That was right; he was in Mai's car he told himself, and she was sitting beside him... The blond turned, blinking as they passed a crosswalk while the woman drove silently forward. He thought for a moment he saw his friends... Saw Honda and Otogi... But instead it seemed to just be a trick of the light, nothing more nothing less. The car came to a stop briefly... "Where do you want to go," Mai asked, turning to look at him with a slight smile as he stared. Where...

A flash came to mind. Screaming, and mad cackling... This wasn't right, he told himself, turning away to hold his head. Why was he with Mai... Alone? Wouldn't the others have come? He should have been drenched in water, he thought to himself as he recalled such a time, a time with all the others in the car as well. That was right, he'd been wet at the time... And Mai hadn't been asking where he wanted to go, his mind continued to correct himself, she'd asked if he was willing to go... 'Are you sure you're okay? Do you need to see a doctor,' she asked, Katsuya still shaking his head. This already happened... He... He was supposed to be at the-

'Well obviously you aren't there yet,' he was assured, a sudden sensation of calm coming over him. 'Clearly 'where' was supposed to be that place. You should answer.' Of course...

Of course, nothing to worry about. And he was probably just late after all, as he often tended to be. And just mistaken... Just... "...Where do you want to go," Mai repeated from the side, still smiling calmly. Answer her...

"...Anywhere," he found himself muttering. He didn't know where 'anywhere' was of course but... The phrase felt right, given that he didn't quite know where to go. Perhaps that was where the others were, he told himself as they passed a canal. Perhaps that was the place where he'd duel Malik and- He froze, looking back to where Mai was sitting only to blink when the woman he had vowed to rescue from the penalty game failed to meet his gaze. She wasn't there- it was Seto now, with the small smile he'd only seen once, maybe twice. "Seto-chan..?"

The woman said nothing, merely continuing to drive despite acting nothing like the woman he knew. This...

Nothing, his mind told him. This was nothing, this was... Normal...

The blond blinked off his confusion, turning to the canal briefly as a roar pierced the air. A snarling roar, with words laced within... Osiris, he asked himself, blinking and shaking his head as he looked toward the scene to see the red serpent-dragon swirl through the sky. And... Yugi?

'Don't be silly,' the voice told him, Katsuya still frowning. 'They're waiting at 'anywhere', remember?' Of course... Of course... After all, he told himself as he stepped out of the car, walking forward from concrete to sand with dull eyes.

That was just a trick of the light. This was what was real now...

The 'doll' as he was called was staring with the same limp eyes he was so familiar with right now, hanging forward on the invisible strings that had yet to be cut again. Yugi choked back a few tears of pain as he struggled to his feet, attempting to recover from the most recent attack. Osiris was standing across him, roaring loudly... 'Do you think you can WITHSTAND this TRIAL LITTLE KING,' he snarled, the boy looking forward with only dim awareness as to what was going on. This trial... This trial...

"THUNDER FORCE," the possessed body cried. Osiris' jaw dropped from across him... Flames began to tear towards him, and as he closed his eyes Yugi grimaced and waited for the inevitable.

But wait...

His eyes flung open and he shook himself, eyes wide as he frowned. The flames froze in place. Time came to a standstill and he looked up toward the attack and swallowed. "This isn't right," he said quickly, the scene abruptly shattering as he stood across a storming dock. This duel...

Jonouchi was laughing across from him but his memory had changed, altered to suit what he now knew; flames wrapped around his friend's form and teeth gnawed at the blond's spirit, the 'real' Jonouchi trying in vain to regain control amid the taunts of his body, amid the tear filled cries to 'snap out of it' from his lighter half. 'Don' lis'n t' him',' his friend was crying, begging through the snarls of the millennium rod. 'Don' lis'en t' him,' he wailed almost pitifully, 'This ain' me!' This duel...

"This isn't right," he said again, eyes widening further as time froze once more, the chains of the anchor snapping to scatter through the sky.

And again, the scene shattered with them. Flower petals scattered to the ground amid the trees on Hanami, the air filling with the dark shades of a night sky and the scent of cherry blossom trees. For a brief moment, Jonouchi and Kaiba were sharing a smile, differences and past encounters cast aside, if only for a moment... But this moment... This calm and almost dream-like moment that now froze before him, trapped completely in time...

"Hasn't this happened already," he whispered, pulling back somewhat as he shook his head.

'Of course not,' a voice whispered in his mind, the scene before him shattering to replace with yet another of his modern day memories. 'It's just a trick of the light.'

Everything was just 'a trick of the light', they were being told. Tricks of the light and sounds of the wind, nothing out of place and nothing suspicious. Or at least, this is what they were being told when they bothered to feel confused, or out of place, or fearful of their situation. So long as they 'believed' however, and trusted in what they saw, it was always real after all. Always real, always everlasting, and never, ever, unwanted.

Or was it? "Alright," the girl could remember calling out with a scowl, pushing through the door at the lunch break to storm forward. "I found you! Now give them BACK," she shouted with a huff, watching Keiichi spin the glasses in his hands as the currently thirteen year old boy laughed.

"You have to come and get them first," he chuckled from the table he was at, his friend continuing to scowl. "You can see me fine anyways right?"

She never said anything about why she wore the glasses. Keiichi knew though, more than anything he knew. But as she pouted angrily the boy smirked, tossing them over before she could bring up that point and snatch them back herself. "A-Ah..."

Keiichi chuckled as the girl took the glasses, slowly putting them back on her face to stare forward with a slight frown. "Hehehe... What, did you think I'd keep them," he asked, smirking as he moved from the desk he'd been sitting at. Shizuka fell silent at that, and the boy shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Hn! Yea right... Only bullies do that, didn't you know?"

Bullies? The girl tensed, shaking her head. "I never said you were-"

"And I'm not," the boy said plainly, crossing his arms a moment before gesturing to the glasses. "I tightened the screw on your glasses by the way," he told her, his friend taking the glasses off a moment to stare at them. "It was loose." The screw?

Shizuka looked over the screw in question, blinking as she looked at it through the tunnelled vision she was beginning to have. Keiichi had snatched her glasses away when she put them on the desk after they'd fogged up from the steam in the change rooms behind her, when she'd put them to the side to clear. She'd looked up from the window ledge at the side when she heard a noise, and suddenly they'd been gone... She'd figured Keiichi was just being a moron but... But they were in the 'shop' classroom now and... That was a screwdriver on the desk and... "...Thanks," she ended up saying, bowing her head somewhat as she flushed with embarrassment.

The boy merely grinned, laughing somewhat. "Hehehe... No problem," he laughed, putting an arm around her shoulder as they moved to leave the room. "They're important to you right..?"

Right..?

Suddenly, Shizuka wasn't so sure of herself any more. Of her memory, of what was happening. She was standing at the side, watching an event in time that she could only paint with her imagination for visuals, only watch from the side in a mental animation. Because at this time, as Keiichi fingered the now useless glasses in his hands and bowed his head, she was blind... Lying in her bed as tears rolled down her face despite herself, and despite the courage she had tried so hard to gain for this time. "I guess... You don't need me to fix these anymore... Do you," he had asked, looking to the girl as she attempted to stop her tears.

"It's alright," she'd reassured him, wiping her eyes as she sniffed. "Really..."

It was December now. "I wanted to help," Keiichi had continued quietly, still holding the glasses in his hands. "I'd thought... If I'd won that tournament..."

"You tried your best," she whispered, shaking her head as she took her friend's hand. "Really... It's fine..."

But it wasn't fine, the present day version of herself reminded herself, tears beginning to roll down her own face as she watched her memories 'roll' on some endless film reel. Even after the surgery, after her brother used his tournament winnings to pay for her eyes, after everything had been 'fixed'... Even when she'd slept at the hospital, with Keiichi sitting at the side like some physical guardian angel...

"I'm so sorry," he would whisper, Shizuka still crying as words she hadn't been able to hear came to mind, the words that he'd used as he prayed for her to remove the bandages came to mind. "I'm so sorry... If I could just tell you how much," he told her, holding her hand as she slept in a drug induced and painless sleep, "How much I..." She... She... All of this...

None of this could ever possibly be a trick of the light she cried to herself, wiping her eyes as the scene continued to play with no one to comfort her. Never... Never..!

Tricks of light and illusions that danced... Voices on the wind that blew past her ear, as though sent by someone far away.. Memories that were once faded now passed clearly before her eyes, and as Anzu watched she could numbly feel a second presence watch with her. Jealously. Greedily. As though all she saw before her was nothing more than a dream, a highly coveted dream to this being, something that they could reach out to but never touch.

However, a voice told her in the back of her mind, this presence wasn't really there. So it would be best to ignore it really. She could remember playing at the park that day, those many years ago. She was wearing that stupid yellow sundress that her mother dressed her in, along with the hat, and the pigtails, and the shoes, and didn't she look adorable, her mother had squealed, her daughter having wanted nothing more than to run around in her overalls that day.

'It looks nice though,' she thought she heard someone say far off in the distance, but as quickly as she heard it, the voice was gone.

'Just the wind,' her mind whispered soothingly, Anzu holding her head as she moved the memory-matching hat from her eyes. 'Ignore it.'

She was playing on the swings at the moment, but not really. Her feet were just kicking at the dirt at the ground, and her eyes were moving everywhere. There was a small boy nearby with odd coloured hair trying to play with a puzzle of sorts she noted, staring off at the scene almost blankly for a few moments. There was one boy though, one mean young boy with almost snake-like eyes kicking sand in his face, the smaller of the two pulling back as Anzu frowned. "...Hey," she shouted after a moment, receiving no reaction to the call. So she'd gotten off of the swing, walking over with a clenched fist and raising her voice. "I said, 'HEY!'"

The older boy turned, unable to ignore the shouts for the moment. "What do you want," he spat, the smaller boy cringing as he was faced with a threatening glare to keep his mouth shut.

"What do you want with him," she asked plainly, the taller boy shrugging.

"He's in my spot."

"Your 'spot'," the girl muttered incredulously.

"Yea; this is where I come to play everyday. And this brat needs to learn what that means," the boy continued, looking to the smaller one as he pulled away and swallowed.

"E-Erm... Please don't-"

"Well, I think you need to learn that this isn't your spot." She'd drawn closer with almost every word she said at that, the boy before her scowling as she narrowed her eyes. Eventually she'd shoved him away, coming to close to him to do so any more, and as the boy stumbled back somewhat she smirked. "Got that?"

"Tch! As if!" The boy had attempted to strike her with that, a fist raised and heading toward her; she was too fast.

"Stupid!" A kick to the crotch was all it took really- the boy doubled over in pain, giving the girl a threatening look before evidently thinking otherwise of whatever he'd planned to do as he wheezed through the pain.

"You'll regret this," he shouted out angrily, running off after considering his options with the girl. Anzu merely stuck out her tongue in a childish but fairly age-appropriate response, before turning to the smaller boy as he gathered his foam puzzle from the ground.

"Are you alright," she asked, dully aware of a mother on a bench pausing from where she'd been about to intervene.

The boy nodded, slowly pulling himself up with a swallow before bowing his head toward the girl. "Y-Yea... Th-Thanks..."

'I'm Yuugi'.

They'd promised to be friends after that she told herself, watching as her past self continued to play in the sand with her childhood friend. Always friends. But something happened to the memory at that moment for some reason, despite her not noticing initially. As she looked up at the night sky that evening, leaving the park with her parents, it changed... The memory...

"What's it like out there," she felt herself say, staring up through a well-shaped hole in the ceiling, the stars changed and shining far brighter than anything she'd ever seen. "What's it like?"

'Big,' a young girl whispered from beside her, unseen in the darkness of the evening. 'Bigger than you could ever dream.'

But that's not right, she told herself, shaking her head and taking it in her hands with a confused frown. This wasn't her memory...

'Isn't it,' the voice in her mind asked.

No... It wasn't, it was- 'It's mine,' a surprised voice from far in the distance whispered, but again it was just the wind.

She was starting middle school now, and the memory had returned to normal. She was dressed in her white sailor's uniform and cheerfully running outside to join her father in the car, in their new house in Domino. They'd moved away from Domino shortly after she met Yugi... But now that she was twelve, her mother wanted a sense of stability, so she'd moved back, enrolled her in school... And her father, unbeknownst to her, wouldn't be there to drive her to school after today, only her mother. This was his last day.

Yugi went to her school as well. But he was in a different class, always in a different class, in the first year, the second year, the third... She'd occasionally see him, visit him in those early months during lunch break but as time passed they grew apart... She had friends to spend time with, so she stopped visiting. Stopped saying anything more than 'hello, how are you?' in the mornings, paying more attention to her own life...

And as she visited her father for her last middle school year, boarding the plane to the USA and listening as he told her about a new 'musical' they would see...

She could hear the sound of gunshots, each one fired by the men at her sides, the men under her control. She wanted to know where her sister was going, where she had taken those tablets, what she planned in Japan... As the people fled into the plane one man stepped forward, one man, and the bullets pierced the skin, and the hospital's ambulances arrived as the plane took off and she spat on the ground, leaving in a swirl of dark violet fabric... Hang on, she thought to herself with a jolt, this wasn't-

Real? One man spoke from the hospital bed, a golden eye across his brow. 'July 19th, eight AM the tournament will start. The pharaoh will be there, as will his priest.' The nurse tending to him nodded robotically as the eye shone from her own, and she left the room, left the building, walked into the park with her phone in hand... 'We move now.' No... No it wasn't..! This wasn't right, Anzu told herself, shaking her head even as her 'body' nodded and grinned viciously at the knowledge that 'her' plan would be carried out soon enough. No..! This wasn't her memory, this wasn't it...

'It's not,' a shocked whisper told her, somewhat stronger than it had been before. 'It's not,' it pressed fearfully, 'It shouldn't-'

What was that?

Just the wind.

She was back in school, Middle School, second year instead of third this time, and she and Yugi were both staying after school to clean... Talking again, catching up on old times... As they walked back home before taking their separate ways they passed a sandbox, staring momentarily at the place they used to play and there was sand everywhere, everywhere she looked, nothing but sand and the stiff stench of the underground, and did she hear hissing?

Her father stopped by at that moment; he was on a motorcycle, a rental for while he was in the area. 'Anzu,' he called out with a laugh, pulling his helmet off as the girl looked over. 'How's my little peach?'

She'd huffed, crossing her arms. 'My name means 'apricot' tou-san!'

'Ahahaha, but peach sounds nicer hn?' Anzu continued to huff, before her father held out a helmet. 'Do you want to go for a ride before I go?' Ah...

She'd agreed, said good-bye to Yugi after that... After all how often did her father visit outside the Golden Week, and didn't the wind feel nice through her hair, feel just wonderful as the wind blew and the sound of the motor rumbled on the cycle beneath her body, and wasn't it great now that she was finally free, now that it was finally...

Hers? "This isn't right," she told herself, clinging to her head as sand penetrated her vision, and darkness filtered in, blinding her eyes as they became familiar to a lightness that she would never have been able to see through before. Not right..! "This isn't my memory," she whispered in panic, candle light filling the air around her as she curled in on herself. "It's not..!" So then whose..!

'Stop thinking,' that same voice from beforehand begged, sounding like nothing more than a faded shout from behind her. 'Stop thinking about it,' it cried desperately, warningly, 'You'll only make it worse-'

Scared. She was scared she knew that much, but what of? And where... Where was the voice, she asked herself. Where was the voice, it's just the wind she was told, but it was there wasn't it, stop thinking about it he cried, where... Where..!

"I'm scared," she whispered, but not to herself. A tall man stood before her, a tall young man holding a candle as she sat on a bed of stone and hay. "It's coming... And I'm scared," the girl continued to whisper despite these not being her thoughts. "I... I saw his back. Have you seen it? There are many lines, and many writings... They told me it will hurt," she continued with a choke. "That it will hurt for months. I don't think I can do it brother. I'm scared... I'm..." Why was she scared? Why was she talking about brothers, she didn't have one, she didn't, stop thinking about it, the voice warned, stop thinking, this path is too-

She wasn't wearing anything now she realized coldly, a sudden sense of immobilization pulled over her as she stood there and held her arms close for warmth. She couldn't move her arms... She couldn't move her legs... Something was in her mouth, and yet there wasn't...

Fear fell over her, endless fear, she couldn't move, she couldn't move she couldn't move-

"Great Gods and Goddesses who watch over us," someone chanted, the fear increasing as words in a language she should never have known came through the air, "We ask that you guide this blade as we follow the commands of your children, as we follow the commands of the Great King and Queen..." Who... Who were they talking about, she asked despite herself, eyes dancing around the darkness in terror as she stood immobilized, who were they-

Suddenly, who they were and where she was didn't matter, not at all as her back arched and she fell to her knees. "GH-GHHHHAAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Burning pain seared across her back, and as a candle burned at the side the hot knife dug into her skin, despite the weapon never once appearing in reality while the blood dripped down her back. "HH-KRAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"We carve into our flesh these memories," they continued to chant around her, the blade digging further and further and further... "These words, that they remain immortalized..."

"KHAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Stop it... Someone stop it, please stop it stop it stop it stop it-

'Anzu...!' Who was that she thought dimly through her screams, who was calling her, who was-

"We swear by our blood and souls to always serve," they were hissing, "To always guard these records-"

The pain didn't stop, never stopped as she cried and as her fingers dug into her arms. The burning never stopped, the dagger kept coming and coming and coming and coming and coming-

"Anzu," a voice shouted as she wailed, and as the fires seared the wounds, and as skin was pulled away to force a scar that blackened and darkened under the flames. "ANZU," the now clear voice cried. "ANZU!"

Strong arms were pulling her close as she screamed, wrapped around her shoulders and torso. Strong and tanned arms as her head continued to tilt upward in her screams, unaware that what she thought was there were simply coiled scales. She could hear crying as the pain continued, and as the blood dripped off her skin... The knife had begun to cool now... The chanting paused, and slowly, slowly she opened her eyes to stare up at the darkness, the blade having momentarily retreated. "G...Gnn..." This voice... He was muttering, muttering apologies, muttering... "R... En," she whispered, recognizing the sound. But... No, she told herself as tears continued to pour down her face. It wasn't... Blond hair came to the back of her mind along with tanned skin in the place of scales despite the serpent that was coiling around her protectively, and still the quiet weeping continued. "...Malik..."

"It's not real," he tried to assure her, the serpent's head bowed down to lay on her shoulder. The snake's coils tightened... As did the second grip, the two arms that brought with them a head in that same place on her shoulder. "I'm here," Malik whispered again, "But it's not real... These aren't your memories... You weren't supposed to see this," he rambled on as he pulled her back and into his arms in comfort, "Never supposed to see... This isn't real," he repeated to the woman, still crying. "It's not real..."

Malik. The one they had warned her about. The one who had done all those things... The one who was 'Namu'... "You're... You're him," she choked, still looking up at the sky as the feeling of scales vanished and left her with the tanned Egyptian behind her.

"I know," he whispered, "I know... And I'm sorry," the blond continued, "I'm so sorry... But you need to realize it's not real," he pressed hurriedly, "And that this isn't-"

The chanting began again.

"Hear our words o Gods above," they whispered, Anzu's eyes widening as what was about to come came to mind again. "Goddesses who watch over our tribe, we carve into our children the words of history,"

The knife dug into her flesh and screams pierced the air again, the woman unable to block out the memories that were not her own. "It's not real," Malik whispered panickedly, pulling her tightly close, "It's not-"

But to her, it was. It was all real, just as real as everything else that had happened and... And... "GHHHAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Just as real as the warnings she'd received, as real as the blackouts she'd been having all evening. "AAAAAAAUUAAAAAAAAA!" Just as real as the mind-controlling man holding her close, telling her to just calm herself, to clear her mind. It was all real.

"Don't cry Anzu," he wept, head still laying on her shoulder, "Don't cry..." He was still holding her, telling her he'd never leave-

"UAAAAAAAAAAAA!" As real as the blackouts and the gunfire that took down her father.

"Don't cry..." He was crying, his tears were falling on her shoulders and her blood was staining his clothes in return-

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" As real as the lies that Jonouchi told her, as the lies he'd used when he could have just told them 'she's still possessed', the lies he could have tossed away to save her.

"Don't..." She couldn't hear herself think, she couldn't, and was it just her or was someone else there-

"KRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Who, she asked herself as the blood continued to stream down her back.

Who was she supposed to hate?

"UAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

"Hnhnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHAHAAAA!"

Keiichi watched in silent horror as the madman far ahead of him laughed, continued destruction filling the air as turret after turret that appeared in an attempt to thwart his efforts was forced to crush inward on itself by the power of the millennium rod. None of this should have been possible he told himself with a swallow, following silently behind as shrapnel littered the ground, forcing him to dog his steps in an attempt to avoid detection. None of it, nothing should have been possible. Magic didn't exist except in fairytales and answered prayers, there was no 'dark power', no 'evil force' in the world of 'today'.

At least, that's what he wished he could believe. It was a little hard though, given what was going on directly before him. Keiichi swallowed as the millennium rod twirled in Malik's hands, footsteps silently moving across the ground while smoke arose from the littered scraps at their sides. He had his bag on his back right now, and his deck and jacket were still inside... But his duel-disk, completely empty, was now sitting awkwardly and incorrectly on his arm in its 'dormant' position, gripped tightly like some bizarre hand-blade. Sweat was pouring down his face and sides... Probably more from fear than anything really, but even so he found himself wiping it from his face with a swallow. The boy forced back another wave of fear despite this however, moving forward as sudden cursing met the air from the room before him.

"Of all the accursed- a LOCK," Malik seemed to laugh in incredulity, sounding almost enraged despite this apparent amusement as he held his head. "They think to keep me out with a mere LOCK?"

Keiichi again swallowed as he moved forward, slowly entering the room where Malik now stood. It was a large room that was for sure. A wide and expansive glass window stood at the side directly across from him and a multitude of now out-of-date and somewhat weakened looking machines lined the wall both beneath it and at the side. Directly across from him however, between these machines and himself was Malik, standing with the rod in hand, holding it toward the large and steel built door as he prepared to-

"Stop." Malik turned at this, Keichi swallowing a rush of fear as the teen faced him with a growing and manic grin. What was he doing, a voice in the back of his mind shouted in fear, limbs trembling as he bit back a swallow. What did he think he was doing, standing before this-

'Fear not,' another voice whispered, an almost ghostly presence flowing over him as he held his breath. 'You will be safe'. But who said that, he asked himself, the cold across his chest increasing as he shuddered. Who...

Malik chuckled as he stared down the shivering boy before him, stepping toward him to hold out the accursed rod and spin it in his hands. "'Stop'," he repeated, the grin widening as his eyes did the same. "And what makes you think I'll do that?" Yes what did make him think that he stood a chance here? Hell he was screwed, screw-

'Fear not,' the voice was repeating softly, a second wave of slight calm washing over the boy. 'Fear not, for you are safe...' Don't be afraid he told himself alongside this voice, don't be afraid, don't be afraid, don't be afraid...

"I don't just think it," he said with a swallow, shifting into a battle ready stance with his empty and bare arm forward in challenge, somehow able to bring up the boast despite his obvious terror. "I know you'll stop... Because I'm going to make sure of that."

Malik appeared almost frozen in shock at the statement. His grin stiffened on his face, and all at once he howled with laughter, his 'challenger' tensing in response. "Ahaha... AHAHAHAHA... HAHAHAHAAAAAA! YOU," he cried out, holding his head a moment as he cackled and tightened his grip on the rod. "YOU think you can stop me!" Impossibly the grin became even more crazed, eyes widening as the millennium rod seemed to glow, held forward in a tight grip and shining in an unseen light. "Hnhnhnhnhn... You're nothing but an ant," he sneered viciously, "A mere-" Malik's grin faded part way through the sentence, the blond freezing a moment. Keiichi as well found himself narrowing his eyes as the teen suddenly frowned, the Egyptian looking to the item in his hands with wide eyes. "Impossible," he spat, a faint chuckling echoing over the air as the voice calmly reminded him of his safety once again. "IMPOSSIBLE... Why... Why isn't it working..?"

Because. Because he was 'safe', he told himself, a small smirk coming on his own face as his confidence returned. "Hn... Who knows," he responded, his stance steadying as the smirk was replaced with a frown. "But it doesn't change what I said; I'm going to stop you!"

More shock, but this time the amusement was no longer there. "You... Stop ME," Malik roared, all humor lost as he pulled the end of the millennium rod off to reveal the gleaming blade to his opponent. "You stand here with a duel-disk, having never even qualified for the final rounds," the blond hissed, "And you think to stop me..? I THINK NOT!"

...Now, he thought to himself as the taller teen ran forward, blade pulled back just briefly before he swung it forward. Now, he thought as he kicked backwards with a slight grunt, a slice appearing across his cheek as he pulled back to avoid the blade, the rod swung backward in an arc before making its return.

Now!

With a swift click the duel disk was activated, his arm thrown forward as Malik moved to make the second strike, from a slightly weaker position. And in a single moment everything changed. The blade was caught between the sides of the disk as they slammed forward, attempting to lock in on themselves only to vice the blade between them. The disk pulled back, ripping the Millennium Rod from a somewhat loosened and shocked grip while the arm holding the disk pulled back as well. And as Malik prepared to retaliate Keiichi's fist flung forward, striking the nearly half-foot taller teen in the face with one quick and enraged cry.

The blond stumbled back just slightly under the blow... But he wasn't done. With a shout the duel-disk, the long end pointed forward in its 'incorrect position', struck, slicing the side of Malik's cheek as the blond again stumbled back in an attempt to avoid the blow. Briefly, just briefly the teen seemed surprised... Horrified even... But as he touched his cheek, looking over the small bit of blood that resulted from a cut that was far less severe than that of the one on his opponent Malik grinned, rubbing the blood in his fingers with wide eyes. "Hnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... You... You cut me," he hissed, slowly continuing to chuckle as the millennium rod clattered to the ground. "You-"

"HAAAAAAA-AH!" A swift roundhouse kick struck Malik mid-sentence, throwing the blond back against the computers as weakened and possibly corroded metal caved in beneath him as a result. The teen coughed somewhat... But as he pulled himself forward, Keiichi continued to strengthen his resolve, preparing for what was next. "Maybe I should have mentioned 'how' I was going to stop you," he hissed, spinning his now bloodied and somewhat dented duel disk as he held it forward like an oddly shaped blade. "As a duelist, I have my pride," he growled, eyes narrowed. "But as a second-dan Kendo master," the boy snarled, "I have at least the knowledge that I can take you down without sullying that duelist's pride that I have! HRHHAAAAAAHHH-"

He should have known, he thought as he charged, his opponent hurriedly pulling to the side as the blade sliced through a number of metal panels and ruined but sparking cables. He should have known that this wasn't it, that this wasn't how it would end. That it had gone too quickly. And that Malik would retaliate as well.

In a single instant as Malik moved from the blow that was now being pulled back, he held his hand forward. And as Keiichi brought his arm back and up to strike yet again, something sliced against the side of his arm, forcing him to pull it back with a hiss and clutch it tightly as something wet met his fingertips, as his own fear forced him to stumble backward in shock. This wetness... Blood, he realized with wide and terrified eyes. Blood, like what was still dripping down the side of his cheek, this was...

And as Malik stood before him, and as he stepped back, the two soon 'pacing' around the other as the taller licked the blood from the Millennium Rod's blade, he could hear laughter, endless laughter echoing around the room. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Hnhnhahaha... This is just the beginning," Malik hissed, spinning the rod in his hands as his opponent hurriedly took a defensive stance and continued to pace around his opponent. "Hnhnhnhnhn... Are you hurt...

Little mouse..?"

"Are you hurt, 'ze'eyr ackbar'?"

For some reason, he knew what these words meant as he stared down at the small boy before him, stood with his back to the now mutilated corpse of the crocodile as the dragon in his shadow took his meal. As he stood in the place he'd walked to from the car (car..?), from the canal (canal..?), and from everything else he'd been questioning. The boy before him said nothing however, merely staring up at him in apparent awe and horror both.

So he repeated his words. "Are you hurt, 'little mouse'?"

The boy shook his head, swallowing uneasily. There was a large gash on his face from where the rock he'd fallen upon had torn the skin, the reddened rock just a pace or so away from his feet. Blood was dripping down his face now... It was really quite the wound. However, the boy insisted. "I'm... I'm fine," he said with a swallow, grey-white hair sticking to the bloodied tissues as he edged away from the young man standing before him. "I'm alright, really, I..."

"What's your name," he asked, stooping down as he held his staff loosely and met the boy's gaze. "You're from the village right? The one just west of here?"

He nodded shortly, seeming to attempt to listen to his rescuer. But his eyes kept drifting back to the disappearing corpse behind him, to the vanishing crocodile that the unseen dragon continued to devour. "...How are you doing that," he whispered in horror, unable to tear his eyes from the sight any longer. "You... Are you the 'demon'," he asked with a panicked whisper, "Are you the one they warned us about..?" Us..?

Of course, he thought with a sigh, shaking his head. The village children. The parents of the children. Everyone... Katsuya shook his head despite the memory not truly being his, pulling the dragon back within his shadow despite not really knowing how he could do such a thing. "I am," he said shortly, the boy drawing back with horrified eyes, "The one they speak, of I mean."

"Then," the boy whispered in horror, "You're going to kill-"

"I am no demon," Katsuya responded quickly, cutting the words off.

The boy swallowed, as though confused. Staring with mixed fear and bewilderment as the man before him sighed. Shaking his head Katsuya stood, leaning against his staff somewhat while the boy spoke. "They say that you're a demon," the boy said with fear, slowly pulling himself back. "The elders, I mean."

"That's because the elders are senile," Katsuya muttered under his breath, before looking down and crouching yet again to peer worriedly at the boy's wound. "They seem to think that if they can't hear the voices of the souls within that it's all 'dark' and 'evil' magic at work... Fools."

"Souls," the boy asked curiously.

Katsuya nodded, placing his staff at the side. "That's right; everyone has a shadow," he explained carefully, "A part of their soul that protects them from harm. It grows with them, changes with them... And some," he continued, pulling out some cloth and dipping it in the waters beside them, "Are stronger than others. But most people don't know themselves enough to see their shadows anymore," the young man continued, shaking a few droplets of water back into the river. "They live their entire lives and never see it. My shadow," he continued seriously, the dragon in question poking back out from beneath him to curl around the grounds, "Is the one who saved you. I helped- but my shadow is the one who did it."

The boy swallowed in confusion yet again again, bowing his head before flinching as his savior attempted to clean the wound on his face. "Gn-!"

"Hn... I'm thinking that's going to scar," he muttered, shaking his head before continuing to try and clean the boy's wound. "...What did you say your name was now?"

"Saraph," the boy muttered, batting the cloth away with a wince as he frowned. "And what do you mean scar?"

"I mean scar. I'll even check again," he continued, squinting at the wound before smirking light heartedly for a moment. "...Yeeeeeep. That'll probably end up as one."

"What? A scar on my FACE," the boy protested loudly, before leaning back to groan. "Maaaan..."

Katsuya laughed, shaking his head as he ruffled the boy's messy hair despite protests. "Hey hey now, don't be too upset, it could have been worse! Besides... It looks cool," he continued with a grin, pulling a scrap of fabric from his pouch, "And if anyone asks, you can say 'I got it in a sword fight'!"

"But I got it off that rock, running from the crocodile," Saraph protested, the long line on his cheek still somewhat bloodied even as Katsuya tore up a side of his sleeve to bandage it carefully. "It wasn't even something cool," he continued with a scowl, "Like the crocodile itself!"

"Ah, but if it was the crocodile, you wouldn't have lived. Besides," he said with a still wide grin, quite glad that he'd managed to save the boy, "They won't know that right?" Saraph appeared largely unamused about this, crossing his arms as Katsuya stood before them. "Now... Just what is a small mouse like you doing alone on the river banks," he asked, crossing his arms as his dragon inspected the child in silence. "There are lots of crocodiles here this time of year; if not for me," the man continued seriously, "You'd be long gone 'chabar'."

Saraph's scowl deepened, the boy crossing his arms. "Hn! I'm no friend," he snarled, huffing as he looked away. "And it's none of your business!"

"Ahhh? Is that how you repay the one who saved you," he joked, prodding the boy's face with his staff as he scowled.

"Hngggg..." Still Saraph huffed, before muttering a curse under his breath. "Tch... I was going to follow the river to the capital," he shouted angrily, going somewhat red as he looked up at the much taller young man.

Oh... "The capital," he repeated, eyes wide.

Saraph nodded, biting his lip. "My uncle... Well, 'mostly' uncle, Neker... He's worked there for a long time... But recently," the boy continued, "He moved there permanently. He said he'd send a letter... But he never did," he protested, narrowing his eyes and kicking at the ground. "I waited and waited, but he never did! He lied..!" Maybe, maybe not... But the capital...

The man sighed, shaking his head and continuing to lean on the staff. "Ahhh... So you thought you'd find him yourself, not thinking that perhaps it would be a little difficult to find someone willing to deliver your mail from the capital to the village 'elna-am' any way... Which is hardly as pleasant as the name would imply," he added, leaning on his staff as Saraph bowed his head in embarrassment.

"Mggnnn..."

"What was that now," he 'asked' idly, raising his eyebrows.

"Thank you for saving me mister... Um..."

Katsuya rolled his eyes, sighing as he began to walk past the boy. "Names give power you know," he said idly, smirking at the boy behind him as a short bleat came out from ahead where he'd left his goat herd. "Don't think I'll be giving you mine so easily!"

"E-EH! But I gave you mine," the boy protested, "And-"

"Ahhh, but you weren't thinking now were you, 'chabar'," he continued with a chuckle, Saraph growing quite red in response.

"Oooooogh... You call me 'friend' after that!"

"Now come on... Don't be like that," Katsuya laughed, shaking his head. "And pick up the pace hm? You don't expect to see your 'uncle' by standing there do you?"

"AH-" Saraph jumped, running after his new 'friend' with a grin the moment he heard those words. "You... You mean you'll take me to the capital," he asked, a few goats meeting his eyes as he chased after the young man, Katsuya merely walking calmly as his dragon floated in the air behind him. "You'll bring me there?"

"Well, I'll be speaking to your mother first," he said with a smirk, looking down at the boy with a wink. "And we won't be going to the capital right away. See all this," he continued, gesturing to the goats that were slowly surrounding them in a cluster. "This is my herd; after your lovely elders banished me," Katsuya said almost bitterly, "This is what I started working on. It has its advantages," the teen continued, laughing as Saraph stared, "As now, I'm welcome everywhere!"

"Ah- everywhere! And they don't call you 'Itja'?"

"Nope. And they don't call me 'gannab', or 'kleftis' either," Katsuya told him as he grinned, the boy's eyes widening further in awe.

"Waaaaaaooooowwwww..."

"I have a 'route'," the teen continued to explain to the boy as they walked, bleats and hoof-beats surrounding them at all sides. "I take my herd from here through the south, as far as the southern kingdoms can reach... And once I'm done there," he told him, as he gestured about the area, "And once the year begins to reach its fullest season, I cross the nile and head back."

"AH- You cross the river," Saraph shouted in shock, his friend continuing to grin.

"Hehehe... That's right," Katsuya laughed, crossing his arms somewhat. "I travel along the other side of the river all the way to the delta for the dry season, and once I hit the middle of that one," he went on with another laugh, "I start making my way back... After crossing the nile again," he continued, looking down at Saraph with a smirk.

"Then... On the way back, if you're on this side again..." Saraph seemed to pause, as though factoring in what this meant. "AH... But that's an entire YEAR," he protested, eyes wide as he groaned. "How are we going to-"

"Well... I'm sure I can find a way to send word to your Uncle while we're at it," the young man chuckled, the boy swallowing as their village came into view in the distance. Great stone cliffs surrounded it... Almost dragon-like in appearance, sheltering it with their great and huge bodies from sand and harsh winds. 'Elna'am', the 'Pleasant Village'... Known for welcoming those of all races all professions... At the cost of becoming outcast themselves. He knew this village somehow... But... "Now... Just where is your mother," Katsuya asked, looking down at the boy as they came to the small village gates.

Saraph was only too happy to show him. Even as he received glares and jeers from the crowd for bringing back the 'monster'. Even as people spat in his friend's face, calling him demon and traitor as they went.

Even as his mother gave him a narrowed glare from the entrance of their home, arms crossed as she dared the man before her to attempt to enter her home. Zamarel was a fierce woman. Beautiful yes. But fierce as well, very fierce. She had narrowed eyes that almost reminded him of someone else, of someone... With a ring...

His mind had thrown it out of his thoughts as they spoke however. As they discussed what happened at the river, with the crocodile and with Saraph... As they discussed the real reason he was called 'demon'.

The elders of Elna-am knew what he knew about shadows, and about the souls that protected them. They knew their shadows and could call on them for aid, but to them the shadows were little more than tools. It was one thing to claim to converse with them, and to claim that they were more than mindless beasts.

It was another to claim that they had revealed to him the future, be it in a dream or a flash of light. And in this case that future, what he had seen moments beforehand, had concerned Zamarel's son.

Saraph was supposed to die in that moment. However, he did not, not after his shadow had been ordered to do away with the crocodile that would have done the deed, not after his own guilty conscience forced him to turn against his dreams. Katsuya didn't know the effects interference would bring. He didn't know if it would curse the village or not, so he asked... 'Just to be safe... And to give your son a chance... Will you allow me to take him as my apprentice?'

Zamarel, having little other choice in her mind, agreed to the request, and with that Saraph's fate as a tomb thief and guardian to the village had changed drastically. The boy was ecstatic. All his life, people called him nothing more than monster, thief, scoundrel, save for when he was inside the village... Now however, he had a chance. He had...

As memories of travels passed, as growth passed, as dragons became visible and as laughter was shared, and as names became known, Saraph froze behind him, the desert air blowing coldly about them as the laughter died. 'What will happen to me,' he asked, face growing plain and almost emotionless as Katsuya turned to frown, eyes narrowed in confusion. This wasn't a memory, he told himself. This never happened... This never... So why... 'They call me a thief. You and I say this isn't true. That we are destined for more in this place.

But what will really happen in the end?

They were at the stables on the exact opposite side of the village and the nile now, having managed to travel for almost two thirds of the year already. The sun had long since set beneath the horizon, and it was time to sleep... They were laughing as they approached the stables, talking about something, and then...

"AH- Chabar," Saraph shouted in surprise, looking toward the small light in the 'house, "There's someone inside-"

A shout pierced the air as they came over, and all at once a small girl fled from around the boy in fear. She screamed... Her white and tangled hair flew behind her, and in a single moment she found herself blocked by goats, by a staff... And by a tall tanned young man with white-grey hair. "Ah-ah ahh... Now what do we have here," Katsuya asked, looking down at the girl with a frown. "A run-away..?"

The girl, who was abnormally pale for someone in the area, immediately shook her head. "N-No," the girl whispered in fear, backing away as she swallowed, "I'm..!"

A few moments of explanations and panicked mutterings later and they were seated in the stables, the shadow at his feet watching over the goats as the others sat along piles of straw in candle light. "So... 'Kisara' is it," Katsuya asked, the girl slowly nodding as she bowed her head and looked at the ground nervously. "And just what brings you to the middle of nowhere?"

"They... They won't let me anywhere else," the girl admitted, biting her lip. "I..." She pulled away, shaking her head and hiding behind another pile of straw in the back room. "I... I won't tell you! You're both thieves... White hairs," she shouted, "I can't trust you!"

"AH- But you have white hair too," Saraph protested, the girl merely sticking out her tongue as she huffed.

"I don't have dark skin though!"

"WHAT!"

"Alright, alright," he shouted, rapping both on the head with his staff, "That's enough..!"

Kisara and Saraph... Never did get along really he told himself with a sigh, the memory of the rest of the evening rather small and faded from that point onward. But even so, she traveled with them, that much his mind told him. She had nowhere to go after all. She was too pale for the desert, but too pale for those of the north, of Greece, as well.

She was like them. Outcast, from everywhere. But they always argued, those two..! "You burn too easy," Saraph muttered as they traveled the delta, the girl clutching a large and oversized shawl they'd purchased for her while she waited outside the city they were in. She'd been sitting outside each village they entered due to her pale-skin attracting more attention than their own darker tone... After the stones had begun flying they'd decided it'd be safer.

The sunlight, however, was not helping things. "Well, she can't help it," Katsuya responded as the girl frowned at the earlier comment, before running ahead with the sheep and the dragon that she could now barely see the outline of in the shadows. "She's pale."

"She's an anag," Saraph retorted.

"No, just pale. That's rare," he continued wisely, looking down at the boy and shaking his head. "Her soul is very pure... She's special, and powerful."

Saraph seemed to fall silent at that, looking to the side awkwardly. "...Then... What about my soul," he'd asked, looking up hopefully. "My shadow?"

"Yours is powerful too," the young man responded honestly. "Very much so in fact; it's like you."

"Like me," the boy asked.

"Yea; open to change... Open to anything... Freed from fate, and able to decide wherever and whatever it does... That's your soul," Katsuya told his friend, still smiling as they traveled on.

"Ahhh..."

There were so many memories of these children, so many that were blurring through his mind as they walked... Until finally they settled on one other one. "This is the tale of the 'Dragon Knights'," he started late one evening, the trio having come to rest just a day or so outside of the capital they had so strived to reach. "It's an old story," he continued with a narrator's voice, "Passed down generation from generation..."

"AH- I've heard this one," Saraph shouted with wide eyes, looking forward in expectation. "This is the one where-"

"Shhhh! Don't spoil it," he laughed, shaking his head. His shadow rose from his feet, but rather than taking the form of the familiar black dragon it shifted, changing as he moved his hands with it. Changing to create a flowing image as his staff twirled. "Now... This is a story from long ago... Before you were born, before I was born...

"Before much of the world was born... Long ago," he explained, "There was Light' and 'Darkness'... Two beings created out of chaos, each in constant battle... And between them, for despite their hate they could never pull away, they created their children, the 'shadows'...

The shadows were a powerful people. Not one was the same as the other, and they were always fighting, much like their parents. However, they did so with honor, as though it were nothing more than a game to them... But while the Shadows lived peacefully, Light and Darkness grew tired of the other... Separating from the other... And in her spite, Light took the shadows from Darkness, and from them created a new race and realm to mirror them.

Her own race; the people of light. Animals of all kinds and humans to care for them, all in a world much like the one we live in now... That is how our people came to be... Darkness did not like this though," Katsuya explained, unsure of how he knew this old and oral tale that he was so easily spinning with shadows in the air. "So in spite, he planted a seed in each of the light one's hearts... And as Light found this, he told her bitterly that one day, all that she owned would be his.

But Light had another idea; she bound each of her children to a shadow by creating a path between the realms, tasking them with the continued creation of each other, one to protect the other and live on. This way, she told them, they would be safe from the darkness.

And it was through this that they thrived," Katsuya went on, the shadows dancing as the children stared. "That they formed a great and powerful civilization, conquering even the seas with their power. But it was a peaceful civilization," he stressed, the image of the city briefly appearing in the shadows in the air. "One without wars, at least not 'real' ones. They had their fights for the sake of the shadows, but it was all a part of their game, and all a part of the fun they had in life."

"And the knights," Saraph began impatiently, before being cut off by a hand.

"I'm getting to it..!" Katsuya chuckled, shaking his head as more memories than he'd ever hoped to unlock flowed through his mind. "Among the warriors of this civilization, there were two who stood tall and proud, two who guarded the wise family that reigned over them. The Knights of Fire and Ice, of Water and Wind... Two great and powerful warriors who trained under one of the few unbound shadows of their time, the 'Dragon', 'Gaia'... In training with him," he explained mysteriously, "They themselves became dragons... Merging with their shadows to become something beyond themselves, to become 'whole souls'... Humans with the ability to become dragons in their own right, to soar among the skies with shadows..!

But it was in this time that darkness arose. For Darkness created his own children," the goat herd went on, "Three powerful beings to fight those of the light. And as a result, there were many battles to be had... One would cripple both sides completely, scattering the Light's forces to leave her people to defend themselves... And another would be lost to the depths of time, but the one that we know of was far worse. Darkness created three powerful beings from himself," Katsuya explained. "Ziz, the shape-changer, he who was 'divided' with Light in one great battle that is so drastic in origin that it is forbidden to speak of... Behemoth, the giant, he who was cast into the depths of the earth, sealed away by the 'Ancients', the people created by Light... And finally the third great evil, who chose to bide his time to corrupt each seed within the Light's hearts... A great and vile serpent, against whom none realized his plans until it was far too late. Nonetheless as they fled with what few people they could save the dragon knights rose up against the monster, and with their blade, banished the villainous and mighty-"

"LEVIA-"

"APEP!" Saraph jumped at that, Katsuya's shadows briefly melting down as Kisara looked forward with a grin. "The endless serpent... Apep! They fought that thing," she asked with shining eyes, hands held to her face. "Waaaaaaoooow! That's amazing, that-"

"It's called Leviathan," Saraph grumbled, crossing his arms as he looked away with narrowed eyes. "Not 'Apep'..!"

"Of course it's Apep," his friend protested loudly, "He said it was a great and vile serpent! That's what Apep is!"

"It's Leviathan!"

"Apep!"

"Leviathan!"

"APEP!"

"LEVIATH-"

"ALRIGHT! We have a long day tomorrow," Katsuya laughed, 'herding' the children into the small 'stable' he'd set up in the area as he sighed. "How about we sleep..?"

In the end, that was what had happened really. They'd still argued before finally getting their shut-eye of course, but at least they were quiet until they reached the capital the next morning. At least until they met with 'Mahaad', and with his cousin 'Mana'. Not to mention with the very princess of the palace, the daughter of the High Priest, the cousin to the recently born Prince himself... The girl known as 'Sett'. Granted, the so-called Princess was only five years old and could barely speak, but nonetheless- it was quite a rare opportunity to say the least...

And the fact was, had it not been for that meeting they'd have never gotten in. Mahaad took them to the palace aide and scribe Nekhetep within the gates, a young half-greek with long and pale hair. Nekhetep took them to the astronomer's office within the palace bounds, where a young, likely barely seven year old boy with hair and skin almost identical to his and Saraph's own led them away to the private study of the man they were searching for.

And there they met with the astronomer himself, the one whose name meant 'stranger', the one who had escaped the fate of all those from the village elna-am in a complete twist of chance. "I greet you, 'friend'," the man said with an honest smile as they entered, standing from his seat to bow as he smiled. "It has been a while... I assume you're doing well if you can wear such a coloured cloak," Neker laughed, Katsuya shrugging as he looked over the bright red cloak in question.

"Ahhh, I only just got this moments ago from a trade," he laughed, shaking his head as Saraph looked up in what seemed to be awe. A very good trade, within the palace he might have added...

For the moment though, the kids took priority, and though Kisara had since been pulled away by the two young five and four year old girls they'd met earlier, Saraph was still at his side. "C-Chabar," the boy said with a swallow, eyes wide. "You... You know Uncle Neker..!"

Katsuya smirked, crossing his arms as he and Neker spared the boy a short glance and chuckle. "I do," he said plainly, the smirk growing. "He's one of the few who wanted me to stay before I left."

"If only because your words had more logic than the spoon-food the elders taught," Neker snorted, shaking his head as he changed the subject. "Now... I see you met my son," he chuckled, hands on his hips as Katsuya nodded.

"I did; a nice boy," he continued, "Though his eyes seem a little..."

"Blue? That would be his mother," the astronomer explained, chuckling somewhat. "A wonderful woman, she came from the northern lands as a 'gift' initially... Though she was not particularly pleased about this." Oh boy. That must have been... Neker quickly caught the look on his friend's face, shaking his head. "There's a happy ending, don't worry... She appeared just shortly after you left, having fled the capital all together; we met, married, and... Well," the man went on, coughing somewhat awkwardly, "You can see what happened. Eventually soldiers from the capital caught wind of where their 'ambassador' went, and after a number of passed messages we came to an agreement. Which, I am sure you can see the result of," the man chuckled, Katsuya shaking his head.

A job, house, and life... He could see the results indeed. "I can- out of curiosity though," the goat herd continued as he gestured to the son in question, "What is his name?"

"Anesi," his friend responded, looking back up from the sky charts he'd moved to gather from the table. "Chorona's language... It means 'comfort'," he continued with a slight nod and chuckle, Katsuya blinking in response. Comfort..? Hang on...

He looked back to the boy that was sitting at the window at the far end of the room, who had taken off his protective keffiyeh to reveal more of the white hair they'd spotted beneath the folds of fabric. This style... This face... "...Comfort," Katsuya repeated, almost shaking his head in confusion as the scene appeared to freeze. "In our language," he continued quietly, "That would be..."

Would be... "Do you remember now," Saraph asked blankly, Katsuya turning back to him in fear as his image flashed between himself and white, himself and 'Seraph', himself and- "What will happen to me?" This... Sand-beaten clothes finally died out to become replaced with a white suit, and Seraph's grey and emotionless eyes stared forward as a dull breeze blew. This feeling... The boy continued on... "What will happen to you?" This..!

With a rumbling cry he could feel his memories scatter as he realized just how and why he had been able to recall so much of this 'past' that he had never known. As he realized just why his mind was suddenly flowing in a proper order, devoid of confusion of surrealism... His feelings... His memories his feelings his thoughts his feelings, his feelings, his feelings..!

And the name... "Noah." The scene scattered and vanished from sight as the word ran through the air, and the blond clutched at his head as he breathed laboriously. That name...

Noah. The name sparked in the back of his mind, from which there was no connection to the white ghost, to his head, to his real body... To the thing that had been roughly torn from his grasp... To any sense of feeling, to any sense of self, to anything... Noah...

Noa...

NOA..!

Though Noah was not a name that this mind was familiar with, there was another, far more annoying one that was coming to the mind of a completely memory entrapped and confusion ridden one.

She was running. She was late for something, something important she told herself as she entered the dream-like state of memory, messily cut shoulder length hair flying in the wind as she ran in her new white and linen robes. They were nice robes, that was for certain. Far nicer than the sand-worn cloth she'd worn before. They were gift from her teacher, along with the materials in her arms and the building she was to stay in. A gift from the one she would now be apprenticed to, if only because he used this as the 'deal' to keep her secret. Her precious secret, the one that he had found out from where she had been studying in priesthood rather than that of the priestess' role.

Because that man could never know. Not about this.

Distracted by these thoughts a quick shout came through the air, ankles catching on each other whilst she ran. The black scale that was braided and woven into a lock of hair clacked against the ground as she fell, papyrus scrolls and a small package of ink-stones and reed brushes scattering across the ground as she hissed in both anger and slight pain. "ACK- Shit, shit, shit," she cursed under her breath, hurriedly attempting to gather her things as a somewhat amused young teen stood across from her with a smirk

"Well if this isn't interesting," he said with crossed arms, white hair barely visible from beneath the keffiyeh over his head as he looked down from an already taller height than the girl. "Hello there little 'Set'... Funny how someone with a 'God's name can be so pathetic," the teen chuckled, eyes narrowed in apparent mirth as the girl scowled.

"Tch... Not now," she growled, pulling her things back as she stood up with narrowed eyes. She was twelve now. It had been two years since she moved from her already advanced classes of becoming a scribe to the demanding and constant lessons of a priest. One year since the visiting Priest Nekhetep of the Millennium Rod visited the temple and caught her secret. And it had been just a few weeks since, after receiving her apprenticeship, she moved to the capital to stay in the palace for her training.

And met this pain in Ra's ever sunny ass (forgive her for that one, Great Ra.). "Ohhhh... Is that all you have to say to me," the teen chuckled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Don't tell me you forgot my name," he chuckled darkly. "Anesi, remember? 'Aaaaa neeeeen si! It's easy to pronounce you know..."

Hn! "I know," Set muttered, narrowing her eyes. "I just don't care."

"Oh really? So the one with 'God's name is better than me then," Anesi taunted, snorting as the smirk fell somewhat. Really... It wasn't as though she could help having such a name; cutting off the 'woman' part of it was one of the first steps to pretending to be a man while still protecting herself, but...

"Hn!" Regardless of reasoning this was one real piece of work..! "As if you're so much better," she spat, Anesi rolling his eyes.

"Hn! Well... Let's just see, the list can go on and on... There's you, who came without warning from some hick-village in the far north of the desert," he began, bringing a finger to his chin in thought as the girl before him glared, "As opposed to me, who has lived in the capital my entire life. You started your apprenticeship... Oh, a few months ago... And I've been in apprenticeship to the great High Priest Akhnaden for almost six years," Anesi bragged, apparently quite proud of the fact that he'd been working with the man since he was barely of schooling age. "And speaking of 'apprenticeship'," the boy chuckled, his 'friend' and 'rival' scowling darkly as he continued on with a smirk, "My master is the King's very brother, and earned his role legitimately... Not like yours," the boy hissed, "Who was a mere scribe before receiving his item..."

"But it is still an item," she bit out swiftly, eyes narrowing still further in defense of her current teacher. "Therefore, given all that you said, and all of the obstacles myself and Priest Nekhetep would have surpassed, I am the more powerful." Ordinarily, she would have expected anger in response to such a remark.

That, however, was not Anesi's style. "OHOHOH! You think so," Anesi laughed, pulling back from the wall as he grinned. "My father is the palace's most knowledgeable astronomer... My mother a woman with equal status to the Queen herself, bearing none other than the Tauk! My path," the teen emphasized, "Has been set in stone... Yours," he snorted, the girl before him biting her tongue to hold back truths that would more than freeze her rival in place, "Is unlikely... I don't know why Nekhetep picked you of all people as his apprentice," the boy spat, "Particularly so soon after little 'Ru' was killed... Ironically by a 'Ru'," he added with narrowed eyes, the idea of a lion eating his namesake sending a slight shudder down Set's spine as she stared in distaste. "But if you think in any way that you 'belong' here..." The girl continued to narrow her eyes, clutching the items in her arms. Tch... So that was why her 'master' was in need of an apprentice... That was why he'd been so quick to make this deal...

Well... No matter then. "I still have a chance," she hissed darkly, eyes narrowed to mere slits. "If not more than you," the girl continued, "Who has yet to prove himself beyond 'royal life'..."

Anesi snorted, shaking his head. "Hn! We'll see about that... But when the time comes," he continued with a darkened smirk, "You'll know all too well who the superior one is! Who the 'real' Priest is, when I'm staring down at you with the Golden Eye!" The eye...

Gh..! She couldn't suppress the shudder for that one, despite her hatred for the motion and the show of weakness it brought with it. That eye... When she'd first come into the temple, first come into that building after fleeing her destroyed village... When she saw that man, standing there as though nothing had happened... When she saw that eye, that horrible eye staring forward, seeming to radiate with a darkness even without looking down upon her... "Tch... You're a freak," she hissed, holding her scribal materials close as she shook her head and stepped around the teen. "To look forward to that kind of mutilation!" The girl hurriedly began to walk off after that. She was late she told herself with grit teeth, late for her classes, late for-

"At least it'll be an honourable one," Anesi shouted after her, the girl pausing as she looked back with narrowed and incredulous eyes. An honourable... "Unlike what you do!"

Set continued to freeze, swallowing a wave of fear as she stiffened and looked toward the teen. What 'she did'? She did nothing of the sort but... Why was she scared she asked herself, standing stock still as the teen growled from across her. Why...

Anesi moved closer... "I've seen you you know," he sneered, a wicked smirk on his face as he loomed above the girl. "Washing those clothes... Covered in blood... So where are the scars then," he hissed, leaning in somewhat as she stared. "You're the only boy I know besides 'Mahaad' that wears a shirt," he continued, "And he at least takes his off once in a while. But you never take yours off... So what are you doing to yourself..?" Never- He... He dared...

She was washing something that happened every month... Something that he would never come to assume should her facade hold, but for him to dare assume that she would scar herself so disgustingly..! "You... WRETCH," she roared, throwing herself at Anesi as scribal materials clattered to the ground for her to send a fist into the teen's face. "You VILE, INSULTING-"

"That's enough," a strong voice called out, the two quickly separated by a somewhat older teen's strong arms as they both struggled against the grip. One with a bloody lip, wiping his face as he was shoved off to the side... The other, herself, breathing laboriously as Mahaad shook his head and let her down as well. "Honestly... Act your ages, both of you," he growled, dusting his hands off as he looked to the pair with narrowed eyes. "This is hardly what I expected of Nekhetep's new apprentice..."

Set said nothing in response to those words, merely swallowing as she looked away somewhat awkwardly from the teen. She remembered Mahaad, if not barely. From many years ago, many... Just a faded memory though, so faded...

It was enough that she ended up with an incredibly large sense of awkwardness around him though. She left without another word to continue her classes after that. And following her classes, she went home in a still continuing silence, waiting for the sun to set... And then that evening she went to the banks of the small nile inlet near her home, taking clothes in hand as she took her bath-

"...May Isis correct my vision now," a voice whispered from the side, the bag of forgotten ink stones she'd somehow left behind clattering to the ground. "You're-"

Set had given one look to the young priest's apprentice, the one who would receive the ring, the one she dimly remembered...

And forgot what happened next. Completely, and she wasn't sure why... Time had passed from that moment though. Mahaad kept her secret it seemed, though it developed a strange if not bitter relationship between the two. A rivalry perhaps; Mahaad, after all, knew what her identity meant. Knew just why she hid. Knew who she really was... So he would say, 'You could go to the Pharaoh, and completely avoid this sort of danger. So why hide?'

'Because with this, no one will accuse me of reaching for the throne,' she whispered in excuse.'I can be the shadow of the king, and fight, rather than acting as a vessel for the next line.' She knew what would happen if she revealed herself. She knew how pure the line was meant to be.

And Mahaad, evidently deciding that it wasn't yet time to argue against such excuses, appeared to agree.

But then one night... As she returned to the palace, having forgotten her materials of study for the evening someone bumped into her. Someone with dark skin and white hair, his keffiyeh falling to the ground to reveal the locks of white gray hair that were so often hidden beneath the hat. They'd spoken little after her first few months of tutelage, she and Anesi. She'd proven herself more than capable of the lessons learned after all, and of the tasks at hand. She was more than proving to be a challenge to surpass.

But despite what strange rivalry she and Anesi held, and how little she saw of him now, she knew him enough to still 'hate' him. If not somewhat. "Hn! And you call me clumsy," she growled, the fourteen year old girl watching as Anesi hurriedly looked back to his 'home' in a fear far unlike him before pushing the girl into the shadows and against the wall with a swallow. "G- WHAT-"

"Shh! Shhh," he whispered hurriedly, moving frantically as he absently stepped over the prized keffiyeh he so cared for. "You... I know who you are," he warned, eyes wide with fear as she herself stared in both shock and disbelief. "I know of your origins," the teen continued with a frantic hiss, "And what you plan to do... But if you hope to live," Anesi pressed almost pitifully, "And if you know what is good for you, you will leave this place and you will run," he hurriedly told her, stepping back as shadows came around the corners. "You'll run and you'll never look back..! He's already gotten my family," Anesi cried, stepping back in panicked flight as the shadows came closer. "You're next..!"

She never saw him again. The soldiers had come by shortly after he vanished over the horizon and beyond the distant buildings, asking her if she'd seen anyone pass by... "No," she told them dully, using a voice that she had slowly been working at with her teacher's guidance. 'He'd have been strange,' they responded quickly, as though to test her for information. 'Dark skin, with white hair-' "No," she repeated. "Particularly not anyone like that."

Why did she defend him... And why...

Did she want him to come back? The morning came all too soon after that. And as Akhnaden called together the council and their respective students, the Pharaoh seemed to stare at them all with blank and half dead eyes... Listening as his brother spoke, and staring at a now very much thinned crowd.

"I have called you all here to share with you a most grievous of events," he began, seeming to pace about the front of the room. "Most recently the palace astronomer known as 'Neker'... 'Tragoedia'," he continued, arms folded across his back, "Was, as you know, taken in for questioning in regards to a possible threat against the Pharaoh. He was found more than guilty," the man went on stiffly. "And after killing both of those whom accompanied me, it took all the strength of myself and Priest Nekhetep, to whom I currently owe my life for his 'intrusion', to seal his monstrous soul into stone. Yet even with this defeat of a great evil, there is still more foul news..." More news..?

And just why would Neker, who had pledged a complete and honest alliance to the Pharaoh suddenly decide to attempt murdering him..?

Before these thoughts could be answered the High Priest continued to speak, Set swallowing almost nervously as she listened. "It was decided that, due to familial relations, the High Priestess Chorona and her son... My apprentice, Anesi," Akhnaden was saying, "Would be confronted for questioning on their knowledge of the matter. However I regret to say that we were... Too late," he continued, bowing his head in apparent grief. "It would seem that before his capture Tragoedia killed not only his son but also his wife... I regret to say therefore that we are here not to celebrate the destruction of a threat... Nor the succession of the priests and priestess involved," Akhnaden went on, "But instead to mourn the souls of four members of our court..." . . .

...Lies.

As Isis, who was just a year or so older than herself bowed her head and shook, tears running down her face as she clutched her newly received Millennium Tauk, the word repeated in her mind. Lies. Chorona had been murdered. She'd foreseen the event and handed her item to the girl before allowing herself to die to distract the soldiers.

Lies. Anesi had fled, fled for his life and warned her before vanishing without a trace, spared only by his mother's sacrifice and his own clear head.

Lies. Though Nekhetep seemed to accept these words he forever looked to Akhnaden with narrowed eyes when the man seemed to not be looking, taking caution when it came to her secrecy... And always making sure to never be caught alone with the man.

Lies. Lies. Lies... "Why did this happen," she found herself muttering later on that day, standing in the hall with Mahaad as he fingered the ring that had formerly belonged to his father. He looked strange in the garb of the High Priest. With the head dress and gold accessories... It seemed to suit him nonetheless though, for some reason, and it almost made her feel miles behind her goal despite the teen having only received his item because of his father's death. "I saw him... Anesi," she clarified as her 'friend' frowned. "He was running for his life. Why would Anesi, Akhnaden's apprentice, be forced to flee, when he scarcely met his father as it was? Why would he feel threatened by the man who effectively raised him for most of his life?" Why...

Why..? "...I don't know," Mahaad muttered after a moment, not looking to the young woman beside him. "Paranoia perhaps? Chorona seemed to be avoiding the High Priest as of late... There was fear in her eyes, and she was consulting her item more and more..." The teen dropped his ring, shaking his head as he continued to stare at the gold in silence. "...There is... A darkness within these items," he said after a moment, Set looking up with a frown.

"...Hn?"

"Something dark lies within these so-called treasures," Mahaad repeated seriously, staring at the object with narrowed eyes. "Something dangerous... Shada always mentioned these things after Adviser Shiamun passed his 'key' onto him... But it's a completely different matter when it's in my hands," he muttered, shaking his head as he looked to the ground. ...Was it now...

"So then... You don't wish to serve the pharaoh," she asked darkly, narrowing her eyes as she looked to the teen.

Mahaad instantly turned to her with narrowed eyes, shaking his head. "Not at all," he protested, looking to the side with the words and biting his lip. "Particularly not in 'these' times," the now 'High Priest' muttered. "...However..." He trailed off, staring down the hall with narrowed eyes before moving from the wall. "There's something I need to check," he muttered, shaking himself. "Something important..."

"Something..." Something important..?

And like Anesi, she never found out what that something was. She never even came close. But shortly after Mahaad's time in classes turned to time spent in the records hall, the Pharaoh left the kingdom in his wife and brother's hands, taking his son with him on a pilgrimage south to pray. Where they went was unknown. What they did was unknown, and the journey lasted a small number of months.

But the Pharaoh returned with a grim look upon his face, and never spoke to his brother from that moment on. He fell ill... And he requested an audience with each member of his council, along with the apprentice to the sole 'student rearing' member of his council. All others had succeeded their masters after all. Isis, Karim, and Mahaad on that one day. Shada long before... And Anesi was long gone, never to be seen and leaving none to take Akhnaden's place should the man have mysteriously passed on.

In addition to all this, on the day Nekhetep was called he too was gone.

For good.

She found his body when entering the 'classroom' as it was called, a simple and open spaced room where Nekhetep would conduct his duties as priest and train her in those same roles. He was a 'High Priest' now after all. Her chances of success had risen, her goals and trials had risen in difficulty...

As had her risks.

And the threats. Against herself...

And against her teacher.

"Hah... Haaahhhh..." Her materials fell to the ground as she came into the dark hall, the girl stumbling back as Mahaad came behind her only to stare. "Ahhhhh..."

"...Set," he called out, the now fifteen year old girl across from him frozen in horror and unable to turn back to respond. "...Set," he repeated again, walking closer before freezing as well.

Nekhetep was dead, and had been for a while. His body lay sprawled on the ground and the Millennium Rod was embedded in his chest, his head bowed over as if to pray for whoever had killed him. Her memories flashed... Switching between a pair of scenes... She was fifteen...

And then she was twenty five. Staring at a shaking teen with darkened skin and white hair. Fifteen. The corpse of a pale man with equally pale hair. Twenty five. The shaking continued, as did the ragged breathing as she attempted to calm whoever this man was down. Fifteen... She was staring, shaking, and she just hated feeling this weak..! Twenty five...

"I can't do it," the young man whispered in fear, the Millennium Rod gripped tightly in his hands as he held the blade toward himself. "How can you ask me to wield something created from the blood of my very ancestors..!"

Blood spilled on the ground amid a shout. Fifteen. The blood had already pooled and was long cold. Twenty Five. "No..!" The dark skinned man across from her, the last tie to the lost 'Anesi' thrust the blade into his chest... Blood was warm and fresh and staining her robes...

Fifteen. Someone had done this to her teacher, someone had killed him... But who?

Twenty Five. If she had just buried these items away none of this would have happened, and this time the 'murderer' was-

Fifteen. She was falling to her knees, Mahaad standing stock still as his apprentice, his cousin Mana, appeared around the corner before turning back to run for aid.

Twenty Five. The 'man', really just a 'boy' in his late teens, had collapsed to the ground bleeding, as she herself fell to his side with a shout only to find herself too late.

Fifteen. It was too late... Too late too late too late...

Too late, and the face of Anesi's brother stared blankly forward as she closed her eyes and-

"Come here," a rasping voice muttered as she opened her eyes, still commanded by the memories of a life she completely denied the existence of a number of times before. The room she stood in now was dark, despite the sun shining. Curtains had been pulled across the windows, as the heat was far preferred compared to the sun in the eyes of the dying King. She was the last one to see him, besides the Prince. She was the last one called forward, and garbed in the somewhat ill-fitting clothes of the High Priest she came to the Pharaoh, her uncle's, side.

"...You wished to see me," she asked, the voice of a 'man' meeting the air as she continued on with the facade that Nekhetep had taught her to uphold.

"I regret never doing this earlier," the man whispered, eyes somewhat glazed as he stared to the woman. "But it's too late for that sort of thing..." Too late..?

"What is it," she asked, frowning somewhat. "...What sort of thing, my Pharaoh?"

"Ohhhhh... You need not hide from me anymore," the Pharaoh whispered in response, shaking his head as he sighed. "Sett... If you refuse to stand in the place you were born to stand in," he rasped, "Then at least humor my final wishes..." What... The Priest swallowed, unable to do more than nod as she stared. He knew... All this time he'd known and... ...And the man continued. "Look after my son," he whispered almost pleadingly. "Look after your cousin... No matter what, keep him safe... For I have done the same for you," he wheezed, eyes briefly closing over in some unseen fit of pain. "...Always remember that..."

She left shortly after. And the Prince followed, for what would likely be the last time he saw his father breathing. And finally as her subconscious thoughts continued to bite and scream, continued to wail 'it's not REAL!' she could see the face of the cousin she had chosen to serve. She could see his tanned skin as they, the council and the royal family, were led through the funeral procedure... See his green eyes as he stared forward in grief... See the face...

Of her rival... As green eyes dyed red, as tanned skin paled to a white shade, as white linen became black leather, and as narrowed eyes turned toward her in recognition- "This isn't real," she hissed, the memories around her freezing in place as a fierce wind began to blow around her. They seemed to almost glare at her as she spoke, and as Seto clenched her fists in rage a 'crack' echoed in the air. These so called 'memories'..! This..! "THIS. IS NOT. REAL!"

Thunder after roaring peal of thunder cracked through the air, and as though behind a series of mirrors she could see each shard of this 'reality' shatter before her. One mirror, two mirrors, three, four... One after the other as clay bricks vanished, as white robes were destroyed...

She was a child again, dressed in those stupid capris and that moronic tank top she realized as the final mirror 'cracked'. She was standing in the kitchen of almost nine years ago, while her brother watched t.v. in the next room. She was trapped in a memory, a 'real' memory, and her body was forced to smile as she watched her father, her real father cook dinner. She was trapped in a memory and her brother was probably not even her brother. She was trapped...

And she was right back where she started.

AN: WHAT. WHERE. WHO-

Find out in the NEXT CHAPTER..!

In other words, this is a double post. (Mostly because I had to type this chapter in sections, and could therefore not edit it right off the bat... So I took the time to get started on the next one.) The next chapter should be up give or take a few minutes/hours, which means that the review responses will also be there.

So no, I haven't forgotten all of you lovely reviewers.

However, notes, pictures, and 'sound track' (IE: songs I listened to while typing that I shamelessly advertize now) points applying to this chapter will be here.

What with it being 'this chapter' and all that.

SO! Without further ado...

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that can't quite remember the last time it updated like this. But that's okay; double posts extend the update date by about a week anyways really.

'Epiphanic' comes from the term 'Epiphany'. In other words, that handy thing that happens when you realize something... However, in this case, an 'Epiphanic Purgatory' will not necessarily lead to an epiphany. All you need for one of these is a crap load of memories and a need to break through those memories to get out.

So yes, they're pretty much all trapped in one of these. Seto came close to breaking. But she's not quite there, poor girl.

OHOHOH. Yes, they're all kids again! For a little bit at least. Specifics on how this happened however are probably different than what you would expect; Noa was sort of 'skimming' everyone's top thoughts, since he's obviously connected to the computer again (this is partially why he was starting to get more curious than scared)... However, this meant he got all of the car-crash from Jonouchi AGAIN... So his mind added details and 'corrected' Jonouchi... Which forced Noa to add more details, and so on, and so on...

Owch. In any case, after a short bit, reverting everyone to that 'date' in time was part of a defense mechanisim to convince himself he was still alive; after all; they looked like this at the time, so if they still look like this, then clearly that car crash was all just 'a dream'.

Even though he keeps being reminded otherwise. OWCH.

Oh, and there's a picture of all the 'kids' below. Can you tell I had fun?

The dog that Honda took the form of is the dog that Noa was given on his first day in the Virtual World. If you hadn't guessed I mean.

You can probably guess why Ren's a little more sympathetic to Noa's plight. As for Honda's own curiosity, it's partially the still remaining programming; it reverted to the 'Sunny program'. In other words, the dog that was supposed to make Noa feel better. Not to say there's enough there for him to act weird, but it's enough to get him within range for 'capture'.

Noa calls Gozaburo 'daddy' partially because of his regressed mindset (desperate twelve year old) and partially because of the term he used in the anime; 'Chichi'. Which is pretty much as informal as you can get.

The white nights are a phenomenon in the far north that occur around the summer time, where twilight lasts HOURS on end... So it's as though the sun hasn't even set. You know that whole 'sunlight for six months' thing? That's the white nights.

And yes I'm still going with that 'the pharaoh had green eyes' thing. Deal with it, according to 'R' it's canon~ (Ohohoho~)

AHHHHH NOAAAA! That's right... He's taking Jonouchi's body! As for why he needed to do that stuff with Mokuba while he was at it, it's largely because of the focus/'connection' needed to do what he was going to do...

Also he's a bit of a clingy-jealous prick. Just saying. ...(Ohhhh but I feel so sad for him... Unuuuuuuuuu...) Any ways.

Currently, Mokuba is completely unaware that everyone is about to die. YAYYYYYYY ick.

You know how certain things trigger certain memories? That's what happened just now. They saw flower petals, remembered something, and it went from there.

In Japan, apartments are coded using this letter system here, since most are, at the base, one bedroom and then a crushed kitchen (which is standard small apartment size) and a crushed bathroom. '1K' means one room, one kitchen. 2K would be two rooms one kitchen, but you'd more likely find '2DK'; two rooms, dining room, and kitchen.

Then there's LDK; Living Room, Dining Room, Kitchen.

Any ways, the average price of a 1K room in Tokyo is about 61 thousand yen I believe... Which is around six hundred per month last I checked.

Reikin however, is a bit like a down payment... And though it's gone down recently, the places that charge it still charge about two-three month's rent for it. Ick!

In the anime, Jonouchi broke free of his own memory mind screw after a scene that was cut, involving Mai and Jonouchi; her words had jarred him, but not because of that silly 'I want to stop dueling' business in the dub.

She had said 'Like you, I made a stupid mistake.' This caused Jonouchi to think of Mai's comatose condition for the second time, and he abruptly snapped himself from the 'memory'...

But he snapped everyone else out too, so I couldn't do that yet..! (Or 'ever' actually...)

I see the divorce of Anzu's parents as oddly peaceful actually... And hey, peaceful divorces can happen you know..!

Something that bugs me SOOOOO much... 'Anzu' means 'Apricot'. Not peach. APRICOT. Yet people think it means peach. And they call YugixAnzu 'Peachshipping'.

You know what the word for PEACH is? IT'S MOMO. This doesn't even use the same kanji guys..!

...Alright, rant over. You can enjoy the rest of the crazy now.

For those confused about the snake deal, Malik was, for a few moments, still Ren... But Anzu's memory and thoughts were what was affecting that. So while she still thought of him as Ren, he was the snake... But when she accepted that Ren was Malik, it became... Well, Malik.

As to what this means... Well, that's for the next chapter to reveal. (And yes, anything from Malik's memory is in Arabic. And Anzu can indeed understand it in the memory.)

Remember when the Tauk said it often appeared to people in dreams, but in forms they could handle? This applies to voices as well. The tauk is quite aware of what's going on; she's not acting in Ryuzaki's favor though, merely putting more 'neutrality' on the field.

She's good at that. (And no, the tauk isn't really a 'she', it's an 'it', but it's easier to say 'she'.)

When Ryuzaki says that challenging Yami Malik by the sword will keep his 'duelists pride' intact, he's not refering to the fact that Malik would totally smoke him. He's insulting Malik, by implying that he's so disgusting that simply playing the game against him would be a crime.

Of course, Yami Malik could care less about that...

Why didn't Ryuzaki end up shocked to hell when he hit the cables? Because the duel-disk has a safety feature against that. Namely that it's kinda coated in a non-conductive material. HOORAY~

'Ze'eyr' is Hebrew for small. 'Ackbar' is from the same language and means 'Mouse'. However, I have this nasty feeling that I have still made a mistake somehow...

Oh, yes, I decided that the museum can have the village name wrong; 'Kul Elna' will have originally been known as (to the villagers) 'Elna'am, 'God's Pleasantness' or 'God is Pleasant' in other words. Or it could just be 'Pleasant', with the 'El' there as an emphasis of how pleasant it is (supposedly).

After all, why would they name it as a village they needed to pray for..?

Itja is Egyptian for Thief. Gannab is Hebrew on the other hand, and Kleftis is Greek. In other words, Past!Jou isn't called 'thief'. (He used to be, but he's had this run for a few years by this point so most know him as an 'exception'.)

Can y' tell I had fun with the creation myth? THE PLOT THICKENS! You can probably guess where it's headed too. Maybe this WAS a chapter of answered questions! ...Or I could have raised more. Never know.

Leviathan! We know that guy! We know Apep too, but that's because I mentioned him before, in another note...

After all, remember how I said Apep appears as both a snake and a crocodile?

Guess what the Leviathan actually is. The description given in the book of Job in the Bible is that of a crocodile. And in the anime, Leviathan is a giant snake. …I just love when I find similarities like this.

Could they be the same though? Kisara makes a point, and in the case of the fanfic, they are both huge evil serpents...

Anesi is Greek. It means 'Comfort', as does Noah, which is Hebrew.

In Japanese however the similarities end, as Noa DOES NOT mean Comfort. It means something completely different.

Oh! On the other hand, Choros, where 'Chorona' came from, means 'Dance'. First person to guess where I got this name gets a large cookie.

AGES! I had a picture a while off with ages, but for a reference...

Mahaad is four years older than Set

Anesi in the meantime is two years older, the same as Kisara.

Mana is one year younger in the meantime, whereas the Pharaoh is three years younger... Or so it would seem. Its closer to two actually.

And yes this means the age of each character is very different compared to the anime.

Neker means Stranger in Hebrew... But it also means 'Despair', or Calamity. Similar to the greek 'Tragoedia'... Or Tragedy.

You can probably guess who Neker is if you've read the YuGiOh GX manga now.

Speaking of Tragoedia, in the manga, the priests vow to take the event to their graves... Namely the entire deal with the HUGE and VERY powerful Ka that Tragoedia had. However, I would think the sudden disappearance of an important court astronomer would alarm the pharaoh a little more than being told that he was planning to kill him so he was dealt with. Just saying.

So for the fanfic, the secret taken to the grave is more of just how powerful the Ka was, along with the reason behind the judging... Not to mention everything else that was covered up. And by the way, while the former Priest of the Scales was killed by Tragoedia, the one for the Ring was killed by Akhnaden's hand shortly before the judging...

Which is why Nekhetep was all leery; he'd come in after all this had happened... As Mahaad's dad's death was kinda pinned on Tragoedia, since... Akhnaden was the only witness. Specifically, it happened before Tragoedia was even cornered and pulled away for judging. Why?

THAT is a mystery that will be revealed much later! So yea; those who read that manga, fear not; I'm not ignoring the facts! ...Just tweaking or changing them to better line up with the fanfic.

What was Mahaad running off to check? The records hall; Mahaad was the one who alerted the Pharaoh of the origins of the Millennium Items.

So many confusing things... They'll be cleared up eventually but not for a while unfortunately.

And now…

FanArt and My Art Section

Remove spaces, get your link! Go!

Reference: Children - .com/albums/y153/natasha_unos_1/YGO%20Fanfic%20-% - Aren't they adorable? Ren and Honda are missing because they look pretty much no different. Also, Noa just looks as he does in the anime. (When he dies, when he dies!)

From left to right (just for shock value) we have... Shizuka, Otogi, Jonouchi, Yugi, Mokuba, Seto (Or... Seri I guess), and Anzu. That's right. Anzu's as tall, possibly taller than Jonouchi at this age. Because... Of... Something. (It's intentional actually; not an art mistake, so hah!)

Malik the Snake – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ MalikSnake. jpg - With CLOTHES! This is what Malik gets to look like during his final moments in the Virtual World; the only difference will be something that happens next chapter really, when all of their clothes are temporarily dyed white.

Reference: Dead-Yukata Parade – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ DeadYukataParade. jpg - Some chibis of the 'crew' in their white Yukata. Also Malik the flamy ghost. Hooray!

Sketch/Reference: Broken Noa-Jou – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ CobrasPossession-1. jpg - Because before he was broken Noa, he was broken Noa in Jonouchi's body, and during that time, it was broken Noa in Jonouchi's eight year old body. ...Crazy huh. Any ways, I tried many times to draw this scene (along with the above involving Anzu and Malik) but... Nope! Just refused to come out properly. This sketch is as close as I got...

I should learn to draw mentally unstable people more- ...UM. I MEAN...

The hyperlink says 'cobras' because I had the sketch of Malik on this page at one point. But then Malik got coloured.

Musical Notes

This is where I shamelessly show you what music I listen to while I typed these chapters!

First up, something I only listened to for the 'PastJou' scenes, 'Wonderland and the Sheep's Song', from Hatsune Miku. If not for the fact that it involves a traveler with a sheep who meets two kids, one of which is revealed to look frighteningly similar to the traveler than just because it's a happy song.

Also 'Time Machine', which is another Miku song, but I was listening to a chorus from Vocalight. This song has nothing to do with the chapter. I just happen to like it.

Any ways, there are lots of songs I listened to here that I listened to in the next chapter, so you'll find those ones over there. Whoo~

Remaining pictures will be found in the next chapter, same with remaining notes, music, etc... Since... They're for that chapter.

And with that, I say, enjoy your double post!