Seeing the past, living the future

by Yuna Yami Mouto

It all started when the Mouto twins moved in with their grandpa in Domino City. Seto was living in hell until the "Demon child" came into his life and changed it for the better. They did not know one another, but a girl who was brave enough to stand up to him and his stepfather was enough to catch his interest. But there's something wrong with the girl, but what? Female Yami

42. Chapter 42More trouble: Rematch!

The gang all fly away in one of Kaiba's helicopters.

Mokuba asks if their company now belongs to Dartz. He doesn't get it—how was one person able to buy every single share of Kaiba Corp without them knowing about it? The network should have detected it. Kaiba says there's only one way he can think of—someone must have hacked into their accounts.

''Noah probably did everything he could.'' Mokuba mumbled and just then Noah called them on one of the laptops that had survived the plane crash.

''I'm really sorry, Seto-nii, Mokuba! I tried everything I could! But it seems Doma controls the whole global market.''

Seto growls, but assures Noah that he's not angry with him. Yuna was sitting between the brothers, so Noah was overjoyed to see her and she chuckled.

Téa wonders how they got past Kaiba's security system, and he says they're obviously dealing with a very powerful organization.

"But, Sir... Seto-sama'', Roland says, and Kaiba tells him to save it

''I'm boss your any more.''

Yuna turns to him and puts a hand on his arm.

Fugata protests that he'll stand by Kaiba's side until Kaiba Corp is Kaiba's once more, and Roland agrees that that goes for him, too.

Mokuba says they're all with him.

Yuna smiles to herself as realization dawned on Seto. As he looked to his childhood friend's smile, Seto realized that Yuna had known from the first time she had seen Roland Isono and Fugata Fubeta that they would be loyal to him, no matter what. He couldn't help but feel incredibly happy for them listening to her words all those years ago and sticking to them, because Roland and Fugata had become his friends over the years, if that was the right term to use.

''You knew. From the first day, seven and a half years ago, you knew that they would stick by me. You knew that there would be a day I would need that and that they would prove just how loyal they are to me ... That we are actually friends!'' Seto whispered and felt like crying when he saw Yuna nod, then looked at two of his most loyal, trustworthy employees. The confident, determinative smiles they flashed him, obviously not knowing what he had said to his rival, just made him care even more for them. Hobso, Akiko, Roland and Fugata had always been there for him. And even though his old butler is no longer with them, he knew that Hobso was still looking after him.

''My young master is beyond your reach, touching the stars with his rival!"

Seto closed his eyes and smiled a small smile, noticed by only those who knew him well enough. Even Noah had seen it, but didn't know what to think of it.

When he opened his eyes, they were burning with a blue fire that was only matched with his rival's own.

''I'm glad! Then what are we waiting for?''

Yuna agrees, saying that they must get to the museum and decipher those ruins.

Kaiba says his team is already there, and his security force will handle any unexpected guests.

''There's still hope.'' He pointedly looked at Yuna, and everyone noticed, nodding. They all understood now just what and who Yuna was. Tea had seen with her own eyes how those spirits had jumped in to help her defeat that strange robot or whatever it had been. She knew that there was more to this girl than even that ancient soul, but it was the question of what that more was.

00000

Kaiba's security guards are standing in front of the museum, when they're suddenly attacked by a ninja-like man in black.

Inside, the team working on the photos say they're almost done, when they hear a crash. Someone must have found them! They start to run from the room, but they're stopped by more mystery men.

00000

Kaiba's helicopter pilot tells him there's an emergency message on the red line. Kaiba opens his briefcase and then the laptop inside, saying this could be just what he's waiting for. A voice message tells him they're ready to upload the images of the undersea ruins. Joey and Tristan realize that Kaiba made sure his team got there before Dartz—and Mokuba asks what did they expect?

''His brother is always one step ahead of everyone else.'' Yuna comments.

Noah snickers at the glares sent Seto's way by the jealous blond, knowing that Joey had mixed feelings for two girls from his time in the virtual world. Although he, too, was a bit jealous that the CEO had so much respect and high expectations from the girl.

Kaiba receives the data, but the man sending it is attacked by the black-clad invaders, the shouts and crashes of the attack being heard over the link by the gang in the helicopter.

''Oh well,'' Kaiba says, ''at least they got what they needed.''

Yuna scoled. ''Seto!'' he blushed at the reprimand, but didn't say anything, knowing that his men are good enough to survive.

00000

Meanwhile, Rebeca, Duke, and Professor Hawkins are also on the road in their car towing the trailer behind them.

Rebeca receives the data from Kaiba on her laptop, and tells Yuna that her grandfather is looking at it now.

Yuna says they should meet up as soon as possible, and then tells Rebeca she's sorry.

Professor Hawkins tells Rebecca she can't blame the Pharaoh for what happened to Yugi—there's too much at stake for hard feelings. They're all fighting a common enemy, and this data might be their only hope.

Rebeca sadly agrees. Secretly, she had already forgiven the Duel Queen and apologized for letting Yugi run off in the first place.

Professor Hawkins tells Yuna that the quality of the images is worse than he thought. Unless they clear up the photos, he won't be able to read much.

Kaiba orders his pilot to set a course for Kaiba Corp headquarters.

The gang is shocked—Dartz and his gang have surely taken over by now.

But Kaiba says the only way they can clean up the images in time is to use the Kaiba Corp computers. They have no choice.

Yuna agrees—they have to stop these criminals before they make their next move, and they have no time to lose.

Kaiba says Yuna's more gung ho than he expected—since Yuna lost her little brother and all. The talk with Amelda, who was lying there unconscious, was still making him a bit mean at the topic like that.

Yuna says this fight is about much more than her brother and dueling! ''The whole world's in danger! I'll use all mine and his strength to defeat Doma. No matter what happens, I must get back the soul of my brother and all my friends, as well as all the other innocent souls!''

They knew who he was.

The Pharaoh.

''Blah, blah, blah,'' says Kaiba. ''Don't you get tired of making the same speech every time you face a challenge? Stop saving the world and get a hobby. Seriously! You'll get killed one of these days! You will have to bleach the stain of your loss first.''

Yuna nods. ''Oh, don't you worry, Seto. I'll get my brother back. And I will defeat Rafael if I ever get the chance to duel him.''

Seto nodded.

Yuna tells Rebecca they'll meet them at the pier.

Then she notices the lights in the sky are getting stronger.

''What does this mean?''

00000

Down in the depths of the ocean, the Great Leviathan's eye opens.

00000

In his downtown office, Dartz thinks that finally, after ten thousand years, the Leviathan is ready to return! ''But in order to reach his full potential, there are several souls that must still be offered.''

Rafael kneels before Dartz, who tells him to take a look at the viewscreen, which is showing the temple wall that's engraved with the souls they've captured. Amelda now appears on the wall. Dartz says Amelda's better off where she is now, where her energy will fuel the Great Beast.

Then the viewscreen shows Kaiba's helicopter flying through the sky.

Dartz says the Pharaoh and her friends will be arriving shortly. He trusts Rafael will give them a warm welcome.

Rafael promises that the Pharaoh won't escape him this time.

''It's time for Phase Two,'' Dartz says, and the wall with the viewscreen rises to reveal a large space with many candles set about the floor.

Dartz walks among the candles, saying that each soul must be utilized so that the Leviathan can cross over. He calls out to the ancient soldiers (actually robots, this guy has strange hobbies) of the Orichalcos, and the Seal forms around him, as he orders his army of dueling robots to locate the scattered pieces of the Great Leviathan. Dragon flames shatter the Eye, and shards of crystals fall from the sky.

Dartz tells the Leviathan to inhabit these crystals and return to the world, for the battle of Atlantis begins again!

00000

In London, Big Ben strikes one A.M., and a boy says good night to several girl friends.

But as he begins to walk home, he sees a crystal glowing on the sidewalk. He bends down to pick it up, thinking someone must have dropped it. A beam of light flies towards him, and he screams as the stone begins to shine.

He drops the stone and steps back, watching as the Seal of Orichalcos forms around the stone, and an Orichalcos Soldier crawls through it from out of the ground. The soldier reaches for the boy, who screams for help.

00000

Another stone lands in Paris, and another Orichalcos Soldier rises.

00000

''What are those things?!'' Mana screamed as she dodged another strike from the big monster-like robot and stood beside Bakure. She had her scepter out in front of her as a weapon, and the Tomb Robber had pulled out a knife.

''I don't know, but I think these are the creatures that are giving the others quite some trouble!'' Marik growled out as he actually stabbed through one of the Soldiers with the Millennium Rod. Malik was guarding his back with a switchblade and Ryou was in the middle of the four huddled up figures, holding onto the groceries they had been out to get.

''If that's so, then why are they here?'' Malik gushed out as he barely stopped a blow. The group was surrounded by the five remaining Soldiers, since they had been able to destroy two, but it had taken quite a lot on their part. They were exhausted and wouldn't last very long this way.

''Seeing as they're pretty close to the hidden tomb, I'm guessing they wanted what's the Pharaoh's.'' Bakura said, grunting when he finally managed to stab the Soldier it the eye. The robot didn't fall and just attacked again, but Ryou threw one of the eggs they had bought and blinded it. Bakura pounced like an animal, stabbing it wherever he could.

''We need to get them away from the tomb!'' Ryou told the twin Tomb Keepers.

They eyed the beasts in front of them.

''Easier said then done.''

00000

Other stones fall in other cities all over the world. Dartz tells the soldiers to deliver to him all the souls they can gather. Then he says it's time to prepare a welcome for the so-called Chosen Duelists.

One large Seal lowers around the Kaiba Corp building, and Orichalcos Soldiers and other monsters form within it.

00000

Meanwhile, at the pier, Duke, Rebeca and Professor Hawkins watch as the gang's helicopter lands, and Joey, Tristan, Yuna and Téa run out, followed by a scowling Kaiba and Mokuba.

Kaiba tells his men to take Rex and Amelda to the medical center, and the helicopter takes off again.

The guys greet each other, and Duke tells them they ran into Mai and Valon along the way. ''That guy really has it in for you, Joey,'' he says, ''And Mai's still on their side.''

Joey clenches his fist. ''Just wait till I finds them!''

Yuna watches with interest how the group seems to think its only about them and their friends, when so much more is at stake.

Rebeca asks Yuna if there's any word about Yugi.

''We have to find him,'' she says. ''If we don't get him back, I'll never forgive you, Yuna. Besides, we need him to fight these guys.''

Yuna sighs and says she misses Yugi, too, and she promises they'll rescue him. But she needs to pay a visit to Kaiba Corp first.

Rebeca wants to come along for tech support.

Kaiba says this isn't some kind of field trip, but she can tag along if she wants. ''I can't believe this kid is the US champion.''

Then he turns to go, saying he doesn't know about these geeks, but he has a company to save. Whoever's coming with him, let's move. Kaiba tells Mokuba not to worry. Kaiba Corp is their castle, and he won't let anyone occupy it.

''And make sure Noah is alright. Tell him to come find you guys.'' Mokuba nodded and bid his brother goodbye and good luck.

Téa wishes Yuna good luck, and Yuna runs off after Kaiba.

Tristan tells Téa they'd better tell the police what's going on.

00000

Kaiba and Yuna have gone down a manhole and are running through an underground passageway.

Kaiba says they're taking a short cut to his central computer. ''It's also an underground location designed to be a shelter in case of an accident.'' They reach a door, and Kaiba's locket card key opens the lock, and as they enter the elevator, Kaiba says that if Dartz's brute squad is guarding the area, they'll never see them go inside.

Yuna nods, expecting as much from her rival.

The elevator rises, but suddenly it stops, as a huge clawed foot stomps down on its roof.

Kaiba demands to know who's up there, and the beast smashes a hole in the roof, then leaps through the hole to land on the floor. Before they can do more than gasp, the beast crashes through the wall and disappears.

Kaiba says he doesn't know what that was, but he's not staying around to find out. ''That was no hologram!'' He smashes the elevator controls, releasing the door, and he and Yuna pull it open.

But the hallway before them is full of monsters.

Yuna tells Seto the monsters aren't holograms, but Kaiba says he knows. ''They're my God fucking damn Duel Monsters robots meant for my Duel Adventure in Kaiba Land! Dartz just made them lethal and uglier!''

''Duel Monsters robots, ey? Well, lets show these monsters why we are feared among duelists!'' Yuna yelled and held out her Duel Disk, inserting her Deck in and stepped out of the elevator, Seto following her lead.

''Just stay safe, you idiot!'' The CEO growled out, although he was really worried. But he was going to protect her no matter what.

Yuna smiled, not believing that Bakura was actually right about one thing.

Flashback

Bakura swore in English, Japanese and Ancient Egyptian.

The others were too stunned to say anything, and Yuna just wasn't in a talkative mood, except to defend Seto's reason as to why he had made her cry. She just told them what had happened since they parted ways, and she couldn't stop crying when she got to the part about Yugi and Seto.

Mahad was on the verge of going over there just to murder the boy his friend loved, but was hurt by, but he couldn't do that when he was supposed to comfort her.

Mana just couldn't believe it, since she was one of the few ones that had seen just how much the blue eyed executive loved her best friend. It was just so obvious in his eyes, that Mana wondered how no one else seemed to notice.

Ishizu just didn't understand, since all she really knew about the pair was that they were closer than most friends would even dream of being, as well as that that friendship had survived 5000 years.

Malik was angry with Kaiba for hurting the one he likes, while Marik marveled at his stupidity. He, too, had seen just how much the CEO cared for and treasured the girl, so it was really strange in his opinion and Ryou was just as puzzled.

Finally, the silence was broken by the ancient thief. And what he said had everyone staring at him, wondering who he was and where the real Bakura was.

''Look, Pharaoh ... We know that you and the Priest have a really intense rivalry, even 5000 years ago, but you guys were also friends back then like you are now. You butt heads every now and then, but you guys always stayed friends. Seto is very protective of you, so I'm guessing that the stress and worry just made him snap and say something he didn't mean. You'll see. The next time you see him, he'll just hug you like he always does and apologize for everything and he won't let you go for quite some time. You'll see~!'' The last two words were said in a teasing, suggestive tone that actually made Yuna release a small laugh, which had the Egyptians smile in relief.

Bakura nodded to himself and announced that he has Full House, bringing Marik back to their game and curse the Thief's very existence as Bakura took all the sweets from the table.

The others all laughed and Yuna enjoyed the happy, reassuring sound before quietly logging off without the others noticing, wanting a moment to think.

End of Flashback

Yuna, with her smile slowly turning into a challenging smirk, nodded at Seto just as he was doing so in her direction.

They head into the mob of monsters.

00000

Meanwhile, Téa and Tristan are trying to explain the situation to a couple of cops. Téa tells them there's a motorcycle gang going around stealing people's souls with a magic card, but the cop says these kids watch too many cartoons.

Tristan says they're serious—these guys are trying to take over the world.

The cops just smile. One of them asks if this so-called gang wears a symbol like this—and lifts the bill of his hat, revealing the Seal of Orichalcos on his forehead.

Téa and Tristan turn and run, but the cop tosses a piece of stone over their heads, and where it lands, the Seal forms and an Orichalcos Soldier crawls out of the ground.

''It's the same thing that dueled against the Pharaoh!'' Téa says.

It takes a swipe at them, and they run off down a side alley.

00000

Meanwhile, Kaiba and Yuna are running into the monsters, activating their Duel Disks as they run. Yuna calls forth Obnoxious Celtic Guardian, and Seto summons Vorse Raider.

They each cut down one of the Orichalcos monsters. Yuna and Kaiba run past, reaching the door on the other end of the hallway while their monsters stand behind them to defend them.

But this time, Kaiba's locket card won't unlock the door. Someone must have reprogrammed the code. Yuna and Kaiba's monsters are destroyed, and now they're trapped without monsters to protect them.

Suddenly, they hear Rebecca's voice on the door intercom asking if they need some help.

The door opens and they dash through.

00000

Outside, the Hawkins car and trailer are parked over a manhole.

Rebeca is down inside with her laptop, her grandfather, Duke, and Joey gathered around her.

Joey says he doesn't know how she did it, but Rebeca hacked into Kaiba Corp's security system. She says it's a good thing she tagged along on Kaiba's field trip, and tells Kaiba that when this is over, he should let her know if he wants her to upgrade his system.

Seto smirked, deciding not to tell her. ''I'll consider it when you break through the final firewall.''

And with those words Rebeca's laptop went berserk.

''WHAT THE!?'' The girl yelled, her voice echoing around them. Just then, they hear someone climbing down in with them. They look up and find an exhausted looking Noah carrying a laptop bag, his usually white uniform-like clothes gray from all the dirt.

''What happened to you, Noah?'' Duke asked as soon as the boy reached their level.

He sighs. ''Well, let's see. I almost got killed in Seto-nii's office, was chased out of the building and down several streets by his robots meant for a theme park, altered by Dartz to be killing machines, almost got hit by a car again ... and was almost robbed of my computer by some cops and I swear I stepped into poop.''

Joey looked at the kid and nodded, as if he was trying to see if one could get all that dirt from Noah's tale. ''But how did you find us?''

''Oh, the KC satellite detected a hacker and gave me the location via laptop. I saw that it was you guys, so I came to stop the virus from downright destroying the whole system. And to help Seto-nii as much as I can.''

''Well, stop it then! It's ruining my laptop!'' Rebeca screeched.

''Jeez, you're loud.'' Noah mumbled as he went over to the computer. He looked over it, but soon a file appeared and opened. Noah almost chocked on his own laughter as he saw what was in the file and he showed it to the others. Rebeca fumed red as she saw the winking video of one smug-looking Seto Kaiba as he gives her a thumbs-up and the written message below.

''You almost got me, but not quite! Good luck next time, loser! If you recover that is ...''

''UGH!'' came from the little blond as she practically choked the snickering Noah. Joey was actually laughing his ass off so hard that Mokuba had to leave the trailer and see what was going on, only to jump on Rebeca so he could save his new brother.

When he finally got her off of him, Mokuba stepped beside Noah, as if to protect him from the girl's misplaced wrath.

Rebeca took as few calming breaths and asked. ''What the heck was that!?''

Mokuba looked to the screen of the now completely broken laptop, electricity running through the keyboard clearly seen, seeing his brother's image and just shook his head in amusement. ''Nii-sama likes to annoy all those who think can beat him at computer skills or technology. He designed that security system a little before Duelist Kingdom some eight years ago, and had just upgraded it since then. It can crash anyone's defenses if the hacker reaches or goes beyond the third firewall and gives the illusion that the hacker has been successful. That's why you were able to do whatever you did.''

Rebeca was fuming all over again but stopped when they hear the arrogant chuckle come from Noah's laptop, where the green-haired boy was working on where Rebeca left off. They looked over there and saw that Noah was opening the doors for Yuna and Kaiba, but the chuckle was without a doubt Seto's mockery to Rebeca.

00000

Kaiba and Yami run through a series of doors as Noah opens them. But he tells them she can't access the central computer. ''It's on a different system.''

Kaiba says he's got it from there, as they enter a room with a huge machine that's apparently supposed to be the central computer mainframe. He runs up to a control panel, using his locket card key again to start a retinal check that verifies his identity and gives him access to the computer. He orders the system to shut down and reboot with the backup, then inserts the disk with the images from the ruins, telling the computer to analyze the images, cross-referencing with every known archaeological database.

Noah receives the cleaned-up images on his laptop as he fixes Rebeca's, and calls her grandfather to begin translating. "After its ten thousand year long slumber, the black serpent will swallow the sun, and then paradise will rule once more."

Duke tells him nice work, but what does it mean?

The Professor says the paradise must be Atlantis.

They hear Yuna confirm it through Noah's laptop as the boy finishes with the other laptop. Rebeca stares at him and Joey asks if it's aftereffects to living in the virtual world, to which the boy nods and returns to the important matters as the other computer genius just stares at him.

00000

Kaiba says that insignia looks familiar.

'Where have I seen it before?'

He works at his keyboard, finding that it's the symbol of a secret financial organization known as Paradias.

''No one's ever seen them, but rumor has it that they control a small piece of every company in the world. Paradias controls most of the major conglomerates of the world. They have enough power to rule presidents. Oh no!'' he shouts. ''It is them! The president of Paradias is Dartz.''

Yuna recognizes the image of Dartz that Kaiba's pulled up as the stranger from her vision, who fought against Ironheart in the ancient battle of Atlantis.

'But how can the same man who fought a war ten thousand years ago be the president of a modern corporation?' She shook her head with a snort. 'I guess the same way two rivals can first be Pharaoh and High Priest, then Duel Queen/Queen of Games and a CEO of a major corporation. Reincarnation.'

Suddenly, the computer keyboards crackle with electricity, and the screens begin to explode.

00000

Noah's and Rebeca's laptop screen goes dark. They'd lost the link.

Joey asks her where the headquarters of Paradias are, and she finds the address. Joey tosses the laptop aside and runs for the ladder, saying he's coming! Tristan tries to stop him, saying they need a plan first, but he keeps going.

Mokuba was torn between going with him, but he new that it would only make things worse so he stayed with Noah as the boy tried to get back in contact with their older brother.

00000

Seto and Yuna hear Dartz's laughter, and his voice telling them they're so close, yet so far.

The Great Leviathan appears before them, with Dartz standing on its forehead. Dartz thanks them for coming to him. They've made his job so much easier.

''My, my. You really are a sight to see, great Pharaoh!'' The man suddenly comments, taking the rivals by surprise. Seto recovered first and stepped between the two. ''I see that the legends don't do you justice, nor do the pictures of you that circulate the world. They can't capture that fire burning in your unique eyes! How lovely they really are! Oh!'' He exclaims. ''And you must be the High Priest! Yes, only you have eyes that shade! Really, remarkable, the two of you!''

Yuna asks what he wants, and he says it should be obvious.

''You're the Chosen Duelists, aren't you? Then prove it.''

Kaiba insists he doesn't have to prove anything to Dartz, and demands that Dartz give back his company. Yuna adds her demand that Dartz give back the souls he took. Dartz tells them they're in no position to make demands, so Yuna says she'll make him a deal.

Dartz says that soon Doma will lead the world to a brand-new start.

Kaiba asks how dare he say it's his ideal to destroy the world! ''Your hypocritical plan isn't justice at all!'' Yami asks him what he intends to do. Dartz tells him he just abides by his fate.

Yuna tells him he's manipulating the fate of the world. But Dartz laughs and says they don't understand.

''It's your existence that draws me to this future.''

Yuna, knowing what he means, just growls at him as he smirks at her.

'No way am I letting him take our souls! And no way am I letting him have what he wants!'

Activating her Duel Disk, Yuna tells Dartz to duel them. And if they win, Dartz must release his prisoners at once.

Seto joins Yuna, and they each summon their legendary dragons, Timaeus and Critius.

The dragons hower protectively above the rivals, ready to defend them with their lives as they stare Dartz down.

Dartz says hello to the dragons, and asks Timaeus how his eye is. Timaeus roars, showing the scar through his right eye where Dartz's sword cut. Timaeus sends a blast of flame at the Leviathan, and it disappears, along with Dartz. But they can still hear Dartz's voice telling them that the ancient battle continues, and soon their souls will be his.

Dartz says they can't reverse the wheel of fate now. They're helpless.

Then he says farewell.

Yuna calls out to Dartz to come back, but he's gone, and they're back in the room with the ruined computer. The door opens and the monsters begin to rush in. Kaiba runs for an elevator, telling Yuna to come on.

They ride up to the roof and run across it, followed by monsters. When they get to the edge, Kaiba tells Yuna to get ready to jump.

''I always trusted you, Yuna!'' He says. ''Now you must trust me.''

Yuna nods. ''Always.''

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet is flying just beyond the roof, its cockpit open. Seto and Yuna leap into it and begin to fly away, but they're hit by fire from one of the monsters, and the jet spirals down, crash-landing in the street below. They jump out, watching as explosions wrack the building. Kaiba clenches his fist, announcing that he won't let Dartz take his company apart.

Then, they see the silhouette of the Great Leviathan across the sky.

Yuna tells Seto they've got bigger things to worry about.

''You're right. They'll be coming after you.''

Yuna was about to protest that everyone was in danger, but she stopped as Seto took her hand into his and lead her in the direction of the trailer. She blushed, but held onto his hand, letting their fingers intertwine together as they walked.

Meanwhile, Rebeca, Duke, and Mokuba wait for Kaiba and Yuna at the Hawkins' trailer. Mokuba's the first to spot them walking back, and calls out to them happily, telling them they were worried about them for a second. Noah immediately joins Mokuba in the hug festival as Kaiba says they're fine, adding that now that they know who they're after, it's time to crash their party.

Rebeca says they'd better act fast, because Joey ran off to find these Paradias guys on his own.

Yuna worries that they'd better get there before Joey does, but Kaiba says Joey'd better not screw this up for him.

Just then, Téa arrives back at the trailer to tell everyone they've got bigger problems—those same monsters they saw out in the desert are roaming the city.

Duke suggests they all jump in his car and go, when the Professor comes out of the trailer, saying that things are even worse than they could imagine. According to the evening news, thousands of people around the world are suddenly collapsing in the streets.

''It's those monsters.'' Téa says, and Rebeca adds that they must be using the power of the Orichalcos to capture people's souls. The Professor agrees. Téa adds that every police officer in town is under their spell, too.

''All right, that's enough.'' Yuna says, irritated. ''First off, those are not monsters and Dartz isn't stealing souls! Dartz is only human, just like us, so he can't steal souls. At least not in the way you seem to think he's doing. Those damned stones collect energy, and they are the same things that make the seal unbreakable for humans. According to quantum physics, the human soul can be represented as the electric signal of ones consciousness, and they are built by electrons. The soul is a probability wave on the plane of time and space. And these crystals absorb this particular energy to the point of collapse of the individual who they take it from. The soul, in many religious, philosophical and mythological traditions, is the incorporeal and, in many conceptions, immortal essence of a living thing. According to most of the Abrahamic religions, immortal souls belong only to human beings, thus they are the strongest. Souls have power. Physicist Sean M. Carroll has written that the idea of a soul is in opposition to quantum field theory (QFT). He writes that for a soul to exist "Not only is new physics required, but dramatically new physics. Within QFT, there can't be a new collection of "spirit particles" and "spirit forces" that interact with our regular atoms, because we would have detected them in existing experiments." And since souls are made of electrons, they have electrical energy. They could be used as fuel. And that's what Dartz is doing. He's been collecting souls for years, but so have his ancestors. All so they could resurface Atlantis.''

The others stared at her in shock, but most of them didn't even get what she was saying.

''Wait. Do you mean that this Dartz is collecting energy so he could power up a machine that would be strong enough to bring Atlantis back to the surface?'' Noah asked, catching up.

''That would explain a lot. Like why anyone who neared the seal before the end of a duel would be thrown back by a force field. But if it's as you say, Yuna, then they would have had a lot of energy to lift up that city. Why is Dartz still collecting?'' Seto questioned.

''Well, my theory is this. I don't know if it's true, but just hear me out.'' Rebeca said as she readjusted her glasses. ''There's been an article that Dartz and his wife found the ancient city, but only he came back. I'm guessing that he is trying to find his wife if she is still alive. But he doesn't have a machine that can take that depth without it being crushed by the pressure. Maybe he's still collecting so he could make a big force field around whatever machine he has so he can protect it and search in peace.''

''That's not a bad theory, but that still doesn't explain why he's after Nii-sama, Yuna and Joey especially.'' Mokuba pointed out and Rebeca pouted.

''No. It doesn't. But this does. He is after me and Seto because we carry two of the most powerful and oldest souls in the world. But also because what we did about seven years ago.'' Yuna said. The others looked at her strangely, but her rival's eyes widened.

''Cecillia!'' Seto exclaimed and the others turned to him, wondering what Pegasus' wife had to do with anything.

''Exactly. My ability to finish medical school in a year and Seto's technology had turned many heads our way. And didn't Seto say just a couple days ago, before entering the virtual world that he made one of the underwater stations into an ocean research facility.''

''Something Dartz would need in order to reach Atlantis!'' Noah finished for his Nee-chii.

''Right. But that would take a lot of fuel, especially since he plans on keeping the city above water for a very, very long time. The energy of the soul, used in the way that Dartz wants to, can be an eternal fuel but only if it's used for Leviathan, a form that drinks up all that energy and keeps it in one place. Therefore, he 'feeds' the Great Beast so it can 'awaken'. Ancient souls like my and Seto's are far more powerful that ordinary souls, especially since our previous incarnates were aware of their souls. But, he also wants our souls because we're Duelists. Duelist - honor and pride. We have a fighting spirit that gives us more energy, and thus we are stronger than normal people. Joey is also a Duelist, therefore his soul is a target as well. There's no magic like there one might have been. It's pure facts. But now, we must face this madman before he releases an evil he's not even aware exists in the Leviathan.''

''But what are those monsters then? And that thing you fought in the desert?'' Tea asked.

''Kaiba Corp's newest inventions. Duel Monsters robots as well as Duel robots.'' Seto says. ''They're supposed to be a part of my new project, but someone broke in and stole the blueprints. I'm guessing that it was Dartz's men and now we're in this situation. But don't worry. All you have to do is summon a monster and they'll act as though they were both solid or both holograms.''

00000

Valon tells Joey he led him there to get rid of him for good. Mai can't be happy with Joey around. He's a constant reminder of what Mai's life used to be, and she wants to forget all that.

To himself, Valon adds that he knows that deep down, Mai still loves Joey, and he can't have that.

He challenges Joey to a duel, and activates his Duel Disk.

Joey always accepts a challenge, he says, especially when he's fighting for a friend.

''Besides, yous guys are after Yuna, who made it possible for me to become a better man and a better Duelist. And it was through her that I even met Mai. I know Mai never meant the things she said about Yuna. She was her first friend in a long time. Mai treasures Yuna more than either of us.''

Valon grumbles, knowing that what the blond was saying was true. He had heard so from Mai herself and he knew that if she had to chose between the three of them, Mai would pick Yuna.

And that really annoyed him, since his beloved cared more about a friend than him.

The duel begins. Joey goes first, summoning Alligator Sword (1500 ATK), thinking that he has to be careful—he doesn't know anything about this guy's dueling style.

Valon tells Joey it was a nice opening move—but his is better. He summons Psychic Armor Head (0 ATK). Joey asks what that does, and Valon says he's about to find out.

But when Joey sees that it has zero attack points, he wonders if he's imagining things.

'I must be going crazy from all this shit!'

00000

The gang is on the move in Professor Hawkins' trailer.

Rebeca, working on her laptop with Noah right beside her on his, says they're less than a mile from Paradias headquarters.

Mokuba tells Kaiba they'll have their company back in no time.

But Kaiba isn't so sure. They're dealing with an extremely powerful organization, and it's going to take everything they have to bring them down.

Mokuba says that soon they'll get into the Paradias organization. Kaiba says it's too quiet. From their past experience, Doma won't just stand there and let them get too close to them.

Yuna, working over the details with the Professor, looks up at this and frowns, indicating that it was more than likely true.

Rebeca had to wonder about the bond between the rivals, since it seems that the press wasn't aware just how close the two were. She had half a mind to ask one of the younger Kaibas, but before she could even voice her question, both boys shook their heads.

She hmphed and returned to fixing up her computer as she sent the person responsible for its meltdown a fierce glare. She almost flinched at the returning stare aimed at her and just went back to finishing up with her rebooting of the system.

00000

Tristan sits down on the sidewalk, back against a lamp post, admitting he's officially lost. ''I'll never find Joey now.''

Then he looks up, and sees an Orichalcos Soldier looming over him. He jumps up, knocking over the lamp post and tripping on it, falling to the ground in front of the Soldier.

Just then, a truck pulls up—it's Duke, who slams on the brakes to avoid hitting Tristan, and knocking over everyone inside the trailer. They all jump out to see what's going on, and Duke points out Tristan in the street, about to be attacked by the Orichalcos Soldier.

Tristan gets ready to put up a brave fight, but before the Soldier can attack him, Yuna sends her Celtic Guardian to destroy it.

The gang all rush to Tristan's side. He thanks Yuna for the help, saying he could have taken it himself. But Yuna says she's afraid what would have been taken was Tristan's soul.

Téa asks where Joey is, and Tristan explains that he hopped on some guy's motorcycle to take off after one of Dartz's flunkies. Duke and Rebeca ask if it was Valon—explaining that not only does he have a thing against Joey, he's got a deck full of monsters Rebeca's never seen before. Yuna says they have to find Joey before it's too late.

But Kaiba activates his Duel Disk, saying they've got bigger problems.

They're surrounded by Orichalcos Soldiers, coming out of every doorway and alley.

00000

Back at the duel, Valon tells Joey to hurry up and make a move so he can continue to torture him.

Joey says Valon's the one who's going to be in a world of hurt, and summons Marauding Captain (1200 ATK). Then, using Marauding Captain's special effect, he summons another monster, Battle Warrior (700 ATK). He attacks directly with Marauding Captain, bringing Valon down to 2800 life points, then with Battle Warrior, reducing Valon to 2100 life points.

But Valon says it will take more than that to keep him down.

00000

The gang at the Hawkins trailer is surrounded by Orichalcos Soldiers. The monsters begin to close in. Rebeca thinks maybe they can outrun them, but Tristan says he already tried that. Noah agrees and says that they'd only be tired like hell in the end.

Duke stands in front of the Professor and Rebeca, while Tea and Tristan huddle close together. Noah goes over to Mokuba and they all just wait to see what was going to happen. They all look in the direction of a blue blur and gape in shock.

Yuna runs up to one of the Orichalcos Soldiers, and Kaiba joins her. Mokuba warns his brother that it's too dangerous, but Kaiba says he doesn't have time to waste on these people. He'll kill them.

He and Yuna stand back-to-back and activate their Duel Disks, which begin to glow. They draw their legendary dragon cards, then Yuna summons her Timaeus and Kaiba summons Critius.

The two dragons hover over the street. They roar in outrage as they see their ancient enemies trying to harm their masters and get ready for battle. The rivals exchange glances and nod, getting ready for a battle.

00000

''No,'' Joey says, ''not that!''

''But it is.'' Valon plays the Seal of Orichalcos. Valon's eyes turn red as the Seal glows in his forehead.

00000

On a distant rooftop, Mai sees the Seal of Orichalcos rise above the streets, and knows Valon's activated it. Starting her motorcycle, she says that loser had better leave a piece of Wheeler for her.

"Found it!"

She rides her bike down the steps and off towards the Seal.

00000

Timaeus mows down a bunch of Orichalcos Soldiers, protecting the ancient Pharaoh, but others are advancing on Téa and Rebeca. Yuna sends Timaeus to smash them just in time, and she runs to Téa and Rebeca, asking if they're okay. Téa says they are now. Yuna nods, focusing on keeping the other monsters back.

Meanwhile, Critius stomps the Orichalcos Soldiers bearing down on Kaiba, who stands calmly watching. Mokuba says that's all of them, and the two dragons fly back into their cards.

As the gang gather together, Téa asks Duke and Tristan where they were. They say they they tried to lead those things away—by running really far.

Then Kaiba abruptly turns and walks away.

Téa tells him to stop—they have to stick together.

Kaiba says if they think just because he helped chase off some holograms and robots, he's now part of their little pep squad, they've got the wrong idea. Kaiba says he can't waste his time there. He has to get into Paradias and put an end to this trick. He stops and turns back, saying adios, it's been a real blast.

Yuna asks if he'll at least help them find Joey. Kaiba tells them to use their heads, and continues on, Mokuba following after. Noah gave Yuna a briefe hug before following the brothers as they pause to wait for him.

As he walks away, he tells them there's a simple way to find that loser if they think about it.

Kaiba asks Yuna what she's going to do. She says she'll come after she finds Joey. Kaiba tells her to do as she likes, but to be careful, and continues on, adding that Kaiba Corporation is occupied, but the satellite system is still very much alive.

Rebeca gets it—they can use the satellite system to track Joey's Duel Disk. She runs back into the trailer.

Yuna tells Kaiba they need to access his company's tracking system, but he ignores her.

Téa tells him to come back—she knows he can still hear them! But Tristan says to let him go.

Yuna calls Kaiba's name, but Kaiba says he doesn't need them now. He'll find Dartz himself, and defeat him.

Tea says it's too dangerous for Kaiba, Noah and Mokuba to go alone, but Tristan says ''Never mind, they're gone.''

''Yuna, do something!'' Tea cried hysterically, causing a black eyebrow to rise. ''They're your friends! Are you really going to let them go into the heart of danger just like that!?''

''Seto!'' She called after a moment and Tea sighed in relief as the executive turned to look at her. ''Leave some opponents for us, too! And if you find Yugi, be sire to call me immediately! Stay safe, you big duff!''

The two brunets stared in astonishment as Kaiba actually barked out a curt laugh and nodded, yelling something about Yuna being the main target of danger and that she should just stay inside.

Meanwhile, Rebeca's on her laptop, trying to hack into Kaiba Corp's satellite system, while her grandfather watches. She thinks that she hacked into his system once, and she'll do it again. Although she was a lot more catious this time around, she still got warnings about the antivirus attacking her computer again.

She just sped up, knowing that the defense system won't be so kind this time around.

The first password she enters results in an error.

Téa asks what they will do if Rebeca can't crack the code and track down Joey.

Duke says they'll cross that bridge when they get there, and Tristan says they've got to have a little faith. Tea asks if it's so easy to hack into someone else's system. Duke reassures her, saying Becky can do it, and Tristan adds that she's a genius.

Duke suddenly frowns. ''But so is Kaiba, the one that designed the system.''

Yuna looks at the Timaeus card.

'Be safe, you two!'

00000

It's Joey's move. He draws the legendary dragon, Hermos, and holds up the card triumphantly, telling Valon, let's see him stand up to this guy!

00000

Rebeca is still trying to hack into Kaiba Corp's satellite system. She tries another password, but still can't get in.

Rebeca growls and was about to start entering another password when she heard her grandpa saying ''Yuna?''

She looks up and sees a distant looking Queen of Games reaching for the computer, as if wanting to do something. The two looked at her as she took the laptop and started entering what seemed as random numbers only for the computer to show that the password is correct.

Rebeca looks to the three-colored haired girl in wonder. ''What?''

Yuna smiles. ''The date and exact time of when Seto and I had our very first Duel. I don't think anyone but us knows which day it happened. Or at least not the precise hour, anyway. Now, do your thing, Rebeca!'' And with that, the little blond found the computer thrusted back into her hands as the Duel Queen ran out of the trailer.

The Professor shakes his head in wonder as he chuckles. ''How does that young lad keep up with her?''

Rebeca stared after her, knowing of who her grandfather was talking about. ''I don't know, but he's had years to get used to it!''

Arthur smiles at his granddaughter's pout. ''No, not really. They've been apart longer than together, after all ...''

The girl thought about it for a moment, before realizing that it was indeed true.

00000

Outside the trailer, Tristan asks if she's having any luck. Téa reminds him he's asked five times. Duke says Tristan's the one who told them to have faith, but Tristan tells him to get off his back—Joey's in trouble, and if they don't move fast, things could get worse.

Téa tries to calm him down, but he says it's all his fault. When he and Joey got separated from the others, Joey told him about his plan, and Tristan thinks he should have talked Joey out of it then.

''We don't have time for this!'' They looked over to the crimson-eyed Duelist as she exited the trailer. ''We know where Joey is! Come on!'' With that, the girl was off like a bat out of hell. the others barely keeping her in sight.

Yuna, with the map was a good 20 feet ahead of Tristan and Tea, Duke having decided to stay with the Hawkins until all was well with Joey and probably joining them later, was speeding down the streets at breakneck speed, wanting to save her brother's best friend.

00000

Joey summons the Brigadier of Landstar (Gunman of Landstar) (900 ATK). Then he plays Monster Reborn to bring back Rocket Warrior (1500 ATK). Finally, he plays the Claw of Hermos.

Valon says it's about time! He's been waiting for this. Now he can finally prove his strength. No monster's too strong for his armor!

00000

Yuna and the others are running down the street.

Téa, who now has the map, says Joey should be only a few blocks away.

Then Yuna stops, noticing a glow from her Duel Disk. She draws her legendary dragon card, which is glowing.

Tristan says Joey must have played his dragon.

Yuna nods, then takes off once again leaving the other two to rush after her.

00000

Valon attacks with the duplicate Rocket Hermos 's monsters are destroyed, and he's flung back into the Seal's barrier by the force of the attack, then falls on his face.

00000

In Yuna's hand, her Timaeus card stops glowing.

00000

Elsewhere, Kaiba's also holding his dragon card and watching its glow fade.

000000

Meanwhile, Mai is speeding towards the duel on her motorcycle, thinking up strategies of how to defeat Joey and then take down Seto and Yuna.

00000

Seto, Noah and Mokuba are at a car dealership, picking out transportation.

Mokuba likes the red sports car, and Kaiba says that's fine—they don't have time to shop around. Delighted, Mokuba gets in, Noah quick to follow.

Kaiba says it's time to go pay Dartz a visit.

The two boys pump their fists with wide, dangerous looking grins, making the grouchy ol' dragon crack a smile. If Dartz were ever to spend a day with those two, he would realize that his evil couldn't even begin to match their's.

He pitied the man.

Then the car salesman shows up, asking what they're doing in the car.

Mokuba says they're buying it, and Kaiba whips out his checkbook with a flourish, twirling his pen, and writes out a check. Telling the salesman to keep the change, he hands it to him and drives away, the younger brothers waving to him from the back widows.

The startled salesman shouts for them to come back—until he looks at the check.

It's for $500,000, signed Seto Kaiba.

He faints.

As they drive off, Mokuba says it beats taking the bus.

Noah looks to him incredulously. ''You actually took the bus?''

The black haired boy rolls his eyes. ''Well, we weren't always rich!''

Kaiba thinks, he has a feeling Wheeler's in trouble again. But he doesn't have time to bail that chump out. He has bigger things to deal with.

He steps on the accelerator, and the car zooms down the street.

Mokuba and Noah yell at him to slow down, but there was no stopping the CEO.

''I wish Yuna Nee-chii came with us! She could have made him slow down!'' Noah screamed as the car sped off.

00000

Meanwhile, Yuna and company are still running down the street.

Yuna thinks that Joey must have summoned his legendary dragon—that's why Timaeus was glowing. But why did the light fade?

Suddenly, Yuna stopped and sneezed, wondering who was talking about her.

00000

Valon says it's a good fight.

Joey says, it's the same for him. He's so excited he almost doesn't feel the exhaustion.

''This is a real duel.'' Valon says. ''This must be how Yuna and Kaiba feel when they fight.''

But Joey shakes his head. ''No.'' Valon stares at him in wonder.

''What do you mean 'no'?''

Joey just chuckles.

''This can't compare to those two's Duels. They Duel with their heads, hearts and souls. They form a connection between them as each card is played. In their Duels, cards are swords and the Duel Disks are the shields while the Duel arena is the battlefield. They're in a world of their own. I've seen it with my own eyes more than once and the feeling while just watching it was far stronger than even in this duel. I can't imagine how it would feel to be in a duel like that.''

The brunet actually cracked a small smile. ''Yeah. Neither can I.''

Just then, Mai arrives at the duel.

Valon tells her she's just in time to catch the end of the greatest duel ever played.

Mai angrily tells Valon that they had a deal—Joey Wheeler's hers. She runs into the barrier formed by the Seal of Orichalcos, then stands back, and tells Valon he's done enough, so why doesn't he take a hike and let her finish this?

Valon says no—he's having way too much fun to stop now. Plus, too much is at stake, and he won't let her risk losing everything she has. That's why he challenged Joey in the first place—to protect Mai. He wanted to get rid of Wheeler so she'd be able to move on with her life, and that's exactly what he's going to do.

Valon says he finally understands why she insists on fighting Joey. Now that he's dueling Joey, he knows. Joey has something Valon and Mai don't have—that's why she's attracted to him. Joey has a simple and direct passion for the duel. That's what they're missing.

''I'm fighting so you can get that, Mai. So you can challenge the Queen of Games with honor of a real Duelist! Because I love you, Mai!''

But Joey says guess what—he's fighting for the same reason.

Mai is shocked with the two confessions, but Joey's really warms her heart as her feelings are actually returned.

So Valon tells him to get on with it. Joey plays one card face down and ends his turn.

Valon draws, and plays Monster Reborn, bringing back Buster Pile (0 ATK, raised to 500) from the graveyard. It increases Burning Knuckle's attack to 1100, and Valon says, here comes the last attack of the duel. But Joey says, not quite, and activates Scapegoat. Valon says those pip-squeaks can't stop his fist of iron, and Joey says that's not what he's trying to do. Clouds of blue flame swirl around Joey as he explains that Lord of the Red has a special ability, too—it can destroy every other monster on the field whenever two magic cards are played in one turn. Valon protests that Joey only played one magic card, and Joey says that Valon's Monster Reborn counts as the second card.

Mai watches in awe as Valon says Joey must be bluffing, and attacks anyway. The two armored duelists meet in a mighty explosion above the field. The Scapegoats are destroyed, and Mai covers her face from the force of the attack. Then she looks up, as Valon falls from the sky to land on his side of the field. Joey also returns to the field, asking if Valon still thinks he was bluffing. Valon's armor dissolves, but he says he still has a few life points left, so the duel's still on. He tells Joey to give him everything he's got.

Joey draws, then launches his attack. Valon activates his trap card, Extinction Fist, to stop Joey's attack and destroy Lord of the Red. He tells Joey it was a good effort, but he was one step ahead, again. Joey falls back, and his Lord of the Red armor is destroyed, leaving him in the Aura Armor. He struggles slowly to his feet, saying he didn't see that one coming. They face each other, both gasping for breath, while

Mai watches sadly, thinking that this is it. They're both one attack away from defeat. In the next round, one of them will be trapped by the Seal forever.

00000

Yuna, Tristan, and Téa are still running down the street, trying to find Joey. Téa stops, telling the others to hold on. Tristan says there's no time to rest—Joey could be dueling that Valon guy right now. If they don't hurry, Joey could be one soul short. Téa says that's why she stopped. According to the map, he should be nearby. They need to stop running and start looking down each street.

Then she notices Yuna staring at her Timaeus card, and asks her what's wrong.

Yuna says she's not sure, but, a moment ago, she could sense the presence of Joey's legendary dragon. Now it's gone, and she's afraid Joey's dragon was destroyed.

Tristan asks if that means Joey lost.

Téa says no way, but all Yuna says is that she can't be sure until they find him.

They take off down the street again.

00000

Joey closes his eyes, thinking that there's only one card that can save him now. And yes, the card he takes from his graveyard is the Claw of Hermos. Then, he merges Hermos with Big Bang Blow to create Big Bang Dragon Blow.

''How do you like that?'' he asks Valon. He took Valon's weapon and made it better.

Valon is impressed. Just when he thinks Joey's at the end of his rope, he comes back with something like this! Valon's never fought a duel like this in his life! Joey's pushing him to be his best—that will make his victory all the more rewarding.

Valon attacks, flying towards Joey with Burning Knuckle Strike. Joey counters with Big Bang Dragon Blow, and their fists meet with a mighty crash.

00000

In the street, Téa and the others stop, looking down an alley to see a bright vortex of light rising from beyond the buildings.

Yuna looks at her Timaeus card, which begins to glow again.

00000

Within the vortex, the two duelists struggle. Joey says Valon can't win—Joey has the power of his dragon behind him.

Valon tells Joey he's pretty good, but not good enough. He's afraid it's all over.

''You wish,'' Joey says.

''Joey!'' Mai calls out as it seems like the fight would end in a draw.

Then Joey says it's time to activate Big Bang Dragon Blow's special effect. By sacrificing his Red-Eyes Black Dragon, he makes his fist even more powerful. Now it can destroy all of Valon's monsters and subtract their attacks from Valon's life points.

Crying out with the effort, Joey finally knocks Valon back, and Valon's armor is destroyed.

Valon tells Joey he won.

Valon's life points go to zero, but Valon smiles, congratulating Joey. Then he looks at Mai and tells her goodbye. Mai gasps in shock, and says it's her fault. Valon tells her not to be silly—he caused his own downfall. He thought if he won, he could make her forget about Joey Wheeler. But now he understands why Joey meant so much to her.

''The guy's got heart.''

"Valon! I..."

Valon tells Mai not to look like that. No matter who she's thinking of, he thinks she'll return to him in the end. But he lost. Mai saw the awful side of him, but he has no regrets.

Mai tries to go to Valon, but stops at the Seal's barrier.

Valon tells Joey it's up to him now to save Mai.

Joey nods, and Valon collapses to the ground.

The Seal of Orichalcos contracts around Valon, taking his soul.

00000

In his temple, Dartz kneels before the Great Leviathan's altar, saying he senses the arrival of a powerful soul. He sees Valon's image appear on one of the stones, and says now it's Ms. Valentine's turn to send him a soul, or give up her own.

"Let me look into the darkness of your heart."

00000

Mai kneels at Valon's side, gathering him into her arms and crying, begging him to come back.

Joey says it's too late—the Orichalcos has him now.

Mai remembers Valon telling her that she's just like him, lonely and misunderstood, and that's why they need each tells Mai that they'll get him back.

She lays Valon's soulless body down, wondering how Valon could do this. He's the one who told her she has to duel for herself. Then he turns around and fights Joey to protect her! How pathetic. She smiles, saying he deserved this.

Joey is surprised at the sudden turnaround, and tells Mai that Valon realized that what he told her was wrong. He found out what dueling is really about—determination and heart.

''I fought like a True Duelist today.''

Mai stands up and turns to Joey, the Seal glowing in her forehead, and says she thought Joey wanted to destroy Valon. Joey protests that Valon might have been annoying, but no one deserves to have their soul taken away.

Joey says he realizes something now. As long as that Orichalcos thing has control of Mai's mind, he'll never be able to talk any sense into her. The only way he can save her now is to duel her.

"Come, duel me." Then he thinks to himself that the only way is a duel. He can't accept her feelings without dueling. He tells her, "Let's duel without any regrets for either of us."

Mai says, so Joey beat this loser and now it's gone to his head? Why else would he be dumb enough to challenge her to a duel? She says he should have learned his lesson from their last duel.

But Joey just slots his deck into his Duel Disk, repeating that the only way he can get through to her is to duel her.

She accepts his challenge.

00000

Meanwhile, Yuna, Téa, and Tristan are still running around looking for Joey. Tristan thinks maybe the tracking system was screwed up.

Yuna looks at her Timaeus card, then runs off, telling everyone to come this way.

00000

Kaiba, Noah and Mokuba are in their new sports car, driving down another street.

Mokuba says they're about a block from Paradias headquarters, and so far the coast is clear and Noah makes a sound of suspicious affirmation.

Kaiba says Mokuba may have spoken a little too soon—it looks like they've got company. The road ahead is blocked by Orichalcos Soldiers, all glowering at the fancy, red car.

The sports car screeches to a halt, and the Kaiba brothers get out, Kaiba saying he'll handle this. He tells the Orichalcos Soldiers he doesn't know what they are doing as Dartz's killer robots, or even if they are functioning at all, but he doesn't have any time to play games.

He tells them to back off.

They, unsurprisingly, don't.

Seto growls.

00000

Mai says he's pretty confident for someone who's about to lose. She draws, and smiles, telling him she drew "it."

She plays the Seal of Orichalcos.

00000

Yuna and company stop when they see the Seal in the sky several blocks away.

Tristan exclaims, "Oh, no, Joey!"

Yuna says it's the Seal of Orichalcos, and they all know what that means.

Tristan says it means someone is going to lose his soul. They take off running toward the Seal.

00000

The Seal forms around Mai and Joey, and glows in Mai's forehead.

00000

Joey thinks, he doesn't plan on running away. He'll keep fighting until he breaks through to her—or lose his soul trying.

00000

Yuna, Tristan, and Téa are still running down the street, searching for Joey. They call out to Joey, stopping to look down each side street.

Tristan says he could swear that Orichalcos thing activated right there. Téa agrees—so why isn't it there now?

Unless they're too late.

Yuna tells Joey to hang in there, and they take off again.

00000

The Kaibas stand before a whole army of Orichalcos Soldiers.

Mokuba asks what do they do now, and Kaiba says they exterminate these oversized cockroaches.

He summons his Blue-Eyes White Dragon, and the Soldiers step back. Kaiba tells the Blue-Eyes to attack, and it wipes out a row of Soldiers, but more Soldiers materialize in their place.

''How are you supposed to get rid of these things?'' Mokuba asks. ''When you smash them, they come right back.''

''As I always say, if at first you don't succeed, blast 'em with your Blue-Eyes again!''

Mokuba asks where these things are coming from. Kaiba says fools are fools, no matter how many of them there are. They're no match for him.

The Blue-Eyes mows down another row of Soldiers, but, again, they reappear as quickly as they're destroyed. Then an Orichalcos Soldier sneaks up behind Mokuba and grabs him.

Mokuba calls for help, and Kaiba summons Critius whose lightning blasts destroy whole groups of Soldiers at a time, and it kills the Soldier holding Mokuba. Another one catches Noah, and the same happens to it and it's group.

Still, the Soldiers just keep coming.

But Kaiba won't give up. He orders both of his dragons to attack.

00000

In his temple, Dartz tells the Great Leviathan it won't be long now. Soon, the chosen duelists will be theirs.

00000

Joey tells her that was an awesome move. She might be under an evil spell, but she hasn't lost her touch. She's still one of the greatest duelists he knows. He may be about to pass out, but this is fun. Mai tells him to knock it off—she's not falling for his friendship scheme.

Mai ends her turn.

Joey shakes his trembling hand, then draws.

Finally, he's drawn the Claw of Hermos!

Now, he plays Warrior Returning Alive, which allows him to return a Warrior from his graveyard to his hand. He chooses the Blue Flame Swordsman (1800 ATK) and summons it to the field. Next, he plays the magic card, Dark Dragon Ritual (Black Dragon Ritual), sacrificing Gearfried the Iron Knight to ritual summon Knight of Dark Dragon.

Then, he sacrifices Knight of Dark Dragon to summon his Red-Eyes Black Dragon (2400 ATK).

Mai says he thinks he's so hot, but his Red-Eyes can't attack this turn.

Joey says, he's got something else to attack her with. He plays the Claw of Hermos, fusing it with the Red-Eyes Black Dragon to create the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword, equipping it to the Blue Flame Swordsman to increase its attack to 2800. He attacks and destroys one of the Cyber Harpies, reducing Mai's life points to 300.

Finally, he sets two cards face down and ends his turn.

Joey's pleased with his move, but staggers in exhaustion, vision blurring again. He tells himself he's got to pull through this. He's almost there.

Mai tells him, not bad. But his Flame Swordsman is only as strong as his weapon. She plays Harpie's Feather Duster to destroy the Red-Eyes Black Dragon Sword, and Blue Flame Swordsman's attack returns to its original 1800, low enough for her Cyber Harpies to destroy.

Time to blast Joey out of her life forever.

00000

Mai draws, then attacks Joey's Flame Swordsman with her powered-up Cyber Harpie.

Joey activates his trap card, Skull Dice, and rolls the die. It lands on two, lowering the Cyber Harpie's attack by half, to 2050. But it's still strong enough to destroy the Flame Swordsman and take Joey's life points down to 550.

She's about to attack him directly with her other Cyber Harpie, but she suddenly can't do it. She can't understand why she's hesitating—if she attacks him, she'll win the duel, and he'll be gone forever. One attack and she can finally move on with her life...

She remembers Joey teasingly giving her back the Star Chips she lost to Panik, and she remembers him catching her when she fell from a flagpole after Jean Claude Magnum tried to kidnap her. Then she remembers him standing in front of her to protect her from Ra's attack in her duel with Marik, and telling her goodbye after Battle City ended.

Joey smiles at her, congratulating her and telling he she wins. He falls to his knees, unable to stand up any longer. She runs to him, dropping her cards, and catching him as he falls.

She tells him he's wrong—she never attacked, so he didn't lose the duel.

But he says he's too exhausted to finish.

She says she won't let the Orichalcos take him, but he says it's too late, he already lost the duel. He's just glad that if one of them had to lose their soul, it didn't have to be her. (Japanese Jounouchi says he's sorry. In the end, he couldn't do anything for her. But he's glad her soul won't be taken.) As the Seal contracts around them, he tells her that was one of the greatest duels he ever fought, and thanks her.

Joey pushes her out of the Seal, pulling the Orichalcos stone from around her neck. As the Seal shrinks past the stone, it cracks, and Dartz looks up, thinking that she's been set free.

Dartz, wonders, is it coming? But then Dartz sees Joey appear in the stone wall of souls. It seems Ms. Valentine has served her purpose.

00000

Yuna, Tristan, and Téa are still running down the longest block in the world.

Yuna stops, looking at her Timaeus card. She looks up, and sees Timaeus appear on top of a building.

The dragon roars, a tear escaping its healthy eye as it cries in sorrow. Then, with a final begging look at the reincarnated Pharaoh, dissolves away.

00000

Seto, Noah and Mokuba look on in surprise as Critius also roars, and flies up into the sky. Noah says there must be some kind of glitch in the holographic image.

But Seto disagrees.

''Critius is crying.''

00000

The Seal of Orichalcos disappears, and Joey falls to the ground senseless, the Hermos card slipping from his fingers. Mai cradles him in her arms, crying. This is all her fault, was all she was thinking . She was angry and confused and she blamed it on Joey, so she tried to get rid of him. How could she be so selfish! He was the only one left who ever cared about her.

Suddenly, something occurred to her. Yuna was still her friend and these jerks wanted her!

''There's no way I'm allowing them to take her as well! I'll get you back, Joey, Valon. But I first must protect Yuna!''

She clutches him to her one last time, weeping, saying that he's the only friend she ever had other than the crimson eyed girl, and how did she repay him? By leaving him for a madman who promised her power. She picks up the Hermos card, and gets on her motorcycle, swearing she'll make him regret he ever met Mai Valentine.

''Let it end with Dartz.''

She drives away, leaving Joey propped up against the fence beside Valon, thinking that the only way to fix this is to meet Dartz face to face. She parks her bike before Paradias Headquarters and enters the building, going up the elevator to the top floor, where she goes out into the hallway. She sees a shadowy form at the end of the hall and asks if that's Dartz.

But he tells her to guess again.

Angrily, she asks what he wants.

00000

Meanwhile, Yuna and the others have finally arrived at the duel—to find the action all over, and Joey and Valon both lying senseless. Yuna exclaims, he lost the duel!

''His soul belongs to Dartz now.''

Joey lies senseless, propped up against the fence where Mai left him. The gang gather around, Téa begging him to please say something, but Yuna says she doesn't think Joey can.

''Then it's true!'' Téa says, sinking to the ground. ''The Orichalcos took his soul.''

Tristan reaches out to Joey, saying that when he gets his hands on the person who did this, they'll wish they were never born. He kneels before Joey, tears running down his cheeks, and puts his hand on Joey's shoulder, urging him to wake up.

Téa wonders who did do it

''By the looks of Valon, who's also unconscious against the fence, it wasn't him.''

Tristan says Joey must have defeated Valon, and then Mai showed up. He's sure that Mai did this to Joey.

Yuna agrees, but says that there's only one person they can really blame for all this

''He hides in his fortress while others do his dirty work. Well, not any more.''

Yuna turns and runs off, while Téa and Tristan lift Joey between them. Téa calls out to Yuna to wait, but she keeps on running towards the Paradias building, telling Dartz that this all ends now.

''Oh, man! If we don't look after her, Kaiba's gonna have our hinds!'' Tristan says as the two start following the Duel Queen.

00000

Yuna stands in the empty foyer of the building, where she hears Dartz's laughter, and Dartz's voice telling her that he's been expecting her.

Yuna runs to the elevator.

The door opens, and she sees Mai standing there—but then Mai falls forward into Yuna's arms, unconscious.

''Mai!''

She sees a feather drifting down inside the elevator, and realizes that Mai must have been in a duel—and lost.

She sets her down against the wall, then gets in the elevator, taking her deck out of her pocket and thinking that she must put an end to this.

The elevator rises to the Roof level, where Yuna's greeted by Rafael, who tells her it's about time she showed up for their rematch.

Yuna says that there's no rematch since there was never a duel to begin with and that she's there to see Dartz, but Rafael's only reply is the appearance of the Guardian wings at his shoulders.

Yuna asks if Dartz is so much of a coward that he sent Rafael to do his battles for him.

Rafael steps forward, saying Yuna owes him something.

''I've been waiting for the Nameless Pharaoh.'' Rafael tosses Yuna a card—Joey's Hermos card. The Queen of Games easily catches it. ''But I got a worthless midget in return. I wanted to test myself against the best of the best, but I got the brother of the Duel Queen. I want my duel, and you're going to give it to me now!''

Yuna assumes Rafael defeated Joey, but Rafael explains that it was Mai who beat Joey, and then he defeated her. Yuna wants to know why—wasn't Mai on their side?

Rafael says he never trusted her, and it turns out he was right.

''After she took Joey's soul, she turned on us.''

Yuna looks to the ground. ''Mai ... So you realized that you were wrong and tried to fix your mistakes!''

Yuna holds the Hermos card in a trembling hand, saying this madness has to stop.

''Think of how many innocent lives have been destroyed! You may be next.''

Rafael says he doesn't care. He's made a commitment to Dartz to help him save the planet from people like Yuna. If keeping his promise means giving up his own soul, so be it. Rafael says, even if he's taken, he'll be doing his part, by giving the Great Leviathan the strength it needs to restore peace to the world.

Yuna tells him to wake up

''Can't you see that Dartz is just using you for his own selfish needs? If you really want to save the world, you should stop fighting me and join me.''

Rafael says that as soon as the Great Beast is revived, Yuna's side will no longer exist.

''And all it needs is one more strong soul. Yours!''

Rafael says that world can't be saved as long as there are people in it. ''That's destiny. In order to understand destiny, you must accept it and offer yourself to it.'' Rafael says he wants to understand destiny. That's why he'll gladly sacrifice body and soul.

Yuna asks why a duelist like Rafael must submit to Dartz's so-called destiny, and even steal souls for it.

Rafael says destiny has already been set in motion.

''No one can stop it from moving.''

Rafael looks up, where the silhouette of the Great Leviathan snakes through the sky.

Yuna gasps

''Oh no, it's true!''

Rafael says that even as they speak, the Great Leviathan lurks in the shadows all over the Earth, sucking out energy from everyone in the world. And as soon as Rafael defeats Yuna, Yuna's soul will be offered to the Great Beast, giving it the strength it needs to fully fulfill its task.

Yuna grits her teeth, knowing that it was up to her to save her friends, and everyone else, before it was to late.

00000

Meanwhile, Téa and Tristan, carrying Joey, are running down the street after Yuna, when a car pulls up behind them.

It's Mokuba, Noah and Seto Kaiba, who've somehow escaped the endless stream of Orichalcos Soldiers blocking them and are also on their way to Paradias headquarters, probably from blasting the things with all three Blue-Eyes White Dragons until they ran out.

Tristan notes that it's a nice car, but Kaiba just grumbles about running into the dork-fest again, and asks what happened to Wheeler

''Did baby need a nap?''

Téa doesn't think that's very funny.

Something clicked and Kaiba grits his teeth as he says, "Bonkotsu—You've lost, too, haven't you?"

Mokuba sadly adds, "Joey," and Noah just shakes his head.

Then something occurs to Seto and he looks around, sending the group of friends a fierce Kaiba glare as he asks where Yuna is.

Tea says she's gone to Paradias alone, a great deal intimidated by the cold eyes boring into her and her petrified friend who couldn't even speak. How did Yuna stand up to a glare five times scarier when she Dueled Seto Kaiba!?

Just as all three Kaiba brothers were about to skin the two brunets alive, Mokuba sees something from the corner of his eye and yells, ''Oh no!'' and runs behind the front of the car.

Kaiba asks him what's his problem, and Mokuba points down the alley, which is suddenly full of rats with glowing red eyes, running towards them at full speed. Téa and Tristan both shriek like girls, and Joey starts to slide off Tristan's back, but Kaiba casually lifts Joey back up with one arm and tells the geeks to get moving. They run for a fire escape, which they climb up to by standing on a garbage can, even though there's a stairway up the fire escape right behind them.

Mokuba, Noah and Téa haul Joey's body over the railing, then Tristan and Kaiba—who's too cool to use both hands—leap up and catch onto the railing, just as the hordes of rats run beneath them.

Noah says he feels like vomiting, since he was still pretty much new to once again experience the real world through his old body, and the other two pat him on his back as Tristan protests for it not to land on him.

Kaiba ignores them and says he smells a rat, and his name's Dartz.

00000

''Soon, the Great Beast will be ready to fulfill its destiny. All it needs now is the Pharaoh's soul which you carry as your own, and the Seal of Orichalcos will take care of that.'' Rafael says confidently. ''I already beat your pathetic deck once, and I'm more than sire that I can do it again. It was supposed to be our Duel, but you cheated and sent that runt to duel instead of you!''

''Enough! Don't you dare talk about Yugi like that! And I never even got your message until your duel with my little brother already started! How DARE you insult my Deck or accuse me of cheating!? You stole my brother and his soul! You keep on saying that you were misfortunate with what happened to your family, but there are people who'd had it worse!'' Yuna yelled at the top of her lungs. ''You think you're the only one that had problems in life!? You're dead wrong if you think that! What of all three Kaiba brothers? They each had a hard life in its own way! And what of my friends, the Ishtars, who had to live 5000 years underground? What of Mahad, who was an unwanted child and was forced out onto the streets at a very tender age, only to find out a few years later that his mother died giving birth to his new sister, who was also left out on the streets of Cairo? And what about Joey? His father used to beat him every day because he was drunk! And what of a boy whose whole family was killed in a single night and everyone blames his only survived relative to be the murderer? How about the little boy I have saved in Russia? He was abandoned by his family, took in by a sick mafia who trained him to become a killer, witnessed his only friend die and was then left, bleeding and shivering to dig up a grave for her just so the wolves wouldn't dishonor her more than she already was! He only survived because I had found him!''

Yuna was panting at this point, but the rage that ran through her was giving her more breath than she needed to bring the idiot in front of her to his senses. She wasn't going to tell him of all the things that happened to many others that she would witness at night, but that was none of his business anyway.

''The point of my speech is: Life is a game! A barging chip given to us by the Gods/God to do with as we please! If you don't dare to risk it, we won't get anywhere with it and it will be wasted since we have's lived our lives to their fullest. If we endanger it unnecessarily, we will lose before life really becomes beautiful! Everyone has their life in the palms of their hands! People just don't know it! What happened to you only shows just how true that belief is! You didn't give up! You survived. Seto and I also have't given up, ever! Look where we are now, above everyone else, fulfilling our dreams and touching the stars! Per aspera ad astra! That's how life goes.''

''Enough.'' Rafael growled out as he glared at the smaller Duelist. ''My whole family died in that damned accident! How would you know how I feel?! How would you continue on if your whole family died at once!? You would break down, just like everyone else! But the world master Dartz is working to create ... It will be without pain or suffering! It will be perfect!''

''But will it give you back your family?''

Startled, the blond duelist could only utter a what.

Yuna's head was bowed, but not in a submissive way. There was a regal aura around her and Rafael swore he saw a blue-clad figure standing behind the Queen of Games. ''This new world ... The so called perfect world ... Will it bring your family back to you? Do you even know for sure that they are dead?''

The large blond could only glower at her. ''I saw them fall to their doom with my own eyes that day! Of coarse they're dead!''

The ancient soul's bearer snapped her head up so fast that Rafael wondered if she got a whiplash from it. ''And how would you know? They can be just as alive as you are, and just as sure that you are dead as you are sure they are! Have you ever even went to look for them? You survived. I'm pretty sure they did as well! And even if they didn't, do you honestly think what you're doing is okay? How could have you lost hope like that!?''

The tall Doma's Swordsmen flinched at the glare and words aimed his way, but he just allowed his anger to match the reincarnated Pharaoh's.

''That's really enough! Hope is nothing more than a four letter word! I've wasted more time then needed just talking to you! Well, I'm done talking! It's time to DUEL!'' With that, he put his deck into the slot and waited for Yuna to activate her Duel Disk if she accepted his challenge.

Yuna accepts Rafael's challenge, saying if that's the only way to save her friends, she'll duel. Once Rafael's out of the way, she'll go straight for Dartz. It's just a shame that a duelist with Rafael's talents has to throw it all away by following a madman.

Rafael insists that Dartz opened him up to the truth, and made him what he is today.

''You're just jealous because you don't have one of these—the Seal of Orichalcos card.''

Rafael was surprised by the sudden bitter laughter coming from the Duel Queen. When he asked her what was so funny, all he got was a single more chuckle before his blood ran cold at the voice that spoke from the petite girl.

''Nothing. Except for one little thing ...'' The voice sounded ancient, as if echoed by the 5 eons it took for the soul to reincarnate into the world again and it was creeping Rafael out. ''I am not as everyone else is, to jump at the thought of having a stronger weapon in my hands just so I can use it to make sure everyone sees that I'm more powerful than them. Yugi ... Yugi was under the influence of my Puzzle and therefore his mind was clouded enough without the Seal. But he wanted to win so desperately, just so I would be safe, that he gave into the biggest darkness that form in a persons heart - fear. I went through a trail and I realized that I in reality don't really have anything to fear. And now I'm ready to show you!'' The crimson eyes flashed as the ancient Shadows flared and light danced in the bloody depths as the Pharaoh's reincarnation strengthened to her full hight and got ready for the Duel.

00000

Yuna draws, then plays the magic card, Five Star Twilight. Since Jack's Knight is a Level 5 monster, she can sacrifice it to summon the five Kuriboh Brothers (300 ATK each).

Rafael sarcastically says oh no, he's so scared.

Yuna ignores him and continues, discarding a trap card in order to activate the Kuriboh brothers' effect, Kuriball. The white Kuriboh swallows up all the other Kuribohs, then rolls into Guardian Grarl. When the Kuribohs split up and return to their side of the field, Guardian Grarl's attack has been reduced to 1500.

Then Yuna combines the five Kuribohs into Kuribabylon (1500 ATK).

Rafael points out that Yuna's powder puff and his Grarl have the same attack strength, but Yuna's not finished yet. She plays Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Gravity Axe, and Grarl's attack goes down to 1000. Now she attacks Guardian Grarl with Kuribabylon.

But Guardian Elma blocks the attack. Rafael explains that the Guardian Shield's effect allows him to prevent any of his monsters from being destroyed. But it costs him 500 life points, so he's down to 3500.

Yuna sets one card face down and ends her turn, thinking that she's never come across a duelist like Rafael before, who refuses to let any of his monsters go to the graveyard.

'He protects his monsters at all costs—why would a duelist like this hold the Seal of Orichalcos?'

00000

Rafael plays the Seal of Orichalcos. Yuna calls out, ''No, please don't!''

''But it's too late.'' Rafael slots the card into his Duel Disk, as lightning flashes around them, telling Yuna her fate is sealed.

00000

The Kaibas finally arrive at the Paradias building, along with Téa and Tristan. They see Mai lying by the elevator, and realize that she lost her soul, too. Tristan, with Joey on his back, wonders who's carrying her?

He's utterly ignored by the CEO and his brothers as they observe their surroundings.

They see that the elevator's at the top floor.

Seto runs to the elevator with the others following him and keeps pushing the up button impatiently until the elevator started climbing with a ding!

'Hang in there, Yuna! I'm coming!'

00000

Yuna tells Rafael he's making a mistake, and the gang arrive at the roof just in time to see the Seal of Orichalcos form around the duelists.

Tristan says they're too late

''That guy already played the Seal of Orichalcos!''

'This changes everything. What has Rafael done?' Yuna wonders as she feels the Seal trying to awaken long gone fears.

Rafael smiles, and when he opens his eyes, they shine red. The Seal of Orichalcos glows in his forehead as he looks the Duel Queen up and down, enjoying the view a bit too much.

Yuna asks him what he was thinking

''Now one of us will lose our soul, damn it!''

Rafael says that's the point. ''The Great Leviathan needs power.''

The score stands at Yuna 2500 life points, Rafael 3500.

''Once I take you down, Yuna ...'' Rafael continues, ''that legendary creature will have the strength it needs to awaken.''

Tristan, watching from the sidelines with Téa, Seto, Noah and Mokuba, says that's the same guy who beat Yugi last time.

Kaiba looks on in surprise. 'So this is the punk who upset Yuna so much?' Something in Seto was threatening to snap at the memory how Yuna had looked when he had finally saw her. 'This bastard is going to pay!'

Rafael orders Guardian Grarl to attack Kuribabylon, which blows apart into the separate Kuriboh brothers as it's destroyed.

Yuna's down to 1000 life points. But she activates her trap card, Rope of Life, which allows her to discard her hand to bring back the monster that was just destroyed. Kuribabylon returns to the field with an additional 800 attack points, bringing it to 2300.

Rafael sets a card face down and ends his turn.

Téa wonders, ''Now what?'' and Mokuba says Yuna needs help

''She's only got a thousand life points.''

But Tristan says Yugi's won duels with way fewer, pointedly looking at the green haired boy and Noah nodded, saying that his Nee-chii is far better than the corn haired guy.

Seto looks on grimly, thinking that this is the duelist who beat the Queen of Games' brother. It confused and astounded him how big of a difference there was between the twins skills in almost everything they did, although they were both thought gambling by the same man. But this was different.

'This is Yuna's chance to win back her reputation as an undefeated champion—so I can take it away. But there are other more important problems now than Yuna getting back at the man who had made it seem that she had failed to protect her brother. She's in greater danger! There's more to the power of the Orichalcos. Can Yuna defeat Rafael and win back her title of the unbeatable Duel Queen?'

''This punk will fall before he gets to her. Yuna will win and show Dartz that not even his best wannabe duelist can stand up to the Queen of Games!''

The others stare at the stoic CEO in shock, but he was soon backed up by his younger brothers, causing the two friends to wonder just how much the Queen of Games meant to the three Kaibas.

Yuna draws, and transforms Kuribabylon back into the five Kuriboh brothers. ''Now,'' she says, ''it's time to take on a new form.''

The blue Kuriboh gets fierce and starts knocking his brothers around causing Rafael to wonder what the fuck was going on. Soon, Kuribohs are bouncing all over the field, rebounding off the dome of the Seal.

Yuna tells them to merge again, this time to form Kuribandit, a fanged Kuriboh with an eyepatch and bandanna.

Rafael laughs, but Yuna tells him the last thing he should be doing is laughing. She plays her magic card, Dark Magic Curtain, allowing her to summon her always fateful Dark Magician (2500 ATK).

Tristan and Téa cheer, but Mokuba points out that it cost Yuna half of her life points.

Tristan gulps, then says it's part of the plan.

Yuna attacks Guardian Elma with Dark Magician, but Rafael activates his trap card, Guardian Formation, moving Elma into the back row, where it's protected from attack by his other monsters.

Tristan calls Rafael a wimp, telling him to try fighting instead of hiding.

But Kaiba thinks it was a an impressive move—Rafael knows how to tap into all the Seal's power.

Rafael says it's time to bring out his ultimate monster. (Japanese Rafael says something about using a special effect to activate a magic card from his deck.) First, he plays the magic card, Celestial Sword Eatos.

Yuna frowns, remembering her brother's duel with the blond and thinking this can only mean one thing

'He's about to play Guardian Eatos!'

Rafael draws two cards and summons Guardian Eatos (2500 ATK).

Yuna thinks that she has to act quickly—with 500 life points left, she doesn't have much time.

Eatos appears above the field, her wings turning dark and her eyes glowing red as the Seal of Orichalcos infuses her with power, increasing her attack to 3000.

Yuna, enraged with how Rafael was now treating his most beloved card, tells Rafael to look what he's done to his Guardian—it's been consumed by darkness. But Rafael smiles, saying exactly—it's more powerful than ever.

Guardian Eatos picks up the Celestial Sword, increasing her attack by another 300 points.

Yuna asks Rafael, if he cares that he's turned his monster into that?

But Rafael only tells her that she shouldn't be worrying about that now.

''That's the monster that beat Yugi last time.'' Tristan says to the watching group. He explains that it gains power from the monsters in the opponent's graveyard, and the others exclaim, wondering if there's any way out.

Yuna sacrifices Kuribandit, allowing her to draw five more cards, discarding any monsters she's drawn. Three monsters go to the graveyard, as Mokuba warns her that that will just make Eatos more powerful.

Seto says that's true, but it could have been worth the risk if Yuna drew the right card.

Noah could only watch as the duel continued on, along with the other two brunets there.

Yuna looks at her two magic cards. One is Magical Hats, and other is something new—a top hat with pigeons flying out of it.

Rafael tells Eatos to raise her sword and drain Yuna's monsters' power. The souls of the Duel Queen's monsters in the graveyard emerge from her Duel Disk to be sucked into the Celestial Sword.

Eatos' attack rises to 7000 points.

The gang look on in horror, as Rafael tells Yuna she's about to become a loser, and this time she'll pay up—with her soul. He orders Eatos to attack the Dark Magician, saying, "Game over."

But Eatos' sword cracks against the Dark Magician and falls away, and Eatos' attack returns to 3000 points.

The Dark Magician is unharmed, glaring at the winged monster in front of him and its master behind it.

Yuna explains—one of the monsters she just discarded was Electromagnetic Turtle (0 ATK, 1800 DEF). ''When it was destroyed, it formed a shield that protected the Dark Magician from attack.''

Rafael seethes, while Tristan and Téa celebrate in relief and the two youngest in the group cheer. Seto smiles mockingly at the man who thought he could take the honor belonging only to Seto Kaiba himself.

Rafael vows to himself to make Yuna pay for mocking the power of his Guardian Eatos, then ends his turn.

Rafael once again attacks Dark Magician with Eatos.

Her face light up by the angel-like monster's attack, Yuna looked more fierce and dangerous than ever before as she activates her face down card, Magical Hats to hide her monsters under four top hats. Eatos' attack destroys Big Shield Gardna instead.

Tristan says it's awesome! ''Magical Hats shuffled Yuna's monsters so Rafael destroyed the wrong one.''

But Mokuba points out that Rafael has another attack, so Dark Magician is still in danger.

Rafael uses Elma to destroy one of the hats, then sends in Grarl with a fifty-fifty chance of finding the Dark Magician. But it misses, and the Dark Magician is spared. Rafael is not happy, but his turn isn't over yet. He plays Rod of Silence, allowing him to summon another Guardian monster, Guardian Kay'est (1000 ATK, raised to 1500 by the Seal of Orichalcos), then he ends his turn.

Tristan and Téa sigh in relief.

Seto says there's only one thing that can save Yugi now. ''Things don't look good, but Yuna has forced the enemy onto a road of no return.'' He smirks creepily at Rafael, causing the big man to wonder just what the fuck actually happened to the teen CEO to be like that.

Yuna draws.

First, she plays Graceful Charity, drawing three cards and discarding two.

Thinking that this is her final chance, she asks the Heart of the Cards to guide her as she draws. She smiles as she feels the incredible connection of her heart and the heart of her Deck form as the monsters literally push their way to her fingers. As she discards two of the cards, she thanks her loyal cards, then triumphantly holds up the Eye of Timaeus. As Rafael watches in shock, Yuna plays Timaeus, merging it with her Dark Magician to form Amulet Dragon (2900 ATK). Her new dragon gets another 300 points for every magic card in Yuna's graveyard, and there are eight, raising Amulet Dragon's attack to 5300.

Yuna attacks Guardian Eatos with Amulet Dragon.

Rafael screams in anguish as Eatos is destroyed. Yuna looks on in rare pity, knowing that the man loved that monster as much as she and Seto loved all their cards. But even with Rafael's love for his cards, he didn't do as she and her rival did. Being around Dartz must have given him the impression that the cards are just cards and that there's nothing more to them. Unlike him, Yuna and Seto had somehow found a way to merge their very souls into their Decks, especially three certain cards that are in their possession. Although she entrusted her safety and soul with her Dark Magician duo, her soul was merged with the three God Monsters, while Seto entrusted his three Blue-Eyes White Dragons with both his safety and his soul, and merged it with them. It was a bit troubling for Yuna, since she knew that those Dragons come from an ancient woman who she believed was Seth's lover and that hurt for a reason she could not comprehend. The only thing that was her comfort was that that woman wasn't reincarnated as far as she knew.

Her attention was diverted from her slowly troubling thoughts as Rafael tells Yuna she's going to be sorry—no one sends his Guardian Eatos to the graveyard! The dome of the Seal pulses green energy as Rafael faces Yuna in fury. Téa wonders why the Seal is doing that, and Kaiba thinks the Seal is in turmoil.

''What's going on?''

The question of the reincarnated soul was ignored, but the watching party could only stare as a blue aura suddenly bursts around the crimson-eyed girl. The light from it stopped the vibrating seal to affect in any way the Queen of Duelists as Rafael's anger pulses through the seal.

''That blue aura ... It's the same as the one that protected her in the Wally of Lost Souls!'' Tea said in awe, causing Seto to wonder just how many more times that light was going to protect Yuna.

'The only thing that's stopping the Seal from taking Yuna's energy is that light, meaning that its intesity must be a lot greater than the Orichalcos' stones'! What is that energy protecting her? And how long can it keep her safe?'

Rafael, the Seal in his own forehead pulsing green and red, says that Guardian Eatos is a creature of light and purity, and when it's destroyed, it's replaced by a different monster—a creature of darkness.

A chasm opens up in the field before him, and a new creature climbs out, masked and wrapped in bandages like a mummy, and a skirt of rags. Rafael tells Yami to say hello to Guardian Deathscythe (2500 ATK, raised to 3000 by the Seal of Orichalcos).

Yuna says hello—and goodbye! It's no match for her dragon.

Rafael says it will be, and equips it with the Reaperscythe magic card, increasing its attack by 500 for every monster in his graveyard. Now Guardian Dreadscythe has 3500 attack points.

Yuna is quite surprised to see Rafael play such a card, saying she thought Rafael despised having monsters in his graveyard.

Rafael says he despises Yuna even more. ''So what's a few monsters in the grave, if it means destroying YOU forever?''

Rafael draws his two cards, and switches Guardian Deathscythe into attack mode. Then, he sacrifices all his other monsters to boost Dreadscythe's attack.

Yuna, horrified, tells him not to do it, saying that the Orichalcos is clouding Rafael's mind, but Rafael continues sacrificing his monsters. Guardian Dreadscythe's attack rises to 5500. Now, it's 200 points stronger than Yuna's Amulet Dragon. He attacks, and the dragon is destroyed, reducing Yuna's life points to 300.

Yuna has no monsters left on the field. She draws, and Téa smiles, saying the Pharaoh looks pretty confident.

Kaiba wonders how she can win without her legendary dragon. ''What do you plan to do, Yuna my rival?''

Yuna plays Card of Sanctity, requiring them each to draw until they have six cards. Then she summons Watapon (200 ATK). Next, she sacrifices Watapon to summon her Dark Magician Girl (1700 DEF) in defense. As the blond white-skinned version of her friend Mana appears on the field, Yuna wove to show Rafael once more how to love his cards and trust them with his very life and soul. Finally, she sets one card face down and ends her turn.

Rafael draws two cards, saying it's time to end this. He plays a magic card, Obedience, allowing him to force Dark Magician Girl into attack mode when he attacks. Dark Magician Girl reluctantly stands up, and Rafael orders Guardian Deathscythe to attack.

Yuna quickly activates her set card, Magical Pigeon, and a top hat hides Dark Magician Girl. When Dreadscythe destroys the hat, pigeons fly out of it, and Dark Magician Girl is nowhere to be seen. She explains that Magical Pigeon can only be used with Dark Magician Girl.

''It protects her from attack by transforming her into a pigeon for one turn.''

Grumbling that Yuna is just stalling with pathetic magic ricks, Rafael sets two cards face down and ends his turn.

A pigeon lands on the field in front of Yuna, turning back into the fateful Dark Magician Girl.

Rafael tells Yuna she's out of options.

''It's pointless to drag this out.''

Yuna says she's well aware that the odds are in Rafael's favor, but that's no reason to give up. ''You may have the magic of the Orichalcos, but I have something stronger—a belief in the Heart of the Cards, and in myself.''

Rafael reminds Yuna that she was once ruled by darkness when she sent her brother to fight instead of her, but Yuna thinks that she wasn't able to conquer her brother's will to try and help her for a change since she was partly unwilling to cut him his freedom in his choices, be they good or bad. ''And besides ... That darkness you are talking about is not my own. My original incarnate absorbed a darkness so immense that it's only natural for it to be present in me, but it never ruled me! I never felt the need to let that darkness out and it's still trapped inside my ancient soul! And so I will never lose because of it!''

Rafael wonders why destiny is playing tricks on him. What has been helping Yuna?

Yuna says she believes that before the end of the duel, she and Rafael will change. In order to see that, she'll do her best to duel.

Smiling, Rafael asks, will I change? His destiny is strange, isn't it? ''Yet you bare a even stranger destiny. How do you do it?''

Yuna looked him in the eye and Rafael felt as though she was gazing straight into his heart with the piercing red eyes that would seem sinister had they not been so wise. ''We all have a burden we need to bare. Mine is the soul I was born with it, except I don't see it as a task.''

Rafael looks on in amazement, finally seeing why so much people adored the girl in front of him.

Yuna was thinking of how she must show Rafael that he should cherish his life and not just throw it away for a madman.

'I must help Rafael defeat the darkness in his heart. That fear that he hides behind the anger at the world!'

She draws, telling Rafael that the duel is far from over. She says she knows firsthand what the Orichalcos does to a person's heart, and she can help. She didn't mention the torture she felt in that particular vision, since it would mean having to explain how she knew and what her special gift is.

''When Eatos was destroyed, you unleashed your anger on your other monsters. You let the Orichalcos feed on your rage, but this isn't who you really are. The darkness within you has taken control, and now you must face that darkness head on. It's the only way to save yourself!''

Rafael says Yuna's the one who needs saving. It made Seto want to go up there and choke the man as he understood what Yuna was talking about since he himself had experienced it.

Yuna tells Rafael that she finally hears his cries. When Eatos went to the graveyard, when Rafael sacrificed his monsters, his heart was crying.

Rafael asks why she is saying such strange things all of a sudden. She tells him that's what her partner told her

''If you don't intend to share the burden of darkness in others, you won't be able to understand the pain within them.'' She quotes her little brother. She tells Rafael that he will share the burden of darkness within him.

''I'll wipe away your cries with this card!''

Yuna holds up her card, saying it will force Rafael to take a closer look at himself.

She plays the magic card, Underworld Circle. Both players' monsters disappear from the field, and the Seal begins to spin, and black swirls darken the dome, as Yuna tells Rafael to witness his true darkness!

The gang watch as the dome turns black. Now they can't see what's going on! Téa hopes that when the smoke clears, it will be the Pharaoh who's still standing.

00000

Ryou tripped and fell as he and his friends ran through the hot desert in Egypt, trying desperately to escape the things that were chasing them as well as lead them away from the Tombs the Ishtar family has been guarding for the past 5000 years.

''RYOU!'' Bakura yelled as he saw his younger twin on the ground, the group of Orichalcos Soldiers quickly moving towards the albino boy. He turned and ran to his brother, inspecting him for injuries and found that the other had sprang his ankle and couldn't stand up let alone run! ''Shit!'' He jumped up and placed Ryou on his back, joining the others in their atempt to escape.

''You two okay?'' Mana asked as the quick Thief caught up to them. Bakura was panting far worse than the other three runners and it worried Malik, who had seen one of the Soldiers kick the albino quite mercilessly in the leg. He marveled at the man's stubborn pride that didn't allow him to show his weakness, especially since he was now carrying his brother's wight as well.

''I'll make sure we're both fine as sure as we outrun those bastards or whatever they are!'' The King of Thieves growled out. Marik, who was at the head of the group, noticed that the growl was not only a threat but also the only way his fiendishly mischievous friend could express his pain and it worried him. Bakura wouldn't last much longer with his leg already injured, and that would result in both of the albinos falling prey to the creatures that were chasing them.

The said creatures were awfully close to them now, their speed finally catching up to the exhausted group. Mana and Marik, the only ones with weapons at this moment, stopped in front of the wounded albinos, who were supported by a woolly Malik. Bakura had yet to let Ryou down, knowing that he could take his pain, but Ryou couldn't. He grit his teeth as Mana swiped away the robotic hand that had reached for him, growling in humiliation that he couldn't help her and his other friend in fighting them off. Ryou, having realized that his older brother was in pain, had tried to get Bakura to let him down but his efforts were in vain.

A moment later, a panting Mana lost her grip on her wand-like stick and Marik knelled in his exhaustion, both finally succumbing to their bodies pleas to stop and rest. The lilac eyes were still glaring at the nearing figures, but he felt his shame wash over him. He had failed his Pharaoh again and this time, it cost him his friends lives as well as his family's pride and honor.

The five teens watched in horror as the four remaining Orichalcos Soldiers stretched out their hands, ready to take in two ancient souls hidden within the older albino and the young apprentice as well as the three other poor souls, when, suddenly, a sound that resembled glass braking was heard as a little bottle hit one of the robots, its content spilling out and causing an explosion. The hit soldier fell limply to the sand as the other three turned to look behind them as one more was hit and received the same treatment.

Mana recognized the liquid in the little bottles and looked around just as one barely missed one of the two remaining enemies. She grabbed it and saw that it was indeed her Master's ''Dark Magic Attack'' potion.

She was startled out of her thoughts as a figure came to stand in front of the couple of soldiers and the tired teens, a long ancient-looking robe covering his figure, his back clad with a cape, his long brown hair covered by the gold and linen headdress. The gold bands on his arms and the waistband gleamed in the hot sun as the figure held out a long, green scepter in front of him.

Mana couldn't help but exclaim in happiness, worry and relief.

''MAHAD!''

The said man didn't get to spear the group a glance as he was attacked by the remaining pair of Orichalcos Soldiers attacked the reincarnated the ancient most powerful sorcerer in the world and protector of the Great Nameless Pharaoh.

Mahad barely dodged in time as the two robots attacked him at the same time.

00000

Atop the Paradias building, Tristan and Téa, Noah, Seto and Mokuba stand outside the dome of the Seal of Orichalcos, now shrouded in darkness and flashing with lightning. Tristan, still carrying Joey's soulless body on his back, says the Pharaoh's trapped in there with that creep! ''How did this happen?''

Mokuba says he knows. ''Yuna played that Underworld Circle card.''

Seto looks on grimly, desperately trying to not show just how worried he was for the girl he fell in love with!

00000

Inside the dome, Yuna is walking through thick fog. She finds it strange

'Is this another vision generated by the Seal of Orichalcos?'

Before her, she can see a pathway leading through a field of graves. Yuna wonders where she is. The last thing she remembers is playing the magic card that allows the players to summon monsters from the graveyard—but this is a real graveyard.

Then she hears Rafael's voice saying that this wasn't part of his plan, and she sees Rafael's shadowed form standing beyond him in the fog.

Yuna hears someone calling for help, and sees another form running towards her. As the form becomes clear in the fog, Rafael gasps, and Yuna exclaims that it looks like Rafael. Rafael agrees that it is him, and he calls out to the younger version of himself as he runs past, but the other Rafael ignores him. Rafael begins to run after him, and Yuna warns him it might be a trap—but then she, too, takes off after the two Rafaels.

Soon, Rafael stops before a row of large gravestones. Yuna, with her shorter lags, finally catches up, still warning Rafael that this might be dangerous—they don't know where they are.

But Rafael says he knows exactly where they are.

The gravestones showed the names of Rafael's family in one moment, but in the next, each one showed a Seal of Orichalcos, making Yuna gasp at the sudden change. She was no stranger to weird thins happening during random visions, having witnessed monsters summoned right in front of her own eyes in her visions of the Nameless Pharaoh's, Seth's and the Thief King's lives, but this couldn't mean anything good.

They hear laughter behind them, and Rafael says it's all starting to make sense. As the younger Rafael and Dartz appear, standing in the rain, Rafael says that Dartz once took him here to expose him to the truth.

'This must be the day they met.'

Yuna asks if this is a vision from Rafael's past.

Dartz tells the young Rafael to always remember that life is cruel, and the sooner he learns that, the sooner he can start over. ''Since the accident,'' Dartz says, ''your family has forgotten all about you''. Dartz tells young Rafael that it's always the same. No matter where he runs, he'll come back here in the end. Does Rafael know why? It's because he's afraid to face the fact that they're dead.

As Yuna and Rafael watch, Dartz continues telling young Rafael that his family has moved on, and he should as well. ''Just let them go.'' Dartz tells Rafael that he is the only survivor of the shipwreck.

Present-day Rafael watches the vision, an anguished look on his face, as Dartz tells the young Rafael that he brought him here to bury his past and leave it all behind. Today is the day he begins his new life. Rafael must do as he says, and the pain will be gone. Dartz is his family now.

Dartz says young Rafael thinks that if he's alive, his family must be, too. But fate chose only Rafael. His family is dead. If Rafael keeps running away from this, he'll never understand the answer to fate.

Dartz tells young Rafael there's one final task he must perform. He must tunnel into the ground and unearth his destiny. He tells young Rafael that he must throw himself into fate to see fate's answer. He tells him to affirm it with his own hands. His family is buried in those graves.

Young Rafael goes to the spot Dartz has indicated, while Dartz tells him to use the anger inside him to guide him. Focus on the pain in his past, and he'll find the tools to build his future.

Dartz says if Rafael wants to get away from here, he must affirm it with his own hands.

''See that they are dead! That they have left you!''

Young Rafael drops to his knees before the graves, and begins to dig in the ground with his bare hands.

Yuna says she doesn't understand—what is Rafael looking for?

Yuna looks on, realizing that things that happened were not only Rafael's memories now; they were also her visions. As she watches on, she only says, "This is your past." She felt regret for not being able to help the man earlier. Instead of only focusing on this vision, she dared to ask her own soul to stretch and search for any hope that Rafael's real family was somewhere out there. She was aware that such a thing was foolish, but she always believed that miracles can happen. That they exist! And putting her life on the line for the happiness of others was nothing new to her.

Dartz laughs, telling young Rafael to let the darkness consume him. The pit young Rafael is digging grows larger and deeper, and he says he's getting closer.

Rafael digging up two skulls. He stands, clutching them to him, and screams. He knew that the two skulls were to small to be his parents, so it meant that they belonged to his younger siblings.

It was far worse that should it have been his parents, who had lived full lives. His brother and sister were so young ...!

Yuna asks again what it was that Dartz forced Rafael to uncover that day.

'But how can this be? Rafael's family should only be missing!' The game master thought desperately. She was still far too focused on stretching her ancient soul to actually for once help her in that exact moment! She felt an unbearable pain in both her head and her heart as she kept trying.

Wisps of images were at the corners of her vision and it gave her hope that she would succeed.

Then, they see it at the bottom of the pit—a Dark Duel Disk. Dartz tells young Rafael that his destiny begins here. Young Rafael reaches for it, but then he sees Guardian Eatos floating over the pit. Dartz tells him to forget that creature—it's part of his past, and young Rafael picks up the Duel Disk and puts it on his arm.

However, young Rafael stands clutching the skulls, then Guardian Eatos reaches out to him. He turns to her, and she takes the skulls from him. She holds the skulls to her chest. As he watches her floating above him, Dartz tsks and demands that he activate the Dark Duel Disk.

Dartz tells him to face his destiny, and young Rafael draws a card from the deck—it's the Seal of Orichalcos. Dartz tells him to activate the card, and his transformation will be complete. Young Rafael slots the card into the field zone, and the Duel Disk lights up, and the Seal forms around him. Young Rafael groans as if in pain, but Dartz tells him not to fight it, but to let the Seal of Orichalcos set him free.

''Give your heart to the darkness, be one with it and then surpass it. The answer to your destiny is in front of you.''

The Seal is drawn in young Rafael's forehead, and grows around him until it reaches Guardian Eatos. The skulls dissolve in Eatos' hands as the Seal reaches her. The monster bursts into flames and sinks into the pit.

Young Rafael tries to run to her, as Dartz tells him he has a new Guardian now.

Guardian Deathscythe rises out of the pit. Dartz tells young Rafael to meet the custodian of darkness. This creature was formed from the rage in his heart. Now, Dartz tells him, his journey is over.

Welcome to Dartz's family!

Rafael asks Yuna if she now understands the brilliance of Master Dartz, who knows exactly how the world works, and how to save it. Yuna asks, if Rafael is so loyal to Dartz, why does he disobey him? Dartz told him to let go of the past, but he stays loyal to his Guardians. Rafael says Yami doesn't get it. Dartz was trying to help him move on.

But Yuna says Dartz is a madman, and the only person he's helping is himself!

Rafael says that his destiny was decided from that day on. Becoming one with the darkness in his heart and throwing himself to fate saved him. Yuna asks him, if he's saved, why does he feel sad when he sends his monsters to the graveyard? If he's thrown himself to fate, he shouldn't have felt anything.

Rafael asks Yuna, what does she know?

But Yuna says she knows plenty, and that she knows Rafael doesn't want his monsters to have the same fate as his family. That's why he's so afraid of the graveyard.

''That's the real Rafael.''

The Seal glowing in his forehead, Rafael says that Master Dartz gave him the power he needed to survive—and now it's time to unleash it on Yuna! He says that he's surpassed the darkness in his heart. He can't turn back.

Guardian Deathscythe appears before him.

The dome of the Seal clears, and once again, Yuna and Rafael are facing each other on the roof, with their cards in play. The gang can see them again.

Noah asks if she is all right.

But Yuna has no monsters on her side of the field, while Rafael still has Guardian Deathscythe with him, holding its scythe, powered up to its full 5500 points.

Yuna says her Underworld Circle magic card should have destroyed every monster on the field. It also forces them to remove every monster remaining in their decks. After that, they can only use monsters from their graveyards.

Yuna's Dark Magician Girl is gone.

''So why is Dreadscythe still on the field?''

Rafael explains that by eliminating a card from his hand, Guardian Deathscythe is able to revive itself. It was created to be indestructible, so not even Rafael can get rid of it.

Téa wonders if that means the Pharaoh can't win. ''A monster that can't be destroyed? That's gonna be hard to defeat!''

''Thanks to my magic card,'' Yuna says, ''I have access to every monster in my graveyard. But because of Deathscythe, your graveyard is off-limits, Rafael.''

Rafael says there's no turning back. The monsters he sacrificed are gone, and he doesn't need them. There's only one creature he needs now. Rafael says his destiny is one with Deathscythe. He will throw himself to fate.

Yuna thinks that Dartz gave Rafael that monster to feed the darkness in his heart, so maybe if she can destroy it, she can set Rafael free.

With the power of Underworld Circle, Yuna brings back her Dark Magician.

Kaiba says Yuna has a shot to win now, and Mokuba agrees

''Now that she can play cards from her graveyard, she can start kicking some butt!''

Noah enthusiastically nodded and cheered for his Nee-chii.

''The dead are coming back to life ... Yuna, what is it that pulls miracles and souls to you?'' Seto murmured to himself as he once again saw his blue-clad, tanned double-ganger, standing right beside and a bit behind his rival.

Yuna sets a card face down and ends her turn.

Rafael draws, telling Yuna she's done.

''Not as long as my magic card's in play!'' Yuna says, and brings back Jack's Knight as well.

Mokuba says it's awesome!

''Yuna can summon monsters on her opponent's turn!''

Rafael says Yuna's puny monsters don't scare him, and attacks Dark Magician with Deathscythe.

Yuna activates her trap card, Zero Gravity, forcing all monsters on the field into defense mode. Tristan says Yuna just stopped that zombie thing in its tracks, but Rafael says he doesn't think so. He activates his trap, Spirit Hunting, switching Guardian Deathscythe back into attack mode, and continuing its attack.

Its scythe sweeps Yuna's field, destroying both of her monsters.

Yuna draws, using Underworld Circle to bring back Dark Magician Girl. Then she plays the magic card, Altar of Restoration, which lets her bring back another monster from the graveyard by discarding two cards from the top of her Deck. She brings back the Eye of Timaeus, merging it with Dark Magician Girl to form Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight (2600 ATK), then using its effect to destroy Guardian Deathscythe.

But after the attack, Deathscythe remains on the field.

Rafael laughs, as another card is placed to the graveyard from his hand, saying that Deathscythe is indestructible.

Kaiba wonders why Yuna attacked when she knew that monster could revive itself. Yuna sets a card face down and ends her turn, as Kaiba thinks that Yuna had better not let this chump defeat her—Kaiba's the only one who deserves that glory.

'If Yuna's still thinking of useless things like changing Rafael's mind, she'll certainly lose.'

Rafael draws.

Yuna uses Underworld Circle to bring back Queen's Knight. Rafael tells Yuna her strategy isn't working, and discards a card—which Yuna sees is Monster Reborn—to activate his magic card, the Orichalcos Sword of Sealing.

The Sword pierces Timaeus' foot, and the dragon roars in pain. Then Rafael attacks Dark Magician Girl the Dragon Knight with Guardian Deathscythe. Yuna cries out as her monster is destroyed—but her life points only go down to 10. Yuna reveals her trap card, Reduction Barrier, which reduces her damage to ten percent.

Yuna promises to fight until her last life point is gone.

Rafael tells Yuna to suit herself, but soon her soul will belong to Dartz.

Yuna says Rafael has been brainwashed, but Yuna believes there's still good inside him, and she plans to bring it out.

Yuna draws, then uses the Underworld Circle to bring back Big Shield Gardna. Then she plays Pot of Greed, drawing two more cards—a magic card, and the Claw of Hermos. She plays the magic card, Spider Web, which lets her use a card from Rafael's graveyard.

She chooses Monster Reborn, which she says she'll use to save Rafael by setting him free from the darkness. She plays Monster Reborn to bring back Guardian Eatos from Rafael's graveyard. Then, looking over her shoulder at Joey's body hanging on Tristan's back, she thinks that she can only do this to help Joey, and summons the Claw of Hermos.

Tristan tells Joey to check it out, but Joey just lies there, senseless. Though, both Seto and Yuna saw a small, almost nonexistent smile on the blond's face.

That was the reassurance the Duel Queen needed to know that the effects of the Seal really weren't permanent.

Yuna merges Hermos with Queen's Knight to form Goddess Bow, which she equips to Guardian Eatos, doubling her attack to 5000. Since Eatos has been removed from Rafael's graveyard, Deathscythe loses 500 points, reducing its attack to 5000.

Rafael wonders what Yuna's up to—if she attacks now, both monsters will be destroyed—but Rafael's will come back.

Yuna says they'll see about that. She says that Rafael's bond with his monsters and his family are the power to change destiny.

''And I'll be the one to use that power and show you what really is the truth of the world!''

Yuna orders Eatos to attack, activating the special effect of the Goddess Bow, allowing Eatos to attack again each time Deathscythe revives itself. The five arrows from the Goddess Bow hitting Deathscythe glow as the five cards in Rafael's hand descend into the graveyard one by one.

Mokuba says, of course! ''When Rafael runs out of cards, Deathscythe can't come back.''

The last card dissolves out of Rafael's hand, and Deathscythe burns away, leaving only its mask, which Eatos clutches to her heart as she, too, disappears into the clouds.

Rafael falls to his knees, and Yuna asks if he understands what he's done.

''You turned your back on your monsters. Once they meant the world to you, but Dartz convinced you to abandon everything that was important to you. Dartz told you lies about your family and fueled your rage, and in a moment of weakness, Rafael, you allowed yourself to be consumed by the dark influence of the Orichalcos. But I knew the real Rafael was still in there, and I knew what I had to do—force Rafael to face the darkness.'' Yuna said, letting a small smile to grace her features as she scolded the grown man like a little child. Her tender voice did wonders for the shocked man as he listened to her. ''You can't become one with the darkness in your heart. You couldn't face the fact that your family might be gone, when you only had the words of a stranger who you didn't even know to tell you of their fate, so you chose to throw in with Dartz and destiny. But the darkness in your heart is only an illusion! Rafael, your destiny hasn't been decided yet—you have to build it yourself. Future is still not set in stone like the past is!''

And so, for the first time since the accident, Rafael felt his heart warm up in the presence of a very warm light. He was shocked to realize what that light was. Hope. He hadn't felt hope for anything since the day he had seen those two skulls and thought that he had lost his family for forever. Now, in the presence of this one girl that radiated with light that made one's hopes reincarnate, he finally understood why the people of Egypt insisted that Yuna becomes the girl's name. Rafael couldn't believe that he and his companions hadn't seen this light before. The ancient Light of Hope that never died. The Pharaoh's soul was said to be the brightest of all souls ... In his reincarnation, Rafael finally saw what does who had said so had meant.

The warmth in his heart was so beautifully peaceful that he never wanted it to end. And in that peace, he saw why so many fell for the girl opposite him. Why Seto Kaiba stuck to her like glue. He himself now never wanted to be away from the beautiful crimson-eyed girl.

His soul had fallen in love with the light her soul was creating!

Rafael says there's only one problem—the Seal of Orichalcos still needs a soul. He draws, then uses Underworld Circle to bring back Guardian Grarl. Then he plays the magic card, Soul Charge, allowing him to summon more monsters from his graveyard. Backup Gardna, Guardian Elma, Guardian Kay'est all return to the field.

Tristan says, now Rafael has four monsters!

But Kaiba points out that any monster summoned by Soul Charge can't attack for one turn, so Yuna is safe.

''So why do it?'' Mokuba wonders.

Noah had a nasty suspicion, but he waited to see if he was right.

Rafael says that's it—his graveyard is empty, and his Guardians are free. But each monster he brought back from the grave cost him 500 points.

His life points go to zero, and the Seal of Orichalcos begins to shrink around him. Yuna runs towards him, calling out his name. He smiles at the concerned Queen of Games, actually happy that he had dueled and lost to this wondrous person.

''Please don't let the Seal dirty your pure soul. It's so pretty. Like you are. But please ... Please tell me ... Are they out there?''

Then, before the Duelist could answer, from the clouds, Guardian Eatos returns. She stands with the other Guardians, the Seal disappearing from their foreheads. Yuna, smiling, tells Rafael he's made the right choice—the darkness has lifted. Rafael tells Yuna she's right, and thanks her. Then, to his surprise, his little brother and sister appear at his side, clinging to him and telling him that they missed him. His parents appear before him, standing with his monsters.

Rafael smiles tearfully, saying this is a vision of what's inside his heart. Everyone he turned his back on is still here, and they'll always be with him.

The monsters and the vision of his family rise into the sky and fade from sight.

The Orichalcos stone cracks and disappears from around Rafael's neck, and the Seal vanishes.

Yuna and the others run to Rafael, who remains as he was, kneeling.

Téa wonders what happened to the Seal—doesn't it usually put on a big green laser show?

Rafael agrees. ''It usually takes someone's soul, too. But I'm still here. Why isn't my soul taken away?''

Yuna smiles, saying she has a theory. ''The Seal of Orichalcos is powered by the darkness within the person who plays it, meaning all the negative energy a person possess. But Rafael was able to conquer that darkness, so his soul was spared. You now have a chance to look for your family, in Mexico, if you wish to make amends.'' The crimson eyes shined with loving honesty, melting Rafael's hardened heart to mush as her words finally registered.

''You mean ...'' He asked, hope making him feel amazing!

The three-colored head nods brightly. ''They're still looking for you, you know.''

Rafael let a few silent tears fall down his cheeks, finally feeling like he was ready to once again live.

Then the building begins to shake.

''Is it an earthquake?'' Tristan asks.

Yuna's afraid it's much worse than that.