As the twenty-something thousand strong crowd roared their excitement for what some considered the 'main show' of the tournament, Meisa took her deck from Kaiba and returned his, her mind on the sheer force of the God that'd passed through her hands.

Obelisk the Tormentor's power was easily equal to The Sky Dragon of Osiris, and that meant she'd have to be careful, should it appear on the field.

"Yugi! I hope you've brought your God card because you're going to need it! I'm going to show everyone here who the true Champion is!"

Kaiba's words made her eyes narrow and she almost snapped back that she had other things on her mind but the crowds around them stopped her.

They didn't know about magic. Didn't know about the Pharaoh stuff or the way Ishizu and Hanaq had hurt friend after friend after friends. Didn't know that they were lucky this duel was happening at all.

Didn't know that she even existed…

All they cared about was the show of two incredible Duelists facing off against each other. They didn't care which 'Yugi' it was who dueled. They didn't know there were two of them, that one of them wasn't truly Yugi.

They only cared that Yugi had defeated Kaiba before and wanted either to see her do so again, or watch her get crushed.

'Anesan?' When her twin's voice bounced around her mind, the Pharaoh stepped into the corridor between their Soul Rooms.

'Imoto, do you want to step in?'

The sudden hug made her stagger back, her arms wrapping around her sister on autopilot.

"No, I want you to have fun." Yugi's voice was soft, comforting, "We can't do anything about Hanaq now, and it doesn't matter what the crowd thinks about you. Or if they know about your past. You're Mutou Yugi too, remember? So, you're the one these people want to see."

"I'm…"

Meisa's grip tightened around her sister at the reminder of the moment her twin had used the Puzzle's powers of Unity to bind her to Yugi's Ren, her true name, making her as much Mutou Yugi as the girl in her arms.

"You've been looking forward to this duel for months. Don't let her ruin this, like she's ruined everything else this tournament. You deserve better, and Kaiba will know if your head's not in the game. He deserves better too."

Imoto wasn't wrong. There weren't many who they could unleash their full potential against. Even against their friends, they often had to scale back their skills to avoid crushing them too completely and making them not want to play again.

Kaiba was one of the few who they could really let go against. They didn't need to hold back, didn't need to watch to make sure that their moves weren't too potent. In fact, they HAD to use every last drop of their strength if they wanted to stand a chance against him.

And doing any less here, would result in not only a defeat that'd sting deeply, but she'd lose the Sky Dragon of Osiris and her chance to claim Obelisk the Tormentor.

And that couldn't happen.

That, and with the crowds here, there was no way she could mention her past. Instead, this was her chance to enjoy something of the present. And Meisa really wanted a chance to have a duel she could enjoy, without having to worry about her Imoto's life or the lives and safety of her friends.

She let out a deep breath and felt the tension flow from her frame as the hot, tense air left her. Then she grinned at her sister as she pulled back.

"You're right, Imoto. Don't worry, I've got this."

"I know you do." Yugi released her twin and stepped back, "Now, go kick his ass."

"Of course."

Stepping back into the body, she smirked back at her opponent and drew her opening hand, noting that she'd missed the commentator's introductions in her distraction.

"Mutou to move first."

"I'm going to win this whole tournament and you can't stop me," she challenged as she picked out her opening move. "I summon Double Coston, in attack mode!"

The twin spectral ball zombies appeared upon the field, twirling around her with identical creepy giggles, before settling between her and Kaiba. Their 1700 attack points flashed, warning Kaiba and the crowd they weren't to be taken lightly.

"And I set two cards face down. That ends my turn."

"You don't stand a chance against me. I've studied every move you played, every adjustment you've made. My deck is perfectly suited to reclaim my title! And I'll start with a card in defence mode and a card face down."

Meisa frowned. It was unusual for Kaiba to make a defensive play. He was a highly offensive Duelist, both with his cards and his words. She couldn't be certain if he'd just gotten a bad opening hand, or whether he'd learned from her twin's actions at Duelist Kingdom, where she'd turned his own strength against him.

"You've not seen everything I have! I sacrifice Double Coston for Summoned Skull!"

The twin ghosts ducked into the ground and then a huge brute of a demon rose. It let out a furious bellow, its bones rattling as lightning crackled around it.

Confident in her face down cards, she threw her arm forward. "Summoned Skull, attack!"

The demon's attack slammed into the face down card, which flipped up before being destroyed, revealing a metallic jar with a creepy eye poking out. Light erupted from the eye, striking the Summoned Skull and destroying it, along with itself.

"What…?"

"You made a mistake, Yugi. You activated my Cyber Jar." Kaiba crowed. "When it's flipped face up, it destroys all monsters on the field. Then we have to reveal the top five cards from our deck and special summon any level four or lower monsters. Any other cards get added to our hands. Like this!"

With that, he revealed that his deck had handed him X-Head Cannon, Y-Dragon Head and Z-Metal Tank, all of which he summoned to the field, giving him two 1500 attack point monsters and one 1800.

Praying that her deck would be just as kind, Meisa drew. Elation hit her as she was able to summon Alpha, Beta and Gamma, her Magnet Warriors, and tribute all three of them for Valkyrion the Magna Warrior, whose 3500 attack points were more than even one of Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragons had.

But with his face down magic or trap card still unactivated and not wanting to waste such a powerful monster, she called, "I end my turn."

"And I end this duel. I set a card in defence mode. Then, I tribute my X, Y and Z monsters to summon the instrument of your destruction!"

Meisa watched in shock as the metallic monsters combined to form a huge tank of a beast. Z-Metal Tank took the form of the base, Y-Dragon Cannon as the body and X-Head Cannon as the head.

Then, as its attack points flashed up, confusion hit.

"It's weaker than my Valkyrion. It doesn't stand a chance."

"I thought you knew the game better than that." Kaiba dismissed her confusion with a derisive snort. "My Dragon Cannon has an effect that will render your Valkyrion into nothing but dust and I discard one card to activate it!"

The three weapons upon the XYZ-Dragon Cannon lit up in rainbow hues and unleashed a laser blast upon Valkyrion that made it shriek in jaw grating metallic tones and explode into fragments, leaving Meisa's side of the field wide open.

"And now he attacks you directly!"

The Pharaoh's hand hovered over her face down card for a moment as she decided whether to use it or not, then deciding not to, she allowed the attack to go through. The trio of powerful bursts merged into one swirling blast that slammed into her, knocking her down and ripping 2800 lifepoints away in one burst.

Kaiba's eyes narrowed as she pushed herself up and rose to her feet. He'd have crowed that he should've summoned rather than set, and ended this now, but he'd seen her allow the attack to go through, meaning that she could've stopped it if she'd wanted to.

"You're holding back, Yugi. Why?" He demanded as he set a magic or trap card. "That ends my turn, by the way."

"Oh, I'm not holding back. I'm holding something in reserve for later. I know you have more powerful things than that in your deck, and I don't want to waste it." Meisa snarked back as she drew. "I play Monster Reborn!"

The Magna Warrior retook the field, pointing its magnetic blade at the monster that'd destroyed it previously.

"And because I know better than to underestimate your face down cards, I'm going to take them out of the equation."

Kaiba's heart pounded and his blood ran hot in his veins as he understood exactly what she meant.

"I split Valkyrion back into its component parts and tribute all three of them for the Sky Dragon of Osiris!"

Alpha, Beta and Gamma weren't on the field long before their energies shot up into the sky. Storm clouds rolled across the skies, darkening the world around them, causing a lightning storm whose bolts struck the lightning rods that protected the stadium and whose rain soaked the field. The two Duelists stood watching as the ruby scales of the Divine Beast shimmered in the rain as it swirled down into the stadium and wrapped around its chosen Duelist.

"Osiris's effect takes 2000 attack points from any monster that dares to face it and destroys anything with less attack points then that!"

The temptation to step back was strong, but Kaiba managed to hold his ground as the God monster's Second Mouth effect kicked in. The burst of electricity it unleashed slammed into his side of the field, destroying Lord of D. and severely weakening the XYZ-Dragon Cannon. Parts of the cannon tumbled to the ground as its attack points dropped to 800.

"Now, Osiris, attack his Cannon!"

Kaiba gritted his teeth as the first jaw unhinged and light built up, making the floodlights that'd lit the grounds seem like mere pinpricks in comparison, before lightning erupted from the Divine Beast's throat and slammed into the field, shocking both Cannon and Duelist, blasting away 3200 of Kaiba's lifepoints in one fell swoop.

"Next turn, you're done."

"No, I'm not." Kaiba glowered back, hating that he was on the backfoot in front of so many people. This was his stadium, his tournament and his island. He was the King here, and yet he was LOSING.

It was unforgivable.

...But it would change.

"You're not the only one who can split a monster into its components," he snapped. "I play Monster Reborn, to revive my XYZ-Dragon Cannon, and I tribute it to get back my three tanks. Then, I sacrifice them to call forth the end to your Divine Beast!"

The three machines rumbled back onto the field, only to tumble into a fissure that opened up in the field. It slammed shut behind them, sending a shockwave through the ground that shook the stands, causing startled cries from the crowds.

The trembling only worsened as a huge blue humanoid figure rose from the ground, finally dying down as the musclebound mountain of a Duel Monster bellowed at Osiris who snarled back, gnashing its teeth.

"Meet Obelisk the Tormentor!"

"H… Hello."

Her response caused laughter in the crowd, helping her ignore the waves of fury rolling off of the Divine Beast before her.

Osiris acted on its own. Its Second Mouth unleashing a burst of electricity that slammed into the second God, trickled down to the ground and fizzled out.

"What?"

"Obelisk is also a God." Kaiba smirked at her shock. "So he's immune to Osiris's effect, allowing me to do this! Obelisk, destroy Osiris!"

Obelisk's fist lit up with a blue, swirling glow. In the same instant, Osiris built up its own attack, ready and willing to strike back.

Meisa braced herself as Obelisk lashed out with his huge fist, and Osiris launched his own attack, which burned into Obelisk's fist. The contact caused the light to erupt as a burst that blinded everyone in the arena.

Being forced to close her eyes, Meisa didn't get a chance to see the glow of the Millennium Puzzle before it dragged Meisa and Kaiba's minds down, down, down, until they tumbled into the air above an ancient battlefield…

Where, on one side, stood Kaiba, dressed in the finery and robes of a High Priest, while on the other stood Meisa, as she would've looked in Egypt.

To the back of the room stood a brunette young woman, who held a bundle in her arms. A bundle that very much resembled a baby wrapped in cloth.

Both Pharaoh and priest looked exhausted, both had one unbroken tablet left and both had glowing Millennium Items. The Pharaoh wore the Puzzle, while the ancient version of Kaiba held the Millennium Rod.

"Seth…" Meisa's shocked acknowledgement of the Priest's identity made Kaiba scowl.

"I will win this. You're tired, injured and you've been pushing yourself too far." Seth, for that was indeed who was snapping at the Pharaoh, spoke, "I need to win this. This country needs you. Your son needs you."

"The one who gives themselves to the seal needs to be the strongest of us. My magic remains stronger. You're so drained that this Diaha is almost too much for you," the Pharaoh bit back. "Kemet needs a strong Pharaoh, one it can still trust after the Shadows are stripped away. Someone who knows the common people, how to organise, and aid them through recovering from this disaster. You grew up amongst the people. You know them better than I. You're the better choice to remain."

"That doesn't mean I'm just going to let you throw yourself away. I'm going to defeat you and prove I'm strong enough to bear the demon's burden, so you can reign as you deserve!" Seth snarled, gesturing to his last tablet which flipped around by itself to reveal a dragonic form that neither Pharaoh or CEO could deny they recognized.

The Blue Eyes White Dragon swept out of the sealing stone without a moment's hesitation and rose to unleash a mighty roar at the Pharaoh, who, Kaiba was pleased to see, took a step backwards as the beast built up for a White Lightning Strike...

And then the light died down and they were back in the stadium.

Meisa let out a shaky breath as she beheld the empty field and clear skies. With Obelisk and Osiris at the same attack strength, they'd destroyed each other, leaving their Duelists defenseless, except for the cards in their back row.

Which meant Kaiba was completely certain that his magic or trap cards could protect him.

And thankfully it was her move next.

She drew, not wanting to mention the flashback in front of twenty thousand people who didn't know about magic and contemplated the cards in her hand. With Osiris in the graveyard, keeping her hand stuffed with cards wasn't an effective strategy.

Still, laying all of them on the field was a dangerous play. If she did that and he destroyed her back row, this duel would be done. So, she'd keep her strategy in hand and lay just one.

The one that would save her from defeat, should things suddenly turn bad.

"I set a card in defence mode and a card face down. It's your move."

The move wasn't flashy, but it did make her opponent's scowl deepen.

Seto knew how dangerous her back row could be. Taking out her God monster meant little when it'd destroyed his own, leaving him once more open to being countered by something like the Magic Cylinder that'd embarrassed him back in Tokyo.

But he wasn't worried, not when his deck had provided him with everything he needed to win.

"I summon Lord of D."

His call as a second armoured man stepped onto the field made his opponent's eyes widen. Taking her moment of shock as the win it was, he slammed a magic card into place.

"And I use the Flute of Summoning Dragon, to summon two of my Blue Eyes White Dragons!"

The Lord's flute pierced the ears of those around them. With an unmistakable roar, the summoned dragons swept down from beyond the stadium's roof, landed next to their Duelists and snarled at the teen standing opposite.

"Lord of D. attack her defence!"

"I activate Mirror Force!"

The trap card couldn't affect the dragons with Lord of D. on the field, but the Spellcaster bounced off a mirror wall and shattered into a thousand pieces, ending his protection.

"That won't save you, Yugi! Blue Eyes, blast that pathetic card!"

The monster flipped up, revealing the Magician of Faith, who didn't stand a chance against the sheer might of the Blue Eyes White Dragon, whose White Lightning eradicated the magician.

"I use her effect to pull Monster Reborn to my hand!"

"You won't get the chance to use it!" Kaiba crowed, anticipating his victory now that the card she'd hesitated over was gone. "Now, my Blue Eyes, end this duel!"

The crowd screamed with anticipation as his second Blue Eyes White Dragon built up its attack and Kaiba couldn't help the sheer excitement that sent his head spinning and heart racing.

As the attack erupted from the maw of his dragon and slammed into his opponent, sending them tumbling backwards, Meisa's lifepoints tumbled until they hit that critical number.

0.

He'd won.

"Kaiba…"

"Hasn't won yet. I activate Relay Soul!"

Kaiba snarled as her last face down card flipped up, revealing the card that'd saved Yugi and Jonouchi's lives at the pier.

"And I use its effect to summon Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

The ebony scaled, crimson-eyed dragon had the audacity to snarl at its betters as its attack flashed up at 2400.

600 less than the two Blue Eyes that roared back at it.

"That dragon won't save you, Yugi. Not this time." Kaiba hissed out, trembling in his fury at being stopped by the mutt's dragon. "My dragons are stronger than yours."

"For now."

Meisa was fully aware that her dragon didn't stand a chance. If she didn't pull her Dark Magician her next draw, she'd lose the duel and her chance at ever getting Obelisk the Tormentor.

'You've got this.'

Smiling at the confidence shown by her twin, the Pharaoh took a deep breath and drew.

The smile grew to a brief, momentary grin when she saw what she'd pulled, then she gave Kaiba a solemn look.

"This duel is over."

"You can't win."

"Yes, I can. I play Polymerization, to fuse the Red Eyes Black Dragon on the field, with the Dark Magician in my hand."

"What?"

Since the fusion didn't destroy the dragon, the move went through.

The two, the magician bearing the heart of her sworn guardian from the past, and the dragon bearing the heart of her protector of the present, swirled together to form a black and gold armoured Spellcaster. The gems embedded in his armour shimmered with a pink-red light and great black dragonic wings unfurled from his back.

Meisa and Yugi's hearts ached in unison as they beheld Katsuya's brown eyes and blonde hair peeking out at the field from under the Spellcaster's pointed helmet.

"Meet the Red-Eyes Dark Dragoon!"

The 3000 attack point magician pointed its weapon at Kaiba, who, much to Meisa's shock, laughed.

"And say goodbye! I activate my trap card, Ring of Destruction!"

A metallic ring shot out of the card and latched onto the dragoon who let out a startled cry.

"When Ring of Destruction destroys a monster, we both lose lifepoints equal to the attack of the monster that was destroyed, except…"

With that, as the bombs attached to Meisa's Dragoon exploded, he flipped up his second card, Ring of Protect.

With his lifepoints safe, he was, once more certain he'd won.

After all, she only got to survive in this duel while her Dragoon remained on the field.

Except that it was still standing when the smoke cleared.

"You cheat."

"No," Meisa looked disappointed at the accusation. "Dragoon can't be destroyed by card effects. He can't even be targeted by them, so your Ring of Destruction did nothing. Is it my move?"

Kaiba wanted to say no. Wanted to pull something else out of his coat pocket.

But he had nothing.

"I still have two dragons to your one Dragoon. Next turn, this ends."

"No. It ends now. I activate my Dragoon's effect."

The gem in his staff lit up with a vibrant pink-red glow that flooded the stadium.

"He can destroy one monster my opponent controls, for each Normal Monster used in his summoning, and then their attack points are deducted from my opponent's life points."

Both Dark Magician and Red Eyes Black Dragon were Normal Monsters.

Kaiba's eyes widened and he took a step back as he realized what that meant.

This duel was over.

The glow grew brighter and wrapped around his Blue Eyes White Dragons, who screeched in pain and shattered into a million shards of light. Those shards slammed into Kaiba, ripping away 6000 life points.

Reducing him to 0 and ending the duel.

Kaiba stood there, his shock echoed in the silence of the crowd.

"Mutou… wins."

At the commentator's words, the crowds erupted into noise, snapping Meisa out of her duel-induced focus and making Kaiba scowl.

"That was a good duel, Kaiba." Meisa offered, watching him carefully, "I look forward to our next."

Seto's hands balled into fists and trembled. This duel, in this stadium, on this island, was supposed to be his coronation. He was supposed to get the crown. He was supposed to become the King of Duelists. Here, in the theme park he'd buried his father's legacy under.

It was supposed to be his chance to bury everything Gozaburo had done to him.

And instead, Yugi had stripped that away from him. Not once, but three times.

Using a card that represented the mutt of all people.

That, somehow, just made it that much more offensive.

He snatched Obelisk the Tormentor from his graveyard and stalked across the arena floor, coming right up on his opponent.

"You and I will duel again, Yugi. This defeat means nothing."

With that, he forced the God card into her hand and stalked away, proving himself a better loser than Ishtar.

Seto paused in the corridor, out of sight of Yugi and the crowds and, as the commentator announced that the finals would start in half an hour, he wheeled around and slammed his fist into the wall, which was too solidly built and just bruised his knuckles.

The dull ache in his hand didn't help break his bad mood, and he unhooked his lapel microphone, wondering why his brother wasn't here to commiserate with him.

His hand rose to his ear piece. "Mokuba?"

"Isn't here, Kaiba."

The answer came as a female voice, one he recognized all too well.

"Ishtar, give me back my brother before I have to have security launch you into the ocean."

"Your security is mine. Your island is mine. If you want your brother back, you'll come to the Pyramid Turtle Event Stage and duel me for him."

"Why the hell should I duel you?"

"Because you have no choice. You're all alone, with none of your armed guards to protect you, or him. If you want to see him alive again, you will face me."

"I'll be there."

"Don't leave me waiting. Your brother won't survive it."

As a crackle sounded on the other end, suggesting that Mokuba's earpiece had been broken, Seto slammed his fist into the wall again, wondering when and how he had lost control of HIS theme park.

Snapping out orders over the radio did nothing. He got no responses, suggesting that Ishtar had, as she'd claimed, truly seized control of his security while he'd been dueling, and losing, against Yugi.

And that wouldn't stand.

He wouldn't lose Mokuba. He wouldn't lose their dream just an hour before it went live for the first time.

This was their dream, their theme park, their blood and sweat and tears that they'd poured into every last millimeter of this theme park.

He would annihilate Ishtar before he let her ruin it.

And before he let her harm one single hair on his brother's head.

He headed for the security vehicles, planning to use one to cut the twenty-minute walk to Koya's event stage down by half, if not less, and was both relieved and displeased to find that three of them weren't locked up, meaning anyone could take one for a spin, including him.

"Hold on Mokuba. I'm coming."