"Edwin?"

"Yeah?"

"…fuck Kaiba for having that duel so late."

I glanced over at Mai. "Normally I'd agree with you but… we had it at 8pm."

Mai shut her eyes. "You've turned me into an old woman."

"Technically you are the oldest person on this blimp."

Shifting slightly Mai rolled over to face me, propping herself up with one hand. "Not even close."

"Selene."

"She doesn't count," she retorted.

"How is that fair?"

"Because I'm the goddess so I say its fair."

"…I feel like you are breaking… 10 different rules right now."

Mai merely stuck her tongue out at me before she turned onto her back once more, pulling the covers up again. I listened as she began to breathe in and out, keeping the pace steady without it becoming a panting fit. After about five minutes her breathing grew shallower and I let out a sigh before moving to get out of bed.

Her hand grabbed my wrist.

"I was faking," she admitted. "I was hoping I could trick myself into falling asleep." With a moan she finally sat up, joining me in sitting on the mattress and looking around our dark cabin. The red glow of the alarm clock taunted us with the knowledge that it was 2 in the morning and we were both wide awake. Well… not wide awake. We WANTED to sleep. We just… couldn't.

"You think this is a goddess thing?" I asked. "Like… Selene is keeping us awake? Do the gods need to sleep?"

"I doubt it," Mai said as she crawled across the bed to kneel behind me. "We can't keep blaming Selene for everything."

"I deny your request and blame Selene for putting it in your head," I joked before rolling my shoulders. At once Mai pulled on my pajama top, and I obliged even though I kept our room rather cool to help aid in sleeping. I felt a chill run along my skin even as Mai reached out and placed her warm hands against my shoulder blades, fingers caressing every inch. I knew what she was doing but allowed her to do so, understanding that after all that had happened she wanted the proof I was with her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"…no," Mai said softly. "But I suppose we have to, don't we?"

"Yeah," I murmured, hunching my shoulders only for Mai to reach over and tickle me lightly, making me squirm.

"None of that. We're here. We're alive. We're fine."

I wasn't sure about that last part.

"Edwin… what happened to you in there?" she asked.

"I died," I said flatly. "Ishizu snuck up on me and… stabbed me through the back. Pierced me like a butterfly. Next thing I knew I…"

I swallowed.

"What?"

"I saw my mom."

Mai's hands stilled.

"What?" she repeated but this time out of shock.

"Yeah… that was a kick in the fucking teeth," I muttered. "She told me that she was the one that sent me to this world. Not your goddess self. Her. Because you all needed me."

"She's a very smart woman then," Mai said and suddenly I found Mai slithering around me, shifting so she was now sitting on my lap. I moved back fully onto the bed and eventually found her with her legs wrapped around me as she worked to remove her own pajama top. There was nothing sexual about it… she fumbled and struggled but eventually got it off before wiggling so we were pressed together, flesh against flesh. Her cheek pressed against my own as her fingers gripped onto me, desperate and needy. "Please don't leave me again."

"Never," I promised as I held onto her, the two of us remaining like that for a long while.

I could feel her heart thundering in her chest and I began to rock ever so slightly, running my fingers through her hair as I tried to soothe her. She was crying… and maybe I was too, I couldn't tell… and while I knew why she was and that it was needed I also wanted to chase her tears away. So I just held her, murmuring without saying a word, letting the vibration of my chest be enough to try and lull her into falling asleep.

But she didn't, though she did eventually calm down enough to pull away from me. She still kept as much contact as possible, clinging to me but separating just enough so that we could look at each other face to face. It was a side of Mai that no one had ever seen before. She had no makeup up, her lips dull and cheeks lacking their normal color. Her eyes didn't stand out as much without her mascara. And her hair was a mess from tossing about trying to get to sleep.

She was utterly beautiful.

"Edwin," she said softly, timidly, "Tea said your eyes were different… after that."

I nodded. "Yeah…" I'd only been able to look myself over once since my return to the land of the living, as everyone had been, justifiably so, rather clingy when it came to me. But I had seen for myself that the entire… thing… had changed me and not just the tattoo.

"Show me."

I nodded and focused, feeling the Millennium Key appear from my body. The metal was warm to the touch and Mai shifted slightly so that her breasts rested on the top of the item. I couldn't see it but I knew the Key had been changed too… the gold was lighter and shinier. Brand new. And it was lighter than before. Tea had told me that she'd heard something from it and based on her description I had a feeling that the Key had been completely purified of the 99 souls used to craft it. Whether it could even be called the MILLENNIUM Key anymore was up to debate… I felt an even deeper connection to it and had a sneaking suspicion that even after the Ceremonial Duel I'd be able to call it to me. It was no longer linked with the other Millennium Items.

But it wasn't the artifact Mai was concerned with and as such I focused, allowing my eyes to begin to glow. Her face was illuminated by the gentle pulse of light my eyes gave off and while I naturally couldn't see what I looked like I remembered my reflection: Golden eyes with white rings.

Mai smiled as stared at me… before taking a breath and causing her own eyes to flare black with silver rings.

"Selene…" I said cautiously.

"No… it still me," Mai assured me. "I'm… working on some things. She is me just with… a crap ton of extra baggage. But that means her powers are my powers. I'm not going to deny it anymore. I am Mai… goddess of the moon."

And then, with a look of determination… Mai willed her eyes to go gold and white like my own.

"And I am with you Edwin," she said, refusing to break my gaze. "You and I… against the world and the heavens."

"You and me," I echoed.

We settled back down on the bed.

We didn't fall asleep.

We didn't need it.

~MC~MC~MC~

Seto reached over, grabbing his glass of water and taking a sip only to realize that the glass was empty. Which made no sense because he'd just filled it…

…3 hours ago.

'Ridiculous,' he thought to himself as he pressed a button on his desk. Within moments one of his aides entered, bowing politely towards him. "Get me another glass of water," he stated.

"Would you like something to eat, sir?" the woman, Rin, asked softly.

Seto considered that for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I think so."

"The kitchen is closed but we have some sandwiches ready. If you'd like me to wake up Finnegan I can-"

"A sandwich will be fine," Seto stated, not wanting to wake up the Kaibacorp Blimp morning chef. The man would have enough to do the next day getting breakfast ready for everyone and there was little reason to disturb his sleep just because Seto was feeling a touch hungry. He looked over at his computer, seeing that it was still running the latest scenarios, and then turned back to his desk and the cards that were laid out on it. Off to the side his briefcase was open, all sorts of cards at the ready in case he needed them.

He took a moment to work the kinks out of his body. Folded his shoulders back then brought them forward before rotating them first forward and then back. Clenched the muscles in his legs and then loosened them. Looked up and then down, twisting so his chin went over one shoulder and then the other. He had learned over the years how to survive sitting at a desk for long hours and avoid the pains that would leave others in agony. It was all about knowing one's body-

Seto heard the sound of shuffling and looked up to not find Rin… but Mokuba, dressing in his pajamas, rubbing his eyes.

"What are you doing up?" Seto asked. "You should be asleep."

"So should you," Mokuba pointed out. "I'm not the one dueling a crazy lady tomorrow."

Seto let out a huff at that. "I hate it when you're logical," he muttered before adding, "but that doesn't explain why you are up."

"I wasn't always," Mokuba complained. "I just had a bad dream."

At once Seto was moving away from his desk, forcing himself not to run as he hurried over to his brother, kneeling down next to Mokuba and putting his hands on his shoulders. "Are you okay? Do I need to call Dr. Okana?"

When people found out that Mokuba and him attended therapy sessions they were always shocked… and frankly Seto didn't blame them. While he understood that therapy was a needed thing that helped many people he wasn't one of them. He didn't have time to sit on a couch and whine about his problems while some shrink explained that his dream about falling was really a desire to have sex with his mother. Seto was perfectly fine; the fact that he was able to run an entire company and still raise his brother was proof of that. Going to a therapist was like going to a doctor for every little ache or pain you had. He would go if he began to crack but otherwise he was fine and functional and had too much to do.

But once he'd gained control of Kaibacorp he had moved to make sure Mokuba was taken care of. While his brother didn't talk much about his time with their step-father Seto knew it had been just as unpleasant as his own lessons. Mokuba might not have gone through the strict regiment that Seto had been forced through but he HAD been given lessons that were far rougher than most children… and had been dealing with the separation anxiety that came from Seto no longer being around. And while Seto had worked to understand exactly what his brother was going through and how it affected him mentally he also was willing to admit he wasn't a psychologist and wasn't the right person to help his brother through such things.

So Dr. Okana was found and Mokuba had begun attending sessions with him once a week. And when the woman had suggested that Mokuba would do well with Seto occasionally attending, so that he could talk to him with someone who would help him verbally express what he was feeling… well, Seto had grit his teeth and changed his schedule around to make it work.

'And nightmares are never a good thing,' Seto thought to himself. One of the first things he'd learned during their joint session was that Mokuba was having 'bad dreams' about his time with their stepfather. Dr. Okana had told him that such things were most likely Mokuba working through his suppressed emotions and memories concerning those events and that he needed to watch out for them though if they began to move beyond that. The occasional bad dream? Perfectly fine. Reoccurring nightmares?

"I think I'm fine," Mokuba said only for Seto to shoot him a look. "I'm fine, Seto," he said again, a bit more sternly.

"Hmmpf," Seto said before touching his collar. "Rin? Bring a second serving of sandwiches for Mokuba. He's in my office." He didn't even wait for a reply before gently pushing his brother to sit down on the couch; Mokuba did so, at once curling up next to Seto, resting his head against his side. He didn't fall asleep though and Seto mentally made a note to rearrange the schedule for the next day to ensure there was a large break between the duels so Mokuba could have a nap or two. 'Perhaps that wouldn't be that bad… CCN said that the ratings for the evening duel were the best we've had… one at noon and one at 7 or 8 would be perfect…'

Rin entered, not reacting at all to Mokuba curled up against Seto's side. She was used to such things. She'd been one of the first people captured by Kemo during his hostile takeover, the quiet woman apparently kicking and screaming when he'd dragged her away; when Seto had returned she'd spent half her time apologizing and the other half demanding Kemo be brought before her so she could kill him slowly. It was honestly the most she had said in front of him in one go.

Silently she set the tray down on an end table before grabbing a small coffee table and bringing it over to the couch, setting it in front of Seto and placing a tray with two glasses of water and twin plates full of pinwheel wraps before him. She nodded to him before letting her gaze fall on Mokuba, who smiled and quickly thanked her.

"It is no problem at all, sir," she said with a soft smile.

Seto gave a sharp shallow nod. "That will be all for the rest of the night, Rin. Get some sleep."

Mokuba just managed to wait until Rin was out the door before he practically dove for the plate, snatching up a pinwheel and stuffing it in his mouth. Seto bit back any complaints about his table manners, his concern over Mokuba's nightmare far outweighing telling his brother to not gobble food like a baboon or worse Joey Wheeler.

His brother was on his third pinwheel and Seto just selecting his first when he finally said, "Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

Mokub at least swallowed before he said, "It wasn't a nightmare, Seto. It was just a bad dream."

"One that drove you out of bed."

"You're not asleep," Mokuba pointed out. "What are you doing up still anyway? Usually you're in bed by now."

That was true. Seto tried to keep a strict sleep schedule. In bed by 11pm, awake at 6, ready to be at the office by 8am latest. He liked to keep things as regimental as he could, so that he was the rock to the rest of the world's forever shifting nature.

"I was working on my decks. I'm going to be dueling tomorrow and I want to have my strategies lined up for whoever I face."

"And what are your strategies?" Mokuba asked, grabbing another pinwheel. "I keep thinking about how I'd defeat an Egyptian God Card…"

Seto though shook his head. "The trick isn't to defeat the Egytpian God Cards, Mokuba. The trick is to defeat the duelist who has them."

"Isn't that the same thing?" Mokuba asked, brow furrowing.

"Not at all," Seto told him. "Duelists are often the weak link when it comes to a deck. Someone doesn't know how to use a card properly or relies upon it too much, building their deck around the card so that if you take it out then you've already won."

"Right…" Mokuba said slowly.

"But other times you can find ways to defeat the duelist so the card doesn't even become an option."

"OH!" Mokuba exclaimed. "So finding a way so that your opponent can't summon the monsters they need in order to tribute summon Obelisk or Ra or Slifer!"

"Exactly," Seto stated. 'The others might think the god cards are invincible… but I know different.' He thought back to how the Yugi had managed to defeat Slifer, claiming it for himself. "The strength of the Egyptian God Cards is that everyone believes they are invincible. That if they are properly brought to the field then there is nothing you can do to win. Every time someone wins with one… their power grows." He pressed his lips together. 'That's why Yugi defeating me with Exodia was so shocking. He destroyed all three of my Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Yes, he needed an equally legendary monster to do it… but he still did it. And the Blue-Eyes White Dragon will never have the same mystique it had before that. No matter how many duels I win with it… I can never go back to how it once was.'

"What happens if you make a god bleed?" Mokuba suddenly said, causing Seto to twist his head and stare at his brother. "People will stop believing in them. And there will be blood in the water… and the sharks will come."

"Hmmm," Seto murmured softly. "Yes. Where did you hear that?"

"Edwin said it…"

Mokuba grew quiet and at once Seto felt like smacking himself upside the head. Chaos… of course it came back to Chaos. And for once it wasn't the man's fault.

"Mokuba…"

"He didn't do anything wrong," his little brother whispered. "He just laid down and…"

Seto reached over and pulled his brother closer. "Yes," he admitted, "Chaos… Edwin did nothing wrong. He wasn't being stupid or risky or foolish."

Commotio Cordis. That's what the medical staff had told Seto when he'd pressed them on what exactly had happened. An interruption of the heart's natural rhythms which caused cardiac arrest. 97% fatal if CPR wasn't performed within 3 minutes, which thankfully Yuri Gardner had been smart enough to do while Volpe had gotten an AED.

'Except… it doesn't fit,' Seto thought to himself. 'Commotio Cordis comes from a sudden hit to the chest, right above the heart. Chaos was lying down, sleeping. Even Wheeler's attack… that was far too long for it to have done anything as was Wyatt…' He frowned; every time he thought about the man from another reality, the one with Edwin's face, it felt so distant that there was no reason to consider it. And yet he should… 'Except I need to focus on Mokuba,' Seto thought, pushing that thought aside. There was plenty that made no sense about what had happened to Edwin and he was going to figure it out eventually. What had caused his suddenly cardiac arrest. The power surge that had suddenly occurred just as his heart had started up again. The claims that lights had burst from his eyes (Seto was willing to bet whatever contacts he wore to make his eyes glow black and gold were the cause of that, possibly when the AED had been used). And most unusual of all being the fact that he'd been cleared by the doctors as being 100% healthy, with no signs of trauma from the incident.

"He just…" Mokuba whispered, trailing off.

"I know Mokuba," Seto said gently. "But he's fine. You'll see him in the morning."

"…how can you be sure?"

Seto thought back to their parents. The house fire.

And he hated that he couldn't even bring himself to believe that everyone Mokuba cared for would be there when he woke up.

~MC~MC~MC~

Ishizu glowered as she looked over her reflection in the metal fixture.

She had no idea what it was and honestly didn't care. Yet another piece of technology that the world worshiped ever since they'd lost their way. If she were to lash out now and shatter it she might very well send the entire blimp crashing into the sea, killing everyone on board. That just proved how foolish the modern world was, putting their faith in something that could be destroyed so easily. The gods… the gods did not fail. Did not fall. They were eternal! THAT was what one should put their faith in! Not gears and oil!

'I should be in the temples of the gods, giving praise for their salvation and strength… not trapped in this dusty, noisy, blasphemous room!' she mentally snarled as she cracked open one of the water bottles she'd snagged and poured it onto a strip of cloth, wetting it down before she began to work on cleaning her knuckles and wrists.

It annoyed her to no end that none of the injuries she sported could be traced back to Endymion and his pet or the thief Solomon Muto. Endymion's weapon had cut into her but once it had dissipated she had found not a mark on her skin. No cuts or slashes or even scratches. Nothing. Just like what Volpe and Muto had done to her… other than a small injection spot where they had poisoned her blood with their pain-caused cocktail none of the marks on her body had come from them, despite the pain they'd put her through. No… it had been Ishizu clawing and bashing against the door, tearing at it like a feral animal until she'd been able to rip the handle off by striking it with a chair, that had left her injured. Nails cracked and broken. Knuckles busted open from punching at the thing in her pain-addled state. Tears on her fingertips thanks to her gripping the metal. The cuts on her wrists when she'd worked to yank the door open only for it to swing back and slam into her arm.

'But I did escape… that is all that matters,' she thought to herself as she cleaned more of the cuts before touching her sore nose, hissing in pain. During the torture she'd ended up falling to the ground, smashing her already broken nose again and undoing all the progress she'd made over the last few days. It was swollen now and utterly tender to the touch, marring Ishizu's beauty. 'You will pay, Tea Gardner, for daring to strike me. You could have served as the Pharaoh's concubine, honored well above your station, but for daring to strike the future Queen you will know only agony.'

Something suddenly let out a shrill whine behind her, causing her to jump before she settled down, glaring at the machines.

'I should be in my room, pampered and waited on as is my right as a trusted advisor to the Pharaoh. Not forced to cower here amongst these machines!'

Once she'd escaped she'd realized that it would be utterly unwise to return to her room. Endymion and his minions would seek her out, wanting to return her to bondage. Returning to her room would only ensure she was trussed up again. So she had retreated into the bowels of the blimp, squirming away like a rat into the deepest parts of the blimp where no one wanted to tread. She'd remained there, somehow managing to fall into a fitful sleep, until she'd then awoken hours later with every part of her protesting and her stomach clenching in agony. She'd been forced to sneak about the blimp, ducking around corners and avoiding the staff, just to get into the kitchen to grab some cold leftovers from the evening meal and a few water bottles. She hadn't dared eat a bite until she'd returned to her little hiding spot, quickly stuffing the food into her mouth before she finally began looking over her injuries.

'This will not last much longer,' she thought to herself. 'Tomorrow I will either face my brother, Seto Kaiba, or the man Brom. I will defeat them and move to the finals, where my Pharaoh and Endymion wait for me… one to learn the error of his ways, the other to suffer for his crimes.' She wrapped her hands in bandages, the Millennium Necklace pulsing as it provided the only light in the darkness of the machinery room. 'And then… all will be set right.'

~MC~MC~MC~

'Finally!' Marik thought to himself as he spotted at long last one of the members of the KaibaCorp Blimp's crew separate from the others. He had been hoping to find someone that he could have some… fun… with… but had spent hours prowling the Blimp, never able to find someone to snatch. They were all traveling in twos or threes, which he could have potentially managed but that also came with the risk that one of them would be able to alert Kaiba. That simply wouldn't do, not with the Pharaoh and his little friends getting far more proactive.

Honestly while he found it hilarious and delightful that his sister had managed to push the little hand-wringing goody-goods into resorting to such things as torture… it also made things far more difficult for him. Because if they were willing to go after her they would go after him… and even with all his power he wasn't entirely sure he'd be able to take them all out. One or two would go down, perhaps three or four, but eventually their superior numbers would wear him down and then he'd be done. His chance at claiming the Pharaoh's power was too important for him to make foolish mistakes and as such he needed to be careful.

'I am the cheetah, stalking its pray, waiting for the right moment to burst into speed and overtake them,' he thought as he slinked around a corner, using the Millennium Rod to check to make sure that the worker hadn't noticed him. She'd come out of Seto Kaiba's office, walking primly down the hall with only the click-click-click of her heels to fill the air. Marik licked his lips, face twisted in a grin, as he saw her near the elevator. 'Perfect.'

At once he leapt forward, rushing the hall, face splitting into a wide grin as he saw the woman spot him. Her cold mask shattered as she saw him coming at herand she began to rapidly pound on the close button for the elevator but it was too late and Marik just managed to slip into the elevator, hand wrapping around the lower half of her face, palm pressed against her mouth and fingers squeezing the bones that made up the lower parts of her eyesockets as the doors softly closed behind him.

"Well… what do we have here?" he asked as he felt the elevator lurch and begin to head down to the one of the lower levels. "It has been so difficult to find one of you all alone. So bothersome that you refused to wander about like good little victims. But…" he leaned in, sharp tongue licking his lips, "I have you now, don't I?"

The woman screamed into his palm.

"Yes, I think that's the right reaction," Marik taunted, seeing her eyes go wide in panic. She clawed at his hand even as he used the Millennium Rod to hit the emergency stop button on the elevator, causing it to lurch before going still. He laughed as her nails dug into his skin, cutting into his flesh and causing droplets of blood to fall to the ground near his boots. He found it utterly amusing that she thought such things would bother him; he had felt his father hack up his back with a hot knife, carving through his flesh all in the name of a dead man's needs. Her little nicks and cuts were nothing.

He squeezed a bit harder, making her cries grow higher in pitch. He brought the Millennium Rod up, considering using it against her to get her to stop but… no. He wanted her to scream. To cry. To plead. To thrash and squirm. He wanted to feel it all. It… pleased him.

And yet…

"Don't strain your throat quite yet," he said as he shifted his hand a bit, slamming her head against the elevator. Her eyes fluttered at that, causing tears to drip from the corners of her eyes. "We have hours until the sun rises-"

The doors to the elevator opened.

Marik twisted around only to find himself suddenly in the woman's position, a massive hand wrapping around his throat and ripping him away from his prey. She sagged to the ground the moment he wasn't there to support her, legs jelly as she dropped to the floor like the slime monsters Marik liked to use in his deck.

He found himself twisted around so that he could no longer see the woman, eyes forced to only stare at the dark form of Brom Bones as he slowly lifted Marik off his feet, letting him dangle from his sausage-like fingers as the tilted Marik's chin up so he might fully wrap his hand around his throat.

"Rin?" Brom said, glancing down at the woman. Marik found himself noticing the man was wearing a pair of silk black pajamas, high end and worth more than what he'd been able to smuggle out of the tombs after he'd murdered his father. "I need you to breathe for me."He heard the woman suck in some air. "Match me. In and out."

Marik snarled as Brom began to take in deep breaths; he gripped the Millennium Rod and when the man glanced down again Marik lashed out. He hated using his Millennium item in such a savage and bestial way, for it was a relic of power and not a caveman's club, but in this case he would settle for watching the American topple to the ground with his teeth missing! So he swung hard, already bracing for the drop that would come when Brom released him-

The man caught the Millennium Rod easily, eyes slowly turning to lock onto Marik's even as he continued to coach Rin through her breathing. Marik tried to will out his magic to attack the man but he found that it would only flicker before retreating back within him, curling around him like a frightened mongrel. Marik snarled but Brom merely continued to look to Rin, not even paying him the attention or respect he deserved. He saw him not as a threat at all, paying him no heed as he just looked at the mewling woman on the ground and told her to breathe.

When she'd finally managed to rein in her tears Brom smiled at her, acting as if he didn't currently have Marik held by the throat as he gently told her, "Go back to your room. This one won't ever harm you again. You have my word."

The weak woman nodded quickly and scrambled out of the elevator, Brom turning his head to watch her go. Marik growled low in his throat, once more moving to try and free himself by attacking the man's wrist; it didn't miss his notice that he had found things reversed and now he was the one clawing at a restraining hand. His fingers were slick with blood though, making it hard for him to do much. Not helped was that he was clinging still to the Millennium Rod, refusing to let go of it. He would not have the bastard steal his Millennium item!

"Why did you do that?" Brom asked, loosening his grip just enough so that Marik could easily speak but still found himself lifted by his throat off the ground.

"Because it is my right," Marik hissed maliciously. "Oh… were you expecting some other reason? Some sob story that you could examine like it was a bug under a magnifying glass? That is your profession, isn't it Doctor? You try and 'fix' people. You search for the reasons why they do things so you can determine the root cause and ensure they never do them again? Take square pegs and whittle them down into round ones so they can fit the holes that you deed them to go into? Well… I am afraid you will fail in that. I attacker her because it is my right! She was weak and I was strong! If she didn't deserve to be harmed she would have been able to defeat me… that is the way of the world! My father taught me that… the only lesson I will carry on from him. The strong can do as they wish to the weak."

Brom didn't even hesitate to speak, though what he said…

"Then I suppose it is my right to hurt you."

He slammed Marik into the wall of the elevator, causing him to grunt as his head snapped against the metal of the small area.

"That is how it works, correct?" Brom asked casually. "The strong can do whatever they want to the weak? If the weak were strong they could prevent it. Well… I don't see you stopping me… so I suppose that makes you weak."

"I am NOT weak," Marik growled.

Brom tilted his head before he suddenly tossed Marik across the elevator, making the entire thing shake and tremble. Marik though was instantly on his feet, Millennium Rod pointed at Brom's chest. He had spent years under his father's 'loving embrace'; tossing him across the room had been how his father told him he cared.

"I will show you how strong I am!" Marik snarled, the Eye of Horus blazing on his forehead as he began to channel the raw power of the Shadow Realm into his item. "I will consume your soul! Tear your flesh apart! Shatter your mind and leave it nothing but dust!"

The larger man merely continued to stare at him blandly. "I believe someone far more sarcastic than I would say in this situation, "Don't tease me, daddy". But please…" He reached up and unbuttoned his shirt, exposing his fleshy form. It was not lean and muscular like Marik's own stomach… no, there was fat and muscle mixed together. He wasn't overweight… he was merely a large man. Bulky. And he didn't care in the slightest what Marik might have thought as he finished opening his pajamas. "…do your best."

Marik didn't allow Brom to say another word. No… he fired off a blast of magic that was filled with all his rage, contempt, and determination. Shadow Realm power meant to kill a man in all ways they could die. Physically. Mentally. Spiritually. Before Odion's restraints had been lifted from him he'd never attempted all three. He preferred to dominate all those around him, so that they might serve him and his needs. When you killed a man you eliminated all they might do for you. It was far better to find a use for them, even if it meant breaking their mind to do so.

But now?

He didn't need minions.

All he wanted was pain and suffering.

The blast made the elevator tremble, the cables above him groaning as they strained to handle the sudden changes in the structure. Marik felt the air itself begin to burn due to the energy that was being unleashed, roasting the molecules around him so that every breath was a death kiss.

Brom merely stood there, looking nonplused by the entire thing.

Marik grit his teeth and fired another blast. And then another. Rapidly. Slow and held. He tried it all.

The man… just… stood there.

Finally Brom walked forward and grabbed the Millennium Rod. He didn't so much rip it from Marik's fingers as he gave it the lightest of tugs and Marik, so shocked by his failure, let it go.

"That was your best attempt to hurt me? You attempt to kill me? Tombkeeper… you do not swing a sword at the First Sword and Master Trainer. You do not challenge the greatest mind to a children's game. And you do not try to deal death to stop a God of Death."

Marik stared at the man, watching as he toyed with the Millennium Rod, tossing it from palm to palm. "So full of delusions!" Marik snarled only for Brom to laugh.

"Oh no… it is what I claim."

Brom's eyes began to glow black.

"I am a Death God. One of the oldest. You Egyptians… you made your entire faith around death. Nearly all your gods have a role to play, even if small." He huffed, leaning down. "Who do you think taught Anubis when he was but a pup?"

Marik stared at Brom for a long moment, trying to wrap his mind around what he'd just been told. A god… an actual god… was standing before him. Not a card. A physical god.

The Millennium Rod crackled.

"Oh come now," Brom said with a roll of his eyes, "you can not be considering trying to take my power now, can you? Is that all you are able to do?"

"You want me to grovel?" Marik snarled. "To fall upon my knees and ask for your blessing?"

That though made Brom laugh. "Why is it those that crave power are the ones that don't understand it?" He waved his hand dismissively. "I have no need for your praise or your begging."

"Good, because you will never receive it!" Marik snapped. "It is because of you and your kind that my life is what it is… and when I am the one who holds all the strength I will make sure you understand all you did to me. You will pay a hundred times what you did to me-"

Brom rolled his eyes.

"You think this is a joke?" Marik snapped.

"Yes, but not in the way you think," Brom stated. "There are currently two gods on this ship. Selene cares nothing for you… had you never inserted yourself into the life of Edwin Chaos then she would have never even known your name. She cares only about Edwin… to have the two of them shed their mortal forms forever and ascend to the heavens. And as for me…" He leaned down. "Until this tournament I never even knew you existed.

"You believe that the gods sit upon clouds, looking down at the mortals and plotting who will be rich and who will be power? Who will know love and who sorrow? Who is blessed and who is damned?" He let out a soft laugh. "You give us far too much credit. We are not concerned with such things… those days are long past. Those gods that remain in the heavens have long turned their attentions to new interests. Those that wander the Earth such as myself merely wish to exist and explore ourselves. Your troubles? They are terrible. Awful. My heart goes out to you and what you suffered. But it was not my doing.

"You father was a cruel, disgusting man. Your mother weak and scared. Your sister at first too young to do anything and then too engrained in your father's commands to fight back. And because of that you suffered, Marik Ishtar. They are the authors of your tragedy. The gods were not. The Pharaoh was not. Them… and only them."

Marik considered Brom for a long moment. "You are perhaps the first to say that. To see my father for what he was… and my mother and my mewling sister. And I understand now the Pharaoh was not the cause of my torment."

And then he flashed a dark smile.

"But that doesn't mean I won't enjoy listening to him scream. That I won't delight in seeing him suffer as I rip the puzzle from Little Yugi's broken neck and then claim its power as my own! That I won't bend his little cock-craving slut backwards for my pleasure as we listen to the screams of Wheeler and Taylor as they are sent flying from this ship. And then you, Brom Bones… you will fall to your knees as I claim your godhood and show you who the true Lord of Death is!"

Brom merely shook his head though at that, smiling sadly. "And that is why, Marik Ishtar, you are the author of your future suffering."

And with that he turned and walked away.

"Go to sleep, Marik," Brom said dismissively, not caring about anything he might say.

~MC~MC~MC~

Guest Chaosverse Omake

Brought to you by The Patient One

Helpless and emaciated within Ursula's magic, Ariel stared as the sea witch held out the invulnerable contract that had sealed her fate.

"Now…do we have a deal?" Ursula asked menacingly. Her eyes, her eels' eyes, and everyone else's eyes were all locked on the Sea King, and his eyes were locked on the contract. Then he looked away, closing his eyes as the power of his trident erased his daughter's name for his own. "Ha! It's done, then!"

In a rush of spinning, Ariel felt the magic release her, only to rush towards her father, sucking him in a wicked vortex as Ursula cackled. In seconds, her father shrunk to a mere polyp, small enough that his crown could fit around him.

With everyone's focus on the exchange, it was only then that anyone noticed the human dropping beside the king, his coat weighted down with several stones.

And he seized the fallen trident, which immediately began glowing with power.

"WHAT?!" Ursula squawked, a sentiment shared by everyone. Ariel, in particular, stared with shock at the sight of one of Eric's servants, Kevin O'Shea. He had been kind and understanding to her from the moment she arrived. He'd even explained the various kinds of silverware before she could act on Scuttle's misinformation.

The trident's power flowed into the man, who shifted and swelled before their eyes. His skin and clothing and even the stones within morphed into scales that grew spikes along his body. His arms and legs lengthened and grew claws in place of nails. His body stretched out, his face forming into a whiskered snout, and a long tail growing from his back. In a minute, he dwarfed all of them. And the still-glowing trident was sealed behind a layer of scales in his chest.

Ursula gaped in a mixture of horror, outrage, and fear as the newly formed sea dragon lashed out, the power of the trident parting the ocean around her and leaving her on the dry ocean floor.

"Wha-WHOA!"

Kevin looked up, his hand catching Eric as he fell from above, having been partway through diving.

"My apologies, Your Highness," the dragon rumbled as he lowered Eric to the ground. Neither the prince nor anyone else could do more than stare in bewilderment. Ursula flinched as the beast turned to glare at her. "Sea witch," the dragon growled. "What say you and I make a deal?"

"O-Oh?" Ursula asked, slowly getting her bravado back. "And what are you—AAAAGGH!"

Thin beams of lightning cut through her tentacles, severing them in half.

"Your life. Draw up a contract for me: In exchange for you releasing every other 'poor, unfortunate soul' who has ever signed a contract with you, I promise I will never kill you. Otherwise, your death will free them anyway."

Ursula's eyes were wild with rage, and the trembling Flotsam and Jetsam were no help; they couldn't begin to hurt the monster before them.

"I won't have you torturing me for the rest of my life either!" Ursula snapped, conjuring a contract with a few simple motions. The dragon leaned forward, peering into her very soul over the top of the contract.

"Clever girl. 'Swears to in no way, by any weapons known or unknown to beings past, present, or future, harm, mutilate, or otherwise compromise any part of Ursula's body, mind, or soul from now until forevermore. Furthermore, he swears to repair any damage to this point and will never again seek her out after this hour. All of the above also extends to Flotsam and Jetsam.'"

Ursula grimaced at the dragon; he may have the power, but he clearly wanted her alive for something, and she wouldn't be beaten at a contract. Then she relaxed, grinning victoriously as the dragon breathed out upon the contract, sealing his signature. And immediately after, his claws reached out for her, beams of energy repairing her wounded tentacles.

Her grin faded to a grimace. After all her scheming against Triton, he was reforming as good as new, crown and all, with his precious daughter rushing to hug him. She needed to get away fast before that meddling human-dragon-whatever made things even worse. Ursula clambered back into the water, her pets at her side—

And then something immaterial struck them from behind, and they knew no more.

…

"Good night, Ursula," the dragon breathed as ice that would never melt encased the sea witch and her pet eels, sealing the three in eternal sleep. She would not be tortured. She would not be killed. She would not be harmed; her body, mind, and soul would be in perfect condition if she were ever released. But she would never threaten anyone again, he reflected, as a final flash of power entombed the ice in the bedrock beneath the ocean floor.

With that, he turned back to the newly restored Triton, noticing that he was now floating beside his daughter at the edge of the hole in the sea, where she was holding hands with Eric. All three were staring at him in shock tinged with fear.

"King Triton of Atlantica. I know of you, as I know many things. I am not your enemy, but I am not inclined to return your trident. An abusive father does not need more power," the dragon intoned.

Triton opened his mouth angrily, paused, closed it again, and took a moment to calm himself before speaking firmly.

"I acknowledge that I have allowed my prejudice to rule me. It was a grave mistake. But I have taken the consequences to heart; it will not happen again."

"Is it that simple? Show me."

Triton closed his eyes before facing Ariel and Eric, still holding hands.

"What is your name, young man?"

"Prince Eric," he said, bowing at the waist. "It's an honor, Your Majesty."

"And what is your relationship to my daughter?"

"When she saved me from drowning, I couldn't get her voice out of my head. It was the most beautiful sound I ever heard, and I'd been going crazy trying to find her. Now that I've gotten to know her better, I would love to be with her forever," the prince explained, his tone respectful but passionate.

Triton's eyes closed. "Ariel?"

"Daddy, I love him."

Triton failed to suppress a wince at that phrase from the last time he had heard her say it.

"Beyond his appearance?"

"Of course. He's smart, fun, funny—and brave. You saw he was even trying to come down here after me," Ariel said fervently.

Triton slowly opened his eyes and regarded theirs. The love he saw was pure. He breathed deeply and exhaled, ensuring his tone held no resentment as he spoke.

"You have my blessing."

The two smiled widely.

"Let us continue this on the surface. Hold your breath, Your Highness," the dragon said, power flowing into the area and closing the hole in the sea. Eric had just enough time to take a final deep breath before he was submerged once more, and Ariel and Triton each seized an arm and brought him to the surface, the still-dumbfounded Flounder and Sebastian hurrying after them.

Eric panted slightly as they broke the surface. A moment later, the dragon surfaced. He had changed again, his form now akin to a dragon merman, a glowing trident symbol imbued on his chest, and the weapon itself in his hand.

He made a gesture that sent a pair of small golden glows toward Ariel and Eric, who tentatively took hold of them. A second later, they coalesced into rings with inset lapis lazuli stones.

"An engagement present. They will allow you to change at will between human and merfolk."

And with that, he tossed the trident back at Triton, who caught it. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at the dragon.

"You stole its power," he accused.

"And ensured you will never use it against me," the dragon confirmed flippantly. "Frankly, I'm only giving it back so Atlantica isn't defenseless. Yours will regenerate soon enough. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to hunt down Ursula's crazy sister. We'll meet again soon."

"Who are you?" Ariel finally demanded. The dragon smirked.

"I am Chaos. And I have no interest in ruling the land or the sea. But I have an interest in influencing those who do."

Energy swirled around him, and he grinned at them.

"And if you're thinking of hunting me down now, here's one more present. In the Kingdom of Henova, in a royal aquarium, one of their national treasures is a live mermaid. One with graying auburn hair who was just barely fished out of the water by pirates eleven years ago."

Ariel and Triton's eyes widened like dinner plates, but the dragon vanished into the maelstrom a moment later.

Earth-41528: Introducing Kevin O'Shea, a.k.a. Leviathan Chaos, the Royal Vizier of Land and Sea.

(credit for the penultimate paragraph's plotline belongs to FFN user IrrevocableRomantic's story, Eric's Diplomatic Dilemma)