Cecelia frowned, lifting up her sunglasses and sitting up in her lounge chair.

"You okay?" the woman beside her at the infinity pool (because it literally went on forever and only ended when one turned around and swam back to the edge… also the water was breathable and tasted like mint chocolate cookies) asked, looking up from the magazine she was reading ("Is your boyfriend cheating? Of course not, this is Heaven!").

"I don't know… I just felt the oddest sensation. Like someone walked across my grave or my husband stopped to talk to some Egyptian Man."

"That's… oddly specific," the other woman said.

"It is," Cecelia said, standing up and making sure everything was back in place (taking a moment to wipe her chair down just for safety's sake) before shrugging. "Think I might have been in the sun too long. Going to head back to my room!" She waved to the strangers (though in heaven everyone felt like a friend they just hadn't really met yet… in fact there was an entire song about that which got sung quite often) and headed back to her apartment.

Changing out of her lounge wear Cecelia found herself selecting one of her favorite dresses, one that resembled the one she had worn when she had sat for one of Maximillion's paintings. She honestly didn't know WHY she was drawn to the dress, as it was far too big and poofy for day to day life in Heaven but in that moment it was the only thing she wanted to wear.

Honestly it was too poofy to wear on Earth too but her dear Maximillion had a poofy dress fetish and she was willing to indulge him.

"What is the matter with me?" she asked as she finished getting her shoes on, slipping on some jewelry. Necklace, rings, earrings… she felt like she was moving on autopilot, unable to stop herself. "What is compelling me-"

And then her body began to glow a faint purple light.

"What… what is this?" she said, for the first time since arriving in Heaven feeling utter fear. But before she could cry out there was a sensation of being pulled forward and she found herself lifted up, her apartment disappearing as she found herself floating through a white void, a figure taking shape far from her…

"Cecelia!"

"Maximillion!" she cried out as she saw her husband standing before her. He looked exactly as she had remembered him… save for the strange golden object that had replaced his left eye. "It's really you!"

He reached out and pulled her down and she pressed her head to his chest, shutting her eyes. She of course hadn't wanted him to die, wanted him to go on and live for both of them. Do so many wonderful things. Create one of the many games he had spoken of. Help people in need. Build a castle on a large pacific island. But now that he was with her she was thrilled they would never be separated again!

"Cecelia," Maximillion murmured as he sank down to the ground, Cecelia joining him. "I've found you. My darling. We're reunited at long last."

And then he was gone and Cecelia found herself standing before the Pearly Gates.

"Max?" she said, looking about. "Max? Are you-" She moved to the gates only to yelp when she was blasted back.

"Yeah, um no, sorry," a small cherub deer said, appearing before the fallen woman. She summoned a clipboard and some reading glasses, looking over the documents on the board. "It seems you were briefly resurrected by a dark artifact that was created by sacrificing 99 souls to a God of Evil. You can't reenter Heaven… yeah, nooooo."

Cecelia stared at the deer angel in shock. "But… I didn't choose to be resurrected! I was sunbathing by the pool!"

"Yeah, sorry but… still can't come in. Yeah. No."

"Isn't… isn't there anything I can do?" she pleaded.

"Yeah… no." Cecelia stared at the deer who, quite frankly, looked a bit too smug as she banned her from the afterlife. "no no no no no. No. Noooooo." She shrugged. "Sorry, but down to Hell you go. Those are the rules. Yeeeaaaaaah. Bye!"

And then the cloud Cecelia was on opened up and she fell head over heels, crashing down onto some dark soil. She groaned, rubbing her head only to find that her hair was now made of thorny vines and her skin was green.

"Well… fuck."

~Present Day~

"And that's how I ended up here," Cecelia said, having taken out a joint and lit it. Edwin had canceled the rest of his appointments for the day and brought her to the roof of the hotel so she could smoke a joint; he still refused to try any drugs, wanting his head clear. She had revealed her and Pegasus got high all the time back on Earth (apparently weed wasn't a sin despite what the preachers might have claimed) and Edwin honestly thought some of the cards Pegasus had made for the game now made sense.

"I suddenly support the hunter that shot Bambi's mom," Edwin replied, sipping on a pop.

"So… were you damned because of that Millennium… uh-"

"Key," Edwin said. "And I don't think so. I burned a half dozen people to death."

"…how rich were they?"

"What?"

"What?"

Edwin pinched the bridge of his nose. "Anyway… so you assumed I was your husband and…" He rolled his hand about. "Honestly I don't know what I'd prefer to hear: you wanted to kill him or fuck him."

"I was going to decide when I see him. Which won't happen now." She sighed. "If Max gets rid of that Eye-"

"Oh, he did." Edwin said.

"Good!" Cecelia said. "Threw it away?"

"If by that you mean it was scooped out with a spoon then yeah, he totally did that."

"…I didn't but ow." She looked up at the sky. "Still, that means I'll never see him again. Perhaps he'll try and find a way down here but I doubt it. Many people say they want to leave Heaven to find their loved ones but they never do. It is always, "I'll do it next month" and next month never comes."

"Yeah… Pegasus ain't going to Heaven." Edwin shrugged. "Unless they are okay with him stealing the souls of people and sealing them in cards."

"…how rich were they?"

"What?"

"What?"

Edwin rolled his eyes at that. "Point is he's coming to hell and will probably look like Bugs Bunny, knowing how Hell likes to get creative with body types."

"Yes… Maximillion always called me his rose." She looked Edwin up and down. "And… furry?'

"That's my friend Renard," Edwin said, feeling a small pang of regret over the memory of the man that had sworn himself to him. He was trying really hard not to think of any of them. So instead he gestured at his body. "This is based on a card, Mythical Beast Master Cerberus. I used him in a few dues and I guess Hell decided it would be a good form. Jackie actually looks like another Mythical Beast: Jackal."

Edwin then blinked.

"Wait… they don't have Duel Monsters down here."

"Duel what?"

"The game your husband made. Fun but it is SUPER annoying how everything revolves around it. Like… I mean everything."

"Oh, it can't be THAT popular."

~MC~MC~MC~

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"We have, your honor," the foreman of the jury said, rising up from their seat. "In the case of Alfred O'Malley, on the count of Murder with a Piglet, we find the defendant… guilty."

Alfred leapt to his feet. "I challenge you to a duel! And if I win you must change your verdict!"

"Bring it on!" the foreman said, pulling out their deck.

~MC~MC~MC~

Cecelia frowned. "I am doubting the validity of that story."

"Okay, I made that up but sadly its not that far off!" Edwin rolled his head back. "Point is your husband made Duel Monsters and in only a few years it has become insanely popular. And its only going to continue. One day there are going to be entire schools for dueling."

"Really. Schools."

"Oh yes, that is so unbelievable, said the Poison Ivy to Sabertooth." He gestured at the two of them.

"…fair enough," Cecelia admitted, taking another hit off her joint. "Mmmm… you sure you don't-"

"Trust me, I'm good. Come from a long line of alcoholics. I have a risk of addiction and I prefer being addicted to power."

"Power?"

Edwin, figuring there was no harm in telling her, decided to lay out his plan. Or, at least, the beginning of it. "You've been here longer than I have and seen that you only survive Hell a few ways: keep your head down, be useful to someone, or gain power. For the first… I tried that on Earth. Within 48 hours I was threatening to toss Weevil Underwood off a boat."

"I don't know who that is but he sounds annoying."

"He really is," Edwin stated. "I don't do good trying to fade into the background. I tend to attract attention and I know I am going to do that here." He decided NOT to mention Valentino and the little matter of owning his soul. While he trusted Cecelia… he didn't trust trust her. He only knew her from the show and who knew how truthful that was. After all, Ishizu of the show would never have tried to kill a person. Things were different in the anime world and be it because of his involvement or it being a matter that 4Kids simply couldn't show everything he figured it better not to risk it.

Besides… Cecelia had been in Hell for years. That changed a person. Edwin knew he'd never have considered stealing souls back on Earth but there he was, with not just Valentino's but half a dozen cannibal souls as well. And that was within the last day. He had no idea how living there had altered her.

"So next is making myself useful. A fine plan… except that risks you ending up on someone's leash, your soul sold to someone…" He trailed off and glanced at Cecelia. "Did you-"

"What? No. Ugh, no. Some tried to trick me into it but because I work at the orphanage they decided against it. Not really much use for art teachers."

"Right. And that leaves power. Raw untapped power." Edwin smirked, eyes beginning to glow gold and black. "The Millennium Eyes are linked to me. For those I want to protect, like you-" He reached into his pocket and pulled out two sets of eyes, Cecelia having mentioned her roommate wanted one, "-I will be able to know if you are in danger and send help. For those that are my enemies I will be able to learn all their little secrets. And secrets are powerful things."

"So what… become a famous jeweler by day, secret gatherer by night?"

"I'm more thinking in terms of Prof. Moriarty. The Napoleon of Crime. I will sit in the center of my web, knowing what crimes are happening, what dark deeds are done, and will decide if I let them continue, put a stop to them, or use them to get some leverage. And from there… well…"

Edwin smirked.

"Hell is full of opportunities."

"…a school for playing card games?"

Edwin groaned. "Okay, let me explain. So it's a card game. You build a deck-"

~MC~MC~MC~

"Marik Ishtar!"

Marik frowned as he looked up from the motorcycle he had been considering. He hated that he'd been forced to abandon his beloved bike in Domino and truly wanted to get a new one. While there were many things he would do differently in hindsight when it came to his plotting before Domino his dream of eventually just hitting the open road on a motorcycle and truly being free remained steadfast in something he longed for. It was one of the reasons why he had been quick to break off the alliance he had formed with the Spirit of the Millennium Ring. The Spirit wished to rule. To dominate. To sit on a throne of skulls and watch as the masses cowered before him. For all his talk of destruction and violence in the end the Spirit NEEDED people alive because if they were all dead… who would care about him? He NEEEDED to be noticed.

But that wasn't the case with Marik.

He just wanted to be free. To do whatever he desired.

He remembered telling Odion once (and he totally didn't steal it from a movie… never) that he was like a dog chasing cars. He wouldn't know what would happen if he caught it. Marik just loved the chase. The thrill of running beyond the yard his 'owners' had told him to stay in.

Why would he want to rule? Ruling, he had found during his time as head of the Rare Hunters, was utter tedium. He had THOUGHT that being able to at last be the one to command others would be a thrill but…

~One Year Ago~

"But boss!" the spokesman for the horde of Rare Hunters gathered before him whined. "We think they look really neat!"

"They are not part of the uniform!" Marik snarled. The large group of Rare Hunters all stared at him with the same dopey looks on their faces. Literally the same look. He didn't quite understand it but they all looked exactly the same: bald with large smiles and smooth faces. And they were all wearing suits under their robes as well as top hats, which was the source of the current fight.

"But boss!" another of the Rare Hunters whined. They even sounded the same! "We think it adds a bit of class!"

"I do not care about class! I care about avenging my father's death!"

"Uh… didn't you hate him?" one of the Rare Hunters said.

"Why would you want to avenge him?"

"Shouldn't you want to thank him?"

"Unless you wanted to kill him yourself."

"Is that what happened boss?"

"Why would you want to do that?"

Marik grit his teeth together before screaming, "SILENCE!"

The Rare Hunters grew quiet.

"Get. Out. Of. My. Sight."

The horde quickly scurried out of Marik's current throne room.

"Are you okay, Master Marik?"

"No I am not, Odion," Marik complained. "They want to wear those suits and want to know about their health care plans… they are minions to be used! Why would we have a health care plan?" He shook his head. "I am going to crush them, Odion. Crush them like eggs. I promise that."

"…"

"…aren't you going to try and tell me not to do that?"

"Honestly they are annoying me too, Master Marik."

"Wait, seriously? I was only keeping them alive because I thought you liked them."

Odion shook his head. "I never destroyed them because I thought you wanted them around."

That made Marik laugh. "Look at us… oh, we are a pair." He took out the Millennium Rod. "Now excuse me… I'm going to scramble those bois."

~MC~MC~MC~

But no… ruling was no fun at all. He wanted to just be free. To drive until he found what was beyond the horizon… and murder it if it annoyed him.

And to do that he needed a motorcycle.

Also needed to stop being pestered.

"And what do you cretins-" Marik said, turning around… only to tremble in place as he was hit with multiple tasers.

"Marik Ishtar, you are under arrest for grand theft, murder, assault, kidnapping, and failing to declare you had brought fruits with you when entering a foreign country," the lead officer said, slapping handcuffs on Marik even as he continued to jerk about thanks to the taser shots.

While he should have been able to use the Millennium Rod to defeat his foes… it was hard to use it with his hands cuffed behind his back and his nerves doing the tango. Which was how Marik found himself in the back of a police transport vehicle, gagged and hooded as the Egyptian Police drove him to jail.

~MC~MC~MC~

"Hey grandpa!" Yugi called out as he entered the Kame Game Shop. "We're back!"

"Ah, hello Yugi!" Solomon said from the back. "You bring your friends along?"

"Joey and Tristan couldn't come," Yugi replied. "But my new friend Neph wanted to see your shop."

"Well, that is-" Solomon emerged from the storeroom only to stop and blink as he stared at the figure in the girl's school uniform that was with his grandson.

"I am Nephthys. I am a normal teenage girl. I like teenage girl things."

"…nice to meet you," Solomon said slowly. "Would you like to go upstairs? Get a snack."

"Thank you, small mortal." And with that Neph moved towards the stairs.

Solomon looked at his grandson. "So she's-"

"And Egyptian Goddess?" Yugi asked. "Yeah, I figured that out after five seconds. Didn't help when she kept asking people were the libations were."

"I just wanted to make sure." Solomon rubbed his chin. "So… what are you going to do about this?"

"Absolutely nothing." The old man shot the boy a look and Yugi sighed. "I discussed it with the Pharaoh. Neither of us sense anything evil about her… we think this might have something to do with Selene and Tea."

"Have you asked her?"

"Honestly I am working my way up to it. Edwin was pretty clear that we needed to be careful around gods and goddesses."

Solomon slowly nodded. "That is a good point. Just be careful Yugi. And don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"So everything, gramps?" Yugi teased.

That made the old man laugh and Yugi made his way up to the apartment about the card shop, smiling as he watched Neph poke at the microwave.

"Your entertainment device refuses to work. Perhaps I should smite it."

"Uh… its on a time out for being naughty," Yugi lied. "The TV is over here."

"Wonderful!" Neph said, going to the fridge and pulling out a bottle of wine. "Where are your glasses?"

"Uh… I'm not old enough to drink," Yugi said.

"Oh, that is right. And neither can I because I am a teenage girl." She looked at him. "I am a teenage girl."

"uh huh." Yugi went and got some pop, pouring some for both of them. "We can have this though."

"Thank you Yugi. Yu are most kind."

Yugi nodded and settled down next to the Egyptian goddess. He had done a bit of research on her during lunch and found that Nephthys was the goddess of the dead (along with almost every Egyptian goddess) along with "mourning, the night/darkness, service (specifically temples), childbirth, protection, magic, health, embalming, and beer". The last of which explained why she had kept trying to get drunk at school. None of that seemed too threatening but as Selene had shown just being an immortal being was a danger.

'We must treed very carefully Yugi,' The Pharaoh warned him in his mind. 'We can not risk insulting her.'

'I know Pharaoh. But we also have to keep a close eye on her… she's clearly here for a reason and I don't like the idea of what she could do if we left her unattended or unguarded.' Yugi shifted on the couch. "So Neph… how are you liking Domino?"

"It is fair enough," she stated with a shrug. And then said nothing else.

"Uh… have any plans for the weekend?"

"I was hoping to spend time with you. I don't care what we do."

'Yugi, it's a trap!' The Pharaoh warned. 'All the research I have done on women has shown when they say that they want you to guess what they want to do and if you get it wrong they will be very upset!'

'That… sounds kind of sexist, Pharaoh.'

'No, it is not. I learned it from watching that historical documentary on life in the New City of York which is oddly only filled with white people.'

'…Pharaoh, that was Friends.' Yugi shook his head. 'Still, we need to get her talking. We want her to feel comfortable around us… that will help convince her to trust us and tell us what she is planning. That way we can determine if she is actually a threat or if she is someone wanting to help up.' He couldn't rule out either one… after all, they had lost a friend called 'The Guardian Devil' who had died saving him.

Yugi… was still dealing with his guilt over that.

Before Yugi could speak up though Nephthys decided to begin talking. "So, the Youth of the Wheels stated you had a paramour… Tea?"

"Youth of… oh, Joey. Right. Yeah, I do. Or… did." He grew quiet at that. "I haven't heard from her in a while. And I'm worried about what she might be doing. If she's safe or okay."

"She is fine though quick to dislocate shoulders."

"What?"

"I said I'm sure she's fine. Why don't you call her and tell her to return home?"

Yugi sighed. He knew what she was trying to do (though not WHY) and honestly he wanted to do that very much. But… "I called her a few days ago. Got her voice mail. She sent a text saying that she was fine but she couldn't talk and I should wait for her."

"You should call again and say the world is ending."

"Honestly?" Yugi said. "I don't know if that would work."

That caused Neph to launch into an entire speech about what they could do in order to lure Tea back… but it also got Yugi thinking. Made him remember something that he'd also read about the goddess. Something… that he might be able to use.

"…and if we selected one of your companions and tied them to the railroad tracks-"

"Its just hard," Yugi said. "You know… sometimes people we are with just… don't want to listen to us and instead do silly things. You… ever have to deal with someone you cared for doing something dumb?"

Neph stared at him.

~Ten Minutes Later~

"…always went on and on about Osiris! How he was so amazing and awesome! How he saw him in the shower and his dick was SOOOOO big!" Neph threw her arms out wide as she spoke, her words no longer stilted and formal. No, as she became more emotional she actually sounded like a real person. "I told him I didn't care about that… that women don't actually care about how big your dick was and in fact sometimes it actually hurts if it is big and we much prefer someone that knows what they are doing or are willing to learn with their partner but he was all "I'm gonna cut him up and feed his phallus to a fish!" And… who gets that judgmental that they feed their brother's phallus to a fish? A loser, that's who."

"Yeah," Yugi said, in agreement.

"And everyone blamed me even though I didn't even know he was going to do it and I helped Isis… I tried to bake a cake to make up for it but what do you put on that? 'Sorry you can't fuck your dead husband unless you go swimming'? That wouldn't work… not enough space!" Neph began to cry even as she ranting, Yugi gently rubbing her back. "Not like I'm getting any! Everyone is afraid Set will cut off their penises too!" She laid her head on Yugi's shoulder. "You're a good listener."

"Thanks," Yugi said, unsure what else he could say.

"Thanks for letting me ramble… can we just… watch some of your plays on the magic box?"

"TV?" Yugi asked, Neph giving a little nod. "I mean… sure. I think American Pickers is on."

"Okay," she said as she snuggled up to him.

~MC~MC~MC~

"So I had this thought today at work," Greta said as she backed into her apartment, carrying some grocery bags. "Let's say, hypothetically, I ask Leviathan if I can go up to Earth. You know, to go get some things I left behind last time I was up there. Go check in on Dartz and get some of those souls he collected. Sure, not worth much now but if they die and come down here I instantly have some souls to barter with. That would be worth something right?" She turned only to pause. "Whoa."

The living room of their apartment was filled with drawings and sketches. Large ones, small ones, some that were barely there pencil images and others beautifully done portraits. One wall had seen everything pulled away from it so that the drawings could be taped up. The subject matter was also massive and diverse. There were images of angels and demons but also odd humans in all manner of costumes. Beasts and snarling creatures. Sea life and winged nasties. Beautiful women smiling demurely and armored warriors with massive swords. All put on the walls for Greta to see.

"Hey, be careful, okay? I don't want anything to get knocked down," CeeCee said, her back turned to Greta as she worked on a drawing of some elf-looking motherfucker with a sword. "Also don't put anything on the table… that's where the rulebook I'm working on is."

"…okay," Greta said slowly.

"Also Leviathan will NEVER go with you heading up topside. You think for a moment he wants another Perseus situation?"

"Meddie deserved that for being stupid. I for one will NOT be stupid."

"Leave it. Your booty call will just have to get blue balled." Ceecee tilted her head. "Hmmm. That will work. And it looks like it could be the basis of an entire line… but I think I will keep it at this guy. Maybe a variant of him that's a bit more obnoxious."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Greta asked. "Why does our apartment look like an art school exploded?" She blinked. "You didn't blow up an art school, did you?"

"No. I just solved all our money problems!" She waved her hand to one of the end tables. "By the way, your Millennium Eye is there."

"You actually got it?" Greta asked excitedly, going over and grabbing the pin. "Oh, its wonderful!"

"Uh huh, whatever." Ceecee moved to another picture and, after a moment began to erase the ugly sharp teeth she'd put on the drawing of a fuzzball with eyes. "Its cursed or whatever but you'll forget that in twenty seconds."

"Its… oh, hahaha," Greta said, laughing at her friend's joke. "So, what's up with all this?"

CeeCee looked over her shoulder from the drawing. "Oh, I just figured out how to make a shit ton of fucking money."

"Selling drawings? Is this because of the jewelry guy?"

"No and kinda. So, what's the easiest way to make continuous money?"

"Whoring yourself out to 500 fat chicks for 20 bucks." Greta frowned. "Or whoring yourself out to 20 REALLY fat chicks for 500 bucks." CeeCee just stared at her. "What? Fat chicks need love too. But they gotta pay."

"No," CeeCee said dryly. "Gambling. Gambling is the best way to make fast cash. But its also a pain in the ass because addicts are always looking for the new thrill. Unless they are a diehard they get tired of the same games over and over. And there are times where you have to pay out… sure, you make more than you pay out but it is still handing over your money.

"But what if there was a way to get the addict to keep coming back to you every month to get something new? Make them desperate for the next hit. Make the act of COMING to you part of the gamble. Oooohhhh, then you have something."

"Okay…" Greta said slowly. "Not quite getting it…"

"A collectable card game," CeeCee stated, neither of them noticing the Millennium Eye snap open at that. "People buy a pack of trading cards from me and there are random cards inside. Some powerful, some weak as shit. Point is they come and buy them… and then buy more. And more. Trying to get the best cards to play the game. They compete against friends and enemies, use the games to settle their feuds instead of brawling in the streets, and then in a month come to me when the new set comes out. Sometimes I just reprint old cards to fuck with the market, make prices go down. Or I purposely make some cards rarer so that people have to buy more packs. Make them themed so you can't use any old card… you need a set."

"That… that sounds like it could work."

"Oh, it will. And you'd have some people buying them just to collect them! And because its just a simple game and I'm not directing how people use my cards ANYONE can play. Little kids with their grubby lunch money choosing to buy cards. Sinner Demons, Imps, Hellhouds, Succubi… all of them will be buying cards from me."

The Millennium Eye grew wider in horror.

"I call it… Duel Monsters."

~MC~MC~MC ~

"…dirty CUNT!" Edwin roared, slamming his hands down on the table… only to realize he was eating supper with the rest of the guests and staff at the hotel. Charlie stared at him in shock, Angel Dust merely quirked an eyebrow and smirked, Niftty muttered that 'no one should have a dirty cunt' with her around…

"Yes, that's what I told Rosie the mailman was eating," Alastor stated. "However did you know?"