-O-

-O-

-O-

-O-

-O-

Another person approached him. Her hair was long and beautifully brown. She wore a blue outfit cut to show plenty of skin. She had beauty, and flaunted it readily.

“Three years.”

-O-

-O-

-O-

-O-

-O-

“I’ll set two cards and summon my Humanoid Slime in defense mode!” The human-form aquatic creature defended itself.

“I’ll set another card, play Rush Recklessly, and activate this spell, Final Countdown!” Twenty fireballs flew into the sky, “Kycoo, Reckless Exorcism” Beams of light shot at the Slime.

-O-

-O-

-O-

Raven stood on the roof staring at the moon, the Millennium Scale in his hand.

“Raven!” Kaomi sighed with relief; “I was worried when you weren’t in your room. So I searched and didn’t see you anywhere… what are you doing on the roof at three in the morning anyway?”

“I have a bad sense about things. I think these happy times are in danger.” Raven did not shift his gaze, “Aura, Lantash, and Shuyin went to Cairo Branch because the said they found something that no one could translate. It looked ancient Egyptian, but a dialect they had never seen. The three of them went there to examine it and bring it back here. They’ll be here tomorrow morning.”

“How do you know all this?” Kaomi asked.

“Visions induced by the Scale.”

“Dreams?” Kaomi suggested.

“No. I was awake.”

“Maybe you’re right, Raven.” Kaomi sighed and walked up next to him, staring at the moon with him, “I have an ominous sense about the end of this tournament. Something bad is going to happen. We should pull out of it now.”

“Kaomi!” Raven was shocked, and looked at her.

“I mean it Raven. You’ve slayed enough demons!” Kaomi said, almost in tears, her glance rapidly shifted to meet his, “Like I said. I love you. I can’t risk loosing you anymore!”

“Kaomi, the demons I’ve slayed both turned out to be fine people. Besides, I want to know why I ‘slayed those demons’. And I want to know about Nemesis.” Raven embraced her.

“Nemesis is the ranting of a madman. No more.” Tears formed in Kaomi’s eyes.

“You felt its presence. I saw its opposite.” Raven said, calmly.

“You say a hallucination caused by that damn scale!” She burst into full-blown tears.

“Kaomi. This is bigger than us.”

“Nothing is bigger than us.” Kaomi sobbed. “I won’t lose you!”

“That’s right. And I won’t lose you.” Raven closed his eyes, “I promise.”

“Raven, what do you think this artifact will tell you?” Kaomi dried her eyes on his sleeve.

“The truth about the events in Ancient Egypt, whatever that is.” Raven sighed, “Sevanos’ version of events is incomplete, I know that. And I know Seros is a chronic and habitual. But, to quote an American TV show, ‘The truth is out there’, an I aim to find it.”

“Be careful. I fear that this time the danger is much more clear and present.” Kaomi choked back more tears, “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I won’t.”

-O-

“Good morning!” Alan greeted the crowd, “This morning’s first duel will be the man behind all this, the mighty Sevanos, versus the man with Exodia’s master set, Seeker!”  The men entered the elevated ring.

“Let’s see how you do, Seeker.” Sevanos smiled.

“Well.” Seeker drew and smiled.

“I’ll have you know that I just added a few little bonuses to my deck because of you.” Sevanos grinned, “I’ll make my move. I summon my Monkey Monkey in defense mode and set these two cards face-down. Go.” A small square with wings appeared before Sevanos.

“I play Sangan in defense mode and set two cards. I now play Graceful Charity!”

“Mystical Refpanel!” Sevanos drew three cards, “Discard Guardian Angel Joan and Heavy Storm.”

“Go.”

“Summon my Hysteric Fairy. Fairy, attack!”

“Jar of Greed!”

“Fine.” As Sangan exploded, Seeker drew, “And now I get the left arm of Exodia from my deck and add it to my hand.”

“You’re done, Seeker.” Sevanos smiled, “I guess all you need is one of Exodia’s limbs right now, so I’ll hit ya hard and fast. First, destroy your deck with the card D. D. Designator! L:eft Arm of the Forbidden One!” An elf aimed it’s sword at Seeker’s hand, knocking the Arm into play, then shattering it., “Now, I play Monster Reborn, bring Joanie back. Joanie and H. Fairy attack directly. For a grand total today of…” The two blasts hit Seeker, “4600 points of damage, giving you 600 extra points of damage. See ya, Exodia-boy.” Sevanos walked off before Alan could raise his arm in victory. He then glanced at Serenity, “Top that.”

“Sevanos Otaga, the winner!” Alan called from the stage.

-O-

Barbas watched from the ops room on a large television screen. Opaka came in with two cups of coffee.

“Sev roasted the Exodia duelist.”

“Well, yeah.”

“Hey!” A third, male, vice rang in the room, “Can we switch it to Comic Party? Episode thirteen is on!”

“Shuyin?” Barbas nearly spit out his coffee as he spun in his chair, “What did Cairo Branch want?”

“Something about this,” he pulled out a large flat piece of rock, “This. Aura and Lantash couldn’t make heads or tails of it, so the Cairo bigwigs wanted Sevvy to look at it.”

“I’ll go put it in his office.” Barbas took the artifact.

“That looks like the same type or tablet as the Ancient’s Star device.” Opaka observed, “The Repository of the Ancients.”

“The Ancient’s Star was missing a piece by the control mechanism.” Barbas looked at it, “I’ll be back.”

-O-

Barbas stood in an elevator bound for basement floor ten, the deepest and most guarded floor. In order tro be confirmed to go there, a key must be inserted into the elevator. The doors slid apart revealing a careened corridor with a metal door at the end marked “Do Not Enter”. Barbas then swiped a keycard. The door opened revealing a white, well-lit room. In this room the computer would scan him for anything dangerous, and to match him to one with a high clearance code. Then, another door, marked “Classified” opened. He entered. This revealed another corridor. He walked down to Room 34, marked “Ancient’s Star” He used his keycard again to grant him access to this room. He approached a pedestal in the center of the room, on which a large stone box was sitting. There was a small panel jetting out from one side with a series of three levers on it. All three were locked. Above this panel, an area had been chipped off. “The Repository.” Barbas placed the last piece on the puzzle and the device glowed briefly, but the glow faded. The levers were still locked. “Worth a shot.” Barbas walked out.

-O-

At the tournament site, a call came through backstage. Sevanos answered, “Yes?”

“Sevanos, Shuyin, Lantash, and Aura are here. They brought us the last price of the AS Device.”

“On my way.” Sevanos hung up and face Raven, “We’ll rig it so you’re up next. We’re needed at HQ.”

“We?”

“You have a Millennium Item, and our situation is distinctly Ancient Egyptian.” Sevanos explained.

Raven shot Kaomi a glance and nodded, “Right.”

-O-

“Next up! The man, the myth, the legend, Raven Vaniver!” The crowd roared as Raven entered  “Versus the big-talker of the Stars, Serenity Tesconé!”

“Let’s go, L.A. girl!” Raven launched his Duel Disk.

“Someone has a superiority complex.” Serenity launched hers, “I summon my Cyber Harpie!” A Harpie in cyber-armor flew to the field, “And play the spell Elegant Egotist! Your card, Raven.” She taunted, “This brinds forth my Harpie Lady Sisters!”

“My move!” Raven drew, “Go forth and serve, Forgiving Maiden!” The Maiden arose, defending herself. “And I’ll play these three cards face-down.”

“I play Vampire Lady in attack mode. End my turn.” Serenity did as she said.

“Time to play Fusion Sage, acquiring my Polymerization and activating it. Here’s a feminine monster I don’t see you using, Serenity!” Forgiving Maiden dissolved to be replaced by an angelic redhead in battle armor. “Destroy the Vampire Lady!”

Serenity drew as her Life Points fell to 2450. “Maybe not that exact one, Vaniver.” She laughed, “Offer my Harpies to summon the Guardian Angel Joan!”

“Since when does everyone have that card!” Raven yelled in frustration.

“Go.” She set four cards face-down.

“I set a monster and another card and end my turn.” Raven gritted his teeth.

“Joan, attack!” Serenity ordered.

“Sorry, Tesconé, but this field is only big enough for one Joan! Reveal my Witch Doctor of Chaos!” The Guardian’s blast destroyed the Witch Doctor, which shot a counterattack at the Guardian.

“Activate Interdimensional Matter Transporter!” Serenity called.

“Blast.” The counterattack shot into nothingness, “That’s it. My move!” Raven drew, “Time to see who is better prepared. Activate the Spell card Tribute to the Doomed!”

“Activate Magic Jammer!” Serenity responded.

“Plan B, activate Ring of Destruction!” Raven called as a ring of bombs appeared around the Guardian’s neck.

“Activate Fairy’s Hand Mirror!” The Ring glistened in the mirror, than flew at the Saint Joan.

“Activate Card Guard!” A shield of cards appeared before the Saint Joan, blocking the Ring, causing it to fade into nothingness.

“That’s it!” Serenity clenched her fists.

“Enough of this!”

“Joan, attack!” Both ordered. The two angels shot streams of light at one another, both shattering. The crowd gasped. “Activate spell card!” both called, “Monster Reborn!” The two Joans reappeared. The crowd roared.

“Stalemate,” Serenity said, a little annoyed.

“I refuse to accept that.”

“Raven, is your heart in this duel?”

“What?”

“Cause I’ll put mine in it if you will.”

“Come again?”

“Raven Vaniver, may the Heart of the Cards guide you to victory.” Serenity drew, “Offer Guardian Angel Joan for the Dark Magician Girl. Go Raven.”

“Acivate Tribute Doll, and offer the Saint Joan for the Tyrant Dragon.” Raven closed his eyes, “Perhaps I’ll understand this someday.”

“Hopefully.” Serenity passed her turn; “I stand strong, with no moves left.”

“By your reference, checkmate.” Tyrant Dragon shot a fireball at the Magician Girl, incinerating her.

-O-

“Interesting victory.” Sevanos drove at highly unsafe speeds through the town.

“She just gave up.”

“Raven, sometimes you can learn from victories. You know why she summoned the Dark Magician Girl?”

“Heart of the Cards?”

“Exactly. If you don’t base your choices on that, you dishonor the game.”

-O-

Sevanos, Raven, and Barbas stood in the presence of the ancient device.

“Raven, see how the Scale reacts to it.” Sevanos ordered.

Raven pulled out the Millennium Scale, and aimed it’s all-seeing Eye of Anubis at the device. The item and device lit aglow.

“Go pull the switches!” Barbas called.

“Hey!” Raven spun, “I can read this text!”

“What?” Sevanos ran up next to him. The text was still in the illegible Egyptian dialect.

“I can read it. It says ‘The unabridged knowledge of our ways is here, for whomsoever holds a regal sign from the Pharaoh’s court. Simply activate the device.’ I think it means the levers.”

“You know what this means, Raven? Shadow powers! The knowledge of the Pharaoh himself is at your fingertips!”

Raven pulled the first lever, the Scales sitting on the panel. The light in the room grew more intense. He pulled the second lever. All the words and drawings on the device shot a great golden light from them, and he pulled the third, filling the room with a blinding light.

-O-

The sands blew around Raven, but not Raven, and Seto Kaiba, but not Kaiba. The both wore off outfits, and Raven seemed little more than an observer.. He heard himself saying words, but he did not mean to. He was not in control.

“High Priest Set, I tell you again, I will not turn myself against the Pharaoh.”  Raven said.

“Oh, Tiamat, old friend, it is for the betterment of Egypt! The will of the Gods!” Seto replied.

“If it were, why were you not deemed Pharaoh? No, things will not change. I won’t let them.” Raven walked away.

“The day of reckoning is coming, Mage!” Seto called after him, but Raven shrugged it off.

-O-

Raven’s real body lie on the floor. The Scales shined brilliantly in tune with the device, and an Eye of Anubis glistened on Raven’s forehead.

“Get him to the medical section.” Sevanos ordered.

Barbas flipped open his cell phone, “Medical emergency in Classified Section, Room 341”

-O-

“Next match, the master of Toons, and the apprentice of the game’s creator, Ardrea Amun, versus the, well, versus Shuyin Beolve!”Alan called, “Duel!”

-O-

“We shall duel!” Raven said, the sands circled them.

“Pharaoh’s servant. We will. Just not now.” Sevanos, or Seros as the case had it, drifted wawy.

-O-

“Summon Toon Gemini Elf!” Ardrea called.

“My move!” Shuyin drew, winked at the crowd, and threw a monster in defense mode.

-O-

“So, here we are, Servant.” Seros laughed as sand swirled about them in the dark night.

“Yes. Our armies have destroyed one another, and so it comes down to us!” Raven, or Tiamat, replied.

“Realm of shadows, in this twilight hour, accept their souls and grant me power!” Both chanted reportedly. Darkness swirled with the sand.

“A great power is unlocked by this consumption of souls, Tiamat.” Seros explained, “Watch!” Seros began to glow as he transformed into an angel, “The power to destroy all of Egypt by becoming a Shadow Creature!”

“Never will I let you!” Tiamat shimmered red, as he became the great red dragon.  “This ends now!”

The great monsters clashed, Tiamat shooting fireballs, dodging beams of light. The great shadow energy blanketed Egypt.

“Dragon, do you see that you cannot defeat me?” the angelic Seros smiled.

“Angel, I will not let you pass!” Tiamat flew at Seros head-on. A great light crossed the country.

-O-

The next thing Raven knew he was running toward something. Men chased him firing arrows, which he dodged. What was he after? Who was after him?

“Leon Vaniver!” one of the men in pursuit of him called.

Leon was Raven’s ancestor from 1600s Europe. What was going on? Was all this the work of the Ancient’s Star device? If so, what did this have to do with Egypt?

“Leon!” He heard a voice ahead of him. It was Kaomi’s.

“Anne!” he called.

“Fire!” Called one of the men behind him. An arrow shot forward. It missed Leon, but hit Anne.

Leon stopped at Anne’s side. “Anne!”

“Take care of Kayla.” Anne coughed, “And let my husband know how much I hated him.”

“I will.”

“What are you waiting for, Leon? Get to Stonehenge!” Anne passed.

Leon drew his sword. Those bastards would pay for taking his friend! No. He had a mission. He ran faster, more determination drove him. He came to a stop at Stonehenge, specifically an alter at the center of Stonehenge. He took the Millennium Scale from his pack, “Realm of shadows, defend me!”

A great Tyrant Dragon appeared above Stonehenge. It shot it’s flames down upon the army chasing Leon.

“Run! Report the loss to Master Otaga!” One of the solders, a high-ranking one, called.

“God.” Leon glanced over his shoulder than back at the Scale, “Realm of Shadows, pass your judgment upon me. If I be worthy, grant me what I desire! Pass judgment on myself and the demon Otaga!”

Two hearts appeared on the scale. The scale tipped, and the hearts faded. Then, the great pillars of Stonehenge lit aglow, and a voice rang. “You cannot!” the voice called, “In this sacred ground, I speak to you. It is not your fate to kill Otaga, for your and his descendants will stand against myself and he who twists your fate. But I see how my opposite has ruined your existence. Allow me to fix everything.”

A short distance away, the corpse of Anne healed itself and returned to life.

“And I will clean this slate!” A great light swept all of England, as those who knew of the events of the Vaniver-Otaga feud forgot either party existed.

-O-

“The winner!” Alan rose the hand of Ardrea Amun, “Ardrea! Like no one saw that coming!”

-O-

“How is he?” Sevanos asked Dr. Ezulu.

“Still unconscious, but look at this.” Ezulu pulled out two brain scans, “This,” He pointed to the first. Fairly uncluttered and clear, “Is a normal brain scan. This is Raven’s,” He pointed to one far more active, “An average human uses about ten percent of their brain, one using Shadow Powers uses about fifteen. Raven is using thirty.”

“So?” Sevanos failed to get it.

“Well, I am not sure… I just know he’s using three times his normal brain capacity.” Ezulu explained.

“Call my office when he wakes.” Sevanos left.

-O-

Raven now stood in a wood. At least, he sopposed he was himself. He had a Duel Disk, and was playing aginst someone in a white cloak.

“I sacrifice my monsters for the Tyrant Dragon!” he called.

“Raven, what are you doing here? Is this how your comfortable?” The voice, the same as Leon heard at Stonehenge, came from the cloaked man.

“Who are you?” Raven asked. As if to answer, the world around him melted away and he found himself floating in space.

The white-cloaked figure was replaced by a white cloud. “Seraph”.

“And this world? These time shifts?” Raven asked.

“What the Repository thought you should know.” Seraph replied.

“No ancient magics, no big important message?”

“Why do you think I’m here, Raven? You know your history. You know of myself and Nemesis, and you know your tie to the Tyrannical Dragon. Sadly, the things you seek are not here, but the things you must know are.”

-O-

Sevanos ran into Ezulu’s office, “What is it?”

“Remember those brain scans? Look at this.” Ezulu pointed to an active image on his computer screen, “His brain activity just spiked a moment ago to almost ninety percent usage. I had him placed in solitary confinement for observation once he awoke. Look at this.” The image on the monitor switched to a live feed of Raven. He was speaking in seeming gibberish, and writing on the wall with a red marker the same dialect found on the Ancient Repository. “All I’ve been able to make out are several calls for Kaomi.”

Sevanos picked up the phone, dialed quickly, and spoke, “Barbas, get Kaomi over here. Send her to Doctor Ezulu’s office.

-O-

“Phase Two of the tournament begins tomorrow!” Alan called, “The first match-up will be Illarya Eden versus Mr. Takahashi. The following people are getting passed without Phase Two duels: Sevanos Otaga, Raven Vaniver, Kaomi Itai, and Cid Oulandu, due to a sudden illness fallen by Mr. Vaniver.” The crow chattered and gasped.

-O-

“He’s been like this for hours.” Ezulu reported to Kaomi and Cid.

“Will he come out of it?” Cid asked.

“No way of knowing. Given what Raven translated on the Device in the basement, Wesley has run a translation of what he wrote, but we don’t have a lot. Miss Itai, your name appears quite a bit in his speech, both normally and in this Egyptian tongue he’s speaking. Also this symbol, “One was enlarged, “’Contest’ or ‘duel’ appears often. As well as these one for Light and Darkness, and several ones that struck me, this chain appears to be three numbers.”

“What are they?” Sevanos asked.

“12, 22, and 2012.” Ezulu responded.

“December 22, 2012?” Kaomi raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll have Barbas Google it.” Sevanos left.

“Raven…” Kaomi sighed, “I want to got talk to him.”

Ezulu nodded.

-O-

“Raven.” Kaomi entered the white room whose smooth walls were coated in red ink.

“Kaomi.” The door seemed to close itself, though it was Raven’s work.

“What’s going on?”

“What…” Raven fell to the floor, the Eye of Anubis finally fading.

“Dr. Ezulu!” Ezulu received a call on his Nextel, “Raven’s brain activity scans are returning to normal.”

“Kaomi.” Raven barely uttered.

-O-

“Raven?” When he awoke, Kaomi stood over him, “Do you remember anything?”

“I remember activating the Repository, and then hearing your voice and now being here.” Raven held his head, “What hit me.”

“About five thousand years of knowledge. Here.” Sevanos handed Raven the Scale, Tell me if you can read this.” Sevanos then showed Raven photographs of the scribbling on the wall.

“No…”

“Believe it or not, you wrote it.” Dr. Ezulu entered the room, “You were at over nine times the normal brain usage. No wonder you forgot everything. Odds are you took something away from it, thought.”

“December 22, 2012.” Raven said quietly, “That date seems important to me.”

“You wrote it several times. We were able to translate that because it was in a more standard dialect.” Cid explained.

“What does it mean?” Kaomi asked.

“Couldn’t tell you.” Raven sighed.

“Do you know if you found the answers you wanted?” Kaomi asked.

“I know I didn’t.” Raven sighed. “Even if I did, I would have forgot them all anyway.”

“What kind of a sense do you have about him Kaomi?” Sevanos asked, “Maybe his subconscious remembers something.”

“When he was in that room, I sensed great evil, good, and from him, great fear and anxiety,” Kaomi shrugged, “What it means is beyond me.”

“Maybe the Repository sent us a warning. He did choose red to sketch those symbols. And you say he was quite afraid.” Cid reasoned.

“A warning.” Raven said. “Good, evil, maybe a warning about Seraph an Nemesis.”

“There goes ‘business as usual’.”

“Mr. Otaga, this is business as usual.” Ezulu smiled.

“Rest up you guys, we’re all passed from tomorrow’s duels.” Sevanos left.

-O-

“Sevanos!” Barbas ran into his office, “Google search complete. Here are the results. December 22, 2012 is a Saturday, the estimated date of death for about 50,000 people, interestingly, the final date on the Mayan calendar, 2012 is an American Election year, the…”

“Wait, the Mayan Calendar thing! That sounds important.”  Sevanos thought, “Mark it, and investigate more.”

“Yes, sir.” Barbas left.

Sevanos sighed. As soon as Barbas left he stood. He slid the painting behind his desk aside and entered the room of Tablet paintings. He had not been here since his duel with Raven in the private tournament he held after Battle City. He stood in the center of the room. “I feel I’ve done something very bad.” He spoke to himself, “First, I let Raven use that ancient device. How stupid was that? Ezulu reported much longer in the state he was in, he could have died.” Sevanos paused, “Moreover, this tournament is a Nationals Qualifier. Meaning the four duelists making it to the Semi-Finals would make it to Nationals next week, which is little more than a formality; since this is the only qualifier anyone took part in. This was stupid.  I really don’t want to send anyone to the World Championships just for winning a single tournament.” He forced a laugh, “Funny, in my head, the two sounded about even, but saying it, the former is a bit worse than the latter, eh?” He stood, silent, “Now I’m talking to myself. Am I loosing my mind? Nowhere near as bad as if I had activated an Ancient Star device, but still…” he paused, “I wish someone would show me which way to go now…” he sighed.

-O-

“The new day dawns, and the third day bring the end of the tournament. The Top Thirteen are here now, with one Wild Card slot available. There is one more Wild Card slot in the Quarter-finals, and with the first one having gone to the relatively new duelist on the block, Kaya Theas, it is leaving everyone to wonder, with the start of the tournament moments away, just what will happen today?” a reporter said to her camera crew, “Back to you, Tomomi.” She paused, “That’s a wrap. I’m taking my seat.” She ran into the stands.

“Attention Ladies, Gentlemen, and Duelists!” Alan-Tax entered the stage, “It is my first pleasure to report that Raven Vaniver is back on his feet and he and those close to him will be back in today’s duels!” A cheer rose, “Now, at exactly eleven o’clock, I bring your attention to this stage, where former psycho-twisted self-proclaimed God-king Illarya faces off against her mentor in the ways of good, the Dragon Handler Cid!” Another cheer rose as Cid and Illarya entered the arena. “Duel!” Alan called.

“And so the student becomes the master.” Illarya launched her Disk, “Sorry Cid, I won’t go easy on you.”

Cid launched his Disk, “Nor I, you.”

Illarya drew, “I summon the Vorse Raider in attack mode. Go.”

“Summon Dragon Dwelling in the Cave in defense mode. And set one card face-down.” Cid shook his head, “You’ll have to play inventive to defeat me. Don’t make moves a novice could predict. Who taught you to open aggressive? Can you think on your feet, Illarya?”

“Better than you think I can, sensei.” Illarya replied, “Offer the Vorse Raider for my Luster Dragon #2!”

 “Not bad.”

“Thank you. Now I play Heavy Storm, blowing away your trap.”

“Mirror Force.”

“See? You need to make less predictable moves.” Illarya set two cards face-down. “Luster, attack!” A fireball slammed into the Cave Dragon, shattering it.

“My move.” Cid smiled, “I summon the Lord of Dragons.”

“Oh, hell no! No you don’t!”

-O-

-O-

-O-

-O-

“I believe in heart too, you know. Why do you think I took Exodia out? Why do you think I use Buster Blader?” The others continued staring, “Just ‘cause I haven’t used it on you…” Illarya huffed, “Forget it.”

“We’re going to have a four-way free-for-all to decide who versus who in the semifinals!” Alan explained to a cheering crowd, “We’ll determine who goes when by the following process. Each duelist removes one monster from play at the start of the duel. The attack factor, from highest to lowest, will determine the position of each duelist. In the event two duelists have the same attack value, the defense is examined. If the defense values are the same, it goes alphabetically by card. If the cards are the same, it goes down to alphabetically by the duelist’s first name.” Alan explained the selection process at length.  “Duel!” The, somewhat confused, crowd cheered, because they felt they were supposed to.

“Let’s go.” Serenity smiled, launching her Duel Disk.

“Time to show you why I’m president of this organization!” Sevanos launched his.

“Fun time!” Raven closed his eyes as his Duel Disk launched.

-O-

-O-

-O-

“Yeah. Sign this.” Barbas stood opposite Lantash holding a silver case, “Wes, lights on.”

The floodlights buzzed to life, shining down upon them, Barbas smiled, “Let’s talk Lantash.” He sat the case on the ground, and crouched next to it, “You got people worried back at the HQ.” he pulled the Duel Disk out of the case, “But what I really want is to know what sign you’re referring to.”

Lantash smiled, “The sign I knew would come, mortal. The reason I gave this vessel willingly to Seros, the reason I helped you defeat Illarya. I wanted to be here when the climactic battle came to pass. So I could watch your futures end.”

-O-

Shuyin looked over at Opaka, Sevanos, and Aura, “Shouldn’t we go?”

“Yes.” Sevans nodded, turning.

“What about Raven?” Aura said, worried.

“Raven knows what he’s doing.” Sevanos led the other three out of the building.

-O-

-O-