I was already walking towards her door when the Thief appeared. It caught me off guard, but I didn't have time to flinch and recoil. I needed to hold onto this resolve. I opened the door, painfully slowly.

"You will pay for your foolishness."

A snake immediately burst through, wrapping around my wrist. It pulled me into the room, hitting my head on the door as it did so. The next thing I knew, I was pinned high onto the wall, hanging by that one wrist. I hadn't even been able to process that the snake was her own arm, or that her eyes were glowing red, one of which seemed to be "cracked".

The Thief followed in calmly.

"Leave, wretch."

The voice was hers, but not. Before I could wonder about it, an invisible force coming from her body slammed into the Thief, pushing him right back out the door, closing it right on his face. That was when I understood my fate.

She turned her face to me, a sick grin on her face. Her other arm turned into a snake and lashed out at me, stopping short at my face, it's maw agape. I dared attempt to fight it off, now matter what every instinct told me to do. My heart was racing. It slowly angled itself as if it were about to close its jaws onto my neck. The snake grazed its teeth against my carotid artery. I felt my skin tear, the blood begin to flow.

Suddenly, both snakes retreated, dropping me to the floor. I gasped at the impact, but before I could wonder if something had broken, I looked up to see a mob of giant snakes rushing me, all with red, glowing eyes.

I couldn't contain my fear anymore. I screamed. I fought.

Of course that would only make things worse.

--

I thought it would never stop, but I also wondered why I hadn't died yet. In that moment, I wished for nothing else. What was left of my clothes and skin were full of snake teeth, my blood forming trails behind their massive bodies as they came together once again, transforming back into her.

The pain, so intense, must have broken down all the dams in my brain for adrenaline and other chemicals that gave me a strange euphoria, though I could barely perceive it. Lying there on the floor, I had looked at my body, not believing that this flesh, mangled and unfamiliar now, was mine.

Horror had overtaken me. I tired to cover my face with my hands in fear, I think, so I didn't have to see anymore, but I soon found this only exchanged fangs embedded in my palms with those in my face. I was blinded by blood.

Why wasn't I dead? It was impossible to lose this much blood!

I must have been crying out my thoughts.

"Why? Because I keep you alive. I'm not trying to kill you."

"Then what?! What are you doing to me?!"

I was sobbing, my voice a piteous wail of pain and submission.

"Shattering your mind!"

Darkness.

--

I came around again to find myself chained onto the wall like a medieval prisoner, suspended a foot or so off the floor. I was completely healed. I noticed because I could see again.

"Hello, Sister! Glad you're awake."

My brother's dark side stood before me, his Millennium Rod unsheathed to reveal the hidden dagger. My heart began to pound. I knew good and well what kind of sadistic possibilities lay in his mind, waiting to spring forth like a leopard, patient and deadly.

"Haha! You'd think after all those years of chronic nightmares you'd be at least a little desensitized!"

This wasn't my brother. I had told Marik nothing of the dreams that haunted me. As if on cue, she transformed back into herself, still with those glowing red eyes. She still held the Rod!

"You look surprised. Well, I have learned a few tricks since last I was in control of our body."

In spite of her cool tone, her face was a wild mix of rage, euphoria, and... despair?

"Isis..."

She charged at me, dagger poised for the strike.

--

I was in a bed, attached to IV lines and tubes, and I could hear the typical, rhythmic beeps of the machine monitoring my heart. The fluorescent bulbs drove their harsh light into my waking eyes.

"Ishizu! Oh my god! You're awake!"

I hadn't even noticed Marik beside me, too caught up in my own thoughts and shock. Had... Everything just been a dream?

Marik was hugging me so tightly, so excitedly, I thought he would burst into tears any moment.

"M-Marik? What...?"

My voice! It was so rusty! It was as if I hadn't spoken in days, even weeks perhaps.

"Now that she's finally awake I can go home!"

I didn't even see his face as he stormed out the door.

Had it all just been a dream?

"Marik, what happened to me?"

After another moment of holding me, my brother sat back down in the rickety chair he called a seat. He rested his elbows on his knees, holding his face in his hands.

"Just give me a minute..."

He sighed shakily. I had never seen him this worked up! So relieved he was, he laughed as if he had just narrowly missed being run over by a train.

"I guess you don't remember, do you?"

I shook my head. I don't even remember what had happened before that forest.

Had it all just been a dream?

"Well, you were invited to some Duel Monsters ball or something, hosted by Pegasus, of course. Apparently, someone had gotten in and tried to assassinate Kaiba by poisoning his drink. But..."

He couldn't finish, but I could guess what had happened. I looked away from Marik in shock.

"Oh..."

"Yeah..."

We remained silent for a few, but long, moments.

"I would say that would explain why he was here... But..."

Marik shifted uncomfortably, not without my notice, of course. I could see it on his face; he hadn't told me everything.

Had it all just been a dream?

--

Time passed.

It had all been a dream.

I forgot almost everything about the forest. Perhaps the only thing I could remember... Well, feel, was a strange disappointment whenever Kaiba ever came to mind. It was so hard to place the source of it all, and every time I tried, my mind would become all hazy and lost, losing track of time.

Soon those efforts would die too.

I eventually remembered the events leading up to the ball and my drinking of the poison. Pegasus was holding a supposedly annual ball showcasing all the most influential people and players of Duel Monsters. I say "supposedly annual" because I had never heard of it until I received his invitation. Regardless, I was invited as a special guest of his, and I accepted.

Marik and I had an argument about something earlier that day over the phone. I don't remember it well. All I really remember was being in a terrible mood climbing the steps to the front doors of the grandest hotel in Tokyo. I hurriedly flashed all my necessary identification wherever necessary, just wanting someplace more private to sit down and remove the calm mask I made my face wear. Just because it was easy to hide how I was feeling doesn't mean that I liked it.

"Ah, Ishizu! Punctual as always."

Pegasus met me just before the doors to the ballroom, dressed in his usual formal attire of red, his voice smooth, with all his usual tone of ever-amusement. I forced my usual smile and greetings.

"Yes, you never know when traffic will decide to get bad in a city like this."

"Mm! But there's certainly no place like Tokyo!"

"Yes..."

"Hmm, that brother of yours again?"

I had forgotten that under that eccentricity was perceptiveness and alertness. I just sighed and shrugged it off, not answering him with words.

"Another time, perhaps? We are here to have fun, after all!"

--

I was the first of the guests to arrive. Pegasus still had preparations to make, but he was kind enough to guide me to the ridiculously large bar, which was already being tended to.

"Oh, Ryuu, M'boy! Keep this wonderful lady entertained while I'm off!"

The young man behind the counter didn't look up as he responded, seemingly in the middle of his own preparations.

"No problemo, Boss."

He said the words in English, but I could hear a slight Japanese accent. He certainly didn't look Japanese, with his mahogany hair and silvery eyes. Pegasus gave me a light pat on the shoulder as he walked off. I looked around a moment, then sat in one of the stools, trying to keep my mind off Marik.

The bartender continued to arrange his bottles, mixers, and whatever else he needed. I found myself turning in the stool back and forth, amusing myself with the motion. When he finally did look up to me, I saw a flash of recognition come across his face.

"Ah, Miss Ishizu! It's very good to meet you, I am Ryuu."

He spoke in Japanese and gave a bow. He really must have known me, probably from television. I had spoken in Japanese on their national networks.

"It's nice to meet you, as well, Mr. Ryuu."

"Haha, no need for honorifics, just Ryuu is fine! Say, do you like limes?"

"Limes? Well, I suppose I like them well enough..."

"Then let's set you up, shall we? I'm not here to run my mouth, you know."

--

By the time most of the guest had arrived, I had had a few of Ryuu's delicious cocktails. He served the guests but managed too keep up with our conversations, starting new ones with new arrivals. If I had cared to noticed, I would have marveled at his social skills.

"Miss Ishizu, perhaps you should go greet the other guests? Don't need to go looking all antisocial, especially since you're one of the VIPs."

"Oh...? Yes, I must have gotten distracted."

"Haha, I suppose I do that to people!"

We shared a laugh, then I turned in my seat to stand. I hadn't realized just how dizzy I had become. This seemed to amuse the bartender greatly.

"Careful, now! Boss Man would have a fit if you ended up on the floor because of me!"

I didn't understand the joke, but Ryuu didn't seem to mind. He just waved me off, already tending to new arrivals.

I was rather emboldened, and I found myself able to forget the day's earlier troubles. Fortunately, most of the guests here were relatively young and the atmosphere lively with rather loud music playing for anyone who cared to dance. If this had been some kind of museum event, surely my ever so slight inebriation would have been a beacon for unwanted attention. Here, I blended.

Soon enough, I spotted Kaiba. Feeling mischievous, I sidled my way over and greeted him in that tone that I knew grated on his nerves.

"Hello, Kaiba. It certainly has been a while."

He turned to look down at me, quite the suspicious look on his face. I secretly reveled in his wariness of me.

"I guess it has, Ishtar."

He looked at me a moment longer before the tiniest of smirks played across his face.

"How many have you had?"

I just couldn't hide anything today. I looked back over to the bar to see Ryuu smiling and holding up three fingers. He must have been watching, reading our lips. I glared at him playfully.

"Heh, lightweight."

He turned back to get his own drink, which he must have set on the table as he turned to talk to me.

I wasn't about to let him win. I snatched the drink from his hand, letting a dangerously playful expression cross my own face.

"You must be more careful, Seto! Let me test the drink for poison! Who knows who might be plotting against the great and mighty Kaiba empire!"

The last thing I saw before blacking out was his face change from annoyance, to confusion, and finally, to shock.

--

After I had been released from the hospital, life became fairly plain. Marik and Odion had moved out of the tomb, of course, but I decided to still call it my official home for the meantime. Since the pharaoh had moved on, I had slowly been deciding what texts and other heirlooms could be donated to museums. It was my eventual goal to find a permanent home on the surface, but I couldn't just leave everything, not yet. I completely understood if Marik never wanted to come down here ever again.

That isn't to say I spent all my time within the tombs. In fact, I mostly was living in one hotel or another, traveling with the ancient Egyptian exhibit I oversaw. But instead of spending all my free time back home, I found myself visiting Domino whenever I could afford to.

Yugi had actually taken the passing on of the pharaoh quite hard. I visited him whenever I could, lending an ear and sometimes even letting him listen to my troubles. It must be hard losing your closest friend, especially when he's closest in every sense of the word.

Strangely enough, after the poisoning incident, Kaiba and I developed a quiet sort of friendship. It had all started when Mokuba gave me a call thanking me for saving his brother and invited me to "hang out" with him since his brother was so busy all the time. I had thought it strange. A young teenager usually doesn't ask adults to "hang out". It wasn't unusual for the younger Kaiba to show such kindness and concern, but this still just seemed farfetched for him. I managed to ask him about it, but he didn't seem to mind sharing his reasons. We were in a special room of the main Kaiba Corp building full of all kinds of prototypical video gaming systems, the main tester of these being Mokuba himself. Despite being glued to his game, he managed to keep his side of the conversation fluently.

"It's funny, actually, Brother has been even more uptight and cranky than usual after that night. I think it had to do with you... You know."

"Hmm, I suppose he doesn't like feeling as if he owes something, especially to me."

He laughed, still executing every virtual movement flawlessly and without effort.

"Haha! Yeah, that's for sure!"

Things just moved on from there, I suppose. I became Mokuba's temporary shadow-ee of sorts when Seto became especially busy. Simple "hello"s and "good day"s became sincere greetings, rather than warm ups for rivalrous banter.

But what were these strange feelings of forlornness that would threaten well up inside?

It had all been a dream.

--

Soon, I had forgotten the dream.

Later, I had forgotten the feelings of forlornness.

Now, new dreams took their place.




"At last! I've found you!"

"Wh-who...?"

"Now you must find me."

--

"Come find me."

"You know where to go."

"But... why there? There is nothing there now but rubble."

"The dream is not an illusion. Come find me."

That was often how the dreams went. Mostly without vision, just a voice swirling in the blackness. The one thing I did see was the sacred ground of the final passing of Pharaoh Atem. But that tomb had collapsed after the Items had been returned. What was there for me to see? Why did I not question the reality of this voice?

I had taken a boat to the sacred land, just like last time, and memories of the pharaoh's final voyage flooded my mind. Despite my seemingly endless knowledge and confidence, I had not slept that night, full of doubt just as everyone else was. What would have happened had Yugi lost? Was it even important? Perhaps all it would have signified was that there was something left unfinished by the pharaoh, some darkness yet unconquered. Had that truly been his only chance for eternal peace?

This night, I was just as sleepless. But this time, something felt... Off. just what or who exactly was waiting for me? Should I be so trusting? What if this was some dark magic?

These questions were shaken off as the unspeakable draw of those dreams pulled me ever closer to my fate. I watched the sunrise from the bow.

The walk there was extremely lonely. The wind pushed at my back, as if to hurry me along, sand striking the back of my calves.

As the tomb came into view, I quickly noticed a strange sheen in the air. This wasn't a desert mirage, oh, no. It didn't vanish as I got closer. In fact, it only seemed to become brighter. Soon enough, I was face to face with it. I stopped only momentarily to hesitate, but some inexplicable feeling was drawing me closer to the tomb. It was not unlike a feeling of desperation when one tries to remember something they obviously knew, the thoughts just not forming solidly in the mind.

I stepped through. The wind died instantly, and the tomb in front of me looked as if it had been built far more recently than I knew for a fact it really had been.

"Come inside!"

The voice from my dreams! It filled my mind, clear as the sky over my head. For a reason I could not place, I rushed down the stairs of the tomb, fully restored, no longer collapsed as I had left it.

Inside was exactly how I remembered. But as I scanned the room, I noticed the Millennium Stone had a single item within it. The Millennium Necklace.

"Yes! Take it!"

I truly hesitated now. I had thought I was free from this! Free to live my own life!

"And so you are... You really don't remember?"

"Remember? Remember what? Why is it here? I had thought the Items were sealed forever!"

"Take the Necklace and I will show you."

I gave in.

I approached the Stone. I knelt on my knees beside the head of it, the resting place of the Necklace. I finally removed the Necklace and cupped it in my hands, feeling the all too familiar shape.

What felt like a massive earthquake suddenly shook the room and knocked me to the floor. By the time I could make myself stand, the ceiling was already falling down all around me. I was trapped. I would be crushed.

"The dream is not an illusion!"

Damn this curiosity of mine.

--

I stood in a blisteringly cold darkness. What I supposed was the moon gave off a minute amount of light, allowing me to see the snowflakes falling in front of my face.

And I saw her too. For a fraction of a second, I had thought I was standing in front of a mirror, then I quickly realized how different she really was from me. Her relatively pale skin shone in spite of the darkness.

"Finally, we meet."

I remained silent. I was still holding the Necklace. It took me a minute to remember just what had happened before this moment.

"You said you would show me."

"Yes. Can you hear them?"

I listened a moment, only hearing the snowfall.

"What am I listening for?"

"Your family... Your friends... Your love. The dream is not an illusion."

It was as if those words unlocked something in my mind, in my heart. I listened again.

Their voices reached me.

"Please, Ishizu, please come back..."


"You can do it, Ish..."

It wasn't all a dream! The memories flooded me, all at once, overwhelming me with their clarity. I fell to my knees and sobbed. How long had I left them? I've experienced months upon months! Surely my body would have died by now!

"You have been asleep just under five days."

"I have to go back!"

I was frantic, grabbing onto her shoulders, the tears freezing onto my cheeks as they fell.

She just sighed sadly.

"It's too late. It was too late for that when that snake dragged you in."

"Then what are you trying to do, if making me remember won't help anything?!"

The pauses between our words were excruciating. She simply looked at me apologetically.

"You had intended to free me when you entered your mind. I have simply been helping that process along. Fortunately, the Dark One is not the Eye of Horus, so he does not know that the Thief's attempts had not been in vain. Your help is the final step to my freedom."

I fell once again to my knees in disbelief. Trapped! Used! I was in complete shock.

"The Necklace?"

I threw it angrily at her feet. I wanted to curse her, but I could only weep. She picked it up calmly, then looked back down to me.

"There was nothing I could do. All I can do for you is what you have just heard. Maybe with this knowledge you can hold on to those memories and withstand the final stage of the shattering."

Shattering? My heart had already been shattered!

"There is still hope."

I looked up at her, waiting for her to say more. She just looked to the Necklace in her hand. She squeezed it, and with a burst of blinding light, it seemed to explode into a golden dust.

"I am free. I now know the truth, and that has broken his hold on me. Ishizu, you have allowed me to destroy his final anchor within me."

I watched as she too began to glow with a soft golden light. The wind began to pick up, tearing at the edges of her form, flowing away like a golden sand. Her eyes lingered just a moment, filled with gratitude and regret all at once.

"Thank you."

Her eyes vanished, leaving me alone in the now blistering wind.

I lay down in the snow, waited for my body to freeze.

--

I felt my body suspended, weightless. I slowly moved an arm.

Water.

Instead of panicking, I opened my eyes to see the surface not too far above me, sunlight piercing through. I saw a shape pass under the light. From the shape of the creature, I could see it was a crocodile.

That's when I snapped to reality. Or whatever this was. I frantically swam for the surface, not even thinking about how I must have looked like some injured animal, ripe for the picking. I broke through the surface gasping for air, immediately swimming to the closest bank.

I swam directly next to a crocodile, invisible with it's dark, murky coloration. But it ignored me. In fact, it made way. That didn't prevent me from essentially alerting the entire river's population of crocodiles that I was vulnerable with my frantic flailing. Still, none came.

I reached land and tore directly up the steep bank. I reached the top muddy and hyperventilating, and I collapsed onto the sand.

I lay there for quite some time. The sun had begun to dip towards the horizon, and still every living thing treated me as something apart. I was nothing but a non-living, yet animate object they simply just made way for or ignored when still. Birds pecked at the ground right at my feet.

I began to think. My mind was haunted by the words of my brother, Ryou, Ryuu, and Seto.

Seto always did have the worst timing.

Days, weeks, passed. I knew these were only fractions of time back in the forest, but that was little comfort. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to explore, and food was surprisingly plentiful. I wasn't even sure I needed sustenance in this place, as I found I could go a whole day in this hot, dry land without any water and weakening, but my body still craved. In my exploration, I had come to find I was in a desert. I could only guess the river I had emerged from was the Nile, what with the monstrously sized crocodiles and the herd of hippopotamuses I found one day.

I was especially surprised to climb a dune to see the Pyramids in the distance. My hope of having other human beings, real or not, to talk to was quickly shot down. I would find no one. This was simply a dream, more or less, after all.

I waited by the river's edge. From the start, I desperately clung to those memories, even as they threatened to smother me with their oppressive reality, making obvious the surreality of my current state. I carved all the names I had learned throughout my lifetime into the bark of trees, arranged pebbles to make mosaics of everything familiar, from the Sacred Oak to the Millennium Ring. I tried to manifest it all in some physical way. However, time was my enemy. Even in the beginning, I knew my perception of the passage of time would start to chip away at everything I held onto. The trees healed, grew, and died. The pebbles were swept away by wind and rain. No matter what stroke of genius I had thought I reached, time would find a way to conquer. I would soon give up on these efforts against time, entrusting everything to myself only, sealing it all away within my heart.

Remembering would slowly become more and more tedious. Their faces would fade into oblivion, reflecting the decent of my own mind into itself.

"There is still hope..."

End