Hey, everyone. Long time no speak. Sorry for the lack of updates; life has caught up with us! Thankfully, we have this chapter to give you. Enjoy, guys.

Somewhere in Domino City, three doors slammed at once.

Shoes were discarded at the door, thrown haphazardly to the side as they entered their residence.

Muffled footsteps sounded on the carpet as they went to settle down for the evening.

Three knocks were heard against those same three doors, all at the same time.

They'd made their way back, pulling their doors open with laziness.

All at once, their eyes had widened at the empty doorway in front of them.

All at once, they had lowered their gaze to the plain white envelope that sat in front of their doors.

And all at once, one emotion bubbled in the three.

Pure, innocent, curiosity.

"Uh...hey, Elise. It's Yugi...I just called to...well, to see if you're okay. You left pretty suddenly yesterday, and the other m-someone said you weren't feeling well. I just wanted to see if you're feeling better, is all...a-and if you want to talk about anything, I'm here! I don't want to pry or anything, but I've been told I'm a good listener, so...just...let us know you're alright, Elise. We're your friends, and we're worried...okay? Oh, and one more thing; did you, by any chance, get a letter delivered to your door last night? Well, not really delivered, but...it was just...there, I guess? I got one, and so did Joey, and...I don't know. I guess...it kinda felt like you'd get one too, y'know? Anyway, we're all gonna meet up to discuss it later, so if you want to tag along, then feel free to! And if you don't...well, that's fine...but just...text me to let me know or...something...a-anyway, I'm gonna go. Sorry for wasting your time...B-Bye!"

Elise sighed, clicking her tongue as she held her phone above her head, staring at the screen with blank eyes. She'd listened to that voicemail God knows how many times, and yet still...her brain couldn't really comprehend his words.

One thing she did understand, however, was that that envelope she'd received last night had given her a bad feeling. And if Yugi and Joey had gotten one, too, then they were in the same boat as she was.

Something just didn't feel right.

She'd opened the envelope last night, surprised when inside, there had been only two things. A single Duel Monsters card, and a ticket. At least, that's what she thought they were, to start with. When she'd turned the card over to see what card it was - she'd only seen the back of the card, and had just assumed that it was normal - she'd been greeted with a blank card, devoid of anything but the words, 'THIS SATURDAY. DOMINO PIER. 11AM. BRING LUGGAGE & DUEL DISKS. DON'T BE LATE' on it's surface.

The ticket was for a boat, as far as she could tell. It was a hastily-made looking thing, and she guessed that the person who had produced said tickets had been in quite a hurry. The destination remained a mystery to her; the only thing that gave her any kind of clue at all were the words 'DLST ISLD' that had been printed in all capital letters on the centre of the ticket. She didn't even want to begin to think what that meant.

A part of her had honestly been curious; what kind of person had sent this to her? And why did they demand so adamantly that she attend this little...get together they'd arranged?

At first, her brain had thought Kaiba. She'd quickly ruled him out, however; this wasn't his style. He'd be flashy and over the top if he had something to announce. Unless, of course, what he wanted to discuss was top-secret.

Nah, he still wouldn't do this kind of thing. He was more of the 'kidnap you in the middle of the night to talk to you' kind of guys, not the 'mysteriously leave a note at your door' kind of guy. She knew him well enough to rule him out of the picture.

So then, who? Judging by Yugi's voicemail, he hadn't sent it, and neither had Joey. She wracked her brain for a face; someone who would do this kind of thing.

Her mind came up blank.

"...Dammit," she muttered under breath, biting her lip, "I wanted to keep away from them...but this is gonna bug me if I don't go...tch…"

She let out a groan, before clicking on the call icon of her phone, and bringing it to her ear. A few rings later, and someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Yugi, it's me. Listen...you got that card and ticket, too, right?"

"What the hell is this?"

Elise couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth as she stepped forwards, the ticket and card gripped tightly in her hand.

"Your guess is as good as mine, Hun. It's reminding me an awful lot of Duellist Kingdom, though…" Mai's voice sounded behind her, and she turned, watching as the older woman moved to stand next to her, staring up at the boat - or rather, cruise ship - with a frown on her face.

"Huh. Never competed in that one."

"You're lucky you didn't. That's when I met these dweebs," Mai sighed as she smiled, pointing back to Yugi and Joey who stood behind them, staring up in awe at the ship. Joey double-taked as Mai's words met his ears, and he scowled at her, not impressed.

"Whaddaya mean, 'these dweebs'?!"

"It was a joke, Joseph~"

Elise turned back to the ship, her eyes narrowing slightly as she watched a few crew members carrying boxes aboard.

"...You're not the only one with a bad feeling, Elise," Yugi piped up as he moved to stand next to her, sending her a timid smile, "I don't like this, either...something's weird…"

"And yet, here we are anyway," she muttered, not really speaking to Yugi, but more to herself, "we just couldn't resist coming to have a look...could we?"

"...I guess not," there was a smile in Yugi's voice, "after all, as soon as I saw the words, 'duel disk', it got me really curious."

"Can't stay away from the card game for that long, huh?"

"I don't have a choice. Being the King of Games means I always have to be ready for someone to challenge me…"

"Sounds tough."

There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but she couldn't be bothered to hide it. She too, knew what it was like to constantly be expected to have her A-game with her. And the fact that the one time she hadn't, the press had been on her like a pack of hungry hounds, irritated her to no end.

She'd never been particularly bothered by the press; the more positivity they spread through their articles on her duelling, the better off she would be.

"Well...congrats, anyway. On winning the tournament. You're a good duellist."

Her praise was sincere, even if it was blunt. No matter how much she wanted to be away from everyone right now, she still meant the words she threw at him. She wouldn't deny he was a great duellist; he'd bested Kaiba with what could only be described as ease, and she knew that took skill.

"Excuse me! May I have your attention, please?"

A woman's voice interrupted the chatter, and all heads turned towards the front of the ship. A young woman stood in formal business attire, holding a thick stack of papers. She glanced around her at the slowly growing crowd, before sighing and pushing her glasses up her nose.

"There are less of you than I thought there would be...no matter, to those of you who are here, thank you for getting here on time. We thank you for your patience. I understand that you all may have questions, but let me assure you, they'll be answered in due time."

Elise broke her gaze away from the woman, choosing to look around her at the quickly-growing crowd. Her eyes widened slightly, and she leaning down, nudging Yugi.

"Hey, Yugi...aren't all these guys-"

"Yeah...they're the exact same crowd from Battle City. I recognise a lot of them…" Yugi answered, looking around him.

A few faces, Elise recognised. Weevil Underwood, Rex Raptor. Throw in a few other competitors she'd duelled before, and you had yourselves a tournament.

"...And that's why our sponsor has decided to host a completely new tournament."

Elise clicked her tongue. She'd figured as much. She glanced down at Yugi once again, raising an eyebrow at him. He met her gaze, and chuckled a little, scratching the back of his head.

"I called it," he murmured, and she couldn't stop a smile from breezing its way onto her lips as she looked back up at the announcer.

"Now, if you would be so kind to fill in the appropriate forms, we can take you to the island this tournament will be hosted on."

"Aw, yeah!" Joey's excited tone yelled out, "just what I need! I was thinking that there needed to be another tournament to get my blood pumpin'!"

Mai quickly shut him up, bonking him atop the head with her fist as her face lit up in a blush as a few heads turned.

"Shut up! You're embarrassing me!"

Elise couldn't help but smirk. She knew they were probably both clueless, but Mai and Joey looked good together. After all, it was pretty obvious that-

"Hey, Elise?"

Elise was snapped out of her thoughts by Yugi's voice. She glanced down, shooting him a questioning look.

"What?"

"Are you going to be entering? The tournament, I mean?"

She inhaled deeply, looking up at the clear blue sky. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing the sound of the sea and wind to calm her, before opening them.

"Yeah. I'm definitely entering."

She had to prove she was strong. If not to anyone else, then to herself. She had to prove that she didn't need to anyone to be strong. To beat the odds. To beat this mark that had etched itself onto her skin.

"Definitely," she repeated, before looking down at Yugi.

"And you?"

"Yeah. No way I would miss an opportunity to duel against you. I've heard great things about your duelling, after all!"

"Well, this sucks ass."

Two days. It was going to take two whole days to get to this 'special tournament location' that the staff kept talking about. Honestly, Elise felt like diving off the side of the ship and swimming back to shore. She was determined to prove herself, but she wasn't sure if she was that determined.

"You said it, Eli…"

"...Don't call me that, Joey."

"Sorry."

She went silent, happy with his apology. She tilted her head back, staring out of the window and watching the waves sloshing back and forth. If she kept the staring contest long enough, she could probably doze off…

Elise, Joey and Serenity were currently slumped in the 'lobby' of the ship. Yugi and the others - Elise had found out that the rest of Yugi's little friendship group were tagging along as well - had gone to sort out arrangements for rooms and food, so the three of them had decided to hold down the fort until they got back.

Although, Elise wasn't sure why she needed to hold down the fort. It was the lobby.

"...Hey, Elise."

Joey's voice piped up from the couch opposite her, and she glanced up, eying him lazily.

"What?"

"...What's the deal with you an' Kaiba? I'm not tryin' to be rude or anything, but sometimes you're like a mirror image of the guy."

"Why do you want to know?"

She managed to keep her voice level as she spoke, but she looked away, not wanting Joey to see the way she'd grimaced at the mention of the duellist.

"Just curious. I'm not the only one. Everyone wants to know," he shrugged, yawning and stretching out in his seat, "but hey, if you don't wanna talk about it, it's fine. I'll just jump to my own conclusion. Like...I'm gonna believe that you dated the guy or something…"

"...Believe whatever you want to believe, then."

She didn't feel like arguing with him. The rocking of the boat was making her queasy, plus she was too tired to care.

"Y'know, Elise?"

"What?"

"...You ain't so bad. There were times during Battle City that I really didn't like you, but now...you're not bad at all."

"...Thanks? I think?"

"Don't mention it. Take it as a compliment from one duellist to another. Besides," he scratched his head, sending her a cheeky grin that she didn't quite catch, "I still owe ya for lettin' me win that duel."

"Heh," she snorted, "let you win? Dude, I didn't let you win at all. You got lucky."

"...Fair enough," he copied her, letting out a snort of his own, "whatever you say~..."

"...Y'know, watching you and Elise bicker reminds me of you and Tristan, Joey," Serenity murmured, letting out a carefree laugh.

Joey began to converse with his sister, joking and laughing with her and Elise, not feeling like joining in on the happy conversation, covered her eyes with her arm and inhaled deeply.

Maybe if she slept a little, she'd could ignore the coiling of the mark that adorned her hip that honestly felt like a worm was wiggling just underneath her skin.

She must've fallen asleep at some point, for when she woke up, she found herself in an empty lobby. The room was dark, which hinted that it was late at night, or early hours of the morning. She slid up out of her seat, stretching and cracking her bones, before looking around her.

She didn't feel like sleeping now. And she didn't feel like going to her room, either.

"Outside it is, then," she murmured to herself, walking towards the doors that led out onto the deck.

The night was surprisingly warm, despite how far out to sea they were. The wind whipped at her skin, but she honestly relished the feeling as she made her way around the deck, aiming for the front of the ship. If anywhere had a good view, it would be there.

She'd always loved ships, even when she was a child. She loved the feeling of the wind against her bare skin, and the smell of the salty sea air, and the cries of the gulls flying overhead.

Although, she guessed there weren't any gulls around at this late at night. But still, the memory made her smile.

She quickly made her way to the front of the ship, wasting no time in leaning against the metal railing and heaving out a deep sigh.

That was another thing that made her love boats. The utter...silence you got at night was unbeatable. The only sound you got was the lapping of the waves against the boat.

She couldn't help but smile as she closed her eyes and listened to the water below her. It almost felt like she was being carried away by the waves…

"There you are."

A deep voice caught her off guard, and she jumped a little. She turned her head quickly, about to snap out an insult at the person who'd made her jump, but paused when she noticed the familiar head of hair.

"...Hey, Yugi," she muttered, turning back to look at the ocean ahead.

"...Do you mind if I stand with you for a while?"

"If you can handle the cold, then go ahead."

She listened as the man's footsteps got closer, and she glanced to her left as she saw him lean against the railing.

"...It's quiet out here," he murmured after a moment, and she nodded, looking back at the water.

"Yep. I like quiet."

"I see…"

Everything went silent after that. The two simply stood there, side by side, watching the waves as they hit the boat.

"...Tell me something, Yugi," she started, causing the young man - or rather, the young Pharaoh at this point - to look at her, "what do you think this tournament's really about?"

"...I can't be certain," he said after a while, "but I've had a bad feeling ever since that envelope arrived...I can sense that something dark is about to unfold…"

"You can sense it? What, like ESP or something?" She joked, smirking.

"...Not exactly," Yami murmured, watching her out of the corner of his eye, "rather...I have a certain...affiliation with the darkness...it's been a part of me for a while, actually…"

"So like, you're into some kind of dark magic stuff, then? Hey, it's cool, I won't judge," she continued, shaking her head a little. He was pulling the wool over her eyes. He had to be.

"I myself, don't practise dark magic, but...maybe there was a time when I did...who knows? Not even I remember back that far…"

"Hey, you're not that old. I'm probably older than you, y'know."

"Somehow I doubt that…"

Elise felt a cold chill run through her as his words hit her. She didn't know why, but she wanted to believe him.

But magic...it didn't exist. There was no way.

Any other time, she would've disregarded it immediately, but now...after everything that had happened over Battle City, she felt like she had to at least consider it. And if the mark that moved on her skin wasn't proof enough that something dark was at work here, then she didn't know what was.

She sighed, looking straight ahead at the water, although her eyes became distant.

"...Maybe you did used to be able to use magic...that would explain why I keep hearing two of you."

Yami jolted back, causing Elise to flinch slightly. She watched as he stared at her in shock, opening and closing his mouth.

"...Yugi?"

"You...I was right...you can hear both of us...I wasn't mistaken…" he turned back to the railing, leaning against it as he inhaled deeply, before exhaling. She slowly turned back as well, staring straight down now at the almost black water.

"...I don't really get it, but...I always felt like you and the...other you were very different...so, which one's the real Yugi? Or are you both the real Yugi?"

She didn't know compelled her to say those words. At any other time - literally any other time at all - she wouldn't have even thought the idea of two souls in one body was possible, but now...with the way Yugi reacted, she was sure that something along those lines was happening. Either that, or he was crazy. That seemed much more easier to accept.

"...I'm not the real Yugi. The real Yugi is...well, let's just say he's asleep right now. The Yugi you know is a lot more timid and soft-spoken than I am. "

"Then who are you?"

Yami paused, the words getting caught in his throat. How did he even begin to explain something he didn't know himself.

"...I don't know who I am," he answered quietly after a long silence. Elise's eyes widened, and she glanced his way, watching his face change.

"I have no memories of who I am. I know I existed a long time ago, back in Ancient Egyptian times, but...that's all…"

"Not even your name?"

"Not even my name."

She felt a pinch of sadness settle in her gut as the now nameless man spoke to her. Her brain was still laughing at her, telling her how much of a fool she was for believing him, but...she knew he wasn't lying. The look on his face said it all.

"Well...you don't need a name to have an identity. Not really. I've changed mine so many times, I don't really know who I am, anymore, either…that's just between us, though..."

Yami watched her in awed silence as she closed her eyes. A sharp gust of wind hit her face, and her hair, although still tied in that familiar ponytail, shot out behind her harshly. She opened her eyes slowly, her gaze now hard as she stared ahead.

"Me and Yugi are linked, so...I take his identity when I need to...we have a bond…"

"That's good. You're lucky to have someone like Yugi."

"I am...we share a bond too, you know."

"Huh?"

She couldn't help but look at him, her hair whipping at her skin as he looked her straight in the eyes, his gaze boring into her own.

"We share a bond, Elise. I wasn't sure at first, but now I know you can hear us both, I'm sure of it. That mark on your body links us somehow."

"Wha…t?"

Her mind went blank. She thought no one else knew about her mark. Her eyes darted to her hip quickly, and she felt her body go cold. She looked back at Yami, freezing when his gaze pierced her own once again.

"H...What do you know about this mark…?"

Yami went silent, simply staring at her, watching her reaction.

"...Please, you have to tell me what you know...this mark...I don't know what it does, and...please, you have to tell me!"

She reached forwards, gripping at Yami's jacket as she stared into his eyes, pleading with him. If he knew what this was, then he must know how to get rid of it! He just had to!

If he got rid of it then...she could finally go back to her old life. She could finally be normal again.

"Please, Pharaoh!"

The words that left her mouth were not her own. Both Elise and Yami gasped, and she jumped back, her eyes wide. She covered her mouth with her hand, staring at him with an expression that showed fear. She opened her mouth to speak once again, to beg him to tell her what he knew.

This was her chance to get some answers.

"Haze? What the hell are you doing here?!"