Destiny and the Dragon

Author's note: Well, it's finally here. The final chapter of our little story is ready, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I've got some more stories in the works, so check the Sonic the Hedgehog section soon. Right now, I'd like to give a shout-out to all the people who've stuck with this story from start to finish. Luna, Princess of the Shadows: You always had an enthusiastic comment to make, and, as far as I can tell, reviewed almost every chapter. Just mentioning, Serenity being Kisara's reincarnation, while sensible in a lot of ways, is purely speculation. Dark Dragon Mage: I'm glad to see you could make it to the party! I hope work on your own story goes well. Moonlit Haze: I really do appreciate all the nice things you had to say about my writing. Reading your reviews always makes me smile. Now, at last, it is time to bring this story to its conclusion. Or is it…?

Copyright info: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! If I did, though , you can bet we'd see a lot more Seto Kaiba(and, considering he already appears a lot, they'd probably have to rename the show "The Seto Kaiba saga", or some other, less crappy, title.).

Continuity info: First, I'm using all Japanese names, as well as personalities (in short, Jounouchi isn't going to have that heavy New York accent, and Bakura won't be British). Thus, Joey is Jounouchi, the Millennium items are sennen items, and so on. Finally, the actual continuity is kind of a mixture of the manga and anime. This takes place after Battle City, but the Noa saga did not occur. However, in the manga, Yugi immediately uses the God cards to open up the doors to Yami's memory world. In this, like in the anime, he must wait until the appropriate time. Also, this is going to act as an alternative to the Memories arc in the manga so I can add my own little spin on the ancient past. Enjoy.

I want to run away,

I want to know the truth

I want to know the answers,

I want to shut the door and open up my mind.

"Runaway Reanimation", Linkin' Park

Epilogue: The Light of Our Souls

By Blue Eyes Shining Dragon

Just as Kisara managed to stand up, supporting herself on Seto's shoulder, Yugi and the others entered the building. Seto was quick to note the absence of Shadi, but he could care less what the mysterious Egyptian did with himself, so he didn't bother to mention it. Jounouchi was quick to note the position Kisara and Seto were in but, for once, chose to keep quiet and let the pair have their moment. Malik, however, was not as sensitive. "So…what do we do now?" he asked.

Seto shot a glare at Malik, but answered, "Ryou is still out there. Until we find him and stop whatever it is he's up to, I think it'd be best if Kisara continued to stay with me and Mokuba."

Malik nodded, but Jounouchi and Mokuba were silently snickering. Seto didn't feel like bothering to silence them. Kisara at last stood on her own two legs and said, "That sounds like a good plan…although I will need to get the stuff from my old home first."

Seto nodded. Yugi, who had reverted back to normal now that the duel was over, piped in. "That's great! Oh, uh, Kaiba…by the way, if you don't mind…when you go to Kisara's old house, would you give us a ride to the Kame game shop?" he asked.

Seto grinned slightly. "Sure, why not?" he muttered.

Jounouchi practically fainted on the spot. Mokuba smiled proudly, and Yugi just grinned. Malik and Rashi turned to leave. "In that case," Malik said, "you won't be needing our help in getting home, so we'll go to ours and tell Ishizu the good news."

He and Rashid exited the building, and shortly after, those still inside could hear the revving of their motorcycle, and after that, the sound of their driving off. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go home!" Mokuba said enthusiastically.

Yugi and Jounouchi stood in front of the Kame game shop waving goodbye as Seto's limo drove off towards his own mansion. Seto and Kisara had already gathered Kisara's belongings and were quite prepared to head home. Yugi smiled. "Well, that turned out nicely." He said in his usual optimistic manner.

"Agreed. Kaiba is quickly becoming a true duelist." Yami said, eagerly anticipating the next time he and Seto would duel.

Jounouchi, unaware of Yami's comment, folded his arms and grinned goofily. "Yeah…I guess…Kaiba's a jerk, but even HE deserves a happy ending."

"Some things never change…" Yugi laughed as he and Jounouchi entered the shop.

Honda and Anzu were there waiting, and happily greeted their friends as they entered. After the duel with Kaiba at Domino Square, they had lost track of Yugi and Jounouchi, and had decided to head back to the Game Shop and wait for them. Honda practically bowled Jounouchi over in a big bear hug, eventually putting his friend in a noogie. "Hey, ya big lug! We were worried sick about you! Where were you?" he asked, both angry and happy.

Jounouchi was too busy laughing at his friend's behavior to answer. As for Anzu, she had literally picked Yugi up off the ground and was holding him tightly. To Yugi's unintentional delight, she was squeezing him face-first into her chest. Anzu was either too excited to notice or had done so on purpose, because she did not seem to care. "Oh, Yugi! You had me…us…really scared!" she cried, correcting herself mid-sentence.

Reluctantly, Yugi squirmed out of her grasp. "Thanks for your concern, Anzu." He said, blushing wildly.

Yami mentally laughed at his partner's inexperience with the opposite gender. However, despite the happy atmosphere, Yami felt concerned. Yugi sensed it immediately. "What's wrong, partner?" he asked, trying to calm down after his brush with Anzu. "Everything worked out; Seto destroyed Akunadin, Kisara is safe, and the whole ordeal is over!"

Yami, however, was not so optimistic. "That is exactly the problem, Yugi. It isn't over. We still don't know who it is who hired Bakura to frame me in Ancient Egypt, and we haven't used the Egyptian God cards to restore my memory yet."

"Oh", Yugi replied, "I forgot."

Yami remained stern. "I fear that this is only the beginning, Yugi…the worst has yet to come…"

Bakura silently cursed to himself, standing alone on the top of Domino High School. He had lost both the Sennen Eye and the Sennen rod, and Akunadin was destroyed in the process. Bakura had never much cared for the priest, so it was no loss on his part. Still, he suspected his master would be none too pleased to learn of the casualty. It would be dawn soon, and when that time arrived, he would have to relinquish control of this body back to its natural host, so as to avoid suspicion on the part of his school. Until then, he was content to stew over his defeat. He had hoped Akunadin would do his job; the three White Dragons would have been a valuable asset in the coming battle, and having them on the enemy's side meant trouble for Bakura and his allies. It was at that time that one such ally appeared behind Bakura. He was a tall, muscular man with light blond hair that spiked upwards and curved around his ears. He wore a black leather coat, biker gloves, and sunglasses. "Raphael." Bakura greeted, grumpily.

The large man grunted in response. "The Master is growing impatient. We've assembled the game company as a front for our operations, so we're ready to begin attacking in full force now. The attack will begin in three days. Until then, be sure the Pharaoh does not successfully use the Egyptian God Cards to open the gate to the Memory World. That is all the Master wants you to know." He said.

Bakura nodded. With that, Raphael bounded off the rooftop to another nearby building, and slowly continued to do so until he was gone from view. Bakura clenched his fists in anger; he should have been able to do his job before the time for the full attack was ready! He knew that the Master would not be pleased with his failure to procure the Sennen items before the attack began, and that meant the payment he received for all his troubles would be deducted accordingly. He snorted indignantly. Still, he had time to make up for it, and he swore on the spot that, no matter what, he would obtain all the remaining Sennen items. He just wished he had more time.

Seto opened the door to his mansion slowly, allowing Kisara and Mokuba to enter first. For her part, Kisara was awed by the sheer size of the Kaiba home. "Wow," she said, "and I thought you were being nice when you let me stay at your business building…"

Seto chuckled at her reaction, turned on the lights, and closed the door. Mokuba collapsed on the nearest couch. "Man, after all that, I'm exhausted." He sighed, flopping into a lying position.

Seto reached into his coat, muttered "You hardly did anything…", and pulled out the Sennen Rod.

He wasn't sure exactly how it had gotten there, but seeing as how he had felt it immediately after awakening from his battle with Death Imposter, he assumed it had something to do with Akunadin using it on him. How it got there wasn't important to him, however. What WAS important was giving its sole inhabitant a second chance. "What are you doing, Seto?" Kisara asked.

Seto took the three Blue Eyes cards out of his pocket, and placed them on a nearby table. "Really, really hoping this works." He answered, pointing the rod at the cards.

Seto had never used a Sennen item before. When he had made contact with the Sennen rod in the past, its actions were all beyond his control, whether it was sending him the vision of Kisara's death at the Battle City tournament, or allowing Seth's soul to possess his body. Now, it was time to use the item by his own power. With no better idea of how to operate it, Seto simply held tight, and thought long and hard about activating it. To his restrained delight, it worked. The rod glowed brightly, and the Blue Eyes cards acted similarly. Involuntarily, Kisara walked over to the table the cards were on. Seto noticed it, but quickly figured out the cause, and continued to will the rod's powers to work. At last, he received the results he wanted. From the rod, the spirit of Seth materialized, while Kisara's spirit emerged from the three Blue Eyes cards. For a moment, the two spirits looked at their new surroundings, but their roaming eyes quickly found each other. "Wha…" they both gasped simultaneously.

Seto grinned amusedly. Seth turned his eyes to his modern-day form. "You…did this?" he said.

"I owed you." Seto responded dryly. "You saved me from Death Imposter, and I always re-pay my debts. Now, go on. You two have a lot of catching up to do." He answered, ending in a chuckle.

At the same time as Seth and Seto were talking, the two Kisaras had also begun to talk. "So…I guess it was you who sent me those visions?" the modern Kisara asked.

Her Egyptian self nodded. "I had to help as much as I could, even if it didn't amount to much."

The modern Kisara smiled. "It was enough."

Suddenly, a white light emerged out of nowhere. Only Seth and the Ancient Kisara could see it, but the others in the room could feel it. Seth, realizing what it was, extended his hand to Kisara. "Shall we?" he asked, politely.

Kisara smiled, and took his hand. "Why, Seth, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you loved me."

Seth could only chuckle silently as he and Kisara stepped into the light, and vanished. Seto was the first to notice the spirits' representations disappear. "I was right." He said. "Bringing those two back together allowed their souls to move on."

Kisara grinned. She walked up to Seto, but as she did, he put the Sennen Rod down next to the Blue Eyes cards, and walked away. Mokuba, who was far too tired from mental strain to take notice of anything which had happened previously, sat straight up at Seto's callous action. "Seto…", Kisara started, sounding disappointed and curious.

Seto continued walking, removing his large white duster as he did, and throwing it on top of Mokuba without really noticing. "Look…", Seto said. "I appreciate what you're trying to do, but this relationship isn't going to be easy."

He stopped walking. "I can't just flick a switch and change who I am. It's going to…take time for this to work." He said, almost melancholy.

Kisara smiled. "I can wait." She said.

She again moved to Seto. This time, he did not move away from her. He knew that Kisara was more than willing to try and make their love work, and he had to be too. Thus, he turned around to face her. At the same time, Mokuba had just gotten Seto's duster off of him. When he turned to yell at his older brother, the shout died in his throat. Seto was standing there with Kisara. The two hugged one another tightly and affectionately. The raven-haired boy reached into Seto's pocket, pulled out a camera, and sniggered silently as he took multiple snap-shots and planned on what to do with them.

Seto either did not notice the rapid clicking sounds, or did not care. For the time being, he simply held Kisara, and felt happy. It was a hard-earned happiness, but it was one he was determined to make last. Still, he knew this was, in no way, the end of his battle. It was only…

The Beginning