A note from WingedShinobi: Finally summer vacation! Hopefully, I'll be able to update more often now that is, only if people REVIEW. I'm also thinking of deleting this story, if no one bothers to review.

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Reunion

Deep within Kurelna, Rena found it hard to keep her hopes up. The air of the village choked away at her hope of being rescued. The bonds around her wrists began to irritate her skin. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to be far away from this hellhole. She started gnawing at the rope that bound her, but even after a few minutes, she hadn't made much progress; it was too thick for her to gnaw on. Then, she looked around for something that she could use to lacerate the rope; she found nothing. The frustrated Rena leaned against a wall and let out a loud scream.

Out of nowhere, a voice called to Rena. "My dear, are you really going to give up now?"

Surprised, Rena looked around. "Who's there?"

"Rena…I'm a lot closer to you than you think…"

"Where are you?" asked Rena, "Are you some sort of spirit?"

The voice chuckled, "I thought you were smarter than this…"

Rena saw someone appear in front of her. At first the figure looked like a grown man, but as the figure continued to take form, she realized who it was.

"F-father…"

Atem and his group wandered carefully around the village for Bakura and Rena. The air around them made it hard to breathe. It was almost as if they were boxed in a very tight space. One soldier ahead of Atem was trembling so badly that he fell, but the soldier never hit the ground. A hand popped out from underneath the soldier, grabbed his foot, and dragged him to the depths of the earth. Atem's horse reared back from where the hand popped out. Then silence followed the departure of the soldier. Atem scanned the area carefully, but found nothing. Another soldier looked down at the hole that was formed when the departed soldier was taken. All he saw was complete darkness. After the long silence, a skeleton jumped at the soldier. The soldier drew his sword and took a swing against the skeleton, but a blade formed out of nowhere into the skeleton's hand. The two fought, but the skeleton proved to be the better fighter. In just a blink of an eye, the skeleton knocked its opponent's sword from his hand, and stabbed him through the heart. Then more skeletons popped out of the ground, armed with swords, and ready to fight. Shada raised his hand and his Dia Diank began to glow.

"Double Jackal Headed Warrior, arise and destroy!" cried Shada.

A flash of light came out of nowhere and Shada's Ka took form. It lashed out against the skeletons. Mana stared with fear written all over her face. She mind told her to help fight, but her body did the opposite. Then she remembered something her teacher told her before he died. …Protect the Pharaoh… Her body finally obeyed her mind. She raised her staff and created a flash of light that turned several skeletons into dust.

"Nice work, Mana!" complimented Atem.

Mana turned to Atem and gave him the thumbs up. Atem smiled back, but a skeleton that avoided Mana's spell snuck behind Atem and tried to land a thrust on his body. Its attack was stopped instantly by another Ka that came out of nowhere. Atem spun around and saw the Black Luster Soldier standing before him. Behind the Black Luster Soldier was an overjoyed Rena.

"You're late, Pharaoh…" said Rena sarcastically.

Atem almost tripped while dismounting his horse to reunite with Rena. "Rena…I'm so glad to see you safe…" He wrapped his arms tightly around her body. Rena smiled and did the same. They looked into each other's eyes and held each other close enough so that they could hear the beating of their hearts. However, the reunion was cut short by more skeletons. Atem remounted his horse.

"Mana, Shada, take care of Rena for me." Ordered Atem.

Rena stood in front of Atem's horse and protested, "I'm not letting you go alone!"

"Rena, I don't want you to put yourself in danger again!" cried Atem, "I don't want to lose you! Let me pass, I need to settle this with Bakura."

Rena shook her head, "If you want me to be your wife and queen, you need to realize that you can't just go off and do everything on your own. You'll need my help too! If I'm going to be your wife, we need to work as a team to deal with problems like this!"

"But I just…." He looked into her eyes once again. They were glowing like an eternal fire. She wanted to get back at Bakura as much as he did. Atem sighed and smiled. He extended his hand to her and she mounted his horse.

"Mana, Shada, you take care of things here! The two of us are going after Bakura."

Mana and Shada nodded at the Pharaoh and continued fighting. Atem and Rena rode off deeper into the village. They finally arrived at an entrance that lead underground. They looked at each other and dismounted. The two carefully entered and walked down the stairs. The atmosphere was filled with pure hatred, when you breathed in, it felt as if everything would be over. Rena sensed the hatred of an immense number of dead spirits. These spirits were bound to the earth, unable to pass into the afterlife, all because they despised the royal family. They reached a great chamber where they found their villain who was sitting on top a strange stone.

"Welcome to my village, Pharaoh!" greeted Bakura, "I do hope you've enjoyed our hospitality in Kuruelna."

"I'm afraid to say that your hospitality has been the worst I've ever seen." Replied Atem, "Now then, Bakura, shouldn't we settle this once and for all?"

Bakura laughed, "You're so rushed to let your girl see you die. If its death you want, then we'll give it to you."