A/N: Don't own YGO. Thank you to Caorann fridh Bronach (I decided to use wolverine instead of wolf in regards to the fact you pointed out) for beta reading. Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. We are almost finished. '…thoughts…'

"I, er, forgot to mention the fact that sometimes I'm afraid of heights!" Tristan yelled, clinging tightly to the blue dragon, which was, of course, Seto.

Good for you.

"Humph." Tristan entertained the thought of giving his transportation a good swift kick. Sighing, Tristan averted his watering eyes to the land below, struggling to keep them open against the wind's force and the sudden vertigo he was experiencing. "I wonder how they're doing down there – oh! Seto, there's Yami and Duke and-" The dragon beside the two knights on foot gave a horrific roar. Tristan gulped and hoped this dragon was as friendly as Seto was… The knight frowned. He had to be out of it; Seto was not exactly the friendly type…

Seto roared back, clearly communicating in a different tongue.

"What are you two saying?" Tristan shouted. "Whoa!" He'd nearly had the living daylights scared out of him – Seto had taken a sudden drop in flight, zeroing in on the red dragon.

In a forest of darkness, the only light that could be seen came from lit torches and the moonlight seeping through gnarled, twisted branches. Like a herd of cows, the Relorian people had to make their own paths towards the Western Sea as best as they could for there were many obstacles before them. Deep grown roots that still showed themselves on the surface caused a few to trip and fall, bruising their knees against the numerous stones that littered the ground. Branches scraped cheekbones and the shadows that often found in such a close-knit forest seemed to reach for the humans, as though the shadows were monsters that had sprung out from behind every tree.

"How come they couldn't stay in the city again?" Mokuba asked, panting as he ran alongside Ryou. The two had to stay ahead of the throng of people in case they encountered any threat at the edge of the forest; there were few men able to defend themselves as most of the men of Relor were with the King.

"If they stayed in the city, they would have been slaughtered by the Delyans, murdered without mercy," Ryou said grimly, not wanting to acknowledge Bakura as his brother. "This way, at least, we can stay far from Bakura's army for as long as possible until the King returns with our army and drives them away. Also, we mustn't forget Yami and the other Knights; they are fighting out there, too."

At this, Mokuba thought of Seto. 'I hope he's okay.' Still clutching Ryou's shield, Mokuba leapt over half a log that had somehow fallen into the way that he and Ryou were currently running through, creating a useable path with others following close behind.

All of a sudden, Mokuba heard a sound that made his blood run cold: the howl of a wolverine and the ear-shattering scream of a human. "R-Ryou?" Mokuba stammered, unsure of what to do as his pace slowed. "Did you-"

"Yes." Ryou immediately came to a stop, breathing hard. "Wolverines!"

"What are we going to do?" a person cried from behind the two males. "We have no weapons!"

"We should have stayed in the city – it's safer there!" another said in an angry voice.

Ryou had nothing to say to this. Being killed by swords or eaten by wolverines…definitely no win-win situation. He idly wondered which way of dying was quick and which one was worse. Shaking his head clear of morbid thoughts, Ryou focused on finding a way out of danger. However, his hopes weren't high; it was unlikely to have an entire city's population of people escape unscathed.

Although he was frightened, Mokuba tried to help out by coming up with a solution. "I survived for a month in the forest all by myself," he said. "Whenever I heard wolverines, I climbed a tree and they couldn't get to me."

Someone heard him. "Well, we don't have time to get the old and weak into trees and ourselves at the same time!"

Mokuba shrunk back, feeling about two inches high. "I…well, um…"

"It was a good idea, Mokuba," Ryou said calmly, "just not a practical one." It was beginning to look as if fighting back would be the only option. "The wolverines sound like they're towards the south. Some of the people must've gone that way," he said, suddenly sick in the stomach; no doubt those people had been mauled to death. "So far, the majority of the people are behind us." This was true. Many were now running past them, giving little thought to why they had stopped. "There is a good chance that the people can reach the mountains and defend themselves by rolling stones down or…" That sounded ludicrous! "Never mind. We'll have to risk it. Mokuba, go with the people. I will stay back and fight off any wolverines that come this way."

So now he was being deserted again! "No!" Mokuba protested angrily. "I'm tired of being left alone! I can help fight! It might not seem like I can do much, but I can! Just give me a chance!" the boy finished off in a shout. "I-I have your shield! I could distract them by reflecting the light of the moon off the shield!" he said excitedly. "That would stop them! I'd be in a tree so I'll be safe!"

"But for how long, Mokuba?" Ryou demanded as more people ran past them. "I am responsible for you, now, because Seto isn't here. I cannot let you put yourself in danger!"

"Ryou! Mokuba!" Momentarily distracted from the seriousness of their situation, Ryou and Mokuba looked up to see Marik and Ishizhu, the last of the people running by. "There are wolverines nearby!" Marik said, coming to a halt. "Our horses ran away form us in fear and it looks like yours did, too!"

Mokuba remembered their own horses getting away from them in the craziness of panicking people all over.

"They know about the wolverines." Ishizhu focused her penetrating gaze on the Relorian Knight. "What are you going to do? As a knight, it is your duty to protect the people."

Ryou refrained from delivering a snappy comeback (it took a lot to infuriate tenderhearted Ryou). Of course he knew that! "I'm thinking…"

"Just standing here won't help anything!" Marik unleashed his sword. "We must fight!"

"Part of the river extends into the mountains, does it not?" Ishizhu asked briskly.

Ryou looked at her questioningly. "Yes, but…"

"If I understand correctly, the river runs through the city from east to west and I'm sure there are other people living west outside of the city…some of them have to have boats or even rafts…"

Catching on, Ryou spoke, "…the wolverines won't venture into the water right away. Their battleground is the forest itself. We can escape faster by the river!"

"I suppose so," Ishizhu said, frowning, "but I was thinking more of crossing the river to get to the other side. There should be some shallow parts, too, for those who cannot swim."

"It's too late now to catch them and tell them!" Mokuba tugged on Ryou's arm and pointed behind Ishizhu. "And they're coming – the wolverines!"

Pressing his body tightly to the dragon's body, Joey closed his eyes and decided to leave everything up to the dragon. "I'm counting on you, you hear!"

Silly human.

"Argh, stop calling me that!" Joey shouted, not fully comprehending the fact that he was talking to a dragon. "I should call you something and see if you like it! On a second thought, you might eat me…"

I am called Zara.

"Zara?" Joey repeated and then yelped as Zara took a sudden dive. "You really need a saddle or something on your back!" he yelled, referring to the bumpy ride the dragon was giving him. "I'm going to be very sore when I stand on the ground again…"

"And now, as my men plunder the city of its worth, we will wait here, in the great hall of the King, for the King himself and his worthless army…and those worthless Knights." Bakura's thundering laugh carried through the air, sending a chill down Tea's spine.

"You won't get away with this!" Mai snapped, not afraid to speak out. While Tea was tied to the throne, at the foot of Bakura, Mai and Serenity were hanging from one of the beams overhead in a crude, cramped cage, obviously to be used as a bribe. Two men held them up by hanging tight onto a rope.

Aiming to spite her, the soldier said, "You two are heavy! How much bread have you been eating?" This earned a laugh from the other soldier.

"What?" Mai was furious! "How dare you!"

"Oh, Joey, where are you?" Serenity whispered to herself, clinging to the "bars" of the cage, longing for her brother and desiring for the princess to be freed.

"Settle down, wench." Bakura glared at Mai. "You're wasting the last hour or two of your life complaining about circumstances you cannot change."

"Well, excuse me, for crying out loud! Do you expect me to jump for joy when I'm in a cage?" Mai squeezed her hands into fists, wishing she could knock him out and with the way she was feeling right now she probably could with the sheer force of her anger instead of literally punching him in the face!

"My father will get here," Tea said, blue eyes flashing with extreme annoyance. "And when he does, you will wish you had never come to invade Relor!"

"Princess…" Bakura cupped her chin, forcing her to look directly in his eyes. "You are amusing. I should keep you as a court jester when I become King of both Delyan and Relor."

Too frustrated to say a word more, Tea tore her chin away from his grasp with a "humph" and stared at the marble floor, helplessly.

Suddenly, the shouts of men reached the hall and the soldiers came tumbling in. "Your Majesty," one of them shouted, "dragons! There are dragons, everywhere!"

"What?" Bakura stood up and headed for the balcony near the throne, shoving the crimson curtain out of the way and feasted his eyes on a rainbow of creatures landing at different points within the city. "Well, well, what another unexpected turn of events."

"That is the last magnificent sight you will ever see."

Not surprisingly, Bakura spun around to see Yami, armor and all, standing in the middle of the hall with the two soldiers that had come in, on the floor, knocked out. The other two soldiers holding the cage up, looked to their king for further instructions on what they should do.

"Yami!" Tea cried, tears of relief suddenly pouring down her face.

"So, you think your dragons can scare me?" Bakura asked, raising an eyebrow. "My, my, this is a sign of weakness! The great and revered Relor cannot stand against their enemies without relying on creatures they never believed to exist in the first place. How laughable Relor is in this moment," Bakura cackled, eyes as dark as the blackness of his heart.

"Yes, we are ashamed for our unbelief in the unseen forces protecting our land," Yami agreed, eyes not straying from his opponent. "There is only so much we can acknowledge as true with our eyes and ears. The dragons have returned – which I can most likely thank one of our knights for – and will protect the city and find the people and protect them as well, wherever they are. However, I am not here to discuss the dragons."

"Then what, pray tell, are you here for?" Bakura demanded in a low voice, hand on the hilt of his sword, knowing it would come to bloodshed…in his favor.

"I am here to kill you."

Outside, Tristan and Duke fought side by side, despite their differences, especially where Serenity was concerned. "I'm glad you are all right, Duke," Tristan said, genuinely caring for his fellow knight and friend.

"The same to you." Duke motioned for Tristan to follow him. "Come on. I hear some soldiers over here." He led the way through an alley, holding his sword in front for protection, which now mattered most to him instead of actually battling it out. Duke was still injured and would have to depend on Tristan to take out most of the soldiers before moving on. Plus, the dragons would be loads of help.

"Uh…don't look now, Duke," Tristan said as they emerged into a wide-open area where a fountain stood. "But we're surrounded."

"You don't have to tell me twice!" Duke cursed, seeing the enemies close in. "As far as I know, Delyan has no knights so they won't have a lot of experience fighting those stronger than them and believe me, we are stronger."

"Yes, but what about your injury? And there's no way we can successfully take on twenty men each!" Tristan swallowed hard, bracing himself for the inevitable battle.

"Don't forget about me – whoa!" Zara and Joey appeared in the nick of time! Zara gently grabbed Joey in her jaws and set him down in front of her. "Aw, dragon slobber… Tristan! Duke!" Joey grinned, unsheathing his blade. "Zara will help us out! We're going to defeat Delyan!

The enemies gave shouts of fear at the sight of Zara and most ran away save for the archers who decided to give it their best shot. However, much to their surprise and the Knight's displeasure, Zara suddenly lifted off the ground, creating a huge wind, and took to the air in flight, bound for a destination none of them knew of.

"Wha – come back, Zara!" Joey waved his arms wildly at the retreating dragon. "Where the heck is she going!"

"Who really cares right now?" Duke snapped. "Do you mind helping us out?"

"Oh, of course." Joey ran for his friends and stood by them with renewed strength and determination. Still, he wondered, 'Where is Zara going?'

A/N: This chapter differs from the others because I have a beta reader now. Didn't have one when I posted C10...a year ago...coincidentally, I got CfB as my beta reader after I posted C10.

A review would be greatly appreciated. It doesn't take long, you know.