AN/ Sorry about the huge delay in posting any kind of update. I have been in a rut with my writing, mostly due to real life circumstances. In addition, I am now living in South Korea because of my job. I do have intentions of continuing my fics and rewriting to improve many of them—I just can't give much promise on time at the moment. Sorry.

And, as always, please read, review, and enjoy.

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Gema's Personal Disclaimer: I'm putting this in front of every chapter I write, so no one can miss it.

First, the obvious, I don't own anything trademarked or copyrighted.

Second; These are my fics, so y'all will have to deal with my writing quirks. Do not bother telling me about my spelling choices, like Yu-Gi, Joe, Millennial, or whatever else they may be. These are not mistakes, they are intentional. Therefore, I don't want to hear about how they are other wise spelled. If spelling bothers you that much, then leave.

I, and everyone else, do not appreciate personal attacks. My fics are what are open to being criticized, not my character. Attacking me is libel, and I will report it as harassment.

I will not include profanity in my writings. Deal with it. Also, I do not appreciate profanity in reviews, so please don't include it. There's over 600,000 words in the English language. I am sure y'all can use something besides profanity.

Some review etiquette should be observed. As says at the bottom of each review page "It is extremely helpful to use this opportunity to comment on an aspect of the story that can be improved. A well rounded critique is often the most rewarding tool for the writer." I would appreciate constructive reviews. "Please continue" is not very helpful. Reviews that are solely demands for updates or explanations about a lack of updates are not helpful. And please, use recognizable grammar when reviewing. A review isn't very helpful if I can't read it.

Please check my bio from time to time. If I am on vacation or something and cannot update, that will be in the first few lines of my bio. I'll try to let y'all know if there's an update delay, so please check.

Feel free to contact me either through IM or e-mail, that information is in my bio as well.

Now, most of you aren't the problem, but this is for the few that are. This might come across as crabby, and I'm not really like this, but I've been pushed to my limit because of certain reviews.

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Yu-Gi, Joe, Tristan, and Rebecca were all seated around the narrow table inside Rebecca's grandpa's RV while the others stood. There was no where else for them to go—the lab and residence of Prof. Hawkins was nothing but rubble and ash. The sun was beginning to descend in the sky and Rebecca was clearly in no condition to travel anywhere at that moment. Yu-Gi sat awkwardly as Rebecca clung to him, sobbing. He seemed uncertain as to whether he should move his arms to comfort her despite his discomfort. Téa watched, attempting to verbally comfort her—but her hands were subconsciously tightened into fists. It was awkward and quite in the crowded RV—the guys talked in lower murmurs as they tried to decide their next course of action.

“It's those same guys from Industrial Illusions and you know it,” stated Tristan. “They're the only ones who'd do something like this.” As he talked about Prof. Hawkins' abduction he sounded annoyed and frustrated, and logically so. He ran his fingers through his hair to prevent himself from slamming the table with fists.

“After that display there, I'd have to agree too,” said Duke with a much more composed demeanor.

“It's...it's awful,” stated Téa, a bit distantly. She glanced beyond Yu-Gi and Rebecca and out the window to the crater that had once been a home.

“But...but why would someone do this to my grandpa?” asked Rebecca, her tone somewhere between a weak attempt to compose herself and the fringes of a wail.

Yu-Gi shifted slightly and attempted to tell her gently, “Probably...because of what he was researching. Remember what we talked about at the museum?” Rebecca didn't immediately respond, so he continued to try to coax a response out of her. “Remember how your grandpa was trying to research how old the game of Duel Monsters is?” She nodded once.

“But, why would they be interested in knowing how old it is? Isn't that a plot hole?” asked Kenyon as he leaned against the wall with his hands casually placed in his pockets.

“It's what he found with Duel Monsters that caught the attention of that “dark cooperation” Pegasus mentioned,” explained Yu-Gi.

“Oh! Then that's a pretty cool plot twist,” commented Kenyon with his usual grin. Miranda shot him a warning glare and he coughed twice and went sheepishly quiet.

“I know we don't know each other very well, but shouldn't we call the police in this situation?” asked Miranda.

“No!” exclaimed Rebecca, leaping to her feet and planting both palms on the table. Her sudden movement caused Joe to snap awake from his semi-dozing state. “That will put my grandpa in danger!” She sounded genuinely panicked by that concept.

Yu-Gi hesitated for a moment while Rebecca slid back into her seat beside him. She buried her face and forehead into her hands as she did, a faint whimper or moan barely audible from her lips. Yu-Gi glanced at her, concern written across his face mixed together with uncertainty with a hue of self-consciousness. He made a small cough before he continued speaking, still painfully aware that he didn't know how to help Rebecca—if there was anything that could help her at this point in time.

“Rebecca...do you still have that pendant?” he asked, softly.

“Pendant...?” she echoed.

“The one I gave your grandpa when we arrived.”

She made a small noise of agreement with her lips still closed and reached under her collar. After a second or two of fumbling she pulled out a small green stone on a thin silver string. It pulsed as it caught the final beam of sunlight for the day and darkness completely descended across the surrounding desert. Although it was only a small sliver, everyone in the room instantly locked their eyes upon it. For two beats it was as still as a breath. Kenyon was the first to move.

“The philosopher's stone!” he exclaimed in a loud voice while pointing directly at the green rock, causing everyone present to face fault massively. While they were still picking themselves and their jaws up he continued, “But...wasn't it destroyed at the end of the first Harry Potter movie?”

Miranda then elbow him hard in the ribs and he took the hint. She then clutched her head lightly with one hand, winced to hide a groan, and slumped slightly as she leaned further into the wall.

“That...That's the same stone those bikers had, isn't it?” she asked, although by the stone's appearance alone it was clearly meant to be a rhetorical question. “What is with this aura? It calls...but it's... What is it? Painful...is that the word I want to use?”

“May I see it?” Yu-Gi asked, holding out a hand. Rebecca nodded and silently passed it to him.

“Do you think that's what they were after?” Tristan asked. Yu-Gi nodded once, although not convincingly. He let Yami Yu-Gi take control and Yami peered at the stone intently, catching it at different angles in the light and rolling it around on his palm—looking for something, but uncertain what that was.

“We still don't know where to find them,” Duke pointed-out, twirling a spare die idly between his thumb and forefinger. “We really shouldn't waste any more time here. We need to find them and get Prof. Hawkins back.”

“But we hit a dead end. We don't know where to find them,” Tristan said with a hint of frustration.

“That's not quite true,” stated Yami Yu-Gi. He held the stone on his open palm. “This is what they want, right? Since Prof. Hawkins doesn't have it, they're sure to return.” Rebecca's lower lip quivered in fear at that thought. Yami, lacking the empathy his counterpart had, didn't notice and continued talking, “We don't have to do anything but wait.”

“That does make sense...” Duke murmured, trailing off as he couldn't decide if it was truly the best idea or not.

“Well, if we're waiting, let's eat! I'm starved!” suggested Joe immediately and enthusiastically.

“ I can't believe you're thinking about food at a time...” Téa started to scold him but was interrupted by a low rumble from her own stomach which caused her to abruptly stop speaking and flustered. Her face flushed pink slightly and she coughed, ducking her head slightly to hide her blush behind her brown hair.

“That settles it, food first!” continued Joe, brightly. “I'll even do the cooking!”

“If you're cooking I'm not eating,” Téa said with low sarcasm.

“You don't mind if we use your kitchen, do you Rebecca?” asked Tristan, rising from his seat. Rebecca numbly shook her head and Tristan took a step and a half over to the kitchen unit of the RV. He put his hand on a cupboard drawer but Joe pushed by him and swung the refrigerator open widely.

“Dibs on the food!” claimed Joe, eagerly as his whole body seemed to disappear inside the fridge. A moment later he surfaced with an entire chain of sausages in his mouth and a content, dopey smile on his face as he munched.

“Eat this!” shot Tristan, high kicking him in the head while Duke, Miranda, and Kenyon watched the spectacle in disbelief.

“Is he...always like that?” asked Miranda, timidly. Tristan, Yu-Gi, Téa, and Duke all nodded once in unanimity.

Tristan began pulling out a pot and some pans while Téa selected some meat and vegetables from the refrigerator and lined them up along the rather small counter. Kenyon had to step to the side, nearly into the small bathroom so that he wasn't in the way of the preparations. Miranda stayed standing near the front of the trailer and Duke rose, offering to help with the meal, while Yami Yu-Gi and Rebecca remained seated. Yami inspected the green jewel in his palm one final time before tying the ends of the silver cord around his neck for safe keeping. No one seemed to have noticed that Rex Raptor and Weevil Underwood had long since disappeared.

The sun had set outside and it was now completely dark. There were no street lights this far outside of the city and with the lab gone there was nothing left to produce light. A thin trail of smoke from the rubble still wafted towards the stars. It was eerily quite beyond the RV; coyotes could be heard distantly. A barely noticeable wind sometimes called through the rocks. But everything was dark and still.

Miranda looked around, trying not to feel too awkward given the situation. While dinner simmered, her uncovered eye landed on a phone next to an idling laptop. “Rebecca...do you mind if I make a quick call?”

“Are you going to order pizza?” chimed Joe, expectantly. Miranda ignored him.

Rebecca made a small sound of allowance in her throat. “Yeah, sure, it's okay.”

“Who are you gonna call?” asked Kenyon. “The people from Rent-A-Zilla to find out why they're after the philosopher's stone?” His usual smile never faltered as he spoke with all the seriousness that existed within him.

Miranda let out an exaggerated exasperated sigh. “Gema. We should try to find out where she went to after all, right?”As she spoke she stepped over to the phone and paused a moment, considering what number to dial. She then decided to dial 411 and found the public number for the local headquarters of Kaiba Corp.

The food was nearly done cooking by the time she got through the voice mail and roundabout of automated messages. Due to the appearance of Duel Monsters on the streets of most cities across the world, the call volume at Kaiba Corp had dramatically increased, forcing them to channel it through voice mail. Miranda was rubbing the bridge of her nose in frustration when a familiar voice finally answered on the other end.

“Hello, Kaiba Corp. Helpline. If you have any reports about a Duel Disk malfunction or a haywire holographic projection we will gladly take any and all information you have and help you to rectify the situation. May I start with your name?” the human reply came.

“Gema?” asked Miranda, slightly surprised.

“Miranda?” Gema said, equally surprised from the other end.

“What are you doing answering phones at Kaiba Corp?”

“Well...” started Gema, sounding rather happy as she told her story. “Back at Industrial Illusions...”

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Seto and Mokuba Kaiba were quickly walking together towards the exit of the Industrial Illusions complex towards a jet shaped like a Blue-Eyes, White Dragon in the parking lot. Gema was following softly behind them, watching Seto Kaiba without blinking as she hid behind a decorative pillar in the main lobby. Her heart pounded in her ears as he placed a hand on the door handle, about to leave, possibly forever.

Without thinking, let alone making a plan, she hurried out from behind the pillar and blurted out. “Please, wait Seto Kaiba-sama!” She followed up her flustered exclamation with a formal Japanese-style bow. Both Kaibas stopped and turned.

“Um...It's Gem-something, right?” asked Mokuba, trying to recall the introductions from before.

“Gema, yes,” she hastily agreed, still flustering, still doubled over in her bow. She could feel the ice cold ice burrowing into her neck. Once again, the words came out of her mouth on their own. “Can I please have a job?”

“What?” the both echoed in unison.

Gema winced, but it was too late to withdraw her statement so she repeated it all the while mentally scolding herself. “I shouldn't have been watching Spirited Away with Kenyon last night!”

“A job?” Seto Kaiba again asked in disbelief.

Gema straightened herself up halfway and nodded. “Yes...I would please like a job, Seto Kaiba-sama.” She babbled, too nervous to stop herself but even more nervous by continuing. But babbling was better than the alternative—having him walk out of the door. “I know with all the chaos Kaiba Corp must be very busy and so I'd like to help out—you don't even have to pay me, I'll volunteer! I just want to help you and I'm very good with computers, I've even done some basic programming with Excel and...”

Kaiba let out a loud breath, cutting her off. “Fine, if you go to the main Kaiba Corp headquarters and speak to the manager of human resources they might be able to find you something.” He turned again, not thinking she would seriously travel all the way to his corporation's office. His mind was also preoccupied with other thoughts about the current crisis and he hadn't even bothered to listen to half of her rant. “Let's go Mokuba.”

“Right, big brother!” chimed Mokuba and they both strolled out.

Moments later, the Blue-Eyes, White Jet was flying into the distance and Gema was getting onto the first bus to downtown Los Angeles.

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“And, so I got here and they put me to work on their helpline,” Gema concluded. “You wouldn't believe the mass amounts of calls we've been getting about Duel Monster sightings! I've been designing my own compilation—a macro on Excel while I answer the calls so that way we can track what sightings are real and what are hoaxes and even follow the travels of the monsters.” She took a breath. “But the best part is, Seto Kaiba-sama is on the top floor, right above me! I'm in the same building, working for, Seto Kaiba! I never would have thought it was possible but he's here and I'm here and...!”

“Woah, Gema, calm down!” exclaimed Miranda. “But it is good to hear you're okay.”

“I haven't felt this good in a long time,” Gema answered, her tone simply beaming.

“Anyways...about those Duel Monster sightings...one moment,” started Miranda. Duke made a motion that caught her eye so she transferred the call to speaker so everyone in the trailer could hear. “Everyone wants to hear—what's going on with those Duel Monster sightings?”

“The official statement from Kaiba Corp is that the sightings are caused by a malfunction in the duel disk holo-projector system,” answered Gema. “Seto Kaiba-sama insists there's no problem with his programming and suspects its malware from Industrial Illusions that is causing this massive glitch.”

“Yeah, right!” shot Joe sarcastically, his mouth full of food. Miranda let out a growl of frustration under her breath and fingered her bell tucked into her pocket.

“So where are you? All of you?” asked Gema, taking note of the different sounds she was hearing in the background.

“We're at Prof. Eagle's place,” Kenyon instantly answered, still smiling.

“That's Prof. Hawkins,” shot Miranda. “Gema...you haven't heard anything unusual lately, have you?”

“Besides a report that a lady was convinced a Soul Tiger was stealing her laundry, not really.”

“Prof Hawkins' laboratory was blown up by those same people we met at Industrial Illusions,” explained Miranda.

“What?!”

With interjections from the rest of those present, Miranda quickly and briefly explained to Gema everything that they had seen, learned, and experienced since they parted ways at Industrial Illusions. She asked the occasional question as the story progressed and in the end everyone was quite surprised to see the same themes reoccurring throughout.

“Who are these bikers, anyways?” asked Gema, mostly rhetorically.

“Back in Domino, they called themselves DOOM,” answered Tristan. “Not that that helps any...”

“It just all gives me a bad feeling...” commented Téa as she stacked the dinner dishes along the counter to dry.

“Well, why don't you keep an eye on things there and we'll let you know if anything turns up here, okay?” suggested Miranda to Gema.

“Right, that sounds like a plan,” agreed Gema, nodding although no one on the other end could see her doing so.

“Oh! One thing!” exclaimed Kenyon, jumping away from the section of the wall he had been leaning against. There was a quick pause before he continued. “Does Kaiba know anything about the philosopher's stone?” Everyone who heard his remark crashed into the ground.

Miranda, who was the first to pick herself up, pulled the bell out of her pocket, causing it to make a very faint tinging sound. That sound was all too familiar to Kenyon and he instantly stiffened up, his blue-green eyes going a fraction wider.

“Shuttingupnow,” he said in a single breath.

“Listen, I'd better get back to work,” said Gema. “But keep me posted if anything turns up, okay?”

“Promise,” agreed Miranda and they both hung up.

Miranda turned around and glanced at the others crammed into the RV. Téa had her back to everyone as she finished washing the last dish. Tristan was drying and putting them away, reaching towards a cupboard near the roof of the trailer. Joe had kicked his feet back and was lounging with his legs resting on the table. Kenyon and Duke were near here, sitting on a small sofa and listening to her conversation. As she hung up the phone Duke stood up and made a gesture, offering his seat to her before walking over closer to Téa and Tristan. He tossed his dark hair and was about to say something when Miranda interrupted with an observation.

“Where's Yu-Gi and Rebecca?”

“Huh?” asked Téa, turning around while drying her hands off on a spare towel. She glanced at the table where the two had been sitting but their seats were empty. In addition, there wasn't anywhere else they could hide in the small RV. “They were right there...”

“Maybe they went to the bathroom,” suggested Joe with a shrug, picking his teeth with the edge of his nail, his other hand resting on his stomach from the meal.

“At the same time?” asked Téa in disbelief, fighting the urge to roll her eyes.

“Oh, they just went outside,” Kenyon answered. “Maybe they needed to get some air or wanted look at the remains of the lab or something.”

“Why didn't they say anything?” asked Duke, mostly rhetorically.

Miranda replied with a shrug and pulled a small book out of backpack. She sat further back on the sofa, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible and opened to the index, holding the book closer to the left side of her body due to her eye. Kenyon shifted beside her, allowing her room to move her elbows.

“What's that?” asked Tristan, noticing the book in her hand as he sat down opposite of Joe at the narrow kitchen table.

“Hm?” she asked, pulling her attention away from the book. “Oh, this is The Handbook of Ancient Wisdom, the treasure-house to superstition and other folklore.”

“Ancient wisdom?” echoed Tristan.

“I thought with a name like Seal of Orichalcos I'd find it in here, but it looks like there's nothing on it,” she answered with a sigh, still fingering the index.

“Hm, nice thought though,” commented Duke with a nod.

“Yeah, it wa—,” started Miranda but she suddenly gasped in surprise. Her exposed eye grew distance, not focusing on anything present in the trailer. A tremor ran through both of her hands before she clutched at her face, the book falling into her lap before sliding onto the floor. A faint moan of pain and fear escaped from her lips as her eye continued to remain distant.

“Miranda!” gasped Kenyon, leaping to her feet the moment she first gasped.

“What happened?!” demanded Duke, stepping forward to help.

“No, don't!” exclaimed Kenyon, grabbing his wrist before he could reach his friend. “She's done this before. Best to not touch her or move her until she snaps out of it.” His usual carefree demeanor vanished for a moment, replaced by a brief serious expression hidden beneath the surface. A moment later Miranda took a series of deep breaths and his usual smile reappeared.

“What—was that?” she gasped, her eye wide open

“What was what? That's our question!” said Duke.

“You're freaking us out here,” agreed Tristan.

“I'm freaking myself out, I just had a scene in mind but it's one I've never seen before...” she answered, still sounding shaken. Her hands gripped her knees to prevent them from shaking. She gulped down more air.

“What did you see?” asked Kenyon, his calm mood helping her.

She shook her head a moment to clear it. “It was a large stone room—like a temple. The were three snake statues—I think they were an altar.” Her voice wavered. “Then, then there was a dark figure standing in front of it, a man with eyes different colors. There was a bright flash of green light and...and...” She took another deep breath. “He turned and looked right at me. Right at me! Then I came back here.” She glanced away, her hands clenched and pale.

“Wow, what a dynamic cut scene this time,” murmured Kenyon.

“This time?” echoed Duke. “You mean this kind of thing has happened before?”

Kenyon nodded but Miranda gave the verbal answer, “This...this is the first time I had this sort of vision.” She shook her head again. “He looked at me! He shouldn't...no one should be able to!” She tried to sound calm but the panic in her voice couldn't be masked.

“Let me get you a cup of tea or water or something,” volunteered Kenyon, taking two steps towards the kitchenette and opening the refrigerator.

“Are you sure you're going to be okay after something like that? Don't you need to lie down...?” asked Tristan, sounding a bit incredulous. Miranda didn't reply.

“Why would she read something like this?” asked Téa, stepping over and picking Miranda's book off of the floor. She flipped through the first few pages, attempting to briefly understand the contents buried within the pages.

Kenyon shrugged as his mess of blond hair appeared over the refrigerator door, “Miranda likes those kind of books. It's her job or hobby or something.” He walked over and handed Miranda a still-sealed bottle of cold water. “Here.” He offered her a broad, reassuring smile.

“Oh, thanks,” she murmured, still on edge, accepting the offered drink.

“Don't mention it,” Kenyon smiled back. “Just take it easy tonight, okay?” She nodded once, distantly hearing him, drifting into her own thoughts.

“Geesh, you'd think we'd be used to strange things like this,” interjected Joe, to break the awkwardness that had fallen around the trailer. “With everything that's happened when Yug's around, this shouldn't be nothing.”

“What do you mean?” asked Miranda, slowly, her head tilted slightly. “I haven't sensed anything 'strange' about him.”

“Well if you consider the Shadow Realm and the Millennial Items normal then Yug's perfectly normal,” answered Joe, casually.

“Joe!” scolded Téa, but her remark came a bit too late.

“Shadow Realm? More magic my handbook doesn't have archived?” asked Miranda, her tone nearly impossible to read.

Téa continued to shoot a deadly glare in Joe's direction, warning him to not continue on the subject. Joe, his mouth already opened to explain more, coughed several times. Téa gave Miranda and Kenyon an unconvincing smile to let the matter slide while Tristan rubbed the back of his head, looking awkwardly at the floor. Miranda look to Duke for an answer but he replied with a shrug.

“My book is brand new, how can this be missed...?” she asked in a small voice.

“Well, whatever it is, you've got our help,” beamed Kenyon. He spoke energetically with exaggerated motions as he continued. “We'll take on Rent-A-Zilla, fight off the dinosaurs, help Superman, destroy the evil ring, conquer Hades in the underworld, send Capricorn back into Inkheart, and recover the philosopher's stone, all before bed time!”

Unfortunately, no one shared his energy. When he finished with his small speech it was so quiet in the RV that a cricket could be heard chirping. However, that didn't bother Kenyon one moment. He rubbed his messy spikes but still continued to grin broadly. Miranda let out a small breath and shook her head at his antics.

“He seriously is always like that, isn't he?” Duke asked her, softly enough that she was the only one to hear him. Miranda answered with a slight, single nod.

“It's going to be a long night,” sighed Miranda, her eye sweeping around the RV to the window, glancing up to the multitude of stars that were sparkling like jewels above the desertscape.