A/N:This is a story I'm writing with my sister (who is AirGirl Phantom on this site). It takes place just after Battle City is done, but there are some changes. Millennium Items: Yugi has the Puzzle and the Necklace, Malik still has the Rod, Bakura has the Ring and the Eye, and Shadi still has the Scales and the Key.

In narration, Ryou is the hikari and Bakura is the Yami, but the other characters call the hikari "Bakura" and the yami "the spirit of the Millennium Ring" or Yami Bakura. Also, Malik is the hikari, Marik is the yami.

This is someone's thoughts.

'These are words spoken through a mind link.'

"These are spoken words."

This is narration.

This is a scene transition.


Ryou laid in his bed, sound asleep, a peaceful smile on his face. After all, sleep was his only sanctuary now. His dreams were the only place where he could escape from his life of imprisonment, if only for a short while... Absorbed as he was in his dreams, he couldn't sense the conflict building deep within his mind – more specifically, inside of Bakura's soul room.

In his soul room, Bakura was pacing around thoughtfully. He resented that his host's body required sleep in order to function. It took valuable time away from him that he could be spending executing his evil plots! And yet, as had been happening for the past few days, his resentment soon turned back onto himself. He was angry that he had failed, once again, to achieve his goals. In fact... he felt much more angry than he usually would have...

Suddenly, a strange burning sensation began to simmer inside of Bakura, in his stomach, and his heart and his head and knew that something was not right –

'Thief King,' boomed a deep voice, as a ripping, agonizing pain shot through his entire body, and he struggled not to cry out. Then, with one final jolt, Bakura felt as though he had been ripped in two – but after that, the pain started fading slowly.

He opened his eyes (he didn't realize he'd closed them), and saw before him a mass of shadows, engulfing his entire soul room, making it even darker than usual. Inside the shadows, a pair of glowing red eyes sat staring at him, bloody gems that held all the malice of the Shadow Realm within them. 'Thief King, you have failed me once again...' the booming voice said again. The shadows fluctuated as it spoke, and Bakura could only assume it was the two red eyes talking – the eyes he knew must belong to the demon he'd been trapped inside the Ring with for five thousand years: Zorc.

"Yes, yes, I know," Bakura snapped back. "But do not worry, for I have many a back-up plan..." But he suddenly couldn't remember what his evil plans were. And then, he completely lost the desire to have any evil plans in the first place. His anger and rage and sense of self flowed away from him rapidly, straining through his desperately clutching fingers, and Zorc just laughed at him.

'No you don't. You have nothing without me, except for your memories from Kul-Elna,' Zorc growled. Bakura imagined there would be a smirk on his mouth, if the demon had indeed had a mouth. Surprisingly, the Thief King found himself afraid as the shadow beast came closer to him and continued, 'At first, your vague desire for vengeance made you the perfect vessel for my powers – but I see now that you are obviously unfit for them. You cannot manage to defeat the Pharaoh and his friends. And for your failure, you shall PAY!'

With that, the shadows and the red eyes disappeared, leaving a less-than-happy Bakura to worry for his own safety... and to ponder the sudden hole that had opened up inside him.

Outside of Ryou's head...

Shadows slowly seeped from the Millennium Ring around Ryou's neck. He remained asleep for a moment, but then the shadows began to chill the air in the room, and he shivered awake. He mumbled incoherently for a moment, rubbing his eyes. Then he glanced about the room, irritated at being awoken so late at night, when he spotted the shadows creeping all over him.

Letting out a cry of shock, Ryou was immediately fully awake, but it was too late for him to run. A tendril of darkness approached him, and plunged into the Ring around his neck, stabbing the Eye of Horus in the center. Ryou winced and held his hands over his face, expecting something to happen to him, like terrible pain or a blinding flash of light or a trip to the Shadow Realm... or all of the above.

But nothing happened. The shadow that had attacked the Ring stayed absorbed in it, while the other shadows all sank out through his walls and floor and ceiling, and a pair of blood-red eyes faded from view along with them. Ryou sighed in relief. Nothing to worry about, he hoped... Then he heard the agonized screams of his yami coming from his soul room.

Malik lay in a bed in a hotel room. He, Ishizu, and Odion were staying here for a few nights while they prepared their trip back to Egypt, to live all together for the first time in years. A smile crossed Malik's face at the thought – he was so glad to have finally seen his mistakes, to be rid of the darkness inside him. He felt warmth crawl around inside him as he thought about all the friends he had made, and the family he had regained.

Suddenly, just as he was drifting off to sleep, he felt a chill overcome him. He shivered, and tried to snuggle further into his covers, but the coldness persisted. Irritated, he opened his eyes to see what was preventing him from going to sleep – and saw purple-black clouds of shadow seeping up from his bed, covering his body.

He let out a yelp of panic and jumped up off the bed, grabbed the Millennium Rod from the nightstand, and backed away from the shadows. But they slunk right back to him, engulfing him in their icy suffocation.

"Master Malik, what is wrong?" came the steady, concerned voice of his step brother, Odion, who had been sleeping on the couch until Malik's yell awoke him.

"Brother, are you all right?" said Ishizu from the other bed in the room, also awakened. But Malik couldn't answer either of them. He couldn't speak at all. When his siblings noticed the shadows coiled around him, they immediately rushed to his side, but not before a dagger of darkness plunged into the Eye of Horus on the Millennium Rod in Malik's hand.

In his soul room, he felt the tendril of shadow attack the corner where the remains of his yami were locked up, never to be completely gone, but never to be revived... or so Malik thought. The shadow hit the seal on Marik so hard that it shattered, but not hard enough to completely penetrate it. Instead, the dagger of darkness bounced right back at Malik, and unspeakable agony filled him. His voice was returned as the shadows retreated, and a scream of pain ripped through his throat. He heard the concerned yells of his siblings, and he also heard insane laughter echoing through his head... And then, all fell into silence as he passed out.

Across the city... The shadows assaulted Yami and Yugi too, leaving Yugi standing in a panic inside of Yami's soul room, trying to shake Yam i awake. Luckily, the Pharaoh awoke after only a few minutes.

"Yami!" Yugi exclaimed in relief. "Are you all right?"

Yami winced before he spoke. "Besides a pounding headache, yes, I am fine, aibou." He made an effort to smile into his hikari's worried face, and was given a smile in return. Though the crisis was over for now, both of them knew they had to find out what happened... Little did they know, Shadi had also been attacked, and undergone the same pain that Bakura, Malik, and Yami had. But, unlike all of them (except Bakura), he knew exactly what it was that had attacked him... All he needed to do was find his way to the Pharaoh before it could attack him again.

Malik awoke in his bed when the crack of sunlight shot between their hotel curtains. He could tell that Ishizu and Odion had been waiting for him to gain consciousness but had drifted asleep. Malik tried to remember what had happened late last night, just a few hours ago. Overwhelmed by the thought of Marik's seal breaking and him coming back, Malik took a walk outside in the early dawn mist. A quiet laugh erupted and quickly faded in his head. Malik was starting to sweat that what ended would soon come back.

Meanwhile...

Getting ready for school, Yugi stared down at his Puzzle thinking that what ever happened to Yami last night could have happened to anyone else. Like someone with a Millennium Item. He was thinking of calling Bakura when his grandfather called him down because Téa was there to walk with him to school. Yugi figured that he'd see Bakura at school.

While walking to school... 'Yugi is something bothering you? If it's about what happened to me, I'm fine.' Yami had brushed his and Yugi's mind together.

Yugi replied in exhaustion and worry, 'How could you be sure that you're alright Pharaoh? You just passed out in your soul room for no reason.'

'Well before I felt some dark shadows heading toward the Puzzle and it went through me, like a lightning bolt. I felt a connection, like I wasn't the only one who got struck.'

Thinking to himself, Yugi knew that he had to get in touch with Bakura. But also Malik. Yugi then wondered about Shadi, he had two Items. Trying to forget about the fact that they were gonna probably have more trouble, Yugi focused going to school and hanging out with his friends.

Téa noticed Yugi looking troubled and deep within thought. She nudged him saying, "Yugi, are you okay, because you seem worried."

"Well, last night-"

Joey and Tristan came barging in. "Hey guys! Look at this new and powerful Duel Monsters card I got!" Joey shoved his new card in Téa's face. Téa swiped the card so fast that it took Joey a few seconds to tell that it was out of his hands. Before he could yell "stop" Téa bent down and slid the card into a sewer drain. She slowly walked back with anger glued on her face, deadly staring Joey and Tristan down for interrupting.

"SHUT UP YUGI WAS SAYING SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT!"

"Téa, you just threw away my-"

"Yugi is saying something!" Tea looks back at Yugi with sweet and kindness. In a gentle, caring voice, "Now. Yugi what were you saying about last night?"

Yugi looks at her a little frightened but quickly answered to not let any more frustration, "Well, last night Yami passed out in his soul room, but after a few minutes he regained consciousness." His friends gasped.

"Oh man! What happened to him?" questioned Tristan.

Yugi explained, "Well Yami said that there was a darkness that went into the Millennium Puzzle and went through him. Also he could tell that others have gone through the same fate." Yugi looked down.

Téa asked, "What do you mean by others?"

"I mean like other Millennium Item holders." Yugi sighed.

She gasped, "When you say that your talking about Bakura and the Ring?"

Before Yugi could say anything, Joey rolls his eyes and said, "No, Téa, Kaiba and his big money bags were attacked. Of course it's Bakura and the Ring!" Joey let out a loud sigh and looks down at Yugi to see if he would still answer Téa's dumb question.

Tea just stood there offended and was about to yell so loud when Yugi shot a suggestion to avoid fighting, he couldn't handle all of this at once. "Guys I'm pretty sure that the bell is about to ring, let's into school now."

"But Yugi how are we gonna find out about that darkness thing and the others?" Joey reminded.

"I'm not exactly sure, Joey. I guess we'll just figure that out once we got an idea. Oh, and sorry about your card."

Joey sighed twice for both problems. "Yeah, I'll tell you all about how I got it in school." Yugi and Joey caught up to the others and walked up the stars to the school.