Here is chapter 2!

I know that this chapter seems to focus only on Yami and Mariku, but as the story goes on, I will include the other parts with everyone else so they're not neglected ;)

I luv my beta! :D

Yugi to Yami: /words/

Yami to Yugi: ~/words/~

Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to me. If it did, you would know ;)

~Normal POV~

The first thing Yami was aware of as he regained consciousness was the change in scenery around him. There was grass below him and a blue sky above him. Trees shaded the ground and the sun shone brightly.

"Where am I?"

"Finally awake I see."

At the sound of the familiar possessed-sounding voice, the former pharaoh spun around to meet the sight of Marik. The tan yami was currently leaning against tree, staring off into space, looking bored.

The amethyst-eyed yami narrowed his eyes. "How long have you been here?"

Marik's amused gaze fell on him. "Metaphorically speaking, I have been here as long as you have, pharaoh."

Rolling his eyes in annoyance, the ex-pharaoh spoke again. "I mean how long have you been awake?"

The psycho shrugged. "I'm not sure. Could have been hours."

Yami blinked, eyeing the other yami with a distrusting look in his amethyst eyes. However, he took advantage of the silence between them and surveyed the virtual world around him. The clearing he had been lying in was surrounded by trees, almost like a forest.

/Do you think there's anyway out pharaoh? / Yugi asked, his voice echoing through his skull. The amethyst-eyed yami sighed softly, shaking his head unconsciously. Was there a way out? If there was, how was he supposed to get there?

~/I'm not sure. Wherever it is, we'll find it, I promise. /~

/Would you like me to take over Yami? That fall must have taken a lot out of you…/

The ex-pharaoh smiled softly at his hikari's concern. ~/Thank you Yugi, but I wouldn't put it past Marik to try anything. I want to make sure you stay safe. /~

/Well…alright. You stay safe too, okay? /

~/I promise. /~

"Are you done talking with that brat of yours?"

Yami glared at the psycho yami, annoyed at being suddenly jolted out of his conversation with his light. "It's none of your business Marik."

The tan yami snickered before turning away with a flare of his purple cloak. The ex-pharaoh raised an eyebrow as he watched Marik start to walk towards a pathway in the trees. When he noticed Yami wasn't following him, he stopped and turned around, half-lidded lilac eyes reflecting boredom.

"Are you coming pharaoh?"

Yami's eyebrows furrowed. What was the psycho up to now? "Where are you going Marik?"

Purple orbs rolled dramatically. "I can't be the only one out of the two of us that wants to find a way out of here. We'll accomplish nothing just standing around here and the sooner we can leave, the sooner I can focus on draining your power and controlling the world. So if you don't mind…" the psychotic yami held his hand in the direction he was walking expectantly.

The former pharaoh growled but knew that the other yami was right. They weren't going to find a way out if they just sat around and did nothing. Keeping his eyes trained on Marik, he walked forward. The darker yami seemed pleased that his enemy actually listened to him and continued walking.

Yami remained a safe distance away from the unstable Egyptian, warily watching him to make sure he didn't try anything. The walk out of the forest was a quiet one, neither yami speaking to each other. Although Yami caught Marik whispering to himself a few times, the pharaoh would merely clear his throat and the tan yami would smirk but then fall silent again.

Finally, they were out of the woods. In front of them was some sort of lake, more trees and woods on the other side. The ex-pharaoh stepped in front of the other yami and stood on the edge of the grass. Unconsciously grasping the puzzle in one hand he sighed. "It's a dead end."

Marik, who once again had he arms crossed over his chest, sniffed before looking around. Looking back at the water he snickered. "Why don't you try and swim across pharaoh?"

Yami glared at the sadistic yami. "Now is not the time Marik. I'm trying to find away around this."

"I'm afraid that won't be necessary." Another voice sounded. Both the ex-pharaoh and the tomb keeper trained their eyes on the water as ripples began to form on the middle of the lake. Soon, they got more violent and rising out of the water was something that looked like a duel monster.

The creature, once it was floating a few inches above the surface of the water, began to speak again. "I say, are you two familiar with the phrase 'it's time to duel?' If so then this is the last time either of you will ever hear it!"

Amethyst and lilac eyes met once as the yami's looked at each other in confusion. The creature seemed to sense this and a deep chuckle erupted from its throat. "Well now, it looks like you two don't recognize me. I'm deeply hurt. The name is Gansley, founding and loyal member to the Big Five."

Marik growled in annoyance. "This fool again."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Why have you taken on the form of a monster?"

The Big Five member didn't seem bothered. "Did you forget the rules of our tournament already? Remember the deck master rule? I have taken the form of my deck master, Deep Sea Warrior."

The ex-pharaoh didn't seem impressed. "You may be hiding behind a strong disguise Gansley but I know that under that mask is nothing but a feeble old man that wouldn't stand a chance in a real duel if your life depended on it."

The virtual man smirked. "You fool; once I defeat one of you I'll finally have a life again! Once I take over a body, I'll be able to escape this world forever."

Yami took an instinctive step back, shock mixed with anger in his eyes. Marik could feel anger overpowering the annoyance inside him and his eyes reflected it. How dare this fool threaten to steal the body it took him years to finally take control of!

Gansley sighed, almost longingly. "Oh to be young again…either one of your bodies will be a perfect fit for me. I might have to do something about those ridiculous haircuts though. So, which one of you is going to duel me?"

Before Yami could even open his mouth, Marik shouldered him aside, lilac eyes narrowed. "Nobody makes fun of my hair and gets away with it! I'll defeat this fool pharaoh."

The amethyst-eyed yami growled in annoyance before stepping in front of the tan yami once again. "No Marik. It doesn't matter how much we dislike each other, we must rely on one another until we get out of here. I don't want your anger costing you this battle. I'll duel this one"

The darker yami glared at the pharaoh in disbelief. At first, he was quite tempted to push the pharaoh aside, or into the lake, and defeat the foolish virtual villain that was before them. However, he knew that if he did lose the duel, he would be trapped and Malik's body would be lost to someone else forever. That was risk he was a little hesitant on taking since he was so close to winning the Millennium Puzzle and the other two Egyptian God cards. Plus, the pharaoh did seem to have the power, skill, and luck to win every single duel he fought.

Eyes narrowed in anger, Marik finally stepped back. The former pharaoh was a little surprised the sadistic yami listened to him but did not dwell on it. He needed to make sure that he won this duel so he could move on and find his friends.

"Mark my words Gansley, you and your partners will never succeed in trapping us here." Yami said, stepping closer to the water.

"Really? Well I sure hope you remember the new rules to this game because if you don't you'll lose for sure." The Big Five member said smugly, his arrogant smirk never leaving his face. The ex-pharaoh raised an eyebrow.

"You remember the deck master rule, don't you? You will pick a monster in your deck to serve as your deck master until the conclusion of the duel. Since I have already taken the form of a monster, I will serve as both the duelist and the deck master. Now, build your virtual deck."

Yami's facial expression didn't change. "With what?"

"With these" Almost at once, several columns of cards started to float in front of the yami. "Your cards aren't valid in this world so you will have to choose a new deck with cards from our card database."

Both the pharaoh and tomb keeper exchanged a glance. They both realized at the same time that if these cards were from Noah's database, there would be no Egyptian God cards to rely on in any of their duels. Yami sighed softly in annoyance, and began touching familiar cards, making sure he got the ones he needed to win the duel.

"Alright, let's start this duel." Yami said, activating his duel disk.

"How quickly we forget; you still must choose a deck master." The virtual man said, holding his hand out.

The ex-pharaoh took the virtual deck out of the holder and looked through the cards. 'Which card should I choose? If each deck master as its own special ability, I should choose wisely. Maybe the Dark Magician since he's never let me down before…' he thought, reaching for his favorite card.

However, when he made a move to take it out, the Kuriboh card next to it started to wiggle and move. Yami blinked back in shock. He was further shocked when a certain little brown puffball appeared out of the card and started flying around him gleefully. "Kuriboh?"

Marik burst out laughing. "Kuriboh? That's your all-powerful deck master, pharaoh? That pathetic little thing?"

"I agree. It is an interesting choice." Gansley said, amused.

The amethyst-eyed yami turned back to his opponent. "No wait, I didn't chose him…" he stopped when the little duel monster nuzzled his cheek lovingly.

"Sorry, but once a deck master is chosen, it cannot be changed."

"Great." The former pharaoh muttered with annoyance, pushing the furry monster away from him. Kuriboh looked back at him angrily, dark purple eyes narrowed.

Sighing, the yami spoke again. "I didn't chose you Kuriboh, but now we must work together to win." The little duel monster blinked before nodding in happiness.

Marik, who had his arms crossed again, snickered. "And you were worried I would have lost this duel."

The ex-pharaoh ignored the other yami and turned to face Gansley. "Kuriboh is my deck master. I am ready to start the duel."

Marik narrowed his eyes. 'The pharaoh had better win this duel. If he doesn't, he and his little brat will be trapped here forever and I'll never gain his power.' He thought, making sure to watch the ex-pharaoh carefully.

The virtual villain shrugged nonchalantly. "Suit yourself. Let's begin."

"Pharaoh…you'd better win, you hear me?" The psycho yami growled out. Yami looked at the other yami before nodding.

"Let's duel." Both the duelists said before drawing the respected amount of cards. Gansley eyed his cards before a minute before he spoke. "I think I'll start off, if you don't mind, and place a monster in defense mode. It's only a matter of time before I win this duel."

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Why is that?"

"Because I have the skills of a businessman in order to crush you. You have no idea of the tactics needed to take down someone of great power as me." Gansley said hotly.

Yami growled. "Obviously you know nothing about this game Gansley. Duel Monsters is about honor, trust and respect, not making deals nor having business skills." Drawing another card, he fished through the ones in his hand to place one on his duel disk.

"I summon the Obnoxious Celtic Guardian in attack mode plus one card face down."

The Big Five member chuckled to himself and the observing Marik stiffened slightly. Was that the move the businessman wanted the pharaoh to do? If so, what was he going to do to counteract it?

"Now my Guardian, attack his face down monster now!" Yami shouted and his monster quickly rushed towards the face-down card and slashed it in half with one swipe of its sword.

The Big Five member smirked. "Thank you my boy. You destroyed my Ashinigrai and its special ability forces you to discard one card after my monster has been sent to the graveyard."

The ex-pharaoh scowled before placing Exchange in the graveyard slot. "I have plenty more cards left Gansley."

The virtual man smirked before interrupting again. "My monster also has another special ability. It lets me summon another Ashinigrai to the field and shuffle my deck. So sorry but if you had done your need research, you probably would have avoided such an embarrassing loss."

Yami narrowed his eyes but remained silent. Behind him, Marik raised an eyebrow. "Is that really the best you've got pharaoh?"

The amethyst-eyed yami grunted before catching the tan yami out of the corner of his eyes. "I'm just getting started Marik. There's no need to worry yet."

Lilac eyes narrowed slightly. Yet? Was the pharaoh unsure about himself enough to not believe he would win the duel?

The Big Five member continued on by drawing one more card, smirking as he saw what it was. "You know Yugi, I'm a businessman and in the world of business, there are three secrets to success. They are important so I suggest you listen closely."

Yami narrowed his eyes, remaining silent.

Gansley continued speaking. "The first is to build a powerful work-force. With that in mind, I summon Ipiria to the field!" The card was slapped on the duel disk and almost instantly, a white lizard appeared from the card, hissing dangerously.

"With this card on the field, it lets me draw another card to increase my dueling options. Then I shall switch Ashinigrai to attack mode, thus building my workforce." Out of the card came out a multi-colored looking bird, it's screech echoing throughout the field.

Marik snorted in amusement. "Some all powerful card. It barely has any attack or defense points."

The Big Five member narrowed his eyes. "I would expect good duelists such as you two to recognize the importance of a monster on the field, not how many points it contains."

The tan yami narrowed his eyes even more, the glowing eye of Wdjat on his forehead shining even brighter at that comment. Yami turned to face him, his amethyst eyes holding a knowing look before turning back to face his opponent.

Gansley's smirk never left his face, not even when he drew his next card. In fact, it seemed to widen. "I sense great growth in power for me, Yugi, while you sink even further in debt. This shouldn't take too long…"

Beside the former pharaoh, Kuriboh began to squeak and bounced up and down excitedly. Marik's eyes focused on the duel monster. "It looks like the puff-ball is trying to tell you something, pharaoh."

The Big Five member chuckled darkly. "Your foolish friend is correct, Yugi. It's a shame the weakling can't communicate with you."

Two sets of purple eyes flashed dangerously as both Marik and Kuriboh faced Gansley with equally angry expressions. "Pardon me? Foolish?" the tan yami snarled out. The little brown duel monster seemed to be just as angry with the business man, furious peeps coming from its tiny form.

Yami glanced at the duel monster. "Stay calm Kuriboh, we can't win if we give in to his mind games." The furry deck master seemed to agree and calmed down.

Turning around, the ex-pharaoh glared at his unwanted follower. "As for you, stay quiet back there or you'll lose this for the both of us."

Marik's mouth opened in disbelief. "Me? Are you deaf, pharaoh? Did you hear what he called me?"

Yami rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "I heard Marik, but remember what I said? Just ignore him like you ignore everyone else you hate."

The psycho opened his mouth to say something more, but thought twice and closed it. He started to mutter to himself, his arms crossed more tightly over his chest. The ex-pharaoh rolled his eyes again before facing the opponent again.

Gansley chuckled again. "If you would focus more on the game and not on your dense little friend there, you probably would have the upper hand in this duel."

"Dense?"

"Marik, hush!"

The Big Five member was remarkably amused watching the two yamis argue back and forth. "I believe it's your turn Yugi. Draw and lets hope we are not so rudely sidetracked again."

Marik growled dangerously, the glowing eye on his forehead brightening again. Yami turned around to face him, amethyst orbs meeting lilac, warning him to stay silent. The insane yami, once seeing this, closed his eyes and took in a deep breath through his nose to calm himself down before meeting the ex-pharaoh's gaze again. "Just beat this fool."

Yami nodded. "I will."

Looking back at his deck, he drew one card and instantly brightened; Polymerization! This was perfect! Taking two more cards from his hand, he quickly began his move.

"I shall use Polymerization to fuse together my Berfomet and Gazelle to form Chimera the Flying Mythical Beast! Now, use Quick Attack to destroy Ipiria!" The former pharaoh's monster roared before spreading it's wings and darting towards the silver lizard.

Gansley smirked. "An interesting move, Yugi, but a very poor business decision! Now, it's time for you to pay the price!"

Yami narrowed his eyes. "Explain yourself, Gansley"

The Big Five member spoke again. "Remember, I have taken the form of Deep Sea Warrior and my deck master's special ability allows me to sacrifice my two monsters to create this!"

Both Yami and Marik watched anxiously as the two monsters were swallowed up and formed a ball of crackling, purple energy.

"Reflector Hole, bounce his attack right back at him!" the virtual man shouted. The ex-pharaoh watched in horror as his monster was engulfed by the ball on energy, then reappeared and attacked him instead. "No!" the ex-pharaoh cried out but the monster was already attacking.

The force of the attack pushed the former pharaoh back, slamming him straight into the other yami. Marik let out something that resembled a squeak of surprise as his arms were suddenly full of the ex-pharaoh. Kuriboh looked back at him, worried.

"Looks like your life points are starting to drain, along with everything else you have." The businessman taunted.

Yami narrowed his eyes before shakily straightening himself from the tan yami's grip. Marik eyed the other yami cautiously but let him go, rather pushed him up, and watched resolutely Yami walk back to his original spot. "Pharaoh?"

"Don't worry Marik; he hasn't put me out of business yet."

"Yes, but it's only a matter of time, Yugi. Soon my colleges will destroy you and your pathetic friends in the greatest corporate take-over in history! Speaking of your friends, I wonder how they are holding up in their new environment. Think about it, they must be suffering more than you are…and you can't save them." The virtual man said.

/He's right! We've got to end duel this and find them! / Yugi said, appearing in spirit form beside his yami.

"One more attack to your life points and your resources will have run out, leaving you trapped here forever!" Gansley shouted, glee in his voice.

"He's right, pharaoh." Marik stated.

"Don't worry Marik; I'll get both of us out of here. I promise."

For some strange reason, the tan yami believed him.