"My Lord! Did everything go according to plan?"

"Of course. Heh, he's played right into my hands."

Yugi winced a bit, hearing voices. His eyes started to open, but he closed them as he caught a glimpse of Bakura and Miho talking near the door of the room he was being kept in.

"My Lord...why did you not just send me to retrieve the tablet? Then you would only have had to get the puzzle from the Pharaoh to complete your plans." Miho sounded hurt, but Bakura chuckled.

"Foolish little slave, isn't it obvious? By sending the Pharaoh to get the tablet, I know what he's not looking for. He's so worried about getting his precious, former vessel back that he will do whatever I ask." He laughed loudly. "And then he will *bring* the Millennium Puzzle to *me*. And if he doesn't have his name, then this time Zorc can't be stopped. It will be too late for him to figure out what to do because Zorc will already be here and will crush him. My revenge will be complete and Zorc will destroy the world." He laughed again, verging on hysteria for a moment before he spoke again, his voice calming. "Yugi is half of the key to my victory though. His soul has been in contact with the Pharaoh's for a while now. He will make a suitable sacrifice for the ritual."

"Him?"

"Trust me. Now come. He's far too weak right now to be doting on him. We have preparations to make."

"Yes my Lord."

The door closed and Yugi's eyes opened.

'Pharaoh...I have to warn you somehow...' He stretched out, startled that he felt stronger. He sat up, looking at his hands. 'I feel like my old self now...But how? I could barely lift my arms before...Mahado! Maybe that was more than a dream then...' Yugi narrowed his eyes, tossing the sheets back and swinging his legs over the side of the bed. 'They could have at least dressed me in something better than this...' he pouted, noting that he wore a simple, sleeveless top that fell to his knees, a braided, gold cord tied at his waist. 'I'll have to worry about it later though. I have to get out of here first.' He got to his feet, straightening the outfit and brushing his hair, which hung loosely about his shoulders and face, behind his ears.

On cats feet, he moved to the door, listening intently for any sounds of his captors. He opened the door, willing it to be silent as he slipped out into the hall. Relieved at his room had been at the end of the hall, he didn't have to debate which was to go. 'This place is like a mansion...I wonder where I am?' Almost without effort, he found his way to the front door and smiled. 'That was easy!' He noticed the shoes the the front door and was slipping on a pair of sneakers when something caught his eye.

'These pictures...this must be Bakura's house! If that's true then I'm still in Domino City! Maybe if I hurry, I can catch up to the Pharaoh and warn him!' Pleased with this revelation, he opened the front door to reveal the late afternoon. Three loud chirps sounded from the alarm system that Yugi had failed to notice and he froze for a second.

"Who's there!?" Baraku shouted, rushing into view and leaning over the banister on the second floor.

"Impossible!"

"Ah..." Yugi gaped for a second before running out the door. "Oh shit..."

Bakura flung himself over the banister, landing on the floor and running to the door. He paused, scrowling and continuing out the door in only his socks. "Stealing my shoes won't save you, Yugi! You're dead!"

As Yugi raced down the driveway, he saw a major flaw in his "run for your life" plan: a large, metal gate. He slowed for only a moment before changing his course to a large tree. 'Don't think, just do it. Don't think, just go. I have to get to the Pharaoh...' Reaching the tree, he leapt up, catching a low branch and swinging up onto it and then leaping to the brick wall and then to the ground. He winced from the pain of landing but sprung back into a run, trying to make out where he was and resisting the urge to look back and see if Bakura had followed.

Yami finished assembling what he would need for his trip to the United States. He wasn't certain how long they would be there so he selected three tops and two pants beside what he was wearing (a black tank top and black pants with two belts around his waist) as well as a few necessities. He rubbed the side of his face thoughtfully as he realized he didn't know what to pack them in. Glancing around the room again, he spied Yugi's back pack and carefully emptied it onto the desk and refilled it with his cargo. He nodded and shouldered the bag, leaving the room as neatly organized as time had allowed.

Yugi's grandfather looked up from the counter as Yami descended the stairs and frowned. "Where are you off to, Yugi? You should still be resting after yesterday. I'm glad you felt well enough to go out with your friends, but don't over exert yourself."

Yami looked at the old man, an odd smile on his face. He moved behind the counter and embraced the old man he had come to think of as family.

" Ojiisan, I swear to you that I will rescue Yugi."

Sugoroku stiffened a moment before returning the embrace. "I see. Well, if anyone can..." he trailed off, looking up at Yami as they parted.

Yami blinked at the old man, curiously. "Ojiisan..."

Sugoroku waved a hand dismissively. "Now now, there's no need to say anything else. Oh!" he turned and crouched down, retrieving Yugi's duel disk and offering it to Yami. "Don't forget to take this along. Your deck is still loaded in it and I cleaned it up while you were out earlier. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you-" he continued as Yami slipped the device onto his arm. "Trust in the heart of the cards and believe in yourself and all that."

Yami covered the deck with his hand for a moment, nodding. "I know. Thank you again, ojiisan." He bowed and turned to walk out of the store. Sugoroku nodded at him as he left, hoping that whatever was going on, that Yugi would return unharmed.

Yami gripped the straps on the backpack, moving to stand at the curb. Almost as if he'd predicted it, Seto's limo pulled up, the back window rolled down and Mokuba nodding up at him, his brother sitting indifferently beside him.

"I am ready," Yami announced, Mokuba exiting to hold the door open for him.

"And so are we." Yami looked toward the voice to see Jounouchi and Anzu hurrying toward them. He smiled warmly and entered the vehicle, sliding over for his friends. Anzu made certain to enter first, sitting, in Yami's opinion, unnecessarily close.

Across from the three friends, Seto's piercing blue eyes were fixed on Yami. "The tablet you're looking for is in Boston, Massachusetts right now. It's being moved tomorrow to Raleigh, North Carolina which means if we don't catch it in Boston we'll have to wait two days before it's displayed again." He closed his eyes. "That shouldn't be the case if we don't run into trouble."

Yami nodded, glancing sidelong at Jounouchi and Anzu. "How long will it take us to reach...Ma-sa-chu-setts?" he asked, pronouncing the word carefully.

"Around 16 hours, so we should arrive there tomorrow between 1 and 2 pm local time." Mokuba took out his Blackberry and poked at the screen. "We'll be flying in one of our jets, of course, so no need to worry about being delayed."

"Hey, alright. Flying in style!" Jounouchi grinned.

"Enjoy it while you can, Jounouchi. You're only coming along because of Yugi." Seto shrugged half-heartedly. As Jounouchi tried to argue with Seto, Anzu quietly took Yami's hand, lacing her fingers with his and leaning towards him slightly. Yami allowed it, his head tilted back to look out the window and silently praying to whatever gods would listen that Yugi was safe.

'I'm so dead...' Yugi thought bleakly, running at fast as his legs would carry him. He had glanced over his shoulder only once and seen the wicked look on Bakura's face. That image, burned into memory, was more than enough inspiration to keep running.

Which was made difficult by the fact that the shoes he had "borrowed" from Bakura were too large for his feet. He was beyond cursing his small stature, however. If he could just make it to someplace he could find sanctuary-

"No!" he cried, the too-large shoes seeming to suddenly favor their true owner, Yugi tripped, managing to land with only minor scrapes. He rolled over into a sitting position, facing the enraged Bakura, who panted triumphantly as he finally caught up to him.

"Now...you die," he spat, the Millennium Ring beginning to glow. Yugi stared, trying to get to his feet again. Suddenly a small, red object flew over the teen's head to hit Bakura square in the forehead, breaking his concentration. As Yugi stood up, backing away, a firm hand gripped his shoulder.

"Picking on an innocent girl? What the hell's wrong with you, Bakura? I won't stand for it!"

"O-otogi?" Yugi's face burned brightly as he looked up at the dice master, balling his hands into fists. "I-I'm not a girl!"

"Huh? Yugi?" Green eyes met Yugi's gaze and he suddenly blushed a bit too. "Ah! Sorry! I didn't recognize you with your hair down. Why are you wearing a dress?"

"I didn't dress myself like this!" the smaller teen shouted defensively, blushing even brighter. "I was kidnapped by Yami Bakura!"

"Heh heh heh. It's not a dress really. I only thought that, since I was going to sacrifice you ritualistically, I should dress you accordingly." Bakura chuckled, grinning malevolently. "Of course, I'm slowly gathering all of the people in Domino City into the shadow realm to offer them to Zorc."

"What!?" Yugi gaped at Bakura.

"I thought it seemed too quiet around town lately," Otogi growled. "But there's one thing you don't know."

"Oh please, now you're going to point behind me and try to distract me for a moment so you can try to escape." Bakura straightened, closing his eyes and assuming a confident pose. "Honestly, this isn't some movie or anime. That won't work." He opened his eyes again, flashing a menacing grin to stare at the empty space where Otogi and Yugi had stood a moment before. "...Zorc damn it..." He began hunting for the pair, who watched quietly from their hiding place, under a table at a nearby, busy café.

"I can't believe that worked," Yugi whispered.

"Shh. Come on. Let's get you home and into something more masculine." Otogi quietly stood, flashing a roguish smile at the flustered women at the table who had inadvertently helped them elude Bakura. "Sorry about that ladies. Here, it's on me." He laid down some money, a couple of business cards, and a pair of dice.

Bakura raged, punching and denting a lamppost. "Damn it...how could I have lost them so easily..." He growled, turning away from the street and down an alleyway. "If Yugi meets up with the Pharaoh then I'll have to move on to plan B...Hmn?" he looked down at his Millennium Ring, the metal prongs suddenly pointing to his right. He spun around, pressing himself against the wall on his left and watching the street.

As he spied a Kaiba Corp limo passing by, he suddenly grinned. "Pharaoh...so you're already on your way. And you enlisted Kaiba, which gives me an idea." He laughed. "Well, for now I can just take my time looking for Yugi. I know where he'll be heading." He pushed away from the wall and strolled leisurely back out to the street. "I think I'll gather some more sacrifices while I'm at it." His eyes landed on the arcade across the street.