Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh...

"Blah"- speech

Blah- thoughts

'Blah'- mindlink

Chapter 8

Ruler of the Forbidden City

Yugi was dragged away from the dock triumphantly. The men around him kept laughing and talking about how pleased the boss will be. As they walked down the streets, Yugi's mind reeled with questions. But the main one was why did he get ejected from his body? A tear made its way past Yugi's eyelid and slid down his smooth, pale skin. Why was there always something to tear him and Yami apart? Who were this people anyway? And where were they taking him?

"Shit man, I think the kid's crying," Yugi heard one of the men say. But he didn't care.

"Aww, did we take the little baby away from someone," some guy asked in a tone that adults use when talking to children. Yugi remained silent. One man laughed.

"That'll be the least of his worries when the boss sees him. He likes his meat cute," the man laughed as he grabbed Yugi's ass. Yugi jerked at the unwanted touch and his eyes widened in fear, not at what the man did but at what he said. Oh God, what's going to happen to me?

The group came to a huge sandstone mansion and walked inside…After the gunwielding guards opened the gates for them. They continued to drag Yugi across the courtyard before coming to a stop before two great huge and dark doors. Some one knocked and they waited for a few minutes. The doors opened and Yugi's eyes grew wide in awe. Despite the situation he was in, he knew expensive tastes when he saw them. The hall was huge, lined with Persian rugs and other expensive throws. Huge pillars lined the room, flecks of gold and many precious gems imbedded in them. Velvet, more gold, antiques that must of cost a fortune or not to get it from several museums, diamonds, rubies, emeralds, silk, statues, figurines, paintings, Ming vases, plants, and so much more.

"Wow," he breathed. The men holding him exchanged glances and shrugged. Four continued walking while the other five stayed behind. They past through the halls and turned one corner, turned another. Door after door, painting after painting, it almost seemed endless. But then the carpet beneath Yugi's feet came to a stop. He looked up and saw another set of doors, one as dark as the other but not so big. Yugi gulped. He had a feeling he didn't want to know what was behind them. The guards that stood beside the great doors nodded to Yugi's captors and knocked three times on the wood. Three knocks repeated from the other side and the doors opened. Yugi gasped. This room was just as expensive-looking as the halls, with pillars lined around the room. A marble dais stood on top of a small set of steps, a throne standing majestically. And in the throne sat a middle-aged man, an emerald silk and velvet around him, and a scowl on his tanned face. He looked at the men who walked in and ran his fingers through his golden-brown hair. His brown eyes dazzled with authority. A woman scantily clad in silk moved away from the chair, disappointment barely noticeable in her eyes. The man glared at them.

"You DARE interrupt me?" He glanced at the woman who was slowly disappearing, then at the guards standing by the doors. "I was busy…But no matter now. What is it?" Then he looked at Yugi as if only noticing him now. Yugi shivered as the russet gaze washed over him. He had a really bad feeling about this. The man looked him over and a small smile played at his lips before he scowled. "Who is this?" He stood and walked to his men.

"Sir, it is one of the men we spotted on the river. The other got away, but we were able to capture this one. And believe me, sir, this one is quite a catch." The gunman fell silent. Their leader lifted Yugi's head, and asked, "Why is he such a catch? Hmm? Other than his cuteness, what good is he to me?" Yugi froze. If they brought him here to be of use, then did that mean he was going to be killed if he was useless?

Another man shook his head. "No, sir. We weren't talking about his looks. The means of how we got him are why we call him quite a catch." The leader looked at the speaker than back at Yugi.

"Oh. Then tell me. How did you ensnare this one?" He gazed expectantly at his men while they thought of how to word it properly.

"Umm…We got him by using that dart you had made recently. The soul-separator or whatever- you-call-it. This one was running along side his buddy, who looked like his twin, when the other one told him something. This one nodded and disappeared. I hit the other guy with the dart as he rode away with a friend on a bike. Suddenly, after I shot the dart, the shrimp here reappeared on the ground. The other one didn't notice until he was on a waiting boat. But I swear, sir, this guy came out of the other guy's body. It was weird. How'd you know? What did you do?" The leader tore his gaze from Yugi and looked at his minion with a smile.

"Well, it was simple. I had another prophecy. It was of a man with two souls. That's all I knew. But the dart I made special. I laced it with a poison to evict any extra souls a body may have. But usually if that happens, the person who owns the body will feel the pain of his soul, mind, and body ripping apart into two. So I added a little something that dulled the senses and numbs the body. That's how I did it." The leader started laughing. As he did so, he walked over to a stone tablet. It was an exact copy of the one Ishizu had in the museum, the one that told of King Atem. The leader turned back to Yugi. "So the Pharaoh is back. Not that I really care, or anything, but he should stop leeching off you and quit using you, and appreciate all you've done. How many years have past since you solved that thing?" Yugi looked at him in shock. The leader laughed, and pointed to another side of the tablet. Yugi felt his arms loosen and looked to see he'd been let go. He walked over to where the ruler stood and gasped. Down at the bottom was an inscription of Atem's fight with Zorc, how it ended, and what was to become of the king and the puzzle. Beside that was another inscription and a picture of Atem, coming out of the puzzle, and another being holding the puzzle. Him. The leader took a look at Yugi's white shocked face and laughed. "Maybe spending some time without you will make him realize how important you really were from day one." He turned back to his men. "Anyone have any ideas on what exactly we could do with him," he asked as he gestured toward Yugi. Yugi flinched in fear. Oh shit, he thought to himself.

Several smiles broke across face in the room. Some guards nodded, and some just smiled. "Use him as a new initiator," one guard suggested hopefully.

"And when we don't have any new recruits," prompted the leader. "Shall we use him as our new playtoy?" Nods coursed throughout the room. Yugi trembled with fear and stared wide-eyed at the men from where he stood. "Well then, give him a room and show him our hospitality," ordered the leader with a smirk. Evil laughs and smiles followed thee and Yugi slowly started to back up until he hit the tablet. They closed in on him. Yami help me, please! I need you.

Yes, Yugi's in trouble. So R&R please. To those who are still reading, THANK YOU! Hehe. Bye.