"Jonouchi!" Anzu called, worried. "Jonouchi!"

"That bloody idiot," Honda growled as he and the others searched for the blond who had heard something from the direction of the shower Mai had set up for the girls and darted off in that direction. "You bet, he'll have gotten himself into a duel or something and got lost on the way back."

Anzu grimaced but did not say anything, not wanting to worry Mokuba, who had come with them since he did not want to be on his own, campfire or not.

"Bakura's gone, too," the boy pointed out, glancing around, trying not to feel frightened by the fact that one by one the teenagers who had promised to look after him were vanishing.

"She'll be back. She wants Yugi's Puzzle. Plus you owe her money." Honda snorted as he kept searching. "I'm more worried about Jonouchi getting himself knocked out of the competition while we're not looking."

Mokuba would have replied, but he stumbled over something in the dark and nearly fell. Managing to catch himself on the tree next to him, he looked down, only to squeak as he realised he had tripped over a trainer-covered foot. "Honda! Anzu!"

The pair scrambled over, Anzu shining the torch she had brought with her at the figure the younger Kaiba had tripped over, revealing Jonouchi, unconscious in a heap at the bottom of the tree. His duelling glove lay a couple of feet away, emptied of all its stars and the Millennium Puzzle nowhere in sight.

"Jonouchi!" Honda shook his friend hard, causing the other teen to groan and half open his eyes, confused and dazed.

"Honda? What happened?" he asked, leaning back against the tree and wincing as the back of his head rested against it. His eyes widened as he realised he was not wearing his duelling glove. When Anzu handed him the empty glove, his eyes widened and he let out an angry growl. "That absolute bitch!"

"Who?" Anzu asked.

"Bakura," Mokuba guessed before Jou could answer.

The blond nodded sharply. "She asked if she could borrow my Star Chips. Of course I said no. I ain't trusting her with nothing. Next thing I know I'm waking up at the bottom of a tree." He paused and then quickly patted himself down. "Shit, Yuge's gunna freak."

"She took the Puzzle, too?" Anzu asked, looking angry herself when he nodded. "That's cheating though, right? Didn't she say she had to win it from Yugi?"

"We can't trust anything that comes out of her mouth," Honda pointed out. "She's the enemy. She wants us dead."

"I need to find her." Jou got to his feet with a hand from Anzu, clearly fuming. "If I'm caught by one of Pegasus's goons without my Stars, I'm out and there goes my chance to save Shizuka's eyesight."

Mokuba looked both curious and confused by that statement but Honda and Anzu nodded their understanding, Honda turning back towards where their camp was as he did so. "Let's grab our stuff and start searching."

Yugi shivered as she walked through the forest. The warm summer night had gone icy cold in the deep, almost black darkness caused by the trees obscuring the night sky. She rubbed her arms, trying to get some warmth into them.

Kaiba let out a soft snort as he walked alongside her, making her mentally wince. He seemed completely unaffected by the cold, and the complete silence surrounding them did not appear to unnerve him at all. If anything, the quick glance that he shot her way was derisive and ill amused.

She tried not to let it bother her. She was cold and tired, and the headache beginning to press on her temples was not helping. She just wanted to reunite the Kaiba brothers and go to sleep, and the sooner they got back to camp, the sooner that could happen. Still, there were things she wanted to say. She hesitated only a moment before starting to speak. "Kaiba? You don't have to go after him alone. He's taken someone important to me, too."

"I don't need your help, Yugi," Kaiba huffed at her, seeming as on edge as she felt. "You've helped enough already." She winced at the verbal jab, "Once Mokuba is safe, I'm going to destroy Pegasus, and you and Oneesan should stay out of my way."

"We can't," Yugi admitted, trying to make him understand. "Pegasus has our Ojiisan. We have to fight him if we're going to..." Her eyes widened as she felt something shift sideways and the air grew colder still, enough that her breath formed steam in front of her. Kaiba's momentary hesitation told her that he had felt it, too, not that she let that distract her as she called, "Bakura! If it's you, I thought we had a truce on."

Her voice seemed to be absorbed by the darkness surrounding them, the unnatural silence absorbing all sound as it crept towards them. As it got closer, Yugi's headache started to pound and the very air felt sharp, like breathing drew in knives, not air. She barely bit back a whimper as she turned towards what felt like the focus point for the shadows around them, not wanting to seem weak in front of the CEO, but he put himself between her and it, almost instinctively shielding her with his own body.

"Show yourself," he demanded, his whole body frozen into position, only the dragon's steam of his breath in the ice cold air showing he was not just a statue.

Yugi felt the attack coming before either of them could see it. She body checked the taller teen, sending him tumbling to the floor, only to take the brunt of it herself. The bolt of darkness struck her hard and knocked her through the gap in the the trees behind them, into the hardened glass of a Duel Box that had been hidden amongst the foliage. Her head hit the glass, stunning her and sending her crashing to the floor as the world swam around her.

"Yugi!" If she had not been so busy trying to focus and force herself onto her feet, she would have been surprised at Kaiba's tone as the shadows swirling around them focused on her, cutting her off from any chance of escape as they closed in, forming a dome of dark energy that she could feel was the same power that both Oneesan and Bakura used for their Shadow Games. However, the world would not stop spinning, she could not catch her breath, and, as a huge brute of a man stepped out of the darkness, clutching her precious Millennium Puzzle, she realised that she was in deep trouble.

"Mutou Yugi, why don't we play a game?"

"G...give me my Puzzle," Yugi demanded as she pushed herself to her feet, using the box behind her as a support to stay upright as she glared at the brute, a huge man, much older than she, and almost twice the size of Jou. He was dressed in a jacket in a blue so dark it was almost black, the initials P.K. visible, and his black hair wiry and wild and mostly trapped under a skull cap with the kanji for 'yami', which meant darkness. Those things barely held her attention for more than a second, though. The huge band on his duelling glove almost filled with stars told her that this was most likely one of the eliminators that Dinosaur Ryuzaki had mentioned, and the fact that he had her Puzzle meant that he had already gone through Jou. "And g...give me my friend's Star Chips back."

"Your friend?" He smirked. "Which one of the many duelists I've destroyed tonight was your friend? If you mean the boy I collected his from..." He swung the Puzzle back and forth on its chain. "He was worthless and I took what I wanted from him. Just as I'll take it from you."

"A...all my Star Chips for all of his AND my Puzzle," she challenged, barely staying upright but unwilling to back down.

"You only have six Stars." The man smirked. "But your life is valuable. The bounty for the Player Killer who ends your run of luck is enough to retire on. End your life and it's worth even more. Plus this little trinket..." He waved the Puzzle in front of her and she tried to snatch it from him, only to be too slow. "...allowed me to sneak up on all of you and do things I never imagined possible... I don't want your Star Chips, Yugi, but when I win, you die, and this, this stays with me."

"And when I... I win," Yugi did not hesitate, unsure she could handle a Shadow Game or why the Puzzle had turned on her but knowing she could not let Jou or Oneesan down and refusing point blank to bend to this bully, "Y...you give me my Puzzle and my friend's Star Chips."

"Agreed." The Player Killer gestured to the box and Yugi stumbled inside, glad to be taking a seat. The thug was still smirking as he sat opposite her and slid the Puzzle across the table. Yugi went to grasp it, only for him to jerk it back before she could do more than get a hand on it.

The contact, however brief, allowed her to connect for a split second with Oneesan, who sent apology, concern, and the sense of bring trapped with no control over what was going on. As worried as she was about her elder sister, it reassured Yugi to know that this Shadow Game was not the Pharaoh's choice and that, though she would have to confirm whether she was right with Bakura later, it was the shadows sensing his dark heart and desire for power that was allowing him to make this Challenge.

"Frightened, Yugi?" the brute taunted as Yugi's shaking hands nearly dropped the deck she was trying to shuffle.

"N...never. You're nothing m...more than a bully," she retorted as she managed to finish shuffling and drew her opening hand. The monsters within, her Celtic Guardian and her Kuriboh, both felt worried and angry. While it was new for them to respond to her, it helped her confidence a lot. She was in serious danger and she was hurting, but she was not alone, her cards were supporting her. "C...Celtic Guardian, in attack mode!"

The green-clad elf knight appeared on the field, stern and furious at her opponent, but his arrival heralded a jolt of pain in Yugi's heart that ripped a pained whimper from her and she only remained sitting upright because of the hand she slammed onto the table and the elbow she locked into place to stop it buckling. Her 1400 attack point monster looked concerned as he looked back over his shoulder at her, but the Player Killer's dark laugh forced her to look up, away from the elf.

She could feel the Shadows swirling around them and their anger at both herself, for some unknown reason, and the man opposite her as he spoke, "Too much for you, Yugi? It's only going to get worse."

She tried to glare at him, but he was unfazed as he drew, his hand shaking slightly as he summoned his Dark Chimera to the field, the night giving it a field power bonus, taking it up to 2093 attack points. The same sudden pain seemed to hit him the moment it appeared on the field, and the Player Killer's reaction to it made her realise that he was in pain, too. He was not being protected by the Puzzle or the Shadows around them.

The Shadow Game was active because she was being challenged for the Puzzle and the Shadows were testing this man by letting him use them, but she had not lost ownership yet. If she was right the shadows would be infinitely more interested in any battle for a Millennium Item than they would a normal duel, but it would have to be fair.

"Dark Chimera! Rip that puny elf to pieces!" The fiend launched across the table. While her guardian did try to defend himself, the fire the chimera breathed caused the elf to shatter, and the backlash of magical energy as her life points dropped by 693 caused enough pain to nearly render Yugi unconscious. As her life points dropped to 1307 she tried to hold herself upright, knowing that her friends were relying on her, despite the fear that would not leave that she would let them down because she would not be strong enough. "Your move, Yugi."

It took her a moment to draw. Her vision blurring meant that she had to work out which deck she was supposed to be drawing from, but when she did, she was rewarded with the Dark Magician, who felt furious and worried. She almost summoned him but worry made her pause. If she had struggled to keep the Celtic Guardian on the field, how would she manage with the much stronger Dark Magician?

A pulse of care and support came from the card and she nodded without thinking. She needed to summon him to keep winning. There were no other options, and once he was on the field, she could use one of the cards in her hand to support him.

"D...Dark Magician! In attack mode!" The purple-clad spellcaster appeared, twirling his staff before pointing it at the Dark Chimera. Yugi took a sharp breath as the pain grew worse, not wanting to cry out in front of the Player Killer and give him any more satisfaction. The night granted her spellcaster an attack bonus, taking him up to 3250. "I play one c...card face down and then, Dark Magician, D...Dark Magic A...Attack!"

The magician did not hesitate, blowing away the chimera and ripping away 1157 life points, bringing the opposing player down to 843. His pained grunt confirmed in her mind that he was hurting, too, and all she had to do was outlast him or win. She was almost certain he was going to cheat. Oneesan had once told her that the Shadows brought out a person's true nature, and this Player Killer did not seem the type to play fair, but she could not rely on that.

Still she knew something was not going according to his game plan when he scowled and checked the equipment, like something had not come into play. Then it hit her. The Shadows would have ensured a fair game, so whatever dirty tricks that would normally activate when he walked into a Duel Box would not have come online like he had expected them to. She was hoping that meant that this duel could be ended quickly, before she was overwhelmed by the dark magic around them.

"Don't think one lucky move is going to save you, Yugi. Your life ends tonight," he growled at her, clearly not quite together. "I summon my Castle of Dark Illusions, in defence mode."

Very briefly Yugi got to see a floating stone castle with a defence score that grew to 2509, just protecting it from the Dark Magician's attack and then the opposing field was flooded with darkness, cutting her view of the entire opposite side of the Duel Box. Her Dark Magician muttered something under his breath that sounded rude, not that she could understand his language, as his attack points dropped back to 2500 and her opponent sniggered.

"You can't win now, Yugi. You won't be able to see my monsters, but they will rip yours apart and the darkness spread by the Castle of Dark Illusions means that your monsters can't get power from the night or the field, only mine can. Make your final move." The voice bounced around the box, seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time and Yugi's shaking suddenly was not just the cold and the pain. Fear made a very real appearance as she realised her hope for a short, fast game had suddenly gone out the window, and she was barely holding on as it was.

She drew and placed a card face down in her magic and trap card zone, building up her defences since she could not try to attack the castle. The Dark Magician glanced over his shoulder at her, worried. She nodded to him, trying to be reassuring. She had to stay strong. She had to. For everyone. "Y...your t...turn."

She could not see what he summoned into the black miasma in front of her, nor did he tell her, but she saw the attack coming before it could strike her Magician and activated "Magical Hats!"

The trap activated, hiding her magician underneath one of four hats and the attack, thankfully, struck an empty hat, giving Yugi breathing room.

"Your pathetic hats won't save you for long, Yugi," the voice taunted. "I'll destroy them and the magician you're hiding, and then, then you die."

"Y...you should..." A sudden, severe light-headedness and the world attempting to fade around her caused Yugi to stop and grasp the duelling table. She knew the feeling, she had been knocked unconscious enough times by bullies to know when her body was trying to pass out on her, but she could not let it happen. She knew that if she lost consciousness she would never wake up again. The Player Killer would murder her. But she was not ready to die by any stretch of the imagination.

"You're fading, Yugi," the brute taunted through the darkness as she tried to pull herself together. "You can't win. Accept your fate."

"N...never..." she forced out, drawing, "Y...you're just a c...coward. A...attacking from the darkness. Y...you're just one m...more bully and I'll n...never back down from a b...bully, ever a...again. I'm going to s...stand up to you!"

With that she activated her Swords of Revealing Light from her hand, revealing the opposing side of the field and draining the field boost they got from the darkness, just as her Dark Magician had had it ripped from him.

The Player Killer looked furious as her Dark Magician blasted away his King of Yamimakai, ripping away another 500 lifepoints from his score, taking him down to just 343.

"N...next turn, y...your castle falls," Yugi promised him, noting that his shaking was almost as violent as hers now and, if looks could kill, she would be very, very dead.

The Player Killer could not understand what was happening. She was weak, fading, there was no way she could have turned it around, and yet here she was, almost about to win and he could not comprehend how. What was worse was that as he drew, he got his Reaper of the Cards, which would have allowed him to destroy any face down magic or trap cards, but she had played the swords from her hand. There would have been no way to stop it. Somehow her light was burning through his shadows and he did not get it.

He had ripped through hundreds of duelists before her and he had never once failed to intimidate before. Every opponent he had faced had been reduced to panic by his darkness strategy. How was she managing to stay so calm?

It had to be that the exhaustion and pain that were trying to drag him down were throwing him off of his game. He had made a mistake by making a deal with the white haired bitch who had promised him power beyond his imagining and the ability to hunt duelists forever in exchange for her taking the eight Star Chips from the boy who had been sprawled on the floor.

Anger flooded through him. Yugi was going to die. He was going to ensure that and retire on the money that her death would earn him and once she was dead, he was going to hunt down the cow who had promised him power and kill her, too.

He got to his feet and before Yugi could react he had her pinned to the back wall by her throat, the girl's struggles pathetic compared to his strength. "Screw the duel, I'll just kill you now."

Yugi could not breathe. The hands around her neck were so tight that she could not even squeak, so she had no way to warn the man that the shadows had taken his words and actions as cheating and were coalescing behind him, sharp purple eyes glowering at the thug's back. The creature drove an arm through the Player Killer, eliciting a scream from the man and making him let go of her.

She slumped to the floor, gasping for breath, the air suddenly fresh and just cool, rather than the painfully sharp cold it had been before. Her eyes closed, protecting her from seeing what the darkness did to the cheat and she did not reopen them until the noises had stopped.

When she did finally open them again, it was to an empty duel box except for the gauntlet the thug had been wearing, their decks, still spread across the table, and her Puzzle, which she put on. The moment the chain fell into its proper place, she felt something unlock and her sister's presence rushed into her mind, frightened and worried. 'Imoto-chan!'

'I'm okay, Anesan.' Yugi was not sure if it was a lie or not. She was still light-headed and she had a horrible feeling she was going to hit the deck soon, but she was alive, she had won, technically, and as she gathered eight Star Chips from the goon's gauntlet, she knew that she could get Jou back into the tournament.

'Let me take over for a bit.' Her sister pushed as she realised that the forest was not as pitch black as it had been on her way back to camp and that she could see the stars through the canopy, suggesting the Player Killer had been stalking them for a while before he had attacked. 'You need to rest.'

'I can rest once we've gotten these back to Jou.' Yugi shook her head and then wished she had not as the world spun.

"Yugi!" She stood up a little too quickly and had to use the table for support when she heard Anzu calling he,r but she was upright in time to see Mokuba tackle-hug his brother and burst into relieved tears as Honda stayed close enough to watch their backs.

Kaiba hugged his brother tightly as Jou and Anzu moved towards the duel box. Yugi tried to give the brothers some privacy by focusing on her friends, offering the handful of Star Chips to Jou.

"Yuge?" He looked shocked.

"We got jumped by one of those Eliminators that Ryuzaki warned us about, the one who attacked you," Yugi explained, still holding out the eight golden stars, though her arm was shaking badly. "But I got your Star Chips back."

"Yuge, Bakura took the Star Chips, not some Eliminator, so I can't take them." Jou shook his head, pushing the hand back towards Yugi.

"Yugi." Before she could try and get an explanation, Kaiba called her name and she shakily stepped out of the box to face him. "I believe I owe you a debt. Mokuba informed me that you risked your life to protect him." He did not mention the blast that she had taken for him but there was more respect in his gaze than there had been earlier.

"Anyone would have done it." Yugi shook her head, then stumbled slightly, only not losing her footing entirely because Oneesan supported her mentally and Jou subtly rested a hand on her back, letting her lean on it, which was great for her because she refused point blank to pass out in front of Kaiba. "We could work together, to stop Pegasus and get back what's important to us."

"I will not rely on anyone else to protect my company, Yugi." Kaiba shook his head. "I am going to destroy Crawford for what he's done. You watch me." There was a moment's hesitation, then, "However, I will not risk Ototo's safety by taking him with me. I will pay you upon our return to Japan, but I require that you continue to protect him."

Mokuba looked happy at Kaiba actually referring to him as 'little brother,' but Yugi took a sharp breath. This was huge. Kaiba was trusting her with Mokuba's safety. Still... "I don't require any money. Mokuba is a friend. We'll meet you at the castle? I have to face Pegasus to free my Ojiisan's soul."

"I'll leave him alive enough for your duel," Kaiba agreed before hugging Mokuba again. "Stay with Yugi and stay safe."

"Be careful, Oniisan." Mokuba's quiet murmur only just reached Yugi's ears.

"I'll see you soon," Kaiba promised, before nodding to the group and stalking towards the castle.

The moment he moved out of sight, Yugi passed out.