A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!! I decided to be nice and post on New Year's Day!! I hope everyone got what they wanted for Christmas. I know I did!! Did anyone watch the ball drop?? I did!!! It's a tradition. Anyway, let's get to the Ode to Reviewers, shall we?

Ode to Reviewers

Kiasa and her Yami Kanou- Might be changing your screen name, huh? Wings of Shadow is a really good name. ^_^ I like anything with Shadow in it. It makes it sound majestic and blissful--kinda. I hope you like this chapter!! ^_^ It took me a while to write this when I did write it. Couldn't get the best way to introduce Jaken in…grr -_-;; ENJOY!!

Joeyz girl- 0.o I didn't notice that if a reviewer had already reviewed for that number of Chapter, they couldn't review again. Oops. But I think they changed that after you reviewed. It said something about that on the main screen. I like Ushima. She is a key point in this plot. ^_^ And I like Jaken having an alternate personality sorta. Is he gonna keep it, or crack? ^_~ I have no clue. (I managed to refuse the eyes for a while…but broke on January 1st, the day I updated.

Dreamer Unknown- A NEWBEE!! I am soo honored to be the 1st one on your fav. List!! I am so honored!! I like Kurt too. He is the softy-yet tough at times guy. That's what I like about him too. Thanks for liking the aspect of Jaken having an alternate personality from what he portrayed. Review again!! ^_^

Hyper Hikari- *mutters* You hate Naomi and Tiki…no fair. *sniff* Naomi didn't mean to say 'idiot' to Bakura…*sniff* And Tiki got Ra, yes she did. But it doesn't mean she's going to keep it, no does it?? And 'Kura got a God Card!! Obilisk the Tormentor! That is an awesome card! It's my favorite! But it doesn't mean he's going to keep the card. I don't know if Bakura will win in the preliminaries. *_* I have no clue. I haven't gotten that far yet. But he ain't going to duke it out with Tiki, that's for sure. I'm aiming to have Obilisk fight Obilisk in the preliminaries. *hinthint* Who knows who could win…*smirks* Gotta find out, now won't ya! ^_~ Happy late Christmas too. And HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

NOW!! ONTO THE STORY!!

Jump

Let's Duel!

Kurt arrived at the stadium, making sure not to cause the slightest sound, for Kaiba might just call security since he was down on the field, waiting for the other finalists.

A million questions were running through his head. What if Tiki and Jake didn't make it to the finals? What if he was stuck here alone with a mindless Naomi? What if Jake goes back to...no. He wouldn't think that way. But it was possible. It was so possible now. Now that one of his friends was in trouble.

Kurt sniffed, trying to hold back a sneeze. He hated dust. It always got everywhere. Always. He rubbed his nose, trying to stop that sensation of sneezing. He couldn't.

"AAAACHOOOOOO!!!"

Kaiba looked around the stadium. He thought he heard something.

"What is it Mr. Kaiba?" One of the Suits asked.

Kaiba replied, "Turn on the stadium lights. I thought I heard someone. No one is suppose to be here except for the finalists. Search the perimeter. See if you find an intruder." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Another Suit said and disappeared through the entrance.

Kurt sniffed, rubbing his nose. "I hate places like this....to much dust man..." He said quietly, hearing a suit coming his way. "Crap!" He cursed to himself picking up Naomi, and tried to get out of this space he was in.

"I thought I heard someone! Over here!" A voice shouted.

Men started to pop up everywhere, surrounding Kurt.

"Uh-Oh..." Kurt gulped as ten flashlights were shone at him. "Hehe...um...I'm just waiting for someone?" He smiled the I-Am-In-So-Mush-Trouble-And-I-Will-Get-My-Butt-Chewed smile and sulked back.

"Hold it right there boy. Don't move. What are you doing here?" One man asked.

Kurt gulped.

"Come on out of there. Mister Kaiba will want a word with you." Said another.

Kurt's knees began to shake.

"Get out now!!" Commanded another.

Kurt's legs were giving way.

"NOW!!!" Shouted another.

Kurt fainted.

The Suits blinked.

"Bob, did we just scare him so much to make him faint?" One man asked.

"I don't know Billy. But lets just get him down there to Mister Kaiba. He will want to know who we have found." Said Bob. He and Billy picked Kurt up and carried him down to the field. Two other Suits were carrying Naomi.

Kaiba turned to see his Suits carrying two teenagers. "So those where the ones I heard?" He asked as the Suits nodded.

"Yes sir!"

Seto snorted, "Keep them here until I figure out what to do with them."

The Suits obeyed and set them down. They walked away.

Kurt suddenly came around. "WHO? WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? IS ANYTHING ON FIRE?!!"

Kaiba jumped a few feet panicky, then straightened himself out quickly, hoping no one saw him jump. He muttered something dark incoherently as the first figures appeared at the entrance.

Kurt looked on, the silhouette looked very familiar. But the figure's cloths where all black, like a goth almost, but not really. He had a silver dragon necklace around his neck and a long flowing black trench coat. His hair was blue and his eyes, a deeper blue, almost black.

The surfer gasped. This is what he had been fearing. This is what he had help this figure overcome two years ago. Kurt shook his head, clenching his fists in the process. This was going too far.

Out of the shadowed doorway stepped Jaken, his dark blue eyes bleak and shadowy, some unseen malevolent cloud circling around him. He took long, deep strides towards Kaiba. His silver bracelets clinking together, rattling. He stopped in front of Kaiba and showed him his six locator cards.

"I believe I can participate in the finals?" Jaken asked with an eyebrow raised.

One of Seto Kaiba's Suits came up to him and took the locator cards. "Yes sir, you are the second participant that has shown up for the finals. You should be proud." The man shuffled through his pockets until he found some cards. "May I ask your name?"

Jake looked at him, "My name is Raven, call me Raven."

Kurt's mouth dropped, there it was. Raven. His old name he had adopted long ago and threw it away when Kurt knocked some sense into him. Jaken-err-Raven, two years ago or so, he was a merciless teenager who didn't care about no one or nothing, not even himself. He always use to steal and plunder, sneak into bars illegally, and always skip classes. He was failing in everything. Like he didn't care about life anymore. Kurt, when he became Jake's-Raven's-best friend, he pulled him out of that slowly. But now, it has gone to the dogs once more, and I don't mean Joey either.

The man gave him a qualifying card. "Alright Mr. Raven, wait here for the other finalist to come."

Raven nodded and took the locator card. He shoved it into the pocket on his coat and walked over to Kurt and Naomi, who was on the ground. "How is she?" He asked dryly with little emotion.

Kurt looked at his best friend, "Wha-What happened to you Jake? I thought you-"

"I had no other choice. If I didn't change back to my old self, I would never win against Marik. No matter how hard I tried. It is just best this way. No feelings, no emotions for you enemy. No time to rethink anything. No goody love or hope for that matter either." He stated coldly, a dark aurora could be sensed around him.

The surfer shook his head, "Your making the wrong choice dude-" He said, deciding to change the subject quickly with one death glare from Raven. And Raven had the father of all death glares, like a chilling vampire stare, and only a few can pull those off. "-Naomi's doing fine I guess. Not changed one bit though. Wouldn't expect she would have."

Raven only snorted and looked back to the entranceway, hearing voices.

"Haha! We made it here Yugi!" Joey stated proudly, holding up his six locator cards and marching forward.

"I don't see how we can duel here," Mia said, "This place isn't even finished." She looked around.

The all spotted Kurt and waved. Kurt waved back as Raven shot him another death glare. Kurt lowered his hand slowly and sulked backwards, away from Raven.

The group had no idea who the other guy was, until the got a look at his eyes.

"That's Jake!" Exclaimed Tea as Yugi and Joey exchanged their locator cards for the qualifying card. "But why is he dressed so differently?"

"Go figure." Raven retorted.

Serenity noticed a girl laying on the ground behind the two boys. "Joey, who is that girl?"

Joey looked at Naomi, his eyes widened. "T-That's...Naomi..." Now at least he understood why Jake was so upset earlier. Naomi was unconscious or something. He elbowed Yugi. "Hey Yug, do you see Naomi?"

Yugi looked to where Joey had pointed. His eyes widened also. "N-Naomi....?" He asked shocked as Kurt just looked to the ground. He looked at Jake. "So it...was an emergency?" He asked as Raven nodded.

"Yes. And thanks to you, she is not all quite here."

"In meaning?" Tristan asked as Yugi answered.

"Tristan, her mind...is in the Shadow Realm."

This fact hit everyone, but Kaiba and Raven, hard in the head. Even Mokuba looked surprised at this, even though he had never known her.

Tea bit her lip. "Kurt? Is Yugi right?"

"Right as rain Tea. We were too late. The future changed-" Raven butted in.

"-The future changed. I am participating in this tournament. I am not suppose to. Odion is, but it seems as though he won't be waking up for a while. And-"

"-And...." Came a very mystic voice from the entrance of the stadium. A Jamaican with shoulder length dreadlocks came walking in. She had on an orange tank top, orange arm warmers (it was quite cold), orange shorts, orange legs warmers, and an orange bandana in her hair. She also had sandals on. "I am participating too."

"Tiki?" Came a murmur of voices from the crowd as Tiki exchanged her six locator cards for a qualification card.

"Hmm? Oh, only you." She said non-enthusiastically, which was very unlike her. "Hi. Glad you could come. You know, this tournament will be very thrilling. But I won't care." She shrugged and walked over to Naomi. She knelt down and took the bandana from her hair.

"What are ya doing?" Joey blinked as Tiki totally ignored him.

Tiki undid her bandana, tying it around her neck instead. She then slung Naomi's bandana over her head and tied it into a doo-rag on her head. She sighed and straightened her arm warmers out. "Cold, ain't it?"

Everyone else just nodded. Boy was Tiki and Jake taking this seriously. But who wouldn't? They were fighting for a friend's mind that was trapped. They had to go through every extreme to win. Even if it meant giving themselves up to their past.

Tiki use to be just another face in the crowd, doing what everyone else had instructed her to do. This caused her to lose some of her bliss, not to mention that her father had deserted her and her mother as well. Tiki use to have to take care of the whole family and always relied on faith and family to pull her through. She still did today, and still does. But now, she only had one thing on her mind, to bring Naomi's mind back. Her best friend. She always kept a promise to a friend, and she always will. Even now.

Raven looked at Tiki. "If Bakura comes, we give him the card?"

"Yes Jaken. We do. And he will come. Watch."

Bakura walked along the streets, admiring his easy-to-win six locator cards. He was thinking, thinking up a plan to both help those fools and claim all seven items. This was hard though. But not hard enough for the tomb robber.

The spirit walking into the entrance of the stadium. This was it. Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around to meet face to face with Marik and a lady behind him Marik who had long black hair and dark eyes. She kept to herself.

Marik grinned and walked right past him. "I would have figured you would be long gone by now."

Bakura just snorted and walked into the middle of the stadium where the others were already. Marik and the lady closely followed.

Raven turned to see both Bakura and Marik step into the stadium with a lady behind them. He could feel the tension from his friends. The eight duelists have arrived. This was it. Time to get psyched up. But who already wasn't?

Kurt turned to see both Bakura and Marik walk into the stadium at the same time along with a lady? Yes, a lady in the background. She must be with Marik.. 'Uh-Oh, both of them walking in together. I got a bad feeling about this...' He gulped and elbowed Tiki, who was staring off into space.

Tiki turned her head to see the last finalist as well. "It begins..." He muttered as one of Kaiba's Suits, Roland, stepped forward. (A/N: Seriously, that IS his name...)

Roland took the two's locator cards and exchanged them with qualification cards. Then he cleared his throat. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the Battle City finals! Now, as you know, this stadium is not yet complete. We are not dueling here-"

"-Then where are we dueling?" Interrupted Mia.

Roland tapped his foot impatiently. "I'm getting to that Miss."

"Well, excuse me!"

Roland cleared his throat. "Anyway, the place you will be dueling at will be here shortly-"

"-Look!" Serenity shouted as a huge blimp appeared in the sky. It landed in the stadium and opened it's doors.

Roland looked on impatiently. He tightened his tie. "Please do stop interrupting me-"

"Is there food on this ship?" Interrupted Joey.

Roland's eye began to twitch. "SHUT UP!!" He yelled as everyone backed away from him, slowly. "Anyway, you will be dueling on that ship. Yes there is five course buffet and living quarters. Please board."

Tiki shook her head amusingly and stepped onto the platform to get on. She turned back and sighed. She was the one taking Ishizu's place. The Jamaican walked into the blimp, followed by Kurt carrying Naomi.

Jake-Raven- boarded next. He walked on in long strides, daring not to look back. He was taking Odion's place. Oh joy.

Next came the peanut gang, the Exorcist and his sidekick, and Mr. Grinch himself followed by his fateful dog-err brother.

Bakura came last. He looked up at the blimp. "So this is what Tiki meant by 'see you on the blimp'..." He murmured to himself and stepped aboard. "I hate heights. Why does Ra have to curse me like this?"

~*~

Tiki walked down the blimp's hallway, looking for her room. "405...406...407..Ah! Here we go-" She looked back to see Raven following her. "Oh, hi Jake. What brings you here?"

Raven shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe a certain girl called Naomi-"

"I get it. That was asked rhetorically. Want to come in?"

Raven nodded as Tiki pushed open the door. He walked in first.

Tiki began walking into the room as a voice yelled, "Tiki!"

The age old(A/N: I just love putting the 'age old' part in there...*clears throat*) pharaoh walked quickly up to her.

"And what do you want Yami?" Tiki asked, shutting the door quickly so Jake wouldn't be tempted to lunge at him. "You know-"

"Listen, I know. I-I'm sorry Tiki, I'm sorry that my head was stuck in the duel and I didn't listen to Jake. This is my fault."

"Heck yeah it is." Tiki retorted. "Listen. I know that you are sorry and all, who wouldn't be. But apologizing doesn't do anything now, now does it? Unless you can do like Cher and 'Turn Back Time' like in her song." Tiki laughed quietly. "This mess will get screwed up-I mean fixed as time goes along, I hope. But just listen to this."

"What?"

Tiki said this very slowly. "Get your head out of the duels sometimes. There are lots of other things to do. Like for instance, I bet you have never even been to a football game, have you?"

"Foot...ball?" Yami cocked his head as Tiki slapped her forehead.

"Never mind....that was suppose to be a rhetorical question...But my point is, is that just do something else for a change. If anything, play a different card game at least. Like Spades or even Slap Jack. Go Fish would even do. Those are cool games too you know. They do have some competition too. Or just pick up a board game like Monopoly and just sit down and play for two hours or so. Games have a wide variety you know."

As Tiki finished, Joey and everyone else was listening to her, and I mean everyone.

"And that goes for the rest of ya! When this is all through, I'm teachin' y'all how to play"-Tiki's door opened and Raven looked out. He grabbed her ear.- "Rummy!!!" He pulled hard, yanking her into the room. Raven slammed the door behind him and sighed.

"And I told you we were suppose to be mad at them!"

Tiki looked at him and smiled awkwardly, grimacing at the pain of her ear. "Umm...Sorry? Hehe...."

Jake's right eyelid twitched as he let the Jamaican's ear go. He glared at her for a minute, turned and sat down on the bed, waiting for Kaiba to announce the lotto draw for the opponents.

~*~

The Battle Ship's hull rung out with talking and occasionally laughter as everyone sat down for a nice mean. There were all sorts of food from hamburgers to steaks, potatoes to tomatoes, chocolate cakes to strawberry ice cream. Everything was here.

Tiki sat in the corner of the room tapping her spoon against the table. She wasn't that hungry due to the business at hand. She couldn't see how anyone could seriously eat at this time, except for Joey that is...he could eat through anything.

Jake on the other hand, was casually eating some vanilla ice cream. He was thinking, who would he duel? And would his skills let him beat the other duelist he would face? What if he would face Tiki? He didn't know if he could handle it. Even though Raven was back on the outside, Jaken was still struggling to stay who he was on the inside. And that proved to be a very difficult task.

The last one of the group, Kurt, was walking around, listening in on the conversations, eavesdropping and whistling. He passed Kaiba's table. They, both Kaiba and his brother, were quiet. Usual for them actually. But Seto's eyes followed Kurt around and Kurt could feel he was being watched. Kurt hated that feeling, but decided to ignore it. Then he pasted Joey's table who had about five more chairs pulled up for all of his friends, Yugi, Tea, Tristan, Duke, and Serenity of course, not to mention Mia. They stopped their conversation as soon as Kurt got close to them. He quickly backed away and decided to have a chat with Bakura...bad idea.

"So...Bakura..." Kurt sat down the seat opposite of Bakura at an isolated table. "How do you plan to-"

"Go away mortal." Bakura shot him a glare and closed his eyes. He leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up. "I'm thinking."

Kurt snorted. "Fine then Mister I-Better-Than-Everyone-Else. I'll go." Kurt stomped away to Tiki and Jake's table. He sat down and sighed. "How come no one likes us?"

Tiki looked at the surfer. She laced her fingers together, resting her hands on them. "Gee, go figure Kurt. Maybe we were the ones that made them not like us. But it's their own fault." She shrugged and leaned back in her chair.

Kurt snorted and crossed his arms. "Well, excuse me. I'm not the one that reckoned that we should have even joined this tournament."

Raven looked at him, "Well, we did and that's that."

Kurt sighed inwardly. "I guess that's right."

After a while, Roland's voice blasted through the speakers. "All duelists please report to the lotto area for the drawing." He said. There was a loud beep and the speakers frayed and died.

The trio stood up. "Guess we should go then?" Tiki asked as Jaken nodded. Kurt only looked on worriedly.

"When are you going to give the card to Bakura?" Kurt asked as Bakura walked up behind him unexpected.

"Boo." The spirit hissed as Kurt jumped and ran behind Jaken. Bakura laughed his creepy Bakura laugh, then looked at Tiki. "What were you saying about giving me a card?" He crossed his arms as he raised an eyebrow.

Kurt and Jaken both turned their gaze to Tiki as the fumbled around in her pockets. Tiki was having last minute thoughts about this now. Maybe Kurt was right. Maybe the spirit will turn on them in the end and just use them for his own purposes. But then a surge of confidence rose up inside of her. Bakura wouldn't do something like that, not after Naomi saved him from Marik, that's for sure. But oh, how he would...

Tiki pulled out the card and handed it to him. Bakura's eyes widened. "Here Bakura, take this for the duration of the tournament, you might need it, just to secure your place in the finals maybe. Or a better chance anyway." Tiki bit her lip as the spirit took it.

The tomb robber looked at it amazed. "Obelisk the Tormentor..." He breathed as Tiki nodded. "How...?"

"It was Naomi's. Kaiba still has his and so does everyone else. Now the only two who don't have a God card are Joey and Mia." Tiki stated indefinitely. Bakura nodded and laid it with his other cards.

After a second of standing, one of Kaiba's suits called to them and they followed him to the area for the lotto. Everyone was there, it was the big moment to see if it would go the television way, or the unfathomed, derailed way that would lead to the unknown nobody knew.

Every Duelist was given a number. 1)Joey 2)Bakura 3)Yugi 4)Mia 5)Raven 6)Kaiba 7)Tiki ("Hey! Why do I have to be last?") The lotto machine started the game. The numbers rolled around again and again until the first ball was caught be the Blue Eyes head. It rolled down the chute and landed in the tray. There was an unnerving pause.

Roland cleared his throat. "The first one to duel is...Number Three! Yugi Motou!"

The trio of friends exchanged unnerving glances. This WAS going to go as planned in the series, wasn't it? They hoped not. They really did. Tiki bit her nail as Kurt pulled on his hair. Raven stood there as calm as a cucumber, but he was twitching, twitching his fingers and his eyebrows. Not on purpose either.

The second ball was caught by the Blue Eyes head. It rolled down the chute and landed in the other tray. There was a second pause. Momentum building up. Seconds seemed like hours. Waiting, waiting for the right moment.

Roland looked at the numbers, he faced the crowd. "The Duelist who will be bitted against Yugi Motou is..."

~*~

Naomi looked around the dark and clammy space. A slight sliver ran up her spine as the moans of long forgotten souls drifted through the air, engulfing her in eerie silence. She gulped as a tear slid down her cheek.

This is what that shadow, that girl in the shadows had said. This is what the Shadow Realm looked like. A dark desert with screams filling the air and moans of long forgotten souls. It was wretched. But if this girl in the shadows had been right bout this place, was she also right about the warning? The warning to stay close to her friends and never lose sight of them, for if she did, they would try and pick the world up on their shoulders and carry it. But the world isn't suppose to be carried by one person, but everyone, the whole world.

"Tiki? Kurt?....Jake?" She shuddered at a laughter that was hollow and panic-stricken. Another tear slid down her cheek. "Anybody?"

Not a sound.

Naomi looked down at her pale white hands. She'd never have dreamed that she would be in the Shadow Realm when she was back home, watching all of this from a TV screen. Did her obsession go too far? Does obsession go too far?

Usually she would laugh every time one was sent to the Realm of Darkness for it lightened her up. Not anymore. Now she was the victim in this cruel magic. The magic that can either save or destroy the world, any world, if given the chance. Naomi knew she was surrounded by darkness, not a single etch of light to show. The eerie purple mist rolled around her feet as a scream pitched through the darkness. That was normal. Just another lost soul.

Naomi sank to the floor, shivering uncontrollably. Would she be able to come out of this ordeal? Would she be saved? If she did, would she ever recuperate from this suffering, this horrific nightmare that would haunt her thoughts every second of her life? She did not know the answer.

But Naomi did know, she had said this herself, one to give morals to others in times of need. Her own words, 'In every darkness there is a light, a shimmer of hope that drives you forward, bring you up to your friends and family. This light is hope, and hope should never be forgotten, even in the darkness that is cast around you. If that light of hope expires, so does the future. Never lose faith.'

Naomi remembered, she had said that same thing to Tiki, when Tiki wasn't all there one day. Naomi did want to remember that experience, but she was always there for Tiki and Tiki was always there for her. Tiki nor the others would let her down.

"Please, come soon guys..." She sniffed.

Another scream filled the air.

"Before I loose it here. I gotta go pee...bad."

~*~

Roland looked at the number on the ball, then turned to face the audience. "The Duelist who will be facing off against Yugi Motou is...." The trio turned to Bakura, who was behind them, looking on intently. "Duelist number 5...Raven!"

It took a moment to realize that Roland had called his name before Jaken realized it was him. He blinked and turned towards Yugi. "Already?" He whispered quietly as Roland addressed the audience again, but the words passed right through Jake's ears. He was gonna duel someone who he wanted to, but something-

"Hey Jake, your dueling 'em..." Tiki turned to her friend. "Hate to say it, but glad I'm not. I couldn't." She smiled and hugged Jake. "Good luck buddy."

Kurt patted Jake on the back. "Yeah. Hope you....umm..." He didn't want to say lose because a part of him did want Jaken to lose, so that this tournament would at least go halfway planned. "...not make the wrong decision." He finished as Roland led the two duelists towards the elevator to the top.

The two duelists boarded and the elevator doors closed. Raven shifted uncomfortably with Yami staring straight at him. Finally he got up the nerve. "Can you stop that!"

Yami looked at him with an eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about?"

Raven just peered at him. "Stop staring. It's rude." Yami was just about to say something back when the elevator reached the top and the doors swung open.

The two duelists stepped onto the platform and it raised into the air. Everyone else were just arriving, everyone on one side, and Kaiba and his brother on the other. Great arrangement. Talk about your well balanced blimp...down comes the Hindonburg.

The two duelist activated their disks. Raven gulped fear rattling around inside of him. Fear that he might lose. But he stood tall, as tall as he could as Yami just took an almost arrogant pose. Typical. The two got ready.

"Let's Duel!"

A/N: Well? How did ya like it?? Remember! Next Chapter the new characters come in!!! Be prepared for a wild ride!! Literally. ^_^

R&R!!!