Yugi gasped. The others turned to see what he was looking at and were left speechless as well. A deathly pale, skeleton-thin, white-haired boy was chained to the wall with metal, rope, and some other glowing substance that the gang did not recognize. Strange and frightening contraptions hooked multicolored wires into the boy's skin. Some seemed to extract something from him, while others pumped foreign substances into his body.

"It must be Ryou," Yugi whispered. They hurried over, and Joey and Tristan disconnected all of the wires from Ryou's body. Ryou stirred.

"What are we supposed to do?" Tea asked frantically. "Ryou won't be able to swim if he's unconscious!"

Joey pulled Ryou over to the hole in the floor and flicking some of the freezing water onto Ryou's face. Ryou gasped suddenly and sat up in a flash.

"You gonna be all right?" Joey asked. In response, Ryou doubled over and vomited onto the floor. He wiped the bile off his mouth and coughed violently.

"Oh, dear…" he said softly. "How long have I been down here?"

"I'm sorry, Ryou, we honestly don't know," Tea said, crouching down beside the crystal elf.

Ryou looked fearfully at her. "How do you know my name?" he demanded. "Have we met before?"

"Calm down, man, no one's here to hurt ya," Tristan said reassuringly. "We need to get you out of here, and fast. Your big brother won't be happy that we're breaking in and trying to rescue you."

"Oh, yes…" Ryou muttered. It seemed he remembered his relationship with his big brother all too well. "But how are we going to leave? He must already be on his way…"

"Jump into the water over there with the fish and swim with them to the surface. We'll be right behind you," Yugi instructed. Ryou nodded and slid into the water shakily.

Joey grabbed Tea's hand and followed Ryou, while Tristan went in after them. Yugi was about to jump in himself, but something stopped him. Something wet had touched his bare foot. Yugi looked down and found himself standing in a pool of greenish-yellow liquid. The fumes from it suffocated him; he felt darkness close in around him and he passed out.

The gang crawled out of the water onto the grass and looked around. The fish had resumed their circular course, but Yugi had not come with them. "Hey, Yugi was right behind us, wasn't he?" Tea asked. Ryou breathed heavily, looking like he was about to pass out.

"I don't think Yugi ever left the castle," Ryou said. "I would be able to feel him."

"You mean… Yug's still in there?" Joey asked quietly. He growled. "Well, we hafta go back! We can't leave our buddy in there ta die!"

Joey made to jump into the water, but an invisible force held him back. "You can't go!" Ryou exclaimed. "I fear that it's too late for your friend now. My brother will have found him already. There's nothing we can do."

"Don't say that!" Tea yelled, tearing streaming from her eyes. "Don't say that Yugi… Yugi… Yugi can't be gone!"

"Guys," Tristan said softly. They were silent. "Ryou's with us now, which means that Bakura's spell on the castle is lifted. If anyone is going to be able to bring Yugi back in one piece, it's the pharaoh, right? I mean, he's supposed to be the strongest magician in the world!"

Ryou nodded. "Then come with me!" He snapped his fingers and the world in front of them seemed to disintegrate. They were blinded by a bright, white light for a split second, and then the world reformed. Instead of being at the base of the Dark Mountains, they were in the middle of the Minavre castle courtyard.

Tea ran up to the castle, where the king and all his subjects were emerging to see if the spell had really been lifted. "My lord… my lord!" she panted when she had reached Atem. She bowed quickly. "Please, it's Yugi! He's still at Bakura's castle!"

Atem's eyes flashed crimson, and Tea stepped back as his expression darkened severely. "So he would try to blackmail me…" Atem muttered. "Bakura will not kill Yugi quickly. That is not why he captured him. He wants to use Yugi to get to me, to try and win my throne through extortion. Yet he underestimates me," Atem growled. "I shall make him see why I was chosen to rule the people of Ishravitas."

He stormed off to the stables and pulled out four good and swift horses. He mounted one, while he handed the reins of another to Tea, Tristan, and Joey. "Your Majesty," Ryou said quietly, "do you not want me to come with you?"

"I would have no one else come with me, save for these few who care so dearly for Yugi's life," Atem replied. "It is for the best – they would never be content with waiting here for news."

"But I can help you!" Ryou said.

"I would not have you aid in the destruction of your brother, Ryou, not for anything. This is not your fight. Go to the magicians' quarters and Mana and Isis shall look after you," Atem commanded. Ryou knew better than to disobey the king's orders; he bowed and took off toward the palace.

"Now, we have a two days' gallop to the Vale of Tears," Atem said. "We shall not transport, for the elder Bakura will have numerous safeguards against such a thing. We ride."

Yugi opened his eyes and found himself lying on a green marble floor in the middle of a large and empty room. He pushed himself onto all fours and looked around blearily. Great columns supported the incredibly high ceiling, and a single door lay shut and bolted at the end of the room. A man was sitting cross-legged in a golden throne with a smirk on his face.

"It's about time you woke up," Bakura said. "I was beginning to think that we wouldn't be able to have any fun before the pharaoh arrived."

"Bakura!" Yugi exclaimed. His breath was shallow and panicked. Bakura was going to kill him! But… Ryou was free, wasn't he? The spell around the castle was gone, wasn't it? The dark cloud was no more, wasn't it? Yugi had done his duty to the world – wasn't that worth his life?

Yugi smiled. "You lost, Bakura. Even if you do kill me, Minavre isn't under your control anymore. King Atem is going to make you pay for what you've done… to everyone."

Bakura laughed. "Is that so? Well, little Yugi, I may have lost my idiot brother's power, but I have something else that I can use if King Atem happens to show up."

"And what's that?" Yugi asked bravely.

Bakura walked over to him and grabbed Yugi's throat, lifting him up with one hand. "I have you." Bakura tossed Yugi onto the ground, where the latter choked and gasped for air. "Atem won't just let me have my way with you. He knows that you won't die quickly in my hands. He will come and try to save you, but I'll have you perfectly within my power. And he will give up his rule and the rule of his descendants, or you will die and your soul shall suffer eternally in the Realm of the Shadows."

"Realm… of the Shadows?" Yugi asked, feeling more fear trying to claw its way into his mind. "Well, you'll still lose! Atem wouldn't give up the rights of the royal family just for me."

"Ah, how little we remember," Bakura said. "Perhaps he won't come after you, now that he sees what condition you're in. I wonder what he could be thinking…"

"What are you talking about?" Yugi asked. "What do you mean, 'what condition I'm in'?"

"You do know, don't you?" Bakura inquired mockingly. "You know that your entire childhood has been a sham, a web of lies? That your family isn't really your family? So where could those real parents of yours be?"

"Stop it," Yugi said. Bakura grinned at him. "Stop talking about my parents as though they're not my family!"

"But they're not," Bakura contradicted. "What if I told you that your parents, your family, and everyone you've ever known in your small little world have been an elaborate illusion formed by an incredibly powerful Royal?"

"That's not true."

"I know the truth! I can see the tendrils of manipulative magic stretching from Minavre and reaching all over the world! And the Royal who did it was working for the former king and queen of Ishravitas themselves! He destroyed your life and your mind for the sake of preserving the reputation of the royal family!" Bakura spat. "And that's what they all do! They make you feel like you're nothing compared to them, and that they deserve to rule over everything you are because they were born to different parents."

"No! King Atem isn't like that!" Yugi yelled. "He… he's not…" But Yugi didn't really know what Atem was like. He had only met him for a few hours a week and a half ago. For all he knew, Bakura was right.

"Perhaps you're right," Bakura said, shrugging. "Either way, I win. If he truly does care for you, then he will give up his throne to protect your soul. If not, then I get to watch you die before I leave this world."