A/N: Thanks for the reviews! A couple of people asked me whether this will still be puzzleshipping, or whether it would descend into revolutionshipping. The answer is no. There will be one-sided love on Anzu's part, but I firmly believe that Yami has never seen, and will never see, Anzu as anything but a friend. No need to worry… this may not be slash, but that doesn't mean my OTPs have changed. Enjoy!

It was growing late in the day by the time Ryou heard the front door shut, followed by footsteps preceding someone's arrival. She had spent a rather unimaginative day doing chores around the house and pretending to ignore Bakura, who had been wandering around touching everything with a look of wonderment on his face that quickly turned to embarrassment if he realized that she was watching with an indulgent smile. He had followed her from room to room, trailing silently behind her like a lost puppy, though he tried to act like it was coincidence that they kept ending up in the same place. She thought it was adorable, but since that was not a word that Bakura would have accepted in regards to himself, she kept her mouth shut and acted like she didn't notice. She was in the kitchen making spaghetti for dinner while Bakura sat at the table and ate chocolate chips when Yami appeared in the doorway.

"Oh, hello," Ryou said with some surprise when she realized that he was alone. One glance at his face told her that something wasn't right, and she felt worry bubbling in her stomach as she reached out and absently stirred the pot of noodles. Had their talk gone poorly? What did Yami think of them now that he knew what had happened?

"Good evening," Yami replied, sounding weary. "I've been looking for Aibou all day. Have you seen him, Ryou?"

Him. Yuugi hadn't spoken to Yami at all, then. Thank god she'd felt a little chilled earlier and had put on one of her father's thicker sweaters, which hid any sign of her breasts. Ryou relaxed slightly, trying to ignore Bakura's knowing expression, and leaned against the counter. "Sorry, Yami. I spoke to... err... him earlier and he said that he was going to look for you. That's the last I'd heard." She frowned slightly.

Yami sighed. "I went all over town and visited most of Aibou's friends to see if they'd heard from him. I even went back to the Kame Game Shop to see if he'd talked to his grandfather. The only one who'd seen him was Jou, and he told me the same thing, that Yuugi was looking for me. I guess we must keep missing each other."

"I can try calling him. Bakura, come over here and stir this." She held up the stick. Bakura scowled, but surprisingly, he actually stood up and came over to her. He took the stick and leaned over the bubbling water to poke unenthusiastically at the noodles, but Ryou knew that as soon as he was alone he'd be utterly fascinated by the steam or the pot or the hot water or something. He couldn't seem to get enough of touching after centuries of sensory deprivation, and really, she couldn't blame him.

Ryou moved away into the living room and picked up the phone, dialling Yuugi's number from memory. Yami hovered in the doorway, watching her anxiously. She shot him a comforting smile even as the voicemail picked up. Instead of leaving a message, she clicked off and sent a text requesting that Yuugi call as soon as she could. "No answer… but I wouldn't be concerned, Yami. It's only half past six. Why don't you eat dinner with us and I'll try again afterwards?"

"Alright." He trailed her back into the kitchen. Ryou pretended she didn't see the handful of half-cooked noodles Bakura was stuffing into his mouth and took over again. Once the noodles were done cooking, she added the sauce and gave all three of them heaping platefuls, leaving the fourth plate on the counter in the hopes that Yuugi would show up. They sat down at the table and began eating - or at least, Ryou and Bakura did. Yami poked half-heartedly at his meal, darting quick glances at the door every so often. By the end of the meal, he had progressed to outright staring, like he could silently will Yuugi to come home.

In spite of her best efforts, Ryou was getting worried, too. Her spaghetti tasted like cardboard and she finally gave up, pushing the plate over in front of Bakura. She fetched the phone again and started systematically working her way down the line, calling Anzu, Jou, Honda, Mokuba, and Sugoroku. None of them had heard from Yuugi since earlier in the day. Chewing on her lip, she stood up and went over to one of the kitchen drawers. Isis had given her a cell phone number to contact them if necessary and she remembered tossing the slip of paper into a drawer, thinking she'd never need it. It took her only a moment to find it.

"Hello?"

The sound of Malik's honey voice was surprisingly calming. Ryou closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Malik, it's Ryou. Have you heard from Yuugi?"

"No, not since the last time we spoke," Malik replied. He paused and Ryou knew the exact moment that his mind leapt to the same conclusion hers had already arrived at. "She was out in the city alone, wasn't she? Nee-san and I felt the Shadow Realm being activated a few hours ago, but she attributed it to something that Nii-san was doing. But it wasn't. It was Yuugi."

She felt sick. "No one has heard from her since this morning, Malik."

"Shit," he breathed. "Stay there, Ryou. Don't leave Bakura's side. We're coming over."

The line went dead and her hand shook as she ended the call on her side. Slowly, she pivoted to face Yami and Bakura, who were both staring at her. Likely, they read the truth in her face before she spoke, but she still had to say it. "Yuugi's missing. I think she's been taken by Yami Malik."

INC

Dark. Cold. Those were the first two sensations that Yuugi became aware of, following by pain. Her whole body was aching, every nerve thrumming, but it was a distant pain, like someone had laid a canvas down over the sensation that prevented her from truly feeling it. Her fingers and toes were numb and she realized that she was shivering, which meant that the cold wasn't merely an internal issue. She forced her eyes open and flinched. Even though the room - or wherever she was - was mostly dark, the little bit of hazy light was still enough to make her eyes throb. That set off her head. A slow pounding began right behind her temples and she let her head fall back in exhaustion. What the hell had happened?

Okay, she had to think about it. She could remember talking to Jou in the park. He'd encouraged her to track Yami down and tell him the truth and she had decided to follow his advice. Unfortunately, Yami didn't have a cell phone, so she'd gone back to the Kame Game Shop to see if he had returned. But there hadn't been any sign of him. So what had she done after that? Yuugi squeezed her eyes shut tightly and tried to think, but her memory after that was a complete blank. She recalled returning to the shop and deciding not to talk to her grandfather, but then - what? It made sense that she would've gone back to Ryou's to look for Yami, but she didn't actually remember doing that.

"What happened to me?" she mumbled, opening her eyes again. The light wasn't quite so bad this time around and she was able to keep them again, though the world around her remained fuzzy and somewhat blurry. She lifted her hands and rubbed her eyes, then looked around again. That had helped a little, as it was immediately obvious why the world hadn't seemed quite right.

The walls of the room around her - and she used the word "room" very loosely - were a misty, smoky shade of purple that looked a little, to the uneducated eye, like clouds. Yuugi's heart sank and she immediately pushed herself to her feet, not caring that she swayed once she was actually standing. She was in the Shadow Realm, though she had no memory of how she'd gotten there. Her heart began to pound and she reached instinctively for her chest. It was a painful reminder when her fingers closed around stark, empty space. She was alone and she didn't even have the Millennium Puzzle for protection. Her situation had gone from bad to worse and she had the feeling it wasn't going to get any better.

"Hello?" she called out, hoping against hope that Dark Magician or Dark Magician Girl would pop out to answer. But nothing happened. She gritted her teeth against the urge to panic. The only thing worse than having someone be there with her was being completely alone. The Shadow Realm was an infinite, echoing place where negative emotions were amplified, and that include fear and misery, both of which Yuugi was feeling in spades. Weakly, she wrapped her arms around herself and tried to keep calm.

Since there weren't any duel monsters around, that meant that there was one likely (and unwelcome) conclusion as to how she'd gotten here. Yuugi closed her eyes and stood very still, desperately reaching out towards Yami. Damn her secret; she would gladly tell him everything if only she could just get in contact with him! But just as her shields were coming down, something cold and hard snapped into place around her neck. Instantly her eyes flew open and her hands darted to her throat, tugging uselessly at a collar. It felt like it was made of some kind of hard fabric that was icy to the touch. Frantically she ran her fingers around it, searching for some kind of buckle or seam, but there was nothing.

Behind her, someone laughed. "Poor little hikari."

Oh Ra. Slowly she turned around, almost dreading what she was about to see. Her worst fears were confirmed when she saw the shadowy figure standing right behind her. Yami Malik did not look the better for having spent well over a year trapped in the Shadow Realm. His once pale hair had darkened into an ugly, washed out blond, and his tanned skin had gone sallow. It was his eyes, though, that chilled her the most. The lavender irises had darkened into nearly pitch black, and she couldn't see even a hint of sanity, not that he'd possessed much in the first place. Shakily, she took a step backwards.

"Y-Yami M-Malik," she stammered. "What are you doing? Why did you bring me here?"

"Surely that should be obvious to the pharaoh's hikari," he sneered, stalking closer to her. Or at least, he tried. His feet weren't touching the ground, she noticed, like he was gliding instead of walking. "I've been waiting to get my revenge on you and now I'll have my chance. It's so pleasant when one's prey falls right into a trap."

"I don't..." Her voice failed and she swallowed hard. She'd been foolish to go running around on her own, she knew. Isis had strongly cautioned her against doing just that, saying that Yami Malik would be waiting for such an opportunity, and it seemed she'd been right.

"You don't what?" he asked mockingly. "I hope you're not still trying to get into contact with the pharaoh. That band is created from shadow magic and it will stop your link from functioning as long as it's around your neck. And don't bother trying to take it off." His smile grew and became distinctly crueller. "Or perhaps you should try. I'm in the mood to hear some cries of pain. I haven't been able to torture anyone but duel monsters for the longest time, and it gets very tiresome hearing those stupid creatures make the same sounds all the time. After a while they all begin to sound the same. But you..." He slowly looked her up and down. "I'll bet that you would make some truly delicious sounds."

It was official: she was well and truly past the point of trying to remain calm. Yuugi backed up another step, clenching her shaking hands into tight fists. She tried to reach out for any strand of magic that might still be in her body, but it was like trying to grab a fistful of water. Useless. "You can't do this. Yami will come for me."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," Yami Malik purred. Quick as a snake, he was standing in front of her. He was a fair few inches taller, so he towered over her. He reached out and grabbed her wrists, preventing her from moving backwards, and pulled her forward so that there were only a few inches of space between their bodies. Ignoring her attempt at a struggle, he pinned her wrists with one hand and touched the collar with the other. "Mmm, I hope the pharaoh comes soon. I'll have less time to play with you but the best part is when someone finds out that their light has been tainted." He grinned. "And please, don't be afraid to scream."

Please review!