Yami no Game: Dark Saga

Chapter 29

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It was another warm sunny day and Yugi was ready to leave out for a game being held at school. Outside, Myrrh made her way to the game shop, seeing Sugoroku outside sweeping. "Morning, Motou-san. How are you today?" she asked, smiling softly. "I'm doing quite fine. You must be here for Yugi, I'll call him for you." he said before looking up to where his bedroom window was situated. "Yugi! Myrrh is here! Come on down!" he called before looking back to Myrrh. "Would you like a drink?"

"No thanks, we're already late enough." she answered.

Inside, Yugi picked up the puzzle, now sporting a new chain and smiled. "This should keep the puzzle in safe hands." he said and Aqua smiled. "Indeed it will. The strap it was on before was withered and would've snapped sooner or later, leaving anyone to grab hold of it." he said and Yugi nodded, looking to the window when his grandfather called for him. "Well I better get going."

"You sure you don't want us to come along?"

"No, no. I'll be fine. Don't worry. I'll call you or Yami through the puzzle if I need you." he said before waving to him as he ran out the door and downstairs. He walked out the front and Myrrh nodded. "About time, you silly goose. Let's get going." she said and he nodded before he ran off alongside her. "If you two get done with the game early, you should come back and help me do some chores around here!" Sugoroku called.

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As they walked, Yugi and Myrrh chatted. "So Yugi, do Yami and Aqua know what they are going to do about their memories?" she asked. "I don't know. I never asked them about it. I know they must be important since they want to know how they were sealed into the puzzle and became demons. All of that must be in their memories so fate must have some sort of course for us to follow to learn about them." he said and she nodded.

"I see."

"Futures told, fates unfold. Step up boy and have your future revealed." A man spoke from a fortune telling table as they walked by. "Hmm?" Yugi looked over to the table before walking over. "Can you really?" he asked and the male nodded. "Yugi, we don't have time for this. We need to get going."

"Hold on. I want to see if he can tell what I need to know." he said as he looked to the man. The fortune teller spotted the Sennen puzzle and smirked just a little. "In order to tell your future, I will need to hold a personal item. That necklace will do nicely." he spoke and Yugi held the puzzle protectively. "I don't know…I can't just give this to anyone." he murmured. "Then I'm afraid I can't read your fortune." he spoke. Yugi sighed before moving to take off the puzzle. "Yugi, I don't know about this..." Myrrh whispered.

"It will just be for a second." Yugi said as he handed the puzzle to the fortune teller. "Hmm, I think I see something." he murmured. "What is it?" Yugi asked.

"I see that this puzzle...belongs to me!"

The table was kicked over, knocking Yugi down along with it as the man ran into the alley. "My puzzle!" Yugi cried before standing and ran to chase after the man. "Yugi!" Myrrh called. "Go see about cutting him off, Myrrh! I can't lose the puzzle!" Yugi called back and she nodded before running off. As he ran through the alleyways, he came across arrows posted upon the wall. "He must want me to follow him. It must be a trap but without the puzzle, I can't contact Yami or Aqua." he murmured before running along the path indicated by the arrows. With Myrrh, she continued to run, planning to at least cut off the man somehow. She came across Ryou and Diamond on her run and Diamond was the first to blink.

"Myrrh, what's the rush?" she asked and she turned back to them. "Someone stole Yugi's puzzle! I'm trying to see about cutting him off! Since I found you two, you can go see about finding Jou, Kaiser and Honda so they can help." she said as she ran off. When her back turned to them, she never noted their dulled eyes as two shadows rose from the ground. "The puzzle can't be lost. We won't allow this, right Bakura?" Crimson questioned as he looked to him. "Of course not, Crimson. Come, we must borrow our dear hosts' bodies only this once." Bakura whispered. Crimson nodded as they returned to the shadows and soon, the appearance of Ryou and Diamond changed. Crimson gave a hiss before bringing out the Sennen Gem.

"My precious item of power, time to work your dowsing power for me again. Search for the puzzle." he whispered and soon, the gem glowed, revealing what almost look like a compass interface within the gem, and pointed an arrow in the direction they needed to go. "Let's go." Bakura said and he nodded before the two ran off. Soon, they reached the site where the two split off and Crimson sniffed around for a bit. "Hmmm, the scent still lingers. Heading into the alley." he said as he stood and held up the item which pointed the way and the two followed it. Bakura came across one of the arrows that led the way and spat off to the side as he took it and flipped its direction. 'Sorry but I can have Yugi's pathetic friends following us so soon.' he thought as he followed behind Crimson.

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Yugi eventually reached the end and found that an old warehouse was the end goal. "I feel like a rat running through a maze. But why would a thief want me to follow him?" he wondered softly to himself as he walked up to the door and pushed it open before walking inside. Everything was dark inside before he heard the voice of the thief. "Congratulations for coming all this way, Yugi! It's about time I found you as well as the Sennen Puzzle." The voice, now more distorted than before, spoke as a spotlight shined on the puzzle hanging from the side of the simulation table. 'Must be rigged to project without the box then…' Yugi thought before glaring at the other male.

"Give me back the puzzle!"

"It won't be so easy, Yugi! I've been waiting a long time for this moment but if you want it back, we're gonna fight for it!" he spoke once more and Yugi growled as more spotlights shined down on him. "That's right, we're going to duel for it. The winner gets the Sennen Puzzle." The thief spoke as the lights came on, revealing the dueling stage. Yugi looked to the table then to the fortune teller before him.

"Who are you and what do you want with the puzzle?"

"My name is of no concern to you but I want the puzzle for its demonic properties. Seeing as the power within has already been released, I'll have to win the puzzle from you, as told by its ancient laws, to control the demons inside without putting myself in harm's way. Seeing as you already have them claim you as their mate, taking it by force to use it power will have them coming for me." The man spoke once more. "It's such a shame that you don't know much of the ancient as I do. So much can be explained to you but alas, this isn't my place to tell for my destiny will come to fruition the moment those demons become mine!"

"I don't want to duel you for my Sennen Puzzle." Yugi said.

"But it is in my possession and if you want it back, then you have to duel. As long as the demons are not aware that it's not in your possession anymore, I have nothing to worry about with them coming to interfere before I can claim the puzzle as mine." he spoke and Yugi growled. "Fine, I accept your challenge." he whispered and the man smirked. "Of course you do." he said as he turned and walked to his side of the table. Yugi gazed at the puzzle, wondering to himself if he could make a connection. 'But if I try that and they come, who know if this man doesn't have a trap waiting specifically for their arrival?' he thought to himself as he headed onto his side and both were set into position.

"Prepare to lose everything, Yugi. I've seen your future and it's not looking pleasant for you."

"I won't lose." he whispered, taking out his deck from his pocket and set it on the table. After a quick shuffle, they were ready. Yugi drew his hand and looked at his cards. 'I just hope I can win this. I'm not as good as Yami but the stakes are high and I won't allow them to be used for evil purposes.' he thought as he set Celtic Guardian down on the field. 'And the worst part is, I don't know anything about this duelist so who knows if I'll be able to win.'

"I set this card in defense." His opponent spoke, setting the card down on the field. "What, too afraid to make the first move?" Yugi questioned. "No actually. It should be you who should worry about going on the offensive." The man spoke, smirking. He frowned as the other end his turn and he took his neck card. "Fine then. Go Celtic Guardian! Attack his face down monster!" he called and the elf swordsman went in to attack. "Perfect. Just what I wanted you to do. You activated my Cyber Jar." he said as the monster appeared and was destroyed by Celtic's mighty sword.

"Oh no!" he cried as his Celtic Guardian was soon destroyed after.

"Yes, all monsters are destroyed from the field and it also requires us to draw five new cards." he said, getting his five and so did Yugi. 'Ok, new plan...' he thought, setting a monster in defense move. "Then I'll place mine in attack mode. Go Mechanicalchaser." he said, placing the 1850 monster out on the field. "And along with it, Ground Attacker Bugroth." he spoke, the two level 4 monsters appearing on the field. 'Wait a second...I know of only one player that uses nothing but machine cards.' Yugi thought and his eyes narrowed. "Show yourself...Bandit Keith!" he called and the man smirked as he revealed himself to be the machine duelist.

'So I was right...but why would he disguise himself and steal the puzzle? The last time I remember is that he lost again Jou at the Duelist Kingdom tournament. After that, we never saw him again...'

"Why are you doing this?!" Yugi demanded and Keith chuckled. "I'm not really Bandit Keith, I'm just speaking through him and controlling him like a puppet." The real culprit spoke, smirking from his location far from where they were. "Why?"

"Because I could use a new puppet to do my dirty work. And not only that but he's the perfect bait should you call your demons. They'll be taking his life and not mine, leaving me the freedom to still complete my destiny." he finished and Yugi growled. "Don't you see? You harness a great power. The power of the demons. I want that power along with the ancient secrets held inside the puzzle and I will stop at nothing until I get it." he spoke before something change in Keith's eyes. "Help me..." he whispered before he lost to the power controlling him.

/Ah, ah...you will never escape me.../

"Now, I play Machine King in attack mode. And his ability allows him to gain an extra 100 attack points for every machine monster on the field so that's 300 more attack points for him." he spoke before commanding the Machine King to attack and it did, easily taking out Silver Fang. Yugi knew he was in trouble but he can't lost or else he'll lose something valuable to him. He set another card down in defense before giving the turn to Keith. "You can't win against my machine army. And when I put this machine monster down, will make it even more invincible." he said, setting Megasonic Eye onto the field, giving Machine King another 100 attack points. "Now Machine King, attack his face down monster!" he called and Machine King did as commanded, taking out his Stone Soldier.

"Can't you see yet? You're all out of options. Just give up." The possessed Keith spoke. Yugi tapped the console before him. 'I can't lose but Keith is a powerful duelist and I don't know if I'll be able to win against him like Jou did.' he thought and sighed. 'Will this be the end?'

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At the school, Myrrh found Jou, Honda and Kaiser and urged them to hurry after explaining the situation. "Sure, just lead the way." Jou said as they pulled out their regular shoes from their lockers, slipping them on before heading out. But before they could get off school grounds, a teacher stopped them. "Hey, where do you guys think you're going? You said you would help with the soccer game."

"I know, coach, but we have an emergency." Kaiser spoke before Honda stepped up. "Yeah, Myrrh's cat is sick and we have to run it to the vet." he said and Myrrh nodded, going along with their little lie. "Pease coach, I don't want to lose my precious kitty." she whimpered before breaking out the fake tears. That alone got the coach and he nodded. "I didn't know your little kitty was so sick. Go ahead and save that kitty!" he said and both Jou and Honda grinned before nodded. "Of course! Thank you coach!" They both called before they ran off, the coach yelling encouragement to them. "That wasn't cool."

"I know but this is an emergency so we had to lead coach astray. He's a big softie…when he wants to be apparently." Kaiser said as they ran. "Are you sure we shouldn't at least go and get Yami and Aqua?" Myrrh questioned. "We don't have time! And if we're lucky, they know a disturbance is going on and will come themselves." Jou said.

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"Well, Yugi? Are you going to make a move or admit defeat? I suggest the latter to make it easy on you." Keith spoke. "I'll never give up! I have too much at stake right now!" he said as he drew his next card. "I place Curse of Dragon down in attack mode. And with him, Gaia the Fierce Knight. I finish up by using Polymerization, combining them together to create Gaia the Dragon Champion!" he called as the fusion monster appeared on the field. "Now go! Attack his Mechanicalchaser with Double Dragon Lance!" The dragon knight nodded as he ascended into the air, Mechanicalchaser following and as the two clashed, the one to go down was the machine, making Machine King lose 100 attack and Keith losing 750 life points.

"Impressive. Now what if I put my weakest machines into defense to protect them from your dragon knight's attack? And then play Machine Conversion Factory to give all my machines 300 attack and defense points." he said and Yugi winced. 'Crud...that makes his Machine King more powerful than my Dragon Knight...' Yugi thought.

"And as you see, my Machine King has enough points to overpower your dragon knight. So attack, Machine King! Take out his knight!" The Machine King activated and raised its fists, launching them and taking out the dragon knight. "Now your offense is over. I made sure to make Keith's machines invincible. So why don't you just give up and give me the puzzle now so you don't suffer a horrible defeat." he spoke as the person in control watched the duel from Keith's eyes. "Besides, it's the inevitable end to this duel." he whispered outside of his control. The other cloaked figure that stood beside him smirked.

"And then both powers will soon be ours."

"Exactly."

Yugi growled as he drew his next card and nodded. 'Summoned Skull. I think I know what I can do but I'm going to need a magic card first.' he thought as he picked out the one he needed. "Your machines are impressive but they're still metal so I activate Makyu, the magical mist!" he said as he set the card down on the field and soon, the mist poured in. "You think a little mist will do in my machines?"

"No but it will cause them to rust." Yugi replied as the machines started to rust over from the mist. "And that also leaves them to be gigantic lightning rods as well. The perfect bait for this monster!" he continued as he set Summoned Skull onto the field. It gained a boosted attack from the drenched field and Yugi commanded the demon to attack Machine King, taking it out and knocking Keith's life points down to 500. "Any more machines for the junk heap?"

"You little..." Keith growled. 'Hmm...he's much more powerful than I thought. To duel with such skill when he hasn't touched the deck for a while except for dueling with his little friends.'The mysterious figure thought.'But I've filled that deck with rare and powerful cards that you never seen before. I won't let you win this match so easily.'

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"So, they went down this alley huh?" Jou questioned once they reached the alley where Yugi and the fortune teller ran down. "Yeah. I just hope Yugi is alright. Yami or Aqua won't be happy if something bad happened to him." Myrrh whispered before they headed down, following the arrow before they met up with the confusion that was the rest pointed into various directions. "Oh great! How are we gonna find him now?!" Honda questioned.

"I don't know!" Jou snapped before getting an idea. "Kaiser~" he called and said person looked to him. "What?"

"Get the scent and maybe you can follow it."

"Do I look like a dog to you?!" he hissed, crossing his arms. "No, no! We just need to figure out a quicker way to find Yugi and that was the best idea that I had at the moment." Jou said, rubbing the back of his head. "Please, Kaiser. This could be dangerous." Myrrh begged and Kaiser sighed before nodding. "Alright, alright. Give me a second." he said, sniffing the air before getting a scent and nodded. "Follow me, kiddies." he said before running off. The others followed close behind, unaware of the figure that watched them from above.

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"So, Keith, gonna make a move or are you planning to give up?" Yugi asked as he looked to him. The other didn't say a word as his drew his card before revealing it. "I play the Graceful Charity card. With this, I'm able to draw three cards and I'm sure the three I'm going to get..." he murmured as the male raised a hand and with Keith, the arm hidden by the table moved slightly, the card holder dropping and moved to stealthily set the cards on the top of the deck. "Will be the ones I need to end this duel." he whispered as he drew them, discarding two. "Now I play there Zera Ritual magic card to bring out one of the strongest monsters in the game." he spoke as he set the card on the field.

"I never even hear of such a card before!" Yugi squeaked. "But I know a thing about rituals and even if you have the ritual, you need the right monster to accompany it and what are the odds of you getting that on that draw?"

Keith smirked as he raised up said card, making Yugi gasp in horror. "I'm not one to talk big. I'm going to end this duel and claim my prize and I won't let you continue getting in my way." he whispered. "Maybe now you'll understand what kind of power you're going up against. Now, by sacrificing my two machine monsters, Zera the Mant will emerge onto the field!" he said as the cards were sacrificed and the hulking monster appeared onto the field with a roar and a total of 2800 attack. "Now, Zera, attack the Summon Skull!" Keith called and the monster moved to attack, taking out the Summoned Skull, whose power returned to normal after its temporary boost.

Outside, Bakura and Crimson stepped onto the scene. "So, the puzzle is here, huh? And looks like we're not alone. Another presence outside of this area is here as well. Whatever is going on in there, looks like we have our work cut out for us." Bakura murmured. Crimson huffed. "As long as the puzzle doesn't fall into anyone else's hand but us, I don't care." he whispered before they went to make their way inside and keep the new presence from claiming the puzzle.

Inside, Keith once again gained momentary control of himself and tried to call out for help once more but was silenced as the puppeteer controlled him once more. /Your resistance is futile. I can't allow you to break from my mind control before I win this match./ he spoke.

'I need something to beat his monster with. If only I could contact Yami for guidance but I don't want either of them to come here and be captured.' Yugi thought. "Make your move, Yugi. Don't try and prolong the inevitable conclusion of this match." Keith spoke as he looked to him. Yugi hummed to himself as he drew his next card and when it wasn't something strong enough to take out Zera the Mant, he placed it in defense.

'Like a rodent caught in a rattlesnake's grasp. In his hands, that deck is weak!' The puppeteer thought as he drew his next card. "First I play Seiyaryu in attack mode." he spoke, setting the monster onto the field. "And then..." he started, the mechanism under the sleeves of the robe switching out a weak card for a better one that was all hidden from Yugi's sight. "I place this card face down."

Yugi was worried as he looked to the card face down and couldn't wish for anything more for something to intervene. "And I'm not finished yet. I play Stop Defense and bring your monster into attack mode!" he said and Yugi gasped as his dragon was revealed. "And now that it's in attack mode, I can destroy it and do more damage to you. Go, Zera! Attack with Jagged Claw Strike!" he said and the beast snarled as it attacked, slashing the dragon to pieces and taking Yugi's life points down to 400. Yugi growled but knew the duel was not over yet. But he had to do something before the puzzle was lost to whoever this person was that was controlling Keith. He drew his card and set the monster in defense and Keith could only chuckle.

"Your pathetic defenses make me laugh! Now Seiyaryu, attack his face down with Razor Flare Blast!" he called as the dragon snarled before taking to the air and attacked Yugi's Mystical Elf. "I also place two more cards face down." he said before switching Zera into defense. "If you're confused, this will be clear soon enough." he said as he watched Yugi's expression of confusion at his move. Yugi could only nod as he drew his next card.

"Alright. I'll place this card face down then Black Magician into defense. Then I play Magical Hats to conceal him." he said as he placed the cards down onto the field. Keith smirked. "Oh, I should've seen that one coming...oh wait, but I planned ahead. I reveal my trap card, Magic Jammer! Discarding a card from my hand will allow me to cancel out the effect of your Magical Hats. So no more hiding for the Black Magician." Keith spoke. As the card activated, the hats disappeared from the field, revealing the Black Magician once more.

"But I'm not done yet. Now I activate Curse of Fiend. This handy card will allow me to change the position of the monsters on the field. So you see, there was a good reason why I put Zera into defense mode." he spoke as the magic did it work, forcing Zera and the Black Magician into attack and Seiyaryu into defense. "Now Zera, attack the Black Magician!" Keith commanded and the monster made the attack.

"I won't allow it! I play Mirror Force to reflect your attack back at you!" Yugi said, flipping over the trap.

"Ah, ah, I will end that by playing Solemn Judgment!" Keith counter as he flipped the trap and the attack was reflected back to Black Magician once more. "How is that possible?!" Yugi cried. "Solemn Judgment is another one of my rare and powerful cards. It allows me to cancel out the last card played by my opponent with a little sacrifice of half my life points." Keith explain as the Mirror Force shattered, the returning attack taking out the Black Magician and leaving Yugi with a mere 100 life points left. "A small price to pay to know that only one more attack will soon make the puzzle mine." Keith whispered, a grin on his face as the blank stare gazed at the trembling form of the boy before him.

'I can't let this go on. Yami, Aqua, if you can hear me, please, rescue me...'he thought, trying to use the last vestiges of their crumbling link to send the message to them.

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Yami looked up in surprise and Aqua turned to him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Yugi. He's in trouble. I didn't even notice but the link has faded too much. He must not be wearing the puzzle and if that's true then something must be going on." he said. Aqua examined the link and came to the same result before nodding and they both left, taking off for the city.

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"Hmm, something from the shadows is here…" Bakura whispered as they landed on the roof, Crimson prying off one of the loose panels before they slipped inside silently. He moved over the scaffolding and looked down, seeing the dueling field along with little Yugi and his opponent. Crimson trotted up beside him and looked down as well. "Looks as if they're dueling for the puzzle and whatever this dark source is must be the one behind it all." he murmured and Bakura growled. "Well I won't allow this to keep going on. The secrets of the puzzle are ours to claim." he hissed.

"What should we do?"

"We watch and wait for the right moment." Crimson nodded as they both continued to watch the duel.

Yugi drew his neck card and gave a nod. 'Looks like a keeper.' he thought. "I place one card face down and a monster in defense mode." he said as he set the cards onto the field. Keith growled as he drew his next card. Again, he replaced a weak card for a better one before showing it to Yugi. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed."

"That's one of the rarest magic cards in the game!"

"Yes it is and now I can destroy your monster without wasting an attack." he said as the wrapping shot out and went for the face down monster. "Guess again! I play the Living Arrow magic card!" Yugi said and Keith gasped. "It can't be!" he hissed. "Oh yes, now I can redirect your magic card and have it target your monster instead. Now say goodnight, Zera!" he said as the arrow shot out, redirecting the wraps at Zera and soon, the monster was wrapped up and dragged down to the graveyard. "You feel that, Bakura? Feels like the source is coming from Yugi's opponent." Crimson whispered. "Yes it does, Crimson. And this puppeteer will not take what is rightfully ours." he said, demonic power rising.

"Sennen Ring, sever the string that controls this mortal fool."

The eye on the ring glowed bright with power and soon, the control snapped and the man that held control over Keith gasped as his control was lifted. "What happened?" The other beside him asked. "My control! I lost it!" he growled in response, gripping tightly onto his own item. "But how?" the second whispered. "Another Sennen item must be present."

Back in the warehouse, Keith groaned as he placed a hand over his head. "What happened? Where am I?" he questioned softly as he looked up. "Looks like Zera isn't all powerful as you thought! Now time to end this duel and reclaim my puzzle!" Yugi said with determination. "Motou Yugi! What the hell are you doing here?!" Keith questioned, still confused about why he was wearing the ridiculous robe, how he got himself into a duel with Yugi and where he was. But before he could ask another word, he cried out as the puppeteer tried to take control of him once more.

/Your resistance is entertaining, Bandit Keith. But no longer. You will be under my control once more so pick up those cards and win me my puzzle!/ the voice spoke and he cried out in agony.

"Someone's inside my head!" he yelled and Yugi blinked when he realized it was the real Bandit Keith once more. "Keith! Tell me who is it that's controlling you!" Yugi called as the other tried to fight once more to reclaim his mind back. 'I must reclaim control but whoever is interfering must also want the puzzle. I can't allow that to happen! I will claim what is rightfully mine and no one shall stand in my way!' the puppeteer thought. "No! Leave me alone!" Keith cried as he tried to block the presence. But soon, the battle was lost as control was regained but the master knew that he can't hold it for long.

"I'm back and with the last remaining control I have over this fool..." Keith spoke, jumping from his seat and ran across the field. "If I can't have this puzzle, no one can!" he hissed, taking the puzzle in hand. "No, don't do it!" Yugi cried but it was too late as the possessed Keith smashed the puzzle against the table. "No!" Yugi wailed and from outside, two anguished cries were heard as Yami and Aqua were drawn back into the puzzle. 'Yami! Aqua! Oh Ra, I have to do something!' Yugi thought.

"If I can't have it, then no one will." The man whispered as the item in his hands glowed once more as Keith once again tried to fight for control. "Ah, I'm back again and now it's time to take care of things once and for all." he whispered, looking to Yugi. "You bastard, that's enough out of you!" Diamond cried as she flew down, Ryou holding onto her hand and tackling the other from the table. "Ryou! Diamond! When did you get here?!" Yugi asked.

"Myrrh told us about what happened and she went to get the others while we came here to look for you!" she explained. Ryou knelt down and worked to collect the piece and Yugi soon joined in. "My, my, my. Looks like Bandit Keith did a number on your puzzle. Do you think Yami and Aqua are alright?"

"That's what I'm worried about. They may have physical forms but they are still bound to the puzzle. Having it shatter with force like this must've hurt them bad." Yugi murmured as he held the pieces in hand. "Well better shattered then stolen. Who knows what could've happened." Ryou said as he handed the rest of the pieces over to Yugi, neither unaware of a serpent's tail discreetly taking one of the pieces. "Yeah, I agree. It took me forever to fix it the first time. Maybe this time, it won't be so bad now that I know what I'm working with." he said and Ryou nodded.

But completely unnoticed to the other, Bakura and Crimson were actually the ones there. Bakura smirked as Yugi fretted over the puzzle as he held one piece in his hand.'Such a naïve little boy, to worry so much about the present matter that he doesn't know about future matters to come.' he thought, holding out the piece to Crimson and he placed a hand over it as well, both exerting a part of their soul into that very piece.

'Soon enough, we will gathered all the Sennen items and unlock their dark secrets. But the worse of the worse lies within the puzzle. With a portion of our souls sealed within it, we can explore under Yami and Aqua's radar and find the secrets of the Sennen Puzzle. And the moment we find it, we'll strike.' Bakura thought as his demonic features slipped away and Ryou walked over to Yugi. "Yugi, you almost forgot about this piece." he said, handing it to the smaller.

"Oh thanks. The last thing I need is to lose a single piece of the puzzle. I can't leave Yami and Aqua trapped in there for long." Yugi said as he walked over to where the remains of the puzzle hung. Ryou nodded with a soft smile before moving to climb down from the platform. "Don't take too long, Yugi." he said before nodding to Diamond and they both walked off.

Once they were gone, Yugi tried to think of a way to unhook the chain. "Maybe I should've asked for Diamond's help to get this off." he murmured, seeing the clasp that kept the chain on it looked as if it had been welded shut to avoid a quick escape. Keith, who was still on the floor from his fall, was awoken to the presence in his mind again. /Rise, mind slave, and finish this duel. It is not yet finished so I can still claim my prize./ The voice spoke and Keith growled as he stood.

"Get out of my head!" he roared as he picked up a lead pipe and started swinging around wildly for his invisible enemy. Yugi turned to the commotion and gasped. "Keith, no!" he called but it was useless for he was completely out of it up until he hit the power box, causing it to sputter with electricity. A wire snapped, hitting the gas cans below and caused a fire to erupt. Yugi gasped as the fire started to spread.

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With the others, Myrrh, Jou, Kaiser and Honda were still running through alleyways. "Kaiser! Are you following the arrows or the scent?!" Jou asked. "I was up until I lost it so I was making a guess of where to go next!" Kaiser said. "So we could've been running around in circles! Kaiser, you should've said something!" Honda snapped and he pouted. "Hey, at least I tried. If flying was a better option, I would use that but who knows if I'll even spot anything from the air!" Kaiser grumbled. Soon, they saw the smoke rising not far from their location and Myrrh gasped. "A fire?!"

"We better head there. Who knows who might need our help there." Jou said before they ran off.

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The fire was spreading fast and Yugi knew it wouldn't be long before the entire building was up in flames. "I have to do something. I won't last and neither will the puzzle." he whispered before yanking on the chain but to no avail. The only thing he could think to do was solve the puzzle and get Yami and Aqua free. So with no other choice, he started working. The rest of his friends reached the burning warehouse, hearing someone yelling from inside.

"Alright, we'll get the people out. Myrrh, you go call 911 so this fire doesn't spread to any other places." Jou said and she nodded before running off to find the nearest payphone. Jou, Kaiser and Honda headed in and Honda reached for the door handle only to reel back as he was burnt by the hot metal. "Dammit. We gotta bust this door down." he said and they nodded.

"Ok, on three. Three!" Jou called and they rammed the door but it didn't budge. "Three!" They tried again and still nothing. They kept going until eventually, Jou looked to Kaiser. "Come on, Kaiser! You're ramming that door like a girl scout!"

"Oh yeah! Then why don't the two of you take care of it!" Kaiser said, crossing his arms and turned from them. "Fine then! We will! Come on Honda! Three!" Jou called as they both rammed the door and eventually knocked it down. They went inside and were surprised when Keith came bolting out of there like a bat out of hell, rambling on that the place was haunted. "Dude, did we just rescue Bandit Keith?" Honda questioned in surprise.

Inside, Yugi was only a few pieces away from completing the puzzle but the heat and smoke was getting to him. A tower fell over and he jumped but wasn't deterred in trying to complete the puzzle. Jou and Honda walked in and called to see if anyone else was in there. Soon, Jou spotted Yugi and gasped. "Yugi! What are you doing?! We have to get out of here!" he called but Yugi shook his head.

"I can't...must finish the puzzle..." he whispered as he continued putting in the last few pieces. "The heat must've gotten to his head." Honda murmured as the two ran to him. Yugi slid in the last piece and smiled. "There...Yami...Aqua...please come help...me..." he whispered before falling unconscious. "Alright, Yugi, we're gonna get you out of here." Jou said as he tried to pull him from the puzzle but he just wouldn't let go.

"No...I can't leave them..." Yugi whispered and he sighed. "I don't know what went on but if Yami and Aqua were tossed back into the puzzle, I hope they get out of here soon to help." Jou murmured. "But for now, that's not the problem. We need to get Yugi out of here but he won't let go of the puzzle." Honda said.

But before they could figure out a plan, they could feel a pulse from the puzzle and looked to it. A dark aura emanated from it before a deafening roar was heard as Yami and Aqua emerged from the puzzle in a bright stream of light. They landed before they saw what was going on and growled. "What happened here?" Yami hissed. "We don't know. Looks like Yugi got dragged here for a duel by someone. We had Bandit Keith just run out of here. We don't know much else cause we didn't make it here on time to figure out what happened." Jou explained and he nodded.

He reached down, easily jerking out the pin that held the puzzle before lifting Yugi into his arms. Aqua went up to grab the deck before picking up Jou and Honda. "Let's get out of here." he murmured and they nodded before the two flew up towards the window. They burst through and landed on the ground just as Myrrh came back and sighed with relief before running over. "Is he ok?"

"He's fine. Just a little dizzy from the heat I'm sure." Jou said as he was placed down before looking to them. "What happened with you two? I thought you would've been here before any of us."

"I don't know what happened. We were on our way because we heard Yugi's faint plea. But once the puzzle was shattered, we were sucked back into the darkness. That wasn't pleasant at all. As for getting here, we didn't even notice the link was deteriorating until Yugi tried calling for us." Yami said as he frowned, looking down to him.

Soon, the sirens of the fire trucks coming were heard and Yami shed his demonic features as the firemen rushed to put out the fire and asked about what happened. After giving as much of an explanation they could give, they were able to leave after the incident report was filed. Kaiser suggested they get Yugi to a hospital to make sure he was alright and Yami nodded in agreement before they left.

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After an hour in the hospital, Yugi was awake and feeling much better, especially after seeing that Yami, Aqua and the puzzle were alright. He explained to them about what happened and Yami growled. "Sounds like something's about to happen and this time, we got someone not only after the puzzle but us as well." he murmured. "But Yami, is it really true that your loyalties will change if someone wins against me for the puzzle?" Yugi asked as he looked to him.

"I honestly don't know, Yugi. There are many secrets to the puzzle we don't know of yet. This person that spoke to you through Keith must know more than we do. Especially if he knows of us as demons. So as of now, we need to be careful of what we do and how we move." he said and they nodded. Yugi looked down to the puzzle in hand and held it close.

'Hopefully some of the mysteries of the Sennen Puzzle will be solved soon. I can't afford to lose Yami and Aqua to an evil heart or the entire world may be in danger if their demonic power was unleashed.' he thought. Aqua came to sit on the bed and brought Yugi close in a short embrace. "Don't worry, little one. We won't let anyone take us. You'll see." he said and Yugi smiled softly as he nodded.

"Good."

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Zypher: There. This chapter is done in retrospect of a needed plot element that I almost skipped over should I have put up chapter 30 [which was the original chapter 29 written beforehand before I decided to do this one]. -shakes fist- Darn you Malik and your monologuing. You and Bakura both are gonna kill me one of these days. So yeah, hope I didn't kill you with so much underlined text to split between possessed Keith and regular Keith. Well, hope you enjoy this rare double update and I'll see you later with another update. Maybe after AMA depending if I don't have free wifi while I'm there. -waves- See you later.