Atem awoke on the ground, his body aching as he was overcome by a sensation of numbness, probably thrust upon him by the tornado that separated him from the others. Before he could open his eyes, he felt someone caressing his bloody leg as magical incantations were uttered by a familiar voice.
"Ma… Mahad?" he asked, barely opening his eyes.
"My king, I ask that you remain resting. You're not yet ready to be on your feet."
"Where are we and where's Yugi?"
"Master Yugi was separated from you in the storm, my king… I am sure he is fine. He had the power of his monsters protecting him. There's no need to wo…"
"Yugi! What do you mean he's not with us anymore? Where is he? Yugi!" panicked Atem, immediately rising to his feet before his wounds were completely healed.
The pain pulsating through his body was miniscule in nature compared to the thought of losing his beloved husband whom meant the world to him. His emotions were rushing, nearly busting many of his veins as glanced around, examining his surroundings abruptly, seeing nothing but barren wasteland. The only one he cared about at the moment was Yugi. He needed him and longer for him and he was determined to journey to the ends of this realm just to find him.
"My king, you should probably…"
"Don't tell me what I should probably do! My Yugi is missing and for all we know, he could be having his soul drained by Zorc! This is insanity!"
The Dark Magician sighed, looking downward as his king rampaged on, expressing his genuine and grave concerns regarding the fate of Yugi.
"Yugi could very well still be alive and well and we could find him together if you are willing to calm down," stated the Dark Magician reluctantly and slowly. He hated back talking his king, but by the way he was currently acting, there was little choice.
"Yugi," sobbed Atem, punching the air before him. "What do you have in mind?"
"Dry your eyes, my king," he consoled, wrapping his arm around him and offering a gentle smile. "Yugi is likely somewhere in this wasteland, but the question is where? We'll just have to start looking to see."
"Yes, of course…" sobbed Atem, resting his head on the Dark Magician's shoulder.
"And I can help!" came a cheerful voice as a burst of pink colored energy came shooting from one of the cards in Atem's pocket. Before them stood Dark Magician Girl, offering a friendly smile as she caressed Atem's arm.
"Mana?" he asked.
Glancing around, she raised her brow.
"Wow, this place really is awful, isn't it?"
"We need to find Yugi and the others," stated Dark Magician.
"What can I do? I'm bound to the ground while you two are capable of flight.," sighed Atem, looking disappointed.
"I suppose it isn't safe to leave you here, my king," speculated Dark Magician.
"Unless we find him a safe place to wait for us," smiled Dark Magician Girl.
"No really, Mahad. I'll be fine. Just please go and find my Yugi. He must be around here somewhere."
Suddenly, a blast of black energy exploded form another of Atem's cards and before them stood the Magician of Black Chaos. He harbored a grim expression, understanding the potential consequences of being in the Shadow Realm.
"Are you going to help us find Yugi?" asked Dark Magician Girl.
"Love to…" he replied, flipping back his long, black hair.
"Alright, the three of us will split up and we'll leave Atem here with Black Luster Soldier to defend him in case anything goes wrong," explained Mahad.
"Good luck," wished Atem. "And please, come back soon."
"We won't be long," smiled Dark Magician Girl as Dark Magician nodded. Atem watched as the three magicians took off into wasteland to search for Yugi, praying that they would return successful.
His heart beat with an apprehension so great that he felt his stomach churning as he felt the ominous wind blow against his face, contributing to overall sense of skepticism that everyone would make it out of this realm alive.
"This just might be the end of me…" he worried to himself.
MEANWHILE…
Yugi, Joey, and Yusei were journeying through the wasteland, trying their best to find any sings of their friends. They were all thankful to be out of the forest after those few hours of navigating its perplexing geography while avoiding being killed by the evil creature that lived within it. Tired and hungry, they decided to take a break and sat down on some rocks, feeling the cold sweat fall down their faces.
"This world is endless. We might never find our friends," sighed Yusei as he looked up at the black sky.
"We can't say that. We have to believe that we will find them eventually," encouraged Yugi, placing his hand on his shoulder.
"After this five minute break or whatever, let's just keep going and hope we find them," agreed Yusei.
The three of them arose once again and continued on their journey through the wasteland, walking tiredly over the dead, dark ground beneath them and it seemed as if every single one of their footsteps took a thousand years to walk. The life force within them seemed as if it was beginning to drain as they thought about the joyful reunion they would hopefully have with their friends.
After so long, they finally saw a glimmer of hope. Yugi could not miss that beautiful blonde hair, even in this darkness, and he pointed upward as he saw Dark Magician Girl flying over the terrain.
"Hey, Mana, down here!" he called, waving his arms.
She took notice of them and flew downward, expressing a great smile.
"Yugi! You have no idea how worried Atem's been. He sent us to find you and now I'll take you back to him. Let's go," she encouraged as she began to lead the way to Atem's whereabouts.
Within a half hour, they were taken to the spot where Atem sat, worrying about not only his love, but also about his friends. His facial expression showcased grave worry as he tried to avoid looking at his noxious surroundings.
"Atem, look over here!" Dark Magician Girl called.
Atem turned his head and upon seeing Yugi, his eyes widened and he impetuously rushed towards him, wrapping him in a tight embrace as he panted heavily.
"Yugi, you have no idea how worried I was," he admitted.
"Glad to see you too," laughed Yugi.
"Now we have to find the others, complete the mission, and get the Hell outta here!" said Yusei.
Suddenly, Atem became sealed within a magical prism, blocking him from his friends.
"What!" shrieked Yugi as he pounded upon it, but it ceased to shatter.
"Pharaoh!" cried Dark Magician Girl as she began firing blasts of magic at it, but it still would not break.
"So, you think you can enter my realm without me noticing and than have the nerve to plot against me?" echoed a horrid voice throughout the sky. It was extremely deep and sounded entirely demonic in nature.
"Who are you?" shouted Yugi.
"Who do you think it is? I'm the one you all aim to destroy, but I can assure you that absolutely nothing you do can bring me down. The realms of light will soon fall to me and every one of you will become my slaves!"
Suddenly, the crystal cage vanished and Atem was temporarily freed from his bondage, but not before Zorc would strike him with something else. Chains of black energy were conjured from thin air and they wrapped themselves around him, limiting his movement.
"Yugi, take the cards in my pocket. He can't have the spirits of our monsters," struggled Atem.
"As if I want those pathetic creatures!" shouted Zorc.
Yugi took the cards of Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, Magician of Black Chaos, and Black Luster Soldier from Atem's pocket and held them against his chest. He knew what he wanted to say, but if he did so it could spell utter catastrophe for them.
"Zorc, where are you? Tell us!" he shouted.
"I am in a hidden location where I sit with my servant, your old friend Kaiba," laughed the dark god.
"And where is this secret location?" shouted Yugi adamantly.
"In time it will be revealed to you, but for now all I am going to say is that it's in an ancient graveyard where I get my sexual pleasure from the corpses!"
"So he's practices necrophilia?" whispered Joey to Yusei.
Suddenly, a portal opened in the air above them as Kaiba, now cloaked in black skin-tight armor leapt downward, taunting them.
"Kaiba!" yelled Yugi.
"Yugi, I can finally have my revenge on you and your beloved husband for taking away my title in life," he chuckled, expressing malice in his smile.
"Hey, rich boy, stay outta this!" yelled Joey.
"My king!" shouted the voice of the Dark Magician, whom came soaring through the air before delivering a mightily charged dark magic attack at Kaiba.
Kaiba merely laughed, dodging the rapid fire blasts of purple energy that burst form the magician's scepter. Angered, Dark Magician began charging a blast of energy in his hand as he prepared to slam Kaiba with his fist, but to his sheer shock, Kaiba grabbed him, dispelling his potential attack before beating him in the face and kicking him to the side.
"No, Mahad!" gasped Atem.
"My king, I won't give up on you!" the Dark Magician struggled, rising to his feet and attempting another dark magic attack, which Kaiba would Kaiba would deflect with a shield of darkness he conjured, sending the blasts back at him.
"You're all weak," Kaiba scowled before he grabbed Atem by the arm and vanished from sight.
"Yugi!" was Atem's final scream, which could be heard as he disappeared.
Yugi fell to his knees, unsure of what to say. Joey and Yusei lowered themselves, both patting him on the shoulder to console him, but it was no use.
"Atem…" whispered Yugi, terrified of what was to happen to the one he loved most of all.
"We'll get 'im back, Yug. Don't worry!" swore Joey.
"My pharaoh," whispered Dark Magician to himself, inhaling deeply as his eyes became wide.
"What are we supposed to do?" Atem's been taken by Zorc and for all we know, any of us could be next!" freaked Joey, whom became outraged. He drove his fist through the air while grabbing his blonde hair while trying to put together this entire messed up situation in his mind.
"We have to find that graveyard," muttered Yugi.
By now, the magician of Black Chaos returned to them and was told the truth about what happened to Atem and he so overcome by anger because of it that he raised his scepter to the sky and unleashed a blast of dark energy.
"That graveyard can't be far. It has to be around here somewhere. Have any of you seen it?" asked Yugi to the three magicians.
"I came across what looked like a massive cemetery a few miles from here while I was flying, but I didn't pay much attention to its details because I went the other way," admitted the Magician of Black Chaos.
"Excellent. Can you take us there?" asked Yugi.
"I can, but isn't it wise that we find our other friends first? We'll need all the fire power we can get if we hope to take down Zorc," he replied.
"That is true. In our current state, there's no way we could take him down. We need to find the others if we want any chance at all," said Yugi.
"And now that Zorc knows we're here, I don't see any point in not using our dragons to navigate through this place," added Yusei.
"Right," agreed Yugi.
"Well, all right than. Come on out, Red-Eyes!" shouted Joey as he held up his card and the large black dragon with the red eyes appeared behind him.
"Stardust!"
"Gandora!"
The three dragons were lined up behind them, prepared to serve. Everyone knew that they needed to find their other friends before they could face Zorc. Their friends couldn't be that far away and it was there absolute goal to discover their location. Yugi rode atop Gandora, Joey atop Red-Eyes, and Yusei atop Stardust as they took to the skies with the magicians by their sides, determined to find the others.
AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN…
"Jack, I have a theory," began Zane. "What if this shrine is some kind of portal they use to enter the realms of light and to activate it, they need a key, which is what this space here is for. And that's how they've been penetrating our realm?"
"It does make sense," admitted Jack.
"So, that's how they've been getting into our realm? That must be some pretty powerful inter-dimensional magic locked away in that thing than," added Akiza.
"And that's why we haven't been able to detect them because this must be some sort of secret passage," added Jesse.
"We need to find a way to seal this thing, so no one can ever get through it," stated Zane.
"I'll bet the reason that had that Earthbound Immortal guarding it was in case someone like us ever stumbled across it," said Jack.
"Well, what are we going to do? Just stand around here? I suggest we make base camp here and use our dragons to cover more ground while we search for our friends," said Zane.
"Agreed," nodded Akiza.
"Who's gonna go search first" asked Jesse.
"I'll go," stated Jack. "With Red Nova Dragon, I have little to fear."
"Alright, just be careful," said Akiza.
"I'll return in a bit and I'll let you know if I find anything. Just don't go anywhere without telling me…"
And so, Jack took off atop his dragon, soaring over the noxious wasteland for any sight of their friends, hoping with all his might that he would find them alive and well and as they were before they were split apart. Akiza, Jaden, Jesse, and Zane awaited atop the mountain, anticipating his potentially successful return, but trying not to get their hopes up too much just in case of the unfortunate possibility that he would return empty-handed. Faith, they all remembered, was what they needed to achieve victory in this grim situation.