Messages, Kidnappings and Challenges

Hello people! Well I did promise I would update sooner than last time...and I have! Now to respond to reviews!

Littlecosma001: Don't worry there'll be more moments with Blue Eyes and Seto- I mean Kaiba! And you've given me a very great idea! I'll work around it. It may not exactly happen but I'll see what I can do, I promise!

kaia: Rori will definitely kick Winters' butt next time. I can assure you on that!

PhantomSweeney13: I'm really glad you enjoyed it! There will be more about Valon very soon!

QueenAnju: Yes, I agree with you that Winters is an idiot. And for a little heads up; Rori and Winters will have a rematch in a later chapter. That's all I'm saying for now!

Hope you all enjoy this chapter! I own nothing but my partner in crime, Rori Moto!

'Are you okay Ro?' asks Joey, helping me up off the floor. 'I'm alright Joey- but Winters is out of here.' I say crossly. But he'll be back- and next time, I'm kicking his ass!

CLANG!

The gates are open again! 'Hallelujah! We're free!' cheers Joey. Tristan rushing to the door then stops. 'Oh no...' he groans. 'What is it?' I ask following him. I see a Blue Eyes White Dragon jet landing outside. I groan too- but inside I'm smiling.

Seto- no, it is Kaiba in public, Seto in private!- and Mokuba walk in.

'Woah it's a party!' laughs a very familiar voice. I turn to see our good friend Duke Devlin come rushing in! 'Look what the cat dragged in!' I grin. 'This is nothing but a dweeb convention.' growls Se- Kaiba.

'Have you seen any sign of Pegasus?' he asks. 'No. Unfortunately, we're too late Kaiba.' answers the Pharaoh. 'Yeah, Mai and Winters got to him before we did and they took his soul with some Orichalcos thing.' adds Tristan.

'Have you had any experience with the Seal of Orichalcos card?' asks the Pharaoh to Kaiba. 'Yeah, Seto just wiped the floor with someone who played it. The guy pretended to be Pegasus forcing us to travel to Duelist Kingdom to duel him.' explains Mokuba. 'And then he ran away.' adds Kaiba smugly. 'So we came here to find some answers. Whoever took Pegasus is trying to take over my company and that is unacceptable.'

The Pharaoh pulls out the card that Pegasus sent him. It has a picture of a key on it. 'I wonder if all of the doors are open now.' I say.

'Well, now that you mention it Ro, there was one door that wouldn't open, even after I cracked the security system.' says Duke. Aha! 'Then that must be where your card comes in Yami!' I say. 'Take us there now!' orders Kaiba. 'Okay! Relax!' answers Duke.

'Who invited you Kaiba?!' asks Tristan crossly. 'Try and stay calm Tristan.' I say.

As we head up the stairs Joey says 'I can't believe Mai just turned her back on us and joined those freaks!' I put my arm around him in sympathy. 'Don't worry Joey. We'll soon get her to come to her senses.' I tell him. Joey smiles at that. 'Thanks Rori.' he says.

At last we reach the door. 'You know what to do now Yami.' I say. Yami takes out the card and runs it through the card reader. And the door opens revealing a pitch dark room.

'So who wants to go in there first?' asks Tristan. 'Maybe we can all draw straws or somethin' huh?' suggests Joey. Or just let Kaiba go in first. 'Humph.' he grunts heading inside. 'Humph.' grunts Mokuba following his big brother. 'Let's close the door and run.' says Joey. 'Come on.' I say, walking inside.

Once we're all inside the lights go on. Oh for God's sake. We've walked into a real life Toon World!

'I hate toons.' grumbles Kaiba. 'I knew Pegasus was obsessed with toons but this is ridiculous!' I say sighing.

All of a sudden, Pegasus appears before us- or should I say a hologram of Pegasus at least. 'Greetings Yugi-boy. Do you like my private room? I did all the interior decorating myself. Isn't it impressive?' he says. 'He should get over himself.' says Tristan. 'Definitely.' I agree.

'If you are hearing this Yugi-boy, it can only mean that the people who are after my soul have captured me. It all began when a mysterious man- and by the way, his name is Dartz. Remember the name.- tried to buy out my company.' says virtual-Pegasus. 'I got dragged into this mess because someone tried to buy out my company too.' adds Kaiba.

'This individual possesses an ancient power stronger than any I've ever seen. You're all in danger! He plans to use my game to destroy civilization and he must be stopped! The key to taking him down is somewhere in this room.' Virtual-Pegasus continues. 'Ever since my retirement began, I've furthered my studies of the Ancient Egyptian origins of Duel Monsters. I've discovered that these creatures existed long before the pyramids were built.' 'In the city of Atlantis.' says Yami. 'And that is where Dartz comes in.' adds Virtual-Pegasus. 'He is trying to resurrect the most terrifying beast that ever roamed the earth by draining the souls of man and beast in order to build up the strength of this monster.'

'You're our only hope Yugi-boy! I've created an exclusive card just for you and I've hidden it somewhere in this room. Think strategically. Where would one find an extra card?' Virtual-Pegasus asks. 'Of course! The Pot of Greed! It lets you draw extra cards!' answers Yami.

Weevil Underwood and Rex Raptor who have followed us all up here run excitedly to the Pot.

But I get there first.

'FREEZE!' I yell, pointing my guns at the two dweebs. 'Woah! Check out Rori!' gasps Duke. 'Huh, don't mind her Rex. Those aren't real.' laughs Weevil. 'Really?' I ask. I point one gun at the ceiling and fire.

BANG!

The bullet leaves a tiny hole in the ceiling and some plaster crumbles. 'That real enough for you?' I ask. Weevil and Rex back away quickly, nearly wetting themselves in fright. 'Wow! Can I have a gun Seto?' asks Mokuba. Kaiba looks down at his brother, an amused look on his face. 'We'll talk about it.' he says.

I reach inside the Pot of Greed and pull out a card. I look at it.

'Wow, this really is a special card! In fact, it's so special that it's completely blank!' I say annoyed. 'It's completely useless!' adds Kaiba.

'My poor precious Toons. Soon they'll all be gone. Only you can save the Duel Monsters Yugi-boy!' says Virtual-Pegasus and the hologram dissolves and disappears.

'I can't believe this is happening! Why would Mai join a plot to destroy the world? They've brainwashed her or somethin'!' says Joey. 'Wake up Wheeler- this is a hoax planned by Pegasus. There's no one traveling around stealing souls with a magic playing card. It's the same nonsense that Pegasus pulled in Duelist Kingdom. He's just trying to distract him long enough to take over Kaiba Corp.' says Kaiba.

'That's enough Kaiba! It's not always about you!' yells Yami. 'SHUT UP! BOTH OF YOU!' I scream. Both Yami and Kaiba stare at me in disbelief. 'Now let's see if we can get this sorted out without starting another war.' I say. I pull out my Heart of Atticus card. Yami stares at it then pulls out the Eye of Timaeus card.

Kaiba stares at them in shock. 'Those cards...where did you get those?' he asks. Joey pulls out a card as well. It's another dragon card, a red one. 'Same place I did.' he says. 'Kaiba, you have one of these cards too, don't you?' asks Yami. Kaiba pulls out a card from his deck. 'You referring to this?' he says, showing the Fang of Critius card.

Suddenly, one by one, all of our dragon cards begin to glow brightly. 'I believe the only way to defeat this leviathan is to use these four cards together. So trust what's inside your heart and join us.' says Yami to Kaiba.

We all hold out our dragon cards. 'My mind must be playing tricks on me.' insists Kaiba. 'But my card is doin' the same thing!' says Joey. 'It feels as though the dragons are calling out to us.' says Yami.

Just then, the glow fades and disappears. 'I was told that fate had chosen four modern-day warriors to release these legendary beasts.' Yami tells us. 'Get real Yugi- I'm the one who decides my fate!' says Kaiba. 'Be reasonable for once Kaiba. We have to do this as a team!' says Yami. 'I don't do the teamwork thing. I've got a multi-million dollar company to run.' says Kaiba and he walks out of the room, Mokuba following him silently.

'We don't need Kaiba weighin' us down. With Hermos, those hoodlums won't stand a chance!' says Joey. 'I'm glad to see you're back to your old self Joey.' says Tristan. Weevil and Rex are looking around the room for something. 'What are you guys doing?' asks Tristan. 'Uh... looking for my glasses.' answers Weevil.

'So where should we go from here?' I ask. 'We should find Dartz and his goon squad and rescue Mai!' suggests Joey. 'The goon squad split without leaving an address so that's not gonna work.' says Tristan. 'We could chill out at my place and play Dungeon Dice Monsters.' suggests Duke. 'Hold on. Professor Hawkins lives around here. He might have some information that could help us.' says Yami. 'But how are we gonna get there?' I ask.

Joey and Tristan spot the Blue Eyes White Dragon jet flying past and try to flag down a lift but to no avail. 'Bother.' says Joey angrily. 'No problem- we can take my car. The five of us will fit.' says Duke.

'What about us?' says Weevil nervously. 'What are you two doing here anyway?' asks Tristan. Weevil and Rex just laugh nervously. 'Oh don't worry. I know where they can sit.' I say.

So, Weevil and Rex end up sitting in the trunk with our luggage while the rest of us relax in the car with Duke. I'm in the front looking at the map. 'How we doin' Ro?' asks Joey from the back. 'Not long now Joey.' I answer.

An hour later, just as it's getting dark, we finally reach Professor Hawkins' house...only to find nothing but burnt, destroyed ruins.

'Oh my God! What the hell happened?' I whisper. We all jump out of the car. 'Professor! Professor!' calls Joey. 'Where are you?' yells Duke.

'Yugi!' cries out a voice. Rebecca comes rushing up to us in tears, throwing herself at Yugi. 'Rebecca what happened?' I ask. 'My grandpa's been kidnapped!' sobs Rebecca. 'Don't worry Rebecca, we'll find him.' assures Yugi.

We all gather in Professor Hawkins' motor home, me pouring out cups of tea for us all. 'I've no doubt that it was Dartz and his crew.' I say. 'I agree with ya on that theory Ro.' agrees Joey.

'Rebecca, do you still have the stone that I gave to your grandpa?' asks Yugi. She has it on a chain around her neck. She takes it off and gives it to Yugi. 'Maybe that's what Dartz is after.' says Tristan. 'We ought to find this Dartz guy, break in and rescue Professor Hawkins!' suggests Duke. 'But the Professor doesn't have what those guys want so they'll probably come back.' says Yugi.

'If we're going to wait, I want something to eat!' says Tristan. 'I'll cook us something.' I say. 'Didn't know you could cook Rori.' says Joey. 'I came top in the last Home Ec exam.' I smile. 'I'll help you Ro.' says Duke and we set to work.

We rustle up some macaroni and cheese for everybody and after we've eaten and cleared up, everyone's yawning, fading fast. We all settle down on the floor and couches, falling into sleep.

Falling through the sky and landing on the back of a Blue Eyes White Dragon, flying across the ocean, in the bright moonlight-

'Rori! Rori! Rori, wake up!'

Joey is shaking me awake, dragging me back from my dreams. 'What is it Joey?' I ask groggily.

'It's Yugi! He's gone!' he says.

Suddenly, I'm wide awake.

A little while later...

'I'm sorry Rori.' says Rebecca. 'It's not your fault sweetie.' I assure her. 'I can't stand this!' yells Joey rushing out of the trailer. We all rush after him- and then we all stop. Because someone is staggering towards us.

Professor Hawkins!

Joey rushes to catch him just as he collapses.

Inside, Rebecca puts her grandfather to bed while I talk to the boys outside.

'Ya sure you're alright with not comin' Rori?' asks Joey. 'No worries Joey. I'll stay here in case the bikers come back. I can keep an eye on things.' I tell him. 'Watch out for Rex and Weevil too- I don't trust those guys.' adds Tristan. 'No problem. And be careful guys.' I say. 'Don't worry about us Ro. We'll have Yugi back soon. Safe and sound.' says Duke.

The boys get in the car and they zoom off, leaving dust in their wake. 'Good luck guys. And good luck Yugi.' I whisper, clutching my brooch.

To Be Continued! Next chapter- Rori hears the devastating news of her brother...and is comforted by the most unlikeliest person. Until next time...R&R!