A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I'm really glad you guys like my interpretation of Pegasus. He always seemed like such a child on the inside to me, like he did things without even understanding the consequences or why someone would be really angry at him. I tried to keep that mentality going in the story because I really don't think he's an evil person. Now, Hafiz on the other hand… Enjoy!

When Ryou was younger, his sister Amane absolutely hated the dark. She would cry every time that their parents forgot and tried to put her to bed without turning her nightlight on. Even when she was older, and past the age where she felt that sleeping with a nightlight was appropriate, Amane would still leave her door open just a little bit. There had been several nights when Ryou had woken up to find that his sister had crawled into bed with him instead, because she envied the way that Ryou had never been afraid of the dark. He'd always found comfort in the darkness, and he had always insisted that there be no light in his room when he was trying to fall asleep. The darkness, he felt, was his friend.

But now... all of a sudden, Ryou felt like he could understand where Amane had been coming from for the first time. He stared blankly down the hallway (or at least, he thought he was looking down the hallway. For all he knew, there was a wall two inches away from his face) and tried not to breathe too loud as he wondered, somewhat frantically, where Bakura had gone. The two of them had decided to go after Silent Magician, Seto and Jou, but before they'd caught up to the others, Bakura had stopped and commanded him to stay before charging around the corner. Ryou had been left standing there like a good little hikari when, without warning, the lights went off and the whole corridor was plunged into darkness. Because there were no windows, he couldn't even see his own hand when he lifted it and waved it in front of his eyes.

And although he hadn't moved, he had the distinctly unpleasant feeling that something had changed. The skin on the back of his neck prickled and he held his breath, listening hard. For several seconds, there was nothing. Then – from somewhere behind him, much closer than he would have liked – he heard an odd sound. It took him a moment to realize that it was the sound metal would have made when grating against a cold stone floor. Instinct took over and drove him to the ground with his hands clasped protectively over his head just as the wind whistled and metal clanged above him when it impacted with the wall. Ryou rolled and came to a stop a few feet away, heart pounding.

Bakura! Where was Bakura? His eyes searched the dark frantically, but he didn't dare call out for his other half, not when there was a duel monster in the darkness with him. That would mean giving away his position. Instead, he mentally grabbed their bond and sent every last bit of fear and panic he could muster flooding through it. The rush left him feeling drained and exhausted, and he took a deep, shaky breath, wishing more than anything that the lights would come back on. In the dark there was no way to tell where the next attack was going to come from. He was afraid to move, but at the same time staying where he was made him a sitting duck.

Cautiously, he reached out, fingers seeking the wall. His hand impacted with something hard and cold almost instantly. Ryou frowned, wondering if he'd touched the wall – if so, he was closer than he'd thought. He continued to explore, using his other hand to help, and realized that he was touching something round, large enough that his hands couldn't meet when he wrapped both around it, and metallic, like... Oh. With a panicked squeak he threw himself backwards, and this time when his back struck the wall he scrambled to his feet, wondering what the hell was taking his yami so long. The duel monster took another, nearly silent, step forward, but now that Ryou knew what he was listening for he could track the movements. For every step the monster took, Ryou edged sideways, his hands searching the wall.

Something hard jabbed against his hip and he flinched as he accidentally knocked over a stand. His foot got tangled and he went down with it. Pottery shattered on the floor, followed by two loud thuds as both the stand and Ryou struck. He winced, gasping in pain as sharp pieces of ceramic sliced into his hands and arms, and twisted, looking up blindly. There was a voice screaming in his head, telling him to get up and move, but his legs were all tangled up in the stand and his hands were slippery with blood, unable to get enough friction against the floor so that he could push himself up…

"Dark Magic Attack!" The voice was low and rough, unfamiliar to Ryou, but welcome nevertheless. He heard the duel monster that had been chasing him screaming in pain as it was blasted against the wall. Ryou took the chance to sit up, feeling dizzy and disoriented, and jumped when hands grabbed his shoulders. It took him a full minute to realize that he was just being pulled to his feet.

"Come on, Ryou. Get up!"

"Y-Yuugi?" Ryou asked in stunned confusion. His heart was beating so fast that he could barely breathe, let alone think. "I... I'm caught..." Someone pushed the stand away from him and then he was hauled to his feet and kept there even when his legs nearly gave out on him. He allowed Yuugi and whoever was with him to lead him down the hall and away from the sounds of the battle behind them. They turned the corner and - ow. A low, pained cry escaped him as he threw his hands up to shield his eyes. After so long in pitch darkness, his eyes were burning at being thrust into the light again.

"Ryou, are you okay? You're bleeding." Fingers touched the numerous small, shallow cuts on his lower arms, wrists, and hands.

"I'm fine," he mumbled, keeping his eyes closed. It was a relief to hear Yuugi's voice and know that it meant his friend was functioning again. The last time he'd seen Yuugi, he and Malik hadn't been able to get a single word out of him. Did that mean the Millennium Puzzle had been solved? Cautiously, his curiosity greater than the threat of the pain, he forced his eyes to open. Straining to see past the teary blurriness, he could just barely able to make out two familiar dark figures standing over him, both with spiky hair. Relief, hot and heavy, shot through him. "Yami-san?"

"It's me, Ryou," Yami replied gently, crouching down in front of the boy. He took one of Ryou's hands and inspected the scratches and cuts more closely. Most of them had stopped bleeding already, he was pleased to note. "Aibou solved the Puzzle and set me free. Are you alright? Where's Bakura?"

"I don't know." Ryou swallowed hard against the burning urge to cry. There was a lump in his throat that was not helping. "He went down the hall and told me to stay put… so I did…"

"That idiot," Yami sighed and stood up. "He must have gotten into a fight or he would have come running when you were attacked. Honestly, he should have known better than to leave you alone. Pegasus has duel monsters all over the place. It's always been one of his greatest security measures, even before Hafiz came into the picture."

"Maybe you should go find him," said Yuugi, giving Ryou a worried look.

Yami smiled wryly. "And leave you alone? I don't think so."

Ryou rubbed his eyes and squinted up at them. "Who – or what – was that?" he asked, feeling slightly embarrassed when the two of them broke the look they were sharing to turn to him.

"Dark Blade," Yami answered, reaching down and taking hold of his wrists. He helped Ryou to his feet. "He has a tie to the Dark World, as you might have noticed. That's how he killed the lights. Fortunately, there are other dark monsters that work just as well in darkness." His smirk was roguish, bordering on evil, as something stirred around the corner. Ryou jumped and stared as Dark Magician emerged from the swell of shadows and walked calmly over to them, looking no worse for the wear. Yuugi smiled and waved, looking delighted when Dark Magician nodded in return.

"You saved me?" Ryou asked timidly, remembering the familiar call. He recognized it now. "Thank you."

"It was no problem. Now, come on, you two, let's go and see if we can track down that errant yami of yours." Yami led the way down the hall, his body tense. He was prepared for anything that might jump out at them. It was true that some of his memories had yet to return, but he hadn't forgotten what he knew about Pegasus and Hafiz. Seeing Ryou's state was only further confirmation that both men had to be stopped before they caused irreparable damage with their selfish actions.

"Are you alright, Ryou?" Yuugi whispered as they fell into step behind Yami. Dark Magician brought up the rear, just in case something tried to attack them from behind. "You fell pretty hard in the hall."

"I'm okay, Yuugi. I feel much better now that I'm not alone." That was partially true, but now that he was out of danger, he was growing worried about Bakura. It wasn't right that Bakura hadn't answered him, and Ryou couldn't feel anything through their bond except for mild annoyance. Had something happened? Would he have even noticed past the adrenaline and panic that had engulfed him while Dark Blade was trying to kill him? He noticed Yuugi's doubtful look and closed his eyes, sighing. "I'll be alright once we find Bakura," he added more honestly, and felt Yuugi's hand slide into his.

Yami stopped walking suddenly, his face turning grave. "You two stay here. Dark Magician, protect them," he commanded.

"Yami, where are you going?" Yuugi's violet eyes filled with fear and he took a half-step forward. He didn't want Yami to be fighting so soon, not when he kept feeling like the older boy would disappear at a moment's notice.

"It's alright, Aibou, I'll be right back," Yami said soothingly, cupping his light's cheek. "I promise."

Yuugi nodded hesitantly and reluctantly watched as Yami disappeared around the corner. Dark Magician ushered him and Ryou over near to the wall and took up a guard position right in front of them. Ryou was more than happy to take the opportunity to sit down before he fell down. His legs were trembling and he felt weak. Looking less than pleased, Yuugi knelt beside him, eyes fixed on the spot where Yami had disappeared. Both of them were nervous, and Ryou leaned his back against the wall and closed his eyes in an effort to relax.

"Do you really think we'll be able to do this?" he mumbled, the question coming out before he had really stopped to think twice about it.

"I think so," Yuugi replied quietly, twisting his hands together nervously. He hadn't thought about what would happen after and he didn't really want to. "Once Hafiz is gone… We won't have to worry anymore."

Ryou just sighed, wondering if that was really the truth. From what he had seen so far, it seemed like they were just running in circles, like they were dolls and Pegasus was the one making them dance. It wasn't a pleasant feeling. He leaned his head back further and then yelped when the wall behind him suddenly disappeared. He caught himself with his hands before he could fall very far and twisted as Yuugi and Dark Magician both spun around. The smaller boy chuckled when he realized what had happened and reached down to grab Ryou's arms, helping his friend to sit up.

"You leaned against a door," he said, amused.

"I hate this damn castle," Ryou grumbled, rubbing the back of his head and hoping that his pounding heart would slow down soon. If this kept up he was going to have a heart attack. "I thought for sure that a duel monster had come up behind me."

"Let's not give them any ideas, yeah?" said Yuugi, raising an eyebrow, unconsciously cupping the Millennium Puzzle in a surprisingly tender movement. Ryou eyed him, feeling jealous and wishing that he had the Ring back.

"I'm sure that's an idea they couldn't have come up with on their own," he muttered, but lapsed into a tense silence anyway. Dark Magician resumed his guard stance, eyes searching both ends of the corridor warily. He stiffened suddenly, causing both Yuugi and Ryou to stare him. The duel monster was staring intently at the left end of the hall, opposite where Yami had disappeared to. At the same time, Yuugi jumped.

"Oh! Yami found Bakura, Seto, and Jou," he whispered.

"Really?" Ryou felt relieved to hear that bit of good news even as he stumbled to his feet to see what was happening now. There was something coming around the corner… something large… and Dark Magician was stepping forward, staff raised threateningly, as a knight in black armour lumbered heavily around the corner. It was carrying something in its arms, a bundle wrapped in old, stained cloth, which it set down on the ground about ten feet away of them. All three looked on in uncertain confusion as Dark Blade reached down and removed the cloth from the bundle's face. Horror paralyzed Ryou and he felt his hands begin to shake.

It was his father.

GMA

Following Pegasus was turning out to be an exercise in both patience and stamina. The man was leading them through an increasingly complicated route, sometimes choosing to take hidden paths that wandered inside of the castle's walls instead of using the normal hallways. It was no wonder, Mokuba thought wearily, that he and Hafiz hadn't been taken down yet. At this rate both of them would be able to move through the castle without ever being seen. Why Pegasus was choosing to show them all of his secrets, he had no idea. And even more puzzling, Pegasus seemed to see the fact that they were following him as some sort of game as opposed to a threat, even though he and Shizuka had their partner monsters present and he didn't.

"Where are we going?" Shizuka asked finally, breaking the silence. She'd long since finished her cupcake and didn't seem to be feeling any ill effects from it. Mokuba was beginning to wish that he'd indulged in one, too. His stomach felt painfully empty.

"You'll see," Pegasus said over his shoulder. "This is very exciting. It's been a long time since we had visitors, you know."

Mokuba and Shizuka exchanged doubtful looks. The further they went, the more they were beginning to think that Pegasus wasn't operating with a full deck of cards. "And how much longer will it take us?" he asked, not even wanting to think about what would happen if Seto went back outside and discovered that he and Shizuka weren't there anymore.

"A journey can't be measured in time," the man said mysteriously, but with a definite air of glee. He clapped his hands as they came to what appeared to be another dead end and reached up to the top of the wall. Mokuba wasn't quite sure what he pressed, but it caused a small panel on the opposite wall to slide up. Pegasus marched across the hall and ducked, just barely fitting into the little tunnel. Shizuka hesitated before following, and Mokuba knew she had come to the same conclusion that he had: there was no way that their partners were going to fit through that tiny space.

"We should stop following him," Shizuka said finally.

He felt a burst of relief at her display of common sense. "Yes, we should."

"It would probably be dangerous to go in."

"I agree."

"And I best Nii-san and Nii-chan would be angry."

"Yes, they would."

"Especially if they knew we'd gone alone."

"I'm glad we're on the same page here."

"Right, well, let's do it then." Shizuka clapped her hands and started to move. Mokuba sputtered and lunged forward, belatedly realizing that she had just been psyching herself up instead of talking herself out of it, like he'd thought. He caught her arm just before she got to the hole and stopped her from actually entering.

"Shizuka-chan! Are you insane? You can't go in there alone with Pegasus, of all people. What if he's leading us to Hafiz? What if this is some sort of trap?" His voice came out far more strained than he would have liked. He never wanted to see that man again if at all possible. The memories from the last time that he and Shizuka had undergone their 'hospitality' still featured prominently in many of his worst nightmares and he knew that Shizuka felt the same way. "It's too dangerous."

"Mokuba, I know that it's dangerous." Shizuka had her head lowered so that her bangs fell forward across her eyes. She didn't turn to face him, either, not even when he tugged on her wrist. "I know that. I... I think about that time too. It's been on my mind ever since we got here. But if there's even the slightest chance that walking through there can end this whole miserable experience once and for all..." Her head finally swung around to look at him. There were tears in her eyes. "Isn't that worth whatever might happen to us? We're guardians after all. The Pharaoh and everyone else are supposed to be our number one priority, right?"

His stomach twisted, because yes, she was right, even though he was loathe to admit it. Slowly, he released her arm. "You're right," he muttered, running a hand through his hair. "God, you're right. I hate to admit it, but... Okay. Let's go."

"I don't like it any better than you do," she confided softly, reaching out a hand. Red Archery Girl vanished in a swirl of dark purple-grey smoke. "I hate it actually. I know Nii-san and Nii-chan are going to murder us when they find out... and I know they will because somehow Nii-san always knows." A tremulous smile formed on her lips. "I'm trying not to think about that part of it."

In spite of himself, he chuckled. "Agreed." Reluctantly, he released the power that was keeping Ryu-Ran bound to the real world and took a deep breath before he stepped towards the tunnel. If they were going to do this, there was no way he was letting Shizuka go first.

The hole was just as small as he'd thought it would be, but by sliding sideways, hunching his shoulders and ducking his head, he was able to slip inside. Mokuba inched along, hands pressed flat against the wall, towards the shaft of light spilling into the other end of the tunnel. It wasn't very bright and when he reached the other side he saw why. There was a gauzy red curtain hanging over the exit. He slipped out and stood behind the curtain, waiting. Shizuka popped out beside him a minute later. They could hear Pegasus talking in low tones to someone, but he couldn't tell who it was. After a tense few seconds, the curtain was pulled back and Pegasus beamed at them.

"I wondered if you were coming," he declared pleasantly. "Come along, come along. We have much to do and not much time to do it in, you know."

"Who were you talking to?" Mokuba asked suspiciously, looking past Pegasus. The room was empty.

"No one, my dear boy." Pegasus didn't even pause to look at him. He was already striding across the room, heading towards a door on the opposite side wall. Strangely enough, when he got to the door, he stepped to the right side and ran his hands over the wallpaper. Mokuba raised his eyebrows as Pegasus ignored the actual door and opened a second door, one that had been so well hidden that he never would have guessed that it was there.

"This place is like a damn fun house," he muttered.

"Be nice," Shizuka chided him gently. The two of them hurried across the floor and through the door, which snapped shut behind them. They weren't left in complete darkness, though, because there were several old-fashioned lanterns on either side of the passageway. Each one was lit with a single flickering candle, which were plentiful enough that they could see where they were supposed to go. Shizuka eyed the staircase with some anxiety, noticing that it was extremely small, with only enough space for one person to go up at a time. She started to step forward but Mokuba caught her arm. When she glanced back at him, he shook his head and moved past her.

The stairs proved to be more frustrating than he'd initially thought they would be. They weren't very wide, meaning that he couldn't get his whole foot on one. His feet kept sliding and more than once he nearly went down on his knees. Shizuka was right behind him, and she had a little bit of an easier time because her feet were smaller, but she tripped once or twice too. Even worse, there was no railing, and the stairs twisted often, tight curves that Mokuba had to squeeze through. He'd been kidding before when he'd made the remark about the fun house, but now he was starting to think that he'd been on to something. He could hear Pegasus moving ahead of them, but no matter how fast they went, they never caught up to him.

"Where the hell is he taking us? And how did he even fit through here?" he asked breathlessly, pausing. He jammed his back against the stone, keeping himself there by planting his foot against the opposite wall, and took a couple of deep breaths. His calves were burning and his heart was pounding.

"No idea, but this staircase must have been built ages ago," she replied, running her hand across the wall. "Look at all the dust. The palace servants must never come back here. I bet Pegasus uses these halls to get all over the castle without anyone being the wiser." Their eyes met and the same thought passed through their heads. Did Hafiz know about the passages?

"Maybe he doesn't," Mokuba said slowly. "I always wondered how Pegasus got down to the dungeon that night without anyone noticing. We went up the main staircase on the way out but he didn't come down that way."

Shizuka frowned with determination. "Let's keep going," she said. "I want to catch up to him even more now." There were too many things that weren't adding up. Why was Pegasus being so nice to them? Why had he referred to Hafiz as his yami? Why was he showing them the secrets of Illusion Castle? Where was he taking them? Her curiosity was burning strong and the only way they were going to have those questions answered was if they followed Pegasus to the end of the line.

Mokuba heaved a sigh and dropped his foot, twisting to go the rest of the way up the stairs. On and on they climbed, until he knew for certain that they had to be in one of the castle's towers. The stairs finally came to an end after one last turn, revealing an open door, and on the other side of that door was Pegasus. He gave them an energetic smile, somehow not out of breath or the slightest bit sweaty in spite of the climb that they'd just endured, and spun around. "No need to worry, young ones. We're almost there," he said over his shoulder.

"How much further is almost there?" he asked wearily, leaning against the wall for a split second of rest. Another reason to be glad that they'd called back their monsters; he was no longer sure that he could have sustained Ryu-Ran in the real world when his muscles were feeling like jelly and he was having a hard time catching his breath.

Pegasus chuckled and turned back to face him. Again, there was that glint of gold behind the protective curtain of his hair. "You're worried," he said knowingly. "You fear that my yami is waiting for you at the end of our journey and that he will take you back down to the dungeons to play." His visible eye was surprisingly somber considering his light-hearted tone. "You don't believe that I can be trusted, and the only reason you're really here is because she wanted to follow and you didn't want her to come alone. Yet even though the thought of my yami terrifies you beyond comprehension, you're still willing to be here to protect her, no matter what the personal cost." He tilted his head, silver hair falling over his shoulder in a shower. "Interesting."

"Stop reading my mind, damn it!" Mokuba shook his head roughly, realizing that the slightly uneasy feeling crawling up his spine was residue from the invasion. The touch of the Millennium Eye left a scummy feeling in his head and made him want to take a scrub brush to his brain.

The man's smile only grew wider and he glanced at Shizuka. "And you... you're terribly curious about me, to the point where it's overcome any of your previous concerns about being in the castle. You're the real driving force behind your friend, aren't you? Your common sense goes away when you think that something isn't right. Right now, you're not frightened of me, you're fascinated. You think..." He blinked and took a step back, surprised. "You think I wouldn't hand you over to my – to Hafiz."

It didn't escape Shizuka's notice that he corrected himself at the last minute, which led her to believe that Pegasus had picked up on the other thought screaming through her mind: that she didn't believe for one second that Hafiz was really his yami. But she let it drop for the moment and merely nodded. "Yes, that's right. If you had wanted to hurt us you would have done it by now. Mokuba and I have nothing to protect us right now. We're all alone in the middle of your castle, in a passage that only you seem to know about." She raised an eyebrow. "You would have taken full advantage of that by now if you had planned to do so."

Pegasus just stared at her for a long moment, but this time there was no tell-tale glint of gold beneath his hair to indicate that he was trying to read her mind. At length, he spun and continued on down the hallway without saying a word. Mokuba and Shizuka exchanged looks before hurrying after him as he opened up a door and walked into a large room. There was a window on the far side and Pegasus moved straight over to it, while the two teens stopped in the doorway and looked around. Though the room was enormous, it seemed small because it was fairly cluttered. Furniture, clothing, ornaments, and various knick knacks had been piled on every available surface, and there was only a small path in the middle of the floor that had been left open. On the far side of the room was a large velvet curtain. The room itself smelled quite musty and Shizuka wondered how long it had been since someone had been up here.

"It's been some time," Pegasus said. He'd turned to look at her without their notice. "I don't come up here very often. My yami doesn't like it."

"What does that matter?" Shizuka reached out and picked up an adorable little figurine. It was a little girl with pale blue wings holding a bouquet of purple flowers. The girl had long blonde hair and big blue eyes to match her wings. She flipped it upside down and discovered a small crank on the bottom. "Do you do everything he says?"

"Sometimes," the man replied distantly, turning back to the window. Whatever he was looking at seemed to be fascinating, because he pried up the window and leaned out so far that Mokuba took an instinctive step forward in alarm. "He tells me that it's all for my own good, you know. He's trying to help me get her back and to do that we have to do things that aren't quite right."

"Get who back?" Mokuba asked carefully.

A soft sigh escaped Pegasus and he whirled away from the window, picking his way through the piles of junk on the floor until he'd reached the curtain. He grabbed the end and pulled, revealing the beautiful painting that had been hiding behind it. Shizuka gasped softly and set the figurine down before she took a few steps closer. It was the portrait of a beautiful young woman with cascades of long golden curls that fell around her face and shoulders. She had beautiful, vivid green eyes and a brilliant smile that seemed to light up the whole room. The painting cut off at her shoulders, giving only a hint about the warm forest green frock she was wearing. That, compared with the woven straw hat perched over her blonde ringlets, gave the portrait an old-fashioned look.

"She's beautiful," Shizuka breathed softly, mesmerized. There was something faintly familiar about the woman in the portrait, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. "Who is she?"

"My Cecelia." Pegasus reached out and touched the portrait with a reverent finger, drawing his hand down the canvas slowly. "My wife."

"Your wife? You were married?" She blinked at him in shock and recognized the lingering pain in his eyes. "Oh... she died?"

"Yes." He nodded and sighed, taking a step back, though he didn't take his eyes off of the portrait. "But she's coming back. My yami promised. Once we get all of the Millennium Items... She'll come back."

Mokuba went still. "I'm not sure that's how it works."

"Yes it is! It is!" Pegasus snapped, seemingly upset for the first time since they'd met him in the kitchen. "That is how it works. He promised that I would get my Cecelia back!"

"I'm sure he did!" Shizuka said quickly, hoping that she could soothe him before he got too angry. "I'm sure he did, Pegasus, I - oh!" She gave a sharp exclamation as a door on the far side of the room, near the window, was pushed open, shoving piles of junk out the way in the process. Her jaw dropped as a young woman with long blonde hair stepped into the room. "Oh my god..."

Pegasus went pale. His eye grew wide. "Cecelia?"

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