"Atem! Atem! Atem!" cried Yugi over and over again as he stared into the air, trying to grasp the tragic reality that his love had just been taken from him and that the captor was none other than Zorc himself.
He and his friends stood on the barren plains of the wasteland in the aftermath of Atem's capture, trying to comprehend the reality of what had just happened and what the best way to deal with it was and they were having little to no luck in finding such a method. With Atem gone, it was as if all of reality was disintegrating before them, destroying everything they knew and diminishing any hope they may have had and offering its remnants as sacrifice to the eternal darkness that was Zorc and his legions of evil. Yugi dried his eyes, trying to feel himself with optimism at a time when such a thing was so hard to achieve.
"Yug, ya gotta calm down. We'll get 'im back," promised Joey, trying to seem sympathetic as he caressed Yugi's shoulder.
"He's right. If we want to find him ,we have to pull our heads together. Standing around and sobbing isn't going to do anything," added Yusei.
Standing off to the side was the Dark Magician. A gentle tear was falling down his cheek as he silently whispered to himself, expressing regret for the failure to protect his king.
"It's my fault... I didn't protect him like I should have..."
"Awe, it's not your fault. We'll find him, don't worry," consoled Dark Magician Girl, doing her best to conceal an uneasy smile.
"Mana, we're his protectors and we failed him," replied her master, collapsing to his knees as he panted heavily.
"We'll just... get him back than," she shot back, trying to comfort her master.
"We have to get a handle on this situation. We won't be able to beat Zorc without it," said Yugi as he crouched down to the Dark Magician's side and kindly grasped his shoulder. "Atem wouldn't want us to weep. We must stay strong."
"Right," he replied, trying to smile.
"Hey, look!" shouted Yusei as he pointed to a distant mountain. Red Nova Dragon was circling its peak and shooting out of its mouth and into the sky gigantic blasts of fire. "Jack must be trying to get our attention."
"At least we know where they are now," added Joey.
Yugi, Joey, Yusei, and their monsters began their journey to the top of the mountain, soaring atop the backs of their trusted dragons as they ascended to its peak, hoping to find their friends.
"Yusei!" shouted Jack as he saw Stardust Dragon land.
"Jack!" shouted Yusei in tandem as he ran for his husband and the two fell into one another's arms with Jack picking up his beloved husband and holding him close.
"Hey, you guys finally made it!" cheered Jaden.
"Fortunately we did, but someone didn't - the Pharaoh," said Joey.
"Argh, I'm really sorry. That sucks," replied Jaden.
"Where is he?" asked Akiza.
"Zorc took him," answered Yugi, watching the expressions of shock and horror overtake their already pained faces.
"To get him back we need to find out where Zorc's hiding. Once we know, we can strike," said Yusei.
"If Zorc's as powerful as everyone says he is, do you really think just the few of us will be enough to stop him?" asked Akiza.
"Right now, he's in a weakened form and I think I know where he is," said Yugi.
"Where?" gasped everyone simultaneously.
"Well, we were told he's hiding in a graveyard and one of my magicians happened to pass one earlier when they were scouting the terrain. It's worth a try to check it out. I just hope we're headed in the right direction."
"Yeah, et's head there right now and give that Zorc a piece 'a our minds!" enthused Joey.
"We should really think this through. For all we know, we really could be rushing into this way too fast," reminded Yusei.
"He's right. We've gotta make sure we know what we're doing,"agreed Yugi.
"Well than, what's the battle plan, may I ask?" asked Jack.
"Zorc's probably hiding in some kind of temple or something, so we have to assault it, but remember, it's likely that Don Thousand and Kaiba and whoever else might be there too. That's why we need to keep our guards up at all times and make sure we don't let them down! So who's in?" enthused Yugi, holding out his hand.
Everyone glanced around, examining the faces of one another before each putting in their hand, symbolizing their efforts as a team, and raising them into the air.
"Let's find this graveyard and begin the assault!" cheered Jack.
"Right," smiled Yugi.
MEANWHILE...
In a dimly lit room, Atem was bound by chains as he struggled against them, feeling his back against the cold and hard stone wall behind him. He knew that his struggles were futile, doubting that he could ever break these binds, but within him a glimmer of hope burned brightly, causing him to trust that in time would Yugi and his friends deliver him from this insanity.
"Still trying to free yourself? You won't," taunted the voice of the one whom entered the room. He was tall and donning a donning black cloak, which dragged upon the dirty floor. A mere chuckle escaped his mouth as he approached the imprisoned pharaoh, going as far as to caress his neck as he revealed his face unto him. "Surprised to see me?"
"Kaiba!"
"Yes, it is I, my king, and now here you are, incarcerated in this place as the Dark One regenerates his power in only a few rooms away. My evil is growing and I will proudly serve him with all my might. King of the light, I ask you ot look at yourself now. You're completely surrounded by darkness and your isolated from your loved ones. Whatever will you do now?"
Atem remained silent for a moment, glaring at his nemesis before spitting directly in his face. Angered, Kaiba's blood ran with acrimony, as he slapped Atem across the face, chocking him.
"You dare disrespect me in such a manner!" he screamed as Atem grinded his teeth, trying desperately to ignore him. "We'll see what will happen when I sacrifice your soul to our lord."
"What's he done, Seto?" came the shaking voice of one that was forever scarred into Atem's mind. Seething with insanity, Yami Marik entered the room, laughing as he bore witness to Atem's imprisonment. "Well, well, what do we have here? The Pharaoh is now our little pet, all chained up and maybe it's time I throw him a bone," he chuckled as he began repeatedly tugging at his crotch area, disgusting Atem.
"Behave yourself. We want to interrogate him before we rape him!" spat Kaiba.
"What are you going to do to me?" asked Atem.
"Fun stuff…" hissed Yami Marik as he licked his lips, eyeing Atem's butt.
"I must attend to something. Come with me," said Kaiba as pulled Yami Marik by the shoulder.
With a vindictive scowl, Kaiba stormed out of the room with his comrade, leaving the Pharaoh to his misery as he heard a couching from a dark corner of the room.
"Who's there?" he asked, hesitant.
"Pha..Pharaoh?" came a voice so innocent and pure that it literally relieved Atem of some of his worry. He heard chains rattle against the stone floor as from out of the shadows stepped Mokuba, beaten and bloody, as he barely kept open his eyes.
"Mokuba? How long have you been here?" shrieked Atem.
"Too long... Seto captured me and brought me here and I've been stuck here ever sinbce. They tortured me, Atem. Yami Marik is here and he did things to me that I'm embarrassed to talk about. You have to find a way out. They're plotting to take over all the realms and if you don't stop them we're all doomed," he struggled, proceeding to cough.
"Rest assured, Mokuba, we will escape and Zorc will pay for his actions here. The light of Horakhty is on our side and right now are my friends on their way to rescue us."
"Really?" struggled Mokuba, finally allowing a bit of a smile to etch itself upon his face.
Atem nodded, but to their mutual dismay did someone return to the room. It was Kaiba and he carried with him something sharp and metallic. He kicked Mokuba down before abrasively grabbing him by the shirt and pulling him back up to his level.
"To punish the Pharaoh here for what he's recently done to me, I'm going to torment you, baby brother."
"Kaiba!" shouted Atem in protest.
"Argh!" screamed Mokuba as he felt a knife thrust through his shoulder and blood began gushing from his arm. The only thing that seemed to drown out his screams were Kaiba's piercing laughs that were just seething with malicious intentions as the brother whom he previously loved more than anything fell to ground, suffocating from his severe pain.
"I love you, little borther," struggled Kaiba through his laughs as Atem glared at him, trying as hard as he could to shatter the chains that bound him to the wall.
"Kaiba, you're sick!"
"Tell me what I don't already know," he replied, strutting out of the room.
"Mokuba..." sighed Atem as he turned to see Mokuba sobbing as a river of blood streamed from his shoulder, spilling upon the floor.
Even though he truly trusted that where ever Yugi was, he was doing his best to locate him in this barren nightmare wasteland of a world, something within himself wanted to doubt that it would ever be possible to find him and he knew that Zorc and his minions were just too powerful to allow Yugi and the others to just walk into their temple uninvited. Only time would tell...
"Alright, so we'll send in a scouting party to this graveyard and they'll clear the way for the rest of us, who'll charge in and take care of those assholes!" declared Jack, illustrating the battle plan.
"Who's going to go in first?" asked Jesse.
"I will," answered Yugi courageously. "Atem needs me and I won't let him down."
"I'm goin' with ya, pal!" stated Joey, slapping Yugi on the shoulder blade.
"Alright, and when you're in, the rest of us will launch assault on the graveyard, prepared to face whatever Zorc has to throw at us," plotted Yusei.
"Precisely," snapped Jack.
"Pharaoh, we're coming for you," declared Yugi as he looked up to the blackened sky, sending all his hope to the heavens above where the Creator of Light may hear his sentimental cry and be kind enough to bestow upon him a solution to it.
It seemed as if everyone of them was feeling what Yugi was feeling, desiring to work with him in tandem to discover the whereabouts of Atem and to deliver him from torment and darkness to the light of day. Everyone mounted atop their dragons and called forth their other monsters for they knew that it was going to be a battle to remember. No, it was going to be an all-out war with the victor leaving this realm for Heaven and the loser being forced to succumb to the depressing environment of this realm - a world of nothing but darkness and despair, seething with evil at every corner. This would be a battle that would decide not only their own fate, the also the fate of the entire universe. Resting on their shoulders, the lives of everyone they knew and cared about were depending upon them for if they lost, everyone lost and Zorc would show no mercy to any of them. Life as they knew it would cease if he escaped this realm and came to power and that was exactly why they were determined to stop his malefic agenda… even if it meant sacrificing themselves.