Chapter 44: Castle Gatekeeper
The Card Castle:
Koji and Shadow looked upon the Card Castle.
Koji: So, THIS is where the next Gatekeeper is.
Shadow: I wonder why Yugi declined to come here.
Koji: Doesn't matter! Let's go!
Inside the Card Castle, the group got into the throne room.
Cheetor: A throne room?
Jaden: This is more than JUST a throne room! Look!
Jaden turned a portrait of Maximillion Pegasus and opened a dark hallway, lit only by a few torches.
Jaden: I'll lead the way.
Jaden took a torch and started leading them down the corridor. They eventually came to the Millennium Stone, which had the Millennium Necklace and Eye in their proper places, the others were empty.
Jaden: Never thought that this would happen. Sure, we've got absent Millennium Items, but they were gifts. The Millennium Puzzle is Yugi's, Yugi gave the Millennium Ring to someone a while ago, he gave the Millennium Key to someone named Shadi, but other than THAT, the items stayed. The first one to go was the Millennium Scale, quickly followed by the Rod. That's when I put up that shield.
??: And it sure didn't work!
Emerald Empress suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Jaden then slapped himself in the face.
Jaden: Man, I messed up! I forgot to reactivate the shield!
Emerald Empress: And it'll cost you!
Joey: Sorry, Double E, but you ain't takin' any other item!
Tyranno: You'll have to come through US first!
After they beat Emerald Empress, she vanished, but reappeared next to the Millennium Stone and took the other two items. Syrus then tackled her, sending the necklace flying. Bastion caught it and placed it back in its proper place.
Emerald Empress: Too slow!
She held out the Millennium Eye before vanishing.
Syrus: Man, you'd think that we'd…
But whatever Syrus was going to put at the end of his sentence, we never found out, because Koji and Shadow appeared virtually from nowhere. The suddenness scared the living daylight out of Syrus.
Takuya: Koji?
Sonic: Shadow?
Tyranno: Ain't the king supposed to be with ya?
Jaden: They're travelling with Yugi?
Koji: He thought it'd be best if he DIDN'T show up. Now, that short guy's the Gatekeeper!
Koji thrust the Millennium Key into Syrus' forehead and turned it. The next thing he knew, he was in a room that had several Vehicroids in it.
Koji: What's with this guy?
He found the keyhole inside a Steamroid. When he unlocked it, the Monster Rancher theme song played. He left to find Syrus in a daze.
Syrus: Man. I've got a major headache.
Shadow: Do you now?
Koji: The gateway's open. Shadow, get us outta here.
Shadow: Chaos…CONTROL!
The two vanished.
Jaden: What'd he mean by 'the gateway's open'?
Takuya: You see, we're going from world to world, keeping them from falling into chaos. Well, I guess we'd better head to the ship. A new world awaits.
They went to the ship and took off into the next world.
The Void:
Tohokari was apparently chained to a wall. The strange thing was that it wasn't really Tohokari's physical form, but his free will.
