Good Day Readers. Obviously I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh only Kylie and Katherine Hope along with the unique cards within their decks and whatever other OCs decide to crop up. Also italics symbolise a mind conversation or a flashback, or something in another language.

Thank you to randomguy77 for your review. I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy

Chapter 20: - Reach Out!

"Everyone! Spread out and find Honda and Shizuka! Make sure they aren't caught by the Ghouls! Get Otogi or Mai to them and made sure they escape to somewhere safe!" Kylie commanded in a whisper. I looked through my teary eyes to see that both of our Duel Spirits had gathered to support us and they all nodded and flew off into the city in order to protect our friends as best they could.

Only Kylie's Guardians, Hydros and my secret duo along with a massive hidden form remained behind to protect us as they never left our sides even if we did order it, their duty was to remain at our sides no matter; Anzu cried out to her friend as Jounouchi gloated over the fact that his deck was so powerful now thanks to the banned cards that had been crammed into it.

"Jounouchi-kun! D-don't you feel pain in your duelist's heart?" Yami asked. Sadly the possessed boy was forced to dismiss such a notion by the monster controlling him as Yami managed to regain his balance taking the strong posture I was used to seeing him with. "The pain I'm feeling right now isn't from the burning sensation of your cards… it's the pain of my sadness seeing you lose your heart as a duelist!" Yami added on. Amazingly Jounouchi's sick gleeful expression fell into a solemn one

"Yugi. I will crush you!" Jounouchi promised. Yami called out to the boy once more however the blonde ignored him instead wanting the ancient spirit to get on with his turn; Yami didn't immediately make a move as Anzu called out to her friend to try and get him to break free of his possession however a light suddenly glowed from the Millennium Puzzle causing my eyes to widen as I wiped away my tears as the glow faded to reveal Yugi standing there.

"Wh-! Yugi! What's going on!?" Kylie exclaimed. It was a fair point she made since even I couldn't understand why the two boys had decided to swap control so suddenly, knowing there was only one way to get some answers so I mentally grabbed a hold of the link between me and Yugi and proceeded to send a jolt of my emotions which comprised of panic, terror, worry and confusion down the link causing Yugi to physically start as he looked at me.

"What is going on Yugi?" I asked. The boy looked at his hand before turning his gaze back to me as he sent another surge of emotions back to me, reassurance, determination, hope and faith; I began to understand even without the boy telling me why exactly he had taken this course of action but I still wanted him to tell him so I sent a rush of demand back towards him causing Yugi to sigh in the physical plane.

"Well… I think I had get through to Jounouchi-kun's heart also I want to prove that me and Jounouchi-kun became friends through my own power," Yugi explained. I nodded my head and let go of the link allowing Yugi to focus on the duel although I did wonder how Marik was possibly reacting to the sudden swap, especially since he seemed to hell bent on destroying the Pharaoh.

"It's my turn," Yugi announced. He reached for the top card of his deck and touched it but he stopped moving so I adjusted my eyes and saw Yami's image hovering slightly behind Yugi, the ancient spirit was probably providing advice or support to the boy he shared a body with and I guess he was prepared to swap with Yugi if things got too dangerous for the young boy.

"Please tell me Yugi has a plan?" Kylie softly asked. I nodded my head and went on to quietly explain what Yugi was hoping to accomplish by trading places with Yami, I felt Kylie's grip on me tighten as I finished explaining the situation. "If things go ugly, we move. I'll get the boys whilst you save Anzu," Kylie insisted. It was dangerous but it was a necessary risk we'd have to take to save them.

Yami's image faded away as Yugi proceeded to draw a card and look at it, suddenly a link from Ares came to my mind as he revealed that he'd found Honda with Shizuka but both of them were cornered by Ghouls so after asking for his permission I proceeded to look through my Duel Spirit's eyes as Honda allowed Shizuka to slide off of his back so that he could fight the Ghouls off, I used my magic to channel some of Ares' physical capabilities into Honda as Athena arrived so I switched to her and enhanced Honda's mental capabilities in regards to analysis, unfortunately it would only last for a minute.

The Ghouls made threats towards the two but I had to pull out of my Spirits before my mind decided to slip away from my body and permanently take up residence in Athena; when I came back to my body a dull headache formed in the back of my mind as Kylie rubbed her hand up and down my arm in an act of reassurance.

"Otogi's being guided towards them, let's hope he reaches them before Honda's beaten," Kylie whispered in English. I nodded my head in understanding, soon we received a message from our Spirit Partners that Otogi had reached the two of them and all three of them had managed to escape from the Ghouls that had cornered them, I felt like I could breathe a little easier knowing that Jounouchi's little sister wasn't in immediate danger of being used by Marik.

Looking back at the duel I saw that Yugi was done observing the card he'd drawn and was instead focused on his possessed friend as Yugi declared that he was going to fight in order to reclaim Jounouchi's heart and prove their friendship and it was then that I saw the Spirit of Red-Eyes hover behind Yugi and I wondered if the card he'd drawn had been that very dragon.

"It's your turn, you know!" Jounouchi called. Yugi didn't immediately make a move causing Jounouchi to demand that he hurry up, Yugi looked at his hand before raising his amethyst eyes and staring at the blonde with a determined and fierce expression in his eyes; Anzu took that moment to try and remind Jounouchi of the past by bringing up some circle of friendship they made and that its' vow was still in their hearts.

"She does realise that no mere words have helped so far. Actions speak louder than words, so if we're going to smack Jounouchi back to normal Yugi has to do it in this duel," Kylie commented. I think that my sister was right in her analysis and hopefully the move that Yugi was about to make would send a piercing strike right into Marik's mind control and awaken Jounouchi's heart.

"It's all she can do, she's known them longer than us and is both more powerless and more expressive than either of us. Talking is her only weapon Kylie," I responded. My sister only gave a hum in response as she continued to keep a grip on me so that we would continue to draw support from the other as this accursed duel continued onwards.

"Here I go. Exchange!" Yugi announced. My eyes widened as this since it wasn't the action I thought the boy would take as I had half expected the boy to Advance Summon Red-Eyes onto the field so I did have to wonder why Yugi had decided to use a Magic card that allows both players to look at their opponent's hand and swap one card from the opponent's hand into their own.

Suddenly the memory of Jounouchi and Yami's promise on the first day of Battle City came into my mind as I realised that, that promise would just as easily rouse Jounouchi's heart as Red-Eyes would because it was something he deeply desired to attain and breaking that promise by taking Red-Eyes before Jounouchi believed he was ready would be something Jounouchi couldn't allow.

The other spectators and Jounouchi also seemed to be confused by the card that Yugi had played, Jounouchi quickly recovered and so he made his way around to where Yugi stood – fortunately the chains that linked the two to the anchors were fairly long – I lightly pressed my teeth to my bottom lip as I watched the scene that was about to occur, upon reaching Yugi Jounouchi/Marik demanded to see Yugi's hand.

Yugi complied and the moment Jounouchi's eyes spotted the cards in the young boy's hand, the blonde's eyes widened as the name of his most precious monster slipped passed his lips in shock; Yugi's eyes had closed as he encouraged his possessed friend to take whichever of the five cards he held , however Jounouchi's eyes had shrunk to the size of pinpricks and he was completely frozen in shock no doubt focused on Red-Eyes.

I noticed that Yugi was struggling with the decision he made as much as Jounouchi was struggling to actually make a decision which caused my heart to clench tightly in pain, the look in Jounouchi's eyes changed as he reached towards one of Yugi's cards and declared that he was taking his Red-Eyes back which caused my hands to twist together as Kylie swallowed thickly whilst her arm tightened around me briefly yet she still kept her eyes on the duel with ease where as it took every inch of my being to remain watching.

Jounouchi took a hold of the card yet instead of taking it straight away, his fingers began to tremble and that trembling soon spread up his entire arm before a scream tore itself from the blonde as he raised a hand to his head as he questioned why he couldn't take it, this caused Seto and Mokuba to look at the two of us in confusion and they were obviously demanding answers.

"First day of Battle City, Yami dueled a Rare Hunter who'd stolen Jounouchi's Red-Eyes in a duel before it began. Yami won and took it back but Jounouchi refused to take it and only promised to when he became a True Duelist and vowed to face Yami in the finals. Right now Marik's control and Jounouchi's promise are at war within him because Red-Eyes is in Yugi's hand and it's the symbol of their promise," Kylie quickly explained. When she finished Jounouchi pulled a card from Yugi's hand and held it aloft.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yugi cried out. Jounouchi had taken the card Hand Obliteration instead of Red-Eyes meaning that he had managed to shake Marik's control, whether permanently or just for that moment I wasn't too sure but it was at least a step in the right direction, Jounouchi stayed still for a few moments before he raised his head… his eyes were still blank slates.

"I-I don't need monster cards to beat you… my player damaging banned Magic cards are more than enough to crush Yugi!" Jounouchi declared. However Yugi wasn't fazed as he simply reminded his opponent that he was allowed to draw a card from Jounouchi hand now so he did and I noticed it was a Trap card, Jounouchi scoffed and turned to walk back to his side.

"Jounouchi-kun! I know for sure now, that you haven't lost your True Duelist's heart. You swore to battle me in Battle City with your pride on the line and you swore not to use the Red-Eyes Black Dragon until that time came. So… so that's why you couldn't take the Red-Eyes!" Yugi insisted. At one point in Yugi's speech Jounouchi had told him to shut up and once Yugi finished Jounouchi told him to shut up once more and claimed what Yugi had just said was a load of crap. "I confirmed it. With this Red-Eyes card, I can call back your heart as a duelist," Yugi insisted.

"Fine by me Yugi. But before you try that shit against me… I'll bring your Life Points to zero and sink you into the sea!" Jounouchi responded. Yugi's answer to that claim was him insisting that his turn wasn't over yet and he proceeded to sacrifice Gardna and Kuriboh allowing him to Advance Summon Red-Eyes Black Dragon onto the field.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon – Attribute: Dark, Type: Dragon, Level: 7, ATK/2400, DEF/2000

As Red-Eyes let out a proud roar upon its' summoning, Jounouchi gave another reaction to seeing the dragon by calling out to Red-Eyes and it seemed that the ebony scaled dragon was doing the same to Jounuchi from how it was acting, Mokuba managed to catch on to what Yugi was up to by using that card and Seto asked the big question, would it work.

"Let's hope this works," I commented. Yugi called out to the blonde by saying that the colour of sadness had dyed Red-Eyes luminous scarlet orbs and it was because Red-Eyes also wanted to bring Jounouchi's Duelist heart back to us and Yugi admitted that to do that they would fight and the kind-hearted boy commanded the dark scaled dragon to attack Wyvern Warrior, finally dealing damage to Jounouchi/Marik's Life Points.

Jounouchi – LP: 4000 – LP: 2400

The force of the blast had sent Jounouchi to the floor but he soon got to his feet – I did wonder how Marik was taking this course of action – however the blonde claimed that the attack was nothing and then announced it was his turn again and that the Illegal cards he held were going to kill Yugi; things were definitely getting far too dangerous but then Yugi took a hold of the chain holding the Millennium Puzzle making me furrow my eyebrows in confusion.

"No! Let me fight until the end!" Yugi pleaded. He then did the stupidest and most irresponsible thing I'd ever seen the boy do, Yugi took off the Millennium Puzzle ensuring that Yami couldn't swap places with him to keep him safe from harm; seeing this I couldn't stop myself as I ripped away from Kylie's grip startling my sister as I ran forward slightly until the goon yelled at me to stop.

"Yugi! What are you doing?!" I cried. Yugi looked at me before looking at the object he held, I felt our link tingle and I realised what Yugi wanted so I closed my eyes and allowed my mind to be pulled away from the physical plane and into the mental one.

*Yu-Gi-Oh*

Appearing in my Soul Room I rushed to the door linking me and Yugi which was already opened so I dashed down the corridor until I reached Yugi's room with the door already being open, I vaguely noted the similarities between my Soul Room and his, but I didn't focus on that as I heard Yami call out 'Partner' from the hallway connecting them so I ran over and saw both him and Yugi standing there.

"When I solved the Millennium Puzzle, I wished for a friend and when I met you within my heart, I learned to have courage. I made important friends too! But.. somewhere inside of me… I think that if I hadn't met you, I would've stayed a coward. I still feel that way sometimes… that's why I have to get Jounouchi-kun's heart back in this duel with my own strength! So I ask that you just watch My Other Self. And Katherine-chan please respect my wishes," Yugi pleaded. At those words Yugi turned around to face me so I walked over to the boy and took his hands in my own.

"I don't know why you think that? After all you're the bravest person I know Yugi. Besides a person's strength is never their own, it's the strength of everyone they met and learned from, also it's the strength of your deck that helps you fight," I stated. Yugi's hands tightened around my own as he looked at me but then Yami cleared his throat causing us to turn our attention back to him and I saw the panic on his face.

"But this is an incredibly dangerous fight, if you make one mistake you could die!" Yami protested. Yugi admitted he knew that but he would trust in Jounouchi until the end, Yami's face lost its' panic and his shoulders sagged as if under some great weight. "I get it… if you insist on going that far, I'll back off. But… don't let yourself die, Other Me!" Yami demanded. Yugi agreed and so with that I left Yugi mind to return to my own.

*Yu-Gi-Oh*

My eyes flew open and I found Kylie, Seto and Mokuba looking at me rather worriedly until they all sighed and moved away from my line of sight allowing me to see the duel, Mokuba called out that I was fine to Anzu who was glad by her response whilst Kylie kept a hand on my shoulder and Seto didn't reassert his usual distance between people, Yugi looked at me so I nodded my head at him and he smiled gently before turning back to look at Jounouchi.

"Yugi! How long are you going to stand there for? You'll have plenty of time to think when you're dead! Here goes! My turn!" Jounouchi yelled. He drew a card from his deck and reiterated his claim of not needing monsters and proceeded to activate a third Fire Ball, that Magic was getting to be really annoying and I had to grab onto Kylie and Seto to stop myself from running out when Yugi cried after he was hit by the strike.

Yugi – LP: 1500 – LP: 1000

"Oh for f-! That had best be the last one! I'm getting sick of that card!" Kylie yelled. I noticed she'd stopped herself from cursing but said nothing as it was a habit she tried to adhere to strictly, although sometimes the situation just demanded a curse or two and I think this one certainly counted; our Duel spirits checked in and revealed that Honda, Otogi and Shizuka were still on the run but currently safe.

Jounouchi mocked Yugi who was still on his knees from the assault with Anzu once more called out to Jounouchi and then turned to the rest of us and demanded that we stop standing around and actually do something so Kylie took the opportunity to take a step away from me and she gestured sharply to the container hovering precariously above the brunette girl.

"Hello! Bomb on crane holding container above your head! Ghoul will set off if we do anything! Katherine moving forward just then nearly did it! You being… gone, would hurt Yugi and Jounouchi, along with Honda more than anything else! You're important to them so stow it Anzu!" Kylie snapped. She then turned back to us and moved to stand close to Seto who looked down at my sister. "Please tell me you have a plan? I do but it's risky and requires confusion," Kylie admitted in English.

"I just… can't bring your life Points to zero after all... so, I'd like you to just hear my wish…" Yugi asked. He proceeded to move around the wooden platform towards Jounouchi, who claimed that he didn't care, and continued on with his turn by summoning out Rocket Warrior, so much for not needing monsters to defeat Yugi.

Rocket Warrior – Attribute: Light, Type: Warrior, Level: 4, ATK/1500, DEF/1300

"Any monster this guy attacks has its' attack reduced by five hundred after damage calculation! Also it can't be destroyed in battle and I won't take any battle damage!" Jounouchi explained. That wasn't a good thing since Jounouchi would only need to attack Red-Eyes twice in order to reduce its' attack points in order to do damage to Yugi, said boy was still making his way around as he called out to his friend. "I then play the Magic card War of Attrition. Here I go, this is my Battle Phase, Rocket Warrior! Transform into your Invincible Mode! Attack Red-Eyes!" Jounouchi commanded. As he did Yugi stated that he wanted to give Jounouchi his Puzzle.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/2400 – ATK/1900

Rocket Warrior's attack had torn through Red-Eyes' left wing causing it to let out a roar of pain yet Yugi kept going as he admitted that he didn't want the Puzzle to sink into the sea however the blonde wasn't listening as he went on to activate War of Attrition's effect which proceeded to reduce Red-Eyes' attack by Rocket Warrior's attack, making the beautiful dragon even weaker than before.

Red-Eyes Black Dragon – ATK/1900 – ATK/400

As a result of the sudden and massive weakening, Red-Eyes proceeded to collapse to the floor as it let out a soft cry and for a moment Jounouchi's face was gleeful at the damage that he'd inflicted upon his precious dragon but then Red-Eyes let out another mournful cry; that cry caused Jounouchi to freeze as his eyes widened and he then gripped his head with a hand and then collapsed to his, all the while Yugi continued his approach and reached our possessed friend just as the blonde collapsed to his knees.

"Jounouchi-kun… I want you… to keep my Millennium Puzzle," Yugi admitted. I couldn't see Jounouchi's expression but I did see Yugi's motions as he put the Millennium Puzzle around the blonde's neck. "In my place," Yugi finished. I hoped that whatever Yugi was attempting to accomplish by giving his Puzzle to Jounouchi would work.