Téa can feel her heart beating out of her chest and panic overcoming her, starting to become lightheaded from the strong, large hand clasped tightly onto her mouth and nose. Her oxygen is limited and she is running out of time. Looking further down into the entrance of the building, she sees men and women laying on the ground, appearing to be unconscious as they lay motionless on the floor. Will she face a similar fate?

The smell of cigarette smoke trickles to her nostrils as he breathes closely to her face, his cheek practically pressed on hers. "I thought you looked familiar," the man says, causing her eyes to go wide. What is he talking about and who is this man? Her eyes slowly look over and she looks at a window that is nearby, seeing their reflection.

At this point, her heart drops, seeing a man with orange hair, a green shirt and dress pants. When she was but a struggling student, she worked at a popular fast food joint called Burger World, even though her school prohibited it. The man that currently has her in his grasp just so happens to be the one who managed the burger place at that point in time. It's also the same man that tried to rob the convenience store.

He loosens his hand on her face and she takes this moment to make up for the oxygen she had lost. "You were cute then and even cuter now."

Living a double life, Jiro would often disguise himself in order to commit various robberies all over the city, until he was finally caught. His act was exposed when he worked at Burger World, and he ended up holding the entire restaurant hostage, including holding Téa at gunpoint.

"I'll make you an offer," he continues. "Go out with me and you won't end up like those people there." He points to the floor with a smirk. "Just allow me some time to finish what I came here for and you can pick whatever restaurant you want. I'll be rolling in dough once I get ahold of Kaiba's stash."

"Do not forget to collect the souls you nitwit!"

"I've heard about enough out of you."

'He's here to steal from Kaiba?' Téa thinks to herself. 'I have to warn the others.' She attempts to run away. but Jiro grabs her by the arm.

"And where do you think you're going?" he snickers. "Unless you've decided to decline my offer."

"As a matter of fact, she did," a familiar voice comes from behind, bringing Téa much relief. Growling, Jiro looks over his shoulder, only to be met with Celtic Guardian's sword being pointed at him and a man with tricolored hair standing behind him as well. "Now let her go now, or else…"

"You're taking entirely too long!"

Jiro sucks in his teeth. "Shut up dammit! I know what I'm doing!"

"It is clear that you don't. So allow me to assist."

When Jiro turns around completely, a pyramid shaped object that hangs around his neck causes Yugi's mouth to go agape. Bearing similarities to the Millennium Puzzle, a bad feeling immediately overcomes Yugi and puts him more on edge. He remembers his grandfather mentioning an ancient object called the Pyramid of Light, but there's still so little they know about it, except that it may be part of the reason for the Millennium Puzzle acting strangely.

"I can't let him harm any more people…or get close to Atem," Yugi mutters to himself.

The Pyramid of Light activates and the next thing they know, they are surrounded by numerous black puddles on the ground. From it, mummies crawl out of them, sending shivers up Téa's spine and Yugi grits his teeth.

"Y-Yugi," Téa stammers, shaking with fear. "Do something!"

"What is this?" Jiro asks the voice within the pyramid. He stumbles back with alarm, allowing for Téa to be freed and she immediately runs over to Yugi.

"We'll be able to gather more souls this way. So allow them to do what they do best," the demonic voice answers.

"Are you alright?" Yugi asks a visibly shaken Téa who holds onto her arms.

"What's that guy doing here?" she asks, looking to the floor. "I thought they locked him up for good."

"Not sure. But something has definitely changed about him and I've got a feeling it has something to do with that blue object around his neck."

"Huh?"

"Grandpa said they discovered it on one of his many trips to Egypt, recently. They put it up on at an exhibit at the museum, which can only mean one thing…"

"Jiro stole it…"

As the mummies begin to grow in number, Yugi goes on the defensive. "Go Celtic Guardian!" Yugi orders to which his monster nods his head, springing into action shortly after. "Téa, go find somewhere safe to hide."

"But what about you?!"

"I'll be fine, now go!"

With reluctance she turns to run down the hall, hoping that someone will help. She feels helpless and the more she hears the sounds of Celtic Guardian's sword slashing through the mummies, the angrier she gets with herself. She wishes that there is more that she can do to help. But instead, she is always stuck on the sidelines.

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Previously resting her elbow on the table with a bored expression, a vibration from her phone brings her back to the present and Mana lazily looks down to her lap. She glances up, seeing the guests talk amongst themselves while carrying glasses filled with alcohol. Some are even dancing to the music the live band plays. The vibration on her lap brings her attention back on her phone again and she groans before picking it up.

"Yugi…" she mutters, opening the message from him. Her look of disinterest goes to the exact opposite as she reads his text. Her face scrunches up with confusion as she reads it again and then she looks to the exit door. Is trouble really lurking just beyond that door? Skimming the room, she looks for an area that she can use to conceal herself until her eyes land on a pair of plants.

Opening another text window, she sends a message over to Kisara and looks to where she is sitting. She watches as Kisara looks down briefly before her eyes meet up with Mana's and they give each other a nod. At least with Kisara there, she'd be able to protect anyone inside of the hall if it comes to that.

"Going to the ladies room," Mana says, scooting back from her seat and trying to appear as calm as possible.

Moments after she leaves, Mai raises an eyebrow suspiciously. "I'm going as well," she announces, getting up and briskly walking down the same path as Mana.

Joey and Atem exchange looks. "Why do girls always have to go with each other to the bathroom?" Joey asks.

"Not sure," Atem replies. "But I can say it's never a good thing when Mana excuses herself to go to the restroom…" In the past, on an occasion such as this, they had to fight off intruders shortly after Mana went to the bathroom. And at another event held at Kaiba's amusement park, Mana had to dispose of a bomb that threatened to cause significant harm and damage.

After she went to the bathroom.

Going behind the tall, green plants, Mana sighs with relief. She managed to get away with causing any suspicion. At least that's what she thinks.

"What are you doing?"

Mana flinches and quickly looks over to see Mai standing right there. "Ack! You scared me!"

"What are you doing behind these plants?"

"I think Yugi is in trouble. But he told me not to let Atem know."

"Huh? Why?"

"I'm not sure…"

"Sounds serious."

"I have no idea what lies on the other side of these walls," Mana outstretches her hand to the wall behind them, forming a magical portal.

"Ooh, nice trick."

"You coming?"

Mai nods. "Let's go."

They both step through the portal, landing outside of the closed banquet hall and they're immediately greeted by Téa running down the hall with a panicked expression on her face. Mai and Mana blink, exchanging glances before looking back at her.

"Hey Téa!" Mana chirps. "Where's Yugi?"

"There's no time!" Téa yells back, latching onto both Mana and Mai's arms and dragging them away with all her strength.

"What on earth are you doing?" Mai protests.

"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Mana asks. The answer to her question comes in the form of a tall mummy running toward them, causing Mai and Mana's eyes to nearly pop out of their sockets and they shriek as Téa drags them into the ladies room.

"I'm such an awful person!" Téa whines as they all stand against the door to prevent the mummy from coming in. "I left Yugi out there to fend for himself!"

"Why is there a mummy chasing us? Why is there a mummy even alive?!" Mana asks.

"It's the same guy from the convenience store!" Téa tells them.

"Wait what?" Mai blinks. "How can someone as simple as him be responsible for this mess?"

"He had this thing hanging around his neck that looked like the Millennium Puzzle! Except it was blue!"

"Say what?" Mana narrows her eyes. Could it be the same thing Cairo was talking about with the incident at the museum? She groans. Now it all makes sense as to why Yugi didn't want her to tell Atem what's going on. If the Pyramid of Light truly is in this building, then it could cause Atem's puzzle to go haywire again.

But who's to say it still won't?

The banging on the door is enough to make their bodies jerk and Mana lets out a loud, exasperated sigh. "Gah! Why do these things always happen at Kaiba's events?!"

Mai growls, feeling extremely irritated at this point. "I'm not gonna just stay here like a sitting duck!"

After hearing what sounds like a scream, Atem looks toward the exit doors with his eyebrow raised. "Did you hear that?" he asks and Joey looks over at him questionably.

"Hm? Hear what?"

"Perhaps my ears are playing tricks on me…" Although he has this nagging feeling to leave and see what's going on, just to be sure. "…But I could have sworn that I heard Mana and Mai screaming."

"Let's check it out then," Joey suggests. "Anything beats just sitting here."

They walk out of the banquet area into the hallway. For a moment, it is eerily quiet and surprisingly empty. That is, until they hear the sound of a strange groan and a banging noise, putting them both on alert.

"Do I even wanna know what that is?" Joey asks with a great feeling of dread as Atem takes the initiative of going toward the sound of the noise, much to Joey's dismay. As they get closer, they see something that they're both not expecting. A mummy bangs up against the door of the ladies room, grunting as it uses its whole body to enter. The door shakes with each firm impact and they can hear the sound of women on the other side of the door.

"Hey ya creep!" Joey calls out to it. "I don't know how you even exist right now, but it's time for you to go back to where you belong!"

The mummy finally breaks through the door and screams immediately ring out, sending Atem and Joey on the offensive as they both charge at the mummy. To their surprise, the mummy stops right at the entrance of the restroom and they stop right behind it when they see Mai with a bathroom sink that she tore out of the wall, holding it above her head. Her face is red and full of rage, sending Joey into a panic.

"Mai, wait!" Joey yells.

"THIS IS THE LADIES ROOM!" she screams from the top of her lungs, throwing the ripped off sink.

"Uh…" An embarrassed Atem quickly steps to the side to avoid being hit, but Joey and the mummy aren't so lucky as they both lay in a heap with the sink right on top of them.

Realizing the mummy is on him, Joey flails his arms in a panic. "Get it off me! Get it off!" He springs up, bringing his leg all the way back before bringing it forward with so much force that he kicks the mummy's head clean off, sending it into a trash can. He holds on to his chest, breathing a relieved sigh. "Okay…what is going on?"

"There's no time. Yugi needs help!" Téa cries.

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Yugi doubles over, completely winded after what seemed like a non-stop battle between his Celtic Guardian and the mummies that Jiro summoned with the Pyramid of Light. The exhaustion he feels is enough for his monster to disappear, leaving him practically open for whatever else Jiro has up his sleeve.

"Just give up already! I'm tired of this!" Jiro yells, growing impatient. All he wanted was to find Kaiba's safe, grab as much money as he could and run away. He pulls out a cigarette and a lighter, placing it to his lips and letting out a few puffs.

"Where did you get that thing?" Yugi manages to breathe out, still trying to slow down his heart rate.

"Huh? What thing?" Jiro looks to the cigarette in his hand and then to the object around his neck. "You mean this? Let's just say it found me and I wish it never did. The damn thing keeps talking about capturing powerful souls and all I wanted to do was make a quick buck!"

Yugi's eyes go wide. "Capturing souls?"

Jiro reaches into his back pocket, pulling out a gun and pointing it at Yugi just as Téa and the others arrive on the scene.

"Yugi!" Téa yells and he quickly turns around.

"All of you, stand back!" Yugi tells them for their own safety.

They stop just behind him, but that doesn't keep them from seeing what has occurred here. Atem gasps lightly when he sees a few people laying on the ground motionless and seemingly not breathing. Then his eyes slowly scroll up to the man holding the gun. He isn't even able to get a good look of his face, his eyes stopping right where the blue pyramid is around his neck.

His heart rate increases as he stares at an item that is nearly identical to his own. "Is that…?"

"I don't need this object to do what I've been doing for years!" Jiro snatches the pyramid off his neck, tossing it up a few times.

Yugi's eyes widen in horror. Is he about to do what he thinks? The last thing they need is for the Pyramid of Light to be in the wrong hands again. Tossing it up two more times, Jiro grips it tightly in his hand before throwing it through a window.

Mana's jaw drops. "He didn't!"

Jiro grins. "Oh, but I just did. Now I can do things my way!"

"Are you crazy?!" Joey yells, taking one step forward, causing Jiro to point his gun directly at him.

"One more move and I'll blow your brains out…understand?!"

"Do you realize what you've just done?" Yugi asks.

"I don't care! Give me your money. NOW!" Jiro demands.

"Put the gun down," Atem says firmly, narrowing his eyes. But Jiro shows no signs of doing so. Atem glances over at Mana whose eyes are focused on the broken window that Jiro threw the pyramid out of. In this moment, only she will be able to do anything about the gun in Jiro's hand. He lowers his voice, keeping his eyes set on Jiro just in case the intruder tries anything crazy. "Mana…do you think you can disarm him with your magic…?"

She doesn't answer. Instead, she finds herself subconsciously moving toward the window. The pyramid could be in someone else's hands now and who knows what that someone will do with it.

Noticing that she isn't currently in the moment and could possibly be putting herself in danger, Atem whispers her name a little louder between gritted teeth. "Mana…! What are you doing…?"

Mana's body edges a little further. "We have to get that pyramid or—"

"I said don't move!" Jiro shouts, firing off the gun to everyone's horror.

The last thing Atem sees is Mana clenching her arm and falling to the side to the cries of Téa, Yugi and Mai calling her name. Jiro takes another puff of his cigarette, scratching his head with the back of his gun. "Stupid woman," he grumbles. "Told her not to move." His eyes go to the spiky haired man whose face is hidden by his blonde bangs. He can practically feel the anger emitting from Atem as he balls his hand into a fist.

"Heh…that your wife?" Jiro snickers. "I can tell she doesn't do as she's told and stay in her place."

Atem lifts his head and slowly turns to stare Jiro down. His crimson eyes burn with rage as the Eye of Wdjat glows on his forehead. Seeing this, Yugi reaches forward and grabs his brother by the shoulder. This moment reminds him of the incident with Weevil all those years ago. That look in his eyes, the dark aura that seems to surround him and not appearing to be himself.

"Atem…" Yugi glances over to Mana who show signs of movement, then he looks back to his brother. "Atem…Mana's okay. She's fine. Just stay calm, alright?"

But no amount of convincing is enough to stop Atem, who proceeds forward. Jiro now has his gun pointed at him, but when he tries to fire it, he cannot move as a golden aura appears around his body. "What the—?"

The room around them is suddenly empty and covered in a hue of red. Jiro looks around confusedly, rubbing his eyes before gasping when he realizes he doesn't have his gun anymore. The floor around him is wet and has an odd stench. When he looks across the room, he lets out an audible gasp, stumbling backward. A lighter falls out of his pocket, sliding across the floor until it hits the feet of another person present in the room.

The person bends down to pick it up, then slowly makes his way over to Jiro's side of the room. Those crimson eyes stare deeply into his soul, but instead of the enraged look he once had, they are a lot more sinister this time around. Atem lifts the lighter up as he gets closer and Jiro continues to back up until he is trapped against a wall.

"Stay back you freak!" he yells, his cigarette hanging off his lips. "I'm warning you!"

Surprisingly, Atem obeys, stopping just before the area where the floor is wet. Jiro takes a few inhales, trying to pinpoint what that awful smell is. Then it hits him all at once as Atem flicks open the metal lighter, exposing its flame. As if it's happening in slow motion, Jiro watches Atem drop the lighter onto the clear liquid below and it instantly lights up, engulfing his body in flames.

Jiro cries out, clawing at his body as he begs for help. He catches a glimpse of Atem, who only grins with those menacing red eyes.

"Help me! Please! Help me!"

Mana sits up and looks down to her arm. There is a small trickle of blood, but nothing major. Thankfully when Jiro shot at her, she moved away just in time for the bullet to only graze her. Seeing a shadow hover over her, she looks up to see Téa and Mai looking at her concernedly.

"You okay?" Téa asks.

"I'm fine but—"

Jiro's screams fill the air and each of them look over to see Atem standing directly across from him as he claws at his skin, beginning to roll on the ground. No one else can see what's happening to him, but if Mana can guess, he is going through some sort of illusion caused by one of Atem's penalties.

"Atem!" Yugi calls out with Joey standing by his side now.

"Snap out of it man! That's enough!" Joey yells.

Jiro claws at himself so much that he manages to break through the top layer of skin and he begins to bleed. Tears begin to pour out of his eyes and his body shakes violently.

"Atem! You've got to regain control!" Yugi pleads.

Atem's eyes go from sinister to surprised as he starts to come to. But that doesn't stop the hallucinations Jiro is going through. Blinking rapidly, he tries to snap himself out of it, but to no avail. The man's screams become so intense that it becomes hard for everyone to witness. "I…can't…" Atem mutters.

Mana springs up and runs at Atem, shutting her eyes before revealing her glowing pink orbs. The only thing she can think of to get Atem to stop is to get him far away from here. Hopefully then, he'll go back to normal and she can finally give him the tools he needs to get everything under control. "Sorry, Atem," she mutters, colliding into the back of him and a dark portal magically forms below them as they fall through it.

Jiro's eyes roll to the back of his head as he collapses. Joey is the first to approach him, crouching down to check his pulse. Breathing a sigh of relief, he looks to the others. "He's still alive."

"Yeah, but can we say the same about all these people?" Téa asks, looking down at Jiro's victims.

"What in the world happened to them? And where did Mana and Atem disappear to?" Mai asks. "It wasn't another one of Jiro's tricks, was it?"

Téa shakes her head. "Something tells me Mana did that intentionally so that Jiro's hallucinations would stop."

"And the people here more than likely had their souls taken," Yugi guesses to everyone's surprise.

"You serious?" Joey asks with his eyes wide.

"I'm sure of it. I heard Jiro mention something about it briefly."

"This doesn't make any sense," Mai holds her head. "If he wants to get souls, then why'd he throw that object away?"

"Not him, Mai," Yugi corrects her. "But possibly whatever…or whoever, lies within the Pyramid of Light. Hopefully it's still outside so we can return it."

YGOYGOYGOYGOYGOYGO

A father and son walk in front of Kaiba Corp that same night. The father looks toward the blue carpet and the backdrop containing Kaiba's logos. There is a small litter of trash left over from the paparazzi earlier in the day and the signage containing a large image of Kaiba still remains.

Kicking over a can, Weevil Sr. growls. "To think I wasn't invited to this event and all of these third rate duelists were," he grumbles. "The disrespect!"

Following further behind, Weevil Jr. notices a broken window and stops when he sees something glimmering. He walks over to take a look and his mouth goes agape as he gets closer. "Could it be…?" He bends down and observes the blue object. It's the same blue object that was at the Egyptian exhibit at the museum. "But what is it doing out here?"

"Weevil! Get over here!" his dad yells.

"Y-Yes sir!" he exclaims, scooping up the Pyramid of Light and hiding it underneath his jacket with a grin.

Merely one minute later, Yugi, Téa, Joey and Mai come outside where the broken window is. To their dismay, the pyramid is gone.

Joey slams his fist into his palm. "Aw man! We're too late!"

"Now what?" Téa frowns.

"There's nothing we can do except keep our eyes peeled," Yugi replies, hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

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AN: Well that was certainly an interesting chapter! And it ends with Mana intervening and Weevil Jr. coming back into the picture. What's your predictions as to what will happen next? Leave a review!