This Chapter Contains . . .

Violence: Mild violence and death

Language: None

Drugs: None

Nudity: None

Sexual Content: None


Edit Update: 10/11/2015

Re-uploaded.

I changed the scene with Yugi and Atem a bit.


"A game?" Yugi asked, confused.

His other self nodded before he reached into his school jacket, pulling out a gun. "Have you ever heard of Russian Roulette?"

He already didn't like where this was going. "Yeah, I have."

He handed the weapon to Yugi, that smile never leaving his face. "You can go first."

Yugi pushed it away. "No, I won't do it."

"This is a Shadow Game." His other self explained. "And it has already started."

"What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering, the other Yugi placed the gun against the side of his head.

"Wait!"

click

Nothing happened, and Yugi let out a sigh of relief. But the reprieve didn't last long, for once more his other self prepared the gun for a second time.

"Stop!" Yugi tried to grab his arm, but his hands went through him. "Who are you? And why are you doing this?"

"Do you pass this turn also?" The other Yugi asked.

"What?"

"If you do, it's my turn again."

"It's nobody's turn!" Yugi helplessly watched as his other self began to pull the trigger. "Don't do this!"

click

Yugi clenched his fists. This was torture. How could he stop him from doing this?

An idea suddenly entered his mind and he held out his hand. "Okay, I'll play your game."

The other Yugi silently handed over the gun and crossed his arms, waiting for Yugi to take his turn. But Yugi had other plans. He turned around and threw the gun out of the closest window. There, now neither of them had to die. But when Yugi faced his other self, his purple eyes widened. The gun was back, and it was in the other Yugi's hand once more.

"I already told you." The other Yugi explained. "This is a Shadow Game. And it won't stop until one of us is dead."


Marik's mind began racing as he felt the blade press against his throat. He didn't want to die until he killed the Pharaoh, but with his past self trying to take over, he was a dead man already. In the end, it all came down to who he wanted to kill him: Bakura or Rishid. The answer was obvious. But how could he save himself? The knife cut the skin open, and he could feel a drop of blood travel down his neck. What could he do to make Bakura stop? There was only one thing that might work. He clenched his teeth, hating himself for what he was about to say.

"Kill the Pharaoh."

"What?" Bakura asked, moving the knife slightly away from the other boy's throat, but keeping it close enough that he could instantly kill him if he tried anything.

"I don't have much time left." Marik turned his head towards him. "Go and kill him for me."

The white haired boy let out a chuckle as he put his knife away. "I'm not going to do it for you, but I will take you up on that offer."

"Just go." Marik said irritably. He was getting tired of Bakura, who seemed to love hearing himself talk.

Bakura grabbed Marik and pushed him face first against the wall before twisting the tanned boy's arm behind his back. "No one orders me around."

Marik winced as pain shot through his shoulder. Was Bakura planning on ripping his arm off? It sure felt like it. But then it suddenly stopped. He turned around and saw that Bakura was gone; probably on his way to kill the Pharaoh. Marik grabbed his throbbing shoulder and leaned against the wall, knowing that this was for the best. If he had gone back to Yugi, he knew that his Past Life would have completely taken over, and he only wanted to kill the Pharaoh if he was himself. And that option was gone now. All he could do was try to stay in control for as long as he could until he lost the battle. And then Rishid would end his life. Marik began to walk away from the building, unsure where he was going. He was void of all emotions, his mind a blank slate. Now he had no purpose in life. The Pharaoh would soon be dead. While he was disappointed that he didn't get to do it himself, it was better than the alternative. But now he had no reason to go on living. Now he wished that he had let Bakura kill him. Dying at his hands would have been better than this numbness.

A quick stab of pain like a bee sting hit the left side of Marik's neck and he felt himself becoming drowsy. The world around him began to spin and fade as his legs grew weak and collapsed underneath him. Marik didn't even try to figure out what was going on. He only hoped, as his eyes refused to stay open, that he would never wake up.


The other Yugi handed the gun to his shorter counterpart. "It's your turn."

Yugi stared at the lethal object. What should he do? If he didn't do anything and continued to do so, the boy who shared his appearance would die. But if he agreed to play the game, there was a chance that he might take the bullet instead.

He didn't have much time to decide. As he stood there, the other Yugi once more placed the gun in position. But before he could pull the trigger, Yugi held out his hand, telling him that he was ready for his turn. His other self handed it to him and waited as Yugi's hands shook. If the bullet was in this next round, it would penetrate his skull and puncture the brain. Would it be quick or slow? Peaceful and painful? He didn't want to think about it. Besides, he had already made his decision.

Yugi felt the cold metal touch his skin and his body stiffened, as if it were preparing for the blow that would come. With some effort, Yugi squeezed the trigger as he shut his eyes.

click

He raised his lids slightly. There was no bullet in that one. But the next one might.

The other Yugi reached for the gun, ready for his turn, but Yugi stepped back, keeping the gun pressed against his head.

"Only one of us has to die, right?" Yugi could hear the fear in his own voice. "I don't know why we have to do this, but I'm not going to sit by and watch you kill yourself!"

Yugi felt his entire body tremble as his mind subconsciously told him that there had to be another way. He ignored it and continuously pulled the trigger, over and over again.

click

click

click

clunk

That last distinct sound could only mean one thing: the cylinder had come full circle. The gun had been empty.

Yugi dropped the gun and fell to his knees. "But . . . how?"

His other self let out a small chuckle and flicked his wrist and the gun that lay beside Yugi began to dissolve until it completely disappeared. "The gun wasn't real."

"Then what was the point of the game?" Yugi asked, feeling a mixture of relief and anger.

With a kind smile, his other self knelt down in front of him. "You believe that you are weak and a coward."

Yugi lowered his head. "That's because I am. All I could do was run away from that bug Monster, and I couldn't save that man or Grandpa."

"You're wrong. You refused to let me play the game and you sacrificed your own life to save mine." He placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. "Your strength comes from your concern for others and putting them before yourself. No coward would risk his own life for someone else."

"But I'm still not strong enough."

"Not yet." His smile widened and he stood up before extending his hand to him.

Yugi reached out to grab his but stopped when they heard footsteps coming towards them.

"Pharaoh." Someone said in a singsong voice as fingers wrapped themselves around the doorframe and a pair of brown eyes appeared in the darkness.

"Run." Yugi's other self said before he, like the gun, dissolved into nothing.

Yugi didn't question him and dashed off through a second open doorway, desperately trying to find an exit. He ran down a long hallway and opened a door, which led to a large room with three more doors. Which one should he take? He heard his pursuer humming Three Blind Mice as he opened the middle one and ran inside, only to find another room, this one with four doors. How big was this building? As he continued to enter room after room, the menacing voice went from humming to singing, but the words to the song were now different.

Cut and slice, Cut and slice,
See your blood run, see your blood run,
They all ran and begged for life,
I cut off their heads with a carving knife,
I will follow you and I will end your life,
With a single slice.

He could feel his heart pound against his chest and cold sweat ran down his back, making his clothes stick to his body. Who was following him? Was it one of those people that Marik talked about, who wanted the Pharaoh's power? When the voice began to sing the song again, he wanted to cover his ears. But he couldn't. If he did, he wouldn't be able to hear how far away they were or in what direction. He tried to ignore the gruesome words as he opened yet another door. He had finally found the exit. Yugi ran into the narrow alley, hoping that he had lost him.

Someone grabbed the back of his shirt and kicked his legs out from under him, causing Yugi to land on his back as his head hit the hard pavement. His vision blackened for a moment and pain shot through him as a white haired figure holding a knife stood over him.

"Bakura?" But he didn't look quite like the Ryo Bakura he knew. Something was different.

Bakura grinned from ear-to-ear as he placed his foot on Yugi's throat and pushed down, choking him. "Come out, Pharaoh. Or are you going to let Yugi die?"

Yugi tried to push Bakura's foot away, but to no avail. Bakura went in and out of focus, and he felt lightheaded as more pressure was applied. Bakura laughed as he watched Yugi's face change color, loving every moment of it.

"He won't survive much longer, Pharaoh." Bakura said tauntingly. "Come out and-"

Bakura grimaced and reached for something on his neck, pulling it out of him before holding it in the palm of his hand. A small tranquilizer dart. Now it was Bakura's turn to feel dizzy. He stepped away from Yugi on wobbly legs as the spiky haired boy grabbed at his throat and coughed while trying to get oxygen into his starving lungs. The knife slipped from Bakura's fingers and he fell to the ground before completely blacking out. Yugi wondered what had happened and got ready to run again when he too was shot and went unconscious.


Rishid and Ishizu watched helplessly as Marik, Yugi, and Bakura were dragged to an armored truck and thrown into the back like old luggage.

"We must save Marik and the Pharaoh." Ishizu said.

"We can't risk it." Rishid explained, indicating the twelve or more men who were all on high alert as they held up their guns. "We will follow them and wait for the right moment."

Ishizu knew he was right. If they tried to save their brother now, they would surely fail. She touched her Millennium Tauk and wished that she wasn't so helpless. If only she had an Item that could save him, or at least make her feel useful. But now she couldn't even use what little power it had anymore. If only there was something that she could do. Was she destined to always sit on the sidelines as she watched her family fall apart?

As these thoughts ran through her mind, the armored truck roared to life and drove off. Rishid and Ishizu followed, remembering to stay far enough away to not be spotted, until the vehicle came to a full stop in front of a tall skyscraper. Ishizu and Rishid stayed out of sight as they watched the three teenage boys being carried into Kaiba Corp.


"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Anzu asked as their taxi hit another rock, causing it to bounce.

"I'm not the one who's drivin'!" Jonouchi answered.

They had been on this dirt road heading up the mountainside for quite some time now, and the rough path made them constantly bump into each other and occasionally hit their heads against the glass on the doors. And Anzu, who was sandwiched in the middle and getting squashed every ten seconds, was getting sick of it. But she kept herself from blowing a fuse by thinking about Yugi. They had found nothing when they had searched for him around the game shop, so now they could only hope that Yugi had already gone after his grandfather and that they would find him there. If not, than it was up to them and them alone to rescue Sugoroku Mutou from Pegasus. How they were going to do that was still unclear. They had decided to form a plan after they had arrived at the mansion, to see what they were up against before making a move.

Suddenly the car stopped, causing all of the backseat passengers to lurch forward and hit their heads on the back of the seats in front of them. The driver got out and started inspecting the taxi as the three teenagers tried to wait patiently, hoping it was nothing serious and that they could continue on as soon as possible. When the driver came to their window, their hopes were crushed.

"I'm afraid that I can't take you any further."

"Just great!" Anzu exclaimed.

"I guess we're walking." Honda said as he started to get out.

"It's still miles away." Jonouchi pointed out.

"Just think of it as a school field trip."

"Since when do field trips have kidnapped grandpas?"

Anzu sighed before opening her door. "Let's just get this over with."

"We'd better hurry." Honda said, looking up at the sky. "We've probably only got a few hours of daylight left."

Anzu shivered. "Does that mean we'll have to sleep out here?"

"That's not a very good idea." The driver told them, taking off his hat to scratch his head. "There are a lot of wild boars on this mountain."

"Wild boars?" Anzu repeated, feeling very nervous.

The driver nodded. "And people have reported seeing bears, too."

Now it was Jonouchi's turn to repeat him. "Bears?"

"And of course there are all the snakes." He said, stroking his chin.

"Snakes?" Now all of them had said the name of a dangerous animal.

"And just last month a young couple went hiking up here and never returned."

"How long would it take for us ta call another taxi ta take us home?" Jonouchi asked.

Anzu took in a deep breath and began storming up the path. "We didn't come all this way to turn tail and run!" She stopped and glared down at Jonouchi and Honda. "Are you guys coming or not?!"

"Yes, mam!" They said in unison before following her as the driver waved them off.


Sugoroku Mutou groaned and opened his eyes, only to find that he was in complete darkness. He slowly sat up as he tried to remember what had happened. After he had answered the door, two men had grabbed him. After that Mr. Mutou tried to fight them off as best he could, but they punched him in the jaw and rammed his stomach with a knee before throwing him into a car's trunk. They had driven for a while, and when the car had stopped they opened the trunk and knocking him out. And now he didn't know where he was, or why they had kidnapped him in the first place. Did it have something to do with Yugi and the Pharaoh? As he asked himself this and various other questions, he realized that his hands and feet were bound together with rope. But before he could try to untie himself, a bright light suddenly appeared in front of him, blinding him momentarily, until he saw that a door had opened and someone came into view. A teenage boy with long black hair in a ponytail. His headband matched his red and black clothes and he had a dice earring on his left ear.

The boy placed a hand on his hip and smiled down at him. "How do you like your room, old man? Sorry that there isn't much of a view."

"Leave my grandson alone!" Mr. Mutou demanded.

"I'm not the one who's interested in him. I didn't even know about the Pharaoh until Pegasus told me about it."

"Pegasus?"

The boy spun a long of hair around his finger. "You probably don't remember me, do you?" Yugi's grandfather blinked in confusion. That question came out of the blue. It seemed as if the boy was lost in his own world, performing in a play where only he knew the script. He continued on before Mr. Mutou could respond. "I was only a kid back then." His green eyes filled with hatred. "Back when you killed my father."

Realization dawned on him. "Are you Ryuji Otogi?" His brow creased. "But, I didn't kill your father. He-"

"You are the reason he died!" Even though his words were loud and harsh, his body language and emotions remained calm. "You're the reason he went insane and ended up killing himself!"

Yugi's grandfather lowered his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"You're sorry?" Ryuji laughed. "Sorry isn't going to bring him back."

"I said that I was sorry to hear that. What happened wasn't my fault."

Ryuji glared down at him before regaining his composure. "Pegasus let me be in change of taking care of you, which means your life is in my hands."

"Just let me explain what happened."

"I already know what happened."

"If you did know, we wouldn't be having this conversation." Mr. Mutou said, his patience wearing thin.

"How about we see how long you can cling on to your sanity after being locked up in here for twenty four hours." The black haired boy began to leave the way he came. "See you tomorrow, old man."

Mr. Mutou opened his mouth to say something, but the door closed behind Ryuji before he could utter a word.


When Yugi woke up, he wondered if he was dreaming. The last thing he remembered was being choked by Bakura in a dark alley, and now he was sitting in a comfortable chair in a large office. Or at least, it would have been comfortable if his hands and feet weren't tied to it. While Yugi tried to loosen the restraints, he looked at his surroundings. In front of him was a desk with a name plate that read: Gozaburo Kaiba. Behind the desk was the back of a chair, the front facing a wall sized window. Yugi tried to make sense out of all this. Was Gozaburo a relative of Seto Kaiba? Were they working together to get the Pharaoh's power?

"So, you're finally awake." He knew that voice.

"Kaiba!" Yugi exclaimed and the chair in front of him turned around, revealing his classmate.

"Hello, Yugi."

"What are you doing here?" He looked at the name plate again. "And who's Gozaburo?"

"Why don't you ask him yourself." Kaiba gestured towards a couch to Yugi's right. On it was a man with gray hair and wearing a maroon colored suit. He was laying on his back, and blood was slowly seeping out of a hole in his head.

"How could you?!" Yugi shouted.

"As if I would actually kill someone." Kaiba said with a smile as he crossed his arms. "I asked him to step down and one of my men shot him. He's been known to be trigger happy."

"What do you want? Are you after the Pharaoh's power too?"

"Look," Kaiba placed his elbows on the desk and intertwined his fingers, "I don't know anything about this supposed Pharaoh's power; and quite frankly, I don't care. But my father wanted it and thought it would make him a lot of money and increase his status. And he wasn't the only one."

Yugi heard a door open and close behind him before Kaiba's little brother came into view, who walked over to the desk. "They're on their way, Seto."

"Thank you, Mokuba." Kaiba said flatly.

The little boy looked at Yugi and sneered. "You're going to make my big brother famous, Yugi. You had better cooperate or-"

"That's enough, Mokuba."

The black haired boy quickly turned towards his brother. "I was only trying to help!"

"I don't need your help." Kaiba's eyelids lowered. "Now get out of my office."

Mokuba looked like he had been punched in the gut. He slowly made his way across the room, throwing Yugi an angry glance as he did, and then he left the room, quietly closing the door behind him.

"Who are on their way?" Yugi asked.

"As I said, my father isn't the only one who was after you. This 'Pharaoh's power' has been around for a while, and in that time a lot of people have tried to get their hands on it. I've heard that no one has ever been able to get it." Kaiba grinned. "Until now."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I'm going to sell you to the highest bidder. I personally don't care about your supposed powers. But whatever you have, it had better be good. I don't want to disappoint my clients."

"But I don't have any powers!" Or at least, he didn't think he did. Marik had said that the Pharaoh could control Monsters, or something like that, but he had been powerless against the praying mantis.

"You should hope you do, Yugi. For your own sake."