Disclaimer: I own 2 starter decks of Yu-Gi-Oh cards and some boosters. That's about it.

Notes: I'm so sorry it took me so long to get this chapter out. I just had all this stuff happening with my confirmation, my graduation, a 2-week trip to Calgary, a computer crash; the list goes on and on. Also, I was surprised by the number of people telling me not to do a threesome. But hey, if that's what you want, that's what you're getting. Well, here we go.

~*Y~U~G~I~O~H*~

Yugi awoke with a start, and quickly began struggling, adrenalin still coursing through his veins. You see, the fear he experienced in his dream (For it was just a dream after all) was still with him, causing him to have a clouded memory. He still believed he was struggling with Keith, and continued to wriggle around in his bed. But of course, when one is wrapped in his own bed sheets, he will most often find himself with limited space to move. The result is, and was a loud yelp from Yugi's mouth followed by an equally loud THUMP when his body made contact with the floor. The young duellist lay there for a moment while, very slowly, his senses began to return, along with his memory. Oh, that's right. He was in the Duellist Kingdom, and it was the night before he would duel Mai. He slowly undid the blankets wrapped around him, then crawled back into bed. After all, he would need all the sleep he could get if he was going to be able to hold the spirit of the puzzle at bay.

Yet, as Yugi lay back in bed, he found that sleep didn't seem to want to come his way. Instead, he was stuck tossing and turning, with no relief of oblivion to rest him. Finally, he gave up and just flopped down on the bed.

"Well this sucks," Yugi complained quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone who might have the blessing of slumber. He lay back again then began to think. Well, that was the second nightmare I've had tonight. First the one with Grandpa and the Kaiba Brothers, now this one about, he shuddered, the spirit, and my puzzle being broken. I know I'd be upset if the puzzle was broken, seeing as Grandpa gave it to me, but why would I care about the spirit being lost?

Yugi shook his head, then went and grabbed the Millennium Puzzle off the coat hook. He then turned around and headed to the chair in the corner of the room. Then he sat down and began to study the puzzle in the little moonlight he had. It was really quite beautiful, so shiny, and well cared for. Yugi, of course was to blame for that. Before he found out that the spirit would hurt people, he had loved his treasure, and cared for it every day. Then, after the Kaiba duel, his opinion changed. He had yet to touch it with any cleaning implement again. And yet, the item still seemed to be clean. Yugi sighed then pulled the leather strap over his head. He let the Puzzle rest on his chest, reassured by its weight. What could he say, old habits die hard. And sure enough, slowly his eyes closed.

~*Y~U~G~I~O~H*~

Yugi was running, and running hard. His feet were pounding on the stone floor, trying to keep ahead of what was chasing him. He did not know what was behind him, ready to snap him up in its jaws, and he did not care to know. All he knew was there was safety at the end of the tunnel, and he needed to get there. However, the thing chasing him would not lose its prey that easily. It, whatever it was, roared like an injured beast, and then Yugi felt something wrap around his leg. He tripped and landed on the hard stone floor, having the wind knocked out of him in the process. Wheezing, he looked up. Just a few more feet and he would have been home free, the big metal doorway was right in front of him. But fate decided that it didn't like Yugi, so he was stuck with the beast. He sucked in a huge breath and turned to face the monster.

The huge breath that he had just gathered all went into a scream of horror. The beast that crouched over him was terrifying! It looked kind of like an octopus with a deformed and hideous skull for its main body. It had large teeth, some of which were longer than him! It looked almost exactly like the octopus monster from the Lord of the Rings movie he had seen just before he left. Yugi screamed again, and began wishing he had the band of the movie there with him. Then, the monster began to reel him in towards its horrifying mouth.

It never made it, because just as Yugi was about to be dropped into its jaws, a huge BAM shot through the hall, signalling that the door to safety had been opened, and quite forcefully at that. Someone shouted something in a language he didn't understand, and then the monster let go. Yugi yelped in surprise, and landed rather oddly in someone's arms. The person, whom Yugi assumed was the one that came through the door, stopped the monster, and was the safety Yugi had been trying to reach earlier, gently placed him on the ground. Yugi shook his head to clear it, and then looked up.

Standing over him, with the oddest expression on his face, was the spirit from the puzzle. Yugi recognised him from the Duel with Bakura, when he had been the dark magician, and the spirit had duelled for their lives. What he didn't recognise was the expression on his face. To Yugi, it looked like a mix of surprise, anger, concern, worry, fear, and relief. But why would the spirit look like that?

"Yugi, what are you doing here?" the spirit asked with an annoyed tone. He placed his hands on his hips and looked down at the smaller boy, towering over him. Yugi looked up in fear. The spirit was probably going to hurt him for something, just like he tried to hurt Kaiba. He shrank back when the spirit reached out a hand. If this spirit could control that revolting octopus beast, as Yugi suspected he could, who knew what else he could do! I'm going to die, aren't I?

"No you're not," someone whispered beside him. Yugi jumped when he realized it was the spirit, and that he was much closer than before, much, MUCH closer. The smaller boy shrank away again, shaking slightly, until a thought hit him.

"D-did, did y-you just, uh, r-read m-my mind?" Yugi stuttered. The spirit chuckled, then nodded. Yugi tilted his head to the side, rather confused. Was this a new power the spirit possessed? Taking a shaky breath, he risked one question. "How?"

The spirit chuckled again, then sat down next to Yugi against the wall. "Well, we are in your mind, or rather the hall that connects our spirit chambers, which means this conversation is really just thoughts. That means I can hear your thoughts, and you can hear mine. It just takes some practise to hide them. With time you'll be impossible to read," The spirit explained quietly. Yugi stared at his sneakers, a little intimidated by the presence of the other. He was too afraid to look up, but he risked another question.

"Did you, um, well…control that monster back there?" It was then that Yugi realized that the beast was gone. I wonder when that happened. The spirit smiled.

"Yes I did, and as for that monster, His name was Octuc. He left after he dropped you. You shouldn't be afraid of him anymore; I just told him that you belong here and were not an intruder. He's the guardian of this hall, you see, and has to keep all intruders out. Though after that little escapade, I might just sack him for your safety." The spirit then fell silent. Yugi whispered a small "oh", then too fell silent. The two of them remained that way for a few minutes. Finally…

"I was really, really scared," Yugi whispered so quietly that the spirit had to lean in to hear. He sighed, then wrapped his arms around the boy. "I know, Yugi, I know," then the small boy collapsed into his companion's arms and began to sob.

"I know, Yugi, shhh. It's okay, I'm here," the spirit sighed then continued his ministrations. They remained there for a long time, Yugi crying, the spirit comforting. Then, after a few hours that felt like minutes, it was coming time for Yugi to wake up. He sniffed, then looked up at the boy beside him. Suddenly his eyes widened, and he shouted "NO!" and knocked the spirit's arms away. He fell back, and began crying again.

"NO, leave me ALONE! You're just going to hurt me, like you tried to hurt Kaiba! You're some evil creature, like that octopus thing! Just-just, get AWAY!" then the traumatized boy turned and ran down the hall and to wakefulness. Behind him, the spirit sat, both shocked and hurt by the boy's words. Finally, he slowly stood, and walked into his soul room. The large door silently swung closed, and with a rumble sealed itself.

~*Y~U~G~I~O~H*~

Yugi, for the third time that night, awoke sweating from another nightmare. He panted, turning to look at the bedside clock. One more hour of sleep, then he had to prepare to duel Mai. He slowly got out of bed, and then walked over to the coat hook. He gently took the puzzle off then placed it on the hook. He lay back down in bed, but it took him a long time to get back to sleep. He just couldn't get the one thought out of his head, he had felt right in the spirit's arms.

~*Y~U~G~I~O~H*~

Yet again, sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. Maybe I'll do better next chapter?