~Yami, I feel so helpless,~ Yugi sighed. ~I wish I knew what to do . . . but I don't think I've ever dealt with something so puzzling!~
**I understand your confusion, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied. **This is like nothing we've ever encountered before. And I have the feeling that something terrible is about to happen!**
~Oh no,~ Yugi gasped, ~do you have any idea what it might be?~
**I wish I did,** Yami Yugi said grimly. **Unfortunately, I do not. But I can sense evil very near. This just might prove to be our most dangerous battle yet.**
****
"There's been no sign of those missing students," Bakura sighed toward the end of the school day, shaking his head sadly. "It's as though they've vanished off the face of the earth!"
"I know," Tristan agreed. "Where in the heck could they be?!"
"Where in the heck could who be?" a familiar, gravelly voice asked.
Everyone turned to see Yami Bakura standing in the doorway, a nasty gleam in his slanted brown eyes.
"Those poor students who vanished," Bakura told him.
"Them?" Yami Bakura waved a hand unsympathetically. "Foolish mortals."
"Do you know something about them?" Tea demanded.
"Of course not. Why should I?" Yami Bakura snapped. "And even if I did know something, why would I tell you?"
With that, the ancient tomb raider vanished, presumably back into the Millennium Ring.
"Man, he's hopeless," Tristan declared, shaking his head.
"Eh, Bakura, you sure got stuck with a mean one," Joey remarked.
"Don't I know it," Bakura sighed.
Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, plunging the school into chaos.
"What's happening?!" Tea cried, as students crashed and bumped into each other.
"It's probably just a power outage," Tristan said.
"But it's not stormy outside!" Tea protested.
"Hey, watch it!" Joey yelled angrily as he was shoved to the floor by the jostling students.
"Watch it yourself, Wheeler!" Seto said, sounding disgruntled as Joey accidentally knocked him over, starting a domino effect.
"Alright, alright, everyone, just calm down!" Tea yelled, trying to take control. It took a while before she was finally able to get everyone's attention.
"The power should be back on soon," Tristan said.
"Let's do a roll call and see if everyone's here," Tea suggested.
After some more confusion, everyone was finally accounted for, except . . .
"Yugi!" Tea gasped. "Yugi's gone!"
****
Yugi cried out in pain as he was shoved against the wall by frantic students looking for the exit. ~Yami, what's happening? Why did the lights go out?~
**I don't know, Yugi, but . . .**
Yami Yugi was interrupted as a cold, bony hand clamped down on Yugi's shoulder and a cold chill passed through the boy's body.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Yugi demanded, sensing the evil around him and summoning his Yami.
The owner of the bony hand hissed, feeling the goodness radiating from the boy and momentarily backing away.
This one dark phantom was soon joined by countless numbers of the creatures, and they surrounded Yugi, who stood his ground bravely and raised his right hand to banish them.
Before he could, he was suddenly ambushed by over a dozen of the dark warriors. "Yami, help!" the poor boy screamed aloud. "I can't fight them off!"
**Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied through their mental bond, **I'm trying to help you, but these dark warriors . . . they're doing something to me . . . I've never dealt with something like this before . . .** The ancient pharaoh let out a scream as the wraith in the lead suddenly pulled him out of the Millennium Puzzle and threw him across the room, where more of the evil phantoms started beating him.
"Yugi!" Yami Yugi yelled, trying to break free and reach the boy he had been guiding and protecting for the last several years, and was immediately beaten back by a demonic weapon. Another of the minions kicked him hard in the head and he fell backward down a flight of stairs, landing hard at the bottom.
****
"The lights are on again!" Bakura announced in surprise thirty minutes later, as the school was suddenly bathed in light.
"What a relief," Tea declared. "Come on! We have to find Yugi!"
The five teens split up to scan the halls and classrooms. It wasn't long before a scream came from a nearby stairwell and the boys quickly converged at the door, which Joey flung open. "What's the matter, Tea?" he called.
"It's Yugi!" Tea screamed. "He's been beaten up!"
"Oh man," Joey gasped as he and the others ran down the stairs and to the landing. They knelt around the boy's still form and Joey gently turned him over.
"Wait a minute," Bakura said suddenly, staring at the boy's face, "I don't think this is Yugi."
"Hey, yeah," Joey said, realization creeping over him. "This guy looks like Yugi's Yami."
"But if he's here, then where's Yugi?" Tea wondered.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Seto said grimly.
The boy stirred, his violet eyes opening. "Yugi . . . where's Yugi?" he rasped.
"He's not here," Tea told him with a terrible sinking feeling. What had happened? "Are you alright, Yami?"
Yami Yugi tried to stand up but then had to catch the wall before he fell over.
"Whoa, man, be careful," Joey said, rushing to give him a hand.
"We were attacked," Yami Yugi said finally. "Whatever it was . . . wasn't mortal."
Everyone gasped.
"What are you saying?" Seto asked.
"They took Yugi," Yami Yugi replied solemnly, leaning on Joey. "They must have. They knew I was protecting him, and they used some kind of dark magic to get me away."
"What would they have done with Yugi?" Tea fretted. This was getting worse by the minute. Right now she didn't see how it could ever get worse than this. Maniacal scarecrows were wandering free, people were disappearing, and now Yugi had been kidnapped!
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I don't know. But I have to find him."
"Whoa, man, you're in no condition to do anything but get a good night's sleep," Joey protested.
Yami Yugi stood his ground firmly. "I have to find him now. There's no telling what those dark wraiths want with Yugi, but I know it can't be good."
"This is terrible!" Tea cried. "Poor Yugi!"
"When do we leave, man?" Joey asked.
"This is too dangerous for any of you to come with me," Yami Yugi said grimly as he tried to regain his strength. "Those wraiths meant business. I won't expose all of you to the danger."
"No way," Joey said hotly. "We gotta find Yugi. We're not gonna be scared away by a few measly ghosts."
Yami Yugi smiled. "You are all such loyal friends. I knew you wouldn't take no for an answer, but I'm afraid this time I'll have to insist. From what I've seen of these creatures, they have proved to be extremely ruthless and cruel, and they have dark forces at their disposal. I don't want anyone else to be captured or injured." With that he was engulfed by a bright light, and when it had faded away, the ancient pharaoh had vanished.
"What do we do?" Tea wondered worriedly.
"You heard him, Tea—we're supposed to stay out of this," Tristan said.
"But you know we can't!" Tea exclaimed. "We have to do something!"
"Maybe Yugi's still in the building somewhere," Joey suggested.
"I'm afraid that's not very likely," Bakura said softly.
"Well, we have to try something," Tea replied. "Let's check the basement and the boiler room."
A thorough search of the school turned up nothing.
"I was afraid of this," Bakura said sadly. "They've probably taken him far away, perhaps even to another realm."
"But what would they want with him?" Tea said in despair.
"I don't know, but when we find them, they're gonna wish they'd never messed with us!" Joey slammed his fist into his palm angrily.
****
When Yugi opened his eyes, it was dark and cold all around him. He shivered, pulling his jacket close around him. ~Yami, are you there?~ he called through their mental bond, praying for an answer. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, but he knew his Yami wasn't in the Millennium Puzzle.
There was a brief silence, and then Yugi's prayers were answered when Yami Yugi replied, **Yugi! Are you alright?** He sounded extremely relieved. **I've been trying to get through to you for a long time now! I was getting very concerned.**
~I'm okay . . . I think,~ Yugi replied slowly.
**Do you know where you are?**
Yugi looked around. ~I can't see anything,~ he admitted. ~But it feels . . . ominous and evil somehow.~ He shivered uneasily. ~I think someone's watching me! Yami, what happened?~
**Some kind of dark warriors attacked us, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied grimly. **I don't know what they want, but it can't be good. I'm going to find you, Yugi, but until I am able to, you must be extremely careful.**
Yugi nodded slowly, and then his violet eyes went wide with worry. ~Yami, are you hurt?~ he asked. He had remembered hearing his Yami screaming in pain just before he, Yugi, had blacked out.
Yami Yugi paused. He actually had been injured in the attack, especially by the wraiths' brutal, other-worldly weapons, but he didn't want to worry Yugi. **Don't worry about me, Yugi,** he said finally. **I'm alright.**
Yugi was not fooled, but he recognized the "we'll talk about this later" tone in his Yami's voice. ~Yami, they're . . . they're coming back,~ he gasped. ~I can feel the evil they bring with them!~
Yami Yugi tensed. This was bad. **Yugi, keep talking to me if you can,** he told him.
~Yami, they have someone with them,~ Yugi exclaimed. ~He looks strange . . . almost like he's been hypnotized!~
Yami Yugi paused, the color draining from his face.
~Yami? Are you still there?~ Yugi asked, sounding worried.
**Yes, I'm here, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied finally. **What are they doing now?**
~They shoved the person to the floor,~ Yugi said indignantly. ~But . . . he didn't even seem to notice!~
**Yugi, he's not hypnotized,** Yami Yugi said grimly. **It's far worse than that.**
Yugi gasped. ~What is it, Yami?~ Memories of a mind control drug that had once been cruelly used on Kaiba danced through his mind.
**He has become almost zombielike,** Yami Yugi told him.
~Zombielike!~ Yugi gasped.
**That's right,** Yami Yugi replied. **He has no will of his own, but must do whatever the dark wraiths want him to.**
~That's horrible!~ Yugi exclaimed.
**And that's not all.** Yami Yugi sounded grim. **I'm afraid you will be next.**
**I understand your confusion, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied. **This is like nothing we've ever encountered before. And I have the feeling that something terrible is about to happen!**
~Oh no,~ Yugi gasped, ~do you have any idea what it might be?~
**I wish I did,** Yami Yugi said grimly. **Unfortunately, I do not. But I can sense evil very near. This just might prove to be our most dangerous battle yet.**
****
"There's been no sign of those missing students," Bakura sighed toward the end of the school day, shaking his head sadly. "It's as though they've vanished off the face of the earth!"
"I know," Tristan agreed. "Where in the heck could they be?!"
"Where in the heck could who be?" a familiar, gravelly voice asked.
Everyone turned to see Yami Bakura standing in the doorway, a nasty gleam in his slanted brown eyes.
"Those poor students who vanished," Bakura told him.
"Them?" Yami Bakura waved a hand unsympathetically. "Foolish mortals."
"Do you know something about them?" Tea demanded.
"Of course not. Why should I?" Yami Bakura snapped. "And even if I did know something, why would I tell you?"
With that, the ancient tomb raider vanished, presumably back into the Millennium Ring.
"Man, he's hopeless," Tristan declared, shaking his head.
"Eh, Bakura, you sure got stuck with a mean one," Joey remarked.
"Don't I know it," Bakura sighed.
Suddenly the lights flickered and went out, plunging the school into chaos.
"What's happening?!" Tea cried, as students crashed and bumped into each other.
"It's probably just a power outage," Tristan said.
"But it's not stormy outside!" Tea protested.
"Hey, watch it!" Joey yelled angrily as he was shoved to the floor by the jostling students.
"Watch it yourself, Wheeler!" Seto said, sounding disgruntled as Joey accidentally knocked him over, starting a domino effect.
"Alright, alright, everyone, just calm down!" Tea yelled, trying to take control. It took a while before she was finally able to get everyone's attention.
"The power should be back on soon," Tristan said.
"Let's do a roll call and see if everyone's here," Tea suggested.
After some more confusion, everyone was finally accounted for, except . . .
"Yugi!" Tea gasped. "Yugi's gone!"
****
Yugi cried out in pain as he was shoved against the wall by frantic students looking for the exit. ~Yami, what's happening? Why did the lights go out?~
**I don't know, Yugi, but . . .**
Yami Yugi was interrupted as a cold, bony hand clamped down on Yugi's shoulder and a cold chill passed through the boy's body.
"Who are you? What do you want?" Yugi demanded, sensing the evil around him and summoning his Yami.
The owner of the bony hand hissed, feeling the goodness radiating from the boy and momentarily backing away.
This one dark phantom was soon joined by countless numbers of the creatures, and they surrounded Yugi, who stood his ground bravely and raised his right hand to banish them.
Before he could, he was suddenly ambushed by over a dozen of the dark warriors. "Yami, help!" the poor boy screamed aloud. "I can't fight them off!"
**Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied through their mental bond, **I'm trying to help you, but these dark warriors . . . they're doing something to me . . . I've never dealt with something like this before . . .** The ancient pharaoh let out a scream as the wraith in the lead suddenly pulled him out of the Millennium Puzzle and threw him across the room, where more of the evil phantoms started beating him.
"Yugi!" Yami Yugi yelled, trying to break free and reach the boy he had been guiding and protecting for the last several years, and was immediately beaten back by a demonic weapon. Another of the minions kicked him hard in the head and he fell backward down a flight of stairs, landing hard at the bottom.
****
"The lights are on again!" Bakura announced in surprise thirty minutes later, as the school was suddenly bathed in light.
"What a relief," Tea declared. "Come on! We have to find Yugi!"
The five teens split up to scan the halls and classrooms. It wasn't long before a scream came from a nearby stairwell and the boys quickly converged at the door, which Joey flung open. "What's the matter, Tea?" he called.
"It's Yugi!" Tea screamed. "He's been beaten up!"
"Oh man," Joey gasped as he and the others ran down the stairs and to the landing. They knelt around the boy's still form and Joey gently turned him over.
"Wait a minute," Bakura said suddenly, staring at the boy's face, "I don't think this is Yugi."
"Hey, yeah," Joey said, realization creeping over him. "This guy looks like Yugi's Yami."
"But if he's here, then where's Yugi?" Tea wondered.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Seto said grimly.
The boy stirred, his violet eyes opening. "Yugi . . . where's Yugi?" he rasped.
"He's not here," Tea told him with a terrible sinking feeling. What had happened? "Are you alright, Yami?"
Yami Yugi tried to stand up but then had to catch the wall before he fell over.
"Whoa, man, be careful," Joey said, rushing to give him a hand.
"We were attacked," Yami Yugi said finally. "Whatever it was . . . wasn't mortal."
Everyone gasped.
"What are you saying?" Seto asked.
"They took Yugi," Yami Yugi replied solemnly, leaning on Joey. "They must have. They knew I was protecting him, and they used some kind of dark magic to get me away."
"What would they have done with Yugi?" Tea fretted. This was getting worse by the minute. Right now she didn't see how it could ever get worse than this. Maniacal scarecrows were wandering free, people were disappearing, and now Yugi had been kidnapped!
Yami Yugi shook his head. "I don't know. But I have to find him."
"Whoa, man, you're in no condition to do anything but get a good night's sleep," Joey protested.
Yami Yugi stood his ground firmly. "I have to find him now. There's no telling what those dark wraiths want with Yugi, but I know it can't be good."
"This is terrible!" Tea cried. "Poor Yugi!"
"When do we leave, man?" Joey asked.
"This is too dangerous for any of you to come with me," Yami Yugi said grimly as he tried to regain his strength. "Those wraiths meant business. I won't expose all of you to the danger."
"No way," Joey said hotly. "We gotta find Yugi. We're not gonna be scared away by a few measly ghosts."
Yami Yugi smiled. "You are all such loyal friends. I knew you wouldn't take no for an answer, but I'm afraid this time I'll have to insist. From what I've seen of these creatures, they have proved to be extremely ruthless and cruel, and they have dark forces at their disposal. I don't want anyone else to be captured or injured." With that he was engulfed by a bright light, and when it had faded away, the ancient pharaoh had vanished.
"What do we do?" Tea wondered worriedly.
"You heard him, Tea—we're supposed to stay out of this," Tristan said.
"But you know we can't!" Tea exclaimed. "We have to do something!"
"Maybe Yugi's still in the building somewhere," Joey suggested.
"I'm afraid that's not very likely," Bakura said softly.
"Well, we have to try something," Tea replied. "Let's check the basement and the boiler room."
A thorough search of the school turned up nothing.
"I was afraid of this," Bakura said sadly. "They've probably taken him far away, perhaps even to another realm."
"But what would they want with him?" Tea said in despair.
"I don't know, but when we find them, they're gonna wish they'd never messed with us!" Joey slammed his fist into his palm angrily.
****
When Yugi opened his eyes, it was dark and cold all around him. He shivered, pulling his jacket close around him. ~Yami, are you there?~ he called through their mental bond, praying for an answer. He couldn't quite remember what had happened, but he knew his Yami wasn't in the Millennium Puzzle.
There was a brief silence, and then Yugi's prayers were answered when Yami Yugi replied, **Yugi! Are you alright?** He sounded extremely relieved. **I've been trying to get through to you for a long time now! I was getting very concerned.**
~I'm okay . . . I think,~ Yugi replied slowly.
**Do you know where you are?**
Yugi looked around. ~I can't see anything,~ he admitted. ~But it feels . . . ominous and evil somehow.~ He shivered uneasily. ~I think someone's watching me! Yami, what happened?~
**Some kind of dark warriors attacked us, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied grimly. **I don't know what they want, but it can't be good. I'm going to find you, Yugi, but until I am able to, you must be extremely careful.**
Yugi nodded slowly, and then his violet eyes went wide with worry. ~Yami, are you hurt?~ he asked. He had remembered hearing his Yami screaming in pain just before he, Yugi, had blacked out.
Yami Yugi paused. He actually had been injured in the attack, especially by the wraiths' brutal, other-worldly weapons, but he didn't want to worry Yugi. **Don't worry about me, Yugi,** he said finally. **I'm alright.**
Yugi was not fooled, but he recognized the "we'll talk about this later" tone in his Yami's voice. ~Yami, they're . . . they're coming back,~ he gasped. ~I can feel the evil they bring with them!~
Yami Yugi tensed. This was bad. **Yugi, keep talking to me if you can,** he told him.
~Yami, they have someone with them,~ Yugi exclaimed. ~He looks strange . . . almost like he's been hypnotized!~
Yami Yugi paused, the color draining from his face.
~Yami? Are you still there?~ Yugi asked, sounding worried.
**Yes, I'm here, Yugi,** Yami Yugi replied finally. **What are they doing now?**
~They shoved the person to the floor,~ Yugi said indignantly. ~But . . . he didn't even seem to notice!~
**Yugi, he's not hypnotized,** Yami Yugi said grimly. **It's far worse than that.**
Yugi gasped. ~What is it, Yami?~ Memories of a mind control drug that had once been cruelly used on Kaiba danced through his mind.
**He has become almost zombielike,** Yami Yugi told him.
~Zombielike!~ Yugi gasped.
**That's right,** Yami Yugi replied. **He has no will of his own, but must do whatever the dark wraiths want him to.**
~That's horrible!~ Yugi exclaimed.
**And that's not all.** Yami Yugi sounded grim. **I'm afraid you will be next.**