Angel: Hi, all! I'm listening to Tarzan music by Phil Collins! "SOMEWHERE SOMETHING'S CALLING FOR YOU!!! LA LA!!! TWO WORLDS, ONE FAMILY!!! LA LA!!!" *ahem* I'm done.
Chapter update: Well, I'm taking care of my friend's fish, rabbits, and cat for a week, then I'm going to a sleepaway camp so I can't update. And I just got back from babysitting the girls next door (there's three of them, a nine-year-old, a six-year-old, and a one-year-old). That's all.
My rants: WHEN WILL KIDS WB DECIDE TO GIVE US A NEW YGO EPISODE?! Nickelodean is too far ahead of us. I wanna see what happens! I have discovered that there are *so far* 104 Yu-Gi-Oh episodes, so two in a half years from now we should run out of episodes (unless they once again stop doing new episodes during summer. Then it would be longer).
OK, I told everyone that Yugi's my fav character, but they're probably wondering why Bakura's part is so huge. Well ::giggles:: me luvs Yugi, but me luvs Bakura just the same! I don't know WHO I like better, so their parts are pretty much even. Although I know I hate Kaiba, but for some reason he's got a big, non-bash part in this story. Oh well. I'll console myself with Kit's Kaiba-bashing stories.
THANKS FOR ALL THE GREAT REVIEWS!!! *sniffle* I feel so loved. Um, I'm editing this chapter so it's easier to read (I HATE how ff.net deletes most indents.) :-(
How about that new show, Mucha Lucha or whatever? Pretty dumb, huh? ::ducks from flying tomatoes being thrown by Mucha Lucha fans:: I'm sorry, but I just don't get how wrestling five-year-olds is interesting. Kim Possible: the girl with only one lip. Sponge-Bob-Square-Pants: why does everone like this show so much? And how come he doesn't ALWAYS fill up with with water down in the ocean? That's what sponges DO! Dragon Ball Z: I am taking a risk here since there appear to be a million DBZ fans, but what is so fascinating about men with crazier hair than Yugi's screaming and turning into giant monkeys? I mean, killer biceps, maybe, but still! They look like balloons! Sometimes I wish I could just pop 'em with a needle. And all those funky NAMES! If you think Honda is a stupid name, then think about the name TRUNKS! I mean, honestly!
But 'nuff said. No more DBZ bashing for me. Maybe I'm sugar-high or something. Sorry if Kerihk seems a little OOC (I'm not 100% sure what that means but I think it stands for Out Of Character). Anyhow, some of this was written at 6:30 in the morning so it's probably a little funky. (Me likes that word, "funky!" White Rider/Truth Holder's favorite word is "snarfle-blaster." It's sorta like how the Scooby-Doo Nerds have their favorite phrases - Daphne and "Jeepers," Velma and "Jinkies," and Shaggy and "Zoinks.")
Disclaimer: You know the drill. NO SHONEN OR SHOUJO AI!!! If it seems like it, it's not. Also, this chapter contains part of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "When Love Takes You In." That part is in double parentheses (( )).

/ - Any Hikari talking to his or her Yami in his or her mind

// - Any Yami talking to his or her Hikari in his or her mind

Hikari No Yuugi
Play of Light

by Angel

Chapter Five: Oikoshi no Kurayami
Passing Darkness

**********************************************************************************************************
Anzu looked up at the sky. "It sure is red tonight," she said.

"What's red?" asked Jonouchi.

"The sky!" Anzu exclaimed. "A really bloody red color."

"Don't be so dramatic," Naoko laughed, but she was really feeling nervous...

Something was about to happen.

Naoko shook off the feeling and went back to her story until they at last reached the Tôru girl's dorm.

"Well, bye, everyone," Hikaru said as she and Naoko prepared to go inside.

"Yeah, bye," Takehiko said as the others began to walk away.

Suddenly Yugi gasped. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. He looked up, and saw the red clouds swirling in a spiral shape. He gulped.

"What's going on?"
**********************************************************************************************************

"What's going on?"

The others looked at Yugi. His violet eyes were wide with fear, giving the others an uneasy feeling. An eerie wind blew by, bending the branches of nearby trees. The red sun cast shadows on the ground.

Anzu shivered. A chill went up her spine. "I don't like this," she thought, heart beating rapidly. "I don't like this at all..."

Anzu stopped thinking, moving, even breathing as a cold black hand shot out of nowhere and covered her mouth. In shock, she didn't even resist as the hand pulled her back and into engulfing darkness...

The shadow's next victim was Naoko. She gave a small yelp when the dark hole now floating behind the clueless group grabbed her shoulder and took her away. Honda and Ryoku went without much of a fight too. The shadow was scaring everyone. Hikaru and Yugi seemed frozen in time. Dajan and Takehiko were clutching each others hands, trembling slightly. Bakura felt sick. Tetsuya took a step backwards.

"WHA?! HELP!" he cried, breaking the deathly silence. Everyone screamed and turned to him. Hikaru screamed again at what she saw.

A black vine-like hand had encircled Tetsuya's entire body and was trying to pull the struggling boy into the dark hole!

"Tetsuya!" Hikaru screamed. She took in a sharp breath as she realized... "Guys, Naoko, Ryoku, Anzu, and Honda have disappeared!"

"W-what?" Yugi cried. He shook himself. "Grab Tetsuya!"

Jonouchi and Takehiko each took one of Tetsuya's hands. Tetsuya was struggling to breath.

"Guys -" Bakura said breathlessly. Everything was going dim... "Guys, I-I think I'm going to pass out..."

Dajan was the only who heard him. He put a hand on both of Bakura's shoulders. "It's okay," he whispered. "I'm here for you. You can go to sleep... we all want to right about now."

"Go to sleep... forever?"

"No, just for a little while."

Bakura grimaced. His skin was all clammy and cold. He was vaguely aware of Hikaru on her knees and Jonouchi and Takehiko working to save Tetsuya from the shadow.

Suddenly Jonouchi let go of Tetsuya's hand. It looked as if something was holding him back. Then he realized in shock that the shadow had gotten him too!

"JONOUCHI!" shrieked Yugi.

"Don't worry about me!" Jonouchi begged before getting sucked into the shadow. In his surprise, Takehiko's grip on Tetsuya's hand loosened, and Tetsuya also vanished.

"JONOUCHI! HONDA! RYOKU! TETSUYA! ANZU! NAOKO!"

The whole group began to shout the fallen team members names. Bakura could hardly stand up, let alone yell.

"N-no..." was all he could manage.

His vision was foggy, but he knew he had to fight it. He knew if he gave in, he'd slip back into the dream, and he would - he would - he couldn't let it win - couldn't - mustn't -

Dajan felt Bakura's body suddenly go limp in his arms, and knew the boy had finally fainted.

~*The waves roared. The land cracked. It was coming. It was coming.*~

The pit of darkness swirled as the kids yelled for their friends. Hikaru's eyes filled with tears and she shrieked her companions' names.

~*~Anaiyu, Oleu, Niku... your dreams will hold the key~*~

"We have to do something!" Takehiko shouted.

"What CAN we do? If we touch it we'll get sucked in too!" Dajan hollered back. The wind was blowing harder now, whipping their hair out of their faces.

~*~Dark, Shadow, Light... your dreams will not leave you be...~*~

"NAOKO!"

"TETSUYA!"

"HONDA!"

~*~... Unless you ...~*~

"ANZU!"

"RYOKU!"

~*~... Listen and the Dark will guide you... Believe and the Light will find you... Fear and the Shadow will destroy you...~*~

"JONOUCHI!"

"Wait, what's happening to you, Yugi?"

"What's happening to ME? What's happening to YOU?!"

"Huh - ahh!"

~*\The Sacrifice must be given... give up the light, the inner-knowledge, and the Pure Heart and we will spare your friends./*~

"Wha - how - how -"

"Where am I? How did I get... here?"

"Who are you?"

"Um..."

~*\The Sacrifice of Light has the pure heart. He is the only one. The Game King of Light must fulfill his destiny... or the world will fall into despair./*~

"Are you... me?"

***

Something cool and wet was pressed against Bakura's forehead. He heard voices around him, but they sounded slurred and indefinite. Only one phrase was floating through his mind... "The Game King of Light must fulfill his destiny... or the world will fall into despair."

"N-no..." he pleaded softly. He tried to wake up, but his eyes wouldn't open.

Someone was bending over him. He could feel its breath on his face... he could feel its putrid breath... In desperation he punched its nose.

"OW! You little baka!"

Bakura's eyes snapped open in surprise. "OW!" he cried when he sat up too quickly and hit heads with someone else. But his wasn't the only "ow."

Standing above him, wincing from the pain of both a punch in the nose and a bonk on the head, was Kerihk.

"AAAIIIEEE!!!" Bakura shrieked, a wet cloth falling off his forehead. He was not in his soul room! How could they BOTH be out at the same time?

"SHUT UP!" Kerihk shouted even louder, slapping Bakura across the face.

Bakura stopped screaming from the shock of having his yami out of the Millennium Ring, just waking up from a horrific dream, getting slapped, and discovering he was in Yugi's house, sitting on the couch in the den. He looked up at Kerihk when he finally caught his breath. "W-what are YOU doing here?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Kerihk hissed, mean as ever. He patted his nose. "Itai," he mumbled. He looked at Bakura. "The slap was for punching me. Maybe I should give you another one to thank you for hitting my head too."

"It was an accident!" Bakura quickly defended, jumping to his feet. "Don't, please!"

"Begging for mercy? You're pathetic!"

Bakura said nothing for a minute. Then he quietly changed the subject. "This is Yugi's house. How did we get here?"

Kerihk sighed and cocked his head, thinking for a moment. Bakura was being cute. All right, he'd play along this time.

"After you passed out, all of us yamis were ripped from your bodies - separated, I mean, and it wasn't a nice feeling. It took some sorting out because that Hikaru nearly fainted too, but we've decided it's a trick by Pegasus to lure us to him." Kerihk made the "baka" hand-signal. "The other little fools have decided to take the bait."

Bakura looked insulted when he noticed the "baka" sign Kerihk was making. "What do you mean, 'take the bait'?"

"I mean they want to go to Duelist Kingdom to get their foolish mortal friends back, even if it means walking right into a trap."

At that moment both Yugi and Yami ran into the den, Yugi looking worried, Yami angry. Bakura jumped at the sight of both of them at the same time, and shook his head. The shaking only made him feel dizzy, and he sat back down on the couch, leaning against a pillow.

"Bakura, is everything okay? We heard you scream upstairs. Are you all right?" Yugi asked anxiously.

"I'm fine," Bakura said. "Just really confused."

"Then why did you scream?" Yami inquired, looking suspiciously at Kerihk.

"I woke up and saw Kerihk standing over me. I was just surprised."

Yami glared at Kerihk. "I thought I told you not to bother him." Kerihk stuck out his tongue. Yami added, "But I'm not surprised he got scared. Any normal person would faint at the sight of a wraith like you."

"How dare you!" Kerihk mocked in the same tone. "How could anyone faint when they see THIS pretty face? Besides, I wouldn't be talking if I were you, per aa. You may have once been a pharaoh but this is the 21st century and those rules don't apply anymore."

'This is gonna turn ugly,' Yugi thought when he noticed Yami and Kerihk looking daggers at each other.

Luckily, Kerihk and Yami were saved from each other's wrath because the rest of the team members came dashing into the den, along with Yugi's grandpa.

Bakura was amazed at what he saw. If he hadn't already known that the yamis had been separated from their hikaris, he would have thought he was seeing double. Behind Takehiko stood a boy with a hair-cut much like Takehiko's and wearing nearly the same outfit (Takehiko wore an orange shirt and brown shorts; this boy's was more fashionable ^-^). He was definitely Takehiko's yami.

Dajan's yami's blue hair was slightly longer than Dajan's, and he, of course, wore blue and white, as Dajan hadn't yet changed out of his school uniform.

Ai had returned wearing he work fuku, and it appeared that her yami had also been forced out of her body. Ai's yami's brown hair was longer than Ai's and only a little darker than her Northern African skin, and she wore a shorter brown skirt than Ai's, a longer brown coat, and the blue bowtie was larger and seemed to be used to keep the coat in place.

Hikaru had obviously changed out of her uniform like Takehiko had (everyone else was still in their school uniform except for Ai, but she was still in a uniform, though it was her work one, not school), as she was wearing a white shirt, pink jacket, pink shorts, and black buckle shoes. There was also a light pink barrette in her hair, and Bakura noticed for the first time that her bangs were wavy and slightly lightning-boltish like Yugi's.

Hikaru's yami wore a much longer pink jacket (like Honda's, only pink), a black belly-button shirt, black short-shorts, and tall black boots (like CardCaptor Sakura's outfit when she fought Twin, or, if you're going by the manga, when she captured Shield). But there was one big difference between Hikaru and her yami, other than her yami's eyes were larger and not as round: Hikaru's yami appeared to have short hair like Hikaru, except in the bad there was a long, thin braid reaching down her back (think Hikaru from Magic Knight Rayearth with brown hair). Of course, the yamis and hikaris alike wore their Millennium Items.

(A/N: If you're wondering how it's possible that there are now two of each, think of it this way: the hikaris have the light half, and the yamis have the dark half. If one gets taken by the enemy, the other is useless. In other words, Pegasus only has to get one of each to gain world dominion.)

"He's awake," Takehiko said, looking from Bakura to his friends.

The others sighed in relief. "Bakura, do you feel okay?" asked Grandpa Muto. "Do you feel sick at all?"

"N-no, I'm fine," Bakura replied, realizing they had been worried about him. "I'm not sick."

"Are you sure? You're not lying to get us off your case, are you?" Ai demanded. Bakura sweatdropped.

"Ai couldn't settle down until you woke up, Ryou," Hikaru giggled. "She looked like she had ants in her pants."

"Y-you couldn't either, Hikaru!" Ai exclaimed, blushing. "You were really worried, just like me!"

Hikaru giggled.

Bakura smiled. "Thanks, guys."

Hikaru's yami, Kiara, walked over to Yami and Kerihk who were still emitting sparks. "Maa, maa," she chided. "Don't let's fight among ourselves. We need to work together." She put a hand on Yami's shoulder and looked hopefully into his eyes.

It occurred to Yugi that Kiara was living proof that Yami had loved in his past life - well,
as alive as she could be. Yami turned soft with her the way he did with Yugi, and the fire left his eyes. He gave up arguing with Kerihk for the time being.

Kerihk, too, dropped his clenched fists to his side and looked away. He didn't really want to fight with Yami, but he wasn't about to tell him that. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself, but he was a little jealous of his hikari, Bakura. If he had collapsed, no one would have been worried, and Kerihk had concluded that there was no one to blame but himself.

((I know you've heard the stories
But they all sound too good to be true
You've heard about a place called home
But there doesn't seem to be one for you...))

"So how long have I been asleep for? What did I miss?" asked Bakura, trying to look normal so no one would worry about him anymore.

"Nothing much," Yugi answered as his grandfather left to start dinner. "Except that all the spirits were separated from us. But I guess you've already figured that much out." Yugi pointed to each of the yamis. "Takehiko's spirit's name is Ahmose, Dajan's name is Ay, Ai's is Setsuna, and Hikaru's is Kiara. Oh, and you were asleep all night. It is now... eight thirty a.m. Wednesday."

"Guess we're not going to school today."

"Nope."

Bakura shook his head, once again forgetting that it would give him a headache. Then a thought struck him. "Yugi, what happened to Jonouchi and the others?"

Yugi's lower lip trembled and he looked away.

"That bad, huh?"

"Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda and the other three were kidnapped by Pegasus," Yami said, folding his arms.

"I already told him that," Kerihk spat.

"Well, I'm telling him again. Pegasus must have used his Millennium Eye to send that dark hole out to get them. He's trying to convince us come to him."

"And he's doing a good job of it too," Kiara said under her breath, fiddling with her braid.

There was a moment of silence for a moment. Then, Ai said, "Duelist Kingdom. I'll bet that's where they're being kept."

"Then that's where we need to go. Um, after breakfast, of course."
"But how can we get there? There aren't any cruises scheduled for late, are there?"
Everyone thought for a moment. Dajan looked up and suggested,
"Well, what about taking the train to the harbor and renting a boat?"
"Nah, even with all our money combined we couldn't afford a ship big enough for all of
us, considering there's now double our amount."
"We could just leave Kerihk here -"
"YAMI!"
"Or not."

They spent the next ten minutes thinking of ways to get to Duelist Kingdom. Every suggestion had something wrong with it. Yugi had been quiet since Ai had concluded that the hostages were being held in Duelist Kingdom; now he made his daring announcement.

"I know what we have to do..." he said slowly. Every shut their mouths and looked at him. "I know... We need to buy train tickets to Atami... and then..."

Yami made a face as he mentally realized what Yugi was thinking. It was his LAST resort, but Yugi's first. Unfortunately for Yami, it just might work.

"We need to ask Seto Kaiba for help."

***

Yami sighed as he leaned against the wall of the train station. Visiting Seto Kaiba was second-to-last on his priority list, before "help Pegasus rule the world" but after "let Yugi sleep in." No one else had been too thrilled about going to Kaiba's either, but it seemed to be the only reasonable option. Yami just hoped he and Kaiba could get along long enough for the arrangements to be made; still, Yami had a feeling Kaiba wasn't going to help just anyone without a good reason.

Yami looked toward the booth where Yugi was buying the tickets. Together the hikaris had scraped up enough money for twelve tickets to Atami. The clerk at the ticket booth looked very surprised when Yugi asked for that many tickets.

"Konshin wa Atami ni tomarimasu ka?" asked Yugi.
"Hai, tomarimasu ga."
"Atami made ikura desu ka?"
"¥1000." (a/n: I am guessing there, I doubt tickets cost that much. Actually, they may
cost more!)
"Atami made no kippu o ju-ni-mai kudasai."
"::stupified expression:: Nani?? Ju-ni-mai??"
"Hai, ju-ni-mai. Atami made kippu o ju-ni-mai. Okei?"
"Ano... hai."
"Eh, kono tsugi no Konshin wa nanbansen desu ka?"
"San-bansen desu."
"Arigatou."

(A/N: ::smiles warmly:: I just love showing off my ever-improving Japanese!)

Yami smiled warmly as Yugi dealt with the bewildered clerk. His little hikari had hardly changed a bit since he had first finished the Millennium Puzzle; yet, Yami could sense some change in the boy. He was braver and more confident in himself. See how easily he had made friends with these new Millennium Item bearers!

Speaking of the Millennium Item bearers, where was that creep Kerihk? If he was getting into trouble - like he usually was - he'd have Yami to answer to. Now that he was officially separated from the puzzle, he had a lot more room to move around and exercise when he was angry. And anyone daring to go against the rules of the Millennium Seal (namely Kerihk) were to be his victims.

Still, even through all he'd been through fighting Kerihk and his yearning for all thirteen Millennium Items, Yami had something of a soft spot for him. Why, he didn't know.

But it was there, no matter how hard he tried to deny it.

As for Seto Kaiba... well, he'd better pray Yami would be in a giving mood.

Wandering over to the table where the others (Hikaru, Kiara, Bakura, Kerihk, Dajan, Ay, Takehiko, Ahmose, Ai, and Setsuna) were gathered, Yami's thoughts couldn't help but be directed toward the six members of their crew who should be sitting there with them - Jonouchi, Honda, Anzu, Naoko, Tetsuya, and Ryoku. Why had Pegasus captured them? What was to be gained?

'All this for the Millennium Items,' Yami thought bitterly.

Yami had been a great pharaoh, but although few people knew it, Yami had many regrets from his past life; from the look of it, so did the rest of the yamis. All the yamis' eyes seemed sad and mysterious, the shadow of sorrow and death hanging around them. Sometimes Yami reflected back on the times when they were really friends - a team. When he saw the way Yugi and his friends got along, he couldn't help but miss the fun times he'd had with the others back in Egypt.

Those were happier times. And it was all Zhur's fault that it ended so soon.

Zhur. The grand vizier of Egypt in Yami's time. He had tried to manipulate Yami according to his will, but he hadn't realized that the only one who could persuade Yami's will was Kiara, and she wasn't persuaded by anyone but Yami. Yami managed to seize control of his country before Zhur took over. Eventually the ever-lasting war of the Shadow Games between Zhur's Shadow Gamers and Yami's Shadow Gamers led to their 5000 year-long captivity in the Millennium Items. Zhur was in the Millennium Eye.

Zhur's ten Gamers were sealed away in ten black stones, but Pegasus had uncovered them. Things were already worse than Yami had thought. If he unleashed his Shadow Gamers, there was no way his team could stand up to them. All the other Millennium Item bearers (minus himself, Kiara, and Zhur) were Yami's Shadow Gamers. He was called the Priest. Kiara was the Priestess. The Gamers protected them. Zhur's Priestess, Suzuka, was nothing short of "a witch" but she had been defeated by Kiara in battle many years ago.

Unfortunately, the battle had left Kiara severely wounded, and that was how she met her demise.

Yami knew Zhur had one advantage - much as he hated to admit it, Zhur's Gamers were much better at acting like a team than Yami's counterparts. That was because Zhur's Gamers didn't have emotions of their own - they were just minions from the Shadow Realm Zhur had summoned. This gave him an edge over Yami because Yami's Gamers had to learn to work together, and for a while, everything had gone smoothly.

Then Death entered the picture and the Gamers of Light had begun to fall.

First something happened Yami couldn't remember, but it caused Kerihk to fall away and drown in despair. He had turned to thievery and eventually - somehow - met his death. Then Setsuna began to believe they could never win. She didn't try hard enough, and was the first of the Gamers of Light to die. Sahure, another member of the old gang (a/n: for a sneak preview, read Kit's "Power-Puff Yamis" fanfic!), betrayed them. Then Yami was separated from his friends and Kiara was killed. Ahmose also was killed in line of duty. Two other female members, Osona and Taidu, priestesses of Isis and Nepthys, had sacrificed themselves to protect the remaining five members of the team. And finally, Yami had sealed the Shadow Games away, only to meet his own end. The remaining members were a girl named Himoko, Ay, and an oracle with a split-personality (which was considered to be two people) called Shaadi. They were the ones who made the agreement with the Fates to become trapped in the Millennium Items.

But Yami was off topic now. Hadn't he told Yugi he didn't want to recall the bad memories? 'I'm acting like an old man, reminiscing on the past,' he thought. 'Well, I am 5,017 years old. I guess I am pretty ancient...' Still, according to Egyptian standards, he had only lived a bit more than a half-life (most ancient Egyptian men died by the age of 30, and his life ended at the age of 17).

"Yami? Anybody in there? Earth to Yami!"

Yami started and saw Yugi waving train tickets in his face. "Are you okay, Yami? You were spacing out," his aibyou said.

"Yes, I'm fine, hikari," Yami replied with something of a smile. "I was just thinking." He sincerely hoped none of his thoughts had leaked from his mind and through the mental link connecting his and Yugi's thoughts. The last thing he needed was a million concerned inquiries from his innocent light side. He couldn't imagine telling Yugi all the dark things he knew of... Yami himself shuddered when he recalled certain instances.

"I got the tickets," Yugi said cheerfully, oblivious to Yami's sad thoughts. "The train leaves in twenty minutes. It's on track three. We're riding the Konshin."

Takehiko stuck out his tongue as he and the others joined Yugi and Yami. "Darnit. I wanted to ride the Shinkansen."

"We couldn't afford it."
"We couldn't even afford the Hikari?"
"Iie."
"What if we didn't buy reserved tickets?"
"Takehiko - !"
"I'm joking, I'm joking."

Hikaru turned to Kiara. "If anyone asks, you're my big sister. OK?"
"OK."
The other yamis and hikaris adopted this measure of security as well.

Twenty minutes later, the hikaris and their yamis were all aboard the subway train, the Konshin, and ready to go to Atami, where Seto Kaiba was. Their compartment was almost empty except for themselves and a strange woman in a long gray coat with a gray hat and sunglasses concealing her hair and eyes.

"I cannot believe I'm actually going to ask 'Moneybags' as Jonouchi would say for help," Yami growled.

"If Jonouchi were here to say that, we wouldn't be going to Kaiba's in the first place," Yugi responded quietly. "Kaiba may be a creep, but I think he'll help us. He hates Pegasus as much as we do."

"Yeah, well, I hate him hardly any less than I do Pegasus."

"Yaa, Yami, aibyou. You're all talk."

"I'm serious. I'd love to shut Kaiba and Kerihk in a room together. They could finish each other off..."

"Yami!"

"What? It would save us the trouble."

Yugi looked over to the seat were Bakura was sitting, Kerihk by his side. "In case you hadn't noticed, Kerihk hasn't done anything worse than yell and make smart comments since this whole thing started. I think he's a little shaken by all this."

Yami was silent. His hikari was right. To everyone's surprise, after the conversation about going to Kaiba's, all Kerihk had done was spit out all his wisecrack. And as soon as they entered the station, he hadn't said a word, and he continued not to speak even now.

'Good riddance,' Yami thought. 'It's doing us ever so much good.' But Kerihk's silence was unnerving him. One thing he remembered from his past life was the quote his sister had come up with: "Beware the silence of a white-haired man; it may be a sign that darkness is at hand." Throughout their journey in their past life, this "quote" had proved true - with Kerihk and Zhur alike.

(A/N: Now I'm listening to Steven Curtis Chapman: Declaration. He's so cool!)

Suddenly the train gave a jolt and all the yamis jumped up in surprise. Kerihk cursed in Egyptian, the first words he had said in a while. Kiara nearly fell over. Yami felt jumpy but tried to retain his dignity. Ay mumbled, "By the power of Ra..."

Takehiko laughed when Ahmose shrieked, "WHAT the HECK was THAT?!"

"It's just the train starting," he explained. "We'll be in Atami in half an hour. Sit down. It's perfectly safe."

Ahmose made faces at the train like he didn't completely trust it.

Maybe the train's feelings were hurt by the yamis doubt of its reliability, because it took long enough to get started, and the yamis could swear they had the bumpiest car. Ay was getting motion sickness. The others were holding on to the hanging things for dear life; even Kerihk was starting to look a little green.

Setsuna, whose relationship with Ai wasn't too much better than Kerihk and Bakura's (except that she had never once laid a finger on Ai), kicked the seat of the train.

"Setsuna, don't do that," Ai said. "It won't help."
"Why is it going so darn fast?" Setsuna grumbled.
"'Cause that's what trains do. They get you places faster than walking."
"In Egypt everyone walked everywhere, except when it was too far and they rode camels - or if they were really rich, horse."

Yami and Kiara blushed.

Ai pursed her lips. "Going to Atami from Domino City is like going to Cairo from Giza. OK?"

Setsuna made a hissing sound. "Al ti-ra veh al tif-chad... al ti-ra veh al tif-chad..." she muttered in Hebrew.

Of all the yamis, Setsuna was the only one who wasn't Egyptian born. She was Hebrew but had grown up in Midian. Of course she remembered little of her time in the land or of her old faith. Something had led to her capture by Egyptian guards, however, and she had been brought to the palace as a gift to Prince Pentaware. One day she accidentally walked in on a Shadow Game between Yami and Kerihk, but, rather than have her executed, Yami had decided to teach her the magic as well. He explained that Kerihk, a servant in the palace, had also entered a private Shadow Game (though not by accident, he had just been curious) and Yami had convinced his father to infuse Kerihk with the Shadow Power of the Ring. After that Setsuna grew powerful in the Shadow Games, but somehow she had fallen in the end...

Ai's hazel eyes drew away from Setsuna's goldenrod ones. Setsuna had never really been mean to her, but she had never been nice either. They called each other "aibyou" but neither really petted the other. But somehow, someday, Ai promised herself Setsuna would love her back. Because Ai had grown to love this other spirit abiding in her, and just wanted to be her friend.

***

The mysterious lady in the gray hat and sunglasses listened to the conversations going on between the six "families" which consisted of four pairs of "brothers" and two pairs of "sisters." She fingered a golden, eye-like broach pinned to her long jacket. Strands of auburn hair fell out of her hat when she pushed it up for a better luck.

/This is eavesdropping./
//Stop complaining. It's important business.//
/Are you ever going to tell me what's so important about it?/
//Please stop asking. You wouldn't understand. Not yet.//
/Please stop saying that./

The girl sighed and moved to a more comfortable position. This train ride was the last thing she wanted to be doing. She could be researching information for her research report. Or hanging out with her long-time friend, Keikeru Katsura. She wasn't really a person for adventure, but she hated waiting in the shadows.

And gray was her least favorite color.

***

"Next stop. Atami. Please wait for the doors to completely open to leave. Next stop. Atami."

Hikaru clapped her hands. "Yes! We're there!"

"I'll go get Ay out of the bathroom," Dajan said, pointing to the rest room where Ay was vomiting (but what was coming out no one knew - or wanted to know - since Ay hadn't eaten for 5000 years).

The strange lady waited until the kids were off the train, then she followed them at a distance, keeping them insight but trying to blend in with the crowd. One person, however, had known she was following since the very beginning, and he had already decided to keep his mouth shut until he was sure of her priorities. Besides, he was pretty sure she knew he had noticed her, and an invisible link of understanding flickered between them.

"TAXI! WE NEED TWO! TAXI!" Takehiko yelled at the top of his lungs. When they managed to get hold of two, there was a long debate on who should go in which cars. Dajan and Takehiko wanted to stay together, as did Ai and Hikaru, but Kiara wanted to stay with Yami, and Yami didn't want Kerihk out of his sight. Bakura and the other yamis didn't care one way or another. Finally it was decided that the yamis would go in one taxi, the hikaris in the others. After briefly explaining to Yami how to pay for the ride and where to tell the driver to take them, Yugi and the others were finally on their way to Seto Kaiba's estate.

Then, after finally making it to Kaiba's, it took a long time to get inside, and then another ten minutes to meet the secretary!

The secretary was a pretty young lady of about sixteen with very short raven-black hair, sparkling brown eyes and gold-framed glasses. Like Ai, she wore a brown uniform and skirt along with a blue bow tie. Looking up from her work, she smiled at Ai. "Back again, Itsuko-san?"

"Yes," Ai replied. "I didn't get any mail, did I?"
"Gomen nasai," the secretary replied. "No post today."

Hikaru's mouth was hanging open. She blinked in surprise. "Misaki?" she exclaimed.
"Misaki?!" Dajan and Takehiko shrieked together.

Misaki looked just as surprised as the other three. "Hikaru? Dajan? Takehiko? What are you guys doing here? And where are your friends, Tetsuya, Naoko, and Ryoku?"

"Um, that's what we need to talk to Kaiba about," Ai explained nervously, wringing her hands. "Something's happened and Naoko-chan and the guys have disappeared. It's Pegasus's doing," she added.

Misaki drew in a breath. "That creep... What does he want now?"

"He's after the Millennium Items again, Misaki," Hikaru said, looking down. She motioned to Yugi, Bakura, and the yamis. "These two also have Millennium Items, Ryou Bakura and Yugi Muto."

"Yugi Muto?!" Misaki exclaimed. Yugi blushed. He knew what was coming. "THE Yugi Muto? The only Duelist to ever defeat Seto Kaiba?"

"Yeah, yeah, that's him," Bakura said, waving his hands. "Do you want an autograph?" (a/n: the first line Bakura's had for a while, and it just had to be sarcastic!)

Misaki turned pink and apologized for overreacting. Yugi mouthed "thank you" to Bakura.

"I'm Misaki Hikawa," Misaki said with a bow. She looked questioningly at the yamis. "You're.... twins?"

Everyone laughed. Misaki looked more confused than before. It took some explaining, but fortunately Misaki knew a lot about the Millennium Items and understood what a yami was.

"After all, I have one of my own," Misaki responded to Yugi, Yami, Bakura, and Kerihk's surprise. "I was wondering how we were separated from the Millennium Spoon -" she held up a golden spoon with the Millennium Seal (the Eye symbol) emblazoned above the drop, "- but your story makes sense. My yami's name is Himoko. I'll get her."

"No need, I'm right here," a voice said.

A lady of Misaki's height with the same brown eyes and long black hair tied in a low ponytail emerged from the bathroom. She was dressed similar to Setsuna and was undoubtedly Misaki's yami, Himoko. She looked at the group of kids and gave a serene smile.

"Together again," she said.
"Just the way it should be," Kiara said as a broad grin spread across her face.
Himoko gasped, her eyes wide. "Kiara! You're here?"
"Of course!"

The two girls embraced, laughing like long last friends. Kiara, who was only half the size of Himoko, didn't realize that through her chuckles tears were dripping from Himoko's eyes. Just then her tears fell upon Kiara's neck, and her lavender eyes snapped open.

"Himoko - you're crying," Kiara said, shocked.

Himoko wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, half-laughing, half-crying. "It's just - when you - just don't worry about it, Kiara. I'm just so glad that -" She couldn't finish her sentence and only hugged Kiara tighter.

Kiara's lavender eyes shined. Her past was all mixed up, but somehow Himoko remembered something about Kiara that she couldn't.

Himoko released Kiara and turned to the other yamis. "Yami, Kerihk, Ahmose, Ay, and Setsuna! It's so wonderful to see you all again!" There was an awkward moment of silence as Kerihk edged away from the group so he wouldn't get hugged. The others, not being as comfortable and naive as Kiara, shuffled around uneasily as they waited for someone to say something.

Yugi broke the unnerving silence. "Hikawa-san," he began.
"Call me Misaki," Misaki said.
"Yes, erm, Misaki-san, we really need to talk to Seto Kaiba. He's the only one we know who we can talk to about getting to Duelist Kingdom."
Misaki frowned. "You're going to ask him for money?"
Yugi nodded.
"Then you'll need my help. I can talk him into it."
"Misaki's the only woman who can manipulate Kaiba-san," Ai whispered to Yugi, who began meowing.

Misaki directed the group down a hallway. "Kochira e douzo," she said, smiling and leading the way. Himoko followed, and the others clambered after her.

Soon they reached a door by a waiting room at the end of the corridor. Misaki rapped on the door, and the voice of Seto Kaiba (a/n: me hates him :-[ meanie Kaiba... grr...) called out, "Come in."

"I'll go in first," Misaki said. "You guys wait in the other room."

Yugi-tachi nodded and entered the waiting room as Misaki and Himoko entered Kaiba's Chamber of Torment.

To the gang's surprise (with the exclusion of Ai), both Mokuba Kaiba and Makimura Fujishima were also in the waiting room, Mokuba lying upside down on the couch, Makimura right-side-up. They were attempting to play a Banjo-and-Kazooie (a/n: sp?) video game and eating cookies at the same time. When they noticed the visitors, they paused the game and jumped up in glee.

"Ai! You're back!" Makimura observed happily.
"We missed you! Are you going to stay this time?" Mokuba inquired.
Ai laughed. "'Fraid not, kiddo. We're just here to talk to your brother and then we're off," she explained.
Mokuba pouted. "That's not fair. Misaki's been too busy to baby-sit us too and the other guys are no fun. We want you to stay!"

"Guess since Ro works here too, Makimura hangs out with Mokuba," Bakura said.
"Ai once said she baby-sat Mokuba too," Dajan added.
"And we all know she baby-sits Makimura," Takehiko grumbled.
"Oh, stop," said Kerihk, Ay, and Ahmose.

"So what are you guys doing?" Hikaru asked Mokuba and Makimura, coming over to Ai's side with Setsuna and Kiara.
"We're playing video games," Mokuba said. "I was trying to see if I could beat Makimura upside-down but I couldn't do it."
"Yeah, I initiated him," Makimura said, winking at Hikaru.
"That's annihilated," Hikaru giggled, correcting Makimura. Annihilated was her favorite word to use in Duel Monsters, much like Yugi and his habit of crying "OBLITERATE!"

While Ai and Hikaru and their yamis played with Mokuba and Makimura, the others wandered around the waiting room, obediently waiting for Kaiba to invite them in (a/n: yeah, that'll be the day). Yugi, Yami, and Bakura stared at pictures on the shelves like they were the most interesting things in the world.

"Guys," Bakura said to the other two after a while, "how do we know that it was only Jonouchi and those guys who were captured? What about Miho and Mai and those guys?"

"What do you mean?" Yugi asked. "They weren't with us when it happened."

"Yes, but they were involved with our old Duelist Kingdom journey," Bakura responded anxiously. "What if anyone who could possibly pressure us to give our Millennium Items to Pegasus was taken?" He shifted his gaze, thinking of his good friend Malik Ishtar (a/n: who I won't say much more about cuz I'm still deciding if he's going to be a girl or a boy, it depends on the dubbed version. Eventually I'll begin calling him/her Marik, his/her dubbed name). Malik had a Millennium Item too, but could Pegasus could take it easily because Malik's yami was downright evil. Plus, Malik was a really good friend of Bakura's. Bakura would just HAVE to go to Duelist Kingdom if Malik had been captured.

Yami scratched his cheek thoughtfully. "I think they're safe," he replied. "If that was the case then we would have heard about it. So many kids suddenly going missing is going to cause an uproar, that's for sure. There'll soon be an article about Jonouchi and the other's disappearances."

"We're all just lucky spring vacation is just around the corner," Yugi said.

"See, that's what I don't get," said Takehiko, wandering over with Dajan and their yamis. "Why start school in April if spring vacation is the week after it starts?" (a/n: THIS IS NOT A FACT! I'm improvising.)

"Don't complain," Dajan replied, rolling his eyes. "If it helps us, it's okay then."
"Yeah, but honestly! It does work out for us, but it still doesn't make any sense."
"You know, in Australia, where I grew up, we would be happy to have so many vacations. The surfing is choice this time of the year," Bakura put in.
Dajan looked wide-eyed. "You grew up in Australia? That's so cool!"
Takehiko asked, "Why do they call it the Land Down Under? It's not really under anything."

The yamis exchanged glances of annoyance.

In a dark corner of the room, a silver-haired, auburn-eyed yami stood leaning against the wall, the shadows falling over his face. He listened to the absurd conversations his partners were having - he refused to call them his friends. His Hikari was talking rapidly about Australia with Blue Boy and Gel Hair and their yamis, Water Freak and Blondie. Spike-headed-kid and the Stupid Pharaoh had just joined the Little Princess and Madam Hebrew as they watched The Kid and The Girl fight over controllers. They all looked so happy and oblivious to the danger they were putting themselves in.

((So every night you cry yourself to sleep
And drift off to a distant dream...))

Kerihk made sure no one was looking, and silently cut off his mental connection with his hikari before he could notice it. The last thing he needed was a ton of questions about the meeting he was about to go to when he returned. Everyone was occupied as he observed. Even the Stupid Pharaoh was too busy watching The Girl attempt to dance the baby polka to pay attention to him. With that confirmed to his satisfaction, Kerihk crept out of the room and down the hallway. He tried not to make any noise, and after so many years of living in the shadows of ancient Egypt, he succeeded. The fact that Hikari was wearing loafers that day helped too.

He pushed past the revolving door of Kaiba Mansion and found himself back out in the city air. He wrinkled his nose at the foul smell. At least Egypt had been pretty much clean.

A sudden movement to his right caught his attention. He caught sight of a dusty gray cloak flying in the wind. The lady wearing the cloak didn't show her face, but Kerihk was curious. Following at a safe distance, Kerihk watched the girl jump over a fence and enter the patio, making her way to the shrine. Kerihk clambered over the wire fence and landed in a flower bed. Grumbling, he dusted himself off and joined the girl by the shrine.

((When love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in...))

She was standing by the statue of Buddha in the shrine. As Kerihk cautiously stepped into the shrine, she removed her hood and sunglasses to reveal shiny red hair and dark brown eyes. Her unnaturally tanned complexion along with the mystical golden broach pinned to her cloak gave her an eerie appearance. She gestured for him to come closer. Kerihk stayed where he was, hesitant to join her.

"Don't be afraid, Kerihk son of Hotep and Teti," she said softly. Her voice was deep but feminine, like a river, gentle and flowing, melodious.

"I'm not afraid," Kerihk growled, putting on his usual scowl. "And how do you know who I am, or who my parents are? And why are you following us?"

She gave a laugh like music. "So many questions! Why are you so eager to know the answers? What if you learn something about yourself you'd rather I be quiet about? Don't you believe in the pain of truth?"

"What could you possibly know about me that I don't?" Kerihk spat. "What are you, an oracle or something?"

"Oh, nothing like that," she answered. "I am just like you. My alter-ego - bless her - has allowed me to use my spell of invisibility on her so she won't be discovered by the guards. I had a feeling you knew I was here, and knew I have the Millennium Broach."

The golden broach on her cloak shined in the afternoon sunlight. Kerihk stared at her.

"What do you want?" he asked.
"Your quest is known to me," she said. "I want to help. My name is Taidu."
"Well, Taidu," Kerihk mocked, "we don't need your help. If it were up to me, we wouldn't be on this horrid mission at all.

Taidu looked at him with an unblinking stare. "What about your hikari? They're his friends."

"You think I care?"
"You should. He cares about you."
"Sure!"

((And somewhere while you're sleeping
Someone else is dreaming too
Counting down the days until
They hold you close and say I love you...))

Taidu looked at him sadly. Everything had changed so much... She had to know. "What's happened to you? You're not the Kerihk I remember."

Kerihk sighed in irritation. "Well maybe that's because I'm not."
"You'll find what you lost again soon."
"WHAT are you ON about?"

((And like the rain that falls into the sea
In a moment what has been lost will be...))

"Nothing. You'll understand someday. Someday..."

((When love takes you in...))

Kerihk looked a bit scared. He couldn't remember his past life. If he was any different, what did it mean?

((... Everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
And this love will never let you go
There is nothing that could ever cause this love to lose its hold...))

Taidu's unblinking stare only made him feel more uneasy. Still, he shook it off and asked again, "Why are you following us?"

"I told you. I have a Millennium Item too, so my alter-ego, Tali Takada, should go with you on your journey."

"Why haven't you shown yourself until now?"

"I wanted to observe. But right now, I want to talk with you. Will you come with me?"

((When love takes you in and everything changes
A miracle starts with the beat of a heart
When love takes you home and says you belong here
The loneliness ends and a new life begins
When love takes you in for good...))

Kerihk could've fought her. He could've told her to scram. He could have done anything to make her wish she'd never crossed him and freaked him out so badly, but he didn't. He chose to do what she wanted. Why remained a mystery to him. But maybe it had something to do with that unblinking stare of hers and what she spoke of. That emotion he had long forgotten. Would he really ever experience it again?

((... When love takes you in...))

***

Seto Kaiba sat at his desk, looking at the six kids and five of their alter-egos standing in front of him. He couldn't believe he'd let Misaki talk him into this. She'd asked him to at least hear them out, but the whole tale sounded fishy, even for this group of nerds.

Mokuba and Makimura were still in the waiting room as far as his knowledge of the day's events stretched. Misaki and "Himoko" were waiting by the door for the unexpected party to make their plea. Kokoroe Fujishima, Kaiba's partner and best friend (though he never admitted it, even to Ro) was standing by his chair, just as curious as he was.

When Bakura had realized Kerihk had disappeared and cut off their mental link, he had immediately become anxious and wanted to go find him. Yami agreed, but mainly because he was afraid of the havoc Kerihk could be causing. However, they heard no police sirens between the time they realized he was missing and the time Misaki appeared to tell them Kaiba would see them, so Setsuna convinced them to leave him alone.

"Everyone needs time to themselves, I should know," she had said.
"Yeah, but when he returns he'll be anything but grateful," Yami had grumbled in reply.

Kaiba himself didn't like the idea of a chaotic yami wandering unsupervised around his company's quarters, but there were more important things to think about than Kerihk's mysterious disappearance.

"Now, let me get this straight. Your friends, Jonouchi Katsuya, Honda Hiroto, Mazaki Anzu, Gotoh Tetsuya, Saito Ryoku, and Takaya Naoko, were kidnapped by a strange black hole sent by Pegasus to lure the bearers of the Millennium Items to Duelist Kingdom," he said. The others nodded. "First things first. How did he do it?"

"He used the Millennium Eye," Yugi explained.
"How did he get the Eye back?" Kaiba questioned.
"Jeez! No one told me there would be a quiz involved!" Takehiko hissed to Dajan.

Everyone looked at Bakura to answer the last question.

(A/N: I'm leaving for camp now, so see ya!)

**********************************************************************************************************

(A/N: I'm back! Now I can write again! Sorry this took so long!)

Everyone looked at Bakura to answer the last question.

"We lost it," Bakura admitted. "Right after our duel with Malik. When he got to sent to Yami's soul room the Millennium Eye dropped out of his pocket. I don't remember if he got it back again, but I'm assuming that's how we lost it. Pegasus probably found it again when he entered the arena." (a/n: I'm guessing here. I've only seen the first 22 episodes that aired on Kids WB and read spoilers which aren't always reliable.)

Kaiba crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Ro quickly glanced in his direction, trying to read his face, but his features showed no emotions.

"I don't know about this," Kaiba said slowly. "Even if Pegasus did somehow retrieve his Millennium Eye, how come he waited until you entered your freshman year to spark his revenge?"

The question appeared to be directed to Yugi. The small boy thought for a moment, hesitated, and looked at his yami.

/What do you think, Yami?/ he asked through their mental link.
//To be honest, I'm not sure why he waited. Possibly his own yami wanted all of us to meet up before he...// Yugi noticed Yami's gaze travel toward Kiara.
/Before he what?/
//There are a lot of things you don't know yet, Yugi. I haven't had the need to tell you. But... I'm a priest. Not a priest of a god or anything. I'm a priest of the light.//
/Ironic your name is "Yami."/
//That's beside the point. As the priest... well, I don't think I should say anymore on that subject yet. Before what, I can't tell you either. But, I think he wanted all of us together, all wrapped up with a big bow like a package on your "Christmas." He thinks of us as sitting ducks waiting for him to make the first move. Or it may have something to do with the fact that I, too, was fifteen when my Shadow Games journey truly began. Anyway, I'm sure he has his reasons.//

Yugi decided to answer Kaiba with his own opinion, while incorporating Yami's advice. "I think Pegasus was probably just biding his time, waiting for us to let our guard down, then striking with immense power. He was most likely building up his defenses between our last battle and now. Or maybe he wanted us to meet up with all the other Millennium Item bearers, just so he could destroy us all together instead of one-by-one."

"That's quite philosophical, but what does it have to do with me?" Kaiba asked. "I wouldn't put it past Pegasus to do something like that, but the whole magic scam still has me doubtful. Still, looking at you and your... 'yamis' as you call them, it doesn't seem so freakin' farfetched. But I don't do magic. I've got a head for numbers and strategies and not much else."

(a/n: don't ask me when "freaking" became the new phrase, but it's not considered a swear and it's not something I would say, so I figured I'd let Kaiba use it. See, my sisters and I are the Kaiba Haters Club and Kit bashes Kaiba while Casia ignores him. But I'm a whole lot more serious about distributing parts equally than either of them, so Seto Kaiba's lucked out... this time.)

"That's what we came to talk to you about," Yugi said, somewhat breathlessly. "Um, we talked about it, and a whole lot of dueling will be involved, so we thought you might... consent helping us out with, you know, dueling strategies and stuff. That is, if you want to," he added quickly, ignoring Yami's look of disgust, "but we also needed to ask you for... um... a loan."

"A loan?"

"Yeah. Uh, we need money to buy a boat big enough to carry all twelve of us - fourteen if Misaki and Himoko come along. We can't afford it on our own, but you have enough money... We'll pay you back, too... er, somehow."

Yami decided not to mention the fact to his aibyou that they may not live to pay him back anyway. 'There are some things I should have told him sooner... and some I hope he never needs to know.'

Kaiba's face bore a look which clearly read what-are-you-morons-talking-about-you-are-really-freaking-me-out-now. Seeing and comprehending this, Misaki put her hand on Kaiba's shoulder. He jerked back and looked at her curiously. Putting on her most pleading face, Misaki decided to beg.

"Seto, this is beyond you and me. It's supernatural and out-of-the-ordinary. The whole world is already beginning to darken, and now a few of our friends have been taken by this darkness. It must be stopped, at any cost. But we can't do it alone. We need everyone's help for support and encouragement. Right now we won't risk announcing the situation to the world, but you should be flattered we decided to tell you. Won't you help us, Seto-chan?

"We're on a mission, Seto. By rejecting our request, you sentence us to taking the harder, riskier route to Duelist Kingdom - by way of contacting Pegasus and begging him to take us to Duelist Kingdom. He can easily destroy us that way. In other words, you sentence us to death. But if you help us, we'll make it worth your while."

(A/N: Now I'm listening to Jake: Reunion.)

Misaki's brown eyes glittered behind her glasses. Kaiba groaned inwardly. He couldn't stand seeing women cry. Besides, he'd like to get back at Pegasus too... Suddenly a thought hit him, and he grinned broadly.

"I'll give you the money for the ship," he said, watching the faces of the beggars light up, "on one condition."

Their smiles faded and their eyes asked him to go on. Kaiba couldn't help noticing the suspicious twinkle in Yami's ruby eyes.

"I'll give you the money," he said again, "on the condition that you let me come with you. I want to help kick Pegasus's butt."

For a moment no one said anything. Then Takehiko punched the air. "Yes!" he cried. "We went over the prospect that you might come along, but we didn't expect you to do it! Of course, Kaiba! You can come!"

"We'll need all the help we can get," Hikaru giggled.

Smirking, Kaiba put in his two cents. "Looking at this sorry group in the first place it's a wonder you ALL weren't captured without me to help you."

Yugi put out a hand to keep Yami from lunging at Kaiba after the snide comment. "We're glad you'll help us, Kaiba," Yugi said. "We were hoping -"

Just then, there were many shouts as both Dajan and Ay attempted to lean against the office door at the same time and came crashing to the ground, Mokuba and Makimura on top of them. Kaiba and Yugi-tachi jumped up, shocked.

"Mokuba! Makimura!" Kaiba and Ro cried together. "What are you doing?" asked Kaiba.

Mokuba smiled sheepishly. "Uh, well we weren't eavesdropping..." he lied. Makimura poked him. "Okay, maybe we were, but... Seto, we want to come!"

"What?"

Dajan and Ay pried the kids off their backs and stood up, brushing themselves off. Mokuba cleared his through and made his proposal.

"We want to come with you guys to fight Pegasus. Makimura and I were kept hostage by him and we want revenge too. Please Seto? I promise we won't get in the way!"

Makimura nodded and gave her brother Ro puppy-dog eyes.

Kaiba and Ro shook their heads furiously. "Of course not! You're much too young. You'll stay here with Misaki's grandparents and wait for us to return."

***

No one was surprised when Mokuba and Makimura convinced their brothers to let them come along. Yugi-tachi knew both Ro and Kaiba loved their younger siblings more than life itself and would do anything for them. Besides, they didn't really want to be separated from each other again.

Kaiba, Ro, and Misaki took over Operation Ship as Takehiko called it into their own hands. Through Kaiba's connections they were able to rent a ship large enough to carry all of them, and then some. All that remained was the packing of belongings... and an excuse for their families.

Ai came to the rescue. She phoned everyone's families (including her own mother, Shouko, living in Osaka) and told them they were going on a camping trip for the spring break. Everyone accepted this, especially Bakura's stepsister. Kamui was very warm and excited about Bakura not being around for a bit, to everyone's surprise... Bakura chose not to say anything, but he suspected "looking the other way" hadn't stopped Kamui from overhearing their conversation at his house the day before.

It had been an hour in a half since Kerihk had disappeared. Kaiba, Ro, and Misaki were still working on that ship. Everyone else was preparing to go home and pack up what they'd need for the journey. Yami advised them not to take anything valuable - you never know what will happen and their belongings may not make it through the entire journey. Finally they settled on just bringing clothes, toiletries, food, and a few other necessities.

Bakura was getting worried. Where was Kerihk? He didn't mind not hearing "baka" every five minutes for once, but it made him uneasy. Besides, he kept hearing the wind and it was freaking him out. Kerihk would have made fun of him, but at least it would get his mind off his whims. He could swear the wind was calling to him. ~*~Ryou... Bakura...~*~ it seemed to call. And he had this image of his mother playing over and over in his mind... She was telling him to listen to the wind. She always said the voice of silence will guide you. But he'd never had a chance to ask her what she meant by that...

"OK... then I'd say the best route is the same one we took to the Duelist Tournament," Yugi was saying, jolting Bakura back to reality. He and the others (minus Kaiba, Ro, Misaki, Himoko, Ai, Setsuna, Makimura, and Mokuba) were pouring over a map, trying to decide their path to Duelist Kingdom.

"That would make sense, but Pegasus might expect us to take that way," Kiara argued. "We need to be inconspicuous."

"Right," Hikaru said. "So maybe we should make for one of the smaller islands with the land bridges to the castle. It will take more time, but we have to keep our guard up. Hopefully they won't spot us, and if they do, they might think we're one of their own ships coming to deliver more cards and technology to the mainframe."

"Well, we can always hope..." Yami sighed.

Bakura's deep amber eyes narrowed. He really didn't care what route they chose, as long as they made it to Duelist Kingdom unscathed. That Pegasus...

Suddenly he felt as if someone had pushed him square in the back between his shoulder blades, a vulnerable spot. He gasped quickly and quietly, eyes widening in the darkness around him. He felt cold. The wind was loud.

There was a scene coming to him. Black shapes with glowing red eyes. They were coming... they were coming...

"Bakura? Bakura?"

Yugi's hand came out of nowhere. Bakura looked down and saw the short high school freshman looking concerned at his expression. "Are you all right, Bakura?" he asked. "You were zoning out there."

"Oh, I'm fine, Yugi, just - LOOK OUT!" he cried, pushing Yugi out of the way. A black figure had made a mad dash at Yugi, and Bakura had just made it out of his path.

"Bakura, what's wrong? AHHH!" Yugi cried as the room went pitch black before his very eyes. Everyone else screamed as the darkness passed upon them.

"What's happening?"
"What's going on?"
"I can't see!"
"It's so cold!"

Bakura gasped. It was just like the vision he had just had!

The dark figures with their glowing eyes marched toward the panicking group. Hikaru let out a scream and fell into Kiara's arms.

"What are they?" she screamed.
"Minions, sent from the Shadow Realm," Yami growled. "And we have no way to fight them off..."

The minions crept ever closer, bringing chill and evil with them. Yugi almost wishes they'd hurry it up... just get it over with...

One lunged at Takehiko. He screamed loudly, but found he couldn't move in his fear.

"TAKEHIKO!" Ahmose cried. He held up a hand and a fiery dart appeared in it. "DARTS OF FLAME RELEASE!" he cried, throwing the fire dart at the minion. It hit it square-on, and it disappeared.

Everyone stared at Ahmose. "How did you DO that?" Yami asked. "Our powers were locked away along with the Shadow Games!"

Ahmose shook his head. "I d-don't know," he stuttered, looking bewildered. Then his face grew serious. "But I don't really care! FIRE BULLET!" More fire shot from his finger tips at the minions. They howled in anguish and were gone, but more followed them.

"You have POWERS?" Yugi exclaimed.

"It's a long story," Yami sighed. "We were given them to aid us in our journey to fight the Shadow 5000 years ago when we first beheld the Millennium Items. We used them to defeat the Shadow Powers but were told they would be locked away until someone else was strong enough to unleash them." His eyes widened. "That means one of you hikaris must have the power of - what's it called again - oh, right - PRECOGNITION!"

"What's precognition?" Bakura asked, scared even though Ahmose was succeeding in defeating the dark minions.

"I'm not sure," Yami answered, "but it must be a good thing. Now, let's see if Ahmose isn't the only one who has been reunited with his powers. SHINE SENNEN SEAL!" He thrust his hand forward, the Millennium Seal (the Eye) glowing on his forehead. It also appeared on his hand and went soaring upon a group of minions, destroying them.

Angel-like wings appeared on Kiara's back and a golden staff with a rose quartz stone at the top formed in her hands. She flew above the minions and sent pink sparks down at them, shouting, "PIERCING LIGHT IN DARKNESS!"

Ay folded his hands and pointed his two index fingers upward. "SUBMERGE NILE DEEPS!" he shouted, sending a wave of water at the minions. Together the four yamis attacked with their newfound power, driving the minions back.

The minions decided to regroup. They hurried back and clumped together like a giant ball of negative energy. Suddenly dark purple sparks began emitting from them, and they fused themselves into one powerful, fiery being...

Yami gasped. "A Tangannohi!"
"A what? That's not good, is it?" Yugi asked in desperation.
Kiara answered, "A Tangannohi is a mystical beast formed of dark energy and fire. It is immensely powerful. I don't know if we have the strength to confine it to the Shadow Realm, let alone destroy it!"
"Oh no!" Hikaru shouted. Takehiko, Bakura, and Dajan also shrank back in fear.

The Tangannohi stepped toward them, taking slow but humongous strides. Yami raised his arm.

"SHINE SENNEN SEAL!"

The attack caused the beast to stumble, giving Ahmose, Ay, and Kiara an opening to strike.

"SUBMERGE NILE DEEPS!"
"PIERCING LIGHT IN DARKNESS!"
"DARTS OF FLAME RELEASE!"
"SHINE SENNEN SEAL!"

Attacking as one, the Tangannohi stepped back, but immediately regained its confidence and prepared its own assault. A giant fireball began forming in its claws.

Yami didn't take his eyes off the Tangannohi as he whispered to Yugi-tachi, "Go, Yugi. Run. Get out of here before it makes its move. NOW!"

Yugi nodded in fear and grabbed Bakura's arm. The two of them, plus Takehiko, Dajan, and Hikaru, ran as fast as the could from the area just as the Tangannohi made his attack. Roaring, the Tangannohi threw its fireball at the yamis, the force of the assault knocking the hikaris off balance. The heat burned their faces, but it was their yamis they were worried about -

Yugi looked up, shocked. Something was holding back the Tangannohi's fire! It was like a barrier or something, but where was it coming from?

"Look! It's Kerihk!" shouted Takehiko, pointing to the area where the attack had been fired.

Bakura gasped. Kerihk's hands were stretched before him, his face scrunched up as if he was in terrible pain. It looked like he was holding a wall in front of the fire to stop it from hitting the yamis.

"Kerihk's power! It must have something to do with shields or something!" Bakura exclaimed happily.

But their luck was about to run out. It didn't look like Kerihk could keep this up much longer. Fortunately, they had a back-up plan.

"Broach of the power of wisdom, grant my wish," a deep, feminine voice sang out of nowhere. "The strength of my heart, open the portal to the Realm of Shadows using the one you chose to release the Wish!"

Bakura suddenly felt as if someone had yanked his head backward. Almost against his will, his hand extended in front of him and he felt tremendous power surge up and out of his arm.

The intensity of the power radiating from him was too much. His energy was spent and he sank to the ground in a dead faint.

He missed what happened next. A giant portal to the Shadow Realm opened before them, a great hole of swirling clouds and darkness. With a roar, the Tangannohi was sucked into the portal and vanished, never to roam the Earth again.

Kerihk sighed as he let down his barrier and fell to the ground in exhaustion. Two ladies, one of whom had cast the spell with the use of the Millennium Broach, were knelt beside him, the other yamis also coming to thank him.

"Kerihk, you did it! You protected us from the Tangannohi's attack!" Kiara cried happily. "Thank you so much!"

"Yeah, you did awesome, Kerihk," Yami said, smiling for real.
"You're not too bad after all," Ay added. Ahmose nodded in agreement.

Kerihk pretended not to hear them, but inside he was concerned by the feeling of warmth beginning to thaw his cold heart.

That was when the group noticed the ladies with the Broach. "Who are you?" asked Kiara.

"Taidu, Gamer of Wishes," answered the taller of the two. "The spirit of the Millennium Broach, in possession of Takada Tali."

The other girl, Tali Takada, smiled and fingered the Millennium Broach.

"Tali, you've got a Millennium Item too?" Hikaru gasped loudly from the other side.
"Who's Tali?" asked Dajan.
"My brother Keikeru's friend," Hikaru answered. "I never would have thought she, of all people -"

"Yes, I have the Broach," Tali chuckled. "Don't look so surprised, Hikaru-chan!"

Taidu smiled. "I'm sorry if Kerihk's disappearance alarmed you, but I needed to talk to him," she explained. "I also must apologize again. We have been following you since the train ride to Atami, spying to make sure you really were the Shadow Gamers."

"Shadow Gamers?"

"In order to fight the Shadow Powers, one must be willing to do battle. After this battle, I believe the Shadow Gamers have finally been fully brought back to life." She smiled warmly at the group.

Yugi's lips twitched. It was all so confusing, but now it was Bakura he was worried about. The boy had fainted again. Why in the world was this happening to him all of a sudden?

"Hey guys, Bakura's out of it again," he called out to the yamis.

Taidu's face showed extreme surprise for some reason as she sailed over to the hikaris along with the yamis. She kneeled down beside Bakura who was lying on the ground in a deep sleep.

"Not again!" groaned Kerihk. "The kid's even weaker than I thought!"

"On the contrary, Kerihk," Taidu murmured. "He's stronger than you can comprehend. When I used the Broach's Wish spell I never thought -" She frowned, and stroked Bakura's silver hair. "All he needs is a rest to regain his strength. It was too much for his first time."

The others gave her a strange look, including Tali. "What do you mean?" Tali asked.

Taidu shook her head. "Later. Let him rest now. Um, in the real world, that is." She gave her Broach a twist and a turn, and the darkness about them disappeared, leaving them back in the waiting room of Kaiba's mansion.

At that precise moment, Kaiba, Misaki, Himoko, Ro, Ai, Setsuna, Makimura, and Mokuba came running into the room. "Are you guys all right?" Ai asked, completely out of breath.

"We heard someone scream, 'look out'," Kaiba added.
"What happened to Bakura?" Misaki squealed.

The group exchanged glances from their seats on the floor. Yugi and Yami looked at each other. Finally Yugi smiled.

"You explain," he said, going back to the map of Duelist Kingdom.


Angel: YAY!!! That chapter came out better than I thought it would. And da next chapter's gonna be SOOOOOOOOOOOO fun!!!

Bakura: No, it won't. I've always got to be the pathetic person in these fics. Why is that?

Angel: Cuz you're such a BISHIE when you're pathetic!

Bakura: ...

Yugi: I'm scared of chapter 6. I gotta be all brave and stuff. When does Duel Monsters get involved?

Angel: I'll check. ::checks outline:: Chapter after next, but the game doesn't really start till chapter eight.

Hikaru: Ooh, this is gonna be fun! But who should I choose? Yugi? Or Bakura? They're both so sweet and bishonen! *sobs* Can I do the translations today to get my mind off the subject?

Angel: Be my guest.

From the Desk of Hikaru Daichi:

Anaiyu, Oleu, and Niku - I made 'em up! They got no meaning other than my own *mwahaha*
baka - fool, idiot
itai - ow, hurts
per aa - Egyptian for great land, also used for pharaoh
fuku - uniform
maa, maa - now, now
Konshin wa Atami ni tomarimasu ka? - does the Konshin stop at Atami?
hai, tomarimasu ga - yes, it does
Atami made ikura desu ka? - how much is it to Atami?
¥1000 - one thousand yen
Atami made no kippu o ju-ni-mai kudasai - please give me twelve tickets for Atami
nani? - what?
hai, ju-ni-mai - yes, twelve tickets
okei - okay
ano - um
kono tsugi no Konshin wa nanbansen desu ka? - what track is the next Konshin leaving from?
san-bansen desu - track number three
arigatou - thank you
Isis - goddess of mourning, wife of Osiris, mother of Horus (she was something different at first but when Osiris "died" she became a goddess of mourning with her sister Nepthys)
Nepthys - another goddess of mourning in Egyptian religion
aibyou - pet
shinkansen - bullet train
Hikari - a type of bullet train; the other is the Kodama which makes more stops than the Hikari
iie - no
yaa - oh
al ti-ra veh al tif-chad - "don't be frightened and don't be scared" in Hebrew (I got this from the "Prince of Egypt"!)
Pentaware - one of the many sons of Pharaoh Ramses III. His name was not on the list of sons to inherit the kingdom so he and his mother, Queen Teye, hatched a plan to kill the pharaoh. In this story, he was Yami's half-brother
gomen nasai - I'm very sorry
kochira e douzo - this way, please
-tachi - and company
sennen - millennium
tangannohi - literally, tangan no hi, which means "eye of fire"

CHARACTER OF THE DAY:

Today's Character of the Day is Seto Kaiba, age 15 in the show but in this fanfic, he's eighteen. Seto Kaiba's parents died when he was young, so he and his little brother Mokuba were sent to an orphanage. Many people wanted to adopt Seto, saying he was a genius, but he refused to leave without his little brother. One day the owner of what eventually became Kaiba Corp. came to the orphanage and Seto challenged him to a game of chess. As a reward for beating the man at the chess game, he adopted both Mokuba and Seto. But he wasn't a very good father to the two and worked Seto very hard to learn the business of electronics and trade. Although Seto learned his lessons well, the lack of love caused him to become cold-hearted and serious. The only person he loved was his brother Mokuba. When Pegasus captured Mokuba to take over Kaiba Corp., Seto went to any length to save him. He even went as far as to cheat in his duel with Yugi by using Yugi's heart against him. Then, in his duel against Pegasus, Seto lost and was captured in a card. Later Yugi freed him and he managed to rescue his brother.

Although Seto Kaiba is cold-hearted, he is also very smart and brave. Without his knowledge the group would fall into serious trouble. When there is danger, Seto will always help out. He loves his little brother more than anything and secretly he likes Yugi's group as well. Will we ever see Seto put aside his loner ways and join the friendship ring? Who knows? Anything's possible in Yu-Gi-Oh!

Next time: Chapter Six, Chuukin Omoide (as told by Hikaru): We were all set to set sail for Duelist Kingdom when Kerihk and Setsuna got into a bit of a spat. Luckily Kiara saved them from each other by recalling a time when her half-brother Pentaware and Yami did some foolish antics in the Temple of Ra. We were all laughing as we boarded the boat, but the fun didn't last long when I heard, "Takehiko overboard!" Yep, that's right. He got seasick and fell over the side of the boat in a storm. I jumped in to save him, Yugi right after me. As Ryou prepared to throw us a rope, he got thrown in too! Takehiko was saved but Yami went ballistic as Yugi, Ryou, and I floated away in the storm. We were forced to hang out in a cave and we told each other our life stories. I didn't know half the things I learned from them, and I realized with guilt that I had a bit of a sweet spot for both of them. It's so awesome that Ryou and I have the same favorite card! But his eyes scare me sometimes... they're so beautiful... beautiful but sad...