A Note From the Authors: Boy...sorry about how long it took to update this. First, there was "Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix" to read, and even though that only took four day, this chapter proved to be a difficult one. The reason?? It was already written! But it was written so long ago that it hardly made any sense and we had to go through and revise the whole thing, which was EXTREMELY boring, so we were dragging our feet as we worked on it. The actual chapter isn't boring, don't worry!

Chapter 25

"Shadow Realm Confrontation"

"You've got a Millennium Item, too?" Mai asked, "But how's that possible? I thought there were only seven items."

"Yeah…" Tea agreed, "And as far as we know, all the Items are accounted for."

"There are seven original Items, yes," Athena said, "but in the days after the Almighty Pharaoh's passing, the Ancient Grecian Army invaded and conquered Egypt. In an attempt to secure their legacy, the High Priests sealed away what powers they had left into seven more Items." Then she reached into her bag, which she'd set on the floor at her feet and pulled out a beautiful gold hourglass, "My ancestor was a leader of that Greek Army, and took possession of the Hourglass after the invasion."

She handed the Hourglass to Yugi and he examined it curiously. "It has the Millennium symbol on it, alright," he said, "I wonder…does Jetsu hold one of these new Items?"

Before Athena could answer, the doors to the waiting room burst open and Joey, Tristan and Rex came running in.

"That was fast," Bakura observed.

"Where is he??" Rex demanded.

The receptionist glanced up from her computer, "Oh, are you a relative of Mr. Underwood?"

Rex hesitated, not knowing how to answer. If he lied and they found out, they'd probably throw him out! But if he told the truth, they wouldn't let him in at all.

"He's as close to family as Weevil's got," Joey said, and Rex glanced up at him, shocked, "Ya gotta let 'im in."

The receptionist smiled knowingly and stood up. "Of course. Follow me, and I'll show you where your friend is."

Rex started towards her, and then turned back to look at Joey. He didn't say anything, but the look of gratitude in his eyes was enough for Joey. He gave the younger boy a thumbs-up and then Rex followed the receptionist down the corridor.

"So…" Tristan said turning to the group, "What'd we miss?"

"Not too much," Yugi said, "Athena was just showing us her Millennium Hourglass." He held it up as both of the older boys leaned in for a better look.

"And she was about to tell us whether or not Jetsu had a new Millennium Item," Bakura said.

"New?" Joey echoed.

"Made after the Grecians invaded Egypt," Mai said.

"Ahh…" Joey nodded.

Athena couldn't help but smile, despite the grave situation. These people were so good-natured, it was hard not to let their positive outlook wear off on her. "I was about to say, that Jetsu does indeed hold an Item: the Millennium Shield."

"That's the symbol his eliminators wear!" Yugi said, "At least that makes sense now."

"Did Jetsu's predecessors get hold of the Shield during the Grecian invasion as well?" Mai asked.

Athena shook her head, "No. Jetsu is of Egyptian descent. His ancestor was one of the High Priests who created the new Items. But when the Greeks invaded, instead of hiding the Shield with the other items, he took possession of it and fled. From then on it has been passed down in his family, each younger generation becoming more power hungry than the last."

"We've seen that before," Joey said grimly, "But it doesn't explain why he would send Weevil plungin' to his death outta the top of that Pyramid."

"That's right…" Tea said, "Weevil doesn't own a Millennium Item, so what would Jetsu want with him?"

"A test of his strength," Athena said, "And perhaps a warning to all of you. The Millennium Shield not only protects him, but it allows him to collect the souls of those he defeats in battle. The more souls he possesses, the stronger he becomes. I fear the boy, Weevil, will not wake, no matter what the doctors here try to do…" Sadly, she hung her head.

"If Jetsu were defeated, would all the souls be set free?" Yugi asked.

Athena looked up, considering this. "I don't know…" she said, "If the Shield were broken, perhaps. Why do you ask?"

Yugi was pale, but he swallowed hard and set his jaw. "Because…I'm going to help you defeat him in the finals tomorrow!" he declared.

This caused quite an uproar amongst his friends.

"WHAT?!" Joey cried, "You can't be serious, Yug!"

"You saw what happened to Weevil!" Tea cried, "Why would you want to put yourself in danger like that??"
"I know it's dangerous," Yugi said, "It's probably the most risky thing I've ever done, but…Athena has a cause that I believe in. And I can't let her face it alone."

Athena smiled, her eyes sparkling. The others all gave each other guilty glances.

Joey stood up straight and cleared his throat. "If that's the way it's gonna be, then there's no way I'm gonna be sittin' on the sidelines!"

"I didn't come all this way to sit back and let you save the world without me," Mai said, standing up and taking Joey's arm, "You can count me in too."

"That goes for me as well," Bakura said and everyone turned towards him, surprised, "I know the Spirit of my Ring has caused you all a lot of trouble in the past – let me make it up to you!" Athena smiled at him and the British boy felt the color rise in his face.

Yugi glanced over to his right, and nodded at thin air. "Athena…" he said, "Yami, the Spirit of the Puzzle, would like to speak to you."

The Greek girl turned back towards Yugi. "Of course," she said, eagerly awaiting her chance to be in the presence of the greatest ruler of the ancient times that the world ever knew.

With a bright flash of light Yugi was replaced by his taller, more mature counterpart, who eyed the Greek woman evenly, "First of all, I'll thank you for saving Weevil, because it's doubtful that you'll ever get the courtesy from him. Before we discuss the more important matters," he paused, eyeing the others besides his group in the room, some of whom looked to be spying looks at them every so often, "Perhaps we should take this somewhere where we may speak more openly…" He wondered vaguely if she even knew about the Shadow Realm, but as an Item holder this should be common knowledge.

"An excellent suggestion," she said, "The Shadow Realm would be a suitable location, am I right?" Then she turned the Hourglass upside-down and the whole room seemed to melt around them. Before they even knew what had happened, they'd been transported into the infinite blackness that was the Shadow Realm.

The Hourglass was now at least ten feet tall and standing in a circle beside it was: Athena, Yugi, Yami, Dedi, Tsuki, Bakura, Yami Bakura, Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Mai.

Yami Bakura had been awakened, as the Shadow Realm was often his temporary home. Confused, he looked around, trying to figure why his solitude had been so rudely intruded upon. Bakura noticed the movement and when he saw his other self, he cried out in surprise, "What are you doing here?"

"Where the hell did you come from??" Yami Bakura shot back.

"Why is he here??" Yami demanded, jerking a finger at Bakura's evil-half.

"AHHHH!" screamed Tsuki, clutching Dedi around the waist, "That's the guy that attacked me before!!"

"It's okay," Dedi said, patting the little girl on the head, "I won't let him hurt you."

"That's what you think, wench!" Yami Bakura snapped, glaring at Dedi.

"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" Yugi cried over all the noise, unconsciously taking a few steps closer to Yami.

"If everyone would please calm down," Athena said loudly, "I'll try to explain!!"

Miraculously, everyone quieted.

"Thank you," she said, "Now we have limited time," she gestured to the Hourglass, "When the sand drains through to the bottom, our time in this realm will be up, so please let me speak.

"Yami, I assure you I had no intention of awakening the Spirit of the Ring. But such is the consequence when bodies that host two souls are brought to the Shadow Realm, as you can clearly see," she said, waving a hand at Dedi and Tsuki.

"I suppose we ought to tell him what's going on," Yami said, jerking his head angrily in Yami Bakura's direction, "Or he'll just end up getting in the way."

"What do you mean 'get in the way'??" Yami Bakura demanded.

"I mean that you can't be trusted." The Spirit of the Puzzle told him flatly, folding his arms across his chest.

"Why would I want you to trust me??" Yami Bakura said, smirking snidely, "Is this another one of your 'let's-all-be-friends' kicks?"

"I wouldn't be making remarks right now. Your existence on this Earth hinges on what we learn of your willingness to cooperate, thief." Yami glanced around at the others in the black realm, all of whom were giving the ancient cat burglar looks that were darker than the very Realm in which they stood in.

Yami Bakura snorted, and stuffed his hands into his pockets, "I don't see why I should. What's in it for me?"

"You'll help us," Yami said sternly, "Unless you want your home in the possession of Jetsu."

"Who?" Yami Bakura said innocently, cocking an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb," Yami spat, "I know you can access Bakura's mind at will, so you can't tell be you haven't been keeping up with what's been happening on the living plane."

Yami Bakura said nothing, which Yami took to mean that he was right. He continued, "We all agree that Bakura would be a lot better off without you, so don't think we'll try to stop him from giving the Ring to Jetsu. If you value your host at all, you'll choose the right side."

Yami Bakura looked over at his counterpart. Bakura was staring at the floor, looking very hurt. He was the only Item bearer there who had a counterpart who would much rather control him than befriend him. There were plenty of times he'd woken up scared and alone, not knowing where he was or what he'd done. It was a horrible way to live, but he didn't seem to have much of a choice in the matter.

He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up, half-expecting to see Yami Bakura. But it was Athena, and she was smiling at him with a look of such pity that he was ashamed of himself and couldn't meet her gaze.

"Bakura," she said quietly, "As much as I hate Jetsu, I'd rather him have to live with this spirit than you."

"What?" Bakura said, looking up.

"WHAT?!?!" Yami Bakura cried, "Don't think you can get rid of me that easily!!"

"Oh, but we can," Yami said, "If you're not with us, you're against us. And as far as I'm concerned, Jetsu can do what he likes with you."

All eyes were now on Yami Bakura, who seemed to be wrestling with himself. At last, he muttered, "Fine."

"Good," Yami said, "It's agreed then. And we'll hold you to that, thief. Don't think Yugi and I forget all the times you've tried to steal the Puzzle."

"By the way, Bakura," Yugi said, "Do you still have Pegasus's Eye?"

"Oh! Yes, I think so," Bakura said, "Do we?" he asked Yami Bakura.

"Of course," he growled, "You don't think I'd give that away, do you?"

"Perhaps it's not a matter of if you want to, hmmm?" A voice came from out of nowhere and they all jumped slightly.

A figure was walking towards them, melting out of the very infinite space. A man clad in armor as black as the very realm they resided in. A man that could only be Jetsu. He was dragging something large and white behind him.

"I hope that you don't find me rude for barging in on your little powwow here, but I couldn't help listening in on your conversation," Jetsu looked towards Athena, "Rather conspicuous place isn't it? Surely you should be more concerned about Mr. Underwood right now."

Athena swore in Greek and spat insultingly at his feet.

Jetsu ignored her, and held up the thing he was carrying, "Does anyone know what I should do with this?" The unconscious form of Shadi dangled several inches above the ground.

Yami gasped and took several steps forward, "Put him down! NOW!"

Jetsu didn't need to look twice to recognize the one who'd spoken, "The Pharaoh of old? Put him down, you say? Certainly, my sovereign," Jetsu dropped Shadi, who landed in a heap at his feet, "But what do you intend to do with him? His body is safely in my pyramid as well as his item," Jetsu reached into his chest plate, and pulled out the sparkling Key that had once allowed Shadi to enter the pharaoh's very mind.

Yami cursed softly. Two items? Dealing with the Pegasus's Eye and Marik's Rod had been hard enough to deal with, but two? He watched as the knight began to slowly walk in a circle, looking at each one of them. They were now all surrounding Jetsu, but he showed no fear.

When he reached Athena, he leaned in and spoke softly to her, "You're a failure. Throughout all of our history, none of my ancestors have ever managed to obtain another item. Your family was always there to stop us. But you're no match for me. I now possess the Key, and it'll only be a matter of time before all the Items here are under my control. My shadow powers have long surpassed yours. I don't know why you insist on this fruitless chase of yours." Enraged, Athena leapt at him, but Joey and Tristan intervened and held her back.

"You're nothing but a murderer and a thief," Yugi said angrily.

Jetsu stood up to his full height, towering over Yugi, "An interesting choice for a host, Yami. Much too underdeveloped to be of any use; Just a clumsy little boy." As Jetsu turned to see Bakura, Yugi backed up a few steps and looked at the ground, thoroughly humiliated.

Bakura took a step away in fear as Jetsu stopped in front of him, which made the madman laugh, "So you're the host for that despicable spirit of the Ring that the ancient scriptures speak of? HA HA HA!"

There was a blast of golden light that made everyone turn and see Yami Bakura firing magical energy from the Ring at Jetsu. In an instant, Jetsu had whipped around and raised the Millennium Shield. The light reflected off of the shield and slammed into evil Bakura at double speed, throwing him backwards. In the awkward silence that followed, Jetsu continued on his way, slowly making his way over to Dedi and Tsuki. Addressing Dedi, he chuckled slightly, "So you're the one that was unable to send the soul of the blue-haired boy to Shadow Realm?"

Dedi quickly pushed Tsuki behind her, shielding her from Jetsu's view. "You're a disgrace to the Egyptian people," she muttered.

Jetsu waved a dismissive hand, "At least, I am an Egyptian. Unlike some, I wasn't born in a third-world tribe, destined only to be a slave to work on the pyramids. My ancestor was appointed as one of the seven high priests of Egypt by your dear Yami's successor. He served Egypt, as did his son, and his son's son. I still retain many of the ancient writings from that time. I daresay that I am more of an Egyptian than a girl the pharaoh took pity on will ever be."

Dedi wanted to leap at him as Athena had, but she felt Tsuki tighten her grip on her skirt and didn't move, but only cursed him in Egyptian.

Jetsu smiled under his helmet and was about to reply, when a strong voice called out to him, "Enough! Turn and face me, you coward!" Jetsu coldly turned and walked towards a defiant Yami.

He stopped several yards away from the greatest Pharaoh of Egypt, who was fuming, "The tournament is drawing to its finale, King Yami…" A life-like image of Weevil appeared in front of Yami, smirking and confident. Yami's eyes widened in surprise; what was Weevil doing here? The bug master raised his right hand, and out of nowhere an army of insects appeared as well and swooped down upon Jetsu. Behind Jetsu, a large Egyptian beast stepped into the light. Exodia raised its arms and shot out its unstoppable beam of destruction. The blast incinerated the bugs and hit their master. The hallucination of Weevil let out a cry that made Yugi feel sick to his stomach as he watched, horrified. The flash of light ended after its impact with Weevil, and the smoke cleared, showing that there was nothing left.

With a wave of his hand, Jetsu ended the illusion, "The preliminaries are over. I wonder, which of you will make it through the finals, and which will be… eliminated?" With that, Jetsu raised a hand, summoning up a wall of fire that engulfed him. When the flames vanished, he and Shadi's crumpled unconscious figure were gone.

For a long moment, everyone was silent, no one knowing what to say. Then the sand in the hourglass drew to the end of its descent. Athena glanced at it. "We're out of time," she said, "We have to return to the real world."

Once again, the background melted away, to reveal the Hospital lobby once more. A quick look around told them no time had passed outside.