Author's Note: This is a really serious chapter, but we couldn't think of a serious title, so we give you this, which looks like it could've been serious when it was in Japanese, but because of its direct translation, it sounds silly. Please don't think that it really has any influence over the mood of chapter. Also, speaking of titles, to clear up a bit of confusion about #33, "Pharaoh's Blood" was used in the family sense. You know, related by blood?? Both Yami Yugi & Yami Bakura have the blood of the Pharaoh in the veins. So that's what that means. Just so you know. Now on to the chapter.

Chapter 34

"The Destruction Path of Jetsu: Calm Down, Yami!"

Yami had been walking for several minutes, now, the shining light taking him through several twists and turns, but no matter where he went one thing seemed the same…

'Yugi, is it just me, or does it seem unnaturally quiet in here?'

'It does…are we the only ones left?'

'I shudder to think it…'

It was about this time that they came upon the first chamber. Yami stopped in his tracks at the sight before him. On the stone floor, sprawled out, unconscious and bleeding, were Joey and Kaiba. Crying out their names, even though he knew they couldn't hear him, Yami rushed to them.

'What happened to them?' he heard Yugi ask.

'Jetsu…' Yami answered, as he checked the pulse of each teen, 'They're still alive, but their souls have been removed from their bodies. And they've each lost a lot of blood…'

'What are we gonna do??'

'I'm not sure…' Yami thought, 'We can't risk leaving them here and going for help…Jetsu would surely destroy their souls before we could ever get back. I'm afraid we'll just have to leave them here. Until this is over, there's nothing we can do for them…'

'But…but' Yugi protested.

'That's just the way it has to be,' Yami told him firmly.

'They don't look well, do they?'

"Show yourself, Jetsu!" Yami called out angrily, his heart pounding.

'Yes, they were the first to go, so their hearts will be the first to stop beating… I give them less than three more hours to live. Better hurry, Pharaoh. I'm still waiting…'

Yami didn't waste anymore time. He leapt up and bolted out of the room. There wasn't a minute to lose! If all the others were in this condition as well, the situation had just escalated more than he'd ever imagined it could.

With every step he took, it seemed as though he were getting farther away from his goal.

'How far does this path go?' Yugi's voice puzzled inside Yami's head.

Before Yami had answered, they had come upon the next chamber. This one held Mai and another boy Yami didn't recognize. Mai seemed to be in worse condition that the boy.

'Such a waste of beauty, that one…And a bit too much spunk for my liking…'

Yami didn't even bother answering Jetsu, as he hurried on his way. He felt awful, leaving them behind, but there was nothing else he could do. He was being forced to play things out by the madman's rules.

Down another corridor… up a flight of stairs… twisting around another bend. It didn't seem to have a clear purpose as to why he had to take this specific route to wherever Jetsu wanted him to go.

The victim in the next chamber jolted Yami out of his control of the body and Yugi took over not even realizing that he'd wanted to. "Tsuki!" the boy cried, rushing to her side. Kneeling beside her, he lifted her up gently, hugging her close to his chest. Shakily, he traced his fingers down the lines on her face that marked where tears had dried. "Tsuki…" he whispered, nuzzling her face with his, "How could he…?"

Behind Yugi, now in spirit form, Yami was shaking with fury. If Tsuki was gone, that meant that Dedi had gone first. "Yugi…" he said, trying his hardest to contain himself, "We…we have to keep going…"

'My my, what a heart-breaking scene…'

"JETSU!!!!!" Yami roared at the ceiling, "By the gods, I swear when I find you I will show no mercy!!"

'Do the poor wittle babies miss their fwends? The only ones who'd ever weally liked them … or ever will? HA HA HA HA!'

Yami's fists were shaking and angry, humiliated tears were stinging his eyes. "Don't…mock…me…" he seethed.

'Why not? I don't see you charging up here to save your friends or avenge the fall of your bitch. I don't honestly see how anyone but a bitch could like you, though.'

"Yugi!" Yami thundered, "Put her down! We're moving on!"

"But I –" Yugi objected.

"Now!" Yami said, with fire in his eyes.

A little frightened, Yugi allowed Yami to take control of the body once more, and they were off again.

It seemed to take much less time to make it to the next chamber. Crumpled under one of the torches was another body, that of…

'Hey, that's the tournament coordinator… Vitani, wasn't it? Why is she there? Wasn't she working with Jetsu?' Yugi's timid voice entered his counterpart's head meekly, as the boy was still frightened by the never-before-seen fit of rage that Yami was in.

'What does it matter?' Yami replied, slowing his pace a bit, to gaze uncaringly at Vitani's soulless form.

'Why would she be like that?' Yugi wondered in a small voice.

'Because she resisted. And in the end, like all of the others, she was punished.'

"Resisted…?" Yami echoed, "You mean she turned on you? Why?"

"Ha ha ha… Did Athena tell you nothing, Pharaoh? She and Vitani go way back, adoptive sisters, I believe. Your stupidity is astounding. I would have thought that you would have tried to do at least some research on your opponents, but then again if you did, then you wouldn't be here now. You'd be back hiding in Japan while I gathered even more power…"

Before he could react, and before either him or Yugi realized that the voice was no longer in their mind, there was a lightning fast motion and a sharp pain in the back of the King's head…

* * *

The low rumbling above them told the prisoners of the Soul Dungeon that their ranks were growing yet again, and they all glanced upwards. "Who could that be?" Mai asked.

"I'm not sure who's left," Vitani said. She and Athena had joined the group not long ago, and it had taken Athena a while to convince the others that Vitani had indeed switched sides.

Now Athena was peering up at the blackness and caught a glimpse of white hair on the figures that fell. "It's Bakura and his Spirit!" she said, pointing up at them.

"Yeah, you're right!" Joey said. He made to stand up and catch one of them and Athena joined him. Since they couldn't tell which one was which at the speed the figures were falling, they caught both young men at the same time. Athena found the real Bakura in her arms and hugged him close to her. Joey made a disgusted face at the Spirit and dropped him on the ground.

The force of his short fall woke the Spirit up and he cursed loudly, rubbing his head. "Where the hell are we?" he asked, glancing around.

"Jetsu's prison," Mai said, "I must say, I'm surprised to see you here."

Athena sat down slowly, keeping the unconscious Bakura in her lap. "Only Yugi and the Pharaoh are left now," she said.

"That's not true," Joey said, "Dedi and Tsuki haven't shown up yet."

"No, they are gone as well," Shadi said and everyone turned towards where he was still sitting in his meditative position.

"What do you mean?" Vitani asked.

"I sense their souls a while ago," Shadi said, "Jetsu is holding them in a separate prison. He plans to use them as leverage against the Pharaoh and his boy."

"Bastard…" Athena muttered. Then Bakura stirred and her attention was immediately switched to him. His eyes opened and met hers. She smiled, "Are you alright?"

Bakura nodded and then, realizing how she was holding him, blushed. "I'm fine," he said, sitting up and crawling out of her lap, "I suppose this is where Jetsu keeps his souls…?"

Athena nodded and then leaned closer to him, "Are you sure you're alright? What happened?"

Bakura leaned away from her, cheeks burning, "I'm perfectly fine – I promise," he told her, "As for what happened…well…" he glanced over at his Spirit hesitantly.

"Go ahead and tell them," Yami Bakura said, stretching out on the floor, hands behind his head, "It's not like we've got anything else to do."

* * *

Yami Yugi was thrown forward several feet, falling hard on the cold stone floor.

'Yami, it's Athena!' Yugi had separated from his Spirit once more, and was now at the Pharaoh's side.

Athena shook her head, "Partially correct, but mostly deluded statement, I'm afraid," she said, or rather Jetsu said through her. It was nothing like when Marik had taken control of others. There was no duel voice, only Jetsu's, and it was very frightening coming from Athena's mouth.

Jetsu-Athena (JA) took several steps forward, "She went down with her idiot of a sibling, but this body is trained in the martial arts, so it will do nicely for a warm up." JA rushed ahead, giving Yugi a sharp elbow to the gut and knocking him away, then reaching down and grabbing Yami by the collar of his shirt.

Once the body of Athena had lifted Yami up so that they were eye level, the unnatural voice spoke again, "Are you always this off your guard, Pharaoh? You don't stand a chance against me; I know that fighting isn't your forte!" With that JA dropped him and quickly gave him a powerful knee to the jaw.

Yami's head snapped back and he fell to the ground once more. He sat up, quickly, spitting blood and rubbing his jaw. The young man slowly stood up once more, now about two yards away from his opponent. Yami felt the rage and contempt that he held for Jetsu coursing through his veins. He couldn't hurt Athena, but there were other ways to defeat an opponent, "Yugi! Integrate into me. This one could get rough…"

Yugi nodded and vanished into their mind once more. Yami took a deep breath and outstretched his hand towards JA. The girl's unnaturally deep voice echoed through the chamber, "What are you going to do, Pharaoh? You can't strike at me without damaging the body of your friend. And this body isn't in perfect shape to begin with…" JA brought a hand up to her head and pushed her sweat-thickened bangs away from the side of her face, revealing the still-bleeding wound Jetsu had dealt her during their Millennium battle.

Yami was taken aback slightly, but concealed it. "I don't need to touch her in order to free her from your control, Jetsu!" he said, as the Millennium Puzzle began to glow brightly and the symbol of the Egyptian Eye appeared on his forehead, bright red. With a cry of rage, Yami directed his mind-banishment at the girl and a shock wave hit her in the chest. A storm of dust rose up around her and covered her from view.

Yami was breathing hard, palm still stretched towards her, watching the dust settle. When it finally did, he was shocked. JA was still standing, eyes still clouded over, and expression still blank. "W-what?!" Yami gasped, "It had no effect…?"

"You fool," JA said, "Your mind is too clouded to conduct that technique properly…which was my intention to begin with, if you couldn't tell that by now…"

Of course! How could he have been so stupid? Once again, he had played right into Jetsu's hands… and it was Yugi's body that was suffering for his idiocy. The eye symbol that had begun to vanish on the Pharaoh's forehead began to glow a deeper shade of red and Yami clenched his teeth tightly together.

'Yami!! No! Please!' Yugi's voice sounded in his mind, 'This is just what Jetsu wants! I swear I don't blame you for any of this! You have every right to be angry, but you can't let it get the better of you!! You need to relax and concentrate! That's the only way to win this!'

Yami took a deep breath and sighed it out slowly. 'You're right, Yugi. It's difficult… but I'll try.' The Spirit of the Puzzle raised his hand again but before he could power up another blast, JA leapt into the air and landed inches in front of Yami and began a barrage of punches that floored the mighty ruler once more.

JA folded her arms impatiently, "Don't think it will be so simple, my king. I won't give you two free shots in a row. But if you have the strength, please: stand up and try again. This is becoming rather boring, after all."

Yami began picking himself up off the ground, wondering if this was Athena's strength or Jetsu's that he was feeling. He spat more blood on the ground and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His head was pounding and it was making it hard to concentrate on much of anything. From somewhere deep inside him, he could feel Yugi's presence and it was strengthening. He raised his hand again, this time, positioning himself in a more defensive stance. If he was going to be able to recharge the blast, he'd need a few seconds at least.

JA lowered her arms to her sides again, and closed her milky white eyes, "Go ahead, Pharaoh. But I doubt someone like you could ever gather the strength to force me from this mind."

Yami felt his blood boiling and before Yugi could try to calm him again, he had launched the attack, half-cocked, and once again the Egyptian Eye burned red on his forehead. The dust settled for a second time and JA was still standing exactly where she'd been before.

"Pathetic…" she spat.

'Yami! This isn't working! You've gotta get a hold of yourself, or we'll never get out of here alive!' Yugi pleaded.

JA raised her right hand up and pointed it towards Yami, "Let me show you a real blast!" Her eyes turned red and the unnatural voice cried out in rage. A shockwave similar to Yami's blasted right out of her hand, kicking up dust as it went.

Yami was flung backwards into the far wall, slamming against the stone and sliding down to the floor. A sharp pain shot through the back of his head, and hit put a hand up to it. When he pulled it away again, his hand was tinted with blood. He closed his eyes and hung his head. 'Yugi…if I continue like this it will kill you…I'm sorry…I just don't see how we can get out of this…Jetsu's played me for a fool…and I've let him…'

"That's not true!" Yugi exclaimed, and Yami felt arms around him. He looked up. The boy had left the safety of their mind once again and was hugging his counterpart. "You've got to have a little faith! Think about what we're fighting for! All our friends are counting on us! Think about Athena, Yami! She needs you now! If we can't free her body from Jetsu's control, we'll never be able to end this! So please, try just one more time…"

Yami sighed and closed his eyes. Once more. Just one more try. He was the ruler of the most powerful country of its time. He was the controller of the Millennium Puzzle. "Alright, Yugi. Once more." He struggled to stand once more, and clutched his chest as a sharp jolt of pain coursed through him. That last attack had had real power behind it. Was it Jetsu's or Athena's? He might very well find out the hard way later.

JA continued to slowly walk towards the panting ruler, ignoring the littler version of the Pharaoh that was helping him up, "Well? Shall I end this game of ours now? Or are you going to try something new? Something that might work, perhaps?"

Yami was actually thankful for the pounding in his head, for it blocked out all noise around him now. He closed his eyes, and straightened up, out of Yugi's grasp. He had to do this on his own, standing tall. He couldn't always depend on another to lift him up. This preliminary match had become a true test of his abilities and he intended to pass it. The Millennium Puzzle glowed for a third time, and once again, the Egyptian Eye glowed on his forehead, but this time it was brilliant gold instead of red.

His mind was clear, his focus cloudless. He raised his right hand. Athena's face was visible before him, but it wasn't her physical body he was looking at. Above her, in a sort of haze, her spirit seemed to be pleading with him. He would set her body free…he had to. This time, when he let loose his energy, he did not cry out. His jaw was clenched and his expression was stony as his own shockwave flew from his palm.

"Not this again…" JA said.

The shockwave hit, and JA's hair and clothes swirled around her. Yami let his arm drop to his side and then silence filled the chamber. It dragged on for what seemed like forever.

Then Athena's eyes closed and she fell forward onto the floor, soulless once again.

* * *

Up in the high chamber of the Tournament Pyramid, Jetsu's eyes flew open. 'What the-? I'm back in my own body…' He clasped his fists tightly, one squeezing the hilt of the Millennium Sword. The Pharaoh was growing stronger. Standing up, the evil master went to collect his dueling items. He may have to end this game before it got too out of control. While he still had some influence over the situation. While he still had time…

'Perhaps a new deck is required. Yes, one that will put the Pharaoh in his place…'

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of the Shadow Realm that only Jetsu controlled, Dedi and Tsuki were huddled together in a tiny cell with no windows. Tsuki was crying silently into the folds of Dedi's dress, while the older woman stroked her hair gently. "Please try to cheer up," she said softly, "Being sad isn't going to help anything, you know."

"Yeah…" Tsuki whimpered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "But I just keep thinking about Yugi…how is he going to beat Jetsu? I don't want him to get hurt…"

At this, Dedi put her arms around the girl once more, gently rocking her back and forth. "I know, I know," she said, "But we have to be strong for him, okay?"

"What do you mean?" Tsuki asked.

"I…I…" Dedi hesitated, "I just want you to promise me that whatever happens, you'll be brave. For Yugi and Yami, alright?"

"Okay," Tsuki nodded, then her lower lip quivered and she buried her face into Dedi's chest again.

The Queen of Egypt leaned back against the wall of the room, rubbing Tsuki's back consolingly. 'Yami…' she thought, 'Please pull us out of this…find the strength I know you have within you and let us be together again…we have children to worry about now…' Then she bowed her head and kissed Tsuki's shining ebony hair.