A Note from the Authors: We fear not the cake of fruit that is Pegasus. We had been planning to update this morning before reading your review, DBZFFQ, just so you know. Enjoy!

Chapter 12

"Assembling the Challenge"

The much anticipated ringing of the bell ended another long school day for 14-and-3/4-year-old Weevil Underwood. He fingered the mysterious pendant he had received from the Egyptian Tournament coordinator absent-mindedly as he collected his things and headed for his locker.

Hopefully Rex remembered that they had another meeting with their social worker today when they got home. It was a shame, but she had decided to keep a closer eye on them ever since they ran off to Egypt and came back after he had been hospitalized for roughly a week. Lost in his thoughts, Weevil left the school without waiting for his best friend and began his long trek back to their shared apartment (cost reasons).

Two blocks away from home, he noticed something very peculiar: the strange scarab adornment he wore was beginning to glow brightly. A chill ran through his body, as if something was warning him of impending danger. The blue-haired boy looked around, wondering if he was just being paranoid.

There was a tall, thin man with shaggy dark hair standing a few meters ahead of him, leaning against a brick wall and staring out at the traffic in the street. He was dressed in a suit and dark trench coat, which almost felt uncharacteristic, even though the insect master had never even seen the man before.

Another gang member maybe… or could be just another shady business deal… I hate this neighborhood. Ignoring the man, Weevil decided to walk right by him as if he just hadn't noticed him.

"Mr. Underwood, I presume?" the man said, as Weevil moved passed him.

"What of it?" Weevil asked testily. He was in no mood for these people today.

The tall man glanced at him, turning away from the traffic for the first time, and after surveying the boy for a brief moment, sighed. "It seems my lead was incorrect…you do not posses what I seek…" he said, then his eyes widened, "But perhaps my trip has not been wasted." He pointed at the pendant around the boy's neck, "Where did you acquire that?"

Weevil eyed the man warily. He had had enough of Egypt to last a life time, and now this man wanted to know where he had gotten the pendant, "Yard sale," he lied, "Just liked the look."

The man raised an eyebrow. "It must have quite an exotic sale…" he said mildly, "To present you with an artifact that is nearly 5000 years old."

Weevil started, his eyes widening, "Look, pal, I don't want any trouble. Just leave me alone!" The fear and anger was building up within the teen male, causing the pendant to glow even more brightly. Several small, varied bugs began to gather at the insect master's feet.

"If you do not know how to control that, it is not safe for it to be in your possession," the man said, "It would be best if you handed it over to someone with more magical experience." His hands remained in the pockets of his coat, not wanting yet to seem like he wanted the pendant for himself.

Weevil took off, tearing down the sidewalk as fast as he could. Another lunatic; why couldn't they just leave him alone? First that Jetsu from Egypt and now this!

Chalie moved to follow him, but instantly, a swarm of insects massed together in his path. 'So…he has accessed its power without knowing how…this could become a true threat if not put to a stop here and now.' He waved his hand at the swarm and they disbanded confusedly. Then he vanished completely…

…Only to reappear in front of the fleeing teen. "That's quite enough of this nonsense, Mr. Underwood," he said, extending his hand towards the youth.

"How did you-" the boy began, but was cut off suddenly as the man muttered something under his breath and the pendant stopped glowing, "What's going on here?" Weevil pleaded to the man, completely confused.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with. Welcome to the Gauntlet, Weevil." There was a flash of white light and the boy crumpled, unconscious.

* * *

"I swear if he blew this off and went to the arcade without me, I'll…" Rex Raptor grumbled angrily to himself as he trudged up the stairs to his apartment 30 minutes after school let out. Someone said they saw Weevil leave at least 10 minutes before he did, so that meant the little bug could have crawled off to anywhere. It also meant that he would have to face their social worker alone, never a very pleasant experience. Her with her government orders this and that.

He was surprised to find the door to his home already wide open. What the heck? Rex wondered to himself, as he cautiously entered the apartment, "Weevil? You home?"

"I'm afraid Mr. Underwood didn't make it home today," came a deep voice from the living room. Rex turned to see a tall, muscular man standing in the center of the room, on long gold staff in one hand. On the floor was the unconscious form of the social worker, bound and gagged.

"Where is he? What did you do to him?" Rex asked, firing the questions one after the other. He didn't know who this jerk was, but he probably wasn't a pushover by the looks of him. Hundreds of plans ran through his head, but each one was as feeble as the last.

"I did nothing to him," the man said, stepping forward, "He's waiting for you with my Mistress. I'm here to take you to him."

"Why should I trust you?" Rex asked, taking a step back, "You haven't exactly made a good case for yourself." The boy told the stranger truthfully, gesturing at the unconscious woman on the ground.

The man glanced down at the social worker, "Her associates will come looking for her soon, so you don't need to worry for her sake. I was just told to make sure there were no eye witnesses – I hadn't actually thought there would be anyone here when I arrived."

Rex couldn't believe his ears. Either this man was the most carefree criminal in the world or the stupidest. Right now it didn't really matter. He took off, flying down the hallway towards the stairs.

Basil frowned and raised his staff, bringing it down sharply on the floor. Out in the hallway, a ring of flames materialized around Rex, trapping the teen where he stood. "I had hoped you'd cooperate…but it seems we'll have to do things the hard way," he said, stepping out into the hall.

Raptor stood as still as possible, not sure how this could have possibly happened (or why it was happening to him!). He watched, frozen, as the man walked through the flames unharmed, and then raised a hand.

Basil brought his hand down on the boy's neck quickly, not using enough strength to kill him, but only to knock him unconscious. As the teen fell forward, Basil caught him with one arm, and carried him off as if he weighed next to nothing.

* * *

"Aren't you worried even a little? They've been gone for five days already. Yami thinks something must have happened to them."

"Of course I'm worried… I just try not to let it get to me," Joey said as he and Yugi headed towards the Game Shop after school, "I find I do all of my best thinkin' when I'm not freakin' out. So… whadda ya think we should do? Call the cops?"

"I doubt that they'd be able to do much even if we did tell them. It didn't do much good when I asked the police to arrest Pegasus for stealing my grandfather's soul. They laughed me right out of the station." Yugi sighed, recalling memories that seemed to have happened a life-time ago.

"What's this about me?" Solomon Moto piped up, looking over at his grandson as he came out form behind a large pile of boxes that had just been delivered, "Hello Joey."

Both Yugi and Joey were surprised. They had arrived at the front of the shop without realizing it, "H'llo, sir," Joey said, nodding politely.

"We were just talking, Grandpa," Yugi told the old man, wondering if he should perhaps tell his guardian about this latest predicament, then deciding against it. He quickly changed the subject, "What's all this?" Yugi motioned to the boxes that Solomon had started handing to a reluctant Joey Wheeler.

"Fresh shipments," Yugi's Grandfather grunted, handing a large box to Yugi, "Duel Monster cards, posters, video games, the usual," Grandpa picked up the last of the packages and opened the door for Joey. As an afterthought, the old man spoke again, "Oh and there's a guest waiting inside."

"Who?" Yugi asked, following after Joey. The older boy staggered inside, found his way through the doors to the back room and reemerged a moment later, trying not to show his fatigue.

"Why don't you go upstairs and see?" Solomon told them, walking clumsily into the back room to open up the boxes.

"Well, you heard them man," Wheeler told his younger friend, smiling, "Lead the way, Yug." The two quickly headed up the stairs into the living area of the store, where he and his grandfather resided.

A familiar, sultry female voice greeted the pair as they reached the top of the stairs that opened out into the living room, "Hey boys…Long time no see." Mai Valentine was sitting cross legged on the couch, the late afternoon sun shining in through the window behind her. She was wearing a purple chenille sweater, black mini-skirt and a smile, with a mug of hot chocolate in one hand.

"Mai!" Joey cried out, surprised. He ran forward to greet her quickly, but stopping before actually touching her, as he remembered they weren't alone, "You're back!"

"Yup," she said, grinning up at him, "Just got in this morning – did some calling around, and wound up getting invited over by Mr. Moto." She patted the couch, inviting them both to sit, "How've you two been? Haven't missed anything important, have I?"

"Actually," Yugi said, sitting down next to Joey (who had opted to sit down as close to Mai as possible), "Tristan and Tea have gone missing. No one's seen or heard from them since Friday. Just vanished off the face of the Earth without a trace."

"Oh my gosh…" she murmured, putting one hand up to her mouth, "Do you have any idea what might've happened? I mean, the certainly don't seem the type that would just run off without a word."

"Tristan can't even tell Tea how he feels about her, let alone pull some crazy stunt that woulda lasted this long," Joey told her in agreement.

"We've got no clue," Yugi said, "All I know is that Tristan wanted to get together with Tea over the weekend."

"Hmm…" Mai said, setting her cup down on the coffee table. She shifted her position, sliding one arm under Joey's. "And no suspicious characters sending ransom notes either, huh?"

"Nope," Joey replied, almost chuckling, "And no postcards for Las Vegas."

* * *

"Bakura-chan, I have something the tell you."

"What's up?" the white-haired teen asked, nervously adjusting the top button of his jacket. He wasn't sure why he was so anxious around Athena. He simply had to stop listening to Barak.

Athena shivered slightly, as a cold breeze blew her hair around her face as the two of them walked down the consumer-crowded streets. She sighed, glancing at the younger man briefly before turning her attention back to the sidewalk and sighing, "I haven't been completely honest with you."

"About what?" Bakura asked, feeling slightly sick to his stomach. Was this the start of one of those dreaded 'I-don't-think-we-should-see-each-other-anymore' speeches he'd heard about?

"About the reason I'm here," she said, "It's not that I didn't want to see you…but there's more to it. If it was just that, I wouldn't have brought my siblings," she laughed slightly, "But I have to tell you now – I came because I'm worried about my sister…"

"Diana?" the teen questioned, slightly confused.

"Vitani," Athena clarified, "I had a strange dream about her a couple of nights ago and I…I think she's in trouble…" She blushed, "I know I must seem really stupid…getting so worked up about a dream."

"Have you called her, or had any contact at all with Vitani? It's not that I don't understand your concern, but she seemed fine when we left Egypt." Bakura found himself desperately wishing he didn't have to tread into these dangerous waters, but…a dream?

"I visited Kaiba Corp. earlier today," she said, "But they refused to tell me anything, and security at Kaiba's mansion wouldn't even let me in. it's like they're trying to cover something up…"

"Vitani should not have retained the Millennium Sword," Barak said, appearing in Bakura's place much to the boy's surprise, "She's playing a very dangerous game in holding on to that Item... and apparently, she's losing."

Athena noted the switch subtly, and then (deciding that for the moment the ancient spirit might be of some help to her) continued the conversation, "Then my vision was true…" she said sadly, "Jetsu has not fully been destroyed…"

"I know only that there has been some very suspicious magical activity recently," Barak stated flatly, ignoring the bite of the sharp, cold winds.

Athena, unused to the cold and not as good at ignoring it, hugged herself on instinct. "Can you detect where the signals were coming from…?" she asked, "Or do they not work like that?"

Barak held up the Millennium Ring, which began to point in various directions, "There are two Items at the manor of the Kaiba family… two more located somewhere near the Domino Museum… and my least favorite just ahead of us."

Athena glanced up and saw the green and yellow sign of the Kame Game Shop for the first time. "This is where Yugi lives?" she guessed.

"Yes," came Bakura's voice from behind them, where the boy had been quietly tailing the two.

The Greek woman gave Barak a reprimanding look, not wanting to order him to relinquish control of the body, but hoping he would get her meaning.

The spirit scowled back at her for a moment, then closed his eyes quickly and Bakura returned to his body, shivering from the sudden return of the cold, "Thanks."

"No problem," she said, smiling at him, "I figured it would be awkward if I had to walk in with him on my arm instead of you." To illustrate her point, she linked her arm with his.

Bakura went very red. He swiftly decided that the clouds were looking particularly interesting right now.

"Do I make you uncomfortable, Bakura-chan?" Athena asked in a mock-innocent voice. They had reached the walk leading up to the Game Shop.

"Let's head in, shall we?" Bakura asked hurriedly, completely avoiding the question, "It's a bit nippy out, isn't it?"

* * *

"Yugi! We have more company!" Solomon called as he appeared in the doorway to the living room, where his grandson and his friends were still seated. Behind him, Bakura entered the room, with a very pretty young woman on his arm.

It took Yugi a few seconds to recognize the face, but when he did, he couldn't help smiling, "Athena! What're you doing here?"

"She flew in last night," Bakura said, face still very red, though no one could tell if it was from the cold outside or a certain someone who had not released him yet.

"Last night, eh?" Joey asked, smiling smugly at his friend from his spot on the couch, "That's interesting..."

Solomon looked from one small group of young people to the other, then said, "I think I'll go back down to the shop to do some eaves – er…I mean unpacking." He quickly disappeared back down the stairs.

"Nothing happened," Bakura said, slipping out of Athena's grasp and unzipping his coat as an excuse, "Actually, I was asleep when they got in – fortunately Barak didn't chase them off."

"Them…?" Mai interjected, "Who's 'them'? You startin' a little harem for yourself, Bakura?" she asked teasingly.

"NO!!!" He yelled, extremely flustered. He calmed down as fast as possible and continued at a more moderate decibel level, "Athena's siblings came with her."

"Siblings?" Yugi said, "You never mentioned them before."

"Well, you never asked," Athena said, slipping off her own jacket and setting it aside by Bakura's, "So tell me, how have you three been holding up?" She sat down in an over-stuffed chair positioned at a nice angle from the couch and jerked a thumb at Joey, "This knuckle-head treatin' ya all right, Mai?"

"Of course he is," Mai said, smirking and putting a hand on her beau's thigh and squeezing affectionately.

"Where's all this 'knuckle-head' stuff comin' from? I'm not that bad, am I?" Joey directed his first question at Athena, but Mai's touch brought his questioning back around to her.

Mai smiled as she and Athena shared a quick look. "Just think of it as an affectionate nickname," she told him, "From your more clumsy days." She planted a quick kiss on his cheek and added in a whisper, "You're not that bad at all."

Yugi, sensing that this conversation was in need of a change, turned towards Athena, "So… was there a reason that you decided to travel all the way from Greece to Japan?"

Athena's mischievous smile quickly faded. "Yes actually," she said, "I was actually just explaining it to Bakura." She gestured to the Brit as he settled himself down on the floor across from the couch. "I came because I think Vitani may be having problems controlling the Millennium Sword."

As the group began swapping stories, Yami strolled over to the far window, where Barak was staring out at the orange sky. "An interesting turn of events, I suppose?" he said.

"It's no surprise that the girl can't control the power of the Sword, at least not in my opinion," Barak turned, looking his half-brother over bemusedly, "So… what of your missing weaklings? Has your feeble mind turned up any amusing ideas for me to hear?"

Yami scowled. "My only suspect is that Roman woman, Seline…she approached Yugi about the Puzzle, but after we refused her, she's left well enough alone," he said, leaning against the wall, clearly frustrated, "I thought that if it was her, she would've contacted us again by now…she didn't strike me as the patient type."

Barak nodded, clearly thinking hard. He turned towards the window again, looking out at the city, "Last night I was up long before the Greek and her annoyances came calling. Did you feel that energy surge? A very particular magical presence showed itself last night. I had not felt the likes of it since Egypt."

"I felt it as well..." Yami nodded grimly, "Is it really him…?"

"Not in his entirety. How is more the question now, but I have a hunch about that as well…"

"I'm listening," Yami said, "Do enlighten me, big brother. I look forward to hearing what your deductive skills have produced."

Barak frowned at his little brother, "The Sword, you fool. Did you honestly believe he would have challenged you to that duel without taking the necessary precautions?" the spirit snarled, despising his sibling more with every second.

"Call me a hopeless optimist," Yami said, smiling wanly, "I suppose my relief at having my charge survive the battle left me not worrying about Maeda's old possessions."

"Don't you get it? It is still his possession, even after these six months. My guess is he's beginning to gain control of his former servant. Do you believe you can defeat Jetsu Maeda for a second time? I have my doubts…"

"Then why don't you handle it?" Yami snapped angrily, immediately regretting the words, but unable to stop himself, "If you think you're so far my superior, why don't you prove it? Because all evidence from the last four times you challenged me is in my favor!"

Barak's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed dangerously, and for a long moment, it looked like he was dying to say any number of things to the Pharaoh. At long last, he seemed to find nothing at all to say and, with a look of utter disgust, disappeared, retreating into the Millennium Ring.