Disclaimer: If I had three wishes, one would be to own YGO, but since a genie with light brown hair hasn't shown up lately — ah, what can you do?

The Millennium Prisoner & Fight of the Opposites

Yami and Yugi faced the figures. Yami placed his hand against Yugi's chest and pushed him back a bit.

There floated a thin laugh and King Yami recognized the voice.

"Maron," he growled.

"What? Maron? That Garkon guy??" Levied Yugi. Maron came forward and looked up at the pair.

"Greetings," he smiled, "Fancy meeting you here." He then looked around at the white mist dominating the area. "You were quite foolish to make camp in the Plains of the Fallen Mist; everyone knows that any creature who takes rest in this land, falls under its eternal spell."

Maron and his followers stepped closer again and Yugi and Yami stepped back.

"The Mist itself is a predator." Maron tittered, "It is a pity you didn't fall under its spell, it would make this so much easier . . ."

"Yugi," said Yami.

"GET THEM!" Maron ordered.

"Run!!" directed Yami, turning and pushing Yugi ahead of him.

Yugi descended the other side of Slypher, but the ground that met his feet was sharply uneven and twisted his ankle. "Ahgh!" He crashed down, landing beneath the mist layer in the crevice between the cold ground and Slypher's body.

Suddenly hands were laid upon him, Yugi's eyes widened. It was Yami!

"Stay there." Yami ordered, and then darted away. Yugi tried to get up, but that's when a cloaked man jumped down, right in front of him. Yugi jerked back in the crevice; they hadn't seen him.

Yami stopped in the center of the circle his Dragon formed. He turned, and three figures stood primed before him, their hands flexing to grab him.

'I must lead them away from my friends!' Yami yelled in his mind. "Do you want me? Come get me!" he challenged, turning on his heels and dashing forward. He bounded up to the Sky Dragon's back.

Quick as a wink, seeing no one on the ground before him, he vault down, racing into the mist ahead. 'If I can keep a straight path, I'll be able to lead them out and double back . . . hopefully.'

Yami was running and running, yet the more he did the more it seemed he wasn't making any headway. He then skidded to a halt, for Maron was standing before him.

"You cannot escape." said Maron flatly.

Yami grunted and turned, finding another of the men blocking his way! King Yami's eyes widened, for he was then surrounded. 'How—?!'

"Thought you could outsmart us eh? You must not know how the mists work, otherwise you would have manipulated us as we did you."

Yami's clenched fists tightened.

"For you see," giggled Maron, and he waved his hand back, "You haven't moved at all."

The mists parted somewhat and Yami was taken aback to see that Slypher was only a few yards away! "But how?!"

"It doesn't matter," snapped the 2nd in charge, named Kylen.

"Now," spoke Maron, "Attack!!"

Yami's body tensed like a coiled spring for his reactions were then as lightning. The first attack came from his left and he ducked down, then hurling his leg upward, plowing his kick right into the chest of one of the eight; the man doubled over.

Yami continued his assault, shooting 'round and swinging his elbow right into the face of another of them.

"It won't be easy to bring me down!!" he bellowed. And then King Yami felt a fist collide with his face; he fell back, and in doing so, tripped another of the eight.

Maron wasn't fighting as such, he was standing back and directing his men. "That's it! Take him! Bring him down! Take the wretch!" he lauded.

Yami begrudgingly slammed his forehead against the skull of a man that was upon him, then shoving him off with all his strength. "If you're so zealous Maron," cried Yami, amidst the fight, "Why don't you come take me yourself?!"

Maron snarled, his eyes squinting with wrath. And he took a short wooded staff from out of his cloak, charging into the chaotic struggle, and made Yami regret he'd made such a remark!

"Get back!!" Maron screamed at his men. For he then bore down on Yami with all his might, brandishing his staff as a club and striking down again and again at Yami's face.

Only Yami's forearms protected his head from meeting Maron's staff head-on but they soon grew pained, for Maron was relentless, a wild madness in his eyes.

Soon, such pain racked Yami's forearms as none he had ever felt, and he could no longer stand it. With a distressingly agonized cry Yami threw himself up with all his might, plowing into Maron and bowling him over.

The two fell forward and this time Yami was on top. He gripped hold to Maron's stick and the two struggled for its possession.

At that, one of the other men jumped forward to aid his leader, and impelled a kick right in the base of Yami's back, assailing his backbone.

Yami gasped at the sheer pain, but turned somehow, landing a right-hook straight across the meddler's face. But this gave Maron undue time to recover and in an abnormally nimble move, took his staff and cracked it against the back of Yami's skull.

Yami wailed in pain and his body thudded to the ground. His eyes were wide as he lay there shuddering, unable to move; his lip was bleeding.

Maron then stood, tossing his broken staff aside, and began straightening his cloak; his men did likewise, congratulating their leader on a good fight. Maron waved his hand at them as though it were a trifle and walked over, standing over Yami.

Yami saw the man's sick smile out of the corner of his eye, and clenched his teeth, forcing himself to move. He tried to rise, but Maron shook his head and shoved Yami back against the ground with his clod of a foot. And then, just for fun, he took all his weight and stood it on the small of Yami's back, quite enjoying the groan of pain he elicited.

Now, all this time Yugi had not been hiding — far from it.

At first he'd done his best to flex the muscles in his ankle straight again, which he'd had to do quickly because he'd begun to feel sleepy sitting amongst the mists. After this he then ran to try and wake Tea and Joey himself; but had no better luck than Yami did.

Yet now he stood upon Slypher's back, watching with startled eyes as the cloaked men commenced with trussing Yami's arms behind his back with thin black rope.

Yugi felt his heart sink and he was filled with the sense of dolor. He didn't know what to do! 'I can't let this happen!' cried Yugi to himself, 'I can't let them take him!'

Yami was bound tight, but they left him for a moment, kneeling there in the cold yet un-misted grass; his head was throbbing, the pressure in it just starting to subside. Yet with his adrenaline rush all but gone, he had nothing left to mask the innumerable pains he felt.

Yami sighed inwardly and used his tongue to lick his wounded lip. Yet that's when he heard one of the eight shout: "Look!"

Yami picked his head up, and his eyes bulged. "No! Yugi!" he cried. For Yugi was staring down from Slypher's back, quite unmindful that he was standing right in the open! And only then realized that Kylen was pointing to him!

"Get him!!" shouted Kylen; he and two others charged forward.

Yugi gasped, reeling in his urgency. Yet at that same moment in time, Yami's head was bowed, for his shout had brought new pang to his temples and his head felt extremely heavy.

Yugi jumped to the camp ground and hid as he had before, feeling as though he needed to hold his breath as he got beneath the layer of mist. He made no sound when the three landed near to him.

The men scanned fervently around the circular camp area. "Where could that runt have gone?"

One of them began feeling around in the mist layer around his legs. Yugi cringed when a hand came toward his face.

"What're you doing??" came a voice, "Maron says we must leave!"

The three turned. "We're trying to find the boy twin!"

The other shook his head. "Maron says if you can't find him now, then don't bother! You know great Garkon ordered us to return to the citadel as soon as we had the non-believer!"

Kylen looked around the misty campsite once more, but Yugi remained motionless and mute, though to him his heart beat sound way too audible. "Very well. But it would have been nice to have an extra sacrifice." The trio retreated, climbing back over Slypher's body. And when Yami laid eyes upon them, he was much relieved to see they hadn't captured his young counterpart. He was pulled to his feet.

'Now my friends have a chance at least.' thought Yami. He licked his lip again, and was happy, despite the fact he was the prisoner of seven Garkon followers and their fanatical leader.

Maron prodded Yami forward, and they all went off through the mist.

Yugi was upon Slypher's back again. He had hit his clothes free of the mist while hiding behind one of the creature's innumerable back-plates. Though now it didn't matter, for he saw that the eight and his friend, had vanished. 'Yami . . .'

Yugi felt such a feeling building behind his heart, such a feeling that he had to fight the urge to let go his tears. Instead, he turned back to the campsite, where the mists still loomed. And then the feeling building in his chest changed and turned into rage. There, it grew.

"Drat you!!" he screamed, jumping down amidst the mist, and it withdrew from his feet. Quite unknowingly, Yugi had begun to control the mists, for it was the feelings in his heart that were giving him control.

His thoughts were of Tea and Joey, lying bound in the mists' spell, and of Yami, dragged off to be done who-knows-what to.

All this suddenly struck Yugi's heart like a stab from the dark, and he could hold them back no longer.

Hot tears sprang from his eyes, for he understood then, that he could do nothing. And it was, in all his despair, he ran to the center of the ring Slypher formed and shouted with all his might.

"GOD!!" All his desires leapt forth from his heart, and were heard.

Then to his great wonderment, there in the sky above broke a ray of light upon him, piercing through the heavy clouds and tearing them asunder.

Then Yugi found himself looking down to where he saw the menacing mists dissipating like smoke on the breeze. Everywhere he looked, it was vanishing, for the warmth of the sun was now upon the whole of the land. And then, the mist was gone.

There Yugi stood, before the broad light of day. It warmed him and he wiped the bitter tears from his face. "Thank you!" he cried, then running to Joey. 'Please let them wake up!'

He shook Joey and — his heart leapt for his friend's eyes opened.

"Oh Joey!!" And before he realized it, he had his arms around his friend, embracing him in a hard hug. "You're awake! You're awake!"

Joey was confused, and when Yugi let him go, began rubbing his sore cheek. "What'da ya' mean?" he asked, then looking at his hand. 'Why does my cheek hurt?' he wondered.

"Just a minute!" cried Yugi, then bounding over to Tea. "Tea!" he called. And from deep within her sleep, her consciousness arose.

"Yugi?" she queried.

"Oh yes!" cheered Yugi, "You're awake too!" Shy as he was, he gave her a hug also.

"What're you talkin' about Yuge?" quizzed Joey, now on his feet. Yugi helped Tea to stand, and then his happy expression changed.

"Look you guys, Yami's been kidnaped!"

"WHAT?!" Both Tea and Joey were startled at Yugi's statement. Tea handed Yugi back his jacket.

"Yes!" Yugi shouted, slipping his arms into the sleeves, "By those Garkon guys Tea!"

"Them?!? Well —"

"Well why didn't you wake us up?!" chided Joey. Yugi Mutoh shook his head intently.

"We tried! We tried!! Listen, I'll explain everything on the way, but we gotta get going and catch up with them! Or it'll be too late to save Yami! They're making him a sacrifice or something!"

Joey understood the need for urgency; quickly he went and roused his Red-Eyes, while Yugi woke Slypher.

Tea soon found a place behind Yugi and held tight, for then the great red god Monster rose off the ground and into the air.

Yugi gripping the reins, ordered Slypher forward. The Red-Eyes was right beside it, Joey at the "helm".

"Come on!!" And forward they went.

Yugi closed his eyes for a moment. 'Oh God,' he prayed, 'You who is the source for the Heart of the Cards, please guide me as you have before!! We must find Yami! Please, let us get there in time!!'

In his heart, Yugi then chose a direction, and was sure it was the right one.

"We're coming Yami!"