*hands out candy canes to hobbitfeet13, dxdevlin, Maruken, Hikage Kitsune, and HongMing* Not much for author's notes this time, other than it's not Valkyrion or a dragon.  I doubt many people read these anyway.

Disclaimer: I only own Yu-Gi-Oh! in my own little world, where it's constantly in chaos because Bakura gets hold of flamethrowers and nitroglycerin at the same time.  Guess you should be glad I don't own it.

Egyptian Shadow Destinies: Chapter Four

What's a Shadow Game Between Friends?

"C'mon, Yami, you don't really want to do this!" Yugi pleaded. "…do you?"

"Don't bother." Marik muttered to him. "They've been wanting to do this for five thousand years.  Let them get it out of their systems.  And besides, don't you want to find out who's the better of the two once and for all?"

"Can't they do it any other way?" Ryou asked.  Marik shook his head.

"They'd call any other way indecisive.  That, plus they like taking things to the extreme."

Bakura grinned at Yami. "Would you like to do the honors, or should I?" Without waiting for an answer, he concentrated his magic and summoned up a bubble of the Shadow Realm to surround them, Marik, Yugi, Ryou, and Malik.  Yugi yelped as it slowly rose from the ground and grew higher, meeting in the center between Bakura and Yami and forming a dome shape.  Malik tentatively stuck his hand into the blackness and saw it come out on the other side, where Marik, Yugi, and Ryou were.  He grinned and ran straight into it, coming out on the opposite side of the dome and scaring the life out of Yugi and Ryou.

"This should be interesting," he remarked, using Yugi's head as an armrest.  The shorter boy was too busy trying to slow his heart rate back to normal to complain. "Who do you think's gonna win?  A thousand yen on the tomb robber."

Marik shook his head. "I say the Pharaoh.  He isn't called the King of Games for nothing." He glanced at Yugi and Ryou, who were staring at Yami and Bakura in disbelief, and asked, "What about you two?"

No answer.  Marik sweatdropped. "Well, if you don't want to place bets, you might as well pay close attention.  Magic's more obvious in the Shadow Realm, so when they play cards, you might be able to learn how to do it yourself by just watching." The two boys just nodded numbly, still staring at the duelists.

Something that looked like one of Kaiba's holographic dueling fields, made out of stone and minus the projectors, rose out of the ground, with the two duelists stepping onto the dueling platforms and placing their decks in the allotted places.  They glared at each other for a moment.

"Are you ready, Bakura?" Yami asked, drawing his starting hand.

"I've been ready since the day I met you!" Bakura answered, also drawing his hand. "Don't cry if you lose, Pharaoh."

"I think you're the one that's going to lose." Yami retorted.

"DUEL!"

In answer to the challenge, the carved circles underneath the duelists flashed slightly, and both Yami and Bakura began glowing, Bakura dark blue, and Yami golden.  Their magic seeped into the floor and the circles, spreading out through cracks in the stone until the whole arena seemed to be filled with a dark green light.

"Whoa…"

"Awesome…"

"I want to learn how to do that…" Malik muttered.  Marik chuckled.

"And that's only the beginning."

"For my first move," Bakura began, "I'll set one card in defense mode and end my turn.  Your move, Pharaoh." In front of him, the air shimmered slightly, the green lines glowed and flowed upwards, turning dark blue, and a fog formed, through which could be seen the vague form of a monster.

Yami drew a card and played it immediately. "Celtic Guardian!  Attack his facedown monster!" This time, the lines that formed the shape of the monster were golden, like Yami's magic.  The swordsman roared and swung his sword, dissipating the fog and revealing Bakura's monster: a Man-Eater Bug.  Yami cried out in surprise as the insect was destroyed, taking his monster with it.

Bakura smirked. "You didn't see that coming, Yami?  Pathetic.  And I thought you knew my strategies." Yami just scowled in reply.

"End turn."

"That all?  Fine…" he drew his next card. "I'll summon White Magical Hat, and use it to attack your Life Points directly!" (Yami's LP: 3000) "And its effect allows me to pick one card at random from your hand and discard it to the Graveyard.  And I choose…" The second card from the left moved from Yami's hand to the Graveyard, and the image of a Mammoth Graveyard flashed slightly on the field before disappearing.  Yami groaned; that had been the only monster in his hand that he could play.  Bakura snickered. "Aw, too bad, Pharaoh… your turn."

Yami drew - still no monster he could play. "One card facedown and I'll end my turn," the Pharaoh muttered.  Bakura grinned.

"I almost feel sorry for you, Yami, open for a direct attack.  Almost." He drew and barely glanced at the card. "I'll sacrifice White Magical Hat to summon the Earl of Demise, in attack mode!  Attack his Life Points!"

"Not so fast!" Yami yelled. "Activate trap!  Spell-Binding Circle!" The golden lines of magic appeared again, this time on Bakura's side of the field, and trapped the Earl in a magical circle and reducing its attack power to 1300.

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Whaddya know, you actually managed to surprise me there." He glanced at his hand and played a card facedown. "Your turn."

Yami drew and got just the card he needed. "Beta, the Magnet Warrior!" The monster appeared on his side of the field, ready to attack the trapped Earl.  Yami considered the facedown card for a moment; after all, Beta was the only monster in his hand he could play and who knew how long it would take before he drew another one… aw, heck with it.  He hadn't become the King of Games without taking a couple chances. "Beta!  Attack his Earl!" The Magnet Warrior gave a strange sort of howl before slashing out and destroying the Earl. (Bakura's LP: 3600) Yami watched warily as the smoke cleared, only to see nothing but Bakura on the other side.  The Pharaoh looked slightly surprised. "What, no trap?"

Bakura shrugged. "Nope, not this time.  Sorry to disappoint you, Yami.  My turn?" His opponent nodded, and Bakura drew his next card. "Well, this should be interesting…" he murmured. "Set one monster in defense mode, and activate The Dark Door!" The facedown magic card flipped up, and Bakura grinned. "You know what this means, Pharaoh?"

"Yeah, yeah," Yami grumbled. "No attacking your Life Points directly unless you don't play a monster until I destroy that card."

"Which is an effect of you only being able to attack once per turn…"

"You can only attack once, too." Yami pointed out.  Bakura smirked.

"True, but it's not like I care." He flourished his hand in a way that indicated it was the Pharaoh's turn.  Yami sweatdropped slightly and drew.  Dark Magician; still nothing he could play without sacrifice. "Beta!  Attack again!" His monster slashed through the fog, only to reveal a familiar-looking monster: a familiar-looking monster that consisted of a slightly creepy face in a jar.  Bakura grinned.

"Ah yes, my infamous Morphing Jar.  Five cards, Yami." Both discarded their hands and drew five new cards from their decks, and the tomb robber smirked. "This'll be the easiest game ever…"

"Oh yeah?" Yami retorted. "You just helped me fill my hand with better cards than before." He chose a monster from his hand. "Big Shield Gardna, defense mode." He made the same hand motion as Bakura, obviously mimicking him.  The tomb robber just rolled his eyes and drew.

"Well, this should be fun… since I now have three fiend monsters in the Graveyard, I'll send my Earl of Demise, Sangan, and Souls of the Forgotten out of play to summon Dark Necrophia!" The female monster rose out of the ground, cackling evilly, and Bakura smiled. "Perfect.  Don't tell me you didn't see that coming, Pharaoh."

"Fine, I won't," Yami muttered. "My turn?"

"Not yet.  Dark Necrophia, attack Beta!" (Yami's LP: 2500) "Then I'll summon Lady of Faith in attack mode.  Now it's your turn."

"If you're trying to get me to attack her, it won't be that easy." Yami remarked. "I'll sacrifice Big Shield Gardna to summon the Dark Magician Girl!" She appeared on his side of the field, accompanied by all the little hearts, as usual.  She blew a kiss to Bakura, causing the tomb robber and all the spectators to sweatdrop.

"…anyway," Yami continued, "she gains 300 more attack points for every Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos in my Graveyard, and I have one Dark Magician.  That raises her attack up to 2300, enough to defeat your Dark Necrophia!" He paused. "But I'll attack your Lady of Faith instead." The little hearts swirled around the DMG as she raised her staff and pointed it at the Lady.  One Dark Magic Attack and she was gone, and Bakura's Life Points were a lot lower. (Bakura's LP: 2400)

Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Well, you do know something of my strategy…"

"Just a little," Yami replied. "End turn."

Bakura drew, barely glancing at his new card. "Hmm… should I switch Dark Necrophia to defense mode or not?"

"You know I won't attack it either way," Yami told him, but the tomb robber just smiled blandly.

"Maybe, maybe not… I'll keep her in attack mode and set two cards facedown.  Your turn now, Yami."

Yami stared at the dilemma in front of him.  Dark Necrophia was the only monster on Bakura's side of the field, but he couldn't attack directly anyway, so what would be the point?  He'd only help Bakura's strategy if he attacked, but he'd have to destroy her eventually.  Otherwise, this duel would end in a very long and very boring stalemate.  He sighed.  Oh well. "Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magic Attack!" (Bakura's LP: 2300)

The tomb robber smirked. "Well, look at that.  One direct attack from your magician and I'd lose the duel… except you can't really do that, can you, Pharaoh?" Yami glared at him.

"One monster facedown, and I'll end my turn."

"Thank you.  Too bad for you that you overlooked one of Dark Necrophia's special effects…"

"Which one?" Yami asked dryly. "She had about twenty the last time I checked."

Bakura smiled. "The one that allows me to take control of one of your monsters if she's destroyed in battle." He beckoned to the Dark Magician Girl, and she screamed slightly as the shadow of his monster appeared behind her and dragged her to his side of the field, controlling her every move.  Yami groaned.

"Oh… that special effect.  I suppose you're going to take advantage of the others sometime soon?"

"Of course, Pharaoh.  Of course." He drew and played a monster facedown before ordering the DMG to attack Yami's facedown monster. "And I think I'll activate my facedown card…"

"Ouija Board?" Yami asked in a deadpan voice.  Bakura shook his head.

"I wish, but no.  Chain Energy!  Both of us now have to pay 500 Life Points every time we set or play a card.  Your turn now, Pharaoh."

Yami groaned slightly as he drew. "Perfect…" He glanced at his new card, barely paying attention to it at first.  His eyes moved back for a second look, however, and he grinned. "I'll pay 500 Life Points to play Monster Reborn, and bring back my Dark Magician!" (Yami's LP: 2000) "And because he was revived from the Graveyard, the Dark Magician Girl loses the 300 extra attack points.  Dark Magician!  Dark Magic Attack!" The DMG cried out slightly as she was destroyed, and the shadow of the Dark Necrophia behind her faded out of existence. (Bakura's LP: 1800) "Your turn now, tomb robber."

"Hmm…" Bakura drew, looked at his next card, and grinned. "About time."

"Dark Sanctuary?"

"How'd you ever guess?" Bakura played the card, and Yami groaned.  The evil spirit would obviously possess his Dark Magician, considering it was the only monster on his side of the field, which meant he couldn't attack with it next turn. "And then I'll activate Toll, which means you now have to pay 500 Life Points each time you attack."

"You do remember the effect of your Chain Energy card, don't you, tomb robber?"

Bakura smirked. "Well, yes, but at this point, I don't care too much." (Bakura's LP: 800) "So now it's your turn."

Yami drew and set his card facedown, paying the 500 Life Point price to do so.  Now the real challenge began.  If he summoned another monster, he'd have to pay 500 more LP, but if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to destroy Bakura's monster.  If he even attacked, he'd lose even more Life Points… Yami sighed in frustration.  Bakura saw this and grinned.

"Having trouble, Pharaoh?"

Yami glared at him. "Never.  I'll summon Gamma, the Magnet Warrior, and end my turn." (Yami's LP: 1000)

Bakura gave him an odd look. "Well, that was a waste of Life Points." Yami shrugged, and Bakura continued, "Anyway.  I think I'll set another card facedown and it's your move." (Bakura's LP: 300)

Yami drew and decided to activate his facedown trap. "Dust Tornado!" The whirlwind of leaves appeared on Yami's side of the field, waiting for directions on which card to destroy.  Yami hesitated for a moment, then decided which card annoyed him the most. "Destroy the Toll card!"

Bakura looked surprised. "Not Dark Sanctuary?"

Yami shook his head. "At least with that, I have a chance of my attack working and me not losing Life Points.  With Toll, I would only be able to attack one more time."

"True… So what now, Pharaoh?"

"Hmm…" Yami stared at his two monsters for a moment in indecision.  If his Dark Magician was the one that was possessed and it attacked, he'd lose, so… "Gamma!  Attack!"

"Wrong monster, Pharaoh!" Bakura sang.  Yami groaned as the attack rebounded back at him. (Yami's LP: 250) (Bakura's LP: 1050)

"Great…" the Pharaoh muttered.  What he really needed now was something that could destroy all of Bakura's magic and trap cards… unfortunately, he didn't have Harpie's Feather Duster in his deck.

"My turn?" Bakura asked cheerfully.  Yami nodded, slightly annoyed that the tomb robber was acting like he had already won the game.

"All right then!  Now how to finish you off… Hmm…" Bakura stared at the cards in his hand for a good two minutes.  Starting to get bored, Yami glanced around, looking for something interesting, but since they were in the Shadow Realm, nothing was to be found.  He saw Malik with his arm resting on Yugi's head and glared at him.  The Egyptian teenager grinned sheepishly and removed his arm, much to Yugi's relief.

Yami sighed and turned back to the duel. "Hurry up, tomb robber."

"Don't rush me." Yami sighed again and leaned against the back of the platform, closing his eyes.  Nothing was to be heard except for Bakura's mumbling and Malik's complaints of, "Hurry up and get on with it already!"

The Pharaoh's eyes suddenly snapped open. "Bakura!" he yelled, the Shadow Game quickly forgotten. "Did you hear that?"

The tomb robber looked up. "Hear what, Yami?  Are you trying to distract me?"

Marik shook his head. "I heard it, too.  Just listen, Bakura."

"Why?" But the white-haired Egyptian obeyed, closing his eyes and concentrating like Yami had been.  A couple seconds later, he heard it, too: the sound of distant cries and screaming.  But it wasn't coming from anywhere in the Shadow Realm…

He opened his eyes and the three spirits yelled simultaneously, "Another monster!"

Bakura quickly unraveled the spell that had summoned the Shadow Realm around them, revealing the real world.  The meadow where they stood hadn't yet been discovered, but the screams were a lot closer now.

"This way!" Yami yelled, taking off in the direction of the noises.  The rest of the group quickly followed, running as fast as they could toward the source of the commotion.

"You know life's gotten weird when you're running toward the screams," Malik muttered to Yugi and Ryou.  The other two nodded agreement.

They quickly reached the playground, which was a scene of complete chaos.  People were running in every direction, screaming their heads off, and children were crying as they stumbled away from the sandbox.  The thing that immediately caught their attention, however, was the huge… something… that stood there, swinging its axe and neatly cutting the slide in half.

"Vorse Raider," Marik breathed as soon as he saw the gigantic horned ogre-looking thing. "Level four.  Attack 1900, defense 1200, Beast-Warrior, dark type."

"That's all very nice, but stop listing the stats and just DESTROY IT ALREADY!" Malik screamed in his ear.  The former slave winced.

"All right, all right…"

"This one'll be hard to beat without a sacrifice monster," Bakura noted. "Pretty high attack, that one."

"This one's mine!" Yami told them, stepping forward and pulling a card out of his deck.  It flashed golden for a moment before the image emerged from the card and grew larger, zooming towards the Vorse Raider. "Spell-Binding Circle!" The monster roared as its arms were bound to its sides by the trap card, and it struggled to escape.

"How much longer will that hold?" Yugi asked, watching the Vorse Raider in fascination. "It's supposed to be a permanent trap, isn't it?"

"Didn't Bakura say something about permanent spells and such?  That they tend to wear out?" Ryou added.

"I'm afraid that in this case, Bakura's right," Yami muttered, searching through his deck for a monster with over 1200 attack.  Someone else beat him to it, however.

"Headless Knight!" The monster appeared from the card and swung its sword at the trapped Vorse Raider.  Its 1450 attack points allowed it to quickly annihilate the opposing monster.

"Hey!" Yami yelped, turning on a certain white-haired thief. "I was going to do that!"

Bakura smirked. "Well, you'll have to be faster than that, Pharaoh," he answered, recalling his Knight back to its card.

"I said I was going to destroy that monster!"

"Well, you were taking so long that I decided to spare you the trouble."

"Spare me the trouble? I was about to win that Shadow Game!"

"You're obviously unaware of the fact that I had Ouija Board facedown and was about to activate it!"

"About to activate it?  You were taking forever with just the cards in your hand!  And you complain about ME being slow!"

"Think we should stop them before they get into another fight?" Yugi muttered to Ryou.  The other boy shrugged.

"Yeah… probably…" the two moved to try and calm their previous incarnations.  As soon as they were gone, Malik turned to Marik, smirking.

"Pay up, spirit."

Marik glared at him. "For what?"

Malik grinned. "The bet, of course.  Bakura would've won."

"You don't know that!"

"Yes I do.  And besides," Malik said flippantly, "he was winning by 800 Life Points.  Though they didn't finish the duel, if you look at that point in time, Bakura won."

"But the duel WASN'T finished!" Marik pointed out. "We were betting on the duel, not on some specific point in time!"

"Just pay up, Marik."

"Why should I?!?"

Malik paused, blinking as he realized something. "Marik… you don't even HAVE a thousand yen, do you?"

Marik sweatdropped. "Maybe… just explain to me what exactly a 'yen' is and I'll tell you."

Malik sighed. "Forget it."

"Well, isn't this amusing?" a new voice commented from behind Malik and Marik. "It seems that your personalities haven't changed at all over the past five thousand years… and that Yami and Bakura have lost none of their skills."

All arguments instantly forgotten, all three spirits turned towards the source of the voice and snarled, "Seth!"

The former High Priest of Egypt stepped out of the shadows, chuckling slightly. "Nice to know I haven't been forgotten after all of these years," he said reminiscently. "Nice to see you again, tomb robber, slave… Pharaoh," he nodded to each of them in turn, though the last was said in a mocking tone and with a slight sneer.

"What do you want, Seth?" Marik asked, growling slightly.

"Nothing in particular," Seth answered mildly. "Just wanted to see if any of you have lost your touch over the years.  Apparently not."

"So you're Seth," Malik said, his eyes narrowed. "Just to let you know, there's no way YOU are going to be able to beat all of US." He gestured at the whole group, then smirked. "By all the sands of Egypt, we're going to take you down."

Seth turned his eyes to the three teenagers. "So these are your incarnations?" he asked the three spirits. "Pathetic.  Though I must admit, the blond has your attitude, Marik."

Bakura's hand moved to his back pocket, where he had hidden the switchblade. "Get lost, Seth, before I slit your throat," he muttered murderously.

"Same as always," Seth sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, I'll go.  Just one thing…"

"Yes?" Yami asked, glaring at him.

Seth smirked. "I think you handled my servant rather well.  I'll be going now.  Oh, and if you happen to see my reincarnation around, tell him I said hi."

"And your incarnation's name is…?"

Seth's face twisted into a sneer. "Seto.  Seto Kaiba." And with that said, his robes swirled once and he was gone.

Malik sat down heavily. "So Kaiba IS the reincarnation of Seth… I guess I'm lucky he didn't try to kill me, but why?"

Yami shrugged. "Maybe it's like I said before, they don't get along.  It certainly didn't seem like it."

The group sat in silence for a while, pondering this new turn of events, when a distant noise cut through the air.  Ryou immediately sprang up. "Sirens!  We should've known.  The police are coming to check out what happened here, and they'll think we're behind it!"

"Police?" Marik asked, looking interested.  Malik groaned.

"Now is NOT the time," he muttered. "Let's go!"

They all turned to leave in different directions, but Yugi paused for a moment. "Oh… wait." The others turned to him, giving him a questioning look, and Yugi dug in his pocket for a moment and pulled out the two booster packs.  He handed one to both Ryou and Malik. "I just thought… if we're going to be fighting Duel Monsters, it might help if we have some new cards." The other two nodded and pocketed the packs before running off.

"Let's go, Yugi," Yami muttered. Yugi nodded and followed him, then paused.

"Wait… Yami, this isn't the way to the Game Shop."

The Pharaoh glanced behind him. "I know, but we'll have to take a different route.  That one's blocked by the police.  Come on, hurry up." He broke into a sprint, and Yugi followed.  Five minutes later, they were out of the park.

The two slowed to a walk as soon as they could no longer see the police cars and decided to take a more roundabout way to the Game Shop.  It wasn't one that Yugi took very often, considering it was one of the more rundown sections of town, but it was a lot better than getting caught by the police.

It was when they were passing one of the alleys that they heard a girl scream.  Yugi froze at the sound and peered down the sidestreet, only to see a bunch of punks crowded around a whimpering girl.  He hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "I want to help her, but I can't really do anything," he muttered, then turned to Yami hopefully. "Is there anything you can do?  With your magic, and all…"

The Pharaoh didn't answer for a moment.  Something about the girl had stirred something in his memory… he thought he recognized her from somewhere.  He shook it off quickly, though. "Yeah, I should, shouldn't I…" he murmured. "All right, then.  Watch closely, Yugi." He stepped into the alley, and the shorter boy followed behind.

Yami cleared his throat, catching the attention of the bullies. "Leave her alone."

"And why should we?" the leader of the pack snarled.

Yami sighed. "Fine, if you want to do this the hard way…" He pulled a pair of dice out of his pocket. "Lowest roll wins, but if you get two of the same number, you automatically lose.  If you win, you get her," he gestured to the girl, who he was now sure he recognized from somewhere, "and if I win, you get out of here.  Deal?"

"Only if I get to use you and the kid as punching bags when I win," the leader said.  Yugi's eyes grew huge at this, but he said nothing.  Yami nodded.

"I'll roll first," he said, tossing the dice.  They rolled along the ground for a bit before coming to a stop at his opponent's feet.

"A five and a six," the other noted. "Easy enough to beat." He bent down, picked up the dice, and also rolled them.  The first one came to a stop quickly, showing a one…

The leader smirked. "Well, look at that.  There's no way you can win now."

"Are you sure about that?" Yami asked calmly, letting the other die roll until it stopped in front of him… showing another one.  The Pharaoh smirked. "Two of the same.  Looks like I win."

"What?!?" his opponent looked completely shocked for a second before he regained his composure. "Whatever.  Get him!"

"Is THIS the part you wanted me to watch closely?" Yugi yelped as the whole gang rushed towards them.

"Yup.  Get ready, Yugi!" Yami held out his hand, palm facing the punks, and yelled, "Mind Crush!"

As one, the whole gang suddenly collapsed, their souls trapped in the Shadow Realm.  Yami grinned. "That's one way to take care of bullies…" Remembering the girl, he turned to her, where she was huddled against the wall. "Are you okay?" She nodded.

"What's your name?" Yugi asked curiously.  The girl turned to him.

"I'm Serenity.  Serenity Wheeler."

"Wheeler?" Yugi asked.  Serenity nodded, and he blinked. "I think I know your brother…"

"You mean Joey?"

"Yup, that's him, all right.  We go to the same school."

"Really?" Serenity smiled brightly. "Do you want to come with me to our place?  I'm sure he'd like to see you."

"Well, um…" Yugi was about to decline, but Yami cut him off.

"We'd love to, Serenity." Maybe this was his chance to find out why he recognized this girl.
@_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@ @_@

As Serenity opened the door to their apartment, Yugi turned to Yami.  Hissing slightly, he whispered, "Why'd you have to accept?"

Yami blinked. "You mean you don't like this Joey?"

"Let's just say he's not what I'd consider a friend."

"Then why'd you mention him?"

"Beats me."

"Joey?" Serenity called. "Joey, are you home?"

The blond teenager came out of the hallway, smiling when he saw his sister. "Yeah, I'm here.  What's up?"

Serenity smiled back at him. "Well, I was attacked by some guys on the way home, but these two saved me!  They said they're friends of yours from school."

"Hmm?" Joey peered around Serenity and did a double take when he saw who it was. "Yugi?  Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah.  Hi Joey," Yugi mumbled, looking at the floor and wishing he were anywhere but there at the moment.

"Serenity, can you go and make lunch in the kitchen or something?" Joey asked.  She nodded and left, and he turned to Yugi.

"Sorry to bother you," the shorter boy muttered. "It's just that she asked us to come with her and-"

"Thanks, Yugi," Joey said softly.  Yugi looked up in surprise, and he continued, "Thanks for looking after her for me.  I really owe you one for this… and I guess I'm sorry for what I've been doing to you in school." Yugi stared at him. "I didn't know you were such a nice guy, that you would help her even when her brother-" he stopped. "Thanks."

Yugi blinked. "It wasn't really a problem…"

"Still, thanks anyway.  Is that guy your brother?"

"Huh?" Yugi turned around to see Yami, who he had totally forgotten about. "Uh, yeah.  Yami, meet Joey.  Joey, Yami."

"It's nice to meet you," Joey said, extending his hand to Yami for a handshake.

Yami stared at him. "Jou…"

Joey looked completely confused. "Huh?"

Yami shook his head, snapping himself out of it. "Nothing.  It's nice to meet you, too," he said, shaking Joey's hand.

"Yeah.  Is there anything I can help you with, since you saved my sister and all?" Joey asked.

"Um, yeah, sort of…" Yugi muttered. "You're a good duelist, aren't you, Joey?"

"Sort of… but what's that got to do with anything?"

"Well, you see, we've been having some problems lately, and we were wondering if you could help…"

"What sort of problems?" Joey asked, cocking his head to the side slightly. "And what's it got to do with Duel Monsters?"

"It's sort of…" Yugi paused. "You might think I'm crazy, but-"

"Don't worry about it," Yami cut him off. "Thanks for the offer, but we'll handle it ourselves."

"You sure?" Joey asked. "If you need help…"

"We're fine," Yami assured him. "We'll be going now." With that, he grabbed Yugi's wrist and all but dragged him out the door.

Once outside, Yugi snatched his wrist from Yami's grasp and looked at the spirit like he were crazy. "What was that about?  Joey's good at Duel Monsters, he could help us…"

"No," Yami stated.  Yugi stared at him, and he repeated, "No.  I'm not going to let him get dragged into this."

"But why not, Yami?"

"Because," Yami closed his eyes, "because in his past life, he was my best friend.  In his past life, he was killed fighting Seth.  And there's no way I'm going to let that happen again."

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And there you go!  Next chapter up before winter break ended, like I said. ^_~ Sorry it's so short this time.  Kinda ran out of things for them to do in this chapter.

Reviews please!  Reviewers get… um… pocky!  And flames will be used to light a couple fireworks!  Your hint for the "mystery card" this time: think chains.  That's it!  Now review!