AN: Thanks for all the reviews, they are lovely. Here is a new chapter for your enjoyment.

Just a quick thing, since I only finished watching Battle City serie, I will be following where that whole business ends. And that is why Yugi has the Ring (He has now four items, puzzle, ring, rod and tauk). Sorry I didn't clear that up first. Also he has all three god cards. (God cards! Muahahaha!) Oh yeah, Yugi is around 14 (That IS his age in the anime, right?), but he is going to be referred to as "the child", "The little boy" throughout the story. He is rather young, and short to boot... That will be all.

Yugi marched along the silent company, thoroughly bored. Perhaps he shouldn't be bored. He should be afraid, panicked, grieved, or perhaps even a little excited at these crazy events, but not bored. But the truth was, he was bored. He had been marching along in the flat, stony mountainside plain for a long time now. The sky was dimming, and there was nothing except an occasional bird fluttering by. No one had spoken a word to him, not even Yami, who had retreated to the depth of his maze-like soul room, silent with weary thoughts.

Tentatively Yugi called in his mind, "Yami, are you okay?"

He could feel the ancient spirit stir just the slightest, before replying with a muffled "hmm".

"Yami!" The little boy was now concerned. "Are you alright? What's wrong with you?"

"The shadow magic, aibou, it was taxing." The spirit replied quietly, "But do not worry, I am well. Already my strength is returning."

"Oh." Yugi was silent for a moment, before saying, "How did you do that, Yami? I have never seen you summon a monster right out of shadow realm before. The closest I can remember is hearing Tristan telling me about Bakura summoning the man eater bug in Duellist Kingdom, but even that was only a half formed monster without any true substance. And that magic card," Here his voice had some fear in it, "Do they always work like that? You killed hundreds of those creatures..."

The spirit answered in a contemplative tone, "Shadow summoning is rare, perhaps, but not unachievable, even with magic and trap cards. But it is a dangerous rite, and wearying, and their power would never be as great as in the Shadow Realm." He paused, as if considering his words carefully, before continuing in a troubled tone, "Yet it surprised even myself. I should not have the power to manifest Rageiki in such a manner, slaughtering so many."

"Oh." Yugi said. He continued trudging along, childishly dragging his feet and kicking some random pebbles on the ground. Before long he asked again, "Do you know a possible reason for this then?"

The spirit was silent for a long time, finally he answered slowly and carefully, "I am not certain, Yugi, but I think the land itself is feeding me. This land has more magic in one forest than all of Earth combined. There is an ebb and flow of power everywhere. And I can sense the barrier between this realm and the Shadow Realm is almost non-existent, so thin that any jab of magic in the right direction can break it. I have an ill feeling of this land." He finished off hauntingly.

Presently the dreary monotone of marching was broken. Yugi watched as the company of assorted fairy tale characters halt their steps, gather camp and make other hustle-bustle. Some were making a fire, others boiling water and preparing herbs and food. Yugi sat down and leaned against a boulder, silently resting. No one spoke a word to him still, completely ignoring his existence.

When at least half of an hour passed, the tall, dark-haired warrior of the company came to him and offered him some food. Mumbling his thanks, again in that foreign tongue that he, or rather his other half, somehow knew, Yugi took it gratefully and ate it with relish. He was indeed hungry, especially after that seemingly endless march.

Aragorn watched as the child gulp down the food like a famished wolf, and had to stop himself from smiling at the sight. That was a little boy! Yet a little boy that seemed to radiate darkness. Aragorn's thoughts were troubled. The sudden entrance of this child, and the even more untimely death of Gandalf, all these were complicating an already hopelessly complicated situation.

When the child finished eating, Aragorn said softly, "I do not know from whence you come from, nor where are you heading to, and if you were telling us truth, you do not seem to know either. You should travel with us for a while, child, at least until we reach a safer country."

There was a sudden faint glow from one of the gold trinkets the child wore. Presently he spoke in a curious voice, "Like they say, keep your friends close but your enemies closer, right?"

Aragorn's brow furrowed the slightest. He tried to find the child's eyes, but they were hidden under half closed lids and a mass of gold bangs, definitely not to be read easily. Finally he said, "Perceive it as you like, child, but I bear you no ill will."

The Elendil's heir stood up and was ready to leave, when the child raised his head and called. He turned and found the child staring at him with enormous violet eyes. "You should call me Yugi." The child said. "And you haven't told me your name yet."

With a grim curl of lips Aragorn said, "You may call me Strider."

"Strider." The child said timidly.

Aragorn sighed and said in a softer voice, "Come and sit by the fire, Yugi. The night is cold, and you do not want to catch a chill. Rest and get warmed a little, before we must follow the road again."

The child nodded happily, and moved near the bright flame. The little sign of kindliness seemed to enthuse him greatly, even if his dark half remain untouched.

"You don't seem to like him much, Yami." The little boy questioned silently even as he warmed his hands over the fire, "I wonder why? He may seem a little rough, but he is nice to us."

"I know this man, aibou, I remember him." The ancient spirit said in a low voice.

"Really?"

"Yes." The spirit was troubled. "I remember him, even if only snatches of broken images. But those are enough to tell me that this man shall earn no love from me."

The spirit said no more, but his thoughts did not lift from the matter so easily. He remembered with such vivid clarity. He remembered seeing a green hill, and upon the hill stood this same tall, kingly man with silver hawk like eyes glinting, and the bright jewel upon his brow shone like a star in the shadows. Behind him there was a dark banner, with some hint traces of light swimming upon it. And the spirit remembered his own confusion and wariness, even though he could not sum up the reasons.

Presently the company gathered their packs and were ready to travel once more. They climbed out of the dale and took the road. It was dark now. Deep night had fallen. There were many clear stars, but the moon was not yet to be seen. There was now some conversation among the company, not all pleasant and peaceful conversations, but voices nonetheless, and for that Yugi was grateful.

It did not take them much longer to come to the edge of a forest, rising out of the stony plain. The trees were a looming shadow of grey, and their leaves wore a fallow gold in the dim starlight.

"The forest is thick with magic." The spirit mused to himself. "The power is almost tangible. Too tangible."

"Stop worrying, Yami." Little Yugi said lightly, feeling his other half's anxiety. "We have been through that much already. We will get through this mess, and get home safely soon enough."

The spirit spoke no more, but he was not relieved, for try as he might, he could not shake off the feeling of impending doom. And the night rolled on.

The next morning Yugi woke up with a mild headache. With sleep clouded eyes the little boy tried to find his little bottle of aspirin on his bedside drawer, only to find that he was sleeping on the floor of a wall-less room high up in the tree branches. He sat up, and for a while stared blankly in confusion. Finally all the events of the day before rolled back to him.

Unfortunately, he had no time to contemplate his situation. The morning was young and cold, and already he was whisked off to more marching. The day was somewhat peaceful compared to the last, yet still it involved walking on tight rope bridge, being blindfolded, and hearing a long, grudging, less- than-civil argument between elves and dwarf. Sometimes, Yugi really wished he had a normal life.

In the afternoon, they have reached the heart of the Golden Woods. Cerin Amroth it was called, a fair green hill encircled by shapely trees and strewn with flowers of gold and white. Yugi sat down in the fragrant grass and took a deep breath. The beautiful scenery before him was calming.

"I like this place." Yugi chirped enthusiastically, "I have never seen any place so beautiful."

"Do not be deceived, Yugi." The spirit said through their mind link with a strange tone.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yugi blinked, not understanding his dark half's words.

The ancient spirit replied, "Nothing in this country ever dies, therefore nothing is truly alive. The land of the undead, I suppose you can call it such. In essence this place is no different from the immortal Shadow Realm, only it is wearing the appearance of fairy land."

Yugi looked around doubtfully, and saw some logic in the spirit's words. There was not a yellow blade of grass, nor a single broken flower stem, nor fallen leaves or broken branches. It seemed almost unreal. The little boy shivered and felt a surge of chills up his spine. He had seen much, and he was used to all sort of dark things by now. Trudging through the Shadow Realm can have such effect. But what of a place that seemed completely untainted and without a blemish? Such thing can not be. The boy looked at the shapely trees with their crowns of gold, so fair in the waning sun, and sighed.