Negative Chaos

by High Crystal Guardian

*Sequel to Shadow Turned Light* The Shadow Realm's power is growing too high for the Realm to hold, and now it's magic is overflowing into Yugi's Realm. He tries to stop the magic, but can't...so a few old friends come through from the N. Realm to help...

6. Desire's Battle

HCG: 'Ello, all! Look who's back!

Kawari: Hmm....now I wonder who it could be? -_-;;

HCG: *shocked* It's me! ME!

Kawari: You know, Kaiba's right. I think I'm going to help him teach you about sarcasm.

HCG: ^_^ Okies!

Kaeru: *sighs* *rolls eyes*

HCG: Okay, well, anyway, I'm back with another chapter--NUMBA 6! YAY!

Kaiba: ¬_¬;; Yeah. Yay.

HCG: Anyway. *crickets chirp* hm.......nothing much is happening today, is there?

Kaze: Were you expecting something different?

HCG: Well, not exactly, but there's always been some excitement. I mean, last chapter we got to watch Kaeru chase Bakura around with a baseball bat!

Kawari: Oh yeah, that's right.....*raises eyebrow at his yami* What happened to that whole thing, anyway?

Kaeru: *looking sheepish* *shrugs* We called a truce, remember? And then we started talking about different places we've robbed, and I made a few good trades with him on some loot, and--

Kawari: x_X You're hopeless.

Kaeru: What?!

HCG: o_O Anyway....*sighs* Notes to peoples!

FIRSTLY, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, thanks to Lizeth for sending me this awesome picture of Kawari fan-art! It's such an awesome-looking picture, and Kawari looks so cool....*drools*

Kawari: o_O Stop that. You're scaring me.

HCG: *shakes head* Anyway, here's the picture if you want to see it. And *steals Malik's M. Rod* *waves it at readers* You know you want to see it! You know you do! Go to my bio and it'll be on there….first link, you can't miss it

*stares at picture* Purdy....

Kawari: o_O;;;;; *pushes in next note* Let's get a move on HCG, come on!

Silver Angel ~ Liked the duel scene, eh? That's good, I'm glad somebody enjoyed it at least. NEVER EVER EVER try to write a tied-ending duel, though, EVER. EVER.

Kaze: -_-;; We get the point.

HCG: EVER!

Kawari: *sighs* Continue....

Wingleader Sora Jade ~ Nice try for the riddle, but unfortunately it's not true. Good guess though, I can see where you'd get the idea ^_~ However...for my other question, "What happened to Kaze?" you pretty much got the answer. It's not exact, because quite frankly nobody's been into my mind and scoped out my countless theories, but you've gotten close enough, so....*hands her the promised gift basket full of sugar, chocolate, and Negative Realm Plushies*

Now, as for the Elements--like I said in my Email when I first asked you, I'm not using the Elements connected to the Millennium Items. Though I'll probably throw in a few weird twists to make some connections between your fics and mine. (I.E., when the Scroll of Fate comes into play, I'll probably have Ryou or Kawari find it, as Fate is "their element" in your own fictions).

Kawari: x_X chibi?! NO! NONONONONONO!

HCG: Oh, pipe down, it's not that bad. Geeze, you make it sound like torture.

Kawari: IT CALLED ME DADDY! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!

Kaeru: ¬_¬;; I'd laugh at this point, but she's Chibi-fied me too, so....

Anime Girl ~ Hmm, another interesting take on the riddle. I like yours a lot; it's very interesting....and I've always liked the moon. I'd probably go with this one, but since I have no way for my characters to get to the moon, I'm afraid I'll have to say this is wrong. Nice try though ^_~ And I'm glad you like my fic, and the "Bakura Battle".

Kaeru: I liked it too. I just wish I could've won....*scowls*

Silver Fang ~ You didn't think I was that late? Well...*looks around secretivly*...I was a week off schedule, but...*looks both ways* shhhh! Don't tell! And yeah, it was long x_X I would like SOMEBODY or SOMETHING to answer me and tell me WHY my chapters keep increasing in length. NYAH!

Kaiba: *blinks* I'll take an HCG banner. Perhaps if I have one, HCG'll think I support her and I'll be freed!

HCG: Naw, I'll just love ya more ^_^

Kaiba: -_-;;

YumeTakato ~ Hey, somebody that likes NR Joey/Saguru! That's good, as he feels pretty left out right now o_O;; Anyway, here's your next chapter...will I end with a cliffie? Only time will tell ^_~

Kaiba: The answer is most likely yes -_-;;

HCG: *claps hand over his mouth* Kaiba, you're not supposed to tell. Time is!

Kaiba: *holds up Scroll of Time* *talks with mouth still covered* Mmmphf!

HCG: *horrified* And you don't have that yet either! *snatches it away and hides it*

Kaiba: _;; MNMFH!

Silver Dragon Gold Dragon ~ x_X yeah, I know how limited online time is. You tracked down and read my Negative story quickly, then? Very good ^_~ Thank you for taking your limited time to read my story ^_^

Shiney Mew ~ I'm sorry I didn't reply to your last review, but it kinda confused me a little o_O;; Well, anyway, here's a new reply. Oh, and about your Yugi comment--yes, I can understand you wanting him to have a stronger/better role. I assure you, he will have more of a role later in the fiction, but I'm trying to write a story where some of the 'on the side' characters get a bit of notice as well (Tristen, Tea, Mokuba, etc.) So don't be too surprised if Yugi isn't in here as much as you'd like.

Daricio ~ Wow, you wrote a lot. Let's see...okay, first up, yes, there are people that are dead in THIS Realm and alive in the Negative one. I haven't actually taken the time to think up detailed histories and the like, but I can give you a good example--Ryou's sister. SHE'S ALIIIIIVE! NYAHAHAHAH!

Kawari: o_O;; OOooookay then....

Now, speaking of Ryou. You say that his shock is lasting too long, and that he should speak more. Well, from what I've picked up on his personality, it would be a bit of a shock for him to come face-to-face with a kinder version of his Yami and his own opposite. He's got twice the shock to deal with. As for his speaking in the show a lot....well, no offense to the WB or anything, but really, Ryou's part in the Duelist Kingdom arc is flat-out lame. Apparently, in the Japanese version he's not nearly so much like that, but his role in the dub is just..ugh. He points out the obvious too much. I feel like throwing my keyboard at the screen and yelling, "YES, YES I can see that his Life Points are nearly gone! I can TELL he's in a rough position!" -_-;;

Kawari: _;; Done ranting about my True Self yet?

HCG: Sure thing. Oh, and thanks for trying to get rid of my homework. Unfortunately, it didn't work, but that's okay...the major tests are all done now ^_^

HCG: Anyway, that's it for the individual comments. Now for the general. Two good guesses for the riddle, nice job, guys! And the rest of you should've tried....seriously! Anyway, you'll find out the real answers in a minute. Promise ^_~

Oh, hey, and WSJ--I was tempted to throw in a funny little pun in this fic, but decided against it. I'm sure you'll pick up where it comes in anyway, but whatever...

Kaze: Done?

HCG: No. I still need some excitement here. I know! *opens up a Realm Gate* *NR Yami falls through*

Kaze, Kawari, & Kaeru: o_O;;

HCG: HIYA!

NR Yami: *blinks* Oh.....hello.....*wanders off to corner and sits*

HCG:....he's really boring.

Kaze: *points to his speech in Ch. 3* He's healed and depressed, 'member?

HCG: *blinks* Oh, that's right.....

Kawari: Will you get to the fic already?!

HCG: Oh yeah. Kaiba! Disclaimer!

Kaiba: *still with mouth covered* Mmphf mmmmphf mmm mumff mmmmphf mumff! Mmpfh Mummmmphf mum-mumff! Mmm-Mmm-Mummpfh!

HCG: Uuuuum.......what?

Kaze: *sighs* I'll do it. HCG does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or it's characters. The Negative Realm, the characters' personalities from there, and Negative Chaos' plot belong to her. The Seven Elements belong to Wingleader Sora Jade, though the Scrolls they're 'working with' belong to HCG. Shall we begin, then?

HCG: Sure, why not? *places fic down and stalks off towards NR Yami* I'm gonna make him less boring...*holds out her editors' pen, the beautiful, wonderful tool of all writers love*

Kawari: This can't be good...*sigh*

Kawari ~ NR Ryou

Kaeru ~ NR Bakura

Kaze ~ NR Kaiba

Saguru ~ NR Joey

Notes:

/word/ ~ Yugi to Yami

//word// ~ Yami to Yugi

italicized words are thoughts or dreams/memories

'word' ~ transmitted thoughts between doubles....you'll understand this later

*gasp* No super-notes today! I would fill up the silence before we begin, but...*cringe* I'm not interested in getting hurt today. Roll fic!

Negative Chaos

Chapter 6: Desire's Battle

            "What on Earth is it supposed to mean?"

            Each of the twelve figures around the room pondered the same thing, glancing over the Realm verse furiously, as if expecting it to give way and suddenly flash them the answer. Much to their dismay, it did not, and they were left to try and figure out the puzzle on their own. None of them could make heads or tails of the verse, with it's twisted meanings and poetic lines. They were all shocked that such a tiny, flimsy little piece of paper and it's ten lines could be the perfect guard to one of the most powerful items on Earth itself.

            Finally, after nearly ten minutes of silence, Joey voiced his frustration. "Forget it! This is impossible. There's no way we are ever going to figure out this stupid verse!"

            Yami replied quietly, his strong voice somehow reassuring. "Nothing is impossible, Joey. It's only a trick, and we've just go to figure it out."

            "Yeah, sure," the blonde teen muttered. Yami, on the other hand, grinned.

            "The Millennium Puzzle was also thought to be impossible. Yet I believe Yugi here defied what was thought, and succeeded. We just have to keep trying."

            Joey sighed, but nodded slowly, sending his long blonde bangs shaking. "Alright. Fine. We'll see if we can crack this before five thousand years have passed like your Puzzle."

            The silence returned as the group leaned closer to the thin sheet of paper, reading over the verse for what had to be the hundredth time. Yugi, Yami, Kaze, and Kaiba all seemed the most interested in the riddle, as each had a mind suited for solving puzzles and using logic. The others, too, showed their eagerness to find an answer to the verse, but not so much as the leading four.

            Ryou sighed as he ran over the verse in his head, having now memorized it after reading it too many times. He absent-mindedly ran over a few inventive solutions to the problem, all of which made no sense whatsoever. He sighed again and tried to bully his mind back into thinking logically, but it seemed almost impossible--the riddle was just too far away for him to grasp, to understand.

            He let his thoughts drift, still vaguely thinking over the problem, but not showing nearly as much effort as before. As he wandered over the lines of the verse in his head, he suddenly found himself thinking a most startling phrase.

            'I can't believe he'd call himself a Yami spirit. I swear, if he tries anything like that again, I'll do something, and I don't care if my own Yami's dragging me around by the collar or not.'

            Ryou blinked, surprised. That was certainly strange; that thought had popped into his head quite suddenly, almost as if he had created it, but--it wasn't his. He frowned, glancing around the room suspiciously, but also with an air of confusion.

            Kaeru noticed "his" aibou's surprised look and raised and eyebrow, curious. "What's the matter?"

            "I'm not sure...I just thought something, but....I didn't."

            The Negative tomb robber frowned. "Excuse me? Could you repeat that?"

            Ryou sighed. "I just had this really weird thought pass through my head...it felt like I was 'creating' it, but I know I never caused it."

            Kawari tilted his head slightly to the side, expressing his own confusion. "That's strange. It wasn't your yami, was it?"

            The True hikari shook his head, sending his long white hair rippling around his shoulders in a fury. "No, he's brooding in his soul room. I don't think it was him, unless he's gotten careless enough to lower the mind-link, and he never does that."

            His Negative shrugged, waving his black-gloved hand around absent-mindedly. "Probably just a fluke. If you were just letting your mind wander, you probably thought whatever it was without registering it first."

            Ryou nodded, though doubtfully, and settled back into his over-stuffed chair, thinking over the riddle once more. It had barely been five seconds when the occurrence happened again.

            'Dammit, what's wrong with him now? If that 'yami spirit' is doing something to him...he's going to get it. But I wonder what's causing this sudden bought of thoughts appearing mysteriously?'

            The white-haired teen jumped suddenly. "It happened again!"

            Kaeru frowned. "I don't think this is a fluke, then. What was the thought? Perhaps that would help."

            Ryou repeated the latest mystery phrase, trying to ignore the fact that everybody was staring at him now. He did notice, however, when Kawari's mouth opened in surprise, and the black-clad Negative sat up an inch straighter. "What?!"

            The True hikari frowned. "What's the matter?"

            Kawari blinked widely, his eyes loosing their deadly, glittering appearance for one moment and harboring their classic, innocent look before retreating to it's original one. "That...that's what I just thought a few seconds ago!"

            Ryou shared his disbelieving shock. "But...but how would that work out? It doesn't make sense!"

            "Actually..."

            Three white-haired figures turned to face where the voice had come from. The owner was soon identified as Kaiba, Kaze next to him glancing from Kawari to Ryou and back, frowning.

            "What?"

            Kaiba continued slowly. "It might be possible. Realm theories could leave an opening for it, I suppose." He exchanged glances with his Negative before continuing. "I think that Negative beings can hear the strongest of their True Self's thoughts, and vice versa."

            Yugi frowned. "Like a mind link?"

            Kaze shook his head. "No, no," he corrected. "A thought link. I don't think a Negative can hold a regular conversation with his opposite, or the other way around. I believe the thoughts would come at random, depending on how powerful the owner of that thought is thinking it. There is no control, unless you force yourself to think extremely strongly and concentrate on one particular thought."

            Tea frowned. "Are you sure?"

            Kaiba smiled slightly. "Not exactly, but there is one way to find out." He turned to his Negative, saying calmly, "I'll focus on one particular thought, and you tell me what it is." The Blue Eyes nodded quietly, and Kaiba closed his eyes, concentrating.

            Seconds later, a quick look of surprise passed over Kaze's face. He frowned momentarily, showing his shock, but erased the expression from his face easily. He then spoke, though slowly. "You're planning on entering a second control chip into the card reading slot on your latest Duel Disk System, so that the card readings are clearer, and thus the holograms more accurate." Kaiba nodded, his shock registering only slightly, much like his opposite's. The Opposition leader grinned slightly, murmuring, "I think that experiment is a success, then."

            "But why does it happen?" Mokuba piped up, watching his brothers, Negative and True, with extreme interest.

            Kaiba frowned slowly, pondering over the new question. Finally he spoke, though his voice wavered slightly, as if he was unsure. "Maybe it's how the Realm is reacting to two of the same person existing in one dimension."

            "What?" The black-haired boy's face creased into one of confusion.

            Seto continued, smiling a bit at his brother's face. "What I mean is, this Realm--the True Realm--is used to having only one of each person in each dimension. Because of this, it knows how to keep each separate, individual person's mind to themselves--excluding, of course, any other interferences, like magical interferences. To compare it to a computer, the entire Realm will process one person's thoughts and keep it separate from others. However, when you bring a second of the same person into one Realm..." he trailed off slightly, motioning with his hands as if to illustrate a point. "Then you've got a problem. The Realm recognizes two of the same person, with the same structure, but they've got different memories. It's confused, so to speak. It will try to keep the two minds separate, like they should be, considering they're two different minds altogether--but occasionally it will look at the two as one mind, one being, and it's confusion will get the better of it, one mind's thoughts and emotions will pass over onto another's. Only the strongest can break the block the Realm's trying to hold, though." He frowned slightly. "Did that make sense?"

            "Pretty much," Mokuba said, nodding quickly. "I think I understand." The rest of the group nodded their agreement.

            "So then," Saguru murmured slowly, "If memories and emotions'll cross over without any warning, then it'd probably be best to tone down our thoughts...so we don't bug our opposites."

            "Makes sense," Joey agreed, grinning. "Though I don't mind if you accidentally transfer a thought to me." Saguru returned his grin before the two of them returned to the verse, trying to decipher it once more. The others, after taking their thought-link suggestion, followed suit, trying to puzzle out their current situation.

            Another twenty minutes passed in silence as the group read and re-read the verse, baffled over it's meaning. The Negatives and their opposites were rather detached from the rest of the group, as most of them were trying to slow down the rapid-fire traffic of their minds--thoughts were being traded left and right without their owners meaning for it to happen, and there were constant apologies. Soon, though, they learned to harness their thoughts, toning them down enough so that only an occasional exclamation of surprise or some other such high emotion would slip through. The only one that had trouble was Kaeru--he, too, had a link to Bakura, though the True spirit didn't seem to care whether his rather bloody, murderous thoughts were heard by others or not. The Negative tomb robber felt ready to snap, and had to fight to repress a mouthful of thought-out swears from being sent to his opposite. His only weapon against that happening was that he knew it would probably do more harm than good, and Ryou would probably be caught in the middle of it.

            Despite such problems from the True and Negative doubles, however, the rest of the group was still focused intently on the rhyme. Yugi in particular was scrutinizing the riddle, hoping that if he could solve the Puzzle, he would be able to solve the Verse as well.

            His wish was soon granted, though not in full. After another five minutes had passed by with barely a sound, the young Hikari suddenly leaped out of his chair, exclaiming loudly.

            "We've been thinking about this the wrong way!"

            "What do you mean?" Yami asked skeptically, eyeing his charge with a bit of confusion.

            "I mean, we've been trying to figure out this riddle all the wrong ways. Look, it's telling us first what Element we're going after! Which Scroll, see?"

            Yami caught on quickly. "'The first you desire, and Desire am I.' It was right in front of us the entire time, and we didn't notice it?" He shook his head slightly before continuing. "So--the first Scroll we're searching for is the Scroll of Desire. It makes sense; it was one of the Seven Elements Kaze was chanting of." He frowned at the Negative CEO, who shifted slightly under the stare but said nothing.

            Yugi nodded. "Right! Okay, now I think I've also figured out this next line. 'I live and dwell and feel the sky.' I think this means that we're supposed to be looking somewhere relatively high up, somewhere where the sky is vastly important."

            "That could be almost anywhere, Yugi," Tea said, creasing her forehead in thought.

            "True," Saguru put in, "But maybe the other lines will narrow it down." He read the next two lines loudly, in a clear voice. "'I watch the sun as it bleeds away, as Night battles on and defeats the day.'" He finished, cleared his throat, and looked around the room. "I don't know about the rest of you, but the sun bleeding away? It makes me think of a sunset. And after a sunset, night comes--it 'battles on' and defeats day."

            Joey nodded, catching on. "Right. So at the place we want to go you can see the sun set and night come."

            Tristen frowned. "But like Tea said...you can see that just about anywhere."

            Kawari shook his head in disagreement. "True, but what this poem is pointing out is probably a more noticeable location...a place where it's particularly noticeable, detailed, and the like."

            Tea repeated everything they'd discovered so far, as they were nearly halfway through the verse. "Okay, so we're looking for the Scroll of Desire. It's hidden somewhere we think is relatively high up, where the sun's setting and the night's coming are unusually noticeable."

            The Blue Eyes grinned. "Very good, at least we've gotten somewhere." He rubbed his hands together in an expression of readiness, continuing. "The next lines, I believe, strengthen our own guess that this area is high up. 'I know the Wind, when it feels joy or scorn, Or when it angers, and battles, a raging storm.' Wind, storms, it's all right here--all weather, all occurrences that happen high in the sky, yet still have some connection and effect on the ground."

            Kaeru added his own input. "That could very well indicate our area--high, yet connected to the low ground at the same time. It certainly does narrow down our choices, at any rate."

            The next two lines were not as easy. The group was determined to solve it, however, and gamely set to work on them, unwilling to give up after having come so far. Finally, after another two minutes, Ryou spoke.

            "I think I know," he murmured, shyly, staring down at the lines with intense interest. "'I live where boundaries lie, a wall of it's own, a massive boulder of dirt and stone.' Mountains."

            Yugi blinked. "How so?"

            The white-haired teen quickly sank into his reasoning. "Mountains often form natural boundaries for countries, and usually form a wall, often useful against enemy attacks and such. They come into history again and again. As for the second line, if you really think about it, a mountain is a huge pile of dirt and stone--it could even be considered a boulder in a broad sense." 

            Kaeru nodded quickly, catching on. "Of course," he said, "the logic involved is perfect." He, too, gathered their information and repeated it. "So, from the looks of it, we're trying to find a mountain or set of mountains. We want to be pretty high up on them to find this Scroll of Desire, where a sunset or something of the sort would be pretty easy to see, and very detailed." The others nodded, and he continued, looking down at the remainder of the verse. "What about the last two lines?"

            Yugi read them out loud for the benefit of the entire group. "'The Dragon guards me. A warning, I say: You may Desire, but loose not your way.'" He looked confused once he finished, and shook his head. "It sounds like a warning, just like it says...or the last line, at any rate. And what does it mean by a dragon guarding it? Dragons don't exist here, do they?"

            "I wouldn't think so," Yami answered dryly, "but there is always the chance that some fool summoned one from the Shadow Realm. In that case, it would very much exist."

            Kaze, however, shook his head, disagreeing. "I don't think that's what they meant," he said slowly. "I don't think they're talking about an actual dragon. I think it's supposed to symbolize a person or place; it happens often enough. Look at me," he said, shrugging. "People call me the Blue Eyes all the time, but that doesn't mean by any stretch that I'm related to the dragon." He ignored Kaiba's raised eyebrow at the nickname and awaited the rest of the group's comments.

            Tristen nodded in agreement. "He's right," he said, carefully running his thoughts over in his head. "But if that's the case, I don't think we can solve this riddle by sitting here and talking. I think we'll have to find this mountain first, and from there see if we can recognize this 'dragon.'"

            Ryou silently agreed as well, though he stayed still and did nothing. However, his calm attitude was broken when an abrupt thought crashed into his head. 'Hah, find the right mountain? Does he have any idea how many mountains there are out there?!' Despite himself, the white haired teen chuckled, shooting his Negative a glance. The opposite hikari looked a little surprised, but mouthed the words, 'heard it, didn't you?' silently. Ryou nodded in response, and a smug grin took his Negative's face.

            The same thought, however, was circling around the room. Everyone had apparently realized that they didn't know exactly which mountain to go to, and that they had no way to figure out which one they needed, other than an elusive 'dragon' they were still not even fully sure about.

            Eventually, Mokuba broke out with a suggestion. "These Scrolls are supposed to be....erm....really old, aren't they?" he asked, directing his attention towards Kaeru and Yami. Both nodded, and he continued. "So we should go to the oldest mountain we know of nearby, first. Chances are it's not going to be hidden on a mountain that only formed a thousand years ago if it's older than even the spirits."

            The advice, though odd coming from an eleven-year-old, suited the group's needs perfectly. It was the work of a moment for Kaiba to connect to the internet and figure out what the oldest mountain in their region was; when he was done, he had printed the coordinates and other facts of the peak roughly forty to fifty miles away--Mount Volumen.

            The next question to arrive came quickly--how would the group be transported to a mountain nearly fifty miles away in time? The solution came quickly from Kaiba; he offered to locate a pair of the company's helicopters for use, so long as he and his Negative could operate them. Fortunately, both versions of Seto Kaiba knew quite well how to fly a helicopter, and within moments the True CEO had called up his secretary, requesting that she reserve the two of the company's fastest flight transportation units. Once done, the twelve headed up to the KaibaCorp rooftop, where the open space harbored two ready helicopters.

            Without hesitation, the group split up, each moving six to a helicopter, with one version of Kaiba in each. Mokuba, Tea, Ryou, Kaeru, and Kawari went with the True Seto, while Yugi, Yami, Joey, Saguru, and Tristen followed the Negative.

            Moments after each figure had taken his or her seat and was prepared for the liftoff, the opposite Kaiba teens pulled into a practiced rise and swooped into the air. Communicating over the radios, they traded coordinates and flight paths, and within moments and both turned together to head in a Northwesterly direction.

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

            Nearly an hour of swift flying later, the twelvesome caught their first sight of Mount Volumen, their destination. It was a tall peak, sandwiched between two other smaller mountains, and surrounded eerily by wispy clouds at it's tip. Though it looked at first as if it had been untouched by humans, the group soon began to notice the small hiking trails spider-webbed all over the sides of the gigantic landmark underneath the vast amounts of trees that covered it.

            Signaling to Kaze, Kaiba began to circle his helicopter in a slow circuit around the mountain, searching for a clearing in which to land. Unfortunately, he found none, and reported his findings back to his Negative.

            "We'll just have to land in the clearing at the mountain's foot and hike up," the Blue Eyes had replied simply, his voice staticy over the radio, but nonetheless full of determination. Kaiba sighed but reluctantly agreed, and followed his opposite as the helicopter lowered down into the small grassy field below.

            The two flight units were landed easily, and within moments the entire group was climbing out into the bright sunlight, all their faces showing some eagerness--though to various degrees. Mokuba looked positively thrilled at the prospect of hiking up a mountain, while others, like Kaiba, looked rather annoyed at having their course put off target so far. The Negatives and Yami all bore the same resolute, determined look, appearing neither happy nor discouraged.

            Turning, the entire group began to push their way up the side of the mountain, gathering together into a small bunch. They found a hiker's trail relatively quickly and soon followed it's path upwards, stopping every once and a while in order to let stragglers catch up to them, but never once faltering in their original path.

            When they were roughly half-way up the mountain nearly a half hour later, Kaze called for a halt. The hunting party then gathered together, some looking refreshed and energetic, while others were panting visibly and showing the strain. As before, none of the Negatives showed any strain whatsoever; though they may have been sweating lightly from the constant movement, none of them bore an expression of fatigue.

            Kaze looked around carefully, observing the surrounding area with a practiced eye. He nodded slightly to himself, as if answering a question he had asked in his mind, and turned. "Okay. From here, keep your eyes peeled for any sign of this 'dragon' the verse speaks of. We want to find it quickly, if at all possible, so stay sharp."

            Yet, after another twenty minutes of searching, they still had proved unsuccessful. Finally, growing angry, Joey sighed. "We're never going to find anything at this rate."

            Surprisingly, Kaiba nodded, agreeing, and turned to his opposite. "He's right, you know," he said, though the words were slow, as though he hated to admit them. "The way we're doing this, we'd never find anything--it'd take a month to comb these trees like this. We need to spread out, fan out our search."

            Kaze nodded, accepting his True self's input. "You have a good point." Without warning he raised his head and snapped orders over the crowd. "Three groups of four, people! Kawari, you and Kaeru take one group, pick your other two members, and move out to our right. Saguru, pick your own three members and move to the left. I'll take the remaining three and keep on going straight around this area. Hopefully we'll cover more ground and triple our chances of finding something."

            The Negatives snapped into movement almost as soon as Kaze had finished speaking, slipping over ground like a well-oiled machine, practiced and prepared. Kaeru and Kawari glided to the right in an almost ghostly manner, slipping over dead leaves and twigs with barely a sound, while Saguru nearly imitated them as he moved left. The rest of the group hesitated slowly, a little surprised at how quickly the Opposition leader had taken command, and more startled by the instant reactions of the other Negatives; however, they quickly caught on and split themselves up into separate groups, moving to meet up with their Negative guides. Ryou trailed after Kaeru and Kawari almost hesitantly, Tristen following, while Joey, Yugi, and Yami walked after Saguru. Tea, Mokuba, and Kaiba remained with Kaze, standing still as the rest of the group moved away from them.

            Groups created, they each tramped off in their designated directions--or at least the True Realm beings tramped. The Negatives could glide over the ground like air, and were barely noticeable the way they slunk as they moved.

            Another half hour was passed in such a way. Each group stayed together, but sharpened their eyes and glanced around intently. Each figure was hoping to find this mysterious dragon, but as they weren't sure if it was really dangerous or not, they kept on their guard constantly. Again, the Negative characters outdistanced their True companions by far in their guard movements; while obviously focused and ready to fight, they looked casual, almost lazy--particularly, though surprisingly, Kawari.

            The Negative Ryou was currently engaged deep in conversation with his True self, Kaeru and Tristen trailing behind the two, as if already forgotten. Slipping over the fallen trunk of a tree as if it didn't even exist, the opposite hikari asked calmly, "How do you stand it?"

            "Stand what?" Ryou asked in reply, confused, as he scrabbled much more clumsily over the same tree trunk.

            "Your yami." Kawari gave his own dark spirit a careless glance before continuing. "Why would you put up with something like that?"

            Ryou sighed. "He'll change someday, I know it. I don't know what makes Bakura act that way, but..."

            Kaeru snorted. "He'll change? I'll tell you this, kid, straight from the mouth of the exact same sprit you're so confident will change his ways. You'll be waiting a while. I know full well what makes him act the way he does, and trust me, if he really is my opposite, he's not going to get over it for a while."

            The True hikari blinked. "Really? What's the matter?"

            Surprisingly, Kaeru snapped his mouth shut, murmuring a quick, "That's not for me to tell. He'll have to tell you, as much as I'd hate to admit it."

            Kawari sighed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "There he goes again. He won't tell me either. But it doesn't bug me so much; at least we get along."

            Ryou stared at his opposite carefully, choosing the words to his next question. "You mean he's never hurt you?"

            The black-clad teen shook his head in response. "Hell no," he said easily, giving his darker half another glance. "We might argue sometimes, but that's more like a fight between brothers than anything else. Or parents," he added, shooting the tomb robber an annoyed glance.

            "I'm your Guardian. It's my job. Don't complain."

            Kawari sighed and rolled his eyes. "Sure." He returned to Ryou quickly however. "But seriously, something else has got to keep you going. You don't take that much of a beating just because you think your abuser will change."

            Ryou looked shocked. "You mean, you wouldn't?"

            Kawari growled softly. "No, I wouldn't," he hissed, his eyes flashing anger. "If somebody ever tried that on me, I'd give it right back to them, no questions asked."

            The white-haired True teen widened his eyes in surprise, and thought frantically for some way to change the subject. Fortunately for him, he never had to come up with a new topic; at that moment, Tristen called out slowly, murmuring, "I think we've found our dragon."

            The three accompanying him turned their heads to the point he indicated, and stifled a small gasp of surprise. There, facing them in a tiny clearing that was overshadowed by trees, was a monstrous shape, like that of a dragon. On closer inspection, it was really a slippery crop of boulders, piled together in a snake-like shape and covered with vines and leaves that imitated scales. A large, jagged rock formed a section that looked almost like a Chinese dragon's head resting on the ground, with a mouth which appeared half open, and small sections of rock jutting downward to form fangs. Creepers spread from the covering tree branches stretched down into cracks in the rocks, forming what almost appeared to be wings, and tree roots crawled along and underneath the ground, looking much like gnarled claws.

            "That," Kawari said slowly, "is amazing." He stared in awe at the monstrous shape, unaware that his mouth was hanging partway open. Behind him, Kaeru was trying to keep an eye on the dragon-like appearance while contacting Kaze on his communicator, giving his coordinates to the others so that they could join his own search group.

            Ten minutes later, the entire twelvesome had assembled at the small clearing, each staring in wonder up at the ancient-looking "rock dragon." All were amazed at the structure and it's resemblance to the reptilian creatures they had seen so often in duels, but their awe was cut short as Mokuba asked slowly, "Now what do we do?"

            It seemed that no one could answer the question, or at least at first. After a buzz of conversation made it's way throughout the group, Saguru made his voice louder and spoke his idea.

            "Maybe there's some sort of lever or notch on this 'dragon' that'll reveal the Scroll we need. It obviously has to be hidden somewhere." The others nodded their agreement, and the Negative Joey stepped forward slowly, eyes flickering searchingly over the massive bulk of the imitation dragon.

            It took him the better part of five minutes to examine the head, with distracting thoughts such as 'this can't be possible' and 'Can he really do it? Could we really have found it?' floating through his head from his opposite. However, after some careful concentration (and an angry returned thought to his True self) he managed to discover that, when one of the fangs was twisted counter-clockwise a rough ninety degrees, it became easier to tug and pull--much like a lever.

            Giving himself only a few seconds to shout his discoveries to the rest of the group, Saguru seized a firm hold on the stone fang and pulled it sharply. There was a grinding noise as the rock scraped against stone, but the next moment the entire jagged "head rock" shuddered and began to move.

            Sensing movement, Saguru wasted no time, but quickly backed up into the rest of the waiting group in case of danger. There was none present, however, and he sighed in quiet relief, watching the movement of the stone dragon ahead of him.

            The non-living creature's jagged head was slowly lifting above the ground, it's serpentine "neck" of rocks and vines moving with it. It's two front root-legs seemed to push up, levering the entire, heavy "creature" into a half-standing position with a shaky groan. The head, soon nearly ten feet above the ground, slowly tilted so that it was pointing down, it's open stone jaws appearing to ready themselves for a burst of flame set upon an imaginary attacker.

            The stone dragon, once it was still, was suddenly of no importance any more. What caught each member of the group's attention was the deep pit that rested where the dragon's neck and head had once lain. It went far down, nearly the length of two men standing on each other's shoulders, yet it's depth presented no problem; a set of earthen steps lead to the center of the floor in the center of the hole. And in the center, sitting calmly on a golden, shining pedestal, was a scroll.

            At first, it seemed to shine with a brief aura, a pure, empty color that emphasized it's power. However, the glow soon faded away, leaving the little roll of paper to sit calmly, looking for all the world unimportant. But a feeling still resided around it, a feeling of utmost importance, a feeling of power, and it spread outwards in a gentle, yet ominous, flow. The Scroll of Desire, their first goal, an item so powerful all seven Millennium Items would only just be able to compare with it.

            "I can't believe it," Tea said slowly, her eyes wide in awe. "We've found it! We solved the first riddle correctly...we've found the Scroll of Desire!"

            "Indeed," Yami said calmly, staring at the Scroll with a level gaze. When no one else made to move, he abruptly stepped forward, walking slowly away from his Hikari and towards the pit. Reaching the earthen stairs, he turned to look over his shoulder once more; the others had moved forward after him, though had stopped roughly fifteen paces from the stone dragon and it's treasure, as though feeling that they should not move further. The Negatives, defying all laws of the True Realm as always, were the only ones to move forward to nearly the pit's edge, stopping only five paces away at a respectful distance so as to show Yami they did not mind him taking the Scroll.

            Taking a deep breath, Yami took his first step into the darkened hole, placing his foot gently on the topmost earthen step. When nothing happened, he sighed in relief and began to take his next step...and froze, as a voice began to speak.

            The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once--it was formed from the air, it came from the trees, it was the powerful voice of the stone dragon itself, yet it did not exist. It was huge, and terrifying, filling the minds of each of the members of the group and making them shudder--yet it was also gentle, comforting, nearly understanding. "IT HAS BEEN SOME TIME SINCE THE SCROLLS OF THE REALMS HAVE BEEN SOUGHT. DO YOU OBEY THE OATH SWORN BY YOUR PEOPLE AT THE DAWN OF MAN?"

            Yami recoiled slowly, backing out of the pit and off the steps, though he stood only inches from the edge of the darkened depths. Startled, he whipped his head in all directions, searching frantically. He could not see anything, but surprisingly, he did not feel afraid...on the contrary, he felt suddenly calm, as though someone had reached into his mind and slowed it down, comforted it. Slowly, bringing his thoughts together, he spoke. "What oaths do you speak of?"

            "THE OATHS SWORN ABOUT THE GATHERING OF THE REALM SCROLLS. YOU MUST OBEY THEM OR PERISH." Despite the dire warnings of the voice's words, it did not sound angry that none of the members of the group knew what it was talking about.

            Yami quickly recovered from the explosion of the voice and began to speak again. "But it has been some time since the Scrolls have been brought to mankind's attention. You must reiterate the rules for us." His tone has a regal sound to it, but at the same time it seemed almost humble, a feat unto itself.

            The voice's own tone did not change, yet if it had a body it probably would have smiled. "AH, OF COURSE. SO SHORT A LIFE, EVEN YOURS, PHARAOH. THE RULES ARE SIMPLE. EACH REALM SCROLL HAS A GUARDIAN THAT PROTECTS IT AT ALL COSTS. IN ORDER TO EARN THE SCROLL, YOU MUST DEFEAT THE GUARDIAN IN WHATEVER CHALLENGE AWAITS YOU."

            The Pharaoh caught on quickly, as did the rest of the group. "Ah, I see," he said slowly, speaking for the entire hunting party. "And are you the Guardian of this Scroll? The Scroll of Desire?"

            The voice responded slowly, almost carefully. "INTELLIGENT TO KNOW THE SCROLL YOU SEEK. OTHERS HAVE NOT ALWAYS BEEN SO LUCKY. YES, I AM THE GUARDIAN THAT YOU MUST FACE."

            Yami's face grew more determined. "Than what challenge awaits us? We will face it, at any cost. We must stop the Shadow Realm before it's magic has a chance to completely overflow and break our Realms entirely."

            Again, the voice seemed pleased, and probably would have grinned had it possessed a mouth. "A NOBLE CAUSE. IT MAY YET SAVE YOU. YET BEFORE YOU MAY FACE YOUR CHALLENGE, YOU MUST CHOOSE THOSE THAT WILL COMPETE IN IT. YOU MUST HAVE EXACTLY TWO CHALLENGERS. NO MORE, NO LESS."

            The ancient ruler's face openly exposed his expression of surprise, but he nodded gamely. "Very well, I will follow your set rules. Allow me to choose my partner, then." He turned slowly, facing the remaining eleven members of the group. Quite suddenly, he realized how hard even such a task as choosing one's partner would be--each person had different skills that he most certainly could draw upon, but he had no idea what he was about to face, and therefore wasn't sure who exactly to pick.

            Surprisingly, Joey was able to help him with his decision, narrowing down his possible choices. "Hey, Yami," he said thoughtfully, gazing around at the figures that surrounded him. "It just occurred to me...shouldn't you pick one of the Negative guys?"

            The Pharaoh blinked, confused. "Why would you say that, exactly?"

            Saguru glanced at his opposite, apparently catching onto the boy's ideas by means of their shared thought-link. "I see why...we were drawn into this Realm to help, and this must be what we four were chosen to do....help the rest of you in your Scroll hunts. That includes these Challenges, I'd bet. If we've been called to help you, it's best if there's at least one Negative in every challenge--just in case."

            Yami nodded, understanding. "Of course, it makes perfect sense." He frowned thoughtfully, looking over the narrowed group of four that he had to choose from. Finally, he voiced his thoughts, a choice already in mind. "We don't know what we're going to be up against, so it would be best if I had a magic user as my partner, just in case. And the strongest Negative magic user would be you, Kaeru. Therefore, I ask that you aid me in this Challenge set before us."

            Kaeru nodded slowly, obviously having finally decided that Yami was his ally after all--though his eyes still held deep suspicion. It was, therefore, surprising when he said respectfully, "As the Pharaoh wishes."

            Yami blinked in surprise. "What did you say?"

            The Negative spirit frowned. "You heard me."

            The ancient ruler shook his head. "Yes, I did, but it was a bit surprising...I didn't think a tomb robber would speak highly of their Pharaoh."

            Despite himself, Kaeru grinned darkly. "Well now, I wouldn't have followed the path I chose five thousand years ago if not for the you in my Realm. I opposed you and your tyrant rule, your craving to destroy the world; that's how I took the life of a thief--to show my defiance. Perhaps if the Pharaoh in our Realm had acted more like you, I wouldn't have taken the life I led." He eyed Yami dryly before speaking again. "However, my life is not the matter at hand, nor is yours. Are you prepared?"

            "Give me one minute," the dark ruler responded, still musing, before turning and walking to his lighter half. Yugi looked a bit nervous, almost worried, on seeing him, but Yami smiled the tiniest bit, already picking up on his aibou's thoughts through the mind link. "Don't worry, Yugi. I'll be fine. Kaeru and myself ought to be more than a match for whatever this Challenge is."

            "If you say so," the young Hikari muttered, shrugging.
            Yami sighed before speaking again. "Aibou, do you mind if I take possession of your mind and body for this Challenge? I'm not sure how much power I'm going to need, but it's easier to draw upon and focus magic without having to concentrate on a temporary physical body as well."

            Yugi nodded hastily. "Sure, of course," he said quietly, watching as Yami smiled gratefully before dissolving and returning to the Ring. Seconds later, he felt the familiar touch of another mind brushing his aside, taking his control away from him, but he didn't mind in the least.

            //I'm going to have to block you out completely, as well,// Yami muttered through the link. //I'm not sure if that voice would count your presence as a third challenger and think us cheaters.//

            /I don't mind,/ Yugi responded. /Just make sure you're okay, that's all./

            //I promise, Yugi. I'll be fine.// This said, he carefully locked his Light's mind completely out of the way, sealing it off so that it could no longer see or hear what went on around it--only Yami could really comprehend such things, now.

            The spirit, now alone in his possession, turned the borrowed physical head and glanced at Kaeru. The spirit had remained in his temporary physical form and was standing casually next to Kawari, looking almost bored.

            "Are you not going to possess your Aibou?" Yami asked slowly, frowning. "It would help you focus your magical abilities."

            "I'm well aware, Pharaoh," the tomb robber replied calmly. "However, I've spent the past year and a half strengthening my abilities outside of my Aibou's mind and body. I've had to, so as to protect him when he--" he stopped short, frowning, and Kawari flinched slightly. After a second's hesitation, Yami understood--Kaeru was speaking of the long span of time when Kawari had been trapped in his own mind, lost, and had nearly died of it.

            "I understand," he said slowly, dropping the matter entirely.

            Both prepared, they stepped forward a few paces to the lip of the depths below them, standing calmly.

            "ARE YOU READY FOR THE CHALLENGE?" The voice came suddenly, yet it did not startle the members of the group as it had before.

            "We are," Yami replied smoothly.

            The voice's tone dropped slightly in response, taking a chanting, ritual-like tone as it spoke. "BECAUSE THE FIRST SCROLL IS THAT OF DESIRE, YOUR DESIRE TO SAVE THE WORLD WILL NOW BE TESTED. DO YOU HAVE THE STRENGTH TO SURVIVE AGAINST DANGEROUS ODDS IN ORDER TO DO RIGHT? OR WILL YOU COWER AWAY AND DOOM YOUR SOULS? NOW IS THE TIME TO FIND THE ANSWER. BEGIN."

            At first, nothing changed, and Kaeru gave Yami a curious glance. The Pharaoh began to return the look, his own confusion showing, but at that moment the air in front of them began to twist and grow solid, forming a creature.

            Instinctively, both Kaeru and Yami backed a few feet, hissing for the others to head back for the ring of trees surrounding them. They did so, though somewhat reluctantly, but they had no other choice. The spirits, meanwhile, had turned back to the twisting air in front of themselves, and were gaping in astonishment.

            The air had solidified completely, forming an impossibly large monster. It stood nearly ten feet tall, and was covered in thick, strong-looking muscles. It's color was a deep violet-black, and it wore manacle-like wrist and ankle bands. It's head was terrifying, almost insect-like, with a square jaw and two beady, vibrant green eyes. Two antennae-like horns sprouted from the top of it's head, and mandible-like claws seemed to form out of it's neck. In it's claw-tipped hands it grasped a scimitar, with a blood-red guard and a sickly yellow curved blade. It growled in defiance and raised it's scimitar, eyes sweeping the ground for it's victims.

            "That...that's a Swordstalker!" Yami hissed in surprise, taking an involuntary step backwards.

            Kaeru's cool look faltered considerably, but he still managed to act as though he had not a care in the world. "So it is. What do you think the Challenge is, then?"

            The Pharaoh frowned. "I would think that we'd have to defeat it, but..." he shook his head. "It doesn't seem possible. Unless, of course, we summon our own monsters..."

            The tomb robber voiced his disagreement. "I don't think we can. This is supposed to be a challenge for us, not the monsters. And in any case, they would probably count as other people helping in the Challenge, and that's against these particular rules."

            Yami groaned. "This can't be good, then."

            The spirit thief growled softly. "Maybe not, but I'm not about to loose!"

            Before Yami could react, the Negative spirit had dashed away, curling slightly to the side as if he meant to move around to the monster's back. The Swordstalker growled in reply and took several steps forward, cutting off the tomb robber's path and menacing him with it's sword.

            Not about to let his partner be sliced to bits, the Pharaoh hastily dashed in the opposite direction Kaeru had taken, making a beeline for the Swordstalker's back in the direction of the pit that held the Scroll of Desire. To his surprise, the sword-bearing monster hissed angrily and whirled, leaving Kaeru as it turned to cut off Yami's movements.

            It was then that the ancient thief understood. "I think..." he muttered slowly, staring in the direction of the Swordstalker and it's new prey. Suddenly reaching a conclusion, he yelled wildly, "Pharaoh! Retreat! Go back to your original position!"

            Yami managed to hear the tomb robber's yell and followed the hastily delivered directions, hoping desperately that he would not receive a sword through his back as he ran. He was startled to find himself unscathed, and reached his original starting point within moments, still wondering.

            Kaeru ran up to meet him, watching the Swordstalker with a wary eye. He spoke urgently, carefully. "I don't think we're supposed to defeat it."

            The Pharaoh frowned. "What? What do you mean?"

            The Negative pointed in the direction of the monster, still speaking. "Look, it keeps trying to stop us when it thinks we're running towards the Scroll. But as soon as you ran away from it and became less of a threat, it stopped attacking."

            "And?"

            "So it's purpose is to protect the Scroll, nothing more. Which means, I think, that we're simply supposed to get past the monster and get the Scroll...we don't have to destroy it."

            Yami thought carefully before slowly nodding. "It makes sense," he agreed, giving the Swordstalker another look. "Now the only question is, how do we get by it?"

            "That," Kaeru replied grimly, "would be the Challenge. Here's my idea--we heard it out."

            "What?"

            "One of us plays the bait. They move forward, draw the monster after them, and run. The second of us, whoever it may be, tries to run through to the Scroll." Again, Kaeru eyed the monster carefully, though he kept an equal watch out for Yami's response.

            It came, though slowly. "It's an idea, and I would guess it should work," the spirit muttered. "Who will the bait be?"

            "I would volunteer," the tomb robber said quietly, "but the second's job requires speed to the utmost, and I would guess that I'm a faster runner than you are."

            Yami sighed, but nodded. "Very well. I'll draw it off. Move quickly, however; I've no intention of letting my aibou's body be skewered on a sword."

            "Agreed."

            Their plan readied, the Pharaoh hastily moved off, moving slowly into the Swordstalker's line of vision. He deliberately headed in the direction of the Scroll's pedestal, moving at a steady gate and trying to look as cool as possible.

            The monster twitched suddenly and turned it's humanoid-insect head in the spirit's direction. It growled threateningly and lifted it's scimitar warningly, but did not move. Frowning, Yami decided to add to the threat he posed. Within seconds his Millennium Puzzle had flared to life, it's light shining brightly and piercing the gloom the trees cast.

            The Swordstalker jerked and roared angrily, taking a step forward. It could sense the magic of the Shadow Realm encased in the Puzzle, and instantly knew that the spirit in front of him was planning to forcibly push it's way through with magic. Without warning, the creature dashed forward, raising it's glittering sword angrily in hopes of ending the threat before it could ever come into being.

            Yami let out a gasp of surprise and whirled, running as fast as his aibou's legs would carry him within seconds. He weaved over the ground, pushing for every inch of speed that he could possibly gain as he sped over the clearing.

            Kaeru, meanwhile, had watched the Swordstalker wrench away from it's guard, sprinting after Yami and swinging it's sword angrily. It was all the opening he needed; within seconds he was running speedily forward, heading full tilt towards the Scroll of Desire's pit.

            Yami, during this time, allowed himself a quick glance over his shoulder as he ran. He could see that the tomb robber was dashing towards the stone dragon's pit, but before he could observe further, the yellow-bladed scimitar sliced into his view, the creature holding it growling madly. Gasping, the Pharaoh turned his head back over his shoulder to watch where he was going, putting on an extra burst of speed. Nevertheless, the creature chasing him was much faster, and he had little doubt that it would have caught up to him within moments. He squeezed another desperate burst of speed out in a hopeless attempt and pushed himself a few feet further, but he could hear the Swordstalker behind him and knew he was as good as caught.

            Kaeru had made it almost half-way to the Scroll pit when he noticed the Pharaoh's plight. He gave a torn glance at the Scroll of Desire and the True Yami spirit, then growled softly and changed his direction. Within moments he was covering ground at a rapid pace, dashing headlong towards the Swordstalker and the Pharaoh. He only had a few seconds left before the monster would be in striking distance of the spirit ruler, and pushed himself on anxiously, hoping desperately that he would have enough time. The imitation of the Millennium Ring hanging around his neck began to glow brightly, adopting a slightly blue aura as it bounced off his chest, and it's owner growled again softly, building up the magical energies within it.

            The Swordstalker had begun to lift it's deadly curved scimitar high in the air in preparation for swinging it downward to cleave Yami in two. The Pharaoh gasped and tried to push himself on further, but knew he could not outdistance the monster behind him at the rate he was going. He closed his eyes in readiness for the pain that was sure to come, when he heard a enraged screech behind him.

            Kaeru had charged up his magical energies and had unleashed them in a brilliant, sky blue beam. The condensed magic crashed into the side of the scimitar in a rush, wavering the blade and putting it off course--it thudded down into a tree trunk instead of into it's original target, Yami. Hissing in defiance, the tomb robber launched his second attack, slamming into the giant monster with his shoulder in a vicious tackle. The creature, though not knocked completely down, wavered momentarily, loosing it's footing. The thief took the opportunity to leap back, his stance prepared, his movements like liquid steel, making himself ready for the worst. Unsurprisingly, a dark, unpleasant grin had taken his face, and he glared at the Swordstalker with fiery death in his eyes.

            Yami looked momentarily startled, but did not hesitate to leap backwards opposite Kaeru, taking a prepared stance himself. He did, however, mouth the word "thanks" quickly, not wanting to make the tomb robber think him ungrateful. The Negative spirit nodded sharply in reply before returning his gaze to the Swordstalker.

            The creature had wrenched it's sword free of the tree trunk, and was now re-gaining it's balance. Within seconds it had completed it's task, and moments later had whirled, it's neon green eyes searching angrily, flickering over the ground surrounding it. On seeing Kaeru, it roared, enraged, and swept it's free hand, unoccupied with the hilt of the scimitar, at the spirit.

            The blow connected with the side of Kaeru's head with a dull snap, and the spirit, his head the size of the attacking hand, recoiled with a yell of pain. He stumbled backwards blindly, loosing his footing on a root and coming to a half sitting position within seconds; only his hand kept him up, as it shot out quickly to grab a low-hanging tree branch for him to hold his balance with. Blinking to clear his vision, which had exploded with stars upon impact with the attacking creature's fist, he hastily pulled himself completely upright, wavering slightly as he stood.

            On the side where the remaining nine figures stood, their own problems were beginning to unwind. They were forced to watch the fight without complaint, and each being was growing increasingly worried as they watched their friends being worn down. A unified gasp had come out of the group when Kaeru had received the first successful attack, and a relieved sigh soon followed it as each person released the breath they hadn't known they'd been holding when the spirit pulled himself to his feet.

            Joey growled furiously, moving forward a pace with his hands raised. "That's it, I'm gonna kick some monster a--" He jerked suddenly as a hand reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket forcefully.

            As Joey turned to see who his capturer was, he heard the person speak quickly. "You can't go out there, Wheeler."

            "Why the heck not?!" the blonde teen spat, shaking off the hand of Kaiba, the one who had restrained him. He glared angrily towards the other teen, hissing, "If this is about you trying to humiliate me in some way, I don't have time for it, Kaiba. You can't anyway, and my friend's out there fighting a monster!"

            "I'm not trying to insult you, Joey," the CEO growled back, his tone making it evident that he was putting quite a bit of effort to hold to that sentence--though the blonde did notice that the brunette teen had switched to his first name, perhaps thinking it was more respectful and not as insulting. "I'm telling you plain and simple that you can't go out there. I know you want to help your friends, but if you move out into that clearing, you'll instantly be recognized as a third person. We don't know what will happen if the rules of this type of game are broken, and I have the feeling we shouldn't find out, either."

            Joey sighed, rubbing his temples irritably. "You're right," he muttered, anger plain in his voice. "I hate it, but you're right." He sighed again and stood perfectly still in his spot, as though he meant to bolt himself to the ground so as to not break the rules.

            Throughout the rest of the group, similar discussions were being held. Exchanging glances, Kawari, Kaze, and Saguru moved forward a few steps, acting as a block so that none of the other teens could move forward. Despite their cool manner, however, each one paced anxiously, not looking nearly as laid back as they had before--most noticeably Kawari, who was watching his yami with concern obvious on his face.

            Back in the fight, things were not going as well as they hoped. The Swordstalker was pacing heavily towards Kaeru, it's scimitar raised threateningly. The tomb robber was no longer stunned from the blow he had received, and held his ground, though he looked slightly nervous. He wasn't one to back away from a challenge or a fight--or both at once--but at the same time, he'd never faced a creature nearly twice his size with a sword, either.

            Without thinking he backed up a pace, looking around frantically for some open move. It was then that he noticed Yami; the spirit was waving his arms hurriedly from his position behind the monster, as if trying to get his attention. Kaeru focused his steely gaze on the other spirit, and the Pharaoh held up two fingers, mouthing quickly, "Give me two minutes." The tomb robber could already see the glow of the Millennium Puzzle around the ancient ruler's neck, yet he knew it's power at the moment was feeble compared to what it was capable of.

            Giving a rapid nod, the Negative thief returned his gaze to the Swordstalker. He'd have to distract it somehow, keep it from knowing of Yami's growing magic. He gave a grim smile and allowed his own Ring to glow, it's light looking like blue and golden tongues of flame that licked at the sides of the artifact, at the same time backing up a few more paces.

            The Swordstalker roared angrily as it focused on the Millennium Ring. With an enraged scream, it dashed forward, drawing it's scimitar high over it's head and slicing downward forcefully. Kaeru gave a small hiss of surprise and only just managed to dodge, nearly throwing himself to the side to avoid the deadly sharpness of the blade.

            At least it's paying attention to me, not Yami, he thought dryly to himself, as the creature drew in it's sword and prepared for another strike. This time, it sliced outwards in a horizontal direction, cutting through the air at neck-level in hopes of severing the spirit's head from his body. Not showing any emotion, the spirit ducked, coiling his muscles together in a crouching position as the blade swept overhead harmlessly.

            The creature gave another angry roar and attacked again, determined to injure it's elusive prey. It, too, crouched down on one knee, slicing it's blade out in another attack and just skimming over the ground quickly, as if trying to cut it's opponent's feet out from underneath him. Kaeru reacted instantly; still crouching, he suddenly leaped upward, springing himself into the air and jumping over the scimitar in what looked almost like a deadly game of jump rope. As the blade swept under him once more in a returning slice, the tomb robber came down to meet ground again--landing on the flat of the scimitar blade and pinning it to the ground.

            The monster looked more than a little confused, growling angrily as it felt it's major weapon suddenly be forced to the ground, his opponent crouching on it's wide blade with a smirk on his face. Kaeru, however, looked as if he was having fun, his grin spreading even wider and sending a glittering appearance into his eyes. He could not help but speak, a little jaunt escaping his lips. "What's the matter? Did the Tomb Robber catch your favorite weapon? Look carefully, I might steal it out from under your nose."

            The creature seemed to grow more enraged at this comment, and with a roar wrenched it's scimitar out from underneath the spirit, forcing it upward. The result was something like a spatula flipping a pancake; the flat of the blade forced Kaeru upwards, twisting him a good five feet into the air before separating with him and allowing him to hit the ground with a dull thud some ten feet away.

            Kaeru groaned in pain as he found himself flat on his back, a throbbing headache beginning to nestle in the back of his head. That was the least of his problems, however; as he raised himself into a sitting position, still wavering as though dazed, he could see the Swordstalker tramping in his direction, it's scimitar raised triumphantly. Startled, the spirit began to crab-walk backwards, not having time to stand.

            The monster, meanwhile, had allowed a terrifying grin to spread over it's face. Without warning, it lunged forward, it's sword sweeping out to the side in preparation for attack--and abruptly screamed in agony and stumbled to the side, falling to the ground, a long, thin burn suddenly visible on it's side.

            Shocked, Kaeru glanced over the surrounding area, noticing Yami suddenly. The ancient ruler was standing defiantly, Millennium Puzzle glowing with a golden-green light, and he was staring at the Swordstalker in anger.

            Breathing hard, the tomb robber pushed himself to his feet, gathering unsteady footing for himself hastily. Yami approached him quickly, face filled with concern. "Are you all right?"

            "Fine," the Negative spirit hissed back, his voice somewhat snappish as a result of the latest occurrences. "But listen," he continued, his voice almost business like, "we're not going to get anywhere this way. We need that Scroll, and we're not going to get it by standing here. I think--" he stopped suddenly, eyes wide. "Pharaoh, look out!"

            Yami had one second for his face to express confused surprise before he was hit. A gigantic fist, connected to an equally large and muscular arm, rocketed outward and slammed into his torso. The ancient ruler was shot to the side, hitting the ground and rolling a few feet before laying still. At the same time as he was hit, something golden flashed through the air and clinked to the ground at the remainder of the groups' feet--the Millennium Puzzle.

            Kaeru had no time to express his own shock. He had barely enough warning to throw himself to the side before the scimitar blade sliced down where he had stood seconds before. He hastily dashed a good ten feet from the attacking monster, heading away from the still figure laying in the clearing so as not to draw danger to a person that could not protect himself. When he had come to a halt, he whirled and looked around hastily.

            The Swordstalker had not chased him, fortunately, but rather it was standing still, recovering itself after Yami's attack and pressing one clawed hand to it's burned side. The thief spirit ignored the monster for the time being and turned to observe the figure laying in the clearing--and gasped.

            The figure was no longer Yami. Yugi had taken his place now that the Puzzle had been removed from him, and the boy looked startled. He was staring in shock at the Swordstalker, eyes even wider than they usually were and looking very nervous. The monster, noticing a weakened prey, began to pace towards the young Hikari, blade bared dangerously. It was then that Kaeru realized--Yugi could not fight, or he would risk breaking the rules and bringing something terrible on the entire group. He could not protect himself at all, for the Puzzle, his only Guardian, had been separated from him.

            Setting his jaw in a determined fashion, the Negative tomb robber darted for the Millennium Puzzle, hoping to return it quickly to Yugi so that Yami could take over once more. However, someone else beat him to it--a very unfortunate someone.

            Within the group, Ryou had not even known what had hit him. He had watched the Millennium Puzzle drop to the ground in dismay, but suddenly found his mind being shoved forcefully aside as his yami wrenched control from him. Bakura, now in control, had dived forward, snatching the Puzzle from the ground quickly before turning and running full tilt down one of the hiker's paths in the mountain.

            Unfortunately, he did not get very far. He had only made it a few yards down the trail when he suddenly felt his legs get kicked painfully from beneath him; he fell, unbalanced, and within seconds his attacker was crouching on his back, holding him down with all his weight. The figure wasted no time, but snatched the Puzzle from the True tomb robber's hands, removing himself from the dark spirit's back as he did so.

            Bakura, angered, hastily pulled himself into a kneeling position and whirled, coming to face his attacker. "You!" he spat, enraged, as he came face to face with his Negative self.

            Kaeru held the Millennium Puzzle up for his True self to see, muttering lowly, "This already has an owner, you know, and I think he'd appreciate it if you didn't take it from him." He tutted once before whirling and dashing back towards the clearing, preparing himself for the fight once more.

            Bakura growled in pure hate, beginning to raise himself up to stand with thoughts of slinking away running through his head. However, before he could so much as act on his plan, a strong arm locked around his neck, holding him firmly in place.

            "What?!" The True tomb robber hissed in surprise, twisting his head to try and catch sight of his newest captor. He was startled to find himself staring at Kawari, the Negative Hikari's innocent brown eyes currently hardened and dangerous looking.

            "You know, Bakura," he said mockingly, wrapping his second, gloved hand around the thief's arms and rendering them useless for attacking, "you're seriously starting to piss me off. Give up your possession on my True self now."

            "Why should I?" the spirit growled back, in no mood to deal with this over-confident version of Ryou at the moment. If he'd had just one arm free, he could have taught the hikari a strong lesson, but the boy wasn't stupid; he'd locked the spirit's arms, and with Bakura still half-kneeling on the ground, the thief couldn't kick his way free, either.

            "I've got a good reason," the white-haired Negative said, sounding sarcastic. "You can't breathe if you don't?" Though it might have been imagined, the grip around the tomb robber's throat seemed to increase, and the spirit coughed slightly.

            Bakura muttered to himself, running his options over in his head hurriedly. He couldn't fight, as the hikari had gotten him into a firm, guarded grip, and that greatly limited many of his moves. He finally sighed, annoyed; he wasn't stupid, and he knew he couldn't put up a fight, but he felt humiliated that such a weak hikari had managed to stop him.

            "Fine," he hissed, his voice thick with malice. "I'll leave." What he didn't say, however, was that he would still be waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. And this "Kawari," as he called himself, had quite suddenly climbed to the top of his list of victims.

            Kawari waited patiently as he watched the Millennium Ring on the spirit's chest glow brightly; the body he held went limp for a few seconds before starting slowly, twisting it's head as though confused. "What's going on...?"

            "Your yami took over," the Negative Ryou replied simply, releasing his True self quickly. "He tried to take the Millennium Puzzle. But that's all taken care of, now."

            "Oh...thank you," Ryou murmured slowly, looking a little worried. Bakura had taken over? He knew for certain that could mean almost nothing good....

            The two quickly turned and rejoined the rest of the group. Each person had their eyes solely focused on the battle in front of them, and none had noticed the problems with Bakura on their side. Ryou and Kawari did not bring it up, but instead returned themselves to watching the battle.

            Kaeru, upon taking possession of the Millennium Puzzle from his True self, had dashed back to the battle quickly. The Swordstalker was only a few paces from Yugi now, and was beginning to raise it's scimitar in the final attack. Without a shred of hesitation, the tomb robber leapt forward with a roar, tossing the Puzzle to Yugi quickly while diving at the monster's outstretched arm. Angrily he latched himself onto the gigantic, muscular arm, digging his tiny, sharp fingernails into the skin and scrabbling furiously, his only weapon without any of his customary knives and such. Though not doing much damage, he succeeded in drawing it's attention off of the defenseless Yugi, as the creature now felt that it had to punish it's newest attacker.

            It threw Kaeru off it's arm quickly, but the spirit made a graceful twist in mid-air and managed to land on his feet in a crouch, sliding several feet from the momentum and sending a cloud of dust and dirt into the air. Furious, the Swordstalker lashed out, swiping in several forms at the tomb robber. The Negative Bakura dodged skillfully, often keeping the blade from cutting him by only a hair--most times he could even feel the wind the blade drew after it as it slashed outwards.

            Yugi, meanwhile, had hastily slipped the Puzzle over his head, clutching it tightly to his chest, as though protecting it. His mind was shoved rather forcefully aside as Yami tore control from him, though he understood the spirit's urgency and forgave him. Yami, now once again in control, could now see his partner moving swiftly backward, drawing the Swordstalker after him.

            Kaeru, too, had seen that Yami had returned. Dodging a new slash of the scimitar, he roared loudly, "Pharaoh! The Scroll! Get the Scroll!"

            The ancient ruler understood instantly. Pushing himself to his feet, he tore up the ground as he dashed headlong towards the Scroll pit, his heart beating frantically in fear and from constant movement.

            Kaeru, during the entire time, was doing a fine job of keeping the Swordstalker's attention. He made an interesting target; always moving, always just out of reach, yet moving in and out of range constantly. He was driving the sword monster crazy from his elusive, expert movements, weaving in and out of trees quickly and efficiently, always just barely escaping the swipe of a blade.

            Suddenly, however, things seemed to turn on him. He had reached an area where the trees grew closer together, making an effective blockade in one direction, with tangled vines and fallen branches adding to it. Gasping in exhaustion and surprise, the spirit turned to run--and found himself facing the gigantic sword-bearing monster.

            Grinning triumphantly, the creature slashed out with it's blade. Kaeru threw himself to the side almost instantly, dodging the scimitar--but not without consequence. As the sword cut upwards, it slashed through several branches and vines, dropping them down in a tangled mess in between the spirit and the monster and successfully enclosing him in a "cage" of creepers and trees.

            The Swordstalker looked as though it was preparing to finish the tomb robber off, but at that moment it twitched and glanced back the way it came. It must have sensed that Yami was getting closer to it's precious Scroll, for it gave Kaeru one last glance and, deciding the thief was trapped, dashed off in the direction of the stone dragon's pit.

            "No!" the Negative spirit hissed angrily, hammering his tree-like prison with his shoulder in powerful tackles in attempts to break himself out. It was working, but slowly, cracking the wood at a decent pace--though not fast enough.

            Yami, meanwhile, had almost reached the Scroll's pit, and was only a few yards from it's ledge. He grinned triumphantly, not noticing the monster nearby until it was too late.

            With an almighty roar, the Swordstalker slashed with it's scimitar forcefully. Yami was hit with the flat of the blade, not being cut, but instead stunned. He was flung a good ten feet, skittering across the ground and rolling down the steps into the pit that held the Scroll. He came to rest, quite suddenly, with his back to the Scroll's pedestal, his head spinning as though a tornado had become trapped in it.

            Kaeru had seen that entire occurrence and yelled in anger. He hammered quicker on the wooden prison; without warning, the branches and vines snapped, and he forced his way through them. He dashed quickly towards the pit, but his legs were far shorter than those of the Swordstalker's, and he felt the sickening feeling that he was going to be too late.

            He did, however, see Yami within the pit, leaning heavily against the Scroll's pillar. He looked dazed, as if he could not tell one shape from another, and his head rolled slightly. He could understand the Pharaoh's pain, but at the same time knew that they needed desperately to finish this task, to achieve their goal. All the ancient ruler had to do was reach up and grab the Scroll, though in his dazed state he didn't seem capable. He would have to be forced, somehow.

            So, coming to these conclusions, Kaeru responded in the best way he knew how. "Pharaoh! You fool, you called yourself the leader of Egypt? Pick up the Scroll! Pick up the Ra-damned Scroll, Pharaoh!"

            Deep in his semi-consciousness, Yami could vaguely register that somebody was speaking. He forced himself with some effort to concentrate harder, and suddenly could make out the words. He frowned slightly; somebody was swearing at him? Him, the Pharaoh, who they seemed to acknowledge as a once-ruler? He growled softly, his senses becoming clearer, more attuned.
            "Grab the Gods-damned Scroll, you idiotic Pharaoh, or we're all dead!"

            All at once, Yami's mind seemed to snap to attention, and he forced his eyes open, gazing around the area. The first thing he noticed was that the Swordstalker was only two feet from the lip of the pit he himself was in. The second thing that he noticed was that he was leaning against the pedestal that held the Scroll, and it was only a foot or so above his head.

            "Grab the Scroll," he murmured slowly. He tried to reach his arms; they felt so heavy, he was almost sure he couldn't do it. The Swordstalker took another step, and he changed his mind, forcing his right arm upward. The monster was another step closer, on the steps now, but Yami's hand was higher too. It was drawing back it's sword to attack, to slice cleanly downward and end it all....higher, another inch up, you can do it...the sword was beginning to come down...

            With sudden sureness, Yami's hand snapped around a small, curled-up Scroll. He grasped it tightly, as if it was an anchor to life, a shield against death. The Swordstalker's curved blade was still coming down--it had just begun to press slowly into his forehead, causing a small shiver of pain. Then, suddenly, it was gone, disappearing, as though it had never existed.

            The voice that had greeted them at the beginning of the Challenge spoke again--just one sentence, though it sounded quite humble for it's stature. "I AM DEFEATED."

            Yami frowned slowly, forcing his dazed mind to think, though it seemed difficult. He slowly looked upward, where he noticed Kaeru was standing on the pit's steps. Very slowly, he felt the small cut on his forehead caused by the scimitar, and felt the tiny trickle of blood that slipped down the side of his nose. It didn't hurt; mostly it was the fear that had caused such a minor injury to seem so huge.

            The rest of the group had run forward to meet the two battlers, yelling words of praise and congratulations. Kawari had come to stand firmly next to his yami, with Ryou on the other side, but all three of them, along with the rest of the group, were staring down in concern towards Yami, still sitting against the Scroll pedestal.

            Suddenly, the ancient Pharaoh noticed that Yugi was trying to contact him in the mind link. /Yami? Are you okay?/

            //I'm fine, Yugi,// the spirit replied, coming to his senses. //I was just a little confused, that's all.//

            /Ah. Okay./ The mental voice of his Hikari sounded a little disbelieving, and Yami sighed, giving his charge some of his control back so that he could now see and hear everything that the spirit did.

            Returning to the physical world, Yami blinked and slowly stared up at his companions. He felt the blood trickle farther down his face, and wiped it carefully on his sleeve, pressing it to the cut so that the pressure would hopefully stop the bleeding. After what seemed like an age, he muttered very slowly, "I would very much hope that doesn't happen in the future."

            At first, there was silence in response to the Yami's quote. However, after a few seconds, a nervous titter broke out among the members of the group, spreading slowly into full-fledged laughter--the laughter one uses after they have just survived something impossible.

            When quiet had returned once more, Yami stood up, walking gratefully out of the pit and coming to stand with the rest of the group. He separated quickly with his Hikari, forming his own temporary physical body so as to enable everyone to see the Scroll of Desire.

            "I can't believe we've got it," Tea murmured slowly, her eyes lighting up in delight as she gazed at the Scroll. "The Scroll of Desire! We won it!"

            Yami nodded slowly, still feeling exhausted. He carefully unrolled the Scroll, opening it up wide and glancing over it's thin, spidery handwriting quickly. After several seconds he spoke. "This Scroll has more than one spell on it."

            "What?" The question was asked by nearly everyone at once.

            "There are other spells here besides the one we want," he said, his voice taking a calm air. "Like this one--it's a Healing spell, able to completely restore a person's physical wounds to their original healthy state in all but the most fatal of cases. It doesn't revive death, basically, but it'll heal almost everything else."

            "That could come in useful," Tristen remarked calmly.

            "Indeed," Yami said, agreeing. "There are at least six others here, of course, various spells--most concern healing in some way. Healing love, healing the mind, healing the soul...." He didn't notice Kaze fidget slightly at the mention of spells as his eyes scanned the Scroll carefully before coming to rest in one spot. "Ah, here we go. A spell that should hopefully aid us in our quest to fix the Shadow Realms' overflowing powers." He read over it once quickly before slowly beginning to chant it out loud in ancient Egyptian. Several seconds passed, in which all was silent, and the unfamiliar language seemed to captivate the minds of the beings in the group. Finally, with a flourish, Yami finished reading in his regal tones, and waited.

            Nothing happened.

            Frowning, Yami tried again, chanting the spell in a practiced manner. Still, nothing happened, and his frown deepened, his confusion evident. "I wonder what's wrong?"

            Kaze groaned suddenly. "I think I know." The others focused on him, and he continued. "We're supposed to look for all Seven Realm Scrolls, correct? Then I think that the entire spell is split up evenly among the seven Scrolls. There's a piece of the spell in each Scroll; you just read a piece, therefore, and nothing happened."

            A groan filled the air as each person showed their annoyance at the well-hidden Scrolls and spells. Yami finally sighed and murmured, "Yes, I suppose you're right, it does make sense," causing another groan to follow the first.

            Ryou blinked suddenly. "Wait a minute. If we've found this first Scroll, then we have no idea where to find the next one--we have no new clues. What do we do now?"

            The others nodded their agreement, and Yami stretched out the Scroll again, reading over it to see if it held some sort of new verse. Yugi, however, focused on the ground. He noticed a slip of parchment at Yami's feet, and guessed that it had slipped out of the Scroll when the Pharaoh had opened it.

            Carefully, Yugi bent down and scooped up the small scrap of parchment, reading over it quickly. He frowned, read it again, and sighed before holding it up. "Guys..."

            Each of the eleven other group members turned to face him, focusing curiously.

            Yugi sighed again, frowning slightly as he held out the parchment for the others to look at. "I think I've found the next clue."

                        *                      *                      *                      *                      *

HCG: There's THAT chapter done, then....*dashes around*    

Kaze: *running frantically* I'm surprised you even FINISHED The damned thing after what you just did!

Kaeru: *running up alongside* Yeah, what in Amun-Ra's name possessed you to "un-heal" NR Yami?!

HCG: *sniff* I wanted him to be more interesting...he was so boring the other way....

Kawari: -_-;; Yay for you, we all get to die now.

HCG: O_O;;

NR Yami: *in the background, exploding things randomly and watching them burn for fun* HAHAHAHHAHAHAHA!

Kaeru: o_O;; What happened to your editing pen you changed him with?!

HCG: ¬_¬;; He stole it

NR Yami: *holds up a snapped-in-half pen* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

HCG: ooooh, hell.....

Kaiba: x_X just do the notes!

HCG: Right. Okay.

1) The mountain they headed to, Mount Volumen? Well, "Volumen" is Latin for "Scroll." Just a little tidbit of information there.....

2)x_X gack, long. Although, two pages consist of author's notes and answering reviews...hoh, boy, and it's 1:18 at night right now...-_-;; good thing school doesn't start until 10:40 in the morning tomorrow...

3) Um, well, erm...go read my other fic! It's a one shot from Kawari's point of view, when he was Mind Lost (you know, Shadow Turned Light, Chapter 6?). It's my first angst fic, and also my first time to write from the point of a person fighting insanity (if you don't count NR Yami..*sharp glance at him*)

HCG: x_X Anyway people...I've nothing left to say, as I'm currently busy getting attacked by my far-too-rabid character...so...review! Please? And go read my other fic, "Shadowed Soul" when you're done. Have fun ^_~