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...

8. Deadly Gaze of Fear

***Quick author's note. I'm VERY sorry for this chapter coming so incredibly late. During Spring Break, I kicked back and relaxed...unfortunately, my writing skills and ideas thought that the vacation had kept going on into the school days. In short--I was lazy, I didn't have a writer's mood, and I just plain didn't feel like sitting down for a few hours to write out stuff. Again, I'm very sorry for making you people wait. You're very patient, and I thank you for that ^_^***

HCG: *eating large chocolate Easter bunnies as she types*

Kaze: Aren't you just a bit old for Easter candy?

HCG: You're never too old for Easter Candy! Just like you're never too old for Yu-Gi-Oh cards!

Kaiba: o_O;; What makes you say that?

HCG: x_X I'm assuming other people have the same problem...at my school, you're considered rather lame if you tote YGO cards around in your backpack...of course, I don't care, but still, it's annoying.

Yami: (The "Visitor-Of-The-Day" as a gift to Bright Misdreavus) What?! That's terrible! The Heart of the Cards are clouded like that! It's--

HCG: -_-;; Oh, shut up, I don't give a damn.

Yami: *mutters angrily*

HCG: *turns to Kawari* So, you're back from the desert?

Kawari: Yup. Though I still fear the fangirls....*stares nervously at WSJ and Aibou*

HCG: Oh, they're harmless, really.

Kawari: X_X HARMLESS?! Did you SEE how WSJ reacted to my fight with Bakura?! And Aibou's a hugging maniac!

HCG:.......and your point is...?

Kawari: -_-;;

HCG: *sighs* Anyway. To the polls!

Kaeru: Polls?

HCG: The Favorite Negative Character Polls!

Kaeru: -_-;; Ooh, goody.

HCG: Okay, the Polls stand: Kawari: 2, Kaeru: 2, Saguru: 1, Kaze: 1. I didn't count seconds/runner ups, though several of you did list them. Anyway, it's obvious that you people just plain love Kawari and his yami. They are cool, aren't they? ^_^

Kawari & Kaeru: ¬_¬;;

HCG: In fact, they're so cool, I've been looking around for different music that represents them all. I think I've found a "Kawari Theme Song," so if you want to hear it, here you go: Go download/listen to "Bounce" by Bon Jovi. Good song. I love it. *clings to CD Player* I suppose it could represent other characters as well, but I was first drawn to thinking of Kawari when I listened to it.

Kawari: o_O;; That's not a bad song, actually.

HCG: Anyway. I'll see if I can find other "Theme Songs" for you people to listen to, if you want. In the meantime, on to the replies. Wheee!

Silver Fang ~ XD, I didn't even mean for the "tut" pun when I wrote it. I was just trying to make Kawari look like he was humiliating Bakura. YAY FOR HYPERNESS!

Magical Mage ~ Your guess was pretty close? That's good. As for the large cast, yeah, I don't really like working with so many people in a fic--you'd notice that "Shadow Turned Light" was a lot closer together, only three or four main characters--but having so many people is necessary for later. Anyway.

Bright Misdreavus ~ Boy, have you got guts to say you don't like Kawari when surrounded by his fangirls in the reviewing section o_O;; Very brave of you. Don't like his attitude, hmm? *laughs* I can understand that.

Kawari: _;; I do NOT have an attitude! Take that back!

HCG: -_-;; Great job convincing the reviewer, you moron.

Kawari: Nyah!

Wingleader Sora Jade ~ Kawari: O_O;; *backs slowly away from WSJ*

HCG: *reads review again* ^_^ Heh heh heh, I'm HCG-Sama now. *grins*

Kaze: -_-;; Don't let it go to your head.

HCG: _;; Nyah! *calms* Well, anyway. *laughs* You drew the fanart with him fencing? Smart you are! Perhaps you got the clue I gave earlier, when I described his glove, and said it LOOKED like a fencing glove...I was hoping somebody'd pick up on that. Or maybe when Kawari gives Bakura the "Fencing Finger." Hmm...now, what's Kawari's hair like? Well, keep in mind, he's a replica of Ryou, so they'd look identical....although having his hair cut shorter would make sense as well, since Kawari gets into several blade fights in the Opposition, and his hair'd probably get in the way. *shrugs* Either way is fine, I suppose. Oooh, Auras!

Kaeru:.....o_O;; Oh goody, I get to stay blue.
Yami: Grey-black seems to fit my opposite nicely -_-;;

HCG: I like the idea of Saguru's, bronze colored....makes him sound strong, but since it's darker than "your" Joey's...

Kaze: Hmm, Royal Purple for an aura doesn't seem all that bad...it suits me...

Kawari: *snickers* Well I got the best! Forest green! Nyah nyah!

HCG: ¬_¬;; I don't know what you're bragging about; it's not as if you can see them anyway.

Kawari: x_X;; Shut up.

HCG: If I were you, I'd feel cheated anyway. You don't get that super-cool brilliant white aura your telepathic self gets! ^____^

Kawari: _;; So? I can use a dirk and I know at least ten different blade-fighting styles, hundreds of techniques, and the like! He can't....so there!

HCG: ^_^ Getting defensive? Oh, and as to your final note, nope, Kawari and Amane don't get along. At all. Sibling rivalry, you know...or maybe not rivalry, but you get the idea. I've already got plans for her, I believe, in the story that will hopefully follow this one, if all goes right...*grins*

Kawari: _;; Must you involve her? The story's so much better with her absence! *gets hit over the head with The Almighty Keyboard and goes quiet*

HCG: Good luck with the new fanart! Kawari and telepath-Ryou, that oughta make a killer piccie ^_^ I'll have to try something of the like myself someday, I like your Telepath Ryou just as much as you like Kawari.

Daricio ~ Okay, you seem a bit surprised at how the Negatives act calm in dangerous situations. Actually, they have a reason for that, not all Negatives are calm--Kawari, Kaeru, Kaze, and Saguru, however, are trained in the Opposition, and so they've learned how to take each challenge that awaits them with a straight face and clear mind--they have to, or they'd probably be long dead. Now, as for your question about halfway being opposite, yup, I know what you're talking about, though I couldn't give you an exact answer to your question. I had the same "halfway" problem with Kaiba and Kaze when I was planning the Negative version's personality WAAAAY back in STL. Kaiba's an unusual character, see; he's half good, half bad, though he steers more towards bad. Thus, Kaze'd have to be half good, half bad, though steering more towards good. So, though they still have different goals and ways of acting, they're the most similar opposites out of the rest of the gang. As for the fears that each character'll have, you'll see soon enough. Oh, and Ryou would rather not kick Bakura--

Kawari: ^_^ I WILL!

HCG:....ooookay......go ahead....oh, and you can't blame Yami for being suspicious; I mean, Bakura did lock his hikari's soul in a card, and then later on tried to kill him...and Kaeru isn't as trusting of Yami as you'd like to believe, either, though it's again understandable, after seeing what NR Yami did. Anyway. *waves to NR Daricio*

Trinity Star ~ OOoh, Serya's trained to fight fangirls? What a dangerous job to take up...*shudders*

Kawari: Yeah, it's almost next to the Opposition in danger and importance.

HCG: *watches the rabid fangirls clutching their pictures of favorite characters* *shudders*

Kawari: If you're not careful, you could end up down there too, HCG...

HCG: I'm not a fangirl!

Kawari: So says the person who caught Kaiba and forced him to be a muse.

HCG: ^_^;; *edges away from pit*

Well anyway, those'd be the general reviews. YAY for reviewers! I can't believe how far you guys have gotten me; I'd be nowhere without you're support. Anyway, I suppose you guys are DYING for Ch. 8 to start up so you can see the fears of your beloved characters!

Kawari: -_-; I HATE my fear.

Kaeru: o_O;; I'm not to fond of mine either.

Yami: I have to agree with you there.

HCG: *sighs* Fine, well, let's get to the story at least.....the sooner we start, the sooner it's over.
Kaeru, Kawari, & Yami: YAY!

HCG: *rolls eyes* YAMI! DISCLAIMER!

Yami: o_O;; High Crystal Guardian does not own Yu-Gi-Oh or any of it's characters. The Seven Elements belong to Wingleader Sora Jade, though the scrolls they are connected to are HCG's. And the Negative Realm, Negative Characters, and plot involved in this story are HCG's. Do not use without permission.

HCG: Thankies ^_^ To the story!

Notes:

Kawari ~ NR Ryou

Kaeru ~ NR Bakura

Kaze ~ NR Kaiba

Saguru ~ NR Joey

/word/ ~ Yugi to Yami

//word// ~ Yami to Yugi

Italics are thoughts or dreams/memories

PLEASE don't be confused by the third Fear. The memory is separate from the actual Challengers; therefore, all four in the memory are Negative people. And I realize you don't understand this yet, but you will, I promise.

Anything else? Anything? Um.....nope, don't think so. Should I randomly fill up this space with talk? *sees reviewers raising dangerous threatening objects* O_O;; Nope, don't think I will! FICCIE!!!

Negative Chaos

Chapter 8: Deadly Gaze of Fear

"BEGIN."

As soon as the powerful voice had spoken, darkness seemed to wrap around the four challengers. Sight of their friends was cut off as air solidified and lost color, becoming dim and opaque. The sun's cheerful light disappeared completely, and within seconds Kawari, Yugi, and their yamis were standing in a billowing, pitch-black non-existence.

"Where are we?" Yugi murmured, jerking his head this way and that, looking for a recognizable landmark. "The Shadow Realm?"

"No," Yami replied softly, eyes narrowing with suspicion. "The Shadow Realm seems to exist, at least. This place is a place of Nothing."

"N..nothing?" the young Hikari tittered nervously, looking over his head slightly as though expecting something familiar to appear suddenly.
Kawari, too, frowned around at the landscape, looking in particular down at the steady surface they rested on. There was no visible ground or floor, but he could feel his feet on something hard. "Well, no doubt this place is a little bit odd, but what's so scary about it?"

"No idea." This was Kaeru, who was glancing around rapidly, as though expecting an ambush. "But even if it doesn't seem scary, be wary of it. It is a Challenge, after all, and it won't be easy."

"Yeah," Kawari muttered in an off tone, but Yugi had noticed his eyes narrow quite suddenly as well, and his gloved hand had risen a few inches to his chest, in the direction of his sheathed dirk.

Without warning, the nothingness around them began to change, becoming solid once again and forming the smallest hints of existence. The change, now having started, soon began to speed up, as though it was being encouraged to work harder. Within moments, the foursome of Challengers were standing in a new set of surroundings, and staring about them in awe.

Yugi knew almost instantly where he was. He could see, quite easily, that he was standing in a long, darkened corridor, the corners and edges of the walls harboring rolling, misty shadows. Staring around, he saw a few more corridors, and noticed with a start that he and his three companions were standing in front of a fork of other hallways. The air above them was thick and smoky, and the Hikari could hardly see a few inches over his head before his sight was shrouded in darkness. The walls, made of a sickly dark yellow stone, were crumbling and broken, and some areas of the walls had completely fallen out to scatter all over the floors. The entire mood presented by the darkened, twisted passageways was one of torment, terror, and hopelessness, and--Yugi bit his lip and glanced at his three companions--he knew exactly who's fear this entire image belonged to. The image of a deathly labyrinth, one that could never be escaped, no matter how hard the lost ones tried.

Kaeru and Kawari, apparently, understood where they were as well, but Yami looked rather confused. "It's a maze. I don't understand; what's going on?"

Yugi groaned. "You'll know in a second," he muttered softly, staring nervously over at one of his Negative companions.

Kawari had gone completely rigid, unmoving, and his eyes held a wide expression of terror. Slowly, after what had seemed like ages had passed, the opposite Ryou began to shake uncontrollably, terrified and shocked tremors running through him like waves. There was a soft, inaudible sound coming from his throat, almost a moan of pleading, and a small whisper, barely heard, managed to pull it's way out of the teen's mouth, "no..."

"What's happening?" Yami asked, frowning in concern, as his darkened violet eyes focused on the terrified Negative. "Is this his fear?"

"Yes," Yugi muttered softly. "It is. I'll explain in a minute, but please, for once, don't try to help. You'll only make things worse for him."

"How could I do--"

"Stop talking!" The young Hikari shot a nervous look in Kawari's direction; the boy's shaking seemed to have intensified. "He recognizes your voice. Don't talk. Just...just pretend you're not here right now." He looked worried, so Yami sighed and followed his Hikari's instructions, strange as they may have been.

Kaeru was looking worried as well; he had approached his own Light cautiously, frowning. "Kawari?"

The white-haired teen shuddered harder; without warning, he slid backwards and pressed himself into one of the corners of the walls, sliding downwards slightly and putting his full weight on the wall. There was sweat beading on his brow now, sliding down the sides of his face, but not from heat--if anything, it was like standing outside in the snow in this labyrinth, so cold was the atmosphere. Slowly, he drew in a ragged breath, and muttered to that he could just barely be heard. "I don't want to come back here...no...I can't....I won't...it won't take me again!" These last words rose to a near shriek, but within seconds his voice had lowered again, and not another clear phrase could be heard.

Yami frowned, and momentarily forgetting his silence, asked, "What's he talking about?"

The sound of the Pharaoh's voice seemed to throw Kawari into a deeper state of terror. Like a silver flash of lightning, his black-gloved hand darted into the insides of his jacket, returning with Gin Hebi clutched tightly in his fist. For all the shaking the Negative did, however, the blade remained quite steady, and Yami had no doubt that the hikari could still use it if he had to--and would use it, should he be forced to.

Kaeru's frown deepened. "Kawari...it's me. I'm not going to hurt you, remember? I looked for you in here...and I will again. It won't take you again so long as I am here." His words seemed to relax Kawari's guard, for the silvery blade lowered ever so slightly, a sign of acceptance. The tomb robber, relieved that his lighter half had given in so quickly for once, hastily moved forward, wanting to comfort his hikari.

Yami took the chance to speak. Even so, he whispered, not wanting the Negative Ryou to react too strongly. "Will you explain what's going on now?"

"Right," Yugi muttered, still looking edgy. "See...remember when I told you that the Ryou in the Negative Realm was locked in his mind for nearly a year and a half?"

Yami frowned. "Yes...you said that I caused it, with the Mind Crush technique, did you not?"

"That's exactly right. But when I went into Kawari's mind, to try and free him from that Mind Lost state, his mind was set up like this...a crumbling labyrinth that he couldn't escape from. It caused him a lot of pain, mental and physical, to try and escape, and he never succeeded, either, until I came along. You can see how it would be his worst fear..." Yugi shook his head slowly, his voice lowering still further. "Being forced to watch memories of your friends and family dying all around you, getting hurt, and you can't do a God damned thing about it...just watch it over and over...I saw a few of those memories, only a few, but it was enough to still give me nightmares."

The Pharaoh's expression instantly took a guilty appearance. He frowned darkly, staring at Kawari with a bit of pity in his eyes, and murmured, "No wonder he's afraid of my voice. It was the last thing he heard before all of that....and I caused all of this..."

Yugi nodded, also staring over in Kawari's direction; the hikari was still shaking uncontrollably and didn't seem to be able to focus, despite Kaeru's soothing words. "Exactly."

Yami's expression now changed into one of concern, but quickly twisted into a more thoughtful look. "But," he said, very slowly, as if he wasn't sure, "as long as the group stays together, Kawari's fear should be kept at bay. He wouldn't be alone and without support then."

Halfway through his statement, the walls of the Mind Labyrinth began to rumble, shaking enough to throw Yugi off balance--Yami caught him only a few seconds before his forehead smashed painfully into the rock-strewn floor. Pulling the Hikari upright, the two ran to the Negative pair, the walls around them making a noise rising to a roar, and with one section of wall crashing down where they had stood only moments before.

"What's going on?!" Yugi yelled over the increasing rumble to the opposite thief.

"I don't know!" Kaeru hissed back, growling at his uselessness, and trying to regain his balance by pressing against an unsteady wall nearby. It didn't seem to work, especially since he was half-supporting Kawari's dead weight, and the lighter half was swaying in the opposite direction. The ground shook harder, and the tomb robber let out a dismayed yell as his hikari slipped out of his grasp.

Yami darted forward over the shaking ground quickly, again snatching the falling Light from the air seconds before he hit the stone below. Kawari hadn't seemed to notice; his eyes were clamped tight together, betraying his terror, and his breathing had become harsher, in staggered gasps. Biting his lip until blood flowed freely, the Pharaoh dragged the Negative up by holding onto the back of his dark leather coat and tugging; staggering, Kawari regained footing, eyes now feebly cracking open.

"Where...where's my yami?" He hissed slowly, standing unsteadily on the shaking ground.

"This way!" Yami yelled back, darting towards Kaeru--the shaking ground had put several feet in between the two spirits. "Follow me!"

Kawari staggered slightly, apparently not noticing who he was following, and took a step forward. He was still shaking uncontrollably with fear, the rumbling stone all around him increasing his terror.

Yugi, meanwhile, had staggered over to one of the more steady walls, placing a hand against it to hold his balance. He had seen something like this before, when traveling through Kawari's mind the last time; the labyrinth had begun to break apart as Kawari had begun to die, and that, too, had been very similar to this earthquake-like occurrence. The entire world seemed like a new Hell now around him; the roar had risen to a painful screech of stone on stone, and brick-sized rocks, some even larger than bricks, were being thrown through the air like missiles, threatening to slam into a person and render them dead. To top that, the shaking had increased, and he and his four companions were now being spread apart more and more. Kaeru and Yami seemed to be on the left side of the corridor, from what he could see; he and Kawari were on the right, with a large space between the darker spirits and themselves.

Too late, Yugi recalled what Yami had said. As long as the group stays together... Too late, he made the connection; that half of the fear Kawari had felt in his torture was caused by his separation from others.

"Yami! Kaeru!" He roared over the crack and screech of shaking stone. "Come back! Our direction! NOW!"

The Pharaoh stopped, obviously having heard his lighter half. He beckoned to Kaeru, and the two started back towards their lighter halves...

The ground gave an almighty lurch beneath the foursome's feet, and Kaeru and Yami were thrown back brutally, crashing to the stone in what was obviously pain. The next second, in the wide space between the darker and lighter spirits, something began to erupt through the stone. Yugi saw, with shock, that it was a wall, raising high into the air with dust and stone pouring off of it's top. A memory popped into his head at the sight; the memory of his duel, now so long ago, with the Paradox brothers, when they had reshaped their own labyrinth to cut off his and Joey's battle forces. And that was happening now...he was cut off from his Yami, and Kaeru as well.

Kawari's eyes had widened at the sight as well; before Yugi could stop him, he had rushed forward, banging angrily on the wall as if hoping to break it down with his fist. He was yelling the entire time, his voice strained and nervous sounding. "NO! Don't get separated, I won't survive, don't leave me here! Please!" His fists hammered on the stone in a stronger effort, but they only came away raw--or, in the glove's case, torn.

Yugi felt a twinge of pity in his heart, and hastily stepped forward, running to Kawari in hopes of calming the panicking Light. More rumbling reached his ears, and he glanced around, startled to find the entire maze reshaping itself.

"Kawari!" the True Hikari yelled, trying to make his voice heard over the roar of the grinding stone. "Kawari, calm down! You're making this worse for yourself! Try to calm down, this is your fear, it will do whatever you make it do! Kawari!"

It was no use; the Negative seemed to be completely ignoring him, new overwhelming bouts of terror shivering up his spine and causing him to quake in terrified realization of what was happening to him.

Opening his mouth, Yugi attempted to calm his friend, but he was too late. There was another lurch, the Hikari was thrown backwards violently; with a rumbling screech, another wall reared up between himself and the desperate Negative, cutting each other off from sight.

Startled, Yugi stared around, still half-sprawled on the floor of the labyrinth from where the last earthquake-like tremor had thrown him. Shakily, he got to his feet, but it was easier now; the rumbling and dangerous movement underfoot was slowing, and coming to a stop quickly. Nevertheless, the Puzzle owner felt a wave of dismay. Kawari was cut off from him and the others, isolated, and completely without aid. It was exactly as it had been when he had been truly Mind Lost; if true panic hadn't set in on the white-haired teen yet, then it would, and he could possibly be forced into sudden and drastic action to try and help himself when, in reality, he would be putting himself in harm's way.

Growling angrily at the dirty orange-yellow stone between himself and his friend, Yugi sighed again. He knew for a fact that he wasn't getting through, and he had no way to help his friend. What in the world am I supposed to do?

Abruptly, a muffled banging was heard on the other side of the wall. Yugi knew instantly that it was Kawari; the boy did indeed seem desperate, his rapid hammering on the solid stone wall growing faster with each passing second. He was yelling, too; yelling words of frustration, anger, and especially terror. "Let me out of here! Please! I don't want to be back here, it hurt too much, I can't take it! Don't put me through this again!" The voice had taken a new edge of panic, and it seemed to choke slightly, as though the speaker had something in their throat that they couldn't get rid of. "Please! Let me out, I swear, I won't make it! Dammit, let me out of here!"

Yugi bit his lip, a look of strong worry falling over his face and darkening his eyes. He could tell, just from the condition of that voice, that Kawari was about to snap at any moment. I have to help him. He needs to know he's not alone, or he won't make it through this...

"Kawari!" Yugi yelled over the wall, pressing himself close to the stone block so as to be as close to his friend as possible--it would make him easier to hear. "Kawari, listen carefully! Focus on what I'm saying, okay? Just focus on my voice, that's all you have to do." Silence from the other side of the wall; Yugi took it as both a good and bad side at the same time. He wasn't crying out anymore, but then again, the Hikari had no idea what had happened to him over there either, if anything. He continued anyway. "Good. It's me, Yugi. Now listen. I'm not going to leave at all, no matter what. I know what scared you before was that, in addition to all of this, you had no one to support you, no one to help you through your troubles. So I'm going to make sure I don't leave, okay? I'll stay here and talk to you the entire time. I'm sure our Yamis will come along soon and get you out. Okay? So just calm down, and just focus on my voice." More silence. The Puzzle owner decided to take it as a good omen.

So it went on for several minutes; Yugi murmured soothingly to the wall, and hopefully his friend on the other side of it, trying to calm him and help him through his fear. There was only silence from the other side, but the Hikari tried to be optimistic and kept talking anyway.

After a little bit of his constant, soothing murmurs, the young Hikari suddenly received a mind link from his darker half. //Yugi?//

Careful to keep his physical body still talking calmly, the Light being replied. /Yami?! What is it?/

//Yugi...me and Kaeru have met up again. We're tracing your magical energies, so hopefully we'll be able to find you two soon.//

/Okay,/ Yugi said, slightly relieved sounding. /But hurry! I got separated from Kawari, and I'm not sure how he's doing...he sounded pretty desperate, and terrified./

//I will make sure to hurry, Aibou. I am just as worried about Kawari as you are, and Kaeru must multiply that feeling tenfold.//

/Right. Good luck./

Yami, from his own section of the re-shaped maze, closed off the mind-link and frowned. His Aibou had said that he'd been cut off from Kawari, which didn't sound particularly good. He himself had been cut off from Kaeru--a wall had appeared between them, rising out of the ground in a torrent of stone and sand, and he had found himself quite suddenly alone in a dead end formed by two newly-created walls. Unsure of what to do, he had started walking off quickly, regaining his balance as the rumbling of the ground died off. He'd taken several wrong turns and met a few more dead ends before he'd met up with Kaeru, who had used his own version of the Millennium Ring to locate the Pharaoh's ghostly Puzzle.

Now he stood, his new connection with his lighter half just closed, and turned to his companion. "I located him. He and Kawari were together, but..."

"But what, Pharaoh?" Kaeru asked, giving his fellow yami a rather cold stare. "I may respect you more, but you will not hide anything about my own Aibou from me."

Yami nodded. "Of course. And I never planned to. The problem is, Kawari has been cut off from Yugi, and my own Aibou is not sure of your Light's condition."

Kaeru frowned. "Then we have to find him quickly. I'm not sure if this fear of his will really effect his mental defenses or not, and I'd rather not find out the hard way. I want to get him out of here as quickly as possible."

Yami nodded in agreement. "But how do we find him?"

Kaeru grasped the leather cord around his neck in reply, indicating the Item that hung from it. "We use the Ring."

Raising the golden, dreamcatcher-like Item, the tomb robber concentrated, closing his eyes momentarily. The Ring began to glow, all five of it's pointers rising to indicate a nearby corridor. Without hesitation, Yami and Kaeru plunged down the waiting hallway, ignoring the stone strewn all over the area as they dashed headlong down it's passages.

Quite suddenly, and completely at random, the five pointers jerked to the side, indicating a new corridor appearing without warning on their way. Not loosing stride, both darker spirits whirled and ran down the new hallway, faces set and looking grim and determined.

It went on for some time. The running seemed endless, and Yami wondered more than once if the Millennium Ring was faltering, or if the labyrinth was reshaping itself and leading them away from their destination. However, after what seemed like countless millennia, the two spirits rounded the corner and found themselves focusing on Yugi.

Kaeru dropped the Ring, and it fell back into place against his chest, hanging from it's cord and swinging gently. "Where is he?"

Yugi looked up quickly, noticing them for the first time. He had seemed to be talking soothingly to the wall, and had his ear pressed against it, as if listening for something. As soon as he saw the yami spirits, however, he jumped up and ran to the darker beings, hissing, "He's on the other side of that wall. He hasn't been talking at all, so I'm not sure what's wrong with him, but..." he finished with a nervous shrug and grabbed at Kaeru's sleeve, practically dragging the spirit over to the wall as if ignoring the tomb robber's larger size and weight.

Kaeru, however, didn't mind the Light at all; on the contrary, he went willingly, moving quickly to the wall. He spoke, raising his voice to it's fullest and speaking clearly and carefully. "Kawari, it's me, your Yami. I'm here, so don't worry; I won't let this damn thing capture your mind ever again."

All at once, the silence on the other side of the wall was shattered. "Yami?!" Kawari yelled, desperation back in his voice. "Ya...mi? Kaeru?" He seemed unsure, and his breath was starting to grow harsher once more.

"Right. Kaeru. Don't worry, you'll be safe, I promise."

Another sound came from the other side of the wall, sounding much like the desperate, rapid pounding that had been used earlier. "Kaeru! God, please, get me out of here!" Again came that tight, choking blur in his voice, the voice that sounded close to whimpering. "I...I can't make it through this again! I can't! Get me out of here, it's like being trapped with Death itself, don't let this happen to me again!" The hammering grew louder, the voice more frantic.

"Kawari," the thief said, slowly, carefully making his voice calm despite his own nervousness. "I need you to answer something for me. Is there a corridor that you can exit from in there?"

"No!" came the hissing, terrified reply. "No! I looked, I swear, it doesn't want to let me out, just like last time...won't let me escape...prisoner in my own mind...God, Yami, please, please, just get me the Hell out of here!"

Kaeru cursed in reply. "No way in? But...I can't get him out of there, I have not the magic we need!" He closed his eyes in a sign of defeat, resting his forehead on the dark, looming wall that caused them so much trouble.

Yami, however, moved forward. "I can help," he said slowly, calmly--his presence almost shone with regal, serene grace, as if he was perfectly free of the terror that surrounded them.

Perhaps that was what helped Kaeru make his next decision. He looked puzzled, but focused on the ancient Pharaoh's calming, determined eyes, and slowly nodded. "Very well...but," he added, his brown eyes narrowing and becoming sharper than steel, "If you harm him..." he let the threat hang.

"I have my own Aibou, Kaeru," Yami said gently, understandingly. "I know how you feel. I will let nothing happen to Kawari." Kaeru gave a final nod, and seeing this approval, Yami started forward.

Approaching the stunning wall in their path, the Pharaoh bent close to it and said smoothly through the yellowed stone, "Kawari? Can you hear me?"

There was a small hiss of terrified anger from the other side. "What's he doing here? Kaeru, you can't be serious...you can't let...let him be here..."

Yami continued gently, though he frowned slightly. "Kawari, you are becoming confused through your fear. I know that a version of myself caused you this pain, but that is not me. You know it. Don't let it defeat you like this; don't let yourself become confused. That is what your fear wants."

Silence, a shuddering breath from the other side, and a mumbled, "I remember...it...it tried to block me...." A new, sharp intake of breath. "Oh, God, it's trying to block me! God, please, somebody, anybody, get me out of here...please....please..." The desperate tone was back, but Yami nodded quickly, as if satisfied.

"Good. It has not beaten you yet. Now listen, Kawari." More silence; it could only be guessed the teen was indeed listening. "I am going to help you get out of that Hell right here and now. But first, you must do exactly as I say, okay?"

"R...right..."

"Good. I want you to back away, as far away from this wall as you possibly can. I don't want you to get hurt."

There was a quick scuffling sound from the other side of the wall, and then, quite suddenly, "Okay...I'm ready...go, please, please hurry...these shadows, they're so close, they're going to suffocate me soon...hurry..."

Yami smiled, a grin that was triumphant looking, but held a vague grim feeling to it, as well. "Good. Be careful, just in case."

With that final warning, his Millennium Puzzle began to glow. The light was golden, shining brightly, cutting through the gloom like a knife through flesh. It grew, and the light was suddenly transferred--it no longer shone around just the Puzzle, but all of the Pharaoh. His eyes were two burning, violet orbs, floating eerily admist the brilliant shine of the Millennium magic.

Yugi squinted, only just barely able to make out even the most shaky of outlines of his Yami. Behind him, Kaeru squinted as well, shading his eyes with a hand and staring half in shock, half in understanding at his fellow dark spirit.

Yami, now glowing as bright as the Sun, took a graceful step forward, and as soon as he moved, the brilliant color of the light around him changed. Light, sea-green flecks melded themselves almost beautifully with the golden sheen around the yami spirit, sparkling at the tips of the bursting light energy and making for quite a stunning effect. Through it all, his violet eyes observed the wall carefully; he looked as though he was sizing another opponent up before a duel.

Moving suddenly, the ancient Pharaoh placed his hand gently against the yellowed stone wall in front of him. As his hand pressed up against cold rock, the sparkling sea-green flecks seemed to flicker off from around his hand, bouncing off of the wall and leaving little scratches where they had touched. The wall, however, did not move, and nothing happened.

Closing his eyes carefully, the brilliantly violet orbs vanishing from sight, Yami concentrated, working his magic together to be able to perform his task. Around him, the light energy faded from golden shine fully into the light-green color. Snapping his eyes open quickly, the ancient spirit suddenly jerked his hand forward, pushing against the wall as if he were trying to push through it instead.

The wall shattered into a thousand tiny stone bits and pieces, some of the broken rocks clattering inwards in a fury, others exploding outwards, and even more falling to the ground where they had once stood and not moving again. Yami seemed unaffected by the rocky debris falling all around him--he still stood where he had been only a few seconds earlier, hand still outstretched and touching where the wall had been moments before. Kaeru and Yugi, however, had been forced to dive downwards to avoid being hit.

When the last bit of debris cracked to the stone ground, Kaeru stood up, briefly helping Yugi to his feet as well. He frowned, staring in the direction of where a wall had once stood--and gasped.

Kawari stood in front of them as the dust cleared, still within the closed-off section of the labyrinth, but now without the wall blocking him. He seemed shocked, and still scared, though not nearly as much. He looked ragged, and was still shaking hard, but he was staring around at the threesome he faced. His eyes ran over Yugi, then Kaeru, and finally settled, with a start, on Yami.

The Pharaoh realized that he had still kept the golden-green magical energies around him, and hastily dispelled their presence within him, returning them to the Puzzle. He knew he had looked dangerous, powerful, capable of anything, and that wasn't how he wanted to appear to a person who's fear was caused by a version of himself.

He did, however, keep the Puzzle glowing, shining like a beacon in the darkness. Yugi's was glowing now as well, and Kaeru, sensing their idea, soon followed, the Millennium Ring flaring to life within moments. The three Items shone like fire, and Kawari suddenly stumbled towards them, focusing on the light as if he would never tear his eyes from it. A light to shine the way, something he needed, something to eternally bring him out of this Hell, to lead him into the light he so desperately needed.

All at once, he reached his three companions, staring around at each of them in relieved thanks. Words could not express his gratitude; his friends, right then, had brought him out of something he had thought impossible to escape, and he was eternally thankful.

"Are you okay?" Kaeru asked, focusing carefully on his lighter half.

"Y...yeah," Kawari said slowly, eyes still wide, but feeling considerably safer. His Yami nearby, one of his best friends as well, and....

Turning suddenly, Kawari strode to the nearby Pharaoh, eyes perfectly serious. He was still shaking as he moved, and sweat still slid down the sides of his face, but it seemed more like after-effects now, something that happened when you knew you had survived and felt suddenly full of excitement, terror, and surprise at the same time. Slowly, he spoke, and his voice shook, too, though not as much as it had earlier. "Thank you."

"What?" Yami frowned slightly, looking confused.

"Thank you," Kawari repeated, sounding as if he meant it. "All of you helped, but...I want to thank you the most. You were the one that really and truly got me out of that Hellhole...even when I looked at you as a traitor. So...thank you."

Yami blinked for a second, looking rather surprised, but abruptly broke into a small grin. "Of course. I would hope that this would erase any mistrust you two may have of me?" he added, giving Kaeru a quick look.

Kaeru nodded at the same time his hikari did. "It does. I, for one, have completely forgotten my mistrust of you in this Realm. I can see you as a true ally now." He grinned slightly. "Though it does seem rather absurd. Tomb robbers and Pharaohs do not generally get along."

Yami gave a small laugh, despite their surroundings, as Kawari returned to his yami's side, his shaking almost gone now. "Then again, Kaeru, this is a new age, and new ideas may be accepted."

Just as the Pharaoh finished speaking, their surroundings seemed to fade away, disappearing as a new place began to form. Yellow stone melted to form dark, rolling shadows and pulsing darkness, a place where no landmarks could be seen, a place of living pitch-black nothing.

Kaeru frowned. "The next fear."

Yami nodded his agreement, suddenly becoming serious once more. "Indeed. And it is in the Shadow Realm. Or at least a mockery of it."

Kawari blinked and looked around, his gloved hand raising to his chest and Gin Hebi's hilt again. Somehow, in his own fear, he'd managed to place the blade in it's sheath, but now he looked as if he was ready to use it again. He looked far better now that he had passed his own fear, but he was still unusually pale, and his face seemed drawn, while his eyes had hardened to near-perfect imitations of Kaeru's.

Yugi, meanwhile, was looking at himself. He remembered being hit with a piece of debris in the last fear, causing a shallow--but painful--cut up his arm. He stared in surprise at his now perfectly healed arm, shocked. After a few seconds, he came to a sudden realization. "Oh...after each fear, it heals us!"

It was indeed true. Kawari's hands, once raw and bloodied from pounding on rough stone, were how completely healed again, and the torn right-hand glove was once again whole, unfrayed. Several cuts and scrapes possessed by the two Yami spirits had also disappeared. The only thing that seemed to have remained with the Challengers was their fatigue; they were still tired, panting slightly from the effort of the first task, and staring around warily, unsure what to do.

Yugi glanced around the mockery of the Shadow Realm in confusion, frowning slightly as nothing happened. Finally, after several moments, he said slowly, "Well, I know this isn't my fear...or at least, not one that I know about consciously."

"We've already been through mine," Kawari muttered, his sharp eyes flickering around to stare at each rolling shadow nearby, as if expecting something to be crouching behind them, waiting to attack. "So this must belong to one of the two yamis." He frowned slightly as well, his jaw tightening, eyes narrowing slowly. He was still shaken from his own fear, but was recovering quickly, from the determined look that filled his face.

The Negative Ryou had hardly finished talking when something shot out of the darkness ahead of them, moving so fast the shadows whipped away as if hit, the air whistling as something cleaved it in half. The foursome had only a few seconds to notice that the mysterious attacker was formed of many thick, shadowy tendrils before they had closed in completely.

With a whip-like crack, the rope-like shadows snapped around Yugi, restraining him completely before he even had a chance to cry out. The tendrils curled around his wrists and up his arms, pinning them to his sides as his torso was wrapped up as well. His legs and ankles were caught just as quickly, cutting off his chance to run and flee, while a particularly thick tentacle-like restraint slipped around his neck swiftly, considerably lowering his oxygen intake and making him gasp for breath. It all happened within seconds; only a few moments after the Hikari was caught, the solid shadow tendrils lifted him clean up, dragging him further into the Realm.

Yami let out a yelp of shocked anger. "What?! Yugi!" Startled, he stared in the direction his charge was being dragged; unbelievably, the tendrils were drawing him closer to their point of origin.

The Pharaoh wrinkled his nose in disgust at the creature those tendrils were attached to; it was almost like a mound of dark, misty, cloud-like shadows, the tip of the mound stretching far above their heads. Not surprisingly, the creature had no visible head of it's own, but was instead covered on practically every square inch with long, solid shadow tentacles that whipped and snapped dangerously.

"There must be over a hundred of those things!" Kaeru hissed, staring in surprise at the tendrils that were constantly moving. He, too, seemed disgusted with the creature; it was now drawing Yugi's captured form closer, wrapping more tendrils around the teen until he was hardly recognizable admist the knot of shadows and curling, thick whips. "Who's fear is this?!"

"Mine," Yami growled in reply, his eyes never leaving the captured form of his Aibou. "I...I fear letting my Hikari down...loosing him."

Kaeru nodded. "Understandable," he muttered slowly, thinking, and staring with a keen eye at the mound-like creature. "Now how do we pass your fear? This is going to take some careful planning, or it could harm us, too."

"To Hell with that!" Yami hissed, darting forward. His heeled boots dug into the shadowed ground and pushed him forward, and he hastily brushed his golden, spider-like bangs out of his eyes, showing his determined, violet orbs.

Without warning, the writhing mass of dark tentacles twitched, and with another whip-like crack, one of the tendrils lashed out. It caught the Pharaoh on the side of his face, narrowly missing his left eye and leaving him with a bloody cut down his cheek. Startled, he reeled back, gasping, and came to stand next to Kawari and Kaeru.

"I thought so," muttered Kaeru, frowning. "If we go into it's territory, it'll attack."

Yami growled angrily. "I'll find a way through. I swear I will!" Before they could stop him, he had dashed forward again, zig-zagging frantically in hopes of dodging the writhing tentacles.

It didn't work. One tendril reached out and lashed him across his torso, cutting clean through his dark black shirt and smearing blood on it, while a second slashed at his shoulder blades. Hissing in pain, the ancient Pharaoh staggered backwards, now bleeding rapidly.

"No!" He hissed, moving forward again. He didn't even get another pace; another tendril had cut him across the jaw within seconds. Involuntary tears sprang into his eyes from the stinging, biting pain, but he ignored it. "No! Yugi!"

Still unwilling to admit defeat, he dashed forward yet again. Like lighting, a particularly thick solid-shadow tendril slid out of the gloom, rising high before lashing outward like a blacksnake whip directly at the Pharaoh's head. The ancient spirit prepared for the painful blow, but before the tendril ever reached him, something else shot out in front of his face. The tentacle-like limb came lashing down on the object instead, and it's momentum carried it onward, snapping around the block in a blur and coiling there, unmoving.

Yami, startled, followed the something to where it had come from. He was surprised to find that it was Kaeru's arm, and that the tomb robber was standing to the side and a little ways ahead of him.

"It's not wise to attack a Pharaoh," the Negative spirit hissed, clamping his hand around the tendril and curling his arm upward to hold it in place as the limb tried to untangle itself from it's capturer and squirm free.

"Kaeru!" the ancient ruler yelped, surprised, but deeply grateful.

The thief nodded in reply. "Keep going," he hissed, snatching another shadowy tendril out of the air as it tried to attack the Pharaoh, ignoring the stinging cut it created as it slashed into the palm of his hand. "Get Yugi."

Kawari slipped up gracefully behind his yami, Gin Hebi bared and shining silver admist the gloom. Seeing the silver blade, Kaeru hissed, "Kawari, you go with him. You've got the blade, you can do more defensive maneuvers."

The Negative Ryou nodded quickly. "Righto," he said, his voice surprisingly calm, before shooting up next to the Pharaoh, determined look on his face.

Frowning slightly, Yami stepped forward, moving deeper into the writhing mass of shadowy tendrils. Kawari slid next to him, seeming more than ever like liquid steel as he moved between the dangerous masses around him.

At first, it seemed as if the two were being left alone. No more whip-like tentacles attacked, and the two were able to slip safely enough between the moving limbs. After a few moments, however, it all changed. With a deafening crack, a tendril descended on them, moving so fast it could hardly be seen. Kawari, however, reacted with perfect timing; as the tendril neared them, he lashed outwards, severing the tentacle cleanly in two and dropping the limb harmlessly to the ground.

Yami looked surprised. "You really are skilled with that blade!" he yelled. His voice could barely be heard, to his surprise; though there was hardly any noise in the Shadow Realm, the creature seemed to create sounds powerful enough to rip at the Challengers' ears, to deafen them.

"That's what happens with a tomb robber for a yami and six years of experience!" Kawari roared back, slicing two more tendrils cleanly out of the way and temporarily clearing their path. There was a look of fierce determination in his eyes, along with a sense of perfect concentration about his movements.

They continued on for what seemed like hours, but was hardly ten minutes. Kawari moved like silver and black lightning, like white death, whirling and slicing in a deadly dance and skillfully cutting the attacking tendrils to ribbons. Even so, there was no denying the wounds that both of them had taken; all over the both of them were long, thin, deep lashes caused by the attacking tendrils. Yami frowned to himself, wanting to help the Hikari battle their way through this writhing maze, but the Negative had insisted that he save his energy to get through the final round of his fear. So, feeling nearly useless, Yami darted behind the pain-dealing teen, depending entirely on the opposite Ryou to carve their path to the mound-like center.

The journey was starting to get slower now, their advance more sluggish. They were reaching the origins of the whip-like limbs, and everything was starting to get closer together, making it harder to move. After several moments, their advance halted entirely.

"Go, now!" Kawari hissed, slicing another tendril quickly before it had a chance to slash at his neck and throat. "Find Yugi and get him out of here! I can fight off these here, distract them, keep them off of you. Go quick!"

Nodding, the spirit departed quickly, darting among the twisting tentacles towards the mound. He's an experienced fighter, from the Opposition itself, he told himself, trying to swallow the uneasy feeling that he had just abandoned a Hikari. Turning to look over his head, he had a quick image of Kawari skewering another limb while a second wrapped around his free arm, trying to restrain him.

Returning quickly to the matter at hand, the Pharaoh leaped over the base of one of the many tendrils and stared up at the mound. He was there, and furthermore, he could see his own charge, wrapped tight in gathering tendrils and held high above the fray of the main tentacle mass, close to the mound itself.

Growling, Yami leaped forward, clambering onto one of the many tendril bases and staring upwards at the mound. Quickly, he began to climb, using the bases of the whip-like limbs as branches on which to stand or hang onto. Just like climbing a tree. A moving tree in a hurricane, anyway....

He went on for ages, forcing himself to keep going, knowing only that he had to rescue his Hikari and nothing more. Without even thinking about it, the Millennium Puzzle flared into life again, shining brightly against the shadowy mound, like one lone star in a land of lost darkness.

And then, quite suddenly, he was there. Yugi was only a few feet away, trying to fight his way out of the mass of tentacles wrapped tightly around him, holding him with an unshakable grip. Eyes alight with determination, Yami reached out, careful to keep his second hand wrapped around the base of a tentacle for support to keep from falling...and found that he didn't know how to free his charge.

Cursing deeply in Egyptian, Yami found himself quite suddenly reaching out to the magic in the Puzzle. He sorted it's many abilities into it's little bright-line spectrum, each ability taking a different form of colored light. His mind brushed over the magic that each different colored energy held; most he had no idea of, as to what they did. Only a few he knew for certain.

Please, he prayed silently, almost to the Puzzle itself. Please, I know I don't know all of the magic you possess, and perhaps I'm not meant to at the moment, but please...just give me some way, any way, to save my Hikari.

The Millennium Puzzle seemed to glow burningly bright in reply, and the gold grew hot against his chest. For a moment he wondered what was happening; then, quite suddenly, something formed in the air in front of him.

At first, it seemed like a crystal, glowing brightly and shining with the same light as his Puzzle did. As he watched, however, the crystal grew, forming into a distinct shape, getting longer, sharper...and quite suddenly, Yami found himself staring at a blade, a scimitar, formed out of pure light energy, with a fragile-looking crystal hilt. It was anything but fragile, however; the Light Sword emitted a sense of startling power.

Thanking every single Higher Deity he could think of, Yami reached out, snatching the sword from the air and holding it carefully. It had a beautiful balance, and even he, a person who had not held such a blade in more than five thousand years, felt perfectly comfortable with it.

With a mighty roar, Yami slashed outward, and the shadows seemed to split in two around the solid light blade as it cleaved them perfectly. The tendrils wrapped tightly around Yugi gave out a small screech as they were sliced cleanly, snapping and freeing the young Hikari in a single moment. Without waiting, Yami turned and reared the Light Blade back, not even noticing as the light reshaped itself from curved scimitar to long, pointed rapier. With another growl, the Pharaoh plunged the Light Blade deep into the mound-like creature.

There was a mighty scream as the mound writhed, shaking uncontrollably, as though in an earthquake. The tendrils attached to it snapped and cracked, reacting violently to the pain caused to it's origins and protesting in it's last throes.

And then, quite suddenly, it had disappeared, melting away into nothingness. The tendrils, with one last crack, melted away as well, removing the threat of the odd yet dangerous creature from the Realm.

Yami's first thought was relief; his charge was safe, and his fear destroyed. His thoughts were soon overrun, however, as panic set in; with the creature destroyed, he was now a good twenty feet in the air without support, his Hikari only a foot or so below him and a bit to the right.

Both hovering figures had only a few seconds to glance around at the misty, darkened ground below them; they could make out Kawari and Kaeru, only a few feet apart, staring up at them in surprise, and a bit of worry as well. Then, in near slow motion, the two began to plummet towards the ground....

...and landed on soft, warm Egyptian sand with a thump, their impact considerably less painful than it would have been a second before.

Yugi coughed, spitting out a mouthful of grainy sand as he sat up, brushing more of the dirt out of his hair and bangs. "What in the world?"

Kawari frowned. "Another switch from one fear to the other. I guess we passed Yami's fear, then." He looked down at himself slowly, then added almost casually, "And I think we've been healed again, too."

It was true enough; the cuts along Yami's face, torso, and arms had disappeared, as had Kawari's and Kaeru's. Yugi, surprisingly, had not suffered many cuts, though he had felt hints of suffocation while wrapped up by the tendrils--though that was long gone, now, as well.

Sighing, Yami looked at their latest surroundings, trying to orient himself and be aware of what could possibly happen. There wasn't much to see; for the most part, it was a vast sea of sand, with the tips of a few pyramids off in the distance. Frowning, he came to a quick resolution. This has to be either Kaeru's or Yugi's fear. Myself and Kawari have already been through ours. But...which one?

As if hearing his thoughts, Kaeru answered the question. With a distinct hardness in his voice, as if preparing for something, the tomb robber muttered, "Ah...my fear."

Yami frowned. "Yours? But what is it, then?"

Turning one dark brown eye on the speaker, the thief replied, a note of tension in his voice now, the only thing that betrayed his slight nervousness. "I am burdened to fear for the sake of the world. And I fear that I shall let it down."

Yugi turned a confused glance in Kaeru's direction. "What do you mean by that? And what does it have to do with Egypt, anyway?"

The ancient Ring spirit sighed. "You'll see soon enough, I'm guessing." Not saying anything else, the thief began striding forward, walking casually over the sand and heading in the direction of the pyramids. Kawari, eyes flickering constantly over the glittering sand in search of something threatening, followed, Gin Hebi in hand.

"Where are we going?" Yami asked, staring off in the direction of the stone tombs in slight confusion.

"To where my fear takes place. And you can put that away, Aibou," the spirit added to his hikari, indicating Gin Hebi's shining blade. Frowning in doubt, Kawari sheathed the blade in it's hidden place within his coat and took a few extra steps to stand next to his yami, still looking uncertain. Still looking as if they didn't understand, Yami and his Light followed in the white-haired duo's paths, not speaking.

They had gone on for several minutes, close to a half an hour, when they found themselves quite close to the pyramids that had seemed dots on the horizon only a little while ago. They looked far larger at this distance than before, towering above the foursome and casting them all into shadow, yet none of them (with the exception of Yugi) seemed to notice the stone monuments. In fact, Kaeru was standing at three other figures within the shadow of the closest pyramid, frowning slightly. Abruptly, as if making a decision, he turned, grasped his hikari's wrist, and pulled him behind a large dune of sand, beckoning for Yugi and Yami to follow.

They did, unquestionably, yet they still looked confused. "What's going on?" Yugi voiced.

Kaeru nodded his head in the direction of the three figures. "That's what. My fear. We don't want to be seen just yet."

Yami, narrowing his eyes suspiciously, clambered up higher on the huge dune and peeked over the tip, trying to stay as unnoticed as possible. He scanned the area for the figures that Kaeru spoke of, spotted them, and set to observing them...and gasped.

The first figure he spotted was a female, tall and looking distinctly regal. Long black hair, waist-length, was held back by a golden band that circled her head and suspended a light-catching jewel on her forehead. Her skin was dark, making her bright-colored eyes stand out rather startlingly. Her dress was plain and simple, yet somehow seemed to intensify her intelligent appearance. What was most recognizable on her figure, however, was the slim golden necklace fastened tightly, like a choker, around her neck, the Egyptian eye symbol on it's front very obvious. Isis Ishtar, without a doubt.

Her presence made the figure standing next to her easier to identify, though at first it shocked him--the two normally didn't seem to get along, and at the beginning of Battle City had been against each other. The figure's dark Egyptian tan contrasted with his light-colored, blonde-white hair, but as with Isis, it made his brilliant lavender eyes stand out. A white, sleeveless shirt with golden chains, black pants, and black boots were familiar as well, and the golden bands around his forearms, neck, and upper arms were unmistakable. Added to the golden rod clutched tightly in his right hand, Egyptian eye flanked by wing-like, sharp spires at it's tip, the figure was far too easily to recognize--Malik Ishtar, looking quite serious and as if he meant business.

The most shocking figure, however, was next to Malik, cold brown eyes very calculating. White, devil-horned hair, a Millennium Ring, and dark clothes pointed him out almost instantly--another Kareu.

Startled, Yami glanced between the Kaeru next to him and the one down in the sands next to the Ishtars. His confusion must have registered on his face, because his fellow Challenger next to him said slowly, "My fear is born of a memory that didn't bode very well. It...comes up in my dreams and thoughts often...." he winced slightly, coming to bring his eyes back to the figures across from them.

"Ah, I understand," the Pharaoh muttered, nodding. "So what shall we do now?"

"Wait," the thief replied. "Wait and watch, and understand." That said, both locked their eyes on the Negative memory beings nearby.

They had begun to speak, each of the three looking edgy and tense. The memory-Kaeru spoke first, sounding anxious. "We can't let him win this."

"Of course not," Isis replied, though the response sounded more automatic than anything else; she, too, looked distinctly worried about something, and she raised her hand to the Millennium Tauk often, out of habit.

Malik nodded as well, saying nothing, his burning eyes doing it for him. He, too, showed a considerable amount of what could have almost been fear, mixed in with determination; his grip on the Millennium Rod tightened further, knuckles white as they clutched at the golden Item.

"So get your magic ready," Kaeru continued, his eyes flickering around him constantly, as if he was expecting something, "because if we don't prepare, we're not going to live."

Malik's hands were so tightly clamped around the Rod it was a wonder it hadn't snapped in half; Isis was wringing her own hands rapidly, chewing her lip. "We shouldn't be doing this," she muttered, sounding distressed.

Her brother spoke up, narrowing his eyes. "I would agree with you, but he's gone too far. We're supposed to serve him, but he's gone to far. It's down to him or life, him or the world. And you know what I'm choosing."

Isis sniffed disdainfully. "You've always been a rebel," she spat, looking annoyed.

Malik gave her a scornful look. "If being a rebel means I'm standing up for millions of lives," he said, growling, "then fine, call me that. I personally don't care. So long as we stop him."

Kaeru looked rather annoyed. "Are you two done yet?" he asked, a dry tone in his voice. "We don't have time for this."

Malik opened his mouth to respond, but before a word could leave his mouth, there was movement from one of the nearby sand dunes. All three Millennium Item holders whirled to face the dune in question, each taking a defensive position without question. At first, however, there was nothing to be seen. Exchanging looks, the threesome slipped out of their defensive stances, though they still had a readiness about them that suggested they were not to be trifled with. Before they could completely calm their senses, however, a figure stepped out behind the dunes.

The figure was one they recognized well, holding a regal stature about himself, yet at the same time, a deadly one, full of darkness and death, terror and pain. His once-violet eyes had darkened to an almost black color, but his most recognizable feature--maroon and black hair, with golden bangs--had undergone no such change. Adorned in dark clothing, and with the Millennium Puzzle hanging from a stout chain around his neck, it was obvious who his identity was immediately. Yami. But not just the spirit of the Puzzle...the Negative version, unhealed, and still full to the brim of the Shadow Madness.

"I see," the half-spirit hissed calmly, staring at Malik, Isis, and Kaeru with a dark, measuring, insane gaze. "So you are here before myself, are you?"

"Indeed." This was said by the ancient tomb robber opposing him. "We will not let you get the spells you so desire."

"You? Let me?" The darkened Pharaoh laughed, a harsh sound that didn't seem to suit him. "As if you can control what I do? Need I remind you what I did to your aibou?" Another sickening chuckle, before he grew quite serious again, hands crossed over his chest, just above the Puzzle. "I will make this plain and simple. Let me pass, or force me to give you the consequences."

"I will not." It was not Kaeru that spoke, but Malik. The Egyptian stepped forward, Millennium Rod held at his side as his gaze burned on the Pharaoh. "You have no place here. You will not disturb the tombs. Leave."

The maddened Yami threw back his head and laughed, finding something that only he could see humorous. Undisturbed, Malik held his ground, staring at Yami with something very close to hate.

Finally, the ancient Pharaoh brought his head down, narrowing his eyes as he glared at the Rod's holder. "Malik Ishtar, no? You, the guardian of my tomb. How appropriate." He grinned. "You serve me, as your family has done for generations. Let me pass."

"No," Malik repeated. "As the guardian of the tombs, I cannot allow you to go further. Take another step forward, and you will pay."

Yami growled angrily. "What did you say?! Do you know who I am?!"

"I do," the Rod holder hissed back slowly. "You were the Pharaoh....now you are a corrupt tyrant. I would have gladly followed your rule, had you not become overtaken by the Madness, but now you are far too unpredictable. You are undeserving of your title."

This, if possible, angered the crazed spirit further. "How dare you speak to me in such a way!" he roared. "You will address me as Pharaoh! I am Pharaoh! The title and power of the Pharaoh is mine!"

"As it should not be," Malik spat. "Your reign is over, Yami, it ended long ago, and again when the Madness stole your soul. You are listening to me right now. You cannot pass."

The rage seemed to vanish from the shadow maddened pharaoh's face instantly, replaced by a dark smile. "Really?" His grin widened. "But I believe I am going to."

Before the others could react, he had started to stride forward, a sneer on his face. The Millennium Puzzle hanging from his neck began to glow, it's light dark and shadowy instead of bright and golden, as it should have been. A tainted Puzzle, one that brought nothing but pain and destruction--one that would bring these same things on the three figures facing it now.

Yami began to speak, his voice low and menacing. "Three Millennium Items against one. A pity, really, but no matter; I know I can defeat all of you without question. And then I will have three more Items to add to my collection." He laughed, a hissing chuckle that brought shivers of terror down his opponent's spines.

Kaeru stood his ground as the maddened Pharaoh advanced, growling low so that only his companions would hear, "Here we go. Stand fast and fight as hard as you can, or none of us will make it through this."

Isis shifted nervously as the Pharaoh--the one she had sworn to protect, and now disobeyed--approached, stepping closer second by second with that deep, ever-present darkened grin over his features. Blinking, she came to a sudden realization, and turned hurriedly to her brother. "Can't you use the Rod to take control of his mind?"

Malik's hold on his Millennium Item tightened still further, but the Eye symbol did not glow; he hadn't even tried before giving his answer. "No. His mind is too strong; there is a barricade, formed of pure darkness, pure evil...it blocks the effects the Rod has. His mind can resist without question. I can't even grasp hold of a tiny section of his mind; it eludes me entirely."

Kaeru frowned. "That does not bode well for us," he murmured, not breaking his gaze from the advancing Yami.

Isis opened her mouth to answer, but before she had the chance Yami suddenly attacked. The Puzzle glowed with a sickening dark light, and quite suddenly a blast of energy--sea green, the color of the Puzzle's magic, mixed with darkened, black shadow, the residue of the Madness--exploded from the Eye of Horus on it's front. It launched without hesitation at the three Item holders, it's size and sound speaking tenfold about it's massive power. Should it connect with them, they would be obliterated.

The three leaped into action instantly. Isis, jaw now set, eyes firm, raised her hands to the Tauk around her neck. Holding them in a curved position only a few inches in front of the Eye symbol on the item, she closed her eyes, concentrating; the ancient magic within the golden choker set to work, glowing with a silvery light, and only a few seconds later a transparent shield of the same color appeared in front of the threesome. It absorbed the attack sent by Yami, though it bent heavily under the strain, and looked as though it would break within seconds. When the entire blast of tainted magic had faded away, the shield did snap, and Isis lowered her hands wearily, looking exhausted and already with faint beads of sweat glistening on her forehead.

Malik and Kaeru, too, reacted. As Isis defended with her Millennium Tauk, the other two used their own Items, charging a brief surge of magic and firing it in the form of brilliant, colored beams, almost like those within a Shadow Duel. The double attack, each beam of energy coming from different sides, would hopefully throw the Pharaoh off track, only allowing him to defend from one.

However, it was not so. Malik's dark, crimson-lavender energies suddenly bounded off of a magical shield similar to Isis', but in a deep green-black color instead of silver. It streamed off over the sand, out into the open desert, soon fading out of existence entirely as it's owner could no longer support it. Yami, still grinning sickeningly, stretched out his hand towards Kaeru's deep blue beam, smiling at the tomb robber's surprise as the attack seemed to meld into the Pharaoh's hand and wink out of being.

"You...you absorbed my attack?" Kaeru hissed in dismayed surprise, staring in shock at the Great Leader.

"Indeed," Yami chuckled. "And your power has refueled what I had just lost, defending against the traitor protector." His blackened maroon eyes flickered towards Malik, who growled in anger, before returning almost lazily to Kaeru. "Unfortunately, compared to myself, your magic is hardly anything...and the traitor's energies are considerably less." Another harsh, uneven laugh cracked through the air, before the Pharaoh turned blood-red eyes on them again. "Now we will continue our battle."

The three had hardly any time to react, certainly not enough to counteract with their own magical energies, so quick had the Pharaoh moved. Like black-and-crimson lightning, the ancient spirit leaped forward, roaring as the Millennium Puzzle around his neck blasted new, dangerous energies at his opponents. It lanced towards them, exploding into the sand and scattering it everywhere as a huge boom-ing sound wracked at the threesome's ears. Unable to fight the pressure that pressed outward from the impact, the Opposition agents were thrown backwards, rolling over the sand in painful, jagged bounces and finding themselves separated within seconds.

"And now," Yami continued, his voice silky and calm, a more terrifying sound than his harsh laughter, "now that the team has been split up, I will destroy you all, one by one."

Turning, he paced towards Isis, eyes burning with a fierce, eager light that spoke of murder and blood to feed his thirsty, dead soul as he moved. Isis, now looking nervous, pulled herself to her feet hastily and began to back up, matching the Pharaoh step for step. Her hands raised unconsciously towards the Tauk circling her neck, holding them steady as she prepared to channel the magic within it in self defense.

"Try it, if you want," Yami said, quite calmly, as he noticed her actions. "It makes no difference to me. A challenging hunt is always more interesting, and it makes the kill seem so much more like a victory." Another dark chuckle; Isis shuddered involuntarily, wondering what had happened to the real Pharaoh she had sworn to serve.

The Great Leader was closing in, now, and the Puzzle around his neck was beginning to glow with that sickening, eerie light once more. Grinning, he opened his mouth to speak--

--And roared with sudden pain, rocking forward and to the side, as something collided with his back in full force.

Whirling, Isis forgotten, Yami's blood-hungry eyes cast around for his attacker. He found it soon enough; Malik was standing several feet away, Millennium Rod raised, and looking equally murderous. Kaeru was several feet to his left, the Ring around his neck also glowing brightly; they had obviously used a joint attack to hit the opposing spirit.

Growling, the Pharaoh made towards the closer of the two, Malik. The traitorous tomb guardian; it boiled his blood just to think of one of his servants doing such a thing, going so deep as betrayal. His eyes flashed his anger; the Puzzle reflected his mood, the darkness in the light growing deeper, looking somehow more surlier.

Malik forced himself to outwardly keep calm; inside, his mind was a screaming wreck, and he wanted desperately to turn tail and run from that dangerous figure approaching him. It was times like these that he feverently wished he had a Yami spirit of his own to take over and deal with his problems for him [1].

Nevertheless, he held his ground, not moving an inch as the Pharaoh bore down on him. His sharp lavender eyes met deathly-crimson ones, and he could not prevent the shudder that it caused--the Shadow Madness had created a living nightmare out of a once noble person. Feebly, he forced himself to begin charging his own shadow energies, in hopes of somehow defending himself against the attack he knew he would receive.

Yami was only ten paces away when Kaeru and Isis struck as one again. Both had charged the magical energies to the maximum, and with twin yells of anger and unleashed them in silver-and-blue streams of destruction. Midway through, they had twined together, forming an even stronger attack--the beam lanced into Yami's side, forming a permanent injury that even the ancient ruler could not ignore.

Yami was no fool, however; his life had been built on strategies and observation, and he could see all too well what these fools were trying to do. They were constantly using diversionary tactics; one would play the bait, drawing Yami out, while the other two would come together and attack him. They hoped to wear him down. Laughing, the pain in his side bringing his Madness to new heights, he planned out his next maneuver. They would not live to see sunset, he would make sure of it.

Turning suddenly, acting as if he had taken Kaeru as his new prey, Yami paced forward, measuring his timing carefully. The Puzzle was already charging up with it's powerful, indestructible energy, though the threesome expected it to be used on the tomb robber...he chuckled to himself again. How very wrong they were.

Only fifteen or so paces from Kaeru, he suddenly whirled, turning to face one of the figures several yards behind him, even as his magic charged to it's fullest and was released. The magic lanced outward, slicing clean through the air and leaving a stream of shadowy residue behind it, which would slowly fade away into the winds. With a sound like a whip crack, it plunged through the atmosphere, slamming with force into it's prey--Isis.

The Egyptian let out a scream of pain as she was hit head on; staggering, she fell back into the sand, breathing heavily. The dress she wore, once white and simple, was now ragged, stained red.

Yami let out another harsh cackle, pacing forward quickly to finish off the kill. He grinned to himself; death to feed those hungry, beautiful shadows within his mind, death to satisfy them, death to strengthen them. And magic, too; the Tauk, magic to strengthen himself, make himself even more invincible.

He was only halfway towards his victim, however, when he heard an angry roar some ways off to his left. Inclining his head ever-so-slightly so as to see the speaker, he was surprised to find Malik Ishtar charging full out towards him.

"Dammit!" The young Egyptian was shouting furiously. "Don't you dare touch my sister, you bastard!"

There as a gritting, slicing sound of steel on gold as a long, sharp dagger was drawn from within the Millennium Rod, and it glittered dangerously within the tomb protector's hand. With another inaudible roar, he increased his speed, drawing the dagger back to slice at his opponent.

He nearly succeeded. Perhaps, had he had more practice and experience with a blade, like Kaeru did, he would have connected, caused some vital injury that would have stopped the Pharaoh in his tracks. It was not so, however; as Malik slashed outward, aiming at the physical spirit's ribs in hopes of grazing them, the ancient ruler calmly sidestepped, allowing Malik to rush harmlessly past him. He wasn't finished, however; as the Rod's owner tottered, unstable, with all his weight thrown forward in his dagger slash, Yami gave him a vicious kick in the ribs, expelling the air from the tomb guardian's lungs in a rush. Groaning, Malik's hold on the dagger lessened considerably. It was all the opening Yami needed; with perfect ease he snatched the weapon from the Rod owner's hand, whirled it, and, face alight with the pleasure of causing pain, plunged the blade deep into Malik's shoulder.

The Egyptian screamed in pain, writhing as he tried to pull himself away from the blade digging into his very bone. Unable to support his weight from the sudden shock of the dagger within him, he sagged, Yami now the only person holding him up. The spirit only grinned cruelly and jerked the dagger farther in, eyes flashing as he listened to another tortured scream wrack the air. Still not finished, he concentrated his magic, and green-black energy, almost like electricity bolts, danced up from his Puzzle and down the blade into Malik's writhing body. The screams quadrupled, the frantic movement from the Egyptian increased, until quite suddenly he was silent, sagging completely. A harsh laugh replaced the shrieks of pain, a laugh that came from Yami, as the ancient ruler wrenched the blade free from Malik's shoulder; now free, the Rod owner's body fell fully to the sand, unmoving and barely breathing. The sand around him was soaked crimson within seconds, the stain spreading outward beneath the crazed Pharaoh's feet.

Isis, having pulled herself roughly to her feet at her brother's distraction, yelled out in an angry shriek of her own, her face a mix of fury and terrified worry for her younger sibling. Growling, she took a step forward towards the Great Leader, raising her hands to the Tauk around her neck in preparation for an attack, but--

"No! Isis, stay where you are, don't move!" Kaeru shouted across the sand, opposite from the Egyptian woman and glaring with pure hate at Yami.

Isis looked as if she was about to disobey his command, despite his higher rank in the Opposition; she even responded in a disagreeing, doubtful way. "Why? He just hurt my brother!"

"Isis, it's a trap, look," the tomb robber hissed in reply. "He's trying to draw you in, one on one is easier than two against one. Don't let him fool you or he's already gotten you beaten."

The Tauk holder frowned in worry at her brother; though greatly injured, he seemed alive, and his breathing was becoming slightly less labored now that the immediate attacks were over. Her gaze turned to Yami, and the spirit's harsh glare stabbed through her like a knife. She could see the trap now; with difficulty and an apologetic glance at her brother, she held her ground, unmoving.

The Pharaoh sighed. "A pity," he murmured, shaking his head. "I was so looking forward to destroying you. You and your brother together; two of a pair, nice and neat. It's more interesting that way." He shrugged. "But no matter. I'll kill you in a minute." Cackling darkly, he bent down to the unconscious body at his feet; Isis stiffened, but the spirit did no more harm to the unmoving Malik, figuring the teen as good as dead. Instead, he pried the Millennium Rod and it's adjoining blade from the Egyptian's hands with a bit of difficulty, snapping the dagger back into place and observing the full Rod with interest. After a few minutes, he sighed and shook his head again, murmuring, "An unworthy weapon. It's power, useless; it's magic, weak and nearly undetectable. Worthless." He tossed the Millennium Rod casually over his shoulder, letting it drop to the ground stained with the life fluids of it's master, and hissed, "I can finish you all easily enough without it."

"As if!" Kaeru roared suddenly. His hands raised, as did the pointers of his Millennium Ring; a deep, dark blue energy began to form once again, growing until it's power was almost unbelievable. Snapping his hands in a quick motion, the energy was suddenly discharged, lancing outward in a punishing blow towards the unprotected back of Yami.

The Pharaoh didn't even flinch. He turned casually, staring at the beam fast approaching him with what almost seemed like boredom. Grinning suddenly, however, he waved his hand in an easy manner, gesturing to the air in front of him, though for what purpose Kaeru could not guess.

The reason was soon clear, however. As the thief's attack neared the spirit, the air seemed to suddenly rip open, with hundreds of pinpoint-sized gaps splitting the air; from each gap, shadows poured, like little wispy bits of smoke. The darkness within the air whirled sluggishly in front of the Pharaoh, seeming like a translucent fog, hardly looking strong enough to face Kaeru's attack. Yet looks seemed to be deceiving in this case; as the tomb robber's attack collided with the shadowy mist, it rebounded, glancing off of the suddenly fast-moving smoky wisps and rocketing to their side. It collided with the corner of one of the great pyramids, plowing a hole clean through and leaving stone and dust simply obliterated, no longer existing.

Yami tutted disapprovingly. "Destroying the tombs, now, are you, thief? But it is to be expected of a tomb robber." He laughed. "Be grateful for your existence that tomb did not belong to me."

Kaeru growled low, angry at both himself for being so careless for his magic, and at Yami, for causing the destruction of the resting places of some of his people. It was Isis, however, who seemed the most shocked.

"Oh, no..." she whispered, almost to herself. "We...we have failed...we were supposed to protect the tombs, but we failed..." she blinked as she realized how much her voice seemed to shiver.

Yami seemed not to notice the gaping hole within part of the pyramid next to him any more. His attention was focused solely on Kaeru, and his dark, sickening grin had widened. "Your power is strong, I will admit...strong for one of your magical capabilities. But compared to me, you are a novice. Pathetic. Perhaps I will be gracious enough to show you what true strength is..." his harsh laugh returned. "Ah, yes, yes, I think I will. I think it would be most interesting, don't you?"

Kaeru did not reply, but even if he had wanted to, he would not have had the time. The Eye of Horus on Yami's Millennium Puzzle had already begun to glow, and with an almighty crackling sound, a new beam of pure, green-black energy slashed outward, slamming with full force into the tomb robber's chest. The thief staggered backwards, groaning, but Yami had already charged up another attack, hurling it at his opponent with that same, pleased, sickening grin. It collided as well, sending Kaeru reeling; a third well-placed beam of energy finally had the spirit falling to his knees, gasping for air.

"Bow to me."

"What?!" Kaeru hissed, his breathing labored, clutching his stomach feebly with one hand.

"Bow to me," Yami repeated, his tone suddenly quite serious--though his eyes were wild and, for some reason, just as much full of sorrow as hate. "Bow to your Pharaoh, your leader. Bow and show your respect."

"No," the tomb robber hissed, growling, and shoving himself to his feet. "I don't have a master or a leader, and I never will!"

Yami frowned. "You will not bow?"

"No, you bastard," Kaeru hissed, managing to keep the pain he was feeling from expressing itself in his voice. "No, I'll never submit to you."

Yami growled. "Those who do not bow, die," he spat angrily, charging another attack within his Puzzle. With a roar, the attack was released, pelting straight at Kaeru with death singing as it sliced through the air.

A silvery shield abruptly snapped into place in front of the beam of energy, bending with strain as it took some of the attack for it's intended victim. Isis, hands held to the Tauk, labored desperately to hold the shield, sweat already dripping into her eyes from the stress of holding such a small shield against such a big force. Finally, she snapped, unable to take the strain anymore; with a crack, the shield shattered, and the blast roared through, colliding squarely with Kaeru's chest and throwing the tomb robber backwards, hissing his pain. He fell to the sand, unmoving as well, beyond his faint breathing; he was lucky to have even that, and only Isis' shield had saved him.

The harsh laugh cracked through the air again as Yami turned, facing the last member standing--Isis. Grinning, he stepped forward, hissing, "And the last one of the resistance. You will fall as quickly as the others did, you foolish traitor."

Isis bit her lip at the title the Pharaoh had given her, deciding to ignore it after several seconds. Frowning, she backed up a few paces as the spirit advanced on her, growling softly. On sudden inspiration, she delved into the powers of the Tauk, hoping to somehow force the spirit facing her to relive past memories, to look at times only a few years ago, when he had been sane, not suffering the Madness, to see memories of kindness and friendship. It failed, and she panicked slightly; her brother had been right, in that mind there was a darkness, a void, that swallowed up all mental attacks and rendered them useless. It frightened her.

Yami was continuing, staring with a dark glare in Isis' direction. "It is no use to try the powers of your Item on me. It is too weak to surpass my power. No, no, you will fall, and I will have several new things that I desire--three new Millennium Items, and several new spells to add to my collection of magical artifacts." He chuckled, a deep sound that sent chills down the Egyptian woman's spine.

Worried, she quickly went over what little information she had at her disposal. Yami seemed to enjoy attacking in rapid bursts of powerful energy; therefore, she would have to be at the ready to defend against it. Running over the energies left for her to use in her Tauk, however, discouraged her. She would only have enough magical energies left for one strong defensive shield--should she use any more, she would exhaust herself fully, wear herself out, and would be at the mercy of the spirit she faced.

Yami chuckled and quite suddenly struck out with a new force of energy. Isis, yelping slightly in surprise, quickly threw up the one shield she could afford to make. It withstood the attack, though it bent heavily; a dark warning that her energies were almost completely gone.

The blast recoiled, and Yami stood facing her, looking distinctly annoyed. Isis, her face set with determination, faced him, saying, "What? Can't you face my so-called weak shields?"

"Oh, no, I can," he assured her easily, flicking his hand in a casual way. "But you see, I can tell you are much too exhausted to keep on going. I judged you didn't have much energy left; that's why that last attack was used simply to burn the remainder of your magic out. Now you're an open target." He grinned, the glowing of the Puzzle accenting his sickening smile. "Good-bye."

Isis had only a few seconds to realize her mistake before the blast hit her full-force in her torso. She was thrown back violently before hitting the ground and rolling a few paces, coming to a quick stop and lying face-down. She, too, was suddenly very still, though her faint rising and falling of her back told any observers that she was still alive, still breathing.

Yami laughed, his harsh voice cracking the air as he stood, quite suddenly, alone on the sand, his only companions three rapidly bleeding, unconscious teens. Giving one last, victorious look around, he easily paced towards one of the tombs, obviously intent on entering and removing several spells that he had spoken of earlier.

Meanwhile, behind the dunes, the four Challengers wore various levels of disbelief and disgust on their faces. None could top Yami's, however; the True Realm Pharaoh, seeing his Negative in action for the first time, was horrified. His own light, maroon eyes flickered over the three bloody, unmoving figures only a few feet away from them, and he shuddered unconsciously. Yugi, too, looked disgusted, and faintly green, but he was more used to what he had seen--he had met the Negative Yami before, and had known what to expect. Kawari, face usually so much like a mask of calm in the face of danger, now looked distinctly worried and surprised; at the time that this had actually occurred, he had probably still been Mind Lost, and would not have remembered a thing.

Kaeru's response, however, was the strangest. He sighed, shook his head angrily, and then chuckled; the sound was not one of humor, however, but was dripping with grim determination and even, surprisingly, a hint of terror. "Ah, so now I must go face my fear, or we shall never escape this Challenge." Standing, he scrambled easily over the sandy dune, and before anyone could stop him, began marching with resolute determination towards the Maddened Yami ahead of him.

"What does he think he's doing?!" the True Yami hissed, staring in shock after Kaeru's retreating back. "He's a fool! He'll get himself killed! [2]"

Kawari looked very worried now, and frowned after his darker half, but said slowly, "He has to face his own fear. That's what the Challenge is there for."

Kaeru, meanwhile, had reached the open stretch of sand where his memory-self and his two companions still lay, next to the great pyramids. Coming to a halt, he yelled loudly and clearly, "Yami!"

The crazed Pharaoh turned lazily, expecting another simple opposition to be put down without a pause. He stared in surprise, however, on seeing a second Kaeru--his dark eyes flashed angrily and flickered towards the fallen tomb robber, and back to his new opponent, as if double checking to make sure he wasn't seeing things. After a few seconds, he turned slowly and faced the new thief, separated now only by several yards of open sand. "Well? Who would you be?"

Kaeru growled. "You know. You damn well know."

The Negative Yami laughed, raising one eyebrow in annoyance. "You couldn't be the tomb robber. He's over there." He gestured, though it was unnecessary; I blind man could see the fallen, white-haired spirit only feet away without it being indicated.

"He is, true, but I'm here as well."

"Ah, I see." The ancient ruler nodded as if he understood, though there was a insane, glittering light in his eyes that contradicted his movements. "And why would you be here?"

"Let's just call this a second chance, shall we?" Kaeru hissed, his voice low.

"Indeed, why not? It doesn't matter to me anyway; you'll both be dead soon." A small chuckle filled the air, and the Pharaoh's head lowered in amusement, his golden bangs sliding forward and forming a screen in front of his face as he raised it again.

The two launched into attack instantly, both leaping forward and firing magical energies from their respected Items at the same time. The forces collided in midair; Kaeru's hesitated for a moment before being cleaved in two, and the thief spirit had to throw himself to the side to avoid being hit.

From there, it was all downhill for Kaeru. As he dodged to the side, the crazed Yami struck outward again, and again, and again, hitting his opponent with perfect precision and laughing as the tomb robber stumbled. The Ring spirit fought back, managing to even land a few blows on his attacker, but they were far too weak and did almost nothing to gain him an advantage. He was loosing, and he knew it.

The three remaining Challengers in the dunes knew it, as well. Kawari was biting his lip until blood flowed, and his eyes had hardened to the point when it would have been questionable who looked more dangerous, himself or his yami. Yugi was frowning worriedly, unsure of what he could do, and was flinching each time Kaeru took another hit.

Yami, however, was outraged. Several times he had leapt up to dash forward and help, only to have the two hikaris restrain him; he recalled with some anger that he could not fight his opposite and win, and finally settled down, growling fiercely. He was wracking his brains for some way that he could help--he felt useless, watching a fellow yami spirit take such a strong beating, even when fighting with all his skill.

At first, he couldn't come up with anything. Furious, he glared harder at his Negative, willing him to weaken in power, or for Kaeru to gain power in some way. It seemed impossible, but then...

Whirling suddenly, he faced Kawari, hissing, "Hold out your Millennium Ring!"

Kawari started in surprise at the darker spirit, frowning. "Why? What good would it do?"

"Just do it!" Yami growled, now fingering his own Puzzle with determination.

The Negative Ryou sighed before grasping the golden Ring firmly in his gloved hand and holding it out in Yami's direction. Nodding quickly in thanks, Yami held out his own Puzzle, explaining, "I myself would have the power to defeat my Negative, if I could fight him. I'm planning on transferring my own magical energies to your Ring, which in turn will go to Kaeru. He'll be able to stand up to that Maddened fool then."

Kawari's eyes widened in sudden understanding. "Of course!" he hissed, holding out the Ring in a more determined manner. "It makes perfect sense. I don't know why we never thought of it before..."

Yami ignored the teen's muttering, grasping hold of one of the pointers of the Ring and placing it at the center of the Eye of Horus on his own Puzzle. The two Items glowed briefly, then slowly began to show signs of change; the Puzzle gained a greenish-gold brilliance, which seemed to flow smoothly over the gold of the Ring, changing quickly to a light blue and fading away.

Kaeru, fighting desperately but without luck, didn't notice the changes in his magic at first. However, once he began to charge up a feeble counter-attack for his opponent, he suddenly noticed the difference; it seemed more powerful, almost unending in his opinion. Disregarding the reasons for his magic growing so suddenly--it really wasn't important at the moment--he charged up a powerful energy burst and fired it with perfect aim towards his opponent.

The crazed Yami didn't even bother to block as he watched the tomb robber across from him readying his attack--in his opinion, it wasn't even worth the effort, as the thief's attacks had been so pathetically weak. He waited calmly, arms crossed over his chest, and stared at his opponent with perfect ease. And, quite suddenly, regretted it.

The deep blue energy blast collided with full force into the Negative Pharaoh's chest; the spirit staggered back, gasping in surprise, and stared at Kaeru in pure, untamed hate. He pulled himself into a fully upright standing position, and began to pace forward slowly, his eyes full of menace and the threat of death...

...And started in surprise as, quite suddenly, he began to fade away, flickering out of existence in a quick start.

"What just happened?" Yugi asked, startled.

"The fear is defeated," Kawari muttered, sounding very much relieved. "Kaeru knew he could defeat the Great Leader after Yami loaned him his power...it was obvious. He was as good as beaten."

Kaeru, too, seemed to come to the same conclusion; he turned quietly and began pacing towards the dune that his comrades hid behind. At his approach, the others stood, waiting calmly. When the tomb robber reached them after several minutes, he gave Yami a confused glance; he seemed to know what Yami had done for him, and he looked grateful, particularly when the True ruler gave him a friendly smile in return.

"Thanks," he said calmly, staring Yami straight in the eye. "I needed your help, I'm afraid."

Yugi sighed. "And speaking of fears," he murmured softly, "I guess mine's the only one left. And I think this fear has sparked up one of my own..."

Kawari gave him a confused glance. "What do you mean?" he asked quizzically.

His question was soon answered, however, as the scenery around them changed yet again. Sand rose and formed itself into new shapes, lavish office furniture from the looks of it, while the air closed in around them, solidifying and forming strong walls on all four sides of them. The office, while having been more richly decorated, looked quite normal, but for the single display behind the main desk--a gruesome display of six duel monsters cards, each having been tortured in some way, whether by knives plunged through their illustrations, or rips cutting deeply through the cards.

"Oh..." Kawari hissed, in sudden understanding; Kaeru dropped into a defensive stance almost immediately, Millennium Ring glowing brightly. Yugi nodded grimly and found his eyes being drawn to that frightening card display, suddenly shivering and beginning to sweat. Though all three were healed of any earlier wounds they might have taken, their fatigue still remained, and was evident on their faces, mixed in with worry.

Yami, however, wasn't sure what to expect, and frowned slightly at the wary looks the other three were giving the office. He scrutinized it again, wondering if he had missed something; but no, each bit of furniture, each detail in the room, looked ordinary and harmless, and while that card display on the wall angered him a little, it was nothing dangerous. He opened his mouth to ask what was going on, but stopped suddenly, as something strong wrapped around his neck from behind and tightened. He choked without meaning to and gasped for air, finding his oxygen being cut off and beginning to feel desperate worry in the corner of his mind because of it.

Yugi, Kawari, and Kaeru, hearing their comrade's gasp for air, whirled around to face Yami...and stared in shock at the figure behind him. It was the Negative Yami once more, but he seemed new somehow, different from the last one. The few wounds he had received from Kaeru were gone, and he looked uninjured. Just as strangely, while the Negative tomb robber glared at him in hate, the crazed ruler seemed not to notice him, or even to bear any memories whatsoever of their fight only a few minutes ago. Yugi understood, after a moment; this was a "new copy" of the Negative Yami, as this was a new fear, and did not bear any resemblance to Kaeru's part of the Challenge.

The Maddened Pharaoh had his arm wrapped tightly around the True Yami's neck and throat, and held it tight, squeezing roughly on the captive spirit's windpipe so as to lessen air flow to the point of pain. The True Puzzle spirit, meanwhile, was sagging from lack of air and choking himself more without meaning to; he was trying to hold himself up in order to breath easier by wrapping his own hands around his capturer's choking arm and pulling upward slightly, but it seemed about all he could do.

The Negative Pharaoh, after giving the three figures facing him a quick glance, turned his gaze to his opposite in his grasp, beginning to speak in a silky-slow voice that made him seem terrifying. "You know, I do not approve of traitors. Particularly one that is a reflection of my own self. You are me, don't try to deny it, and you will not be aiding these Opposition fools." He tightened his grip on Yami's throat, and the True spirit struggled more furiously, still unable to do anything else from his increasing lack of air.

Kawari was shocked, staring across at the cruel Negative ruler and his kinder captive in surprise. Whirling abruptly, he faced Yugi, hissing, "What was your fear?!"

Yugi shuddered, focusing with obvious nervousness as he murmured slowly, "I'm afraid of Yami somehow changing...eventually coming to act like the Negative version of himself. I...I didn't want it to happen."

Kaeru hissed in dismay. "I see your point," he growled, staring across at the two versions of the ancient Pharaoh.

The young Hikari followed his gaze and jerked in terrified surprise. The Negative version of Yami was laughing in a dark, insane manner, crimson-black eyes glittering as an equally dark, shadowy substance uncoiled itself from the Puzzle. It seemed to be seeping out of the Eye of Horus on the Puzzle's front, curling lazily around the Negative's arm and slipping down towards it's new host--Yami. As the Great Leader's laughter increased, the shadows began to delve deep into the True ruler's own Puzzle, as well as plunging into his chest, right at heart level, and his forehead, towards his mind. Even as the shadowy amounts increased, the True Yami's reactions lowered; he was becoming steadily slower, more sluggish, and his eyelids had lowered until they were only half open. His resistance had stopped entirely, and his hands dropped to his sides, until the Negative spirit was the only thing supporting him.

Kawari understood almost instantly. "He's trying to spread the Shadow Madness," he hissed, even as his eyes narrowed. "But Yugi," he added quickly, "the shadows wouldn't have had time to install themselves firmly into your yami's soul, yet. You should be able to get rid of them without trouble, yes?"

Yugi frowned. "M...maybe," he mumbled, still staring in shocked worry towards his sluggishly moving darker half. "But I'd have to get him away from the Negative Yami first."

"Leave that to us, Yugi," the opposite Ryou said with a grim smile, even as Gin Hebi flashed into his hand again. Beside him, Kaeru nodded in agreement.

"What are you going to--" the young Hikari began, but he was quickly surprised into silence as Kawari leapt forward in a black-and-white speedy blur.

The Negative Yami was quite pleased with his work, and he glanced down at the unmoving True version of himself with a dark feeling of triumph. The feeling didn't last long, however, for Kawari suddenly lashed into view, slicing out with exact precision towards the Maddened spirit's shoulder. The Negative ruler, startled, leapt backwards in defense, avoiding being cut--but Kawari grinned in satisfaction, for he had achieved his goal. The Great Leader had dropped Yami in his own self-defense.

Yugi darted forward quickly, catching his falling guardian spirit as he fell; gently, he lowered the ancient ruler to the ground, laying him out carefully.

Kawari moved a few paces to his left, quickly coming to stand between Yugi and his darker half, and the crazed version of Yami. Kaeru slid up gracefully beside him, standing with an image of perfect calm, arms crossed in front of his chest.

"How much time do you need?" Kawari asked hurriedly, glaring across at the enraged Negative Yami.

"Five minutes, I would think," Yugi hissed quickly back, observing his half-conscious yami spirit with concern.

The Negative Ryou bit his lip in thought. "I think we can buy that much time...right, Kaeru?"

The tomb robber nodded slowly in reply. "Perhaps," he murmured. "Our only problem is that we cannot use energy attacks...it is too dangerous in such a confined space. The Shadow Maddened Yami, however, will not care."

Kawari shrugged. "Doesn't matter. We'll just have to distract him for a long enough period of time." He grinned suddenly. "Hey, I bet I can hit him first."

Kaeru grinned ever so slightly. "Why, was that a challenge?"

"Indeed it was." The Negative teen chuckled. "Five bucks says you loose it. [3]"

"You're on." Kaeru darted forward as soon as he had finished speaking, leaving his hikari behind him as he dashed straight for the Negative Yami. Surprised, the spirit took a hasty step back--and Kawari lashed out from the side, forcing the Great Leader to back up farther. Moving a few paces sideways, Kaeru lashed out with a fearsome punch, while his hikari struck out with another simple blade attack, again forcing the Negative Yami back farther. It was soon obvious to the spirit that they were herding him away from his True self victim, and he growled in anger, beginning to fight back.

Kawari was the first to take a hit, as a small blast of energy scissored into his side and made him stumble back. The Negative Yami, thinking he had found a way out of his small prison of attackers, had darted forward, only to find his way blocked by Kaeru. Cursing, he was forced to back up a step, and soon took another one as Kawari pulled himself up as well, glaring daggers at the yami spirit and clutching Gin Hebi as if he meant to do business with it.

Growling in hate, the Great Leader realized that there was nothing he could do. If he fought, one would always replace the other; they worked as a perfect team, and had herded him back too far. If he used enough power to destroy both of them at once, he would also destroy the room, and could drop various bits of debris on himself--not a bright plan. Scowling, he hovered back, bringing his attacks to a stop and staring angrily over the shoulders of his two prison guards at his True self and Yugi.

The True Hikari had been busy as Kaeru and Kawari had herded the danger away from him. With the Maddened Yami unable to stop his quick healing process, he hastily placed a hand on his sluggish darker spirit's Millennium Puzzle, concentrating deeply.

The process was not nearly so violent or loud as it had been in the real Negative Realm, when he had fought the actual Negative Yami. True, his own darker half did groan and writhe in slight pain, but as the shadows had not had the time to take hold on his soul and burrow into it, the removal of the offending darkness was quite simple. It was done within seconds, and only a few moments later Yugi was helping his guardian spirit sit up, watching with concern as the True Yami hacked and coughed violently. After several more minutes, Yami finally seemed to clear his lungs, breathing deeply as his Hikari supported him gently.

The Negative Yami, seeing the triumph over the Shadow Madness, hissed angrily. "You won't win forever!" he growled, the Puzzle glowing dangerously. "You won't! No one wins forever!"

Kaeru tensed quickly, expecting attack, but he was surprised when Yami growled low in his throat and backed off slowly. He stepped into the shadows, and they closed around him; his body seemed to fade away, and within seconds he was gone entirely.

The four Challengers stared around at each other for a minute, looking confused. Yami pulled himself hastily to his feet, and the two white-haired beings came to join them again, standing with a wary stance, unsure of what to do.

It became obvious within a few seconds, however. As before, the group found themselves enveloped in nothingness, and were standing in that dark, non-existent landscape. No light shone in the gloom, yet they could see perfectly; Kawari, still confused about what he was standing on, as he had been before, tapped experimentally on the surface below him with his foot. On finding nothing, he sighed, sat back on his heels, and crossed his arms over his chest, looking bored.

The feeling did not last long. That mysterious voice, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once, seemed to fill the gloom around them. It's tone was humble and honest, with a tone of formality, as the last one had been. "I AM DEFEATED." Nothing more said, nothing less, just a simple statement.

The foursome blinked in surprise, staring around at each other in shock; had they really passed the Challenge? They looked doubtful, but the mistrust faded from their faces as the nothingness around them retreated, and they found themselves quite suddenly standing in front of the hollow oak-tree where they had started.

Kawari squinted at the sudden burst of sunlight shining through the drooping, wilting branches. Shielding his eyes with his gloved hand, he looked around quickly, finding himself facing the remainder of their Scroll-hunting group. He started quickly, having forgotten they were there for the moment, but quickly broke into a grin.

Yugi voiced his fellow hikari's grin in a few simple sentences. "We've done it. We've passed the second Challenge, we've gotten the Scroll of War!" He grinned happily; next to him, Yami wore his smug, triumphant face, usually reserved for winning duels. Kaeru looked as calm as he always had, Kawari nearly copying his serene, casual appearance.

The rest of the group, however, looked at them rather strangely. Mokuba muttered an outright, "They're crazy!" while the others turned to their fellow Scroll-hunters and chattered, sending a buzz of conversation into the air.

"What's the matter?" Yami asked, puzzled.

"Well," Saguru muttered, slowly, "you didn't actually go anywhere. You've only been standing there for a few seconds; that creepy voice just told you to begin."

"There just wasn't enough time for a Challenge," Joey added, nodding and agreeing with his opposite.

Kaeru raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked, looking interested. "In that case...I would guess some of these Challenges are played on the fields of the Mind. It would explain the difference of time--ages can pass in one's mind and hardly could count for seconds in real time." He shrugged, the movement looking quite casual. "Of course, it's only a guess."

"It sure seems to make sense, though," Kawari said calmly, even as he turned to face the odd opening within the hollow willow tree. The pedestal within stood calmly, it's Scroll laying innocently on top. Without hesitation, the Negative Ryou stretched out his arm and snatched the Scroll of War from the pedestal, stepping out of the willow tree hurriedly.

Almost as soon as he had left the confines of the tree, questions broke on him, coming from what seemed like each Scroll hunter beyond the Negatives, Yugi, and Yami. "Well? Is there a new clue?"

Kawari, in reply, calmly opened up the Scroll of War and observed it. He couldn't read the symbols on the page, but he supposed it didn't really matter; he had found the prize, a small slip of parchment rolled into the Scroll tightly. He slipped it out carefully, smoothing it with his hand so as to make it easier to read, and handed the newly found Realm Scroll to Kaze. The Negative Seto nodded as he accepted the Scroll and slipped it into another pocket inside his silver-flamed trench coat, next to the first Scroll.

"Read it! Read it!" Came shouts from seven of the twelve companions, as each person crowded closer. Kawari raised his eyes to silence them, a very effective move within itself, before turning back to the slip of parchment.

"Another riddle, though not as if it wasn't expected," he muttered slowly, reading over the small slip of paper quickly. "Here it is:

For the Third of Scrolls you search,

Hidden safely on unseen perch

Laughter always fills my mind

Calming the soul of the serious kind.

Near the Guardian ever-fair

Passion only will guide you there

Strong will and mind will be your key,

If you have the wish to discover me.

Trouble comes to you where I lay,

Catch me as I run away!"

There was a momentary silence from the group as each contemplated the riddle. Each member of the group began to chatter softly again, muttering parts of the verse over and over, trying to come up with some clue or answer that could give them the location of the next Scroll.

After several minutes, Mokuba grinned cheerily. "Well," he said quickly, looking excited, "it looks like we've got another difficult riddle on our hands. So let's get cracking and figure it out!"

* * * * *

HCG: *shocked* I actually finished!

Kaze: *dryly* What a shocker.

HCG: *whacks him with Almighty Keyboard* You shut up.

Kaze: x_X Yess'm!

Yami: ^________^

HCG: o_O? What's up with you?

Yami: Well, you see...I won again!

HCG:.....okay...

Yami: I'm undefeated! I've never lost, not in tons of duels, plus TWO Challenges! I'm unstoppable! *grins and runs around yelling how great he is*

HCG: ¬_¬;; *siiigh* Okay, notes:

[1] Yes, yes, before any of you yell at me, I know about Malik and Yami Malik. Yes, I am aware that there is such a thing as Yami Malik, and no, I wasn't being a fool when I had Malik wishing for a yami of his own. Yami Malik, so I'm told, was formed of sorrow and anger that belonged to Malik--he wasn't an actual spirit from several millennia ago. Since the Malik in this story is of the Negative Realm, and things are opposite, NR Malik would obviously not suffer so much pain and sorrow, and therefore that particular Yami Malik wouldn't be formed. As the actual opposite--a Yami Malik composed of happiness and calm, friendly emotions--did not seem particularly appealing, but more comical than anything else, I simply got rid of him. So. No Yami Malik ^_^

[2] Okay, some of you may have been thinking, "I thought Kaeru and Yami couldn't die?" Since I did point out several times that they were near death in the Challenge. This would normally be true, but since it's a Challenge, whatever happens/happened to their physical bodies there would happen to them in the actual world. A similar question is the "how come Yami and Kaeru never went to their soul rooms?" one. Answer: They couldn't. It was a Challenge; they're required to stay out the entire time and act as actual beings would. Those odd voices don't take the absence of actual bodies as an excuse, you know ^_~

[3]*randomly* I'm aware the Japanese use Yen, so the statement "Five bucks says you loose it" is incorrect, but really, I'm too lazy to do the money translations, so bear with me. *sticks out tongue*

I also had something different planned for Kaeru's fear, but then I realized--poor Malik, he doesn't get any damned parts in my fic ^_^ He only got mentioned in my last story once, and here he hadn't come in at all--until now.

NYAH SILVER FANG, I put the "Yami gets puzzled" piece in here too! And I didn't even mean too! XD!

HCG: okies, notes done. And on the side, once again, I'm INCREDIBLY sorry that this took so long to post. And, sadly, it may be a long time before NINE goes up, too...I've got three projects, an essay, and Final Exams to get through in the next month *grumble*

Yami: *still running around yelling how great he is*

HCG: Will you stop?!

Yami: ^____^ NO!

HCG: *growls* Okay, that's it, I'm testing your so-called greatness! I'm challenging you to a game...RIGHT NOW!

Yami: O_O! REALLY?! What one?

HCG: One of my favorites...*drags him off* You'll see next chapter...

Yami: ^_^ I bet I'll beat you!

Kaeru: *sighs and watches HCG leave* She's abandoned her post...*rolls eyes* So me'n Kawari'll just take over.

Kawari: *in corner, sharpening and polishing Gin Hebi and not noticing what's going on*

Kaeru:....okay, so just I'll take over. I don't care. *snorts* Anyway. Firstly, review! That's important....HCG KNOWS she'll reach a hundred reviews, and it's all up to you! 100th reviewer gets a prize! And secondly, try and figure out the riddle. There was originally supposed to be more to this chapter, and so the answer woulda been in here too, but the chapter was too long...so now you get to try and solve it! So good luck!

Remember...review and answer riddle! Review and answer riddle! ^_~ See ya!