Well, as promised, here is chapter eleven. This chapter doesn't contain any dueling, but it does move the plot along, so it has a purpose. Read, enjoy, and review.

Chapter 11: Shocking Millennium Item Secret! Jason's True Heritage

Yugi attempted to shield his eyes from the blinding light, but couldn't. The scream only made things worse.

That sounded like Bakura, Yami said. Let me take over. Maybe I can get to the bottom of this.

Yami's spirit took control of Yugi. He attempted to look, but was blinded as well. Suddenly, the light faded, then, vanished. Yami Yugi looked up and was shocked by the sight. Jason hovered five inches off of the floor. The Millennium Ring glowed around his neck, and he was surrounded by a brilliant golden aura.

"What's going on here?" Yami asked.

Jason's eyes opened and the Eye of Anubis flashed on his forehead.

"Allow me to answer your question." Jason's voice had become deeper, like Yami Bakura's without the accent.

"Who are you?" Yami Yugi asked.

"I am the spirit of the Millennium Ring. For 5000 years, I was locked away in the Ring, hoping for someone to release me. When your friend put the Ring on, I was released into his body. Unfortunately, since he was not the rightful owner of the Ring, my spirit was corrupted, and so was he."

"Wait, you mean that Bakura was not meant to have the Ring?"

"That is correct."

"And Jason is?"

"Yes. He is the rightful owner of the Millennium Ring," the spirit said.

"And what is his connection to the ancient past?" Yami Yugi asked.

"I see you don't remember, pharaoh. It was you who sealed the powers of the ancient ones in the Millennium Items. You're the one who put the six of us in charge of the Items, while guarding the Puzzle yourself."

"So you are the original guardian of the Ring?"

"Yes. I guarded the Ring until a greedy thief sealed me in it. I was cursed to remain in the Ring until someone claimed it. Eventually Bakura here claimed the Ring, but it was not destined to be his. Jason is my descendant and therefore is the rightful owner."

Yami looked down at his Puzzle in amazement. His mind raced with questions for the spirit hovering before him.

"So this is another part of my ancient past."

"Yes. Now, I must leave you. I have no reason to stay in this realm, for Jason guards the Ring now. I will endow him with the Millennium powers, but first, I must return what is yours."

Yami Yugi wondered what the spirit was referring to until he opened a portal to the shadow realm. The spirit reached into it and pulled out Joey.

"Joey! Is he all right?"

"He will be fine, though he may be severely drained by the stress of the shadows. I am sorry for the trouble that I have caused. My corruption is unforgivable, but still I offer you my apologies, great pharaoh. Now I must leave you. Farewell."

Jason glowed brightly and a shining sphere leaped from his body and disappeared. Jason fell from his levitation and hit the floor rather brusquely. He groaned, then, stood up, wobbling slightly.

"What's going on here? Did I win?" Jason looked down and saw the Millennium Ring around his neck. "How did this get here?"

"It's yours now," Yami Yugi said as he tended to Joey.

"Oh yeah, now I remember. I saw some freaky visions just now. Why didn't you tell me that you are the spirit of a 5000 year old Egyptian pharaoh?"

"I didn't think you would believe me," Yami Yugi said lightheartedly.

"If I believed all that other stuff about the god cards and..." Jason paused.

"What is it?" Yami Yugi asked.

"We are not alone," Jason said as the Millennium Ring began to glow again.

Almost as if to answer Yugi's silent question, an explosion rocked the warehouse. Rare Hunters began pouring in through the gaping hole in the wall.

"How did they know we were here?" Yami Yugi asked.

"Maybe they followed us. One thing is for sure, though: they came because of my god card."

The Rare Hunters surrounded the two duelists. Yami Yugi picked Joey up.

"What do you want?!" he yelled.

"We have direct orders to bring you two to our headquarters where you will be tortured, then, killed. Antoine and Sentu will be avenged," one of the Rare Hunters said with a malicious tone.

"So how do we get out of this?" Yami Yugi asked.

"Let me take care of that," Jason said.

His body flared with power as he tapped into the power of his Yami. Golden flames seemed to consume the blonde duelist, as he grew stronger. In a burst of power that left the Rare Hunters stunned, Jason's body was surrounded by the same golden aura that it was surrounded by a few moments ago. He faced the Rare Hunters.

"Now we get down to business."

Three Rare Hunters leaped at the two, but Yami Jason held out his hand and sent them flying back with a powerful shockwave.

"Well, you didn't tell me that these Millennium powers were so much fun."

"I didn't think that they were supposed to be fun," Yami Yugi said as he immobilized four more Rare Hunters.

The Hunters continued to rush at Yami Jason, but he fought them off with a flurry of punches and kicks, stronger than anything he had ever given.

"These Millennium powers make me stronger than ever. I feel incredible," he said as he lifted two Rare Hunters off of the ground and flung them into a nearby crate.

"Jason, there are too many of them! We need to escape," Yami Yugi said while holding back more Rare Hunters.

"I beg to differ," Yami Jason replied.

He closed his eyes and unleashed an incredible surge of power that sent every Rare Hunter in the room airborne. They all landed with sickening thuds. Yami Yugi looked over the fallen Hunters.

"What have you done to them?"

"I just gave them all a little time-out in the Shadow Realm; something to make them think about what they've done," Yami Jason replied with satisfaction.

"There will be more of them, so we should run while we have the chance."

"Fine. They were starting to bore me, anyway."

The two duelists ran out of the warehouse as fast as they could with Yami Yugi carrying Joey and Yami Jason dragging a normal, yet weary, Ryou Bakura behind him.

"So tell me, pharaoh. You said that there were other god cards out there, right?" Yami Jason asked.

"Yes, three others," Yami Yugi responded.

The two went into an alleyway and hid behind a dumpster. Yami Yugi put Joey down on the ground and attempted to wake him up.

"Have you ever seen the other three god cards?"

"Yes, I have. Slifer, the Sky Dragon, Obelisk the Tormentor, and The Winged Dragon of Ra. They are the only god cards that I knew about, up until now."

"Have you ever used one?" Yami Jason asked.

"Yes, I used all three on a few occasions. I tried to be careful with them because of their dangerous power."

Yami Jason looked around the corner of the dumpster.

"I think the coast is clear. How did the Rare Hunters get into this tournament? You'd think that someone would recognize them what with the cloaks and whatnot."

"I have a feeling that they are running this tournament. Something felt off from the first moment I arrived on this island. We need to get to a safe place, then, we can get to the bottom of this," Yami Yugi said as he picked Joey up.

Jason decided to leave Ryou at the dumpster, but he tossed the boy's duel gauntlet in a trashcan so the Rare Hunters wouldn't think he is a duelist. They started to move, but shouting caught their attention. They moved to the end of the alley where they saw Rare Hunters grabbing a duelist.

"You lost, so that means you come with us," one of the Rare Hunters said.

"It's not my fault. My deck was stripped of its best cards," came the gravel-toned voice. Jason immediately recognized who it was.

"It's that Weevil kid that I dueled a while back," Yami Jason said. He also remembered taking Weevil's best card and tearing it to pieces. 'Perhaps I shouldn't have done that.'

Weevil continued to struggle until one the Rare Hunters knocked him out with a swift blow to the face. The others tossed him into a car and drove off with him. Yami Yugi and Yami Jason stepped out from behind the corner.

"That's just great. Now they're kidnapping duelists. What is the point of that?" Yami Jason asked.

"The Rare Hunters want your god card very badly. It seems that they've resorted to kidnapping duelists in order to find out where the god card is."

"They should know where the god card is after that display at the warehouse. So what do we do now?"

"We rescue the other duelists of course," Yami Yugi said.

"Whoa, pharaoh, slow down. I only came to this tournament for the prize money. I didn't come to participate in a rescue mission. Besides, chances are the other duelists are being held in the area where the finals are going to be, which means that we can't get in without ten key puzzle programs. I'd love to help you, but I've only got four, so I can't get in."

Yami Yugi realized that Jason was right. They needed more puzzles. He thought for a second.

"I guess this means that you will have to find and defeat more opponents for their key puzzles in order to help me. Good luck with that, Jason. I will find a way to obtain my last few. I'll see you at the finals." Yami Yugi went off in search of an opponent.

"Well, that was an interesting turn of events. I'd better give these shadow powers a rest before I tire myself out," Yami Jason said. He shut off the flow of shadow energy and returned to normal. "Now, in a city full of opponents, where to find a challenge?"
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Number Two walked down the hallway to give the news to Lord Superior. He took a deep breath and opened the door to his chamber.

"Number Two, report," Superior said tersely.

"I'm afraid the god card is...still in the possession of that boy," Number Two said hesitantly.

Lord Superior remained silent for a moment.

"That is fine. One Rare Hunter witnessed the god's power for himself, so he is being questioned as we speak. Soon we will have that god card, or something like it."

"But sir, isn't it dangerous to try to copy a card of that magnitude," Number Two said.

"We have counterfeited thousands of cards. What makes this one any different? Get some Rare Hunters to work on the counterfeit project. By nightfall, they will be ready to be shipped all across the country."

"And what about the two duelists?"

"I want you and Number One to relieve them of their lives and the god card personally."
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Yugi sat Joey on the grass in the park.

"Come on Joey. Wake up. You have to," the young duelist said. Yugi placed his head to Joey's chest. "He still has a heartbeat, so he's not dead."

Perhaps he needs more time, Yami said.

"I hope so."

Yugi picked Joey up as best he could, and continued to walk in search of an opponent.

"Where do you think I can find an opponent?" Yugi asked. "Everyone I see is already dueling."

Perhaps we should go to the spot where duelists go when they win all ten key puzzle programs. Then, we wait for a couple of winning duelists, and duel them for even more key puzzle programs.

"That's a great idea. It was the center of the city, right?"

Yes, it was.

"Then let's go."

Yugi and Yami walked off towards the center of the city.
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Jason sat on a bench, wondering what to do.

"I've only got four key puzzle programs. I need six more to get into the finals. Where can I find a suitable opponent?"

Almost as if answering his question, a man in a trench coat walked up to Jason. His large brimmed hat was pulled low over his face, hiding it from view.

"Excuse me. I couldn't help but hear your problem. I have the solution," the man said holding up a duel gauntlet.

"Well all right. Let's do this," Jason said as he activated his duel gauntlet.

"Not here. Follow me."

The man began to walk away. Jason followed him closely. The two walked back into the city and into a wide alley.

"So, you like it secluded, huh? I guess you didn't want anyone to see you go down," Jason said.

Suddenly, a car pulled up, blocking one entrance to the alley.

"What's going on here?"

The man removed his trench coat to reveal his long cloak.

"You're a Rare Hunter!" Jason exclaimed.

"Not just any Rare Hunter. I am Number Two, third in command to the one who runs this tournament. And I am here to take your god card in a duel."

"Why should I duel you?"

"Because one: you have no choice," Number Two said, pointing to the Rare Hunters who stepped out of the car. "And two: this duel will be winner take all, and I have six key puzzle programs, just enough to get you into the finals. If I lose you get them all."

"What if I lose?" Jason asked. "Because I know you want more than my Egyptian God card."

"If you lose, you die. Those are the terms, not that you can refuse them."

Jason thought about just plowing through everyone with his Millennium Ring, but the challenge intrigued him. He relented and accepted it.

"You're lucky I need all those keys."

"Luck has nothing to do with your demise. Now let this duel begin!"