Joy: Here comes the next chapter! Glad you all liked that Joy FINALLY told Seto how she feels. I just loved dragging it out for an annoyingly long time. ;-) Anyway, this one deals with the problems going on in the Shadow Realm. Read and enjoy!

Chaos in the Shadow Realm

Yami appeared at the Castle of Gemini and was immediately shocked by what he saw. The castle was in shambles. Part of one wall was gone and one tower was completely demolished. This is horrible! Yami thought as he evaluated the damage. The duel monsters were scattered around the castle. Some were tending to their wounded comrades and others were trying to gather the monsters who were not hurt and make some sort of defense.

Yami appeared at the Castle of Gemini and was immediately shocked by what he saw. The castle was in shambles. Part of one wall was gone and one tower was completely demolished. Yami thought as he evaluated the damage. The duel monsters were scattered around the castle. Some were tending to their wounded comrades and others were trying to gather the monsters who were not hurt and make some sort of defense.

"Pharaoh!" Yami turned to see the twins run over to him. "The castle was attacked!"

"By whom?" Yami asked, still a bit shocked.

"No one knows who was behind the attack, but an army of duel monsters made a surprise attack on the castle," Cala explained.

"Hmm…" Yami frowned. "Why would they attack your castle?" It didn't make sense. Why would Akujin attack the Castle of Gemini? Unless Akujin was not behind this attack. If that was the case, there was yet another enemy to worry about.

"They may be going after other castles as well," Caru reasoned. "What should we do, Pharaoh Yami?"

"You two stay here and build up as best of a defense as possible. Use your link and tell Sakura what happened and that you will keep her informed but do not allow her to come here. It may be too dangerous for the lights at this time. I am going to check up on some of the other castles, starting with my own. I will inform Yugi when I am sure of what is going on." The two women nodded and Yami left for his own castle: The Castle of Ancients. (AN: Nice name, ne?)

Yami arrived as the castle he and Yugi shared and was relieved to find everything all right. He allowed himself a sigh of relief. The Dark Magician and a few other of his duel monsters came over to him. "My pharaoh, what is it that brings you here? Is something wrong?"

"A Shadow Castle was attacked by a mysterious army of duel monsters. We must strengthen this castle's defenses at once!"

…Meanwhile…

Katilli made it to the Castle of Night, Moon Shadow's Castle, and couldn't believe her eyes. The mighty castle was barely standing. Most of one entire side of the castle was destroyed and the gate had been totally blown off. Oh my Ra… Katilli breathed as she entered the castle and surveyed the chaos.

She jumped at the sound of a roar, spinning around to face Moon Shadow's Harpie's Pet Dragon. The monster roared again. "Stand down, dragon!" Luna walked over to it. "Katilli, it is good you came, though I wish our meeting was under brighter circumstances."

"As do I. What happened here? This place is nearly in ruins!"

Luna frowned. "Yes. It was apparently a surprise attack by some army of duel monsters. None of my monsters are sure who was leading the attack and it was all quite sudden."

"And the duel monsters? How are they?" Katilli asked anxiously.

"Some are injured, but I believe they will recover. I know this army may strike again at any time. We must stop them!" Luna exclaimed, her face showing her determination. Katilli nodded firmly in agreement.

"Lady Katilli!"

The two spirits looked up to see Joy's Dark Magician Girl and her Red-Eyes Black Dragon coming their way. "Dark Magician Girl…is something wrong?" Katilli asked.

"My lady, an army has been spotted heading towards the Castle of Ancients!" the duel monster explained.

The two spirits looked shocked and worried. "Take me there at once! We must warn them!" Katilli jumped up on the back of the Red-Eyes, right behind the Dark Magician Girl. "Luna, try to get your monsters ready just in case there is another attack on this castle. We will go and warn the Castle of Ancients." Luna nodded and Katilli and her two monsters flew off.

When they reached the brightly lit castle, they were relieved that it all was well. It seems the duel monsters were preparing for a strong defense against any possible attacks. They landed in the courtyard, where Katilli was elated to see Yami talking to the Dark Magician.

"I see you already heard about the attack on the Castle of Night, my brother." Yami turned to his sister.

"Ah, sister. Good to see you are here. But did I hear you correctly when you said there was another attack? I know of the one on the Castle of Gemini, but I did not hear of any other attacks."

"I am afraid so, Yami. You should see the damage. It was tremendous. And another castle was attacked?"

"Yes. But no one was too injured to be beyond healing. Now we must pull together for a strong defense before any of the rest of the castles are attacked."

"That is why I came here. It seems the army responsible is heading this way. They are intent on striking the Castle of Ancients next." Yami's face became stern.

"All right. Dark Magician, prepare the duel monsters. We will meet them before they get to the castle and fight this one out into the Realm. Ready the forces!"

Dark Magician bowed. "Yes, my pharaoh."

"It is time to take down this army once and for all."

"Um, Lady Katilli, there is something else you will be interested in knowing," Dark Magician Girl said. "The army comes from the Castle of Evil."

"So Akujin did send them to attack the Shadow Castles. But why Sakura's and Moon Shadow's?" Yami asked.

"That is something we will have to ask him when we meet. Which I intend to do very soon. Yami, I think that I will send Dark Magician Girl to round up my monsters, too. Together we will be more than a match for that army. Then we can pay a surprise visit to the Castle of Evil." Yami nodded.

(AN: Yeah, I could end it here, but I guess I'll go on since it has been a while between updates. :-) )

…Meanwhile…

Joy and Seto sat in Seto's limo as it drove towards a restaurant. The trip was littered with conversation here and there. Finally Seto decided to open up a new conversation. "So, I am just digging with curiosity, Houyoku. What do you thing is going to happen with Akujin? I mean, he can't get to the Path of Light unless he either takes out the three keepers or completes the requirements. And we don't even know who the last keeper is."

"I know. It is a puzzle. But I'm sure we can keep him from completing his goal. Something tells me the Path of Light is only a cover for a more amazing treasure. He doesn't really want to get to the Path of Light – he wants to get BEYOND it."

Joy, we have a bit of a situation in the Shadow Realm. Katilli's voice broke into Joys' mind.

What kind of trouble? Joy asked.

A war is brewing in the Shadow Realm. Tell Kaiba to get Sorcerer up here right now. We need his dragons.

"Katilli just spoke with me and told me she wants Sorcerer to go to the Shadow Realm. There seems to be a battle about to take place there and she needs the Blue-Eyes White Dragons."

I heard everything. I am going right now. I will keep you posted, Kaiba.

Right. "He's going." There was a slight pause. "I think things are getting even more interesting in the Shadow Realm," he added. "A battle…"

"Yeah. Katilli said a war was brewing. It's got to have something to do with Akujin. I know the darks can take care of themselves, but I would give my deck if I could be out there watching." Kaiba agreed. A moment later the limo pulled up to the restaurant and the two of them got out.

Joy: There you go! The plot gets better! The next chapter is called: The Shadow War. Nice, eh? Well, I'll see you next time and remember to review cuz I love hearing from every single one of you!