Lookies, lookies, I updated! It took a pretty darn long time, but hey. ^_^

Yugi: *flipping through the story* Hey, that's not right! This is only half the chapter!

Eh-heh, yes it is. I only managed to get half a chapter done. 'Cause a reviewer e-mailed and told me that Oct 25 was Seto's birthday, and according to her, "Wouldn't it be nice to update for his birthday?" And, ah, I've procrastinated enough, that I have…

*thinks* What else? Ah, I won't be updating in a while. I've entered a thing (Shenya talked me into it!) that takes place in November called NaNoWriMo. (www.NaNoWriMo.org) 50 000 words… O.O If you wanna meet the characters from my novel for that, you can IM me on MSN. My two yaoi-boy bishounen will occasionally "borrow" my computer and bug my friends. *snickers*

Yugi: The chapter…

Oh, yea. I'll be finishing this chapter eventually. Maybe after December. (Zoo's Yu-Gi-Oh fanfic contest ends in December… .) I'll be posting the completed chapter (so, including this part) later, k? ^_^

Ah, anyway, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh, you've had enough yaoi warnings, so here it is! ^_^

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Chapter 5

            The Battle of Millennia

   Violet eyes blinked open groggily and saw… nothing. There was darkness, darkness, and more darkness. It was not the warm darkness of the night, comforted by his other self, but the cold void of nothingness.

   Darkness without Light.

   A soft groan alerted Yugi to the presence of his companion, the soft rustle of cloth indicating movement. Yugi smelled the coppery-sweet scent of blood; and it was not his own. All of a sudden, his mind was awake. More awake than before, in any case.

   "Ryou! Ryou-kun, are you alright?" Now that his eyes have gotten used to the lack of light, he smaller teen could make out the curled-up white shape not far from where he was. The figure groaned again, and Yugi hurried to help… and found heavy chains around his wrists. But even more than that… the lack of a familiar weight. The Sennen Puzzle.

   "Y-yugi?" the soft voice of the snowy-haired hikari whispered. "Yugi-kun, they got you too? I'm sorry…"

   The shorter boy shook his head, though it was pointless in the dark. "It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself." He tried to calm his trembling voice, to give a pretense of confidence. "And besides… we are not alone. I'm sure our yamis will come find us. I'm sure…"

   Yami-Chan, where are you…?

   The Spirit of the Ring narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "An idea, Pharaoh? What large, elaborate, stupid plan do you have, and why should I trust my light to it?"

   "Because," Yami pronounced slowly, with mock patience, "my Aibou is at the same place. And as you should know, he is the most important thing in the world to me. Do you really think I would make a plan that would endanger him? How idiotic are you?"

   Bakura sneered. "Oh yes, I know how precious he is. Did you have fun sleeping with him in this epoch?"

   A growl served as a warning. "Are you going to rescue your hikari, or are you just going to stand here and provoke me until my patience runs out and I banish you to the Shadow Realm?! This would be much easier by myself."

   "As if you could!" Anger glinted from chestnut-red eyes. "Out with this 'idea' of yours already!"

   The trademark cold smirk touched the Pharaoh's lips. "Foolish Tomb Robber. How could you not have thought of this? It is simple. Simply tell your Sennen Ring to track Yugi's Puzzle. I don't know if it can find the other copy of itself, but it must be able to find my Aibou's item. I am sure they're keeping Ryou with my Aibou."

   The Ring Spirit snorted. "Of course, we go to find your hikari. What if Ryou is elsewhere? What if the people that took them threw away the Items to throw us off? They must not be wearing them for us not to sense them! Have you thought of that, you think-headed Pharaoh?"

   "Whoever grabbed hem had a reason to choose them specifically. They would know of the Sennen Items' powers. But the Items are not at their full powers because we hold half of them… Whoever kidnapped the hikaris are using them as bait…"

   "…to draw us there," Bakura agreed. "Well, then, let's go. No one messes with what belongs to me."

   Following the direction the Ring pointed, Yami smiled faintly. Somehow, he knew the Tomb Robber meant more than the golden Ring of power. They had one thing in common, he Pharaoh and Tomb Robber, and that was love for their lights…

   "'Nii-sama! 'Nii-sama, how does this look? I decorated it all by myself!"

   The excited call brought Seto Kaiba, teenage extraordinaire, down the carpeted grand staircase, a frazzled-looking Jounouchi following behind him. The blonde had to smile: The great Seto Kaiba, coming at the beck and call of a 10-year-old. He knew that, contrary to popular belief, the CEO did have a heart. One piece of it now belonged to him…

   "'Nii-sama, hurry up! I'm in the living room – uh, the private one that I like to use."

   The ghost of a smile graced the taller teen's lips, softening his usual condescending smirk. "I'll be right over, Mokuba."

   Jounouchi could not help but coming. "What, Seto Kaiba, talking in a civilized tone that doesn't sound like he's trying to kill someone?" He shrank back under his now-lover's glare, but continued to snicker. "Whaaaaaat? You set yourself up for it."

   "Heh. You are pushing the limits, mutt. I might have to punish you for this later."

   Honey eyes widened in mock fear. "Oh no, I'm terrified, moneybags. What are you going to do, sic your hologram Blue-Eyes White Dragons on me?"

   A second later, the shorter boy found himself pressed against the wall, with a husky voice promising delicious threats in his ear. "Don't say I didn't warn you, up. Now you'll get what you had coming. Let's see, what should I attack first?"

   Jou whimpered at the sudden pressure at his grin, as a slim leg pushed between his. Luckily (or unfortunately), he was saved from further "torture", at least for the time being, by a third – and much more impatient – shout.

   "'Nii-sama, where are you? I've been waiting here forever! Well, the clock says 2 minutes, but still…"

   The cold teen chuckled at his little brother's antics. "I'm right outside, Mokuba."

   Pushing open the door, the two older boys gasped, Jou's gasp turning into a strangled choke as he tried hard not to laugh. He knew that, lover or not, Seto would kill him if he made fun of the raven-haired kid.

   "Soooooo?" Mokuba asked expectantly, arms thrown wide and gesturing to his creation dramatically. "How does it look?"

   "It's wonderful," the CEO murmured, shooting a glance at the blonde, who mumbled "Yea, great" under his breath. Both teens' eyes held amusement, for, in front of them was a decorated Christmas tree. It was not just any tree, but one that Mokuba decorated by himself. It would explain why all the lights and ornaments, all the tinsels and garlands… were piled on the bottom few branches of the freshly-cut mini-fir.

   The younger child caught the direction of their gaze and cheerfully explained, "Ah, see, I was too short to reach the top. 'Nii-sama, Jounouchi-kuh, can you help me? I need to put up the star and plug it all in…"

   Giggling, the boy stretched to the top as the golden-haired teen lifted him up. The lights flared to life as Seto plugged them in.

   "Now we can decorate the house for the party tomorrow!" The one declaration was enough. The family-plus-one-outsider got to work.

   The heavy wooden door of the abandoned warehouse burst into tattered splinters from the force of two Sennen Items released in full anger. Two shining objects, one triangular, one circular, alighted two figures shadowy silhouettes against the blackness of night and white speckles of snowflakes blown in the blizzard. From within the shaded interior of the building, two came out to meet them. Had there been lightning in the background, it would have been appropriate.

   One voice broke the silence that seemed to stretch into eternity.

   "WHERE IS MY AIBOU?!"

   The outraged shout shattered the spell, as all action started again. Voices swam in the confusion.

   "Whatever do you mean, Yami-Boy? Whyever would we have him?"

   "What are you doing here? You weren't sealed! How did you appear again?!"

   "Oh, if it isn't my bandit partner. How was your 3000-year sleep? Some of us didn't have to go through it."

   "Were did you put my Aibou? If you harmed him, I swear I'll—"

   "Like you wouldn't try that anyway? I know you hate me, Yami-Boy."

   "It was your fault that I got trapped! And now, I'm stuck with a hikari-thing who you kidnapped."

   "Oh? And isn't it better now that you're rid of him? The oh-so-great Bakura doesn't need anyone, does he?"

   The clouds of accusations and fury, of sickening sweet mockery, finally calmed long enough for the Puzzle and Ring spirits to find their opponents. The first stage, the provocation, has ended. Now the true battle began.

   It was said that when one was blind, one's other senses would be sharper. Yugi discovered the truth of this as a muffled bang woke him from a restless sleep. He peered into the cold, uncaring darkness, just barely identifying the dim white shape nearby as Ryou. The shorter boy shifted, reaching over to shake his friend from sleep… when his supporting hand landed in a warm, wet puddle.

   "R-ryou-kun? Ryou-kun, wake up! Please be alright…"

   A faint moan signaled the snowy-haired boy's consciousness. "Yugi? Where are we? Where… where's Bakura? My yami…"

   "He's coming! I know he is. They'll come save us. They will…" In the darkness, tears slid down the amethyst-eyed boy's cheeks unnoticed, so contrary to his calming and confident tone. What if Yami isn't coming? What if he doesn't care? What if he didn't even notice? He was busy talking to Anzu after all. He wouldn't miss me… not with everyone else there…

   "Yugi-kun, what's wrong?" Ryou's voice was gentle, concerned. "Yugi-kun, they'll come. We have to believe in them. Remember? You told me to believe a little while ago. Now it's your turn…"

   Believe… That's right, I have to believe in him… I can't let all my words about trust and faith be empty. He's never let me down before. "Un. Arigatou, Ryou-kun. We'll trust in them together, ne?"

   As this was said, a door crashed open, throwing in blinding light. Two figures stood silhouetted. Yugi's hopes rose…

   …and came crashing down. The dark shadows of evil did not belong to his protector, to the one he loved.

   "You two get up!" a rough voice growled. "We've been ordered to take you to the main room. Apparently, some people came looking for you. Our boss is considering… bargaining… with them."

   Yugi's blood ran cold. "They… they won't listen to you! They won't agree to your terms…" No… No! We can't let them have the Sennen Items…

   The henchman laughed mockingly. "Take a look at your hands, little boy. They are dyed red with your friend's blood. It is by the boss's power that he still breathes. I would say that his life is price enough for his look-alike's treasure, don't you think?"

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Cliffy? Yes. Ari-Chan evil? Yes. Hey, at least you get an update.

Please R&R! I'll finish this chappy later…