Disclaimer: *chant* Don't own Yu-Gi-Oh... *waves with her Millennium Item*

AN:

I'm sorry for my lack of updating, but I've been busy with the driving school lately (and trust me...this is not a safe town anymore). Thank you all for your reviews; they really mean a lot. *smiles widely* It took me some time to write this chapter, it wasn't quite easy to try and describe the fight and all...I don't know if you like it...I hope you, do, though... ^_^

The legend of the three souls

Chapter VII – All at once

-by Alena S. Anigor

"And then...Tea was simply gone and..." Ishizu stopped with her story, trying to explain everything to Serenity who was listening carefully. They were standing aside from everyone, while Joey, together with Yuugi, Tristan and Solomon were discussing the police matters with insp. Muhadda. Mai was twirling the tiny black rope that was around her neck nervously, her camera showing beneath her shirt.

Serenity nodded understandingly, finally realizing what happened there a few hours ago. It was past midnight but no one was sleepy or even drowsy. Their nerves were like tight strings that threatened to break and fall apart every second. Insp. Muhadda, as much as he hated it, had to admit that his men hadn't found anything that could indicate where the thieves went and where they took the girl. He bowed apologetically, putting his red hat on top of his head again, and smoothing his mustaches, told them he would call them if they find out anything. With that, he left from the main hall, his footsteps echoing down the corridor as his figure vanished in the darkness.

Silence overtook from then, every one of them eyeing the other almost conspiratorially, while trying to come up with a plan worthy of rescuing Tea and bringing her back where it was safe.

Solomon coughed slightly, now very well aware that the whole legend thing had gone too far...Ishizu wasn't well introduced into the legend as he had guessed she would be, and now she didn't even know what she caused. Yuugi was staring at the floor blankly when he heard his grandfather cough and raised his head to look at him. He was hoping he got a good idea but seeing his grim expression and dark circles under his eyes, he simply took the action as a sign of sleepiness.

Mai twirled the rope so hard around her finger that it became cold and blue already from the pressure. She couldn't believe that someone simply took Tea away and was doing to her God knows what at the moment. She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the cars going away from the museum; insp. Muhadda and his men were leaving, and every hope of finding Tea abandoned her now.

"We got to do something," Yuugi said suddenly, still staring at his feet, but his face revealed determination and anger. Solomon sighed deeply, tapping him on the shoulder affectionately.

"No, Yuugi...we can't do anything," he replied, tiredness clear in his voice, looking down on the floor. That just made his grandson angrier, and he shrugged his hand off, turning to face him now. He clenched his fists, trying to control his anger. Never in his life had he felt such anger, and he never felt so helpless and weak. His friend was kidnapped, probably tortured now and he could do nothing...

"How can you say that? There's got to be something we can do!" He yelled now, catching the attention of everyone else in the hall. Joey and Tristan were looking at them, their eyes blank and hollow, Mai stopped twirling the rope of her camera, while Serenity and Ishizu simply stared at the two.

Solomon was slightly caught off guard; he didn't expect such an outburst from his grandson. He sighed again, lowering his head in defeat.

"I wish we could, Yuugi, but..." he trailed off, helplessly trying to suppress his own misery. Partially, he thought he was the main to blame; he should've warned them before they came here, he should've warned Ishizu, too about the bad consequences of her researches. And now...Tea was paying the price for all that.

Yuugi got up and started pacing down the hall, desperately searching for a solution, but growled in frustration when nothing came to his mind that could help Tea. He realized that his grandfather was right; they couldn't help her if they didn't even know where she was taken. He returned to his previous demeanor; he sat on the chair again and stared at the floor numbly.

"I suppose we couldn't start the search on our own?" Solomon asked quietly and a few heads turned to look at him. Yuugi snorted angrily from below.

"And how? We don't even know where she is at the moment," he retorted, crossing his fingers below his chin. Solomon sighed dejectedly, noticing how the situation was becoming more and more hopeless.

Mai sat down on the chair beside Yuugi and crossed her hands. The camera was peeping out of her shirt now, and hanging on the thin black rope.

"I wonder if Tea is still alive at all," she said grimly, and everyone in the room shuddered inwardly at her words.

"The nerve of that woman!" Seto Kaiba seethed, tightening his grip on his suitcase. Mokuba tagged along, skipping down the stairs after him, wondering what happened in the museum that made everyone so edgy.

The older Kaiba was storming down the stone stairs, a swirl of anger surging trough him. His face revealed arrogance and pride that couldn't be shattered even by Ishizu turning his offer down.

"I will get that bust," he growled and Mokuba raised his eyebrows, silently questioning his brother's obsession with a piece of stone, in his humble opinion.

"But the woman said it wasn't for sale," he replied, watching the intense expression on his older sibling. Kaiba's eyes narrowed dangerously, icy color turning into a darker shade of blue again.

"That bust belongs to me, Mokuba! And I will get it," he almost barked, glaring at his suitcase. Mokuba just shrugged and decided not to argue with him anymore.

When they reached the end of the stairs, Mokuba stopped suddenly, staring in the opposite direction, his eyes widening slightly.

"What the hell..." Kaiba murmured, trying to find the limousine that drove him to the museum, but the limo was gone, leaving only an empty parking space in front of him, "that damn incompetent fool! He's fired!" He yelled, fury evident on his face.

"Uhm, Seto..." Mokuba said meekly, pulling his brother by his coat and pointing at the few figures not so far away from them, "they are...floating!" He yelped, instinctively hiding behind his brother. Kaiba turned his head to the other side where Mokuba pointed.

Seven or eight of them were indeed floating a few feet above the ground, faces shadowed and invisible in the dark of the hood. They were floating closer now, and Mokuba wanted to say something to him, but lacked the words. Kaiba wasn't very intimidated by their appearances, which surprised him in a way. He actually felt calm and cool, as if the figures in front of him were his daily associates, and not ghostly images with whitish hands that were now spread in his direction.

"Setooo..." Mokuba found some strength to talk, shocked beyond his beliefs of what shock could be like. He clutched his brother's trench coat tightly, and tugged on it, urging him to run away as far as he could. But Kaiba stood put, not daring to even show any sign of fear or anxiety. He simply stared at them, his eyes icy blue again, scrutinizing them all. He didn't even flinch like Mokuba did when one of the figures pointed a skeleton like finger at him, his cloak billowing behind him mysteriously.

"Seto..." He barely whispered, but the whisper managed to reach the ears of the two, as if it was carried by some invisible wind, "...Kaiba."

"What do you want?" Kaiba asked coolly, surprising Mokuba with the dosage of coldness and calmness in his voice. If he were in his place now, he'd probably be running down the street now.

The figure turned around and nodded slightly. Other figures started approaching them suddenly, but Kaiba was still standing calmly where he was. He did, however push Mokuba aside, telling him to go and hide somewhere. One of the figures decided to take a leap at him, but Kaiba dodged the hands of the figure and swiftly swinging with his suitcase, hit the figure straight in the head, making it fall down on the stone ground with a thud.

"Seto!" Mokuba yelled from behind, perplexed and scared now. The shock returned and he was now simply staring at him who was so calm and composed, his expression so hard and controlled that he could barely believe that this was his brother.

He turned to look at him, and Mokuba noticed a strange flashing of blue in his eyes, before he opened his mouth to speak again.

"Run!"

And Mokuba got up, praying out loud for his brother to be okay, as he ran back to the entrance of the museum, determined to get help. Behind him, Kaiba swung his suitcase again, sending one of the figures flying lightly away.

"You shall not get the bust, Seto Kaiba," the figure half whispered and half seethed, preparing himself for a launch at the young CEO.

"That is up to me only!" He replied loudly, already raising his suitcase high above his head, taking the stance and getting ready to hit the threatening figure.

Solomon wanted to suggest a rest for everyone when they heard a voice, echoing trough the corridor, loud and shrill from yelling and screaming.

"Heeeeelp!" Mokuba was screaming from the top of his lungs, aimlessly running down the museum's halls, and spotting the light from the nearby, turned left and ran straight into something hard, or someone to be precise.

Joey stared at the smaller boy from above, confused and curious for a second, before he recognized him as Mokuba Kaiba. He frowned instantly, crossing his hands. Others gathered around him, eyeing the boy with equal confusion.

"Look kid, we already told your brother that the bust was not for sa-"

"He's being attacked!" Mokuba interrupted him so suddenly with his scream that Joey flinched slightly. Behind him, Tristan and Yuugi exchanged glances.

"Whaaat?" Joey asked again, leaning down slightly to hear better. Mokuba was breathing heavily, holding the front of his shirt tightly, and trying to catch some oxygen. He raised his hand and a pair of desperate and frightened eyes greeted the group of people in front of him.

"What happened?" Solomon asked, now becoming worried slightly. Mokuba took a deep breath and started talking.

"Seto is, being attacked! Some guys they are floating and they are attacking him they...he needs your help, he can't...take them, too many...!

"Whoa, whoa, slow down a bit!" Tristan exclaimed, putting his hands up to stop him from babbling. Mokuba let out that breath he was holding for so long and straightened himself quickly. He clenched his fists angrily, eyeing them with narrowed eyes. The resemblance between him and older Kaiba was remarkable now.

"My brother is being attacked by some strange guys who are floating!" He screeched at them, and stood up on his toes to yell at Joey who raised an eyebrow.

"Come again?" He asked, scratching his messy blondish hair.

"Show us!" Tristan said, and Mokuba started running away down the hall again, Tristan and others following behind. Joey just shrugged after Ishizu yelled at him to move already.

Outside the museum, Kaiba was now having a hard time trying to pry them all off of him. The figures surrounded him, whispering threats and insults that made his blood boil. When he swung at one of them, others would simply appear from the other side and tried to get their hands on him. He looked around and found it strange that there was no one near the museum; no one was there to witness the figures. And why they were floating, was beyond him. All he could think now was how to get them off his back and find Mokuba again. If they dared to touch his little brother, they were going to pay dearly.

"Seto!" He turned around when he heard that familiar voice and saw his brother, together with others from the museum. He was relieved that Mokuba was all right, but the figures were still there. One of them reached for him, but then stopped suddenly, and Kaiba backed away, now slightly surprised to see all hoods turned to the side. As if on cue, all of them turned around now, their bodies turned completely towards the museum, cloaks billowing. And all of them were looking at only one person. Simultaneously, they all pointed their fingers at the boy who was staring in disbelief at the floating creatures in front of the museum.

The one who was apparently the leader of them all, let out a blood chilling breath that hollowed trough the street, making all of them back away in fright. Serenity grabbed Joey's hand, hiding behind her brother. Mai and Ishizu simply stared at the figures, not daring to move, while Tristan, Joey and Yuugi were left with their mouths open. Only Solomon's eyes were slightly wide, his whole demeanor shaking. Mokuba was still breathless, glad to see his older brother alive.

The leader spread his hands forward, his fingers twitching, trying to grab the person they were meant for.

"Yuuuugiii, " he started, making the boy breath in sharply, his violet eyes wide with fear, "Muuutoouu," he added finally, his own breath shaking suddenly, empty and hollow. Solomon grabbed his grandson by the upper arm and yanked him behind him.

Yuugi was still shocked with the fact that the figure knew his name, and obviously wanted to do something with him...or to him.

"Yuugi, stay back," Solomon ordered harshly, making Yuugi blink for a second before he dared to ask what was going on.

"Get them!" The shrill and hollow voice ordered, and the figures launched forward, three of them leaped at Kaiba, while others started floating towards Yuugi and the others. Serenity screamed, when Joey pushed her back and ordered her to stay put. Ishizu and Mai backed away as well, already prepared to run back into the museum.

"Seto!" Mokuba yelled, running to his brother to try and help him. Kaiba was swooned with the figures, one of them clutching his collar, while the other dug his fingers in his neck. Kaiba screamed in pain, trying to break free. The suitcase landed far away from him, and he had only his hands and legs to fight with.

"Mokuba, stay back!" He scremed, but Mokuba already jumped at one of the figures, holding it tightly around the neck, screaming at him to let his brother go.

"Yuugi!" Solomon yelled as well, pushing his grandson back violently, and the blow that was meant for him, hit Solomon straight across the face.

"Grandpa!" Yuugi yelled desperately, falling down onto the stone stairs, and watching his grandfather falling down helplessly. The leader let out a strange noise, something very close to a snicker that was heard all around him.

"You bastards!" Tristan yelled, landing a solid punch at one of the figures, while Joey was having his hands full, trying to pry one of the figures off who was currently holding his upper arms tightly.

Serenity started crying, burying her head under Ishizu's neck, while the young woman was trying not to scream in horror herself. Mai was too stone shocked to do anything besides simply shaking vigorously, both of her hands on her mouth.

Mokuba fell down, hard and Kaiba screamed in fury this time. He yanked a pair of ghostly hands away, punching the figure so hard that he felt his hand go numb, his nerves flickering under his skin.

"Mokuba!" he yelled, already rushing to the spot where his younger brother was lying helplessly until the other two figures intercepted him, grabbing him by his hands and legs, and Kaiba fell down, completely immobile.

Just when the cloaked figure wanted to dig it's sharp nails into his eyes, someone grabbed it from above, yanked it away and sent it flying trough the air. Kaiba stared numbly, wide eyed, breathing so heavily that he already thought his heart would give up on him. The person, who was responsible for his rescue, grabbed the other, unsuspecting figure that was still trying to crawl to Kaiba's neck, yanked it away with such ease that it seemed like he just yanked a little child away. The figure landed a few feet away, hitting against the wall and falling soundlessly to the ground.

The girls were gaping at the stranger who now walked nonchalantly to the remaining cloaked creatures, pushing them all away with ease, and sending them flying a few feet away. The leader of the creatures was floating over Yuugi now, the young man completely motionless, staring at his grandfather who wasn't moving.

"Yuugi, watch it!" Ishizu and Mai yelled in unison, but when the figure wanted to swing his hand at the boy, another hand stopped it in mid swing and the leader turned away quickly.

Yuugi raised his head slowly to look at the, what seemed to be a younger man, his skin tanned, holding the hand of the creature in a tight grip.

The leader let out a screeching sound, starting to trash violently from the young man's grip, who only swung his hand, still holding the hand of the creature and sent it flying high in the air. The cloaked figure continued on screeching, letting out hollow screams that was piercing the ears of the others. Serenity covered her ears quickly, not wanting to look at it anymore. The others watched intently the arc of the flying figure as it was starting to fall to the ground again.

"Nooooo!" The figure screamed, the noise filling the street again, the mysterious and invisible air seemed to billow his cloak again, and he stopped, a few inches away from hitting the ground. He stayed like that for a few seconds before straightening himself in a vertical position again, his cloak billowing now madly around him. The tanned young man who was standing near Yuugi, frowned and let his hand fall down slowly.

"May this be a warning," he said, his voice firm and steady. All eyes were on him and the figure now, who only let out another ear piercing sound and vanished down the street, disappearing in the dark.

Silence followed, and all the noises and the sounds of the street and the night returned again. Ishizu could hear the sound of cars bustling nearby again, and the almost welcoming sound of night animals around the museum.

Kaiba stood up, grimacing and holding the bloody stain on his neck and reaching down to see if Mokuba was all right. Almost involuntarily, Yuugi knelt down by his grandfather, simply staring at his face. Ishizu ran to kneel beside Yuugi, while Serenity ran to her brother, who was still in some sort of state of shock. Tristan was obviously out of it all, because he was still staring at the place where the figure stopped falling and then disappeared, almost as if he was expecting it to return back again.

Mai was standing on top of the stairs, right in front of the museum's entrance, clutching the rope of her camera again.

Kaiba was still composed enough to pull out his cell phone and call for help. He picked up Mokuba, after assuring himself that he was still alive, but unconscious. He stood under the stone stairs, glaring at everyone around him.

Yuugi was shaking his grandfather, trying to wake him up, but failed to do that. The tanned young man knelt beside him and Ishizu, and observed him, almost analytically.

"He will be all right," he said after a moment, and Yuugi noticed his presence again. He got up abruptly, shaking with anger and clenching his fists.

"Who are you?" he demanded, glaring at the young man, trying to control his sudden anger again.

"And what the hell just happened here?" Joey joined him in questioning. The young man observed them all calmly, and then fixing his turban, closed his eyes for a second before opening his mouth to speak.

"I see Seto Kaiba has already called for help," he said and turned around to look at Kaiba, who was holding Mokuba in his hands, and giving him a look that could've sliced him if he had that power, "then maybe we should go inside, it is safer." With that, the young man simply walked away and entered trough the doors, not paying attention to a perplexed Mai.

It took all of them a few moments until they composed themselves and followed behind. Mai was the first, hugging herself protectively around the waist, Serenity was still clutching her brother's hand. Tristan and Ishizu helped Yuugi drag his grandfather trough the doors. Kaiba entered the last, Mokuba's hands hanging limply underneath him.

When they all gathered in the main hall again, the young man was already standing in the middle of the hall, waiting patiently for them. Yuugi placed his grandpa on the chair carefully, seating him the right way so not to fall. Kaiba was standing aside, not letting Mokuba out of his hands.

"Who are you?" Ishizu asked the young man when he looked at her, in an almost blaming manner.

"No...", Joey said, crossing his hands over his chest angrily, "Who or what were they?"

"What is happening here, huh?" Tristan demanded next, clenching his fist in the air.

"I think we all need an explanation here, and you owe us one," Kaiba said calmly from behind, putting Mokuba on the chair now. A few sharp nods confirmed his words and silence followed again.

The young man closed his eyes again for a second then opened them a moment later.

"First things first," he spoke, scanning them all across the hall.

"You may call me Shadi."