Yami, like all of his friends, wandered the endless maze of halls without any clear idea of where he was going. Unlike the others, he was not alone in his wanderings. Though with Yugi as company, he may have wished he had been.

"Do you think the others are okay? Do you think she's gotten them yet? She wouldn't...she wouldn't hurt them already, would she? What if-"

"Yugi, they're fine. It's been quite a while, so I'm sure she's gotten some of them. She wouldn't hurt them yet. Before we worry about them, we should think about our own challenge."

Before Yugi could begin to worry again, the horribly familiar, mocking voice rang through the hall. "Well, Yami is it?" he looked up to see Korimo sitting contentedly on top of a doorway in front of him. "It must be you I've been looking for all this time. The infamous King of Games."

"That would be me," Yami replied, with the faintest trace of a smirk on his face. Flattery shouldn't work on one so wise, but he couldn't help being proud of himself.

"Well I'm quite interested to know what you've done with Yugi Moto, then. I designed my little game around him, and it's him I plan to play against."

"I shall be your opponent, not Yugi," he said with great authority.

"I'm afraid that's not for you to decide. I intend on fighting Yugi at the moment, and you will comply with my intentions if you do not wish your friends harm," Korimo responded with equal authority.

/But I'm not good at fighting, Yugi said, /if I try this, I might lose.../

I think we'll have to risk it, Yugi. You'd better come out. We don't have a choice

In a brilliant flash of light, Hikari and Yami switched and Yugi stood facing Korimo with all the defiance he could muster evident in his eyes.

"Very good. Now Yugi, if you'll follow me." It was an order, not a request. Korimo jumped lightly from the doorway and opened the door she'd been on top of. She held it open with mock cordiality and gestured for Yugi to go in before her. He walked sideways into the room, quite literally unwilling to turn his back on his opponent. Korimo raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him, followed Yugi inside, and closed the door behind her.

"No doubt you're wondering what you are required to do," Korimo's voice came from the dark – the room was windowless and only a thin trickle of light seeped in from the hallway.

"Yeah," Yugi said nervously.

don't worry, Yugi. I'll help you A reminder of aid from his wiser half gave Yugi the confidence he needed.

"So what is it?" he asked.

"Tell me Yugi, what is this exquisite item around your neck?" The heavy chain tightened around the back of his neck and the weight of the Puzzle lifted away from his chest – Korimo had lifted the Puzzle up to examine it. Yugi stepped backwards and took the chain in his hand, pulling it away from her grasp.

"It's mine."

"Of course it is, that's quite obvious. But what is it?" She traced the Egyptian eye gracing the gold. The Puzzle shimmered in the little light there was, drawing her eye.

"It's my Mil-"

Yugi, be careful. We have to keep the Puzzle with us at all times.

"It's just something my Grandpa gave me. Just a puzzle."

"I see. And the chain is so it doesn't get lost?" There was a mocking note in the question. "Very well, you won't tell me. But it's fitting, of course. Your task is-"She snapped her fingers and a bright blue ball of light fixed itself onto the ceiling above a small table, with a box sitting closed on top "- to solve this puzzle. You have 30 minutes, so I suggest you start now."

Yugi sat down at the small chair and took the lid off the box, not even thinking to distrust his luck. A standard jigsaw puzzle awaited him, and Yugi eagerly set to work.

Two Hundred pieces in half an hour was a daunting task, but Yugi settled into his stride quickly. Placing straight-edged pieces around the edge, he had the frame of the picture assembled in only a few minutes. Focusing only on the picture beginning to come together, Yugi ignored Korimo, who was pacing the floor around his table.

Fifteen minutes passed. The puzzle was already just over half completed. Korimo looked darkly down at the table, and suddenly began to laugh. Yugi looked up, startled. Her laughter was dark and calm, not at all what he wanted to hear. She stopped as suddenly as she had begun.

"Please, go on." She sniggered again, and walked to the wall, hiding herself in the shadows. Yugi blinked and, not knowing quite why, shivered before going back to the jigsaw.

Another ten minutes went by with no incident. With five minutes to go, Yugi had only to complete the center of the puzzle. He grinned as he worked, not taking the clues surrounding him: the simplicity of his task, the ease with which he went about it, and the sinister giggles still issuing from the shadows. But while Yugi couldn't pick up on the hints, Yami felt distinctly uneasy.

Yugi, something isn't right. This is too easy But the boy was engrossed in his task and wouldn't listen. He stopped for just a moment to count—10 pieces left to find homes for.

He could see the picture now: a large crowd made of several hundred people. About as hard a puzzle as could be found. But as piece after piece fell into place, Yugi couldn't help thinking that he would win easily.

Three minutes, two pieces. Korimo began to laugh even harder, but Yugi remained undaunted. The piece he was holding slipped perfectly into position, and he paused for a taunt, the way he and Yami always did.

"It looks like I've about beaten your game! Now you'll have to let all of us go!"

Korimo smirked. "Don't be so sure of yourself, Yugi. First, you should actually finish your task before you gloat about it. And second, I don't have to do anything. But go on, finish up." Her violet eyes glittered in the half-light, and her laugh rang out across the room again.

Yugi picked up the final piece resolutely and placed it in the hole in the middle of the puzzle. But the hole wasn't filled.

"What? There's a piece missing!"

"Oh, is there?" Korimo stepped back into the dim blue light and peered over Yugi's shoulder. "Guess there is. One minute to go, Yugi."

"But this isn't fair! I know I took every piece out of the box! It's not there!"

"Oh, I certainly agree," Korimo grinned. "That would be why I told you not to gloat. You should have known you wouldn't beat me so easily. Thirty seconds."

Yugi stared at the puzzle in shock. His brain seemed to shut off; he couldn't think of a thing to do. It was all up to him to save his friends, and he had lost. He just stared at the oddly-shaped hole separating him from his win.

"Three...two...one. Dear dear, time's up. I'm afraid you'll have to go, Yugi. But don't worry, You'll rejoin your friends in a moment. They've already lost as well." She paused, savoring the look of fury on Yugi's face. With a snap of her fingers, She sent a wave of white light, blinding in the dark room, to where Yugi still sat. The boy stood up in surprise and fear as he was surrounded by the light.

"And don't worry, we shall face each other soon, King of Games." Yugi disappeared, and Fukamito the bat fluttered out of the dark corner from which he had been watching.

"That's all of them, then. Pity they weren't much of a challenge," Korimo said.

"Milady, there is something I do not understand."

"I expect there are a lot of things you don't understand," she replied lightly, "But go ahead and ask."

"What was Yugi's test? Anyone would have lost, so what did it have to do with him?"

Korimo smiled. "It's quite simple. Yugi trusted me to play fair. Had he not been so foolish, he would have found his missing piece." Korimo reached a thin hand into her pocket, pulling out the final puzzle piece. She pressed it into its spot beside all the others. "So they've been re-united now. Each and every one a loss."

"Shall we take care of them now, Milady?"

Korimo yawned. "Don't be stupid. It's only an hour or so till sunrise. Tomorrow night."

"But Milady-"

"But nothing, Fukamito."

"But the new moon-"

"Isn't until the night after next. Do you think I can't handle them in one night?" Korimo's voice was cold and dangerous.

"No Milady, of course not, but-"

"Then stop being an idiot and leave me alone. I'll need to rest today." Korimo walked out of the room, holding up a hand to shield her face from the bright light of the hallway.

----------

Yugi re-appeared on the floor next to his friends. It took a moment for them to realize that he was there. But after a few seconds, he was knocked over by the combined hugs of Tea, Joey and Serenity.

"Yugi! You're alright!" Tea cried

"We were so worried!" said Serenity

"So she got you, too?" Yugi looked up to see Duke still sitting in the corner. "That means no one's left."

"Don't talk that way, Duke! Now that Yugi's here, I know we'll be okay!"

"Tea, we all lost. We're all prisoners. There's no hope."

"There's always hope," Yugi said. "And we're all together now. Nothing can stop us!"

"Oh right! Yugi, look at this." Serenity handed the flashlight and a page of Korimo's diary to Yugi, who read it over quickly.

"See that Yuge?" asked Joey. "We gotta fight her durin' the day ta win."

"She's too smart for that," Duke put in. "There's no way we'll be able to get out of here in the daytime."

"New Moon then! That'll work."

"It's two days away."

"Stop fighting, you two!" Tea pleaded. "We'll never get out of this if we can't work together!"

"Tea's right," Yugi said, having read the page several times by now. "But Duke has a point. We'll have to stall until the New Moon. We just have to figure out how."

"If I may," Ryou interrupted, looking at his watch. "It's about four o'clock in the morning. If we're going to be in any shape to resist tomorrow, we should get some sleep while it's still dark."

"Good point," Tea said after a short pause.

"Yeah, we can work it out in the morning," Tristan agreed. Yugi yawned, and dropped off almost instantly. They all found a small space in their small, cell-like room, and one by one they fell asleep.