joey goes to check her reviews a mere two hours after posting and starts jumping around as she reads her new ones...everybody stares...

uh...no but really, thanks so much again! it always makes my day to know people are enjoying this, as most of you have so clearly pointed out...

joey continues reading and comes to random rockstar's review and grins at her antics, then blushes as she realizes she posted yet another short chapter...
i swear it looked a lot longer on my comp!!!
oh well, maybe there'll be a longer chapter another time...
by the way, where do you get u're quotes, they're really cool

joey will shut up now and let u read

Part 1 (Chapter 14) – That Dark Magic part 2

"Ryou!" Yugi threw himself forward at the white-haired boy; any warning from Yami came too late. Ryou knelt on the ground, his head buried in his hands, surrounded only by darkness and despair. He didn't look up. Just before Yugi could reach his friend, however, a powerful, reflective force pushed him away. Bakura materialized, standing behind Ryou, his hand on the crouching boy's shoulder.

"Fool," the dark spirit mocked.

"What have you done, Bakura?!" Yami demanding, helping Yugi to his feet.

"So, Pharaoh, we meet once again," smirked Bakura. "But you are too late to stop me. My power has surpassed yours."

"So you think," returned Yami, scowling.

"Oh, I know it has." Bakura waved his hand nonchalantly, and ripples appeared in the void around them. Yugi clutched his head as everything spun out of control. Then suddenly, they were standing in the shadow garden once again. Powerful disruptions surged through the air, drawn to one single spot. Yami looked and saw a point at which all dark magic was gathering, leaving the air around him a void of nothingness – not even any echos of reality remained. Yugi looked and cried out as all of it was concentrated on the girl from his dreams. "Stop!!!"

Bakura only laughed as Yugi attempted to run to the girl. A second force field blocked Yugi's path, throwing him backwards. Yami frowned and focused completely on the shield, sending all of his own magic through a single solitary beam, but the light merely bounced off.

Bakura's eyes shined maliciously as he watched Yami's frustration. "What do you say now, Pharaoh? You have been defeated by a thief. Perhaps you do not deserve your title."

"You won't get away with this, tomb robber," Yami vowed. "Deception cannot stand against the truth."

"So you believe," Bakura didn't seem worried. "I will show you otherwise." He paused, then stepped backwards. "Observe, little Yugi, then tell me which is truly greater." Yugi glanced over, alarm written across his features. "Now," Bakura closed his eyes, concentrating, "Say good-bye to your friend."

He stretched out his arm, straining each of his fingers to reach as far as they could. Power rushed out in a swirl of cloudy blue magic. The energy became a solid rush of wind, keeping both Yami and Yugi at bay. It surrounded Ryou, securing itself to his soul, then flew back to Bakura's waiting hand. Space was distorted again as the garden vanished along with the magical wind and Ryou. Only the strange girl and center of dark magic remained.

"No!!!!!" Yugi fell to his hands in disbelief, Ryou. My friend. You can't really be gone! "Please let this be some awful dream! I want to wake up!"

"Face it Pharaoh," Bakura challenged over Yugi's tears, "The boy is gone, and the girl will soon follow. You tried and failed. Live with that."

"We shall see who it is that fails in the end, Bakura," Yami whispered. Bakura frowned and shimmered and vanished into the shadows. With a sigh, Yami knelt next to Yugi. "Be brave, my hikari. We must not lose hope. Not yet."

"Bakura was right," Yugi squeezed his eyes tight, "We failed."

"Don't give in to doubt, Yugi. That's giving in to Bakura."

"But what else can we do?" Yugi lifted his face to meet his Yami, a haunted expression in his eyes of one who has lost all hope. Yami had no answer.

"Nothing can be forever destroyed..." Both Yami and Yugi looked up for the voice. "As long as you hold fast to what is right and true." A solemn child stood before them. As they watched her, the fear and doubt faded in Yugi's mind. It was the girl who had led them once before through the shadow realms, showing them the garden where Bakura had made his stronghold. As Yami and Yugi stared, she spoke once again, "Evil is full of deceptions and suffering, but if these are avoided, it cannot win."

"Who are you?" Yugi asked.

"I am no child of the light, but neither do I belong to the shadows, and that is all you need know. For now."

"Please tell me," Yugi spoke once again. "That girl, is she the one destined to defeat Bakura?"

The young child nodded thoughtfully, "She may be, or she may not be. But destinies are easily changed."

Yugi bowed his head, "Then what hope is left for me?"

"You must trust your heart, Yugi Mutou," the girl spoke. "She can still be saved."

"How? Bakura's shield prevents us from reaching her."

"You must find her first."

"Find her?"

"Search deep in your mind, and you will discover the way."

"But how...?" Yugi demanded; but the girl was already fading away.

"Believe," she whispered, then she was gone.

"Yami?" Yugi looked up at the other spirit, a thought growing in his mind.

Yami nodded, "Go ahead, my hikari. It's our very last chance." Slowly, Yugi closed his eyes.

cringes no, don't kill me! bakura's not dead...
...yet...lol.

okay, so maybe you don't find that funny.

(runs and hides)