His worst nightmare had come true. Yugi was alone, the soul survivor of their strong group of seven. He hated that feeling, the feeling of loneliness. Yet it was odd, because he had always been a more independent person. Granted, it was obviously not the first time he had felt alone, but he could never understand why he hated it so much when he so often preferred to work on his own.

Why do I hate this so much? He asked himself as he continued running from the city. I always fight alone…so why am I so disgusted by this lonesome feeling?

He was able to flee only to the edge of the city before exhaustion and fatigue began to heavily drag on him. He had eaten little and slept none in the past few days. It had not taken its great effect on him until then. Absolutely worn out, Yugi stopped and panted hard, leaning on his knees. Sweat dropped down his face as he began talking to himself.

"Aibou, Otogi, Honda, Bakura, Jounouchi, Anzu, Kaiba," he listed them off by disappearance, "death befallen upon you all. Now I am by myself in this vast yet meaningless world of beauty."

He held his chest. He was so tired and had a mind splitting headache from the last few days. Yugi was aware of the idea that if he fell here, he could very well die, but his poor physical shape was uncontrollably bothersome. He stood up and tried to continue walking on the trail.

"I have to rescue you…but with everyone gone, who is going to rescue me?" he asked to seemingly no one.

He took only a few steps before the blurry world became black.

His right hand reached over when he felt something soft and warm. The fuzzy material ran through his fingers as he opened his eyes. Looking down, he saw that he was lying in a cozy bed, a blanket wrapped around him. Slowly, he sat up, shaking his head as if he had just seen something unreal. Unknowingly, an entire day had passed. He had been out for a whole twenty four hours, regaining much of his lost sleep. While he was unaware of the amount of time passed, Yugi felt much more refreshed than he had before. As he got out of bed, Yugi was sure he would be dead. He would have been convinced he was dead had he been unable to feel the softness of the blanket. In many ways, he had wished he was dead.

Looking around the room, he discovered that he had been placed in a hut similar to the ones he and his friends had been staying at. This time, it was much smaller, being able to fit only a bed and small table next to it, which contained a variety of food on it. The hut was made out of mere straw and sticks, but it was quite comfortable.

Yugi ignored the food momentarily to step outside. The day was as gorgeous as the other days had been, the sun still shining, the temperature perfect, the atmosphere not polluted. He saw that he was still on the trail that they had been following since they had first been brought to this world. He began thinking back on it all, trying to find the significance of the road they were to follow.

"Follow the familiar road…" he said to himself. "That's what the note said, but what were you trying to show us?"

He kept on trying to think. Every time they had come upon a challenge, it always seemed to spark a memory within. Everything that had been set up, it reminded him of something that had already happened. He wondered if the same thing happened with the rest of the group, if they too, remembered a time that they'd easily redo.

"Following the path of the past…reoccurring mistakes…that's what you meant. That's what this is," he said, nearly grinning at his discovery. "I won't make those same mistakes. I'm going to keep my promise."

He walked back into the hut, more confident than he'd been the entire time there. Without hesitation, he dug himself into the food that sat on the table. Yugi realized how horrible it was to eat alone. There were no stories being shared, no ideas being spread, no laughter or screaming or crying. To him, it was all too silent.

Yugi was in no hurry to finish. He knew this time he would want to be at his best. Not knowing what spot Anubis would plan to attack him at, he wanted to be prepared. He not only wanted to get himself in better health, he wanted time to think about anything he could remember that might pull him back.

Unfortunately, he could not come to just one.

So many mistakes in such little time, he thought to himself as he took a bite of meat. It seems like I've not been with Aibou for long, and in that short period, there are so many things I could have done better.

Another thought ran through his mind, one that would change his entire plan.

Trying to recall every memory with Aibou and his friends is near impossibility, he thought. He stopped reviewing flashbacks. There can be no preparation for an unknown battle. There is no strategy. It's not duel monsters or any game that I'm familiar with. I'm going to have to land on my feet

I have to do this on my own.

He looked out the glassless window and saw the sun was beginning to set. He was long done eating and rested. His concentration and determination were as high as they could get in such a time. There would be no better time for him to go off for the final battle, the one which would determine the destiny of him and his friends. Yugi abandoned the hut and went back to the trail, going down what looked to be the final trip of this journey.

As he walked alone down the trail, Yugi took one last envious look at what was supposed to be paradise. The beauty was indescribable, the horror unimaginable. The amazing scenery did not outweigh the ugliness that overcame Yugi's thoughts of this place. He wanted to go back to reality, where the streets were dirty and the atmosphere was unclean. Reality, where the clouds covered the sun and emotions ran high. Reality, where he could reunite with his partner and friends and create wonderful memories to replace those he had forgotten. Comparing reality to paradise, paradise was nothing.

The moon was now in the sky as Yugi saw a tunnel was ahead of him. With nothing more to lose, having no fear, Yugi walked into it, assuming that was where he would meet his foe. The tunnel was so long that he could not see the ending of it. Pitch blackness would prevent him from seeing far ahead. Yugi would not turn back, but he found himself frustrated being unable to see. Slowly he began moving ahead.

Mysteriously, the room began to glow with a bright light. Yugi looked away momentarily so the light wouldn't blind him. When it was dim enough to see ahead, he stopped covering his eyes. A light would now guide him down the tunnel, but at the same time would torment him. The shining light were replays of the deaths of his friends in order which they were slaughtered. With this ahead of him, Yami Yugi did not want to go through this long tunnel, but he knew he had no choice. Trying not to look at the walls around him, he walked on, though trying to do so really did nothing for him. Every time he walked passed one of them, a memory would return to him, which would make him miss them more and increase the pressure on him. It got to him so much that he returned to a small state of depression and loneliness.

Truly, I was never alone, he thought to himself. I always believed I fought on my own because…

He remembered when he had dueled his partner in the valley, and what he had told him about himself.

I'm arrogant and persist in my own honor. I have but one value, and that value is my own life. I can't see others' pain and sorrow, so…I can't save anyone.

He walked passed the last flashback. His eyes were now concentrated on the ground. Only another blinding light would get him to look up again. Standing in front of him, in front of the end of the tunnel, were the spirits of Yugi, Anzu, Jounouchi, Honda, Kaiba, Bakura, and Otogi; his friends. Their stares lacked smiles, but their eyes were almost demanding something out of Yugi. They were nothing but empty shells, yet even then they seemed to know what he was thinking, and telling him something important. Knowing their message, Yami Yugi smiled.

"I remember the rest of that conversation," he said to them. "Aibou told me that I'm never fighting alone, and that I always need to believe that all of you and my monsters are with me."

He sighed almost happily.

"I understand now. If I am not alone, then you, all that I have, are always with me, and if you're with me, I should have the power to overcome. This is what I've learned, and with this knowledge, I'm going to keep my promise."

They didn't seem to hear him, but Yugi didn't care. He walked through them, and they dissipated. Yugi was unsure if it was part of Anubis' plan to make him feel worse about everything, or if it was a mere illusion within himself. Either way, it was to his benefit. For among the first times, it was his past that would help make or break his future.

Walking out of the tunnel, Yugi saw that he would have to climb up a tall hill to a large castle, similar to the one at Duelist Kingdom. It was the first place that Yugi had come to realize that there existed another half of himself that he never knew of, and that he and his partner, his other half, had to become one. Arguably, it was where his adventures with Aibou had begun, as well as their first victory together against Pegasus.

This is where it all began, he thought to himself, but it is not where it will end.

He moved along, climbing several stairs and eventually reaching the castle door. He took a breath in and opened the door. The door slammed shut behind him upon entering. The inside of the castle was nearly the exact same layout of Duelist Kingdom's castle, only with different decorations. It was dark, small torches guiding the way. Some minutes later, Yugi had found himself in what seemed like the dueling hall. While there was enough light to see which room it was, the room was almost completely black. Yugi's instinct told him that this was it. This was where the final battle would take place.

In a flash, flames were suddenly put on the torches all around the room, giving plenty of light to it. It looked exactly as it had been in duelist kingdom, only the dueling field took up the entire floor, and the balcony where Pegasus normally watched was not there. Yugi looked to his left and saw that the balcony where spectators would watch was still there, only this time they contained something much more frightening. Yami Yugi gasped as he saw, in a line, the corpses of Yugi, Jounouchi, Kaiba, Honda, Anzu, Bakura, and Otogi, tied tightly to crosses. Yugi felt as if their lifeless eyes focused in on him, almost paralyzing him. Knowing that the more he stared at them, the more shock he would be in, which clearly would distract him from his goal. Viciously he turned away and looked ahead of him, where his dueling opponent would normally enter. His opponent was there indeed, but not for dueling.

"Bastard, why do you put them there?" Yugi growled at Anubis.

"They are all sacrifices to God, sacrifices for a better future. You will be the next," he smiled. "I wanted them to be present when you failed."

"I won't fail," he told him. "I refuse it."

"Are you fighting for them, or are you fighting for you?" Anubis asked of him.

"Them," he immediately answered.

"Is that true? Say you are victorious, they would come back. What also comes back with them is your chance to regain your lost memory. That is what you have wanted all along, is it not?"

Yugi stood silent. It was true that his greatest goal was to have his memories returned to him.

"That is why anyone who interferes with you and your desires, you destroy. In the beginning, you killed those who did that. Do you remember? Before the Duel Monsters game became the game of war, you used the game of life and death, weakness and strength, to destroy people. I use the same concept, but I use it on those deserving of its punishment. You on the other hand, used it on those who threatened you and your renewed life."

He did not know how to reply to what looked like a complete fact.

"I used the dark games to ruin people," he shamefully admitted, "but to say those people were undeserving of it isn't true."

"Perhaps not, but it was never for anyone else but you and your pleasure. It was all for your sake. You had just gotten a second chance at life, and you wanted no one to take that away from you! Even later, when you stopped using the dark games, you covered up your selfish intentions with people pleasing, acting as if you cared."

"That's not true! They helped me and I helped them!" he argued.

"It is the least you can do for allowing you to be part of them, even if you never considered yourself that way."

"No! I did. If I hadn't been part of that group, I wouldn't be anything. I would have nothing to live for! To some extent, I don't want to get my memory back, because I'm afraid of leaving them, afraid to make them upset."

"Do not give me such lies. You never had anything except your own wishes. That is the only thing you run on."

Seeing a sword in its sheath resting on holders attached to the wall behind him, Yugi ripped it off the wall. He unsheathed it and was almost threatening Anubis with it.

"And you believe you run on more than I do? The only thing you have is your single hope to create a perfect world."

There was a sword behind Anubis as well, and he drew his as well.

"It will benefit more people than whatever you want to accomplish will," he said.

"No, it won't. It can only hurt them," Yugi began. "Paradise itself can't exist. There is no such thing as perfect, and there can never be such a thing. If everything was to be that way, evolution would be inexistent, as would hopes and dreams. This world, it would only reflect people, who must grow and develop, as flawless and superior beings, in which they could never rise above their weaknesses. That is the reason for the past, the reason for the dark times, just like the reason for rain: it covers up the light, but in exchange brings another necessary source for growth. In perfection, there's no change, only a boring, repetitive cycle that makes life unworthy."

It was Anubis who found himself stuck in silence.

"The past and the dark times are more like haunting spirits rather than steps," he argued back. "If they are rid of, the people can live happily."

"If you succeed, then prove to me that you're right. I'll be watching down from Hell," Yugi smiled at him.

Anubis returned the smile.

"The rules are not complicated: use the weapons that surround us to defeat your opponent. It is mere hand to hand combat, something I know neither of us is experienced with," he said.

Yugi held his sword out, pointing the tip of the blade at his opponent.

"We are men of similar aspects: we have nothing to lose and everything to gain, and everything to prove," Anubis said. "It is a fair fight that will show us the better man."

Yugi agreed.

"In the depths of the heavens or Hell, I will see you there," Yugi told him. "But you're the one who will be meeting me there, waiting, because I made a promise to a friend, and no matter what, I cannot break that promise to him."

He glanced up at little Yugi and gripped his sword tighter.

"Then I will break it for you," Anubis told him.

The two charged at one another, carrying the burdens of their heavy swords along with their futures.