Author's Notes:

I got home from work and typed up the first chapter (the old one you may have seen if you have visited this story before). As far as I knew or cared, I had just started laying the groundwork for my own Yu-Gi-Oh doll lore fanfic. No one was going to read it except me, and no one was going to care. Revising and editing could come later.

Boy, was I wrong! The next morning the first chapter had somewhere around ten hits. I was in shock. That afternoon at lunch, I sat down to work on this next chapter. One of the boys noticed me and came over to see what I was doing. The conversation went something like this:

Him: Are you writing again?

Me: Yep.

Him: You should write a Yu-Gi-Oh story! I bet you could write a good one!

Me: Actually, kiddo, that's exactly what I'm doing.

Him: Really?

He wanted me to read what I had written, but I put him off on the grounds I was mid-chapter. He then started suggesting all manner of dueling combinations and possible scenarios I needed to include. I tactfully explained the plot of the story to him. He was intrigued, but he definitely wanted a dueling story.

Down the Rabbit Hole

The next day, the four friends gathered at the game shop.

"Hey, Joey, where's Serenity?" Tristan asked, a gleam in his eye.

"We need to pick up Serenity from the station on our way," Joey responded. Yugi and Tea both giggled at Joey's barely concealed snarl. Tristan had a thing for Serenity that Joey definitely did not approve of. It was always a bit of a sore spot between the friends whenever the girl was expected to be around. "Tristan, stay away from my sister!" The dark-haired teen missed the order because he was all but running in the direction of the station, lost in his own thoughts of sweet Serenity. "Tristan! You come back here!" Joey chased after him.

Tea and Yugi were still laughing several feet later as they saw the blond catch up to Tristan. The two wrestled good-naturedly for a bit as the other two caught up to them.

Before long, they had Serenity with them and the five headed toward Duelist Kingdom. The boys talked about dueling and the last time they had been on Pegasus' island. The girls walked together, pointedly ignoring the boys as they caught up on each other's lives.

It wasn't long before the group found themselves nearing the base of a familiar set of stairs with an even more familiar pair standing at the first step. The older boy was staring angrily at the steps as if he was challenging them to interfere with him. The younger boy was looking around, occasionally stopping to look the same direction as his brother.

The taller boy was scowling. "I never wanted to see this place again. Pegasus better not be wasting my time!"

The smaller boy, oblivious to his brother's mood, pointed at the approaching party. "Hey, look! It's Yugi!" The teenage CEO couldn't contain his annoyance.

Joey noticed the brothers first. "Hey! Kaiba and Mokuba are here!"

"What are you doing here, Wheeler?" Kaiba snarled.

"We," Joey motioned to his friends and sister, "were invited here by Pegasus himself! Check it out!" He pulled out his invitation and waved it around. Seto Kaiba's eyes narrowed as they swept over the group, landing finally on the boy he felt was his only real competition.

Feeling nervous under his fellow duelist's scrutiny, Yugi managed a small nod and started playing with the Millennium Puzzle, shifting it back and forth between his hands. Seeing Kaiba and his younger brother, he was starting to feel nervous. I wonder why Pegasus wanted all of us here. He could feel Yami's concern growing. I'm worrying too much, he thought calmly. The concern radiating from the puzzle continued to grow. At least we'll face it together.

Yes, we will, Yugi, the confident voice of the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle's spirit responded.

"Like Pegasus would ever want to see a fourth-rate duelist like you," Kaiba's sharply-edged voice brought Yugi's wandering attention back to the conversation.

"Fourth-rate?" the blond duelist exploded. "We'll see whose fourth-rate! I'll take you on right here, right now, Kaiba!"

Kaiba chuckled and turned his attention back toward the stairs. "You aren't worth my time." He missed Tristan and Serenity grabbing a hold of Joey to keep him from launching himself at the older teen. Joey broke free and instead raced up the stairs.

"See ya at the top, Kai-"

"Serenity!" Tristan's surprised cry cut the teen off. Joey froze immediately on the step and turned, losing his balance and tripping down a couple of steps in the process. The elder Kaiba stormed past him, mumbling, "moron," under his breath as he passed. If he heard the insult, he didn't respond. He was too busy looking at his friends spread out around the clearing at the base of the stairs and noticing the number was one short.

Yugi and Tea started looking around the edges of the clearing, calling out the younger girl's name and waiting for some response. Joey leapt off the stairs and covered the distance to Tristan in two steps, "If you lost my sister-"

"She was right here!"

"And what? She just vanished?" The worried older brother was having to restrain himself from choking his friend. Tristan, backing away from Joey, nodded.

"Calm down! We'll find her, Joey. She can't have gone far," Tea's calming voice had its desired effect. A few more minutes of searching followed before Tristan found a note encouraging them to make their way to the castle to find Joey's younger sister. As they started up the staircase, they could talk of nothing but Pegasus' possible motives and Serenity's sudden disappearance.

Nearly halfway up, they came across the teenage CEO pacing crossly. He noted the group and barked, "Have you seen my brother?"

"Mokuba's missing?" Yugi asked.

"He was right behind me, and then he vanished." Kaiba ran to the edge of the stairs, "Mokuba!"

"Maybe he's at the castle all ready with Serenity," Joey offered.

"What?"

"My sister vanished down in the clearing, and then we found this note," he waved at Tristan who held up a small piece of paper. "We're headed up there now to find her."

"Do what you want, Wheeler. I'm staying here until I find Mokuba."

Joey shrugged, "Suit yourself, Kaiba." He led his friends past the agitated duelist and up the stairs. Moments later, they heard footsteps behind them. The fellow older brother was amused, "Decided to join us after all, Kaiba?"

"Only until we reach the castle. Then, I'll go find my brother." He walked through the group as he stormed up the stairs, his dark trench coat billowing behind him. The group quickly followed him.

If he had found the stairs intimidating, then Yugi Moto found the front of Pegasus' castle terrifying. The large wooden doors made the fifteen year old feel small and self-conscious.

Don't worry, Yugi. Everything will be fine. You've said so yourself. The millennium spirit tried to comfort him. Yugi looked up at the doors and sighed heavily as Kaiba confidently approached and opened the doors. He almost envied that courage, but Yami reminded him, He's afraid for Mokuba. That's false bravado.

The door swung open easily and the group filed inside. As Joey and Tristan debated over which hallway to follow, Yugi pulled out his invitation, "Let's see if Pegasus gave us directions." Tea took a corner of the card to help Yugi look. As her hand touched the invitation, a bright light exploded around her and Yugi. When the light faded, both were sitting on the ground a few feet apart.

"Yugi! Tea!" Joey and Tristan ran over to them.

"That was weird," Tea said as Tristan helped her to her feet.

The spiky-haired teen said nothing as he stood up and brushed himself off. He looked around the foyer and then the Millennium puzzle in confusion.

"You okay, Yuge?" Joey watched him carefully.

"Yes, I'm fine, Joey." The deep voice sounded more certain than the fifteen year old looked. "We should get going."

Oblivious to the misfortune that had just befallen two of the group's members, Kaiba pointed down a hallway. "This way." Too concerned about Tea and Yugi, everyone followed him down the hall and into the room at the far end without question or challenge.