Sunlight leaked into Yugi's room, waking the new day outside. But sunlight did not wake Yugi; that was a job reserved for his alarm clock. As the pesky thing rang, Yugi fumbled around and finally slammed it off. Sitting up, he rubbed his eyes, and wondered at what hour he had finally fallen asleep last night; he felt incredibly tired.

The worries of the previous day settled on him once again as he began his daily morning routine. In the bathroom, he splashed cold water on his face as he did every day, trying to make himself feel the freshness of the morning, but instead he only felt weighed down. As he looked back up, he met his own reflection in the mirror hanging over the sink, but wasn't surprised when he also saw his Yami staring back at him from the mirror.

"You're still tense, Yugi." Yami said, leaning against the wall behind Yugi, his arms crossed.

Yugi turned and gave Yami an apologetic smile, trying to pick up his own attitude. "Sorry, Yami. You're right; I said I wouldn't worry so much anymore, so I won't."

Yami nodded as Yugi went back to his room and watched from a distance as Yugi finished readying himself for school. He caught his other self frowning and his eyes concentrated in distress and worry. The Pharaoh shook his head and approached Yugi.

Yugi looked up, surprised when the spirit placed a hand on his shoulder. "Yugi, we've always been able to take everything that's happened to us so far. We've fought far worse; real monsters, the Shadow Realm, Pegasus and his Millennium Eye, and even the wrath of Marik and his psychotic other self. I know that no matter what comes before us this time, we'll make it through. We've got each other, and all of our friends by our side. How could we lose with such strength?"

Yugi gazed into the Pharaoh's eyes, getting the full message of what he meant. Finally, he smiled, and Yami could feel Yugi relax. "You're right, Yami." He pulled on the Millennium Puzzle. "Thanks."

Yami smiled and nodded, then faded into the Puzzle, glad he could abate Yugi's unease. Yugi traveled downstairs to meet his Grandfather in the kitchen, making himself some toast. After getting himself some cereal and toast, Yugi sat down at the table and began to eat. Across from the table, the TV was visible. The morning news was playing.

"And now, for an update on what has been dubbed, the "Missing Duelists" case." The news anchor continued. "The location of all three of the previous duelists remains unknown, and investigators are baffled. However, it seems that the list of vanished people are growing. Yesterday it was revealed that Ryou Bakura, a semi-finalist in Kaiba Corp's Battle City Tournament, has also gone missing."

Yugi gaped at the TV as a picture of his white-haired friend appeared on TV, joining the pictures of Mako, Espa, and Weevil. He hung his head slightly. 'Wow, this is kinda depressing.'

"Bakura… Isn't he one of your friends, Yugi?" Yugi's Grandfather turned from the kitchen counter to peer at the television. Yugi froze, knowing he was caught. "You didn't tell me this yesterday."

"Well, I, uh…" Yugi sought frantically for an excuse, one besides the truth, and mentally turned to his Yami for help, who merely crossed his arms and smirked at him, watching.

"Hm, but I remember Bakura acting strangely when I was watching him the hospital…" Grandpa Motou continued. "Something to do with his Millennium Ring…" He looked at Yugi with sharp eyes.

'Ah, oh no! How do I get out of this one?' Yugi thought to himself. There had been several times now when he had almost accidentally revealed the presence of his other self to his Grandfather.

"Heh heh, it's alright, Yugi. I know about the Pharaoh and your Millennium Puzzle." Grandpa chuckled to himself.

Yugi's jaw dropped. "Wh-what! You know, Grandpa?"

"Oh, come on, my boy! Give me a little more credit than that! You didn't honestly think you could keep anything from your Grandpa, did you?" He answered, waving one finger at Yugi.

Yugi sunk into his chair, still amazed. /Did you know the he knew, Yami/ He asked. He almost laughed out loud at the shocked expression on his Yami's face; such a vulnerable look from him was rare.

/I had no idea./ 'Yugi's Grandfather amazes even me sometimes.' Yami warned himself to be careful around the old man.

"Grandpa, how long have you… known?" Yugi asked, returning his attention to the real world.

"To be honest, I've suspected it ever since I gave you the Puzzle, Yugi. Since then, it's only become more and more obvious." He winked.

"And all this time I've been trying to hide it… and you knew…"

"Oh, come now! Of course I know about Shadow Magic and all that! How do you think I sent you a message from the Shadow Realm back in Duelist Kingdom?"

"Oh, you mean that strange dream?" Yugi asked before he could stop himself, and his Grandfather's expression changed quickly.

"Dream? You thought that was just a weird dream? Do you know how hard that was for me to do!" He yelled.

"Ah! Grandpa, calm down! I really did appreciate it!" Yugi said as Grandpa calmed. "Really, without that message I wouldn't have even made it through the Duelist Kingdom finals' first match."

"Well, you'll be late for school, Yugi, so you'd better get on your way." Grandpa said, closing one eye disapprovingly at his grandson. "And remember, be careful."

Yugi nodded and grabbed his pack. "Bye Grandpa!" He waved as he headed out the door.

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"Hey, Yugi." Joey greeted solemnly as they both entered the classroom.

"Good morning, Joey." Yugi replied as they made their way over to Tea and Tristan, who were already waiting for them.

"Did you see what was in the newspaper? About Bakura?" Joey asked.

"Yeah. I guess they decided to add him into this story after all." Yugi said, remembering how the police officer they had talked to told them not to get their hopes up.

"Kinda depressing, when your friend's in the news like that." Tea added softly. "But at least no one new has disappeared."

Yugi looked up at Tea sadly. "Yeah, but… that might be a problem." Seeing his friends' faces, he continued. "Yami told me last night that we don't have any clues right now, and that unless some more people disappear, we might never get any leads. The more it happens, the more chances there are for witnesses or clues."

Tea gasped. "But, that's horrible." She stared at the floor. "I don't want to hope for any more disappearances… What if you or Joey are next?" She said quietly. "My parents were worried about this last night."

"Yeah, my family had a little argument about it." Tristan said.

"Serenity called me last night." Joey said. "She's real worried." His expression made it obvious that it pained him for his little sister to be so caught up in worrying about him. He bowed his head.

'Hmm…' With a flash of the Millennium Puzzle, Yugi's features changed, and suddenly it was Yami standing with his friends. They all looked at him, surprised by his sudden appearance. He smiled at them, confident.

"Don't worry. No matter what happens, we'll always have each other to rely on." He caught Joey's eyes, which widened for a second, but then Joey smiled.

"Yeah. Thanks, bud." Joey said, standing taller now and acting more like himself. Yami's appearance seemed to have a calming affect on the whole group; everyone seemed more confident than before.

"You four again? It's time for class: get to your seats and stop talking!" The teacher yelled angrily, standing at the head of the classroom. The four started, then turned to once again see everyone else sitting. Tristan, Tea, and Joey quickly walked to their seats. Yami handed control back to Yugi, who stood still for a minute, not expecting control to be handed back. He quickly ran to his seat when people started snickering.

Joey looked at the empty desk next to him from the corner of his eye and frowned again.

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The four stood just beyond the school's entrance, done with the place for another day.

"It's time for us to start taking some action." Joey declared with a serious glint in his eyes. Behind him, the others nodded.

"We need some idea of what happened to those who have vanished." Yugi said. "We need to do some investigating."

"Are you saying we should go visit the people who were around those who disappeared?" Tristan asked.

Joey nodded. "That's a good idea, too. All of the duelists live in the general area; it wouldn't take too long to go to any of their houses."

Yugi turned to look up at Joey. "Let's go to Espa Roba's. There were more people around when he disappeared, and we have more details on that case than any other."

Tristan nodded. "Alright. We can take my van, then."

Shortly after, the four were riding toward Espa Roba's house in Tristan's vehicle.

"You know, this isn't the most attractive van I've ever seen." Tea said flatly, noting the rust on the outside and it's obvious age. "It's not even above some of the worst I've seen."

"At least I have a van." Tristan snapped back from behind the wheel. Tea grinned.

"This is it, isn't it?" Yugi asked, peering out of the window.

The van pulled up into a long driveway. They were now outside the city borders, in a slightly more suburban area. As the van stopped and they got out, they couldn't help but notice a slightly desolate appearance to the house, as though a grief hung around it. It was noticeably quiet, and the lawn was empty with no sign that there were five kids living there. The gloom around the entire area made the group feel a bit uncomfortable as they approached the front door. Yugi hesitated for a moment, and then knocked.

It was a while before anything happened at all. Yugi was about to try again when he finally heard movement from the other side of the wall. The door opened to reveal the other four Roba brothers, once again sporting similar hairstyles and clothes, but looking much dismayed and disheartened. Yugi couldn't help but feel sorry for them, but as they finally lifted their heads to see who was at the door, they all perked up a small amount.

"Um, hey guys." Yugi said, trying for an optimistic greeting in spite of how he felt.

"Yugi, Joey." They all said in unison, and perked up slightly more. "We thought it'd just be another policeman." The second oldest added.

"Well, actually, we were hoping to talk to you about that, too." Yugi said, once again trying to sound different from how he felt. But to his surprise, the Roba brothers nodded without much hesitation.

"We wouldn't mind talking to you guys," one of them said, and another agreed. "Joey's the only one to beat our brother when he was using his ESP. We know you're good guys."

Yugi smiled, glancing up at Joey, and for the first time the blond realized that these younger kids looked up to him in a weird sort of way. His heart almost melted for a moment, and then he regained himself. "Well alright, then." He said, now with more courage as the brothers led the group into the house.

"Can you guys tell us about everything that happened right before your brother… disappeared?" Joey asked, uncertain once more.

A sort of depression fell on the brothers once more, and the oldest stepped forward to tell their story. "Well… the day it happened, Espa had taken us to a planetarium, as a special treat." A smile came to his face for a moment. "We all still really enjoy all that stuff about the cosmos and the psychic universe, even if we don't use it to win duels anymore. We were all enjoying ourselves and such- the place was huge. But for a moment, Espa walked away from us to see what was in another room."

The Roba fell silent, and the family all looked towards another one of their siblings, the one who particularly enjoyed candies. Even now he sucked on a lollipop, but he removed it from his mouth to speak. "I went after Espa right after he left… but the room he went into was empty. It didn't even have any stuff in it." With that, he gloomily stuck the candy back into his mouth.

The eldest picked up once more. "Espa couldn't have had more than three seconds to himself. The room he went into was in the middle of having it's exhibit changed, so there wasn't even any stuff in it… Not even Espa."

"And there wasn't any way he could have left the museum?" Yugi asked, perplexed.

The Roba shook his head once more. "We talked to everyone in the planetarium. The person at the front desk said she hadn't seen him leave, and that she would have remembered if he had. We all look so alike, I guess it leaves a mark on the mind…"

"And this happened right at 5:25, right?" Yugi asked, and the siblings nodded. The short duelist crossed his arms and sunk into deep thoughts.

"Please! Do you know where Espa is?" One of his brothers cried out. "We heard some freaky stuff went on in Battle City, but you handled it. You're the best duelist in the world, Yugi! You have to figure it out!"

Yugi frowned, not having the heart to tell them that being the world's best duelist had little to do with the predicament at hand. But instead he smiled again. "Don't worry, we'll find your brother, and all of the rest of the duelists who have gone missing."

"Yeah! That's right!" Joey yelled enthusiastically, brandishing one fist in the air as if victory was clear already. "I promise your brother will come back! And Joey Wheeler never breaks a promise!"

This seemed to cheer the brothers up some more, and Yugi's group headed out. Yugi still couldn't help but feel bad as he left them all still in such a sad state, but there was little he could do.

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Joey stared at the phone hanging on the wall with intensity, as if it were an opponent in some sort of deathly duel. Or perhaps it was with hatred that he regarded the thing. The device looked harmless enough, sitting in its cradle of bland plastic on the equally bland wall, but to Joey it was the whole center of an argument he held with himself.

'I should call her. Just to make sure she's safe.' He thought, once again, for what seemed like the hundredth time since he had come home. 'I should. But… but what if she answers?' He cringed at the thought, at the awkwardness that would ensue. 'But what if she's not alright?'

A realization came to mind. 'What if she doesn't answer? That could mean something's happened to her.' He knew what would happen then. He would freak, despite his attempts. 'And if she didn't pick up only because she wasn't around?' Then he would make a total fool out of himself. He cringed again.

'But what if she isn't alright?'

A growl rose deep in his throat as his anger bubbled. "That's it!" He burst, and flung an empty soda can at the phone, as if venting on the thing could solve his problems. Crossing his arms, he finally turned his back on the thing. "I'm not calling."

He made to get up and leave, but just as he started, the accursed thing rang. His heart skipped a beat, and before he realized it he had the phone up to his ear.

'Mai!'

"Joey?" Joey let out a sigh, for whatever reason, as he recognized the voice of his little sister, Serenity. "Big brother?" The voice called again, and Joey smiled.

"Hey, sis, what's up?"

Joey heard the relief that flooded into his sister's voice. "Thank goodness, Joey. For a moment I was afraid…"

"Are you still worrying about that thing on the news? Relax." Joey was relieved to hear that he sounded cool about the whole thing. The last thing he wanted was for his sister to spend her time worrying about him.

"But Joey, if duelists are becoming targets… You could be next!" His heart nearly broke as he heard her voice choke. "You're one of the best, and if there's another psycho maniac out there…" She broke off, and Joey knew she was thinking of Marik.

"It's ok, Serenity, alright?" He tried his best to comfort her, and wished he could be by her side to tell her so in person. "We've handled stuff way tougher than this, and you know I'll always be fine as long as you're alright. You've got to remember to be careful too, ok?"

He heard his sister sniff through the phone, and then her voice came, still faulty but stronger. "Ok, Joey. I know you're strong. But please, just be careful. We'll always be best as a team, even if we're not right by each other."

"That's right, and don't you forget it." Joey smiled, for his sister's sake.

They said their goodbyes and hung up the phone, each again wishing for the other's safety. Joey's hand still rested on the phone as he placed it in its receiver.

"Serenity."

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"No!"

Yugi slammed his fists onto his desk, his eyes clenched shut and his muscles tensed in pure frustration.

"Yugi…"

The Pharaoh stood behind Yugi, watching, concerned, as the young boy pressed his hands to his forehead.

"I don't get it… None of this makes any sense…" Yugi muttered, as if unaware that the Pharaoh had spoken at all. Outside, the sun had long since set, and the stars blinked brightly in the sky, but the lights that had not yet gone off in Yugi's room washed them out. The Pharaoh's shoulders sunk, and a rare look came upon his face, one that was not commanding or cool or in charge, but one that was caring and concerned, and slightly sympathetic.

The transparent spirit stole over to Yugi silently, and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder, a touch that only the young boy could feel.

"We don't have any clues… any leads…" Yugi said, not turning to face his counterpart.

"Yugi, listen to me." Yami leaned forward so that he could see his hikari's face. The boy's pushed unhappiness caused a stirring in his heart. "I know you're concerned, but please… This won't do any good."

Yugi finally turned his head to face Yami, which relieved the spirit until he saw the collection of water at the edge of his hikari's eyes. "But Yami…" Yugi said, struggling to steady his voice. "We've faced so much danger before… and it grows greater every time. What if the people who are missing are already…"

"Yugi, look at me!" The Pharaoh said, regaining his commanding aura, and the two made eye contact. Yugi's eyes widened for a moment as he felt his Yami's surge of emotion.

"You are never alone, Yugi. Never. And neither are the people who have disappeared. We are all in this together, and there is nothing in the world that can break the bond shared between friends. If the Millennium Puzzle isn't a sign of that, then think back on all of the times the evil we faced crumbled merely because of our belief in each other."

Yugi sniffed and stood up, facing his slightly taller counterpart now with a little more confidence.

"You worry so much about the safety of others. It's a mark that you are truly a good person, Yugi. But for now, we must use all the strength we have." Yami smiled down at the boy before him, the one he had sworn to protect. "You're tired, Yugi. If you don't get rest, then you'll be of no help to anyone."

Yugi's eyes went to the floor, but when he looked back up at the spirit, there was a sort of smile in them. "Yeah, you're right." The small smile on his face said everything.

'Thanks.'

Yugi let himself be led over to his bed by his alter ego as he turned off the lights, finally. As he sunk beneath the covers, he looked up at his other self, who stood leaning against his desk, watching him.

"Remember what I said before? About this being like a game?"

Yugi nodded.

"We must continue to play the game, Yugi. We must hunt for our opponent and find out all we can about him before making a bigger move. But you know, if this were a game of Duel Monsters, and you had let your stress rule you as you have so far, you would have lost the game ages ago."

Yugi smiled sheepishly. "I know, Yami. I guess I had forgotten about how games are supposed to be played… Just for fun, without anything on the line. But I know if we play with our heart, we'll win."

Yami smiled back. "That's right." Inside, relief filled him as he sense his other self relax.

Yugi reached around his neck and took the puzzle off for the night. As he set it down on the table next to him, his eyes met his Yami's one last time, and both understood that so long as the other existed, they would not fail. In a flash of golden light from the puzzle, the spirit was gone. However, as Yugi settled in beneath the covers, he felt surrounded by the presence of his other self and his friends.

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Lookie, lookie! It's chapter two! And it's slightly shorter than chapter 1! If there is still anyone reading this, well, you know, review! And thanks for sticking around! Let me know how I'm doing, and if you have any suggestions or questions or comments. Thanks to all who reviewed last time! Until next time, ja ne!