Chapter Three: The Invites

A/N: Hello peeps! I'm back with chapter three! Enjoy!

Once Yami had exited his soul room, he then entered Yugi's only to find his hikari huddled in a corner.

Yugi? Yami placed his hand on his aibou's shoulder, startling the young one.

"Huh? Yami! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Yugi exclaimed in a rather harsh tone of voice.

Aibou? What's wrong? You haven't been yourself lately and I'm getting worried.

"Nothing. Nothing's wrong. I'm fine Yami. Just, please, leave me alone for awhile. I need some time to think things over," Yugi replied, shifting his gaze towards the floor.

No. Something's wrong. Please tell me.

"Well..."

What?

"It's the dream again. I can't seem to rid my mind of it! Everything reminds me of that dream!" Yugi said, tears dripping down his usual, warm and caring face. Now it was pale and cold. This dream was not just a dream anymore. It was real...and certainly taking its toll on Yugi. Yami then embraced Yugi in a comforting hug.

Yugi...you can't let this one dream take control of your life...I know its difficult but please...I can't bare seeing you like this any longer. I need you to let it go. Yami pleaded, which, in reality, was unlike him.

"I'm sorry Yami. I can't. This dream...I don't know...it seems as though it's calling out to me...like it's my destiny to face it. I will confront it, but I'm going to need the support of you and all my friends."

Don't worry aibou. You can count on us. Yugi then gave a small smile.

"Thank you Yami. For trusting me."

Your welcome. Suddenly Yami remembered the visit he had with Kisara. Yugi?

"Yes?"

I have something important to tell you.

"What is it?"

It's about...your trip to Hong Kong...

"What about it? Can someone not come? Tell me."

It's about...Seto Kaiba. He'll be joining you along with all your friends.

"What do you mean? Why would Kaiba want to go? He's always to busy with work at Kaiba Corp to go on trips, unless it's a business meeting."

I know but I spoke with Kisara and...

"Kisara?" Yugi questioned.

She appeared to me inside my soul room, telling me that there is a new evil residing in Hong Kong. She also said that you and I will need Kaiba's help to defeat it.

"But...I still don't know how Kaiba can help."

Well...

"YUGI! YOUR FRIENDS ARE HERE!" Mr. Motou called from downstairs.

"Coming grandpa!" Yugi yelled back, snapping out of his conversation with Yami.

Be careful Yugi... Yami's words sent a terrifying jolt through Yugi's entire body before he continued towards his destination.

"Hey Yugi!" Tea exclaimed when she saw Yugi walking down the stairs.

"Hey Yug! What's up?"

"Hi Tea, Joey. I was just...talking to Yami..." Yugi replied in an undertone.

"Are you still - " Before Tea could finish her statement, Yugi lowered his head. "Sorry," she

quickly apologized.

"It's okay," Yugi reassured her.

"So, have you decided who you're going to bring on the trip?" Tea asked, changing the subject.

"Well...you and Joey for sure...and Kai - "

"Wait just a minute dere Yug! You're not actually inviting rich boy on the trip are ya!"

"Actually...I need his help..." Yugi replied, in almost an inaudible tone.

"For what! You don't need his snobby self ruining yer trip!" Joey then, unknowningly, received a punch on the head by Tea. "Ow! Tea! What did ya do dat fer!" he exclaimed rubbing his head.

"You're trying to be the boss of Yugi! Let him make his own decisions! I don't like Kaiba that much either but if Yugi decides to invite him then can you two PLEASE try and get along! I don't feel like hearing you guys argue the whole way there, and the whole way back! Not to mention while we're there!" After Tea's little 'rant', Joey just stared wide-eyed at her, his jaw literally hanging open. Yugi began to giggle.

"It's not funny Yug!" Joey exclaimed jokingly.

"Seems to me like you're feeling better," Tea said as Yugi lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"Yah. Well, I better get going guys. Got to go pack for the trip!" Yugi replied and then ran off.

"Bye Yugi!" Tea yelled, waving her arms around in mid-air.

"See ya later Yug!"

"I guess we should go get packing too," Tea suggested.

"Aw right! Hong Kong! Here I come!" Joey shouted, nearly breaking the sound barrier.

"Joey! Calm down!"

"Sorry Tea. I'm just too excited!" Tea just hung her head in exasperation.

"I give up," she moaned, walking away. Joey was headed in the opposite direction.

With Yugi...

"I guess I'd better call the rest of my friends to see if they can come," he thought, looking through his address book. He came across Ryou's number first.

Bring! Bring!

"Hello?" Ryou said as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Hey Ryou! It's Yugi!" he replied cheerfully.

"Hello Yugi. How's it going?" Ryou asked politely.

"Nothing much. I just wanted to know if...well..." Yugi was at a loss of words due to his shyness.

"What is it?"

"Well...would you like to go with me on the trip to Hong Kong?" Yugi finally managed to say.

"Really? Are you sure it wouldn't be too much trouble?"

"No, really. It's all right. So far, I've invited Tea and Joey," Yugi responded reassuringly.

"Oh, in that case. Sure, count me in."

"Great! So, the flight leaves on Saturday at 1:00 in the afternoon so we'll pick you up around 11:00. How does that sound?" Yugi asked.

"That sounds good. I'll see you there." As soon as Ryou hung up the phone, Yugi copied those exact same actions.

Yugi then decided to call Serenity...

Bring! Bring!

"Hello?"

"Hi Serenity. It's me, Yugi."

"Oh, hey Yugi! What's up?"

"Not too much. Has Joey told you about the trip to Hong Kong yet?"

"Yes. That's all he can talk about. And the fact that Kaiba is going," Serenity replied.

"Well, I just called to ask you if you would like to go too."

"Sure! I mean, if it's not too much trouble," she said.

"Of course it's no problem. We'll pick you and Joey up on Saturday at 11:00 in the morning.

Is that okay?"

"That's great. I'll tell Joey. Bye Yugi!" Serenity said and then waited for Yugi's response to hang up the phone.

"Bye!" Then they both hung up the phone at the exact same moment.

Next he decided to call Mai...

Bring! Bring!

"Hello? Who's this?"

"Hey, what's up Mai? It's Yugi!"

"Oh, hi hun. How are you?"

"I'm good. I just called to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"Well...I just won some...uh...tickets for a trip for eight to Hong Kong and...um...I was wondering if...you would like to..." Yugi stammered.

"Go? Of course I would! I've always dreamed of visiting that place! It should be a lot of fun!" Mai exclaimed happily, which is something that you wouldn't hear too often.

"Really? That's great. So, we'll pick you up at 11:00, Saturday morning since the flight leaves at 1:00. Okay?"

"Sounds good to me! See ya then! Bye Yugi!"

"Bye!" Then they both hung up the phone.

Lastly, he decided to call Seto to make absolute sure that he was still going on the trip.

Bring! Bring!

"Seto Kaiba speaking. What do you want?" Seto spoke in a gruff voice.

"Hey Seto! It's Yugi!"

"What do you want Motou?" he asked, ushering for Yugi to make it quick.

"Well...I just wanted to know if you were...um...still going on the trip to Hong Kong...t-that's all..." Yugi stumbled, fear rising in his voice.

"Yes. Unfortunately, I will be going. Is that all?"

"Yah. We can pick you up at 11:00 on Saturday in order to make sure that we make it on time for our flight..."

"Don't waste your time Motou. I'll meet you geeks there. You got that?" Seto said sternly.

"Y-Yes. Well...bye," Yugi replied and then hung up.

"Yah, whatever," Seto said as he hung up the phone and immediately went back to typing on his laptop.

Yugi then put his address book in his top desk drawer, moved slowly over to his bed, threw himself down so that his head hit the pillow, and fell into a deep slumber.

'The dream again. Where am I now?' I questioned myself, as I was still unable to speak. I began to run through ankle-high water, just as I had before. As I kept running and running, I was getting nowhere very quickly. Suddenly, I stopped dead in my tracks. My feet could not move. My whole body was paralyzed. I then felt that same material, somewhat familiar to ribbon, wrap itself around me, and lift me into the air. 'What's going on?' I thought, literally trembling with terror at what the answer might be. I then looked up, only to find the same shadowy figure that appeared to me before. 'What do you want with me?' I asked "it" mentally. "I want to be free..." it mourned. 'Huh?' I did not understand what it meant. It wanted to be free? What was it trying to say? Suddenly, the same whip that had thrashed me around before, came down and encircled itself around my arm, squeezing the life out of me. Literally. Every second, I was growing weaker, and weaker, and weaker, until...

Yugi! Yugi wake up!

"Huh? What - Yami?" As soon as my eyes fluttered open, I saw Yami hovering above my head.

Thank Ra you're okay. What happened? You were screaming and tossing in your sleep.

"The dream. I had...that dream again. But this time...it was...different..." I mumbled so as Yami could barely hear me.

What do you mean, different?

"I met...the..."

What? Yami's concern was now growing deeper.

"It told me that it wanted to be free..."

What do you mean aibou? I do not understand.

"Neither did I. But I must figure it out. If it's my destiny to go to Hong Kong and stop this

new evil, than that's what I'm going to do." Yugi's confidence and exclamation surprised Yami. Normally he wouldn't expect this of a teenager whose personality was shy and quiet all the time.

I understand Yugi. If you want to face the evil, then you can count on the support of me, and all of your friends.

"Thanks Yami. I knew that I could count on you to trust me."

Anything for my little hikari. I'll always be here for you. Always. With that, Yami disappeared into his soul room.

END OF CHAPTER THREE

A/N: Finally! Done! Sorry it took me so long to update but I was getting writer's block a lot. Was it worth the wait though? Please tell me in your reviews! I want your honest opinions! I'm not the fastest updater but I try my best and am very dedicated to my work! So please review and give your honest opinions. Ja ne!