Hello my happy readers! I hope my grammar is better, I've been working on it! Anyway, I hope this story is coming along! (More Mai and Joey...later, and not in this chapter...well not really) Oh and I will be adding a new 'twist' to the story, so stay tuned and all of your questions will be answered...now I must reply to my lovely reviewers!

Tammiya- Thanks! (It is cute isn't it, lol)

FA- Why thank you!

Darkhope- Thanks! ( Me too, JxM rocks)

Disclaimer: clears throat I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Dawn was coming up. The darkness of the sky was starting to lighten up. The sunrise would be a welcome sight to the group. Well, maybe not for Kaiba.

"This didn't even count as a match. I was just trying to save my brother. I will see you in the finals. Now I must go find the people who stole my brother!" Kaiba said. His voice was snappy. Yugi smiled, Kaiba always got that way when he lost.

"Good job Yug!" Joey said. He patted Yugi on the shoulder. Yugi beamed.

"Uh guys, wasn't Mai here earlier?" Duke asked. Everyone was surprised to hear his voice.

"You don't think those creeps got her?" Yugi asked to nobody in particular.

"Maybe she went to tell them where we are." Tristan suggested. Joey gave him a peculiar look. It was the look of anger and vengeance all in one.

"I'm just saying, once you're bad . . . it's hard to trust you again!" Tristan argued. He was defending himself, and nobody was yelling at him. Joey just ignored him. He looked at the stairs. Mai was sitting there earlier. Bakura ripped Joey away from his thoughts.

"Well, I don't think she's doing anything bad. Personally, I don't know where she went. Tristan just because a person is bad once, doesn't make them bad all the time!" Bakura explained. Yugi nodded, he felt Bakura was educated in this subject. He did have a Yami that tried to kill him and destroy the world on a daily basis. At least with the pharaoh gone, Bakura's Yami was gone too.

The sun was slowly rising. It was immediately covered by clouds. The air was humid and moist. Joey looked at the sun. He didn't know wether to tell them everything he knew.

"C'mon Joey!" Yugi said. They were going to leave, and Joey wasn't paying attention at all. They walked down the steps. At the bottom was the unconscious guy. Everyone stepped over him. Joey laughed.

"Hey Tristan, I knocked that guy out!" Joey exclaimed. He pointed at the man and laughed. Then he left the building. They all stood outside.

"These people are very peculiar!" Yugi stated.

"How so?" Serenity asked. Everyone knew she was nieve.

"Well, they don't keep the people they capture for very long. I mean, what did they do to you when they captured you?'' Yugi asked.

"They sent me to the shadow realm. Then they brought me back. They saw Tea, and pushed me toward her. After Tristan went off running, Tea was terribly distraught. I remember that much! Of course being sent to the shadow realm wasn't horrible. You get used to it eventually." Bakura explained.

"I don't remember anything. I passed out!" Serenity added. Suddenly, Joey understood something.

"Yugi, these people, they can see the futures of the people. The only people they can see are the people that have gone to the shadow realm. That's how they knew Mai's future! That's how they know yours! Yugi, they must see you at anytime because you've been to the shadow realm!" Joey concluded. He felt very smart.

"That must mean that they want to send all your friends to the shadow realm, so they know everything about you! Whoever this is, they are making sure they have a good eye on you." Tea explained. She figured this out, thanks to Joey. Joey beamed.

"Yeah, so we know that they have a relationship with the shadow realm. We also know that they can see our every move. Now we have to figure out what they want and how to defeat them." Yugi analyzed. The group agreed.

"So, wait Joey . . . you didn't tell us about them knowing about Mai's future!" Duke exclaimed. Joey just gave a goofy grin.

"Well, what happens?" Tea asked. Joey's smile quickly faded.

"Um, nothin worth knowing." Joey lied. He didn't want them to know. He didn't want to know. Joey had a feeling that that's why Mai left.

"Well now we have to find the Prof., Rebecca, Gramps, and Mai." Tristan concluded. Joey shook his head.

"Actually, Mai left on her own free will. It's the others that we have to find. If Mai wanted to be found, she wouldn't have left." Joey explained.

"Why did she leave?" asked Serenity. She couldn't figure out why some people seemed to have a problem with Mai. All Serenity knew was that Mai had been acting different.

"Why does Mai do a lot of things Mai does?" asked Duke. Of course this was a rectorial question. Joey laughed, he often wondered that himself.

"Well she has been acting different." Tea added. Tea felt that Mai could turn against them again.

"Kinda. Not really, she told off Duke when he was trying to get me to stay with him. Remember Duke, in the airport, you wanted me to go with you to your house instead of flying to Domino right away!" Serenity innocently reminded him. Joey turned around. He slowly started to walk to Duke. He stopped walking and ran.

"Now Duke, why were ya trying to get my little sista to go wit ya?" Joey yelled. He was just inches from Duke's face.

"Umm, well . . . I . . . was . . . umm . . . trying to be a good friend."Duke gulped after he spoke each word. Joey pushed him on the ground. He would have punched him, but Serenity held him back. Joey stopped, and helped Duke up. Duke was terrified.

"Guys, we have to find everybody else!" Yugi commanded.

A man was laughing. It was the boss. The plan was going perfectly. Everybody did exactly what he wanted. The only thing that went wrong was when Mai and Joey escaped. It all worked out for the best though. Mai was now alone, and he knew exactly how to get her to succumb to him. The man was going to destroy Yugi's future, just as Yugi destroyed his.

He covered his face with his cape. His worker saw a glimpse of his eyes. At one time they had been green and youthful. Now, they were dark. They were soulless and haunting. This man had a very special connection to the shadow realm. He knew what he had to do. He walked further into the darkness. He was ready to get another servant.

Sunlight was trying its hardest to peer through the clouds. It was failing miserably. Mai was trying to smooth her skirt. She had got most of the dirt off. She also had managed to smooth out the wrinkles on her clothes. Her hair, was still normal. How it stayed that way was a mystery in itself. She sighed. Mai walked along the streets. She saw people happily dueling. She had finally entered some civilization, at least she was away from the abandoned part of town.

Mai took each step carefully. She knew that somebody was watching her. She had felt it, ever since the plane landed. The dreams she had been having were not normal. Somebody was messing with her mind, and she knew it. The darkness that she had seen in the airport was not a sign of her going crazy. Somebody was out to get her. Uneasy thoughts clouded her mind.

Mai looked around her.

'How can these people be so happy?' she wondered. People were just enjoying the tournament. Suddenly, somebody distracted her from her thoughts.

"Hey Mai!" Mokuba greeted. His smile had come back to his face. Although he was faced with a trauma, he seemed fine.

"Hi Mokuba, did you lose your brother again?" Mai asked.

"No, he was challenged to a duel. He should be done in a few minutes." Mokuba answered. Mai could only smile at his innocence. She was ignoring the odd stares of the people that passed them. Suddenly, Mai felt a pair of eyes on her. She looked around, nobody seemed to be looking at her.

"Whatcha looking at Mai?" Mokuba asked.

"Oh, nothing." Mai lied. She didn't want to worry him. She had the same theory as Joey. In fact she had the exact same theory.

"Mokuba, when you were captured, what happened?" Mai asked. Mokuba lowered his eyes and began to answer.

"I felt like I couldn't be happy. They kept me in a dark room. I couldn't see a thing. All I knew was that if Kaiba didn't do what they wanted then they would send me to the shadow realm!" Mokuba answered. Mai seemed confused.

"I wonder what these people want with Kaiba?" Mai thought aloud.

"What people?" asked Mokuba.

"The people who are doing these awful things." Mai replied. Mokuba nodded. He was very curious about something.

"I thought you were with Joey and the gang?" Mokuba asked. Mai suddenly became silent.

"Well, I had to leave." Mai answered. She wanted to keep her answer short and sweet.

"Why?" asked Mokuba. He was quite inquisitive.

"Well, I think I'm going to go home. I don't have any money, but I'm going home early." Mai responded. Mokuba looked confused.

"But, this is the last tournament Seto is ever holding! How could you quit!" Mokuba shouted. He was really surprised at Mai's previous answer. Mai just sighed and flipped her hair back. She twirled a strand, and she did that when she was nervous. Mai sat down at the table that was behind here. Mokuba joined her.

"I have too." Mai answered. Mokuba wanted answers, but she wasn't going to give them. He wanted to ask more, but Kaiba interrupted their conversation.

"So, Valentine is going to quit the tournament. You wouldn't have won anyway." Kaiba said. He was in a sour mood, and he wanted someone to take it out one. Unfortunately Mai's mood was just as sour.

"You're not going too win either. Why stay and watch Yugi beat you? I mean it's like a weekly event." Mai snapped back. Kaiba smirked.

"I thought you'd at least cheer your mutt friend on, or are you still out to destroy him?" Kaiba asked. His smirk had grown wider. Mai stood up, pushing back the chair she was sitting on.

"What I do is none of your business is it?" Mai answered.

"It's my tournament, so in a way it is my business. Your just quitting because you're afraid!" Kaiba replied. Mai just laughed.

"Afraid? Damn right! This is nuts, I mean people are being sent to the shadow realm. Why would I stick around to watch people get hurt? It doesn't make sense." Mai explained. She didn't care what Kaiba thought.

"You keep telling yourself that. I never thought you'd believe in that shadow realm crap." Kaiba snickered. Mai just sighed.

"So you are officially quitting the tournament?" Kaiba asked.

"Yes." Mai answered. Kaiba shook his head.

"Fine." Kaiba replied, he really didn't care. He started to walk away, but Mai stopped him.

"Wait, you lost against Yugi, so that means you're done!" Mai stated. Kaiba just smiled.

"True, but to every rule there is a loophole. I did lose, but if I give up all my chips, I can buy my way back in!" Kaiba laughed.

"Nobody knew that, tons of people have already given up!" Mai said.

"It's not my fault, I told them to find somebody who knew the rules!" Kaiba said. Mokuba nodded his head. He agreed with his brother. Kaiba and Mokuba walked off, leaving Mai standing there. She had no money, but she knew she was going home. She took off her duel disk and threw it in the nearest dumpster. That was it, she was done. Mai told herself that dueling was something she couldn't handle. She couldn't handle the risks. Mai walked away, toward the airport.

I think this was my longest chapter yet...maybe...anyway some questions will be answered soon...

Such as: 1. Will Joey and Mai tell about her future? 2. What is with the evil guy, and what is his name? 3. What's with this evil card?

Okay, so I will see you all on the next chapter! I just want to add that all of my reviewers are the greatest people out there! You guys make me feel good about something I've done! Thank you for reviewing and reading my story!