Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh. Similarity with any other story is pure coincident.

Note: The most tragic moment had ended, we endure through it! Now let us move on with the plot. We're going to take a break from Seto/Serenity. Instead, let's take a look at Joey and others at Duelist Kingdom with Pegasus as their host.

I made a big mistake in the really early chapter. I wrote that Rebecca is the old King Motou's granddaughter, which was terribly wrong! Yami and Yugi are the old King Motou's grandsons, not Rebecca. Instead, Rebecca is supposed to be the granddaughter of the old King Motou's best friend, the scholar Hawkins. Please forgive my blunder.

Thanks for all the reviews! I appreciate them greatly. Enjoy this chapter!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 22

Stuck in the Castle

The sun was shinning brightly and intensely in the middle of the clear blue sky. It was hot, yet the streets were still busy, with sellers and buyers trying to compromise on the price of the goods. It was noisy and crowded, making people irritated.

Two men, one with black hair and beautiful emerald eyes, and the other with brown spiky hair and brown eyes, walked down the street with heavy steps. The high temperature got to them, to the point that the noises no longer affects them. After another few hours of walk, they finally approached the gate of Yami Castle. They looked terribly tired, after walking a long way back to their Kingdom from Domino Kingdom. The sight of their castle reflected off Tristan's eyes, and he exclaimed excitedly to his friend.

"Look, Duke! We're finally back!" Tristan pointed towards the closed giant gate, while slapping the shoulder of Duke.

Duke brushed Tristan's hand off his shoulder. "I know, Tristan, I can see." He said somewhat annoyed of his friend.

They had been kicked out of Domino Castle by Kaiba eight days ago, but they lingered in Domino Kingdom for one day, outside of the castle, refused to go away. It was still pretty hard for them to accept the fact that the girl of their dream – Serenity Wheeler – had been claimed by the Seto Kaiba. They loitered outside of the castle, occasionally trying to sneak back in, especially Tristan, but were always blocked by the guards. At last, they decided it was time to go back. There was no point staying there anymore.

"That damn Kaiba. He kicked us out, yet didn't give us a ride back to Yami Kingdom…" Duke pouted to himself. It took them seven whole days to walk back on feet! That means they wasted one week on the road! But the truth was, even if they were offered a ride back, they probably would have refused, because they still hoped to see Serenity before they truly have to come back.

When they approached the gate, the guards immediately recognized them. They saluted the two men and opened the gate instantly. A guard also went into the castle to report Tristan and Duke's return to Prince Yugi.

When Tristan and Duke approached the lobby, Yugi ran out to greet them. He was sixteen years old, just one year younger than Yami, Joey, Tristan, and Duke. However, he was definitely much shorter than all of them. Yugi had the exact same type of hair style as Yami, but he was shorter than his big brother and had larger, more innocent eyes. Before Yami and all the others went to Domino Castle in a hurry after receiving words of Serenity in a coma, he had told Yugi to take care of any problems in Yami Kingdom until his return.

"Hey Tristan! Hey Duke!" Yugi ran out and gave them a friendly hug, welcoming their return.

"Hey Yugi…" Tristan and Duke answered in unison, but lack of enthusiasm.

"What's wrong, guys?" Yugi asked with a raised eyebrow. They sound so devoid of energy. "Why are you guys back so early? How come you didn't go with Yami and the others to Duelist Kingdom?" Yugi questioned with concern. He thought they would always help Joey out if Joey's in trouble, which Joey was, because of Mai's poisoning.

"What do you mean?" Duke asked, confused about why the others were at Duelist Kingdom. He looked confusedly at Tristan, but Tristan just shrugged.

"You mean Joey and Yami didn't come back yet?" Tristan asked, even more confused than Duke.

"No, you guys didn't know?" Yugi gasped in surprise. What were these two doing in Domino Castle? Did they locked themselves up somewhere deep in the castle that they didn't even know the others went in search of a rare flower to cure Mai? Unbelievable.

"Unfortunately… We were kicked out of the castle by Kaiba two weeks ago." Duke gritted his teeth at the mention of Kaiba.

"Oh my! What did you two do there?" Yugi gasped again. Yami didn't say anything about that in the short letter he sent to him.

"Nothing! We were just talking to Serenity and Kaiba came out of nowhere and decided evilly to kick us out! He's a devil I tell you!" Tristan yelled, still angry at the humiliation of being kicked out.

"I bet you guys are trying to lay hands on Serenity gain, no wonder you guys got kicked out." Yugi mumbled to himself while shaking his head. These two were truly unbelievable. Would they ever change? Probably not. Yugi sighed.

"So tell us what happened to Yami and Joey." Duke said. He was worried about his best friends too. Duelist Kingdom was a dangerous place to be in, especially because of that lunatic Pegasus.

"Yea, why are they there? Even hearing the words Duelist Kingdom gives me the chill." Tristan joined in, also worried about the others.

"To make a long story short, I got a letter from Yami one week ago, saying that Mai was poisoned. Exactly how and why are still a big, unsolved mystery. There is only one way to cure her rare poison: to find this rare flower in the cold mountains in the North, unfortunately the location is inside of Duelist Kingdom. Joey, being a bit rash, almost rushed directly there with Mai. However, Yami and Tea decided to tag along, just to help Joey and Mai out. So, they journey into the dangerous Duelist Kingdom on a quest to save Mai. Um, let's see… if I remembered correctly, they left Domino Kingdom about eight days ago, that's what the letter said… Hey wait a minute, then that means you got kicked out of the castle at the same day they left on their quest! Then how come you guys still didn't know about Mai being poisoned?" Yugi protested unhappily.

"Wait… come to think of it… When we were in the garden with Serenity, a maid ran by and told Joey something was wrong with Mai, and Joey rushed off. Remember that, Tristan?" Duke asked after analyzing what Yugi just told them.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot about that!" Tristan smacked his forehead with his hand. "So Mai wasn't just sick, she's poison? Should we go help them out?"

"I doubt that you two will be able to get into Duelist Kingdom. Pegasus doesn't quite allow random people to just enter and exit his kingdom, you know. You two are better off staying here and help me out. I got so many things to do here!" Yugi whined a bit. He was crushed with all those paperwork concerning the kingdom that he almost suffocate in those piles of papers.

"Okay, fine." Tristan agreed and Duke nodded. "But let us take a nap first. You don't know how tired it was the walk all the way back, man!" Tristan whined, and Duke nodded in agreement once again. Even before Yugi say anything, they both disappeared light lightning down the hallway already, rushing towards their own rooms.

Watching them, Yugi let out a small sighed. Those two were just… can't even find the right word to describe them. Weird, maybe.

"Yugi!" A twelve-year old girl with blonde hair suddenly came out of nowhere and gave Yugi a big bear hug. She just loved doing that. She then let out a happy sigh.

"Hey Rebecca." Yugi chuckled. Rebecca was so cute. Her navy blue eyes were so shinny. Thank god Rebecca was always there to cheer him up with some joke when he was almost being suffocated by those piles and piles of papers. Otherwise, he probably couldn't bear those gigantic loads of work his brother Yami has to face each day.

"Were you talking to someone?" She asked with a smile, still didn't let go of Yugi.

"Yeah. Tristan and Duke came back." Yugi said and gently pushed her off, instead holding onto her hand.

"Oh. They didn't go with the others? Why?" Rebecca asked halfheartedly. The only person she really cared about was Yugi.

"Got kicked out of Kaiba's castle because they tried to flirt with Serenity." Yugi said and then shook his head.

"Those two idiots!" Rebecca snorted. Not only was Kaiba cold, cruel, heartless, but he was also pretty possessive… well according to the rumor Kaiba was. Oh well, she didn't care that much about Tristan and Duke anyway.

"I have to go back and process those annoying documents… You want to come?" Yugi asked. He loved Rebecca's accompany. Even though sometimes she might talk too much and got mad at some petty, little thing, which was a bit annoying, but overall, she was very nice to him and always cheered him up. Besides, she clearly liked him a lot too.

"Of course I want to go!" Rebecca said. She wrinkled her nose at the thought of those annoying documents. Those damned papers took up so much of Yugi's time. She wished Yami would come back soon, so that Yugi can have fun with her, and maybe travel outside of the castle for a few days. She wanted Yugi to spend more time with her, not with the papers!

"Let's go then." Yugi pulled Rebecca towards the library.

"When's Yami coming back?" Rebecca whined while swinging Yugi's arm.

"Don't know." Yugi answered. Rebecca whined some more about how much work Yugi had to deal with everyday as they went down the hallway towards the library. Yugi's chuckles could also be heard disappearing down the hallway. Soon, the lobby was empty once again…

In a nicely decorated room, Mai lay lifelessly in the middle of the bed. The bed sheet covered her whole body, all the way up to her chin. Her yellow tresses lay softly on the white pillow. Her face was extremely pale, and her lips were as white as a paper. Mai had been seeping into a coma ever since she was poisoned, and it had already been eight days!

Joey paced back and forth angrily in the large room. They got here three days ago. Pegasus first treated them to a nice dinner, then sent them to their rooms. The worst was, Pegasus even sent guards to "watch" them! Whenever they tried to step out of their room, the guards would be following them! If they tried to leave the castle, they would be blocked. It was Pegasus order, according to those guards, that they may not leave the castle! This was so frustrating! Ugh!

"I don't understand! Why would Pegasus not allow us to leave?" Joey protested out loud. Mai can't wait! She needed to be cured of her goddamn poison! He couldn't even think of the consequences if they don't leave right now! "We're basically stuck here like roast pigs waiting to be eaten or something!"

Joey started reviewing what happened three days ago, when they got lead into Pegasus's castle from the gate of Duelist Kingdom…

---

(flashback)

The carriage entered the castle. Guards led Yami, Tea, and Joey into the castle, with Mai cradled in Joey's arms. They were led into an extravagantly decorated dining hall. Pegasus was sitting at the far end of the dining table. On the table, there were at least one hundred dishes of expensive food.

"Welcome to Duelist Kingdom!" Pegasus said with a smirk as he stood up. He even made an exaggerated bow at them. "I never expect the King of Yami Kingdom to visit me so suddenly." He said mockingly.

"Yes, I know we showed up too suddenly, and I apologize." Yami said courteously. He walked over to Pegasus and extended his hand for a handshake, but was a bit embarrassed when Pegasus just walked around him towards Joey and Mai.

"My, my! What do we have here?" Pegasus uttered. He stopped in front of Joey and looked pitifully at Mai. "What is wrong with her?" He mocked at Joey. Pegasus knew exactly what happened to Mai, since Bakura was his accomplice.

"I'm Joey Wheeler, tha swordsman of Yami Kingdom. This is Mai Valentine. She was poisoned five days ago, but none of the doctors know how ta cure her." Joey explained to Pegasus. His brown eyes showed how worried he was about Mai.

"That's too bad, what a pity she has to die at such a young age." Pegasus shrugged and walked back to his seat.

"She won't! I'm gonna find the cure and cure her!" Joey voiced his determination out loud. He walked over to one chair and put Mai down. She sure was heavy if one tries to carry her for too long, despite how slim she looked.

"Really? How are you going to do that?" Pegasus asked, evil slid across his brown eyes and was covered instantly. He knew exactly how Mai could have been saved, but he wasn't about to let them have their ways. "Sit, people. I've prepared a welcome dinner for you all. Enjoy the dinner first." Pegasus pointed to the chairs, hinting them all to sit down.

After Joey sat down, he immediately got back to the conversation about saving Mai. "King Pegasus, may we go up into tha northern mountains? I really need ta-" Joey was cut off.

"King Pegasus! I'm Tea Gardner. Um, what Joey meant was we really want to go visit the legendary northern mountains! We've heard it is beautiful, covered with snow all year long!" Tea cut off Joey. They still couldn't just tell Pegasus of the reason they came, who knows what Pegasus was thinking? From the rumor, Pegasus sounded like a person no one can trust. They needed to leave in one piece, and then journey on their own to the northern mountains without letting Pegasus know.

"Oh." Pegasus uttered, but his fake cheerful mask suddenly collapsed. His face turned into a twisted scowl, but his voice seemed normal. "Well, it's not safe to venture into the northern mountains. The snow and the freezing temperature had claimed many lives in the past. I wouldn't allow my guests to get hurt, would I?"

Yami, Tea, and Joey all gasped at Pegasus's sudden change of expression. It was creepy how he suddenly scowled, yet his voice remained sort of normal. They all froze on the spot, too shock to move a muscle. The silence was dreadful.

"Ahem… excuse me." Pegasus made a fake cough and broke the silence. His facial expression returned to normal, yet there was a weird, distorted image still left in everyone's mind. "The foods are delicious, hmm-hmm." Pegasus gossiped, sipping his red wine.

They all lowered their head and ate the food silently. No one dare mention venturing into the northern mountain in front of this eerie Pegasus anymore. The dining all was quiet, except for the sounds of forks and spoons scooping up the food.

"After the dinner, maids will bring you up to your room. Since you are my special guest, there will be guards protecting you, wherever you go. I wouldn't want my guests to be harmed, that's terrible on my part." Pegasus broke the silence again, emphasizing 'wherever you go,' hinting that they shouldn't leave his castle without his permission.

"I see. We're honored." Yami managed to utter. He really didn't like the way Pegasus was acting. Pegasus was probably hiding something from them, especially when he refused to let them go into the mountains.

When they finished their dinner, the maids came and was about to guide them to their rooms. Pegasus suddenly warned them with a ghastly voice, "One more thing, don't ever venture into the northern mountains. I don't appreciate people taking the rare flower that belongs to my kingdom."

They all gasped again. They didn't mention anything about wanting to take that rare flower in the mountains to cure Mai's poison. How did Pegasus know? There's definitely something fishy going on around here. Pegasus seriously crept the hell out of them. Joey's temper started to boil. He needed that flower to cure Mai! That selfish Pegasus!

"Have a sweet dream!" Pegasus's voice returned to normal with a tone of fake cheerfulness in it. He waved at them and the maid led them down to their rooms…

(end of flashback)

---

Knock, knock. Two quick and soft knock on the door pulled Joey back to reality. He turned and looked at the door suspiciously. "Don't tell me it's that creep Pegasus." Joey pouted and walked over to open the door. Yami and Tea quickly slipped into the room once Joey opened the door. Once they got in, they quickly closed the door without making any noise. They looked like they were sneaking around, Joey thought.

"What's going on here?" Joey asked with confusion. Did they just sneak into his room? And he didn't see those guards waiting outside the hallway too.

"Listen Joey, something's not right here. I think Pegasus deliberately kept us in here. I have a feeling he didn't want to let us heal Mai." Yami analyzed the situation.

"I figured." Joey frowned. He walked back to the bed and lightly caressed Mai's pale cheek.

"So, we lured those annoying guards away already. But they'll probably be back soon." Tea explained why they were sneaking around.

Joey's eyes brightened. Why didn't he think of that? Now that no guards were there, they may be able to sneak out of the castle and make an escape. "Does it mean we can escape?" He wanted to make sure.

"Yes, Joey, that's the plan Tea and I came up with." Yami nodded his head in agreement. "However, I'm sure there are much more guards all around the castle, especially at the main gate of the castle. We can't all escape together, and not through the main gate. Someone will have to lure those other guards away." Yami went on to explain his concern.

"Uh… That's not good…" Joey looked worried. He scratched his head and made his blonde hair even messier than it already was. "So what exactly is your plan again?"

"Tea and I will be luring those guards at the side gate in north. You, meanwhile, take Mai and escape from the side gate. Head north towards the northern mountains, but be careful, Joey." Yami looked at Joey's eyes with determination. He had an obligation to help his friend.

"But I don't wanna leave any of you behind, and I mean any of you!" Joey protested. He hated to think of the consequences if any of his friends got caught because they tried to help him out. "What if ya get caught or something? Remember, this is Pegasus's place we're talking about!"

"Joey, we are friends, remember? Friends are supposed to help one another out!" Tea placed a hand on Joey's shoulder to assure him to trust them. "We can't just sit around here looking at Mai getting paler and paler each day! Trust us, Joey."

Joey lowered his head. His brown eyes wandered towards Mai's pale face. Tea was right, they need to get out of here right now! There was no other way around this but to go with Yami's plan. Finally, he nodded his head and complied with the plan.

"So when are we leaving?" Joey asked. His eyes drifted towards Yami, then to Tea, and back to Mai.

"A little past midnight. The guards are more likely to be sleepy and tired by then, and they will be less alert." Yami said.

"But it's only in the afternoon now, there's still a long time to go. Where are ya gonna stay until? Sneak back to ya room? Wouldn't the guards be suspicious of you two since you guys lured them away once already?" Joey asked cautiously. He would hate to see the guards being suspicious of his friends, then they would have less chance to get away.

"Don't worry, Joey! We're not that dumb. The guards have no clue we lured them away. So we are safe now." Tea said and winked. They didn't lure the guards away by themselves; they simply threw some rocks Tea picked up in the garden in the opposite direction in the hallway. Then, they pretended to be frightened and said they wanted to go back to the room. As simple as that.

"So, we'll go back to our room now. Remember, we'll meet again here during midnight, sharp. Tea and I will go first, you follow close behind. When you see it's safe, bring Mai with you and flee through the northern side gate. If something's not right, run for your life. We'll be covering for you. Once you get out of the castle, go towards the northern mountains. Tea and I will catch up to you." Yami explained. He had been observing the castle ever since Pegasus confined them here. He knew most of the places they could hide.

"And Joey… If you didn't see us after two days, don't come back for us. Save Mai first and go back to Yami Kingdom. Find some help from Yugi, and then come back for us." Tea said calmly. From the moment they decided to help Joey out, they were prepared to get caught by Pegasus. But that won't stop them from helping their friends out!

"…" Joey opened his mouth but nothing came. He knew Tea was right. He couldn't help much by himself, so he should go back and find Yugi first. "Fine." He finally managed to utter.

"Get some rest, then. We'll meet here at midnight." Yami said. Then, he opened the door only an inch wide, peeked into the hallway, saw that the coast was clear, waved at Tea, and they sneaked back into their room swiftly and quietly…

Tea and Yami got back to their room in one piece. Tea let out a sigh of relieved and collapsed on the sofa. Her heart was jumping so wildly when they snuck around. She had never done any sneaking in her life! She was so afraid of being caught, yet with Yami, she miraculously felt save.

Yami sat down next to Tea. His heart was beating uncontrollably too. For god's sake, he's a king! He had never sneaked around before, ever. But for his friends Joey and Mai, he had to be courageous and carry out the plan. "Are you all right, Tea?" Yami asked with concern. Tea looked like she just had a heart attack or something.

"I'm fine… A bit scared about getting caught, that's all." Tea answered. She rested her head on Yami's shoulder and sighed comfortably. "Yami, I…" Tea wanted to confess her feelings for Yami, but the words were stuck in her throat. Her cheeks started blushing.

Yami looked into Tea's beautiful azure eyes. He saw affection in her eyes, then a happy smile appeared on his face. He liked Tea so much, but he used to hide his feelings because of fear of rejection. But now, it was time to tell Tea how he felt too.

"Tea, I… love you." Yami mumbled. For once, his cheeks also had a light blush. He had never confessed his feelings to anyone before. It felt strange, yet it felt so good after he let those words free from his heart.

Tea gasped, but her gasp was quickly swallowed by Yami as he leaned down and claimed her lips. Just when things started to get heat up a little, a knock on the door broke them apart. Tea sat on one end of the sofa, blushing madly and lowering her head, while Yami stood up and walked over to open the door in his cool composure, as if nothing happened in the room.

A young woman stood in the hallway. The guards were back too. She had long black hair, and wore the millennium necklace on her neck. Yami stared at her, didn't know who she was. She walked in and Yami closed the door.

"Let me introduce myself first. I'm Ishizu Ishtar, the high priestess of Duelist Kingdom." She held out her hand towards Yami.

"Hi." Yami replied and shook her hand, still confused why she was here. "May we… help you in some way?" It felt awkward since they didn't really know each other.

"I don't exactly approve of what my lord, King Pegasus, was doing recently. He had gone a bit psychotic ever since his lover Cecilia died. I apologize for his actions." Ishizu said with a friendly smile. She had decided, she must stop Pegasus's madness! Only by stopping him will she be able to help him.

"So… why are you telling us these?" Tea asked suspiciously, not trusting Ishizu since she's Pegasus's high priestess.

"I've seen visions of your escape." Ishizu said firmly. She had seen them escaping in her vision, which was granted to her by the millennium necklace.

Tea gasped, and Yami's eyes went wide. She had saw through their plans? What if she turns around and reports them to Pegasus? Tea looked at Yami to see what they should do now. Tie her down or bribe her not to tell on them?

"Relax. I can help. I don't want Pegasus to hurt any more people. He had done enough! I should have decided to stop him earlier, then that tragic event wouldn't have happened to Sere-…" Ishizu stopped herself. She couldn't reveal that sad truth to them right now. Not right now.

Ishizu blamed herself. Yes, she had seen the vision of Serenity falling into the chimney-like structure… She had a vision way before the tragedy happened. If she was brave enough, Serenity would have been fine. Even though she didn't know Serenity, but she felt so bad she died to help Kaiba. Her death was indirectly linked with Pegasus.

"What tragic event? Happened to whom?" Yami asked, suspicious why she stopped mid-sentenced.

"Pegasus had kidnapped Kaiba's little brother Mokuba. He had taken Mokuba's soul with his millennium eye. Also, Pegasus' millennium eyes allowed him to read minds. So try not to bump into him before your escape, otherwise he'll see through your plans." Ishizu changed the subject and warned them.

Again, Tea gasped in fear. It was too scary! If someone had the power to read all your thoughts… Then you'll be almost invisible in front of him! Even your most private thoughts would be revealed! Then her thought drifted to Kaiba's little brother's soul being taken. That was horrible! That was so sick! Separating the soul from the body? Let alone Mokuba was probably still a kid, since Kaiba was probably only about eighteen years old!

"Should we help Mokuba?" Yami inquired Ishizu, then looking at Tea. He saw Tea nodded desperately, feeling sorry for Mokuba.

"You can. But, Pegasus still must release his soul. Otherwise, you'll only be rescuing a soulless body that cannot move and think." Ishizu said sadly. She had visited Mokuba everyday, and felt so sorry for him.

"We should get Mokuba out anyway, and then think of other ways to get back his soul!" Tea exclaimed. She couldn't watch a kid get his soul deprived from his body, that's too cruel! "Yami, don't you agree? Mokuba is Kaiba's little brother after all, and Serenity is with Kaiba now. We should help Mokuba out." Tea pleaded. They didn't notice a wave of guilt of sorrow shot through Ishizu's eyes at the mention of Serenity.

"Tea's right." Yami said. "We'll first go rescue Mokuba, then help cover up for Joey and Mai."

"No. After taking Mokuba, I'll lure the guards away. I'll also leave the northern side gate clear for your use. Take Mokuba and escape together with Joey and Mai." Ishizu said.

"How about you?" Tea asked in surprise. "What if Pegasus catch you?" She would hate to let others sacrifice for them.

"Don't worry about me. He won't hurt me. We knew each other for a long time. I'll stay here." Ishizu assured them with determination.

"No, come with us!" Yami suggested.

"I can't. I won't. I'll stay here and be by his side." Ishizu said firmly. She couldn't go, not just because her little brother Marik was here, but there's something else in her heart that prevented her from leaving.

Yami and Tea saw her feelings. They understood why she insisted on staying behind. If Ishizu was sure, then they have nothing else to say. Yami and Tea exchanged a look. "We understand." Yami uttered.

"Good. I'll take you down to the cell where Mokuba is half an hour before midnight. Tea, you stay here until we get back. Then, go find Joey and Mai, and go." Ishizu said. "Until then, get some rest. You'll need it. It's a long way to the northern mountains." She smiled friendly at them and then left the room.

Yami and Tea's eyes locked. They had to be prepared for the run for tonight. No mistakes can be made; otherwise Mai's life would be in danger! Yami went back to the sofa and pulled Tea into his arms. They both closed their eyes for a quick nap. Tonight will be a long night for sure…

Note: Chapter 22 finished. Kaiba and Serenity will not appear for a while. They'll probably come out in chapter 24, but definitely not the next chapter. A little hint at the next chapter: Yami and the gang will make the escape and run for their lives! It's going to be really exciting!