Disclaimer: This is a fact – I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh, nor do I own the characters. This is also a fact – I love puppies!

Note: I haven't been able to update anything for a while because college started. I feel like I'm living in an isolated place. Everyday it's just studying, reading, going to classes, or eating. That is all! No time for t.v., no time for internet, nothing. But then again, maybe I'm just not use to college life yet.

Anyway, I finally found a tiny bit of time to type this. Yay! Now presenting to grand escape from Pegasus's eerie castle! Enjoy! And thanks for the reviews! They made me happy!

The Spirit of the Sword

Chapter 23

The Nerve-racking Getaway (Part I)

Ishizu sat on her bed. She has been sitting there for the whole day. Looking out, she saw the sun had already set, darkness bestowed upon mankind. Her room was embedded in darkness too. She was about to betray her lord, Pegasus, by helping Yami, Joey, Mai, and Tea escape from here. Part of her wanted to be loyal to Pegasus, but part of her knew the right thing to do would be to help Mai out. She couldn't bear seeing another innocent person getting hurt by Pegasus. Her mind was all in turmoil, but one thing that stood out was that she must intervene what Pegasus had been doing. She must! It would be the least she could do anyway… She was as guilty as Pegasus, perhaps even guiltier, because she didn't do anything even though she had seen the vision of Serenity's death.

Ishizu stared blankly at the clock. It was almost time to carry out the plan she stated to Yami and Tea. She would stay after they escaped. She didn't know what would become of her. She didn't know how furious Pegasus might get. She didn't know what her punishment would be. Her millennium necklace didn't show anything about her future to her. Basically, she had no knowledge of her own future. Would Pegasus kill her out of rage? She hoped not. She hoped he still maintain some of his sanity. She hoped he hasn't completely gone mad yet.

Ishizu took a slow glance of her room. It was time to go and stop Pegasus, by first helping Yami and his friends escape, especially because of Mai. She knew if they find the cure in time, Mai would definitely survive. Therefore, it was clear what path she must take—to let them free of Pegasus's evil grasp.

She had nothing to worry about, even after being caught by Pegasus betraying him. She wasn't afraid what he would do to her. However, there was still one person she was extremely worried about—his little brother Marik. She could only hope that Pegasus wouldn't direct his anger towards Marik. That was one main reason she didn't dare let Marik know what she planned to do.

The time finally arrived. Ishizu stood up, walked over the door, and placed her hand on the doorknob. She lowered her head, and whispered, "This is the least I can do." Then, when she raised her head again, there was no hesitation, no guilt, no pain, only calmness. She, too, was good at hiding her feelings from others, just like Seto Kaiba.

Ishizu opened the door. The hallway was clear, except for a few guards patrolling there. They bowed at Ishizu with respect and then continued on with their duties, without any suspicions of her. She walked into the garden towards the northern side gate, and cleared out the guards there. Then, she came back into the castle, strolling down towards Yami and Tea's room…

In a silent room, the mood was quite awkward and tense. Tea had been staring out the window towards the northern mountain ever since she woke up from her short nap. It was clear that she was very uneasy about the upcoming escape. She didn't even talk to Yami, not even a word.

Yami, on the other hand, had been sitting quietly on the sofa. He was frowning while deep in thought, also tense about their escape, wondering if they would be caught. Not only that, he even started to ponder would Pegasus raise a war just because of their escape? Pegasus seemed quite cruel and creepy to him.

Footsteps approached their room. The quietness of the room made those footsteps very clear to them. Tea immediately ran towards Yami, as if any little thing could scare her to death easily. Yami held onto Tea's shoulder and stared at the door, wondering if it was Ishizu coming to help them out.

"High Priestess!" The voice of the guards outside of the door greeted out loud.

"Open the door and leave us. The lord gave an order for me to bring them to him. He wants to talk to them." Ishizu's calm voice swayed faintly into the room.

"Yes, Priestess Ishizu!" The guards' loud voices were heard once more. Then, footsteps indicated the guards' departure. All was quiet again.

Knock. Knock. Ishizu knocked the door softly. Tea had relaxed a bit after knowing it was Ishizu who came, not Pegasus, otherwise their plans would have been busted. She went and opened the door.

Ishizu just stood there in the hallway. "It's time, Yami." She said calmly without showing much of her emotions, even though her brain was in turmoil right now. Her only goal was to save Mokuba and help them flee.

Yami nodded. There was no fear in his eyes, only determination. He hugged Tea tightly and whispered in her ears, "Stay here, Tea. Don't leave until I come back with Mokuba."

"I know… Be careful." Tea whispered too. She was already worried about Yami way before he actually begins their plans. She hugged him tightly and then let him go. She would pray for his safety, until he gets back with Mokuba. Then, their grand escape would begin, even scarier than just sneaking underground to "rob" Mokuba from the cell.

Yami quickly let go of Tea and went outside. Tea closed the door and locked it. She slid down to the floor and just sat there. The room somehow became a lot frightening without Yami in here. It was probably her own imagination, feeling lonely and unsafe in this dangerous castle.

"Be careful, Yami." Tea whispered to herself. She closed her eyes and began praying for Yami, and for all of them to be able to get out of here safely…

In the quiet hallway, Ishizu walked fearlessly with Yami following her. The only clue that gave away her tenseness was her slightly pale lips. Along the way, the patrolling guards greeted them without any suspicions at all.

It was extremely quiet, and so they walked carefully to not make too much noise. Ishizu led Yami down the hallway with several twist and turns, down a dark stairway, then pass the empty cells. Finally, they got to the end of the cells, where Mokuba was.

There was no guards at all, probably because Pegasus figured Mokuba had no soul, so there was no way that little brat could escape. He didn't think anyone would dare to save Mokuba, because there would be a huge price one has to pay for betraying him: Death!

Yami looked into the cell, but couldn't see too clearly because of the darkness in the cell. All he could make out was a small frame lying on the bed. Ishizu took out a set of keys and opened the cell door. They went into the small cell without saying anything.

When Yami got close to the bed, he gasped. He finally was able to see Mokuba, Kaiba's little brother. Mokuba's eyes were wide opened, staring at the ceiling, but without any emotions. His violet eyes were empty. There truly was no soul in this poor little boy's body! How cruel was Pegasus to detach the soul from the body!

"How could he do this to a little boy?" Yami's voice trembled, both out of shock and out of anger. He quickly picked Mokuba's body up from the bed. The boy still didn't move, like a mindless doll.

"He… didn't mean to… He used to be nice, until that day, his fiancée Cecilia got killed… Then, revenge lurked in his heart, poisoning his thoughts… So, please forgive him… even though what he had done cannot be compensated… If he can just wake up from all of these and forget about the revenge… if he can just wake up…" Ishizu's voice declined into a painful whisper at the end of her disclosure.

"Unforgivable!" Yami gritted his teeth. Even if Pegasus suffered because of the death of her fiancée, he still shouldn't hurt a little kid. "Pegasus chose the path of revenge, he chose his own downfall! How can you ask for others to forgive such a man?" Yami grunted furiously and walked out of the cell without Ishizu.

"I know this is selfish…" Ishizu mumbled. "But it was Gozaburo Kaiba who murdered his fiancée Cecilia, my best friend! Because that jerk lust for Cecilia's beauty yet couldn't get her! He even tried to rape Cecilia!" Ishizu yelled to Yami. He froze, because Pegasus's revenge was directed towards the Kaiba, not just randomly targeting a little boy.

"But that still cannot excuse him of such cruel action. Mokuba is just a child." Yami said, with his back facing Ishizu. "For instance, you didn't succumb to the darkness, didn't succumb to revenge and hatred. He shouldn't blame Mokuba for what Gozaburo did."

"He loved Cecilia deeply… If… if Gozaburo purposely murdered Tea, how would you feel?" Ishizu questioned softly. "Would you not want revenge?"

Yami was quiet. He didn't answer her. His head was lowered and his body was still frozen on the spot, unable to move. His heart ached at the thought of Tea purposely being murdered by someone he heard was extremely cruel, even crueler than Seto Kaiba. He would never forgive that murderer if that person really did kill Tea! Yami gasped. He suddenly seemed to understand why Pegasus was so… creepy and cruel. Pegasus had shut himself in; because of hatred, he wanted revenge on the Kaibas.

"I will never forgive that person, and will avenge my beloved one. But still… what Gozaburo did have nothing to do with Mokuba or Kaiba. Pegasus shouldn't direct his anger at the Kaiba brothers." Yami reasoned.

"We all understand this moral. But… when that tragedy really occurs, who would be able to think and act rationally? Who wouldn't blame on others? Especially he couldn't get revenge on Gozaburo, because Seto Kaiba defeated that old man? He had no place to release his anger… He had no target to avenge the death of his beloved fiancée…" Ishizu explained sadly.

Yami didn't say anything anymore. He understood sometimes a person would lose all his control under that circumstance. Even he couldn't guarantee that he would be able to think rationally and not blame on the Kaiba brothers if he were to be in Pegasus's position. But still, he couldn't justify for Pegasus's heartless actions also.

"Let's go… Tea's still waiting for us. Joey and Mai are relying on you too." Ishizu broke the uneasiness around them. Hopefully their argument wasn't too loud to alert the guards or even worse, Pegasus himself.

Ishizu walked pass Yami silently and led the way back to Tea's room. They had to be careful now, since they can never be seen by the guards while Yami was carrying Mokuba in his arms.

"We have to be careful not to let anyone see us." Ishizu reminded Yami on their way towards to stairway. Yami just nodded in silent. He felt sympathy towards Pegasus and his deceased fiancée.

Yami and Ishizu sneaked through the hallways, always making sure the coast was clear before turning a corner or continued on. Luckily, they didn't see any guards at all. They got back to Tea's room in unharmed.

"Yami!" Tea quickly ran towards them. She noticed the empty stares of Mokuba, which freaked her out a lot. "Poor child…" Tea said while patting Mokuba's head. Of course, Mokuba did not react at all. Tea didn't notice the uneasiness between Yami and Ishizu.

"Let's hurry. Get to Joey and go. I've already cleared out the northern side gate. Just be careful on your way there. I'll be luring any other guards if we see them on the way. Good luck." Ishizu said. She was about to go into the hallway again when Tea stopped her.

"Ishizu? Thanks for helping us. Do you… have you seen if our escape is successful in your vision?" Tea asked meekly. It would make her feel a lot better if Ishizu's vision showed that they all escaped safely.

"No… I'm sorry. All I can see if you guys are escaping… I can't see the result most of the time, but sometimes I can…" Ishizu answered regretfully. Even she didn't know exactly how the millennium necklace works. Perhaps all these visions had meanings, but she didn't know.

"Oh…" Tea said, a bit worried.

"Don't worry Tea, I'll protect you. I'll make sure you won't get hurt." Yami tried to relieve Tea's fear. However, he couldn't guarantee that they will all be able to escape safely. All he could promise was not to let Tea get hurt.

"Let's not waste any more time." Ishizu announced. She opened the door and started walking towards Joey and Mai's room. There seemed to be no guards around anymore. Perhaps the guards were all being lazy and stopped patrolling. But things somehow seemed too quiet, too easy…

In another also very quiet room, Joey sat on the sofa facing the door quietly. Mai was in his arms, head resting against his chest. Her face was still very pale, if not, paler. Her eyes were still tightly shut, hiding her charming violet orbs. Joey gently brushed a few blonde locks behind her ear. He was getting ready to flee from this peculiar and uncomfortable place. Joey's heart was racing; he must be able to flee safely! That would be his only option. The only way to help his beloved Mai.

Knock, knock. Two soft knocks pulled Joey back from his thoughts. He quickly cradled Mai into his arms and walked over to the door. He had a serious expression on his face, which was rare, since he usually liked to joke around. He opened the door with one hand, which was hard considering he had to carry Mai with one arm.

"Are we ready to go?" Joey asked succinctly, not wasting any of their precious time to escape.

"Yes, Joey. The coast is clear here. Let's go." Yami answered with a serious look on his face too.

"Joey… remember, Mai is your priority, not us." Tea reminded him that if they got caught, don't come back for them until he healed Mai first.

"… I know…" Joey said reluctantly with a frown. He understood, but it would be hard to leave his friends behind, especially leave them in the hands of that lunatic Pegasus.

"And who is she?" Joey pointed towards Ishizu, suspicious of her intentions.

"This is Ishizu, high priestess of Duelist Kingdom. But don't worry, she wants to help." Yami assured Joey.

"Fine." Joey mumbled, not caring too much for who that woman was. All he wanted to do was get the hell out of here.

They ran towards a corner and stopped. Ishizu poked her head out to observe. Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. There was not a single person there, not even one guard. This felt awfully strange to Ishizu, but there was no time to think too much about this. She waved her hand, signaling that they can continue.

Joey followed right after Ishizu, with Mai in his arms. Yami held Tea's hand tightly as they followed Joey. Tea looked around while running. The hallway was definitely a bit too quiet. All she could see was they ran passed one door after another towards the next corner of the hallway. Tea turned her head around, just to make sure no one sees them.

A terrified gasp escaped Tea's mouth. Her azure eyes widened in shock and in fear. Was it someone that she saw hiding behind a wall just now? Were they being followed? No, she must warn others about this!

"Yami! There's someone behind us!" Tea whispered to Yami, as to not let the followers hear her.

Yami gasped too. He turned his head around while continue dashing forward, but he didn't see anything. However, they still needed to be careful.

"Go with Joey. I'll go check it out!" Yami said and then he gave Tea a push. Tea stumbled a little forward. All she saw was Yami dashing back to where they came from, and disappeared at the turn of the corner! Tea stopped running. She turned towards Joey, but saw that they were moving forward, getting farther and farther away from her.

"No, don't go!" Tea murmured. She had a feeling that if Yami went back to check it out, he wouldn't make it out of here with them!

Suddenly, the hallway seemed so long… Joey headed north, but Yami headed south. She was left all alone in the middle of the hallway, abandoned. Tea shook her head. No, no one abandoned her. She had to make up her mind, whether to escape with Joey, or go help Yami. She didn't have time to inform Joey and Ishizu when she abruptly turned around and headed towards where Yami had went.

One of the doors in the middle of the hallway unexpectedly opened. A man dressed in red suit with long silver hair walked out with a wicked smile on his face.

"Ha ha ha… You think you can escape from here so easily? I don't think so." Pegasus gritted his teeth. "Think you can deceive me? Guess again!" His face turned into a twisted scowl. He had accidentally bumped into one of the guards earlier, or rather, that stupid guard bumped into him. He read from that guard's eyes that Ishizu had sent them away from his "guest's" room. Just one glance, he realized Ishizu must be helping his "guests" escape.

"Ishizu… You betrayed me… and there is only one result of being a traitor… DEATH!" Pegasus gritted his teeth furiously…

Ishizu and Joey reached the next corner. Again, they stopped. Ishizu poked her head out, waved her hand, and they made a run for it. They continued this for a couple more corners.

"We're almost there. After we get out of this castle into the garden, there is only about a quarter of a mile until we reach the northern side gate!" Ishizu informed Joey and the others, since she thought everyone was still following her.

"That's great! We're gonna make it, Yami!" Joey continued dashing forward. After a while, no one replied. Suspicious, Joey turned around and saw that there was no one behind him. "Yami? Tea? Where'd everyone go?" Joey asked with terror. Oh no! Had they been followed? Had Pegasus gotten his grip on Yami and Tea already? How come he didn't even hear anything? How come he didn't notice that his friends were gone?

"Ishizu… Yami and Tea aren't following us…" Joey whispered regretfully to Ishizu.

Ishizu gasped. She turned her head around, and indeed, saw no one behind Joey. "No…" Ishizu mumbled. Pegasus… did he saw through their plans already. Shaking her head, she continued striking forward. "The least you can do, Joey… is to get out of here successfully! I'll go back and get them. I will, I promise." Ishizu promised.

"… Okay…" That was all Joey managed to utter. He focused his attention on running, and a fire burned in his eyes.

The door was in front of them. Just a couple of steps, then they would be able to get out of this building and into the garden! Just a couple more seconds! Ishizu reached out to push the door open just when a few guards appeared in front of them!

Ishizu and Joey both gasped, quickly made a stop and decided to turn right towards the previous corner into the next hallway. But Marik blocked the way with other guards.

"Marik!" Ishizu's eyes widened. Her little brother… he was ordered to hunt her down? To block her?

"Ishizu!" Marik seemed equally surprised. He received an order from Pegasus earlier that the guests were going to escape. His mission was to stop them, to block them, to capture them. But he didn't expect to see his sister helping the guests to escape!

The guards were closing in on Joey and Ishizu. Marik just stood there dumbfounded. Did his sister really betray their lord? Why would she do such a disgraceful thing? His sister always told him to be loyal, and never betray! Then how come she…?

"Marik! Please… Pegasus doesn't know what he's doing! Let Joey and Mai go! Or she will die! I'll try to get Pegasus to wake up, so please, I didn't betray him, I'm just trying to help him!" Ishizu's voice reached Marik. His violet eyes widened and got pull out of his shock.

Marik was confused. He hesitated about what he should do for a second, but quickly made up his mind. He raised his hand and pointed the sword at Joey… Ishizu gasped, not expecting Marik to disobey her, let alone she already tried to explain to him what was going on.

"An order is an order." Marik said coldly.

"No… no Marik…" Ishizu whispered. Maybe she should have clued him in. Maybe she should have told him about the changed Pegasus earlier so he would understand the right thing to do now would be to stop Pegasus's madness in order to save him!

Joey, on the other hand, just glared at Marik. He didn't know who that guy with light blonde hair was, but it didn't matter. One way or another, he will bust out of this castle with Mai! No one will be able to stop him!

Marik raised the sword and swing it towards Joey—

"No, Marik, you're making a mistake!" Ishizu's yell pierced the whole castle. She closed her eyes, couldn't bear to see her little brother strike an innocent person, Joey. After what seemed like an eternity, Ishizu opened her eyes.

She saw the guards were all knocked out, lying on the floor, unconscious. Joey, on the other hand, had already opened the door to the garden. The northern side-gate was not too far from them. Ishizu, confused, turned and looked at Marik.

There was a smile on Marik's face. "Come on, sis! Let's go!" Marik walked over and grabbed Ishizu's hand.

"Marik? What… happened?" Ishizu asked insecurely. She thought Marik was truly going to hurt Joey and obey Pegasus's order.

"What? You really think I'm going to hurt my own sister? Besides, I have eyes, you know. I can see Pegasus had changed. Back there, I was just a bit confused about the situation, that's all." Marik smiled warmly at Ishizu.

"Oh… Marik! … Thanks…" Ishizu said, deeply touched that her little brother cared so much for her.

So Ishizu dashed towards the northern side-gate through the garden. Joey followed right behind her with Mai now on his back. Marik was keeping watch behind Joey. Guards jumping out suddenly from behind the trees and bushes, and surrounded them. It seemed hopeless, as if they would sure fail to escape.

"Go ahead! I'll block them!" Marik pointed towards the gate. "I'll be fine, sis." The guards started to close in on them. "Go!"

Ishizu hesitated, but picked up her pace once again. Now Marik was helping them… She was really worried… When Pegasus found out that not just her, but Marik too, had "betrayed" him, what would happen to both of them? If it was just her, then she would accept whatever was to come. But not Marik too… Ishizu shook her head to get rid of her depressed thoughts. She had to concentrate on her task: to get Joey and Mai out of here! Immediately!

They started running again, occasionally dodging the guards. Gradually, the guards were left behind and they were almost to the gate.

"We're almost there, Mai." Joey mumbled to the unconscious Mai. "We will make it. I know we will."

Finally, after running for what seemed like an eternity, they reached the side-gate. There was no more guards close to them. Ishizu quickly pushed open the gate. Joey ran out and stopped, looking back, hoping to see if Yami and Tea were possibly be coming too.

"Go, Joey. I'll go back and get them." Ishizu promised. That was the least she could do to compensate for her mistake of letting Serenity die. No matter how much she does now, she could never be forgiven.

After looking at Ishizu for a while, Joey nodded with a serious face. He would come back for them, after he saved Mai first. It was a hard decision, but Mai's condition forced him to flee first, to save her first.

"You should come with us… I mean, once you went back for Yami, Tea, and your brother." Joey persuaded. He wanted to see her safe too, because she did help him out.

"Be careful. I'm afraid there might be traps along the way on your journey to the northern mountain since Pegasus seemed to found out about your escape. This is all I can do. Good luck." Ishizu said. She heard people running towards them, probably the guards. Swiftly, she had already closed the gate, shutting Joey from the castle.

Joey stood facing the castle gate. He made it out! But Yami and Tea were still in there… Ishizu, such a kind woman who helped them, and they didn't even know her that well, and her brother too. They were all still in that castle. He was outside. They were separated by thick walls.

He turned around and started walking towards to north. He had a much more important task at hand than to be too worried about his friends. That would only slow him down and makes him lose focus.

"Not to worry, Mai. They'll be find, and I'll come back to get them." Joey promised Mai, and more importantly, promised himself…

Note: Phew, finished this chapter. I hope it's exciting. So Joey got out of Pegasus's castle with Mai. Yami and Tea were still trapped in the castle somewhere. Ishizu and Marik were probably fighting guards. Joey also had a long journey in front of him…

Okay, so a hint of next chapter? Let's see… You'll find out what happened to Yami and Tea! Possible appearance of Seto Kaiba and Serenity Wheeler too! Hooray, they're back! But you must be wondering, isn't Serenity dead? Well, you'll find out more in the future. (Hint: This is, after all, part of the supernatural genre too.)

So, I have no idea when I'll be able to get in another chapter. I must first adjust to college life. I've been really busy lately. So, hopefully I can find some time within a month… but I can't promise anything. Sorry.