MP: Hello, and welcome back readers! Sorry it took so long to finish this chapter. I had a small writers block, but I got through it. Anyway, this chapter might be confusing if you have not read the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga, volume 7. But, just go along with it okay? Oh, this chapter reviels the identity of the bad guy! So, get to reading. Enjoy...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Seal of Fears

Chapter 5

"Who on earth do you know in jail?" Yugi asked. "Joey, this isn't the time to be visiting your uncle!" Tristan shouted. Yugi looked at Tristan oddly. "He got released two weeks ago!" Joey said sweatdropping. "Besides, I'm not there for a friendly visit ya moron!" "Then, why?" Yugi asked. "Come on! Who do we know in jail that could possibly have something against Yugi?" Joey asked, hoping they would figure it out. Tristan and Yugi thought for a moment. It was Yugi who first made the connection.

"Kutana!" he exclaimed. "Exactly! And he had that Millenium Cage thing. It fits perfectly." Joey deducted. "But I thought you guys said the Millenium Cage disappeared." Tristan chimed in. Joey stopped talking and thought to himself. "Well, Kutana must have found it again!" he decided. "But I thought the item was only used to capture other items." Yugi said. "Stop disproving me!" Joey shouted annoyed.

"Anyway, I'm going to see him. If he's there, maybe he's innocent. But, if he escaped...he's our man." the blonde said, sounding like a detective from an old black and white movie. "Wait, Joey. I want to come with you!" Yugi said. "No way Yug. If Kutana is the attacker, then there's no telling what he'll do. I don't want you getting hurt." Joey said sternly. "But Joey! I don't want you hurt either. Please let me come!" Yugi pleaded.

Joey looked at Yugi, concern overwhelming him. He appreciated that his friend was worried for him, but this would be too dangerous. Then again, Yugi did have Yami to protect him. And It might be safer for both of them that way. But what if Kutana did to Yugi what he did to the others? He didn't want that to happen to his best friend. He had to say no! No way Yugi could come! Yugi wouldn't like it, but this was the safest way. Joey turned serious again and looked straight into Yugi's big puppy dog eyes.

About three hours later, Joey and Yugi stepped out of the taxi that had driven them to the Domino Correctional Facility. Darn that Yugi. With his big chibi eyes and pleading little puppy face! the blonde thought annoyed. Why was he such a softy when it came to the puppy dog face? Just one more reason he didn't like dogs. "Come on Joey, let's go." Yugi said tugging his friend along.

"Yugi, this place isn't gonna open for another two hours." Joey said. "What? Then why were we in such a rush?" Yugi asked. Joey looked at Yugi accusingly. "We? You were the one who kept telling the driver to go faster. And he was bad enough as it was. I was the one clinging to back of the seat!" Yugi laughed uncomfortably. "Oh yeah..." he murmered. "So, what do we do now?" the smaller teen asked, changing the subject. The blonde shrugged. "Wanna get something to eat?" he asked.

Kutana Yukazuma was in his prison cell at Domino Correctional Facility. He had been here for a couple months now. He patiently sat on his bed, leaning against the wall and tapping his foot. All he had to do was wait until the gaurds let him out to the grounds and roam around for a while. When he was outside, he and a few gangsters he had met in here were going to break out. He would use a plan he had been working on since he was arrested for what seemed like the millionth time.

It was all because of that Yugi Mutou and the pharoah. Not to mention that weird friend of their's Joey. He could have sworn he had killed that blonde haired brat. He had shot him in the back the first time. Then the second time Juro had shot the kid through the chest. And he was still alive! That was one lucky brat. But Kutana knew that as soon as he was out of here, he would find the Millenium Cage again and get his revenge.

"Heheheh. Well well Kutana. I knew you were a lousy gangster. But to be arrested because of two kids? You're losing your touch." said a dark voice. Kutana looked around the cell. No one was there. Nothing but shadows and silence. "Who's there?" Kutana questioned. "Still as arrogant and stupid as ever though I see." the voice echoed. "Show yourself." Kutana demanded.

"Very well." the voice said. A man stepped out of the shadows. He was tall, wearing a black cloak with a hood. He pulled back his hood and revealed his face. He had wavy greying hair that went half way down his neck. He had a wrinkled face, but looked like he was only in his forties or so. He had dull green eyes. One eyes was covered by a gold colored eye patch that had the millenium eye symbol on it.

Kutana gasped. "Takesha? Is that you?" he asked, standing up. "Yeah. It's me alright. Long time no see, eh Kutana?" the cloaked man said smirking. "What are you here for?" Kutana asked, his voice turning angry. "Simple. I'm here to make my power stronger." Takesha said calmly. "And how do you plan to do that?" Kutana asked, his eyes narrowing. "That is simple aswell." Takesha replied, "Same as you. I'll get rid of the pharoah."

"What? You're after him too?" Kutana asked, surprised. "Of course. If I get rid of him, I'll become more powerful than I ever could using normal humans." the older man explained. "Hmph," Kutana closed his eyes and smiled dimly. "It'll never work." he said. "And what makes you think that?" Takesha asked, his smile sagging. "Because," Kutana said cooly, "The pharoah has friends. And one friend in particuliar that makes getting rid of him very difficult."

"Tch. Is that all?" Takesha's smiled returned. "I'm already working on that." Kutana looked at Takesha surprised. Had he found a way around the pharoah's friendship? "And what makes you think it's taken care of?" the younger man asked. "I'm using my Millenium Eye Patch." the man answered.

"What? How can that defeat the pharoah's friends?" Kutana asked. "Glad you asked." Takesha said. He went into an explaination. "You see, this item is special. It allows me to look into people's hearts and see their greatest fears. Once I know what their afraid of, it's all too easy. I lure them into a dark area where they are alone. Then I use the magic of the eye patch to trap them in a seal and the seal generates a simulation of their fears. If they give into that which scares them most, their mind is sent into the Shadow Realm. My personal favorite part is that look of pure fear that is left on their face."

So the victim falls into a sort of coma if they can't face their fears? Geneious. Truely geneious. He must have used that on the pharoah's friends. That kind of thing would completely devastate him. And that runt he uses for a host would become a total shell! Amazing. Kutana thought. "And now Kutana, the reason I've come to you." Takesha said, an evil glint in his eyes. "Huh?" Kutana snapped out of his thoughts. "Time to test your courage!" Takesha exclaimed. The eye patch he wore shined brightly. In an instant, Kutana's world went black.

"Excuse me, I'm here ta see Kutana Yukazuma." Joey said to the man at the front desk. Yugi sat in a chair by the door. "Alright. Would you like me to direct you to his cell? Or would you feel safer talking with him from behind glass?" the man asked. Dang. I guess he is here. Well, might aswell check him out anyway. He could be sneaking out every night or something. the blonde teen thought. "Just show me his cell please." he answered.

The man from behind the desk got up and unlocked the door that lead to the cells. "Right away sir." he said. Joey looked back at Yugi. "Hey Yug, I'm going to talk with Kutana okay? You stay out here." he called. Yugi looked disappointed, but reluctently obeyed. He waited for over five hours to see if Kutana was the criminal behind this. He could wait five more minutes.

Joey and the man entered through the door. Grey cells were side to side, each as dank and dull as the last. The only interesting thing their were all the people inside them. After quite a few questionable looks from the prisoners, the blonde decided it would be best if he just kept his eyes forward. Finally, the man stopped. They had arrived at Kutana's cell.

"Yukazuma, you have a visitor." the man said. Kutana lay on the cot-like bed in his cell, his face turned toward the wall. There was no response. "Hey Yukazuma! Wake up! You have a visitor!" the man repeated. Still no response. Joey began to wonder if Kutana was just as sound a sleeper as he was. "Ugh, just a minute sir. I'll wake him up." the man groaned. He pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the cell door. He walked in and shook Kutana to wake him. "Yukazuma! I'm not going to tell you again!" he shouted.

That's when Joey noticed something on Kutana's hand. It was a red circle with a ten-pointed star in it. His eyes widened at the famliar symbol. Could it be? The man in the cell turned Kutana's face over to see if he was simply faking to annoy him. He yelped and jumped back. Joey's eyes immediatly went to Kutana's face. It was frozen in fear just like the others. So it wasn't him. But it looked like the mysterious attacker had struck again.

"Man, what's taking them so long?" Tristan asked. He wasn't asking anyone in particular. Just thinking out loud. He still sat in Tea's room. He had been their since Yugi and Joey had left to go see Kutana. Although he was annoyed with them for taking so long, he hoped they were okay. "Well, no use in worrying I guess. It won't make them get here any faster." he sighed.

The phone rang, making him jump at the suddenly noise. He picked it up and answered, "Hello, Tea Garndener's room. Tristan Taylor speaking." "Tristan, it's Joey." a voice came from the other line. "Joey? What's up? You guys make it there okay?" the brunette asked. "Yeah," the blonde answered, "but there's a slight problem."

"What?"

"Well, I don't think Kutana's the guy behind dis."

"Huh? Why do you think that?"

"Cause I just found Kutana in the coma thing too."

"What? Wow, that's weird."

"Yeah, but what isn't in our lives?"

"Good point. So Joey, what are you and Yugi gonna do?"

"Hmm. Guess we'll come back. Just stay there okay?"

"Okay, but why?"

"Cause if Kutana ain't behind dis, then that means whoever is is still out there."

"Alright. I'll stay put. But you two be careful got it?"

"Got it. Well, gotta go. See ya."

"See ya."

After that, Tristan hung up the phone and sighed. He leaned back in his seat and tried to relax. Though it was difficult when Tea was lying there looking like that. He closed his eyes, trying desperately to forget the image. It didn't work too well. He decided he'd go walk around the hospital. He could use a nice stroll anyway.

Tristan opened his eyes, expected to see the white hospital room. Instead, he saw a thick smog surrounding him. "What the?" He stood up looking around. A bright red ring was around him. Nothing else was visable. He tried running out, but found any direction was blocked by an invisible wall. A low growl echoed through the fog. Tristan looked around, trying to place the source.

A loud booming sounded. It seemed like large footsteps. And they were getting closer. Tristan tried to get away, but found it useless. He would have to fight his way out. The stomping grew louder and louder. Closer and closer. Until finally, a huge figure stood before the teen. It was three times taller than he was. It was a large, devilish looking beast. With long sharp fangs and talons. It had blood red eyes that seemed to burn into your very soul. Tristan recognized it from long ago. "Zorc?"

Tristan remembered the monsterous creature from a role play game he and the gang had played with Bakura. That was a freaky game. He had told Bakura he wasn't afraid of Zorc, but he had been lying. Now what would he do? He didn't have that little gun thing like last time. Or his friends to help him. Now he was alone and unarmed.

As the beast advanced on him, Tristan tried to throw a few punches and kicks here and there. But nothing worked. It was like a fly trying to take down an elephant. This was pathetic. Seeing no other option, he was forced back against the wall. The monster snarled at him. He stared back, trying not to let fear show in his eyes.

I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid. He kept telling himself. But he knew that deep down, he was wrong. He was scared stiff and that's all there was to it. He felt like a coward. Back against the wall. Trembling in fear. Well, he put up a fight. At least he was going to go out with some dignity. Even if he would die now, he wasn't going to die, begging for his life.

The brunette boy lay there minutes later. His body was lifeless and his face was frozen. He looked as if he was trying to hide his fear. But you could see it there anyway. He was frozen like a statue. Takesha stood there, staring in amusement. Another had been taken. At this rate, the pharaoh would be an empty shell in no time. The sound of footsteps came from the hallway. Takesha grinned his evil grin and spoke to himself. "Now then, off to my next victim." And with that, he disappeared into the shadows.

Yugi and Joey were in a taxi a few hours later. Both looked disappointed that they hadn't caught the right guy. Now they were on their way back to the hospital to talk with Tristan and form a new plan. Joey wished he could get some sleep so he could talk with Sumi and Kiko. But he hadn't felt tired since Tea came in. From that point on, he had a scared feeling in the pit of his stomach. Like something bad was going to happen. Now he just prayed that he could handle whatever this bad thing was.

Yugi stared out the window. He couldn't help but wonder what had happened to Kutana. And who it was that did that to him. Whoever it was must have been really smart. If they were able to sneak into jail, get a guy into a coma, and then sneak out without so much as a trace, was truely talented. Though Yugi wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

The taxi stopped suddenly. Yugi saw that they had reached the hospital. "Okay boys. We're here." the driver said. The two stepped out, paid the driver, and watched it speed off. They walked inside without a word to eachother. They took the elevator up to the floor where Tea, Serenity, and Grandpa were. Apparently all the doctors had just decided to stick everyone with the coma problem on one floor.

They just stepped out of the elevator and started walking towards Tea's room. "Excuse me gentlemen." a voice piped up. The two looked behind them to see a nurse next to the elevator door. "Huh? What is it?" Joey asked. "I'm sorry, but this hall is off limits." the nurse said. "What? But our friends are here." Yugi chimed in. "I'm sorry. But this hall is off limits to all but doctors. I'm afraid you'll have to leave." she persisted.

"Why? What happened?" Joey asked. The nurse looked over her papers on her clipboard. "The coma case has been proven contagious. It seems a young boy visiting here fell into the exact same coma as the girl he was in the room with. Reports also say that he has been in the rooms of the two other coma victims aswell."

A sudden bolt of fear shot through both Yugi and Joey. "Tristan!" Joey shouted. He ran off to Tea's room to see if Tristan was still in there. He had to be! That stupid nurse was lying! He was just fine! Joey threw the door open so fast it hit the wall with a bang. Tea was alone in her room, still in the bed. Joey felt fear come up again.

"Joey, the nurse said he's the next room over." Yugi said, coming up behind him. Joey didn't respond. He just took off for the next room and left Yugi to shut the door. He turned the knob and swung open the door. Tristan lay in the bed, his face frozen in a look of restrained fear. The blonde couldn't believe it. Another friend was gone.

Yugi came up behind Joey. He looked stunned and frightened. He didn't want to believe this either. Granted, he didn't know Tristan as well as Joey did, but they were still close friends. He felt himself sink deeper into guilt.

A scowl grew on Joey's face. His fists clentched tight. He could feel the rage building up. First his own sister, then Yugi's grandpa, then Tea, now Tristan. He couldn't take this. Someone was targeting his family and friends. They were dropping like flies! Who would be heartless enough to do this? Whoever it was, Joey wouldn't stand for it any longer.

"That's the last straw!" he shouted. Yugi was startled by the sudden yell and turned to look up at Joey. Before he could even ask what Joey meant, the blonde teen had already rushed out the door. "Joey!" Yugi called from the door frame. "Joey, where are you going?" he asked. Joey was already at the elevator when he shouted back, "I'm goin' ta pound this creep into the dirt!"

It took Yugi a moment to regester that the 'creep' was whoever had been doing this to their friends. A wave of fear and concern swept through him. "Joey no! Don't go!" he yelled. But he wasn't answered. Joey had already gone into the elevator and was on his way.

"Joey!" Yugi ran down the hallway, reaching the elevator door within seconds. He pushed the button repeadly, as if that would make the elevator come faster. He impatiently tapped his foot while waiting. Finally, the elevator reached his floor. Before the doors could even open all the way, he was inside, pushing buttons like a madman. He had to get to Joey before it was too late. If Joey found that person behind all this, he'd surely end up in the same state as everyone else.

He felt fear rise up in him again. What if I don't find him in time? What if he ends up like the others? What if--no...I can't think like that! Joey will be alright! I know he will! Yugi sighed and felt the elevator finally going down. It was weird. He felt as if, as this elevator was sinking down to the next floor, he was sinking deeper into despair.

Joey was already out on the street. He was running aimlessly. He should have thought this through first. But there was no time for that. Yugi was no doubt trying to find him. But he wasn't going to go back without beating the tar out of this new bad guy. As he made his way down the street, he was completely oblivious to the cloaked man following him.

MP: There, chapter 5 is completed! I hope you all liked that. Well, there is plenty more where that came from. Can you guess what will happen to Joey? Well, I bet this preview will keep you on edge for a while. If not, eh, I tried. Anyway, stay tuned for new chapters! And don't forget to Review!

Preview for Chapter 6

Yugi continued to run through the streets. He was breathing heavily. He couldn't tell what it was from. The overwhelming fear he had, or the fact that he had been running around for almost an hour. He had talked with some people that said they had seen a blonde teenager run down the street he was currently on. Yugi hoped that he could find Joey. But he had an awful feeling in the pit of his stomach. He hoped it was just from how worried he was.

He kept traveling the street, looking in every alley way, turning every corner. Finally, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned into an alley. His eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the darkness. Once he realized the surroundings, he gasped. He felt his heart rench out of his chest and jump into his throat. He felt as though he might suffocate. No...no, this...this can't be happening... Yugi trembled and dropped to his knees.

Joey lay, flat on his back, on the cold ground. He was unconcious. He had an odd, blissful look, but it was clear to Yugi what had happened. The attacker had struck yet again. And this time, he had claimed Joey.