Lu: Hello! No one reviewed :( Probably 'cause I update halfway through the night for Americans. Anyway, this is easier for me. Here we go!
Yami Lu: Oh sweet Ra!
Chapter 17 – Danger!
Malik watched them begin their ascent of the mountain. He grinned.
"Soon, Pharaoh, you will be the one who needs rescuing!" he said.
"What are you going to do to them?" shouted Mai from behind.
"Maybe another dose of pain will make you be quiet," he snarled, and pressed the button again. Mai screamed.
At the bottom of the mountain, Joey, Yami and Ryou felt a wrench of pain in their hearts, although none felt it as much as Joey.
"Mai!" he shouted, and began running up the slope.
"Joey, I felt it too, but we mustn't rush into this," said Yami, grabbing onto Joey's jacket. Joey slowed down.
"But, Yami, she's really hurt," he said, and Yami was startled to see a small drip of water run down his face and splash onto the ground.
"Joey, trust me, we will get her out of this alive," said Yami softly. Another tear ran down Joey's face, and mixed with the blood on his cheek.
"Joey, I had no idea you felt this strongly about her," said Ryou. "It's like every minute apart is killing you slowly." Joey swallowed, and nodded. "When did you start feeling this way about her?" Ryou asked.
"When she gave me the card that made me eligible for the Duellist Kingdom finals," he said, and choked. He sat on the ground and buried his face in his hands.
"Joey, come on, we will save her," said Yami soothingly. Joey looked up, his hands wet with blood and tears.
"Come on, buddy, we can still save Mai if we hurry," said Yami, and he and Ryou both reached out their hands to help him up. Joey took their hands and they pulled him to his feet.
"Thanks, guys," said Joey. "I dunno where I'd be without you." They then began the steep climb of the mountain.
After one days travel, Yami called a halt.
"We need to preserve our energy if we need to beat Malik," said Yami. So they set up camp.
Meanwhile, Malik watched them with evil eyes.
"That's right, Pharaoh, you will need all the strength you can get if you wish to face me."
The next morning, Joey was the first one up, and was quick to wake the others up.
"We gotta get movin'," he said. After he aroused Yami and Ryou, they started the trek. It was not going to take much longer to get to the top at the speed Joey was going at. Yami and Ryou were barely keeping up.
They reached the summit of the mountain within one and a half hours. Joey looked at the small shack that was built on it.
"Well, I guess dis is it, guys," said Joey. "You can stay here if you wanna." He strode forwards to the house without a backwards glance. Yami followed him without hesitation, and Ryou was not far behind. Joey approached the door, and kicked it down.
Once the dust had cleared, Joey saw Mai, hanging limply from the tablet, apparently unconscious. He rushed forward, but was stopped by a dark figure.
"Malik, leave Mai alone!" shouted Joey.
"It's alright, Wheeler, your girlfriend is not damaged... yet," said an evil voice. It gave a short manic laugh.
"Malik, leave them all alone," said Yami from behind Joey.
"Ah, Pharaoh, you showed up," he smirked. "Very foolish of you."
With Malik distracted, Joey made a dash for Mai. He reached her, and started pulling at her binds.
"That's it, Wheeler, you've interfered with my plans enough," shouted Malik, and lifted his Millennium Rod. But instead of approaching Joey, he walked towards Mai.
"Now, instead of hurting you, I will attack the heart." Malik lifted the Rod, and Mai screamed. Joey stepped in between Malik and Mai.
"Stop it, Malik!" Yami shouted, as Joey fell to his knees, alive and conscious, but other than that not good at all. Malik called off the attack, and turned to Yami grinning.
"What are you going to do about it, Pharaoh," Malik said. "There is nothing you can do about it, unless you want to come over here." Yami stepped forward.
"No, Pharaoh, one more step and they both get sent to the Shadow Realm."
"No!" cried Mai, apparently woken up by Malik's attack.
"Mai!" said Joey weakly.
"Joey, don't let him trap my mind in the Shadow Realm," she sobbed.
"Mai, calm down, I won't let him take you again," said Joey softly. He grabbed onto Mai's jacket, and got up, shielding Mai from Malik.
"Promise you'll be with me until the end," she said quietly.
"Not until de end... always," whispered Joey.
"This is the Battle City tournament all over again," said Malik. "Mai, chained to a stone tablet. Joey, protecting Mai from my attack. King Yami, ready to step in at any moment if his friends are to be killed. And me, the person with the power, ready to strike when I feel like it." Yami scowled but realised that Malik was right - this was too much like the duel between Mai and Malik at the Battle City Tournament.
"Malik, stop this madness!" Yami said in a threatening voice.
"Only if you give me the Millennium Puzzle. Hand it to me, and I release Joey and Mai unscathed, keep it and both of their minds get trapped in the Shadow Realm," said Malik in a manic voice. Yugi's eyes widened in shock and despair. Either way, he was going to lose his friends. On one side, there was Joey, his best friend for a long time, and Mai, his good friend and rival. On the other side, was his second personality, his friend, and duelling partner. He didn't know who to choose.
"Hurry up, Pharaoh, time is running out," sneered Malik. Joey and Mai were looking at him helplessly. They knew very little could make Yugi give up his Millennium Puzzle. Yami stood there with his mouth slightly open. Then, he removed the Millennium Puzzle from his neck, and Yami Yugi was replaced with Yugi. He had a tear trickling down his cheek. He held out the Puzzle to Malik, and he looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry, Yami," he whispered. Malik took the Puzzle, and placed it around his neck. But nothing happened.
"What's happening?" he asked furiously. The Puzzle had fallen into the many pieces that it had once been in when Yugi had first seen it.
"I think you have to reassemble it," said Yugi sadly.
"OK, now I'm really angry," Malik growled. He raised his Millennium Rod, and Joey fell to the ground, apparently trapped in the Shadow Realm.
"Joey!" cried Ryou, Yugi and Mai simultaneously.
"Malik, you promised you wouldn't harm them if I gave you the Puzzle!" shouted Yugi.
"Yes, little Yugi, but I wasn't planning on the Puzzle falling apart. Fix it, and I will retrieve Wheeler's mind," said Malik. Yugi moved slowly forward.
"I cannot guarantee that I will fix it, it took me 8 years the first time," said Yugi sadly. He bent down and gathered the pieces around him. He sat cross-legged on the ground, and began reassembling the Puzzle.
After half an hour, Malik was becoming impatient. "Are you nearly done yet?' he said. Yugi held up what he had done so far. He had done a very small part of the tip.
"You're not doing it fast enough!" Malik shouted, and held up his Millennium Rod. Ryou crumpled to the ground. Yugi began to run towards him, but Malik lifted his Rod up. Mai's head rolled onto her shoulder.
"Malik, release them all, or I won't fix the Puzzle. You no longer have any threats," said Yugi, staring hard at the floor. Malik gritted his teeth, but he knew Yugi was right. If he no longer had any more captives, then he couldn't make Yugi fix the Puzzle. He sighed, and lowered the Rod. Joey, Ryou and Mai all jerked, showing that they had regained their souls. Joey and Ryou seemed dazed, but were able to sit up. Mai remained unconscious.
"Now, Yugi, fix the Puzzle!" shouted Malik.
"I am!" shouted Yugi, another tear rolling down his cheek.
"Yuge, you don't have to do dis for us," said Joey.
"Are you OK, Joey?" asked Yugi.
"Well, what can you say, it was de Shadow Realm," said Joey, his expression blank. His eyes, however showed depths of pain at the memory of the Shadow Realm that could not be measured.
"Hurry up!" shouted Malik. Yugi turned back to the Puzzle, and began fitting it back together again. Joey remembered that Yugi had fixed it once in 5 minutes, and realised that Yugi was just postponing it until he could think of a plan. He looked around the room. There was not much space, barely enough for three more people to fit in comfortably. There was a small, high window in one corner, a small tight door in the centre of the front wall and a small nest-like bed in another corner.
Joey put all of them together, and formulated a plan. Not a very good plan, but it might distract Malik enough so that Yugi could make a break for it. But the problem was telling Yugi his plan without Malik finding it out. He searched his memory for any sign of a way to tell Yugi. But then he realised that he didn't need a secret language to tell Yugi. He simply needed his wits. Joey got to his feet, causing Yugi to look at him to see if he was alright. Joey realised that his arm was broken, possibly from the Shadow Realm or from Malik's attack. But he ignored the pain, and jerked his head towards the door.
"Get ready," he mouthed, and began moving towards the bed. Malik became aware of Joey's movements.
"What are you doing, Wheeler?" he said irritably. Joey glanced at Yugi and gave him a slight nod. Yugi gathered up the pieces of the Puzzle and crept towards to door. Malik was still looking at Joey.
"Err, I was, umm, going to get de, umm, pillow on de bed for, umm, Mai," Joey said in an embarrassed voice.
"Oh, isn't that sweet?" said Malik sarcastically. "Now can we get back to the Puzzle?" He turned around to Yugi, but Yami stood there instead.
"Malik, drop the Rod," said Yami slowly.
"Give me the Puzzle," said Malik.
"Drop the Rod," said Yami again.
"Give me the Puzzle," repeated Malik.
"Look, Malik, drop the Rod and you can have the Puzzle," said Yami. Malik bent down slowly and placed the Rod on the ground.
"Now give me the Puzzle!" shouted Malik. Joey ducked around Malik and grabbed the Rod.
"Come and get it," smiled Yami.
"You promised!" snarled Malik.
"You also promised that you would leave my friends unscathed if I gave you the Puzzle. But you still trapped their minds in the Shadow Realm," said Yami.
"Give me back my Rod!" snapped Malik, turning to Joey. Joey smiled and walked slowly towards the window. But Bakura stepped in the way.
"No, give me the Rod," he said, in his evil voice.
"Bakura," hissed Yami under his breath. He was in a room with three of his friends, one of whom was in chains, another of whom was in trouble and the last one was under the control of an evil spirit; and a mad man who was willing to do anything to claim ultimate power.
"Joey, over here!" shouted Yami. Joey threw the Rod in the air, and Yugi caught it. But Bakura and Malik had started to run for Joey to reclaim the Rod. He was sandwiched between them, and he fell to the ground.
"Ouch," he muttered. His arm was definitely broken now. Malik and Bakura lay on the ground, dazed. Yami stood there with the Millennium Rod in his hand. Malik got up, still slightly off balance, but ready to regain the Rod and the power that came with it.
"Give the Rod to me, or Wheeler dies," growled Malik. He stooped down to Joey, and placed a small dagger to his throat. Joey was powerless to do anything, because his arm was broken. Yami stood there once more, with the loss of a friend at hand. He walked slowly towards with the Rod outstretched. Malik snatched the Rod back from Yami. Joey rubbed his neck with his unbroken hand. Malik had given him a small cut, from which blood was now oozing out of.
"Now, all of you, into that corner, now!" spat Malik. He held the Rod up, and looked like he would stop at nothing to get what he wanted. Yami raised his hands slightly, and backed into the corner. Joey, unable to get up, crawled behind Yami, like a dog. Bakura stood up, but did not back away.
Lu: There we go! Poor guys.
Yami Lu: You really get involved don't you?
Lu: Yes. Review!