Chapter 15

He could just about see the tall clock coming into view. A rush of adrenaline flooded him, but he took a deep breath to steady himself, everything was going to be alright. Hopefully this meeting would end this once and for all. He walked, staring at the clock until the park opened up around him. The clock stood central with the pavement forming a large circle around it, various benches were here and there, along with bits of rubbish which had obviously not been placed in the bins. Yugi knew this park well, having visited it many times before. But now that it was only him there it was eery. Probably why whoever had written the note had chosen it. Moving further into the park he looked around slowly, trying to spot any sort of movement. The wind blew, a discarded fizzy drink can fell from its perch on a nearby table with a rather loud clang, but nothing else moved. Heading towards the clock he waited. What if this had been a trick? What if no one was coming? But then if no one was coming why send the note at all? The minutes trickled past and there was still no sign of movement. He was beginning to think this had been a trick when he spotted a lone figure making their way towards him. Yugi rolled his shoulders and watched the figure approach, he wanted to be ready for anything that could happen. The figure entered the park and stopped underneath a lamp post. He was dressed in all black with a hood raised making it hard but not impossible to see his face. From what he could see the boy didn't appear that much older than he was. Cautiously Yugi approached, he kept a close look on the figure and his immediate surrounding in case anyone jumped out. But no one did, the figure did not move. He allowed Yugi to approach before greeting him.

"Hello King of Games."

Yugi folded his arms, "Where is he?"

The other boy mocked thought, "Who?"

"You know who I am talking about."

"Oh, your cousin! Right how silly of me to forget." He feigned a chuckle, "He's not here, unfortunately. But I am glad you are, and you appear to have followed my instructions, clever boy."

Yugi gave him a disgusted look, the boy was trying to intimidate him by making him feel small but that wasn't going to work. Not anymore. Atem had taught him to be strong and to have confidence which was exactly what was needed here.

"I see we're in no mood for pleasant conversation." The boy said, eying the King of Games.

"You abducted my cousin to get at me." Yugi countered, "Do you really think I'll exchange pleasantries with you?"

"I wouldn't say we abducted him; he came quite willingly with us. In fact, he said almost the same thing as you when we first spoke. Funny that, but then I guess that's what happens in families."

"Enough." Yugi said, his arms still folded, "What do you want? I assume you're not going to just tell me where he is and leave it there. You obviously want something and at a guess I think I know so why don't you just tell me?"

The boy's eyes narrowed dangerously, "I would be careful how you speak to me, given that I am the one who knows where your cousin is. Insult me and I might just have to arrange an unfortunate accident for him."

Yugi felt a rush of fear surge through him but did not allow it to show on his face, he had to be careful. The last thing he wanted was to cause Atem anymore harm.

"You see you may think you're all that but you're not." The boy continued, "The famous King of Games and for what? What have you ever done? All these people so interested in you and these rigged tournaments you've won yet they will not let a proper duellist face you when they had the chance. No, they don't want to damage your so-called image as the number one duellist. I am far more deserving of that title."

Yugi shook his head slightly, this was over his title. If he'd understood right, then this guy had been rejected from the tournament and had a chip on his shoulder because of it.

"You weren't allowed to join this tournament, so you took my cousin to threaten me?" Yugi asked.

"I did." The other boy smirked, "I want that title of yours and the winnings from Kaiba. Give them to me and then perhaps I'll release your cousin. I'd force you to give it over to me now but unfortunately, I made a deal with your idiot cousin, and I am a man of my word."

Yugi rolled his eyes, "Don't try to be humble now when I know you've hurt him. Do you really think I will hand anything over to someone who has to threaten others to get what they want rather then work hard for it?"

The boy stepped forwards as if he was going to hit Yugi but seemed to think better of it. Yugi, on the other hand, didn't flinch. Years of Atem teaching him how to hold his own were paying off. The boy's eyes narrowed dangerously again.

"Don't test me Yugi Muto, I told you that your time is up. I won't wait much longer for what is rightfully mine. I will be back here in twenty-four hours' time, and you had best be ready to pay up. If you pay, I'll tell you where to find your cousin, if you don't well… I hope you've got a nice suit ready."

"What if I came with you?" Yugi tried, he had to try and save Atem, this might be his only chance, "Let him go and I'll come with you. You can fight me properly for the title and let an innocent person go. After all this is between you and me, not him."

The boy laughed, "No sorry I'll have to decline. I'm not making deals with you today. I already made a deal with your cousin and actually it's a good deal. By having him I can get at you whereas just having you alone it won't be as fun."

Yugi's mind was racing, trying to think of anything that might help.

"At least tell me how he is. How can I be sure he's alright?"

A shrug, "You can't. You know what you must do. If you want to find out how he is, do as I ask and be back here in twenty-four hours' time with what you owe me."

With that the boy turned and began to leave the park, Yugi watching him go. But the boy paused and looked back.

"And don't even think about following me. The deal is off if you do and you'll never see your cousin again."

Turning once again he walked away, Yugi watched as his silhouette melted into the night before letting out a breath he'd not realised he'd been holding. Dropping his arms to his side he looked up at the sky just as the heavens opened. Looking back to the place where the boy had vanished, he shook his head, this was all so wrong. All of this because he'd not been allowed to take part in a stupid tournament. He wasn't stupid, he knew that there would be people out there who thought they could duel circles around him but to go and do this was going too far. To actually harm someone was always going too far. He wished he could run after him, but he knew if he did then that would be detrimental for Atem. He may not know how the former Pharaoh was but from that conversation he knew that he was at least still alive. Instead, he turned and walked back in the direction he had come from. The rain slowly picked up as he walked, but he paid it no mind. The next problem was what he did next. What could he do? He had to save Atem but there had to be a way to do it without giving in to this guy. He thought about talking to Kaiba, his team must have some way of tracing this boy now they'd met openly. Well, it was certainly a possibility, the boy hadn't mentioned anything about not telling others or meeting him tomorrow alone.

The Game Shop came into sight and Yugi could see people watching from the windows. His friends must have been keeping a close watch out of the window for him to return. This must have been the case as he'd barely made it over the threshold before they were running to meet him.

"Yugi! You're ok!" Joey called, jumping down the stairs to meet him, "What happened? Where's Atem? Is he ok?"

"I don't know where he is or how he is but he's alive, that's all I know."

His friends did not know whether to look relieved or concerned.

"This guy wants my title and the prize money from Kaiba and he thinks hurting Atem will do that. Atem gave himself over to this guy in order to protect me but when I offered to trade places he refused. He thinks having Atem means he's got a hold over me which I guess is right." Yugi explained, rubbing his face with his palms, "He will meet me again at the same time tomorrow and if I don't hand over everything to him then… then he'll…"

He broke off, suddenly unable to finish his sentence. But he didn't need to, his friends had understood what he meant. Joey's hands clenched, Tea covered her eyes and Tristan looked away. Closing his eyes Yugi took a breath, he had to believe everything would be ok. Grandpa appeared from behind the others, he moved round and placed a hand on Yugi's shoulder. Opening his eyes, he looked first to his grandfather and then to his friends.

"But don't worry guys, we'll get him back tomorrow."

They looked questioningly at him. He looked back at them with determination on his face.

"The guy never said I couldn't come alone tomorrow or that I couldn't talk about what happened tonight. I'll go straight to Kaiba and tell him about this and maybe he'll be able to track them down before tomorrow night, but if we do have to go tomorrow then I won't be going alone."

Joey shook his head, "I'll be right there with you."

"No one messes with our friend and gets away with it." Tristan added, nodding in determination.

Yugi beamed up at his friends before pulling his phone from his pocket, now it was time to end it all.

Far across town the disused factories stood tall against the cold, wet rain which lashed them relentlessly. Droplets landed on the sharp edges of metal roofs and split off, creating more smaller droplets which shot off in different directions. The doors to the largest factory stood ajar and two people looked out, waiting. Wrapped up against the cold night air and rain they stared around, but nothing apart from the rain moved. One of the boys shifted uncomfortably, he glanced behind him into the factory before looking out again. The other boy didn't move, just kept his eyes on the rain. They stood like that for a while before the first boy moved again and the other groaned.

"Would you stop moving?" He asked, impatiently.

"I'm sorry I can't help it." The first boy replied, "I'm nervous."

"Nervous about what?"

"I don't know, something just doesn't sit right with me."

The second boy just looked at him for a moment before shaking his head and turning back to the night sky. The rain was beginning to slow. The wind was picking up giving the air a cold bite to it. The first boy shivered and looked round again.

"Ross, would you cut it out." The second boy snapped.

"Sorry Seb. I just don't like this."

Seb shook his head once more, but then a movement caught his eye. Someone was approaching. For a moment both boys didn't speak or move in case whoever was approaching was no friend to them. But one of them let out a sigh of relief as they recognised who was coming back to them. The hooded figure approached and smirked at them.

"So?" Seb asked, standing aside to let the other boy in, "How did it go?"

"Oh, I think he got the message." He replied, "Mark my words boys by this time tomorrow this will all be over."

"And you'll be the most powerful duellist around." Seb said, moving over to warm himself up by the fire encased inside the barrel.

Ross hadn't moved from the door, he looked at his two friends for a moment with an odd look on his face. Something wasn't sitting right with him. Behind him the wind gave a particularly strong gust, which sent bitterly cold air rushing into the factory. The fire inside the barrel, where the other two boys were standing, nearly went out.

"Shut the door Ross you idiot." The hooded boy called, as Seb revived the fire, "What's wrong with you?"

Ross muttered something inaudible before pulling the door behind him shut. He moved over to the barrel holding out a hand to feel the heat that the fire gave off.

"Do you really think this is over Dom?" Ross asked, looking at the hooded boy.

"Oh yes," Dom said, grabbing a nearby flask of hot liquid, "I definitely got through to Muto. He'll deliver what I want tomorrow."

"Then…." Ross started but broke off.

The other two boys glanced at each other and then back at Ross, who was the only member of the group still standing.

"Then what?" Dom asked, his eyes narrowed.

Ross seemed to steel himself for a moment before answering, "If it is all over and you've won then… then why don't we let him go?"

He gestured to the lone figure lying on the cold ground in a crumpled heap. All eyes turned to the figure, but he did not stir, just continued to lie motionlessly.

"If you really have won then we've got no need for him. We should let him go."

Dom's eyes darkened and he stood to face his friend, who seemed to cower ever so slightly.

"Because it's not over until I have what I want in my hands." Dom snarled, "If that little show off doesn't give me what I am entitled to then we dispose of him."

He gestured to the figure behind him. Ross shook his head.

"You're going too far. I'm not hurting someone over a card game, not anymore."

Dom advanced on him, "You're in too deep, pal. No way back. But if you really feel that way then maybe we'll do to you what we did to him."

Ross violently shook his head, he did not want to experience that.

"Good boy." Dom said, patting Ross on the shoulder in a patronising way, "Now why don't you two go and dispose of him. Even if Muto delivers tomorrow, I think we should still make it hard to find his precious cousin."

Whilst Seb got straight to his feet and over to the motionless figure on the floor, Ross didn't move. This didn't sit right with him, what they had done was going too far. He'd gone along with it to start with but now this was too far. He couldn't hurt someone, not in this way. Dom, noticing his reluctance, shoved him forwards. Stumbling, he moved over to where Seb was waiting and took hold of the figure's other arm. Together they dragged the figure, who still had not stirred, through a nearby doorway and down a long, unforgiving corridor with many doors leading off. At the very end of the corridor, they came to a small set of stairs which led down to what once must have been a place where, in its days, lorries would pick up loads but now was littered with various broken and rusted objects. Seb looked at him and together they threw the figure down the stairs. The motionless figure bounced off each step before landing on what once must have been a broken shelving unit, the metal gave an awful sound as it twisted and broke under the weight. Whilst Seb turned straight round and walked away, Ross stared at the broken figure below his mouth slightly open. He knew that this had to be stopped but what could he do? After several long moments he turned away and headed back to the others. But he found he could not take part in their conversations which went on until the early hours of the morning.

As the other two snored on the makeshift beds they had made, Ross stayed by the fire which was slowly dying. There was no way he could even attempt sleep. His eyes travelled over to the pipes where dark stains littered the ground, his stomach turned over uncomfortably as he remembered how that had happened. Closing his eyes, he rubbed his face, there had to be something he could do. Time past, outside the rain had stopped and the birds were starting to sing. The suns rays were beginning to creep into the factory as night was slowly replaced by day. At last, a thought slowly came into his mind. But it was risky. He'd be risking a lot to do it but wasn't this the right thing to do. Sometimes the benefits outweighed the risks, and this was something he had to do. He'd done the wrong thing for too long, it was time to try and rectify his mistakes. He stood and cast his eyes over the other two, who were still sound asleep. Moving carefully to the doors he slowly pushed one open the tiniest amount, the door gave a slight squeak but looking round he saw it had not disturbed the two slumbering boys. Slipping out he pushed the door closed again before racing away. It was the early hours of the morning and the cold bit at him, but he didn't stop. Time was of the essence here. The longer he took to get to his destination the more likely that one of the other two would catch up with him, which would be bad news for him. He ran as fast as he could through Domino City until a shop came into view. The Kame Game Shop. Almost falling over, he skidded to a stop outside the door and knocked. But there was no answer. He knocked again a little harder. Minutes trickled by and still there was no answer. Hammering on the door this time, he was sure he'd broken a bone in his hand, but he didn't care.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" A voice behind him asked.

Wheeling round Ross half expected to see Dom standing behind him. He let out a cry of relief when he saw the spikey haired King of Games looking at him, with his three friends behind him.

"There's no time." Ross panted, "I know who you're looking for and I know where he is."

The King of Games made to speak but Ross cut him off,

"Please. There's no time. If you want to get him back this might be your only chance. You have to trust me. I know where he is."