DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

Tournament of Shadows
Chapter 5: Something in the Air
by Shadow's Mirror

The third day of the Domino City Treasure Quest Tournament dawned quite differently from the day before. The skies were covered in ominous dark clouds and while some of the duelists put the odd tension in the air down to a storm coming, or their own excitement about the contest, the others hoped it was something that simple. Because to them... it felt more like trouble brewing.

All of the contestants were due to meet at the park at nine o'clock for the day's start off ceremony, but most of them were awake and preparing long before that time.

Although the officials were stunned to see so many of the entrants arrive at the park at seven, none of the teenagers were at all surprised that they'd all had the same idea.

The rules of the contest said that they couldn't go anywhere after five o'clock in the afternoon, so it would be impossible for them all to meet up in the evening, but there was no rule that said they couldn't meet up at the park before the start of the day's events.

They were silent as they gathered a short distance away from where the officials were straightening up the stage in preparation for the opening ceremony, merely nodding to each other in greeting. Even Téa was more subdued than her usual energetic self. When she saw Kaiba coming towards her, Joey and Mokuba following him, she merely held out her hand to him.

If any of the others had needed any indication how serious things were, they got it from the way Kaiba silently took Téa's hand and held it as he looked around the group.

"I see we all had the same idea." He was the one to break the silence and the others seemed to relax a little at the sound of his quiet voice, as if the unusual stillness had been making them uneasy.

Yugi nodded. "As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew we'd be meeting here. This feeling in the air..." He looked around the group and was rewarded with nods of agreement. Yugi returned his attention to Kaiba. "There's something wrong. Very wrong."

Kaiba sighed and scowled at the shorter duelist. "Not more of that... magic nonsense?"

Yugi hesitated, considering. After a few moments, he shrugged. "I'm not sure, Seto. It could just be the tension from the contest. Maybe the others are nervous and the rest of us are picking up on it. But Yami doesn't think so and neither do I. There's something... strange. It's not just this morning, either. It started late last night. Not long after the recap show."

"I know." Kaiba's reply was so soft, the others could barely hear him. "Although I was rather distracted at the time, I noticed it then, too."

"Your distraction wouldn't have anything to do with Wheeler being with you, would it?" Bakura, for once, didn't mean anything insinuating by what he said, but Kaiba still bristled at him.

"If you must know, yes. Isis called me last night, just as the show was starting. Joey had collapsed in an alley, not far from Kaiba Corp. headquarters. He came around just as the show was ending."

Yugi gasped and shot a shocked look at his best friend. "Joey! Are you all right? What happened?"

Joey looked rather sheepish. "Yeah, I'm fine, Yug. Don't worry. I was just... a bit tired. That's all. I had a good night's sleep and I'm ready and raring to go."

"This idiot has spent the past two days running all over the city without any transport." Kaiba's voice was a low, obviously irritated, growl that had everyone arching their eyebrows at him before his words sank in. Then they all blinked in surprise at Joey.

Again, Joey looked sheepish. "Uh... yeah. Well... I don't have a car and I... well... I sort of... can't afford busses or trains at the moment."

The others winced and Yugi looked guilty. "Oh Joey, you should have said something! We'll help you out. You know that."

"I didn't want to bother anyone." Joey shrugged and patted his friend's shoulder. "It's fine now, thanks, Yug. Kaiba's lending me a car and driver for the rest of the tournament."

Bakura arched an eyebrow at the scowling brunette. "He is?"

Kaiba glared back at the annoying former tombrobber. "I am."

He expanded his glare to include everyone else there; including the girl by his side who was gazing at him as if he'd told her that he'd hung the moon in the sky just for her. "Don't go reading anything into this. I'm not helping him out of some bizarre sense of charity or friendship or some rubbish like that. I merely don't want a repeat of last night. Besides..." His scowl relaxed a little as he glanced at an obviously embarrassed Joey. "My victory in this tournament wouldn't be complete if I didn't get to humiliate him in the finals, and for that he has to be there."

Joey frowned at Kaiba. "If I didn't know you so well, I'd think you'd just cracked a joke."

"Me? Joke? Never happen." Kaiba's lips twitched ever so slightly before he became serious again. "The chances of you even being in the finals at the moment aren't good."

"Yeah." Joey sighed. "I've got my work cut out for me, all right." He grinned his usual cheerful grin. "But I'm sure I'll manage somehow. Then I'll take you on, and take you down!"

Kaiba's lips twitched again. "Well I hope you are more well rested when we duel than you are right now. A good night's sleep, you said before? I find that hard to believe. You tossed and turned all night."

"No, that was a good night." Joey frowned slightly. "I normally sleep like a log but I've woken myself up a few times over the past three or four nights. Last night was the only time I slept through." He looked at Kaiba. "It wasn't just the running around town that did me in, yesterday."

Kaiba frowned at that and Yugi bit his lip, looking worried. "Yami told me this morning that I've been very restless for the past few nights, too. He put it down to my being excited about this tournament, but now you've said that... and with this odd feeling in the air... he's wondering."

Isis also looked troubled. "Malik has been like that, as well," she quietly confirmed. "He usually sleeps very soundly, but for the past two… no… three nights, he has tossed and turned almost constantly. Marik has been even worse for two nights longer. My own sleep has not been untroubled, either. Nor has Odion's."

That struck alarm bells with Bakura. "It doesn't take much to disturb Ryou, but he's been fine all week, except for last night. I thought it was just the tournament, too." He glanced at Yugi. As much as he hated to admit that he'd had the same thought as the other Spirit, this was starting to sound like something important enough to demand nothing but the complete truth.

Téa and Tristan also admitted that they slept restlessly the night before, but no longer than that. With the exception of Ryou, it seemed that the stronger the person was in the Shadow Magic, or even just in calling or hearing the Heart of the Cards, the longer their sleep had been disturbed for.

Kaiba was the last to admit to it. "Mokuba and I have been the same. Mokuba woke me last night when he fell out of bed. As for me…" He hesitated and looked away, unwilling to admit the truth but knowing that the others needed to hear it. When he finally spoke, he growled it out as though daring anyone to comment on it. "About a week."

"So, you were the first to be affected by whatever is causing this," Yugi said very softly, a thoughtful look on his face. Kaiba nodded stiffly. He hesitated and then sighed heavily.

"There's something else. I've been having… an odd dream for the past few nights," he added reluctantly. "The same one, every night." Everyone's attention immediately focused on him and he shifted uneasily beneath their intent gazes. They all remembered what had happened during Battle City. Although the vision had been caused by his proximity to the Millennium Rod, it didn't alter the fact that he'd had a vision. A fact which Joey, Tristan and Duke were only too happy to point out at least once every few days.

"An empty workshop… no, not empty, abandoned. The benches covered with alchemy equipment side by side with tools such as those a metalsmith might use. The shelves filled with ancient books with mystical symbols upon their faded covers. A sense of a time long past and a powerful magic. A sense of great evil… but also great good." Isis's voice was soft and oddly dreamlike. A faint hint of colour appeared in her cheeks when she realised that everyone was looking at her. She focused on Kaiba, who had gone extremely pale. "That is what I have been seeing in my dreams."

Kaiba jerked his head in silent confirmation, still looking more than a little shaken at learning that he wasn't the only one having that particular dream. A slight frown crossed his face as something tugged relentlessly at his mind, though. There was something else. Something important that Isis had left out… "The room… it looked as though there had been a struggle there. Chairs and equipment were overturned, there was a glass bottle broken on the floor and…"

It was only a moment's hesitation, a quick glance at Mokuba as though Kaiba wasn't sure if he should say the rest in his younger brother's hearing or not, then Kaiba sighed and continued. "There was a dagger on the floor near the bottle. The blade…" Again, he hesitated.

Malik suddenly interrupted, his expression as serious as any of them had ever seen it. "The blade was stained with blood." At his sister and Kaiba's surprised looks, Malik shook his head slightly. "I didn't see the rest. At least… not clearly enough to make out what anything was. It was all just a jumble of colours and… feelings. A lot of rage and pain. Shock. Betrayal. But over it all was this powerful sadness. The dagger was the only thing I saw." Malik trailed off, his hand shifting to the Millennium Rod that was sticking out of his jeans pocket. He looked around at everyone, then away, then back again. He raised his head defiantly and his lavender eyes flashed, daring them to laugh at him. But no one laughed.

Bakura spoke into the sudden silence, his voice unusually soft and with just a hint of gentleness in it. Everyone had to look twice to make sure it really was him talking, and not his light back in command of his body. "Of all of us... Malik would know those emotions best. Maybe that's why his dream focused more on the feelings than the scenery."

He had a good point. Even Kaiba nodded in agreement with it.

Yugi looked around at the others. "So... we have restless sleep, odd dreams and a strange feeling in the air, a bit like the stillness right before a bad storm. That's not much to go on."

Isis sighed softly. "There is one more thing. I had a vision not long before the one about Joey."

As Isis told the others what she had told Kaiba about an ominous shadow being cast over the city, a soft vibration in his pocket distracted the brunette teen.

He answered his cellphone with his usual terse 'what is it?' then immediately began to frown. After a minute or so, he spoke again. "Call me if there's any more news." His voice was soft and so different from his initial tone that Téa instinctively tightened her hold on his hand.

"Seto? What's wrong?"

Kaiba looked at his more-or-less girlfriend and hesitated, then sighed softly and looked around at the others. "That was the head of my security team. After Isis told me about... what she had seen... last night, I asked him to keep an ear open for anything unusual." He looked around the group again and this time he couldn't quite hide how disturbed he was.

"Seto?" Téa squeezed his hand gently, trying to be as reassuring as possible.

He returned the squeeze, just a little, and took a steadying breath before he relayed what he'd just been told.

"So far this morning, four children have been discovered lying in various alleys around the city. They were all in the same state. Alive, but unconscious, with no visible signs of injury."

- - -

By the time the remaining duelists in the competition began to arrive at the park, no further news had come of the unconscious children and the feeling of encroaching doom that had been lingering in the air had settled into a slightly ominous foreboding. From the quiet way that Rex, Weevil, Espa and Mai joined the others, it was clear that it was just strong enough for them to feel it too.

Joey didn't waste time with greetings. As soon as Mai got within earshot, he blurted out, "Hey Mai, have you been sleeping well?"

Mai arched an eyebrow and looked surprised at the question, but gave him a straight answer without hesitation. "Not really. I've been pretty restless for the past couple of nights. It's odd, I normally sleep well in strange beds." She paused for a heartbeat, then added, "I'm used to hotels, before anyone gets any weird thoughts about that."

Joey grinned at her. "Who? Me?"

Mai grinned back at him. "You and the guy behind you who started smirking as soon as I said it."

Bakura snickered. "Hey, if you don't want me to comment, don't give me openings like that."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mai's smile faded to a serious look as she moved in closer to Joey to speak to him more privately.

"Is it just me, or is there something going on? I haven't felt tension like this since the blimp stage of Battle City." She frowned and obviously wasn't happy at the similarity.

"Yeah, something's up. We don't know what, though." Joey's quiet confirmation said more about the seriousness of the situation than his actual words.

Mai sighed. "Great. I was hoping this would be a quiet tournament."

"Well, it has been so far." Joey shrugged. "Maybe it's not connected to this. Hey, it could happen!"

Mai continued giving him her best 'yeah right' look.

Bakura apparently decided that he'd been ignored long enough and leaned over to get Mai's attention. "So, Mai, where's that roommate of yours?" He gestured to the other three girls, who had arrived while Joey and Mai had been talking. "She's the only one not here. More mail?"

"Not this time." Mai looked a little worried. "She slept in. I don't remember her ever doing that before. Usually she's up before me and so cheerful that I want to strangle her at least twice before I have my morning coffee. But today... I actually got the bathroom first. She got out of the shower just before I came down. Since I was ready, she told me to come on ahead." She smiled a little. "I'm to try and distract the officials if she's not here by the time they're ready to start."

Joey and Bakura both snickered at that. "Well, if anyone can do that, it would be you, Mai." Joey grinned at her.

"Why, thank you." Mai took it as the compliment it was and grinned back.

"Uh oh." Joey looked over as the message for the contestants to gather came over the loudspeaker. "Looks like you're about to get your chance, too."

Mai nodded and looked around as they began walking towards the officials. She glanced at Bakura, who was walking just behind her and Joey. "I thought you said it was just Nyc missing."

Bakura shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Of the ones who matter. If that guy misses the start, you won't catch me sympathising with him."

"You have a point there." Mai winced. "Did you see his duel on the show last night?"

"Yeah." Bakura's eyes darkened. "If you go up against him in the last stage... watch your back."

His soft tone caused Mai to arch an eyebrow. "Thanks for the warning. But what makes you so sure he'll be there? He's nowhere near the top eight."

Bakura shrugged. "Neither's Joey, but we both know that will change today."

Mai smiled and nodded. "Of course." She looked at Joey and grinned. "Aww, he's blushing."

Bakura snickered as Joey's blush deepened. "Mai! I am not! Oh look, there's Nyc!"

Mai joined in with Bakura's laughter at Joey's obvious attempt at distraction. She smiled and waved to the girl, who had just managed to weave her way through the crowd and was waiting for them with the announcers. Nyc waved back, looking sheepish.

"I made it."

"Barely, Hon." Mai grinned at her friend. "But even so, you're not the last one to turn up." She didn't gesture towards the lanky figure working his way through the crowd behind Nyc, but it was clear from Nyc's reaction that she didn't have to.

"So that's what's been making my skin crawl. I thought I had a stalker, for a few minutes." Nyc spoke lightly but her whole body had tensed up.

Evien gave a broad smile that didn't reach his eyes as he emerged from the crowd and headed for the group, making a beeline for Joey. He'd just opened his mouth to speak when the loudspeaker crackled loudly, heralding the official's announcement of the day's start to the tournament.

As the official droned on with the same speech he'd given the day before and the contestants either listened to him politely or tuned him out entirely, their minds already on the game ahead, Evien leaned as close to Joey as he could. He spoke just loudly enough for the blonde to hear him. "Sorry to hear how badly you're doing in the tournament. It must be a shock, going from the top eight of Battle City to last place here."

A slight narrowing of Joey's eyes was the only sign of how annoyed he was. His reply came in his usual cheerful voice. "Not really. It doesn't matter what place I get. I'm just enjoying the duels."

Evien's chuckle was obviously forced. "Oh, of course you are. Nothing else you can do, right?"

Joey was saved from having to reply politely to that borderline insult by the official announcing the start of the day's tournament. He smirked as Evien immediately hurried off. "Looks like I'm not the one who's worried about where I'm placing at the moment," he muttered to himself.

Then it was off for another day of duels. The game was on again!

To be continued...