THE BATTLE FOR LOST SOULS

Chapter Three: Let the Mind Games Begin

To the Readers:

This chapter can be disturbing, since it will deal with topics such as resurrecting the dead, murder, the supernatural, the occult, and drinking.

Many thanks go to my dear friend and beta-reader Wes / Namonaki Pharaoh for her tireless and enthusiastic efforts in beta-reading for this story arc.

Early morning - Three weeks after Domino Museum incident

Location: patio and garden area, Emrys Manor, England

After another of her sleepless nights, Emrys quietly sat at her parents' gravesite and absentmindedly stared at the black marble tombstone before her. Closing her eyes and catching the smell of the dewy grass, she then sadly mused, "There's a price to pay for everything. Does it have to apply to matters that needed to be done, too, for the sake of others?"

Emrys was not looking forward to any part of this day which marked a session of hours upon hours of physical therapy to strengthen her injured legs. The last session had been pure torture to her in every way. First, she fell countless times on the hard marble floor. Second she stumbled even with the support bars to either side. Lastly, she bruised from clumsily bumping into everything. She was supposed to have another session two days ago, but she cancelled it to recharge her mental and emotional batteries. Since that last session, she had locked her room and spent her time alone.

Today was the first time after days' worth of isolation that Emrys had chosen to spend time outdoors.

Too overwhelmed with the emotions within her, all that Emrys could do was gaze at the names carved on the tombstone. The last time that she felt this empty, suffocated, and numb was when Dylan and Ariadne Emrys died. When her parents died, a piece of her died as well.

Emrys' already-bombarded mind brought back memories of Thera, the funeral, and the dark years after that. Her descent to darkness during those days taught her how to survive as well as what she was capable of doing. Although she became stronger and more independent, the underground also showed her a world of power, evil, and despair that was not meant to be known to someone at such a young age...or any age.

A little over two-and-a-half years ago, much to the relief and happiness of her staff who became her extended family, Emrys sought and achieved a small part of inner peace. Six months ago, that glimmer of hope brightened after she visited Domino City, developed strong friendships with the gang especially the Kaiba brothers and Jonouchi, entrusted Yugi as her confidante, and fell in love with Mutou Yugi's other self.

However just as matters turned for the best, evil's sway - more cunning and more alluring for her than ever before - pulled Emrys much deeper into that pit of despair. She achieved her peace when she finally accepted that her parents' death was not her fault. How she wished that she could say the same thing about Yoshiko's death, her merge with the Essence, her legs, and the darker matters to come. She knew and acknowledged that these were her fault, but her now-nonchalant mind kept convincing her that these events were unfortunate but necessary events.

"I missed you..."

Emrys' eyes widened and the color washed from her face upon hearing the familiar and rich voice. Caught off-guard, she looked sideways to her left. Her hazel-brown eyes now locked into amethyst ones as their respective owners remained speechless and overwhelmed with emotions. Eventually, she gave a rueful smile to the new arrival and her eyes began to glisten from silent tears.

A tightlipped other Yugi approached and hugged Emrys while she sat on her wheelchair. His heavy heart broke into a million pieces when she buried her face against his body and began to sob. He closed his eyes in agony for each passing second, their embrace becoming tighter as their respective tears flowed more freely from their reunion. Once the tears temporarily subsided, he consolingly rubbed her back while he rested his eyes on the green fields of the English countryside.

When Emrys lightly tapped the other Yugi's back, signaling that she was now all right, they slowly released each other from the embrace.

Kneeling down on one knee and establishing eye contact with Emrys, the other Yugi then stroked her hair, touched her face, and whispered, "I'm here, Emrys. You don't have to do this alone."

Emrys tightly closed her eyes and instinctively glanced sideways. The silent tears flowed once more as she buried her face in her open right hand and murmured, "I'm not ready for this... Not yet..."

Emrys leaned her head against the other Yugi's side while he rested his hand on her back. He kept his silence as they stood side-by-side at the gravesite, the young couple paying their respects to her deceased parents until they turned around and headed back at the manor.

During their stroll, the other Yugi told Emrys, "I should have not let you go to Thera."

Emrys kept her sights ahead as tears beaded at the corner of her eyes. "The decision wasn't yours to make. If I had to do it all over again, I will still go."

Taking notice of Emrys' bandaged hand, the other Yugi's amethyst eyes narrowed as he frowned. "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, this?" Emrys asked as she looked at her right hand and recalled the true reason for its injury. She nonchalantly replied while gazing at her lover, "It was one of my clumsy accidents. It's nothing serious."

The duelist's frown dissipated as he sighed and believed Emrys' words.

Once they reached the patio area, Emrys then saw Jonouchi, Anzu, Honda, and Bakura.

Rising from their respective chairs with mixed expressions of shock and sadness painted on their faces, they approached the lovers down the garden's walkway. Each one gave his or her greeting and support, being careful not to sound too awkwardly sympathetic.

The other Yugi then navigated Emrys' wheelchair at a spot on the patio table where May and her peers brought out food. While they enjoyed brunch, she found out that Professor Arthur Hopkins told Sugoroku about what happened to her. She also found out that the two elderly friends respectively wondered why she did not inform everyone at Domino City about the incident.

"I didn't want to face anyone at this time," was all that Emrys could quietly murmur as her explanation to everyone.

After another long moment of tension-filled silence stood between them as the other Yugi said, "Kaiba made the flight arrangements for this visit. He asked me to accompany you to the flight back to Domino City, especially since he couldn't leave the hospital."

"Hospital?" Emrys asked with an exasperated voice as she clutched the arms of her wheelchair. Pain shot down from her back to her legs, making her grimace in pain. Nonetheless, she bore the agony while her hazel eyes probed everyone. Chills traveled down her spine as she felt everyone's sadness bombarding her.

The gang looked at each other as they sat around the patio table, wondering who should tell her the news.

A tightlipped other Yugi's expressive amethyst eyes reflected such sadness. Bakura was somber as if memories from the past were stirred for him. Jonouchi and Honda were exceptionally quiet as if they were hoping for a miracle. An already-teary eyed Anzu turned around as tears liberally flowed down her cheeks.

Feeling as if her head had swollen more than twice its size, Emrys then stared into amethyst eyes. Fear stuck within her heart as she read his mind and knew the primary reason for their unexpected visit. While gazing into her lover's eyes once more, she stammered, "Please tell me that all of this isn't true..."

He closed his eyes in silence - wishing that he could deny the fact. Upon opening his eyes once more, he then sadly asked her, "Will you fly back with us as soon as you can?"

Although no explanations had gone between the two of them, a tired Emrys grimly nodded her head.

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Early evening

Location: England

As they moved inside, everyone took places in the parlor. Jonouchi and Honda sat on the floor engaged in a game of chess, while Anzu and Bakura propped cushions on the marbled floor and watched. Yugi, on the other hand, sat on the antique chair beside Emrys' wheelchair and reminded her to call Kaiba at Domino City.

Emrys, who had a long and grueling day at physical therapy, picked up her cell phone and used its speed-dial. Once someone picked up from the other line, she then said in a warm voice, "Hi! It's me..."

The others momentarily glanced at Emrys and then resumed their respective activities.

"Are you coming with them?" asked a rather distracted Kaiba. He walked away from Mokuba's bedside and towards the window. He tried not to wake up his younger brother and focused his mind away from the beeping monitors inside his sibling's hospital room.

Resting her tired head against the palm of her right hand, Emrys murmured, "Of course, I am. I'm all packed and ready to leave with them tomorrow morning."

"Are you up to traveling? You need treatment, too."

With a comforting voice, Emrys told him, "Kaiba, we made a promise to each other...remember? Considering what's going on right now, that question's irrelevant." After the long and awkward pause between them, she broke the ice and asked, "So, how's he doing? How are you doing?"

The elder Kaiba glanced over to his sleeping brother. His chest heaved as he replied, "Mokuba's been looking for you. As with me, I'm doing most of my work here on my laptop."

Emrys closed her eyes, covering them with a free hand, and sighed. In spite of her best efforts to stifle her sadness, the tears that had built up at the corner of her eyes rolled down her cheeks. "It's a stupid question, but how are you doing? Are you okay?"

"I have to be okay..." Kaiba murmured with a heavy sigh. Minutes of silence later, he then quietly inquired, "How long do you plan to stay in Domino City?"

"I don't have any intentions of leaving Domino soon. I've already made arrangements with the physical therapist and doctors at Domino Hospital."

At the corner of his eye, Kaiba noticed the doctor and two nurses that conspicuously stood by the hospital room door. He then told Emrys before hanging up his cell phone, "The doctor's here, so I have to go. I'll have the chauffeur pick everyone up at the tarmac tomorrow."

Emrys followed suit by flipping her cell phone to close. Immediately after putting her phone aside at the closest end table, she took the quarter-filled brandy glass within reach and sipped some of its contents. This simple action instantly made her guests all equally startled, but kept their respective opinions and admonishments to themselves.

Anzu gazed at Emrys and asked, "How long since your parents passed away?"

After another thought-filled sip, Emrys then grimly responded, "They died seven years ago at a dig."

Bakura then remarked, "No matter how many years have gone by, doesn't it always feel as if it were the very first day that they've died?"

Emrys stared inside her brand glass. She tried to filter through her thoughts and emotions as she said, "That's always the case when it comes to a loved one."

The platinum-haired young man shared, "Ever since my sister Amane passed away years ago, I've been intrigued with the supernatural. Is that the same for you? Is that why you are so interested in archeology and the supernatural?"

After pursing her lips, Emrys took a sip from her glass and then sighed. "I just enjoyed knowing more about the past and what can be done over and above the normal. If it's true that human beings use only a fraction of their brain, then it's fascinating to unlock the secrets hidden in that untapped portion. I wouldn't be surprised if that untapped portion of the brain hides secrets that we call the supernatural."

Bakura leaned forward and focused his eyes on Emrys, intrigued and engrossed in the conversation.

Once Emrys took another sip of brandy, her eyes then met Bakura's as she asked, "How about you, Bakura? What made you so interested in the occult?"

"I wanted to communicate with Amane. If I could bring her back from the dead, then I would."

The normally-quiet young man's comment sent chills in everyone's spine...all except for the other Yugi, who invisibly stood beside his spirit vessel, and Emrys.

With piqued curiosity, Emrys then focused on Bakura with a grim look and a raised eyebrow. "How far would you be willing to go to get what you want?"

"I'll do whatever it takes."

"Using the Ouija Board or conducting a séance is just mere child's play. Different cultures explored ways in resurrecting the dead. Would you embrace such risks, even if it meant giving up your very life and soul?"

Dead silence dominated the entire parlor. The other Yugi glanced sideways at Emrys, startled not with what she asked Bakura but the way that she asked her question.

Before taking the last sip of brandy from her glass, Emrys' eyes gleamed at the platinum-haired young man as she said in a foreboding tone, "Be careful what you wish for, Bakura. You might end up paying a hefty price for making such heartfelt requests."

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Late evening

Location: England

Hours after everyone bade goodnight to each other and gone to bed, the other Yugi and Emrys were at the breakfast nook playing Duel Monsters. The same pattern occurred for them: he would win the duel, she would increase the level of difficulty and skill for the next round, and he would still come up with a way to counter her strategy.

The lovers - giving their all in every duel - found it increasingly more difficult to defeat the other.

Yugi, who retreated to his soul room, felt how happy the spirit was as he spent time with Emrys. At the same token, he was glad that she cheered up a little after her afternoon session. Everyone went with her to provide encouragement.

Once the other Yugi dealt the last blow to their duel, Emrys' life points dwindled down to zero. He then let out a contented sigh. "You almost got me this last round."

Hazel eyes lit up in amusement as their owner shook her head. "So close and yet so far. Are you ready for another round?"

With a raised eyebrow and a naughty smirk, the other Yugi needled, "How many times do you have to be beaten before you finally give up?"

"Never," Emrys replied with a wink.

The two shuffled their decks and exchanged them to be cut.

As Emrys made the opening move, the other Yugi then asked her while watching the field, "What actually happened at Thera and Egypt?"

Without removing her eyes from the game while he took his turn, Emrys said, "Along with recovering the rest of the Scrolls of Passage and obtaining the ritual from the two golden tomes, Pegasus, the Ishtars, and I found out who have been chasing our tails all this time."

When the other Yugi ended his turn, a customary frown crept over his face. "Who are they and what do they want?"

Emrys kept her silence for many minutes as she tried to figure out her best move for this turn. Once she made her decision and after she declared her moves, she then told her lover, "The group is called the Order of Orichalchos. The cult existed since Ancient Egyptian times. The key leaders were supposed to be descendants from the Nine Houses of Atlantis. Throughout time, its followers have been rewarded with anything that they wish for. Yoshiko, that fake NYPD Detective Garson, and his two accomplices happened to be some of their many members. Strangely enough, I encountered the Order many years ago during those nights that I went underground. I just didn't know, at the time, what the Order was really all about."

With controlled anger laced in the other Yugi's voice and reflected in his amethyst eyes, he said, "They must have sealed the Stone of Destiny. I can't open the gates to my memory unless the Stone reappears."

An empathetic-sounding Emrys looked at her lover straight in the eye. "I wish that I could do something about it. Sooner or later, the Stone will return. We'll work together on retrieving your memory back, I promise you..."

The two then concentrated on the duel for hours, with Emrys having the upper hand in this round and with each passing turn becoming more intense.

While the other Yugi focused on their game, he also allowed time to absorb the new information from Emrys as well as the contents of Pegasus' package. Once he made his move, he then resumed their conversation by asking, "By the way, are you still having those nightmares?"

Blinking twice, Emrys asked, "Nightmares? What nightmares?"

"You told me before that you were having nightmares about Yoshiko...about you killing Yoshiko..."

After clearing her throat and finishing her turn, Emrys then nonchalantly replied, "They don't bother me anymore. I figured that her death was just a necessary event. She just happened to be an unfortunate casualty."

The other Yugi kept his composure but was nonetheless mortified from what he just heard. Once he completed his turn, he told Emrys, "You sounded really convinced before that you killed her."

Emrys sarcastically chuckled as she said while laying two facedown cards on the field, "If the fact be true, then she truly deserved it."

With a customary frown and a probing look, the Spirt then asked Emrys while momentarily stopping the duel, "You don't really believe that, do you?"

Hazel then stared into amethyst as Emrys deadpanned, "Yes, I do. If she had betrayed me for reasons other than gaining power, then I'd be more empathetic about her fate."

Silence dominated between them as the other Yugi became stunned once more with Emrys' words.

Shortly thereafter, Emrys' intense demeanor relaxed and a tightlipped smile crept on her face. "It's your turn, my love."

Letting out a troubled sigh, the other Yugi then focused on his turn. He studied every move made since the beginning and tried to find the loophole in Emrys' solid strategy. Many minutes later, his eyes widened and then a smirk curled his lips. "I'll beat you in three turns."

"Oh, really?" Emrys amusedly remarked with a wry smile and a twinkle in her hazel eyes. "Show it to me..."

The other Yugi laid down his cards and then ended his first of three fated turns.

As the third turn came closer, each duelist spent more time planning the next move, strengthening his or her position, and feeling the pressure of the other's desire to win this duel.

Sure enough, though, the other Yugi was true to his word. Even though he made huge adjustments to his strategy due to non-anticipated moves made by his opponent, he made a series of fluid moves and zeroed out Emrys' overall life points in his third turn.

With hearts pounding and minds satisfied from their duels, they gathered their respective cards and laid their decks on the breakfast table.

Once that was done, the other Yugi then pulled up a chair closer to Emrys. With his amethyst eyes mirroring his feelings, he murmured, "I'm glad that we're together again. I missed you..." Shortly thereafter, they kissed with passion and longing.

At first, the duelist felt something different from the singer's kiss. Although it was passionate and filled with longing, it was tainted with lust and other emotions that somewhat marred his senses. What made it harder for him was that he was also getting carried away from it.

The other Yugi eventually dismissed his startled reaction as the kiss progressed into the same ones that they have shared before they parted ways. They then sat beside each other. They held hands, stared at their respective decks, and recalled the latest duel against each other.

"I like it when we duel. Even the losers have their rewards."

Elated from spending quality time with Emrys and being victorious in an intense duel, the other Yugi then smirked. "You really know how to heat up a duel."

Emrys' eyes glinted as she smiled. "Well, I'm glad that you consider me as worthy competition." As she looked into her lover's eyes, she said, "Mark my words, my love. The next duel we'll have against each other will be mine. I won't make it easy for you..."

"I'm looking forward to it," whispered the other Yugi as they engaged in another lingering and passionate kiss...not knowing that Emrys meant what she had just told him.

End of Chapter Three

Normal Disclaimer

Yu-Gi-Oh and the Seal of Orichalchos magic card are the copyrighted properties of Kazuki Takahashi.

Alexandra Emrys, Yoshiko, Detective Garson, the Order of Orichalchos, the Scrolls of Passage, The Portal of Osiris, The Dead Incantations, other original characters and locations, as well as this fanfic, are the properties of the author.

This fanfic is written for entertainment purposes only - thereby releasing the author from any liabilities.