DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it from somewhere else, it isn't mine.

Double Duel Part I

The Pharaoh headed for the Domino Aquarium. Kaiba was still following him. The Pharaoh knew the whole reason for that was that he was still hoping that he could get the God Card off of him. The Pharaoh severely doubted that. And he also doubted Yugi's worries over Sharee. That girl was tough even without Shamee's influence. And it would not be the first time she'd gotten injured in a fight.

In fact, the Pharaoh was getting kind of sick of it. 'My friends are in a great deal of danger, Kaiba. I don't really have time for this.'

'Relax,' Kaiba told him, rolling his eyes. 'It's not like this Marik character is going to kill them.'

'At first, no, but I can't count on that.'

'Hmph.' Kaiba scowled at the Aquarium. 'Well, then you better start looking for them.'

Instead of answering, the Pharaoh went to do just that.

YGO

Sharee stood against the wall, waiting for her father to stop talking with the doctor. He was just getting the final paperwork done and then she could go. Of course, standing out in the hallway like she was, that was how she saw Bakura. The hospital staff wheeled him by on a gurney, Mr. Moto following.

As soon as he saw her, though, Yugi's grandpa stopped. 'Sharee, what are you doing here?'

There were no outward indications of her injury and she had no desire to share with anyone else. 'Small issue. What happened to him?' She nodded at Bakura.

'He's been injured, but I'm not sure who by,' Mr. Moto said. 'He was found by this nice young boy.'

Oh, really? Somehow I don't think that boy was quite as "nice" as you think he was. 'I see.' The door next to her opened and Sharee watched her father come out. 'Uh, dad, I think I'll be needed in the City.'

'All right. I'll drive you.' Dennis smiled and nodded to Mr. Moto. 'Hello, sorry we can't hang about.'

YGO

The Pharaoh listened to the dial tone of the pay phone for a few moments. He sighed and hung up. This was not good. Téa wasn't answering her cell phone. It hadn't worked with Yugi's cell phone either. If neither device could get through, things were likely as bad as they could possibly get. Marik might already have them.

Yugi was on the verge of a panic. I knew this was gonna happen! Marik found my friends before I could. But where did he take them?

The Pharaoh stepped out of the phone booth. Outside, Kaiba was leaning against the telephone pole. In his mind, the Pharaoh knew there were other possibilities to what Yugi thought but he also knew the odds were in favour of the boy's fears. The Pharaoh was of a mind to tell Kaiba that his friends were caught. He would have, except that a familiar car caught his eye.

Yugi had been to the Pertinicle house several times since he met Sharee. While there, he had seen both Sharee's yellow jeep and her father's white pick-up truck. The latter of the two vehicles was pulling up to the curb near them. When it stopped, the door opened and Sharee climbed out. She said something to her father before she closed the door and then he drove away.

Sharee walked over to them. 'Darndest thing. Bakura was just admitted to the hospital with a stab wound in his upper arm.'

'Why is that important?' Kaiba asked.

The Pharaoh knew why. It told them something very important. A stab wound in his upper arm…Sharee's own wound had been given to her by the dagger feature of the Millennium Rod. It didn't take a genius to work out that Marik had teamed up with the Evil Spirit of the Ring.

'Because it wasn't Bakura,' Sharee said.

'That doesn't make any sense,' Kaiba insisted.

'If you're going to deny it, let's finish this conversation now.' Sharee looked back at the Pharaoh. 'Did you find them?'

'No, Téa isn't answering her phone,' the Pharaoh said.

'Really?' Sharee pulled her own cell phone out of her pocket and dialled. She lifted it to her ear and listened for a minute. Her expression darkened. 'No wonder. Her phone isn't in service anymore. My bet is that someone crushed it underfoot.' As she tucked the phone away again, the Pharaoh felt Sharee switch to Shamee.

'Hey, you two, relax,' Kaiba said. 'It's obvious they're really after you and your Egyptian God card, not your pathetic friends. They're of no use to anyone.' He turned away and walked a few steps. 'Besides, my satellite will track them down. Wheeler's duel disk sends out a constant signal so finding your friends will be a simple task.'

'It's not so much the finding our friends that we're worried about, Kaiba,' Shamee said. 'It's how we find them. Besides, I don't think Marik views anyone as useless.'

'Regardless, once this is all done with…' Kaiba turned back around. '…you're going to duel against me, Yugi. And your Egyptian God Card will be mine. So get ready to lose.'

'Will you drop it already?' Shamee demanded.

'No.'

'Kaiba, you and I will duel soon enough but not until my friends are safe,' the Pharaoh said. 'Is that clear?'

Kaiba's smile could be called nothing else but smug. His attention was quickly drawn, though, by his collar-communicator beeping. He reached up and answered it.

Mokuba's voice came through. 'Seto, come in!'

'What is it, Mokuba?' Kaiba asked.

'We have a problem,' Mokuba said. 'Joey Wheeler's duel disk isn't transmitting a signal to the satellite system. I think something's blocking it. I'll go back to headquarters and make sure the team starts working on the tracking problem right away.'

'Do it,' Kaiba ordered.

'All right. We'll find those guys, Seto. I promise.'

'When you do, let me know.' Kaiba terminated the connection. 'There's been a minor setback. Either my satellite system has a glitch, or these Rare Hunters are smarter than I thought.'

Shamee folded her arms across her chest when she heard that. 'They've blocked Joey's signal? Well, they did it before. What would stop them from doing it again?'

YGO

Shamee walked on the Pharaoh's other side from Kaiba. While they were waiting on the report from Mokuba, they were looking by foot. Sharee had already felt out Joey's heart signature and she found it was in the area of the harbour. Kaiba didn't quite believe she could be as accurate as she was.

Something suddenly caught Shamee's eye and she turned her head. 'I think we're about to get an invitation.'

The Pharaoh was the first to follow her gaze. There was a man in a long purple cloak – clearly a Rare Hunter – chasing after them by rooftop. He pounced down by the building in front of them and landed a few feet before them. Shamee agreed with Sharee. That was unnecessarily flamboyant.

Kaiba spoke first. 'Rare Hunter!'

The Rare Hunter stood up. His face wasn't visible under the hood.

'What have you done with my friends?' the Pharaoh demanded.

'That's for us to know,' the Rare Hunter said.

Shamee suddenly became aware of something.

The Rare Hunter pointed behind them. 'And, Seto Kaiba, look who else is coming with us.'

All three of them turned. Shamee scowled when she saw what she did. A helicopter was coming down, blowing their hair back. More importantly, though, Mokuba Kaiba was suspended from it by a rope. Shamee felt like face-palming, she really did. She'd have thought Marik would realise, by now, that was a no-go area.

'Let him go!' Kaiba yelled.

'Big brother!' Mokuba yelled. 'Help me, Seto! Help me, please!'

'Mokuba!' Kaiba called.

Shamee knew if there was one thing Kaiba did care about, it was his little brother.

'Seto, get me down!' Mokuba yelled. 'Please, help me, Seto!'

'Mokuba!' Kaiba called again.

Shamee turned back around first. 'My Gods, what an ability Marik has to repeat past mistakes!'

Kaiba didn't seem to hear. 'Rare Hunters, let my brother go now!'

'He's fine for now,' the Rare Hunter facing them said. 'But his future's up in the air!'

'Help me, Seto!' Mokuba yelled.

'You'll pay for this.' Kaiba was nearly snarling. He spun around. 'If you so much as touch one hair on my brother's head, I promise I'll hunt you all down and crush every one of you with the weight of the entire Kaiba Corporation!'

The Pharaoh turned around too.

The Rare Hunter laughed. 'Your empty threats will get you nowhere, but there is one way to save your brother.'

'Tell me.'

The Rare Hunter pointed. 'Meet us at the top of that building, Kaiba.' They looked. 'That is, if you ever expect to see your brother again. The choice is yours.'

Kaiba twisted around. Shamee and the Pharaoh turned as well. The helicopter had begun to lift up again, taking his brother with it. He screamed as he went.

'Mokuba!' Kaiba called.

'And Kaiba's not the only one whose presence is required,' the Rare Hunter said.

The Pharaoh and Shamee both spun around again.

'If you expect to be reunited with your friends, you'll join us as well, Yugi,' the Rare Hunter stated.

'Listen to me!' the Pharaoh barked. 'I'm warning you, leave them alone!'

The Rare Hunter laughed again. 'I'll see you both shortly.' He took off, bouncing up to the top of the building. 'Remember, gentlemen, meet us on the roof.' They watched him go.

'Looks like we have no choice,' Kaiba said.

The Pharaoh turned to him. 'That's right.'

Kaiba clenched his hand into a fist. 'Our enemies are one and the same.'

The Pharaoh nodded.

'But make no mistake,' Kaiba said. 'I'm in this for Mokuba. When it comes to rescuing your friends, you two are on your own.'

'Fine, Kaiba,' the Pharaoh responded. They all looked up at the building in question.

YGO

Kaiba stood on the rooftop with Yugi and Sharee. Across from them stood the Rare Hunter from before with one of his pals. Both were still cowled and unidentifiable. As usual for conflicts, Sharee stood at Yugi's back. They both had hard and stoic looks on their faces, like they were twice as old as they were. Kaiba was curious, though. He, Yugi and each of the Rare Hunters were standing on their own glass roof panel. And each panel had an odd-looking box attacked to the far corner. He had a funny feeling those boxes were bombs.

'I see you two decided to show up,' the Rare Hunter from before said. 'A very wise choice.'

'Yes, now tell us: what is the meaning of this?' Yugi demanded.

For being such a small, unimposing kid normally, he sure could get intimidating during duels – not that Kaiba would ever tell him that. 'We've kept up our end of the deal. So, why don't you hold up yours and release the prisoners?'

'I'm afraid it isn't that simple,' the Rare Hunter said. 'You two will have to duel us first. If you win, you'll see your loved ones again.' He laughed. 'Before the fun begins, allow us to introduce ourselves.' He lifted his head so they could see his face. Kaiba nearly couldn't believe it. 'I am Lumis.'

The other one did the same and Kaiba was less surprised. 'I am Umbra.'

Sharee looked at the two standing in front of her. 'Seen them before I take it?' she asked.

'Yes,' Yugi said.

Lumis started talking again. 'You've defeated us once before, but I assure you, you won't be so lucky in this duel.'

'And if we do win, you'll release our friends and family?' Yugi demanded.

'Perhaps,' Lumis said. 'But there's no way you'll win! Now, let me explain the rules of this match. It will be a double duel. Us against you two. Each duellist will receive 4000 life points. You must defeat both of the other team's duellists in order to win. And, as for the losers, they'll pay a very hefty price: a trip to the Shadow Realm!'

Kaiba started and he heard Yugi and Sharee gasp on his right. He remembered that place and he had no desire to go back. It had just been darkness and lost souls in there. The only thing that'd kept him in tact, he knew, was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. And he wasn't sure he'd ever get over the experience of that void.

Lumis went on. 'You'll be delivered to the dark world in the most ingenious of ways. Notice where you're standing?'

The three of them looked down.

'On a thin surface above a fifty-story light shaft that runs all the way to the ground floor,' Lumis said. 'But if you fall, you'll never reach the bottom. That's because the very surface on which we stand is the divider between our world…' He laughed and tapped his foot against it. '…and the dreaded Shadow Realm. Each duellist's life points will be displayed in the magic Shadow Box on the floor beside you.'

Yugi turned and looked over his shoulder.

'When your life points reach zero, the surface below you will be destroyed, opening up a vortex that leads directly to the Shadow Realm!' Lumis looked at Kaiba. 'And, according to Battle City rules – your rules – when we win, we take your Egyptian God Cards. Ready?' He chuckled and that soon tuned into laughter. 'Looks like I've left you speechless.'

Kaiba smirked. 'I was just waiting for you to finish. Do I have your guarantee that my brother's all right?'

'Yes, but I wouldn't count on seeing him again,' Lumis said.

Umbra picked up. 'Once you're in the Shadow Realm, there are no visitors!' Both of them laughed.

If that was what they were calling it, Kaiba knew that more than he'd like. 'It looks as if you've just made your second mistake today, Rare Hunter. The first was kidnapping my brother and the second was challenging me.' He activated his duel disk.

'We'll see about that, Kaiba,' Lumis sneered.

Yugi activated his own duel disk. 'And I will rescue my friends!'

'Very touching!' Umbra sneered as well. 'But we duel for our master, Marik, and losing is not an option. Our decks were specially assembled to take down your Egyptian God Cards and that's just what we'll do!'

'And once we deliver them to Master Marik, he'll possess all three Egyptian God Cards!' Lumis falsely predicted. 'In the meantime, you'll be spending all of eternity in the Shadow Realm! So, if you're ready, let's duel!'

They all drew their first cards.

'Are you ready?' Lumis asked. 'I trust you know the rules?'

'Yes.' Yugi had obviously done this kind of duel before – probably partnered with Wheeler. 'This duel is two against two. Each player takes a separate turn but players on the same team must work together to defeat the opposing team.'

Kaiba inwardly shuddered. Working together with Yugi. How irritating. Well, maybe he didn't have to. After all, they'd already defeated these clowns once before without too much effort.

'And I'll begin.' Lumis drew.

'Very well, Rare Hunter,' Yugi said.

Lumis took two cards from his hand. 'I'll place two cards face down…' He did so and both of them appeared on the field. '…and end my turn. Make your move, if you dare. It'll only bring you closer to the Shadow Realm.'

Yugi studied the cards across from them for a good moment. The wheels in his head were clearly turning. 'Wrong!' He drew and looked at his card. 'I'll summon Beta the Magnet Warrior in defence mode.' He took another card from his hand and set it on the field. 'My monster will protect my life points from your attacks, Rare Hunters.' The card appeared and Beta emerged from it.

Kaiba remembered that, in these duels, no one could attack until each duellist had drawn at least once. He also noticed that Yugi was still studying them. Ah, he was trying to pick up on their strategy. Kaiba was doing the same thing.

'Observe.' Umbra drew and took a card from his hand. He played a card and it appeared on the field. 'I summon Shining Abyss in defence mode!' The monster emerged from the card.

Lumis laughed again for some reason. 'Now, it's time to show you how we duel together.'

Yugi was quick to state. 'A team strategy!'

'That's right, Yugi. Activate Mast of Brutality!' One of Lumis's face-down cards flipped up.

'Thank you, Lumis,' Umbra said. 'Your Mask will be a perfect fit for my monster.' The card activated and shot over to the monster in question. It was shrouded in a golden light and a red and black mask took form over the head of the Shining Abyss – or what he had of a head.

'Not only that, Umbra, but it will boost your monster's attack power by 1000 points.' As Lumis said this, it happened.

Kaiba drew back. 'What? These Rare Hunters already have a monster on the field with 2600 attack points!'

'That's right,' Lumis said. 'And it will stay that way as long as we each give up 1000 life points for every turn we plan to use Mask of Brutality.'

'Ah, but now we won't have to.' Umbra pulled another card out of his hand. 'Observe as I activate a magic card called Masked Doll.' He played it and the card appeared on the field. Both the card and the Shining Abyss glowed around the edges.

Yugi made an annoyed grunt beside him. It matched how Kaiba was feeling exactly, not that he'd ever tell him that.

Umbra explained the card. 'My Masked Doll will absorb any and all negative effects caused by my magic card.'

Lumis sniggered. 'Nice work. Now our life points will remain untouched by our Mask of Brutality. You fools are no match for us!'

'Yes,' Umbra said. 'That's right.'

'And our tag-team strategy will destroy you!' Lumis announced confidently.

'I doubt it,' Yugi said. 'We can play off the strengths of each others cards and work as a team as well as you can, Rare Hunters!'

Well, yes, but the thought of actually doing it made Kaiba nauseous. He humphed and closed his eyes. 'No, thanks.'

'Huh?' Yugi asked, sounding more annoyed than confused.

Kaiba looked at him. 'Teamwork is for boy scouts and nursery schools, Yugi.'

'You're wrong,' Yugi said.

'Let's get one thing straight,' Kaiba told him. 'I can win this duel and save my brother without your help.' He looked across at the Rare Hunters. 'I'm the world's greatest duellist and, when I win the Battle City Tournament, I'll prove it.'

'Oh, for the love of the Gods!' Sharee suddenly snapped irritably. 'Kaiba, put your pride in the box! These duels are a team effort and if you can't work like that, you're going to take a skyscraper-level plunge!'

Kaiba ground his teeth.

YGO

The Pharaoh could see that Shamee's statement had struck a cord. All the same, Kaiba still wasn't going to admit that he actually needed help – not yet anyway. He reached for his deck and drew. He took a couple of cards from his hands. 'I'll place two cards face-down.' He played the cards and they appeared in front of him. 'And then…' He took a third card from his hand. '…I'll summon Force Raider the Man Beast!' As soon as he laid the card on the field, with as much force as he could, it appeared and the monster emerged from his card. 'And I place my monster in attack mode.'

What's he doing? Yugi wondered. His monster's weaker than theirs! The Pharaoh agreed completely, but he understood what Kaiba was doing. Men did the most foolish things when they thought they had something to prove. He also agreed with Yugi's next statement. And if we don't have a team strategy we'll never win.

'Well, we've each taken one turn,' Kaiba said. 'Now, it's time to see whose strategy is superior. I think you'll find the answer to that is obvious.'

'I agree,' Lumis said. 'Due to our team strategy we have the most powerful monster on the field. Might I remind you our decks were specifically created to work together, to defeat your Egyptian God Cards?'

'This duel has just begun, Rare Hunters!' the Pharaoh snapped.

We have to win! Yugi insisted. The safety of my friends depends on it! The Pharaoh looked to his left at Yugi's next thought. But unless Kaiba agrees to work together as a team, we're doomed! And Kaiba, the great fool, was completely unaware of how much trouble they were in because of his pride – based on that smirk he had. If he keeps up this selfish attitude we'll lose this duel and be transported to the Shadow Realm. And Marik will have all three Egyptian God Cards. Plus who knows what will happen to the gang under Marik's control? We've got to defeat these Rare Hunters. The Fate of my friends, and the world, depends on it!